3032 Trust and Secrets (Part 2)
'There is no such thing as the Rezars' legacy and tradition. Everything we know about Light Mastery we either extorted it from Dawn or she gave it to us to further her agenda.
'My people were so obsessed with splitting from their beast half that over time we stopped improving and became dependent on her. We were her hands and feet but Dawn was the brain all along.'
"Thank you!" Leria offered her flower for the Horseman to examine while giving her a deep bow. "How is it compared to Aran's?"
"Wow, guess the rival thing is no joke." Dawn chuckled while examining the various parts of the hard-light construct. "You did a great job, Leria, but compared to Aran's flower yours is a bit lacking. See?"
The stem was soft and flexible but when the Horseman squeezed a petal, it crumbled. Cracks appeared all over the flower, leaking the light element until the construct faded away.
"Why?" Leria's eyes became watery for the humiliation and Aran's relentless mockery. "I mean, I have silver streaks like Aunt Quylla whereas Aran only has red ones. Why am I less talented then?"
"How dare you cry after learning one of the most elusive branches of magic, little girl? How can you be so entitled?" Dawn's voice was cold as she booped Leria's nose.
"I'm… sorry?" The little girl was taken aback and so was Aran.
The Horseman's accusation hit close to home since he would have done the same in Leria's shoes. His smug grin disappeared and he stared at the ground like he was the one being scolded.
"Are you asking me or are you telling me?" Dawn asked sternly like a disappointed teacher.
"I'm sorry." Leria and Aran said in unison while staring at their feet.
"As you should." The Horseman said before switching to a friendly tone again. "To answer your question, Leria, it's because Aran doesn't have streaks that he's better than you. Or rather, he learned better."
"I'm sorry, I don't understand." Leria tilted her head in confusion and Aran nodded.
"Your affinity to the light element makes things easier to you. You learn more quickly but by spending less time on each step of the process, your understanding remains shallow." Dawn replied.
"Aran has no affinity so to reach your same level he has to work harder and obtain a deeper understanding of how Light Mastery works. He learns slowly compared to you but he gets really good at what he does.
"Also, since when do streaks matter? Does your uncle/brother have silver streaks? No. Same as Nalrond and they are the best Light Masters you'll ever meet. Myself excluded, of course."
Leria blushed in shame, understanding how her words had insulted Lith and belittled her own achievements and Aran's.
"I'm sorry." She said and this time she was deeply remorseful. "I didn't mean to offend you, Uncle Lith." She yelled the second part since Lith was still nowhere to be found.
"Apologies accepted." His voice echoed through the garden in a way that made it impossible to guess the direction it came from.
"Can we share your advice with my big brother?" Aran asked. "He's the one who taught us. Pretty please for a pretty lady?"
Dawn pretended to be in deep thought while caressing her chin before answering with a flat:
"No."
"Why?" Leria asked.
"Because trust and secrets are the bread and butter of a mage. I've already given you a lot yet you keep asking more." Dawn was stern again but not cold. "If you want to keep a good relationship with a fellow mage, you need to earn their trust and keep their secrets.
"Even if it hurts other relationships. Am I clear?"
"Crystal." The kids nodded in unison.
"Good." Dawn caressed their heads.
"What about our siblings and niece?" Aran asked. "They'll be our rivals too and this would give us an unfair advantage."
"Life is unfair." The Horseman shrugged. "But let's put it this way. You can't teach them, but you can tell them to come to me and ask my help just like you did. This way, the result may not be the same but the opportunity is. How does it sound?"
"What about Uncle Lith?" Leria jumped with joy at the idea.
"You can tell him too." Dawn bid the children goodbye and walked to Kelia who was still smiling. "It's nice to see you're doing better kid."
Kelia went pale for a second, feeling guilty for being happy so soon after Dusk's death. Then, she realized how silly the thought was.
'Dusk would never want me to waste time moping. He would push me to find a way to rescue him.' She thought.
"Can you teach Light Mastery to me too?" She actually said.
"Sorry, kid. I've never taught Dusk for a reason and I won't teach you either. Not with the risk of passing it to Meln in case he gets his hands on you."
"Point taken." Kelia shivered at the thought.
"See you tonight, kid." Dawn patted Kelia's shoulder and Warped back to the Empire.
***
Verhen Household, a few days later.
The family couldn't spend all their time in the Mansion for several reasons. Raaz taking care of the fields and Elina of the animals was just one of them. The most important one, however, was to keep people away from the Verhen Mansion.
With Ryla, Garrik, and all the inhuman friends that now lived there, it would have been problematic if people from all over the Kingdom wanting an audience with Lith came to the Mansion.
Things would also get difficult if the Royals started to believe that the Verhens had moved from Lutia and sent more units of the Queen's Corps to look after their new home.
On top of that, it was quite lonely during the day.
The kids over six years of age went to the Desert for their magical lessons, Garrik included. Nalrond was busy setting up his own space in the estate the Ernas had gifted Friya and helping her to organize their marriage.
"This is one of those days I'm happy that Lith brought help to take care of Valeron." Kamila groaned.
The toddlers required a lot of attention and drained a lot of time and energy.
"You can say that." Elina sighed.
Ophya and Vyla were kind and helpful, but it was hard for the women of the house to not be jealous of them. Not only had it taken a lot to convince them not to wear the Dragon priestess clothes but they also looked stunning even in simple day dresses.
So good that even Raaz stared at them from time to time while his farmhands tripped on their own feet with alarming frequency whenever the handmaidens stepped outside the house.
Being Awakened from an early age, the two women were as attractive as Tista without the aura of unapproachableness that being a Verhen gave her.
"When do Lith and Solus come back from the Desert?" Elina tried and failed to calm down the crying Elysia.
She didn't take well her father's absence, especially after not seeing Lith for days due to the hunt for shadow disciple. The father-daughter bond went both ways and without Lith, Elisya felt weak and scared.
