Alistar’s Name Day began with a familiar anomaly that had grown to be a regular part of his life.
These days, the terrible dreams that tortured him each night had gotten far worse. Not only was he constantly reliving his father’s death in the midst of his phantom family, but both last night and the one before it he had been forced to face a bone-chilling realization that he’d promised his uncle to forever forget. That was, the pit full of dead slaves that he and Raidon had stumbled upon on their first day as freemen. In these dreams, the pit had been full of familiar faces; his parents, his uncle, Kaila’s parents and grandpa, and also the sweet girl herself. In both instances, the decomposing bodies had all been missing bits of flesh where savage bites had been taken out of them by scavenging animals, though this didn’t stop them all from staring up at him where he stood along the perimeter of the pit, legs cold and limp as he unwillingly beheld the nightmarish scene with a spine-tingling sense dread.
Last night’s terror had been particularly cruel, for his family had been trying to scramble their way out of the pit amidst the howls, hisses and roars of unknown, unseen creatures. Alistar had been powerless to assist them.
Papa…Mama… Why must I see such things?
He awoke with a face full of tears, burying his head in his hands as his body was shaken by unsteady breaths. I’m sorry, Uncle. I broke my promise. Moments into his manic episode of depression, it registered in his mind that his bedroom was basking in unexpected illumination. His was one of the few rooms in the manor house that lacked windows or wooden flooring, a space composed entirely of solid stone.
This again?
The source of light was attached to his wrist, the silver bracelet that had replaced the one he’d worn all of his life in the mines. Staring down at Caedmon’s gift to him, he noted that the plate of silver at its centre was glowing vibrantly. The light was bright blue.
“Why does it do this?” he muttered to himself, wiping at his eyes with his right wrist. A light crack suddenly appeared at the centre of it the plate, one so small that it would be hard to notice had he not been staring directly at it.
Interestingly enough, the light began to dim as the minutes dragged by, fading altogether by the time that he collected himself. He doubted that the bracelet had shown such a reaction for no reason, which meant that something had to have caused it. Recalling all of the previous times that he had awoken to a similar situation, he couldn’t help but wonder if the cause was related to his bad dreams. Thinking back to his previous bracelet, he had no choice but to doubt his former thought. His old adornment had lit up many times, mostly while he was awake. Since this was the case, it couldn’t be related to his dreams.
Memories surfaced of when he and Kaila had been followed and assaulted by that group of guards back in Crystellum, specifically of his state of mind at the time. He had been terrified, angry, helpless, indescribably frustrated and sad with self-pity. This was similar to how he felt in his dreams.
Now that he was more curious than sad, he focused on the bracelet again, though this time with his magical awareness. Sure enough, a heavy amount of energy was seeping out of it.
Is this…my energy?
Clearing his mind, he focused on the other sources of energy in the area. Anice was still in her room, likely sleeping in as she tended to do at times, while Caedmon’s aura was surrounded by many other, much smaller ones. Why were there so many, he wondered? It seemed as if most of the estate’s servants were currently in the dining hall.
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The amount of energy seeping out of the warm metal on his wrist had given off a much larger signal than that of his uncle’s aura, which was by far the most prominent on the property alongside Alder’s. Is this stopping my aura? No, my energy. This…this is my energy!
Alistar finally understood why all of the slaves in Crystellum were forced to wear similar bracelets. Staring down at the plate of silver that served as the centre of the adornment, he took a deep breath and tried to relax his body, watching as the last of the light began to fade away. Focusing intently as he sat there in the darkness, for the first time in his life he allowed himself to willingly think about all of the depressing thoughts that constantly tormented his psyche. He watched with wondrous eyes as a small amount of light gradually began to spill out of the metal plate, which was now quite hot against his skin. It was because of my emotions?
Lost in deep thought, Alistar wasn’t roused from his contemplations until he noticed that Caedmon’s aura had descended to the basement and was currently closing in on his room. Calming his mind, the light faded away just as his door reported a sharp series of knocks.
“Alistar?”
“It’s open, Uncle.”
The soft glow of candlelight spilled into the room, a shadowy silhouette stretching from Caedmon’s feet as the light caught his back. “I say, are you only waking up now?” Every candle in Alistar’s room came to life with a simultaneous flair. “There we are.” Usually garbed in fine silks of his clan’s colours, today he wore a black tunic of rough-spun fabric along with grey trousers and a pair of brown leather boots.
The sudden flames impressed Alistar, though it was still a struggle to sort through his dreary thoughts. “I woke up a few minutes ago.”
“Just resting your head, were you?” Caedmon came and took a seat at the foot of the bed, resting a hand on Alistar’s shoulder. “Look now, your Name Day has finally arrived. Are you excited?” His steely eyes seemed to be searching for something as they scanned Alistar’s expression.
“I think so. I just hope everything goes well.”
“Today will be full of food and friends, and Madeline and the others will take care of everything. All you have to do is enjoy your time together with everyone and try your best to have fun.”
A thought occurred to Alistar that abruptly increased his anxiety. What if Jaden and Zech forgot to invite the others and nobody wound up coming?
“I’m sure you’ll make some very important memories,” his uncle went on, a confident look in his gentle gaze. “I’ve also given everyone on the estate the day off from their duties, aside from the cooking and whatnot. They will also be celebrating with us.”
“Madeline and Patricia, too?”
“Stason and Alder as well. It’s not every day that one inherits a new name, you know.”
Alistar had been uncertain about the rules behind receiving a new name for quite some time now, so he took this chance to get some clarification. “Will I be taking on the Silverkin name, and also another name? Anne once told me that everyone is given two names when they’re born, and that they get their third on their Name Day. I’ve also read about this a few times.” Growing a bit worried, he asked, “And since I’m to pretend to be a bastard, will I be called Scuff like Jaden and the others?”
Above all else, he wanted to take on the last names of his parents. He still didn’t know what his dad’s surname was and had been harbouring a small hope that perhaps today would be the day that he was destined to learn it.
“Ah, it’s a tad complicated.” Caedmon scratched at his clean-shaven face, a bit hesitant. “Although you’re supposed to be a bastard, you’re still going to take on the Silverkin name. Anyone who sees your eyes will know that you’re from the main line, even if only a third of their shading is silver. I’m afraid that in House Silverkin, only my eldest brother and my father have the same depth to their irises.”
“So I’m to be Alistar Silverkin? What about my father’s name?”
“I knew you would ask this,” came a careful sigh. His uncle stood up from the bed and stretched his arms. “And I think I’ve come up with a satisfactory solution. That will have to wait until the end of the day, however. For the time being, we will only announce your second name during the celebration. Bastards aren’t entitled to receive a third name, so if I grant you one then your uncles might misinterpret it as a sign that I plan to designate you as my heir. They would view this as them being cheated out of a chance to take over my county should I not sire a male descendant.”