It was a death dirge, to be specific.

 

Inside were two bracers with three long, downward curving, serrated claws attached. The top of each were inscribed with an intricate and complex series of magic circles as well as two nozzles that were set back and angled to fire over the claws. It was obvious to anyone looking at it that these were weapons and of a most intimidating sort. Inside the box was a jar with some sort of shimmering black fluid and an ornate paintbrush, of all things.

 

Morgan was about to speak then Ryan cut him off, "Well? Take off your coat and roll up your sleeves. I put the instruction book here-" He tapped the underside of the lid to demonstrate that there was a concealed compartment, "but I should show you how the gauntlets work, at least once."

 

Morgan looked at his mother, who appeared concerned, but gave a non-committal shrug, as if to say, 'Your call'. Morgan peered at Ryan with a great deal of suspicion, but started to remove his coat as instructed.

 

Ryan pulled out the jar and a paintbrush. He stirred up the contents, "This is like my tattoos, except it's temporary, like henna. It'll stain your skin for a few days, but it'll let you use the Honey Badgers. Without mana tats or this fluid, they're useless."

 

Morgan peered at Ryan and seemed like he might change his mind, but with so many people present, he didn't wish to seem like a coward, so he instead just held out his hands, "Alright..."

 

"Think of it as a safety feature." Ryan commented as he quickly drew some lines on the back of Morgan's hands and connected them down to his wrist. Morgan shivered slightly as he felt his internalize mana flow shift and expand. It tingled, but it didn't hurt. He felt like he had just swallowed a whole jar of cool mint jelly. For some reason he wanted to suck air through his teeth, just because the sensation felt pleasurable.

 

Morgan enjoyed the sensation for a moment before shaking his head as if to clear it. His reverie was broken when Ryan started strapping the two bracers on his arms, "There is the taste of copper coins in my mouth."

 

"The taste goes away after a while. Now the honey badgers are an extremely mana efficient model. I could have made it more combat effective, but then it would have sucked up mana at an insane rate and since it runs off your own internal mana, it would only have been useful for a minute, at most." Ryan finished strapping the bracers slash gauntlets into place, "First feature is the limited use of the wind blade spell, except it's only on the claws." He tapped the gauntlet near the front, "Try funneling mana into this part."

 

Morgan eyed the spot and focused on it. He felt his mana move into the gauntlet. It was weird because it now felt like it was a part of his body. He was connected to it on some level he'd never experienced before. He staggered for a second, "Wait a minute, I don't have an aura core!" Ryan made a dismissive hand gesture, "Bah. That whole thing is a myth. You just need to have the right connections to your chakra points. That's what the mana ink is for. Relax. Focus on this point." Ryan tapped Morgan's wrist.

 

Morgan closed his eyes and felt the gauntlet 'sip' at his mana. He could tell that there was a wind blade spell on it, like his father or brother could do, except it was very small. Precise. It filled in the gaps on the serrated claws and he could feel them become 'tuned', as if they were sharpened to an unbelievably focused point.

 

Ryan poked Morgan on the forehead, "Eyes open." Ryan pointed at the blades, "When that's activated, they are super sharp. You deactivate it after you enter." Ryan made a motion like he was wearing a pair of claws like Morgan and 'Jammed' them into a theoretical person's gut, "Sharpness on going in-" Ryan yanked his fist back, "Sharpness off coming out. That will cause the maximum amount of damage."

 

Ryan pointed at the back, "Focus here and keep focusing. It takes a few seconds to charge up."

 

Morgan did as instructed and he could feel something building. It was like a basic air ball. A focused ball of high pressure air you use to slam into someone, except it was just forming over the back of his forearm. As it built up in pressure, he could feel that some of the energy was bleeding away into the claws. As the pressure built, the claws grew hotter. Along the edge, it started to glow.

 

"Normally the air hammer spell compensates for heat. I took that part out and made it a feature. Hence why it needs less mana to generate. The heat gets funneled into the claws. Theoretically, you COULD, melt them, but bench tests shows if you are careful, you-"

 

Morgan interrupted Ryan by touching the table with the claws. For a second it smoldered, then burst into flames. Ryan spoke faster, "Now there is the third feature. As the heat bleeds out, the air you are charging up cools down. You can't hold it forever. So-"

 

Morgan had already figured out what the third feature. He might not have as much mana as his brothers, but he had knowledge. He intuitively figured out that the third feature released the built up air out through the nozzles. Morgan pointed the gauntlet to the flames on the freshly ignited table.

 

There was a blast of focused air. Not a ball of air, but a continuous stream. The air was frigid. The two nozzles were angled so the air streams met and focused into a jet. The table was hit for several seconds as the built up energy was unleashed. When it finally subsided, the flames were gone, replaced with a coating of frost.

 

Someone in the audience exclaimed, "You can't combine fire and water element in the same device! How did you-"

 

Morgan cut the guest off, "He didn't." He turned to look at a rather smug Ryan for continuing, "It actually runs entirely off the element of air."

 

Ryan nodded, "Yeah. A rather nasty abuse of the laws of thermodynamics, but it gets the job done. I suggest you practice with it. If I actually made it with fire or ice magic, it would work instantly, but since I made it with a work around, it'll take a second or two before charging up."

 

Morgan raised an eyebrow, "The laws of thermodynamics? Is there any law you won't bend to serve your needs?"

 

Ryan just smirked and ignored the question. He jutted his chin towards the gauntlet, "How was the mana drain?"

 

Morgan held the gauntlet up to his face and eyed it. He looked at Ryan through its claws, "I barely felt it." He dropped his hand to his side, "Quite the gift." His voice held a sense of disbelief to it. There was something unspoken between them.

 

A nearby guest let out a little snort. This drew Ryan's attention, "Problem?"

 

The guest scoffed and nodded, "Interesting, to say he least, but hardly a gift for a prince, don't you think? They look positively barbaric. Claws? Couldn't you have made them into a more honorable weapon, like a sword, perhaps?" Ryan's left eye twitched.

 

Abruptly he held out his hand and formed a large blade out of ice. He grasped it with both hands and started to swing it around. This caused everyone in the area to jump back. However, the target was not the annoying noble, but Morgan.

 

The sudden attack took Morgan off guard. He almost took a blow to the head when he brought a gauntlet up to block the blow. Or rather, the gauntlet pulled itself up to ward off the blow. Ryan got in several blows in quick succession, each one reflexively blocked as the gauntlets jerked Morgan's arms around to shield him from harm. However, Morgan managed to demonstrate that he had some control of the honey badgers by igniting the blades and slicing through Ryan's ice sword on the final pass.

 

The guards were quick to respond and rush over, but Morgan held up his hand, venting a blast of icy air straight up into the sky as thermodynamics demanded for equilibrium, "Hold!" He slowly lowered his arm, "Reed here was just demonstrating its defensive properties, Right?" Ryan nodded and let the remaining ice evaporate out of his hand, "Well, and something else."

 

Morgan raised an eyebrow, "Oh? And what is that?"

 

Ryan looked at the condescending noble for a moment, then pointed at the gauntlet on Morgan's arm, "These are weapons of war, not weapons for fighting. If you want to fight, use a sword. War doesn't care about honor. When you go to war, I hope you know that honor isn't as important as coming home alive." He turned to Morgan and looked him in the eye, "If someday you have to go to the home of a wife waiting for her husband and turn her into a grieving widow, ask yourself, would you give up your so-called honor if that woman could have her husband back?"

 

The atmosphere totally changed. Morgan's eyes fell down to look at the tip of his new weapon. He felt the ebb and flow of mana surging in and out of those murderous tools. Ryan tapped the back of a gauntlet, "War is about your side living and their side losing. People who talk about honor in war have never been covered in the splattered remains of their commanding officer." He looked at Morgan with eyes that had seen far too much, "I hope you'll put what is practical over honor." He turned to eye the pompous guest who looked ever more offended with every passing word coming from Ryan's lips, "And the lives of those who serve you above a prince's pride."

 

Ryan turned and walked away. As he did, those around Morgan moved in closer, sputtering about how offensive Ryan was, but Morgan didn't hear any of it. He just stared at his hands and contemplated Ryan's words.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then Ryan was struck by a bolt of lightning.