Derek followed the old man into the Cathedral grounds. There were beautifully manicured parks between each building; with fountains, benches, pavilions, and the like throughout. Everywhere he looked he saw clergy and staff of the Church. There were also many lay people strolling through the parks, talking to each other and mingling with the staff.

The Ancestor lead the boy along the north side of the Cathedral, bypassing the public area and the few administrative buildings and coming into the housing area. As they passed a few dormitories for the acolytes a gangly old man rounded the corner, “Ah, Matteus, I thought it was you. What are you doing here this time?”

“Ehehe, Reginald, it has been ten years. Can’t an old man come and visit sometimes.”

Reginald peered at him for a second, his face a mask of doubt. Finally he flatly rejected, “An old man? Yes, You specifically? No. Ten years isn’t long enough and she’s still mad at you. You had better leave before she catches sight of you. You will have her in a rage and you don’t have to live with it. I do. Now shoo, begone. Go to the Cathedral in Rockheim or the one in Dunberry.”

Hearing this, Matteus' eyes bugged out, As he responded his voice grew louder, spittle started to spray from his mouth, and his arms gesticulated wildly. “What do you mean I am not welcome? Rockheim? Dunberry? Those are a week away. I need to see…”

Derek was astonished. The old man always did seem to be a bit of a rascal but this? This went too far. He started feeling embarrassed and started looking around for a place to hide himself from the attention his Ancestor was drawing to them. Finally the other old man had had enough. “Ok, come to my office so we can talk this out. I don’t want you bothering my sister so early in the morning.”

With that he turned on his heel and walked towards one of the administrative buildings the two had passed earlier. Ancestor Matteus was left sputtering for a moment before he hustled after the other man, “Derek stay here. Bother! Bother! You wretched old fart, I will have you know…”

Derek was left in a daze, gaping as the most powerful person he had ever met behaved like a petulant child. He stumbled over to a nearby bench and watched the people pass by. Many were dressed in the white and gold of the church, while others were dressed in their finest clothes, from the silk of nobles and merchants, to the linen of the lower classes. He watched as bees and butterflies flitted from flower to flower and watched squirrels and birds eating from the feeders around the park.

His reverie was interrupted when he saw a little old woman coming down the pathway carrying a pack of gardening tools over her back. She was walking with determination but taking short steps. She leaned heavily on the gnarled walking staff she had. He could hear incoherent grumbling coming from her. The few words he caught caused him to blush. Who knew old ladies could speak like this?

She looked awfully small under her bag of tools so he stood up and walked over quickly before pointing at her bag, “Excuse me granny, can I carry that for you?”

“Who’s your granny?” She snapped as she whipped around to glare at him, but her expression softened quickly, “Oh, maybe… This old granny is tired. Will you carry my bag young man?”

Derek smiled bravely, “Ok, granny, I can carry… oof.”

The bag turned out to be heavier than he thought so he had to lift it with both arms. He definitely couldn’t get it over his shoulder like the old lady had had it. He continued to put up a brave front, “O... k. Where are we going with this?”

The old lady began leading the way. They passed through a few of the gardens before she stopped and looked back at him.

“I am tired.” She whined, “Do you think you can carry me sonny?”

He looked at her for a moment, not quite certain how to answer. Finally, he nodded, before kneeling in front of her to let her climb on his back. He stood back up, attempting to adjust his posture so that the two loads would balance with each other. He followed her instructions for a while before arriving at her destination.

“Hmm, let me down over here and put the bag over there. Get the hand trowel and the clippers.” Once he set her down, she began pulling little weeds from the flower bed not at all concerned about her hands or the white robe she was wearing. Derek got her the tools she needed and placed them next to her before finding himself pulling weeds with her.

She didn’t talk except to give him instructions and the two of them worked for a few hours before she was finally satisfied. She had him carry her and her bag of tools again and directed him towards a small walled courtyard in the back of the compound. Inside was a toolshed and a small cottage. The yard itself was another small manicured garden; with flowers, shrubs, herbs, and a few fruits and vegetables.

Once inside she had him let her down again and told him to put up the tools while she went inside the cottage. Derek looked around the inside of the toolshed. Even here it was tidy and he could guess where the tools went by where tools were missing from the racks so the task was rather simple and quick. Coming out of the shed he heard her call to him from inside the cottage, “Come wash your face and hands, then set the table. I am making us something to eat.”

The instruction reminded him that he had yet to eat that day and his stomach growled as if to criticize him for his oversight. He knocked as much dirt off of his clothes as he could before he walked in, scraping his boots against the boot scraper outside her door. He found the wash basin in the back of the room near the stove. The water was still hot as he used the hand towel to wash his arms up to the elbows and his face.

As he straightened up, the old woman pointed towards the cupboards with the spoon she was using to stir the pot on her stove. “The dishes are up there, boy. Fetch down two bowls, two plates, and two cups. Get some spoons out of this drawer here.”

He quickly had the table set, and shortly thereafter she brought the pot over to pour soup into their bowls. She then brought out a loaf of bread from her oven and cut it into thick slices. “Ok, eat up. Don’t let your food get cold.”

A silence settled over them as they ate until finally she spoke up, “What’s your name and whose child are you boy? That old scoundrel must have brought you here to me for a reason.”

He looked up at her, “My name is Derek Thorne. My mom is Eona Windreach and my father was Jared Thorne.”

She looked closely at him, “Was? Did he die? Who were his parents?”

He nodded, “Yes, he died when I was a baby. His mother was Rebekah Thorne and his father was Ander Kennick.”

Recognition dawned on her face, “The blood tells no lies. I could sense it in you. How is that child doing?”

“Child?” He asked, his face scrunching up in confusion.

She flicked his forehead, “Dull boy. Rebekah, how is she doing?”

His eyes widened. He had never heard anyone call his grandmother a child, but he supposed that if anyone could, this old lady could. He answered quickly, knowing his grandmother’s reaction if he failed to answer fast enough after she called him that, “She’s ok. She lives with mom and grandfather at mom’s house and she got hired to teach Holy magic at the Academy.”

“Hmm, a Mage of the Thorne Clan teaching Holy magic at the Academy. My, how things have changed. What tier is she now?”

He thought about it for a while. “Eight, she tiered up during the sweeps of the mountains last summer.”

A forlorn look flashed across her face as she heard this. “Oh, my sweet child is already an Archmage? How nice. I will definitely have to go see her when I can. Now you, boy, why did that old rascal bring you here?”

“He said that I left Redwyrm too quickly after the coming of age ceremony. He said I needed help to overcome the final part of becoming a Demon Warrior.”

She went rigid when she heard that, a fury blazing in her eyes, “He said that did he? What is that fool child Daren doing letting children leave without completing the penance portion of their coming of age ceremony? Does he think losing members of this family to Abomination is a joke? What about those old fogeys? There should be enough of them to keep an eye on things. What were they doing? I ought to find that old man and box his ears. I ought to invite him back into my home just to kick him back out again! That old scoundrel! Does he think we have descendents to spare?”

Derek gaped at her as she seemed to grow angrier and angrier. She was pacing about the room and gesticulating wildly as she shouted at the top of her lungs. Finally, after a short while, she paused to catch her breath and that’s when he heard a familiar voice, “Ehehe, Penny, did I come at the wrong time? I brought a grandchild along to keep you company…”

When she heard the old man’s voice her anger went through the roof, “Get out! Get out of my house you old rogue! I should have listened to my father when he warned me about you! I should have never married into your barbaric family! My mother wanted me to marry a Prince. I should have…”

“This is good soup. You always made the best soups.” The old man had slipped past her tirade and sat at the table. He winked shamelessly at Derek.

“Thank you, no I mean, get out. What? What are you doing here Matteus?” The old woman sputtered out and just stared at him as he sat with Derek eating the soup.

“Penny, I brought the boy because that fool Daren let him come down off the mountain right after the coming of age ceremony. Two of the Grand Elders had been sent to other seal sites to assist with recent outbreaks while the other three of us were in the mountains searching for more Hell Gates after Derek here brought a hell gate gem and a Greater Demon’s heart back from his coming of age trial.

“Katherine is infuriated right now, it seems that dull grandson of hers has focused entirely on the wrong things, opting to teach the children instead of running the clan. She has him reading the old scripts now and sent me to check on the boy. I got to the city just in time to catch the Demon attempting to take possession of Derek and I suppressed it temporarily.

“I know it is only temporary and that I will not be able to get him back to the Shrine of the Sword in a timely manner, so I brought him here to you.”

“Hmmph, you only thought to bring him to me because he was in danger?”

He threw his hands up in surrender. “Penny, that’s not what I meant at all. I was planning on visiting you anyways after we had scourged the mountains again. I would have told you then.”

She looked over at him pensively, “Have the outbreaks really been that bad?”

He nodded grimly, “Yes, more are breaking through every year and gates are appearing. Our allies only control five out of the eight seals and the loss of the Congreal seal has slowly destabilized the rest.”

Her mouth twitched, “The Order of the Light lost that Shrine to the Barbarians sixty years ago. Are you trying to say that we are only seeing the effects now?”

The old man shook his head, “No, we have been seeing the effects the whole time. It’s just that now the effects are more pronounced. It will only get worse in the future. Especially with Chaos worshippers in control of the Shrine of the Light now. If they were to fully desecrate that seal, it would only be a matter of time before a significant Demonic Incursion broke out. Not just there, but at the location of every other seal as the Shrine of Light is one of the two keystones of the whole formation.”

She looked at him pensively, “I will tell my Guardian to relay this to the rest of the Church. For now, leave the boy with me and tell that girl Rebekah to come visit me. As for you, you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here. Get out!”