2 The Sanctuary

The Cygnus family was greatly upset at the lady's passing. When they saw the youngest addition to their family, they were constantly reminded of her. The young boy had the face of his mother. His body was short and skinny, a weak body unlike that of the average man.

The Duke, Albern Cygnus, was a tall man with great wisdom. His blue hair characteristic of the Cygnus family accentuated his light blue eyes that seemed deep and knowledgeable. He had a domineering pressure around him most of the time, which came from being the King's right hand man. White skin and always properly dressed, everyone would say he was the embodiment of formality. But the death of his beloved broke something inside him. As soon as he heard of her passing, he cried and anguished for hours. He felt like he was ready to give in and follow his wife to the afterlife. But it all changed when he saw the newborn. His youngest became his reason to live, his mountain on the storm. He was always reminded of his one true love when he looked at him. He named his youngest what him and his wife had agreed on. His name was Edmund.

The oldest son, Marcus Cygnus, was born 11 years before Edmund, so he remembered their mother the best. He saw her every time he looked at Edmund. His blue hair and gray eyes were sharp and piercing. He was built like a warrior. He was trained to be the next family head of the Cygnus Duchy. As such, his training included swordsmanship and fighting techniques. He was a strong fighter with a spirit of justice. Whenever people talked about him, they imagined a dragon made human. Strong and courageous. This training was accompanied by many other courses such as strategy and ethics. He was the main pillar of the Cygnus family, giving structure and direction to the family name. His schedule was almost always full, yet he still made time to see Edmund every few weeks at most.

The second son, William Cygnus, was 7 years old when Edmund was born, so although he didn't remember their mother very well, he could still see the resemblance. His blue hair made him look refined. He was very interested in money. His blue eyes could analyze a person with minimal information and make a financial profile about them easily. His love for money was a great contribution to the family finances. Any way to earn money was good for him. He made investments, gambled, and started businesses. He was the Financial pillar of the Cygnus family. Although he was a very financially conscious man, he would still cancel meetings from time to time to play with Edmund.

The only daughter, Esther Cygnus, didn't remember their mother. She grew up with Edmund surrounded by men. Although she was the only woman, she quickly grew attached to Edmund in particular because he was younger than her. She saw it as them against the world. She participated in many social gatherings of nobility and entered high social circles. Along the way, she became a cunning woman with sharp wits and intuition. She used these to support her two older brothers in their endeavors, becoming the Political pillar of the Cygnus family. Still, she maintained her stance about it being her and Edmund against the world.

Edmund became the most valuable treasure of the Cygnus family. His blue hair from his father and yellow electric eyes from his mother, he was the embodiment of all they held dear. Albern, so shaken by his wife's passing, became attached to Edmund. Too attached. He was tortured by the thought of losing Edmund. He was so afraid of losing him that the Duke divided all Cygnus mansions and estates in two. One they would use normally, while the other would serve as a Sanctuary for the young boy. The Sanctuary would have no servants, no windows, no glass, and no exits except those connected to the normal part of the mansions. No one would be allowed inside the Sanctuary except Cygnus family members, the chief butler, and the Cygnus family physician.

Albern then connected all the estate's and mansion's Sanctuaries together with magic. He spent a great fortune hiring a magician to connect all Sanctuaries through teleport formations and magic circles. He also had the magician obscure the Sancuary itself. No one would be able to find or break into or even divine anything about the Sanctuary. Not unless they entered through the normal way. He did this all to protect the legacy left behind by the love of his life.

Marcus, the only one old enough to actually understand what his father was doing at the time, tried to stop him. But he was convinced with the excuse that it would be the best for Edmund. A place where Edmund would forever be safe.

This way, Albern convinced Marcus, William, and even Esther, that the Sanctuary was the best thing for Edmund. As they grew older and experienced the life on the outside, full of trickery, plagues, disasters, and all kinds of danger, they started seeing the Sanctuary as not only the best choice for Edmund, but the only one. They believed it was necessary for his well being.

With this, Edmund became the Cygnus family secret. Some rumors went around that Albern had another son, after all, the nurses and other servants had seen it happen. But as he was never seen, or never made a debut in society, the rumors died down. Many rivals of the Cygnus family also hired magicians to divine this issue, but nothing was found, further hiding his existence. Albern, Marcus, William, and Esther always denied these rumors, which discredited Edmund's existence even further.

Like this, Edmund grew up in his own little world. He became a naive boy who trusted all and had no particular physical or mental strengths, his only joys being his family's visits and reading books on the library. No care in the world, but still wishing for a look at the outside.