"This week, our Little Ricky has become a man. Next week, Es becomes a lady. This has profound implications for them both. As the first of the Albrechts of this generation to become adults, they will also be the first to enter the family crypts, and to learn our true history, and our future."
He waved his hand. Irvine produced a sword. Irik's memory flashed as the details of this Rare weapon came into his memory.
Weapons in this world came in 4 overarching ranks. Common, Awakened, Artifact and Transcendent. Although the last 2 were practically a myth. Higher authorities and experts even refused to accept them as fact, deigning them fantasies.
The sword was known to be Awakened. It was linked to the Albrecht Bloodline, and it was used by each successive Patriarch until the next heir came of age.
It was called the Bright heirloom in the appropriate circles.
The elegant black katana was made from charred wood, but the wood was anything but ordinary. In fact the only reason Rick knew it was wood was because he had had the lessen drilled into him by Sylvia, the Bright Matriarch.
It gleamed in the morning light and reflected a fiery Blood red color at just the right angle. It gave if a faint smell of burning incense wood. Earthy and pleasant. It was quite beautiful for a tool made to reap lives.
It looked like it was forged from an exotic metal, and the edge gleamed with a graceful shine. Rick didn't buy the wood allegations.
"This is the family heirloom, Life Burn. It's a True Artifact. Legend has it, it was even Transcendent once, And it can be once again. But that is still far from you. Just remember that this is going to be your best partner. This is all that is left from the Brightness."
He stood up ad walked the entire length of the table, his footsteps silent. Tension mounted as his aura unfurled once again. This time.
It was all pervasive, all-encompassing. The chandelier rattled and the sigils on the walls glowed fiercely. The very air trembled. With each step, the stately man seemed to wake up.
He seemed to tower over Rick.
"Kneel"
The young heir's knees hit the floor before his brain could fully register the magnitude of the words. He couldn't even lift his head. For a slight moment he was confused and his heart rate spiked. Had he been found out so soon after taking over this body?
"The sword is bound through blood. And through blood we are connected. The only way to pass this own is to bleed. And the more talented you are, the more it demands.
"I'm sorry my son, I your father, am just too exceptional, and now the strength of my seed has passed on to you, you have to suffer way more than I did."
Irik was relieved. Turns out he was worried about nothing.
Even in this serious environment, the Baron managed to slip in a boast about how all of Rick's talent came from him. His entire family rolled their eyes. Despite the regality and pressure, he still managed to ruin the atmosphere.
"By the right of my life!" The man's demeanor suddenly turned serious as he channeled a faint glowing light into the blade's hilt.
"By the right of this blade." The Baron drew Life Burn
"By the right of my blood" He ran the blade across his palm. The blood in the wound was drunk by the blade. After the entire blood had been raked across his flesh he flexed his muscles and stemmed the blood flow. That was part of his Control.
"By the right of my Power." He said as all of the light across the room intensified. Rick suddenly had the impression that he was standing outside, in the bright sun of the summer day.
"I declare an heir. May your Power be iridescent, May your Blood be incandescent, May your Blade be scalding, May the lives of your Enemies burn. May your Doubts be set ablaze, And may you lead us back to the Brightness."
"To the Brightness" The rest of the family echoed, a bit of fanaticism evident in their eyes.
"Son, try to last as long as you can. I'm sorry."
As soon as the echo of his words faded in the halls, the Baron slashed out his sword, cutting Rick along his forearm from the shoulder down to the the center of the palm. Strangely, although the slash itself was straight, the cut looped and meandered down Rick's arm in concentric circles.
Rick, like his father, didn't bleed. However, it was because for him, Life burn seared him. The wound quickly turned form a clean cut into ugly burn scars.
Rick clenched his teeth from the pain but didn't cry out. The Original(Irik from now on) had been trained as a warrior and mage from the age he could walk. Though publicly he had average talent, everyone here knew it was part of the Bright Facade.
He wouldn't cry out from this small pain, so neither could Rick. With the help of the instincts embedded in his body, he actually succeeded in resisting. The initial wave that is.
The pain from the wound transmitted itself as heat. It spread out with real tangible force. Rick never knew pain could carry force. The force almost dislodged him from his graceful kneeling position.
The heat from the wound pulsed out rapidly, roughly one pulse every second, like a wave of fire washing over every cell, every nook and cranny. By the time the 4rth wave hit, he felt light-headed, and felt like he was about to succumb to heat stroke.
He cried out for the first time at the seventh wave. It was muffled and he clamped down on it with a force of will he didn't know he had. All the sweat he had in his body was now rising out from the surface of his skin as steam.
By the 12th wave, he didn't have the mental strength to care about anything. All he could do was try his best to hold onto consciousness. He didn't even have the wherewithal to keep his voice down. Unbeknownst to him, golden flames had sprouted outside of his body.
The Baron looked conflicted. On the one hand he was proud of his boy, on the other what parent wanted to see their child suffer?