Chapter 3

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Caged but not broken

Confused and alone,

What does the future hold?

~~~~~~~

Several days had passed since finding the two children, and Lord Vilden had begun to relax. Remaining too close to the site of such a large essence disturbance was always asking for trouble, and his caravan was already on a rather strict deadline.

The little girl was surprisingly quiet, though that mattered little due to the unknown language she occasionally spoke.

“Where could she be from?” Lord Vilden sometimes wondered. The children had both been naked when originally found, and no remnants of supplies or clothing could be located near them. Neither child had any development of their core, which could only make sense if the boy was a servant, and the girl an heir.

Oftentimes, powerful clans and families would pass on valuable training techniques and specific path progressions to their descendants. Of course, this often meant such paths required a certain age or core quality before becoming useful due to their power level. Still, an amber core and not even a foundation technique?

It was rather confusing. And why leave them in the middle of the Berthralli forest? There was little enough in these lands besides beasts and farming settlements. Trade caravans did occasionally pass through, and perhaps that was the reasoning behind such a location. It might also explain why such a powerful signature was left. A means of protection from predators as well as a beacon to any nearby cultivators.

Still, there were many questions to be answered. Too many. He had hoped the boy might answer some of them, but it seemed as if he spoke a similar language as the girl. They must truly be from a distant country for him to not even recognize their tongue!

Perhaps an alternative way of approaching this situation was required. Lord Vilden nodded to himself. Yes, he would judge the reactions of the children once they met. Perhaps this would provide some clarification.

~~~~~~~

The boy was exhausted. Physically as well as mentally. Every muscle felt strained, every bone weary. Not only could he not remember his name, but he also couldn’t remember what had happened to put him in such a state.

He appeared to be lying in a metal cage attached to the top of a flatbed wagon, large enough to hold a lion or some other manner of beast. Like those old carnival trailers. Except whatever appeared to be pulling this wagon was no form of animal he was familiar with. Covered in dark fur but with tight skin and a long snout, the creature walked with eight legs and a weird sliding gate. Like if you combined a lizard and a tiger, but left off the natural predator instincts.

Definitely unusual. What was also unusual was just how many people were traveling together in the procession surrounding him. Most walked, but quite a few rode beasts similar to the ones attached to his wagon.

They were dressed in all manners of attire, but by far the most common were the billowing robes of green and gold with long flowing sleeves. He had been given a much less elaborate robe and had to occasionally adjust it to cover himself properly. Scattered among the caravan walked a number of soldiers in shining armor. They each carried a weapon out of history; a large variety of spears, swords, and shields could be seen, with the most common being some version of a polearm.

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While his memory might be faulty, he knew enough to understand that this place was extremely foreign. Possibly not even his world at all. And certainly not the level of technology he was accustomed to. Which meant either he was hallucinating (unlikely), or he had somehow been brought here. But who would do such a thing, and why?

And though his memory felt like melting snow, there one moment and gone the next, he could vaguely remember not being alone at the occurrence of the event that brought him here. There was definitely someone else involved, but who it might have been was lost to him.

Settling into a more comfortable position against the bars of his cage, the boy continued to watch all around him with hooded eyes. He quickly noticed the return of a man who had already spoken to him. Or, at least tried to speak with him. The communication barrier was frustrating and left him more confused each time they conversed. He was probably the leader here, due to the respect given to him by everyone else.

This visit seemed to be different, however. A little girl held the hand of the smartly dressed leader, and she seemed familiar. Extremely familiar. A blast of deja vu left the boy sitting up sharply, as he crossed the cage to crouch at eye level with the man.

“Who is she?” His voice was hoarse, somehow still damaged from whatever had happened before he woke up.

The man stared at him for a minute, before picking up the girl and setting her on the edge of the wagon. She looked at the boy with large eyes, confusion appearing at first, but then settling into confidence. She then quickly moved as close as possible, arms reaching for him in a gesture of hope.

“I know you!” Her smile warmed his heart, distracting him from the fact that for the first time since arriving in this place, he had understood someone. He too held out his arms, and they awkwardly embraced through the thinly spaced bars.

“And I know you! Do you, um... do you remember who I am?” He held her gaze hopefully but was disappointed when she shook her head.

“No, but I know I know you. I think we’re friends?” Her voice quivered a bit, and he could see her fear sneak through. “I’m scared. I don’t know anybuddy else.”

The boy felt a tug on his heart at that moment and knew without a shadow of a doubt that this little girl was vitally important to him. He held her tight, smoothing her hair gently while clearing his voice for a second. “Hey, it’s going to be alright. I’ll just let them know we belong together, ok? They’ll have to listen now that they see we know each other. So you just be brave. Be strong for me, ok?”

She nodded softly, and for a moment they were both quiet as each one held the other. Eventually, the boy looked up, meeting the gaze of the man standing nearby. Could he help them? Would he even want to?

~~~~~~~

Lord Adriensi Vilden watched quietly as the two children embraced in front of him. While not too surprising, it was a bit unexpected, and certainly complicated things.

He had always held himself to a strong sense of duty and honor. It was a cornerstone of his path and the reason he had been promoted to Vice-commander of a city-state. The Vilden family line had never been considered anything more than average before his generation. Most members of the family were satisfied as common guards or town merchants, none of them ever reaching for higher than Formation of the Mind. As soon as he had fully entered into Condensation stage, the family had unanimously announced his ascension to the family head.

Staring at these children, he once again felt the weight of both his family and an entire city resting on his shoulders. This caravan he led was the last hope of relieving numerous financial pressures from Rabien City’s allies, and would effectively position his family as the head merchants for future commerce between cities.

These young innocents could potentially change everything. For the better, if he handled it right, but if he made a single mistake along the way… everything he had accomplished up to this point could be destroyed.

Lord Vilden was fully aware of the karmic repercussions held with separating friends or family. But if the clan behind these children had powerful enemies, enemies willing to track down and eradicate any potential heirs, he would take the fall for protecting them. In truth, he was only willing to risk it all due to the girl’s innate core potential.

An amber core was almost unheard among the city-states. It could be easily developed from multiple techniques and was considered highly compatible with fire essence paths. His own core was silver in quality, a full two grades lower.

Yes, if he could raise this girl as his own, and if she could one day enter a sect or school, then perhaps the future wouldn’t be so bleak after all. This might be the means of bringing great glory to his family, propelling them out of the meager existence they currently accepted.

But, doing this would mean sacrifice. He could barely afford to train the girl, the boy would just be excess baggage. Dangerous as well, for he was certainly old enough to remember the original family they came from. No, he would need to lose the boy as quickly as possible, and establish his family as her own. His wife would certainly help, she had always wanted a daughter after all. But what to do about the boy?