Tulia stood at the ready, the calm before a battle was a dear and familiar friend. The rush of the upcoming fight surged within her blood, and as she stood there giddy with anticipation she breathed slowly to calm herself. She finally saw the first signs of the bandits and she slowly smiled as a dozen of them were walking atop the water, freezing it solid for others to follow.

“Cultivators,” she mumbled to herself, “it’d be too boring if they didn’t put up a bit of a fight.”

The vanguard formed lances of frozen water from all sides to skewer the ferry. “How impolite!” she yelled from atop the deck. A bubble of light erupted covering the ferry and each of the lances instantly broke apart when they collided with the shield.

“A Heavenly Aspect,” a whisper escaped his mouth; one of the bandits with a scar on his left cheek felt a surge of anger at his bad luck. “Stop! Fall back, retreat!” the man shouted with his full might.

“Oh? Leaving already?” Tulia replied back to the man, a soft whisper entered his ears. She unsheathed her sword and wrapped her aura around it tightly. She raised her sword and with one swift motion, she spun while slashing her sword out. A razor sharp light emanated in all direction bisecting all of the bandits instantly, except for one.

Seeing all of his men die instantly would have been enough to mentally break him, but he was too preoccupied with the bindings of light that encased him. With a flick of her wrist, the cage of light floated over to rest atop the ferry’s deck.

The man knelt there in a daze as he tried to understand the might of the woman before him. After a bit of silence the man finally spoke, “How did you know we were coming, you stood there ready for us.”

“I would have spared you and your ilk if you didn’t intent to kill everyone on this ship, but since that is not the case, your life is mine. And as such, I do not intend to answer any of your questions. Answer me truthfully and I will grant you a swift death,” Tulia coldly said as she stomped her foot twice. The ferry shook with two solid THUMP THUMP.

Duncan opened his cabin door to see the galley door across form him slowly open as well. He locked eyes with the captain and urged him to remain where he was, “the bandits have not been dealt with yet, give us a few more minutes while we question them,” he calmly instructed. With that, he brought his two boys onto the deck of the ship.

Gaius saw his mother standing in front of a big burly man with a clean beard. The bindings of light that radiated from him caused him to catch his breath. The aura was nothing like how it normally was. The aura he felt from the bindings were dangerous and suffocating, as if he stared at it long enough that he himself would be bound.

Without even looking back to acknowledge the presence of her sons and husband, she began her interrogation. “Let’s start off with something easy, yes? What is your name, and who are you?”

Before the man could open his mouth to speak, a flare of blinding light burst forth from Tulia’s body vanquishing all shadows and half-truths.

“My birth name is Harold Linnet, though I am known in Bant as Boss, the Lord of the Underground.”

“Why did you attack this vessel?”

“Two men contacted me and said that there were crates of alchemical vials worth a fortune, all the while the traveling alchemist moves unguarded—only accompanied by two Novitiates,” Harold grunted through his teeth as he tried to resist the Aspect of Light.

“What are the names of these two men?”

“Maizah and Weck; gate guards from South Calet.”

“Mm, I think I have all of my questions answered. Mr. Wyn, would you like to ask anything?” Tulia looked back and smiled at her husband and two sons.

“Hmm, yes. Did you intend to spare anyone on this ferry?”

“No.”

Duncan looked into Tulia’s eyes and they shared a moment of understanding, he slowly nodded to his wife. Tulia bent down onto one knee while looking right into the boys’ eyes and she slowly said, “Listen well boys and remember what I say, ‘To show mercy to your enemies is to show cruelty to your friends.’”

Gaius and Gen tried to grasp the true meaning of what she just said but could not seem to fully understand it, until Tulia beheaded the bandit in one swift backhanded motion without breaking her gaze on her sons.

Gaius and Gen were horrified at the immediate grisly death of the stranger in front of them. It was only at this time that the two boys noticed the piles of floating corpses within the water. Seeing her sons in this state was bittersweet in that she was happy that they felt horror in the taking of lives; such a thing should not be taken lightly, and she felt sadness because she personally destroyed a bit of the boys’ pure innocence—tainted them with the world’s inhumanity.

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Tulia smiled sweetly at her two sons one last time before she got up and resumed her role of the dutiful bodyguard. She went to the galley and rapped on the door. “The bandits have been dealt with, you may come out now,” Tulia said.

The captain and crew emerged from the galley to find a headless man slumped atop their deck, the head nowhere to be seen.

“Sorry for the mess, couldn’t be helped. May I leave the mess to your crew? I need my rest,” Tulia said.

The portly captain nodded and relayed his orders to this crew to clean up and resume their course. Before Tulia could adjourn to her room the captain spoke, “Thank you for your assistance Miss. Mother’s mercy on us if you were not as able as you claim.”

Without saying a word Tulia nodded and refrained from mentioning that it was her and her family that the bandits were after. Duncan slowly guided, though it was more like pushed the two boys to the cabin after their mother.

Silence hung in the air within the cabin. Gaius tried to understand what had happened, one moment he was sparring with his mother and the next a bloodbath ensued. “They were after the vials?” he asked himself.

“Why did they want to steal our vials?” he asked aloud to no one in particular.

“It is worth a lot of money, an ordinary family would be able to live the rest of their lives in comfort and security if they sold these vials,” Duncan said matter-of-factly.

“What I mean is, why can’t they make the vials themselves?” Gaius pressed.

“Ah. Well, you may not know this because you probably take your uniqueness for granted, but Alchemy is a difficult profession—requiring years of study. Not everyone can do it as easily as you. Even I had to practice for years to do what you could learn in an afternoon. Because of this, it is more often easier to steal someone else’s hard work than to learn it yourself,” Duncan continued.

“I don’t understand, how can these vials be enough for them to die for?” Gaius asked in his dazed state.

“These vials represent opportunity, son. If they could sell them all, it would allow them to live the rest of their lives without worrying about food or shelter,” Duncan answered.

“Worry about food or shelter? Couldn’t they just rely on their neighbors?” Gen asked as he recalled the numerous times that their father gave away free alchemical potions and elixirs.

“The world does not work like that. In our village, we were able to rely on each other because we had trust—trust that was built over years. Whenever we were short on food, Chief Hemuk would always make sure we had enough, but he did so because he knew that I would supply those in need with the necessary tonics. In larger cities where there are hundreds of thousands of people living together it is harder to form lasting bonds of trust,” Duncan continued.

“Why did that man want to kill us? We didn’t even know who he was,” Gaius asked.

“Greed, son. The two guards that checked our crates at South Calet must have told him that we were an easy mark. So they set out to rob and kill us. Though he could have just robbed us, it is safer for him to ensure no one will lead the city guards to him, which means no witnesses,” Duncan said.

“I’m tired. I think I’m going to sleep for the night,” Gaius said weakly.

The two boys have been exempt from their daily training for the remainder of the way to the capital. Though filled with free time, Gaius spent most of his days staring out onto the serene lake, whereas his brother continued to spar with his mother—seemingly not as affected as his brother. 

On the last morning Duncan approached his somber son and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “What worries you still, son?” he whispered, “you know that if your mother did not kill him, then he would have come back with a vengeance and harmed us, right?”

“Hmm? Oh. Dad, I understand why she did it. But I can’t seem to understand how he could have come back to defeat mom. There’s no way that he could have hurt her. She’s practically invincible,” Gaius spoke his mind.

“Ah, there are many ways to harm someone. He could have come back and harmed you or your brother. That would definitely devastate me and your mother,” Duncan said sadly.

“Ah,” was all Gaius could say as he never thought himself or his brother to be used against his parents. He stood there dazed at the thought of something so horrific. Soon he felt anger at the man; anger that someone he never met would wish him and his family harm and anger at his sympathy for the man. From the railings of the ferry Gaius let a guttural yell, purging all of his frustrations, “Ahhh!!”

The shout startled Duncan, who was standing next to him, Tulia and Gen who were at the center of the deck sparring. The two came to an abrupt stop to look over at Gaius, Duncan locked eyes with them and smiled and nodded—signaling that all was well.

Duncan stood there silently for a moment thinking about his next choice of words carefully, “You will find in life that it is difficult to discern between friend and foe, so remember to only trust in those who have earned it.”

Gaius gripped the railings in his residual anger and nodded at his father’s words.

“Ah, look there, Alir,” Duncan said as he pointed to the horizon.

Gaius and Gen both turned to look at the looming river-city. If the size of South Calet and Bant were comparable to animals, then they would be mice and the capital an elephant.

“By the Mother’s Tits . . .” Gaius gasped.

“Hey! Hey, no cursing,” Duncan reprimanded.

“Sorry, but, but . . . Look!” Gaius shouted incredulous while pointing at the looming river-city ahead of him.

Duncan smiled and nodded towards his son, “Haha, yeah I had the same reaction when I first came to the capital.”

The Bant River flowed east to west and the ferry was headed towards the rising sun as they approached the capital city Alir. At the center of the large river was an island castle that was dozens of square kilometers. To the north and south side of the island was a bridge that connected to the shores, each being at least two kilometers wide and nearly ten kilometers long. On the river’s north and south shore laid two sprawling cities nearly as large as the island castle.

As the ferry slowly approached the island castle, Gaius noticed that it was a city in its own right. The ferry docked at one of the many dozen docks.

“Thank you for your services. Here is a bit extra for the inconvenience I caused,” Duncan said with regality as he handed the captain 5 gold coins.

“Uh, um ah,” the captain stammered for a reply at the large windfall, “I cannot accept such a large sum for the level of service I provided.”

“Nonsense. You were able to provide my two Novitiates with guidance and the bandit attack was clearly after my wares. I must insist,” Duncan said firmly.

The captain fumbled for a proper reply as he took the money, “Thank you for your kindness Craftsman. My ferry will always be open to you.”

The family of four finally stepped into the capital.