POV Eliza
After Aslan and his companions went on a new adventure, two years had passed. I had returned to an old daily rhythm, physical exercise in the morning, working for the community at lunchtime and theory lessons in the afternoon. In the evening I had my free time and, as before, did my magic exercises. The physical exercises were increasingly supplemented by combat exercises. Since I was still very weak, even for my age, I could not fight with weapons heavier than a dagger. The only thing that was added was exercises with throwing weapons. I had learned to throw knives and daggers at targets. I would have been interested in archery, but the string was so tight that I couldn't pull it, even from the small children's bow.
The biggest change was in how I helped the community. I was a very quick learner, much faster than the other two children who were in class with me, and quickly got to the point where I learned all the important basics. This allowed me to focus my attention on other areas. I had already decided beforehand to learn as many skills as possible and, if possible, improve them. That's why I helped with almost every activity that was carried out in the village. This includes, above all, all the crafts that produce or process something. In our community this includes wood and leatherworking as well as tailoring, cooking and simple potions. I had skipped the physically demanding jobs such as metal and stone working. There are also simple tasks involved in caring for the sick and injured. Everyone in the community was amazed that I understood even complex topics and instructions without problems.
I now also knew when my birthday was. After Mimi was astonished to discover that I had turned 6 unnoticed in the first winter, I had to promise her that I would pay attention to when I turned 7 the following winter. Unlike the rest of the empire, every birthday here was celebrated. In the Empire it was only the 5th for the status ceremony, the 10th for choosing a class and the 15th for becoming an adult. After that, you were free to choose whether you wanted to celebrate, even if only the nobles and the rich did it.
I then had an appraisal done on myself every morning in the winter and discovered that my birthday was exactly at the turn of the year. The turn of the year was also the shortest day with the fewest hours of sunshine. In the Empire, the night was considered a night of repentance, when sins committed the previous year were revealed in secret. Every believer spent the night in worship and no one left the house voluntarily. I found this custom strange, regardless of the fact that I was not of the Lumos faith. And since every other god was forbidden in the Empire, there was no alternative but Lumos. In the community everyone had their own beliefs. The Beastkin believed in Leon, the lion-headed god of strength, and Leonie, the jaguar-headed goddess of agility. The people in the community either had no faith or did not actively practice their Lumos beliefs. In any case, I didn't think that night was bad, on the contrary. That night the full moon seemed to shine particularly brightly and I couldn't take my eyes off it. I was usually awake late on full moon nights. It was as if he had me under his spell. The peace and quiet that surrounded me during these hours was a balm for my soul. It was as if I was removed from the world in time. This condition continued for a few hours later and that morning I didn't perform well when it came to mental work. It was usually over by midday, which left me with a strange feeling of loneliness and loss. It was very difficult to describe, but the community had already gotten used to it. They always joke that I'm moonstruck and in withdrawal for the hours afterwards.
One morning when I was 9 years old, I received a visit from Kira. Kira was a human woman and the second hunter next to Yuna. As a result, she spent a lot of time outside the village.
“Good morning, Eliza. How are you?”
“Good morning, Kira. Well so far. What can I do for you?”
“Would you like to accompany me into the forest today? I would like to collect herbs and roots and I can imagine that you would like to get out of the camp."
Go to the forest? Get to know a new environment? That sounded exciting. I noticed how restless I was. I nodded eagerly.
“I can tell you’re keen. I could have imagined that with an elf. You love nature. Then get ready. I'll come pick you up in half an hour. We’ll meet at the exit.”
I immediately ran into our hut and frantically thought about what I might need. Mimi was still sitting at the table and looked at me with a smile. Apparently she already knew that I was going into the forest with Kira. But don't get distracted now, Eliza. What could I need? What should I wear? I looked in my chest and didn't find anything suitable. Shit, I hardly had any of my own stuff. Hmm, why? If I needed something, I simply asked and then gave it back. Ultimately I settled on just my cloak and dagger. I was given the dagger for my last birthday. It was my first own item that belongs only to me. Everyone in the village had their own one and it served as an all-purpose tool. It would serve me well in the forest. I hadn't been able to use it yet. I quickly checked my shoes to see if they were broken. Luckily it wasn't them. Then let's go quickly to the exit.
“Take care of your skin, little one. You know how quickly you get sunburned.”
"Yes Mama. I will.”
Kira was already waiting for me at the exit. She looked like a typical hunter. She was dressed in sturdy clothing, along with a spear and a bow with a quiver. In her hand she held two bags, one larger and one smaller.
“I see you’ve thought about your cloak. Exemplary, then you'll get sunburned worse. It's cooler in the forest than here in the camp, so it will keep you warm too. It rained two days ago. This also makes it cooler. Here, take the smaller of the two bags. There is some bread and dried meat in it, as well as a waterskin. We will spend the day in the forest. Then I'll show you what's there. If you enjoy the trip and act cleverly, we can do it more often.”
I was very tense as we went into the forest, aber also very excited.
One day before in the camp:
POV Mimi:
There were three people sitting in a small hut, and two more next to me. We met to talk about Eliza. We met often with changing line-ups. This time it was Jared, the combat trainer, and Kenni, a former merchant and current teacher of the children.
“What are your impressions, Jared? How has she been doing over the last few months?”
“She does well with the exercises I do with her. She makes up for her lack of strength with commitment and motivation. But it has advantages in terms of reaction and speed.”
“So essentially nothing new. How is she doing with you, Kenni?”
“I can only repeat what I have already said before. She learns at an incredible speed and absorbs the information. She can very quickly draw conclusions from known to unknown facts, as if she had hidden knowledge. If you had told me before that she was 10 years older and had already attended an academy, I would have believed it. She could even do math, but didn't know the numbers. It's as if she already has the knowledge and just needs to remember it. I can hardly teach her anything anymore.”
“I already had that impression, too. Just the way she expresses herself. It's like she's an adult in a child's body. Another topic, does she give you the impression that she’s a spy from the Empire who has been transformed?”
“It can’t be completely ruled out, but I doubt it. Her body and the reactions she shows in my training are clearly those of an inexperienced beginner. If she were a spy in disguise, she would also have to be able to control instincts and reflexes. Besides, a spy wouldn't be so stupid as to make such simple mistakes. And she came to us at the age of 5. I doubt the Empire would turn a five-year-old elf into a spy.”
“I don’t think she is either. If we treat a topic in theory that she can already do, she turns to something else and deals with herself. Who voluntarily reads travel stories if they already know this region? Plus, when we cover something new to them, their motivation is genuine. But that doesn’t change the fact that she doesn’t need me anymore.”
“Okay, it looks like she’s not a spy. I'm relieved. I wouldn’t have known what I would have done otherwise.”
“You act just like her mother.”
“So what, she’s just grown on me and I don’t have any children of my own. She even calls me mama and that is an incredibly good feeling. More importantly, what do we do with her now? I could make her a good tailor, but that would be a waste. Now that we've agreed that she's not a spy, we need something suitable for her to do. We should also decide from this what she will choose as a class.”
“How about Kira? I know from Aslan that she has great talent as a scout. It would be good if she left the camp for a while. She can accompany Kira on her visits to the forest and gain her first experiences in nature. It won't be enough to be a hunter if she can't use a bow, but she can do everything else. Gathering food, setting traps, fishing, observing animals and so on. What do you think?”
"Yes, that sounds good. Her good senses are perfect for this and she is also skilled. I will talk to her.”
"Do that. Then I'll go to Will and report back to him. He will also be relieved by our impressions.”
The other two nodded and we all left the hut.