Chapter 92 - Leaving Home Again

Skyle grumbled under his breath as he followed his father back to the farm. It wasn’t so much the fact that he refused to say anything else about the cryptic words he’d spouted off back at Sunny Meadow. It was more about the uneasy sense he got in the pit of his stomach that his comfortable little world was about to get torn to pieces without his having any say about it.

Sounds of laughter coming from inside the house startled Skyle and brought him out of his morose mood. It was the sound of Reik and Kass laughing with a man, and though it had been a long time, Skyle thought he could recognize the voice.

Rushing past his father, Skyle shoved the door open and jumped inside. His eyes lit up with delight as a grin filled his entire face.

“Uncle Talon!”

Sitting there by the table with his back turned to Skyle, was a well-built man wearing a plain cotton tunic and non-descript leather breeches. When he turned around, he saw that he held Kassandra in his arms. The little minx was using a charcoal stick to draw a circle around the man’s left eye. Already, there was a crooked mustache drawn with the same stick.

“Skyle! You’ve grown so tall. Look at you!”

Talon broke into a wide grin, displaying his newly scribbled mustache to full view. A new round of laughter broke out among the children, and Skyle joined right in. He whooped in delight as he rushed forward to give Talon a hug.

“Later, brother. I’m still busy putting the last finishing touches,” Kassandra complained, pushing Skyle away with her tiny hands.

“Enough of that, you little fox,” Kendric said, picking up Kassandra by the arms and drawing her away.

“But Uncle Talon said it’s ok!” Kassandra cried out in protest.

“Just because your uncle Talon says it’s ok, doesn’t mean that it is actually ok. Now, stop being a nuisance and go help your mother.”

“I’m almost done, Kendric. Let the children amuse themselves a little longer.”

Meanwhile, Skyle sat at Talon’s feet like he used to when he was little and got settled to listen to the wild tales of bandits and princes his uncle would regale the children with whenever he visited.

Talon looked down at Skyle with a fond look in his eyes, momentarily lost in old memories. Then he shook his head with a rueful smile and rubbed the child’s head affectionately.

“Not this time, Skyle. They tell me you’re the one who’s been having quite the wanderlust, of late.”

Skyle’s cheeks grew hot as he glanced toward Kassandra and Reikard. Both his siblings looked on with big, round eyes, expectant.

“I just got lost in the forest, that’s all.”

Talon chuckled good-naturedly and nudged him in the ribs. “That’s how all proper adventures start, Skyle. Or haven’t you been reading the letters I’ve sent?”

Kassandra pouted as she looked up at Talon with accusing eyes. “We would have preferred having you tell us in person, Uncle Talon.”

“I know, I know. Believe me, I’ve missed you all and I wish I could have been here to watch you all grow. But all that is about to change!”

“Huh?” All three children looked at each other in confusion.

Kendric cleared his throat. “Yeah, children. Settle down, your mother and I have something to tell you.”

Adrienne came back to the table and sat down, drawing Skyle into her arms. He looked up at her from under furrowed brows, puzzled by the sudden change in the mood of the room.

Kendric stepped up next to his wife and placed an arm around her waist. She glanced sideways at her husband and just barely dipped her head in assent.

“Kids, your mother and I will be leaving on a trip.”

Chaos broke loose. All the kids started talking at once, each looking both agitated and excited at the prospect of finally leaving the confines of the farm.

“Ah, just your mother and I. We’ve got enough baggage already without taking you brats along.”

A sudden silence fell upon the room, Reikard looking stricken while Kassandra’s brows drew together in the precursor of a fiery storm. Skyle, for his own part, at least had some time to get ready for the blow so he did a little better. He simply gawked.

“Quiet down, everyone. Let me explain. After a little someone awakened a talent that apparently is only seen once every few decades, Aegis Academy has pointed out that living the quiet, secluded lives we used to will no longer be an option.”

Kassandra opened her mouth, her lips compressing into an angry line, but Kendric forestalled her with an upraised finger.

“Tut! Wait, hear me out first, my little empress. I know you don’t like the Academy, especially after what they did to your brother. However, for the time being, your mother and I have agreed that it might be the best option, all things considered.”

It was Adrienne’s turn to speak, and she did so by laying a hand on top of Kassandra’s forehead with a gentle smile.

“Oh, you sweetling. It’s not your fault. The last thing we want to do now is leave your side, but your brother is sick. Sky has been ill for some time now. It’s part of why he can’t use his elemental veins. We’ve been meaning to go searching for a cure, but first we wanted to make sure you were well taken care of.”

Kassandra and Reikard both turned to look at Skyle in shock, moving forward to clasp his hands as though scared he might become a ghost right then and there.

Skyle tried to smile reassuringly, but that only made tears well up in both their eyes.

“Oh, you silly heads. Your brother is fine for now. He just needs to be treated, and for that your father and I will have to leave for a while.”

“Can’t we go with you?” Reikard asked in a small voice.

Adrienne reached out to pinch little Reikard’s cheek fondly.

“I’m afraid not, Reik. You have your own role to play, after all.”

“Huh?” Reikard looked up in askance.

Kendric chuckled as he nudged Skyle in the ribs.

“Your brother can’t just be left by himself at the farm, after all. As of this afternoon, your brother will be joining the both of you at Aegis Academy as a student in the School of Combat.”

This simple statement left both twins rooted to their spots, thunderstruck.

“B-but Big bro can’t channel any essence!” Reikard burst out, then winced and looked sideways at Skyle with a guilty flush on his cheeks.

Skyle smiled back and rubbed his brother’s head affectionately.

“We believe that studying in the academy’s environment will help treat or at least control his condition,” Kendric said.

“But those stuck up bastards-” Reik began, but coughed when his mother threw him a look.

“I mean, all of them nobles will never leave him be,” Reikard finished lamely.

“Which is where you come in, dear.” Adrienne smile encompassed both twins, who glanced at each other in surprise that quickly turned into steely resolve.

“We will protect Big bro!” Reikard said, puffing out his chest.

“And I pity the fool who dares to touch him,” Kassandra said, narrowing her eyes.

Even Skyle looked surprised at the vehemence in their voices.

“Excellent!” Kendric clapped his hands in delight. “So, that settles this matter.”

“Woa, hold a second. Don’t I get a say in this?”

All four members of the Farrow family shook their heads at Skyle in unison.

“It’s for your own good, sweetheart.”

“Gotta leave the nest sometime, boy.”

“Don’t worry, Big bro. We’ve got your back!”

“Just don’t make a nuisance of yourself, will you?”

Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead as Skyle found himself accosted from all sides. Throwing a desperate, last minute appeal to Uncle Talon did not help either, as the man suddenly became engrossed in the contents of his cup.

A hiss from beside his foot drew his eye, and Skyle was elated as he clutched onto a final hope like a man hanging from the edge of a precipice.

“What about Ash? I can’t leave him all by himself. What of the whole streak? Who’s going to look after them?”

Kendric got that smug glint in his eye again, and Skyle knew he had been out-maneuvered even before his father opened his mouth while holding up a thin band of silver metal.

“Old man Arthos and his sons have agreed to move in for the time being and look after the farm - not that it needs much minding. I reckon’ they’ll look after themselves just fine. As for Ash, he’s already been registered as a magical beast companion, and will be allowed to accompany you within academy grounds so long as he wears a beast obedience collar.”

Ash hissed at that, all his fur standing on end as snowblades began to poke out from his fur in all directions. Before he even knew it, Skyle found himself on his feet as well, his chest heaving with fire as he opened his mouth in choleric disbelief.

“Wait, wait.” Kendric held up a pacifying hand. “They’ve agreed that Ash can wear a dummy collar, just for appearance’s sake. It will hold no power over Ash at all, nor will it limit his free will or cognitive functions.”

“There’s still the principle of it, da. You know how every member of the streak feels about those abominations!”

Skyle worked his mouth like he had just tasted something vile, and couldn’t quite spit it out.

“Well, you’ll just have to ask how Ash himself feels about it then, won’t you? Would he rather have you running around by yourself, getting into who knows what kinds of trouble and getting beaten up to within an inch of your life, or finally have the freedom to actually stay by your side to watch over you and protect you like any good streak-brother should, all for the price of one measly little dummy beast collar.”

Skyle’s mouth was dry as he already knew that he didn’t even need to turn around and check. Eventually, he was forced to do so, and as expected, the little sell-out was already purring loudly, his eyes squeezed into mere slits while enthusiastically bobbing his head up and down.

“Traitor.”

Ash didn’t seem to hear or even care as he stretched out his neck so that Kendric would fit the collar on.

“Wait, da. What about the tests? I’ll never pass them. I can’t summon a wick of elemental essence, remember?”

“Who gives a hoot about the tests? I told them that if they wanted a Farrow in their academy, they’d have to take you as a package deal. Take it or leave it. Even a defective unit should have its use, after all.”

“Gee, thanks da.”

Skyle didn’t know what was worse, the fact that his father was making so light of such an important decision, or that he was actually getting excited about this new prospect. Why was he fighting the idea so hard, anyhow? He knew he needed to grow stronger, and in order to do so, he would have to challenge his own limits - constantly. That meant leaving the safety of his parents’ arms and experiencing the world for himself. What better way to start than by bashing in the collective, upturned noses of a bunch of haughty nobles born with a silver spoon in their mouths?

Besides, that’s where Leon would be. Just the thought of seeing his friend on a day-to-day basis cheered him up already.

“Big bro, we’ll be going to the academy together!”

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Reikard sounded almost as excited as he himself did. Kassandra didn’t say anything, but the faint smile on her lips and the hint of rose on her cheeks already told him exactly how she felt about it.

“I guess it’s not the worst thing in the world.”

Kendric slapped him in the back with a hearty laugh, which earned him a disapproving look from his wife. Adrienne gathered her son’s face between her hands and gazed deeply into his eyes.

“Are you sure you’re alright with this, little Sky?”

Skyle nodded firmly, his mind finally made up.

Adrienne nodded then, with moisture pooling within her eyes. “My little baby, all grown up. I’m so proud of you.”

Skyle felt a lump in his throat, and could only nod wordlessly.

“So where will you two be going, and when will we see you again?” Kassandra broke in, her tone dry.

“Well, who knows where the road will take us. We haven’t been free-”

Kendric coughed as his wife sent another warning look at him.

“-I mean, free to consider all the options quite in detail yet. We should be back within the year, however. Two, at the most.”

“What? A year or two? Why such a long time? Where are you going?” Reikard’s voice burst out in the silence that followed that last statement.

Skyle looked up into his mother’s eyes with guilt and dread in his heart. He thought he had an idea where they were going, and it filled his veins with ice.

“ Don’t worry about us,” his mother mouthed to him, a gentle smile on her face. In the depths of her eyes, however, Skyle saw glimpses of that unshakable confidence he had seen not long ago.

“Wait, is that why Uncle Talon is back?” Kassandra asked suddenly.

Talon smiled wryly at that, and Kendric instantly arrived to slap his shoulder.

“That’s right. Your Uncle Talon will be your guardian while we’re gone. Now, remember what your Uncle Talon does for a living?”

“He’s a super secret spy!” Reikard cried out, his eyes lighting up.

“No, you dummy! Uncle Talon is an elite covert imperial operative!”

Kassandra sniffed, looking down her nose at her twin.

“Same difference, Kass.”

“You’re wrong, they’re two completely different things.”

“How so?”

“Because one’s taken straight from one of your little adventure books, and the other is straight up life and death stuff. Duh!”

Skyle’s eyebrows shot up at Kassandra’s words, feeling like they had hit right on the mark. Glancing at Talon, he did not fail to catch the barely suppressed surprise the words had caused.

“Will that be alright for Uncle Talon’s job?” Skyle asked.

Talon opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but was instantly overruled by Kendric.

“That’s why your clever Uncle Talon will be in disguise!”

Talon’s expression turned sickly as he once again tried to interject, but was promptly elbowed into silence by Kendric, who continued speaking as though nothing had happened.

“From now on, your Uncle Talon will be his Holy Grace, Lord Inquisitor Thaelus Bismarck of the Holy Church.”

Reikard and Kassandra whooped and cheered at this as though it were all one great adventure that just kept getting better and better. Only Skyle knew the full weight the title carried with it, and he looked at “Uncle Talon” with wide, bewildered eyes.

Talon didn’t miss Skyle’s look, and even while being man-handled by Kendric, managed to send a conspiratorial wink his way.

“ Wait, then what does that make da, who’s rolling all over a Lord Inquisitor of the Holy Church like he were a sack of stale potatoes?”

Feeling a drop of cold sweat rolling down his back, Skyle was suddenly made very aware of the hands that were warmly clasping his face right now.

“ And what does that make ma, who can obviously scare the shit out of da with nothing more than a simple look?”

Slowly looking up into his mother’s deep, crystalline blue eyes, Skyle suddenly felt as though he were staring into the depths of a fathomless abyss.

Adrienne did not miss the look on her son’s face. Her eyebrows arched upward just a hair as a slow smile spread across her lips. Then, she winked.

For the first time in his young life, Skyle came to realize that women could be scarier than any spymaster, inquisitor, or nagging father could ever be.

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“Now that the twins are in bed, there’s something else we need to discuss, Skyle. Come on out to the porch.” Kendric motioned to Skyle and ambled through the door, with Talon following after.

Adrienne reluctantly let go of her son, but still nodded encouragingly to him.

When Skyle stepped outside, the brisk night breeze hit him in the face and drew an involuntary gasp from his lips.

Kendric chuckled darkly as he stuffed his pipe. When he finished, he held it up to his lips expectantly. Soon, a green tongue of flame flickered into life in front of his father’s face. He leaned into the flame and drew deeply from his pipe.

Skyle blinked in confusion, before glancing to the side and noticing the helpless half-smile on Talon’s face.

“Look, son. We need to have a talk, man-to-man..to-man.” His father added that last after sending a strange look towards Talon, including him at the last moment.

“The answer’s yes, da. I will learn the way of shadows.”

Kendric coughed as he choked on the smoke he had suddenly inhaled, nearly dropped the pipe from his lips.

Talon began to chuckle, but a dark warning look was enough to reduce it to a twitching grin instead.

“Do you understand what you’re agreeing to?”

Skyle pursed his lips for a moment, and shook his head slowly. “No, I don’t know exactly what is involved. But I've heard the stories about the Shadows of the Empire, and along the years I've drawn my own conclusions. I don't know the details, and I don’t care, as long as it makes me stronger.”

Skyle looked his father straight in the eyes, willing him to see the raw determination and naked truth of his statement.

Kendric looked on for a moment, and seemed satisfied with what he found - barely. Then again, not much seemed good enough for Kendric Farrow, so Skyle would take what little victories he could snatch from his father's stingy eyes.

“Talon, why don’t you tell this rascal of mine what he will be taking on before he’s in too deep?”

“Yes, sir.” Talon turned to Skyle and the small boy shrank back at the cold menace lurking in the man’s eyes. “Skyle Arrow, you have been selected to learn the Way of Shadows. You will walk with the shadows, your steps silent and traceless. You will fight from the shadows, your blade dark and shapeless. You will kill from the shadows, your strike unerring and ruthless. You will live among the shadows, your mind sharp and peerless. You will die within the shadows, your end hollow and meaningless. Thus, you arise with the shadow and die within the shadow. Such is the shadow's creed.”

Kendric’s brow twitched at Talon’s words, and his fists slowly clenched and unclenched. In the end, however, he still didn’t say anything.

“Are we talking about an assassination technique?” Skyle’s face crumpled up as he looked to his father.

“The Way of Shadows is ultimately about taking lives, son. In truth, I don’t like this any more than you do. If possible, I would have preferred that you never learn it. Better yet, I had hoped that you would never have need of it. That is why I never taught you more than the bare basics. Still, I won’t deny that the only reason I’m still alive, the only reason I’ve been able to protect my family - protect you - is because I mastered the Way of Shadows and used it against my enemies.”

Kendric tightened his jaw as he turned to regard his son with a grim look in his eyes.

“It is as much of a legacy as this broken down old man can give you, son. My advice is, take it. Use it as you would any weapon. Let the shadow become a part of you, but never let it take your heart away. Use the shadows as your cloak and your blade, but always remember that your heart is made of sterner stuff, no matter what the world would have you believe.”

“Will I have to kill innocent people?” Skyle asked from Talon this time, his voice trembling slightly as he recalled the lives he had reaped within Sanctuary.

Talon spread his hands. “That will be entirely up to you, Skyle.”

“What do you mean?”

“Who determines innocence or guilt? In the end, who decides who dies so that others may live? Not the blade, Skyle, but the rather the hand that wields it.”

“That sounds like an excuse to commit any number of horrible things!”

Talon shook his head sadly. “That’s just the world we live in. I can promise you one thing: I will never ask you to take a life. If and when you do, it will be your own decision, on your own terms. I will only hand you the tools. It will be your hand plunging the blade.”

Skyle turned to look at his father.

Kendric nodded slowly, looking old and haggard as he never had before. “Just remember, son. Life has a way of forcing your hand, until all that is left are shitty choices. It will then fall to you to choose the lesser of two evils. Whatever choice you make then, it will change you forever.”

Skyle was silent for a long moment before speaking again.

“What’s the other option then? What if I don’t want to learn, and life hands me the same choices?”

“Then at least you’ll have your ignorance to keep you company in the cold grave.” His father provided wryly.

“So, in the end there’s no choice at all - only the illusion of choice.”

Skyle smiled bitterly, remembering his earlier conversation with Leon.

“There’s always a choice, Skyle. It doesn’t always make a difference, but it is a choice nonetheless.”

Skyle nodded solemnly at that.

“Then I choose to learn. Because a crabby old man once told me that mothers hold that love and hope always triumph in the end, and it is up to their children and the strength of their fists to prove that they’re right.”

A faint smile brushed by Kendric’s face, and he nodded to his son.

“Least you learned something. Guess I ought to be happy at least something managed to stick in that solid bone you call a brain.”

“Like father, like son, da.” Skyle couldn’t resist pointing out, before his expression turned somber once more. “Was that what you were, da? An assassin?”

Kendric expression became distant, visiting the shores of a different life, in a different era.

“I was many things, son: assassin, spy, soldier, general, ambassador, judge and executioner. One thing I most definitely wasn’t, however, was a nice man. You can ask your Uncle Talon about that.”

“Oh yeah, he was the worst-” Suddenly, Talon caught himself and coughed violently. “His own worst critic, is what I meant to say.”

Kendric raised an amused eyebrow towards the other man, but then his gaze became dead serious.

“Talon, take care of my son.”

Talon nodded gravely. “I will, sir.”

“Da,” Skyle said, walking up to his father and laying his head against his back.

“Hmm?”

“Just so you know, you’re not such a bad man, and not the most terrible father, either,” Skyle whispered, squeezing his eyes shut as a quiet tear slipped past and rolled down his cheek.

There was no answer to that, only a warm hand that rested, still and wordless, upon his head.