“You’d do well to. As for matters of your parentage, all will be revealed in time. For now, you’ll continue to live here with Caedmon as you have been.”
These words caused Alistar’s heart to skip a beat. His uncle was no longer treating him as a simple bastard, and had evidently contemplated taking him away from Distan.
“Thank you for your consideration, Your Excellency. It’s very encouraging to know that you’re thinking about me.”
Antoine rested a hand on his shoulder, though said nothing. A tiny jolt of energy tickled Alistar’s arm at the contact, which immediately raised his guard, though the duke retracted his reach a moment later and turned to approach his horse without any regard for the reactions of his brothers.
Alistar had felt the same sensation once before, when Mr. Albeck had inspected his inner energies to get a feel for his body’s capacity at the time. According to his teacher, such a manner of inspection wasn’t too reliable when the person of focus was subject to external influence. Since Alistar was currently wearing many limiters as well as maintaining an advanced alteration spell, it was unlikely that his uncle had been able to manage a proper read on him, though something about the look in the man’s eyes in the moments that followed left Alistar feeling a bit unsettled.
Johan came over to say his goodbyes immediately after his father walked away, giving Alistar a look of warning in the brief moment that they connected eyes. In response, Alistar thanked him for both his thoughtfulness and his company over the past week, and wished him nothing but the best in the future. Following this, he and the girls bowed at the dukes and nodded their goodbyes towards Daniel’s indifferent sons.
The visiting Silverkins rode off soon after, Edmun and Calum casting glances over their shoulders at Alistar as they closed in on the distant gates to the property. Their expressions reminded him of the way that Bertrand had looked at his uncle Raidon moments before the former had murdered the latter. His cousins had looked upon him with genuine bloodlust. Equally as disconcerting, their father looked over his shoulder just before he rode past Harold and Rayson, focusing on Alistar with poorly-hidden unease.
Just what had changed since the night before?
As their relatives disappeared around the distant hill that separated the estate from the city, Caedmon let out a sigh of relief that had been brewing all week and then rested a hand on Alistar’s head.
“I apologize for putting you through their presence. Your cousins didn’t give you much trouble, did they? With the exception of Johan, of course.”
“Nothing that I couldn’t cope with.”
“What did you think of them?”
“They’re just like you said.” He looked at the leather bag that Antoine had given him and gently unbound the string at the top. Peering inside, he raised an eyebrow and handed it over to his uncle. “It’s a ring with a high-class magic crystal embedded in it.”
“If I’m not mistaken, this is a very expensive limiter. I’ll have to have Jin take a look at it before we determine if it’s safe to use.”
Alistar nodded, though even if his magic instructor determined the ring to be perfectly safe, he still wouldn’t use it. The cautionary look that Johan had given him was still fresh in his mind, and although on the surface it seemed as if his uncle had been trying to win him over with a show of goodwill, he wasn’t sure if this was truly the case. When he’d inspected Alistar’s internal energies, something had seemed to click within his uncle’s calm eyes, which had been cold despite their seeming sincerity. Whatever the man had realized, Alistar felt that it was a bit foreboding.
As he had learned during his time as a slave, things weren’t always what they seemed to be on the surface, and people’s expressions and actions often masked their true intentions. From what he had been able to glean of his uncle’s nature, it wouldn’t be wise to let his guard down in regards to the ring. Antoine knew full well that a renowned magus was living at the estate, which meant that even if there really were something suspicious about the unsuspecting gift then the duke wouldn’t have handed it over if he hadn’t been confident in such a thing going undiscovered.
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While Alistar and Caedmon were lost in thought, Anice grabbed Lessa’s hands and began to jump around in joy.
“They’re finally gone! Now we can go see everyone!” She pulled Lessa toward the gate with impatient tugs. “Come on, guys. Let’s go see if anyone’s at The Spot!”
Alistar was still troubled about what had just happened, and he was in no mood to play around.
“You two go. I’ve got lessons with Master.”
“Can’t you skip it just this once? We haven’t been able to see the others in ages. Aren’t you curious if Team Tempest has returned yet? We can stop by at Zech’s place on the way and ask him.”
Although she was right in all regards, the past week had instilled within Alistar a desire to grow as powerful as possible in the shortest amount of time. If he had learned anything in recent days it was that the only way to ensure his safety and that of those around him was to train as diligently as possible.
“After what happened the last time I missed a lesson, I think Master would kill me.”
Anice persisted for a time, though Lessa was quick to urge her into quietness.
“He’s got things to do, Anne. We shouldn’t distract him.”
She returned his thankful glance with a smile, after which she followed a quick-footed Anice who had immediately begun to sprint for the eastern gates as soon as it had become apparent that Alistar wasn’t going to tag along with them.
After leaving Antoine’s gift in Caedmon’s care, Alistar hurried to his room and changed into a loose pair of trousers and an open, sleeveless tunic before he retrieved his practice sword and hurried to the dining hall where a wide variety of breakfast foods were idly going to waste. Grabbing two large handkerchiefs that had been sitting amongst a stack of folded napkins, he picked out an assortment of cheeses, breads, fried meats and fruits, helping himself to a few bites as he did so. After piling all the food into two large mounds, he wrapped them up in the handkerchiefs, grabbed a couple of empty cups with some loose fingers and then made his way to the eastern gate.
As always, Harold and Rayson were appreciative of his considerations, showering him with compliments as he handed over the carefully bound feast. He even went as far as to fill both of their cups with clean water from the surroundings, cooling it with a quick spell before bidding them a good day and hurrying down the pathway that led to Mayhaven’s western gate.
With thoughts of his future and the possible dangers that awaited him, Alistar sprinted the entire way to the collegia with resolute steps. He had decided to maintain his ocular alteration spell from this day onward, as his eyes’ original composition of colours was too conspicuous in comparison to that of most other people. The majority of those that he’d met in Mayhaven had already seen the true shades that normally defined his gaze, but this wasn’t particularly endangering due to the fact that none among the common folk had any way of knowing their true significance. Maintaining the spell also redirected some of his excess energy, however negligible the amount, in addition to helping him hone his ability to control his magics.
Perhaps I should focus on learning Haussen Scuff’s reinforcement magics for now? He enjoyed the thought as he made his way down one of the many cobblestone pathways within the collegia. I quite like that idea. Hopefully I’ll be able to take off more of these pesky rings by the time I get the hang of it.
Alistar put aside thoughts of arcane study as he arrived outside of Tramon’s house, his grizzled master looking a bit more kempt with his beard having undergone a recent grooming. He was balancing his weight on the wooden cane that Caedmon had provided in order to replace the one that he’d damaged during a previous spar when his master had been a bit too drunk to take things seriously.
So he says, Alistar thought just before Tramon closed the distance between them with a strong-footed dash and smacked the practice sword from his hands with a merciless slash.
“W—why did you do that?”
“I didn’t like that smirk on your face.”
He pushed all of his anxieties away from his mind, relying on his meditations to keep a clear head. Kaila’s situation in Crystellum, his highborn cousins’ animosity and the possibility of him being a target of their spite, the longstanding trauma of his tragic past; everything became fuel for his developing fortitude, a driving force that encouraged him to do better in all of his endeavours.
Alistar subconsciously healed his hand and then retrieved his sword as a strong sense of anticipation built up within him. It seemed that today’s lesson would solely consist of intense sparring sessions, which was exactly what he had been hoping for.
The following hours didn’t disappoint.