In Lieu of Formalities

The click of heels echoing through the palace had announced the arrival of the Archmage, and her return from the Hollowed Grounds, where she had travelled to tie up a few loose ends. One didn't disappear suddenly without leaving a few things undone after all. Upon arrival, a few quick and quiet orders were given to send maids scurrying off to prepare rooms for those who had come along with the Launceleyn Family Head. That she had children with her wouldn't be terribly a surprise to anyone, she had not hidden that fact. As for who had fathered them? Well, Beatrix was easy, her parentage no secret. But the young boy with tanned skin, bright green eyes, and soft curls who toddled along at her heels? His father was dead. Plain and simple. That didn't mean he needn't meet one of his few living relatives though. And so it was that Zariah made her way to the place Neron could be found at this hour - his personal room. Far more secure and private than an office after all. She knocked first, waiting to gain entrance. "Neron. It is Zariah." she said, announcing herself, so he wouldn't simply dismiss her for a maid or someone else. zariah If it is danger you seek, come on over. I covet tranquility but beget the tempest storm.

the hailstorm

"Come in." As if Neron would deny her. The Warden and the Archmage had a lot to speak about since she had left on her jaunt to the Hollowed Grounds. Rumours, changes in rulership, the appearance of his twin, the whole mageglass debacle... He hadn't even considered the whole children aspect of all of this.

As Zariah entered, it would be to the sight of Neron turning from his seat at his desk, where a variety of maps and other reports were spread. It was late and a blizzard was brewing outside - what better time to catch up on some of the things that had escaped him? With that in mind, he had been looking forward to catching up with Zariah for a while, so work could wait.

Before he could speak, however, the sight of the boy behind her caught his eye, and words died on his tongue. "Oh." That was all he could muster.

"Oh." It was softly spoken as the latch of the door clicked behind her, but it hurt to hear all the same. The reminder of what was in her mind, of what hadn't been in his, and a child who could never exist standing betwixt them, unaware of the strain he caused. Though Jace had his mother's coloring, eyes pulling the green from her hazel, tanned skin and dark hair, the boy bore traits that could not have come from her. The curl and texture of his hair was softer, lighter, his face more square - even with his chubby cheeks - and lips thin with a characteristic dimple along the bottom one. "This is my son, Jace. He just turned five." she said quietly. The boy was quiet, a bit mesmerized by Neron sitting at his desk. He glanced up at his mother, who simply nodded, before making his way over to the man. Jace looked up at him with wide eyes before lifting his arms in a request to be picked up. Though he said nothing, there was a clear recognition in the young child's eyes. A child his age should have been much more gregarious, but a Launceleyn child knew better than to speak without being directly addressed. "I thought it important you meet, so you know him if you see him around." she said, still speaking around the real matter at hand. The guise was important, and even in private, she would not drop it lest Neron make clear he wished to. zariah If it is danger you seek, come on over. I covet tranquility but beget the tempest storm.

the hailstorm

A child that could not be and yet was stood between them, and Neron was silent, at first, in the face of it. Then Zariah nodded to the boy, who promptly toddled over for attention. Neron's jaw tightened a fraction - once upon a time back in Northaven, it had been his intention to gain the head of their family's trust, perhaps even her love. And now? Now a chasm of years stood between them; things had changed for Neron, and Zariah had lived a life both with him and without him.

"Hello, Jace," he said politely, leaning down to scoop the boy up and settle him on his knee, turning back to face the desk. "Do you like maps?" So saying, Neron moved one of the larger scrolls across to show the boy; it mapped out Halo in all its known detail, and Neron pointed to the palace nestled deep behind the Citadel. "This is where we are now."

Over his shoulder, he addressed Zariah. "I hear you were quite the disruption to the Hollowed Grounds."

"Hello, father." the boy said softly, words spoken almost too perfectly for his age. Precocious, soft spoken, well behaved - a perfect Launceleyn child. He scootched himself back on Neron's lap, leaning against him comfortably as he watched the map be laid before him. He nodded to the Warden's question, green eyes scanning the map curiously. He too pointed to the spot on the map that read Citadel. "Citadel. The Fangs. Whitebrim." he read quietly, saying each place as he pointed to it. Zariah stepped forward as well, glancing over Neron and Jace's shoulder to watch. At Neron's comment, she chuckled lowly. "I am a fan of an entrance. Though I'm curious how word has reached you already." she said softly. zariah If it is danger you seek, come on over. I covet tranquility but beget the tempest storm.

the hailstorm

Father was a blade of ice in Neron's chest, the Warden stiffening in his chair and taking a long, deep breath in. "Why would you think that?" he asked. "Your father looks very differently to me, I should think." Neron had changed faces, after all, by falling through the portal into Caido. His mind jumped to the belief that Zariah had been telling the boy things - dangerous things - but he would hear it from the Archmage directly.

"That's right," he confirmed as the boy pointed at the locations on the map. "You might remember the Fangs. You came through them to get here."

Then, to Zariah, "Loren has been to the Citadel. He spoke with me about it."

Quite the contrary, Zariah had let the boy come to his own conclusions. But like Zariah, who had simply know it was Neron despite the new face, Jace too seemed to intuitively recognize him. The boy tilted his head up to look at him. "Mmmmmm my father is named Neron and so are you." he said. Simple logic. He knew this man was family. He knew his name was Neron. He knew his father was Neron. By the transitive property this man was his father. He was back to looking at the map though, and pointed at the Fangs. "Through the light beam." Jace confirmed. But Zariah was raising a brow at what Neron said. "He was, was he? How bold of him." she said dryly. zariah If it is danger you seek, come on over. I covet tranquility but beget the tempest storm.

the hailstorm

”That is very clever of you, but your father is dead.” Neron spoke not coldly, and yet his logic was nonetheless glacial against the boy’s. ”I have no children, and if I did, they would be taken away from me. So it is very important that you don’t mistake me for your father. Do you understand?” Because this was hardly a game of reluctant daddy, that Neron just needed to meet the boy to love him enough. No, this was life or death.

”Bold? I would say so, given that you disowned him and branded him a traitor. What did my poor little brother do this time, to earn the family’s ire? I had rather hoped that, in such dire times, we would pull together rather than fraying apart.” Neron turned to gaze over his shoulder, meeting Zariah’s eyes.

The boy stared up at Neron, wide-eyed but solemn, listening in careful silence. His head did nod, indicating he understood Neron's point - if only that he was not to call him father. "What are you then?" he asked, head tilting slightly. The only person who did not have a title in his life was Beatrix. That he would not be Uncle or something else did not even occur to him. Zariah was not thrown off by the undercurrent of criticism in Neron's words. She held his gaze with confidence, knowing her reasons for her actions to be valid. "As would I, but I am afraid, my dear, that your little brother is the part that frays in dire times." she said, dulcet tones low in her velvety voice "When we first arrived in the Hollowed Grounds, he resisted pulling together, wishing to be as far from us as possible. When he became ill - as he claims he was - he vanished without a trace, rather than leaning on us for support." The Archmage shrugged, lifting a hand to examine her pointed nails almost absentmindedly. "Loren is as fickle as a young girl's heart and about as intelligent as a toadstool. Why would I want such a weak link within our ranks?" zariah If it is danger you seek, come on over. I covet tranquility but beget the tempest storm.

the hailstorm

Neron considered the boy for a moment, smoothing out the map absently with one hand whilst continuing to allow Jace to slouch against him. "I suppose you could say I'm a friend of your father's," he said. "We are related. You can just call me Neron." He shrugged his shoulders, as if it was as simple as that. Why overcomplicate things, after all? "What do you think of Halo so far, Jace? It's a very cold place, isn't it?" Cold, harsh, and the making of them all, if they were bold enough.

Turning properly to face Zariah and hear out the latest criticism against Loren, he bowed his head in acknowledgement that his twin was, if nothing more, a fickle creature. "Because he is still my brother," he said. "Because he formerly held a very high position in this family. Because if he is weak, it is because we have failed him. And we have failed him, Zariah. I mean to rectify that."

"Okay, Neron." Jace said with ease, dropping the troubling subject as quickly as he had brought it up. He did not question, so deeply did he trust the adults in his life. If his mother saw fit to bring him to this man, and this man who was eerily like his father just wished to be called Neron, fine by him. Green eyes went back to the map, watching as Neron smoothed it back out. "I like the cold and the snow." Jace said, bobbing his head with a nod. Cold and snow meant blankets and sweaters and hot chocolate. It meant comfy things that he liked very much, like the fur-lined vest he currently had his chubby little fingers curled into. She arched a brow, slowly, deliberately, hazel eyes suddenly locked on to Neron with deadly precision. Oh yes, Zariah's temper and fire still remained, though it was held back by practice now and used with purpose. "Explain to me exactly how we have failed him. For I recall giving him special treatment so he could grow stronger as a mage and giving him that higher position to gain approval from the rest of the family." she said in a low tone. Frankly, his behavior was not only unacceptable, it was insulting. "His behavior requires punishment, not leniency. Why rectify the mistakes that are of his doing?" zariah If it is danger you seek, come on over. I covet tranquility but beget the tempest storm.

the hailstorm

”There, perfect.” Neron nodded to Jace, finding the switch more than satisfactory and indulging in a small smile at the boy’s enjoyment of Halo. ”That is good - there is plenty of cold and snow to go around here.” Granted, the likes of Jace would probably be capable of enjoying Halo a lot more than other children his ages. Snowmen instead of guarding the fire; the boy would find himself short of playmates but not of play.

Content with the outcome of the conversation with Jace, Neron turned now to give Zariah his full attention. ”Because,” he said simply, ”if you did all of those things for him and he still shied away from the family when he needed them most, something must have been missing.” His smile was sharp. ”And if you want the blunt truth - because he is still a powerful mage and a Launceleyn, and every ally we push away joins the cause against us. He is my twin. He wishes to make amends. I’ve accepted his offer.” And if you don’t like it, you can leave.

Jace was more than content to play by himself in all reality. He'd never really had many playmates, and certainly very few his age, so he'd be just as happy building snowmen on his own. He smiled up at Neron as well, a sleepy little grin, given the trek the youngster had just been through. Which was all the better, given the way the arguement was heating up between Zariah and Neron. "Alright, Jace, off to bed with you." Zariah said softly, though her fiery gaze did not leave Neron as she did so. Jace obediently scooted off of Neron's lap, waving at him before making his way out to the hall. For a long moment Zariah said nothing, the tension palpable between them as she carefully calculated her next move. "Have you considered that the thing missing is not within the family but within Loren?" she said dryly, tapping her nails against her arm in thought. But at length, she lifted a hand and flipped her hair over her shoulder. Neron's best and worst trait happened to be the way he challenged her. Wonderfully irritating. "What you do and who you accept in the name of Halo is no question of mine. If you wish to use him, fine. But as far as the family is concerned he is Launceleyn in name only. He made clear he has no desire to be part of it." she said. This had been a two-way split. Zariah didn't want him in the family as much as Loren had argued to get out of it. Clearly he was telling two different stories. zariah If it is danger you seek, come on over. I covet tranquility but beget the tempest storm.

the hailstorm

Neron nodded at Jace as he toddled off into the hall, mentally having visions of the boy getting lost in the labyrinth-like corridors of the palace. Not that he had long to dwell on that, with Zariah in all her fire and glory coming to the fore. He smiled, the expression somehow colder than the weather outside. "Of course I have considered that - I spent much of our childhood nurturing that void in him," he murmured.

"Then in terms of family he is Launceleyn in name only. In terms of Halo he may very well be a powerful magician, and one we can make use of in the years to come." And he is my brother went unsaid. "Is there anything else?"