“Are you feeling well?” Eran asked.
“Mhm, yeah?”
“Then why are you walking so slow?”
Because
I was coming up with a believable excuse about the bruise and torn cloth so that Mum wouldn’t make a big deal out of it. Regrettably, I saw no way out of it. Maybe if I sneaked into the house and changed my shirt before she noticed… but that was almost akin to lying.
“So, when did your Da start training you in swords?” my friend asked. “I heard from my Da that your Da is a swordmaster.”
“He has never,” I said, crossing my arms on my chest as we neared home.
“Truly?” Eran said, incredulous. “For a moment, you really were like a true swordsman, you know?”
“Mhm,” I hummed, wondering about that. I got no certain answer to explain that single moment of brilliance. It was as if all my attributes worked in perfect alignment, enabling me to something greater. Maybe it was somehow related to my past life. Maybe I was a swordsman back then, and some of that spark returned to me during the fight, like how sometimes I got weird words and questions crawling up in my mind.
I shook my head. Whatever I was in my previous life wouldn’t help me now. I had hundreds of unanswered questions to prove that.
“That reminds me,” I asked, “aren’t you and Priam the same age? How did he awaken his Path when the ceremony is still a year away for you?”
Perhaps he had done it in a big city like Kleron, where the ceremonies were held twice or thrice a year, unlike in Karmel’s once during the winter solstice.
“Haven’t you heard?” Eran said. “I heard his Da hired a magus to help him awaken early.”
“Is that even possible?” I froze on the path.
Eran shrugged, unsure. “Da told me even a bag full of silver leafs isn’t enough to get a magus to help with awakening.”
But I had glimpsed Priam’s bright essence, not to mention how abrupt the last attack was. Surely, I hadn’t mistaken that, and his own sister confirmed it to be the case.
“You two finally found the way back, hmm?” Mum’s voice brought me back to reality.
I froze, finding her standing on the path along with Eran’s mother, cradling her newborn baby in her arms.
“Mum.” I pressed my arms tighter over the wound and walked falteringly towards her.
“Ma, we completed the second layer of archery today,” Eran ran enthusiastically with the good news. Then he began narrating the duels.
I almost facepalmed myself, but that would let them see the wound.
“You are sparring with awakened kids?” Mum faced me.
“I did only once,” I said, averting her eyes.
“You won’t believe it, but Arilyn almost won…”
Eran, stop helping!
I screamed inwardly.
“…but then Priam cheated by using his gift…”
I could not stop myself from palming my face anymore.
“Arilyn,” Mum said slowly, her eyes boring into me, and finally found the angry red bruise through the gaps of my torn tunic. Mum rarely reprimanded me, and I felt like this was one rare occasion.
Stooping down to me, she forcibly pulled my arms away, the look in her eyes shifting.
“It doesn’t hurt,” I said before her lips could part.
“Then why are you hiding it?”
Umm, a fair question.
“Come on, let’s go home. We have to tend to the wound,” she said, pulling me along with her after bidding goodbyes to the Stonecutters.
Father was lazing on the couch when we got home. Other than practising with his sword and helping around the house a bit, he didn’t offer much since he had been here.
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“What happened?” he perked up, noticing the wound on my chest.
“Nothing much,” Mum replied in an even voice. “Our son thought it was a good idea to fight against an awakened.”
“Foolish,” Father said, turning to me. “Did you win?”
“I won by disqualification,” I said with a grin.
“Well, that’s something.”
Mum glared up at him, challenging him to say another word. To his credit, he shut up instantly while she picked up a medicine kit.
I ground my teeth the moment she began cleaning the wound, though it didn’t help with the whimpers. The welt was mush now.
“At least she’s tender with you,” Father said with a smirk. “She poked my wound once to prove a point.”
“And you deserved it,” Mum snorted.
“I guess that’s fair.”
“Mum, do you know Priam already awakened his Path?” I said. “Before his ceremony.”
“He did, huh,” she mused.
“Eran said the Magistratus Octavius hired some magus to do it. Do you think it’s possible for Aunt to—”
“Don’t even think about it,” she cut me off.
“I didn't even say it…”
“You are going to awaken your Path the correct way,” she said.
I pouted, letting out a deep sigh. Well, it wasn’t like I absolutely needed to go through the ritual to awaken. I still remembered the conversation between Mum and Aunt Emi, where she hinted that Essence Unification was going to help with awakening.
If it was just Essence Unification, I couldn’t even begin to understand why everyone needed outside help. Maybe because the process was slow? I had been practising it for a couple of months now and hadn’t received any notion that I was anywhere close to awakening.
“You’re young, so you don’t know,” she said. “Those rituals are highly unreliable. Many children become crippled or face other problems because their parents thought it was a good idea to give them a few months of head start. What it does is force them to cut short their childhood.”
But what if the child wants it? I’m sure Priam wanted it.
But I could also see the reasoning behind Mum's argument.
“You still have it good,” Father said. “I was twice your age when I finally awakened my Path.”
“But doesn’t the Spell help everyone awaken after they turn four?” I said, slowly laying down on the couch.
“Unfortunately, the Spell is not available for everyone,” he said ruefully.
I tilted my head. As far as I was aware, the Spell was accessible throughout the realm and to everyone. Well, not within the rifts, but those places were uninhabitable.
“So, a magus helped you too, like Priam?” I said.
He shot a measured glance towards Mum. “Something like that.”
Mum sighed and rested across from me. “Your father did it on his own,” she said, as though a big weight had come off her chest. “Actually, I, your aunt, and even the little goblin—we all awakened our Path on our own.”
I frowned.
“You know the Unification process I taught you?”
I nodded.
“That is all you need to ignite your Essence seed.”
“Truly?” I asked. “How?”
“It’s a natural process,” Mum said. “When you reach the point where you believe you can no longer gather Essence in your centre, that’s when it happens. As you introduce more Essence into the fold, the swirl finally ignites to form a more solid seed of Essence. It’s a bit painful, but that’s common with the ritual as well.”
My frown only deepened. “But that’s so… simple.”
“Hear him?” Mum said to Father, her upper lip curving upwards. “He thinks it’s simple.”
“Must feel good to be born with a Gift,” he said, giving me a pat.
“You are on a good path, Pumpkin,” Mum said, coming before me. “Your ability to see Essence gives you an edge most people don’t have. Keep working at it, and you’ll get there soon.”
“Can I practise Unification more?” I pleaded.
Mum exchanged a look with Father. “No,” she said, shaking her head. “As much as your Gift gives you an advantage, Essence Unification is still an exhaustive process. Your Nascent Will may not be able to withstand more of it.”
I pouted.
Mum considered for a long moment. "Tell you what, you complete the fourth layer, and we'll discuss extending your practice."
"Truly?" I perked up
Mum nodded. “Meanwhile, there are still a few other things you can train.”
“Like swordsmanship?” I beamed at her.
Mum looked slightly affronted by the intensity in my eyes. Before she could give a definite answer, Father opened his mouth.
“Sure, I can train you in swordsmanship and some other forms. You’re about the right age, I—”
“Right age?” Mum interjected. “He hasn't even seen three full winters.”
Father opened his mouth to argue, then pursed his lips, remembering he couldn't win an argument against her. He could only turn to someone who could win it for him.
Me!
"Why don't we hear from him?" he said.
Mum glared at him. ''This isn't over here," saying that she turned to me. “Pumpkin, do you want to learn swordsmanship?”
My brows wrinkled as I peered at her. Her expression did not betray anything, but I could tell she didn't favour the idea of me fighting with a sword. Perhaps not at my current age.
True, I hoped to be a Shaper, which strictly didn’t require swordsmanship, though many still trained in it. Besides, it was my wish to be a Shaper, and wishes often did not come true. Like how Mum’s mum trained her to be a Shaper, but what she got was a Crafter.
Then I remembered the exhilarating feeling when I took up the wooden cane against Priam. I couldn't even recount the moment properly, much less tap into it. But only made me stubborn about learning swordsmanship.
“I…” My eyes snapped open and found her staring at me. I met her gaze “I want to try…”
Mum exhaled slowly. "I was finally ready to give you lessons on Runes," Mum teased, "but it seemed, you don’t want it anymore."
"Who said I don't?" I flared up. "I want it!"
Mum smiled, stroking my hair, which was enough to reassure me. Finally, she turned towards Father. "Make sure to not go full burning hell on him."
"I wouldn't even dream of it." Father lips broke into a soft smile before he turned to me. “Guess I’ll teach you self-defence from tomorrow."
“Self-defence? Not swordsmanship?”
“That too,” he chuckled. “I warn you, though. It won’t be as you may have imagined.”
I spared him a glance. “I imagine it to be putting in hours after hours—hundreds of thousands of them—practising boring stances and katas, sparring with others while bleeding sweat and tears…” I paused. “Is it different from that?”
Father was flabbergasted. He shot Mum a look, which she returned with a smirk that clearly said,
It’s your problem now. Deal with it.
“Well, so long as you’re prepared for it.”