Growing Pains 320 Book 2 Chapter 14

“Your father and I met in that town, both lost and lonely,” my Mother continued, “meeting each other only by chance.

“I had apprenticed to a local potion maker, and your father was one of the young Elves that supplied that shop with spirit herbs. He flirted with me shamelessly but never had the courage to ask me out.”

“Hey! I asked you out,” my Father interrupted with indignation.

“Of course, you did, dear,” Mother replied, the gentle pat to his check a habit of hers when she needed to soothe his bruised ego.

“Anyway, you know the rest. We’ve shared the stories of our courtship with you. Once I finished my apprenticeship, we moved around, finally arriving in Flowing Water town, where we settled down and began to raise a family.”

“And the Dark Elves? You mentioned gifts. I would guess there might be racial traits that were inherited with that bloodline. Is there anything we need to be concerned with?”

“The Dark Elves have their own version of the Spirit Root awakening [Ritual],” Mother replied, “there are some benefits that one can gain from it. You wouldn’t have noticed, but you have better night vision. 

“The other trait you seem to have inherited is your ability to sense ley-lines as well as magnetic fields. It is why you have never gotten lost. Even as a child, you knew where home was, your expanded senses allowing you to navigate even the most confusing intersection of roads and buildings.”

“It was your poor Father's personal tribulation keeping track of you at times. We love you, make no mistake, but you were a handful to raise.”

“I almost decided to stop taking you hunting with me because of your be-damned curiosity. I had to track you down more than twice before I was able to make you understand the Forests were dangerous,” Father agreed.

I blushed at his reminder. The one and only time Father had spanked me was after I’d followed my nose, a scent I’d never experienced before, leading me to a carnivorous plant that exuded a sweet smell to attract prey.

I hadn’t meant to run off. I never did. But my curiosity was hard to contain. I might have made a good Peacekeeper if I hadn’t become a Cultivator. I was always trying to understand the whys and hows something happened.

Truth stones and tracking beasts made it easier to find a person involved in a crime and determine guilt or innocence, but searching for clues and making the connections from the most trivial matter found at a crime scene seemed like something I might have enjoyed.

Those traits to notice the small details and make an intuitive leap in logic based on the smallest of evidence was a major reason for my success as a Cultivator. That and the fact that I was the Main Character in the world of some demented Author. Which meant I had the Heaven's own luck as I lived my life.

“The Dark Elves are isolated, far enough away that there is no chance that we will have to worry about the people that effectively exiled you and your parents?” I asked, ignoring Father and the issue of my misbehavior.

“It’s highly unlikely,” Mother assured me. “They would have to traverse the Empire, gain passage, discover what city we were living in and hide who and what they are while doing so. 

“It has been so long since my parents fled. So long since they were killed that I doubt even the Dark Elves, with their penchant for holding grudges, would bother with the children of a House that has been wiped out.

“That is why your Father and I decided not to claim and restore House Mytle. It was easier and safer to let the House fade and be lost to time.”

“We did worry for the briefest of moments when we learned you had established Fief Myche and House Myche but admitted that we were being paranoid over nothing.  Yes, both Houses start with the same letter, but why would that gain the interest of a people that have long thought House Mytle destroyed?”

“Do you want to restore the House?” I asked. 

“As you said, the chance of any Dark Elf that would even care is slim to none. Those left that would find out the House lives and bother tracking any members of that House across the Empire, ocean, and Onkei to find them is even smaller.

"If you wanted to re-establish the House, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't."

“We will talk to your brother and sister about the option when they are older. As Cultivators, they would be able to defend themselves, and one or both might be interested in claiming their own House,” Mother promised.

Establishing a House required a person to navigate a bureaucratic nightmare within the Empire. A certain level of wealth and influence were required to surmount the roadblocks local governments put in place to keep those Houses already established firmly in control.

I would have to meet with Gwen and Clement to come up with a policy for my kingdom on that issue, something I’d neglected. Mainly because it wasn’t something I’d considered.

I had barely placed the Kingdom Stone and established Onkei, and there was so much left to organize. But the method to form a House, Clan, and Sect needed to be addressed.

I would lean on Clement’s connections to find any Sects interested in migrating here. I was also planning on speaking with Elder Cix from Flowing Water Sect. That Elf was the craftiest person I had ever met, and I was certain he had connections and knowledge of individuals that were powerful, motivated, and driven enough to put in the effort to launch a Sect on this remote island.

I made sure to send him a communication device as a gift for a purely selfish motive. I wanted access to that Elves mind. He was the only person remaining in Flowing Water Sect that I respected. 

That thought made me realize that it had been a long time since I’d last spoken with Elder Shadow. At some point, I’d stopped considering him my mentor, someone I could go to for advice and support. Clement had assumed that role.

It wasn’t that I disliked Elder Shadow. It was simply that our goals no longer aligned. And if I was honest with myself, I had to admit I didn’t trust him. Or Patriarch Umbra, for that matter. I would not repudiate the alliance my House had with House Penumbra, but that alliance was tenuous at best. It was not something I would or could rely on.