âNo. Only the heir of Glemos can access to the key to the vaults that hold the Tyrantâs legacy. I wonât allow anyone but a member of the family to learn about its nature.â Ryla said.
âI can be killed and my Harmonizer stolen, but if no one knows what to look for, they can never find it.â
There was a fervor in her voice and a determination in her eyes that told the Tyrant that he had no other choice. He extended his hand and the moment it made contact with the Fomorâs the marble isolated the wall from the arrays of the city, allowing the crystals to form a Gate.
âShit! We are not just going past the wall, we are going somewhere else entirely. Not even Nalrond can follow me wherever our destination is.â Morok thought as Ryla pulled him through the dimensional corridor.
He was expecting to walk into an exotic harem filled with gorgeous women of all the fallen races, a luxurious bedroom, or anything that he believed would suit his late fatherâs overinflated ego.
Instead, Morok found himself in a playroom filled with enchanted toys and all kinds of tools that a child could use to learn magic safely.
And that wasnât all.
âMommy?â A young six-eyed Fomor, barely five years old, was looking at them from around the corner of the door, in a childish attempt to hide from the alleged intruders. âMommy, you are back!â
The child ran to Rylaâs legs who lifted him up in a hug.
âI told you to not wait for me by the door, you little rascal. What if it was a bad guy?â Her tone didnât match with her words as she kissed the boyâs head and gently caressed his hair.
âDaddy would have smitten him.â The boy said with a very serious voice, puffing his chest out with pride. âHeâs a god. Dad is never here because he has so many people to protect, but he always watches over us.â
âDad?â Morok echoed as something inside him froze in horror.
Not only was the young Fomorâs skin white instead of blue like every Fomor and Balor Morok had ever met, but his eyes moved along his body so as to always look at Ryla and the newcomer at the same time.
The boy also wore a model of Harmonizer more advanced than those of the other members of the senate. Even the Queenâs Harmonizer was of lesser quality. Morok had seen an identical model only around Echidnaâs neck.
Suddenly the high priestessâ earlier attentions and words assumed a completely different meaning, going from creepy to mind-blowing.
âDo I have a brother?â He said while pointing at the kid.
âHalf-brother, but yes. Garrik, this is your big brother, Morok. Lord Morok, this is your little brother, Garrik. He was named after your father.â Ryla turned the child toward the Tyrant.
âHi, big brother Morok, nice to meet you.â Garrikâs mouth shapeshifted into the row of fangs typical of their species.
âHi, Garrik.â Morok tried to give him a warm smile yet it turned out as awkward as he felt. âLet me guess, you said that this is a family matter because your Harmonizer just leads here. Only Garrikâs can open the door to Glemosâ lab.â
âYou are right.â Ryla nodded. âLord Glemos didnât trust with his lifeâs work anyone but his own blood. I only pretended to have access to the lab in order to keep my sonâs existence a secret.â
âAre you telling me that no one knows about Garrik? That heâs never been outside of this house his whole life?â Morok was flabbergasted, and the nod in reply he received shocked him even more. âBut why? Heâs the child of your god and his life force is perfect.I think you should take a look at
âHe could give hope to your people. Garrik is the tangible proof that my fatherâs grand plan works.â
âOr he could end up being the scapegoat to their fury.â Ryla replied. âSomeone upon whom vent their frustration after a rite of passage or, like in this case, after Glemosâ disappearance and the culls it has caused.
âGarrik isnât like you. He canât run away until he becomes an adult. Were the inhabitants of Zelex to learn about him, what do you think they would do?
âThey would see his Harmonizer as an unfair advantage and resent Garrik because he can have a regular childhood while everyone else is forced to suffer from aging and hunger.
âI know that itâs hypocritical of me, but I couldnât risk the senate forcing him to take part in the Warlord selections. Garrik has a chance to have a real life and be free. I wonât let that be taken from him, no matter the cost.
âWhich makes you-â
He couldnât finish the sentence as the bad memories of his childhood trampled over his mind and many questions he didnât want to ask popped to his mind.
âLord Glemos never bestowed upon me the title of his wife, but as the latest of his high priestesses he blessed me with his child.â Ryla replied.
âLatest? As in there were others before you?â Morok wanted to scream and curse at his fatherâs name, but he had to hold it in to further Lithâs plan and not scare Garrik.
âYes, just like there have been other potential heirs to Lord Glemosâ legacy before Garrik.â Ryla nodded, shivering at the mention.
âWhat happened to them?â
âThe priestesses also undergo the rite of passage when they are found wanting.â Ryla replied. âAs for their faulty offspring, they were sent to the battlefield and died to in glorious battles to honor their father.â
âWas it the same fate that would await Garrik if Glemos was still around?â Morok cupped the boyâs ears, adding a Hush spell to keep him from hearing such a grim topic.
âNo. According to Lord Glemos, Garrikâs life force will stabilize after puberty. Heâs not as perfect as you but he will be.â Ryla replied, giving him a warm smile and a deep bow of gratitude for his kindness toward her son.
âIâm the only one who managed to give him an heir that inherited both the Fomor and the Tyrant bloodline.
âThatâs why he kept me around. Garrik was supposed to assist you in the endeavor of bringing the Tyrantâs bloodline to the next evolutionary step or to take your place were you to refuse to join his cause.
âGlemos said that he had reached his limit and that Garrik is the apex of his research. A new species of Tyrant born from the perfect Fomor. He did everything he could for our child and then he left to look for you.
âThe perfect Tyrant born from the perfect human. Glemos believed that after Awakening, you would have surpassed him, and he was right!â She tenderly caressed Morokâs multi-colored scales but he stepped back as if her hand was a weapon pointed at his throat.
âSo he experimented on my mother as well? Were we just a science project for him?â He said in outrage.
âEveryone was a science project to him.â Ryla said. âHe never cared for any of us. Thatâs why he Awakened the poor Echidna before her life force stabilized.â
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