Azura would be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous. The week of downtime was almost up, and that meant his father’s arrival was imminent. The man had always taken punctuality very seriously. He had a plan, but the margin for error was nearly 0, and a mistake could lead to some pretty disastrous consequences. Even he knew his odds of success weren’t ideal. His father wasn’t the same as the fools he typically dealt with. His father had taught him almost everything he knew about the laws of nobles, and how to manipulate things in your favor, but that didn’t mean that he knew everything his father knew and if there was one thing he knew above all else it was the danger of making a plan with limited information.
There was a chance for success, but he wasn’t arrogant enough to think it was a high one. He hadn’t told Katy how low the odds of success were, but she must understand, if her grim attitude and intense training lately were any indication. His father would arrive at some point in the afternoon and he had already done all the preparing he could. He sighed. There was no preparing for him to do, but he still had several hours to kill. He considered spending time with his friends, but as wound up as he was he doubted he’d make very good company.
“Why are you so worried about your dad coming to visit?” Reign asked from a curled up position in the middle of his floor. He rolled his eyes at his familiar. He had tried to explain his issues with his father, but dragons were just different. For dragons his father’s actions weren’t just acceptable, but normal and perhaps even respected. So Reign was more inclined to accept his father’s action than he was, which is why Reign was going to be here while he met his father somewhere else.
“Because my father and I don’t often see eye to eye, and since I plan on standing my ground this time, I assume things will get ugly.” That was most likely an understatement. Needless to say his father would have plenty of threats for him at the very least, but his father wouldn’t dare to actually attack him. At least not within the academy.
“Can’t you just look up? I know you humans can’t change sizes like us dragons do, but he can’t be that much bigger than you.” He groaned. Reign wasn’t especially familiar with human phrases, so he had a habit of taking everything literally, which might have been funny if it wasn’t so annoying.
“It’s just a…” He was going to say a figure of speech, but he doubted that would mean anything to the young dragon. “It’s a phrase that means something else. We humans have a ton of them. Not seeing eye to eye means disagreeing about something. So I’m saying me and my father don’t often agree on things.” Probably best not to go too in detail. He didn’t need to argue with his familiar so soon before he was going to be arguing with his father.
“Why? From what I can tell he seems to be a strong progenitor, what would you disagree about?” He groaned, he knew Reign would side with his father if the dragon ever heard the actual arguments, but he had hoped that Reign would stay out of it. If nothing else at least Reign was easy to distract.
“Depends on the day, but enough about my father. I have something you would be much more interested in.” He could feel the dragon’s curiosity through their bond. Even without said bond Reign wasn’t exactly subtle, his eyes sparkling with interest. Like most dragons, Reign had a weakness for shiny and or valuable objects. “I orchestrated a little treasure hunt for you, think of it as a gift to celebrate our partnership.” He had planned to jazz it up a little more, but by the look of things his partner needed no further motivation. “The first clue is within 50 ft of the clock tower, and remember if you go into buildings make sure to shrink so you don’t freak people out.”
Reign nodded eagerly before uncurling and spreading his wings. Thankfully he knew the dragon well enough to leave his window open, as Reign shrank enough to fly through his window and fly off towards the clock tower. He sighed in relief. That should keep his partner busy while he dealt with his father. He ignored the twinge of guilt that came with lying to his bound partner. He did in fact leave clues for a treasure hunt, but the hunt was far more difficult than the ‘treasure’ at the end should warrant. Still, it had to be done. He couldn’t afford any distractions.
Especially now, about halfway through his talk with reign he had felt his father’s presence. If his father was projecting his mana like this without any worry perhaps he had underestimated the man’s authority within the school. Anyone who didn’t recognize the signature would be panicking now. His father’s mana was incredibly domineering, it didn’t physically affect anything, but that didn’t stop it from making him feel like he was resisting immense pressure. He growled. His father always did like to try and force people to kneel
He wondered how many students had already dropped to a knee. His father was still pretty far away, and yet even over the wide distance between them the pressure was intense. His father knew, it was the only explanation for why he would do something so brazen. He felt a couple other surges of powerful mana trying to push his back, but even several of the teachers working together were being overwhelmed. Which wasn’t surprising, his father was one of the strongest mages on the continent if not the whole world. Which was one of the reasons he was so surprised when a calm mana washed over him successfully battling his father. This mana was closer, so it was hard to accurately judge the strength comparison, but it looked like Cynthia’s mom being compared to his father wasn’t just for show.
He sighed, those 2 obviously couldn’t actually fight here, but whatever zone their mana’s were reaching a stalemate in would be way too much for any students to handle, himself included. His father wanted to talk to him no doubt, and the man also knew that he was physically incapable of approaching him as long as he was on this side of the mana clash. He felt both sides gradually recede, although he was grateful to note that Lilian’s mana hovered over him for a brief moment before it continued to retreat. Cynthia had no doubt talked to her about his.. Issues with his father.
Actually that was an angle he hadn’t considered. Maybe he could find a way to get Selena protection from the Violet’s. Even his father couldn’t just carelessly toss around his power with them. Easier said than done unfortunately, and he couldn’t exactly delay his plan, it was now or never. He shook his head. His father knew he was up to something, or he wouldn’t have arrived early, much less with such a display.
Regardless, stalling would only make things worse, so he began walking towards where he had felt his father’s mana originate from. For once he was grateful for the labyrinth of hallways. The winding paths gave him some much needed time to think. His father couldn’t stop him from extricating himself, but his set up for Selena was far from foolproof. That was his weakness, so if he had to guess he would say his father had some kind of threat regarding Selena prepared.
“You have a bad habit of dawdling, and here I thought I taught you better after the last time you kept me waiting.” He winced. He should have known his father wouldn’t just wait for him to arrive. His father was the one that taught him a lot of his tricks, unfortunately that meant his father knew how to counter most of them. He was on the backfoot here, and the man knew better than to give him too much time to think. “No matter, perhaps once your spirit contract is established you might take your responsibilities more seriously.”
He made no outward reaction, but he was thinking frantically. His father knew he was up to something, there was no doubt about that. So why? Why was the man acting like this? He was off balance, now would be the time to strike, but his father remained quiet and still waiting for his response. “Very well, if it’s a contract you want then it’s a contract you’ll get.” He didn’t know what his father’s endgame was, so all he could do was try and put the man on the backfoot as well so they were on even terms. He silently wished he had walked a little faster, being stuck in a small corridor was not helping him relax.
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He silenced his whirling thoughts and searched his mind for a memory. One he had held close to his chest for a long time. He knew if his father found out before this moment everything would be ruined. Time came to a standstill, and all color drained from the world leaving him in an endless void. White as far as the eye could see. If only for a moment before a tiny blue glow appeared in front of him. The swirling vortex of light slowly grew. The light slowly took shape until in front of him stood a brilliant white wolf twice as tall as he was with glowing blue symbols scrawled across its fur.
“So the time has finally come to honor our agreement.” The soft feminine voice helped ease a little of his tension. A wave shot through the void rapidly changing it to a lush forest. He became smaller. It was a recreation of when he had first met the spirit in front of him. Thus here he stood once more in his 12 year old body. The vibrant green grass soft under his bare feet.
“Sorry for the wait Alaya, but I couldn’t risk something so brazen before I was safely enrolled in the academy.” A light chuckle came from her, but her snout continued to be motionless. He had been quite anxious to meet her again. A contract bound by blood, but not yet signed. He had saved the life of one of her pups, or more like spared really. His father and him had been hunting for magical materials, but when he had seen the bleeding pup his instincts kicked in before he could think, and he ended up hiding it from his father.
The next day he had gone back out to check if the pup was ok, and was surprised and admittedly a little scared to find Alaya above the spot he had hidden the pup in. “I understand, a life spared, for a life freed. A fair trade, don't you think?” He didn’t know how, but he got the feeling she was smiling. Even though he couldn’t distinguish any physical changes to her face.
“I would have given much more than that, I didn’t even know I would be rewarded until you told me. So It’s clearly something I would do for free, but there aren’t many things I wouldn’t give to be free of my father.” A part of him still felt unsure, like it wouldn’t be enough, and he was just setting himself up for greater punishments from his father, but it was a risk he was willing to take.
“Different views lead to different values. I would give anything to keep my children safe, and bestowing a gift to you in the form of a contract is an easy task for me. There is no right or wrong, only perceived value. In this case we both get to feel like we won the trade which is as good as it can be.” She was right of course, and even if she wasn’t no point in dwelling on it now, it was already done.
“I suppose that’s true. Even still I feel like I owe you a great deal, so don’t hesitate to ask for my help if you ever need it.” He suddenly felt it. The contract that had been sealed so as not to be unleashed until he was ready, finally began to take shape. He felt it surge through him like an enchantment on his very soul. He could almost feel the words forming, he felt his mana grow stronger, along with his body, and he felt 2 new appendages appear on his head. His new black wolf ears twitched as sounds he hadn’t been able to hear before suddenly became clear to him.
“Likewise my young friend. You’re not like most humans I have met in my time, and I look forward to our partnership. For now, the contract has been bared, and our time is up. I look forward to meeting you again.” He wasn’t able to speak. His world was spinning. A combination of the nausea caused by all the sudden changes, and his heightened senses causing sensory overload no doubt. He took deep breaths trying to center himself so he could properly adjust.
I see, so this is the scheme you’ve been planning is it? How disappointing. He slowly opened his eyes. He had managed to calm down, and the nausea had begun to fade. He was met with the sight of his father’s disapproving gaze. What do you think making a contract with an inferior creature will accomplish? All you’ve done is given yourself a handicap you have to overcome.” He grit his teeth. He was about to speak before his father cut him off. “And surely, you still intend to become a worthy heir. Afterall if you don’t cut it, I’ll have to marry off Selena, and hope her child is a better heir.”
His blood went cold. He had expected his father to use Selena as a bargaining chip, but not like this. He had prepared for dozens of threats regarding Selena. Her becoming heir, sending her away, threatening her safety, anything he could think of he had a plan for. But once again he had underestimated just how low his father would stoop. Forcing Selena to have a child had never even occurred to him as a possibility. His mind whirled, desperately looking for a solution. “I hear Granite’s wife recently passed, perhaps he would be interested.” His disgust grew. Granite was the worst kind of noble. He abused his authority left right and center, and he was well known for abusing those under him.
“Alright, enough. You’ve made your point. I apologize, my attempt was ill-considered.” He tilted his head in a typical sign of respect between nobles, but as soon as his eyes were out of his fathers view he allowed his rage to shine through. He had been wrong when he thought this might end peacefully. Maybe not now, maybe not even for years, but he would escape his father, even if that meant becoming a monster. He needed to be able to see things the way his father did, or he would keep getting blindsided by the horrible things his father was willing to do.
“I’m glad you understand. Now spirit contracts can be overwritten, but it takes quite a bit of preparation, I will notify you when it’s time.” He fought to keep his frustration from overwhelming him. He would kill that man. Why not? He had killed the rest of his family anyway. Maybe it was best that the Silver family just ended. Selena would be taken into another family with another name and the Silver name could be banished from this world. He allowed the rage to course through his body, and dark thoughts filled his mind.
He continued to stand there stewing in his anger long after his father had left. Hundreds of plans were considered and then discarded. If his father would stoop to any low, then just this once he would do the same. He hoped that by letting his anger and frustration run rampant he might think of moves he normally wouldn’t, and his father wouldn’t be able to blindside him again. That and he found picturing his fathers grizzly end to be rather cathartic.
“I take it the meeting with your father didn’t go well?” He sighed, not only was he too distracted by his thoughts to miss the approaching presence, but he had also forgotten that he was out in the middle of a corridor where anyone could have approached him. He was just thankful it wasn’t any of his friends that found him like this. He had lost control of his mana and was projecting it quite aggressively. Luckily Lilian was using hers to block his from going too far.
“Worse than I could have possibly imagined. He was 1 step ahead, and miles below.” He took a deep breath, and focused on controlling his mana so it would stop wildly surging around. As soon as he focused his own mana he was once again within the calming aura of Lilian’s. He winced as he failed to hold onto his anger. He would have to recall it later, that was the only state of mind he might be able to predict his father’s movements with.
“Yeah that sounds like Tiamat alright. If it’s any consolation at least he knows bad things are bad, so he only uses them as threats and ways to keep people under control. There are nobles that would just do them without a second thought.” He knew that was true, Granite was a perfect example of that, but that didn’t really make him feel any better. Hurray, his father wasn’t the worst human being on the face of the planet. Not really much of a win.
“Doesn’t make the threat any less effective. Making sure my sister is safe from my father was hard enough, but if he offers her up for marriage the amount of people who would try for her would make it impossible to keep her safe.” Especially given the only conditions would be essentially giving him their firstborn son, and being the one to get to Selena first. Many nobles would jump at the opportunity, and it would be a bloodbath.
“You’ll never beat him if you play his game, you know.” He stared up at her in shock. How did she.. “The only way to beat someone like Tiamat, is to play your own game, and keep them guessing on the rules.” Play his own game? What did that even mean? How was he supposed to beat someone who would stoop to any low to keep him in line. “You’re a smart kid Azura, you’ll figure it out.” She was gone before he had time to fully process what she had said.