The Dragon's Kiss

Chapter 120 - ONE: A Fatherless Child

Calix Anselm Orfeo

It had become a trend among the upper class in the years of Emperor Anselm's rule to give a child two names, one of their own and one from their father.

The child, Calix, however, received two names from two fathers.

Anselm for the great emperor, his mother's husband, and Orfeo, for his biological father.

Ironically, Orfeo, derived from the old language root ???????, meant fatherless. In other words, the child's name was Calix, son of royalty, abandoned by his fathers.

And as his name so somberly suggested, Calix was unwanted, unloved and uncared for since the time of his birth. Whisked away with hardly a glimpse of his mother's face, the infant prince was left to be raised by his kinsmen in an obscure underground world.

The child's caretakers, Orfeo and his wife, didn't hold any hostility toward young Calix; they simply held no emotional attachment to the burdensome child, equating to no more than an unfortunate error in their eyes.

Quietly and solemnly, Calix lived and grew under the watch of Orfeo and his wife until the day they declared they could no longer be responsible for the queen's mistake due to their having a precious son of their own.

In a large room full of unhappy gazes that even a five-year-old child like Calix knew to flinch under, many people shot distasteful words back and forth--all of them arguing about who would take the child.

The people of that world had many strange customs and views, but they always took care of their own. The problem, however, was that Calix wasn't exactly one of their own. His innocent blood had been muddled with the vile name of a false king sitting on a stolen throne.

And there was nothing the people hated more than that king.

So the arguing went on until the child began fidgeting from sitting still for far too long. It was then that something happened, something that would change the course of not just that child's life, but of all of human history.

In through the door, with echo of complaining guards that he was not permitted to enter, burst a man who looked very different from every person the young Calix had ever come to know.

'Give him to me.'

The man's deep voice echoed through the room, inviting Calix's fate to intertwine with his own and sealing the continent's mighty destiny.

-3 Years Later-

"Teacher!"

The lively calls of a child bounced off the drear plaster walls surrounding a kneeling man.

"My young lord," the man smiled, opening one of his eyes. "You seem excited today."

"Oh.. sorry," the child apologized bashfully. "Were you meditating?"

The man chuckled. Of course the child had noticed his meditation from the beginning but was too eager to hold back.

"At least this boy knows when to apologize," the man sighed, inviting the boy to have a seat next to him.

"Teacher, I don't know why you live in this place," Calix commented, using the toe of his shoe to brush dust away before sitting. "There are so many better houses."

"Hmmm?" the teacher replied. "Like your brother's house?"

"Ack!" Calix recoiled. "How did you know that's where I was?"

"How could I not?" the teacher smirked. "You sneak off to go visit him at least once a week."

"I can't help it," the guilty-feeling boy murmured. "He's so pretty and small. He follows me around and calls me 'Buddah'. Isn't it cute, Teacher?"

The man shook his head. Calix had grown into a curious and bright child over the past few years. He hardly resembled the mute, trembling boy the man had carried away from the room full of angry eyes.

"Oh, did you know, Teacher?" Calix went on, his eyes lighting up as he described his toddler half-brother. "He only has one name! Just like you!"

"Ah, Sora is his name, isn't it?" the teacher teased, feeling a bit bitter as he pictured Orfeo's pride and joy--the baby he'd cast his own child away for.

"No, Teacher," Calix giggled. "It's Soren!"

"..Soren," the child whispered again to himself, a soft smile spreading across his lips. "My brother."

The man sighed and patted Calix's frazzled black hair. If only the circumstances of his birth had been different, he would have been an excellent older brother.

It was fortunate, however, in ways the child wouldn't fully understand for many years, that he had claim to the royal throne along with the pure blood of the underground people. He would be ostracized for now, but the day would come that he would be sitting above all those who once scorned him.

But, that time was still quite far away, and the teacher and student both had much work to do before then. The man, Itzae, had selected Calix not only out of pity, but because he was special. Additionally, Itzae would need to locate one other special child to complete his plans.

In order to protect Calix and give himself the means to search for the next child, he had made the difficult decision to leave the underground world and settle on the surface just above in the empire's capital city.

If trouble found a way to stir itself up, Itzae had already made plans to flee to a smaller village in the east. But for the time being, he believed living in the capital city, close to both the child's relations in the palace and those underground, was the best option.

"Soren's house has a bunch of flat, square stones all over the walls," Calix continued chattering to his distracted teacher. "Will our new house have those too?"

"Mmm maybe," Itzae answered.

Of course, he already knew the answer was no. He'd selected a modest dwelling in a quiet part of the city, and the walls and floor were made entirely of wood. It was a common, cheap material on the surface but was more luxurious to underground folk than the tiled walls Calix so admired.

At least for a little while, the child would be giddy with excitement over his 'lavish' new home.

"Well, we best get ready now, young man," Itzae groaned, rising to his feet.. "It's time to go see a whole new world."