"What is she like?" I blurted out, causing him to chuckle lightly. "She is an extraordinary woman, and one of the finest warriors I've ever known. She is as wise as she is beautiful, though I think she takes a bit too much from her great-great-grandfather's side of the family," Taegin began with a shake of his head as I looked at him with utter confusion.
"How do you know so much about her? Did you know her before she abandoned us?" I asked, not bothering to hide my curiosity, and he immediately scowled at me.
"Abandoned you? Is that how you remember it, or did your insolent father, who hated her and her profession, lie to you?" he snarled, making me flinch. "That obese sack of shit only married her because he was forced to do so by his parents to have closer ties to Synners that could protect their farmlands from monsters," he continued with visible frustration.
"What?" I felt my freshly healed jaw drop. "He told you a lie, Thoma, and I suspect many more like it about her. She is the exact opposite of everything he said she was," he said sternly, as though doing so would instantly rid any negative ideas of my mother.
I stared deeply into Taegin's eyes, thinning the gap between the lids of my own. "How well do you know her, exactly?" I asked. Taegin raised an eyebrow at Bernar, who shrugged. "Don't look at me; I haven't said anything," he shrugged, upturning his bottom lip and shaking his head.
Taegin closed his eyes and breathed as deeply as the wound in his shoulder would allow him to. "Bernar has known this for quite some time now, but the two, rather three of us, decided to keep it from you until we figured you were ready," he began, making me focus all my attention on what he was about to say.
"Thoma, believe me or not, I am your grandfather, and your ancestor was the Lord of Codrean, the one who first encountered the gods," Taegin said, as matter-of-factly as he could. "Wait, you're saying that…" I began. "Your mother is, in fact, my daughter. Yes," he cut me off with a smile.
My jaw could've split the Continent in two, based on how hard it dropped.
"D-Did I hear that correctly?" I stuttered, taking a moment to gather my thoughts. "You mean to say that not only are we directly related, but that we're the Lord of Codrean's direct descendants?" I asked, only receiving a nod from the Master. "Which also makes Ardrin my great-uncle?" I asked again, with the same response. "Damn it, that's, uh, that's a lot to take in," I sighed, blinking a few times.
"I have two more questions: What is our real last name, and where is our mother?" I asked, wanting to get straight to the point. He looked at Bernar, who could only purse his lips as his reply. "I'm surprised your brother was this good at keeping secrets," he said in a slightly playful tone.
"To answer the question about your mother, she's been in Caegwen since you were about five years old. Also, how did you know your last name was a fake?" he asked. "Given our heritage, it would stand to reason that if mother wanted to hide, the first thing she would do is hide her family name, and by default, mine and Bernar's as well. So, what is it?" I asked, noticing Taegin's features twitch.
Whatever ran through his head just now means I just touched a nerve, I thought, watching his expression shift ever-so-slightly.
"Pelantyr," Taegin replied bluntly. "As in Nexis Pelantyr? Author of Dissection? That's a lot to chew on at once," I said, slumping into the chair to digest the information. "Told you he would handle it well," Bernar said, causing Taegin to push his lips to one side and raise an eyebrow. "What? I did, and you know it," Bernar continued, while I was still processing what I'd heard.
"Once we have returned to Codrean, I plan to train you up in your second stage and then send you off to meet her in Caegwen like I did with your brother," Taegin began.
So that's why Bernar knew Anwill so well, I realized.
"What has she been doing in Caegwen all these years? Was it too much to ask for her to visit at least once?" I asked sardonically. Both my brother and Taegin looked at each other, almost as if saying something without words.
"She has been searching for some of the artifacts the gods had given us all those years ago. The night she left Coltend, and the night that I brought you under my wing, she called it her sacred duty, but I think she wants to bring back the powers we once held as a family," he chuckled lightly and shook his head.
"However, a few of them have long since gone missing. Where, why, and which ones are still unclear, but others were stolen, one of which my brother currently holds in his possession. If I know him, I'm sure he's also searching for the others," Taegin said grimly, making me sigh when I understood the weight of his words.
"I see. Well, if you're already sending me there, I would like to take Anwill up on his offer of learning more about mana manipulation stages," I suggested. "I could let him know, yes, but I feel like she might also want to take part in that. However, I'll let you figure that out for yourself," he said, recalling a conversation with Anwill about this topic.
"There are, of course, still a few things I want you to learn before going to Caegwen, so it will be some time before you depart," the Master continued. "Of course, Gran-...Tae-... What the hell do I even call you now?" I asked, genuinely confused. "In front of others, Master will suffice. Between the three of us? Call me whatever you want," Taegin smiled, wrinkling the scar on his cheek again.
"I see. Well, grandpa, Pyle has something he wants to discuss with you about Meliss and what remains of his Synners, if you're feeling up for it," I said.
It feels weird calling him that, I thought.
"We'll be leaving for Codrean in a few days, perhaps weeks, depending on how much work we need to help with here. We will have plenty of time to talk to him about the next steps," Taegin said.
"Sounds like a plan to me. I'll inform him and try to get some more rest, as I'm still feeling a little queasy from whatever happened during the battle," I replied excitedly. "As we all should. It's been a long few days, though I feel they will only grow more difficult from here on out," he said gravely, as I felt a dry ball of spit scrape down my throat.
"We'll be ready for them when they come," I said with no small amount of bravado, causing Taegin to look at me proudly. "An Adept, indeed. Now, go get some rest," he said. I looked out the window at the back of the room, realizing it had gotten darker since the beginning of the conversation.
"Right. I'll take my leave to be able to process all of this information. Goodnight, and I will, uh, see you tomorrow," I said awkwardly. "Goodnight, Thoma," he said with a warm smile and a slow nod.
"See you tomorrow, shit bird," Bernar said with a grin. "Until tomorrow, you slimy turd-blossom," I shot back. He chuckled, but remained at Taegin's side and returned to his work on the wound, which was not yet fully healed. Just as I was about to exit the room, I halted in the doorway, feeling the shit-eating grin starting to grow rapidly on my face.
"Oh, and Bernar," I called out as he turned to face me with a raised eyebrow. "Someone would like a cup of wine brought to them when you are done here," I winked, causing my grandfather to glare at Bernar, who blushed slightly. "Like you didn't know that already," Bernar said sardonically.
Taegin looked at me for an answer, but I could only shrug indifferently before stifling a chuckle as I walked out of the room.
I returned to the infirmary, where Edryd and the others were getting ready to sleep. Meliss approached me with a set of linen sleeping clothes. "Back to square one, I guess. Only this time, you're bringing me clothes, not coming to take them off me to wash them," I said, making her face turn a bright shade of red. "Back to square one," she said with a smile.
"What did the Master say?" she asked, but I knew there was only so much I could tell her then. "Only that I'm going to Caegwen with my brother sometime soon," I said nonchalantly. "Will you at least stay with me awhile in Codrean if the Master allows me to be trained with Master Pyle?" she asked, lowering her head. "Of course I will! He still has things to teach me before I head off, so we'll have a good amount of time to spend together. Besides, I think he'll like having Pyle around at Codrean," I said comfortingly.
"That's all I need to know, then," she smiled, wrapping herself in my arms. I kissed her goodnight and stroked her hair as she fell asleep.
Caegwen, huh? I thought as my mind drifted back to that grassy plane from what felt like forever ago.
And to a new power that I had only scratched the surface of.