Soon enough breakfast was underway. A plate of beautifully arranged food was set down in front of him. A fine assortment of lightly grilled fish, hot rice which had been topped with a fresh egg, and soup with a light vegetable stock. It was Amaro’s favorite breakfast, and everything was exquisitely prepared.
“I wonder if the peasants eat like this…” Amaro wondered aloud.
“You’re rather grumpy today, brother,” one of his siblings said from across the table, “It’s my birthday too today, so don’t ruin it by antagonizing father or insulting the help.”
Amaro bowed his head to his sibling, “Of course, Anitus. My apologies. I love this breakfast, actually-”
“Then shut up and eat it.”
Anitus was Amaro’s eldest sibling. Though they didn’t share the same mother, they were born on the exact same day. Amaro was his elder brother by about eight hours, though.
Anitus had horns which perched along his head like a crown just like his father Kadmus. Something he held in high regard as proof that he was the rightful heir.
His skin was black-gray like basalt, and the pattern on his tail was a near perfect monochromatic inversion of Amaro’s.
Even as Anitus sat, he carried himself with a stiff, upright, and prideful posture. His gaze trying to pierce Amaro as they stared one another down.
Amaro smirked, “I suppose I’ll accept your challenge ahead of time today, Anitus. As my birthday gift to you.”
“How kind of you. My gift to you was going to be not humiliating you in battle today, but I suppose I’ll have to think of something else. Perhaps you’d like a souvenir from the tournament? To remember this day.”
“Oh, but your presence is a gift in it of itself, my dear brother. Why I-”
“Honestly do you two need to always be at each other’s throats?” One of Amaro’s sisters piped up.
“This much is more than permissible, Sancta. Rivalry and conflict is the fire with which any xiozian forges their strength,” Kadmus said.
Sancta sat back in a huff, “But do they need to be hammering their sparks in my breakfast?”
Sancta was the only sibling Amaro shared both parents with, and it showed. She had silvery white hair just like Amaro and his mother. She had neatly braided and twisted it in the latest fashion for this occasion.
“You look lovely this morning, Sancta,” Amaro chimed with a polite smile.
Sancta rolled her eyes, “Thanks, brother.”
Amaro looked around, glancing at Anitus and then to Kadmus, “Where are our mothers?”
“Romula and Evra will be meeting us at the coliseum. They had important business to attend to this morning.”
“And the rest of my younger siblings?” Amaro counted Anitus, Sancta, Tulos, Syno, and Raktus at the table, meaning he was missing four.
“It shows you have not been paying much attention to anyone aside from yourself, my son. They have been sent away to have their souls marked. I’m sure you recall having to do the same when you were their age.”
Amaro vaguely recalled what it was like. He was only about five years old, but everything before that was just flashes and brief memories.
“When will I see them again?”
“They have plans to meet us at the Tibur Clan’s camp in the winter. Though they are still too young to travel with those savages, it will be the last time you get to see them for quite some time so I’ve ensured you have at least two weeks to spend with them. Be sure to act as an ideal for them to strive towards, will you?”
“Anitus has that much covered, I think,” Amaro said.
“Good of you to recognize, brother.”
“I still do not understand why we must roll around in the mud with the Tibur Clan, father,” Sancta interjected in an attempt to prevent another polite argument between them.
“The founders of our clans have been tied by fate for millenia, and though they may allow any lowborn into their clan, they still bear the mark of nobility.”
“Yes I’m well aware of that. They deal with those vile monsters for us like good dogs of war, but why must we join that cause? Other noble families don’t need to dirty their hands!”
“You seem to be taking inspiration from Amaro in the wrong ways, Sancta. Adjust your tone.”
Sancta sank back into her breakfast.
“The Tibur are a necessary evil.” Kadmus continued,” As much as they sully what it means to be nobility, their cause is noble. Malaki are among the most dangerous creatures one can encounter. If left to fester, they can end our way of life as we know it. That is why every Xirxus must bare the second mark of a Tibur. We are the guardians of civilization while the Tibur are the hunters of those which seek to destroy it.”
“And don’t we get to bring some of them home with us as well?” Raktus pitched in, “Just as you did with Mother Romula and Mother Evra.”
Amaro caught Anitus’s glance, “What are you talking about, Raktus?” Amaro said.
“Ah, that’s right, you don’t have ears like I do. I suppose it was something I overheard one day,” He snickered, looking to their father for an explanation.
Kadmus who was now smugly smiling to himself, “I suppose it’s often not discussed, but it is true. Your mothers Romula and Evra were once Tibur themselves.”
Sancta choked on her drink, “What? You mean I share blood with those savages?”
Amaro’s father wagged his finger, “And yet you would have never suspected they were once wild xia living off the land, would you? Each of them have been trained so well to act proper that you never suspected your own mother was one of them.”
“I suppose you’re right, but…”
Amaro was chewing the inside of his cheek. He hated the way Kadmus was talking about his mother. As if she were just some stray he’d picked up on the road and turned into the beloved family pet.
His father raised his hand in a flourish, “But that, my children, is precisely why you will be going. This exchange goes both ways, you see. Just as we Xirxus must be equipped to fight Malaki, the leaders of the Tibur tribe must be trained in the ways of high society so they can diplomatically communicate with the lords they hunt monsters for. And there should be no shortage of unpolished diamonds to be found in their clan, make no mistake. But it is our duty to find them and polish them.”
“Why can we not simply give their mark to any warrior who guards our cities?” Anitus spoke up now. “Do we really need to bother training them to sit?”
“Because it would greatly reduce the size of our militaries to put them through the ritual of soul marking. Not everyone is worthy of a mark and many die in the process. Besides, it would sully the mark of nobility more than the existence of the Tibur clan to give it to any random soldier. The Tiburs are specialists where our military would have to worry about invasions for xiozi and malaki alike.”
“Why not leave them to their own devices? Allow them to be free and act without our intervention.” Amaro said.
“If they did not have at least some leaders who knew how to act civilized, then they would devolve into mere animals, and no kingdom in their right mind would allow them in their lands.”
“Then why let them be independent if we’re the ones deciding who their leaders are?”
“While I agree their independence is somewhat troublesome, it also ensures that their wrath is only directed to the monsters they fight. As I said, they are savages, but their strength is worth admiring. Only the strongest survive in the Altix like they do. They seek only to serve their purpose as monster hunters, nothing more nothing less. And so they stay neutral to political affairs to ensure that any fallen kingdom does not inevitably become a nest for the Malaki to breed.”
“So why have you taken mother from her tribe if our purpose is to teach them how to lead?” Amaro took his shot.
“That is a matter of love. Perhaps it is something you will understand one day, Amaro. A fruit grown ripe in the wild- while less plentiful- is all the sweeter.”
Amaro wanted to gag.
“Regardless, I believe this meal is over. You’ve all the next few hours to yourselves. Lorshiir, be certain that they do not play for too long. I want them ready for our outing by noontime.”
Lorshiir bowed, “It will be done, my lord.”
“Then in that case,” Anitus started, “Brother, I think I’ll open your ‘present’ now.”
“To the courtyard, then?”
“Lets.”
