~Eight years later~
The pale-eyed boy sits under the tree, reading a tome filled with diagrams of magic circles, and spells. The bustling sounds of the village filling his ears. He reads with such focus, no one suspects he hears as much as he does. The sounds of footsteps approaching quickly catch his attention, and he looks up to see a blonde elven boy, followed by his younger sister, running up to him, excited grins on their faces.
"Alph! Alph! Look!" The boy says.
The siblings reach Alph and show him a small leather ball, watching for his reaction. Alph looks at the ball and looks up at them, his expression unchanged.
"Hello Fehr." Alph says apathetically.
The siblings sigh as Alph's unmoved behavior. Fehr grabs Alph by the hand and lifts him up.
"Come on Alph! Come play with us!"
Alph looks at Fehr and his little sister, they both look at him expectantly. His ears turn slightly pink, and he tucks his book in his bag.
"...Sure."
The sibling's eyes light up and they drag Alph through the village, showing a number of bugs and toys they've received over the years. After a couple hours of playing, Alph and the siblings sit under the shade of a Cane Cherry tree.
"Hey, Alph, Aris! We should go to that human village that's nearby!" Fehr says.
"Ooh! I heard that they have pretty jewelry there!" Aris says excitedly.
Alph abruptly gets to his feet taking a few quick steps away.
"S-Sorry, I think Fey is calling for me." Alph says.
Alp begins to walk back to the Elders' cabin, and Fehr and his sister watch him disappointedly. Alph stops turns around, showing a small smile.
"...Bye Fehr. Bye Aris." Alph says.
Fehr and his sister stare at him shocked, Aris' cheeks turn slightly pink, and she covers her face. Alph turns back and walks back to the Elder's house. As he opens the door, Swyn is standing in the doorway, staring down at him with an icy gaze.
"Alph, where were you?"
Alph silently points at the tree he was sitting under a while ago. Swyn sighs and crouches down, she pats his head and ruffles his hair.
"Let us know where you're going before you sneak off." Swyn says.
"...Sorry..." Alph says, hanging his head.
Swyn begins sweating profusely and waving her hands.
"I-I'm not mad! I was just worried! You're not in trouble!" Swyn begins blabbering.
Alph looks at her for a moment, and then tilts his head. Swyn stops and drops her arms, sighing.
"Why did I freak out like that? I sometimes forget with how quiet you are."
"Swyn! Is Alph back?" Fey calls from upstairs.
"Come on." Swyn says, putting a hand on Alph's shoulder.
As they begin walking, Alph brings his hand up and takes Swyn's. She jumps and looks down, the boy is still looking forward, but she sees his small hand wrapped around hers. She smiles and begins holding his, giving it a small squeeze.
"You really are a strange boy, aren't you?"
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The dummy rattles as it's hit with the wooden sword repeatedly, on the left side, on the right, on the right shoulder, in the middle of the abdomen. The blonde boy yells as he goes to hit the dummy one more time, but his blow is stopped by another wooden sword.
"My, haven't you grown strong! Giving that dummy quite the walloping!"
The boy looks up and see his master, The Paladin, Yuger. He laughs heartily and steps in between the boy and the dummy.
"Come on, let's see if you can get a good strike."
"But Mom said-"
"Oh, come on, just a quick duel, she won't know." Yuger says, flashing a grin.
The boy grins and charges at him. He swings at Yuger's leg, Yuger easily deflects the blow, sending the boy back. The boy immediately goes back on the attack, swinging a flurry of blows. All are easily deflected.
"Oh, come on! Surely you can hit this old fart!" Yuger says.
The boy grits his teeth and charges at Yuger.
"Arthur! Come inside! It's time for your-"
The boy and Yuger stop and slowly turn to see the boy's mother, Myrna standing in the doorway, watching in shock.
"H-Hi mom..."
Arthur and Yuger are dragged into barracks by the ear, both crying out in pain. The Paladins laugh as they watch the trio go by. Arthur is sat down in a chair, and a book is placed in front of him. Yuger is sat in a chair beside him, and Myrna stares at the two of them sternly.
"How many times do I have to tell you two knuckleheads to quit sparring, Arthur still has a year before he can start sparring!" Myrna yells sternly.
"S-Sorry..." Arthur says, rubbing his ear.
"My bad..." Yuger says, looking at the ground.
Myrna sighs and points at Arthur's book.
"You study up, and you," Myrna says, turning to Yuger.
"Go report to the Commander, you're late on your scouting report again!"
Yuger sighs and rises out of his chair.
"I'll see you two later, then. Make sure to study up, Boy." Yuger says, opening the door.
As the door closes behind him. Myrna sits beside her son, pulling him into a hug.
"Honey, I know you want to become stronger, but you have to take it in stride, going about it too quickly can get you hurt." Myrna says.
"I know... I'm sorry." Arthur says.
Myrna rubs his head and then let's go of him, getting to her feet.
"I'll be back in a little bit."
Myrna leaves the room and Arthur begins reading a thick, leather-bound tome, the front has emblazoned gold letters, reading 'The Testament of the Flames', studying it intently.