Chapter 228: Future Brother In Law |
Do I plan to go the tournament?
Well, hell, sure.
You’re telling me the boogymen of the wastes are opening their walls and seeing who’s the toughest son of a bitch out here? You’d be crazy not to go, and crazier still not to go and see.
Monsters are one thing, and I’m afraid of’em, fuck yeah. But people? People will ruin you worse than a bad run of luck, if you give’em the time, power, and motive.
Besides, it’s fun to watch people beat the shit outta each other. Count me in.
-Chippy The Boss, Letter to Other Vega Casino Holders (3rd Era, 308)
It was easy to conclude that the hike had been abandoned—there just wasn't a way for it to occur, given that Erec had been thrown out of commission after going too haphazard with his brother.
That and having to drag back two exhausted Knights after a fight which blasted apart the wasteland was, in itself, a bit of a damper on the idea of going on a relaxing hike—but Erec insisted that they still go and enjoy the day, not wanting to have ruined a chance for everyone.
Once they got back to the dorms, and after some finagling and convincing, including help from Enide, they talked everyone else into going out and enjoying their day. Gwen, Colin, Garin, and even Olivia—who had returned in their absence—gave up and followed the advice to go back out and enjoy a nice refreshing hike with one another.
Erec felt a warm sense of gratitude for Enide as she put herself in charge of 'the two kids', as she called them.
Though he didn't know how to feel about his girlfriend calling him a kid, he accepted it. After all, it was his fault. He and Bedwyr had decided out of nowhere to push themselves to a dangerous limit. From their friends’ perspective, they'd done something wildly immature and crazy… And then, having to drag them back to the dorms didn't leave much room for argument that they'd had things under control.
Well, even if it hadn't, it'd brought insane gains to his Virtues.
For a brief skirmish, it had been incredibly rewarding… But a repetition was out of the question. He felt it as he looked at Bedwyr. Some part of him was satisfied, and that part had been what let them open the flood gates so wide. Bedwyr hadn't said much since coming back to consciousness.
Mostly, he'd been rubbing at his temple, staring at nothing.
"More water, if you would," Bedwyr said with a parched throat.
Enide vanished and appeared next to him; she grabbed his glass… Then she reappeared again, setting it down in front of him with a quick thumbs-up. She walked back over to Erec, her chosen throne in the room, where she kept an eye on them both.
"You two have a lot of problems," she said, sitting next to Erec and running a hand through his hair. "You should work on resolving those. It's no good to keep such things pent up for so long. Otherwise, you never know—you might end up in a massive fight that risks the lives of everyone around you. Maybe you might destroy a nice patch of wasteland. Something crazy like that. Who knows."
"It wasn't that dangerous, and pent-up emotions aren't why we fought," Erec muttered, shaking his head.
"The last time I saw you on fire like that, Erec, you were facing down a monster that could kill about a third of Vega and throwing him through walls in an underground vault," she responded. "Now I don't know what to think. If that's not a level of lethality to be concerned about—"
"He wouldn't have hurt me," Bedwyr muttered. He was still dour and out of it, no doubt parsing the same memories that had been infused in his head as Erec's. "There wasn't a killing intent to his fire," he clarified. "It was a challenge."
Not that it helped much, because Enide just tisked at him and shook her head. "There wasn't a killing intent," she said, looking out the window at Munchy, who had decided to stay behind. The oversized squirrel was currently scrabbling up and down all the plants near the only source of light in the room, enjoying some carrots that Garin had left for him to munch on.
"No, I wasn't out to kill Bedwyr. It was a duel." Erec confirmed. He had thrown an excessive amount of force around. But… Well, in that state, it was needed. He had to show him proper respect; anything less would've been failing his charge as a Knight.
He didn't know how to explain any of that nonsense and make it sound justified.
"I don't know that I believe that," Enide said, which was fair given how quickly the battle had escalated. She and everyone else were justified in having doubts.
"I wasn't out to hurt him," Erec answered honestly.
"Alright then," she said. "If you weren't out to hurt each other, then please can you explain just what in the hell that was?"
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
It was a reasonable question, and Erec didn't know how to explain it. He wished he could. It wasn't that he was setting out to keep this secret from her—it was just that the full details of what was going on between them and what this power was were still a mystery to him. He understood it only to the extent that he'd used it several times… And even the bits he understood were nearly impossible to explain in a sane, logical way…
"I'm going to sound crazy, but we have something going on that's like our Talents," Erec said, cobbling together the best information he could. "It's a power within us that was more drawn out today against each other than it had been before. Because I saw it in Bedwyr, mine reacted and made me want to fight him and test him. I think… He felt the same."
Bedwyr didn’t verbally respond to this, but he gave a slight nod.
"Uh-huh," Enide responded deadpanned. "But your talent is to get angry and hit things hard."
"It's a step beyond that. I believe it's called a Mantle… When we use it, it's like we're reaching out to something that once was and connecting to a well of power. It fuels our talents and brings them to a whole different level." He let out a sigh. It wasn't a good explanation, and he saw in Enide's unconvinced eyes that she didn't believe him for a second.
Bedwyr continued to look on silently, his eyes occasionally wandering to Erec, considering him.
Enide set a hand on Erec's head for his temperature, then shoved water in his hand. "Drink up. After something like that, your primary worry should be rest and recovery."
"Thanks," Erec accepted the water, feeling its cold freshness pour down his throat. She was right. He felt wrung out, and not the state he intended to be in today. Though the fight had stretched his capabilities to new levels and brought a lot of questions out for him, it had also brought an unwelcome strain. Now was a time to relax and recover.
"I still don't know what you guys are doing, saying that it's some other power… A mantle—it just doesn't make sense to me. So if it's not exactly a talent, then what is it?" Enide said.
Erec thought the question over for longer. It had been the same question he'd been asking himself since he'd gained most of his sensibilities back—in fact, it was his question that first vision he'd had of the round table. He understood this connection to something else, to this mantle, was almost mystical, like a connection to the divine.
He remembered when he still had access to the faith status and barely managed a prayer. It felt similar to that, only instead of borrowing power that wasn't his, which every user of faith had managed, it was more like he was grasping a power that was his, but somewhere else.
"It's our past," Bedwyr said ominously.
Enide treated them with a healthy dose of skepticism.
[She's right to be annoyed. Buckaroo, you need to deduce why things bring you so much power and find an effective way to communicate it so you don't freak out the people around you. Humans don’t like things they can’t understand.] Val buzzed, chipping in and making his comment.
"Yes, our past," Erec confirmed as his brother was now also crawling up to a sitting position. He'd gotten the worst of it, but now his face seemed a bit more flushed, no longer pale and devoid of life after his defeat, which was good.
Erec hadn't meant to hurt him. Truly, it had been a test to see if he was worth his title. The conclusion—Erec still didn't know. He'd felt the thrill of victory, that much was sure. But the fact that he defeated Bedwyr after seeing his brother overextend himself left him unsure what to make of it. Had he found him worthy? What did that even mean?
"Well," Enide shook her head, "it's related to your mom, or the way you grew up, or the caverns. Excuse me, I don't see anyone else running around doing stuff like this before now—it's only been Erec, unless you're just secretly super strong."
"No, I am blessed with a wonderful talent, but it was not on par with that. This is new for me—I suspect newer than it's been for Erec. But the sense I got was overwhelming memories, as if I had lived many lives. I was me, but I was also more than me." Bedwyr continued.
Enide thoughtfully digested the information, then spoke carefully, "Listen, I don't understand what you two are going through. But maybe you guys can acknowledge this: Your relationship hasn't been good. When my Pack members fight, we usually send them off on a car ride together and tell them they must go somewhere far away. They aren't allowed to come back alone. They aren't allowed to come back until they get a souvenir from that place. We found that a nice, long road trip usually helps to iron out any fights between them. You know, so we don't miss out on special events in one another's lives. And can protect each other when it matters the most."
Enide smiled as Bedwyr looked away, seemingly embarrassed by him missing out on said events. It was clear she was hinting at the missed Yule.
Still, she went for the kill and continued. "You weren't there for the holidays. And I was looking forward to seeing you, my future brother-in-law."
At that, Bedwyr startled, his eyes going wide as he looked at Erec, who was equally confused. Enide simply laughed.
"I—" Erec began to say, not sure how to answer that. This was news to him—
"Kidding. Future brother-in-law, if everything goes well, we're not engaged yet," she said, her eyes darting to Erec. "But I really like your brother, Bedwyr. And I want to get to know his family. You two fighting is good for no one, especially yourselves. So, I don't have a car to jam you two in and make you take a long road trip. But I think you should take this opportunity right now and see it as your car. I don't know where this weird power is taking you. I don't even know what this is. But now you know neither of you is alone."
There was an awkward look between them. Neither knew how to bridge the gap.
Enide clapped her hands, drawing them back to her. "Now you know someone else is going through the same things that you are. You're a family—you can embrace it together."
Erec and Bedwyr both knew there was still a rift between them. But now, this connection—the fact that Bedwyr was part of this mystery that had found its way into his life—made him feel closer, like he wanted to talk to his older brother more. To face whatever this mystery was with someone at his side.
Enide smiled at them and then vanished, reappearing next to the bookshelf, fishing out a book. "So, maybe we're not going for a hike today. But maybe we can enjoy some family time. Have a nice talk. If anyone wants cups and tea, I will be the one to take care of you, too, until you're feeling better."
She plucked out a tome to read, vanished, and reappeared next to Erec, setting her hand in his. Erec looked over to the sunlight filtering in the room and felt a weird sense of ease. And that, despite all the troubles going around, brought him a sense of happiness.
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