The family was led down the halls of the mansion in a tight formation by the guards and Jaramis.

Servants turning back or standing to the side whenever they saw them, this was not a place that prisoners would be brought but the family didn’t look like diplomats.

After a few minutes of walking Jaramis knocked on the door to his father study, he was going over the finances with his ministers.

“To what do I owe the pleasure, surely I am not needed to teach manners.” Count Redwall loved his son, but knew he didn’t exactly think everything through before doing it.

Jaramis whispered in his ear and he cleared his study, his ministers didn’t question the order, but they tried their best to get a look at the people inside the group of guards.

One stepped too closely and a guard nearly drew on him, at that point they all realized something was very wrong and fled the room as quickly as they could.

“Bring the boy and the father first.” Redwall called out.

The guards parted and Harlow and Harlan both walked forward without needing to be shoved.

“Are you aware of what the boy is?”

“We learned a little over a week ago, the slave you sent threatened him before explaining what he believes he is.”

“And the slave did not attack the boy? A surprise to say the least. And I assume then that you are not related by blood, and that you would speak this as the truth?”

“Yes Sir.”

“Then we will make sure, Guard, bring me a small blade and 2 vials from my lab.” Harlow tensed upon hearing him ask for the blade. The guard returned moments later.

“Both of you are to hold out your hand, palm facing the floor, slowly, we shall draw and test the blood.”

Harlan didn’t flinch when the blade slipped through his palm like there wasn’t nothing there, not an overly deep cut, another guard stepped forward to heal the cut once the small vial was filled.

“I shall test the vials myself, this shouldn’t take long.” Redwall placed both vials on a piece of paper he had written out some kind of rune on, it lit up in a sinister red light typical of blood magic.

Both vials glowed, a tendril of light touched between them, and then both vials went dark.

“Alright, you are not the father at least. I won’t bother testing the rest of you since you have no traits.”

Redwall began tapping his fingers in thought.

Autumn wanted to say something but Jaramis hushed her and shook his head.

“We… do not technically have laws preventing a Fomorian from living in the kingdom, we’ve just never seen one that didn’t try to kill us and puppet the dead bodies immediately afterward, And you have not caused any outright problems.”

He kept tapping his fingers.

“I will inform the royal court, they will decide what is to be done here, until then you shall all stay here, now, on with your lesions, leave me.” Redwall whispered to the guard closest to him.

“Tell the couriers to intercept any messages from beastfolk and check them for the word Fomorian, the letters are to then be brought directly to me.”

Jaramis led the family to another room warded against spying.

Autumn couldn’t hold back anymore

“WHAT IN THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?” Jaramis looked embarrassed.

“How much do you know?” He didn’t know what to think, she couldn’t have known for longer than a week if her father's word were true, but he still felt she should’ve told him.

“My wife and Harlan are the only ones who really knew, we were planning to tell the girls the full story once we had the chance here.” Jaramis signed, his betrothed hadn’t been keeping secrets.

“So then what is the full story?” Harlan explained every word Kass said, he had run the conversation through his head so many times it was burned into it with perfect clarity. Once he started talking about the undead Ava began to shiver a little, the subtle gesture tore through Harlan’s heart. She had accepted him, but once the full truth was here she was afraid again? He felt betrayed.

“Is that what you were doing that night… trying to learn soul magic?” Ava only had a vague idea of what a soul was, but she knew it was inside the chest and some people could see them, but she didn’t know how.

Harlan tried to speak, but he thought about it, why was he looking for his own soul? What explanation would solve her fears? He just went silent in thought. The implications of her words and his silence caused a spike of worry for the rest of them, all of them asking why he would want to do such a thing.

“I was trying to find my own soul, I don’t know why, it just felt like the right thing to do. I can’t explain it. I found it the night we talked, it was… beautiful a bright red color, flickering white and black at time, light and dark aligned I think.”

“And fire, people sometimes have 3 alignments, though 2 is the more common, and oddly only 1 being the rarest, your base alignment is fire then, with light and dark secondary.”

Jaramis had learned a lot about the soul from his father, his bloodline had no special ability but some older noble houses had figured out how to modify the soul to great effect, guaranteeing alignments was one of the most mundane examples, always having twins with linked mind was on the opposite end of the spectrum, with some of the oldest family claiming no bloodline abilities at all, only fueling rumors.

Count Redwall had been researching the subject for years, modifying the souls of rats, often ending up with monstrous hyper aggressive musclebound things, or ones that gain an extreme affinity to conjure elements, but without a way to stop it they burn up the entirety of their souls. There was some that went well but couldn’t pass on such an ability making them little more than special rats.

“Ok, but that still doesn’t answer why we are prisoners.” Autumn still wasn’t happy with the answers she got.

“What, of course not my dear, its just.”

“It’s just we can’t *ahem* cannot leave the mansion under a threat of some vague harm?”

“Oh… well when it's said like that, I can see your point of view dear.”

“C-can we get to our manners lessons…” Amber tried to defuse the powderkeg and try to do something normal while they were there.

“Yes that is a great idea.” Jaramis needed to stop digging a hole for himself, he didn’t have the words to fully explain all of the politics involved with such an event.

They all went to learn proper manners, originally an excuse to get the family together and try to force whatever issue they were having out in the open, the girls thought it a great idea at the time, they all had knots in their stomachs now, feeling like they had just doomed their youngest brother if not their entire family.

The lessons went well, though the tutor could practically feel the emotions coming off each of them, he felt like he was about to face a beheading, not teach peasants how to eat and walk with dignity.

They all went about their days as normal, it took 3 days for the count’s letter to reach the capital, the royals had read it and sent out a special force immediately.

Dinner was beef roast and an onion soup, Harlan barely got a bite when every ward and array started flashing, someone was opening a gate directly into the house, the royal seal granting them access to the count’s home.

Space shuttered and stopped, seemingly like even the air was afraid of such an effect, then a perfect rectangle was cut out, a void could be seen, then it stabilized into another room, a portal directly to a nicer high security blacksite owned by the royal family.

Out stepped a man and a woman, platinum blonde hair so shining it seemed to reflect the candlelight from the table, deep purple eyes that almost seemed to glow, skin free of any blemish or mark, flanked by men in armor that hurt to look at under Harlan’s constant mana sense.

“I welcome you into my home 4th Princess Rosewell and 7th Prince Hydran.” Count Redwall and Jaramis kneeled before them, everyone else in the room took a little longer to realize what was the right course of action.

Hydran spoke. “We have received a report of a Fomorian child that is not landlocked and non-hostile, we shall be taking him for questioning.” Harlan slowly approached them, if his sixth sense told him that Kass was dangerous, these 2 were world ending to him.

“If you cooperate we shall provide for all your needs, when we are done you may be allowed to leave, and you may be entitled to some form of reward, it is in your best interest to listen to our orders and not cause any trouble intentionally or otherwise. Do the rest of you have any final words? You may not approach the child, places stay where you are while you speak to him.”

“I know you’ll be fine my little baby boy.” Aida said, tears in her eyes, not believing she would ever see him again.

“Just listen to them, I know its going to be fine.” Harlow spoke with a false confidence.

“We’re sorry, we shouldn’t have brought you here, its all our fault.” the girls spoke over one another, crying like he was already dead.

“Its fine, I’ll be fine. I’m ready now.” 2 of the armored men stepped behind him, 2 in the front, lead by the prince and princess.

It would be 3 and a half years before any of them saw him again.