Jaiko had grown accustomed to meeting with his fellow Titans each morning in the colosseum for formation and combat training; when he found himself barred from entry confusion and frustration burned a hole in his mind. Neither compared to the firestorm he became when he read the letter revoking his status as Titan.
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He tried to contain the growing inferno within himself. He paced back and forth in his room unsure of what he wanted to do, frustrated he couldn't slam the door he kicked off its hinges. The smallest finger of black flame whispered revenge in his mind.
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Rhaxor came to stop him from destroying everything in sight. "You're a man now Jaiko, men don't do this," he said walking to Jaiko.
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"She has finally done what she's always wanted to, I'm crippled now, I have no future, I have nothing to Inherit. NO! I won't allow her to do the I AM A TITAN!" The more Jaiko yelled the more angry he made himself.
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Rhaxor plucked a single strand of silk from the shirt drawing a small hole in the fabric.
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"Rhaxor!"
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"Look here Jaiko, I've pulled a thread from your shirt and changed it fundamentally."
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"So what?"
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"An individual strand may never be able to see it's worth in the pattern of the shirt, yet each strand is just as important as the others."
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"Rhaxor, do you take me for a child? a peasant is nothing to a king!"
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"Do not be so sure. What is a king without his peasantry? Simply a man."
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"A man with wealth, a man with a title."
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"You are young Jaiko with many years ahead of you, this is not your end. You may no longer be a Titan Jaiko, but there is much work for a healthy young man, you may-"
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"If you're implying that I become a guardsman or a merchant or some other meaningless job you can see yourself out. I AM A TITAN AND I WON'T LOSE AGAIN!" The words left his lips as pure emotion with no though.
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"Lose what Jaiko? Is this about the conclave? You placed third, that is not a loss."
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Tears of frustration welled up in Jaiko's eyes and streamed out onto his hot cheeks. "I needed to win. I needed it and I couldn't have it. I tried so hard, I trained harder than any other and I lost. Just as everything goes in my life, this is all I needed to know."
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"To know what? Where is this coming from?"
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"I'm a bastard Rhaxor, I will never achieve anything and my mother has done her best to drill that fact into my head."
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"I see, Jaiko, years of feigning confidence to mask insecurity has left you hollow. In truth this is pathetic, to see a man throw a tantrum because he loses and doesn't get his way. I'll admit your mother has treated you poorly but perhaps instead of waiting for the next abuse to come and feeling sorry for yourself after you should take some initiative. Take charge of your life Jaiko. You will have true confidence, true fulfillment, and a true future when you prove yourself strong."
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The tears stopped streaming and for the first time in Jaiko's life, true clarity came to him. 'Take charge of your life'. 'Prove yourself strong.'
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"Jaiko I have to go, your mother has summoned a council meeting."
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"Thank you Rhaxor."
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"For what, it is my duty to take care of you Jaiko in all facets."
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Jaiko met Diya at the entrance to the cells. Her hair was down and she looked different with the dirt and scowl gone from her face, pretty. If he was of the interest he would have pursued her.
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"She's removed you from the parade and festival as well, Jaiko," she said.
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"Like it or not I agree with her decision to revoke your status, that stunt you pulled with the armor and the crucial sessions you missed, Jaiko I too would have revoked you."
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"Diya I-"
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"But, I cannot fathom the idea of denying you the glory you won in the conclave. You should be the one standing up there with Alex and me, not Marccas."
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"Diya I'm thankful for the support but I have a new focus now. I want to buy you, you Marccas and maybe one other and leave Jhyr."
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"With what money Jaiko?"
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"I came into some gold...and with the winnings from the conclave-"
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"I almost forgot, she has also stripped you of your winnings. Perhaps you can come up with the money to buy Marccas or me by the auction day but it is doubtful that you'll be able to raise three thousand in two weeks."
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"Just...when the time comes, at the auction... if my bid is high or close, will you submit that you'd rather be under my service than whoever I compete against?"
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"Maybe Jaiko, I will not tell you yes because I don't know. You have not been...Ideal, you would have to prove yourself. Prove yourself strong and prove yourself capable. I've spent enough time here with you, Jaiko I'm leaving."
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The tigress turned and left Jaiko, her words echoing in his mind. Prove yourself strong.
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The walk through the dark cells was cold and damp, Jaiko had to slip the guard extra silver to get in. The sight of him made Jaiko's skin crawl. He hung from a flaying post when their eyes a look of familiarity ran across his face.
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"Do you remember me? You and your associates attacked me at the cove outside of the city." The memory of the fight brought forth disgust then pride. "But I killed them, and I will kill you too if you don't tell me who sent you and why."
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"I beg mercy; we are all tempted to do dark things in these times, my lord."
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"I don't care about what you're tempted to do. Who sent you?" Jaiko moved forward and grabbed the man by his face.
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"I beg mercy; we are all tempted to do dark things in these times, my lord."
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"What? No, I want-"
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"I beg mercy; we are all tempted to do dark things in these times, my lord."
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Jaiko looked into his eyes, this time much closer. He saw no light behind them, hollow and empty they stared back.
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"I beg mercy; we are all tempted to do dark things in these times, my lord."
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"Can you say anything else?"
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"I beg mercy; we are all tempted to do dark things in these times, my lord."
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"That's all he's since he's been here, my lord," the guard said from behind him.
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"That's it huh? Perhaps I fucked his mind out there when we fought."
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"Sorry Jaiko, we haven't been able to get anything else from him."
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"Jaiko, Jaiko, peace through chaos, Jaiko. Fire brings forest," the stranger let out.
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Jaiko gave no word but stared into the stranger's cold eyes.
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"What the fuck? I need to report this to lady Keliah," the guard said running down the hall.
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Jaiko stepped back from the stranger. Fire brings forest? Jaiko left the cells, he was tired of the dark, he would get his answers.
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He hid around the corner as the council left the chambers and poured into the hall. They spoke in hushed whispers and moved as a group, disappearing around down another hall. Jaiko sent the guards to the ends of the hallway and listened through a door cracked open to the two remaining voices in the council chamber.
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Rhaxor rarely sounded desperate or tired but he somehow managed both. "They're stuck in stone, a sea away, my lady even if he could get access to them how would he move them?"
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"Fyrcon Nysos is hardly a sea away, Rhaxor. The report says forces have landed and are in the caves as we speak," Keliah said.
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"My lady, this is a single report in lieu of hundreds that say otherwise."
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"We need to take this seriously if it's a trap I say it's worth losing a few men to spring it."
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"Can we truly afford to waste the lives of our men with an invasion force on our doorstep? Besides, how would we explain this to the rest of the high council?"
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"Do you know what the old Gresani legends say, what they call the man that founded Gresan, that discovered Dragons blood?"
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"Jaiko, father of fire, my lady."
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My namesake?
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"It was thanks to his beast that he earned this title."
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"My lady, the scholars have said for hundreds of years now that they don't exist, the fire he commanded was just that, fire, dragons blood. What your scouts found on that island was a large crocodile or gray fang lizard. It's my duty as your servant and friend to dissuade you from these notions"
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"I know in my mind you're right but my heart keeps tugging at this idea that someone is about to stumble upon something and change the course of the entire country."
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"We will be ready if it happens, my lady."
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"I must believe we will be. Rhaxor, send for Jaiko before you head home, I need to speak with him."
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Jaiko pushed the doors open and walked into the chamber room. "I am here."
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Rhaxor shot him a look of disappointment and shook his head.
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"Eavesdropping, I can now add Eavesdropping to my list, I assume you sent my guard away as well?"
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"I did."
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"Perhaps I should leave," Rhaxor said sheepishly.
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"No Rhaxor stay you should hear this," Keliah said. "Jaiko you have disobeyed me, neglected responsibility, altered your armor, disrespected my authority and now eavesdropped on my private conversations. I'll be curt with you. You will not ascend to the status of Titan, you will confer your tournament funds to your brother, the new commander of the Jhyrian fleet, and you will not live in my city any longer."
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"You deny me my status and turn over my second chance to a child? I've worked too hard and come too far. I will ascend."
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"Jaiko please-"
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"Be silent Rhaxor let him continue," Kelia snapped.
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"This is unjust, my behavior is in spite of you and everything you've done! What mother has a vendetta against her child then seeks to punish him when he lashes out?"
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"You forget yourself. I can do as I like, this city is mine, the Titans are mine, your funds are mine. You've always believed you had a say in my city; you don't, my voice is what matters here. You are no Titan."
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"So be it. I am no Titan. Now that I can drop this act, I'll be damned before I give my money to Xandio and turn and leave with nothing to my name."
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"It's this or prison Jaiko."
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"You send me out on my own with nothing just like that?"
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"You have your training, don't you? Yet another thing I provided for you, ungrateful bastard."
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"Ah yes you provided me the opportunity to waste my youth training. It was just a way for you to keep me out of sight. How can you do this?"
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"Calm yourself boy, I'm not sending you out with nothing, I'm even providing you a job. You will serve as a sworn sword and tax collector of high councilor Thontos."
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"I won't serve you or any of your pig counselors."
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"This is why I'm sending you away. You've been just like your father since you were little, it disgusts me. The two of you, brash idiots that don't know how to hold your tongues. I've done my part as a mother, you've never wanted for anything you ungrateful bastard!"
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"To call me a bastard is to insult yourself. As if it's my fault you were a bitch in heat and couldn't keep your legs together long enough to marry my father."
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Keliah leaned back on her throne, her face a flurry of emotion.
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"Jaiko with me," Rhaxor said, ushering Jaiko out of the room with force. "Will you ever learn to hold your tongue!?"
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"I hate her Rhaxor I truly do, one day I'll take this city from her."
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"Use that hate, focus it into something creative or clever with your life and stop clashing with your mother!"
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That night Jaiko found himself in the armory putting on his gold and black armor. Later he found himself at the treasury counting his saved money and conclave winnings with unconscious guards at his feet. The ride to Siren's Song was long but he found himself there by morning.
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