Family Secret

Juan Erwin

"Your adopted son is quite the prodigy. I just hope he doesn't end up like the others" I said taking a bite of my cake. I was currently staying in my favorite meeting room with my father and younger brother. The aroma of the tea filled the room. It was soothing.

I set crossed legged on a sofa, my father sat beside me: stroking his beard. Brother sat infront of us, separated by centre coffee table between us.

He took a sip from his cup before responding. "I know. His potential is great. I'm sure of it. As a father, I'm very happy to have him as a son.

But please don't speak about his birth near him. I don't want him to be heart broken. I'll tell him when he grows up."

"I know. Remember I can sense things a good distance away so don't get worried" I was glad my younger brother had been fortuned to have such a well-mannered son.

The incident with Freya had us all worried. Freya had begged him to marry another woman but he refused. I can remember the event as clear as day.

Sister-in-law had tried to commit suicide after Kent refused to marry again. Luckily they were here with us; Matilda had stopped Frey in her act. I took a good amount of months for her to get emotionally stable.

My brother couldn't make the choice of marrying again, because of his history. Kent was actually my cousin by blood. Nephew of my father.

My uncle, Vincent Erwin, was considered a thoughtless person. Even among the few commoners that knew of his acts. I know this because I once overheard the maids gossip.

He was irresponsible. My late mother despised him. If it were up to her, he would have had a silent death a long time ago. It was only because of father that she refused to do it.

My uncle had ended the life of the children his concubines conceived. All except one. His impetuous acts could no longer be tolerated by even his own blood.

My father had enough of his scandals and took in Kent to our family. Uncle Vincent later died a shameful death. His manhood has been - infected.

'A mage of High lord Erwin to die such a pitiful death. Luckily the people were unaware of his cause of death, if not-'. I always had goosebumps fearing I would suffer the same fate if I ever cheated on Matilda.

No she wouldn't even wait for me. I'll be dead before the tests are even taken.

Doing a quick check on my big Ben and adjusting my glasses, I read the reports sent to me by the lieutenant General of the southern defense forces: Duke Albertine.

"Any information regarding Noxus, from Lord Trident?" Father asked. His voice was hoarse. Forming blue flame orbs with a blink of my eye, I let go of the reports. My precise control over the orbs allowed for only a slight change in atmospheric heat, which wasn't great enough for father and brother to notice.

At the orbs which guided the documents passed through the air, the heat of the flames caused the hot air to expand and rise. My control over the orbs and the little enlightenment I received from my friend, Duke Albertine, allowed me to achieve this feat with ease.

"I see. The Noxians haven't drawn towards our border for eight years now." Father said. He had an anxious look. This was understandable. Whenever the Noxians avoid war for a decade or so, they come back with a terrifying infantry of humanoids and dwarves alike. The humanoids reproduce at a faster rate than us humans.

We had tried counterattacking them but it came to no avail. No because we were weak, but Noxus had a natural defensive system.

The moving sands.

The abrasive might of this Edenborn phenomena can shred an average Ixaltian person with ease. Scholars speculated the water in the average human or elf body, tends to diminish in the presence of this of the phenomenon. It was then advised to coat oneself with mana to both act as a shield against the cutting sands and provide pressure to prevent the loss of water.

Still, with all these investigation we had futile attempts at a headon counter attack. The distance was too great for an average mage to maintain the mana circulation. Also the strain it had on their bodies was severe.

The moving sands also proved a threat to the Noxians, but the humanoids overcame with brute force. The body had a much tougher build than us Ixaltians. The dwarves on the otherhand, manipulated could easily make use of the sands of Eden to form shields, thereby countering the phenomenon.

The continent of Ixalt had an average amount of Eden mages, but the majority of them aids in infrastructure development. We had recently developed sails to invade the Noxians at the West and East. It proved efficient until the enemy forces countered in huge numbers. We had been forced to retreat abandoning a few ships.

It only a matter of time before the dwarves replicate it. Could that be why their stalling.

"We should still be able to fend them off if they make ships. We still have the council, we'll fight for our land as always. I plan on  joining the army when Finnr gets older."brother said after reading the documents. I could trust him with such confidential information.

Kent had said the plain truth. It mostly because of the council that Ixalt still stands. The commander-in-chief of military forces, Lord Atreus, had developed a system to grant power to the council representatives who acted as Major Generals during times of war.

A conferment room with runics engraved in it's walls. The runic drawings lead to the gemstones which contains a dangerous amount of mana. These gemstones were actually the mana cores of the deceased Etruscans leader. And they were four in number.

The feeling I had whenever I was sent into the vault was divine. The amount of mana contained inside the cores was terrifyingly huge. I remember the first time I went in. I fell face first to the ground, and so did the others.

We were bugs to even the remains of this beings. It was frustrating, knowing this fact. I was a second stage indigo core mage, but that didn't mean a thing. It destroyed the little pride I held knowing I was special among my peers. Only Oberon and I had achieved this feat. Galadriel and Albertine had only reached the 1st stage of indigo.

I'll admit I had my blood and some elixirs backing me up but it was my hardwork that made me strong.

At least that's what dad said.

The conferment room had bestowed us with power to reach the Violet stage of our cores. The level still remained the same. There was a stage about Violet which was white, but only Etruscans could reach that stage.

They were two reasons Lord Atreus didn't let us. It wasn't because he feared we could revolt against him or fight amongst ourselves. It was because it would drain the cores to provide the mana. Reason being that it doesn't have it's natural host. Second being that it would kill us lesser beings before the white core even forms.

Not even a daredevil would survive such a fate.

Having remembered my reasons for accepting my brothers statement, I didn't to push away those thoughts.

"What about Freya? Would you two live Finn on his own?" Dad was right. The war might continue in the next six years. Finnr would only be twelve.

"It's fine really. He's a strong boy. Also Skylar is there to protect him" Father chuckled at this. I was shocked to say the least. Well it was surprising but if Skylar likes him and vice versa, I didn't have a problem with it.

"Already making engagement preparations, I see. Well done Kent; I'm make sure I'm alive to see the day" Father laughed loudly. I wasn't comfortable with his antics but I didn't to shut my ears.

"Well it's fine. As long as Sky is okay with it. I won't let your son survive the same fate as your father." I stood up as Kent rushed me into a hug. He began to sob. Kent was always mature like any ordinary man should be, seeing him this way: still haunted by the acts of his father was...pitiful.

"Thank you, uncle, cousin. I'm really grateful for everything." Dad completed the group hug patting Kent on his back.

"It's okay Kent. Didn't I warn you to never call me Uncle. After all these years I expect better"

"Sorry.." Kent said, wiping off his tears. I heard rushed footsteps a distance away.