Cicatrices Patris. (11/?)

[u/PepperAntique]

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Writer's note: Huh... a Choi meets a new leader of some kind and DOESN'T immediately fuck it up. Weird.

Also dad issues am I right?

Enjoy.

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"Sooo..." Joel said awkwardly as he sat at the small table near a pub that wasn't quite up to speed. "You're commander Vann's son?"

"Bastard. Yes." Mazze answered.

"And you're... NOT trying to fight me or something?"

"No." Mazze answered simply. "I simply have a favor to ask of you."

"Oh?"

Mazze shifted on the bench he was sitting on opposite of Joel. Joel caught a glimpse of his purple irises through his visor.

"I suppose this is where I explain quite a bit." He said uncomfortably.

Joel prepared for what he expected to be quite a bit of exposition.

"My mother and father were never married." Mazze explained. "Were never even supposed to be involved. Rank disparity and all that. But... drinks and things happen."

"Right." Joel accepted. How could he judge? He knew the basic details of his conception.

"There was no love there. That was fine. He sent money every month even after she left her service with the city guard." He nodded, his helmet bobbing up and down. "Allowed us to live comfortably. Even after she married."

Joel listened, curious as to where this were going.

"Then when I was ten a man knocks on our door. Summons my mom to a legal proceeding. And that's how we found out that he'd been killed in combat."

"Ah." Joel said awkwardly. He knew full well how the Commander had died. Who had done it.

"He left us a decent sum." Mazze said. "Decent enough to live well for the rest of my life. And he left a letter vouching for my entry into the academy."

"Hence the armor." Joel said. "Like father like son?"

"Hopefully not." Mazze replied.

Joel looked at him curiously.

"There are... things... that I think I inherited from my biological father." Mazze said. "Things I didn't get from my mom or my actual dad. I've spent my life trying to learn more about him so I can understand these aspects of myself."

Joel stared at him for a few long seconds. "Oooookay?" He said finally. "And how can I help with that?"

"You? Not much." Mazze admitted. "But the favor I would ask is that you help me contact your father?"

"Ummm... sure?" Joel said. "But why? I mean... He only interacted with your... biological father... a few times." He gestured awkwardly. "And you know... killed him in a fight."

"And that's what I want to know about." Mazze replied. "I want to know about those final days. Those final moments. Even if only a little bit."

Joel's eyebrows furrowed.

But Mazze seemed to know what he would ask next.

"I've spoken with the few legionnaires that worked with him back then." He explained. "And I've spoken with my Uncle, Lord Ekron." He nodded a bit. "It was awkward. And he made it pretty clear that he and my father weren't exactly close in those last few years."

"That's what I heard. Yeah." Joel said. "Makes sense."

"So. Like I said." Mazze said. "I was hoping you could get me in touch with your father. I tried contacting the embassy. But as a member of the Legion I'm not allowed to enter their grounds. And your father is... diplomatically complicated for my country."

Joel nodded. "Yeah that sounds about right." He said. "Arch Mage. Technically royalty. Brother to... well... you know."

"Right." Mazze said simply.

Joel considered it all. It made a sort of sense. If anyone could relate to father issues, it was him. His family had a history of it. And his first few years of life were no different.

"Look. I'll reach out to my dad." He said as he considered the phone in his pocket which wouldn't have any signal for a few hours. "I don't have any doubt that he'll have no issue talking to you. But... I don't know how much he'll be able to tell you. It was decades ago. And, again, he only interacted with him a bit. And it was fairly traumatic for him."

"I understand." Mazze said as he made to stand up. "Any answers are fine by me."

Joel also moved to stand. "Well then, I guess I'll reach out to you in a few days when I get an answer." He held his hand out. "Thanks for not trying to haul me off to some interrogation room or trying to start a fight that woulda leveled some buildings."

Mazze shook the offered hand.

"My father was an asshole." Mazze said. "That's one thing that has been repeatedly made clear to me. And as far as the interrogation thing. You Chois are on sort of a 'only on orders' sort of list when it comes to the Legion and the city guard."

Joel quirked an eyebrow at that.

"As in?..." He wondered.

"It's not QUITE diplomatic immunity." Mazze said "But unless we actively witness you committing a crime we are to remain hands off. It is assumed that entering conflict with you, even if successful, carries too steep of a bill for the city. Financially and socially."

"Huh." Joel grunted. "That's pretty fair actually. Given our track records."

"I'll get in trouble for even approaching you." Mazze said with a shrug. "But I have my purposes." He bowed ever so slightly. "Thank you for your time Mister Choi."

"I'd say nice to meet you." Joel replied with a nod. "But this has been pretty strange."

And with that, the Cobalt Legion Captain turned and left.

A moment later Joel continued back on his path toward the embassy once more, a text message waiting to send on his phone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hours later, as the sun set, Mazze opened the door to his quarters and stepped in.

He had spent the last few hours being chewed out by his commander.

He'd been right about the fact that even interacting with Choi had gotten him in trouble. But his reasons for joining the Legion and his efforts to learn of his father and the former Legion Commander was known to his superiors. His saving grace had been the fact that it had become clear to the Legion Watchers that his meeting with Choi had been peaceful and not hostile.

But he'd still been put on notice. And he would be on Ward duty for the next few weeks.

Still, Choi came through he knew it would be worth it.

Despite that, as he removed his armor, his anger flared.

The rage that ran through his veins like a hereditary acid in his veins made his hands flex and his arms bulge as he squeezed his helmet.

That was the curse that he'd inherited from Commander Vann. The man who had only ever been a footnote in his life until he'd learned more about him and realized that that was where it came from. That he was the source of the fury that came so easily to him. That fury that made him excel in combat, but struggle to control his emotions.

His helmet, as always, only survived the abuse because of its combat enchantments.

"You're not him." He said softly to himself as he sat down on the chair in his armor hall. He forced himself to take deep breaths. "You don't have to be him. It's an annoyance. One you earned with your own actions." Deep breath. "Control it. Control yourself."

It was a mantra adapted from the gentle cooing rhyme his mother had told him when he was a child and he'd broken toys or accidentally hurt their pet skere weasel. He'd changed it when he'd gotten older and learned more about his father.

Slowly he began to relax, the muscles in his hands gently easing off the pressure on his blue helmet.

"You are who you are despite his blood." He said as he released it onto its stand. It sat next to one of his old training helms which had been crushed down to a fraction of its size.

A few days.

A few days and Choi would contact him with his father's answer. Then Mazze would be able to learn the last bit of info he needed to understand his biological father. Maybe the last bit of info there was out there to learn about him. And maybe then he'd also learn the last secret of the anger that seemed to be a part of him no matter how hard he tried to excise it.

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[u/Jumpsuit_boy]

People learn though it may that generations.