Chapter 2
Zenny burst through the city gates, running as fast as his injured body would allow. His clothes looked more like rags now, dirty and torn in some places. He was breathless but his body kept pushing forward. He clumsily navigated the streets, people in the street turned to look and recognized him, followed by whispers and looks of concern. Zenny found his home and burst into the house.
"Ma!" his shout was riddled with desperation. There was no reply, "Pa!", again no reply. His parents were not home, the next place he thought to check was the inn. They probably went there with Manuelle Zenny thought. He fell back into the streets running with more weight on one leg than the other. Zenny burst through the inn door. The music, laughter and conversation stopped and everyone turned to the disturbance. Erina's heart sank when she saw her son in his condition.
"Zenny! What happened!?" Erina shouted, standing up at her table along with Zendar. Manuelle kept sitting and looked on puzzled.
"Pa! You have to come now!"
Zendar burst out the city gates with his horse. It was a black steed, a magnificent beast, it's large and powerful muscles were defined by its shiny coat as it raced forward. Zendar was in a racing position on the beast, his body leaned forward, determined. His long black cloak fluttered behind him as he flew across the land. In the meantime Erina went to the chapel in order to inform the healers of what to expect. Zenny could do little but wait anxiously.
Zendar reached the edge of the forest. He dismounted his horse and quickly proceeded on foot. Zendar's invaluable training in the military made tracking the location of the scene easy. He instantly saw everything out of place on the forest: areas where leaves had been displaced in the pattern of footsteps, a broken twig, a snapped branch all led him to his destination. He came across the scene. When he saw the broken Argonian his heart sank. If it were not for this brave creature, his son would surely be dead. After his initial response, he noticed the boy next to Swims-The-Seas. Judging from his build and size, he could not be much older than Zenny but despite this, he was standing on guard as if to protect Swims-The-Seas. Zendar didn't know whether the boy could actually manage to defend Swims-The-Seas or if he was just in over his head like most boys his age. He would have guessed the latter but the fact that there was a decapitated Orc nearly the size of his horse made him think that Swims-The-Seas had a bit of help in the fight.
Zendar walked over to them, the boy took up a defensive stance.
"Relax, relax," said Zendar. I'm here to help. The boy wasn't convinced and remained suspicious. "Come, you must be exhausted. You can come back to the city with me, we must act quickly to treat his wounds." The boy was still on the edge. Zendar walked forward, the boy ignited a spell in his hands. Zendar could see the child was in a state of shock, he could not think straight but Zendar kept walking. He walked right past the boy who had been overcome by the heaviness of Zendar's presence. The boy quickly came to his senses and started to follow Zendar who was carrying Swims-The-Seas in his arms and walking back by now. The boy looked back at the decapitated Orc one last time then turned around and caught up with Zendar.
They arrived in Skingrad soon after, Zendar's horse carrying all three people with little effort. Zendar went straight to the chapel where the healing of the injured was done. Erina was waiting there with Lenaine Palielle, the head healer of the chapel and a couple of her subordinates. They got to work quickly, and took Swims-The-Seas into their care. They were used to this kind of thing happening. Adventurers, guards even children were often injured outside the city and always came to the the chapels for healing. While on the horse, the boy had noticed Zendar performing some restoration magic on Swims-The-Seas though he was not sure what incantation. Despite being a formidable magic user at his age, he was still a novice at restoration magic.
Lenaine thanked Zendar and reassured him all will be well. Zenny stood some distance away while still listening to what Lenaine had to say. He was trying to act inconspicuous as his embarrassment was still fresh. Once Zendar was done at the chapel and he was sure Swims-The-Seas was okay, he turned to Zenny. He looked at his son with mellow gaze. Zendar didn't know wether to be relieved or angry first. Suddenly he found himself to be disappointed. Zenny noticed it in his father's face and was even more embarrassed. Erina went over to Zenny and held him. It was an awkward scene, the many mixes of emotion, the strange boy looking on. Zenny was embarrassed and by now there were many onlookers in the street. His mother stood up and took him by the hand back to their house. Zendar looked at the boy who came with him, this child was special, he could feel it and if it wasn't for him, his son would be dead.
"You look like you could use a bath, boy."
"I don't need nothin'," the boy replied and started walking away.
"At least join us for a meal," Zendar wanted to somehow repay the debt he owed the mysterious child. He could see the proposition of a meal was enticing to the child. "You can eat as much as you want."
It didn't end up being much of a meal, at least not as a family. Erina had no appetite, Zenny had shut himself in his room and the boy sat on floor after refusing to sit at the table eating a bowl of stew Erina had given him. Erina went back upstairs to try and comfort Zenny. Zendar took a seat next to the boy on the wooden floor.
"What's your name boy?"
"Marlon," the boy said in between stuffing his face with his spoon.
"Where are your parents Marlon?"
"Don't have none." he said.
"I'm sorry to hear that. What happened?"
"Never knew them."
"Who takes care of you?" The boy stopped chewing, he looked at Zendar, cheeks still stuffed and gestured a firm finger at himself.
"You must be a brave young man, it's a harsh world out there," the boy kept eating. Zendar wanted to know more about this mysterious child. He was curious about his affinity with magic and the intensity he saw in him in the forest. "Did you help the Argonian in that fight?"
The boy grunted an affirmative grunt. "How did you do that?"
"I paralyzed the Orc and gave the Argonian an opportunity to strike." That struck even more interest into Zendar. He could tell Marlon was special given the aura he could sense from the boy but mastering a paralysis spell that could incapacitate that Orc at his age. This boy is truly special Zendar thought.
"How old are you, Marlon?"
"I dunno," Marlon said. Zendar should've guessed it, the boy never knew his parents and so wouldn't know when his birthday is. Nevertheless, Zendar estimated he was probably the same age as his own son, maybe a bit older. Something then started to bother Zendar about Marlon's story but he didn't linger on it.
"If you never knew your parents, how did you get your name?" Marlon chewed, then swallowed and began to answer when a ruckus upstairs interrupted him. Zenny came running down in tears, Erina close behind.
"I-I have to see if he's alright!" Zenny managed to say through his tears.
"He'll be fine, he's in good care, Zenny!" Erina tried to keep her son under control. Zenny was concerned for Swims-The-Seas. He also needed to do something to relieve his guilt. Zendar stood up and said:
"You're staying right here. You're not leaving this house unless I say so." Zenny was stricken, his face a mess of tears and mucus. After his crying paused, another wave of tears burst through and he ran back upstairs. Erina looked at Zendar and the boy on the floor. The boy looked back at Erina and said:
"You're a good mom, I wish I was as lucky as your son," Erina's heartstrings were pulled and she had to force herself to remain composed. For the first time she actually noticed the boy. He was unwashed, uncouth and calloused by the outside world yet could deliver such a compliment. She noticed his light brown frizzy hair and his green eyes. The freckles on his face were camouflaged among the dirt. Erina was a highly attuned mage and after her emotions passed she too sensed the uniqueness of this boy. The mystery of this boy was only deepening the more she looked at him. She was a compassionate woman, and her heart went out to this motherless boy. She saw his bowl was almost empty.
"Would you like some more?"
"Can I?"
"Of course." Erina took his bowl and filled it once more. When she gave it back to him, she gestured Zendar to follow her. They went into Zendar's study room. There were shelves filled with various books, an enchantment altar and an alchemy lab. The head of a monstrous cave bear served as a trophy on the wall. Zendar stood in the middle of the room and looked at his wife after she closed the door behind her. She was about a foot shorter than him, she had light brown hair and greyish blue eyes. Her mouth was frowning beneath her straight nose and her dark eyebrows pressed down concerningly on her brow. Zendar could tell what she was thinking.
"You know what I'm going to say," Erina said.
"I do."
"Should we?"
"I don't believe there's any legal restrictions."
"This is a huge decision, we're not going to talk about it more?"
"We both know there's something special about that child. I think it's for the best."
"What about Zenny?" Erina asked. Zendar was stroking the stubble on his chin. He looked at the fierce beast on the wall for a while. He finally replied:
"It'd be good for him."
"What about a real brother for him?" Zendar didn't expect that. He then smiled, and pulled Erina closer.
"We've never spoken about another child, why now?" Erina's cheeks flushed a bit.
"You were always so busy," Zendar felt a bit guilty because it was true. He stood there holding her for a good while longer.
It was not long after the incident in the forest when Marlon was adopted into the Lanius' family. His new name was Marlon Lanius. His adoption was a strange case. Normally, adoptions only occurred from orphanages and parents planned months if not years ahead of time for the adoption. Marlon was adopted from the wilderness and the procedure was done within a week. The community didn't quite understand why they would adopt the child but the Lanius' have always somewhat stood out from the community, they were always a bit different. Zenny was the only one who needed convincing, however it was not even a few weeks after the adoption when he started to get along with his new brother.
The 1st of Rain's hand marked two months since the incident in the forest and Zenny was a bit less energetic than normal this day. He had gone to see Swims-The-Seas everyday in the chapel until he recovered. Being a stubborn Argonian, Swims-The-Seas was back to normal within a few days. He returned to the Fighters Guild with more confidence as if his injuries made him recover stronger. Zenny did whatever he could to try and make it up to Swims-The-Seas by bringing him gifts of anything he could find. Swims-The-Seas usually accepted these gifts, yet Zenny could sense something changed between them. It was to be expected, such an incident would leave its scars on any relationship.
Swims-The-Seas remained friendly with Zenny but Zenny no longer found Swims-The-Seas outside by the oak tree. The effect that his actions have had on Swims-The-Seas and its effect on their relationship deeply hurt Zenny. It made him feel more guilty than he has ever felt in his life and at the same time it made him want to become a better person, this time not just stronger and bigger physically like he has always wanted, but in character. He realized that his gifts alone won't make it up to Swims-The-Seas, he didn't know if anything would, but he knew one thing, and that is that his same actions one day could bring him redemption.
Marlon was an interesting child. He was quiet but told the most amazing stories when prompted. He did his best to hide his emotions, his own way of declaring his strength as if showing emotions made him weak. He would still laugh at jokes or feel anger when Zenny cheated him in a game but he made it seem that he did not care for much. Zendar and Erina could see through this. Perhaps the loss of his parents, growing up without them, without their nurture and love, made him harder and calloused emotionally. Erina gained a deep sense of sympathy for Marlon. She wanted to give him the affection he had never had. It was very strange for Marlon at first, he did not know affection, but what he has received since he became a part of the Lanius family has begun to soften him emotionally, he became more open about his emotions and he became happier in general as a result. He became more and more like a normal child. And the Lanius's were just another normal family.
Since Marlon's adoption, Zendar kept wondering about the boy's origin. He had continued to ask Marlon about it learning that he got the name Marlon from priests at a chapel. The chapel was the first thing he could remember but he didn't stay there long. He remembered a long argument between a robed figure and the head priest at the chapel. The next day he was on a cart going somewhere else with the robed figure. He couldn't remember much only that the robed figure treated him well, better than he was treated at the chapel. His cart ended up being attacked by bandits and he saw the robed figure die. He was taken away back to a cave where he was adopted into the group of bandits. At the time Marlon didn't realise they were bandits but he knew they were bad people since they killed the man who treated him so well. He remembered that the bandits never hurt him but they did train him, with a sword and with magic. Marlon never liked being with them but he stayed there for what he would guess were months, perhaps a year. He was about five years old when he escaped from the bandits. He remembered that he was being chased. The same bandit who killed the robed man lead two or three other bandits. Something in Marlon snapped and he incinerated all of them instantaneously with an immensely powerful lightning bolt. He felt exhausted after that and didn't know where to go. Eventually he found a small cave, it was near a farm. For the next five years he survived by stealing some of the crops from the farm and killing some of the livestock. Someone who lived with the farmer was apparently a mage given some of the incantations she would practice outside. Marlon sometimes found spell tomes lying around when he went to steal a chicken or vegetables. He learned various spells as a result of this. However he never really used the spells he learned from the tomes. He'd use his magic rarely in general, and if he did, it would usually only be to cook his food or light a fire. When he demonstrated how to kill a bird in front of Zenny he was just showing off.
Zendar realized that there is massive untapped potential within Marlon given that his affinity with magic is so strong and that he never really had any proper training outside of a few bandits showing him some novice level spells. Zendar wondered if Marlon's abilities could be used to help people if he were to join the Mages Guild. When he brought the idea up to Erina she revealed she had also thought about it. They both thought it would be a good idea, however convincing Marlon was going to be hard. They decided they would wait for him to become completely settled in and used to his new life so that he could make the decision himself whether or not he wanted training in magic and if he wanted to join the Mages Guild. There was no rush of course, he was only eleven years old.
A few weeks after Marlon's adoption he had become relatively used to his new home and his new way of life. He spent the day playing with his brother and reading a book Erina recommended to him. It was called Daughter of the Niben. He was lying down on the living room couch reading his book next to Zendar who was also reading a book. Erina was deep in thought as she studied a complex, cube-shaped dwemer artefact. When it was time to go to bed, Erina told the boys to go upstairs and get into bed. She would usually go up and tuck them in, sometimes read them a story or sing a lullaby. Zenny came out from the basement and begged for an extra hour but his mother's word was incorrigible as always. Zenny slowly dragged himself upstairs, Marlon placed his book on the bookshelf and followed his brother. When Erina came out of the study room to put the boys to bed, Zendar closed his book then stood up and said:
"I got this, don't break your concentration. That cube is looking pretty complex," Erina grunted in her slight amusement then thanked Zendar and went back into the study. Zendar then followed the boys up to their room. Zenny was lucky if his parents let him stay up late, but even if he did, he would become sleepy not long after his usual bedtime. Marlon on the other hand was always ready to go to bed on time even as he became more comfortable in his new home. Zendar tucked Zenny into his bed.
"Sleep well my son," Zendar kissed Zenny's forehead. Zendar walked over to Marlon's bed. "You sleepy?" Zendar asked. Marlon nodded his head. Zendar tucked him in kissed his forehead and said: "Goodnight my son." As Zendar was leaving the room Marlon called out.
"Pa?" Zendar was surprised. It was the first time Marlon called him pa. Zendar walked back to Marlon and knelt by his bed.
"Yes?" Zendar asked. There was a short pause.
"Will I stay with you forever?" Marlon asked. Zendar was not expecting that and his emotions became a bit stirred. He wanted Marlon to feel safe and him to know he is part of the family.
"Of course, Marlon. You are part of our family and family never leaves anyone behind."
"Will I never have to be alone again?" Marlon asked.
"As long as I draw breath I will make sure you are part of this family."
"Promise?"
"I promise," Zendar said.
