Short piece of fluff I wrote about Cato Sicarius' childhood

[DogWelder]

The High Lord of Talassar was running. His footsteps resounded down the marble hallway of his palace, the faces of his statued ancestors looking down on him with a stern expression. A crackle of thunder boomed through the hallway and for a moment the entire city, visible through the vast viewing ports on either side of the corridor, was lit up. He caught a quick glimpse of Tyberos, the capital city of Talassar. The waves dashed furiously against the massive ocean walls that had been constructed millennia ago, when the great Lord Guilliman had risen to power. Ten thousand years later, the ancient walls still held, protecting the vast collection of manufactorums, skyscrapers and hab-blocks that constituted the city. The myriad of lights of the city burned through the darkness of the night, billions of lumen globes and lamps shedding their illumination through a similar number of windows. These sources of light were clustered around the high rises and extended up the tall buildings, ensuring that all onlookers knew exactly why Talassar was named the “jewel of Ultramar”. Marcus Aurelian stopped for a moment and admired the view, even as his aids rushed past to the medical station where his wife’s cries could be faintly heard. He was the master of this city…and his son was to be its protector.

14 years later

Cato Aurelian let our a low snarl, bunching his hands into fists as he stood outside the headmasters office. His classmates on either side of him looked at each other nervously. They had grown accustomed to their colleague’s…tempestuous personality but they were still anxious about another one of his famous outbursts. The rays of the early morning sun illuminated the waiting hall through the high windows of the Academy, reflecting off the frescoes on the walls which depicted Talassarian warriors fighting off sea creatures with ancient weaponry. Polished, white pillars with golden outlines supported the ceiling on which was painted a richly detailed portrait of the worlds of Ultramar shown as vibrant celestial bodies that revolved around a bright star which represented Maccrage. The marble floor consisted of smooth, expensive tiles that were engraved with intricate carvings by the best artisans on Talassar. No expense was spared for the children of Talassar’s royalty. Crushed petals and incense candles filled the air with a light but pleasant scent and finely crafted busts of the city’s rulers were placed on either side of the room. The largest of them all, the one that stood in the center of the room, was that of Marcus Aurelian, father of Cato Aurelian.

“Am I going to be kept waiting all :cussing day?” Cato spat, his hazel eyes glaring at the entrance to the door. His rich, black curls and his finely bred, patrician features would have given him the air of a patient noble but his face was now twisted into a deep grimace as he waited for the headmaster’s assistant to call him in. He was not used to waiting. He was Cato Aurelian, he did not wait for others and he was used to getting what he wanted, when he wanted.

“Honoured Cato” the boy to the side of him began “the headmaster is surely a busy man and-”

“I do not care about his trivialities” Cato snapped back. “We were selected because we are the elite of our schola group and this man has the audacity to keep us waiting?” he curled part of his toga around his fist, straining the expensive material. All three of them were dressed in deep blue togas with a golden trim. These were the robes given to the highest achieving students of the academy and resembled the color scheme of the blessed Ultramarine chapter under whose domain their planet fell.

“Perhaps we should not make too much of a ruckus, friends” the boy to the other side of Cato interjected, trying to appease the son of the city’s ruler. Although Cato was the best of their schola group and had broken many of the records set in the classroom and in the dueling arena, he was arrogant beyond measure in the boy’s opinion. However, he was still the highest ranking royal even amongst a school full of nobility and no one wished to earn his ill humor.

The curtains to the entryway rustled and an elegant woman cradling a dataslate in the crook of her arm and a dataquil in her hand. She had her loosely braided blond hair held up in a golden laurel and wore a light blue, silk toga and with a gilded fastener over her left shoulder to signify that she was an aide to the headmaster. She regarded them with a slight smile, her ruby red lips and the fine features of her face putting all the young boys, besides Cato who regarded her with an arrogant sneer, to ease. “The headmaster will see you in half an hour” she said in a clipped but relaxed tone “I thank you for your patience”

“You are most welcome mada-” one of the boys began with a smile on his face before Cato’s elbow slammed into his face with a sickening crunch, the force of the blow easily breaking his nose and causing the boy to lose his balance and tumble onto the floor. The other boy was still slack-jawed in horror as Cato’s struck him in the stomach with the full force of his fist. The boy spat out a gobbet of blood and saliva and brought up his hands in a weak gesture of defiance. It did him no good as Cato easily broke through his defense with two quick punches and landed a heavy blow to the side of his head, making him stumble forward onto Cato’s arm. The Aurelian son gave a predatory grin and brought his other arm down, elbow first, onto the boys back. There was a resounding crack and the recipient of the blow collapsed into a painful heap.

The aide gasped as she dropped her dataslate and clasped her hands over her mouth in a horrified expression. “W-what…” she began but was finding it difficult to articulate a response for the incredulous sight before her. 

The first boy Cato struck attempted to stand, his hand gripping the bloody stump of his nose, but his assailant quickly swept his legs out from under him, making him fall on his back. Cato growled and landed atop the struggling boy, holding his neck down with one arm and raising his hand with the other. He brought down his clenched fist on the injured boy’s face again and again, the blows reducing his face to a mess of blood and broken bone. He tried to struggle but Cato’s grip on his neck was like a vise, slowly weakening his resistance as his brain was being deprived of oxygen. Soon enough, his arms fell limply to his sides and he looked up with terror in his eyes as Cato brought his fist up for another strike.

“CATO!” the headmaster yelled, storming out of his office and glaring at the scene in front of him, his nostrils flaring as his hand went to the gladius at his waist. His toga was dark blue with a white outline and intricate golden patterns woven into the fabric. His face was a mixture of disgust and anger as he saw the boy raise his hand up to once more strike his defenseless colleague.

Cato looked up slowly, a feral smile forming on his blood-flecked face as he stared into the headmaster’s eyes. “Took you long enough” he said.