—-------------
About an hour and a half later
—-------------------
It took us over an hour to make it back to the castle, by that time, it was already well past breakfast. It was not outside of the ordinary for a Steelblood trainee to miss breakfast, not in the least. I then made my way to my room after bidding Lady Cerys farewell until lunch.
In my room, I changed from my fatigues to my military style parade dress. I would need all the assistance I could get in this meal to come. The hour glass, always in my focus, loomed there as a reminder of a multitude of pressing matters. I turned it, as it had been flowing freely for almost a full day. The torso sized hour glass, obediently turned. As the seconds started to flow freely once again, I started to organize my thoughts and prepare for the upcoming battle. This one, less about my skill in combat and more about my future skill and importance to the powers that be.
‘They will either send me straight to the battlefield, to the academy or off on my own to hone my powers.’ I reasoned. The first option would make me less important in their eyes. On the other hand, the academy would show their interest they may have in me. So far, it more mattered how the war was going and what their plans for me might be.
I have roughly an hour to focus on my mind palace before I have to make my way to the main banquet hall on the first floor, north wing. So that's what I did.
—----------
~one hour later
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Feeling refreshed, the backlash of spending about twenty seconds at seventy percent time dilation in a fifth cog requiring mobile cog had already come and passed. My steel body took the punishment and lost most of the after effects in around forty minutes. Now, I didn’t spend tens of minutes at roughly ninety nine percent time dilation and walk it off for a while only to experience the back lash hours later. But I felt like I had improved both in power and lost a level of consequences for exerting said power with my fifth cog.
I could only hope that I hit the seventh cog soon, or be prepared to go through the tearing of time catching up once again. Once someone broke through to the seventh cog, their body would become far more in tune with their magical cogs, allowing for a massive increase in power to leave the body in many more ways than before, the key was, with far less backlash. This was the point of specialization that some people underwent when they somehow are graced with metamorphosis, gaining either a dormant hereditary power, or increasing their already potent power exponentially. Most cases involved the near or total death of a human, who was then brought back with the power of multiple high cog healers.
As I was nearing the bottom of the grand staircase in the middle of the castle, I almost broke into a near manic grin at the intrusive thought of the fact that, within the time span of two days, I underwent not one, but two metamorphosis episodes. Before that, I willingly broke through to the fourth cog, only for it to mutate to their designs. I almost felt sick remembering what had happened to me. But I snapped out of it quickly because I realized that I lost focus on my hourglass which was following me right beside me, just in my peripheral vision. I must stay focused.
As I arrived at the last step, the grains of sand regained their normal second by second descent into the bottom of the symbolic tool.
I walked with practiced confidence as I neared the open gate style double doors. One of the only pieces of moving wood in this entire castle. While almost everything was either cloth, leather, metal or stone out of convenience, these double doors were made from material of harvested great Steel oaks. The symbol of the Steelbloods. To enter the dining hall was to be reminded that even though house Steelblood is a powerful house, one of the most powerful at least, there are things in this world that will forever be outside of a Steelbloods' grasp.
I was now a prime example of a contradiction to that rule. Wood could be burnt to ash if enough electricity ran through it.
I then walked over to my place at the table. To my right, an empty spot, to my left Cerys. Who, in all reality, should have been to my right and not my left. The left was meant for my third brother, while the right was meant for my first brother. Who has yet to be home for nine straight years.
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I sat down in the great steel oak chair I had used since I was a child.
Mother’s spot was vacant. Expectedly, my father's spot was also empty.
He rarely showed, most of the time only showing once a year on his anniversary with mother. When you’re one of the most powerful knights on this continent, you are often far busier than having home time is acceptable.
Then, I heard it. The slow, sure, metallic clank that sounded almost like a mobile cog walking. A man so practiced in slaughter, that every waking moment became a means to an end to kill.
Father entered the room. Not stopping once to look at anyone, he made his way directly to his seat.
A man so powerful, that being in the general vicinity of him puts you in grave danger.
He passed me. Not making a single indication he noticed me, he walked past me like a weapon in mid swing.
He sat down. His face, hair and hands now completely metallic, the eyes being the only visible natural body part left. His face was impassively neutral like always.
Did he break through? If he did, that would mean he has 16 cogs. All of them of the Steelblood metal attunement.
He then watched the room for a moment, looking over everyone’s expression with cold neutrality. When he got to Cerys, I could swear I saw a murderous glint in his eyes, quickly as it appeared, it disappeared into the machine-like look he always had.
His gaze met mine. It passed over me without a second thought.
“I have two announcements.” His voice had a scraping sound every time he talked. Metal on metal. I saw only metal on the inside of his mouth and teeth as he talked.
“The first one, is that the first son of house Steelblood was felled on the field of battle.” he stated with a metallic ring punctuating that sentence.
“Secondly, it is that my former second son will be henceforth banished from house Steelblood and transferred to house Dohiedron.” He then got up, turned opposite of me and left the room in the same manner he entered.
I almost panicked. My practiced facade barely held together as my hands moved toward the table to start eating my meal.
The hourglass, floating above my head, started to quake and crinkle just a bit around the edges.
Fork and knife first. Cut the meat, taste the first slice, move onto the vegetables, put the fork down, pick up the veggie fork. Repeat until no more food. Put down whatever utensil remained in hand. Pick up the water and bread at the same time. Take a sip of water, then a bite of bread buttered with apple jam on top. Repeat until done. Pick up the main wooden plate and utensils, next the bread plate and put it on top of the main plate, Pick up the wooden cup and bring them to the wooden carts at the far side of the entrance to the room. As I walked, the hourglass went ahead of me. I glanced at the grains of sand, hoping they would be falling normally. They weren’t. I simply lost myself of that power as I walked past my siblings, hearing heels behind me and a chair impacting the ground, signalling Cerys was following me.
Leaving food on the plate was a grave sin in house Steelblood, worse still was not cleaning up after yourself. Worst of all, was dropping anything made of great steel oak.
She did all these things in quick succession.
I heard my third brother’s furious shout ring out. “You, YOU BITCH!” his voice pitched. I stopped in my tracks. “DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU’VE DONE!?” The hourglass above my head condensed into a spear with the crinkle of tinfoil.
The spear found its place just under my brother’s neck. With a movement so quick it made a popping noise as it arrived. It floated there as my brother looked at it with shock in his widening eyes. The color in his beet red fleshy face drained instantly.
“You have no right to call my fiancee a bitch, former third brother.” I stated with a neutral tone. “After all, a punishment without a lesson is wasted time.” I recited one of the house Steelblood creeds that remained in the codex of house Steelblood. “A slight without intent is just a mistake,” I continued, “A mistake without a preface is ignorance” my voice never missing a beat, “ignorance is a teachable flaw.”
I turned to him “All you have done is insult someone you should have never insulted in front of someone who has taken offence to your actions who is most assuredly more powerful than you.”
“Apologize or die” I commanded.
“I- I’m so sorry Sir Erec Dohiedron, it will not happen again.” he pleaded as his head entered a full, ungraceful bow.
“To Her Ladyship.” I once more commanded. The spear getting closer.
He turned to her and with the same fear and stammered out his apology “I ap- apologize to Her Ladyship, Cerys Welles.”
“Adequate, but sloppy.” I judged.
I turned on my heel and without wasting a second, retracted the spear to me while reforming the hourglass perfectly. The sand was packed into a dense cube, so I sent a node of weak electromagnetic magical energy directly from the back of my head into the cube. It exploded inside the hourglass, which I then turned on its head as I exited the room.
Cerys’ heels clacked on the stone behind me.
I felt reprehensible. I saved the nearly adult imbecile with my showing. I hoped that my tough lesson would help that immature failure of a wretch to live just a little longer. How he ended up in such a state in this household and still lived was beyond me.
As I walked back to my former room to get ready for what may come next, my thoughts went back to father and how he showed an emotional response to Cerys. Even if it was so incredibly, near imperceptibly quick and barely showed emotion, it still was indeed that: an emotional response.
—---
20 minutes later
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As I arrived in my room, Cerys entered just behind me as my hourglass entered before me.
I slid the chair with my manipulation to seat me and sat down. I then looked into Cerys’ emerald eyes.
“What relation do you have to my now dead former first brother, Sir Issac Steelblood?” I questioned.
First guilt, then fear, then resignation passed her face.
“My family turned traitors, house Welles is no more.” she said with a quiver in her voice.
"Explain." I commanded her. My desk turning into a chair that I placed behind her with manipulation so quick, it reacted much like the spear.
