Aiden kept finding himself increasingly more and more surprised at his father's words. "Uncle Ulrich?" he thought, "He always hated whenever someone mentioned him, why would he be bringing him up now?" He was filled with intrigue, ready to hear about his family's history, yet seemingly troubled. Whatever the news his father summoned him for was, it must have something to do with this, otherwise Aldegar wouldn't have mentioned anything.
"It was a great battle, one with many casualties on both ends." Aldegar continued speaking, his voice slowly growing heavier and heavier as if he was already at the brink of tears. "The Oracle sent us out to stop the incoming forces of one of Astarea's cults, this one worshiping the deity Synnove. Ulrich was at the front lines, leading us into combat, seemingly invincible. That was until, as the cultists were losing, they pledged an ultimate sacrifice, one we did not expect. They suddenly withdrew the last few fighters they had left, returning to their base. And in that base, a mage was keeping an eye on around a dozen captured Oracle soldiers. In a last ditch, martyrdom effort, the mage cast a sacrificial spell which took the lives of the dozen captured soldiers, as well as the mage who did the spell itself, all to impose a lock on Ulrich's heart. When we finally made way to their castle base, all we found inside was an open spellbook, turned to the page about a spell called "Cor Clausum, Form 3"... We were all in shock, as not only have we never known of the existence of spells like these, all pages in the spellbook itself were torn out, besides this one."
Aldegar suddenly stopped here, got out of his armchair and slowly walked to the window, looking out at the beauty of the snowy morning in Emberfell. After a minute or so of silence, he returned to his chair, took a sip of coffee, and got ready to continue. Aiden was still grappling with the idea of such a powerful curse existing, and if there still existed people who could do things like that. "Are these cults really so powerful?" asked Aiden, breaking the silence.
Letting out a slight cough to return his voice to normal, it was clear that Aldegar already felt weakened from recalling the sad story of Ulrich's end. But he still continued, unwilling to succumb to his own sadness.
"Please, save your questions for later. I want to finish this story while I still have the strength to do it. Not knowing what such a spell entailed, or who it was even cast on, we decided to retreat, as there were no more enemies anywhere. We made our way back to Dawnvale, where we were reporting our mission details to the general assembly, and Ulrich suddenly collapsed. We took him to a hospital, and after some time as he awakened and got up out of bed, he looked at me and said 'Brother, I believe that wretched spell may have been cast on me, since I can't use my powers.' I felt like someone slapped me across the face, and not knowing what to say, I simply asked Ulrich what I could do to help. I feel as if that was the worst decision I've made that day, as he responded simply by saying 'Thank you for offering your help, Aldegar. But I believe there's nothing to be done here, I feel the effects of this curse have not even fully manifested yet.' After saying that, he just got back into bed, and went to sleep. Not knowing what to do with myself, I did the same. Never again in my life did I fall asleep so early, and slept as long, for I had no motivation to get out of bed. I felt disgusting, angered at myself."
Once again, Aldegar finished his sentence, and got up out of his armchair. This time, he took his coffee with him, and proceeded to sit on the floor by the fireplace. Placing the cup on the floor, he sank his head into his hands, seemingly fighting back from breaking into tears. Unlike last time, Aiden didn't even have a question. He too, was affected by his father's sadness.
Not knowing what to do, he got up from the sofa, looking around the room for something to help him, before running back upstairs into his room, where he grabbed a blanket. Running down into the main room again, as fast as he possibly could, Aiden reached his father, threw the blanket around him to warm him up, and sat next to him.
"I know it's hard to talk about this, father. And yet I know where you're coming from. You believe, by finally putting a stop to hiding your feelings, they're going to go away. Sadly, I know that's not the case, but yet, I invite you to open up. Finish the story, finish the beautiful tale of uncle Ulrich's legacy. Hell, if I didn't have somebody to listen to me all these years, where would have I been by now?"
Aldegar seemed lost in thought, simply acknowledging his son's words with nothing more than a light nod of the head, as he kept staring into the tall flames burning in front of him. "Thank you, son." Aldegar slowly began, and a slight shakiness in his voice could be heard. "I think I'll need some time to recollect my thoughts, so I wish to be left alone. But before that, I want to finish the news I intended on giving you." Although Aiden felt he was ready for whatever his father wished to tell him, the story about Ulrich left him in a state of disarray, and he couldn't even focus on his fathers words properly. Yet, he listened in.
"As much as this pains me to say, you'll be leaving the Manor for some time, Aiden. The Oracle was recently informed of a child living in Corvus Town, just close to Dawnvale, that has an incredibly strong power. But, her parents are both powerless, so I've been given the task of keeping her safe and raising her here. It's for the sake of her growth as a person, but also to keep her safe from cultists, with her parents having no ways to defend themselves or her. I felt as if you'd take this move the best, for you have no ties to Emberfell. I've arranged accommodation and a job for you down in Sylvanwood Town, where you'll be living for a period of time. This is the reason I felt the need to tell you Ulrich's story, as just east of Sylvanwood is where that fated battle took place. I hope you'll hold no grudge against me for this, and… I'm sorry."
"Sorry? Sorry for what?" Said Aiden, repeating Aldegar's words from not too long ago. "Father, chances like these are far and few between. Why would I hold a grudge when you're giving me the gift to start my own life the way I see fit." His words echoed a tone of genuine honesty, but yet he was untruthful about the reason he was so content with this. In reality, Aiden was glad as this finally gave him the chance to escape from his mother's grasp, but he couldn't tell Aldegar that.
"Yes, I suppose you are correct about that." Said Aldegar, his voice seeming more and more strained by the second, yet he spoke more freely, almost as if Aiden's words relaxed him a bit. "I suggest you go pack now, son. Valarie will take you to Sylvanwood this afternoon. Now if you'll excuse me, I need some time to get a grasp on my feelings once more."
And so, Aiden got up, and started heading back towards the staircase.After the conversation with Aldegar left him saddened and worried, Aiden understood the best course of action is to listen to his father's suggestion, and go pack. He was walking to his room no faster than a snail's pace, as he kept looking back at the figure of his father every few seconds, who was still motionless and sitting by the fireplace in silence. As he was trying to get a hold of himself, eerie thoughts were spreading across his head like wildfire, hundreds of voices asking questions, none of which he had answers to. "So, in the span of a few hours, I ended up inside of a pocket dimension inside my own home, then proceeded to find out my uncle died to a spell that just… kills anyone? I don't think even my mother could make this morning worse than it is.", he thought to himself.
Aiden's whole world view was slowly collapsing in on him. Until now, he thought the Oracle and his father were unbeatable, and that Ulrich most likely died of some disease that plagued him. That made him wonder, just how powerful Ulrich was really, if it took a dozen sacrifices to end him? But the question that haunted his mind even more was, how did the soldiers get sacrificed? They most definitely didn't agree to partake in the ritual, so there must be more behind it. And as he kept slowly creeping upstairs, he noticed that the house seemed empty. Everybody besides him and his father left to go somewhere. At first, his mind immediately jumped to if it was another encounter with the strange gray figure, so he rushed to his room, only to find a note from Valarie stuck onto his bedroom table.
"I don't know whether or not father has finished giving you the news he was intending, but either way, all I wanted to let you know is we've all been instructed by him to leave and give him a chance to speak with you alone, so we're just enjoying the snowy morning in our little cabin down by Lake Zenith. Let me know when all is finished.
- Love, your sister Valarie."
Aiden didn't really think much of it, as it was very clear Aldegar didn't want anyone seeing him in such a fragile state that he is in now. And as he kept fighting back at the thoughts tearing apart his mind bit by bit as he hastily packed his belongings, the weight of his father's revelations grew heavy on his shoulders. With each item he placed in his suitcase, the tension in the room seemed to grow, a palpable sense of unease hanging in the air, almost impossible to ignore…