Tyranny of Steel

Hans stared out the window of the car in utter silence. Rain pelted the vehicle as it descended from the mountains and into the city of Kufstein below, and yet the boy had barely taken notice. His mind was a storm of thoughts.

Most boys his age would be worrying about their final exams. But not him. No, Hans was a particularly exceptional child, one who had graduated from high school at the age of ten, and college at the age of fourteen.

He had just received his diploma from the prestigious Aerial Warfare Academy in the field of mechanical engineering. This was the university of choice for students wishing to join the Luftwaffe. For the next eight years, he would be deployed around the globe where it was unknown whether he would survive. Yet it was not this sense of impending doom that troubled him.

No, instead it was the fact that he had just killed a man in cold blood. An unarmed prisoner, to be precise. Despite the fact that his victim was well deserving of the punishment, such cruelty did not bode well in the young boy's mind. Of course, he was quick to rationalize it as a necessary evil.

After all, his father was right, if he had hesitated to pull the trigger after entering the battlefield, he would be a dead man, and though at the moment it may not seem like it, the boy quite enjoyed life, and had much to look forward to.

These were the thoughts that swirled in the boy's mind as the car pulled into the driveway of his family's palace. By the time he realized he had returned home, he was already inside the building. Hans had expected his mother to come rushing over to him in an attempt to comfort her child.

However, to his surprise it was not Linde's bosom who his head was quickly clutched to, but his fiancee Veronika. Hans looked up at the young woman's mismatched eyes and struggled to find the words to speak.

He quickly gazed over at his mother, who stood at the other side of the room with a rather anxious expression on her pretty face. It appeared as if the redheaded beauty wanted nothing more than to comfort her son in his time of need, but was forcing herself to allow that task to fall to his fiancee.

Just when Linde was about to falter and rush over to her son, Berengar placed a firm hand on her shoulder, stopping her in place, before speaking to his son.

"Hans, why don't you go upstairs with Veronika while your mother and I wrap your presents? Take as much time as you need, son."

There was a warm smile on Veronika's face as she led the boy upstairs and into his room, where he sat next to him on the bed, and clutched his head into her large bosom. She knew the boy was forcing himself not to cry as she pet his hair and whispered softly to him.

"There there Hans, everything will be alright. I'm here for you, now and forever."

Naturally the girl had been alerted to what her fiance had done, a passing of the torch, so to speak, from his mother. It was under Berengar's orders that Linde was not allowed to comfort the boy, who had now become a man. This was a task best left up to his future wives.

Before long, Noemi and Natalia entered the room, each of which hugged Hans dearly, and did their best to comfort him as he struggled to come to terms with what he had just done. While Hans was being pacified by his women, Berengar was arguing with his wife down below, who was absolutely livid with him.

"I can't believe you did that! He's just a boy! He should not have to stain his blood at such a young age!"

As much as Linde raged on at Berengar, not once did he move, his expression ever emotionless as explained his perspective on the matter.

"Do I need to remind you that our son has just graduated from the Aerial Warfare Academy at the age of fourteen? He has already completed his flight training, and in a few short weeks he will be shipped off to Singapore, where he will be stationed onboard the SMS Osterreich, a carrier in which he will be a pilot in its air wing.

I must remind you, that should war break out with Japan, our son will be among the first deployed to the battlefield. He needed to know what it was like to kill, and how to process such a thing so that he does not hesitate while he is in the air above the Pacific!"

Linde began sobbing as she clutched hold of her husband's suit and held him tightly, repeatedly whimpering into his coat.

"Hans is just a boy... He is just a little boy... My precious baby boy!"

Berengar stroked the woman's strawberry blonde hair in an attempt to comfort her as he corrected her views of their son.

"No... He is a man now, for he has already gone through both rights of passages that a boy must undertake to truly become a man. This is why it is so important for his fiancees to comfort him as he processes what he has just done."

It had been quite some time before Hans descended from the gilded staircase that led to the upper floor with his women in hand. However, the young man seemed to be much calmer now after having processed his internal turmoil and was quick to inquire about his graduation presents.

"Father, you said there were gifts for me?"

Berengar smiled and nodded his head before leading his son into the great hall where several presents laid wrapped. On top of these presents was a small clip board which Berengar handed to his son. A look of shock appeared on Hans' face as he gazed upon the document. He quickly shifted his sight back to Berengar, who smiled and nodded his head before confirming the boy's thoughts.

"It's official, your marriage to Anne is set a few weeks after you have turned sixteen. I must say, her father was not happy to hear about what the two of you have gotten up to, but I persuaded him to see reason. Congratulations, my son, you have a harem almost as beautiful as my own."

Linde immediately nudged Berengar in the ribs and pouted after he made such a crass remark, but that only seemed to make their son laugh, as he smiled and put the clipboard which contained his marriage contract aside. After doing so, he unwrapped a small box which he could only assume contained a ring.

However, when Hans gazed upon what lie inside, he was truly surprised. It was indeed a ring, but it was one that his father had worn for years. It was a treasure he had taken after sacking Rome and executing the Pope. The boy could not help but voice his disbelief.

"Father, this is?"

Before he could finish his question, Berengar smiled and nodded before informing the boy of his gift.

"The ring of Sol. Promise me one thing, boy, that when you are deployed overseas, you will always wear this ring, no matter what. After all, It has a powerful charm which protects its user from any and all harm."

Hans simply scoffed when he heard this last part. He did not believe in such superstitious nonsense. However, in the end, he made a solemn vow to his parents that he would always wear this ring while overseas.

Linde, however, had stared at her husband as if he were the greatest father in the world. Unlike Hans, she knew all about the gods and divine artifacts. In fact, that very ring had kept her husband safe from harm for years, and yet now he was giving it away to their son. She could hardly believe he, of all people, would be so selfless.

After examining the ring for some time, Hans placed it on his finger. At the very least it was an aesthetically pleasing accessory, and since his father had made him swear to wear it at all times while overseas, he would never remove it, even if he didn't personally believe in the so-called protective charm placed upon it.

Shortly thereafter, unwrapped all his presents. They were mostly shiny accessories, and things he would need for his career as an officer in the military. He thanked his parents by hugging them both. Where they proceeded into the Kitchen to have a large feast with the rest of the family.

By the time night fell, and Hans retired to his room, he had left behind the turmoil of killing the bastard of luxembourg, and internalized it as a necessary lesson in life. Instead, he was rather anxious about his upcoming deployment to Singapore.

Hans had no idea if his father had specifically chosen him to be among the vanguard for the upcoming war as a way of proving himself, or if he had just been particularly unlucky. However, there was fierce ambition in the young man's heart, as he wanted more than anything to prove himself worthy of the surname von Kufstein, for which inherited from his illustrious father.

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