A pair of child and man walked closely, linked hand in hand, the child's head barely reached the man's mid-section.
The older man's strides were short, matching the child's slow pace.
The child's head was ever so slightly turning every other moment. Almost as if he was trying to commit every scene to memory.
His eyes shined in undisguised marvel, often times looking down at his little feet as they made contact with the marble floor.
Eldric looked at the large glass windows as he and James moved along. What greeted him was a beautiful scene.
The picturesque sight of the snowy mountains on the horizon, along with the remarkably green inner mansion's gardens decorated with light patches of snow and ice lakes.
It all meshed up to create a wonderful and exotic image, that simply captured the breath of little Eldric. And what added to the allure of it was the sun standing in its full glory; it refused to hide behind the clouds.
"Stunning, isn't it?" proudly said James, noticing his son's overextended gaze.
He stopped and fully took in the scene in front of him as well.
Eldric nodded absent-mindedly, he had seen similar images all over the internet beforehand, but it was his first time seeing such a scene first-hand.
"And they say the North is bad. Bunch of pansies, I tell you." Said James in fashion unbefitting of the head of a noble household. His eyebrows raised in indignation.
'Some tension, eh?' noted Eldric in his mind, curious about his father's overblown reaction. But he kept it to himself; merely opting to observe the situation.
Although his situation was starting to look better than it was mere moments ago, there were still things he was in the dark on; Eldric didn't want to compromise his position.
After that short exchange, their long walk continued. James stopped when he reached two large doors.
He grandly opened them. A row of butlers and maids was neatly arranged on the left and right, as he and Eldric walked in the middle of them.
The staff of both butlers and maids took in a good look at Eldric.
Some expressed visible surprise, others simply offered an eyebrow raise to this child that was accompanying their lord; a silver-haired child no less.
"Call everyone currently present in the mansion. I have great news to share," announced James, strongly for all the staff to hear.
The head butler took charge of the staff. The man had a head full of white hair.
His features were sharp, and his body sharper.
The way he carried himself was, unbecoming of the age his features seemed to portray. His silver eyes were full of confidence as he looked at the butlers and maids under him.
He wore a suit different from the other butlers on his right. It was more finely tailored with golden lines on the edges, and a short overcoat lay above his suit.
It made sure to set him apart.
The sounds of hurried footsteps dominated the hall until it was emptied out.
The only two left were Eldric and his father in the huge hall waiting for incomers.
Covering two-thirds of the huge marble floor was a red carpet that extended from the doors to the other end of the hall.
The long red carpet connected two more entrances, one to the left and the other to the right. The same massive wooden doors were installed at each entrance.
Eldric thought that his chamber's ceiling was high.
But, the hall one completely blew his chamber's ceiling height out of the water; there was simply no comparison to be made.
Little Eldric had to bend his neck at a ninety-degree angle to see the paintings and glyphs right in the middle that decorated the ceiling.
Somehow, those glyphs glowed. And even stranger, Eldric knew how to read those glyphs as if it was second nature.
'Noble House of Armsworth. Current Head: James Armsworth.' He muttered under his breath and looked at his father.
In the middle of the ceiling was a huge chandelier, that was capable of somehow illuminating the entire massive hall. Eldric could see several small lamp-like white crystals on each stand that shone brightly. Their lights got dimmer as the layers of the luxurious Luminaire hung down.
Little Eldric was massively confused, he hadn't seen any signs of electrical devices or tools. Heck, he hadn't come across anything remotely modern-looking that resembled any kind of appliances from his time.
'Is that some sort of magic? But how would it even work?' Eldric was naturally a curious man before.
His curiosity increased even further in this childish body of his.
Curiosity was the trademark of children, right behind annoyance.
The large walls of the ceiling were covered in beige, silky banners that hung from the ceiling to the overly shiny marble floor of the same colour.
The same emblem was sewn on each banner; two large crossed swords with a circle surrounding them.
Multiple antiques and valuable looking paintings were put all over the hall.
Above high-quality wooden stands, were glass displays. Inside those glass displays lay the vases and other pieces or impressive 'artistic' items.
The other more robust collectables were sitting in the open air, letting you freely take in their beauty, and maybe sometimes their weirdness.
However, little Eldric was focusing on a certain item. A large sword is on the other end of the hall, securely embedded above the vintage brick chimney.
He couldn't make out all the details due to the large distance between him and the item.
But he could see that it is a large silver sword, with red and black markings running alongside its blade. The handle looked nothing impressive though, a simple black handle on the bottom of the sword.
'That's a weird sword. It looks like something straight from a horror movie or something.' Eldric thought as he tried to make more details.
Eldric could almost swear he saw it move, he looked at his father to make sure he wasn't the only that saw.
James didn't make any movements. He was standing straight up, his shoe heels tapping the marble floor and his arms tapping his strong crossed arms.
Eldric observed no changes.
'Right. That must have been just me. I can't believe a sword just made me jump.' He lightly mocked himself.
What little Eldric didn't know was that it wasn't that the sword didn't make any movements as he thought; nobody but him could see it.
Not the butlers, not the maids— not even his father.