Reilard, at first, was happy that he had made it home with little to no complaints from his colleagues at Silver Breath Mage Tower.
If he had at first realized how much truth there were to the strange report his father had given, then he would not have to have his world upended by the ploy of some random entity. Before his departure, he had looked over the many scrolls, books, and other available resources to see if there were any record of such a creature. Yet, there were little. Nothing more than random blips about people going mad after claiming to hear a voice into their heads before they would display powerful bouts of power and magic.
Reilard felt as if this had to be some new manipulation of some kind. How was he to know this was not retaliation from his parents for leaving their influence? When he had first faced off his father to prove his abilities, he had made that man promise to at least tolerate the youngest Veilkerhurst. He had witnessed the way the family competition had destroyed many in competitions past. Fathers who wanted their sons to win the coveted seat would have to bury them after they either failed a mission or were indirectly killed by a relative. With deceit coming from all corners, infiltrating even one's immediate family, children had to learn to interpret the doublespeak of their parents. The uncertainty of never knowing if they had enough favor to garner guaranteed protection making them grow resentful of their situation, but desperate to not be at the bottom of the ranking.
He would have gladly forfeited his own life just to escape the clutches of neverending rage and danger. He grew tired of being terrified. Tired of having to watch his back. Tired of not even being certain if he could trust his own siblings. He could not understand why his father, who had to go through these tribulations would continue to enforce it on his very own children. He did not expect him to become affectionate as to what he had witnessed among the commoners who were unfettered from their twisted familial obligations. Yet he could have done some reasonable changes to the Veilkerhurst ways.
When Reilard had first discovered that he was adept at absorbing magic, he was so happy to gain the advantage. The skill gave him some breathing room, even though the new expectation felt like a new noose being tied around his neck. As time went on, and he had become more in tune able to the way energy and life flowed through nature, the expectations on Reailard grew. Especially as he became more adept at the manipulations at the mere age of eight years old. He soon gained the ability to drain the life from plants until they grew brittle, withering away to ash. He had the limited ability in giving or extending life. His gift allowed him to exchange life from one source to another. This helped him when it came to weakening his enemies for others to end their life or for him to dispatch them himself. He became their most prized assassin. It took him years to compartmentalize his thoughts when he had to push them to the brink of death made him, making it easy for him to feel somewhat less guilty about spilling their blood.
His still believed that he made a mistake in telling his father.
He knows that he would never have been able to keep such a talent from man. He was too discerning, never letting his guard down around anybody, Having daily reports about his children. If Reilard had even attempted to conceal his talent, the deceit would have been viewed as treason. But he wished he tried. Maybe it was due to this skill that he was able to detect that abnormal quirk with his youngest brother's mana circuits. The discover of him expelling large amounts from his body had concerned him until he was able to see it never had a negative impact on his well-being. Which brought him great relief. As he monitored the young child through trials and errors he came across another aspect of his ailment. One that would actually benefit the Veilkerhurst family. Reflecting on his own standing within the ranking of the family, he was desperate to keep the youngest from living with that burden.
He does not know how he managed it, but he was able to keep their father from discovering the very existence of it. He felt relief that he had made their father swear to keep the boy away from the brunt of the competition. He would not be exempt from all participation as that would cause outcry from the other members. He thought that he was doing his youngest brother a service by preventing him from suffering the same fate as his own. Now he ponders of there was another way of protecting him instead of forcing his father to leave him to his own devices. If the others in the Veilkerhurst family were to discover this aspect, Reailard knew that the youngest would be enslaved to their whims, never being free to roam those halls freely ever again.
Though he did not wish to come back, and it was due to circumstances that forced him to do so, he was going to take advantage of this opportunity to seal this leak. He was going to get to the bottom of the the mystery of these deaths the voice revealed concerning the youngest and how it was affecting their world.
...
Reilard now stood outside of his youngest brother's room, uncertain on how to approach.
His mother was the one to convince him to stay, using his worry for his youngest brother to her advantage. He hated how she could read him. But she was not wrong. The only times he would get to see him was whenever the family would visit him at the mage's tower or he was ordered to come back for a stuffy celebration. He never understood why his father even bothered to entertain any of the other members of the Veilkerhurst family or the sniveling nobles when he could barely stand them. He was aware that their father intended to train him in the politics of the family as Brakus was too much of a hothead to even bother participating.
Reilard still viewed Illeuid of being an uncertain child, one who would trail cautiously behind his family. The young boy would flinch as he navigated his way through the crowd of the other mages around him. Reilard could only sigh in vexation, realizing that it would be hard for the youngest Veilkerhurst to last long within their family. And with this invasive entity, it could very well be manipulating him for its own device. The eldest brother rolled back his shoulders. He very well could not waste time just standing outside his youngest brother's door.
He raised his hand, took a deep breath, and knocked.