A/N: So, I promised this like two weeks ago; I'm sorry! I just found myself in the midst of a crazy writers block. Hopefully, I'll be able to move past it and start writing again.
Chit
Chapter Four - Journey
As many of you know, the road between the great cities is extremely dangerous. Powerful monsters taking advantage of the dense mana and essence inside of humans to evolve, bandits so powerful they could form kingdoms, secretive clans killing off potential rivals, and scariest of all… my mom.
Today, we finally left for the City of Creation as a family! The final convoy from the church taking people to the City of Creation had already left a few weeks previously, and we were cutting it close. So, that day mom rushed down the stairs; glaring at my brother. He had yet to complete his training, but was given a reprieve starting the week before because my mom thought he was close enough that he could finish his training by himself. The sound of my brothers sobs of happiness kept me up all night when he was finally released from his torment. Seeing mother’s glare, I could see that he’d kept her up all night as well... I once again realized just how lucky I was that mom couldn’t train me.
Standing in front of the city’s gates for the first time in my life, I felt a sort of awe. For all my life I had lived in a mid-sized home, only going out to the market with my mother during the day. So, for the first time I realized just how big, how beautiful the city is. It’s magnificent; the ever burning torch of Solaris reaching high into the sky, the play of the light and shadow in the predawn light.
Truly, I didn’t want to leave.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I sat on the front of the family carriage as we made our way down the wide, cobbled stone high-road towards the City of Creation. All around us, hundreds of carriages were going in both directions along the road. Some carriages pulled by horses, some by massive beasts; one massive carriage that must’ve weighed 20 tons was even pulled by a tiny golden rodent who kept pace with another team of nearly 15 horses pulling an identical massive carriage in front of it. However, none of these beasts or carriages were as eye catching as ours. We didn’t have a beast pulling our carriage; instead my mother sat on top of it while meditating with her eyes closed. Lightning coated the carriage as it rocketed around, over, and sometimes through the slower carriages around us.
Turning to look at the carnage left in our wake, I couldn’t help but wonder why the guards patrolling the high-road hadn’t arrested us! Just now, I saw one carriage that had ventured into our path burst open, an old man seizing on the ground. I’m pretty sure murder is against the law!
For the last two weeks, we had been traveling non-stop. The entire time, mom was in this weird trance-like state and I could somehow feel the electricity pouring out of her. When I asked my dad if she was ok without eating, he responded, “The lightning feeds her far better than any meat or vegetables could possibly.”
Whispering under his breath, I could just barely make out my brother saying in awe, “Sustained by the elements…”
Every couple of miles we’d pass a guard tower with one or two people standing outside of it. Usually, they just stood there looking bored, but as we passed by they would always straighten up looking surprised and snap a brisk salute. This drew my attention, and as I craned my neck backwards too look up the massive six story edifice I asked, “Why are there so few guards? I thought that the high-road was extremely dangerous to travel.”
“These are just lookouts, they use signal fires on top of the towers to call for reinforcements that are kept at garrison cities along the road.”
“Why are there so many people on the high-road? Everyone in the market is always talking about how desolate and lonely it is.”
“We’re still in the Kingdom of Fire; sometime later today we’ll pass into the wild lands in between the Kingdom of Fire and the City of Creation. Very few merchants make that journey, and only the strongest fighters, mages, and mercenaries do. If bandits don’t get you, magical beasts will.”
“What?!? Then how do all the kids get to the City of Creation to go to school?”
“The academy takes them usually; or if their parents are strong enough they do. We’ll be meeting up with Sin and Syndra later today at the border garrison. Between Sin, your mother, and me… no bandit or beast would dare to attack us.”
I wanted to keep asking questions, but the carriage suddenly started slowing down and not far in front of us stood a nearly forty foot tall wall with a gaping standing open. For some reason, the merchants in front of us were all being moved to the side of the road. For the first time in weeks I heard my mother speak. “Get inside and get cleaned up! I won’t have my sons looking and smelling like shit!”
She seems cranky; I bet she’s just hungry. I suspected for a while now that my dad was lying when he said that lightning sustained her better than food…
While my brother and I scrambled to get changed, the carriage kept slowing down, finally coming to a stop. Finally presentable, I stepped back onto the bench on the front of the carriage and was amazed to see nearly two-hundred men dressed in dark-purple robes bow down to my mother, who stood with her arms crossed under her breasts, her mouth with a tick in it’s left corner. In front of her stood a familiar looking man with a long, flowing beard of white smile broadly while his eyes gleamed with mirth.
“What are YOU doing here?”
“Is that anyway to talk to your beloved uncle?”
*SNORT*
“You used to be so cute too! Where is that little girl who used to burn cakes and cookies before taking them over to my place. I miss her!”
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*
Lightning fell from the clear sky, engulfing the smug looking man.
*AAHAHA OOOO HEHEHE AHHAHAHA*
Weird sounds emerged from the location where the man used to be standing, and as my eyes regained their ability to focus I saw him dancing weirdly.
“That’s not nice. You know I’m ticklish!”
“What are you doing here old man?!?!”
“Well, you did leave the clan on short notice! It took us a long time to find you, but the Clan Leader left emphatic orders to take you home the moment you left Solaris! He was quite pissed when he found out who you married; you know the clan's’ rules! However, that changed after our spies reported Nicholas’ gifts. We are here to escort you to the City of Creation; the clan leader is already there awaiting your arrival.”
“Dad left the forest? He hasn’t done that for nearly a thousand years! Wait, does this mean that he won’t fight me over my choice anymore?”
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“Honestly, if he was truly against it you wouldn’t have escaped so easily…”
For the first time since seeing her uncle, my mother lowered her arms; her face crumpling as tears started to gather at the corners of her eyes. Finally, she ran forward and hugged him tight.
Next to me, my brother was nearly apoplectic, “I must be dreaming… No, this is impossible… She’s crying?!?! After all those times she yelled at me for being a wimp!”
“Uncle Sam!!!!” *Sniff* “I missed you so much, I thought I’d never see you again.”
Commence the crying, sniffling, hugging, tickling, etc… Apparently in mom’s family reunions take FOREVER!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nearly four hours later, the sun was starting to set; the hoards of merchants stuck behind us are beginning to revolt, and the snuffling is finally dying down... Thank the gods!
The wet, disheveled pair finally broke apart and my dad approached them with a giant smile on his face.
“Hey Sam, it’s been awhile.”
“Nathan! You know I thought the next time we met it’d be a fight to the death! Running off with my niece like that.. if I didn’t like you so much I’d roast you where you stand.”
“AHAHAHAHA” My father’s laughter resounded throughout the opening, “You might find that a little difficult, but that’s enough. My kids are bored, it’s getting dark, and we were supposed to meet up with Sin and Syndra hours ago!”
“They’re at the inn we bought, if we’re lucky Sin hasn’t finished eating all the meat in the city.”
My mom having finally dried her eyes, she came over to my brother and I. Hugging us both, she led us over to her uncle, “Kids, this is your Uncle Sam. Sam, this is Jack, and this is Nick.”
“My very own Grand-Nephews!” We were both swept into a huge bear-hug, and carried towards the entrance to the city. “Welcome to the Phoenix's Nest; the border of the Empire of Fire!”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Over the next two weeks, I got to know Uncle Sam; along with some of the 200 men that followed him. Apparently, they were all members of generation directly before mine of my mother’s clan, yet they seemed unwilling to explain exactly what clan we belonged too. Apparently; Sam, Sin, and mom and dad were old friends and with the overabundance of young, fairly strong lightning mages mom was able to take a break from driving the carriage. The smells of pipe tobacco and alcohol, along with the sound of laughter could be heard coming from Uncle Sam's’ carriage day and night.
Jack had disappeared, joining some of the younger guards in some games involving dice and more money than I thought he had. This left me alone with Syndra for the most part; which was a problem. I’ve never had any friends before, and I honestly had no clue how to interact with her. Unfortunately, I wasn’t the only awkward one so we spent nearly two weeks sitting in a painful silence, watching the road and avoiding eye-contact.
Finally, unable to stand the silence any longer I went into our carriage and brought out Nicholas Freeney’s Journal, starting to read again. I had gotten so into the habit of reading out loud over the last month with my dad that I subconsciously began to read aloud as the carriage rocketed through the wilderness.
“Many people think that I had a blessed childhood; after all during my time only the noblest and richest of people knew how to cultivate, and only the noblest of bloodlines were able to create great mages. The truth is my father, The Arch-Duke of Cantz, was insane. The Freeney clan was nearly exterminated during his childhood, and as a result he was the only remaining member of the bloodline. In an attempt to ensure the survival of his bloodline he bought every slave he could with even a sliver of magical talent, raped, and even kidnapped noblewomen. Keeping them in a sex dungeon the likes of which the world had never seen before.
I was born the son of Jason Freeney and Alinda Bowman. She was the first daughter of the Emperor, and with her kidnapping and rape, Jason Freeney destroyed any hope for the Freeney clan’s restoration. In his rage, the Emperor killed every single slave, wife, kidnap victim, and child, before finally killing Jason Freeney. I was the only survivor, given to an orphanage run by the Empire, my existence wiped from history. My mother went on to marry and bear many brothers and sisters, but I wouldn’t meet any of them until much later.
That should’ve been the end of my story; born in disgrace, abandoned in a poor orphanage run by the state. I should’ve been sold into slavery or apprenticed to a blacksmith, living and dying in obscurity. Sometimes, I wish I had…
As much as the Emperor might’ve wished it, it was impossible to stop the rumors of the genius child; the final remaining heir to the Freeney bloodline, son of the first princess herself. Quietly, many clans, and even entire nations launched investigations hoping to find and adopt me. However, they never found me. Instead, as the rumors spread my mother confided in the one person she trusted my name and location. It was thus that I came to be adopted by Archibald Younger, Principal of the Imperial Academy… “
As I read, the familiar, elderly voice superimposed itself over my own, and I found myself seeing through his eyes. Pictures flashing through my mind of the sex dungeon, Alinda, the Emperor, the orphanage, Archibald…
Finally, I felt someone touch me, breaking me from the trance. Turning, Syndra took her arm off mine and I saw her staring at me in astonishment. For the first time in over two-weeks of travel she spoke to me.
“What was that?!?!”
“What was what?”
“That… That voice. I’ve read that passage already, and I never heard that voice, or seen those images before.”
“My dad says that when someone is synced with Nicholas Freeney that they stop reading the journals, and instead they have a spell of illusion placed upon them where they hear Nicholas Freeney speaking; as if he were telling his story to you personally.”
“WHAT?!?! That voice was Nicholas Freeney’s?”
Covering her mouth of my hand hastily, “SHH!!!! I’m not supposed to show off this ability, most people don’t start hearing his voice until they get to the fifth journal.”
Pulling my hand off her mouth, she looked around before speaking quietly, “Can you keep going? This is so much more interesting than just reading it!”
“Ok, but let's go inside the carriage, that way others won't see.”
The ice finally broken, the awkwardness ended, Syndra and I forged an unending, deep friendship over the final two weeks of the journey to the City of Creation.