The truth, to everyone

Before he could understand what was happening, Peter was already taking Arn's hand.

"Damn, I thought I saw you passing out here, brought the knight as soon as I saw it." Peter pulled him up. "And you look like shit, what happened?"

"Come with me, to the tower." The knight's massive hand landed on his shoulder almost immediately. "Get word to his family, he will return soon, should it all run well." The knight said, looking at Peter and then at Arn, the second look being much more piercing.

"Don't worry, man, it is alright." Arn looked back as the knight led him. "You know what to do."

"Count on me, brother," Peter turned toward the place Arn's parents had probably set up their stall, a knowing look on his face, jaw set in determination.

Arn relaxed; their long history together meant very little needed to be said between them, and by Peter's expression, Arn knew his parents would just hear another crazy cover-up tale. His father, especially, should not hear of his trip, as a deeply religious man, he would abhor his son's new complexion and form, not to say his immense disappointment in knowing his only son went behind his back to risk his life so recklessly.

And so, Arn went back to the familiar and always empty path to the tower, just this time, escorted by a leather-clad knight.

As he had heard before, there were four classes to the knights of the tower: The mainteiners, who focus on cooking, cleaning, and turning the mana stones they remove from the demons and monsters from the Maw into all sorts of things, from amenities to alchemical reagents, which they themselves turn into the many treatments the knights became famous for. The Shields, who dress themselves in steel and bear equally clad weapons, such as swords, spears, and halberds, and who serve as a frontline to the many horrors found in that place. The Cloaks, who, with their immense nimbleness and strength, can either shoot their immense bows or employ the very shadows in their service to hide in plain sight, serving as infiltrators and ranged support. And lastly, the Mages, who, despite their very reduced numbers, could turn the battlefield asunder with immensely powerful magic, even if no mage can be called equal, because their affinities are never the same, so some, like that one from the ship, could shoot lightning, while others would employ flames, or teleport himself or summon ethereal creatures or anything other, magic was, after all, still an obscure topic. And each of the orders had a different alchemical enhancement done to them, to better suit their role, and to make it possible to contend with the denizens of the Maw.

So, as the Cloak took him to the tower, Arn admired once more the Veil and the Maw beneath it, also looking at the place where his sword and robe were hidden, undisturbed, for now. The contrast between the Maw seen from here and from the other side was frightening.

Arn tried to talk to the knight a few times, without success; it seemed he was being taken to be questioned, after all. But what did they already know from just seeing him? How much could he lie?

Arn was sure that when they found out what was done to him, the most favourable outcome would be to be locked in their dungeon and experimented upon.

So absorbed in his thinking, Arn had not realized he now stood in the very same place he had gathered yesterday to sign his service to the tower. Only, this time, there were many more knights, and the only boy was him. On the dais, Osburg still sat in the middle, eyeing him with interest. The cloak to his right was also the same, as well as the Shield on his left, but this time, both were also very interested and alert.

"We saw you approaching with this boy, Sir Mannig," Osburg continued, without taking his eyes away from Arn. " So I have called for this meeting here; we have many questions to ask, after all."

"First, report how, when, and where you found the boy, Arn, if my memory does not fail me." The Shield spoke drily.

After a quick bow from the Cloak by his side, he began a brief report on finding Arn close to a cart, and feeling the Maw's influence nearby just before being called by Peter, but not knowing Arn was one of the boys on the expedition the day before, of that, Sir Osburg was to blame.

Then, all eyes turned to Arn, demanding.

"You will tell everything now, boy." The Cloak on the dais demanded, his gaze hard. "We lost a ship and a lot of good men, and not a speck of dust remained for us to investigate it."

"Not to mention how your lack of a voluntary report could be seen as desertion," The Shield said, expression just as hard.

"Also, your very interesting new appearance brings a whole lot of questions on its own." Sir Osburg said, face more amenable than the rest. " In any case, begin, but be warned, I will cast a lie detection spell, and you will be locked and tortured for the truth should you fail to deliver it."

Arn shivered as an ethereal disc appeared above him; there was no escape route here. He could only hope they would help him, and not kill him or worse.

So he told them everything, from the moment they left the tower to the point where he was ejected back, telling of his desire to be part of the tower and the defilement of his soul, along with his shame to return, and to have survived where so many others had died, and not only that, but to have survived in such a way.

He could see many knights pointing at him as whispers flew around, some outraged, others fearful, and many more curious.

In the end, tears marred his face, and he could not bring himself to look any of the present in the eyes.

"You are just a boy, so some leniency can be shown, not to say of your valuable potential as a mage, and now, as a case of study." Sir Osburg was the first to speak. "Still, the tower has its rules, and you broke them, even if unaware."

"I propose the following," Continued the Cloak, his expression now a bit softer. "The boy continues as your apprentice, Sir Osburg, as accorded before, but he is denied permanence on the tower except for the dungeons, and his initiation is delayed until we can safely determine what was done to him."

"I agree, we need more initiates, and the nineteen we lost will cost us dearly, not to mention the loss of the many veterans on that ship." The Shield kept on. "Still, I propose that, if not allocated permanently in the dungeon, the boy be at least monitored while outside."

"I agree. But he will be my apprentice, not some prisoner; as such, I will see to his compliance myself." Sir Osburg focused his gaze on Arn, and in this moment, he could not say if he was relieved or frightened by it. "So, for today, Arn, return home, and await my summon, tomorrow, you will begin your journey as a mage initiate, but be warned, as your proper initiation was delayed, you will not have the advantage of the alchemical procedures, and so, may the Goddess help you."

The disc above his head turned into a bird and began circling his head.

The many knights present pounded their fists on their chests twice to end the meeting; their dissent, if existent, was not shown, and then, Arn was escorted out and left to himself, as the bird flew to the skies, never far from him.

Arn walked to their family stall, perplexed and distracted the whole way. In the end, he had not even dreamed of such a result; the shame he felt of himself prevented him from even daring to believe the tower would not want him dead. The Goddess had, however, not forsaken him, as his luck conceded.

As he got to their family stall, Arn could not help it, he hugged his mother closely, crying with his head cradled in her bosom, and thanked that his father was not there to see him cry, it was not befitting of a man, still, after everything, he permitted himself this moment of weakness, to be craddled by his mother and sister, who had also come for his aid.

As he got back to his full height, arms still linked to his mother's back, he could not avoid noticing the similarities between her and his sister; they could be mistaken for twins, if not for his mother's more developed body. Still, few women could be compared to either of them.

"My son... what happened to you?" His mother said tenderly, searching him in the eyes.

"You know what? Mom, we have nothing else but this cut of meat to sell. Let's just pack everything and get Father, so we can discuss this at home." Lilly pleaded.

"Ok, I guess i trully own you an explanation, let's go," Arn conceded.

Finding their father was easy; he was with Peter, by an ale keg, which his father had bought beforehand to sell today, profiting from the higher influx of people to the festival. Going around some people and pushing others aside, the three of them explained to the two men their plan to go home and discuss something important. Tybald looked at his son and agreed immediately. Something was obviously wrong with his progeny. Peter also came with them. By this point, the boy was as much family as he could be.

The ethereal bird that followed him everywhere stopped outside of his home, and he was thankful to Sir Osburg for that.

At home, they all sat in their kitchen, and Arn could not hope to delay it longer, he told them the full story, along with the parts only Peter and Lilly knew, hiding only the part where the demon changed him, for his father's sake, as well as the changes to his body, which he attributed to a potion the knights would have given him, a lie, of course.

Then, he told them he would begin his training as an initiate tomorrow and that he had already signed the documents necessary, and that he would be permitted to return home every night, which was true, but he hid the true reason for that, of course.

After telling the full story, Arn was expecting some backlash, or some fight or whatever, not what happened next.

His father rose from the table in silence and went to the pantry, returning later with a cloth-wrapped object.

Then, looking at Marielle and getting Arn's mother's assent, he revealed it to be vanbraces, old and worn, but still polished to perfection. With a strange symbol carved in silver on its steel frame.

"You take us for blind, son," his father said, face still masked by indifference. " We knew all along you were not meant to be on the farm with us, and despite our many misgivings about your choices, we always supported you fully, and prepared for this inevitable day."

"You know, son, my great-grandfather, your ancestor, was also a Maw's knight, and had his son at the very end of his time in service; and on his deathbed, having given his life to stop a demon from passing through the Veil, he passed forward this piece of metal, creating our only family heirloom." His father said while passing the metal to him. "Our family has lived in peace through many generations. I hope you can help it continue that way, wherever you are. And I sincerely hope I am wrong, and destiny is **** to you than it has been to the many others who follow this path."

His father left to go to town again, and Arn remained wordless with the rest of his family, holding the vanbraces, until Peter squeezed his shoulder, said that he was proud of him, and left as well, promising to return and check on him at every opportunity.

"Ok, now that the men have left, time to tell the full truth to the two of us." His mother said, sternly." We know you too much and care too much to believe that was just it, I can feel it in your gaze."

"Yeah, you promised me the truth before, came on," Lilly said, dragging him to his room.

He followed them wordlessly, just nodding at his sister's remark.

He got into the room, closed the doors and windows, and sat his female relatives on his bed.

"What I will say here does not leave this room," Arn said while getting confirmation from their eyes before continuing. "The truth is this".

He then took out all his clothes, except for his pants, and showed them the many changes to his body, hiding only his new manhood.

His sister's teary eyes fixed on his, together with their mother's serious ones, as he told all the missing parts of the story, hiding nothing back.

"Goddess protect," His mother said sadly. " It is not enough that they had almost killed you; they have also tried to corrupt you. You know, that is why we have tried to stop you, this road of magic and demons is too dangerous." His mother raised her hand to stop his retort. " But I know your wishes, son, I know you would not be able to live otherwise."

"Still, I know you are still hiding something out of shame, demons are known for their depraved nature, and as such, I know your changes are not only in the upper part of your body," His mother said sagely. " Lilly, go to your room, as his mother, this part concerns only me, and only to ascertain what can be done to help him, he will be ashamed enough from just one of us here."

Lilly began protesting until the shame in Arn's eyes convinced her, and she left, closing the door back again with a sad look.

"Now, take off your pants, "His mother continued, lowering herself to her knees, hand in his breeches.