Symphonic Odyssey
: Vol. Two: Beneath the Hawthorn Tree: Verse Eighty-Five

Back in his living room, Cypher sat on the couch and looked down at his coffee table. On it rested the silver key Galex had given him, as well as the small chest from his mother and the bundle of letters Molly had written for him, along with the urn containing Molly’s ashes.

His Orrium and Zight Stanza still ached terribly from his previous display of power. At that time, Alvin and Glenda were left shocked that he could even do such a thing. Knowing the damage something like that could cause they had asked him about his condition, but he merely shrugged them off and returned to his room.

He needed time alone to process everything. After several hours he was left feeling intense pain in his Orrium and throughout his body. Even his palms had been burned quite a bit from the lightning that had been surging within them. It would take several days before the damage would start to heal, but he was in no mood to train right now anyways.

Looking back he was shocked that he had exploded on Galex in such a way. In the past, he would have never even dreamed of doing something like that. It was true that recent events had left him feeling agitated and more emotional than he normally was. It was understandable that his emotions would be running wild at a time like this. Still, actively voicing his disdain towards Galex, and going so far as to openly threaten the man’s life left Cypher reexamining himself on multiple levels.

It hadn’t been very long, only a handful of months, but already he had changed immensely from the subservient little boy he had once been. In that instant, a lifetime’s worth of suppressed emotions had worked their way to the surface and Galex had been left speechless.

Cypher wasn’t sure if he was proud of himself or horrified at how brazen he had become. That said, Galex had deserved such beratement. But something else was bothering him. After having the chance to think about how everything had shaken out, he was left confused.

Galex was acting extremely out of character given the nature of the news that was being shared. Thinking about it, Cypher found himself somewhat blaming himself for the deaths of the entire Galvan household. Whoever these people that had attacked were, they were clearly looking for him. If not for his mere existence those people, including Molly and Jelroy, wouldn’t have had to die.

Of course, he felt terrible at the prospect of that line of thought, but in truth, he wasn’t solely to blame. Galex and Tyrina had been keeping this enormous secret from him. As much as his sadness and grief wanted to lay the blame for the death of Molly squarely on his shoulders, it was in fact their fault that this had happened. If they had been forthcoming about everything measures could have been taken to prevent this.

But there was no sense in worrying about what could have been or how things could have been handled differently. In the end, reality didn’t care about any of that and hindsight was worthless. What bothered him now was how calm Galex was about all of this. His entire bloodline had ended. His home had been brought to ruin, and even his status as one of the High nobles was now in question. All of these things could be seen as Cypher’s fault. Yet, the man wasn’t trying to kill him or haul him off to jail or anything like that.

Furthermore, he had calmly approached Cypher and told him about his past. Was this some kind of ploy? Some long-form tactic to take revenge later? Cypher couldn’t know for sure but it left him feeling uneasy. All of these matters concerned him but they were better left for another time. Right now he had more important things to consider.

Now that he had calmed down and tended to his injuries, he was left extremely curious about the contents of the chest his mother had left for him twelve years ago. In all that time, he had never been able to examine the inside. The fact that Galex and Tyrina had kept the key from him annoyed him and brought their transgressions back to the forefront of his mind.

However, if he thought about it rationally, he could somewhat understand where they had been coming from, at least with respect to this key. His mother had mysteriously disappeared with enemies on her trail, his father had most likely died, and the contents of this chest could provide clues to what exactly had happened on that night.

Furthermore, for Tyrina, it was the last thing her sister had given her. After decades of separation, her sister suddenly appeared at her doorstep with her newborn son in her arms, only to leave once again without any answers or even a chance for reconciliation. Cypher could sympathize with that even if he didn’t care for his deceased aunt in the slightest.

After all, she clearly hadn’t cared for him in any capacity. At least, not beyond the fact that he was a living reminder of her only sister. That caused him to grow angry once again as he wondered how such people could even exist. Tyrina should have tried her best to ensure that he didn’t have to suffer the events he had. She should have been there for him like an aunt was supposed to be!

He shook his head to erase the thoughts and emotions welling up inside him again and wiped away a burning tear of anger.

In any event, the chest and its contents were secondary in his mind. Since he had learned of Molly’s death and received her letters, he had not deigned to open them and see what she had to say. His grief had kept him in such a state that he could not bring himself to read a reminder of what was now missing from his life forever.

But now that he had the chance to sort out his thoughts, and after learning of how he had come to live with the Galvans, he felt that he was stable enough to finally take the time to read those grim reminders of his surrogate mother.

Each letter was sealed tightly and bound with a red string. Also, each of them still somehow carried her scent. The smell of baked goods and lavender wafted up to him as he reached for that small bundle. How they had maintained their smell puzzled him, but Galex had delivered them to him personally, and the man was obviously trying to ingratiate himself with Cypher. He could guess that Galex had preserved the scent in an attempt to do just that.

Cypher pulled softly at the string wrapped about the bundle and pulled away another wrapped around the first letter. Each one was marked, “For Cypher,” and he could see that Molly had painstakingly gone to great effort to make each letter look its best. She was always a bit of a perfectionist and seeing that made him smile.

He slipped a small knife into the flap and cut open the first letter, being very careful not to damage the parchment more than he had to. More of Molly’s scent reached his nose, and his eyes glossed over a bit as he fought back the tears. He took a deep breath, opened the first letter, and began reading.

“Hello there Mister fancy Conductor in training! I hope you’re doing well, I’ve missed having you around and I can’t help but replace myself looking out for some mess or trouble you might have gotten yourself into. Old habits die hard I suppose. Things haven’t really changed all that much since you left. Although the young master, Eiden, has been in quite a terrible mood. I heard what happened, heck, all of us servants did, he wouldn’t stop screaming and whining about it to his father. Master Galex, however, put a stop to it rather quickly after a few days.

“Young Eiden makes it seem like you had concocted some nefarious plot against him to steal his place at the academy, but I know that can’t be true. I raised you right didn’t I? I trust that you had nothing to do with that incident. I feel as though you had other plans but despite my best efforts, I couldn’t really say what those might have been. Still, I also can’t help but wonder why the academy would turn away a noble heir and keep a servant boy instead. No offense sweetie. But! If I replace that you did have something to do with it I’ll march up to that fancy castle and knock some sense into your head myself! Of that, you can be quite sure!

“Jokes aside, I know better in my heart. You’re still the kind-hearted young man I know and love. Before you ask, yes, I have been taking care of myself, don’t you worry one bit about little old me. I’ve decided to take your advice. With you gone I replace that serving noble families no longer holds the feelings of accomplishment and purpose it once did. Alas, I am getting rather old. Too old to start a family of my own. Too old to work as a waitress in some shady tavern in a dusty city. Honestly, my options are quite limited when I think about it.

“I’m not going to give up hope just yet, though. I’m sure that somehow, I can replace a way to make something of my remaining days on this earth. After all, you’re working hard to make me proud, aren’t you? My dear boy…”

“Well! It’s only right I do the same and make you proud in exchange! I’ve managed to save up quite a lot of money in my years working for the Galvans. They might not be the most humble people but they certainly pay well. Perhaps in the coming weeks, I can look into purchasing a small cottage in Riftmoore and retire.

“Of course, if that does come to pass I’ll be sure to let you know where to replace me. I’m sure that fancy Academy observes the holidays. Maybe you can make a trip out to visit me and show me some of that Magick they’re famous for teaching! Wouldn’t that be something? Ah, but I’ve rambled on enough for now, and there is still so much I wish to say. Perhaps I’ll add more next time! Don’t think I’ll stop with just one letter! I couldn’t bear to make you sad by not sending more!”

“I love you, Cypher, and I am so, so proud of you, I could just burst! Make sure you’re keeping yourself fed and in clean clothes! Until next time, take care!”

“P.S. Don’t you dare slack off in your studies, young man! You have a duty to uphold, and I expect you to make the most of this opportunity! Chances like these don’t just fall from the sky, you know, especially for people like us!”

Cypher re-read the letter several times over before closing it and slipping it back into its envelope. His tears had started flowing from the moment he had started reading, and he paused to wipe them away before he moved on to the next one.

He spent another hour reading the letters from Molly, and each one was more difficult to read than the last. They all brought out the various memories he had made with her, and several times he had to stop completely to cry as if the wound in his heart was still fresh.

Each of the letters would have been mundane and boring for a stranger to read, but Cypher was happy to hear about how her days were going. Her ongoings around the mansion were quite detailed in some of the letters, and she always seemed to keep a positive outlook despite Eiden increasing the duties of each of the servants.

Her letters were wholesome to read and helped ease the pain of her loss. But he also felt that ache increase each time he finished one, realizing that he would never again hear her voice. Upon reaching the end and unfolding the last letter, he grew even more upset.

The first half of the letter had been as mundane and normal as all the others. She had praised him for working so hard and was happy to see that he hadn’t found a way to get expelled and sent home. It was when he read the last half, however, that his expression turned grim.

“Before I go, I thought I should mention that some strange occurrences have been happening as of late. My connections through the grapevine mention that the guards have spotted strange folk on the outskirts of the walls. But each time they go to investigate, there’s no one in sight. Even some of the other servants have started noticing strangers lurking about, and I’m starting to worry.

“I don’t mean to alarm you. I know you have studies to attend to, and I don’t want to distract you while you’re hard at work learning how to be a powerful magician. I’ll go to Mistress Tyrina and inform her of what I’ve heard. I doubt much will come of this, but it isn’t often that such strange things happen around here, and I felt that I should share it with you. As usual, I send you all my love and hope you’re doing well, my dear Cypher. Study hard! I love you!”

Cypher clenched his fists tightly and wished that he had received these letters sooner. If he had, maybe he could have warned the Galvans to keep better watch over their property. However, he soon set aside his feelings of regret. He couldn’t have known that an attack was going to happen. Nobody could have.

Even if he had known, what could he have done? He was only a child, and a Rank-four Conductor was lightyears beyond his ability to handle. He put aside his doubts and feelings of concern. It was too late to play the ‘what if?’ game now. He was naturally saddened by the loss of Molly, Jelroy, Agnad, and all the others. Losing not only Molly but Jelroy, the man who had taught him his craft, and Agnad, the man who had saved his life was a hard pill to swallow. He would miss them but he would do everything he could to make sure that their deaths were avenged.

After his tears had dried and his rage at the guards’ incompetence had faded away, he turned his attention to the chest. The melancholy of what could have been weighed heavily on his mind and he needed a distraction. After all these years of wondering, it was time to see what it contained so he could finally put that mystery behind him. His curiosity was building with each second, but as he grabbed the silver key, he noticed that not a single keyhole could be found on the chest.

“What the hell?”