Chapter 11

    Cyrus 1.4

    Coming out of the bathroom he only wore a towel around his waist. Steam came out of his skin with his long black hair glossy wet. He sniff the room and look at the human size mirror on the top of the desk. A black, blurry darkness cover the vision in front of the mirror but he knew it was Blair. For a moment he actually forgot about her.

    "How are you feeling. Did you find something different about yourself?" Cyrus walks up to her and open the drawer to look for clothes. "I feel, full with energy. Like a lukewarm liquid is flowing through my veins." Cyrus hang the tower at the hook on the drawer and stood naked in front of Blair. She yelp and turn around. Cyrus didn't mind people watching him naked as he was really proud of his body. He wasn't tall nor bulky like the men of the north but his body was truly not one, a fifteen years old boy should have. So of course he wouldn't mind having a couple of eyes marvel at his sculpture muscles, he really did train hard to temper his body against beasts in his younger years.

    "Did you cultivate the Force in the past?" Looking at the back of her head, she shook it in denial. "So, you never open your Aura Nodes around your body?" She shook her head again and said, "my mother told me that I wasn't born to be a warrior. That am too spineless and a crying baby." Cyrus nodded at that. She spent hours crying with no end. He has never seen a human cry for such a long period of time, then again, having someone kidnap you at the late hours of the night bringing you to a dark grove to suck your blood must be a traumatic experience, especially when that process cause excruciating pain.

    "Your mother, is who exactly?" Putting his shorts he search for a soft cotton long pants. "My mother is name Jirald Ventress." Cyrus was half deep into the drawer looking for pants when he heard Jirald full name. "Ventress?" Blair eyes now were looking straight at him, she nodded but her mind was in another place.

    "But, Ventress is not your true mother right?" Of course he knows who Ventress is, she's one of the four great Masters of Valleyfall. The strongest woman in the north. She owns an orphanage and all the orphans who have no parents or orphan whose parents were warriors and die to the Beast's claws or teethes live in her Manor and all of them call her Mother. She treats them as such also.

    Also, this is the woman who beat him up when he was little. He could say that his first beating came from her hands. How could he forget such a fierce and fiery woman. She's just a tyrant and if she knows that he feed out of one of her children she would...the thought made him shiver.

    Jirald Ventress wasn't someone of the north, actually she wasn't from this continent either. She was from the continent of the east. Jirald Ventress doesn't talk about her past but rumors say that she's someone who lost all her family and escape to this place ten years ago when she was just around the age of Belia. That's how he knew that Blair wasn't her child as Blair looked like a thirteen year old. 

    "Your mother isn't in Valleyfall right now, right?" Blair nodded her head and said, "but she's supposed to be here by the time the king reach the castle. And, I feel that the royals must have come as the castle is filled with music and looking from the window there are a lot of people on the gatehouse of the walls." Cyrus now realize the music, he walked up to the balcony and stare at the front of the steps to the castle keep. Some tower bridges were in the middle but it didn't obstruct his vision to look at the steps in front of the keep were the lawn was. 

    People enter in rows, some bringing chests with embedded crystal stones and other chests coated in soft silk clothes. Some of these people look like some of the Nobles Families of Valleyfall. He saw the crest on their coats of arms. Entering through the doors of the Keep he saw the crests of; the Freeckel, they had a Bird Of Prey griping on Two Snake by the talon, the Mayrance, their crest was one of a Bear Lifting a huge Boulder over its head, the Lambsay who had a Fierce Beast Mouth wide open as if roaring to the world and the Crowbard that had a Black Crow on a Branch.

    Cyrus turned around and went back to put on some fancy clothes. A black velvet, long sleeve shirt with crimson linen sew on his cuffs and collar. He puts his long pants and found a thick grey mink fur cloak to drape over his shoulders. He looked at his reflection in the mirror and adjust his shirt and pants. Even though his vision is that of a world of darkness with the little movement of his Aura he could brighten anything his eyes aim to look at. Making him able to capture anything his eyes isn't supposed to see. He does look nice, a noble boy with a boyish charm.

    Blair at the side was staring at him with a look of amazement. Cyrus knew about his own charm, especially when he dress himself like a noble. It brought to him a different temperament, one of royalties as if his being and bloodline is that of above nobles.

    He look at Blair and ask her, "what are you going to do now? Are you going to follow me to the dinner hall or are you going back to Ventress Manor?" She shook her head and her hands were shaking to the sides, "I wouldn't dare go to such noble event. Am a low born, I would dirty his highness food by my mere presence." Cyrus didn't try to convince her otherwise and told her, "go to the Godswood and follow the gravel trail behind the white tree to the far end of the grove straight to the wall. There's a crack on the wall cover with big leaves, you will find it as soon as you reach the wall. Remember, after passing the Weirwood tree walk directly to the wall, is a straight line after passing the Weirwood tree." She nodded in understanding.

    Cyrus smiled a mischievous smile as he thought of something. He grabbed her by the armpits and she yelp again in a sharp voice. He walked to the balcony, he looked down and around, he also look up to the bridges that connects the towers. Seeing the coast clear he whispered to her ear, "feel that lukewarm liquid in your veins... tap to that power. Revolve it around your feet and you be alright." Finishing he let go of her and sees as she falls from the third floor of the castle a dozen meters down. 

    He didn't heard her scream because she was too shocked that he actually dare to throw her from the third floor of the castle. The third floor of a castle is not the same as a third floor of a building in the city. The height of the first floor of a castle is already higher than a two story building, so a third floor of the castle was incredibly high for a girl who has never Cultivated the Force.

    He stared down as her body hit the ground, *BANG!* Surprisingly enough she landed on her feet with her knees bend as she stood squatting on the spot. Cyrus diabolical eyes glow from above, her physical strength was enhanced by not one fold it seems. A smile crept up the corner of his lips and he laughs as he walks away from the balcony…

    Reaching the spiral staircase he stops at a door beside the stairs. He opened the door and walked inside. There he found Stan and Lanier bathing in medicine liquid, nanny Marilee was beside their bath buckets and was scrunching and crushing herbs between her fingers. She uses a basin to drop all the powdered herbs and plant while using a small fireplace to heat them up. After, she threw them on the bucket of water turning it into a medicinal bath.

    "Pfft, the hell happen to you two?" As Cyrus entered the room the first thing he realized was the broken lips and panda eyes of Stan and Lanier. He couldn't help but laugh as he saw their sorry figures. Nanny Marilee look at him and her wrinkled face also let a smile, her grey eyes glow and she said, "that new friend of yours really did a number on them didn't she. How strong did she become, my foresight couldn't read her completely." 

    Cyrus grab a chair, sat down and said, "she's stronger than an Evolution Grade-Seven Beast but is not in the Grade-Eight of the scaling system. Her Innate abilities is what makes her stronger than beasts of the same Grade, also, she has never Evolve. You could say that I metamorphed her body but I never help her evolve. It seems that she grew into that level without eating any sort of treasures or any higher being." Nanny Marilee nodded at him but Stan and Lanier that were neck deep in the medicine bath didn't understand the two conversations.

    Cyrus nor nanny Marilee made any more comments as that would only cause the two of them more confusion and they could pick up on nanny Marilee secret. The secret that only she and Cyrus knw, and that is that nanny Marilee has already step beyond the realm of the Aura of Reality. To The Realm of Nen, in this stage the Body and Force would evolve. Granting the warriors special abilities corresponding to their Aura types. Now days these abilities are confused with magic but there's nothing magical about these abilities. They are natural per say and are actually innate, deeply hidden in their blood and could be traced back to their ancestry.

    They are something that everyone could unlock if they reach the Realm of Nen. Nanny Marilee ability is something that mimics foresight but isn't that simple. Foresight is of itself an ability that could be used by everyone if they know how to train in it but the one that nanny Marilee do is far more complicated with rules involved for its used.

    "Come out of there already, your wounds are mostly heal, there's only a shadows of them been there. You now look presentable for his majesty." They both nodded and stood up from their buckets. Nanny Marilee threw them out their towels and went to the bed and grab their clothes, "Lanier you're going to wear this, with these boots. Stan you aren't as big as your brother so you will dress up like Cyrus over here with soft clothes. Now go and get dressed, your Lord father and lady mother must be waiting for you down stairs." They grab their clothes and went to the bathroom at the side to get dry and change.

    "You came back last night in a mess. I have never seen you so damage, boy. What did you encounter?" Cyrus let out a sigh and shrugged his shoulders, he said, "it was the Frost Giants of the stories nanny. They attacks the last living descendants of the ancient beasts of the Ancient World. I thought I could kill them all and bring back the remaining members of the three tribes but I came back running with my tail in between my legs." Nanny Marilee forehead wrinkle up and her face show concern.

    "I didn't see much of their numbers and they were only about a hundred, more or less. I kill tens of those, but it was those Frost Giant with Ice Crown on their heads, the ones that the stories call Kings, those guys fuck me over good. That injury, guess how it was made." Nanny Marilee thought for a moment and said, "An Ice Weapon? Or by Innate Ability?" Cyrus shook his head and answer with a wave of his thumb, " by a thumb." Nanny Marilee old, saggy eyes open wide. The shock in her was as great as when Cyrus got the injury himself.

    "How, how many Kings?" Cyrus lifted two fingers answering her question and said, "I managed to kill one with the help of the others and the last one is now seal in the broken mountains. I will wipe away his consciousness and put a parasite made from my own blood to have it under my control. But I will need time to grow the parasite in my blood streams. In the meantime, the Frost Giant King will be seal in the mountains until I have better use for it." Nanny Marilee nodded and as she was about to ask more when Stan and Lanier came out from the bathroom dress up.

    Cyrus stood up and said, "we are going to head down now. Are you coming with us?" Nanny Marilee shook her head and said, "am not feeling too good now so I may not participate in the banquet. Go down now the Lord must be waiting for you all." Cyrus and the others nodded, they wish good rest for nanny Marilee and went out of the room.

    Walking down the spiral staircase Lanier couldn't help but ask from behind, "who was that woman yesterday Cyrus. She was too strong, at first I managed to hit her a couple of times but she later started to read my moves. And after a couple of advice from me and little Stan she became a pro combatant. At first her punches were weird, true they were incredibly strong and had this stifling, heavy feeling but it didn't have any skill nor control behind them, It was like she never had a fight until that moment. Later she became incredibly experience and could move with flexibility." Lanier voice was filled with admiration, he himself was consider a genius fighter. 

    Bethran once say that Lanier had muscle memory. His bodily control were even better than his Force application but now he found a girl the age of his little sister beating him up in what he is most pride off, close combat. Stan chime in and said, "she wasn't the only one who got out of something from the spar. We also learn something, after all that beat up wasn't without any benefit. I stabilize my breakthrough and we both learn Hypersight." The smile on his face almost reached his ears.

    Cyrus was not that surprise that they develop this ability that was useful to all combatants. After all, they were training in the belly of the Broken Mountains. It is told to the northerners that the Broken Mountains are Magical in nature. That these mountains weren't work of nature but work of the Sages of the Ancient Times. These Sages made the earth rose from the ground to separate the Lands of Always Winter from the now cold, forested north.

    The Broken Mountains are magical themselves. Their purpose was never clear in the songs of the past but a thousand years ago, it was said that the Mountains were there to prevent the Frost Giants from coming down to the human lands and now a thousand years later no one believes in the legends of the terrifying Frost Giants that live beyond the icy plains.

    Humans couldn't feel the magic in this world anymore, only selected few could as their bloodline was still pure after thousands of years. Others vow to follow the new Gods and are gift the talent of magic to perform their healing spells and other sorts of things for their respective Gods. Some search for magic and made contracts with what humans call devils. For exchange of not only your soul but others as well, for that price they will also be gifted the talent of magic.

    The world is actually still filled with magic, as it exist between Heaven and Earth, in the atmosphere, in every living being breath but is just that the humans lost the eyes to see them or read the atmosphere to capture the wisp of magical power that manifest around them. If magic truly case to exists then magical beasts, the partners of high noble households would die off as these creatures breath, feed out of these Magical Energies.

    The cave were Stan and Lanier where in, was one filled with dense magical properties. Humans and beasts not accustomed to magic wouldn't realize how special the place was but after a period of training in such an environment it would be weird if they don't receive some sort of benefits even if it's just for a short while. These places are around the world, if ones find such a place they would have the opportunity to receive the miraculous effects of opening up new doors for the Human bodies. . .