Harridan was restless evident from his pacing the blood red tiles of the blood acquisition hall of the Yandersian Lyceum*. His tension could be attributed to two factors:

1. The Yandersian Lyceum was a shady bunch. Their staff were all mediocre and the lesser renown among the Academia. Notwithstanding their rumours of their teachers without even the basic knowledge of the subject they are about to teach surfaced every now and then their Lyceum suffered an occasional casualty. They definitely earned their bad reputation and it was nothing to joke about. Harridan himself had no hopes for this institution.

2. His current situation was bad and these people were the only one's who he could hire to do the job.

The Yandersian Lyceum and all Lyceums in general have low fees and their services were also subpar also they don't demand all the required papers. Give them enough money and they will call a donkey as a Stallion*.

That was convenient for he didn't want the child to be traced to him, that was one thing but the fact that was disturbing him was that the child was his own newborn, his son, Yuse.

He was a new father but he didn't have the time to enjoy his newfound parenthood. The situation was turning more dire by the minute.

In his proverbial previous life, about five years ago, Harridan had a brief career as a military combatant and he had comitted a grave treason of killing their army general and abandoned his post

He had successfully laid low for all this time, fathered a healthy child and was about to start a new family.

How he a normal combatant was able to kill the general breaking through all his guards still remained a mystery.

Some could deduce that he was blessed by one from the trinity and That made the disaster strike.

The Crown Prince had ordered him executed and announced a sum of thousand gold to anyone who gave any information about his whereabouts, a still huge sum would be rewarded to those who gave more precise information .

That created a score of informers looking ardently for any information about people who were carrying a broad sword and was extremely skilled in using it.

Madness ensued and a lot of fellow broadsword users had to give their lives for it.

Harridan was spotted by one of these informers and his cover had been blown. A legion of assassins paid him a visit and caught him unawares.

His wife and Her father had unfortunately died protecting his newborn son while he was away from home.

Harridan was then left with his son as a single father. Then he started a Vagabond journey throughout the land and his behoviour became nervous and jumpy even though he is in no immediate danger.

Harridan had acqired some bitter memories as part of this nomadic lifestyle. He had to thoroughly hide from his enemy because He, who bears the mark of the great sword, the blessing of Biophora the destroyer, one of the Trinity, was a recognisable target but his newborn son was not.

At the same time his son was an easy target but not such a recognisable one.

As much as it pained him to make that decision, for the sake of the safety of his son, Harridan had to abandon his son and sever all his ties with him.

Atleast until he acquired the mark of Esah after which he could contest to the throne of the kingdom. But getting the Mark of Esah was akin to climbing a mountain of thorns barefooted.

Harridan himself was not sure whether he could obtain Esah's which is the blessing of all three of the trinity.

Harridan wanted to make sure that he could atleast do something of a favour to his child before his departure so that he would grow safely and be alive till he returns if he ever did.

Giving blood acquisition to an infant was a taboo on part of the parent but what else could he do. It was like checking whether a five year old can make a Phd Thesis.

Who in their right mind would do such a thing to their child. Well Harridan had his excuse but he couldn't say it out loud right?

A female attendant of the master examiner walked out at last but there was an ill-chosen expression on her face.

Harridan didn't have the time to decipher the situation at hand and decided that panic was the natural course of action.

"What! what happened?! is it a Blessing or a curse? ". It was entirely within possibility that these guys instead of appeasing the deity to bestow a mark of blessing they could have angered it to make him curse his infant newborn child.

Harridan seemed to set off a volley of questions at the simple woman who just blinked at him without a clue.

The poor woman had troubles of her own it seemed.

"It's nothing. you seemed like you were about to tell me something. Go ahead!"

"The master examiner has called for you, Good Sir" gushed out the nurse with a blushed face and rushed away to look after her errands. She had obviosly never had encountered someone who did what Harridan said he would do so .

"If only there were someone other than these guys"Harridan thought to himself .

He would have gone to any other institiution and gladly pay them his entire life's savings if he can or he would even gladly slaughter his way through but sadly there weren't any other options but this one. None. Nothing.

The other nearby school wasn't a Lyceum but a University and was easily a thousand furlongs* and there was also a river to be crossed if he had to go that way.

On the other hand these guys here would only be good to raise his son as an errand boy.

Blood acquisition was such an important thing in this world.

Anyone who knew about it would do it and preferable get blessed by atleast a single deity. Having the blessing of a deity meant things would go easier for him and the bad things in life would not be as bad as before.

Most people would have multiple blessings of various gods on them.

The Blood acquisition is almost a surefire way to check the potential a newborn has to develop into someting much more.

This process was more like a test and the returns were largely an inherent factor and blood acquisition was just a test.

It was said that there was only one very powerful god once, Who was unrivalled and was so powerful that he alone could have the entire fabric of reality torn to shreds should he wished it but he was a Benevolent god.

Sadly no one understood him and that vexed him so much so that he split himself into several entities that embodied each of his traits.

This event was called the great fissure and the Great birth. He split up and faded into nothingness. He was unnamed until then. But some decided to call him The Abyss.

That was also the origin of gods. They were all born from death. They were brought into the light of their being by the fading of a great one into the abyss.

The great god had died and his blood rained down where he died and the stones there were dyed blood red and These stones had a particular property anyone who was placed in contact with the stone was able to get blessed by the gods who were born of the great god.

Hence by the name blood acquisition or aquisition from the blood. In truth there was nothing bloody about it. The person who gets his blood acquiesced would not even be scratched.

People just remember this as a simple fact without any emotional attachment. This was now no more than a mere reason to name a ritual but for gods themselves it was different it was their history.

That's that.

However A good blood acquisition can give you a Blessing seal which in turn can give yo an easy life and all the good things life can offer.

On the other hand if a person was to be cursed and that seal was placed on his body his life has practically gone to pigs and dogs.

No god would bless a cursed person. At the most they can expect to live away the rest of their lives normally at best, at worst ..... it's best to not talk about such a thing at all.

That's usually why they are given the blood acquisition during their teens or atleast after the child has grown up a bit around five years or so as a leeway to enjoy life to some extent.

Even though the rate of cusing in Blood acquisition is extremely low it wasn't neglegible.

Blood acquisition before the age os five was a nutty thing to do and would be a matter of shame it it were to leak out. That was why Harridan had to pay an amount for blood acquiesceing his newborn son.

"Who the hell thinks he could judge me, if they were in my shoes they would have done the same. I'm being chased by a goddamn army!" Harridan was muttering to himself as he reconnected the attendant's flustered expression.

"What is going on? What has been taking this long for a simple blood acquisition !" Harridan absentmindedly asked out loud as he entered into the room of the master examiner of the Lyceum.

The room was a perfect cube more or less without any openings other than the door. The Blood red tiles were all over the floor and the wall and was giving the viewer an opressive sensation.

In it's center was an altar that was blood red but had exuded a red fluorescence on it was a child wailing it's lungs out and nearby the child was an old man with gray hair.

That old man wore a grass green gown with red patterns of varying thickness interwoven ever so delicately. He had the airs of a benevolent learned man around him.

He appeared indifferent to the arrival of Harridan but later on he spoke "Are you the father of this child?" he called out to Harridan.

"Yes" he replied.

"Most parents want to see the mark of blessing manifest on their son themselves. My apprentice has succesfully performed the invocation and all that's left is the seal. Let's make the mark reveal itself shall we?" Asked the old man.

"Please! By all means let's complete the ritual." insisted an impatient Harridan.

"Oh! the young people these days, Always rushing towards things. In my days there were people who would sometimes not recieve Blood acquisition until the day before their marriage. HA HAHA!" the old man started the old generation talk.

"Old sir, I'm in a hurry. Please understand" Harridan cut off the old man's laughter with this statement and the old man sighed.

"The youth nowadays have really poor manners" the old man was shaking his head as he was saying these words.

"By these words and by my power reveal!" he commanded and aura left his body and entered the blood red altar that was imperceptible and invisible to the eye but it could be felt by those present at the scene.

Oddly nothing happeened. no glows and no vibrations nothing.

"Achoo!" Harridan sneezed. "excuse me!. Is that all? is the ritual complete"

"Wait don't disturb me" said the old man and then he spoke "By the potence of the zenith disclose thy seal the symbol of promise of thy aid" Then he stared intently at the stone.

"If I may ask something is supposed to happen now right ?" asked Harridan.

"Nothing more than a minor slump" announced the old man.

"Doesn't seem like it" said Harridan.

Harridan was getting on the old man's nerves. But he began his chanting anyway as he thought his pride as an invoker was being challenged by Harridan. That was why even though it wasn't his job the old man stayed to complete the blood acqisition.

This was supposed to be my big Finish so that he could look cool in front of others.

"When thou art potent ye shall unveil thy form,

When thou art benevolent ye shall reveal thy force

When ye impart this one shall humbly recieve

All that this one does shall be your doing

Thenceforth Bewray thy seal, O Divine Soul"

The incantation lingered in the air for a while it was then that something happened.

A brilliant red glow pervaded that stone and transfused with that child who was giggling at the apperarence of something intersting before his eyes .

It was then that Harridan noticed something wierd happening the stone paled in color and then fissures seemed to appear on the stone.

"Oh dear!" exclaimed the old man.

"Is that normal ?" asked Harridan.

"Please take your boy , The blood acquisition is complete. About time we bought a new bloodstone."the old man spoke and looked at an errand boy who wore plain grey clothing and barked a command

"You there go tell the boss it's time to get a new bloodstone"

"Thanks um, I have a question. Where is the mark of blessing on my boy?" Harridan asked while he was holding the boy in his hand. He wasn't at all amazed by the show and was still on point .

" Young man, Let me check, after all I am the examiner of this Lyceum" the old man said haughtily.

The old man took a few strides and was infront of the Father and son. He extended his hand to take the boy for inspection.

""Found it it is in his eye" Harridan announced triumphantly. He was overjoyed. Despite his grim circumstances he had somehow managed to do his duty as a parent.

"EYE!?" blurted out the old man.

"Let me take a look at it" he said and took the child in his hands and looked in his eyes, "Oh! it's in the left eye I see, it's not quite like a mark of blessing if I can say so myself."

"Appearences can be deceptive" Harridan reminded himself.

The mark was a translucent circle with a glowing orb at the centre of it*. It was marvellous the look at but it being in the eye of little Yuse was disturbing to look at. That put off the baby's face and looked like he had two eyes of different colours.

"Oh my this is troublesome" the old man spoke again.

"What is it?" Harridan asked his earlier nervousness showed through.

The old man said nothing and avoided eye contact and looked blankly at the wall he gave back Harridan a drowsy Yuse and walked to the bell that was mounted on the wall and struck it twice, a person who was guarding outside suddenly said "Yes boss!" and went right on towards the corridor in a direction opposite to that of the blood acquisition hall.

Harridan asked

"Please tell me old sir, What seems to be the problem?

you said that this mark quite didn't represent a mark of blessing.

Who did you call for?

Does that mean that my boy has been cursed?".

He was panicking but it was understandable, which parent wouldn't be aggrieved if thier child was harmed.

The old man simply kept mum and avoided all eye contact with Harridan and was pretending that nothing was existing that room with him.

Glossary:

Lyceum - a sort of a school that is neither college nor a kindergarten.

Calling a donkey as a Stallion- its a phrase that describes a person who gives false attestation at for bribes. Simply put that means the person who calls a donkey as a stallion has thoroughly sold his soul for money.

Furlong- A distance unit that measure approximately 200 meters

The mark .....at the centre of it- description of the circumpunt that would be referred to in the ater chapters.