Alaster worked through his exercises until the sun began to set, at which point Isabella ran over and dragged him away, mad that he wasn't getting ready.
She shoved him into his own room and pointed to the bed, where his new clothes were waiting. The girl only left when Alaster promised he would get ready and even comb his hair.
When he had first come to Onigas, and had to dress up in these fancy sort of clothes, it would take him hours to figure it out and get it right. Now, he had enough practice that he was dressed, combed, and ready within twenty minutes.
Attaching the sheath of his sword to his belt, the boy left the room and made his way over to the small banquet hall. The Siphas Estate had two banquet halls. One smaller, a much more cozy. And one larger, where they would host great balls with dozens, perhaps even hundreds of people.
As Alaster arrived at the doors, Lukas opened the door and motioned him in. While the Lord's Guard were all close with Alaster, the Class Party was much closer than that. Lukas was really only there as he went everywhere with Lord Siphas, as his personal Bodyguard.
The Hall was lightly decorated with a homemade banner celebrating his birthday, and a couple of candles casting warm light throughout. The single long table was filled with all of Alaster's favorite foods, and even a cake. Alaster had never had a cake before.
He was the last to arrive as the Siphas family was already there, as were the two City Lord's daughters with their own bodyguards standing at the edges of the room. Colius appeared to already be a few glasses in, as his speech was slightly slurred while talking with Lord Siphas about some random thing he had learned in his constant study.
Isabella immediately noticed him and left the conversation she was having with the City Lord's daughters to ran towards him. She didn't even stop, and Alaster was forced to catch her as she slammed into him. Had he not expected something like this, it was likely he would have been knocked over.
Lady Siphas walked over, laughing at the sight, "Hello Alaster and happy birthday."
Alaster looked up at the woman with one of his exceedingly rare genuine smiles.
Lady Siphas was a beautiful woman. She wasn't a renown beauty, but she could turn heads quite easily. However, what really drew people towards her was her personality. She was kind and focused on whoever was speaking to her. She was a very charismatic woman. The Lady Siphas was a shorter woman, but was fit and thin. It still caused a light blush to creep into Alaster's face seeing Lady Siphas as she seemed to perfectly fit into whatever she wore, without it ever seeming too loose or too tight.
Without a doubt, Isabella had gotten her blonde hair from her mother and would grow up to attract many suitors.
Lord Siphas followed right behind his wife, dressed well, but comfortably. His hand casually rested on the hilt of his sword, appearing ready if needed, but his eyes were tired. Alaster knew that he had been looking over his paperwork all day and had only left when his wife dragged him away.
The two Daughters of the City Lord came up next, both dressed in beautiful gowns. Iris, the elder daughter, proudly carried a dagger, symbolizing that she was an adult by law. Not that she would truly be considered an adult until she was seventeen at the earliest. However, by turning fifteen, she was now eligible for marriage, and her father had already been forced to turn down or delay several offers.
Iris' brunette hair was beautifully done up in a braid, meant to keep out of the way if necessary. Alice, the younger daughter, had her hair in bouncy curls. While Iris was dressed in a more mature dress. Alice was the very image of a child, she only reined in her excitement for the occasion because her sister held her back.
"Hello Alaster." Iris greeted as Alice simply nodded, scared that if she opened her mouth she would be too loud and be reprimanded by her sister.
"Hey Iris. Who knows? Maybe tonight I'll beat you in an arm wrestle."
Iris smiled widely, "Maybe? No chance, I'll make sure of it!"
The rest of the group each greeted and congratulated Alaster, and then they all sat down to eat. Unlike the strict aura of formal Noble dinners, this was much more familiar. At one point, Isabella threw a bread roll at Colius only to have it fly through one portal and sent right back into her face by another.
The occasion was filled with laughter and smiles. For the first time in a long while, Alaster was happy. And for the first time since his sister was taken, he allowed his constant planning to rest and be momentarily forgotten. Once the dinner was finished, Lady Siphas then corralled everyone over to some chairs and couches, where the gifts currently sat.
Typically, gifts were only given for the child's tenth and fifteenth year, as they marked milestones. However, as a commoner, and one in a remote village, he had only received two gifts before. The ring his sister had made him, which still sat on his finger. And a wooden practice sword his parents had given him, which he had been forced to leave.
However, every person had brought a gift of their own for Alaster, even Isabella and little Alice. Alaster was overwhelmed, and genuinely did not know how to respond. He had never received so much.
The Siphas' had given Alaster a book of all known and common monsters. The boy was excited to read through it and learn more about the world he knew he would have to travel through. But just before they moved onto the next gift, Lord Siphas had moved closer to whisper something in his ear.
"No matter what happens, you will always have a place in our family."
That struck a nerve inside of Alaster, and he struggled to not tear up, but he forced it down and thanked the Lord, even as his voice cracked.
The next gift came from Isabella, who excitedly shoved it into his hands. When he opened his hands, he saw a small amulet. It was not fancy, only a polished iron disk.
"It's enchanted to make you quieter." Isabella explained.
Alaster's and everyone else's eyes widened.
"It isn't very powerful, but any little bit helps, right?"
Alaster smiled as she recited what he had told her numerous times. He brought her in for a tight hug and only let go when Lady Siphas called for the next gift.
The next gift was from Alice, who gave Alaster another book, but this one detailed numerous classes up to Intermediate. Taking a short look through it, the book had at least a hundred beginner classes and even more Intermediate classes listed. The information it provided was very brief and generalized, but it was still a vast amount of knowledge that Alaster did not have previously.
Information about classes were strangely kept from children by the adults. Only the most generalized information was told. The secret was not kept for any particular reason, just that the adults believed that the children should search for and learn it themselves, as they had done.
Without waiting for lady Siphas to announce the next gift, Iris thrust hers forward. It was a large round shield, polished, but Alaster could tell that it was meant to take a serious beating. It was heavy, almost too heavy for Alaster, but from the grin on Iris' face, it was meant to be.
"This shield was made by my uncle when he was first starting out his Expert Class. He threw it away, claiming it to be a failure, but I kept it to give to you."
An Expert made shield? Even if the creator thought it to be a failure, for a Beginner, it was still an unbelievably great item. And Alaster was still not a Beginner.
Unexpectably, the next gift came from Lukas. The large man handed Alaster a dark purple, almost black cloak.
"It is made from a Mid-Adept Monster's hide."
Another name for class rankings, and one usually used for monsters. Novice for Beginner, Adept for Intermediate.
"It is waterproof, and water will slide off without soaking in. It is tight enough that no wind with get through. It is warm, but won't cause you to overheat. It is also thick enough to deflect or blunt most glancing blows from Novice to Low-Adept attacks. Finally, I had it enchanted to be capable of repairing itself. The repair is automatic, but is very slow, and has its limits. I have personally tested each aspect and found it adequate as a gift for you."
Alaster was stunned, not because of the cloak itself, though that itself was amazing, but because he had never heard Lukas speak that much in one go. Isabella had to nudge him to break him out of the trance.
"Thank you, Lukas, both for the cloak and the training. You have taught me so much, and I hope you have more to teach."
The giant nodded, "Celebrate the night, but training still starts at noon. Do. Not. Be. Late."
Alaster shivered, thinking of the last time one of the guards had been late to their scheduled training. It was not something he wanted to experience himself.
The last gift came from Colius, though Lukas had to lightly nudge the drunk to get his attention. However, a light nudge from Lukas was equivalent to a shove.
"Ow! Be gentle, you brute, I'm old!" Colius complained, shooting the man a glare while rubbing his arm where Lukas had touched.
"Gift." Lukas said, pointedly looking at Alaster.
Colius looked at Alaster, his mind slowed by the many glasses. It took several awkward moments for understanding to bloom in his eyes.
"Ah, right. Here you go, lad." Without any ceremony, Colius reached into his pocket and threw a ring at Alaster, who rushed to catch it as the throw had been way off.
As Alaster examined the ring, Colius went back to sipping his drink.
"Colius?" Alaster asked, forgoing the wizard's title.
"Hmm?"
"When did you become an Expert?"
The entire room exploded in noise, and it took Lady Siphas several minutes to calm everyone enough to sit back down.
With an almost evil chuckle, Colius explained, "I finally became an Expert just two days ago. I was so embroiled in my research that I almost missed it. But catch it I did! The surprise forced me from my focus, allowing me to notice the date. I realized that I had not yet occurred a gift for you, young Alaster, so I thought I would make a Ring of Holding for you.
Had I made a Bag of Holding, the space would be much bigger, but a Bag could be lost."
Alaster spoke up, "And you wanted to see if you could make a Ring."
"Yes." The man shamelessly admitted. "And it worked."
A Ring of Holding was vastly more complex than a Bag of Holding. The powers used were similar, but it was the very concept that was so alien. Most Warp Mages were unable to make a Ring of Holding until they were Mid-Experts, but Colius had been able to create one because he already understood the concepts and ideas due to his constant study.
Typically, the space within Rings were much smaller than Bags. However, there were two major differences. Unlike Bags, Rings required the user to inject a miniscule amount of mana into it in order to access the space. And Unlike Bags, where you had to reach into to access the space, Rings allowed the user to simply have the item appear in their hand.
Alaster opened his mouth to thank the drunk man, but was interrupted by a loud banging on the Banquet Hall doors. All the Guards stiffened, and their hands crept closer to their swords.
Had it been a guest, they would have been announced. And had it been a servant, they would have quietly opened the door and approached the Lord.
The Daughters' Bodyguards stepped in front of their charges, as did Alaster in front of Isabella. Colius immediately sobered up, and snatched the ring back from Alaster, quickly making all the night's gifts disappear within, before he gave it back. Without looking away, Alaster put the ring on the finger next to his sister's ring, and put his hand on the handle of his sword.
Lukas grabbed his shield from his back, but kept his sword sheathed. After a slight nod from Lord Siphas, the giant approached the doors and slowly cracked one open. Alaster could not see who was on the other side, but from the posture of Lukas, he could tell they were exchanging words.
After a moment, Lukas closed the door again and quickly returned to his Lord, whispering in his ear.
Lord Siphas' eyes blazed, any prior exhaustion burning away. It spun towards Colius, "Get a portal up, anywhere away from here."
Colius did not hesitate and began the incantation. For small portals, he could make them instantly, but for portals large enough for a person, it still required some time, and the further away the portal was, the longer the incantation.
Just as Alaster noticed blue sparks appear in the air in front of Colius, the doors to the banquet hall burst open and a dozen men in black masks sprinted in, weapons raised. The Guards inside the hall rushed to meet them to protect their Lords and Ladies.
Alaster drew his sword and stepped forward to join the defense, but Lord Siphas roughly grabbed his arm, holding him back.
"Kill the Heretic! Ignore the rest!" One of the masked men shouted, clearly the leader.
Alaster's eyes widened and his grip on his drawn sword tightened. They had found him. Somehow they had tracked him all the way from the village to Onigas.
Despite being outnumbered, the Guards held their ground. Each of them were the Elite Guards of the leading Nobility of Onigas. Lukas himself held off five of the masked men. The battle had only lasted a few moments, but already most of the Guards and many of the masked men sported wounds, dying the wood floor underneath with their blood. However, as of yet, none had fallen.
Lady Siphas corralled the frightened children into the far corner, and drew her own weapon. A slender rapier. She would not let anyone reach the children without first painting the steel.
Lord Siphas kept Alaster close to Colius and the forming portal. Luckily, where they had been opening gifts, it was against the far wall and had the large table in between. As Alaster watched, one of the masked men rushed past Lukas and jumped unto the table, but he did not take another step as Lukas reached behind him and grabbed the ankle of the man, throwing him away from his lord.
"Alaster, get through this portal, and don't come back until it is safe."
"What about the rest of you? What about Isabella?"
"We will be fine! By now, the rest of the Guards would have heard the commotion. Help will come. They are here for you! If you want to protect Isabella, right now, that means getting away from her!"
"M'lord!" Colius called, signalling that the portal was ready.
Without waiting for Alaster to object, Lord Siphas grabbed Alaster by the collar and threw him through the portal. Colius closed it right after.
Alaster landed roughly, but he scrambled to his feet, holding his sword in front of him, but there was no enemy. All was quiet.
He was alone once more.