The Eldest and Youngest Coldwater Sons

It had been seven years since Bryson Colin Coldwater with coal-black hair and dark eyes was first found from the crater in the ground. According to his parents he was apparently born from a shooting star that landed into their back garden. There was even an indentation underneath a maple tree that had been left alone to prove it.

Bryson however still doesn’t fully believe in that story. Sure, his siblings have also corroborated with the story, and he definitely was adopted, and the crater does still emanate weird energy from it. But his parents tended to embellish things quite a bit.

He recalled on his fifth birthday how when he casted his first ever spell, they treated him like he was a prodigy. The spell he casted just changed the colour of his drinking cup. It wasn’t anything special, Coldwaters and other nobles naturally had far more magical capabilities then the average person. In fact, his eldest brother, Gareth actually casted a fire spell as his first spell when he was six.

More importantly, than that, however, Bryson did not believe that he was a gift from the gods. Simply put, if he was a gift from the great gods then would’ve probably been part of a better family.

While he did enjoy his life of luxury, he was vaguely aware of how his family tended to rule with fear. The constant coddling throughout his upbringing also annoyed him. Half the time he couldn’t do anything without at least three people stalking around him, the other half of the time there were at least four people watching him.

His siblings seemed to have no issue with this, it was normal life after all. Though for him it didn’t quite seem normal. As if he was used to living by himself and being around common folk. Two things he definitely did not do during his past seven years. Even so, it all seemed familiar. Bryson had no idea why though.

Well, whatever. Bryson thought as he fixed his heavy winter jacket, wincing for a moment as he felt some strange pressure around his temples, it quickly faded, and he thought nothing of it. Walking through the snow that reached all the way up to his upper thigh in the morning. He would be wadding through the snow if not for his magically enchanted boots that allowed him to stand on top of the snow. A gift from his mother.

It allowed him to move across the snow with ease and explore his family’s estate. Thankfully being on the estate meant that he wasn’t constantly hounded by servants watching him.

Bryson moved across the snow and headed toward the sparring building. Snow’s not too bad today honestly. He thought, the Coldwater house owned the entire northern continent, the most land owned by any noble, aside from the king himself. Which doesn’t sound as impressive when one realized how uninhabitable half of the continent was.

The massive continent was almost covered completely with snow, if it wasn’t for the magical technological advancements of the modern era then the population would be tiny. Bryson has only ever experienced summers whenever their family went on vacations.

As Bryson waddled to the entrance of the training room the guard by the door noticed him and opened the entrance for him. With a small nod of thanks, he waddled into the training building, immediately he was greeted by another servant who quickly took his winter jacket and snow pants.

Entering the main training room, he found whom he was looking for, Gareth. His eldest brother resembled visually his father the most, with crimson red eyes and raven black hair. He was an extremely clever boy and could be pretty intimidating. Though that last part may just be the seven-year difference of age between the two.

Bryson saw Gareth being joined by his friends. Or perhaps lackies would be the better word for it. Around Gareth were other noble boys, specifically the sons of nobles that work directly for Duke Coldwater.

Evidently, the other boys wanted to make sure that they were to ensure their family’s close tidings to the Coldwater household. They tended to be quite the yes men as Bryson recalled, laughing at all Gareth’s jokes, agreeing to everything he said.

I guess it is the smart thing to do. But still, a bit too forced at times. Bryson thought as he approached the group.

As of right now Gareth was in the training arena sparring against a training bot. It was a simple machine that reminded Bryson of one of his ‘Battle Bots’ action figures. It was twice as big as a person with big stock arms and legs and a huge rectangular head.

Gareth armed with a custom-made rapier, a gift for his fourteenth birthday. Imbued with countless magical gemstones and enchantments, for a beginner-level weapon, it was definitely one of the best. Even a full-on knight would be jealous of a blade like that.

The training dummy stood no chance against Gareth. The high-end magical weapon coupled with Gareth’s pure talent and abilities really made the fight unfair. Which was the point of it all Bryson supposed. Has to show off in front of his friends. Wouldn’t look good if he was struggling. Bryson thought as he watched Gareth fly around the arena. Still, he does look pretty cool.

Those also watching seemed to agree with Bryson, cheering Gareth on as he toyed with the training dummy. A few seconds later Gareth appeared to have noticed Bryson’s arrival and quickly surged toward the training bot. A single quick and pure strike hit the bot right in the chest.

The force of the strike caved in the chest of the bot and sent it flying into a wall, slamming into it. The force of the hit destroyed what was left of the training bot falling apart as it landed back onto the ground.

A round of applause erupted from the crowd of watching. Gareth gave a small bow before looking over to Bryson.

“What is it little brother?” Gareth asked with a smooth voice.

“Father said he requires us.” Bryson replied. In comparison to his brother his voice was on a higher octave and, at least according to others, sounded both eerie and sinister at times.

“I see. Why are you here though? A servant could have delivered this message.” Gareth asked as he grabbed his water bottle.

“I was with father earlier and wanted to go for a walk. So I decided this was most efficient.” Bryson said.

“Very well.” Gareth said giving Bryson a nod before turning to the other nobles. “Well then lads, have at it, I’m headed off.” He said as a servant helped put on his jacket for him and he left the building.

Bryson followed behind him, the two headed back toward the mansion. The trip took over twenty minutes, even with all their equipment. This place really is huge. Bryson thought as he waddled on top of the snow.

“Bryson soon, I will be leaving this home.” Gareth spoke out.

“Will you?” Bryson asked in surprise.

“Yes. I will set out by myself and gain success in the outside world. Make our parents proud. Bring honour to the Coldwater name. All so that I can be prepared to take on the responsibilities when I inherit my part of the Coldwater estate.” Gareth said as he stretched a hand out toward the sun.

“I see.”

“With me gone, while you are still young, you must take on some of the responsibilities as a child of the Coldwater’s.” Gareth said looking over to Bryson who was waddling along the snow with his tiny legs.

“What about Viola, Gilles, and Sable?” Bryson asked.

“Gilles is, well he doesn’t quite have the brain exactly built for this sort of job. Viola doesn’t deserve it, and Sable. Well, she’s way to immature to worry about this anytime soon.” Gareth explained.

Bryson decided not to mention that he and Sable were the same age and simply nodded as they walked into the mansion. As the door opened to them, Bryson’s vision began to swim.

Stopping for a moment he shook his head and his vision cleared. It didn’t seem that Gareth noticed, not thinking about it anymore, Bryson followed Gareth in.