Today… would be a good day. Obern Dell thought as he made his way through the streets of the city with Ganin. The only competent person he knew acting as a bulwark against the wretched waves of salt and water trying to get in his way.

No, not even having to share the streets with the brainless masses could bother him today because it was going to be a good day.

He hadn’t had too many of those in the last week or so. As if being locked in his warehouses dealing with the mess that fool’s banishment had left wasn’t bad enough, his own wife had disappeared without a word, and with each day that passed, it had become harder to get a single word out of Liza, who seemed stricken with anguish after every time she met that boy.

Lan… even thinking the name was enough to threaten his mood. After all, wasn’t all of this his fault. If he had just failed like he was meant to, Dell wouldn’t have had one of his warehouses turn into that abomination of chaos barely held together by strings of circumnavigated rules and procedures.

It was a miracle that those thirty workers hadn’t already destroyed all he had built with their incompetence.

And it was all Lan’s doing… every regulation and proper conduct he could. Lan had broken to keep meeting targets. If it were anyone else in the world… Dell would have been proud.

He thought as the wind picked up, sending shards of cold biting into his bones, signalling the coming winter. Even the weather itself seemed dead set on vexing him, but it wouldn’t work today.

Lan… much as it pained him to admit it, the boy had done well. Too well. With the right training, Dell could have seen him going far. No, it was more than that. Dell knew that he would not easily find another apprentice half as good as Lan.

And even then, he would no doubt find himself holding them up to the standards Lan had set.

Many days over the years, he had wondered if it would just be better to try to train the boy. No doubt that his legacy would have been safe in Lan’s hands… but it wasn’t about that.

Dell thought as his mind grew dark. No, it wasn’t about that. It was about the Cross’s.

Unlike himself, who had come from nothing. Just the son of a dung farmer who had clawed his way to greatness.

From the moment he saw them, Dell knew that none of them had ever had to earn anything that they had. Like the house that overlooked the village like it belonged to them or the workshop in the heart of the square, both the newest buildings, at least of their size.

And if the unfairness of the world that those so undeserving could get so much wasn’t enough, having heard of the father’s great skills as a crafter, Dell came to them despite how much it pained him and offered everything he had. And instead of falling to their knees and thanking him like they should for receiving another undeserved piece of good fortune. They had looked down on him… They had dared to look down on him, Obern Dell. Like they were better than him. Like having their wretched spawn apprenticed to him was unthinkable.

Yes… at that moment, Dell had decided, no promised that he would make them regret having dared to look down on him.

And so he had played nice and swallowed his pride until he was able to get the boy alone, then the same words that had done nothing to his parents had been able to take root in his mind once Dell had shaken the boy’s will, he could still remember the fear in those disgusting eyes as the self-important look that his mother and father had instilled in him vanished in a blink.

That alone made all the time and gold spent on that little trick worth it, vindicating his younger self's brash decision to learn it.

And now, after all these years of waiting, he would get his revenge for that day by taking everything from them, and that was worth the sacrifice of a good apprentice.

Even if it had taken far longer than he planned it to. Dell frowned.

Even with all the underhanded tricks he had used to starve that man… Kurt, of supplies and customers, it had not been enough to ruin him. Because his items and jewellery were too good, so much so that even Dell had to acknowledge it.

So despite having others buy up all the things Dell thought he would need and making the man have to buy them at a marked-up price, what he made would be snapped up by the mages the moment one was put up for sale because of their incredible enchanting attunement.

He would have wanted them to already have been ruined by this point, allowing this to be the final twist of the knife, but taking their home and business would have to do.

For he would be making things right in the world, and that was good enough.

Lost in his musing, Dell almost didn’t notice when Ganin stopped in front of the magistrate's building.

The sight of which filled him with enough joy to not even care that the lumbering ox had almost knocked him over or when he had to go through the tedious steps of signing in and handing over his “evidence.” Not that it would matter, but it wouldn’t do to have this case look out of the ordinary. At least more so than it already was for those who follow the Balance.

Dell smiled at the thought as he followed the young woman to the courtroom.

The large domed ceilinged room was one of six that gave the magistrate building its distinct shape. Along the back half of the hall were heavy benches that might as well have been grown into place for how little they yielded to attempts to move them. In front of them were two boxes where the Charged and the Claimant would stand, and in front of them was the long raised dais on which the magistrate’s great desk stretched around it, linking it to the walls and completing the protection ward over the area.

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Locking eyes with the magistrate behind the desk, Dell smiled inwardly as he nodded to the large, round man. So Torral had managed to get himself placed on the case. Although Dell was sure that he would, with no one wanting to take on a case like this, the first person to acquiesce would get the case along with the first pick on the next day’s cases. Even still, it didn’t hurt to be cautious.

Just as Dell started to move, someone walked past without acknowledgement or, more importantly, stopping to give way.

‘Were you raised in a barn?’ Dell cried with all the venom he could manage, but instead of the apology that he expected. The man stopped and turned to look at him.

For a moment, Dell felt his mood grow bitter. Not only was the man tall and looked strong, but he was handsome, more so than attributes could grant. Dell hated people like this who would never have a moment of hardship just because of how they were born the most.

Before Dell could order Ganin to move the unsightly man, he caught sight of a lock of abyssal black hair, and then his eyes landed on the man’s own eyes. Which looked like a pool of molten gold stars dropped on an Azure blue sky. He knew those eyes and, for a moment, wondered if it was Lan’s brother or another family member.

That was until he looked past the appearance and to the burning fury held in check by will alone.

Despite what he saw being as clear as day, it took every last shred of logical reasoning that over sixty years of being a merchant had given him to accept the man towering over him with unshrouded hatred in his eyes was… Lan.

Though he tried to stop it, Dell felt his eyebrows raise, and his jaw fall open before he managed to collect himself, even as white-hot anger and jealousy filled him.

How had this happened? It had only been a week, and yet the boy looked nothing like the husk he had thrown away, and that look in his eyes… why was he even able to look at him without fear? Had everything he had done been so easily reversed, Dell thought as he saw the same pride of Lan’s father in him now.

Seething at the thought that he had been drawn to jealousy by his failed apprentice even if he hadn’t recognised him at first, Dell fixed his practised glare on his face and glanced at Ganin, who didn’t appear to be in the least bit surprised.

Dell cursed under his breath.

Ganin had known and hadn’t said anything. If that wasn’t bad enough, the fact that the man still wore his arrogant smile meant he thought he had a good reason for not doing so.

No matter, Dell thought as he turned back to Lan. Even if he looked different, it wouldn’t change anything that would happen. Nor did it change who Lan was.

‘So you had enough spine hidden somewhere to show your face. With everything you have done, one would think you would know better than to disgrace this courtroom with your presence.’ Dell said, flexing his will just enough to give power to his words before smiling as Lan’s pupils dulled ever so slightly. The sight of this made Dell smile inwardly. No, even if his appearance had changed, that didn’t mean his mind wasn’t still weak. ‘Now I think it would be best to keep your mouth shut and nod when questioned.’

Landrin.

As Dell’s words filled Lan’s mind, he felt his heart grow tight as the walls of the courtroom grew impossibly tall and closed in on him, trapping him. The air in his lungs fought to escape, and his body reacted in kind, filling him with the urge to breathe faster to stop himself from passing out as his stomach twisted, his vision growing dark.

Then… the moment passed, and Lan felt his mind clear.

[Charming attempt failed – the attempt to influence your thoughts with empowered words has failed.]

As the voice finished, Lan just stood there for a moment. Almost every time he spoke to Dell, that feeling would come over him. Lan had always thought it was just him being intimidated by what the man could do, but empowered words?

[An ability that can be learned by people of high charisma, common among some groups in the Drow Lands, allowing the user to subtly empower their words without the other person knowing. Weaker than its spell counterpart. The ability is completely undetectable even when it fails.]

[And though a strong mind is untouchable by this ability, a more influenceable mind is a much easier target to its hooks, and with the use of triggers like fear or consequences, the influence can be greatly increased. Its effects can be reinforced by any form of kindness after it is used, turning even people into triggers.]

Even though the voice had once again given him information without him asking for it or the fact that it seemed like it was something it wanted him to know. Lan couldn’t think about that as he relived everything he had gone through.

The day he had visited Dell’s home, the fear that had wrapped around his heart at the thought of losing something he wasn’t even sure he had wanted. Then, the relief was followed by the unshakable comfort he had found in a girl he didn’t know.

Liza… the voice had said that people could be triggers. Lan thought, remembering everything he had done, believing it was for her sake. She had even been the one to ask him not to try and secretly visit his family again.

Had that been a genuine concern or just orders from her father made sweet by her voice.

And yet, all this happened because he had been weak.

[Notice. Although children are protected from most forms of magic by the Child title. The ability used on you only influences and does not control the mind, which would have been negated. Once separated from their pillars of strength and reassurance, such as their parents. A young mind can be very susceptible to it.]

Now, it seemed like the voice was trying to defend him from himself. Lan thought, wanting to laugh.

‘Why was I able to detect it now?’ Lan thought to the Voice, remembering the part about it being undetectable.

[Not only is your mind stronger now, but it is that of an ascended mortal, allowing you greater mental strength and protection than before.]

That reminded Lan of what he needed to do once he was done dealing with the rat standing before him with a sudden look of worry on his face.

Moving close enough to loom over the smaller man. ‘You know, I would never have known what you had been doing to me all these years if you weren’t stupid enough to use it now.’ Lan spoke with enough ice in his voice to make it unrecognisable to even him. ‘Whatever happens here, know that I will make you regret the day you made the mistake of walking into my life.’ Lan promised.

It wasn’t enough that he had wasted so many years of his life bound to this man, feeling like he needed to see it through to the end because it had been his choice, his mistake. To learn in this unceremonious way that he hadn’t had much of a choice in the first place made him want to scream, to finally grab Dell by the neck and not let go until he formed a closed fist like he had dreamed of all these years.

Despite the momentary shock of having his ability not only broken but detected, Dell mustered all the stubborn obstinance that had helped him forge his legacy and twisted his lips into a smile.

‘Lan, my boy, I see that you have grown some, and you no doubt think whatever you have done to yourself can help you here. But it won't. Then again, you can’t be blamed. You never had the mind for this life.’ Dell said before frowning as Lan laughed.

‘Much as I hate to say it, I was your apprentice,’ Lan said, emphasising the word. ‘And I learned far more from you than you think. In time, you will come to see why that is a terrifying thing for you.’ Lan promised as the magistrate cleared his throat, and with a glare at the smiling Ganin, Lan headed to his box.

The moment he turned, Lan let his face relax as he wondered if he had overdone it a little. Even if discovering that Dell had been twisting his will this whole time was enough to make Lan clench his fist to the point of drawing blood and work to relax his jaw before he cracked his teeth. It hopefully helped him sell the idea that his emotions would dictate his actions in what was to come. And although he had meant every word, losing control would only work against him.

So Lan soothed the urge to turn and end the man with the knowledge that he was going to make him pay later, no matter what. Lan promised himself this as he readied for the trial to begin.

He would make Dell pay.