Sorcerer… Cyborg???

Chapter 121: Father and Son

"Yes, I did, he seemed quite happy to see me." From the look in Tam's eyes, Kothar knew this would be a touchy subject to bring up, but he simply had to know what the situation of Ursten was.

"I'm worried about him, he looked as if he hadn't eaten in months, which is especially troubling since he would be the last person in the kingdom to worry about food." Kothar added, carefully watching Tam's face for his reaction, but the stern look had faded away, replaced with one of attentiveness.

"Yes, Rotan has been quite, hmm, troubled.'' The hesitation in Tam's voice was clear, he might be at the very head of one of the fiercest and most powerful armies that the isle had seen, but here he was, struggling to talk to his son about his own political machinations.

"Father, I must ask you, there are rumors that you have taken-'' Kothar decided that he would ask Tam outright, but was interrupted by Tam before he could finish talking.

"No, it simply isn't true. After all my efforts of trying to keep Rotan on the throne, why would I seize power. Initially I did intend to only remove the immediate threats to Ursten, but then my ambitions grew. What are far peaceful yet powerful neighbors but potential enemies? I need to forge peace for my people, while I remain!" Tam's voice rose in fervor, and he slammed the table fiercely as he uttered the last statement, his eyes ablaze with passion. 

Kothar's eyes reflected the same passion, he had also been driven by his passion to secure a peace for his people, and his people continued to drive him today. 

His constant drive to explore, to treat his strength, to grow in power, all of it was in service of returning to the Alliance. And in that moment, anyone who entered the room would have been stunned with what they saw, two men, one old and one younger, alike in appearance. With the same fierce passion burning in their identical eyes.

"I understand, Father. Let me fight!" Kothar was caught up in the fierceness of Tam's desire to fight for Ursten, he had grown his own attachments to the nation, and Tam's fight echoed his own.

"Son, your mother and I couldn't be more proud." Tam said with an enormous smile on his face, coming to his feet and wrapping Kothar in a hug. 

"We shall conquer all. Watch us, my dear." Tam muttered inaudibly, his voice lower than even a whisper, as he stared into the empty space behind Kothar, a spark of madness dancing in his eyes.

"For now, keep that helmet and armor on. I'll let the rest of my men know that you were a soldier away on a special mission for me. You wouldn't be the first to return from such a mission so it'd be no surprise to them." Tam patted Kothar on the shoulder, and handed his helmet back to him.

"You'd best get some rest, the campaign in Kalun is practically over, but more battles await us." Tam's smile was slightly off kilter, and a little disturbing, but Kothar was too wrapped up in the warm emotions of reuniting with him to notice.

As for Silane, the AI was experiencing the feeling of dread for the first time. She wished she could retch and vomit, but as an incorporeal body, it wasn't possible for her. She wanted to protest, and help Kothar realize how wrong everything seemed with Tam, but the memories of the last splitting headache kept her from doing so.

He only seemed a little off after all, and serving in the Ursten army was no different to how they had been members of the Sentinels in the past. Kothar had even fought in a battle already, and like this, Silane laid her fears to rest.

"Of course, Father, I'll find myself a tent" Kothar gave Tam a warm smile before replacing the helmet over his head, then headed out to find himself a bed and some hopefully warm dinner.

Tam watched his son leave with a smile on his face, he truly had grown into an exceptional young man, he and Ophil were so proud, the smile on her face was evidence of that.

"Rod!" Tam said slightly loudly, but his voice projected exactly as far as he needed, and the young soldier came running in. He was thin and slight, with a bright red stubble that peeked out from the edges of his scalp that his helm failed to cover.

As the young soldier stood at attention, Tam took a quill and quickly scribbled a note, explaining that one of his personal soldiers had just returned from a covert mission.

"Take this message to all my Lieutenants, and find the soldier in question in a tent." Tam quickly stamped the note with the hawk seal that he wore on his finger.

"Yes sir! I also have this for you, it arrived with one of the Duke's men! He was exhausted, so he passed it on to me." Rod passed Tam a leather scroll case, completely sealed.

"Alright, be on your way now." Tam commanded the young soldier, and then began to examine the scroll case in his hands.

The rune formation on the case was still intact. While it wasn't a powerful seal whatsoever, it did serve its own purpose. It was so complex and fragile that even the slightest disturbance by any means would collapse it entirely, which allowed it to serve as a means of securely communicating while being aware if a message had been compromised.

Tam lifted off the end cap of the scroll case, and immediately the runic formation tore itself apart, leaving only a few remnants of mana and a distinct spiral shape marked on the casing.

He tapped the scroll out, and broke the Duke's wax seal, rolling the scroll upon to reveal Anteris' distinctive scrawl.

As Tam read the letter, a grin spread across his face, it seemed as though things were about to get very interesting.