We continued down the path towards our manor. The sun was just setting behind the trees leaving a beautiful view. The sky was a pretty orange and there was a strong wind that was blowing the trees. This weird feeling in my stomach was making me feel uneasy. I sent Alice a thought " Do you feel anything abnormal?" "No i don't master but i will let you know if i do." she said, refocusing on the essence around us.
I started to stare at Alice. I was glad to have Alice by my side since coming here. Having someone that I could talk to when I was a child really helped me grow as a person here in this world. Meeting her in the obscurity was the best thing that happened to me I just didn't realize at the time.
'Thank you Alice.' I thought sincerely,
'For what master?' she asked, confused.
'Everything, thank you for being by my side. I hope you'll always be there for me when I need you. And I hope I can be there for you if there's ever a time you need it.' I ended up feeling a little embarrassed saying this.
Alice's eyes turned to me, her cheeks a slight red. 'Thank you for your kind words master.' a big smile appeared on her face.
"Did something happen Alice? You're blushing." My little sister said, noticing Alice's bright red face.
"Oh nothing, your brother is just being a flirt."
"A flirt? But you guys weren't saying anything" Alice said, confused.
"We are able to talk telepathically." I said.
"Wait seriously?? That's so cool. Does it have a limited range?" Angeline Asked.
"To be honest I'm not sure, we haven't been separated yet." I said, now curious myself.
We were finally pulling into our house. We followed the path that led to the front door. Stepping out of the carriage we were greeted by my mother. It seems that I was worried for nothing. I felt so much better now that I was seeing my mother in front of me. My father was the first one to greet my mother, he whispered something in her ear before turning back to us.
Angeline greeted her next, giving her a quick side hug. Lastly It was my turn. I gave my mom a huge hug and said "I missed you." "Aww, I missed you too baby. Let's go inside, it seems we have a lot to talk about." She said, turning to the door.
I sent a thought to Alice to follow behind us but not to speak yet because I would introduce her in a little while.
We followed my mother to our living room which was an all white room with decently high ceilings. There were pictures of my grandparents that sadly passed away before I was born. The fireplace was also lit giving the room a slight orange color and making it quite warm in here.
"Would you like some tea before we begin?" My mother asked. "I would like some mother," Angeline said. "No thank you honey." My dad said. "I'm good as well," I added.
"How about the mysterious girl standing in the corner? Would you like some sweetheart?" My mother said with a smile.
"Mom this is Alice, she's a uhm goddess. And she's been with me since birth." I said.
"I see.. Is she not able to drink anything?" my mother asked. "I'm not sure." I said looking towards Alice who was standing behind me. " I can but I'm okay thank you lady Melonie." Alice said with a bow.
My mother poured the tea for herself and Angeline then proceeded to get comfortable on the sofa next to my sister. My dad sat across from them on his chair and I sat to his left in another chair with Alice behind me.
"So shall we start with probably the most important part. How many attunements did you receive, son or did you not receive any? She asked.
Getting up from my seat I walked closer to my mom and began to remove the black long sleeve my dad gave me to wear. For some reason I was nervous to show my mom. Pulling the shirt over my head I looked at my mom " I received 4."
"Oh my, that's…not what i expected." she said as she stood up to get a closer look. " I had the same reaction when he received them. I couldn't believe it. A celestial even offered to become his master so he could get familiar with his abilities." My dad joined in.
"And how did you respond to the offer Isaiah?" my mother asked.
"He said "No thanks" can you believe it?! He turned down a celestial." My sister said with a bit of annoyance in her voice.
"I have no reason to take her up on her offer. I don't need special treatment to get strong. I would prefer to learn at my own pace with the help of Alice." I said.
"Let's decide where we want to go from here. Having a son with 4 attunements and a blessing from a goddess is going to bring attention to him. We can either go public with this information or we can choose to hide it from people like the royal families and the top guilds." My dad continued. "Another option is enrolling you as an adventurer in my guild. I know you're still very young but it For the time being it will do you good, you can gain experience in real battles. As a part of your training." He added.
"Keeping it a secret may be the best choice for now until Isaiah can gain enough influence to do as pleases." My mom added. "What do you want to do baby?"
"I also want to keep things a secret for the time being. I would like to be able to train here at home and stay close to you all." I said.
"That settles it then. This information doesn't leave this room. Your awakening has already been documented just like everyone else's is. But If the celestial known as Sylara doesn't make a big deal over you it's likely we can go unnoticed for a while." My dad added.
I nodded. "What about my marks?" I asked, redirecting everyone's eyes to my chest. Everyone blankly stared at me, no one knew what to do about it. "I would like to try something." Alice said, breaking the silence. She wrapped her arms around me drifting back into my body. I waited a second before asking 'What are you doing?'
'Just watch.' She responded.
I could feel my body warming up, it felt as if I was being wrapped in a heated blanket. My body began to glow giving off a silver that was barely visible. It was so comfortable I couldn't help but close my eyes. Once I did I could see myself, I was standing there in the living room glowing. I wasn't sure how I was doing this right now but I was sure it was because of Alice.
Next thing I knew I could see my marks starting to fade away. It only took a few seconds before they were all gone. All of them except the one on my left arm. I closed my eyes once again, this time in the free state I was in. I opened them. I was back in my body, my family was staring at me confused.
"What happened?" My mother asked with a confused look on her face.
"Let me show you." I said, I started to remove the black long sleeve my father gave me. My mother and sister gasped in surprise while my father just stared at me in awe.
"How is this possible??" my father asked eagerly.
"I'm not sure exactly. Alice told me that she is able to do this by using a good amount of essence to swarm the areas of my marks. She won't be able to come out as long as I want these hidden." I finished.
"Does that mean we won't be seeing her for a while? I was hoping I could have a chat with her." My sister said with a frown. "Well I don't need to keep the marks hidden while I'm home so she can be out then." I said. Just as I finished Alice emerged from my body landing in the center of the room.
Eventually everyone cleared out of the living room, My mom accompanied my father to his study. My sister took Alice by the hand and eagerly pulled her in the direction of her room. Next thing I knew I was alone. It was good though it gave me some time to think about my next steps. No matter what I do , it seems the only way forward is to start my training as soon as possible.
As I walked through the house I started to think about a training regiment that I could follow for a while. First I need to get my body in shape. Enhancing my body with essence is nice and all but it can only take me so far. I need my physical body to be able to handle a constant use of essence enhancing my body.
After thinking for a while I had a plan in mind. In the morning I will start with a 2 mile run followed by doing basic workouts like squats, sit-ups, pushups and planks. I need to train till failure everyday. After a short break of getting something to eat I will work on my swordsmanship. Training with my father would be the best choice considering his skill with the sword.
After that is all done I will train my attunements with Alice to see what i am capable of now. Sparring with Alice is going to be the most beneficial thing i can do, in a world where essence and magic is power i need to be able to rival the top mages in this world. Of course through all this I need to fit in time with my family. After all, before anything I am a son and a brother.
Informing Alice of my plan through my thoughts I knew it was time to start.
And so begins my first training arc…