Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

"How long have you known about your brother?" Wally asked Lylah. They were back in his office at the Academy. It was a homely looking space with three out of the four walls of his study being made of bookshelves that were filled completely with various tomes and recovered notebooks.

A fireplace sat in the middle of one of the walls and was lit, giving off a comfortable warmth and gentle glow to the room. He was quite proud of his little study that he had created using the space the Academy had given him. It was one of his favorite places whenever he was not out and about collecting notes and performing research.

The young Oracle-in-training quietly sipped her tea while her attendant stood behind her with her hands clasped together over her belly. After a moment, Lylah set the teacup down. "Since I was very young. Four, maybe five? All the visions I have had are exclusive to him. I cannot seem to see anything else.

How about you? How long have you known who my brother is?"

The young maid, Natali, normally wore a stone-faced expression, however, even Wally could see that she was starting to develop a confused look. "Pardon me… but you do not have a brother?"

Lylah smiled warmly at her friend, "I do. The person in my dreams is my brother."

Natali's demeanor suddenly changed as she processed this information. She cradled her head in her hands with a warm blush on her face and began mumbling to herself incoherently.

Lylah returned her gaze to Wally. "So, again I ask. How long?"

He smiled and shook his head, "Not long I'm afraid. I only realized it for certain when I saw you for the first time today. You two really are twins. Though, there is one unmistakable difference…"

"His eyes, yes I am aware. Please, Lord Carmichael, tell me about this brother of mine?" the girl pleaded. Natali had returned her attention to the conversation as well. Her demeanor had returned to the expressionless one she seemed to constantly wear, though her eyes were also pleading in a way.

"On one condition… call me Gramps!" Wally said with a big, toothy grin. "Oh, it has been so long since I've been able to dote on a granddaughter. So, I won't tell you a thing unless you call me Gramps from now on!"

Lylah sighed with resignation, but had a big grin on her face. "Alright, Gramps. Tell me about my brother."

Wally smiled and shared everything he knew about the boy. He started with the fact that his name is Lucius and he was raised by a lovely couple named Rubellia and Wayne. Wayne was executed by Lord Richard von Petra to pay for a crime that Lucius had committed.

Wayne's final wish was to allow Lucius to serve the Lord's daughter, Rena, and so that is what he had been doing the last five years of his life.

"So Rena…is she a red-headed girl with green eyes? Exceptionally pretty?" Lylah asked with great curiosity. While her face was enraptured by the stories, whenever Wally mentioned Rena, the maid seemed to get depressed for some reason.

"Yes, she is quite the looker and a very powerful mage with a lot of potential. Though she is part of the generation that is competing for the next head of house Petra, I doubt that she will continue that path… though I don't know what they are up to now, I imagine that the girl would much rather start a new house with the lad." He laughed aloud.

With that last statement, the maid really seemed defeated. It was as if his every word stabbed through her, causing pain.

"Is she going to be alright?" He asked with great concern.

Lylah giggled. "Yes, she is fine. I have shared with her most of my visions and I think the poor thing has developed a little crush on the boy, even though she has never seen him."

Natali's entire face became beet-red, it appeared as if any moment steam would come out of her ears.

"Would you like to, young lady?" the old man offered with a sly smile. "Be warned, you might fall harder. The lad is quite the looker."

Wally stood up from his chair and stepped over to one of his bookshelves that had some items on it instead of books. On it was a small, glass cube that he had purchased in the elven kingdom of Aedrider many years ago.

"This is a memory box, it is quite a nifty little thing. It allows the user to show still images from one's memory. The elves of Aedrider had a wonderful King Enchanter who created this beautiful item." He explained. "Oh! But do not worry, it can only display memories when wishes to share them, so there is no concern of seeing something you shouldn't."

He walked back to his desk and placed the cube at the center of it. Wally gently placed a finger on one of the faces and it began to glow and projected an image in the air above it. In the image was a handsome teenage boy with tousled, black hair, one silver eye and one gold one. His facial expression was rather blank, but his eyes radiated a fierce tenacity.

"Oh let's see if I can still get it to do the trick… if I change the image fast enough… it almost looks like we are watching it in real time. It is not supposed to be used in such a way and risks damage… but for my sweet great-granddaughter how could I not show her how wonderful her brother is?" He chuckled.

The image suddenly changed and before them the images began to flash by quickly, giving the illusion of movement, albeit very jerky and rough movement. They watched as Lucius dueled against the old man. It was rather alarming to them that this same man who begged to be called 'Gramps' was such a powerful fighter. It was easy to tell that he was holding back in the duel, but it was still scary.

Lucius however, was noticeably weaker than the old man and still put up an impressive fight. Lylah was not aware of how Arts worked, but it seemed rather impressive when comparing it to the drills she watched the knights do as well as those that Natali did.

Natali also watched the images flashing by with great interest, her eyes seemed to sparkle as she watched the boy fight and she seemed especially interested in the final move where he had managed to damage a wall made of metal.

"As you can see he is quite…tenacious. Honestly, I would not prefer to be his enemy. Since he was doing this while still only a Novice Rank!" Wally laughed.

"No way!" Nataly blurted out. Her voice was quiet, but the surprise was evident. "He is that strong as a Novice?"

"Mmm. Yes, he is. Unfortunately, the boy seems… stuck, as it were. He has been unable to advance beyond it and is incapable of using his mark or his Magic. And his only Art is that of the Forsaken Arts. Quite the tragedy as he seems to have a lot of potential…" he let out an exasperated sigh.

"He can dish it out pretty well, and his fast and clever. Also he can use mana manipulation like myself, so that covers for a number or disparities, but tricks only go so far when faced against something truly powerful."

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