The Blackwoods

"What!" Yelled an aggressive young adult. He wore glasses and looked as if he was constantly on the brink of insanity.

"You heard me. I said no one messes with him." A young adult sat at the edge of a long table on a chair that looked similar to a throne. 3 other people sat at the table as they listened to what he said.

"Apex, this piece of human garbage thinks he can come into our school and do whatever he wants. What kind of message does that send? He needs to be dealt with." Yelled Juniper as he stood up.

"Adams, my decision is final. Don't make me repeat myself." Said Apex as he rested his forehead on his hand.

"We understand, sir. Isaac Hale shall not be harmed." Said a female with short hair as the whole room went silent for a few seconds.

"Everyone get out." Said Apex as he looked like he was suffering from a headache. They did as they were told as he closed his eyes. He opened them again after hearing the door close only to be met with Maxwell standing over him.

"What's wrong, Arlo?" He said as he referred to him by his first name.

"He's affiliated with the army. The Colonel no less." Said Apex, making Maxwell widen his eyes.

"The Colonel? The kid is street trash. From the lowest of the low. What business does he have with the army?"

"I have no idea. Either way, the Colonel is good 'friends' with my father. I've been ordered to leave the kid alone." He said as he tightened his fist slightly.

Maxwell knew Arlo had a complicated relationship with his father, therefore he decided not to pry any further.

"Understood, no one touches Isaac Hale."

Outside the room, anger boiled inside of Juniper. He had rage filling his insides but he couldn't do anything about it.

"Dammit!" he yelled.

"Would you shut up? You're getting on my nerves." Said Noa as a different side of her obedient character showed.

"Everyone knows you're Apex's errand girl. Tell me why he's so afraid of this kid." Said Juniper as he walked up to her.

"Beats me. I'm just as clueless as you are." She said which made Juniper contract his face in anger.

"No. I see the look in your eyes. Don't do anything stupid." Said Noa as he turned to him.

"What? Am I supposed to forgive that guy and forget what he did to me in front of the whole school? How do you expect me to do that, Noa?" He yelled in frustration.

"You better find a way to let it go. This is an order from Apex. You disobey him and your life will crumble."

"For your sake and ours Adams, let this one go and do as you're told for once." She said as she walked away from him.

***

"This is everything we have on VitaFlow and Elijah Blackwood." She said as she slammed a few books on the table and pointed at them. She pointed at a load of various books that spoke of the origin of VitaFlow and its history. However, when she pointed at the books speaking of Elijah Blackwood, Isaac couldn't help but frown a little.

"Is that it? Just one thin book on Elijah Blackwood?" Asked Isaac as he was unsatisfied.

"I'm sorry. The truth is, not much is known of Elijah Blackwood. He is a mystery that only the very powerful leaders of society know anything about." She said regretfully. Isaac knew it wasn't her fault and thanked her for her help.

"Do you have any information that'll help me in my research that I won't find in this book?" He asked as she thought for a few seconds.

"Well, mostly just rumours and nothing factual." She said with a nervous smile.

"Oh, can you tell me?" Asked Isaac as she responded with a wide smile and took a seat.

"Yes of course. Firstly, it's common knowledge that the Blackwoods are very secretive and closed-off people. There are no known photos and videos of them. People aren't really sure what they look like. Just their names and occupation."

"However, one thing I can tell you for sure is that the Blackwoods are extremely generous. They are said to be charitable individuals who are known to enjoy helping others." Isaac thought of this for a few seconds before asking a question.

"Charitable? But VitaFlow capsules are extremely expensive. No lower and middle-class citizen can ever hope to lay their eyes on it. How is that generous? It sounds selfish to me." He said, which made the librarian shudder in fear and look around for if anyone was listening. Thankfully, the library didn't seem to be very active these days.

"No, we mustn't badmouth the Blackwoods. They are like saints to some people. Some might try to cause you harm if you don't watch what you say. You could even be thrown in prison." She said as she waved her hands in his face.

"As for your question, yes, what you explained couldn't be exactly classed as generous. However, it's worth noting that VitaFlow capsules used to be extremely cheap and sold in many pharmacies as over-the-counter medicine. But that all changed when the newest son, Elijah Blackwood took over. No one knows the true story, and I mustn't say anything I'll potentially regret." Isaac thought deeply about what he was told.

"Wouldn't something like that be spoken of more often? I'd expect the lower and middle classes to cause a fuss over this." He said.

"Although some might think that, it wasn't the case. Sure, people spoke of the changes, however, the talk died down rather quickly as many people just got on with their lives." Isaac was extremely confused by all this, however, he didn't want to keep the librarian any longer.

"Thank you, Miss Everly. Also, I didn't introduce myself. My name is Isaac."

"It's no problem at all, Isaac. This is actually a topic I too am very interested in. If you have any more questions please ask, I'll be happy to answer them to the best of my ability." She said as she walked away.

Isaac stared at the stack of books on VitaFlow. He decided to start with the book named "The Blackwoods". Isaac read the title as he tried his best not to burst into laughter.

'What a silly name.' He thought as he tried his best to calm himself.

~1 hour later~

'Is that it? This book mostly just repeated what Miss Everly said to me.' Although Isaac hadn't learnt much, he did learn a few things.

Firstly, the Blackwoods are a generations-long family, one of the longest in the world to be frank. And every generation never ceased to amaze the world. Benjamin Blackwood, Elijah Blackwood's great-great-grandfather was said to have a talent for bartending, going on to create his alcohol brand named 'Aurora Hops' which instantly became one of the most consumed beverages in the world and is still thriving today.

Naomi Blackwood was Elijah's great-grandmother. She mesmerised the world with her incredible acupuncturing skills that were described to work almost as if it were supernatural. Her company, Vitality Acupuncture Clinic, revolutionised the world of acupuncture.

Emily Blackwood, Elijah Blackwood's grandmother created a medicinal cream that is said to heal muscle injuries or soreness, keep skin smooth and open pores. It is also said to heal scars. However, its most prominent attribute is the ability to make someone look 30 years younger. Her company, FlexiPore still exists and is one of the leading companies in skincare.

Isaiah Blackwood, Elijah Blackwood's father, blessed the world with VitaFlow. A super medicine that could work miracles in its purest form. Isaiah had spent years travelling the world discovering rare herbs and gathering new techniques for creating medicine from different cultures. It concluded with Isaiah creating the first VitaFlow capsule that took the world by storm. He proceeded to make the capsules available to every and any citizen who needed them.

That was the story of Isaiah, however, Isaac couldn't help but doubt its authenticity.

Once again, these individuals were generous individuals who didn't care about money. As evidenced by their low-priced products. It's said that they just wanted to help the world and make it a better place.

However, that was all brought to a stop once Elijah was born. Elijah took hold of the countless family businesses and in just a few days, many things were changed. Prices skyrocketed, products became scarce which made them more valuable, and the VitaFlow was removed from local pharmacies.

FlexiPore products became rare as the few that were released to the public were held at auction and many people paid hundreds of millions for the product.

VitaFlow shot up in price as it became completely beyond lower and middle-class citizens.

Vitality Acupuncture Clinic became a luxurious spa that was only attended by the rich and powerful.

Aurora Hops was the only Blackwood company that was accessible to the lower and middle class. Aurora Hops was separated into a few factions. The two most notable were the expensive Aurora Hops luxury wine that was said to taste out of this world and a cheap bottled version that was nothing like the others. Although, it was still said to taste quite good.

In conclusion, Elijah Blackwood was a selfish man who took advantage of some and discriminated against others. A money-hungry individual who brought shame to his family line. At least that's what Isaac concluded. The truth is, in the book, it didn't say anything in detail. Only the companies changed over time while under the leadership of Elijah.

However, despite Isaac's constant checking, he found nothing that could be traced back to Qi. He learned nothing that benefited him or answered his questions.

'All this didn't happen too long ago. Just around the same time I was born. Could it be that Elijah Blackwood isn't that much older than me?' He thought as he was interrupted by the school bell that indicated the end of lunch.

Isaac waited for the bell to pass and a crushing realisation came to him. He stood up from his seat as he started to sweat. His breath became uneven and he struggled to breathe. His face went pale and his mouth went dry.

'Holy crap! I forgot to eat lunch!'

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Author's Note: Hello, if you are enjoying I'd appreciate the powerstones. They help a lot. Also, join the discord!

discord.gg/wfxxZv8j4B