It was the big day. Droves of people waited in front of the church, anticipating the dedication of the Young Master. As the son of the Divine General, and as a descendant of The Buenaforts, people held high expectations for the young boy. They believed that a miracle would happen and that the son would be able to surpass his father's talents. While the residents of the duchy had nothing but good intentions for the young master, people lurking in the darkness did not. Some noble houses sent spies to look into the son of the Divine General. In the past year, they were not able to get any information due to the general's influence. There had also been rumors that countless spies from other provinces had gone missing for quite some time. Some were found distraught and looked like they lost themselves, as if they already saw the depths of darkness. Others were found dead at the border of the General's Duchy, which seemed like an unfortunate accident. But the people in the know knew that The General's Shadows were on the move.
As the carriage of the Family neared the church, people were cheered for them.
"Congratulations Lord, and Madam Escrima!" Others shouted, "Long Live the Greatest General!" Others sang of the potential greatness of the little general.
"Elizabeth, are you alright?" Lord Escrima asked his wife while hugging her. She carried the child in her arms. "I can hold Johannes for you. You need some rest, you didn't get a wink of sleep last night."
"You can't blame me, my love. I am just worried for our son. I don't want him to disappoint you, or the people that look up to you. But at the same time, I don't want him to be too powerful. I want him to live a normal life. Away from the battlefield, away from magic." Madam Elizabeth said in a worried tone. In the kingdom, no matter whose child it was, if the child showed a high level of talent, he would be taken by the kingdom and trained to be a soldier and sorcerer.
"If Johannes shows the same level of Talent as me when I was a child, I can cover for him and say that I will be the best person to train my own son. For some time, we will be able to raise him our way, and be able to let him decide what life he wants to live for himself." Lord Escrima appeased his wife's troubled heart. He did, however, have the right to say this since he was the most powerful sorcerer in the kingdom. At the same time, the current king had to at least honor this request for reasons that he didn't reveal to his wife.
"I see. Thank you my love." Elizabeth said in a slightly better mood.
The carriage stopped and the door was opened. "The Church of the Four Elements welcomes the Duke and Duchess of the Escrima.", a Bishop of the church announced. When Lord and Madam Escrima alighted from the carriage while carrying Johannes, they saw a line of priests and their attendants waiting for them outside the church. They entered, accompanied only by the Bishop.
As Madam Escrima went ahead towards the altar of the church, sitting on one of the pews, the Lord talked to the bishop while walking slowly towards where the Madam was.
"Thank you Bishop Montgomery, for acquiescing to our request." Lord Escrima said in a grateful manner.
"My Lord, the Church will gladly cater to any of your requests. However, this request is quite understandable given you and your wife's standings. I, like the other people in the kingdom, believe that we will be able to see a miracle today," the Bishop said in a reverent but jolly manner. He was smiling while talking until his smile suddenly vanished. "It's a pity, however, that many people came in the Duchy with ill intent against the House and the Young Master."
"It can't be helped. Let's not talk about politics in front of my son for now. Let's go on with the ritual."
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"12 MAGIC CIRCLES. THERE WERE 12 MAGIC CIRCLES!" Lord Escrima shouted in the carriage.
After the ceremony, and after Johannes' powers were revealed to the three of them in the Church, Lord Escrima carried Johannes and exited the church hurriedly; Madam Escrima following closely behind them. They didn't even stop to look at the people who were waiting patiently for the results. It was the Bishop Montgomery who announced that Johannes summoned 8 circles.
Once they arrived at the mansion, the family went up to their room at once. The Madam was still astounded with what happened. She was happy and afraid at the same time. No mother would not be proud of what happened- her son had the potential to be the strongest sorcerer to have ever been born in this world! However, she could not help but be afraid at the same time since she wanted her child to live a happy life. She knew how bloody the life of a sorcerer was and how much suffering her child might have to go through. She knew, as she experienced it too, together with her husband. If not for Michael's influence and friendship with the past and current king, she would still have been a soldier for the kingdom. But now she was able to receive a gift from the heavens- her and her husband's talented son.
As Lady Elizabeth was worried and elated at the same time, Lord Escrima tried his best to hide his happiness "Hell Yeah! Fuck yes. My son is the strongest being in the world. Fuck yeah. No one will be able to beat my son. I am the best father, my wife is the best mother! We were able to produce a Child with the highest potential ever." Lord Escrima wanted to shout his lungs out but he held it in. He focused his mind and tried to console his worried wife.
"Michael, what should we do? I don't think we can hide Johannes' powers in the future. What should we do?" Elizabeth said worriedly.
"We just have to take it as it is my love. Let's teach Johannes how to control his power as soon as he can read so there won't be any accidents in the future." Michael said confidently. In this situation, he thought that he should be calm and be the strength his wife could count on. Even though they were both called prodigies and aberrations, depending on the people, they didn't really know how to handle a child that summoned 12 magic circles.
"We should seek help from my parents. Even though they are the way they are, they possess the most knowledge and understanding of Magic." Elizabeth said. "They are scholars of the old magic. If there were anyone who could help us, it would be them, my love."
"Are you sure about this Elizabeth? You remember how mad they were when you decided to leave the order," Lord Escrima asked in a caring tone. He knew his parents-in-law were not really on board of them getting married. However, since they raised a stubborn young lady, Elizabeth disobeyed them and followed her heart.
"Let's invite them to come over. But not anytime soon. Let us teach Johannes first the basics of Magic, and how to read and write." Lady Elizabeth said absent-mindedly. Lord Escrima saw this and couldn't really blame his wife. After all, her parents were also monsters in their own right. They trained Elizabeth in magic starting at age 2. They made sure that she was able to read 10 books in magic a week. In short, Johannes' grandparents were crazy scholars who only had magic reasearch in their minds.
"Uhm, Elizabeth." Lord Escrima said.
"What."
"Johannes can't talk yet." Lord Escrima said with an awkward smile.
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The people of the duchy celebrated the occasion like a festival. Even though the family had already left for their mansion, they still sponsored a feast in the residential area. However, some people felt let down as they expected something more, but they didn't voice it out since 8 magic circles could still be called an aberrant. After all, Madam Buenafort also summoned 8 Magic Circles back then and was considered as one of the monsters of their generation.
The remaining spies from the other noble houses went on and tried to leave the duchy. Most of them were caught by the Shadows and were lost forever but some were still able to escape. After a few days, the news that the son of the Divine General summoned 8 magic circles circulated around the kingdom. Even though it was a rare occurrence to hear of a child summon 8 circles, it didn't come as surprise for the kingdom. After all, his parents were also aberrations so they took it in relaxed manner. Some noble houses felt cheated as some of them sent highly skilled men and women to spy on the family; men and women who ultimately died in vain after knowing that child's results were just within expectations.
"It seems like the monsters produced another monster my lord." A sinister looking man said to the fat man sitting in the middle of a dark office.
"Ah, it seems like fate is playing with us. No matter what we do, it keeps on blessing this monster. But no worries, we will be able to get rid of them soon. Let's just be patient and consolidate our influence within the King's Court. In time, we will be able to destroy that filthy half-breed house." The fat man said to the sinister looking man.
"Ha ha ha, of course, Lord Anguis." The man reporting to the Lord smiled and bowed. He vanished and the Anguis was left alone in his office.
"I will get my fucking revenge for my family, you filthy half-breed." Anguis said while reading the report of the spy he sent on the Duchy of Escrima.