Chapter 83

Ezma

The Father

“Hello.” The word as open and welcoming as it was unnerving to hear. Most notably the word was unnerving as it came from right behind Ezma. Should the wielder of the voice have so chosen they could have easily struck, as they could have used the moment to introduce themselves. Fortunately for both Ezma and Jhamet the wielder of the voice chose to introduce themselves.

Spinning about Ezma took in the older man before her. He was to put it mildly handsome. He was handsome in the way that watching a sun rise for the first time over an ocean was relaxing. The man had a thin wiry frame that showed bands of tight twisting muscles that moved and flexed under a layer of unflattering clothes. Still the man before her wore those clothes with style. His face and eyes were the most intriguing part of him, a sharp nose sat on a long head that held many strands of salt and pepper hair. Yet his eyes were his most striking feature, intense golden eyes that spoke of an abundance of power.

Ezma for her part had never seen eyes that appeared to be filled with such power and confidence. Not since she looked into the eyes of Lykan… At once the realization of where she had seen such a face before called out to her. This had to be Lykan’s father, or at the very least someone related to him. He was too familiar and at the same time too old to be Lykan’s older brother. Perhaps an uncle, but that would mean…

“You seem to have me at a disadvantage.” The man said, his baritone voice causing Ezma’s heart to flutter lightly with what she could only feel as resonance with his voice. The voice was magical in a way that she had never quite experienced before. Just hearing the first few words made her want to listen to the old man tell of stories of his past.

Just as Ezma was becoming enraptured with the voice and overall image of the man before her, a low growl could be heard. In shock Ezma turned to Jhamet who was jealous? Ezma for her part didn’t think that such an event was even possible. Yet here she was feeling the waves of discontent and jealousy rolling off her bonded dragon.

The old man for his part turned to look at Jhamet the way one might look at a painting. With a relaxed posture he turned to face the hulking blue beast that was now rising to its full height with its large wings expanded to appear more threatening.

Seeing the dragon the old man gave a disapproving shake of his head, the way a father would when they witnessed their child causing problems.

Jhamet for his part moved its head forward to lock eyes with the old man. This was a mistake on the dragon’s part, as this meant his long snout was within inches of the stranger’s face. The stranger never even appearing to be flustered for a second moved with lightning reflexes. With movements that were too quick for Ezma to see and Jhamet to react to, he held out a finger. A single finger that was used to tap Jhamet on the snout.

“Enough of that.” The old man said, then turned his back to the great beast.

Ezma for her part wanted to warn the old man, wanted to let him know that his life was in danger. Jhamet while bonded to her would not truly follow her directions. Right now, the waves of anger that came from Jhamet spoke of striking down a perceived threat.

Ezma wanted to warn the old man. She wanted to let him know that he had made a grave mistake, that Jhamet would soon attack. But before she could do anything, Jhamet passed out.

One second the dragon was awake and ready to strike, the next the full force and power of the three words spoken by the old man sunk in and Jhamet was out.

From their bond there was no sign of thought, no feel of mental thoughts coming from her bonded dragon. With a relief Ezma realized that the dragon was just asleep and not dead. Though that still raised the question of how? How did he manage to make the fierce dragon sleep with but a single tap of a finger?

As Ezma realized what had happened, a pit of fear awoke in her stomach. The idea was simple, if she could do that to Jhamet, then he could easily do that and much more to herself.

The old man for his part just stared at Ezma, no sign of malicious intention in his gaze. Still after witnessing what had just happened and remembering the ice spike that seemed to have come up out of nowhere Ezma was on guard. This was a powerful wielder, someone who was easily more powerful than she was. She made no bones about it; she knew in her relationship with Jhamet that Jhamet was the more powerful of the two of them. He was after all a seventh-generation bonded dragon, each generation of dragon became more and more powerful. For him to be knocked out so easily, especially from what appeared to be mind magic, a magical field that Jhamet should have had a high resistance to given his species variation. This whole situation was a lot to take in.

Still the old man just stood there, watching, and waiting until Ezma seemed to calm down slightly. By calm down in this case meant going from actively wanting to avenge her bonded partner, to staring questioningly at the old man who clearly was waiting for something.

Seeing the full ramifications of the situation that Ezma now found herself wash across her face the old man smiled, gently.

“Don’t worry. I just wanted us to have a moment to talk. It seems that you have met my son.” The old man began.

There was so much to unpack from that introduction. Don’t worry? Who says that, except maybe someone trying to calm down a toddler or a feral animal? The fact that he wanted to talk was good, as this meant there could be a way to peacefully get out of this situation without resorting to violence. Though truthfully Ezma didn’t know what good she could do. She was not a particularly powerful combatant with magics. She was a more than competent seer, but that didn’t do that well in combat, at least not for her. There were apparently some who focused on battle foresight, but those people were rare. She also had the slight problem of not trusting her visions, especially after a run in with that boy. Shaking her head, she then focused on the last part of his statement, his son? Who did he mean?

Seeing the look of confusion on Ezma’s face the man smiled warmly and then looked almost embarrassed.

“I’m so sorry. Where are my manners. My name is Vita.” The man said with a slight bow at the waist.

Hearing the surname caused a moment of recognition to flare in Ezma’s mind. Her assumptions had been correct, this man before her was related to Lykan. Looking at the man the resemblance was almost undeniable. She would notice the handsome face almost anywhere. If anything, the man before her caused a shutter to run down her body as she realized how Lykan would look once he grew older. She had to admit that she liked what she saw, even if he was old, he still had a wild look that spoke of confidence and power.

Ezma just stared; her mouth open as she tried to take in everything. For her part there was a lot to unpack. The man before her had snuck up on her and her bonded. Then managed to make her bonded pass out into a deep sleep, only to then reveal that she was none other than Lykan’s father. Weirder still, he knew she had ties to Lykan. Was that a form of magic? If so what kind? Ezma wasn’t even sure if divination could work such complicated strands of relationship matching.

“Hahaha. Sorry. I think this is still a bit much?” Mr. Vita said as he sounded like he was about to turn away and leave her.

Hearing that, and the fear that he might leave cause something to change in her mind. The strangle hold of thoughts that were causing a strangle hold on her mind finally broke. “Wait, no.”

A pause as Ezma regained her wits about her.

“Sorry. I am Ezma Loren.” Ezma said with a courtly bow. She was about to give her position and title, only to realize that she was now just Ezma Loren.

“Hahaha. A pleasure to meet you, Ezma Loren. Anyone with such strong karmic ties to my boy is worthy of greeting.” The old man said.

His voice and the timbre of his voice caused a soothing quality to help relax Ezma’s mind. She knew there was likely a hint of power tied to his voice. The evidence that he could use vocal magic was apparent from his interaction with Jhamet, but for this moment she let the soothing qualities of his voice wash over her. It was clear this man, like Lykan, was powerful. Though she didn’t know how he knew of ties, let alone karmic ties? Whatever those were. Feeling relaxed enough to speak on such thoughts she proceeded.

“What are karmic ties and how can you see them?” Ezma asked.

Hearing the question, the handsome man’s face dropped only for a second. There was a look of something that was there. It took a second for Ezma’s mind to capture the different look. It wasn’t anger, the one emotion she had been most worried about. Should the man try to strike at her, she had little other than her rifle to protect her. Also, at this range the rifle offered little in the way of protection. Still the look of something had been there, but he covered it smoothly.

“Right. Karmic ties are the universal threads that bind current and possible future meetings. As a Diviner of Prophecy these are what you follow to see the possible futures before you.” The old man said.

Hearing her class be spoken about so casually caused a trickle of fear to form in her mind. She knew little of the man before her, and this comment caused her to be even more on guard from his actions and antics. Seeing that his words had the opposite effect on her, the old man backed away if only for half a step.

“Sorry. Sometimes an old man gets to the point where things become muddled.” Mr. Vita said, a hand darting up to rub at his head.

This would have been a convincing enough cover, but Ezma knew he was lying. She had seen his movements and actions enough to realize his tells. A lifetime of being brought up to witness courtly proceedings had helped clue her in to the subtle changes and nuances that spoke of his lying. Thinking back, she could now recall the original emotion he had when she brought up karmic ties. He had frustration, like anger, but also slightly weaker. He was frustrated that she caught that comment, but why? Was it a slip up?

“Can you stop lying and the blatant abuses of voice magic?” Ezma said, her fake confidence back. She was scared. She knew the person before her was powerful, almost too powerful to handle. Yet he seemed to be interested in her of all people. Worse she knew she couldn’t run, for one her way of escape was currently asleep right behind him. For two the man had somehow expertly placed himself in between her and her now sleeping bonded dragon.

Hearing the words, a similar look of frustration flashed across the man’s handsome face for only a second. But that second was enough to let her know that she was right. It was also a bad sign as it meant the man before her was getting frustrated with how things were going. From her experiences, annoying powerful people was never a good thing. Particularly when they seemed to hold a large measure of power over your possible future.

Just when Ezma was about to take drastic actions, fearing she had pressed the unknown person too far. The man visibly relaxed.

“Sorry. I just wanted this meeting to go well. I certainly didn’t expect you to show up now. But I guess that is to be expected with everything that is happening. So many plans in motion.” The man said, the resonance of power no longer in his voice. Now he seemed to be an absent-minded professor who had forgotten the day’s topic of discussion. Perhaps this was just Ezma’s mind trying to relate what she was seeing to something that made sense.

“You can see the future?” Ezma asked. She knew the man had the Sage class, but that had to be a made-up class, right?

“Yes. Well no, I can’t see futures. I can only see tethers that will inevitably link people together should they both continue to live.” The man said. His face giving the look of hoping that such a convoluted explanation made sense.

Ezma tried to parse the words, but the whole concept made no sense. Finally, after a few seconds of trying to understand Ezma asked a few clarifying questions. “Is this part of the Sage class?”

The man, Mr. Vita, looked momentarily confused but then a dawning realization clicked in. As he realized the source of the question a childish grin took place, this was the look of a person who just pulled off a wonderful prank that they were about to explain in detail so others could enjoy in the amusement.

“No, my dear. That is the Class I let others see. I wanted something that spoke of enough power to be understandable when I inadvertently slipped up, but also one that others wouldn’t rightly question. I have to say it has been fairly hit or miss.” Mr. Vita said shrugging his shoulders in a what can you do way.

Hearing this Ezma just paused, but then realized she had missed something truly important.

“I’m sorry. I seemed to have missed your first name, what is it?” Ezma asked, tired of calling the person before her Mr. Vita in her head.

“You see, about that…”