"And the other class?"

The voice that spoke this time happened to be Dominic, who was looking curiously at his son as the nearby clergy member was freaking out and staring at the altar which had all of the statuettes on it. Sure, the others had already had their panic but had kind of accepted it given it was Rou to begin with, but the priest to yet to have that opportunity.

Rou, for his part? Shook his head with a slight shrug. "Can't say I rightly know, though it sounds like something I would enjoy. You, uh… already know I have some silly desires of my own," he reached down to pat the pomels of the swords at his hips, "perhaps it reflects that?"

"What was that expression I learned from your old world? Don't look a gift camel in the ear?" Affection's lacking expression earned a snort from Rou as he said aloud, "Horse in the mouth, dear, horse in the mouth."

His spoken phrasing confused everyone before he simply pointed up and they realized he'd meant that for Affection, not them. But still, Millet had to ask, "Horse in the mouth?"

Realizing he had to try and explain, Rou thought a moment before saying, "Part of an expression from elsewhere. If you receive something for free, it's best not to criticize the details. If you receive a gift, don't immediately inspect it to see the faults."

The others seemed sufficiently convinced, if only because Rou's parents knew he was reincarnated and originally not of this world. Of course the other world had strange expressions and customs(to them.)

"But really, Multifaceted Martial Saint, it sounds quite interesting. With the screen being down, I'll have to take a while to explore it. But what's with all of the… statuettes?"

As Rou turned to look at them, the clergy member was on his knees praying liberally while the others smiled faintly, even Millet as if she suspected he should know. "Rarely one can be seen to come onto the altar when one god seems to particularly bless someone who has reached this point in their life. For instance, perhaps Ember would bless someone who would be fated to become a prodigious fire mage. But you, sweetie… well, think of it as you will."

For a rare time in her life, Shiela was grateful that her dear son was being kept in mind by the Gods. And not just one or two.

–

"We must celebrate and tell the world!"

The voice of the Head Priest as he barged into the room was met with flat looks from everyone there but the still-praying fellow.

"I had thought perhaps you had learned your lesson the last time you spread my business." Rou walked forward and stood close enough to the Head Priest to have a soft conversation. "I do not wish to be seen as some kind of hero, or chosen one, or anything of the sort. Please, sir, respect my simple wishes and do not try and use this to drum up business for yourself."

The priest began to argue, but heard shouting in the distance, both he and Rou turning to look at the hallway that led towards the main area of the church. The complaints and noises became louder before soon enough the sound of a door being knocked over was heard and a sight that the Head Priest most certainly had not expected came into sight.

"Archmage Dana?"

As soon as the older red panda woman's name was spoken, Dominic and Shiela both turned, Dominic moving to step in front of Shiela, while at the same time Shiela went from elated to bristling with frustration. Millet didn't know what to make of things, but Shiela simply nudged the maid to venture to the far side of the room and stay out of the way.

–

The woman who was promptly making her way through the hall, ignoring the protest of both would-be paladins and priests who were blocking her way with sword, shield and magic as if something was wrapped around her, soon made it to the shocked High Priest, and Rou, who were both standing not far from the entryway to the private room.

"Archmage, please, this is a ho–" The Head Priest was promptly lifted by what Rou noticed to be some kind of magical shield that others likely couldn't see at all and was flung like a rolled up piece of paper over her head and back behind them.

"You are the boy named Rou, are you not? One Sage of Fluff?"

The older Red Panda was modestly short, but stood proud and straight despite her age. She was somewhere in her early to mid fifties simply by her appearance, or thereabout anyways. Dana had with her an ancient-looking stave that was well taller than she was, ensconced with crystals and trinkets of various makes.

"I–" Before Rou could finish, his mother leapt past Dominic and yelled, slightly fearful, "He is adopted! I lost the child I was with, but could not suffer coming back to the capital after leaving the Claws. Please, just… leave us be. If you ever had any love for me, once in my life, once in your life… turn and begone."

Everyone in the room was quiet, Dominic and Millet, Shiela now that she had pleaded with the woman, and even Dana, who looked past Rou at his mother who was practically shaking. But intsead of answering, she looked at Rou and cast a simple spell, a crystal that appeared in her palm glowing and promptly connecting herself, Shiela… and Rou with the glow trail.

"It has been over twenty summers, willful, unfilial child, and the first words out of your mouth… are to lie to me? I have a grandchild? That should not be possible, Shiela."

But what surprised Rou the most as he listened to the one who appeared to be his grandmother speak? Was the venom, anger and hatred in his mothers voice. "I will not give him to you. If in these past years you have gained some regret for how you treated me, how you tried to raise me, and wish to have some token part in his memories that you once existed, I will allow it. But if you want to take him from me, to… to try and raise him as you did me, in my stead, you will have to kill me first."

–

The frosty air was nearly palpable as Dominic finally walked up and put a hand on Shiela's shoulder for support. Dana briefly looked at Dominic angrily, but the anger faded away and instead she ignored the two and instead looked at Rou. "A grandchild. A grandson. Rou Velias." the name she gave him, of course, slightly incorrect. Shiela had long since taken the name Erial after her husband, and had given such to Rou on purpose.

"Erial. Rou Erial." his words earned a look of fury from Dana who promptly swung her palm lightly without raising her arm, a force of magic slapping Rou across the face as if swung hard. What Rou had not expected was…

That hurt.

It was probably the first pain he'd felt since his time as a child before the Crystal.

But not only that…

Affection yelped in his mind out of surprise, because of their shared senses. Hearing Affection's yelp of surprise, of pain, startled Rou tremendously and his instinct was to immediately cut off their connection to prevent anything else, but suddenly Affection's voice called out, "Don't! Please… if you trust me with this in the good, then trust me with it now. I don't want you to be alone right now, even if it's to protect me from something like this."

Rou closed his eyes and tried to calm down, blood trickling from his nose as Dana had actually drawn blood. A proof that she was incredibly powerful, as she did so through his constitution being what it was. Of course, the moment Shiela saw this she launched herself at her mother like a rabid spinebear, pure fury and a desire to kill her on the spot or die trying. But even in her anger, Dana didn't hurt the girl. Instead she simply trapped her in another shield like she had done the Head Priest. Invisible, and unbreakable, leaving the furious woman clawing and pounding impotently, not even sound getting out.

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"My grandson, you have learned bad manners from your errant mother. It is my fault for not keeping a closer eye on her, for writing her off as dead as I surmised she would be, as she was incapable of birthing a child and living, even with my magic helping her."

"It is my fault you grew up to this point subject to her inadequate ways. Come with me."

Before Rou could speak, Dominic moved in front of his son, leaving Rou to speak up, "You two do not need to protect me, but I appreciate it." But as he tried to touch his father's shoulder, Dominic shrugged it off, looking at Shiela who calmed slightly before he stated rather plainly, "It is not about protecting you. At least, not fully. It is about reminding this woman that the choice was made long ago, and she cannot change it no matter what she does now. As Shiela said, she would have to kill not only her, but me, in turn. And while I am sure she would be happy to kill me, as I stole her daughter away and raised a secret grandchild out of her gaze… I do not know if the Archmages wits have returned to her from her youth, or if they have suffered further in these years."

Rou suddenly realized what his father was saying. He could see it in his grandmother's eyes. Something about her expression, her gaze, hinted that she might not be fully handling this like a normal person would.

"Boy, I will give you one grace for somehow blessing my barren, injured daughter with a son. Something I thought long since lost to me from when my own daughter was but a child. Abandon this foolishness. You were never even Shiela's match while a Fang, and you think to stand up to me?"

The furor softened slightly. As much as she hated Dominic, he gave her a grandchild. Like Shiela who never dreamed it possible, Dana had long ago, too, given up on ever seeing her bloodline continue. But Dominic gave that to her, and she would ever be grateful. But only once would she let him stand in her way like this.

They both knew this.

Even in her waning sanity, even with the faint hint of the once-great Archmage showing, Dominic said rather simply, "I will not give him to you. Shiela made her decision years ago and I will never gainsay it."

Dana closed her eyes. "My daughter, errant as she is, has been blessed. A child while barren, a devoted partner while willful. A shame that she will lose both because she insisted on her course."

Once again the older Red Panda's hand moved as she went to kill Dominic unceremoniously. Rou saw it coming out of the corner of his eye, his perception, his draconic eyes… in a single swift motion, he stepped beside his father and took the blow, crumpling against the wall as he raised an arm to suffer the most of it. Dominic began to panic as he saw the son, whom he previously thought invincible at this point, looking as if his arm was broken.

In fact, said arm was indeed broken. Millet screamed in terror, starting to run to him, only for Rou, who was trying to think of a way to play peacekeeper, saw his grandmother's eyes look towards the maid.

"Enough, grandmother. …enough."

Slowly he raised himself off the doorframe and walked close to her. Dana's attention pulled way from Millet and her eyes flinched slightly before Rou's voice sounded once more.

"What is it, Archmage? Do you fear me that much?"

Dana scoffed, "Fear you? Boy, what nonsense do you speak?"

"The moment I stepped towards you, you applied a seven layer shield did you not? Unless I miscounted just now."

Confusion was writ across Dana's face as Rou looked towards his mother, reached up with his only working arm, and grasped at a spot in the shield around her to tug at it with two fingers. The shield promptly unraveled invisibly before it shattered audibly and Rou nodded towards his father.

"Go on mother, take Father and Millet and let me handle things."

"Impossible. No one can break my shields, what trickery is this? I am the Archmage of Light, nothing alive is capable of powering through my magic. And you do it with two fingers? Nonsense." His performance had shaken the previously unflappable Dana, unsure what just happened. She put up shields around herself instinctively, yes, but also because she'd heard from the king that the boy named 'Rou' had somehow claimed the Dragon's legacy.

She may fear no mortal, but a dragon? That raw power was untouchable.

Her grandchild, though? He was no dragon, though she still was cautious even in her mentally unsound state.

Shiela wanted to intervene but she saw the look in her son's eyes, begging her not to, and relented as she moved to hold Dominic's hand and walk away.

"It is not trickery, grandmother. Perhaps you would know this if you came to speak to me peacefully. But instead, you barged your way in here and tried to demand me from my parents. You put my family in danger. Tried to kill my father. And you expect I will just… go along with you obediently?"

She went to step back as Rou stepped closer. Once more she began to pile layers of shields upon Rou to stop him in place. Rou looked around at the shields for a moment only to look at his grandmother and sigh. His power and control were nothing to speak of, but his perception? Unattainable by mortals, now, or likely ever again.

He raised his good hand and once again found a thread in the aether. His grandmother's power and control was truly terrifying, but it was all done instinctively, like the dragon's magic protection around his crystalized heart. So when he found the connecting single thread, Rou began to reverse the mana and absorb it, much like he had done many times with his parents when younger, 'borrowing' or 'giving' to create crystals. Only this time? He did it in a quick, selfish and brutal manner, causing the shield and much of his grandmother's stored mana to promptly be sucked dry as a large crystal formed and fell to the floor.

Dana stumbled and gripped onto the stave, her age showing a bit as the magic that she used to support herself crumbled. Though what happened next surprised everyone.

She was powerful enough to kill him over and over as if he was a toddler. His talents weren't in strength, simply observation. But she was so taken aback by how this went down that Dana hadn't even considered trying to harm him directly.

Rou walked up to her and gently hugged the older Red Panda.

"You're my grandmother, and I am happy to have met you. I would not have minded you being part of my life, you know. If you had approached me normally, perhaps tried to make amends with mother, I would have given you the benefit of the doubt even if mother was unable to. I won't claim to know the rift between you two, but at the moment? That doesn't matter."

He squeezed her tightly while speaking, and as weak as she was, her back popped slightly and she felt fear when her grandson spoke against her ear, only for her to hear. Rou's hand, on the arm that still worked - his right, was pressed against his grandmother's neck, gently squeezing it from behind.

"The thing I love the most in this world is my family. I don't want the memory of having broken my grandmother's neck to be nearly my first, and my last memory of you. Please… if I ever have a child one day, I would like them to maybe meet you too."

–

For a brief moment, the Archmage looked up, realizing that she couldn't see anything but the firm, well-dressed chest of her tall grandson in front of her. The scent of the fragrance he was wearing, smelling of cherries and coffee of some mixture, the faint smell of blood from his nose earlier where she had struck him. His soft, pained voice as if he was trying not to cry. The warmth and slight discomfort that came from his hand on the back of her neck, nails lightly digging into her flesh.

Not in all her years had someone not only broken her shields, but put a hand on her. She'd never felt so vulnerable in all her life. And being hugged by a grandchild she didn't think could ever exist, but not even in a way she was enjoying? She truly felt the fear of death and it shook her to the core. But what scared her even more was the idea that she made her grandson cry.

She never wanted to hurt him, but tried to put on a tough show, pride and anger at being abandoned by her own daughter, of his existence having been hidden from her.

But here she was, being hugged by him, caught between wanting to steal him away for herself to raise and cherish, and suspecting if she did anything other than agree with him, her life would end on the spot.

"I lost… my daughter over twenty years ago, child. Closed to thirty I came to accept I would never have a grandchild, that my family was dead, forever. My only daughter the very last. But she betrayed me, hid you from me, for all these years. I just learned you live, and now I have to… leave you again? Please, come with me, Rou!" she begged softly.

"I will give you a chance. Your legacy, or me and your daughter. Choose."

–

It was a white lie, though. Rou wasn't giving his grandmother a choice. He was testing her. If he had the remote suspicion she was weighing her options, he was going to suffer the guilt and kill his grandmother with his own hands.

To Rou, it wasn't even a choice, he would choose family. Surely she, too, would. He hoped at least.

To his elation, he heard a soft voice from in front of him, "I choose you, and… Shiela." and his grip on her neck softened. Only at which point, as he moved slightly, Dana‘s eyes could be seen by those behind him, as her head turned, and went from facing him, to looking at them with a crazed anger.

–

What followed, though, Rou hadn't expected… that the woman had lied to him even now. He could see the aether in the room flowing towards her and realized she was trying to cast magic behind his back.

–

A sickening crack echoed in the church that day, followed by a thud, and the sound of the Sage of Fluff choking on his own tears from following through on his promise.