*AETHERIUS*
Whew, that was... I don't know how to say it, stimulating, exciting, I don't know for sure, it was just... a lot to process. I didn't know how to describe all of this.
Trevor being recognized as the next Descendant, that was truly surprising. I just knew I should be proud of him; not many have been recognized before reaching a certain stage or level required for that.
We arrived at the guild and changed our clothes. Layra would come back with us tomorrow after the exam, so it would be a little vacation for her.
We gathered in the dining hall and ordered something light since we were full from the feast we had. "Well, I don't know what to say, um, congratulations on your son's achievement," Valentina spoke.
"Thank you for that, Vale. We just have to take it easy and see what plan he has for Trevor," my father spoke.
"That's true. Becoming a Descendant means his training will be very intense, even worse for those who want the position of guild leader, or some military power close to that of the Descendant," Atheria explained as she came with some food and drinks along with Fredic and Otto, who was carrying a barrel filled with what could only be beer.
Mom scratched her neck, something she did when she got very nervous. "Yes, even we didn't receive such intense training," she said, while Sara handed her a glass of beer.
After a few glasses, Trevor arrived. "I'm back. Layra told me she would come tomorrow first thing in the morning," he told my parents. Elowen ran to him, "brother, congratulations again on your position," she congratulated him.
"You should be sleeping, girls. It's late for you," he scolded Elowen, and she just pouted, "I'm already 10 and old enough to stay up late," She complained in response to Trevor's scolding.
"Hello again, future Descendant. How was your meeting with Cassian?" I asked. "Sir Cassian Aetherius, have a little respect, please," although I teased him about it, I saw he had been offended.
Seeing his offended face, I stood up, "oh please, you know I was joking, sorry," I patted him on the arm and he just smiled at me. His eyes lit up, "How about you make it up with a spar?" he asked, and when I saw his eyes shining, I knew something like this would happen, "I don't think so, Descendant. I don't believe I have such an honor," I bowed slightly with my right hand behind my back and the left on my chest.
That earned me a smack on the head, "stop saying nonsense, let's go, teacher, lend us your training area," he asked Atheria, and she just raised her thumb.
"Alright, let's go," we all got up and went to the place. Otto took the barrel of beer with him. When we arrived at the training area, we positioned ourselves 5 meters away from the center.
"How do you want the spar, brother, with weapons or magic?" I asked before making any move, "with weapons and mana to strengthen ourselves," he shouted for me to hear.
We both drew our weapons and I noticed that his sword, which was a bright red color, was now tinting into a dark red.
So it's made of the same material as Elowen's, I thought. "Give it your best, both of you," Fredic shouted. We both nodded, positioned ourselves, I made the same pose I used with Elowen when we had our training, and Trevor did the same as Elowen's, but instead of holding his sword up high, he held it vertically, pointing in my direction.
I felt the mana coming out of his core, making his presence felt. Being at my level was like having his arm around my shoulders, which excited me, putting mana into my body, I waited to make the first move.
But I felt that if I moved first, I would lose, so I waited. After a couple of minutes, Trevor moved.
Swinging his sword to strike, I instinctively reacted and moved to the side, I swung my weapon where it was placed and my blade hit from above, managing to block his attack. I jumped back a bit while he aimed another attack at my stomach.
Phew, that was close, I thought, putting mana into my legs, I moved, I passed my weapon over my neck and then to his sword and back to my hands, while I had to move my waist and legs to keep myself balanced, making Trevor defend himself from one blow after another while the edges of our weapons clashed and sparks flew every time they touched.
I made him retreat, giving me some space to breathe and position myself again, I lunged at him again making an attack from below, to hit his chest, but he saw it coming.
As my blade went in his direction, he lunged at me, making it impossible for me to hit him while the staff of my weapon was on the side of his waist, impossible for me to recover, he raised his sword.
Since one of my arms was free, I put mana in my arm and more in my hands, making it difficult for his blade to fall.
With my right hand occupied with my weapon and the left on Trevor's arm, I could only stand on my right leg while putting mana into my leg I kicked his stomach with my left leg, he recoiled and twisted a bit due to the pain I inflicted.
My parents got up from the bench where they were sitting, and the others just cheered in surprise, "ohhh, that was excellent, and to think you could react in such a short time," Sara said, with Elowen in her lap.
"Shorty, that hurt, but nice moves," he praised me while rubbing his stomach, "let's leave it here. I've seen enough to see how much you've grown," he sheathed his sword and I did the same with my scythe, "of course I did. Don't think I was just lazy while you were away," I said.
"Hahaha, true. Now let's go back to the dining hall," he exclaimed, as he approached Otto and asked for a glass of beer, and Otto happily gave it to him.
"Good fight, kids, it was exciting, Therius has potential," Atheria said as my parents nodded happily.
"Elowen will too," Elowen shouted as she posed heroically, "of course, Wen," Dad scratched her head and carried her.
"Now everyone rest, as Therius will be coming every two weeks, just because he fought against a Wave doesn't mean he's powerful," Mom ordered, she seemed like the mama bear with her cubs behind her.
We all washed up and went to sleep.
The next morning, Layra arrived, "Hello family, your second daughter is back," she shouted as she entered, "good morning, I hope you all slept well, especially you, Ther, as your exam is approaching so you'll have to train hard," she said as she hugged me.
"No doubt, Layra," I replied. She glanced towards the door, and Trevor's companions arrived. "Oh, right, Trevor, your harem came with me," I shouted as Trevor descended the stairs.
"Layra, for God's sake, stop your unfunny jokes," Trevor scolded, embarrassed.
My parents burst into laughter, and then Layra earned a smack on the head from mom. "Don't be reckless, Layra. Whether it's true or not, that's none of your concern," they reprimanded her.
Trevor seemed even more embarrassed. "Mom, please, not you too," he said, covering his face.
"What a fun family you have, Trevor," a girl named Celia spoke, and the other four laughed too. "I'm sorry, girls, please ignore my silly sister," he said as they were served breakfast.
"I hope you haven't eaten anything yet, so you can join us, girls," mom addressed them, and they happily nodded.
After two hours of chatting about their time at school, it was time for my training with Otto.
"Oh, I must go now, Otto is waiting for me," I excused myself and left. "Take care, son," mom bid me farewell.
*****
*ALTEA*
My children are growing up so fast. One graduated and gave us the news that he will be one of the highest powers in the South. I felt proud of him, as his hard work paid off and earned him recognition.
The other will graduate next year. I hope she chooses the path of the Adventurer, as she wouldn't have to put restrictions on her life like Trevor, being a Descendant with great responsibilities. Layra has always been a free spirit, just like her father.
The third, who will soon embark on a dangerous adventure with his exam, will leave us for a while. I've always known that Aetherius is different, more passionate than Layra and more responsible than Trevor. With his significant growth, I felt concerned about what his life would be like, whether he would follow the path of joining the army or the path of the Adventurer.
But that would be his decision, and whatever he chose, I would be proud of him, and I bet his father would be too.
And my little girl, she was always gifted, but less so than her brothers. She grew up fast, yes, but she didn't always seem passionate, at least not until the mountain incident. Since that day, something changed within her, making her passionate and stubborn, something she inherited from me, of course.
But leaving that thought behind, I returned to the small gathering I had here. "So, girls, tell me, what brings you here?" I asked the group of girls who came.
They glanced at each other. "Well, nothing really, we didn't have anything to do. Our parents are from different areas, so they traveled a lot and were tired, especially since they drank a lot," the girl named Anatia explained.
I looked at her for a moment, causing her to avoid my gaze. "Come on, dear, don't scare them off. One of them might become your daughters-in-law," Dorian spoke to calm me down from a nonexistent anger.
"Dad, not you too," Trevor covered his face, his ears turning red, making the girls laugh. "Don't worry, Mr. and Mrs. Emwind, we don't have those intentions with your son. But for my part, your son Aetherius caught my attention," the girl named Nadia said, surprised, making me burst into laughter.
Dorian did the same. "We should be angry and offended by your comment about Aetherius, but luckily for you, he's inclined towards older girls," Dorian said. The girl tucked her hair behind her ears, feeling embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I was joking. I didn't think you would react like that. I'm sorry," she kept apologizing, and we accepted her apologies. "It's okay, dear, we understand your intention in saying that, so don't apologize," I reassured her.
I thought for a moment and came up with an idea. "My youngest daughter Elowen will start her training. Would you like to join us?" I asked them.
They agreed. "Of course, ma'am, please lead the way," Celia spoke courteously. I chuckled quietly, and we went to the training area where Therius was exercising, Elowen was with Sara helping her with her magic manipulation, while Atheria was on the sidelines waiting her turn with Elowen.
"On that side, Aetherius is training with Octavious, also known as Otto, and my daughter Elowen is on this side training with Sara and..." One of them interrupted me, "the guild master Atheria!" Nadia exclaimed, quickly covering her mouth.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, I didn't mean to interrupt. It's just that I recognized her and thought I saw her at the ceremony yesterday," she explained, and I just smiled. "That's right, Atheria is our friend from our time as adventurers a few years ago, and Trevor was kind enough to invite her to the ceremony," I explained.
"Wow, we knew Trevor had met her a while ago, but they only met briefly. But to think she has a connection with your family," Rachel expressed. "Yes, dear, she even kindly gave weapons to my children when we came to the capital some time ago," I explained again.
"Before the mountain incident, ma'am?" Celia asked. "Trevor told me what happened when he read your letter, and I felt worried because he didn't leave the library," she explained. "Yes, it was during that time," said Dorian, who had been very quiet beside us.
Celia seemed embarrassed, and Dorian calmed her down. "There's no need to be embarrassed, and thank you for your concern, dear," he said, patting her head. I looked at Dorian, who had stars in his eyes, knowing what was coming next.
"Celia, how about a sparring match? I can see how well you handle the sword and fire magic too," Dorian stood up, pointing to another area of the room. With Celia hesitant, Trevor spoke up, "It's okay, it'll help you learn," and she finally agreed.
Each grabbed a weapon from the shelf and took their positions. Celia had a light stance, indicating confidence, and Dorian also assumed the same stance. It seemed that both had learned the same fighting styles. Dorian moved first. Celia reacted in time, counterattacking and causing their swords to clash with a loud bang.
This made Otto, Therius, Atheria, Sara, and Elowen turn in their direction. They, along with us, watched expectantly.
Their styles were almost the same, causing their swords to clash more than once. "You can use magic if you like, Celia," Dorian gave Celia the option.
Turning back behind her body, she began to envelop herself in an orange aura, while her sword started to wrap itself in orange flames, very different from the normal red of fire.
Dorian smiled and infused wind into his blade. Celia moved her sword around her, and as she passed her blade, several fire orbs remained ignited.
And others shot towards Dorian, making wind cuts with his sword, clashing with the fireballs approaching him and making them disappear.
As the fire dispersed, Celia charged towards Dorian, pulling her arm back with the tip of the blade facing forward. Dorian reacted by assuming the same posture. Both blades, infused with mana, collided, creating an explosion of hot air that made it hard to breathe.
Both were pushed backward, causing the encounter to halt. Dorian noticed the hot air around him and created a stream of air, removing the hot air from the room.
"That was fun. Keep it up, and you'll get stronger," Dorian expressed happily as he extended his hand to help Celia up.
"Of course, Mr. Emwind. Thank you for the match," she said, taking his hand and thanking him before placing the weapon back in its place.