Summons at Dusk

BANG BANG BANG

 Oscar was awoken to the harsh sound of knuckles pounding against the exterior of their door. Hurriedly using his hands to wipe away the residing bit of tiredness in his eyes, he looked towards the front door where his parents, Amanda and Kellian, were already standing.

 Oscar was a child, yes, but he was smart. He could notice the subtle frown on his mother's face, and the way his father's lips seemed to be pressed tightly together.

 Taking a deep breath, Kellian opened the door. The morning sun sent its warm rays straight into Oscar's eyes, who squinted, momentarily blinded by its beautiful radiance.

 Oscar's memory was still slightly hazy of the night before, as if he had too many bottles of honey mead before passing out. However, even with his slightly dazed consciousness he could make out an Imperial Soldiers attire from a thousand paces away.

 There, in the doorway, were two of the four Imperial Soldiers that the father and son had encountered on their way back into town.

 Kellian bowed his head slightly, doing an Imperial salute in front of his chest, while Amanda picked up the hem of her skirt and did a short curtsy to the two men.

 Oscar wasn't able to hear them talking, hesitating for just a moment, Oscar crept out of bed and inched closer to the group.

 "…Would like to speak with you." One of the guards said, looking at Kellian.

 "Why would he want to speak to someone as lowly as me, Sirs?" Kellian replied, head once again bowing in their direction.

 "If we knew why, we'd be Scourge's ourselves—Ow!" The same soldier replied before he was punched in the shoulder by his companion, who had turned his head behind them trying to ensure no one had heard.

 "Anyways, you must come. No matter what." Saying that, one of the soldiers reached into his tunic before pulling out a small golden tablet. The tablet was embossed with a large throne that took a majority of the space up, however, within the throne was a smaller design, similar to the one that the black cloaked figure the night before had on their back.

 Kellian's face showed signs of shock, quickly dropping to one knee, eyes cast to the ground.

 "I've seen the Imperial Edict."

 The soldiers' faces showed signs of surprise before asking,

 "You know of this? I didn't expect someone this far in the country to have ever laid eyes on one."

 Sensing the piercing gazes falling on his shoulders, Kellian replied smoothly.

 "I was once a conscripted man for The Duke of Iron, one day I saw an envoy appear with a tablet much like that. All of us were told to kneel and receive the Edict."

 The soldiers nodded, accepting Kellian's answer as the truth.

 "Remember, we expect you at dusk… both of you." The soldier looked passed Kellian, locking eyes with Oscar.

 Kellian nodded, and with that the two soldiers left to continue whatever other duties they had for the day.

 SLAM

 Kellian shut the door with force. Leaning against it momentarily as he thought.

 'Did the Scourge have the Edict for the Charismatic? Or… does the emperor know of me here…'

 If it was the latter, then Kellian couldn't help but wonder 'Why hasn't he acted?'

 Opening his eyes, Kellian looked towards Oscar,

 "This evening, we must have a meeting with those soldiers. Nothing serious though." Kellian spoke softly.

 Oscar merely nodded, he didn't entirely believe the fact that it was nothing serious. He had seen the way his parents acted when the guards first arrived, he had also seen the golden tablet that the two had carried. Most importantly, it was so important that his father had to kneel to a gold tablet?

 Oscar shook his head, thinking about it would do him no good. Walking back to his bed, Oscar peaked at the tattoo on his hand. Glancing back over his shoulder towards his parents, ensuring they weren't watching, he closed his eyes before focusing on it.

 When he did, he felt a subtle connection before.

 SNAP

 It broke like it was woven out of a fiber of hair.

 Kellian, who had been talking with his wife, felt a disturbance. His ears perked slightly, as he felt it on his skin.

 'Verum…'

 Kellian was surprised, after all, even though Oscar had failed to establish a proper connection to it, he still felt it. It would usually take most half their first semester at The Academy to sense and utilize it.

 Kellian grinned; his son was turning out to be more of a monster than even he was at that age.

 The rest of the day passed in monotony, even though their morning had been disrupted by the soldiers; Kellian and Oscar still went out to the fields and did their daily work, much to Oscar's chagrin.

 The family washed up and ate an early dinner before Oscar and Kellian put on nicer clothes, though nice for villagers out in the country was just slightly less dirty. Giving the two each a kiss and a hug, Amanda sent them on their way.

 Their backs turned to her; Amanda couldn't help but bite the tip of her nails in angst.

 As the two made their way down all-too-familiar path out of town, Kellian grabbed Oscar by the shoulder, stopping him.

 Oscar, taken aback for a second, looked back at his father with his eyebrows raised in a questioning expression.

 "I need you to listen to me, Oscar." Kellian said cooly, his words icy, leaving no room for rejection. Hearing his tone, Oscar nodded, only then did his father continue speaking.

 "When we get there, let me speak. Do not speak unless necessary. If I pinch you on your thigh, I want you to close your eyes and do your best not to listen, smell, or even feel anything."

 Oscar was confused, but he relented knowing his father would most likely beat it into him if he didn't.

 Seeing that his son had seemingly understood what he was saying, Kellian turned, once more leading the two down the path.

 Slightly outside of the village there was a small group of tents set up, three to be exact. Each had a flag at the top flying the symbol of the empire, a Black Dragon spitting a mouthful of fire.

 Outside of one of the tens two of the Imperial Soldiers stood guard, seeing the duo approach they stepped forward.

 "Halt. Please allow us to search your belongings." Kellian nodded, allowing them to pat him as well as Oscar down.

 As the soldiers were searching them, Oscar frowned. He could feel it, the air seemed to become thicker, colder, as if whatever was in the tent had dominion over the very land they stood on.

 After confirming there were no issues, the soldiers nodded to each other before opening the flaps of the tent. Oscar, quickly shook his head trying to remove the fog that clouded his mind.

 Kellian stepped in first, Oscar followed.