Glade sat by the water’s edge, cleaning the fish by the flickering light of the still burning slimes. His hand was still injured from grabbing the slime attacking Riya, but he managed to gut the Shadow Carp just fine.
In the back of his mind, he monitored the surroundings for potential threats. Thus far, only a couple of fish had entered his telepathic range.
“How is she?” He asked.
“She’s awake,” Kedryn responded, sitting next to Glade. “And healing her leg. It will take her a bit but says she should be fine in an hour or so. Faster if you let her dip into the mana shards. I told her you wouldn’t mind.”
Glade grunted his acknowledgement, positioning the fish so he could scrape off its scales.
They sat in silence, one working the fish, the other staring out over the water.
“And how are you?” Glade asked in English.
“I’m sorry I froze,” Kedryn whispered, looking crestfallen. “I won’t let it happen again.”
“You don’t know that,” Glade responded bluntly, brushing off the loose scales before starting on the other side. “I’ve seen plenty of good soldiers freeze in the heat of the moment. Its why we train so hard. It helps reduce the moments of panic. But you didn’t go through special forces training, did you.”
Glade was careful not to adopt an accusatory tone. In his experience, people beat themselves up enough as it was. No need to make facing hard truths any worse by bringing your own volatile emotions into the mix.
“No.”
Glade let the silence deepen after the Kid’s answer. The longer it went, the further the Kid’s head hung.
“I guess I’ll go check on Riya then,” Kedryn said in a voice heavy with self-recrimination.
Before he could move, Glade handed him one of the empty slime catchers.
“Hold that for me, would you?” He asked, and before Kedryn could respond he cut off a piece of fish and tossed it in the star silver container.
“Also, we’re almost out of light,” he indicated the dying flames where the last of the slimes burned away. “Mind making us some?”
Kedryn nodded, a look of confusion on his face as he conjured a ball of flame to hover over his shoulder.
“Thank you. Now, before you walk away and drown yourself in self-pity, I believe it’s high time we got to know each other a bit better. For starters, how did you end up on my team?”
Kedryn’s face screwed up, and Glade caught a flash of frustration before the Kid answered.
“My dad,” He responded with a drawn-out sigh.
“I’m going to need a bit more detail than that,” Glade said as he continued to fillet one side of the monstrous fish. “Not just anyone can pull the kinds of strings required that got you onto my team.”
“Believe me, he has enough clout to do it. Have you ever heard of Senator Wolf, the New York State Senator?”
Glade stopped working on the fish, glancing up at Kedryn.
“You mean to tell me that your dad is the Senator Wolf? As in, the Wolf of Washington D.C.? Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee? That Wolf!?” Glade tried to keep the emotion out of his voice, but failed. Miserably.
Not only had he had been put in charge of a wet behind the ears kid, but a fresh recruit whose father was not only known for cutthroat politics but was the standard bearer for how to eliminate enemies’ careers in modern day politics. And that was only what the public saw.
Off the books, the Wolf was downright lethal. He masterfully leveraged special forces capabilities to push the United States agenda across the globe, even though that should have been far outside of his purview. Glade could easily attribute the collapse of one or two small governments to the Wolf’s machinations.
“Yeah, that’s him,” Kedryn said glumly.
The occasional drip echoing throughout the cavern was the only sound that disrupted the silence the followed.
Several awkward moments of staring at Kedryn, who was trying to look anywhere but at him, passed before Glade found his voice again.
“I think it best if you started at the beginning,” Glade said, returning to work on the fish.
Kedryn sighed, resigned to share something that he obviously wanted to keep buried.
“Dad has been a senator longer than I can remember. Did you know that he won his seat because of his service as a fighter pilot?” Glade shook his head. “Well, according to him that was the deciding factor. Which is why he had already arranged for me to attend the Air Force Academy after I graduated high school.”
“I’m assuming you didn’t like that idea,” Glade responded, turning the fish over to begin filleting the other side.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“That was his dream, not mine. Don’t get me wrong, I love the military and have always wanted to serve. But in my own way, you know? Not following in my dad’s shadow. So, I enlisted in the Army as a cyber operations specialist the moment I turned 18.”
“I’m guessing he didn’t approve,” Glade responded, carefully separating the meat from the bone.
“I can still remember the yelling. That’s when I found out he was planning to use my entry into the Academy as part of his next political rally for re-election. Even mom didn’t speak up for me, even though she knew my plan. I left. The next day I shipped out to basic training. I haven’t seen either of them since.”
“How did that land you on my team?”
“When I finished at the top of the class in my yearlong advanced schooling, I was told I was nominated for a special assignment. It came with a promotion and everything. I was put through some abbreviated training with weapons and tactical hacking protocols, and the next thing I knew I was introduced to you.”
“That’s not how the Army works,” Glade said, giving him a stern look.
“Yeah, I know. But its how my dad works. I got a letter from him explaining that if I’m going to be in the Army than he was going to make sure I was assigned to units that would, and I quote, ‘not embarrass the family.’ In case you’re wondering, that’s code for bettering his chances at re-election.”
Glade took it all in. What would it be like to live with a father who not only had power, but the willingness to use it as ruthlessly as the Wolf? Even if half of the stories that surrounded that man were true, he was someone you didn’t mess with. How would a child deal with that kind of behavior day in and day out?
Looking at Kedryn, Glade began to understand. No wonder the Kid was so much into games, movies, and anything else that let him escape reality. It was a wonder the kid had turned out as well as he had.
“Well, that explains a thing or three,” Glade said, taking a deep breath. “Now that I know, we are going to adjust some things from here on out. You have minimal combat training, correct?”
Kedryn nodded, looking away.
“We’ll have to rectify that. Until I believe you are trained to my standard, do not do anything that will put you, or us, needlessly at risk. Ok?”
Kedryn’s head snapped back toward Glade, eyes wide.
“You’re going to train me?” the Kid asked.
“I’m going to try. And let’s be honest, we’re going to have to adapt the typical training regime to fit this world. With that said, we’ll make sure you have some basic lessons beat into you at the very least. The first is starting with better communication. Trust is built on effective communication. Don’t be a hero and call out for help if you need it. Like earlier, when you couldn’t kill the slime attacking Riya.”
Kedryn’s face went white at the mention of the event.
“I’d be lying to you if I said you won’t be facing a similar situation in the future. If what Riya said about brands is true, we’re both going to have more than our fair share of hard choices over the coming days. The important thing to remember is you are not alone. Call for help. And if help isn’t available, do what you can.”
“Yes sir,” Kedryn responded.
“Now, lets get this fish cooking so we can eat. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”
As Glade went to stand up, he noticed a change in the Kid’s countenance. There was hope where once had been self-loathing. And something more, like a trace of indecision that was lurking just behind the eyes.
“You have something more you need to talk to me about?” He asked.
Kedryn’s eyes flashed in surprise, but he eventually nodded.
“I wanted to thank you for being so patient with me,” he said. Glade fought to keep his face neutral. In his opinion, he had berated, ignored, and outright yelled at Kedryn on multiple occasions since meeting him. What exactly had the Kid been through if he considered Glade’s actions to date patient?
“I’m supposed to share this with someone I trust. You’ve saved my life countless times, encouraged me to do my best, and trusted me far enough to help you. To be honest, I don’t trust anyone on earth and on Veil more than you. Please tell me what you think.”
Bei’Kedryn Serevlir, of the Elvish Royal House Ri’Serevlir, is requesting to create a Shared Bond with you. This will allow you to share the full contents of each other’s status screen. Establishing a Shared Bond should only be done if you have complete trust in the person you intend to create said bond with. Further effects may be discovered as the bond matures. Would you like to create a Shared Bond with the Royal Elf Bei’Kedryn Serevlir?
Yes/No
“This is your royal perk you were discussing earlier,” Glade said, clearly surprised at the offer. “What more do you know about it?”
“Not that much to be honest, only that shared bonds are reserved perks for royal elves and that this type of bond allows us to view each other’s status screens.”
On the surface, Glade maintained a look of appreciation, but deep down he was trying to find a plausible excuse to say no. The timing couldn’t have been worse, especially after his talk of building trust just moments ago.
“I’m flattered, I really am. But I believe we need more information. The bond could be as simple as you say, allowing us the opportunity to share information. But it might mean something more. As far as we know, this is the same thing as a marriage proposal. I like you kid, but not like that.”
Kedryn beamed at the comment, which caused Glade to sigh internally. The kid really was starved for attention.
“I agree sir, but the benefits might outweigh the risks. Thus far, the abilities and magic we’ve been given have been tremendously helpful. I for one would hate to lose out on anything that might help us out of these tunnels.”
Glade couldn’t argue with those facts. Without his ability to sense minds or Kedryn’s fire magic they would have been dead long ago.
“Are you sure about this?”
“As sure as I can be given what we know. I trust you, sir.”
“Alright,” He replied, selecting yes. “Let’s see what happens. Worst case scenario, we break the bond.”
You have accepted the request to create a Shared Bond from Bei’Kedryn Serevlir, of the Elvish Royal House Serevlir. A Shared Bond is a solemn pact between those who willingly agree to take upon them this boon and burden. As such, each will have unfettered access to the other’s status screen. This bond cannot be broken until such a time as your final death, or soul betrayal, occurs. Severe penalties will be administered to any who purposefully betray their bonded. Honor your commitments to others, and they in turn will honor you.
Congratulations! You have established your first Shared Bond. +1 to Charisma. +10% increase in learning the skills, magic, or abilities of those you share a bond with. The bond will allow you to know the exact location of those you’ve bonded within a 100 Foot radius and a general direction within 10 miles.
A feeling of unease settled in Glade's gut as he read and re-read the notifications. A solemn pact. That was the exact wording in the prompt. A pact with no defined stipulations or rules that would be enforced by powers beyond his comprehension.
“Brilliant,” he sighed. “Just brilliant.”