by Sean Oswald
“How was I to know that he had magic which could bring him back from the dark lands? I didn’t even know that such magic existed.” Fear and anger fought within Edwin’s voice.
“You know so little. You are all children. Yet the Master’s rules apply to you just the same,” Seimion said as he sat in a second chair the servants had already set up at the duke’s table.
“What rules?”
“It has been called many different things. Some call it survival of the fittest. Yet I have always felt that it lacked a certain understanding of the true spirit of the rule. It is not about survival. It is about thriving. The way I like it best described was written in one of the books a critic of the Master wrote. The short-sighted fool thought to criticize those better than himself but in it all simply found the truth even if he was too blind to acknowledge it.” Seimion laughed as if hearing a joke that only he understood.
“Stop speaking in riddles. I have already agreed to do as you ask. Be clear or I will end you even if it costs the life of every man here with me!” Edwin shouted as his anger won out over his fear.
“Very well,” Seimion replied flatly, although his eyes gave off a red glow from within the cowl of his robe. “He who has much will gain more, and he who has little will have even his smidge taken from him.”
When no one said anything more, he continued, “That is the rule of the Master. It is the way of the universe, and he has seen it. So you have won out over your rival.” With that, the gray robed mage made a quick gesture at Itsu’s corpse before continuing.
The mage’s other arm extended out towards the duke. The three-fingered hand turned over and opened up to reveal a large red pill in his leathery black palm. “Reach out and take your prize if you dare.”
Chapter Fourteen
“I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.” — Sigmund Freud
Eris’ Rise - Dave Nelson
Dave was not a man given to tears, but the last three days had found him ready to break down many times. He was thrilled to have his entire family back together. Even with the struggles the battle had brought and the sorrow of the funerals he had attended, his hope was still high, except in one thing. The night after the battle he had needed a bath, and because there was so much need for it, he had asked Jackson to use it with him. An expression of terror had crossed his son’s face when he made that proposal, and Dave was caught completely off guard. He knew that his son was growing up but didn’t think it was a big deal for them to both be in a bath the size of a large hot tub. Could he have underestimated his son’s need for privacy? Something didn’t seem right about it. He knew Jackson had been in many locker rooms and doubted that being in Eloria would have made him more sensitive, more likely the opposite. So with a sense that only a parent has of when it is necessary to push their child, Dave insisted.
Once Jackson realized he couldn’t weasel out of it, the boy hurried to the bath and was in the water waiting for Dave before the water could have been properly heated. Throughout the bath, they talked, catching up on what had been happening for the couple of months they had been apart. A father wants to see his son grow and fulfill the vision he has for him. Dave was no exception in that there was a part of him that wanted to live vicariously through his son’s achievements. Even back on Earth, he loved hearing about Jackson's victories in baseball or other sports. He loved his daughters, but there was a unique bond he had with his son.
As they talked about Jackson’s time at the Royal Academy, it became clear that the boy was holding back something. Dave wasn’t like Emily and didn’t feel the need to push his son for the answer. He wanted to build up enough trust that whatever was bothering Jackson would come out on its own. Finally, Dave got out of the tub and started drying off. When Jackson didn’t follow suit, he got suspicious again.
“What are you waiting for–your tones to turn all pruney like they did when you were a little boy at the pool?” Dave asked, trying to use the humor of a shared memory to lighten the mood.
“Um … no … I, uh … just wanted to sit here for a bit more,” Jackson replied hesitantly.
“Normally, that would be just fine, but we have some guests waiting to use the tub. You certainly don’t want that new priestess to come in here and find you like that. Do you?” He winked at his son. It had been clear that his son had noticed the priestess, who was probably five or six years older than him, but Dave didn’t think that Jackson was at the stage where he was ready to go that far with a woman.
Blushing even more, Jackson wordlessly sputtered, and Dave took mercy on him saying, “I was just kidding, but seriously get out of the water. You don’t have anything I haven’t seen before, and here is a towel anyway.” As he said the last part, he tossed up one of the towels he had commissioned to be made for his family. Textiles in Eloria still had a long way to come; the towel was essentially a cotton rectangle.
Reflexively, Jackson stood up to grab the towel before it could land in the water. As he did, Dave immediately saw what was making Jackson so nervous, and his blood boiled. Covering Jackson thighs, upper arms, and most of his torso was a tapestry of bruises all in various stages of healing. He was mottled with black, blue, and even yellowish spots all over him. Dave could only imagine what sort of systematic abuse Jackson must have been subjected to in order to have marks like that. It had to have been some form of torture or almost a constant state of being beaten over a period of weeks.
Dave fought to get his emotion under control. He wanted to explode but also didn’t want Jackson to think that he was the object of his father’s ire. More than that, he wanted to comfort his son, but could tell how uncomfortable it was making him. It was a hard line to walk, and Dave probably didn’t do a very good job of it, but he turned to give his son some privacy to dress while doing the same himself. Then, when Jackson went to silently leave the bath chamber, Dave stopped him and gave him a hug. He had always been stronger than his son, but the difference now on Eloria was staggering. He only used enough force to pull his son into an embrace. He felt warm tears on his shoulder as Jackson cried, and it soaked into his cotton shirt. The boy shuddered as his tears flowed, and it nearly broke Dave’s heart. He hadn’t been there to protect his son from this, but no matter what, he would protect him moving forward.
Time passed slowly in that embrace, but Dave didn’t let Jackson pull away until he seemed to be under control. “You know we have to talk about this.”
Shame and anger played out across Jackson’s face as he responded, “Why? There isn’t anything that can be done about it … it’s all my fault.”
“What, why would you say that? There is never a reason for whatever has been done to you. You are a child. Yes yes, I know you are growing up, but what would ever make you think you were responsible for this?” Dave’s shock came through in his words and the flabbergasted expression on his face.
Jackson looked at the floor and was slow to respond, but Dave waited as patiently as he could. “If I was stronger, this never would have happened.”
There it was. Dave’s worst fear come to life. He had passed on his bottomless need to take responsibility for everything and everyone around him to his son. He could have wept with frustration. Jackson’s young mind had twisted the situation to excuse his tormentors, whoever they might be.
“Why do you say that? Who is doing this to you? Is it the teachers? So help me–I will end them all.” Dave rapidly fired out the questions and felt his anger slip its leash a bit at the end.
“No, no, it isn’t the teachers. It is the other students. They beat me because I’m weak.”
“There has to be more to it than that. I mean I can see someone not liking you and hitting you.” Dave paused and waved his hand at Jackson’s now covered bruises. “But that, that is not just from getting hit one time. That is someone repeatedly hitting you. Besides that, what makes you think that they are doing it because you are weak?”
“Well I gue
ss that they aren’t doing it just because I’m weak. They don’t like that I’m an outsider and that our family was raised to nobility. If I was strong enough though, they would respect that. Because I’m weak, they want to make me quit,” Jackson said.
“Who? Who is doing this to you? And where are your instructors during all of this?”
“It happens in combat training or on hunts. And it doesn’t matter who it is. If it wasn’t them, it would be someone else. They just happen to be the strongest of the students,” Jackson said with anger.
Dave was impressed at the maturity of his son’s response but still didn’t want to let him end on the idea that this was his own fault. “Do you want to come home?”
Jackson immediately shook his head and said, “No, I don’t want to quit. Besides, this was part of the deal you made with the king.”
“No. No, you don’t need to think like that. It is my job and your mother’s job to look out for you. It isn’t your job to sacrifice for us or for what you think is necessary. No deal with the king or anyone else would ever allow me to keep you in harm’s way,” Dave said cutting off Jackson.
“I can do this dad.”
“I don’t know if I’m going to allow you to go back,” Dave said as his mind was quickly processing options.
“What? I have to go back. I want to go back.” Jackson’s expression was almost panicked.
“Why? Why would you want to subject yourself to that?” Dave asked, exasperated.
“I don’t want to be a quitter, and you were right. There is a lot for me to learn there. Besides, like you always say, ‘You can’t keep a Nelson down.’” Jackson's panic eased into a smile as he tried to turn his father’s words back on him.
“Arggh …” Dave made a groaning sound as he rubbed his face in his hands like he had a tension headache.
“You know you could help me though, dad …”
No stranger to being manipulated, or at least the attempts made by his children, Dave rolled his eyes. He was pretty sure he already knew what Jackson was going to say and knew that it came with a whole other set of problems, but there was a big part of him that couldn’t disagree and was simply glad to be thinking about anything other than the bruises on his son. Still, he waited to see how long it would take his son to ask.
“Well … uh … if I got leveled up … then uh … it wouldn’t be so hard to defend myself.” Jackson’s fear resurfaced in his hesitation to ask.
In response Dave began to verbalize the internal discussion he had already been having about this very idea. “I had already thought about that, but it’s dangerous. And holy crap, can you imagine how your mother would react if I told her I was going to help you level up? Especially after what just happened to her and Mira and the loss of Sir Tradon.”
“You don’t have to tell her!” Jackson blurted out.
“Trust me, I thought about that, and it is very tempting. I want to level you up, but I also don’t want to keep secrets from your mother. It isn’t the way I want our new life here to go.”
“So, I’m just screwed,” Jackson said bitterly, more to himself than anyone else as his fear traveled down the road to resentment.
“Don’t give up. Hold onto that determination, but you need to give me some time to think. You’ve got what–five more days till you have to teleport back?” Dave paused while Jackson nodded in the affirmative. “Do you have any idea what level the other students are who have been doing this to you?”
“Well they test the students in the beginning of each semester to see what level we are at, not only in raw level but also in practical capability. Then there is a ranking board that lists all the students. So I can tell you that the two main ones who have been doing this are level 13 and 14, but there are also some others who join in. Most of them are level 9, but a handful more are into Tier 2,” Jackson answered.
“Hmm, Tier 2. That might be hard. I don’t mean to worry you, but did you know that in Eloria’s messed up system not everyone can level up the same amount? A lot of people can never make it past Tier 1.” Dave looked at his son, unsure how he would take this news.
“Yes, our instructors teach that it's part of the privilege of nobility to be able to level up further and that it proves our right to rule. He said that apart from the occasional outlier, how far most people can level is equal to or less than what their parents can do and that if both their parents are higher Tier, then they have a much stronger chance of being able to keep leveling too.” Jackson rattled off the information like it was something he memorized.
Dave laughed out loud, “Don’t let your mother hear you spouting that. You know how she feels about nobles.”
“Even though she is a noble from not just one but two different countries?” Jackson asked with a grin.
“Yeah, uh, don’t let her hear you mention that either. So do you buy into any of what they are teaching you?” Dave asked with some hesitation.
“You mean do I believe in divine right, manifest destiny, and all that stuff?” Jackson asked back.
“So I can see somebody was at least paying attention in history class back home, but do you?”
“I believe in the skills and languages that they are teaching us. I don’t have to agree with the political philosophy to know that they have things to teach me,” Jackson replied.
In that moment Dave experienced one of the greatest joys of fatherhood: the realization that his child was becoming his own unique person with his own ideas. He was excited to be able to talk to his son as an intellectual equal and not just someone to be taught. “I’m glad that you are taking what they have to offer and still thinking for yourself. That will take you far in life.” The pride Dave felt manifested in the smile on his face.
“Will you trust me to see what I can do about this? I was planning on patrolling the area around the Eris’ Rise in a couple of days, and maybe you could come with me. An opportunity may present itself. But you need to let me talk to your mother. Try to be patient.” Dave spoke softly as his mind was already wandering to how he would be able to bring this up with Emily.
The next three days passed without him finding a time to broach the subject with his wife. Continual meetings with Steffen and the military leaders about defenses and patrols kept him busy. The general was impressed by how well the two races were integrating in Eris’ Rise. For their part, the elves, including Emily, found something reassuring about Steffen. She even told Dave one night while they were lying in bed that if there were more nobles like Baron Eikhorn, she really thought there might be hope for the idea they were trying to forge here. It didn’t hurt that his son was so obviously close with Jackson.
Beyond the meetings, Dave had each day broken up into segmented parts. Every morning he woke up and toured the community. Both he and Emily believed that being visibly involved in the community was important. Then he would spend an hour sparring and training with various groups of their soldiers in the town square. There had been a disagreement between him and his wife about the appropriateness, but Dave insisted that Daichi and the others were correct. It was good for the community to see his strength. What’s more, as a former military, Dave knew that the troops respect good leaders, but they also respect leaders who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. So the fact that he trained with them, practiced swordsmanship or archery, and more than that, wasn’t afraid to learn from them, began to truly endear him with the troops.
After the tour and training, he would have breakfast with the family since he wanted to always make that a priority before filling up most of the day with meetings. Then after dinner with the family, sometimes even a card game or some charades, he would retire and spend time with Emily. She was still too worked up from feeling responsible for Tradon’s death and worried about being able to heal Jaselm and Kraden for anything beyond talking and cuddling, but honestly that was all Dave could handle on those evenings. Dave was torn up about what had been happening to Jackson but hadn’t yet been able to bring himse
lf to tell her about it. Not telling her was killing him, but fearing the hurt it would cause her and the reaction she would have was too big of a hurdle for him so far.
Finally, after Emily fell asleep, Dave would climb out of bed and memorize a spell each night. Mira was getting ahead of him, and they had argued about who would get to learn each spell until Dave had to threaten not to let her have the book again. She finally gave in and agreed to listen to him but still kept begging for more time with the spells.
They both knew that they could try teaching the spells that they learned to each other but also knew that the odds of learning a spell from a book were better than learning it from another caster. Something about the skill that went into inscribing the spells in the book in the first place helped. A little experimentation had shown them that on average it took approximately one hour per spell level to learn a spell, although Mira tended to be 10 to 15% faster than Dave.
She surmised it was because of her greater Intelligence score, even if Dave wasn’t willing to concede that point. The biggest parts of their argument centered around two things: they both wanted more offensive spells, and Mira was also jealous that her dad had gotten so many Tier 3 spells because he delayed opening up the other schools of magic until he had passed into level twenty.
So far, it had been three days of studying both Turgur’s book and the one they got in the dungeon. Learning a spell from a spell book erased it from the pages. They weren’t sure yet what happened if someone failed to learn a spell, although Gunidar had said something about “the latent energy going unused and thus not removing the script from the pages.” Dave thought that it should have been a golden opportunity to learn about magic with the royal mage while essentially stuck in Eris’ Rise for a week. Yet the man had proven repeatedly to be very frustrating. He was secretive when it came to magic, and worse, when he learned that Mira was a meta-mage, he took to actively avoiding her as though she had the plague.