Chapter 10

  Wes thought, maybe Rocen was right, I should have just tried to keep my mouth shut. It was stupid of me to think the family head would be afraid of Argyros. Maybe I can work my way out of this.

  “It seems you see the error in your thinking. I am enjoying the look of helplessness you are wearing, but you can rest easy. The Matriarch would kill me swiftly for attacking Argyros. That is that man’s trump card.”

  Wes exhaled, “Good, then. Does that mean I get to live?”

  “Not quite, I am still undecided on whether I will allow Rocen and Coren to train you. They both were given permission to train with Argyros, the elders will have to weigh-in on whether that includes your training as well.” The man was grinning from ear to ear. He had a dignified look that went along with the way he dressed. His clothes were so close to his body. The way they outlined his whole body was so different than anything else he had ever seen. His shoulders were sharp, and his shoes were shiny.

  Wes couldn’t help it. “What are you wearing? OH! And what is your name, by the way? My name is Wesley of 29744C, but I go by Wes.”

  The man smiled, “All the way from system 29744? I don’t think I played a part in that expansion.” He paused in consideration. “My name is Runar of 2335A, it is a pleasure to meet you, Wes.”

  Wes’ jaw hung off his face, an inner realm citizen was more myth back home than anything else. When he was a child, he and his friends used to theorize about how they looked. The leading theory was that they stood 10 feet tall and glowed in the color of whatever type of Mana they specialized in. The man in front of him however, seemed small in comparison to the myth he had painted in his head. Men back home were larger than this man. Wes could not help but wonder if everyone in the universe looked this way.

  Runar broke him out of his musings. “I imagine that meeting someone of my heritage can be shocking, but as you see, I am just a normal human. Our lineage has been closely shepherded by the Patriarch and Matriarch. They have both spent an unfathomable amount of time making sure that we do not stray far from our origins. It is not always so in the wider universe.”

  Wes shut his mouth hard enough for his teeth to clack. He was embarrassed, so he started speaking like he always did when embarrassed. “I see, forgive me for my rude behavior. This past month has been rather strange for me.”

  Runar smiled apologetically. “I have been filled in on what happened. Argyros has some strange methods that he sticks to. I, for one, think that his methods are a thing of the past. That old man needs to be put to rest.”

  “Okay, if you say so.” Wes agreed to fill the silence.

  Runar snapped back to his hardened self. “Now, would you be willing to share with me your status?”

  “No, I have come to understand that that would be foolish,” Wes answered.

  “Really, and who has told you this? Runar asked.

  “Coren explained that it would be best not to share with those you do not trust,” Wes replied.

  Runar closed his eyes for a moment. Then there was a knock at the door. “Come in.”

  Coren walked in dressed in a different set of clothes than he had seen him in previously . The clothes resembled Runar’s, but they were a tad bit duller. Coren went right up to Runar’s chair and slammed down his left fist and knee into the ground while saying, “yes, my lord.”

  “Rise.” Coren stood up straight with his arms crossed behind his back. “It has come to my attention that you gave this young man advice contradictory to my values.”

  “Yes, My Lord, I have,” Coren answered.

  “Did you replace me as the family head?” Runar asked.

  “No, I have not. I have only told Wes what was in line with my current mentor’s beliefs.” Coren answered back.

  “Those are not in line with me, though. You shall be punished for disobeying my directives.” Runar waved at him to go away.

  But Coren did not leave. “I am sorry, Lord Runar, but that is not in accordance with my current path. The elders have ruled for me to follow the patriarch’s teachings exclusively. I have no say in the matter. For me to shun the patriarch and Elder would lead to a swift end for me and everyone in my line.”

  Runar shared the most emotion he had thus far. He glared at Coren, “Are you saying that Argyros' words are above my own?”

  “That is not what I am saying My lord.” Coren answered.

  Runar poked again, “Then tell me what are you saying?”

  Coren considered his thoughts before going to speak. “My Lord, all I am saying is that if I do not follow my current path, I will find myself lost before I meet my end. It is because of the wisdom of our elders and yourself that I stand here as I do.”

  Unsatisfied, Runar kept at it. “And yet you follow a fool’s wisdom over my own.”

  A voice came from behind where Wes sat. “Who is calling my dear husband a fool?”

  The chair under Runar disintegrated. Runar slammed his forehead into the ground. His hands stretched in front of him and his chest was resting on his knees. “I meant no offense, Matriarch.”

  Wes wanted to look behind, but he could not find the courage in himself to do so. The voice rang this time. His vision was wavering on every syllable. “How do I not take offense when someone threatens my husband?”

  While Runar hesitated to answer, Wes found the courage he had been searching for. He turned around to meet the eyes of the person behind him. Her eyes were a vibrant orange. They looked like they were emitting a faint light themselves. She ran her eyes over Wes, then she smiled. Her white teeth made him close his mouth in comparison. He took the rest of her in and found a beauty unlike any he had ever seen. Her figure held all the components that would make any man in his old village salivate. His sister was always said to be the prettiest woman in the area where he grew up. But she was his sister, so he thought her to be no prettier than any patch of dirt. This woman made him blush. He felt his ears heat up at her gaze. The crazy part of it all is he wanted to keep feeling what he had been feeling. Then Runar had to go and ruin it by speaking.

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  “Forgive me, Matriarch. I only meant to point out the differences in our leadership style.”

  “Oh? Is that all? Did you not tell the boy, quite boldly I might add, that you haven't been looking for a reason to kill Argyros for millions of years?”

  Wes was keeping his eyes on the beauty until he heard a bang behind him. He turned around and saw Runar smash his head into the ground over and over. He could not tell if it was the Matriarch’s doing or his own. It was entertaining nonetheless. The Matriarch clicked her tongue. And Runar took the hint. “I pledge five levels to Wesley.”

  “Only five? Are you mocking Argy’s own pledge with your offering?” The Matriarch asked.

  Wes saw Runar stop and look at the Matriarch. His face was bloody and covered in debris from the stone below. “I will pledge 15 Levels then.”

  Wes looked over his shoulder at the Matriarch, and she shook her head. “Not even close.”

  Runar shouted out, “50 then.”

  How can you pledge a measly 50 to his wagering of 100?

  “How can you ask me to match a wager that is that ridiculous?” Runar asked.

  “I am not asking you to do anything. You insulted my beloved; you brought this on yourself.”

  Coren was looking at Wes with confusion. He was reaching for anything he could to stop himself from falling. He began to retreat all the way to the wall.

  Wes was alternating his view among the three to try and find the context he was missing.

  Runar shouted, “I pledge 250 levels.”

  “You, as well as I, know the going rate is 10 to 1. If you are going to do something, then I suggest you do it right. But who am I to say, just a god offering her opinion.”

  Runar slouched, and his head sank. He whispered, “I pledge a 1000 levels.”

  “What? I didn’t quite catch that.” The Matriarch asked.

  Runar spoke firmly this time, his voice carried base, and Wes’ body reverberated like the day he met Argyros. Wes could pick up on the Mana in the air. “I, Runar of 2335A, Pledge 1000 Levels to Wesley of 29744C.”

  Wes almost lost consciousness when Runar finished what he was saying. Wes was just gathering himself when the Matriarch exclaimed. “Excellent! How bold of you, you must really believe in this young man. Now, if you don’t mind, can Wesley and I have the room?”

  Runar only nodded. He collected himself and walked to the door. Coren did the same with confusion still written on his face as he walked out.

  “Sorry about this young man, this may be uncomfortable, whenever I use my Mana around those not of a certain level, it tends to hurt them.” The Mana began to saturate the air as soon as she finished. The floor fixed itself, followed by the chair that had disintegrated. The blood that was on the floor disappeared, and all the walls and ceiling, and floor got covered in the same orange mana that saturated the air. It all reminded him of the way Argyros had covered him in that ball of his own mana.

  Wes started to feel weak as she finished. He asked, “I am sorry. But I am from a planet far from the outer realm. I do not know the etiquette of what you are supposed to do when you meet a god.”

  The Matriarch laughed as she walked over to the seat that had been repaired. “It’s alright. I prefer simple conversations without all that reverence. My name is Pyrronia. My friends call me Nia. It is nice to meet you, Wesley.”

  “The pleasure is mine, Goddess Pyrronia,” Wes replied.

  “Please, none of that. Just call me Nia. I can’t have the man that my husband wagered a hundred levels as anything other than a friend. He would not forgive me otherwise. Now, will you show me your status?”

  Wes raised his eyebrow.

  “Oh wait! I, Pyrronia of 7738M, Pledge a million Levels to Wesley of 29744C.” Nia finished.

  Wes’ body recoiled at the pledge of a million levels. He collapsed in his seat and lost consciousness.

  In short order, he was brought back to consciousness by Nia.

  Wes exploded with his questions when he became self-aware again. “What’s a pledge? What is the difference between that and a wager? Why did Coren and Runar get so crazy when they found out Argyros wagered a 100 Levels? And if Runar scoffed at pledging a thousand levels, why the heck did you pledge a million?

  Nia laughed at his questions as they came. “That can be a tricky thing to tell. But I will do my best. My husband kicked all this off when he wagered 100 Levels to increase your rewards in your awakening. He has always been rather shortsighted, but that particular number is what brought me here. As soon as he wagered it on you, I was made aware of what had happened. Let’s say we share a way to communicate. Anyway,s when he wagered the 100 it settled an argument we have been having for a couple of billion years. That number in particular was what we would argue about. And when he offered it, I knew he made good on his end of it. I stupidly agreed to pledge a million Levels to whomever he wagered a hundred. You following?”

  Wes nodded. “I think so.”

  “I don’t know why he wagered it on you, but if it settles this stupid little spat between me and my husband, then who am I to say he is stupid. The million is more of a joke in the inner realms. With everyone jostling for power in the rankings, dealing and backstabbing are quite prevalent. So, more as a joke, people say they will pledge a million Levels to get something done, or to get something they want from another. It’s more of a way of saying you can trust, I’m good for it.”

  Wes shook his head along.

  “I, however, meant it. If my husband found the person he had been looking for and wagered I said that if that happened, I would pledge a million. He, in turn, said that if I did that, he would forgive me for doubting him.”

  “So you did not really have to pledge those levels to me?” Wes asked.

  “Not really. But I promised Argy, and if I can get him to forgive me, then I will do anything. The old curmudgeon can really hold a grudge when he wants to. Well, not to me, but he knows how to play it up with me.” Nia nodded along at her last words while smiling.

  “Thank you for humoring what must be common knowledge. My sister paid for the best tutors for me, but with me living so far from the outer realms, I am sure some important information never reached me.” Wes said.

  Nia waved him off.

  “The next question I would like answered, if you don’t mind. Why did Argyros wager 100 Levels on my awakening?”

  “That is why I would like to see what you've got working for you. He must have seen something in you before your awakening. And you need not worry. A pledge is binding with the path; I am to offer my support in the best way I know how, without being detrimental to my own path. I can not do anything that would seriously harm you without risking that which I have pledged. In other words, until I gain a million more levels, if I betray your confidence, I will lose a million levels. There's more to it than that, but that's the basic gist of it.”

  Wes laughed at the absurdity of her words. “Yeah, that would make it pretty safe to show you I guess. Plus, Argyros wagered a 100 Levels on me, and you are his wife.” He offered his status for someone else to view for the first time.

  Nia immediately said, “no, show me all of it.”

  Wes replied, “I am already.”

  “Huh, how about that?”