More About The Tattoo

"Old man! Stop saying that"

Bursting through the door, the giant bear lay down another heap of books from his ring, and took off his furred coat.

"BAHAHAHHAHAHAH, What do you mean boy. Ain't I your father?"

Taking my eyes off the books, I grumbled and strained my neck looking into his eyes.

"Yeah but.."

"BAHAHAHAHHA then I'm your Daddy!"

{Rock skin}

With an elemental augmentation spell reinforcing my body, I charged at the old man with a rocky fist.

'Huh? Elemental augmentation?…This boy sure knows how to keep me on my toes'

"Eyes up…down here old man!!"

With a reinforcing yell, I reeled my arm back and struck forth with as much strength as I could muster.

I incorporated all the technique and power I had cultivated while training martial arts with this bear. I drove my left leg forward and twisted my hips sending out a crushing right cross, flinging the man through the cabin walls and out into the field…

'Yeah I wish'

My fist met the indestructible wall of dad. Not even a slight flinch or stagger came out of the him. Even the flesh I struck did not seem to have any reaction, just a weird sound of impact; thud.

'I got ahead of myself there'

Looking at the unimpressed face of my father, a croak barely escaped my mouth

"O-oops I slipped?"

"Yeah right."

Grabbing the arm that struck his stomach, the hulking giant lifted me up three stories high…or just eye level in his case.

"Good technique, but you're still a squirt. You know what comes next right?"

With an audible gulp, I nodded hesitantly and closed my eyes awaiting the tantalizing punishment my father will wreak upon me.

"D-Do you worst!"

With an evil grin the malicious father raised his free hand menacingly… and tickled the hell out of me.

His hand roamed all over my torso, torturing me endlessly… for a few minutes.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH, A-Alright enough please, please HAAHHAHHAAHAHHA."

The devastating weapon of tickle punishment paused its onslaught as the malicious giant looked at his son curiously.

"BAHHAHAH, learned your lesson ey boy?"

Dangling from my arm, I sent a glare at the feathery bi…Eset, hanging by the fire avoiding looking at me.

[Just you wait, I'll get you for this]

[Whatever do you mean? This mighty owl was simply in the midst of sophisticating herself.]

'You can't hide behind your fancy words, I'll get you for this'

Tugging at the man's beard, I gestured with my head toward the ground.

"Mind letting me down already?"

-thud

"Thanks"

Landing back on the ground, I had the urge to kiss the earth just as the astronauts do after being stranded in space for years on a mission.

'AH, cold air'

From all the twisting and turning, my tunic got scrunched up and curled all the way to the middle of my back, exposing it to the chilled breeze of the night.

Just as I heaved a sigh happy to be back to where the normal races of Eos reside, a hand lifted the bottom of my tunic and grabbed me by it returning me into the expansive cosmos… or just my dad's eye level.

"Elias, answer me without a single fault in your statement. Did you get this after the bonding with Eset?"

###

Far away from the father and the son, was the last member of their small family.

She stood amongst a sea of crimson, drowning the very soil that supported her feet as she raised a tall blue staff brimming with power.

"Drown the very beings that stand in my way, {Vodyanoy}!"

Once completed, the spell materialized an ethereal ocean of Aeter in the air, shimmering with mesmerizing light. It was an Aurora borealis of crystalline color overwhelming any of the onlookers with feeling of awe and majesty.

Yet to the soldiers dressed in black and red armor, only the horrors of dread dawned upon them as they halted their charge unconsciously.

-O-Oh Gods...

-POSEIDON by your name!! Help us!!

-CASTERS d-do something!!

The cries of the soldiers were muffled as the raging ocean of Aeter materialized into that of corporeal water, filling their lungs and burying them under the weight of their own armor.

The water of the spell mixed with the blood of man creating a grotesque mixture of fluid that even all the gods of oceans and seas would not adopt.

The cause of the mayhem was none other than the Witch of Deluge, Aurora Lyndell; Princess of the Lyndell empire and one of the generals leading the resistance.

She watched on with a look of disinterest and apathy, the cries of the slaughtered men were drowned by the voices of her spouse and child playing in her head.

'Isaac, Elias, this will blow over…soon. When I am done here I will get back to you, I promise'

Breaking her out of her melancholy, a lieutenant ran up to her with a hand thumping his chest in salute.

"General, this is the last platoon on the north eastern front. We have orders to head back to the royal castle to convene. Please advise"

"Whose orders?"

With a soft voice, Aurora asked nonchalant.

The Lieutenant gulped and stood back in fright as Aurora turned to face him with a cold expression stained by streaks of blood; the blood of her enemies.

Gathering his fleeting courage, the lieutenant took out a sealed scroll and handed it to his superior

"B-by order of the Empress."

###

"For the hundredth time, YES. I woke up and it was there, right after the bonding ritual."

"So you're sure you did not eat anything magical or something?"

'For Gods' sake this man...'

"YES I AM! What does it mean anyway?"

With a heavy sigh, father brushed his beard and plopped down on a chair motioning for me to do the same.

"Alright, no secrets. I'm giving it to you straight boy, brace yourself"

"I'm ready, lay it on me"

He scrunched up his eyebrows and looked at me intently. One hand gripped his knee while the other stay grooming his long beard.

"Well, it's totally normal boy, I had one too."

'Huh?'

"BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHAHA, the look on your face!!"

[AHHAHH, He got you good]

Ignoring the owl the chuckling owl mocking me in my head, I turned to the giant pea size brained idiot… my father

*sigh*

"J-just tell me what it does."

Fed up with his antics, I did not even try to retaliate.

"In my tribe, those with exceptional compatibility with their bond, much like ourselves, have markings of Aeter ink themselves on the skin. The marking present external Aeter circuits that help you channel the power of you bond more effectively and to get to the final stage of the bonding; fusion."

Before I could ask him any questions, he threw me a book from the pile.

"Read it, it's better than me explaining anyway."

The book landed squarely in my lap drawing my attention to its rough structure.

"Bonds", it read.

'Heh'

"Bond, Justin Bond"