When Nolan took Kyran's things, he planned to use them as leverage to prevent him from escaping. He did not even look at what was inside or what it looked like.
But after checking the jade rings on the necklace. He felt his blood run cold. Like when he received a very bad premonition.
Going back a day before.
Nolan arrived at Finn Town, a town located near the borders of Starhorn. While he was at a pub late at night, he heard the mercenaries talking about a new high reward bounty. The details had not been released, but few factions would willingly pay a huge amount for a bounty. So the next day, Nolan went to the nearest Mercenary Guild to have a look. When he found that the target was last found near the Regis estate, he immediately thought it was the Regis clan who issued it. He then deduced that the target could be an apprentice of the Regis clan who might have defected and stole a treasure or an important document. That's why the clan was willing to pay such a reward.
Thus, for old time's sake, Nolan decided to take on the job. This way he would have a reason to visit the Regis estate.
But after going to the forest, he got lost. Then he found a half-dead kid and got entangled with the Royal Army's business. At first, Nolan was resentful about his luck, but the big guy from the army gave away their target's name. Kyran Regis.
It did not take long for Nolan to connect the half-dead kid to the army's target, especially on how the kid, had reacted.
From what he understood of the situation, and from what he got from the big guy from the army, Kyran was wanted because of his magic.
But what Nolan failed to understand was why the Regis clan did not protect Kyran? He knew how protective this old noble family was to their clan members. Even more so with this kid being a Regis.
Then he thought of how the army has been willing to 'hurt' Kyran just to capture him.
After which the bounty request came to his mind, particularly on how it stated that they wanted the target alive. This type of condition from a bounty request usually had a hidden message: It doesn't matter what his condition is, as long as he's still breathing.
The similarity of the 'condition' of the bounty's target, and the army's approach in capturing Kyran, was too obvious to miss.
This was how Nolan realized that it was the Royal Army who issued the bounty and not the Regis clan. And that Kyran and his bounty target were the same people.
Nolan was left with more questions. Is the Regis clan even aware that the army was after the kid? What kind of magic did the kid try to study anyway? If the clan was aware of what the kid did, why would the Regis clan let him deal with the army alone? Did they give up on this kid? Why did they decide to give up the kid? Or did something happen to the clan that's why they can't interfere?
So after Nolan dealt with the guy from the army, he immediately tracked Kyran. He needed answers. And Kyran was his only clue.
It was easy for Nolan to find Kyran because of his innate magic. Once he found him, however, he realized how guarded Kyran was and that it would be hard for him to get the answers he needed without alarming him.
Thus, Nolan decided to approach him 'sensibly'. That's why he pretended to see Kyran and the bounty target as two different people, to give both of them space to maneuver once he asks information about the Regis clan.
Because Nolan had no plans in meddling with Kyran's personal circumstances. He was only interested in knowing the Regis clan's affairs. He got rid of the guy from the army, for this reason, he could not afford the Royal Army to link him to this kid.
But all this annoying plotting was thrown out the bin the moment Nolan got a closer look at Kyran's rings. He realized he was too naive about everything.
"Tell me what happened to the Regis clan."
As expected, Kyran immediately clammed up.
Nolan could not blame him. He was pretty sensible when he dealt with Kyran's attempted use of magic. Well, he thought it was a good thing to scare the kid a little.
With a sigh, Nolan threw the necklace back to Kyran.
Kyran did not hesitate to move his hands and catch the necklace, even though it would mean his wounds would bleed again.
But Nolan also undid his magic that bound Kyran.
Kyran gasped in pain when the black thing that pierced his legs pulled out. He pulled his legs closer just to stop them from bleeding.
Nolan rummaged inside his cloak and took out a bottle with emerald green pills. He took out a pill and threw it to Kyran while saying, "Take that for your wounds."
Kyran barely caught the pill because he was in pain and a little confused. He looked at the man and then the pill, then back again.
"Tsk. It's a f*cking high-grade healing pill. What's with that look? Can't you just be grateful?"
Kyran frowned. He really could not keep up with this man. "If you did not attack I wouldn't be wounded in the first place."
"I warned you not to do any funny moves," Nolan retorted.
Kyran was still upset but finally took the pill. Immediately, his bleeding stopped and he could almost see his wounds healing.
"Now talk."
"Why? Aren't you a mercenary? If you take me to those guys who are after me, you'll definitely get a good price."
"Yeah, at least one million high-grade spirit stone."
Kyran was shocked, "You -."
"What? I was messing with you earlier. Bite me."
"If you knew then why didn't you turn me in?"
"Now you're asking the right questions!"
"What?"
"Listen, kid. I don't give a f*cking damn on what your issue is with the army. To me with you running like this without the Regis clan interfering meant they gave their consent for your capture. After all who wanted to fight against the Royal Army and shelter someone whose practicing forbidden magic."
Kyran clenched his teeth after hearing this. He fell silent.
Nolan noticed this.
"They really give you up?" he was also surprised. This was not the Regis clan, he knew.
"No!" Kyran denied immediately.
Nolan's eyes narrowed and finally saw the hatred in Kyran's eyes.
'No f*cking way.'
"Tell me what happened," Nolan said once again. This time, his voice sounded sincere, even worried.
Kyran looked at the man.
'Can I really trust this man?' He wondered. After all, this man was too unpredictable.
Nolan sighed. He really outdid himself. He did not expect that his 'annoying plot' would make this kid more guarded. 'Trust is something you earn and not given, huh.'
After a few seconds, Nolan finally decided. He looked at his hand and started to remove his gloves.
Kyran who was warily watching the man wondered what he was planning next.
"What I'm about to show you is top-secret. I'm not showing this to gain even a sliver of trust from you, but show my sincerity."
Nolan tried not to cringe when he said the word sincerity. Not that he was not sincere, just that the word felt foreign to him. He looked at Kyran and showed his left hand.
Kyran's eyes widened. He stared at the man's left middle finger wearing a jade ring that was very similar to his parent's.
"Why... how... who...?" Due to his shock and confusion, Kyran could not keep up with the questions that floated in his mind.
Nolan pointed at the rings in Kyran's hands.
"This and those rings are a set. There are five in total. Apart from me, and those two there are two other people who possessed it. These rings are tokens. And only the five of us know what it symbolizes, and you don't need to know that. Just know that I know who owns those rings. In your case, your parents."
Silence ensued.
Nolan was not a patient man, but he waited for Kyran to digest this information. It only became apparent to him how alone, confused, and scared this kid might be. He was never a sympathetic man so he never cared about other people's emotions. Except to those few whom he cared about. And this kid's parents were two of them. Now, this kid... Well, he had not decided yet, but he was willing to hear his story at least.
Kyran lowered his gaze. He still had reservations with this man, after all, even if he had the same ring as his parents, it did not really prove anything. He might know his parents, but he noticed how the man did not say anything about his relationship with them.
However, Kyran felt it would be nice to talk to someone who seemed to have a real concern about his clan's situation. Maybe it was okay to talk to this man. He just had to be careful on how much he should tell him.
After about five minutes, Nolan was just about to run out of patience, but finally, Kyran spoke.
"The Royal Army raided the Regis estate last night."
"Raided?" Nolan's eyes narrowed.
Kyran nodded. "I thought it was just their routine visit. They normally do that once a month, but last night they did it because of...." he took a deep breath, "me."
"You were studying forbidden magic, did you really think the army would not find you out?"
"I wasn't studying it," Kyran shook his head. He hesitated for a second before adding, "I didn't even know I had magic, until last night."
Nolan frowned. He was aware of Kyran's inexperience in magic, but he did not expect him to just know about his magic. Then a thought struck him that almost made his scalp go numb.
'His innate magic is a forbidden type?'
"Wait. You just found out about your magic? Are you f*cking with me?"
"I'm not!" Kyran hastily answered. He hesitated to tell this particular information because he knew it would lead to more questions. But he also knew this was a piece of crucial information, and whether he could convince this man to 'side with him' depended on it.
"My family hid it from me," Kyran explained, full of frustration.
Nolan fell silent. He did not have to hear the rest to understand the whole situation.
Kyran's father was also a powerful Abjurer. It would be easy for him to seal his son's magic in order to hide it. But something happened to the seal. It might've weakened and the magic signature leaked, thus alarming the Royal Army.
'But to weaken a seal made by a powerful Abjurer....' Nolan looked at Kyran thoughtfully.
In this world, there are three forbidden magic under the high-risk category; Soul Magic, Time Magic, and the most dangerous of all, Void Magic.
Recalling the magic Kyran used to counter the Four-colored Ruin array, Nolan already had an idea what type of magic he had.
'Cade, just how the hell did you end up with a son, like him?' He thought bitterly as he remembered his good friend.
Kyran was waiting patiently for the man to ask more questions. Unexpectedly, the man stayed silent.
After a few minutes, the man's next words made Kyran's heart beat furiously.
"Show me your magic."
Kyran clenched his fists. He knew this request would come but not this soon. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he looked at the man, his eyes steady.
"Can I trust you?" he asked.
Nolan stared at Kyran. He saw the determination in Kyran's eyes and knew that he was willing to fight if Nolan showed even a hint of hypocrisy.
"Probably not," Nolan answered straight away. "But right now, I'm all you got."
Kyran looked at the rings in his hand. And finally, he reached out his left hand and urged his magic.
Purple rings appeared and circled around his wrist.
"This is my magic."