The growing stiffness in his body forces Cypher to awake; opening his eyes, he expects to be met with the sight of his father and mother. Their vacant seats within the carriage shocked him to the point of nearly calling out for them; he tried to push himself upright from the seat he was laying on, only to feel arms he hadn't noticed were draped around him and pull him back down. His heart stops at the sudden motion; his eyes shoot towards the person restraining him. The sight of his mother smiling down at him calmed his heart; the smile stretched across her face was followed by a small laugh.
Raising his head from his mother's lap, his body following soon after. He looked around as his mother asked him if she had frightened him; he gave no response to her question, though he had one of his own. "Where is my father, and where are we?" His mother pointed towards the carriage door and answered, "We're in the inner city; we'll be heading home as soon as he gets back from the post office." Cypher nodded his head, awaiting his father's return, in relative silence.
Soon after, the carriage door opened, and a man with bright orange hair pushed his way into the carriage. The man was his father, and he was carrying two sizable packages within his left arm. He greeted his family, closing the door behind him; after a few breaths, the carriage started up. The horses' sound striking the ground grew in volume, and the shaking of the carriage steaded. "What are those?" Cypher pointed his finger outwards, aiming it towards the packages. "They are gifts from an old teammate, late ones at that." his father, Crow, spoke as he ripped open the bag to find a dark blue coat similar to the one he wore, though he was a crimson red.
A note was attached to the package's inside, which he swiftly opened, only to throw out curses then. "The damn idiot Martyr, I guess he wasn't joking about waiting until the boy proved himself." Crow placed the coat down after folding the clothing piece up, tearing open the second package and pulling out what seemed to be again something Cypher had seen previously on his father. An amulet with a strange crest of what appeared to be the amalgamation of different creatures, though also his father's was crimson, this one was blue. "Why did he send you those?" Cypher asked; his curiosity was innocent. His father looked up at him after placing the amulet over his neck. "He was a part of my legion, and before we all decided to settle down, we made a promise to alert everyone after the birth of our first child. Though he, Martyr, decided to wait until his child proved himself."
The information was clear to him though he still had some questions, "Then the coat and amulet are symbols of being a part of the legion." Cypher spoke as if his words were valid, but he still held a questioning manner in his voice. Crow answered, correcting him, "No, these were something we all agreed would be the signal for their births. It was safer than leaving the message written in a letter that could be intercepted." Cypher was confused by his father's word choice though he felt as if his questioning was getting annoying, and decided to quit. Though that didn't stop his mind from asking the questions, he wouldn't say aloud. Looking over towards his father, he could see him looking at what seemed to be multiple thin-shelled spheres that covered each other after each new creation, condensing into what appeared to be a singular orb. The action only took after a second, which prevented Cypher from finding out just how many shells were condensed. Seeing this, Cypher quickly decided he would keep quiet about this subject, "What's that?"
His son's excitement brought a smile to his face, and the crow gladly answered. "This is a mana orb," when Cypher eyes widen, and a look of confusion struck his face, that was quickly overtaken by his attempt at understanding the what the purpose and use for what his father just created became clear to Crow he answered the question he knew his son was going to ask, "They're the basic form of advanced combat, they have various usages depending on the person who makes them, and even then the way they make then can decide the difference between to two people with the same abilities comes out over the other."
Before Crow could continue, Cypher spoke out, "Wait, what abilities?" His mother began to let out a quieted laugh, "That depends; the most basic form is titled the attacking forms. However, there is much more than those simple forms. The most advanced being, the status effects." Cypher looked at his father, expectantly awaiting his explanation. Before the crow was able to continue, his wife, Arena, called out. "What's the point of telling Cypher all of this? He might not even want to go to the academy. And even if he does, he might not see the point of becoming a warrior."
Crow seemed to consider the implications of Arena's words after he turned his head towards his son then asked, "What would be your reasoning for knowing anything about these systems?" Cypher looked at his father, confused mainly by his words but understood the core of what he was asking, "From how you spoke before, it seemed like you were talented with these systems; I guess my goal, as your child, would be to dwarf you simply." Crow's eyes widened, Cypher worried his father took his word as an insult, but the following look of pure excitement on his father's face calmed his nerves. Crow shows his teeth in a wide grin, which, as it grew, showed more and more sinister intent behind it. "If that's the case, then I can't help the one who plans on becoming my downfall to progress, at least not by my hand. So your only option would be to go to the academy."
Arena called out towards her husband as if to calm him down, an action which to her seemed necessary. The simple act seemed to work, and Crow dropped his smile, though Cypher knew his father meant every word he had spoken. Which meant Cypher just lost his most significant teacher in a subject he had only found his interest in. He glanced over at his mother, wondering if she was capable of similar feet as his father, but quickly turned his head towards the window above his door, not wanting to have his father ban her as a resource. Even if he was a child, he knew his father well enough to know that any challenge brought towards him that he could take seriously, he would. And Cypher knew at some point he would have to defeat his father.
The carriage ride home was mostly silent, at least for Cypher. His father and mother managed to hold brief conversations between the two of them. His mother didn't bother returning to her original seat next to her husband even at his request, choosing to be seated next to her child instead. Once the carriage had stopped, and they had all made their way outside of its walls, they all made their way towards the large mansion Cypher had the pleasure of calling his home. Strangely his mother held his hand the entire walk towards the front gates. After they had finally reached the interior of their home, Arena looked down at her child and said that she was happy to help him bring down his father however she could.