After finishing breakfast, all four of them climb into an open carriage. Once they were all in their seat, the footman closed the door and jump up next to the driver, and gave him a nodded. With the permission of the footman, he snapped his whip and the horse jolted forward.
There was along twisting dirt road that lead for the manor to the main city in the Richt territory, Serra. Once the they reach the edge of the city the road smoothed out as it charged from dirt to paved stone. The city of Serra was one of the largest city with a population of about fifty thousand people. It was something out of a fairy tale. The city had small house that families would run shops out of, wooden signs hanging from the buildings that told what was where, and people running back and forth going about their daily lives.
When the carriage came in sight, Asher heard someone shout, "They're coming!!" On ether side of the street were knights in armor standing guard with they backs facing the crowd. People were cheering and children were craning their necks to see what the commotion was. His father waved at his people with a smile.
Sometimes it was easy to forget how important his father truly was, but now it was more than clear that not only was he was important he was by far the most beloved person here. Asher looked at over the crowd wandering why everyone was making a big fuse. Sure it was an important day... for them but having a parade through the streets seemed a little extreme.
Asher eyes caught something in an elderly lady's hand. It looked like a stick with some marking of it. The end of it was burning with embers. She waved it in front of her like it was some kind of ritual. He noticed some of the others doing the same.
As if reading his mind, his father spoke up. "It is Wisher's Incense. Legends say burning while praying will make your prayer come true."
"But why burn it here?"
"They are burning it for you two. They are hoping for a powerful awakening. The more powerful you two are the better you can protect them and the happier their lives will be." His father explained before adding. "We will be burning some while you preform your awakening."
A moment passed as Asher looked out into the crowd. As the duke heir, he would one day be responsible for all the people here. For the first time, that fact hit him hard. He would be responsible for the lives and prosperity of so many people. In his old life, no one relied on him and he never had some one who looked to him for guidance.
His father looked at his heir lost in thought. He knew Asher had a good heart just had a wild nature. It was the same love of life and adventure his late wife had. He smiled and lead down to Asher so he could whisper in his ear. "You should wave." He said this kindly trying to guide his young son to be the best leader he could. He felt happy in the belief that Asher would take care of everyone as best as he could.
When Asher waved out into the crowd, everyone cheered happy to see the young heir.
Caroline and Jude sat quietly in the seat across from each other. Jude looked at his twin with jealousy. He would make a terrible noble. He had no decorum or grace that every noble needed. Jules looked out to the crowd burning their incense. This hardened his heart making him even more angry. 'They should be praying for me, not Asher.' He had all the traits a good noble would need. Why did he have to be born second?
Similarly, Caroline had thoughts that feel in line with Jude's thinking. She looked at Asher waving to the people. Asher was wholly unfit to be a noble. She sincerely thought that he was not the actual son of the duke but instead that hussy of wife he had might have spread her legs for some vile thug. That boy is a menace to everything that nobility was to stand for. Jude, on the other hand, was the prefect noble. He was polite and intelligent. He was not prone to his brothers wild streak. She wished there was a way to make him the heir. If Asher was allowed to carry the name, he would only ruin it.
"It is a shame that you were born second." Caroline broke the silence, speaking softly enough so that only Jude would hear.
"I am sorry?" Jude looked confused. He was not expecting the comment.
"You would have made a much better heir. Asher will only succeed in bring the region into destruction. If he is allowed to become the duke, he will destroy everything your ancestors fought to build. He has no form of control. He might as well be a wild beast."
Jude hung on every word. She was right. If Asher was allowed to become the duke, he would destroy very thing. He felt that Caroline understood the frustration he was feeling. If only he could inherit the title then everything would be fine.
His darkening thoughts were interrupted by the carriage came to a halt. The footman hopped down and opened the side of the carriage. The family climb out on to the sidewalk in front of a large church. The cathedral was massive. It was large and look like it was right out of a Victorian fantasy. It had a tall bell tower that pierced the sky and a stain glass mural feature stories from the religion of the world. It showed the history of the world. It depicted the goddess blessing man with the power of magic. At along the edge of the roof was several gargoyle that stood watch over the city.
Standing in front of the heavy oak doors was an elderly women. She was dressed as a nun complete with the black head dress that covered her hair. Her face was worn and clearly showed signs of age and time. When the Richt family approached, she bowed. "Welcome, Lord Duke. We have been waiting for you."