LOREN
Peter’s strong reaction to Loren’s tale was not at all what he’d been expecting. As soon as his cousin’s name came out of the other man’s mouth, the summoner stopped speaking, and regarded Peter with curious and sympathetic eyes. While the rest of his face and body hadn’t changed, at least Loren was looking a little more like his old self. However, that was because he recognized the telltale signs of indoctrination in the other man, and Loren needed to do what he could to snap Peter of it. ”Zariah’s gone, Peter. You’re safe here. Wessex and Ronin are ruling now, and they will protect us.” The summoner’s tone was gentle and soothing. ”And if Zariah returns, she’ll have to answer to me. But I promise you, no matter what happens, she won’t hurt you.” His cousin wouldn’t want to kill him, and that gave him an advantage. Besides, he was stronger than he’d ever been. The power had to be good for something.
He needed to be good for something.
It seemed that Peter had a lot more on his mind than just Zariah, however, if the way he interrupted the summoner in the middle of the story was any indication. However, Loren didn’t mind. He could weave in the answers, since they were a part of the tangled web of family history as well. ”What else were they to do, but serve? They were still family, even if they were deemed less than because they lacked magic.” Thankfully, the other man brought it back to the oath. It all came back to the oath in the end. ”Because we wanted power, too. And we knew if we became too powerful, the crown would feel threatened, and strike us down. So we bound ourselves to this specific royal bloodline forever, creating a mutually beneficial relationship. They’d gain a cadre of powerful mages and we’d gain the freedom to do whatever we wanted, freed from the scrutiny and oversight of the crown.” Indeed, as long as useful soldiers, spies, healers, and artisans continued to be produced, no one would take a second look.
”And because there was a war to fight, no one looked too closely at what our ancestors did in the compound that they built. And the things they did were terrible.” Maybe if the royals had known what horrors were being committed in their name, they would’ve ordered the Launceleyns to stop. But no one had cared. And so it had kept going, generation after generation, until they’d come to Caido and found themselves inadequate to meet its challenges. In this world, their ways had proven to be too rigid, and they had failed to adapt. Now, most of them were dead or gone.
He needed to be good for something.
It seemed that Peter had a lot more on his mind than just Zariah, however, if the way he interrupted the summoner in the middle of the story was any indication. However, Loren didn’t mind. He could weave in the answers, since they were a part of the tangled web of family history as well. ”What else were they to do, but serve? They were still family, even if they were deemed less than because they lacked magic.” Thankfully, the other man brought it back to the oath. It all came back to the oath in the end. ”Because we wanted power, too. And we knew if we became too powerful, the crown would feel threatened, and strike us down. So we bound ourselves to this specific royal bloodline forever, creating a mutually beneficial relationship. They’d gain a cadre of powerful mages and we’d gain the freedom to do whatever we wanted, freed from the scrutiny and oversight of the crown.” Indeed, as long as useful soldiers, spies, healers, and artisans continued to be produced, no one would take a second look.
”And because there was a war to fight, no one looked too closely at what our ancestors did in the compound that they built. And the things they did were terrible.” Maybe if the royals had known what horrors were being committed in their name, they would’ve ordered the Launceleyns to stop. But no one had cared. And so it had kept going, generation after generation, until they’d come to Caido and found themselves inadequate to meet its challenges. In this world, their ways had proven to be too rigid, and they had failed to adapt. Now, most of them were dead or gone.
But don’t be weary if it’s broken
Families are like that—
they’re split up and always torn.
