“I see here where she soul registered with her Uncle Dowde as the beneficiary, twenty-two days ago,” Lady Amatia told Gavrus looking at a blue translucent book floating in the air. “From there, she was taken to Zoreas-- which you must understand is almost always the case. Zoreas is a major nexus shard that the empire uses to assign inductees. It will take a while for me to find her but be comforted that the codex always has a local record.”

Gavrus had a lot of questions (like what in the hell a nexus shard was), but the one needed to be answered the most was, “Why did you take her?” He blurted the question out anyways, even though he knew that Lady Amatia knew it had been at the forefront of his consciousness since he’d woken up several hours ago. Even as he bathed in their strange hot steamy “shower”, the question (or variations thereof assailed him). She’d been nothing but kind and supportive toward him; he was afraid of ruining any goodwill she had. But Li was more important. He needed to understand.

Lady Amatia looked down at him, considering how best to answer for a time. “The empire does not take adults from vassalhood, do you know why? Of course, you don’t, I will tell you. It is because adults are beyond shaping. Their values and beliefs are hardened by the lives that they’ve lived, rarely malleable to any useful degree. Such people cannot understand the empire.

Children though, can learn to love the empire. Children can be taught to hold its values. You will learn to love the empire and carry its values. We only take those that have no life, no future, no connection to the people around them. We give them a life, a future, and a connection to something far greater than any one individual.

Even when your kidnappers come forward, dumping off a child for the bounty, I or someone just like me gazes into the soul of the unwanted. Your Lilion may have fought and screamed; some do. Maybe not, I cannot recall. But what I can promise you, is that she had no one and no future here.” Lady Amatia finished, knowing the words cut him deeply.

“Bullshit!” Gavrus said, standing tall, trembling with rage. “She had me!” he practically screamed.

Lady Amatia was unfazed by his words. She could feel the emotion rolling off him long before he vocalized them. “I am sorry sweet boy, but you must hear this. You are not enough for anyone as you are, powerless. You live day to day like an animal, searching for scraps to survive and in constant danger with no thoughts for a future. You may hate me for saying this to you, but I would do it again. I would separate the two of you right here and now to give you both a future. Love itself, is never enough. Temper yourself with honor and master your heart with service. Become a man, then you will finally be worthy of the love that you profess for her. Your love will grow like an oak tree in the forest of the empire, instead of a weed surrounded by the waste of your kingdom.”

Gavrus broke down in a wracking sob. He hadn’t shed a tear for himself or Lilion since finding out she had been stolen away. Worry had given way to rage and it had sustained him, driving away the sadness if it began to pool too deeply. But the weight of Lady Amatia’s words forced it out by crushing his composure. In his heart he knew what she’d said for truth. Every day he’d lived in fear of something happening to Lilion, and when it finally did, he was furious at being unable to stop it. There was no way he could have stopped Dowde in broad daylight. He wasn’t sure how long he’d laid on the ground crying, but when he finally pulled himself back together, he realized he was alone in the room she’d provided him.

Just down the hallway Lady Amatia sensed Gavrus beginning to calm from the onslaught of emotion. She’d felt the buildup of suppressed anguish festering in his heart; she knew she’d had to pop it before he could begin actual growth. Silently, she reached up in the air, activating a heart trigger for the final runic formation that she’d carved into his arm. With his catharsis out of the way, the new rune “deaden pain” would be her final gift to him. It would have been a very bad idea to give him the rune before he’d let all the emotions out. All that toxic emotion would have been kept in by the rune. Now, it would be difficult for him to worry after the girl. The toxicity would be kept out so that something better could fill the void.

Lady Amatia knew that if she’d told him what had really happened with the girl, it would have broken him permanently. In her estimation, he’d likely have become psychotic or, even worse suicidal. This way at least he’d be able to grow strong at Blackstone. Have hope. Have goals. Then, when he was properly strong, he’d be able to face reality. Weak rule had nearly destroyed the empire once before. So, it needed him to be strong. And, the empire always comes first.

⍏

After Gavrus had finally emptied himself of all the emotion he’d been holding on to, he’d fallen asleep again. He wasn’t exactly sure how long they’d let him sleep the second time. Long enough to wake up starving. Fortunately, soon after he’d woken up, the guard Rix arrived to the room they’d let him stay in with a big bowl of stew and a healthy portion of bread.

After Rix set the bowl in front of him, he looked Gavrus in the eye and said, “He’s dead.”

There was no need to ask who he’d meant. Gavrus nodded to Rix in thanks. She’s good, Gavrus thought in sudden surprise. Lady Amatia must have had Rix on standby to come by personally with food and news when he woke up. He had to admit that it had worked. Their previous conversation had left him feeling a little numb, but now he felt… well, he wasn’t sure exactly, just not bad. Maybe a little antsy?

Once he’d finished eating, another guard that he did not recognize walked in and said, “Sir, it is time to go.”

“Go?” he asked confused.

“Your ride, sir. You leave for Blackstone immediately.” she responded. “Lady Amatia is waiting for you at her ship. I’m to take you there.”

“Okay…” Gavrus said lamely, standing up. It occurred to him that he hadn’t had any possessions to bring with him. They had already taken his old clothes and given him a toga and leather boots in replacement. He had nothing in the world and was about to be sent off to god knows where.

The guard seemed to understand his problem, she said, “Lady Amatia has already packed you some traveling gear. Once you register at Blackstone, you’ll get a regular stipend for other things you might need.”

Having no further issue, he followed the woman through the temple. A short walk down a boulevard later, they’d arrived at a large tower with docks built on it. The docks protruded from the tower out into the air in different directions, almost like flower petals.

A black ship was tethered in the air above. Like many from the kingdom, Gavrus was awed by the sight of the beautiful ship. Even though they flew in and out of the kingdom with regularity, it was a hard to get adjusted to the idea that humans could fly.

A lift contraption connected to the outside of the tower brought him closer to the dock where the sky ship was moored. As he and the guard got closer, trepidation and excitement began to take over his sense of wonder. He was going to fly!

Sky ships were normally much larger than this one; Gavrus was sure of that as they stepped off the lift and onto the dock. Of course, since they were frequently carrying victuals and children, it made sense to him for them to be larger than this one. Lady Amatia had said it was her personal vessel. The vessel looked like someone had taken a seafaring sloop, then added another one to the top of it and painted them both black. Or, maybe the wood was naturally black. It was hard to tell because there were arcane symbols carved all along the outer hull, sealed with a silvery metal that followed along the skeleton of the ship. Unlike a sea ship, it didn’t have any sails.

A thrum of power filled the air as they got closer to the open ramp of the ship. Gavrus noticed that lines of etheric power, like what he saw in the temple, flowed along arcane formations carved into the dock itself and into the ship.

Lady Amatia was waiting for him in front of the ship. He wondered if he would see her again. He also wondered if he wanted to.

“Dear boy,” she said as she stepped forward, kneeling so that she could look him in the eyes, “please understand that it hurt me to hurt you so. I will not try to justify myself to you. Instead, I will hope that time will do that for me. Also, I have some final advice for you that I would like to impart. Blackstone, the academy for Archons is not an easy place. It is a ‘make or break’ kind of place, as they say. Students die every year in the training. The empire will only allow itself to be ruled by the strong, you understand.

She waited a moment to ensure that he understood before continuing. “But for you, survival will not be enough. You must excel, if you truly wish to make a life with your Lilion.” Inwardly she cringed at the deceit, but it was necessary.

“I do?” Gavrus asked stupidly, unsure.

“Yes, you must. You see, there is a scoring system for the students. Only the top two students get to choose which house they will belong to. Everyone else that graduates are subject to a draft system by the other houses. While you are training, I will find which realm of influence your Lilion is under, or rather which of the great houses she is beholden. If you become the top student, you can then have the bargaining power necessary to ensure that she is reunited with you.” she finished.

Determination lit up his soul, heart, and mind. She knew that there were no other words that she could have told him to motivate him in such a manner.

Gavrus nodded, now almost eager to get on the ship. “Thank you, for… everything.” he said. Lady Amatia knew he didn’t mean it completely, but he wanted to. It was enough.