NOVEL WEB Chapter 40: Rhysar Black - The First Born
In the night, he only thought about what moves to use to counter Dante and how to improve his speed and reach even further. Those were the two things he was lacking in compared to Dante. He could not use more Chi before becoming a blue-rank summoner or it would hurt his body, and his body was still that of an eight-year-old kid — he had to make twice the effort to land hits compared to an adult.
Still, Damian did not give up. There was no way Dante was invincible — Auren just needed one chance. Defeating the guy was out of the question, but landing one hit should be possible.
The next day there was no class, so Auren started training right after having breakfast. Kenzo came asking if he wanted to go into the village, but Auren refused. It was already mid-January — the raid was getting closer by the day. He had to become stronger to not miss out. Or he would have to wait five years again to see it.
Dante had left in the early morning. Granny had Theren in her arms; both were enjoying the sun in the middle of winter, wrapped in layers of clothes. Sable had gone into the village to buy something.
"Aone! Aone!"
The little dude was three years old but could already walk like a pro and even talk in little sentences. Much smarter than Kenzo. Watching him swing his black sword was quite enjoyable for Theren. Sometimes he even slipped from Granny's hands and walked near him, hugging his leg. Auren then had to spend some minutes playing with him before resuming his practice.
When Sable came back from the village, she brought back unexpected news with her. A peddler had come to the village, which was why Sable had gone there.
"They say Rhysar Black left the Primarch Hold saying he will be back to claim what is rightfully his," Sable said.
"Really? He was such a nice lad. Dante admired him a lot," Granny said.
"Yes, but it is understandable. Rhysar's mother was treated very badly by the emperor — he was the firstborn, but the emperor never saw him as one," Sable added.
"'Best knight in the Hold,' they said. No one could match his sword. All his life he served the emperor justly in hopes of one day getting accepted. The Worldbinder had a heart of stone, though. It was bound to happen."
Auren knew Rhysar Black, the most loyal knight of the emperor. His strength, his charisma — they were things all men envied. Black was a surname for bastards born in Primarch Hold, just like Green was for bastards born in Greenvale. Rhysar was the firstborn son of the emperor, but his mother had been a high-profile lady of the streets.
The song of the Stone Lord and the Lady of River was infamous in all five regions. The emperor had promised to marry her when he was just a member of the Binder family and not yet head of the house, let alone the emperor of the five regions. Who knows what truly happened — but after becoming the head of the Binder family, the emperor continued his conquest and eventually became emperor as a result of a bloody battle.
The Binder family was not strong in the traditional sense. They had the same number and quality of knights and soldiers as the other four regions, but the difference came in the spirit beast they summoned — Umbryn, The Unseen Chain, it was called. Before the emperor, the Binder family members had never truly embraced the nature of their summons.
All summoned beasts within a wide radius are automatically tethered to Umbryn's spiritual leash if the summoner manages to defeat them with their fighting skills. The Binder can then choose to tighten, sever, redirect, or turn those beasts.
The heads of the four regions were not afraid of the emperor's ambition — until he killed the spirit beast of one of the heads. Animals and spirit beast summons were alive — when injured in battle, they resided in the summoner's soul for a long time to heal using their Chi. But when they were dead, it took years for the summon to reshape itself within a summoner's soul. It could take a couple of years, or even three to four decades, depending on how powerful and rare the summon was.
The Starseer Family Head's spirit beast was the one that had been killed. It had taken 50 years for the spirit beast to reshape itself. The Starseer Family Head had kneeled before the emperor and could do nothing when the emperor took his sister for marriage years later.
"What does it mean?" Auren asked, hearing them.
Both looked at him, then at each other. At last, Sable answered, "It means Sir Rhysar has already considered the emperor dead. It's just a matter of time now. He is not honorless enough to claim titles as the emperor dies and the Hold is thrust into chaos. He is leaving to gather allies and rightfully come back to the Hold to take back control in front of everyone after the heir takes the place of his father." Cаtсh thе fоrmаttеd vеrsiоn аt М|V|LЕМ_РYR.
"Heir? The Prince Dorian?" Auren asked.
"Yes," Granny replied. "The Lady from the Star family has two children — Prince Dorian and Princess Rhovena. It's been years since the emperor named his second son his heir. He has served as the emperor's Duke of Summer for years now."
"And the princess?" Auren asked. He knew their names but not much about them — with the emperor nearing his end, the world would not be the same. It was better to know about these things.
"Married to the Duke of Winter. Her husband is also her uncle," Sable replied.
"It's not just Worldbinders — all great families marry their uncles and cousins for years to keep the bloodline pure."
Well, that was not very healthy. Insanity and deformity were bound to happen in incestual marriages over time. Added with powerful supernatural powers and crazy mythic spirit beasts as summons? No wonder this world liked to fight like crazy.