Cyrus' Tale

Surrounded by eager eyes and attentive listeners, Cyrus dutifully fulfilled the request. Looking inwardly, he began recounting his tale.

" My earliest memory is one of hunger, tiredness, and a will to survive. I was young, how young I was at the time I did not know but later Cato guessed that I was no more than six. I was living in a slum of one of the last few major cities in the wasteland, although to call it a city would probably be a great affront to the empires' very own cities. I survived by being quiet, by not bothering anyone, and stealing food from various thieves who were starving like I was. No one expected a youth such as myself to possess the natural dexterity required to rob someone unsuspecting so easily as I could, a natural talent of mine Cato had later told me. After surviving like I was, no more lucid than an animal you would find in the wild, I happened to find my way into a curious room. A hidden room that was behind an unsuspecting building in an otherwise ordinary alleyway. A room that, most important to me at the time, had plenty of food in it. Without considering the implications whatsoever, I gorged myself full of the rich food that I had never tasted before in my life before passing out. The next day I awoke, I continued to eat, before soon realizing that I had no way of escaping the room I found myself in. Stumped, I merely ate and slept until one day I finally came face to face with the owner of the room; Cato. Later Cato told me he was surprised by my ability to get into the room, as the only way in was to sneak in when Cato himself was exiting. Anything containing life force would have easily been detected by him, and anything not would have as well. A curious thing it was, but a welcome surprise to us both. Interested in my ability, or so he had told me, he took me in for two years raising me as any would raise a child. Moving from hideout to hideout, he taught me about the world around me and how to grow as an individual. This went on for years, slowly accumulating my sense of self and growing my competence… both of us forgetting as to why we were joined in the first place and instead growing closer than ever." Cyrus paused for a moment, somewhat swept away by his emotions before collecting himself.

"To me, Cato was my beloved mentor but above all else he was a father figure to me I suppose. Always guiding me along, patiently correcting my mistakes while generously imparting knowledge to me all the which while. We were together for a total of seven years, of which I had no doubt received priceless gift after priceless gift in the form of guidance, compassion, and affection…" Cato looked up for a moment, before being cowed into silence by the faces of his listeners. The Legionaries faces were full of pride in their master, Adara was brought to tears, and Fauve was nodding helplessly as if he were saying "As expected of that idiot".

Ever surprised at the depth of his mentor's relationship with these people, Cyrus continued his tale. He mentioned every major event he could come across, from the time he and his mentor ventured all around the wasteland seeking any and every opportunity to teach Cyrus something and most likely, as Cyrus had guessed over the years, to carry out Cato's duty to the empire of clearing any and all threats away. Even mentioning the time that the two had discovered his uncanny enjoyment of any type of literature when Cato was teaching him to read. Cyrus ended his story with his adventures at the last oasis town before his departure for imperial borders, of how he had finally cemented his sense of self thanks to his mentor as well as even letting slip their emotional parting. To that, everyone in the group laughed aloud as their images of Cato matched up almost perfectly with what they had all remembered; a powerful, nosy and sometimes incredulous man yet always stayed true to his beliefs even in the face of his untimely exile from his beloved empire.

Gabriel was the first to break from his reminiscences of Cato, saying "Thank you very much Cyrus. All of us are extremely grateful for you sharing such personal details to us." He then stood up, along with all the rest, and each bowed slightly as a form of respect. Having so many godly figures show such respect to he, who had not even broken past the rank of 'initiate' in terms of might, was quite shocked indeed. Not forgetting his manners he politely said, "You are welcome, but to you who are so close to the one who raised me it was no trouble at all."

This time it was Fauve who spoke up, saying in his uniquely crude manner "All right enough of the sappy stuff. Boy, we have all accepted you as the true student of Cato. However, as you are now who knows how you might embarrass our friend by dropping dead from a strong gust of wind." He spat on the ground as he said this, in almost complete disgust as if Cyrus was muck on his shoe while continuing, "Which is why for the next six days of travel, you will spend time with each of us one at a time. We will impart what knowledge we can in these six days, so that if a time comes where you announce to the world your identity you do not bring shame to your mentor." He then patted Cyrus on the shoulder, rather warmly… again sending mixed signals and deeply confusing Cyrus.

"Does he hate me or like me, I really can't tell… maybe both?" mused Cyrus as the Fauve enthusiastically asked "Right, right?!" towards everyone in the group until they all were in agreement.

"All right!" exclaimed Fauve, no doubt convinced that he had personally gotten everyone to agree. "We will then spend the next 6 days as so, while travelling for a few hours every day so we can continue to keep pace with our schedule. The journey was always going to take longer than the usual travel time of 10 days anyhow as Cyrus was… and still rather is… new to travel by horse, no worry in delaying it by another day or two hahaha!"

"Not my fault horses and deserts do not mix well at all. Not to mention Camels are slower but also more stable to ride…" embarrassedly thought Cyrus.

With that, all of them said farewell to Cyrus as they retreated towards their own tents. Most likely to take in all they had learned or perhaps to prepare for the upcoming quick lessons with their idol's student.