The light fades and the blonde man smiles.

"Hello son."

Alfred stares on dumbly at the figure standing before him. Right there, at the end of his bed, is his dead father.

He tries to speak, say something, anything, but no sound comes out of his mouth.

He's dreaming, he must be.

What he's seeing can't be real.

But he doesn't have time to question it as Arthur growls, jumping at the man.

"Whoa, easy Fierce One."

His father laughs as he effortlessly sidesteps Arthur, patting the wolf's side reassuringly.

"I mean you, nor my son any harm."

Arthur turns to look at the man, now curious rather than aggressive.

'You speak wolf too?'

"I speak all things Beast."

"...Dad..?" Alfred whispers hoarsely, finally finding his voice.

The man turns back to him and smiles with a warmth Alfred hasn't felt in over eight years.

"...It...is it really you?"

"Yes my boy, it's me." The man's eyes crinkle with joy as he walks towards the bed, "Look at you. My son. Oh how you've grown."

Eight years of mourning all rush and overcome Al, and before he realises it, he's scrambling out of bed, tripping over his feet tangled in the sheets, to run and embrace his father.

"Oof!"

The old man laughs as his son buries his head in his shoulder.

Alfred doesn't even notice he's crying, all he can think is how much he's missed that laugh.

"My boy," his father whispers as he holds him, running a familiar hand through his hair, "I have missed you." He sighs, loosening his hold, "But, I'm afraid our time is short."

"What?" Blue eyes meet as son looks up at father.

"The spell which let's me come here is strong, but it will not hold forever."

"Spell? What spell?"

"The one I weaved into my journals. Matthew was always such a smart boy, I knew he'd one day uncover their secrets, that's why I left them to him."

"Huh?"

"Ah, right. I'm guessing you don't know then. All of my journals, into the pages of them I embedded parts of several different spells, split across all of them. In the event of my death, I entrusted these journals to your brother, for I knew he'd figure it out. And this one," he says, turning to pick up the forgotten book, "I left instructions to be shown to you."

He holds the book out to Alfred, and the knight can see the words, glowing a light blue, shift and change, creating an entirely new text.

"It would take far longer than we have now to explain everything to you, so I will make this quick." He takes a deep breath, placing his hand on his sons shoulder, "The one known as King Momarîs is not who he seems, he's one of the Noceum Order."

"Noceum Order? Where have I heard that name before?"

'The half-faced man.' Arthur answers, having been watching the pair, 'That book of his, you told me about it, remember?' He huffs.

Al's father blinks at that.

"Book? You mean one of the codexes still exists?"

"Yea- Wait! How can you understand Arthur?!" Al gasps, only now just realising his father can talk with the wolf.

Standing straighter, the man grins cheekily down at him, "Come now Al, who do you think you got your gift from? Ah, but we're getting off topic. The King, Alfred, you must not trust him. I was wrong, we all were. We thought the Order wanted us dead, but it's worse, so much worse."

"What is?"

"The Order, they..." his father shakes his head, swallowing back the memories of what he's seen, "They were experimenting, on us. They hunted us, took us prisoner, held the lives of the ones we loved as ransom."

"Why?"

"They want our powers Al, your powers, young Gilbert's powers, everyone's."

"But, I thought the Order didn't exist anymore?"

"Publicly, no. They were destroyed four hundred years ago, however, followers still remained, and with them, their ambitions, the Order's one true goal."

"Goal?"

He nods, looking at Alfred with such seriousness that it's frightening, "To control all magics, and in doing so, create a God."

Blue eyes widen, staring up in shock, "What? How can that be? I thought that was just a saying, a myth?"

"No, it's very much rea-" His father starts to say, but is cut off by his body starting to glow, slowly becoming transparent, "Aah, seems we're out of time."

"What? No!" Al cries, desperately grabbing at his father, "You can't go yet! There's still so much I want to say, so much I want to ask you!"

Despite the desperation of his son, the man remains calm, smiling warmly down at him, "I know son. But my time has already ended, and now, even this, the last of my power is fading too. But know this, I am proud of you, my boy. You and Matthew both. You boys were the light of my life after your mother's passing, and I could not ask for better sons." He smiles, pressing the book in his hand into Alfred's as he continues to fade, now little more than a shadow, "I am sorry I could not teach you as I was taught, but in this book you'll find all you need to know."

Alfred knows he's crying as he holds the book close to his chest, watching as his father fades, but he doesn't care.

His father turns to look at Arthur, "Fierce One, I beg of you, please, look after my son."

Arthur bows his head low in respect, as he promises, 'With my life.'

"Good." The blonde man whispers, blue eyes shimmering as he looks to his son for the last time, fading into nothing, he adds, "Live free, my son. I love you."

As the room grows silent, Alfred crumples, falling to his knees and crying into the book in his arms. He doesn't remember when he fell asleep, only waking with the suns rays landing on his face, curled up in Arthur's paws.

"Mattie!" Alfred calls out to his brother, finding him in the dining hall from yesterday.

It's early morning, but already it's becoming unbearably hot outside, so he's glad to be indoor as much as possible here.

"Hey Al, sleep well?" His twin greets as he sits, but immediately regrets asking as soon as he sees the sad look cross his brothers face.

"...I saw dad..."

"So the spell still worked?"

"Yeah..." There's an awkward moment of silence between them, something that never used to happen.

But Alfred is determined to change that.

He's decided, after reading and hearing from his father, he's going to find his own answers, and choose his own path. But even if he can't agree with his brother's plan, he doesn't want that to mean losing Mattie.

He's going to fix this broken relationship between them, and get back how things used to be.

He smiles bright, pulling the book out to show his brother, "Yeah, we didn't really have much time to talk, but he told me about the Order, about what they did and about the King being apart of it all. The rest, he said is in this book."

"Is, is that the journal?"

"Yup! Wanna read it with me?"

For the first time since reuniting, his twin gives him a genuinely happy smile.

"Sure."

Alfred, had things been different, I would have taught you all about your power myself. But this book will have to suffice.

Even as we speak, I'm changing the words within to suit with what you have already learned and with you still need to know.

First, your power. The Domino bestia, is a bloodline Magia, meaning it is only possible to be 'gained' by it being passed down from parent to child. Only one child at a time can be born with the potential to inheritthe gift, so, in the case of twins like you boys, only one of you could ever receive it.

For those with bloodline Magia, we have what is referred to as Tells, physical attributes that only those with the gift have. Some Tells are singular, others are a combination. For you my son, it is your eyes and your scent. Blue eyes like the open sky and the smell of the wild, that is how I knew you were the one to inherit my gift.

Second, your Bonding. The Wolf. Bonding is a powerful thing, and it will last all your life, so long as you both shall live.

You have done quite well my boy, Magia bestia are notoriously difficult to Bond with, but if successful, are some of the strongest our kind can make. I wish I could have been there to see it, but, as is the nature of all bloodline Magia, that could never be.

For you see my son, to inherit the gift, the previous owner must die. This, is what makes our magic so rare.

But that is simply how things must be.

Now my son, this is important.

Your skills in magic are tied to the beast you have Bonded with. The power flows between the two of you through your Mark of Binding. Your power may seem small to begin with, but by training, both you and your wolf will grow even stronger. As Domino bestia we have the unique ability to amplify and magnify our power by a system of mutual transference. Simply put, imagine your magic as a parcel, by passing that parcel to your wolf it gains more wrapping, growing in size. By repeatedly passing the magic back and forth between you, it will grow larger and more powerful.

But be careful, if done incorrectly or toomuch at once, both of you will losecontrol, and the magic will erupt. But if done right, it can temporarily grant you more power than your natural capacity.

Now, for specifics.

Since it is a wolf you have Bonded with, you will soon start to notice certain... changes in yourself. Sight, hearing, smell and physical strength will begin to alter, becoming more like your Beasts. These will come with time as your Bond grows, but do not fear them, the are a natural part of your gift, embrace it.

For now, my boy, you should work on your Communication and Command Skills.

Your wolf seemed confused when I spoke with him, so I'm going to assume you haven't figured it out yet.

You possess the ability to speak with all Beasts, but you will find it easiest to do so with those you are naturally inclined too, such as your wolf. And not just with your voice, but with your mind too. Think with your Will, and you will be able to commune with your beast more closely.

Secondly, your voice holds power, with it, you can Command any beast, but the one Bonded to you will have no choice but to obey when you speak with your Will.

I advise you work on this son, as a beast with out control over it risks Wilding. If that happens, you will lose all control over your wolf, and it's mind will be lost to it's instincts.

But do not mistake me my boy, this need not be enslavement of the Beast, but a willing choice to live and work as one. Given time, your wolf will start to notice changes within himself too.

Once you have this down, then work on your magic.

You'll know when you've mastered it.

Live free my boy.

I and your mother shall continue to watch over you from the Wold Beyond.

We will always love you my son, never forget that.

"...This...is a lot to take in..." Al mumbles as they finish reading.

"Yeah, it was a lot for me too, back when I first decoded one of dad's journals." Matt agrees, "Though, I guess this is a little different for you eh?"

"These other journals... what do... what else do they say?"

"Well, their records mostly, of what Dad and the others like him found out about the Order, how far it goes, and... what they've done..." Mattie mumbles the last bit, looking away.

They fall silent again, before Alfred finally decides to ask what he's been avoiding all this time.

"What did they do Mattie? What did the King do to make Gil hate him so much? His brother... how..." He trails off, unable to finish.

His twin sighs, pointing to the book, "I don't know, it happened after Dad... and Gil refuses to talk about it. All I know is the King is responsible for his brother's death."

"And your helping him because...of Dad?"

His twin nods, blonde hair bobbing about his face with the movement, "Yes. It's what Dad died for, to protect us, to protect you, from the Order." His brother looks away, mumbling so quietly Al has to strain his ears to hear him, "...and I want to protect you...your all the family I've got left..."

"Alright..." Al pauses, thinking, before continuing, "Just one more thing. Why didn't Gil ever tell me he knew Dad?"

"To protect you."

"Huh?"

"Think about it Al. If the King ever found out you knew anything about all this, he might have gone after you. As far as we can tell, the Order doesn't know about the Tells of bloodline Magia, so keeping you in the dark was the safest thing to do."

Alfred shakes his head wildly, not liking this one bit.

No.

The Noceum Order, the King, his father, Gil, Mattie, all of it.

His whole life, he wanted nothing more that to become a knight to protect people, but all this time, he's been the one being protected.

Well no more.

It's time he took his life back into his own hands.

And if taking on the King is what it takes to lift the burden of protecting him from his brother, or anyone else, so be it.

"That's it!" He shouts, standing and slamming his hands down on the table, startling both Mattie and Arthur sitting behind him.

"Al?"

"Take me to Elizabeta."

Authors notes: Ladies and gentlemen we have now completed the tour of Exposition Central, please exit the carts in an orderly fashion, thank you.

But yes, the Noceum Order, that group I briefly mentioned way back in chapter 10? Yeah, they're important... Three cheers for dead Father's coming back to give an info dump.

But Alfred's need to protect others may land him in more trouble than he realises...

And to those of you who have made it this far, congratulations! I think I've kept you from the action for too long, it's about time we got back to killing monsters, what do you say?

R & R people.

Until next time, stay awesome!