20 The Broken Hilt

Beneath the early morning sun, the two children stood in the open courtyard. Aurelia was in the lotus position, brimming with excitement, while Zariel stood behind her, looking bored. 

The process of building a core had been traditionally done in secret, but Aurelia had insisted it be done in the morning hour while Zariel couldn't be bothered to care. He was never one for tradition, much less other people's tradition. He'd always seen it as a pointless endeavor despite having a few himself. 

"Remember, all you have to do is devour the Arcana." 

"Then will I be able to do that magic hand thingy where you magically pulled me up?" 

"It's called telekinesis. Aurelia, I do wonder about your intelligence sometimes. And no. I'd show you how, but you'd end up killing yourself, screwing me over in the process. I just show how to use the Qi of Heaven and Earth. It ought to alleviate your greed." 

"hey!" shouted Aurelia accusingly. "I'm not greedy." 

"Nothing wrong with being greedy," he said rather smugly. "So long as you stay alive. You may do as you please. Just know I'll do what I have to do. Now begin cycling your Arcana."

Aurelia steeled her small heart. Despite Zariel standing guard, Aurelia still felt concerned she might mess up; mistakes are bound to happen.

Nevertheless, Aurelia reached into herself, spreading her Spirit to form a domain around her, and began. 

Slowly, small glimmers of light began to appear, building into light nodes dancing through the skies around Aurelia; they blurred into long azure strands of energy, entering through her pours. The Arcana began to pass through the first and second gates, dwindling in size and shape. It began to radiate a purity that was as unnatural as it was mighty. Before long, hundreds of thousands of these small glimmers of Arcana that were refined began to merge with the small star, burning a golden color. 

"good. Remember, this is merely a core, not a star. You are creating a core in which a star can exist." Zariel said softly. 

It had to be known that few ever bothered to create their core but rather opted to use their body as the cores instead. Though to Zariel, that had been utter foolishness, seeing as his body alongside everyone else within the twelve realms could not withstand the level of purity within his refinement technique. He needed to create a core that could withstand energies that could potentially rival the energies created from that of a sun. 

"Now beat the living shit out of it. Dive your will through it and make it inverted. It'll hurt, but you'll be fine… hopefully." He said, suddenly distracted by a luminous blue butterfly batting its beady wings, circling around his head. He was reminded of his sister. 

Her face and name had all eluded him by now, though there had been a memory that brought him a smile. She couldn't have been more than a small babe when a butterfly batted its wings over her and landed on her nose; she coed loudly with a childlike vigor before proceeding to eat the butterfly, causing Zariel to puke all over her. 

"I nearly forgot about that day. " He said in a voice of a broken man; he gave an ugly laugh, hiding his face as he began to cry. "God damn… pull yourself together." He whimpered, though the tears did not stop. 

A sudden boom rippled from around Aurelia as a valiant golden aura began to rise from out of her like steam. 

"Aurelia did—" she stopped noticing Zariel's bloodshot eyes and the tears of blood streaming down his face. 

Aurelia paled. "Zariel," she said, aghast. When she heard him sniffling, she saw the sorrow and reached for him. 

Zariel backed away with a sudden emission of fear before it faded. It had happened quickly, Aurelia wasn't even sure what she saw, but before she could say anything, he left. 

"Congrats, " he said coldly before he was gone. 

Aurelia followed him into the cigar lounge and silently watched him light one of the cigars. He took a pull that lit up the far end a bright red, filling his lungs with smoke, and smiled as he let it out. 

Legs kicking back and forth over the large black settee, Aurelia watched with unblinking eyes. 

"That's better. " Zariel hissed, feeling a cloud return to his mind.

"Does it hurt?" she asked him. 

Zariel hadn't even realized his blood had been red when he said, "Everything hurts," lifting the cigar back to his lips. "I'm so tired of it all… I just want to…"

***

The following day, Zariel awoke in the lounge to find Aurelia sitting across from him asleep. It was like seeing a unicorn sleep, as Aurelia would always wake at the start of every dawn: No matter if she was beaten or with a fever, she woke with the morning dawn. 

It was high noon now based on the vibrant light filling the room. 

"Silly thing," he said, drawing near. He placed a palm on her wrist and smiled when his mind's eye peered inside. He stood astonished by the great golden black hole. 

"mildly impressive. And on your first try, too. Those old fools would die to have someone like you, " Zariel mused, faintly yawning. "Damn. I've been sleeping well these past few days. I should try to grow my own strain." 

Hmmm… dum-dumb… I'm hungry," grumbled the little girl, stirred awake.

"why're you telling me? We've got a maid."

Aurelia narrowed her eyes dangerously, "what's her name?"

"... Whose?" Zariel asked, rather guilty, trying to recall the name. But not even her face seemed to re-enter his head. 

"the maid. "

"..." 

"You forgot, didn't you."

"Aurelia, my mind is akin to an impenetrable great vault. It's so magnificent it remains unrivaled by none. So mag—" 

Aurelia folded her arms. "Then what's her name?" 

Zariel looked away. 

"It's Genny, you big dummy!!" 

***

Upon his high chair, Darrian sat, marred by thick, elongated veins stretching across his clenched jaw. 

"Say that again." 

"I am abandoning the mission," the Shadowborn said despite being within the hall surrounded by knights armed on all sides. His voice was calm as the darkness seemed to take form around him like a misty cloak. 

Darrian rose with a fire in his eyes. "you dare! Can it be a simple recognizance mission and you—" 

"The Acolyte, Sura, has long informed his majesty of the one called Malos." said the Shadowborn. "All assassination attempts against him will be treated as treason." he reached into his coat, slowly watching a few knights slightly draw their swords, and took out a letter.

"Get me the letter," he said to one of his knights. He frowned the moment he opened the letter that carried the broken seal of the king.

"Shit. No…no ... NO!!! This cannot be. Is Malos Blackwater a protected class? I've never heard of that! Protected Class, what a fucking joke. Damn you, Cyrus. Damn, you and that bloody whore you call a wife. FUCK! Why does a child have protected rights? Answer me, Shadow!" demanded Darrian, flush with rage. 

"Malos… My investigation has led me to find that Malos gave the military a piece of magic that—" 

"Magic!" shouted Darrian incredulously. As angry as he was hysterical, he roared, "A child giving us magic. Are you bloody mad, or are you stupid? Did your mother kick you in your head as a boy?! What could a child possibly give us? Answer me, Shadow!" 

"Something so valuable the king saw to inform the realm of Malos's is protection." said the Shadow plaintively, recalling those calculating eyes that shone silver. "as for Malos himself… he is dangerous. Probably not now, with him nearly being seven, but if he should grow… " 

"That bastard might be an issue… get out. All of you leave me." he hissed, watching the hall being cleared out. "So much bloody work trying to bankrupt those damn lowborns now this!!"

Darrian had never been so frustrated in all his life. 

"I need that damn broken hilt." He swore, falling back to his high chair. "Bastards! Damn you, Cyrus! Damn you," smoldering in his chair, Darrian's expression changed until he looked anything but human. He suddenly threw his head back and laughed, cupping his face. "I'll not waste another decade of my life. If no one within the Solarian Empire will heed my call…." He smiled. 

Darrian snapped to his feet, hurrying to his office, grabbing parchment, a quill, and some ink, and drew up a letter with a venomous smile. If the Realm could not aid him, then he would seek help from others. Darrian laughed and shouted. "If Cyrus thinks he can shackle me, bound me as if I am one of his slaves. Then we shall see who will outwit each other. That boy… Malos, I swear it… I swear I'll kill him or force him out. The Broken Hilt of Dawn will be mine." 

He folded the letter, leaving it unsigned, stood up, drew towards the fireplace, and tossed it in. The fire whirled to an emerald flame, devouring the letter before it shifted back to orange. 

He laughed.