In winter, it was a similar story. Lukas saw no noticeable improvements but still trained despite that. However, something different happened this winter as opposed to last winter. One day, out of the blue, Lukas awoke one day to something... special. Bene asked him what day it was. He, of course, did not know. But Bene did.
"It's your birthday."
They didn't have a feast or a grand celebration. For Lukas, it was mostly a normal day, if not for one thing.
Bene gave him a present, it was two freshly forged weapons.
One was a striking tachi. Its blade was the same length as the training version, but it was made of refined steel and sharp enough to cut his skin. Near the hilt, on the blade, was an engraving.
It read "Weaver of Time" on both sides of the blade in both formal and informal characters.
The hilt guard had an elaborate design that reminded Lukas of the moon. The hilt was covered with nearly golden threads, at least in colour, that ended with a beautiful black cap on the end of the hilt. The sheath was made of gorgeous lacquered wood with carvings of the moon behind a beautiful veil of mist.
His other present was less elaborate than the tachi, but still beautiful in its construction. It was a weighty kusarigama. Its chain was longer and thicker than the training version, reaching a maximum length of about 200 centimetres.
There were other differences between this version and the training version. The sickle part on the gifted version lacked a handle, the blade was directly attached to the chain. The weight was also slightly larger and thus weighed down the chain differently.
The same engraving from the tachi was found on the blade of the sickle part of the kusarigama. Written in both formal and informal characters.
"Weaver of Time"
After receiving his birthday gifts, Lukas was taught how to clean, polish, and sharpen his weapons. He was also taught how to store them, carry them, and sheath them.
Bene also told him something else.
"The day that spring melts winter away, you will leave for Mystic Camp. A Fortissimo outpost south-west of here. Once there, you will receive your first assignment from... someone I knew there."
The way Bene said it, confused Lukas. It made him worry about the kind of person he would meet, but Bene assured him he would be fine.
A few months later he would know of course. And when those months flew by - when winter had come and gone - it was spring, and soon Lukas would have to depart.
But before he did, a few days before his departure, he was given a new gi. It wasn't the same pitch black and imposing gi that Bene wore. Nor was it the plain white training gi Lukas had worn for the last year and a half. It was something else.
It was a similar black to Bene's, but with streaks of white near the shoulders, waist, wrists, and ankles. It also had some writing on the back, which had the phrase "Weaver of Time".
When Bene gave it to him, he informed him of his position within the Fortissimo.
"Normally, you would be given a traditional Lower Rank gi. However, due to my position, and due to your innate potential, I ordered a special one. Special gi's like these are normally only given to the highest ranked members, those who lead their own subdivision. Normally, when you join, you would be put into a subdivision, most likely my subdivision. But for you, this will not be the case. Instead, you will be a special asset."
"What does that mean exactly?"
"It means that you will be treated as a unique individual instead of a part of a collective. Of course, you can join a subdivision if you want. But that freedom is not something everyone is gifted with. That doesn't mean it's a good or bad thing, just something that isn't granted often. So you'll be given orders and requests assigned to you, instead of being sent out on a mission given to a group. You'll be treated more like a leader, like me, as opposed to someone under the leaders."
This conversion still rang clear in his mind as he was preparing to leave.
'A special asset huh?'
He wondered what assignments he would be given and how he would be treated. He did wonder why he was granted such a rank, but Bene only told him that he wasn't the one who made the decision. Apparently, it was made by something slightly higher in command than Bene.
Then, he thought back on the last year and a half. It was rough, but it was over. He had grown so much too, far more than he expected when he was 14. But now he was 16, he had grown to be 173 centimetres. He was much stronger than he ever thought he would be. He was resilient and skilled at combat.
But he still had so much more to grow. He had no real battle experience, only sparring with Bene, never had he faced death in the face. But did that matter? He had enough experience to evade death long enough to face her one day.
But for now, that did not matter.
For now, it was time for Lukas to leave.
His final preparations were done. Bene told him that they would meet again when he was called to Snakewell. So they bid farewell and Lukas started his journey to the south-west Fortissimo outpost, Mystic Camp.