Chapter 24: Little artist.

Chapter 24 - Little artist.The dark wooden box remained sealed, and the emperor continued.

He said, "The quality of this spark ... is almost unprecedented. It probably can only rival mine and, maybe, Victoria's. Unfortunately waletaur is a water beast thus the spark ... nevertheless – it is a priceless treasure! And even though the imperial navy hunted it down, the main reason we killed the beast lies in the expertise of our maritime minister who personally dealt the killing blow!"

Bill Newman got up and slightly bowed towards the emperor, but Lee felt a cold droplet of sweat run down his back. The bones of the creature were currently decorating the whole place and it's teeth were almost his size, but the regular looking man was the one who killed it? Surely it wasn't that simple, right?

The same thought run through the minds of most present, but apparently this was the effect the emperor went for.

He continued, "Since the maritime minister was the one to kill the beast, it is only right the spark would remain in the Newman clan. And even though the ebony oak could preserve it for a while, every moment it stays in this box is a moment wasted. Drevin already has his spark, but luckily Bill's youngest son, Lance, has over eighty percent compatibility with the water element. Thus I decided to entrust the responsibility to wield the sparks power to him!"

"Little fucker!" Lee heard Drevin hissing through his teeth, and finally understood the reason for his bad mood. Turns out it wasn't that the guy hated his siblings – he was simply jealous the youngest got the grand prize.

Probably his own spark was of a lower quality or he had worse compatibility, either way all Drevin could do was to drink and swear.

'I wonder what compatibility I have?' Lee pondered, 'Actually ... what the hell does that even mean? Are there limitations to what kind of spark can I have? Or does it limit ones power application in some ways?'

Fortunately the emperor cleared some of his questions right away. He said, "Lance, even though you are not as talented as I, nor you possess a divine body like Victoria, the spark in this box is so pure it can be absorbed by anyone. Nevertheless, I want you during the next year learn from my Imperial Healer, Alan Green so you could become a strong pillar for the empire! Just like your father is!"



"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Lance deeply bowed, but it was obvious he was trying his best to hold back and not grab the wooden box from emperor's hands.

"Don't be hasty!" The Emperor's expression changed, and the tone turned grave, "Your father prepared the place for the ritual and already instructed you, but nothing of that will matter if you are too anxious. In fact, most of the present have absorbed sparks at some point and will agree that the fundamentals of success lie in the calm state of mind."

"I've been blessed to receive teachings from His Majesty!" Lance bowed once again. Clearly emperor's reprimand managed to dampen his excitement.

"Alright, alright!" The Emperor patted his shoulder, "Take it and go! Make me proud!"

When under wave of applause Lance jogged off, the emperor shook his head and also clapped a couple of times, except his claps instantly silenced the crowd.

"Drevin!" The Emperor turned towards the drunkard sitting next to Lee, "You don't think His Imperial Majesty has forgotten about you?"

Lee saw that Drevin's hand holding the glass visibly shook the moment the emperor called his name, but to his surprise the guy instantly pulled himself together. He even walked to the stage as if he was sober, and only his eyes gave away his actual condition.

But the emperor wasn't born yesterday and Drevin wasn't the first rebellious young man he saw in his life. The guy also wasn't the first whom the emperor could tame with a couple of subtle words.

When Drevin arrived on the stage and bowed, the emperor ignored the stench of alcohol, and said, "Lance is lucky to have an older brother like you! And while he can't be the Newman family heir and become the next maritime minister, he will have the opportunity to support you, especially with the spark that he just acquired, don't you think?"

Lee could swear that from the distance he saw Drevin's murky eyes turn bright as a smile suddenly bloomed on his face. And the people at both tables also gave nods of approval to what they just heard, although Lee had no clue what was that the emperor said that caused the change. Wasn't it some random nonsense?

The emperor called over another servant and from his hands picked up a foot long, sparkling item, apparently encrusted with tens of gemstones.

"I've heard you are a collector!" The Emperor said, "And that your dagger collection could probably match the amount of swords in my treasury! But I am certain you don't have anything like this!"

He slowly pulled out the dagger from it's sheath and played with it for a few moments. Then he sheathed it back and passed it to Drevin, saying, "It is not a gift! In fact, I can't give it to you because it belonged to my grandfather. Family legacy, you know? But I will lend it to you so take a good care of it!"

When Drevin came back to his seat, Lee could see up close what the weapon looked like and had to agree, it was a masterpiece. While its practical use was questionable, the thing was probably worth half a city. Of course, it being priceless at the same time meant it was worthless, because now everyone knew who the actual owner was, and the owner a moment ago stated that the ownership could never change.

Nevertheless, Drevin was thrilled to receive such present, even a temporary one. It didn't lessen his thirst, though. While playing with the dagger he managed to empty another half bottle before Lee was called to the stage.

"Your Imperial Majesty!" Lee politely bowed.

"I must say, I was surprised when I was told you intended to show off your talents today." The Emperor said in a friendly manner, but him being twice as tall made it look like he was about to berate the boy, "How old are now?"

"Just turned six, Your Majesty!" Lee said and bowed again.



"Alright!" The Emperor nodded, "You obviously are not the youngest to ever step on the stage, but from what I heard your talent might be the most unique. Let's see what you can do!"

Then he motioned to the servants below to bring up a large wooden stand with a sheet of paper four by three feet in size glued on it. This was not what Lee usually drew on and the brushes were also too big, but he quickly modified one by plucking out third of the hair, and secured the rest by tying them together with a thread he pulled from his sleeve, ruining the expensive shirt Tess bought the day before.

Only then he realized the emperor was still standing next to him, curiously observing his actions. The rest of the audience, except for Tess, of course, was not as interested, and mostly discussed their own thing while filling up the glasses, and emptying them right after.

After a quick consideration whether he should tell the emperor to go back to his seat, Lee stepped on a stool and began to draw. He wasn't an actual painter and couldn't paint a landscape or a portrait he hadn't practiced yet.

Thus he went the easy route and within moments the outline of Lisa's beautiful face appeared in front of everyone. In the beginning people still chatted, ignoring the young artist, but soon one after another they began to stare at the stage in shock. Even the emperor was glad he stayed and was able to witness the younggenius at work.

Besides the crude utensils and the inconvenient size of the picture, there was no real challenge for Lee. He was now drawing what he had drawn hundreds if not thousands of times and only he knew how easily the result came for him.

When the emperor thought Lee was about to be done, he asked, "Who's the pretty lady?"

To what Lee nonchalantly said, "The most beautiful girl in the world."

Majesty's reaction was unexpected though. He loudly laughed, and shouted, "Victoria! He painted you! Almost like looking in the mirror, isn't it?"

Lee barely avoided falling off the stool he stood on, and silently cursing the emperor's blindness bowed, and went back to the table.