To say that Ezekiel was shocked was a complete and total understatement. He could vaguely remember from his childhood that he had once asked about his family’s background and relatives before. But never would he have thought that such a situation would come up.

Sure, he figured that there was quite a bit of bad blood between his parents and their families. But not to the point where they would be seemingly Hunting them down.

Yet here one of Ezekiel’s cousins was. Fully armed, concealed, and now decapitated. Needless to say, when the guards saw Ezekiel lose his lunch, they grew concerned, but Warren waved them down, and they kept their distance.

“Come on. We need to get inside.” Warren moved to the guards to deal with the situation. Having regained his composure much more quickly than Ezekiel.

Evelyn helped Ezekiel get out of there, pulling him inside, while the guards moved to deal with the body. Taking it inside a separate area of the estate to be dealt with.

Warren headed in another direction, likely to inform the Alkena’s what had happened. But when he did, he stopped by the nearest guard station. A ripple appeared in the air as a minor barrier formed around the estate.

While this was happening, Ezekiel had gotten over his shock at having killed what was apparently a member of his family. Something that he couldn’t have known at the time, but was devastating to him nonetheless. There was nothing he cared more about than his family. Worse yet, he knew that there would be consequences for his actions.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed his mother frowning as her eyes seemed to dart from side to side. Seeing something that wasn’t there. But it was a moment later when she sighed, that Ezekiel bothered to ask what she’d seen.

“I was looking for any other Hounds that might be nearby. They never travel alone, you see. So, we need to be ready for when the others eventually try to make a move.” Ezekiel’s heart chilled at the thought. But his curiosity won out.

“You’ve dealt with them before? Why?” Ezekiel wasn’t sure he wanted to know, but he knew that he needed to.

It seemed his mother would be making him wait, however, as she shook her head before replying.

“Given the situation, it seems like you and your sisters will all need to know what is going on. Best to do this all at once. Go back to bed while I calm your sisters down. We’ll talk more later. When you get back from teaching your classes tomorrow.” Ezekiel moved to protest, but his mother’s grip on his arm tightened. “Tomorrow. Not before. Please.”

Seeing the sorrow and regret in her eyes, Ezekiel knew that this was more to prepare herself for the inevitable conversation, rather than purely to calm his sisters down.

“Okay, mom. But get some rest. You shouldn’t be moving like this in your condition either, you know.” Ezekiel gestured to the space where her arm was still regrowing. It had grown halfway up her forearm, but still had a long way to go to get the rest back.

Evelyn smiled, and patted Ezekiel on the cheek before heading off to where his sisters’ rooms were located. Turning to the hall where his own room was located, Ezekiel made his way back to bed.

Sighing in exasperation and frustration and doing his best to mentally deal with what he had just done, Ezekiel held Shine close to his chest. An act that comforted him, just a bit, as he fruitlessly tried to fall asleep.

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The next day passed slowly for Ezekiel. His anxiety regarding whatever his parents were finally going to tell him weighed on his mind. He managed to get through his morning routine without his sisters catching on to anything wrong. Warren and Evelyn had obviously done their jobs covering things up.

It wasn’t until later, when classes had finished for the day, that Shine told him that he seemed to do a much better job than yesterday. It seemed that his nerves regarding teaching had gotten to him.

Regardless, he ended up taking his time getting home. So much so that he arrived after his sisters. He arrived to a full room that turned to face him as he entered his family’s quarters. Both his own family and the Alkena’s were present.

“Long day?” Warren asked.

“Yeah. I might not need to sleep as much as I used to, but I’m a bit mentally drained.” Ezekiel took his time hanging up his coat before taking a seat. “But I don’t think that’s what we’re here to talk about.”

Looking around the room, it seemed that Allon and Sherra had some idea of what was going on. Ellen, Wendy, and Shari, however, appeared confused. It seemed that they only knew that an incident had happened the previous night. Nothing more.

“Well, I guess I should start off by saying that neither Evelyn nor I are originally from the Empire.” This was something Ezekiel had already figured out from clues in the past. The help that they had apparently received in settling down was the main thing that supported this.

“What you don’t know is that we’re actually from the two most powerful clans of the Morathi Alliance. The Kindled and Shroud families. Two families that have been at war for generations.” Warren looked despondent as he said this. Evelyn reached over and rubbed his back in comfort. “Given our elements, I’m sure you can figure out which families we belonged to, respectively.”

Ezekiel nodded in confirmation, but it was Ellen and Wendy who needed clarification.

“The Kindled family is a Radiant element purest family, while the Shroud family is an Obscure element purist family.” Ezekiel said. The twins grew wide eyed as they understood what that meant.

Evelyn and Warren just looked to the floor. Shame emanating from them.

“I’m assuming you two fell in love under strange circumstances and eloped, right?” Ezekiel tried to take some of the pressure off his parents by being blunt. It seemed to work, as his mother tried to hold back a giggle of amusement.

“Have you been reading romance novels recently?” Evelyn asked.

“No. I’ve just heard enough from others to know what the common themes are.” Ezekiel gave a wry grin as he tried to not let his worry about the Alliance clans get to him.

From what little he bothered looking into, the Morathi Alliance was almost as large as the Empire, but had numerous factions that were almost always fighting amongst each other for supremacy. The conflicts were always quiet, with disputes usually settled via tournaments and other competitions.

But between the Shroud and Kindled families, the shadow of open conflict always loomed. Behind the veneer of peace. If things were as bad as he assumed, then it was fully possible that what he had done the previous night could spark a new war.

“Moving on.” Warren interrupted Ezekiel’s thoughts as he got the conversation back on track. “The Shroud family was actually fairly neutral regarding our circumstances. Providing cover for Evelyn to escape and meet up with me. They’re much more open to freedom among their members than the Kindled family. Even though she’s the clan head’s second child.”

This was news to Ezekiel, because he had always assumed that the Shroud and Kindled families were basically mirrors of one another. Both being strict and enforcing limitations and rules on their members. To hear that the Shroud family was more relaxed was good news, as it meant that they might have some support in the eventual conflict.

“What about the Kindled family? What exactly are their views on this?” Ezekiel needed to know just how bad his actions last night truly were. “Will they retaliate for what happened last night?”

“Probably not. When I said that the man you killed was my nephew, that doesn’t make him particularly special.” Ellen and Wendy went wide eyed in shock at Warren’s words. “I actually have several dozen nieces and nephews. Most of them are bastards who didn’t inherit the Radiant element. They are raised from a young age to become Hounds. The Kindled family’s private hunting force. Composed of both actual Hunters and battle trained Mages. They are considered expendable.”

“But this one had the Radiant element. Won’t that mean that he matters more than usual?” Ezekiel asked.

“Not in this case. You see, his Radiant element comes from a non-Kindled family member. His Kindled bloodline comes from one of my bastard sisters. Who was, in turn, a Hound herself. So, while he has the Radiant element, his bloodline is ‘impure’. Hence, he is a Hound. A dog that serves, nothing more.” Warren’s voice was filled with regret and anger. It was obvious to Ezekiel that this was something he truly hated about his family.

Looking over to his mother, she must’ve seen the unspoken question on his face regarding the Shroud family’s circumstances.

“My family is more focused on ensuring that the bloodline continues. While those without the Obscure element are not permitted to become more than family elders, nor are they provided resources by the clan, they aren’t automatically relegated to servant status. In fact, any who are born with the Obscure element, so long as they hold the Shroud bloodline, are given special training by the previous generation of Obscure Mages in the Shroud family.” Every word that Evelyn spoke made the others in the room want to support the Shroud family in their endeavors. It was clear which family was actually a family.

“Regardless, it is unlikely that the Kindled family will do anything overt, even with their recent loss. Though it is just as unlikely that they will cease whatever it is that they’re trying as well.” Warren sighed in exasperation. “In truth, while I am upset that you killed a kinsman, it was more because we couldn’t get any information from him, than it was that he was related to us.”

Ezekiel’s jaw dropped. Was his father saying what he thought he was saying?

“In the future, try to keep them alive. But if you can’t, it’s not that big an issue.” Warren looked Ezekiel dead in the eyes as he said this. Then, when Ezekiel turned towards her, Evelyn closed her eyes, unable to meet his disbelieving gaze.

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“My family is filled with monsters. More likely than not, they were after your sisters. Probably to kill Wendy and kidnap Ellen.” Warren’s statement drew shocked gasps from Shari and the twins. “For the moment, since we don’t know what exactly they want, we’re going to have to be much more careful.”

Warren turned to address his daughters. “From now on, I don’t want you two leaving the house without one of us three nearby. Maybe you can go places with Riley, if needed, but it’s too dangerous for you to be alone outside the estate right now.”

“Wait. What about today? Weren’t they in danger today as well?” Ezekiel could feel a panic rising in his chest as he thought about how his sisters could’ve been attacked earlier today.

“I was watching over them while your father dealt with the security here in the estate.” Evelyn put Ezekiel’s fears to rest. “But, given my treatments, and the possibility that Warren will have to defend the manor and our dear friends, we won’t be able to do this all the time. The Cathedral is safe enough, so it will only be when the twins are not in the estate or at school that they will need to be supervised.”

Ezekiel nodded in understanding. As far as he was concerned, this made sense. At least until they managed to catch one of these Hounds and extract information out of them.

But as he looked towards his sisters, he could see that neither one of them was pleased at the situation. Though Ellen was clearly angrier than Wendy, who looked more scared than anything.

Ezekiel could just tell that this would put a strain on his still healing relationship with his sisters. But as far as he was concerned, that was a small price to pay for their safety.

He just hoped that they would eventually be able to see that as well.

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Given the situation, it had been decided that Ezekiel’s family would not be informing the higher ups of Tollren. Doing so would cause more problems. They may even be kicked out for being the target of an outside party. Instead, it was decided that the Alkena’s would play it off as back-alley politics from Harkem. So, as long as the general public wasn’t involved, there wouldn’t be any issues.

It was decided that this was the best course of action since the Kindled family couldn’t afford to bring this conflict into the open either. Doing so would risk open war with the Empire. With the few strongly tied allies that they had; they would be no match against a united Empire.

Ezekiel was still coming to terms with what had happened the next day. Though he quickly realized that this so-called family wasn’t really family. So, the fears and concerns that he had that made him sick were actually baseless.

They were only kin in regard to bloodline. Anything more was nonexistent.

“Oy! Are you two ready to go?” Ezekiel called out as he waited at the front of his family’s quarters. The sound of shoes running across the floor echoed from further inside.

“We’re here! We’re here!” Ellen exclaimed as she came to a stop in front of Ezekiel. Wendy came up behind her. Both were dressed in comfortable clothing that would be easy to move around in. Something that they knew would come in handy later that day.

Ezekiel internally flinched as he saw his sister’s glare. She was obviously frustrated at having to leave earlier than usual. But since Ezekiel needed to accompany them for safety, it couldn’t be helped.

“... If it makes you feel any better, we can leave at your usual time every other day you have classes. It’s only today that I need to get there early. I need to prep some stuff for the older combat classes.” Ezekiel was quiet as he indirectly apologized for his family’s circumstances.

Ellen’s eyes lightened their glare by a bit. She hummed in contemplation before heading outside. Wendy gave Ezekiel an apologetic look before rushing after her sister. Ezekiel’s mother was at another appointment to regrow her arm, while Warren was working with the Alkena’s to settle something that would hopefully help them with their predicament.

Thus, with a heavy sigh, Ezekiel headed out to escort his sisters to their classes, and to ready himself for teaching, yet again.

As the small group moved through the streets, Ezekiel’s eyes were constantly darting from side-to-side. He was examining rooftops, alleys, and storefronts, for any sort of ripple or evidence of concealment magic. As well as checking for any Spirits that might be watching them.

Beside him, Shine was also expanding their senses to as far as they could go. Checking for anyone who might be paying their group just a little bit too much attention.

Thankfully, the trip to the Cathedral’s grounds was quiet, and there were no attacks. But given how recent the initial attack was, Ezekiel and his parents had somewhat expected this. The current escort was mostly a precaution at this point.

“Girls!” Ezekiel called out before his sisters could head inside. “I wanted to inform you about something regarding your class with me later today.”

Ellen and Wendy looked confused but remained to listen to him.

“Don’t think that I’m going to coddle you when you’re in my class. If anything, I may go harder on you, given the situation. I’ll do my best to be fair. But I wanted you to know beforehand. So, be ready, alright.” Ezekiel could tell that his words weren’t being taken seriously.

He knew he wasn’t going to like it. But as his sisters walked into the building, he knew that they were probably going to hate him by the end of the day. He just hoped that they would be able to get over it at some point.

“It’s hard being a big brother.” Ezekiel said as he rested a hand on Shine’s hilt for comfort. “I don’t even know if I have the right to call myself that.”

A deep thrum was what he got in response to his words.

“You’re trying... your best... That’s what matters... most...” The choppy reply encouraged Ezekiel, just a little bit.

Heading into the school himself, Ezekiel settled himself into his teaching mode. Now, he was slightly more ready to face the day.

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The sound of dull and weighted weapons smacking against each other echoed through the training room. Ezekiel stood at the side of the area as he watched two young teenagers sparring.

One boy was blonde with red eyes, while the other boy had brown hair and black eyes. Both were wielding short swords and refraining from using their magic.

Today was far more intense than the last two. Unlike before, when he was teaching younger students how to hold a weapon properly and how to go through basic forms, today he had students with several years of experience. Some even had actual combat due to ties and relations with Hunters or Scholars that often left the city for jobs.

A sudden feint by the blonde caught the other boy off guard. Twisting his body to the side, the blonde boy ran his sword up to the other boy’s arm. A clattering sound rang out as the brown-haired boy lost his grip and dropped his sword.

CLAP!!!

“Good!” Ezekiel exclaimed as he clapped his hands to grab their attention. Knowing that this was the signal to end their spar, the two boys backed off from one another. “That was an excellent example of a proper feint. Unnoticed by your opponent until too late. I don’t suppose either of you can tell me why it worked so well?”

The two boys took a moment to catch their breath, but it was the boy who had been disarmed that responded first.

“I was too invested in avoiding his attacks. So, he was able to make a prediction based on my previous behavior.” Ezekiel nodded at the young Obscure Mage’s words.

“Correct. Now, how might you have avoided that?” Ezekiel’s question caught the two of them off guard, and they had to think for a minute.

“Couldn’t he have been a bit more aggressive in our fight?” The Flame Mage asked. “If he had tried to attack me, then I would’ve had to mix up my own moves to defend and dodge as well, right?”

“Usually, you’d be correct, but given your stockier build, it actually makes more sense to avoid strikes and counterattack, rather than purely take up the offense. Which did not happen.” Ezekiel turned to address the Obscure Mage directly. “There were three instances when you could’ve struck back while dodging. Do you know what they were?”

The Obscure Mage shook his head. Ezekiel moved forward, picking up the dropped short sword to show him what he meant. Gesturing to the Flame Mage, he began speaking to the rest of the class.

“When you were first attacked from the front,” The Flame Mage redid his opening attack, “you dodged like this,” Ezekiel slid to the side to avoid the overhand strike, “which gave you the opening to cut his throat.”

Moving no faster than the Obscure Mage had, Ezekiel ran the dull sword along the Flame Mage’s throat. Causing the boy to recoil at the feeling of steel on his neck.

The rest of the class watched on in morbid curiosity.

“The next, when you dodged a kick that forced you away,” The Flame Mage moved to kick Ezekiel, “you jumped back, the site would be better, but this was fine. However, you had your arm across your body from a previous swing. You should’ve extended your arm, cutting off his leg if this fight was real.”

Ezekiel did so, and the dull blade struck the Flame Mages leg, causing him to fall to the ground with a grunt. He then moved forward and pulled the young man to his feet.

Turning to the Obscure Mage and seeing the kid looking to the ground as if he was about to cry, Ezekiel eased off a bit.

“The final time you could’ve struck back was when you were lunged at. Your opponent left himself wide open. Throwing his full weight behind his strike. Something you should try to never do, unless you know you’ll hit. Which he didn’t.” Ezekiel held the sword out to the Obscure Mage who reluctantly took it from him. “In the real world, perhaps you could’ve simply run away with all your dodging. But in this classroom, you will look for openings to attack your opponent, and take them when you can. Otherwise, why are you here?”

Ezekiel’s voice was gentle, but he could tell that his words were having a negative effect on the kid. Rubbing the back of his head, Ezekiel looked to the rest of the room. All the other kids were looking at the Obscure Mage in either pity or disgust. Something he didn’t like seeing.

Especially since his sisters were staring at him like he was torturing the poor boy.

“Alright, you two, put your weapons away. We’ve got enough time for one more spar. So I’ll be drawing names from the hat one more time.” The two boys put their weapons away. The Flame Mage went back to sit with his friends. While the Obscure Mage sat alone.

Going over to the nearby desk, Ezekiel pulled two names from the hat that was present. But then, he felt the paper in the hat moving as he grabbed two slips. Knowing that Shine was doing something, he narrowed his eyes at his Spirit.

‘You... can’t coddle... them...” Shine’s voice was quiet as it drifted straight into Ezekiel’s ear. Pulling the two slips of paper from the hat, Ezekiel sighed as he saw Ellen and Wendy’s names.

“Ellen and Wendy Luminance. Come down here.” Ezekiel’s voice gained a harder edge to it. His frustration leaked into his voice.

The twins looked shocked at being called simultaneously. From what records he had received from their prior classes, Ezekiel knew the twins always refused to fight one another. It didn’t matter if they got zero for that day’s marks. The twins simply would not fight each other.

“I’m not fighting my sister!” Ellen’s voice bounced off the wall of the room. Beside her, Wendy was nodding her head in agreement. “Give us a zero. We’ll take it and move on.”

Growling in frustration, Ezekiel knew that he couldn’t just let them get away with this. Other teachers might just give them the zero, but he had to consider the fact that he was their brother. It would reflect poorly on all of them if he just caved.

Shine started to shake in their sheath, and Ezekiel got a sense of what the Spirit had planned.

“That’s fine. But the two of you will still be sparring.” Ezekiel took Shine off his belt and grabbed a longsword from the wall. “Now grab your swords and get in the ring. Or I’ll kick you out of this class for the rest of the year.”

Hearing their brother’s threat, Ellen and Wendy stayed seated. Not thinking he would go through with it. But as Ezekiel stood in the center of the ring, glaring at his sisters, the twins knew he was serious.

“This isn’t fair! You’re way too strong for us to do anything against!” Ellen was basically screaming at this point. But Wendy seemed to be ready to get up and do as she was told.

“Don’t worry, this is a classroom. This is to teach you how to fight. I imagine you two fight quite well together, so you’ll likely do better than if you were fighting alone. Besides,” Ezekiel shrugged his shoulders before spinning in a circle, dragging his sword through the ground and making a circle, “All you have to do is make me step outside this circle, or land a clean hit against my body. I won’t be using mana and will restrain myself to the fastest speed that either of you two displays.”

The class was looking far more interesting now. Even the Obscure Mage who Ezekiel had reprimanded was paying much more attention. Ezekiel gestured to a small hourglass that floated out of his bag. Shine would be watching the time for him.

“There will be no win condition for me, besides the timer I will set. If you make me exit the circle, hit my body, or I move too fast, then I lose, and you both will receive top marks for my class for the year. If you fail, then you do as I tell you, even if it means sparring with each other. Am I clear?” Ellen and Wendy still looked apprehensive. “It seems like I will be speaking with the headmaster about kicking you out of my class.”

Ellen stood up in outrage. “No way! We’ll fight you!”

As Ellen stood up Wendy followed after her. The two went down to the weapons rack. Ellen picked up a spear that was just the right length for her size, while Wendy grabbed two daggers that she wielded at once.

Moving to the center of the ring on opposite sides of Ezekiel, the two waited for the timer to flip so they could begin.

“Start!” Ezekiel called out. As the timer turned over, Ellen and Wendy charged. Intent on taking their frustrations out on their brother.