Page 72 of Captive
Cornelius went completely still, a stillness only possible through centuries of enhancement. His eldest son, his heir, transforming beyond his control. Becoming something that challenged everything House de la Sang stood for.
"The orc shamans," he whispered. "Their primitive rituals can wake up metal. Turn it back to what it was before we refined it." His hand closed into a tight fist. "They're undoing all his enhancements. Making him remember what we buried on purpose."
"The child escaped too," Dominic reported, his lenses clicking softly as they adjusted. "The human girl intended as Sebastian's wedding gift. We found no trace of her in the improvement chambers."
Cornelius's gaze moved between his sons, disgust seeping through his carefully regulated expressions. "Perhaps I should have commissioned more sons when I had the chance. Two failures standing before me - one bested by his own brother, the other too weak to prevent a few primitives from stealing a single child. Neitherof you displays the competence House de la Sang requires."
Zarek stiffened, damaged components grinding audibly. "Father, I--"
"Silence." The word cut like processed steel. "I've invested centuries in your improvements, and this is my return? Sebastian escapes, the child is lost, and you stand before me damaged like common servants. Perhaps I should begin anew. Commission enhancements for more promising successors."
The threat hung in the ancient chamber, both sons knowing that replacement wasn't merely metaphorical. House de la Sang had discarded failed heirs before.
Cornelius looked back at the map table, tracing the boundaries between their territory and the orcs' settlement. The vast wilderness they had been steadily claiming through calculated expansion and strategic outposts. Through better technology and tighter control.
"How bad is your damage?" he asked Zarek without looking up.
"My jaw needs rebuilding. Multiple systems compromised." A hint of reluctant admiration crept into Zarek's distorted voice. "He was different than I expected. Faster, with movements nothing like our engineered precision, something more wild."
"Something ancient," Cornelius corrected, his tone dropping lower. "Something we deliberately buried beneath technology." His eyes narrowed as he studied the territory lines. "Something we've spent generations trying to keep locked away."
The three stood in silence, the air around them shimmering with emotions none would normally allow themselves to show. Decades of rigid self-control threatened to crack under the weight of Sebastian's betrayal.
"Your brother has made his choice," Cornelius announced firmly. "Now I need to make ours."
He straightened and faced his sons fully, his gaze moving between them with cold assessment. "Perhaps you don't understand the gravity of what's happening. What you've witnessed isn't simply Sebastian's betrayal, it's the reemergence of something we’ve deliberately suppressed."
"What do you mean, Father?" Dominic asked, his analytical systems clearly trying to process this unexpected information.
"There are things about our history I've never shared with you," Cornelius said, his voice carrying a weight that made both sons go still. "Before our technological era, our kind possessed different abilities. Raw, unfiltered blood from the elder races unlocked powers far beyond what we have now."
Zarek's posture shifted subtly, intrigue overcoming even the pain of his damaged systems. "What kind of powers?"
"Influence over lesser minds. Transformations beyond what our current technology permits." Cornelius's hand moved in a dismissive gesture, as if physically brushing away such primitive concepts. "But it came with a terrible cost. Each feeding eroded who we were. We became more primal. Less ourselves."
"So we chose technology instead," Dominic concluded, his voice perfectly modulated despite the revelation. "Filtering everything for stability and control."
"Exactly." Cornelius returned his attention to the map table. "We made a deliberate choice to sacrifice raw potential for controlled advancement. To process everything natural into something safe. To build a civilization based on precision rather than chaos."
"And now Sebastian threatens to undo all of that." His finger traced territory lines with renewed purpose. "If his transformation continues, if the orcs' primitive magic fully awakens what we deliberately buried..." He left the thought unfinished, its implications hanging in the precisely regulated atmosphere.
Realization dawned in his sons' expressions. Not merely betrayal, but existential danger. Not simply the loss of succession, but potential obliteration of everything their society had meticulously constructed over centuries.
"This requires total mobilization," Dominic stated, analytical systems already formulating strategic requirements. "Beyond our household resources. Processed servitors, surveillance units, allied houses."
"Yes." Cornelius's voice hardened with cold certainty. "We must retrieve Sebastian before his metamorphosis concludes. Before he rediscovers abilities our technological systems were specifically designed to neutralize."
"He selected his allegiance," Zarek protested, his damaged jawmechanisms producing discordant notes that amplified his indignation. "He battled against his own lineage. Sheltered our adversaries. He no longer deserves—"
"This transcends questions of merit," Cornelius interrupted sharply. "This concerns what he's becoming. What the primitive rituals might reawaken within him." His hand clenched into a fist. "If his physical form truly reconnects with its pre-technological state, if he masters unfettered elder-race energy." The sentence remained deliberately unfinished.
"Sebastian possesses intimate knowledge of our vulnerabilities and defenses," Cornelius continued. "Undoubtedly he's already disclosed this information to our enemies. We cannot permit half-measures." His gaze moved deliberately between his sons. "However, understand this clearly: we retrieve him alive. Despite everything, he remains my heir, our bloodline. Whatever corruption the orcs have inflicted can be reversed."
"And should he refuse to return?" Zarek inquired, damaged facial structure producing discordant notes as he stepped forward. "If this corruption proves irreversible?"
"Then he will be reminded of his obligations to House de la Sang. By whatever means necessary, he returns to his lineage. To the destiny I established for him."
Cornelius moved toward the grand doorway, his pace measured and precise once more, enhanced systems reasserting control over momentary emotional disruption.
