A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor

"Those agreements were just a farse to you, then?" Beam muttered, as the steel sliced into his flesh.

"I'd be a fool to speak plainly in front of an angry mob of people on the verge of rebellion," Lombard told him, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Merely diffusing the situation took priority. Though, that girl that was with you has been given some of my authority to wield – to keep the peace.

If your intentions are as noble as you claim, then you should be quite satisfied with that, should you not?"

"I am, and I was, until you put a sword against my neck," Beam spat.

Lombard eyed him carefully, before shaking his head. "I do not believe you. You still hide much from me. Your actions do not match your words. I can not have such a dangerous spark in the midst of my defence. Either you speak truthfully to me, and reveal all that you are, or I cut you down to save myself the trouble."

"Do they really not? If your information network is so good, if you already knew we were trying to gather information, then surely you already know what we're looking for?" Beam said.

Lombard narrowed his eyes, before motioning with his head for Tolsey to apply more pressure to his sword.

"I have heard a much. A little girl has gone missing, yes? That's not nearly motive enough to be going about things in the way that you are. Such attempts do not appear out of thin air. Let's say this, perhaps your motives are pure, and you really do intend to find this girl to the degree that you claim. Then who are you, such that you can command things so?" Lombard said, with a glare.

"Who am I..?" Beam murmured, not understanding the question.

"Indeed. Who are you? Do not think you can fool these eyes, boy. I would not have moved against you had you not moved against me, but from the off, I knew what you were. Do not play games with me," Lombard said.

Beam recoiled. "What the hell am I?" He murmured to himself. All he could think of was Ingolsol's curse. Perhaps the Captain had seen through that? But Dominus had told Beam that, a he was now, only an exceedingly sensitive eye would be able to detect the distortions within his aura. That was the sort of eye that belonged to someone of the Fourth Boundary… Did that mean that the Captain was?

"Tolsey, do you not see it as well?" Lombard said, turning his eye to his Vice-Captain instead.

"…See what, Captain?" Tolsey said. Beam could almost feel the man wincing. Clearly, he didn't like not having an answer to the Captain's question.

The Captain sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I brought you in here for a reason, you know. Do you not think the role you are playing now could be played by any one of our men? What's the difference between you and them?"

The words cut Tolsey more deeply than the Captain had intended. In truth, the Vie-Captain was overjoyed to have the Captain's trust, even for a moment. They'd only been working together for a little over a year, and during that time, Lombard had never explicitly treated him like Tolsey felt a Vice-Captain should be treated.

He thought that was merely due to his incompetence. He thought that he had to work harder to earn the Captain's trust. Even amongst all the soldiers of the city of Ernest, Captain Lombard's name was well known. A veteran of many battles. A hard and disciplined man, able to survive the most gruelling of sieges.

"Is it… perhaps… because I'm a noble?" Tolsey said, sounding disappointed even as he suggested it.

"More than a noble, you are a knight," Lombard said firmly. "And whilst these are not exactly secrets that we knights carry, we still discuss such matters quietly, by unspoken law. Now, observe the boy closely. Look at his eyes. Tell me what you see."

Tolsey nervously moved in front of Beam. Even facing a peasant, the man didn't look confident. Beam thought his features to be far too kind for the role that he served. But as the men attempted to look at him, Beam did his best to glare back. He could not calm the golden flecks that span around his eyes.

Though they moved slowly now, and less bright than they would sometimes be – they were certainly there.

Every time he grew excited, they were there. Like two or three eyes in one – the windows to the soul. But it was not exactly his eyes that Lombard drew conclusions from, but another attribute that he had. Tolsey concentrated a moment, and squinted, and only then did his eyes light up in recognition.

"Gods! He's passed through the Second Boundary?" Tolsey said, his voice nearly a shout.

Lombard waved his hand in irritation. "Indeed, and if you could keep that a little quieter, I would appreciate it. Lest the Church get involved, and they accuse us of leaking religious secrets to the unworthy."

"But… But Captain, he's a peasant! How could he have broken through the Second Boundary? It took me until I was in my twenties before I broke through!" Tolsey said.

"Indeed. Hence my suspicions. Either he's a mage's thrall, or a cast off knight's apprentice, there are hardly any instances where a man can break through the Second Boundary without guidance. So tell me," Lombard said, his lips curling into a cold smile. "Do you know of what we speak? Are you aware of what you have achieved?

Tell me, how did you do it?"

Beam glared back. "I am," he said. Though he had not known it until Dominus had found him, and pointed it out to him, otherwise he would have lived his life oblivious to the fact, thinking that his progress had merely increased all of a sudden as a product of luck. Whereas in truth, he had shattered one of the many boundaries that constricted human potential.