In an attempt to relieve their worries, as you most likely never tell them the truth, I have talked to Irsorth and he has agreed to host us on Arrenth and enforce a ceasefire. Should either of us attempt to break the agreement … well I know that you believe yourself to be all-powerful but I encourage you to never cross him. Your power is nothing compared to his.

My body freezes in shock at his words but I manage to maintain an appearance of control, ignoring the instinct to jump backwards and attack the man in front of me.

Coolly, I finish the embrace and take a step back as I spot Mom walking over to us with confusion and alarm in her eyes. Obviously she’s recognized Octavian as a powerful individual but this has caught her off guard, his actions most likely not making sense within the context of their interactions. If I had to hazard a guess, I would say that he only showed up today to let me know that he knows where I’ve been.

The fact that he knows is immensely worrying and I need to figure out how he obtained the information. My first thought is that he obtained it from the ‘List of Rising Talents’ mentioned when I unlocked my Higher Energy, but I quickly dismiss the idea. Even if the list gave away my name, it most likely would not contain my current location. To give away my location would be a massive risk and would endanger all of the so called ‘Rising Talents’, which I assume is not the intention of the list. The next thought I have is that somehow this merchant has access to information provided by Genesis itself, terrifying me with its implications. Unfortunately I have no way to prove or disprove this idea until I better understand him and the Empire he represents.

Swallowing my nervousness and worry, I put on a fake smile. “Nice to meet you Octavian.”

Any response he could have is interrupted by Mom as she reaches us and puts her hand on his shoulder, pushing him towards the door. “Thank you for coming over Octavian but we agreed that you and your people would remain outside the city. Please go back to them and we will meet in two days like we agreed.”

She manages to get him only a few feet away from the door, his relaxed smile never leaving his face, before he makes his move. He quickly drops his center of mass and falls to the ground, catching himself with one foot and spinning back behind her with smooth grace. He moves with elegance and poise, every movement seeming to perfectly flow into the next so that no motion is wasted. He finishes in less than a second and Mom is caught completely off guard as he walks over to the couch and sits down, taking yet another bite of his half-finished apple.

“I’d love to go back to them, truly I would, but unfortunately I have some business that must be accomplished today.” Looking around the room, taking in my parents growing anger and my wary caution, he raises the apple in his hand. “Would any of you like a bite? These little red fruits are absolutely delightful.”

Dad reaches down into his boot and pulls out a small blade, holding it comfortably in his hand. I’ve never seen him use a weapon before but it is clear that he knows how to handle it. I wonder if he has a Small Blades or Dagger Mastery Skill that is feeding the information into his mind.

“Octavian, you entered into our home against our will and are trying our patience. I have to ask you to leave”, Dad responds, holding the blade out in front of him to make it obvious.

A laugh breaks out of Octavian’s smiling face. Despite the weapon in my father's hand, he seems completely at ease. “Damian please put down that knife, I’m not here to harm any of you. I’m here to give my greetings to your son and make a small request of you all.”

Mom’s hand instantly goes up and shoots across Dad’s torso, holding him back as she considers Octavian’s words. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she slowly withdraws her hand and walks over to the chair across from Octavian, taking a seat and crossing her legs in a familiar gesture of patience.

Following her lead, I walk over to the chair and stand just behind her left shoulder, keeping the conjured Mana Bullet carefully hidden against my palm. The strain of keeping the projectile from launching forward is beginning to tax me, a small headache forming and pulsing in my mind, but I ignore the consequences, unwilling to be involved in this exchange without some form of quick attack. Entering into Effortless Presence, I watch as everything slows down and my thought processes speed up slightly. Understanding speech behind the time dilation is difficult but I’m willing to grasp at any advantage I can get.

We all wait for Octavian to start as he takes another bite of the apple, sighing in contentment to himself. “I swear, none of you appreciate how delicious these apples are. Regardless, I’m here to talk about the upcoming meeting with the city leaders and yours truly”.

We wait for him to continue but he just casually eats at the apple in his hand, each bite followed by a pronounced smile. A faint hint of annoyance begins to break through Mom’s facade, her hands wringing themselves together.

After a few more moments of silence her patience finally breaks. “And is that it Octavian? You just came to remind us of a meeting I set?”

His calm and foppish smile widens as she is the one to break the silence. He leans forward and looks around in an exaggerated motion as if he was afraid of prying ears in this empty house. Of course, his smile gives it away as a joke.

“Not at all my dear. I just wanted to make a small request of you and your dear family. In fact, I must sadly say that I insist upon it. If you do not accept I’m afraid my people and I will have to take our services and goods elsewhere”

I can’t see her face from behind her shoulder but I can imagine the scowl that would be spreading across her face if she didn’t have her business façade up. As is, Dad reaches to her shoulder and squeezes lightly in what I can only assume is supposed to be some sort of calming gesture. After a moment to take a breath, she responds, her voice even as she counterattacks. “And what is this request that is so important that you would be willing to break the small amount of trust we have built up? Need I remind you, you were the one to seek us out, not the other way around? It may have been rough, but we survived before you and we can survive afterwards.”

Exaggerated hurt appears on his face, his hand rising up and resting upon his chest. “You wound me dear Mary. I had hoped we had more than a ‘small’ amount of trust, perhaps reaching the level of minor or slight. My dreams have been dashed.”

Letting out a sigh of frustration, Mom responds. “Get to the point Octavian. What is your request?”

All hints of despair and misery are instantly wiped away, replaced by his smile once more. His eyes look up onto me as he speaks. “All I ask is that you bring your lovely son to the meeting. I myself have been without my family for too long and would fall into a pit of despair if I didn’t ensure your recently reunited family didn’t stay together.”

A hand comes across my chest as my Dad steps in front of me, his defensive instincts overtaking any hints of decorum. I’m honestly surprised, I would have assumed my Mom would have been the one to jump to my defense. That isn’t to say he wasn’t protective of me but it is hard to compare them. My mother was an unstoppable force of nature in situations where I was introduced, following a scorched earth policy in regards to any obstacle in my path. Meanwhile, my father was more of a hands off defensive. If my health or safety was at risk he’d be there in an instant but all other times he would let me figure out my problems for myself.

Obviously my absence has changed that. Staring at Octavian with anger as clear as day, he spits out, “Don’t you dare involve my son in whatever it is you have planned.”

I see Mom begin to get up, most likely intending to calm him down, but I react first, gently taking his hand and placing it down by his waist. He turns to me in surprise but I shake my head. “Dad I’m not a child anymore. I can handle myself.”

Turning away from him, I direct my next words at Octavian, my gentle tone leaving my voice only to be replaced by an iron will. “I’m more interested in why you want me at that meeting. Care to explain?”

Shaking his head and winking in an exaggerated manner, he responds, “I’m afraid I can’t do that quite yet. It would spoil the surprise. All I can say is that your attendance would greatly please me and perhaps, just perhaps, I would happen to mention information regarding an upcoming competition for a leadership position.”

Looking at each other in confusion, my parents look at each other, subtle facial gestures allowing them to have an entire conversation in seconds. Regaining their cool demeanor, Mom turns to Octavian and raises an eyebrow. “What leadership position? We don’t know of any upcoming tournament.”

Luckily for me, my parents are too occupied with Octavian’s announcement, their attention leaving me and focusing entirely on him. I freeze up at hidden reference to the upcoming competition for Primus, unsure of how to handle the situation in front of me. Despite Faul’s best efforts to train me for it, he had been unsure as to the format of the competition. If Octavian even has a modicum of information regarding the format and time of the competition then I can’t dare ignore his request. A single piece of information could be the difference between success and defeat, life and death.

Octavian ignores my parents, his eyes drifting around the room. It is obvious he is waiting for my response but I’m hesitant to give myself away. From my parent’s perspective, his offer of information most likely seems nonsensical and useless. My acceptance of his demands might make them suspicious that I know what he’s talking about, which may lead them to ask more questions about the fake background that I gave them. I’m a decent liar but my parents are professionals. I’ll never be able to keep up the story if they decide to dissect it.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any other options. The information he seems to be offering is too important. “I’ll show up if it gets you to leave our house.”

Internally I cringe at my response. It's the best I could come up with on the fly but I’m hoping it gives me an excuse to attend the meeting while also allaying my parent’s worries and concerns for just a day more.

Eyes snapping away from their wandering exploration of the manor, he looks directly at the three of us and claps his hands in excitement. “Fantastic! Well I’ll get out of your hair then. I cannot wait to see the three of you tomorrow. It will be a delightful reunion.”

He rises instantly, walking towards the door with the same grace that he displayed earlier. Much more alert now, I notice how each step keeps his body in perpetual motion while allowing for the possibility of explosive speed in any direction. This man is not someone to be underestimated.

Ignoring my parent’s outcries and insistence that he stay and explain himself, he opens the door and begins to walk towards the gate, whistling a little tune and smiling.

“Guards, stop Octavian!”, my father yells out as he reaches the door. Immediately obeying his orders, the four guards spread out in front of the gate, holding their weapons out in attempt to keep Octavian within the manor grounds.

What happens next is almost impossible to accurately convey. Moving almost quicker than the eye can see, Octavian walks forward and ducks underneath a stabbing guards weapon. Spinning on one leg, he raises the other into the air and places it on the guard’s back. Gently applying pressure with his leg, he pushes the guard out of the way of another’s uncontrollable lunge while simultaneously dodging the strike. Falling to the ground, a quick extension of his leg slips between the lunging guard’s feet, causing him to trip to the ground. He then instantly stands up straight, dusting off his coat and smiling at the other two. The entire exchange is over in a heartbeat.

Turning back towards us one last time, he flashes a smile at my father. “Damian dear, you must train these men a little better. Without my assistance one of these gentlemen would be bleeding out in front of your new home. What a terrible way to ruin a lovely house.”

The other two guards, having now seen the speed and fluidity with which he moves, take a step back in fear. Even if he didn’t harm the attacking guards, he displayed the ability to easily and quickly get around any of their attacks.

Whistling and smiling, he walks down the street and away from the house. Just as he’s about to turn the corner he looks back and says, “What a lovely little meeting. I shall see you all tomorrow”. He then disappears down the street.

My mind goes into overdrive as I watch him disappear. Confused, upset, and feeling disrespected, my parents will most likely turn a degree of those feelings onto me. I have no idea what their previous interactions with Octavian have been like but I imagine he’s established himself as a shrewd, if somewhat capricious, negotiator. My mother wouldn’t have paid him the same level of respect if he hadn’t.

Unfortunately, that means they must know there is an unspoken reason as to why he would have required my presence. They are intelligent people; their first thought will probably be to question me and see if I know that reason. I’m a decent liar but they’ve had lifetimes of practice. Before I can plan my attack, however, they strike first.

“Cael, do you have any idea why he would want you at the meeting?” Mom asks me slowly, turning towards me with curious eyes.

Shit. There’s no way I’ll be able to pull this one off. I don’t know if they’d bought my previous explanation of where I’d been but I’d told that to them right after an emotional reunion. There had been no reason to be suspicious of my answer. That’s obviously changed now and I can hear the shift in her voice. Gone is the welcoming tone of a mother reunited, replaced with the voice of a suspicious mother having possibly caught her son involved in something he shouldn’t be.

Instead of lying outright, I remember a famous quote that I’d read when I was younger. Half a truth is often a great lie.

“I have a suspicion. I’ve managed to … learn some things since the arrival of Genesis. I didn’t want to bring them up before I was able to get some more concrete information.” I keep as straight a face as I possible can while responding, letting through a little hint of guilt to try and appease them.

“Do you want to explain what that is? We’re dealing with a creature from another world who is obviously massively skilled and well informed. I think sharing what you know would be helpful”, she responds in annoyed tone. It’s clear that she isn’t happy at me for withholding information.

I wring my hands together, trying to keep a safe level of guilt on my face while not exposing how I truly feel. I hate having to lie to my parents, but letting them know about everything that has happened will just put them in danger. If they are caught knowingly harboring a randomly selected then I don’t think their vaulted positions will be able to save them. The fear and anger I felt from the guards was enough to convince me that I need to fix this perception on my own, especially considering the possibility of one of the Hunters letting the information out before I’ve accomplished my goals.

“I … can’t right now. Either I’m right and you’ll find out tomorrow or I’m wrong and you’d possibly be in danger for knowing it. And before you ask, no I can’t explain why.”

Her nostrils flaring slightly, I can see the frustration building up. I’ve always been her weak spot, the one area where her unbreakable mask begins to develop cracks. “So you are telling us that this information could put us in danger, implying that you yourself are in danger, and still refuse to tell us? We are your parents Cael! We are here to help you!” Her anger bursts through at the end, yelling loudly enough for the guards to take an uncomfortable step back.

Over her shoulder I see my father looking at me, disappointment in his eyes. Both of their protective tendencies have gone overboard since my return, the fear of my death most likely pushing them towards coddling me in the safety of their power.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t work for what I intend to accomplish.

Swallowing my guilt, I end the conversation. “I understand you two are frustrated and want to know more but I can’t say anything. I think it would be best if I go walk around for a bit. I’ll check in with Julian so you know I’m okay.”

I turn and begin to walk towards the guards, heading out into the city. It pains me to mislead them but I don’t intend to just spend my time walking around. If I’m going to participate in this meeting tomorrow then I need to gather information about what is really going on in the city and who, apart from my parents, has influence and power.

Half a truth is often a great lie...