Wayne led his son back to their home in silence. He used his own skills to ensure that no monsters came close enough to be a threat, so Lucius would not be on edge the whole time. He knew the boy needed some time to process what he had just experienced.
Even though he was only seven, a much-needed reality check was in order. Up until now, Lucius was kept safe from the opinions of the world. Wayne had never lied to the boy and quite frequently reminded Lucius to be careful when interacting with people, thanks to his mark.
However, they did shelter him so that these actual interactions never occurred. After all, it was one thing to hear about something and quite another to experience it yourself. While on the trip home, the man thought to himself if they may have spoiled their son too much.
Even though he was so young, he was luckier than most Marked Ones, who started experiencing the horrors that Lucius was only told of from birth. Lucius also had another thing running against him, and that was he was a half-beastman.
While half-blooded races were extremely common in the world, they were not observed much in a kingdom like Arcadios, which was deep within human territories. As such, this led to many misunderstandings about how half-blooded races behaved.
"Father..."
"Yes, son?"
Wayne stopped and turned to look at his son. He figured that now, of all times, he deserved his full attention.
"Please teach me how to fight. I won't be like the others." Lucius gripped his hands tightly and looked directly into his father's gaze.
Wayne noticed a slight change in his son. Even though he was no longer stressed, Lucius' canines had retained their sharpness, and his left eye began to turn from a bright silver to a cloudy gray. His right eye still shone as bright as a treasure despite what the left had done.
Wayne had no idea what was happening, but he assumed that his son was not hurt in any way. This allowed him to chalk the situation up to something weird related to his actual parentage, whoever they were.
"I cannot promise that you will survive, but I can absolutely promise to teach you how to fight."
"Can we start when we get home?"
"It'll be dark."
"Tonight is a full moon. We will be able to see."
Wayne gave a resigned smile. "Yes, we can start tonight."
*****
Rubellia watched sadly from the window of their home. Her husband and son had returned from the woods hours ago, and it approached midnight. Yet, they still sparred.
"What exactly did he see, Wayne?"
Her husband sat in silence and stared into the fire. After a few minutes he finally answered. "It was bad Rubellia."
He stood up and grabbed a mug of wine that they had stored in a keg under the counter. Wayne was not one for drinking, so it was mostly used for cooking.
"That bad, huh?"
"Worse. One of the Petra boys was there. The lord's oldest nephew. It seems that he learned his magical compatibilities before the exam."
Rubellia's eyes opened widely in shock. "He what?!"
Wayne nodded slowly after downing the mug in one, large gulp. "Yeah...I know, I was surprised too. Kids aren't supposed to learn that until they finish the trial. It's their reward...but what happens in the forest...stays there."
"What rotten..."
"It also seemed he was told to hunt down Marked Ones. That was his secondary purpose. The lord's brother knew his son would survive thanks to the magic and set some sort of...hunting challenge."
"You will make sure Lucius survives." Rubellia said coldly. "I don't care how. You just do it."
"I will try, my love...but the lord's brother has a second son Lucius' age...and the lord's daughter is...I will try." Wayne started to explain the situation to her, but Rubellia's glares warranted no arguments. What she said was the law of the world at that moment.
"Do you think he has Compatibility for Sword Arts?"
"None. Not even a little bit. If the boy has Compatibilities for any other weapon, I don't know, but it's not the sword."
Rubellia sighed quietly and began to sob.
Wayne continued however, since he knew his wife wanted the whole truth. "I already checked with my men. None of them are willing to do it. So if he's capable of using any weapon skills, we won't know until after he survives the trial."
"Even if he became a master at using the sword in two years...without the ability to use their arts, he would still lose to a Novice!"
"I know...I know..."
Wayne quietly held his wife as she sobbed into his shoulders. She quietly hoped and prayed that something, anything, would help her son.