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~9 years later
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As I begin the process of entering my mind palace, gazing upon my 4th cog, gleaming with its somewhat silver somewhat metallic sheen, I truly come to understand just how far I’ve come. With such a realization, comes an understanding that I could only pilot a squire class mobile cog. Thus, comes the knowledge that I will have far longer still to go before I am able to pilot a king class mobile cog such as Ars Metallica. Years upon years. Maybe even long enough for a generation to pass and my hairs to turn totally metallic which would be par of the course for a pure blood of house Steel blood to experience. Even now, I could start to see some new found lustre in my hair that wasn’t there before this breakthrough. Floating through my place of magic, staring for far longer at my magical cog than I have before, I felt a quick but purposeful tug at my conscience. Availing myself of my mind palace, I stared directly into the eyes of my mother, A woman who I simultaneously love and fear.
“Carry yourself with the proper decorum, Erec, you are not alone in this space.” Lady Deborah says with a crackle of intent of her thankfully latent magical element.
Clearly, I’ve made the mistake of thinking I could go unnoticed, thus, unpunished, going into myself and working through things in this not so private place.
“Understood, mother Deborah, it will not happen again.” I said with a neutrality unnatural coming from a human, but expected and engrained in any pure Steel blood. My chiseled facial features and formed musculature brought by years of grueling, nearly lethal training, a picture of stillness incarnate.
“As long as you have learned, you will not be punished, now, do you have something to report?” Another crackle of static punctuating her clear command to proclaim my breakthrough to able bodiedness in terms of mobile cog piloting.
I stood and once again, performed a display so practiced that I could do it in my sleep.
I saluted. “This faithful son of the esteemed Steel blood household and eternal servant of this eternal empire shall report that I have broken through to the fourth cog and are in a stable magical state” once more summoning the training slammed into my thick and magically hard skull since the young age of being born.
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“I am now ready and able to be at the beck and call of any being above my station, for what I may be needed for.” I finished the formal declaration with a pause of stillness that would put mount Voloss to shame.
A silence followed my statement, one so profound, that I had to work my will double time to not show a speck of movement in my face.
“For the eternal service, at ease, my son.” The ‘lightning calamity’ stated with a tone that sounded something between pride and an electrical discharge.
As I perceived that small but decipherable hitch in her speech mannerisms, I let my body fall to parade rest. I even allowed myself some time to look around the room. The dining table, enormous enough to fit our bustling family, was full, save for my first brother and the steel giant himself, my father, who were most likely out fighting as of this very moment. As I further allowed my indulgence, I looked upon my younger siblings. Their eyes showed thoughts that most people would never see even if told outright.
Disbelief, pride, jealousy, poorly hidden animosity and more. A family so vast, that it would be not a stretch to say most of the people at this table, were strangers. Then, to my total chagrin, my eyes quickly but discreetly swept over my third brother. An immature brat, who most likely would never become a knight, had an almost volcanic look. Beet red in the face, undeniably pissed off. My gaze passed over his head without properly landing on him.
Returning to my mothers face, with just the peripheral of my left eye, I waited for her answer. What I was not expecting to see was pity, sadness and despair. I almost let my curated mask slip, for I have never seen a high ranked Steelblood show so much emotion so clearly. Almost is the key word, for I did not, to my continued amazement.
“That is the design every Steel blood has, my son.” A slightly louder crackle of electric charge activated at the utterance of ‘my son’. “You shall begin integration with a squire class mobile cog this week at the latest.”
In every case, I was ecstatic. I just couldn’t show it. Not yet. I need power for that, or face the consequences of my actions later on. All I did was snap another salute.
Her ladyship’s clear frown deepened and I could swear I saw a deeper resonance of magic in her eyes through my peripheral vision. I must have done something, right? I just can’t figure out what I did. As my brain must have given away my internal dilemma, she just gets up from her seat, walks up to me and before I can steel myself, she hugs me.
I don’t remember being hugged in a long time, it must have been that time I got all emotional over a swearbird baby not being strong enough to survive an inexperienced and ignorant young kid who found it injured on the path back home after a training session. One day, it was still when I got back after having an exceptionally long wilderness survival training drill. I didn’t control myself back then like I do now. I cried. That was the first hug I ever received. From my caretaker, Gerald. Even as I received that hug, I somehow had a horrible premonition in my gut. I perceived the worry on that old man’s face. I never saw him again, nor could I have, since I was disciplined shortly after for show of emotion.
As I stood there, still in my salute, waiting for whatever to transpire that would. Stunned to the point where I thought I would turn to metal right there. The room was unmoving. The oxygen was denser than it should have been. All she said after was “I’m so sorry, Erec”.
After a moment that I really did think was taken by the red hour glass themselves, long may they rein, I was suddenly let go of. She exited the room. She never dismissed me. Looks like it’s going to be one of those days.
Time to become steel itself.
