Chapter 2

Blood Ties

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Birds were chirping nearby and he could sense a ray of sunlight shining down upon his face. He opened his eyes, finding a faded red stone ceiling above him. He glanced to his left, though to his slight shock, Audrey wasn’t lying beside him. That was when his mind cleared and he remembered where he was. He hurriedly climbed out of bed, glancing at his pile of bloody clothes before opening his wardrobe and smiling at the sight of fresh tunics, cotton pants, white socks, and several pairs of leather shoes. He tried on a few of each before finding those which fit him best. He smiled to himself, his Father had clearly prepared for his arrival. He had a Father, a Father who cared about him.

He departed his room, striding down a hallway before descending a flight of steps. Arriving in the great hall, he found his Father and Corvis seated at it as they ate what appeared to be some kind of red porage. They glanced up at his arrival and he approached and took the seat to his Father’s right.

“Did you sleep well?” asked his Father.

“I did, thanks for the clothes.”

“I preferred your old bloody ones,” said Corvis. “There’s something about blood that’s just so aesthetically pleasing.”

His Father chuckled at that, then rang a bell. Moments later, one of the servants appeared. “Bring forth fresh blood soup for my son,” instructed his Father, and the servant nodded before departing.

“I take it from what you told us last night that you’ve received no weapons training of any kind?” asked Corvis.

Kail shook his head. “None, I did take taekwondo for five years though.”

“That’s no great issue,” said his Father. “You’ll soon wield powerful magics, and besides, you’ll meet our weapon’s master Dilgrum when you travel west with Corvis, he’ll be able to provide all the weapons training you could want for.”

“How do I go about acquiring such magics?”

“By killing things,” replied his Father, "you'll have plenty of time for that once you and Corvis depart.”

Corvis nodded. “There’s a small family of double-headed gnolls which we can seek out and exterminate on our way toward the swamp lands.”

“While that sounds, great, I’ve never wielded a sword or javelin or any other such weapon in my life.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll see that they're weakened to the point of death before allowing you to deliver the killing blows,” assured Corvis.

“Alright then,” said Kail, slightly taken aback at the idea.

The servant returned, placing a bowl before him; the contents of which was a red-colored oily broth within which floated red noodles and various vegetable chunks.

“After breakfast, we’ll go meet your grandmother,” said his Father.

Kail’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “I have a grandmother?”

“Indeed, unfortunately my mother’s blind and bedridden, and so remains within her tower room, but I know she’ll be delighted to meet you.”

“I’m so sorry, but I look forward to meeting her.” He dipped his spoon into the soup, raising it to his mouth and finding its contents to be surprisingly flavorful and delicious. The tastes of onion, garlic, salt, and pepper were all prevalent, yet the soup also had a pleasant base to it as well as a smoothie texture, and the noodles were just as flavorful.

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Once they’d finished eating, Corvis excused himself, while Kail followed his Father to a spiral staircase which they ascended before arriving in a small antechamber. His Father opened a sturdy-looking wooden door, and they entered a spacious room that featured several chairs in addition to a large bed within which lay a very old-looking woman. Her face was pinched and wrinkled, her long silver hair sparse and thin, and her open eyes a dull gray.

“Dainith?” asked the old woman.

“Yes mother, it’s me, and I’ve brought my son Kail with me.”

His grandmother’s wrinkled face contorted as she smiled, revealing a surprisingly intact set of yellowing teeth. “Kail, you’ve returned to us?”

“Yes, it’s nice to meet you,” he said as they approached the side of the bed and his Father helped his grandmother into a sitting position.

She extended a wrinkled hand toward him and he took it in his. “Kail, my grandson,” she said, her voice sounding more confident than it had previously.

“Kail’s return marks the beginning of a new age for us,” said his Father. “Soon we shall discover means by which to restore your health and sight.”

“That would be lovely,” said his grandmother as she stared at him with her dull gray eyes.

They remained up in the tower room for some time as he retold his life story to his grandmother. Though her attention began to wane toward the end, and once he’d finished they took their leave as she drifted off to sleep. Descending from the spiral staircase, they found Valwin and Vasangra waiting for them. They sat at either end of a small table, a board of pieces spread between them, though their attention turned from their game at his and his Father’s arrival.

“Shall we show Kail the city?” asked Vasangra.

“Yes,” agreed his Father. “Where’s Corvis?”

“Training in the courtyard,” said Valwin.

They made their way out and into the courtyard, within which emanated the sound of clashing steel as Corvis’s and one of the younger black-haired men’s swords impacted each other time and time again. The other black-haired man watched on, he looked very similar to his fellow and so it seemed likely that they were brothers, or perhaps even twins.

Noticing their arrival, Corvis winked at them as he parryed a strike. “Spatial awareness is an important skill you’ll need to learn even while locked in combat Kail,” as he spoke he ducked and darted forward, slashing his blade upwards and batting his opponent’s aside before rapping his dull blade against the man’s neck.

Vasangra clapped and Corvis shot her a weary smile as he lowered his sword. “We’re showing Kail the city, would you care to escort us?” asked his sister.

Corvis chuckled. “I’d love to,” he glanced back at his two men, “get some rest boys, we’ll be back in the slog soon enough.”

The two nodded as Corvis turned away from them and joined his family as they took their leave of the courtyard through the main gate. Two of the soldiers who had been guarding the gate walked ahead of them as they headed down a winding dirt road and toward the city which more so resembled a small town.

“I had planned to linger here longer,” began Corvis as they walked. “But I received a message this afternoon, informing of a slight insurgence from the swamplands, so it seems I must depart tomorrow. I hope Kail will still accompany me.”

His Father glanced at him. “I suppose tomorrow is as good a time as any for you to set out. When you return I expect it will be with tidings of great victories and of the power you’ve gained.”

Kail smiled thinly. “I’ll do my best.”

They approached the town and walked down its main dirt road, many a peasant paused what they were doing to bow and mutter such phrases as; “Blood is pure.” “God grant a millennia of Vailen supremacy.” And one elderly gapped toothed man cackled. “All hail The Great Emperor!”

The town mostly consisted of huts and hovels, with the occasional cottage, a tannery, a smithy, a three-story inn, and a tavern.

“How many cities are in our empire?” asked Kail.

“Just this one,” replied Corvis. “But we also rule the town of Mistmore to the west, the town of Deephollow to the south, and there’s a small village being built to the northeast.”

If this was considered a city then Kail wondered what Corvis’s idea of a small village constituted. Reaching the outskirts of the city, they followed a curving path back around and up a slope toward the palace walls. They reached the gate as the sun dipped partially below the horizon.

As they entered the courtyard, Kail glanced up at the darkening sky. The stars were so much brighter here than they had been on Earth. Would he ever gaze up at the stars of Earth again?