“Wake up brother. ” Sage’s concerned voice pulled me out of the darkness.

  Sage looked at me. One of his glowing hands rested on my shoulder. He checked my eyes. Moved his hand to my forehead and finally to my heart. Only then he exhaled in relief.

  “The old fool who did this to you. He is dead. ” Sage announced with a frown and continued “He was overzealous. But what Tyran did... Well, father has had a conversation with our brother. Let me assure you nothing like that will happen again. ”

  I sat up and looked at the sand glass. It was half full. Had I been under for more than three days.

  Sage followed my gaze “Five days, brother. ” He handed me a set of clothes and smiled “But, I have to say Voss. Your new look suits you. ”

  I looked at sage blankly. Sage snapped his fingers and a panel of light appeared in front of me and darkened until it reflected my reflection back at me. I wasn’t surprised to see that I had white marble skin like my father and brother. Unlike Sage’s golden brown veins and Tyran’s green ones, I had black ones. The difference didn’t stop there. Sage’s eyes were a warm hazel brown. I had bright blue ones. And my hair...

  Father had gray hair. It suited him. And although he looked like a middle aged man in his early forties. One look at his cold gray eyes and you knew he was old and powerful. His unconcerned smile and his carefree posture spoke of wisdom. And his graying hair seamed natural. Sage had dark brown hair. Slightly longer than fathers hair it curled to the nape of his neck. Thick stands of his hair fell on his forehead and framed his sharp Truechild features.

  I had steely silver hair. Short, thick, and bushy that is what came to me when I saw my hair. They looked like sharp needles ready to pierce anyone who touched my head. The rest of me. It felt normal. I was a Truechild. I was meant to have marble white skin. The black veins, well they were because of my attunement to death. But the way they faded to blue made people reconsider that.

  My frame was also different. I was thinner than Sage but my hands looked longer and an inch taller than my brother. That didn’t matter when we were larger than anyone around us.

  How large? The human walking away with my bloody soiled clothes was six and a half feet tall. With a casual glance I calculated that I was twice as large as the man. Maybe slightly more. But that too felt natural. I was a mana born. A Truechild. We were supposed to be larger than humans.

  “Voss. ” Sage called to me and got my attention. He waved a piece of jewellery in front of me “This is a torc. This allows us to shrink to human size. Okay not human. But eight or nine feet is better than fourteen. This one has been made for you. It is also keyed to father and me. With your current condition, it will help us guide you, if you pass out. ”

  Sage looked at me with a difficult expression.

  “I am not father, brother. Father doesn’t care if he imposes his will on others. And Tyran, he likes doing that. I don’t. ” Sage handed me the torc “I will not use it with your consent, brother. ” Sage said in a soft voice.

  I put the torc on and looked at Sage.

  Sage smiled and asked “Does that mean you consent, Voss Truchild?”

  I nodded.

  “Come, lets get you some food. ”

  I ate with Sage while he told stories of his life. Tired I went back to the infirmary again and slept. I don’t know when or how, but somewhere in my sleep I drifted into the dark waters. It was comforting. The steady motion of the waves. Up and down. Up and down. I missed it. But it all changed. The waves slowed. The waters began to solidify and freeze over. I knew the signs and turned my head to look for the cause behind it. I found it. Or him.

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  “If it isn’t the weakling and the retard. ”

  Something pulled me out of the waters with a sharp tug. I hit the wall behind me hard. My head bounced of the wall and I staggered. I looked down the marble skinned hand with green streaks and realized that Tyran had shoved me into the wall.

  “Careful Tyran. ” Sage hissed.

  “Watch your tone, Sage. Healers are not warriors. ” The large muscular Truechild held me next to the wall and frowned at Sage.

  “Tyran, you can find warriors everywhere. But can you find healers so easily?” Sage folded his arms with a smug smile “Unlike you, I am irreplaceable. ”

  Tyran scowled and in a burst of anger slammed me into the wall again. I didn’t resist. As my back hit the wall I finally focused on the Truechild standing in front of me. I didn’t give him any reason to strike. I looked at him blankly with a dull gaze. This was a predator on a prowl. And striking him down would be hard.

  His push hurt. More when my head slammed into the wall. But not as much as the Eye of Saroom had. No. It wasn’t a fraction of pain of that I had felt. I didn’t make a sound. You couldn’t show predators weakness. But you couldn’t also challenge them when they were ready for a fight. If you needed to defeat them, you had to choose the right ground. But that was in the dark waters. What would it be like to fight one here?

  “Tyran!” Sage hissed.

  Tyran looked at me. “I told you we will talk. ”

  I stayed still. My eyes remained unfocused and my hand hung loosely at my sides. The muscular Truechild blinked and frowned. He turned to Sage and asked.

  “What is wrong with him?”

  “He is unawakened. ” Sage tried to free me.

  Tyran let me go and turned to Sage “He has a soul pearl but it is almost as if he is dead. ”

  “Thank you for that nugget of wisdom, of wise brother of mine. ” Sage responded with sarcasm.

  “Watch yourself, Sage. Sooner or later one of us will have to take the emperor’s throne. And it will be me. ” Tyran smiled viciously and continued “And I will remember these insults. ”

  Sage sighed “Tyran the emperor ruled when the world had five continents. Today there are three, and he still rules. What makes you think he is thinking of retirement?”

  “He made us didn’t he? And we are better than he is. ”

  “This again?”

  Tyran leaned closer to Sage and snarled “Father, is a man. Created of flesh and blood. A mana blessed man. Who has transforemed himself. But, he is still a man. We are superior. And I am the most superior among us all. ”

  Sage looked at Tyran blankly “What give you that idea?”

  Tyran did not like Sage’s mocking look and growled “I am Tyran Truechild. I have fought in battles that would make you piss your pants, healer. And now I remember my past life. I was the son, of the great Kahn. I was named city breaker. I know remember what it takes to subdue, subjugate, and rule. ”

  “Right. You think you are the only one who remembers who they were? Ilya does too. And she is more scary than you. ” Sage sighed and pulled on me.

  I followed Sage wordlessly.

  “Sage. I know Ilya is hurt. I hear she might lose her element. And then she will come to me. To serve me. Think I will bed her. ” Tyran said in a taunting tone.

  Sage stopped.

  Tyran continued “I will make her do things. Disgusting things. Thing that my real father taught me. I will enjoy myself. And the emperor’s pretty little flower will understand her place, under me. ”

  Sage took in a calming breath and began to walk again.

  Tyran continued “And if you don’t kneel Sage, I will make you watch. ”

  Sage shook his head and in a casual tone stated “You are a sick freak, Tyran. ”

  Sage wasn’t wrong. The dark water washed souls memories but even in those waters they were the freaks. Those who held on to their anger, their fury, and their past lives. These were malicious souls. They hunted and consumed other souls. Building on that hatred. Until their souls turned dark. And they transformed into snake like predators.

  Tyran was a predator. He meant what he said. And he wasn’t going to stop. That I knew. But what was he doing in a body of a Truechild? Before father had pulled me out of the dark waters he had recognized predators and eliminated them ruthlessly. Then why was Tyran here?

  Sage on the other hand was a gentle soul. He wasn’t a pacifist or saint. I could sense the steel in his soul. I could also see it in the stiffness in his neck and the set of his jaw. He was furious but he was also afraid. That was natural. They had just come face to face with a predator. And if Sage ran into Tyran often then he knew how dangerous a predator could be.

  Out of the view of Tyran, Sage turned and checked on me. His eyes widened at the sight of blood dripping down my neck. His glowing hand touched my forehead, my neck, and then settled on chest. A buzz of warmth went through me and pain began to subside.

  “If you are in there and listening, give me a sign. ” Sage waited.

  I decided not to move. My thoughts raced a mile a minute. If Tyran was a predator... What about my elder sister? We had all been pulled out the dark waters. Sage wasn’t one. But that didn’t mean anything. And if Ilya was predator that would explain Tyran hostility towards her. Because predator were territorial and this was his hunting grounds. Until I knew more, I wasn’t going to make any rash decisions. I was going to have to play this close to my chest.

  Sage sighed “Don’t worry about him, Voss. Father will take care of him if he steps out of line. I just hope, he doesn’t harm Ilya before father can stop him. ”

  I wasn't so sure because if Tyran was predator then father and his empire had failed its task to keep order and protect its people. And now it was up to me to restore order. How I was going to do that? That was yet to seen.