Cypher took a hesitant step towards the chair and sat down easily. He only sat upon the edge as it was frowned upon for servants to rest upon the furniture of the Galvan mansion. Besides that, he was very nervous to be talking alone with such a powerful person. What could this Conductor possibly want with him?

“So, you have chosen a very difficult path it would seem. You can’t be older than what, six? Seven? What would drive a boy as young as you to choose such a path? Is your life here so difficult? I understand that there are dirty jobs that need doing, but still, aspiring to knighthood is no easy path. Wouldn’t it be much simpler to stay here and continue your duties?”

Cypher thought for a moment before answering. He was hesitant, he didn’t know what he could say to this man. What if he told Galex? Would that ruin his chances? Would he be upset with Cypher? What if he was banished from the mansion? What would he do then?

Frederick seemed to pick up on Cypher’s anxiety and chuckled softly. “You needn’t worry about me spilling the beans on our conversation. What is said here is between you and me, you have my word as a Conductor that nothing will leave this room,” said Frederick.

Cypher felt a bit better at hearing this. Still, he was a bit hesitant before speaking.

“Being here isn’t so bad,” began Cypher. “The cleaning is gross sometimes but Molly always makes sure I get cleaned up and stuff… B-but… Well, it isn’t nice here. The Galvans say they treat me well, but in reality, Eiden is always bullying me and his parents don’t do anything about it. He always comes and makes a mess of whatever I’m cleaning. He calls me a bastard and never lets me play with him and the other kids.”

“I don’t know why it matters that he’s a noble and I’m not. We should be able to play together. So I’ve decided that if I can’t play with them, if I can’t live a normal life as a servant, then I want to do something more with my life! I’m going to become strong, and rich, and powerful enough to take care of Molly the way she takes care of me and we’ll leave this place and never look back!” Cypher’s little fists were balled up as he finished speaking, a look of determination etched across his young face.

“A noble goal indeed!” exclaimed Frederick. “You seem to care an awful lot about this Molly woman. Is she your mother?”

“No, not really… I mean, kind of?” answered Cypher.

“Not really? Hmm, well, I suppose it doesn’t matter whether she is or not. She takes care of you and it’s inspiring to see that you want to take care of her in return,” replied the Conductor as he smiled down at Cypher. He cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow before stroking his chin.

“Do you mind if I see your hand for a moment? There’s something I wish to check,” asked Frederick after a moment had passed.

“Uhh, sure I guess?” Cypher replied as he held out his hand to the Conductor.

Frederick took it into his own and closed his eyes. Cypher could feel warmth flooding into his body and a tingle traveled up his arm, moving through him until it reached a spot in the lower part of his abdomen. A strange buzzing sensation began inside him and his eyes closed halfway. Moments passed as Frederick continued to focus. After a few more instants, he opened his eyes confused, and cocked his head to the side again.

“Interesting… Very interesting indeed…” he mumbled.

“What WAS that?” asked Cypher, his eyes widening as Frederick let go of his hand.

“Hmm, you don’t need to worry about it right now. I’ve seen all I need to for the moment. I’ll say this though, I might just be seeing you in a few years if you play your cards right. Study well and train hard. The lessons you’ll learn in the coming months and years will serve you well in your future, I’m certain!”

With that, Frederick got up and left the room, leaving Cypher confused and curious.

It was about an hour later before Cypher returned to his room. Galex had come back about ten minutes after Frederick left and spoke a bit more about the specifics of what Cypher would be doing in the coming months. It was a lot of information for a kid to take in but Cypher felt like he had gotten a decent grasp of what Galex meant.

As he opened his door and walked into his room, however, his eyes shot open in horror. Eiden was standing in the middle of the room holding the wooden sword Molly had given Cypher for his birthday. The wooden replica was broken and shattered beyond repair. Several pieces laid on the floor at Eiden’s feet, while the hilt and end of the wooden blade were gripped firmly in his hands.

In this world, there wasn’t a whole lot that Cypher had an interest in. For the most part, he spent his free time reading from his ‘borrowed’ books or carving little figures out of scraps of wood he could sometimes get his hands on. He was still learning but he had already crafted quite a collection of creatures out of wood.

Among his ‘masterpieces,’ one could just barely make out the form of several different Zightbeasts. Some were simply magickal variants of animals. Glacier Boars, Whirlwind Ravens, and Blizzard Bears, creatures like these were common in the icy tundra of Dellorim and he had even seen a few himself as Galex went out to do battle with them. But others were genuine creatures of legend that had not simply been tainted by the magick of the land but instead were born into their power and prestige.

These were the ones he spent hours working on like Ember Trolls, seven-headed Hydras, and Manticores to name a few. His little hands had been worked to the bone carving these and bore countless splinters from his many attempts to do them justice. However, Eiden had come into his room and destroyed most of them. Now, instead of upon his shelf or dresser, they lay scattered in pieces on the floor.

Eiden smiled smugly at Cypher and threw the pieces to the ground. “So you think you’re worthy enough to train with someone like me do you, bastard? Well, we’ll see just how much you like getting beaten every single day! You had better work long and hard for my sake or I swear that the next thing I break will be your scrawny little neck! Do you understand me?” Eiden said, venom lacing each word as he spoke.

Cypher couldn’t think, he couldn’t feel, all he could do was stare at his broken gift as tears formed in the corners of his eyes. However, Eiden continued without missing a beat.

“Do you understand me? Hey! Bastard! I’m talking to you!” Eiden grabbed Cypher by his shirt and slammed him against the wall. He reached up and tilted Cypher’s face towards him so that their eyes met and glared at the young boy.

“I’m speaking to you! You WILL do your best to make me look good out there won’t you? Because if you don’t I will break you! If you think this is bad just wait until you see what I have in store for you! This was supposed to be MY day and you ruined it with your dirty bastard self! Lord Frederick didn’t even bother looking in my direction after he was done with you! I don’t know what you two talked about, and frankly, I don’t care! Ruin this for me and I will make sure you suffer greatly!” Eiden was no longer simply venting his frustration he was flat-out threatening Cypher now.

The young heir punched Cypher in the gut as hard as he could and Cypher’s legs went limp. His knees cracked against the wooden floor and he struggled to take a breath as the pain rocketed through his body. He dry heaved as he struggled to catch his breath and the tears started flowing in earnest as Eiden squatted down and grabbed his chin again.

“I hope you’ve enjoyed this first lesson together. Make sure you don’t forget it!”

With that, Eiden pushed Cypher back down to the floor and stormed out of the room.

Cypher laid there for a few more moments as he caught his breath, and then he crawled over to the remains of the gift Molly had gotten for him. Surrounded by the pieces of his handiwork, he pulled the hilt into his arms and held it as he cried for a long, long time.