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!"