Chapter 9 The Wisdom of the Father (2/2)

Phillip sighed, knowing his son meant his soul. The mark was there to stay, ”It's okay to be scared Rassa, new things are scary. But I know there is something more inside you, something capable of pushing past that, do you know what that is?”

Rassa looked up at his father, then shook his head.

”You have to be brave, Rassa,” Phillip insisted, ”Have the courage to push past the fear and learn from your mistakes. That is all your mother and I would ever ask of you”.

”So...I should just accept what I'm feeling?” asked Rassa.

Phillip sighed, knowing from the look in his eyes that Rassa wasn't going to elaborate.

”Some things are hard to accept, and if it is hard for you, test the boundaries,” Phillip replied, touching his son's chest, ”Ask yourself if what your soul is asking you to do is right, and if its not, is there another way?”

Rassa looked down at his hands, then back up at his father, ”So the mark...what is it?”

Phillip smiled at his son, still ever eager for knowledge, at least that hadn't changed.

”Well, in order to tell you that I think I should tell you a story,” Phillip replied, ”The story of how I came to marry your mother”.

”What do you mean?” asked Rassa.

”Well, I wasn't born here, Rassa, I was born far away, in a place very different from our little village of Cordon,” Phillip replied.

”How come you haven't spoke about it before?” asked Rassa.

”Because it was a life I wished to leave behind,for you and your mother,” Phillip replied, ”The truth was, I was born Phillip Wilhelm Kildare, the third son of Duke Cornelius Kildare, the paternal cousin of the Emperor, Quatar Kildare of Eldovia”.

Rassa had looked at enough books with maps to know that the Eldovian Empire was the largest on their continent. Consisting of the three human countries, Eldren, Lovolon and Arkia. It was the most profitable place on the continent, and Cordon, their little village, lay on the western border of Arkia, bordering the immense Greenvale Forest that was home to the Elven races. Despite being so close though, Rassa had never seen an elf before, they travelled more frequently to Eldovia through the route that was further south. After a moment, Rassa looked up at his father, ”You mean, the Emperor is your...second cousin?”

Phillip smiled and shook his head, ”Close, the current Emperor, Midas Kildare, is my third cousin, your fourth cousin. Your great grandfather, and the Emperor's grandfather, were brothers”.

”If that's the case, why are you here?”

Phillip turned away, ”Well...it started when I decided to become a Knight...”