12. A Dinner to Remember

The feast that night was lavish. There was more food than twenty men could ever hope to consume. It was a merry event, but Castus was always on edge. Reid hadn't relaxed for the dinner and strictly reprimanded Castus for his etiquette during dinner, taking the opportunity to turn the dinner into a lesson for him. This made his sisters giggle in delight. Castus was glad to give them a happy night before they left to go to academy, even at his own expense. After the dinner and delicious dessert, which Castus strictly ignored Reid during to enjoy it, Castus' father brought out two boxes for his sisters. They were small, but ornately wrapped. He handed them to the girls gingerly, before standing behind them and speaking with a voice that seemed to crack ever so slightly. As much as Tyrus tried his hardest to stick to his noble facade, he was still a peasant father deep down and watching his girls go away tore at his soul.

"Erin...Aria... I have gotten you both this gift to go along with you to the academy. I hope it will serve you well and serve as a reminder of where you came from while your there." He paused for a moment, his lip quivering. "I'm so proud of you both. Please stay safe and come home during breaks!" In an extremely rare moment of emotion Tyrus hugged both of his daughters while Veronica appeared behind him joining in the hug. Castus realizing what needed to be done, hopped down from the chair and pushed through the soreness in his legs to join in the hug.

As shortly as the tears started on Tyrus' face he dried them, clearing his throat and resuming his noble demeanor. "Please open your gifts girls." The girls being given the go ahead, obliterated the packaging with reckless abandon. The packaging yielded to reveal two identical rings. Tyrus seizing the moment the girls were enraptured with the rings explained. "These are rings that have an enchantment to create a barrier when infused with mana. I hope you two will never have to use this, but I wanted to be sure you could protect yourselves." Tyrus rubbed both girls heads with a proud smile. Both girls turned to Tyrus with happy expressions.

"Thank you father!" Erin happily wrapped her arms around Tyrus.

"This is incredible father." Aria pleased, but far more composed also stood and wrapped her arms around Tyrus.

Following the happy moment everyone started to feel tired, moving from the dining room to everyone's individual rooms. Yursa and Anabelle escorted Ben and Reid to their respective rooms for the next two years as Castus made his way to his room alone. He finally had time alone with his thoughts. He reflected on the day compiling the knowledge he had learned and adjusting the ever-changing plan he had in his mind.

'I never considered that I could still utilize weapons without the appropriate skills. It sounds so simple now that I realize it, but without Ben's insight I never would have considered it. According to him it will be magnitudes more difficult, but it's still possible.' Castus clenched his fist in motivation, feeling the effects of having tutors for the first day. In one day he had started to understand the written language he spoke and physically trained. Most importantly he had learned that maybe he had the chance to be able to physically defend himself in combat. He almost forgot, but one detail rushed to the forefront of his mind. Enchantments. This was the first time he had ever heard someone talk about them, but his father had just gifted his sisters with rings that could create barriers. With the newfound knowledge of Ben ringing in his ears he began to wonder if maybe he could circumvent the restrictions of his blessings with enchantments.

So far he had never planned to be in combat much throughout his life. He always thought it was stupid to rush into a fight like the heroes of stories his mother would read him, but with his blessing and the understanding that this world far differed from Earth, his mindset had changed. He may not have to fight every day of his life, but with his father having him trained at such a young age it became clear that being able to protect yourself was going to be a very important skill. This was going to be even more important if he was going to be traveling much in his life. Castus wanted a more peaceful life in his second chance, but he also wanted to travel and see this new world. Conversations he had overheard from his father and his guests hinted at the dangers of traveling. Merchants were known to travel in large companies of vehicles with armed guards for safety. This had originally deterred Castus but the stories of the unbelievable natural wonders he had heard of stirred his sense of adventure.

Castus once again changed his ever-evolving plan to include learning how to defend himself. He hoped to never have to use it, but he determined it would be a vital skill. He rolled over in his bed closing his eyes for the night when a glint of light in his window caught his attention. He eyes refocused as he squinted in the darkness of the night. For just a second out in the forests Castus swore he just something move. It was only for a moment, but it looked like the outline of a lithe and quickly moving person just in the shadows of the forest.

His father and mother never had guards in the house. Supposedly Yursa was combat trained as well as being a maid. The town was always small, and most thieves and bandits would stay out of the town just due to the lack of resources to pillage. They preferred to camp miles outside of town and hit merchants on their way through. Castus looked for minutes trying to confirm he saw something, before chalking it up to being nothing but tricks on his eyes, but worry festered in his heart. All this time he had tried his best to play the part of a good son, but if danger lurked, he may have to start pushing to use his blessing more. Castus breathed deeply running through his plan once more.

Learn how to defend myself

Learn magic

Figure out my blessing

Learn Enchanting

Then either take over the family business when father passes or start my own

He repeated this to himself over and over, easing his worries as he drifted off. In the window a figure lurked staring in the windows. It muttered to another figure that appeared next to it. "The preparations are almost complete. Yursa is a damn sharp eye though. Don't get caught. Their magic formations slowed us down a lot." The figure nodded to the first. "We need this to look as accidental as possible."