ã€ŠA Defender&#x27;s Rageã€‹


 Prologue

    The clamouring of beasts and monsters resounded through the air. All manner of demon beasts and undead monstrosities slammed against a thick wall of purple light. Tail, claw, and fang all crashed against the wall again and again, yet found no purchase. They circled the wall, the dome of light, and they waited.

    Lying prone in the centre of the dome, a young man stared up at the sky. He was a muscular man, arms thick and corded and much of his body was covered in scars. His single iris was glowing bright purple, the other eye lost in a mass of blood and rended tissue. Shattered gauntlets had fallen from his fists, broken hands showing splinters of bone through shredded skin. Even in this dire state, he was not weeping, nor lamenting. He was bargaining.

    ¡°What you did was cruel and unjust. You had no right to target a young boy''s feelings of fear and insecurity and use them to bind me!¡±. His voice never rose above a low whisper, but every word dripped with venom and malice. ¡°If you had not interfered, if you had let me grow my own way, then none of this would have happened! I could have saved them! All of them!¡±. The words tore themselves from his lips and fell quietly on the wind, drowned out by the cacophony of monsters not feet away, still slamming and striking the wall with all their might.

    ¡°Again. One more time. What¡¯s the phrase from back home again, ¡­double or nothing? Let me try again and don¡¯t bind me with fetters of insecurity this time. Just let me try one more time,¡± the man''s trembling voice hardened as tears fell from his eye, ¡°Because if you don¡¯t¡­ If you don¡¯t I swear I will turn against everything you have ever loved, created or bestowed your blessing upon, you aggravating bastard of a God!¡±. His ruined hands clawed at the blood-soaked mud, the stench of death clinging to his skin as he dragged himself up into a sitting position and waited.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    Seconds turned into minutes as the wall of light shook and cracked under the relentless onslaught from the ever-growing army of grotesque creatures. Then his vision was consumed by light, and a low-pitched hum buzzed into his ears until words seemed to come from everywhere around him.

    ¡°Few gain any of the chances you do, Child. But alas I fear perhaps your state is my doing. I did not wish for you to become so torn and full of pain. I did not wish this much loss upon you. So I will fulfill your request.¡± The man''s eyes widened, his broken body shaking from the flood of emotions. ¡°Just this once I will do what you ask. You will go back, and we will not interfere this time. You will retain no memories of this life, but the echoes will remain in your soul. Save those you wish to save this time and curse me no longer.¡± As the white glow grew, his body began to tear apart, burning in the radiance, but a grin that was barely a baring of teeth was visible even through the blinding light until even the final staring violet eye was consumed

    ¡°You received another chance once again, Child. I hope this time, you use it how you wish.¡±. Even the God did not know if his final lament reached the broken man''s ears, or if it meant anything to him at all.

 Beginning

    Adrien Holcaster was a pretty stand-up guy if he did say so himself. Sure he got drunk on occasion, and sometimes he ran his mouth a little but he always knew when enough was enough and was the first to apologise if he ever made a situation worse. He had a pretty good grasp of people and was always able to match people''s energy to make them feel comfortable or help them when they were feeling down. He always thought he got that trait from his mother. She raised him on her own, so they were incredibly close, and even now he was at university they still talked a lot on the phone, or whenever either of them had problems to share.

    ¡°Well, Mum is sure as hell going to be mad at this one,¡± Adrian thought as he looked down at the knife sticking out from his chest. ¡°Twenty years old and you don¡¯t know better than to run towards the man with the knife? God I am such a jackass,¡±.

    As his hands started to get cold, he could see people running towards him. The man who had been brandishing the knife was being held on the floor screaming about something, and the boy who had been being threatened was crying and staring at Adrian with wide eyes. Adrian forced out a smile. He didn¡¯t want to die, but the crying child in front of him wasn¡¯t something he could ignore even in as much pain as he was.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry so much kid, I would always rather you than me. I just hope Mum gets through it alright, she is such a worrier.¡± And with that last thought, Adrian Holcaster¡¯s soul slipped from his body along with his final breath.

    * * *

    ¡°Well shit,¡± spat a young boy sat on the floor surrounded by books. He remembered coming into his family''s library to try and read a little about the surrounding area, but halfway through the first page his head started to spin and he had to lie on the floor to stop himself from throwing up from the sensation. After a few moments, memories started to pour into his skull, memories of another life in another world, a vastly different world.

    He remembered a world with cars, technology and smartphones.

    He remembered university exams, friends and loved ones.

    He remembered a dangerous moment, a sharp blade and then searing pain.

    He remembered a mother who must have lost her son too soon.

    The boy stumbled to his feet and ran out through the heavy wooden door, leaving open books and papers strewn on the floor behind him, weaving through the halls until he entered his bedroom. Staggering to the basin full of water he had washed his face in not an hour before, he stared into his reflection as he tried to collect the memories he knew and the memories he didn¡¯t quite understand.

    Adrian Holcaster had been Twenty years old with short, dark brown hair and brown eyes. He had a crooked nose from breaking it falling down a flight of stairs, and a light dusting of freckles across his cheeks. His shoulders had been broad and his belly had just been starting to get a little softer than it should have been. The face in the pool of water in front of the boy looked nothing like that, and it helped his mind sort the memories of the past ten years and of Adrian into separate entities.

    The face looking out at him from the reflection was young, smooth and unblemished. Deep blue eyes peered out of almost blindingly pale skin, a smooth and straight nose and jaw still rounded by baby fat. Long, thick silver hair fell down around his shoulders, held back from his face with a tied leather strand. A droplet of blood fell from the wound bitten into the corner of the lower lip in the stress and haste to get back to this basin, and as it splashed into the water it was as if everything around the young face staring out at him became crystal clear.

    As the surroundings of the room filled with clarity, Eres von Hytheiem stared at the face that had looked back at him every day for the last ten years of his life as if it were a stranger. He remembered a life and death in another world, and the last few years of his life as Eres clearly, but now he was struggling to understand. Had he always been influenced by Adrian? Or now he had these memories did the person he was change? Would his family notice the difference?

    As that last thought crossed his mind, his stomach soured. He remembered Adrian¡¯s mother, a kind and loving woman who always wanted the best for her son, who tucked him in when he was small and looked after him when he was sick. He remembered the worried look on her face when he came home too late, or how she consoled him through breakups with humour and warmth. Sure it had only been the two of them, but they had been a close and loving family.

    Looking around the spacious bedroom, Eres felt regret twist his heart. Leaving his mother back when he was still Adrian was painful, but now he was living a life of luxury and abundance, he missed her even more. The room he was in was covered in finery, a large bed placed against the far wall, long drapes pulled back almost floor-to-ceiling windows let light stream onto the thick carpeted floor. Yet after sprinting through the hallways with his eyes wide and making a fuss and noise, not a single person had come to check on him. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    ¡°I miss you now, Mum,¡± he muttered. The voice was high and shaky, not yet having broken. As tears began gathering in his eyes, he sank to the floor and cried for a woman in a different world, and the pain she must have felt. Just like any other ten year old when something hurt, he cried for his mother, but no one came.

    * * *

    After nearly an hour of crying and sorting through his emotions, Eres began to think about what he knew about the world and the new light he could see it in with the memories from his previous life.

    Eres was born as the third child of Baron Kyer and Baroness Adalia of the Hytheiem household. The world he was in was one like so many of the stories he had read before, a world of magic and monsters. This society worked on systems of feudal significance, commoners working for Nobles who were working for Kings and Queens. As the third child, he was considered of lesser importance. Baron Kyer was the ruler of this small Barony, but he had designs on so much more. He married his wife simply to achieve his title and has been sparing no expense to train his firstborn son, Illyon as a worthy heir.

    Ilyon was currently seventeen, a year above the age of majority, but Baron Kyer still believed he had much to teach him, so he was still living in the main house, still treating the servants with an imperious nature and still glaring strangely at Eres over dinner.

    The second child was Eres¡¯s sister, Ellsa. Only a year older than him, he had many fond memories of playing together when they were still toddlers and young children, but last year she was taken to learn etiquette and grow up as a ¡°proper lady of this household¡± as the Baron put it.

    As his new memories were firmly settling into place, a sense of distaste was spreading through his body at his father''s actions. He knew logically that marrying for power and status was incredibly common, and even the books Eres was read as a child by his nanny had many stories of arranged marriages between Princes and Princesses who grew up happily ever after, as if it was the only way things were done. But to tie someone who doesn¡¯t love you into your desire for power and then impart that same belief to your children? Eres felt his muscles tighten as his jaw clenched and his hands balled into fists.

    As the third child, he had been mostly ignored, taught the basics of society and literacy and told to read whatever was of interest to him. His Father had been teaching Illyon and his mother was always out at societal events. Tea parties, balls, sports gatherings and hunting competitions, if there were to be other nobility there the Baron insisted on their family showing a presence. It was almost funny how often that presenting the family as a strong unit fell to his wife and never to him.

    As footsteps started to move on the stone floor outside, Eres stood up and washed his face of any remnants of tears. The clacking of heels on granite rang through his head until he looked up at the doorway to see an old woman in a long brown dress.

    The Head Maid, Bruna, stared at him with the same gaze that almost looked through him. As if she didn¡¯t see a person standing there, but a disposable thing. A replacement for if something awful happened to the true children of the house. It made him feel queasy imagining this old crone''s thoughts about him.

    ¡°Young Master, it is time. Follow me to the entrance hall,¡±. Her words were crisp and proper, as formal and respectful as if she was talking to the Baron himself, but the stone mask of her face never once moved into anything other than sealed contempt. Her grey hair was pulled into a tight bun above her head making her already stiff countenance even more severe. Without waiting for a response she turned on her heel and started walking down the hallway, leaving Eres to scramble to catch up.

    ¡°Excuse me, Bruna,¡± He said, his voice cracking a little from the work for crying earlier. ¡°You said it is time? Time for what, I didn¡¯t realise I had an appointment today?¡±. Racking his brains as hard as he could, Eres couldn¡¯t remember the maids mentioning anything to him when they woke him up for breakfast this morning. He could have sworn he saw Bruna¡¯s shoulders twitch as he spoke to her, only realising after that he had probably not sounded like a ten-year-old should.

    ¡°Your tenth birthday was a week ago, Young Master, so your Blessing should be stable now. Your Mother and Father are taking you to the temple so you can get it confirmed by the Priest there,¡± the Head Maid¡¯s tone was still clipped and proper, but her gaze stayed straight forwards even when talking to one of the members of the house. Her conduct would be considered rude by anyone, but Eres didn¡¯t even consider questioning it. He remembered that this was how he had always been treated and making a fuss out of it now might lead someone to think something had changed. He needed to slowly change his position in the household so that it wouldn¡¯t cause backlash.

    It was only as he started to descend the stairs that the actual contents of Bruna¡¯s words sunk in. Eres had a simple knowledge of Blessings as Gifts from the Gods that improved one''s ability in various forms of combat, but memories of fantasy novels, games and comics from Adrian¡¯s world were swirling around in his head. Any fear that might have existed from being in a world of monsters and violence was suppressed by Eres¡¯s memories, as it was all he had ever known, all that was left was Eres¡¯s excitement at receiving a blessing from the Gods and Adrian¡¯s excitement at something he had seen so many times.

    As he followed Bruna downstairs and through the large front doors to a pair of horse-drawn carriages, to wait for the master of the house, a smile began to build on his young face, and his blue eyes seemed to shine with light. Like this, the memories began to coalesce and any true distinction between the two personalities blurred further.

 Blessing

    As the midday sun beat down upon him, Eres wondered why he had needed to come and stand by the carriage for almost a full hour before his parents would join him. He had whiled away the first fifteen minutes thinking about all the absurd powers his Blessing could give him, before Eres¡¯s memories about what blessings truly were had come to the forefront putting a stop to delusions of instantly attaining unlimited power.

    The next twenty minutes had been spent looking at the line of servants and maids standing next to the carriage and trying to remember all of their names. He failed terribly, only managing to name the Head Butler, Sylas, and the Head Maid, Bruna. No one else''s faces looked particularly familiar, but he did see a pitying look on some of the younger faces. Eres did his best to remember those faces as people who could perhaps be swayed to his side. Already the extra life''s worth of memories was at work, searching for advantages in a bad situation, just like looking for an easier examiner or interviewer in school applications to up his chances.

    As he stood, trying to remember faces while squinting through the glaring sun, the doors to the entrance hall swung open once again, and two tall men in armour stepped out from inside the house. They stood to either side of the pathway, flanking in a saluting position. The bright sun glinted off their polished breastplates, and the long spears held at their side pointed straight up into the sky. Everything about them was as clean-cut and proper as the house servants who stood around the two carriages, from their tightly laced leather boots to the pressed collars of their jerkins tight around their necks. Beads of sweat began to form on the armoured figure''s face almost instantly, but they maintained their posture with the grace of those who had done this many a time. Not long after the Guardsmen took up their posts, a large man with brown hair so dark it was nearly black and piercing blue eyes stepped through the door. Over six feet tall and as broad across the shoulders as anyone Eres had ever seen, Baron Kyer von Hytheiem looked more like a berserker in build than a lord. A long but well-combed and oiled beard covered the lower half of his face, the darkness of it making the paleness of his skin stand out further against the darker tans of all the servants and guards present. Garbed in a deeper blue and silver doublet with a duelling sabre strapped to his belt, he was a perfect dichotomy. The build of a warrior but the look and dress of a noble. The sight was so strange it almost made Eres laugh, but he choked it back down with difficulty to avoid making a fuss.

    As Baron Kyer began to stride down the steps, gaze held high above his servants and only towards the carriage he would be boarding, a woman began to exit the doorway behind him. Adalia von Hytheiem wasn¡¯t a particularly tall woman, only coming up to her husband''s chin. Her frame was slight and her long silver hair was pulled up in an intricate knot to keep her face clear of any obstructions. A long dress, coat and parasol all matched the Baron¡¯s outfit of blue and silver as she began to descend the short flight of stairs, her left hand being held by one of the guards to steady her. As she began to move towards the carriage, she looked at Eres and almost stumbled. She gathered herself quickly and moved to the carriage with her husband, but her demeanour was now icy, her face set into a cool mask.

    Eres himself was baffled by this. She knew that he was going to be learning of his blessing today, so why had his presence angered her? His memories of his previous life were still at the forefront of his mind, he had to consciously search back through memories of his interactions with his mother, and they were startlingly few. The occasional formal dinner with the family or escorted walk around the gardens were the only close interactions he had with her, but she had always seemed cold and aloof, preferring to discuss his studies and how he had to best represent the house rather than emotional topics. These memories only confused him further, as she had never seemed displeased by him in the past, in fact, his mother had never shown any emotion to him at all. A quick glance down showed his tunic properly styled, both shoes well tied and even a brief run-through of his hands was enough to know his hair was all tied back neatly and properly. As various scenarios ran through his head, the smaller carriage door was thrown open by one of the junior butlers, who gestured to the interior wordlessly. Mind still searching for any answers, Eres clambered up the too-large steps and settled into the somewhat shabby seats, as the dull rumble of the wheels on cobblestones began.

    * * *

    The Hytheiem Estate wasn¡¯t large enough to have anything resembling a true Cathedral. For most children, they had to wait for a travelling Priest to come through twice a year and inform them of their blessings. A child of the Baron however was afforded special privilege, and the Holy Church had sent a Bishop with the required equipment to the local Church. This church was only a half hour away by carriage, so Eres didn¡¯t have long to get lost in his thoughts before the small spired building was visible through the crack in the curtained window. Eyes wide, he gazed out at the church in awe. A seemingly mechanical clock placed in the tower of the spire, tall glass windows and large double doors thrown open in welcome, it was unlike anything Eres had seen. The memories of Adrien had similar, and much grander, buildings, but this was his first time seeing it for himself. At ten years old he had only left the main house once and the memories were murky. He remembered nothing of the surrounding town, and this first glimpse of civilisation outside of his home and the pictures in the books he read made his blood race.

    Kneeling on the seat with his face pressed up to the window so that he could take in every detail, Eres almost tumbled head-first off the bench when the carriage came to a sudden stop. Luckily he braced himself against the other bench and instead ended up on all fours, but he felt the leather tie in his hair loosen and fall to the ground, his silver hair falling around his face. Wiping the sweat from his brow at the lucky avoidance of injury, he tucked the leather strip into his pocket and pushed the hair back from his face with his hand, leaving it flowing down to his shoulders as the carriage door opened once more, the same junior butler gesturing for him to exit, this time holding a hand out for assistance. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Eres ignored the hand and hopped off of the carriage and stepped onto the flat stone below, entranced with his surroundings once again. Various men and women in plain clothes stood beyond the fence to this stone courtyard, looking at the Baron¡¯s carriage in awe. Eres searched the multitude of faces at the boundary and realised he had never seen so many people in one place. Even when all of the servants at the house gathered, it was only maybe half of the people gathered here, and there were even more in the town than just this?! He had known it logically after reading reports on the area but knowing and understanding are different things entirely!

    ¡°Young Master, you must hurry inside!¡±. Just as Eres was getting caught up in interesting thoughts, a strict voice cut through the air. The Junior Butler was looking at him with disdain and gesturing to the open doors just as the Baron¡¯s back disappeared from view. With a deep sigh, Eres began to cross the courtyard at a swift trot, briefly looking back at the displeased butler behind him.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Eres spoke somewhat breathlessly as he walked as fast as he could without running, and he saw the butler''s eyes widen.

    ¡°Um, my name is Ian, Young Master.¡± His tone was still clipped and sour, but no longer laced with the same disdain. ¡°Is there something I can do for you?¡±.

    ¡°No. Just curious!¡± Eres smiled up at the man, barely biting back scathing words. Adrien¡¯s memories were screaming at him not to take this level of mistreatment, but Eres knew he had to keep the status quo as it was for now, even if it grated against him.

    As he walked through the doors into the cool interior, he saw his parents kneeling at an altar deeper into the room, and all of the servants had taken up positions against the surrounding walls to let them pray. Eres began to walk forward to join them when a hand grasped his shoulder, the edge of a large ring biting into his skin through the tunic.

    ¡°This way, Young One, I will test you,¡± The man who spoke wore deep green robes adorned with silver and gold thread, and each of his middle fingers had a large golden ring upon them. Wisps of grey hair escaped from a small hat that fell forward onto his brow and heavy-lidded eyes peered out from under wild eyebrows. ¡°My name is Bishop Marcus, and at the Kingdom''s request, I am here to help you determine your blessing. Now follow.¡±

    The imperious tone of the Bishop brooked no disagreement, and he had turned on his heel and marched down a side passage before Eres could speak a word. With a small shake of his head, he followed a few paces behind the Bishop, wandering down the dark hallway until he reached a small office. The door was already wide open and the older man was fiddling with a large golden dish on the desk, swirling some type of liquid in it as he crumbled some plants into it.

    ¡°Come, come, sit now!¡± The Bishop didn¡¯t look up as he spoke, but he gestured towards a chair in front of the dish. As the last of the plants left his hand a gold flash of light erupted from the bowl and Eres halted his movement towards the chair. At this, the heavy-lidded eyes once again met his and a harsh chuckle escaped his throat. ¡°Scared of a little Divinity boy? Come on, sit down already.¡±

    Eres perched himself cautiously on the edge of the chair as the Bishop sat into a luxurious armchair. He tried to restrain himself, but curiosity weighed heavier than his common sense.

    ¡°So that is what Divine Power looks like then?¡± Leaning forward and peering into the bowl the liquid inside was opaque and metallic, a still silver surface with golden flakes scattered through it. His own eyes gazed back at him from the bowl, and the reflection seemed as clear as any mirror.

    ¡°Of course, I am a Bishop after all,¡± The old man seemed tired, and the snap had left his voice, ¡°Perhaps you will have talent in it too. Place your hand in liquid, and it should allow you to understand your blessing, both its type and its current strength. Come now, setting this up like this is a tiring process, so let''s get a move on.¡±

    Eres watched the ringed hands gesture to the bowl and slowly extended his own hand above the surface. He looked up at the old man and felt a nervous shiver run down his spine. The old man''s face softened.

    ¡°Any blessing is a gift from the God''s child, and any blessing is useful if employed correctly. Don¡¯t worry about what you are going to get, just enjoy the gift you have been given,¡± said the Bishop softly. ¡°Let us see what Blessing you have been given, shall we?¡±

    Eres let out a breath he hadn¡¯t realised he had been holding. His shoulders slumped as his whole body relaxed and he nodded to the Bishop. He lowered his hand under the metallic liquid, and it felt as if ice was clinging to his skin. First, a second passed, then two with no change. Just as Eres began to panic, his vision exploded in light, and he clamped his eyes shut against the sudden glare. Stars swam in his vision as he opened his eyes, and as he rubbed them away, he realised the ice-like liquid had faded, as had the hardwood he had been perched on.

    Glancing around him, Eres saw nothing but empty white space. Looking down he could see ripples on the floor as if he was standing in a pond, but that too was an empty white void. He began to spin around in panic, wondering where he was until a voice boomed through the space.

    ¡°Calm yourself child, and look above you.¡±

 Audience

    ¡°Calm yourself child, and look above you.¡±

    As the deep voice echoed through the empty white space, Eres looked up in the air and promptly fell onto his backside, as staring down at him were seven figures. They floated in the air as if they were sitting on invisible thrones, and more than one of them chuckled at his fall.

    The middle figure floated down closer to Eres until he was only a few feet above him. Though hovering in the air, now he was up close Eres could see that the figure looked to be a teenage boy with a shock of black hair and pure white eyes. Dressed in a pure white tunic and no shoes, he was curled in whatever invisible chair he possessed in a languid position, chin perched in hand.

    ¡°Hey, kid. The old ones sent me down here to chat with you because I looked closest to your age. You can call me Ekros,¡± the Boy spoke happily, a laugh in his tone, ¡°and I am going to give you some wisdom, how does that sound?¡±

    Eres just stared blankly at the boy. Old ones? Wisdom? Ekros? He was very quickly losing his grasp on anything that was happening and as he looked up behind the boy in front of him he noticed the other six figures were gone. Slowly clambering to his feet he stared at the floating boy in front of him and began to speak.

    ¡°Ekros was it? Just going to be plain with you here but I am really not sure what is going on. I was in an office and now I am here, and you happen to be floating, so sure, wisdom sounds great if it comes with an explanation.¡± Eres'' voice started off barely a mumble but gained strength with every word until he was speaking at his usual volume and pace. The dark-haired boy in front of him went from a small smile to a face-splitting grin.

    ¡°Look at you go Kid! That''s better, much better! Some fire in you,¡± Ekros laughed out loud as he spoke, the harsh sound echoing off into the distance. ¡°Sure, wisdom and an explanation that seems doable to me.¡±

    Ekros cleared his throat a few times and began to speak, ¡°Let¡¯s start simple. You are still in an office, we just brought your consciousness here for a moment so we could speak. Don¡¯t worry, no time will pass while you are here and you were only brought here to talk, so any worries you have about that can be put aside, assuming you believe me anyway.

    ¡°Explanation wise you can consider us, me and the six other folks who just floated off, to be administrators of this world. Common folk call us the Gods, but you aren¡¯t quite common, are you?¡±

    ¡°Not common? What, cause I am a Baron¡¯s child?¡± Eres felt sweat form on the back of his neck as he watched the smile of the boy in front of him grow.

    ¡°No no no, not because of that!¡± Ekros laughed out, the laugh once again booming around the space and into the distance. ¡°Even the children of Nobles don''t often have memories of their past life you know.

    And no, before you ask, it isn¡¯t our doing. Think of it like a glitch in the system that reincarnates souls, you just happened to keep your memories. It is rare, but not unheard of. So, that goes for the explanation¡­ any questions?¡±

    ¡°Well, past life aside¡­ Gods? Does everyone meet a God when they learn about their blessing?¡± Eres asked.

    ¡°Nope, that is a virtue of you having memories of your past life and a rather unusual blessing. We occasionally talk to people of interest in your world, but it is rather rare and normally only a significant event causes our interest so¡­ Congratulations?¡± Ekros struggled to keep a straight face as he shrugged.

    ¡°Okay, sure. Past life means interest, I vaguely understand,¡± Eres heaved a sigh as his posture slumped, ¡°So this wisdom has to do with my blessing I guess, and how it is unusual?¡±

    Eres tried to keep his face calm, but the memories of Adrien once again had his inner voice sprinting around yelling about cheat skills, infinite power and level-ups. His lips twitched up into a smirk before he remembered that the being in front of him had already been aware of all his secrets, so probably knew of the childish thoughts in his head, causing his shoulders to dip lower again.

    ¡°Very well put. The wisdom I am going to impart is less about how your blessing works and more about what you should do with it,¡± Ekros chuckled at Eres'' slumped frame, before sitting up in a straight-backed posture. ¡°You have what is called a Unique blessing, meaning that it can only exist in one being in the world at a time. They are rare but just like your past memories, they aren''t unheard of. That being said, I would suggest coming up with a sufficient lie to cover your blessing so that people don¡¯t exploit you, at least until you are able to use it well.¡±

    Eres was silent for a few seconds as he thought before he slowly said ¡°So I don¡¯t need to hide this or try not to use it? Just wait until I can defend myself and go from there?¡±

    Ekros balked, but thankfully Eres¡¯ gaze was still on the floor as he was thinking. ¡°No kid, you can practise and use it. Who would ever tell you not to use a gift given because of fear,¡± his words tumbled out as he rushed to make himself understood, ¡°Of course the blessing is yours so how you use it is up to you, this is just a suggestion.¡±

    ¡°So when I head back to that office, I will understand my blessing just like everyone else does?¡± The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The second we send you back the connection will be made and you will understand everything about your blessing, like everyone from the most common to the rarest blessing. Just like everyone else you will have to put hard work in to make it anything more than a minor boon, but I am sure you can manage that.¡±

    Eres let out a long slow breath. ¡°Ekros, God, whatever I should call you¡­ Thanks. You went out of your way to help me out and not let me blunder through this, so even if it was just idle curiosity, thanks for the help, really.¡± Eres looked up at the surprised eyes of the God in front of him, and his face lit up in a smile.

    A small chuckle escaped his lips until eventually, a rolling belly laugh escaped the hovering boy''s lips. Unlike his previous laughter this didn¡¯t boom around the strangely empty space nor did it echo into the distance. This laughter was small and personal, and it continued until tears were leaking from the edges of his closed eyes. Eres stood there perplexed as the boy laughed for a few moments until he felt slight giggles escaping him also. It was all so silly, he was talking to a god, with someone else''s memories floating around his head to the point he wasn¡¯t even sure who he was.

    How utterly ridiculous!

    Eventually, the two boys'' laughter ceased, though Ekros was still hunched clutching his sides. Wiping the tears from his eyes he spoke, ¡°You know kid, I think you are the first person to thank a God for their favour in a thousand years. Sure people thank the heavens and they thank the concept of us, but you thanked me, me a literal God, as if I was your neighbour or friend. How truly unexpected, how sublime.

    ¡°Just for that, some more information. You could have found this out with time or research, so consider this a headstart if you will. You know that people''s Blessings grow with use and that they are not a replacement for hard work or experience. What many don¡¯t know is that blessings are mutable. Someone born with a swordsman''s blessing is not bound to that blessing for life, and if he was to train his skills to the point they overtook his swordsmanship, for example, his skill in magic, he would shift this blessing to that of a mage, or a hybrid blessing like a battle mage, or a spellsword, with me so far?

    ¡°This implies one can progress to other blessings of the same type. A swordsman casts down his blade and picks up a bow, and his gift becomes that of an Archer. A Paladin focuses less on his martial prowess and more on his Divine affinity and joins the ranks of those with the Priest''s blessing. Or perhaps the swordsman focuses on the sword to such an extent it becomes a part of him, and when he next gets his blessing revealed to him it is that of a Sword Saint.

    ¡°This is all to say that you must not stagnate. As you have a Unique blessing you will never lose it or transform from its path, but you will be able to grow its strength, and perhaps this knowledge can help any allies you make in the future carve out a path for themselves.¡±

    Eres was staring at Ekros with his mouth wide open. This supposed headstart overturned all the knowledge he had read of blessings in his father''s library about them being fixed from birth and being a blessing from the Gods that could never be ignored. Instead, here was one of those very Gods telling him that with work one could change their blessing and gain a new one.

    He swallowed to clear the lump in his throat and had to cough a few times around his dry mouth to speak, ¡°That is¡­ a lot of information. Thank you, I am sure it will be incredibly useful in the future.¡±

    ¡°That it will be,¡± Ekros nodded, ¡°Well, I suggest saying you have a Mage blessing or something similar. That will keep people off your back for now and let you experiment with your newfound gift.

    ¡°I am sure we will speak again, but for now¡­ enjoy your gift, Eres. It was a pleasure meeting you- ¡°

    Before Ekros had finished his sentence, a roar sounded in Eres¡¯ ears and his vision went black, before coming back to him with his hand in the pool of metallic-looking liquid.

    ¡°Well boy, it doesn¡¯t take all day,¡± muttered the gruff-looking Bishop across the desk, ¡°I assume the connection was made successfully?¡±

    Shaking his head to clear it and removing his hand from the bowl Eres stumbled out, ¡°Yes, thats right. A Mind blessing, of the Mage to be specific.¡±

    ¡°Very well. Shame it isn¡¯t Divine, but my part here is done,¡± Bishop Marcus grumbled before starting to gather all of the implements on the desk, even upending the bowl¡¯s contents into a heavy flask. He looked up at Eres and his eyebrows knitted, ¡°Begone with you then lad, we both have better things to do than gawk at each other all day! Back your family, straight down the passageway.¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­ Right. Right. I will be going then, thank you Bishop this was very helpful and I truly appreciate it,¡± Eres gave a small bow as he started to head back towards the door, before looking over his shoulder and asking, ¡°The God¡¯s that you serve Bishop, are they named at all? I remember reading the name Ekros somewhere, but I am not sure if it was fiction or scripture.¡±

    ¡°Aye lade, Ekros is one of the Seven Deities that protect us and that I serve. You should be more up to date on your scripture as a Noble but,¡± the old man sighed as he shoved the last of his implements into a thick iron-bound chest, ¡°I suppose I will enlighten you. Ekros is the God of Time and Trickery, though he is said to be more playful than malicious. Why do you ask about him specifically Boy? Most would ask about the God King Athos or his wife Leera.¡±

    ¡°As I said Bishop, just a name that I remembered. Thank you again for all your help, and I hope your journey is safe and quick,¡± Eres bowed deeply and smiled at the old man before turning on his heel and heading back down the passageway.

    God of Time was it? Well, let''s just hope that is what you were focusing on, rather than your Trickery, Ekros.

    * * *

    ¡°I am sure we will speak again, but for now¡­ enjoy your gift, Eres. It was a pleasure meeting you- ¡° Ekros watched as Eres vanished from his sight, whisked back to where he came, ¡°again. Let''s hope we get along better this time, Kid.¡±

    As the white expanse of space slowly faded into the insides of a large clock tower, the dark-haired youth stepped out of his throne of cogs and ticking hands and stretched his hands high into the air, feeling the tightness leave his shoulders, looking at the numerous streams of time warping around him, moving to his will.

    ¡°For both our sakes.¡±

 Learning

    The journey back to the Hytheiem household was a blur to Eres. He recalled one of the servants asking what his Blessing was, and telling him that it was a Mage blessing. The servant relayed this to his mother and father in the other carriage and returned to tell him that books on Magic would be made available to him and he could request teachers that he desired.

    That was all. No celebration, no family meal and no words of congratulation or encouragement. Eres had expected as much, but now he had the memories of Adrien and his mother it stung all the more.

    He vaguely recalled his mother¡¯s and father''s backs as they walked into the house ahead of him and how they both went back to their business without a care in the world, as he was led back to his room and told that by the next morning books on magic would have been moved to the study next to him. After that, the rest of the day was a blur until he collapsed into bed, head still swimming with the information that the connection had given him.

    Of course, the Blessing he had been given wasn¡¯t of the Mage, it wasn¡¯t even of the Mind type. It was a Unique Blessing. As he concentrated on that link in his head that had established the moment he left that white expanse, he once again felt the presence of something new, something other in this body. He intrinsically understood the broad strokes of this new Blessing, but he didn¡¯t know exactly how it functioned just yet.

    He understood that his Blessing was that of a Defender and that it increased his sensitivity to Mana, the energy that all magic was made of, as well as the strength of defensive spells and constructs. He also understood that this Mana would be conserved when creating wards, shields and other defensive spells, but he didn¡¯t understand what that meant in practice.

    He had slept with all this information swimming around his head and had awoken early the next morning feeling no more rested than he had when he lay down. Still, he knew that if he didn¡¯t start to try and work out the specifics of his Blessing and Mana he would continue to feel restless, so he climbed from the warm clutches of his blankets and threw open the large drapes. The sun could barely be seen poking above the forest at the horizon, and Eres felt a deep sight escape him. It was far too early, but alas he had work to do.

    Eres swiftly dressed himself in a tunic, trousers and comfortable footwear, before washing his face and tying his hair back into a ponytail. He did some simple stretches that he remembered Adrien doing to wake up in the morning, and headed into the hallway towards the closest study.

    As soon as he stepped into the hallway he found himself face to face with a young maid, who nearly dropped the armful of towels she was carrying.

    ¡°Apologies for startling you, but would you be able to bring me breakfast in the study? Thank you very much,¡± he spoke as he nimbly avoided clashing his shoulder into hers and continued down the corridor until he came to the room he had fled the day before when memories had come crashing into his brain.

    Has it really been less than a day since those memories came to me? What a busy day it was.

    Eres shook his head as he moved into the room and started collecting all the texts that he had left scattered on the floor. The room was as dusty as ever and clearly hadn¡¯t been cleaned since he was last here, but he bit his tongue and tidied the mess quickly, before turning to the large desk against the other wall. Standing next to this desk was a large box with various thick leather-bound tomes poking out.

    They didn¡¯t even put them on the shelves? How lazy¡­ It really will be one of those days I suppose.

    He began to lift the tomes out of the box and dump them on the desk, sorting them quickly into three piles: Introductions and Beginner Lessons, Books that were far too advanced for him and finally Books in Languages he wasn¡¯t able to read either way.

    During the first hour, he sorted the entire box into these three piles and started to move the foremost pile so that he could scan all the titles. Just as he began to run his fingers across the spines, he heard a gentle knock at the door. Turning his head he saw the same young maid he had almost knocked over this morning, though now she was carrying a tray of food and drink rather than an armload of towels.

    ¡°Apologies to disturb you, Young Master, but breakfast is ready. Would you like tea with it?¡± She spoke rather quietly, eyes downcast.

    The picture-perfect maid. God, what did they do to this girl that she is already this beaten down? Eres clicked his tongue at the thought. She couldn¡¯t have been older than 16 and while he knew she was older than him, Adrien''s memories were screaming at him that young people needed nutrition and rest, not to be worked to the bone.

    ¡°Yes, tea would be lovely, thanks,¡± Adrien hopped down from the stool and walked over to a second small table near the door, ¡°Place it there, if you wouldn¡¯t mind?¡±

    The young girl nodded and placed the tray down swiftly, before pouring a cup of tea from the pot and placing it in front of Eres. She then took a few steps back and stood near the door, eyes still downcast. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    ¡°Are you¡­ okay?¡± Eres took a sip of tea before asking this question, and it was quite delicious, so he was more than happy for her to stay but he was quite surprised. Usually, a servant would be rushing to get away from the useless third son, yet she was standing as if it was her place.

    ¡°Of course, Young Master. I apologise, does my presence bother you?¡± Her already tiny frame seemed to shrink into itself further, and Eres scratched his head in confusion, feeling his hair beginning to loosen.

    ¡°Not at all, I am just not used to it, most maids would rather be anywhere but here,¡± a dark chuckle escaped him, ¡°but I have no complaints with your presence. Your tea is quite delicious as well, so that''s a bonus. May I ask your name?¡±

    She jumped as if burned, but her eyes met his, wide and surprised, ¡°My name is Freya, Young Master. I have been assigned as your personal maid¡­ were you not told?¡±

    As soon as she spoke, Freya cringed inwards again, realising that her words could be taken as an insult, but before she could correct herself Eres spoke.

    ¡°Freya was it? Wonderful, you can just call me Eres, or Master Eres if you must, Young Master is far too formal,¡± he grinned cheekily as her mouth made a small ¡°O¡± shape, ¡°and I am just an upstart third son anyway.

    ¡°As to your other question, no one informed me, but I appreciate your help all the same. I will probably be in here for the next few days reading through these books and getting accustomed to what it all means, but you are welcome to stay,¡± A sudden bright flash in his eyes occurred as his head swivelled back to the still baffled-looking girl. ¡°Say, you don¡¯t happen to have any experience with Mana, do you? I know it isn¡¯t polite to ask one''s blessing, but otherwise, I am sailing without a rudder!¡±

    A moment passed before the young girl took everything in, and then she spoke tentatively, ¡°Apologies, Master Eres, but I don¡¯t have any experience with Mana,¡± Watching Eres'' shoulders slump she continued on, ¡°I do however have a basic understanding of Healing Magic and Divine Power. Perhaps this can be of some use to you?¡±

    Eres jumped from his seat, sloshing tea from the cup as his face split into a large grin, ¡°That sounds like it will be of use I am sure! Come then, I will make a start on these books¡­ Gods, there are a lot of them.¡±

    As she watched him settle back into the seat, the breakfast neatly polished away, Freya filled Eres¡¯ cup with tea before clearing the tray away.

    He is nothing like anyone said. The rest of the maids said he was useless and dull, only reading because he had nothing better to do, but he didn¡¯t feel dull. I certainly don¡¯t feel like I am talking to a 10-year-old. Perhaps this assignment won¡¯t be as stressful as I feared, Freya thought, as she moved the tray out into the hallway and started down towards the kitchens.

    Eres had gone back to searching the stack of Beginners books, eventually selecting one titled ¡°A Beginners Guide to Magic and Mana¡±.

    This should do nicely, Eres thought, thumbing the first page of the book open, and for the next few hours, he devoured the contents of the book.

    He made sure to read through the entirety of the book before trying any of its exercises, so as to make sure he had an understanding of what he was trying to do. On more than one occasion he had to push down the bubbling excitement at reading of exercises to conjure fire or converse with lesser spirits, but after a full read through he understood a few key factors.

    Firstly, the only prerequisite to learning magic was the ability to sense Mana and take it into your body. While those with a Mind blessing, from Mages to Summoners, were able to do this more easily, in theory, everyone could do it with varying degrees of success with practice.

    Secondly, Mana was all around us. It existed in the air, in nature, even in our blood. Magic was the method by which Mana was transformed from this Energy to something more tangible.

    Finally, upon channelling Mana through one''s body for the first time, it could create a core within which Mana could be gathered and stockpiled. This was the method by which Mages would train their ability to cast larger and more frequent spells, by enlarging this Magic Core.

    After noting these three principles down on a piece of paper, he turned to Freya.

    ¡°Would you mind closing the door? You are welcome to stay but I am going to concentrate now and would hate to be interrupted.¡±

    Freya crossed the room and closed the door with a click. She then stood in front of the door quietly and watched.

    Eres sat cross-legged in the centre of the floor and took a deep breath. He knew his Blessing should make this easier than those without, but he wanted to make sure he did everything properly. Remembering the steps in the tome, he slowly centred himself until he could feel his heart beating in his chest. Then he imagined his blood moving through his body and then imagined a different blood that ran across his skin. Focusing on that imaginary feeling, he began to focus on drawing the blood surrounding him in through his skin and toward his heart.

    For a few moments nothing happened, but Eres continued to concentrate. For nearly an hour he sat, slowly breathing and running through these steps again and again, until eventually, he began to feel something as he imagined the new force being dragged inside his body towards his heart. His hair began to whip about his head as he concentrated harder, imagining the blood now not only running along his skin but through the air around him. He imagined the very world itself had veins that he could feel, and he pulled that energy into him.

    His eyes suddenly opened wide as he felt a rush of energy coalesce around his heart, swirling and roiling back and forth. The pressure inside his chest was immense, and he felt his heart constrict. Concentrating on that energy he pushed it down slowly until it sat in his stomach, feeling the Mana begin to harden and form into a Core before he had to release the energy, the Mana slipping from his body and back into the air around him.

    The moment he stopped concentrating, he felt his mouth fill with the taste of iron and he spat a mouthful of blood onto the floor. Grinning up at Freya¡¯s shocked visage, he choked out, ¡°Well, maybe I overdid that one,¡± before he fell onto the floor breathless and winded.

    Even as he coughed and spluttered on the floor and Freya struggled to help him sit up, he could feel the warm orb in his stomach was still present, pulsing and full of Mana.

 Shielding

    After a few minutes of coughing and a few more of Freya fussing over him, Eres was back at his desk with a new cup of tea, laughing at the somewhat distraught look on his new servant''s face.

    ¡°Come on Freya, you have cast multiple healing spells on me, we both know I am okay and just overdid it a bit. What harm is there in reading some more?¡±

    ¡°Apologies, Master Eres, but we most certainly don¡¯t both know you are fine. I haven¡¯t ever heard of anyone coughing blood after establishing their core, and my skills are sorely lacking to diagnose what it could be,¡± Her tone started off clipped but as she continued got softer and more worried, ¡°Not too mention, most people don''t create wind or have their eyes glow when they are just learning how to feel and channel Mana.¡±

    Eres dropped his pen on the paper leaving a large splotch of ink, ¡°I am sorry, I am going to need a refresher there. I felt the wind, but you said that my eyes glowed?¡± his voice was somewhat strangled, but the perplexed tone was clear.

    ¡°Yes Sir. Perhaps check the books for that, and keep from any more practical experimentation today?¡± As soon as she spoke, Freya brought her hand up in front of her mouth, eyes wide in panic. ¡°I am so sorry Young Master, I didn¡¯t mean to -¡±

    ¡°It is quite alright, Freya,¡± Eres smiled and spoke gently, ¡°I understand that you only meant the best, and I won¡¯t berate you for that do not worry. I¡¯m not too worried about formalities, though of course a show will be put on in public. When we are together like this, however, you have full permission to speak your mind.

    This and that are two separate matters though. I can¡¯t promise anything, but I will try to limit myself to theory for the rest of the day, how about that?¡±

    As Freya gave a small nod and bit her lip, Eres turned back to the book.

    ¡°What colour were they?¡± Eres spoke without turning around.

    ¡°Pardon, Master Eres?¡±

    ¡°My eyes, you said they glowed. What colour were they?¡±

    ¡°I think they were purple, Master Eres. Certainly not the usual Blue.¡±

    ¡°Cool.¡±

    For the first time, looking at the cheeky grin on his face at the prospect of glowing eyes, and watching his feet kick back and forth under the study desk, Freya could see a 10-year-old boy there rather than the almost grown-up feeling she had from him previously. She smiled slightly and went to make another pot of tea.

    * * *

    After he had finished re-reading the book and skimming through a few others, Eres had found nothing regarding glowing eyes or pain during the creation of the Mana Core. The only slight mention he had found was those who tried to draw in more Mana than they could handle might experience discomfort before the Mana slipped away from them.

    Perhaps I drew more Mana than I should have been able to, but my increased control let me create a core from it despite the backlash.

    Eres pondered the possibilities while watching the sunset out of the window next to him. A tray full of empty dishes was placed to one side of him, and the various tomes were open to bookmarked pages as he let his hair down and shook it out before getting to his feet.

    ¡°I think this is enough for today, don¡¯t you Freya?¡± He turned to see the maid still stood still watching him, somewhat in a daze. ¡°Are you okay? What is it?¡±

    ¡°Apologies Master Eres I was just surprised. I have a brother a few years younger than you, and the thought of him sitting to read all day is completely impossible, so you had just surprised me,¡± Freya murmured, eyes somewhat downcast and embarrassed.

    Eres felt the back of his neck sweat a little once again. He knew his concentration and focus were unusual now due to the extra set of memories in his head, but he couldn¡¯t do anything about it now.

    ¡°Well, even as a third son I had to develop a focus for learning early on,¡± Eres laughed off the comment easily enough, ¡°I think I will retire for the night. I will probably be in here again tomorrow, and likely make those requests for a teacher that one of the butlers mentioned, so if that needs any preparations would you be able to take care of it?¡±

    ¡°Of course, Master Eres,¡± Freya smiled and gave a small bow, ¡°Breakfast in here for the morning, and proper writing implements to write a request for a teacher, all should be easy enough.¡±

    ¡°Wonderful Freya. Have a good evening,¡±

    ¡°Goodnight, Master Eres, I will see you tomorrow,¡±

    Eres slowly wandered back to his room thinking about everything he had learned today. He learnt about mana and how to control it. He created his Mana core and learned how basic spellcraft worked, although he had yet to try any spells. He also learned he had a competent if shy personal maid who was skilled in Healing, even if she didn¡¯t realise it. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    Another day full of surprises, Eres chuckled to himself as he disrobed. Climbing into the soft and freshly changed bed, he felt the stickiness of his skin and frowned, I will need a bath tomorrow, as well as trying out some magic and asking for tutors. Looks like my days won''t get any less busy any time soon.

    * * *

    The first thing Eres did after his breakfast in the morning was ask for a bath to be drawn. Once he had washed the sweat from his skin and eaten the breakfast Freya brought him, he settled back into the study to continue reading. However, after only a few moments flipping through the book, he hopped off his chair and sat in the centre of the room again. Ignoring Freya¡¯s obvious frown, Eres once again began to feel the energy in the air and this time slowly began to draw it into himself. He felt the Mana pull into his body with every breath and settle into his core until it was full to the brim.

    With a satisfied smile, he stood and smirked at Freya, ¡°See, that wasn¡¯t so bad, was it? You can stand down with the Healing words now, I promise I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Freya just let out a long sigh and nodded her head, until his next words made her eyes bulge in surprise.

    ¡°Well, now onto spells I suppose,¡± Eres tapped his chin as he began to go over the process of spellcasting in his head. Intent was most important, and when one could focus their mind enough and had seen a spell effect enough times to visualise it perfectly then it could be cast without an incantation, but until that point, a word or phrase in an ancient language was used to guide the Mana. ¡°What was the word again? Shield!¡°

    Eres¡¯ hands held in front of him and he spoke with enough vigour that Freya half expected something to happen, but his hands remained empty and his Mana remained still.

    ¡°Well, I suppose getting it the first time would be unusual. Let¡¯s try this one again,¡± Eres muttered, grabbing the book that outlined this rudimentary spell. Shield was a spell that created a wall of solid Mana in front of the caster. It was a rather taxing spell for how much damage it could block, but the short incantation made it a safe fallback in battle and an even better training spell, as it was one of the few spells that created solid and visual Mana rather than manipulating another force or element with it, helping trainees to get a feel for how Mana moved both in and out of their bodies.

    ¡°Circulate your Mana, project it into the air and shape it with the incantation¡­ well that is incredibly vague,¡± Eres sighed, ¡°It doesn¡¯t even mention how projecting Mana is meant to feel. Well, let''s try it again, step by step.¡±

    Concentrating, Eres now felt that warm core in his body and willed the energy inside to move. His eyes closed against the outside world Eres began to focus his mind on the new development in his body, with Magic Core, and all he could feel was the sluggish push and pull of this energy, moving inside him like the tides. At first, he tried to wrest control, and it slipped from his grasp again and again. Trying different methods of moving it, he eventually found that it would follow his will as long as he moved it in the direction it was already moving, almost like it was circling inside him and he had to go in the same direction or else he fought against the current.

    Once he had got the Mana moving to his will, he began to move it through his bloodstream, circling the energy slowly through his heart, his brain, his lungs, all the way to the crown of his head and the tips of his toes.

    As Freya watched the young boy begin to sweat, she again realised how truly absurd this was. She was fourteen years old and had been subjected to harsh training to be able to bring her Divine Power under control and master basic healing magic. This was a feat she was secretly very proud of, as she had managed to muster Divine Power in only a few days, and had made it answer her call in only a month. Yet here was a boy four years her junior who had not only gathered a full Magic Core in a few hours but was learning to manipulate the flow of Mana not even a full day afterwards.

    Hours passed with Eres standing in the centre of the room, sweating and grimacing, and more than once Freya wanted to check if he was okay, but she knew if she interrupted him she would be stepping far beyond her station as a mere maid, so she could only chew her lip and worry.

    When Eres finally opened his eyes, he felt different. The Mana circulating in his body was invigorating, every nerve ending feeling alive and alert. He could feel it thrumming in his veins, and every time he released his control even a little it began to grow listless, settling back into his core lazily.

    ¡°Well what do you know, Mana is sluggish,¡± Eres chuckled as he once again controlled the indolent energy, ¡°Let''s see how it moves outside.¡±

    Eres began to feel the energy in his hands vibrate as he slowly willed the energy to coalesce in front of him. The Mana moved through his hands and into the open air, where it began to thrash and writhe more freely. Eres was gritting his teeth to maintain his control and kept the small portion of Mana he had gathered in his hands under his control while letting the rest slump back into his core. He could see a light purple mist covering his hands, and a wide grin split his face.

    ¡°Freya, I won¡¯t lie, I am incredibly excited by all this, but if something goes horribly wrong do keep me alive won¡¯t you?¡± Eres laughed as he watched Freya''s mouth drop open.

    ¡°Master Eres, maybe we should wait until -¡± Freya began, but she spoke too late.

    ¡°SHIELD!¡± Eres roared out, willing the mana he was barely containing into his hands to protect him, to protect anything he wished to protect and to never fail him.

    Eres would have liked to believe that at this moment he would remain steadfast and would look at his creation with smugness and pride, but in truth, as a purple flash lit the room, he turned his head and brought his hands in front of his face, fearing some sort of backlash just like forming the core.

    A few moments passed, and Eres finally peeked through his fingers and saw Freya in much the same pose. After making sure they were both okay, Eres looked properly at the magic he had invoked and began to chuckle. Soon, his laughter ripped out of him in huge echoing bursts, as he could hardly believe his eyes.

    Standing in front of him was a transparent wall of purple light, seven feet tall and nearly the same across, the edges rippling as if a liquid substance. Eres stepped forward and knocked his knuckles against it, feeling the wall repel his hand as if it were two magnets. He turned to Freya, her mouth still stuck in a small ¡°O¡±.

    ¡°Magic!¡± He laughed triumphantly, ¡°I can do Magic!¡±

 Family

    "Magic! I can do Magic!" Eres laughed and turned wide-eyed to Freya. Just as he began to continue, the patter of feet running up to the door was heard and the purple light began to fray and dissipate. Eres turned back with a groan as he lost concentration, but then the door slammed open, bouncing off the wall behind it and then was jammed closed again, held closed by the new arrival.

    "Shush shush shush a second okay, I need a break and that dreadful woman is hounding me today!" the tall silver-haired girl whispered quickly, leaning her whole weight against the door. Dark red eyes peered out from under a rough silver fringe, hair slipping out from the high ponytail and waving around her face in the heavy pants as she tried to regain her breath.

    "Ellsa, you do know how to make quite an entrance," Eres chuckled at his older sister''s rumpled dress, sweaty face and glaring eyes. "Freya would you be so kind as to get my sister and I some tea?"

    Ellsa von Hytheiem, the only daughter of Baron Hytheiem, wheeled around in panic when she realised her brother wasn''t alone. Seeing the shocked face of the maid in front of her, an audible groan escaped her lips.

    "Calm down Ellsa. This is Freya, my personal maid and attendant. She has seen me being myself for a day now, so I am sure she can deal with one of your outbursts, but if you start berating her because you made a mistake I won''t share dessert with you for a month," Eres spoke slowly and clearly, looking into his sisters eyes the whole time.

    Ellsa stuck her bottom lip out in a pout and slumped into the spare chair as she whined, "You are no fun Eres. How am I meant to get used to being a Baron''s daughter if I don''t yell at the servants at any little thing and -" watching Eres'' face begin to darken Ellsa suddenly sat up straight and quickly rushed out, "Come on brother, I am joking, just joking! Seriously, you are no fun at all whenever I get to see you these days!

    I am Ellsa von Hytheiem, thank you so much for taking care of my brother. Excuse my dishevelled state and the interruption," as Ellsa stood and gave a small curtesy in the direction of the maid, Freya''s mouth once again dropped open as Eres chuckled from the chair at the desk he had returned to.

    "You are far more interesting when you are honest, sister. Anyway, I am studying so what brings you here today? Other than running from that old hag Bruna, of course," Eres spoke with his gaze roaming across the tomes on the desk, wondering which to read next before he brought his eyes back up to his once again pouting sister.

    "Here I am coming to visit my lonely younger brother and he doesn''t even want to see me? How times have changed from when you used to run into my room crying that -"

    "Okay, okay, you can stay!" Eres hurried out, eyes panicked, "Gods, I never can win with you,"

    "Of course not, I am older than you!" Ellsa laughed as she walked across the room and gave her brother a brief hug, "I have missed you though. Life has been so boring since I had to start all these lessons, I never see you anymore. It''s just lesson after lesson on etiquette and tea parties and the correct way to fold a napkin, it''s so tiring!"

    "So you ran away?"

    "So I ran away," Ellsa grinned, "Come on, you have already said I can stay, let me hide here for a few hours of rest, please?"

    Eres let out a deep sigh, though the small smile betrayed him even if he didn''t know it, "Of course you can stay. Though I need you to keep quiet about what I am learning in here, I don''t want people to start having expectations of me now. I would much rather stay the unwanted third son for now"

    Ellsa winced at the bitterness in his voice and hugged him again.

    "Of course, I won''t say anything but why be so secretive? Your blessing is common knowledge at this point," Ellsa wondered.

    Eres waved a hand towards Freya as if he was too tired to explain as he pulled another book closer to him.

    "Well, you see, Young Miss, the Young Master is rather¡­" Freya stuttered under the gaze of another member of the household, but eventually, just let out a sigh and strangled out the word, "Unusual."

    "Eres has always been unusually quiet and interested in reading, so that''s not new, is it?"

    "No, it isn''t that¡­Oh Gods, your brother has already created a Magic Core and succeeded in not only manipulating both internal and external Mana but has even managed to manifest a spell. I am sure I don''t need to tell you that doing that in under forty-eight hours is incredibly rare. It would usually be reserved for those geniuses with uncommon Mind blessings or who had been trained as mages before their blessing even developed," Freya finished her explanation staring at her toes and slowly brought her eyes up to Ellsa''s face, which was frozen in shock.

    Slowly, as if a creaking doll, Ellsa turned her face to her brother who was casually reading a book. She placed a hand on his shoulder and spun him to face her, grip tight as her teeth ground together.

    "Explain."

    Eres looked up at her, sighed, and said, "I just get it. I don''t know what to tell you, Sister, it just makes sense quickly to me. Maybe this is why I got this Blessing in the first place?"

    Ellsa just slowly blinked, staring at her brother''s face.

    "Fine, alright. I get it," She grumbled before her eyes lit up wide, "But you have to show me some magic or I won''t let this go!"Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    Eres let out a soft laugh at the similarities of their reaction to magic and hopped off his chair once again.

    "Shield!"

    * * *

    After nearly three hours of hiding out, chatting and pestering her brother about magic, Ellsa finally decided that she should quit her hiding and venture back into the treacheries of lessons and etiquette. Or at least that was how she bemoaned her near future as she wandered through the door swinging it shut behind her.

    Eres watched as Freya''s shoulder dropped as she let out the breath she was holding.

    "You can be with her as you are with me, we are both just children after all," Eres laughed at his new maid''s demeanour as he spoke.

    "Unfortunately, Master Eres, that is not quite how it works. I can change my way of calling you at your request, as I am your personal attendant, but I still must respect the rest of the household as I have been commanded,"

    "How¡­ dull," Eres commented drily, "Nobles and servants we all live the same, bleed the same, die the same. What do titles matter then?"

    The room was silent, and he realised perhaps his other memories were leaking through, so Eres just shook his head and smiled bitterly.

    "My apologies Freya, I misspoke. I must still be bitter about my place in this, do forgive me,"

    "Of course, Master Eres,". Freya''s voice was quiet and tight with concern, and the silence stretched on for a few more minutes as Eres finished the tome he was reading, storing away the incantations and visualisations of the spells in his mind and filling reams of paper with detailed notes.

    "That should do it for today, I suppose I should get that formal request for a teacher written down shouldn''t I?" Eres rolled his shoulders as they cracked slightly from his hunched posture the last hour. He grabbed a fresh sheet of paper and began to write out his requirements for a teacher, in order of importance, while still attempting to phrase it as a polite request.

    While Eres himself had had only a few lessons on written etiquette, he knew enough to be polite and simply hoped it would be enough to get him what he needed. He read it through and rewrote various parts to seem more like requests than demands, before rolling it up and sealing it with the family seal. This way when it reached the Baron he would be able to identify it quickly rather than it getting dropped onto the long waiting pile. At least, that was his hope, that he wasn''t so out of favour that it would work against him.

    "Freya, would you mind taking this to the Baron''s -"

    Before Eres could finish his request, a sharp rap of knuckles on the door interrupted him. Letting out a slow sigh, he gestured Freya towards the door.

    His tone was even and steady, with a slight hint of strength that neither he, Freya nor the party on the other side of the door expected he simply said, "You may enter."

    Freya pulled the door open to see a young servant standing there, somewhat pale in the face and still. When he hadn''t spoken even after a few moments''s she cleared her throat, and the young man at the door shook his head clear of whatever had clouded his mind.

    "Apologies, Young Master, I have come to collect you. The Lady of the House requests your presence in an afternoon stroll through the gardens,"

    "Oh, is it that time of the month already? I had already forgotten," Eres thought as he pasted a smile on his face.

    "Well then, lead the way to my Mother, if you would?" Eres hopped down from the stool as he spoke, stretching out his aching body as he spoke, "Freya, prepare a bath for my return, The dust in here is making my eyes itch. Dinner in my room tonight as well,"

    Freya''s eyes widened a fraction at the imperious tone in Eres'' voice, before seeing the softness in his gaze.

    "A show is it, Master Eres? Well, if we must, we must." Freya thought as she nodded towards her master, head bowed slightly and gaze towards the floor.

    "Very good then. Well, lead the way then," Eres strolled out the door to the study and gestured at the servant who still stood just outside it.

    With a swift nod and a stiff back, the servant silently led Eres out through the halls of the manor and into the Baroness''s personal garden. Neatly trimmed flowers and bushes lined the multitude of paths, all of which were crisscrossing around tall fruit trees, water features and stone sculptures, before finally converging on a raised wooden pavilion in the centre of the garden.

    On the pavilion rested tables and chairs to seat the multitudes of Ladies of other households that attended tea parties and gatherings. Of course, all of the furniture was gorgeously upholstered with various colours of fabric that matched the soft woodland tones of the surrounding flowers. For now though all but one of the seats were empty, with only the simplest of the stools currently being perched upon ever so carefully.

    Adalia von Hytheiem always looked composed, it was one of her greatest strengths when talking to other nobles and even when dealing with her husband. Eres had noticed this a long time ago, so her was barely surprised when he saw her sitting gracefully on the edge of a servant''s stool as if she had only perched there for a moment.

    As she saw them approaching, her face lit up in a gentle smile. It was kind and motherly and Eres even an inch of it. It was the same smile she wore at the dinner that his father, the Baron, had declared he wouldn''t be supported beyond the bare minimum as all the house''s resources were needed to raise the heir to the household. The same smile she had worn when he had come crying to her at only five years old because he had cut his hand on a tree outside, just before she had sent him off to be treated by the maids so she could meet with the Baron. She hadn''t spoken to him then, simply smiled and then told the maids to take care of it.

    Eres thought he had learned to ignore these slights, after all ten years of the same thing will lead anyone to become numb to it. However, with his new memories of a mother who loved and cared for him when he was still Adrien, all the pain and anger at his family soared into his chest, and his throat and it felt like it was choking him.

    Swallowing down the numerous emotions that threatened to spill from his lips in expletives and shouts, he instead pasted on that same small smile. The smile he had learned to put on in these monthly walks, in the family dinners and meetings and whenever he had seen his brother and father out talking and discussing the future.

    "Mother, you look well," His voice was calm and even. He had surprised even himself, as the choking pressure at the bottom of his throat like he wanted to cry out hadn''t yet faded, "You wished to see me?"

    "Yes, I am. Walk with me?" Adalia smiled as she looked at her third child, and gestured down the path, setting off slightly ahead of him.

    Eres stifled a sigh and began to follow her, wondering just what inane topics would be covered on their walk today. However, the following words passed his mother''s lips and left him cursing himself.

    "How are you? I noticed you seemed unwell before we visited the church the other day, have you recovered?"

 Motherhood

    "How are you? I noticed you seemed unwell before we visited the church the other day, have you recovered?" Adalia spoke softly, her voice touched with concern. Eres could have even believed it if her face wasn''t fixed in the same pleasantly smiling mask.

    "I am well mother, I was simply nervous about my first outing to the church and the discovery of my Blessing," Eres smiled as he spoke, and even he knew it was tight and unnatural, "My apologies for worrying you, and for not looking my best for the arrival of you and Father."

    The stone mask of his mother''s face cracked for a second. It was barely there, the twitch of a lip and the narrowing of the eyes, but Eres could see it. He didn''t understand it, but he noticed it, and that made him nervous. Had he said the wrong thing? Implied something that was somehow offensive?

    "Not to worry then, Eres," Adalia said, before turning her head back to the path ahead of her and resuming her walk, "I am glad to hear you are well,

    "I hear you were given a Mind Blessing, that of the Mage was it not? It fits you well considering your interest in books and studying. I hope you can master it, as it will be of great use to you I am sure."

    Eres swallowed the laugh that tried to burn it''s way out of his throat.

    "My interest in books and studying? The only reason I was cooped up in that study is cause no one wanted to see me or teach me," He thought bitterly, "but thankfully this Blessing has afforded me more than you know just yet."

    Eres fought with the bitterness and the anger inside himself. With all the memories of Adrien playing in his head, he wondered how it would feel to have a mother who would sing him to sleep when he was sick rather than asking about it days later, or who would nurture his interests rather than assume them. Shaking his head free of the thoughts that would do nothing but cause him trouble, Eres bit his lip and composed himself.

    "Yes, it seems to be a good fit. I am finding the books that Father had sent over rather helpful, though I suppose it would be no substitute for a good teacher. Still, I am sure progress enough to please you will take a while, so I apologise in advance if I don''t meet standards swiftly enough," Eres cast his eyes down as he spoke, feigning shame so that the disdain and frustration dancing in his eyes would be hidden.

    His mother started a little and stopped in her tracks. Eres almost stumbled into the back of her, and before he could utter an apology, his mother was already moving and speaking again.

    "You need not apologise, for you are my son," she said, speaking strangely quickly, "Any progress you make will be more than good enough for me, and you need not lower your head in apology. Not to me, not to your own mother."

    Eres stared blankly at her back. This was the first time in his memory that she had referred to herself as his mother, let alone reminded him of his status as her son. He found the bitterness and frustration in his chest welling up with a different feeling, something strangely close to warmth, and he didn''t understand it. He thought he had given up caring for his family, especially with so much more to compare it to now, but still, he felt even that slight recognition stirring his heart.

    Gods, to think I am satisfied so easily, with such scant praise, He thought.

    Casting his gaze around Eres realised they had walked deep into the gardens now, surrounded by bushes and flowers that reached far above his head, many of them even reaching the top of his mother''s head. Bright colours gleamed like jewels in the deep verdant bushes, some flowers barely even buds yet, peaking from leaves in flashes of red and blue, while others had already spread their petals wide, sweet scents floating from pink and yellow flowers that seemed hidden in the greenery.

    Eres had walked this way with his mother before, but he had always been so concerned with following her and concentrating on saying what she wanted to hear that he hadn''t ever really seen the garden around him.

    As they came upon a tall, slender tree covered in pale lilac blossoms, a soft gasp left his lips. He saw his mother turn back, eyes wide in surprise, and enough of a smile upon her lips that the made-up lines of her face creased, ever so slightly.

    "It''s beautiful, isn''t it?" She said, as Eres merely nodded, eyes still searching the scene in front of him, "The tree was destroyed when I was a little girl. A storm in my family''s estate left it broken and shattered, the roots torn up and the branches split.

    "I took a small twig with an even smaller bud from that ruined beauty and planted it in my room. I convinced the gardener to help me look after it, and grow it into a small sapling. Then when I married your Father I insisted that it be brought with me. He was loathe to agree of course, as he is a man of logic and sentimentality is not common sense to him. Yet still I persisted and I brought it with me, and now here I am sharing it with my son, who is the same age I was when I first saved that tiny twig, that small semblance of life."

    Eres found himself staring at the tree as he listened to his mother''s story. He could almost see the tree''s growth, from tiny sapling to majestic centrepiece. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    "I apologise for rambling, I am sure you must have better things than to listen to your Mother-"

    "I would like to take a cutting with me when I leave, I think," Eres murmured.

    Realising too late he had spoken aloud he span to face his mother. The stone-masked smile he was so used to was gone, replaced with genuine surprise.

    "When you leave? What do you mean when you leave?"

    "Apologies Mother, I was simply thinking aloud," Eres said, smiling awkwardly, "I know as a third son I cannot stay here forever, and though it is many years away I think when I leave I would like to take some of this tree with me."

    His mother just stared at him, lips closing and parting as she tried to speak.

    "If it is too much then I apologise, I did not mean to ask for something that-"

    "No!" Adalia nearly shouted, before calming herself, "No. I would be honoured if you would take it with you when you part. I simply did not realise the future was already weighing on you."

    Eres smiled and gave a small nod, not knowing what to say. Adalia cleared her throat with a cough and gestured forward, down one of the paths branching from underneath the tree, before she began to slowly walk down it. Eres once again fell in a step or two behind her, puzzled by the sudden display of emotion.

    As they walked and the silence stretched on, Eres'' fingers brushed against a weight in his pocket. It had been intended for the Baron, but surely the Baroness would do?

    "Mother, I was going to get this sent to the Baron, to Father, but I wonder if you could look at it?" Eres said, holding out the rolled-up letter of request he had written earlier.

    His mother reached her hand bank and pulled the paper from his hand, her steps slowing as she unfurled and read its contents.

    "So you want a teacher who is not only skilled in magic but in martial combat as well?" his Mother asked, "I supposed it shouldn''t be too hard to find someone who is competent in both to teach someone of our household, but would you not prefer someone who was specialised in magic, someone who could teach you more about your Blessing?"

    Eres had thought long and hard about how he could justify his choices here, and he found the rehearsed answers coming to him even more easily than he expected.

    "Despite my Blessing, our household is one that is led by someone with a Swordsman Blessing, and we are known to be a house of Swordsman. Both Ellsa and Illyon have the same blessing and are training themselves in it," Eres said hands clasped behind his back with a smile on his face, "I would feel bad if I wasn''t able to learn at least some sort of martial combat. I would feel as if I would be letting the Household down."

    His mother looked at him sternly. She peered at him for a few long moments before letting out a sigh.

    "Very well," she grumbled slightly, turning back to the path and hastening her steps, "but study well. Learning two things at once will be twice as hard, and will tire you twice as much, so be careful not to get hurt."

    "Yes! Thank you, Mother!" Eres nearly shouted in joy when his mother agreed to look for someone to teach him both arts he began to ramble on in thanks with a giddy expression on his face. He had expected to have to argue the usefulness of not focusing purely on magic, yet she had agreed with only a simple explanation. He felt incredibly relieved.

    Adalia let out an exasperated sigh at her son''s joy. She didn''t know if he was being truthful or if he was just at the age where he wanted to wield weapons and pretend to be a soldier. She remembered her first son, Illyon had gone through much the same thing just before her Husband had taken over full control of his teaching.

    "It will take a few weeks for us to find someone and get them to come here at the very least, so temper your excitement, okay?"

    Eres gave a nod, a bright smile still plastered along his face, eyes nearly closed from grinning so wide. His mother sighed again and shook her head with a small chuckle. Then, almost as if it had all been his imagination, Eres saw that same stony mask slip on. Her gentle but apathetic smile, the cool, searching eyes. It was unnerving to watch and he didn''t understand it at all.

    "Come now, I am sure the servants are wondering where we have wandered off to. It is best if we get back,"

    "Of course," Eres said quietly, "Let''s head back then. Lead the way, Mother."

    They slowly picked their way back through the garden, now in a stony silence. Eres was so puzzled. When they had been deep within the bushes, his Mother had seemed so different. She had been expressive, she had seemingly worried for him, and she had even agreed that he could take a memento of hers whenever he finally left home.

    Yet now she walked ahead without glancing back or speaking, her posture perfect and her face composed, with no emotion to show on it at all. Occasionally her gaze left the path ahead of her to admire some of the flowers peeking out from the now waist-height arrangements and bushes, but her focus seemed to be on returning as swiftly as possible.

    Eres had a sour taste in his mouth to go with his confusion. Had it been a performance? Had she shown him what she thought he wanted to see? Or was this the performance, this cold mask? Did this hide her feelings of care and worry rather than the feelings of scorn, pity and spite he had seen on so many others, the feelings that he had expected from her?

    In a daze with his own thoughts whirling around his head, Eres found himself back at the wooden pavilion they had started at, a servant standing a few strides away waiting to escort him back to the house.

    "Always a pleasure walking with you, Eres. Do keep me up to date on your studies, won''t you?"

    Eres started at his mother''s voice, looking up into the calm, composed lines of her face, searching for a hint of what he had seen in the gardens.

    "Of course, Mother," Eres quietly. He found no spark of laughter, shock or care in his mother''s eyes. Just a cold and calculating gaze. He gave a small bow and turned on his heel, walking quick enough that the servant had to stumble from his own bow to keep up.

    With gritted teeth, Eres slowly wound his way through the halls of the house back to the study near his room. He may be confused by his Mother, but he got permission for a teacher, so he was one step closer to being able to learn what he needed to learn, to grasp what he wanted to grasp and get out of this suffocating space.

    Concentrating on the swirling sea of Mana resting in his stomach, Eres decided that that would be enough. It HAD to be enough.

 Self-Study

    The next few weeks were blurred into a steady rhythm for Eres. He would wake up early, stretch his joints for a few minutes and then head for breakfast in the study. Stretching was a habit Adrien had tried to make, and knowing he would have to undertake physical training sooner rather than later, Eres decided to get as much of a head start on at least one aspect of his body''s health.

    After his breakfast, and usually some morning pleasantries with Freya, he would dive into research. From monster anatomy and local geography to history and politics, Eres would consume book after book and make reel after reel of parchment notes. He would frequently ask Freya questions just to bounce ideas around, and on more than one occasion a problem that neither of the pair had a reasonable explanation for at the beginning of his study session had more than one viable theory after discussions. With this method, Eres spent his mornings cramming as much knowledge of the world into his brain. He memorised the names of kingdoms, countries, and towns, learned of the different ways one can make a living besides being a noble and even learned various foreign customs, just in case he ever found himself in another country.

    Studying in that small dusty room from dawn til midday was quite a feat day after day, and Freya often marvelled at the Young Master''s concentration and focus. She herself spent much of her time cleaning and organising the room, until what once had been a forgotten study that the third child had been relegated to, now became a room of research and knowledge.

    The piles of books that had littered the room in boxes were all organised on various shelves, and the overcrowded desk covered in old scraps of paper and plans had been cleaned and tidied into a neat writing desk. All the desk drawers were filled with previous notes that could be revised and the materials to continue making more detailed works. The other furniture had all been cleaned and polished, so that on the infrequent occasions Ellsa decided to visit to hide from her responsibilities, Freya could be happy at receiving guests in the room.

    Even as proud of her own work as she was, it was her Master''s work in the afternoons that had Freya truly astonished. After a quick lunch, Eres would gather all of the magical texts that he was interested in that day onto the desk, and begin his work. At first, he just looked up various ways to practice the manipulation of Mana, both internally and externally. Next, it was practising the speed and strength of his visualisation with the Shield spell, trying with different amounts of Mana, different strengths of image and even a few, admittedly unsuccessful, attempts at invoking the spell with no incantation.

    Even after that, Eres wasn''t satisfied. He began attempting other simple spells, most of them defensive in nature, to see the process of learning spells in general. He managed to manifest a small cloud of illusory mist using the Fog Cloud spell, to deter people from entering the room with a ward for Avoidance and even discovered some basic ways he could circulate Mana in his body to strengthen it. The rate at which he learned and discovered applications for Mana shocked Freya, but Eres seemed to understand one thing and instantly grasp the basic concept of three more. It was astounding to watch, but after nearly a month, Eres had hit his first big stumbling block.

    It was a stormy day, and rain was lashing the gardens while thunder rolled through heavy grey clouds overhead. Eres had taken inspiration from this and decided it was time for him to attempt other sorts of magic, things that wouldn''t be supported by his Defender Blessing. Looking at the conditions outside, he decided to attempt a simple lightning or water spell. Searching through the beginner books he had read so many times over the last few days, he found a pair of spells that fulfilled his criteria.

    First was the introductory Lightning class spell Shock which emitted a high-voltage shock through the user''s hand. While it was a simple and easy spell, it was relatively powerful in the right hands, according to the instructions in the book, but was seldom used by mages who needed to maintain their range from their opponents.

    The second spell was an introductory spell of the Water elemental class spell, Jet. This spell condensed water from the atmosphere and fired it forward at incredibly high velocities. While the spell itself couldn''t do large amounts of damage, it was more than capable of scaring off animals or knocking an attack off-centre, and many mages still used it as an incredibly quick and efficient means of attacking a weak point when other options would take too long.

    After debating back and forth with himself, Eres decided to learn Shock first. He reasoned that if he was going to be learning close combat in the coming days, a close-range spell might help him amplify those skills. So, reading through the visualisations of the spell, he stood in the centre of the room and concentrated his mind inward.

    Eres once again felt the sea of Mana in his stomach, held within the Magic Core he had fashioned. Coaxing this energy out of the Core and into his body had become easier and easier the past weeks, and he began to circulate the energy up into his hands with barely a struggle. This time the Mana crackled with lightning, jumping from point to point in his body as the visualisation of the spell began to affect it. Dragging the Mana out through his hands and into the air, it began to spark and crackle, and with a big grin, Eres spoke the incantation, "Shock!"

    A bright flash of purple and blue electricity poured from his hand and dispersed rapidly into the air, and for maybe half a second the room danced with the sparks and colours of lightning. However, when the spell dissipated, Eres'' face was pale and covered in a light sheen of sweat. Freya stepped forward, but before she could do anything he staggered forward and retched into the bin, losing the contents of his stomach. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    "Eres!" Freya exclaimed as she hurried across the room, titles forgotten in worry. As she rested a hand on the back of his neck, the skin was cold and clammy but his breathing was regaining a normal rhythm.

    "Well that was horrible," Eres let out a low moan as he rolled away from the wastebin and onto his back, arms and legs spread-eagled in the middle of the study floor, "but what was it? I haven''t ever reacted like that to spells before."

    "I am not sure, Master Eres," Freya frowned, "I would say it was like an apprentice mage casting their first spell if you had not cast others. Many people react like that to the feeling of their Mana reserves depleting for the first time, and the same is true of Divine Power, but seeing as you are experienced¡­" Freya stumbled to stop as she looked at Eres'' wide eyes.

    For his part, Eres was baffled. How had he missed something so obvious? Never in any of his castings had he felt the amount of Mana in his core change. It had left his body to form a spell, but it always felt connected and flowed back into the core after the spell was done. This time, however, the mana hadn''t flowed back into his body, it had flowed out into the atmosphere and the empty sick feeling as his core was depleted had left him shaking and vomiting.

    With a cocked eyebrow and a sigh, Freya continued on, "If it was simply a reaction to the expenditure of Mana, usually the body only reacts like this once or twice," she peered closely at Eres'' face, which was slowly regaining colour, as she spoke, "I, of course, won''t pry, Master Eres, but I will admit to finding it somewhat odd."

    "Well¡­ Consider it a unique constitution of mine?" Eres mumbled, running his hand through his hair as he decided how much to confide in his maid. While she was a person under his father''s employ, she had been kind and honest to him, so he thought he owed her at least a little explanation, "My Blessing. I won''t be forthright about what it is, but it is somewhat more complex than a Mage Blessing. I simply want to stay unnoticed for now, so I downplayed it. Perhaps that makes it clearer?"

    "A Hybrid or an Advanced Blessing then?" Her eyes went wide before, catching herself, Freya bowed her head, a habit Eres was slowly but surely trying to break her off, "Apologies, Master Eres, that was improper. Thank you for confiding in me."

    "Of course, you are good conversation and a good person, Freya," Eres grinned, "but I must say, what is this formality? Didn''t you call my name with no title as I collapsed? I would be far more comfortable with that arrangement,"

    Freya glared at Eres as she spoke, "A misstep, Master Eres. It won''t happen again, I assure you."

    "Oh, you are no fun. I am fine though Freya, I promise. I feel right as rain now. Give me another few minutes and I will try again. Don''t look at me like I am crazy, you said yourself that this sickness only happens a few times right? I may as well get them out of the way sooner rather than later,"

    Freya sighed at her Master''s stubbornness and went to brew a new pot of tea, and a plate of snacks, for whenever he was able to stomach food again.

    Eres grinned at Freyas retreating back, and once again concentrated on the inner sea of Mana. He felt like it had decreased just from that one simple spell, that he had used up nearly a tenth of his reserves on it. He knew that the most effective training for increasing the amount of Mana one had was only replenishing it when it was near depletion, so rather than trying to meditate and pull it into himself, he once again roused the sea of Mana inside himself and started attempting to invoke Shock again.

    His second try ended in failure. He wasn''t sure if he was still shaken from the previous experience, but the Mana in his body didn''t jump like electricity this time, and when he released it into the air, it dissipated without any visible effect. The sickness wasn''t as bad this time, and by the time Freya returned to the room, it was barely visible as a tremble in his hands.

    The third try once again produced a shower of blue and purple sparks and Eres could feel his Magic Core slowly emptying. After two more casts of Shock, in an attempt to memorise its feeling so it could be cast more easily, Eres decided to attempt to cast Jet. This time the Mana he raised felt slow and languid, in the same way it felt when he was invoking Shield, and he was worried that it wouldn''t work because of it, but as the Mana started to move through his hands into the atmosphere, he felt the difference.

    With Shield the Mana was fighting to stay close, to form together and build. This water magic however flowed far smoother. It didn''t fight one way or another, simply flowed back and forth as it was pushed, until with a whispered "Jet!" a thin spout of water formed between Eres''s hands and darted across the room, knocking over a wooden container of pencils and pens with only minor damage.

    Eres scurried across the room so he could pick them up before Freya tried to clean up his mess, as she often did, but the grin on his face was apparent. With the Mana loss no longer making him feel sick, feeling the change in his Magic Core made him feel like he was progressing, and he went to the books to try and find other beginner spells when a knock at the door stopped him halfway across the room.

    "Come in," Eres said, and standing in the doorway was Sylas, the head butler of the Household.

    "Lady Adalia has instructed me to tell you, Young Master, that your instructor will be here just after lunchtime tomorrow. That is all," and with a shallow bow, he turned on a heel and marched down the corridor without even shutting the door.

    Freya frowned as she closed the door, perturbed by Sylas'' rudeness, but as she turned back she saw that the grin on Eres'' face had only gotten wider.

    "Are you alright, Master Eres?"

    "Oh I am quite alright, Freya," Eres laughed, "because I was just thinking that I was going to run out of books in here before the year was out. Now with a teacher? Think how much more I can learn, how much more I can do!"

    Eres'' eyes gleamed as he wondered just what kind of person his Mother had found for his training, and if she had found them with a cold empty smile on her face, or the kind-eyed shock he had seen in the depths of the gardens.

 Training

    The next day after his lunch, Eres made his way through the house towards the training hall. He rarely came this way, so Freya was leading him through the winding halls, away from the wing he slept and studied in, through the central house where most of the rooms were and out across the gardens towards the Guards Barracks. There was a separate training hall used by the Baron and the Heir, Illyon, of course, but Eres knew that was an area he wasn''t welcome, and had asked the servants to lead his teacher to the guardsmans grounds instead.

    The so-called training hall was more of an open-air courtyard, surrounded by resting areas, racks of training weapons and sparring targets. The Hytheiem Barony housed some 200 soldiers, and many of them would come here to train. Only 40 of the soldiers were employed as guards in the household and surrounding estate, but each and every member was allowed to train here if they wished and even required to do so in some cases. Today however, only a pair of older soldiers were sparring on the far side of the courtyard, coats and shirts thrown down near the rest area as toughened oak longswords clashed against each other, the sound of wood on wood reverberating around the walls.

    As Eres and Freya entered through the thin wooden doors, the sounds of clashing wood paused for a moment as each veteran cast their eyes over the new arrivals, sizing them up. Freya was glancing around taking everything in, but Eres fixed his eyes on the training men. He made eye contact with them one after the other and gave a small nod and a smile before going back to looking at the courtyard, and both of the men''s eyes widened in shock. Looking at this young whelp coming in with a maid, they assumed he was perhaps a visiting lord''s son taking a tour, but the deep blue eyes of the Baron stared back at them.

    Was this young man the Baron''s second son? the men thought, This young boy who could meet our eyes with respect and humility in his greeting, but not an ounce of fear? How could a useless child never trained as an heir manage such a feat?

    Continuing across the courtyard, unaware of the confusion he had inflicted on the sparring warriors, Eres settled down on the far side of the dirt-covered ground, keeping an eye out for this teacher who was supposed to be arriving soon. He knew that the teacher had to greet the head of the house on this occasion, so decided to start stretching his muscles once again while waiting.

    He had worn simple clothes today, soft grey woollen trousers and comfortable outdoor slippers with a loose-fitted white shirt. It wasn''t as comfortable as some of the clothing he remembered from Adrien''s world, but there was no issue with his mobility, and as he struggled to touch his toes and drop into lunges, he never felt that the clothes were restraining him.

    Once he had moved through his routine he bobbed up to his feet and looked around for Freya, only to be shocked by the presence of an older man standing off to his left. The man was tall, nearly six feet by Eres'' reckoning. He had short-cropped white hair and piercing green eyes so pale they reminded him of the underside of a leaf. He was broad across the shoulders, and the simple dark shirt he wore didn''t hide the cording muscles in his forearms. A wide leather belt wrapped around his waist, and hanging from it were two blades, one long and curved and the other shorter, but straight. The dark trousers tucked into worn travelling boots and everything about the man looked just like someone who fought for a living.

    Eres was startled by the man''s presence, and even more startled by the sudden harshness of the voice that dragged its way out of the man''s mouth as if dragging across gravel.

    "Now just what is it that you think you are doing, Boy?" the man spat. His voice was slow and precise, and he drew out his vowels in a way that Eres was unfamiliar with.

    "You must be my new teacher. My apologies, I was just stretching before our lesson," Eres did his best to speak loud and clear, but his voice still shook at the man''s sudden hostility.

    "I see that. Who did you learn to do it from?"

    "I think I saw some of the men doing it, Sir. Was I doing it wrong?"

    Well, it isn''t like I can tell him I remember it from a previous life, so let''s hope this lie covers it, Eres thought, as the man stared at him for nearly a minute.

    "No, you were doing it right. I was hired to train a newbie, and I just needed to make sure you didn''t have someone else training you on the side. I need to know if I am going to have to train out bad habits," the older man said, his voice still low and gruff, but no longer quite so harsh, "You can call me Brom. Master Brom if you are fancy, but I prefer the former. So, no one else is training you, right kid?"

    "No Master Brom, no other training. I have been studying magic on my own, but nothing physical at least."

    Brom narrowed his eyes and looked at Eres before letting out a short bark of laughter.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    "I thought you only recently turned 10, but you already have a Magic Core? Guess that removes one hurdle at least..." Brom let out a sigh as he took a pace towards the edge of the courtyard, pulled a pipe from a small pouch at his waist and began packing it with tobacco.

    "Don''t worry about your young maid, I sent her back to the house. Can''t have her complaining if I push you too hard or speak to you wrong," Brom spoke slowly as he clamped his teeth around the pipe stem and began lighting it with a small metal lighter, "I am going to come right out and say it, but I''m not great and being polite and I will train you hard. I heard from your mother that shouldn''t be a problem, but if it is tell me now and we can save both of us some trouble."

    "I asked for someone proficient in magic and combat because I wanted to train, Master Brom, not because I wanted to pander to some idea of what I should be doing," Eres struggled to keep his voice level once again, but now instead of the shake of surprise, it held an icy touch of anger, "not to mention if you met with my Father before you came here you know my station in this household. You need not be polite to me and I would prefer it if we spoke plainly. So, does that satisfy your requirements?"

    Brom stared at the young boy''s face as he puffed on the pipe. Not the arrogance of born nobility, but anger at being underestimated perhaps? He thought, This might just be fun after all.

    "Alright, consider me satisfied. Let''s get on with the proper introductions," Brom barked, "I''m your new teacher, a member of the Adventurers Guild and a Battle Mage. You know what that means?"

    "It means you are either possessing the Battle Mage blessing or that you are as talented in combat as you are magic," Eres spoke slowly as if struggling to recall the information, "However I expect it is the latter. An adventurer would be unlikely to reveal their blessing, as that information contains their strengths and weaknesses, and no matter how lacking the opponent you face, your Blessing is information to keep close."

    "Ha, good. At least you have a head on your soldiers. My Blessing is my own business, you just need to know I can teach you magic and combat to a level beyond your average teacher."

    "Then I will be looking forward to your teachings," Eres grinned as he gave a small but exaggerated bow, "As you know I am your new pupil, Eres von Hytheiem, the unwanted third child of the Hytheiem barony. My blessing is also my own business, but it is of the Mind category, if that helps you in teaching me."

    Brom chuckled at the audacity of the announcement that he was unwanted.

    What unwanted child has a high-ranking adventurer hired as their teacher? Bah, the secrecy that witch wanted isn''t my style, but she''s the customer.

    "Alright, I can see you have a Magic Core which means you can manipulate mana, so we will leave magic for later. You can keep studying on your own, but for the first few months, your lessons with me will focus on physical combat. Do you have any experience with weapons?"

    "Only in watching the Guards." Eres answered honestly, eyes darting to the pair of blades on the older man''s belt.

    "Oh, these?" chuckled Brom, catching the glance, "A duelling pair from my home country, down south. Lots of sailors down that way so lighter blades are prioritised. The long curved blade is used for slashing and slicing, and the shorter dagger for parrying and stabbing. A hard weapon to learn, but all the more versatile for it.

    That is putting the cart before the horse though. We will see how your style shapes up first, and then decide what weapon will fit you. For now, we are going to see how your body holds up."

    With that simple statement, Eres'' two hours of hell began. He ran laps around the courtyard until his lungs burned, leapt from one point to another at Brom''s direction, and did push-ups and squats until his limbs felt like jelly. He needed frequent breaks due to his body''s weakness, but he never stopped pushing himself. He may have been a noble who spent most of his life inside, but ten-year-old boys are want to explore and he had spent his fair share of time running from room to room in his wing of the manor, imagining he was playing with his older brother, and sometimes truly playing with his sister.

    While it had been some months since he had engaged in these games, they left him in surprisingly good stead for Brom''s gruelling tests. He recovered quickly with the breaks he took and dived right back into the task at hand or the next exercise, and after two hours of broken-up exercise, he led on the hard-packed dirt, staring into the clear blue sky and panting as he tried to remind his lungs how to breathe.

    "Well, that will do for now kid," Brom spoke from his perch next to the wall, glancing at the spread-eagled boy on the floor, "Make sure you bathe that sweat off and eat some meat tonight. No healing magic until tomorrow''s lesson though, if your muscles hurt then just bear with it."

    Eres couldn''t muster a reply and instead staggered to his feet and with a wave of his hand wandered off towards the house, searching for food and water to replenish his body.

    Brom watched him go with a smirk. The kid was good. His fitness was impressive for his age, but it was his fortitude that Brom had been testing. Nearly two hours of harsh training that would have made a young man grind his teeth in frustration. And yet the young boy had not only attempted every task until his body failed him, he had not complained even once.

    Oh, he had complained and swore when his arms failed him mid-pushup and his face had struck the dirt, or when he tripped over running tired, but never once had he asked to give up or stop. He had asked for short breaks and then continued on with a fiery determination that Brom wasn''t sure most soldiers had in them.

    He tapped his pipe out into the dirt and stepped on the ashes as he began to slowly fade from visibility. This damn brat... looks like I am going to have to put some effort into making him stronger, he thought as he coated his body in a thin layer of Mana, I reckon this one won''t disappoint me.

 Spirit

    The next morning, Eres'' body screamed at him. Climbing out of bed had his legs and lower back roaring in pain, and washing his face made his arms howl in agony. He had expected it somewhat, but it was still incredibly uncomfortable. Knowing he had likely another lesson of the same today, a cloud had seemed to settle over him. Eres knew that this was necessary, he knew that building up a body''s foundations was one of the most important steps. That was common knowledge in this world and was confirmed by all of the memories he had as Adrien. Still, that didn''t stop him from groaning through every step down the short length of the corridor to the study.

    Once there, his morning went as usual. Research and learning. He knew he would have these physical lessons almost every day, so that meant he needed to fit in time to practice magic either before or after, but right now with the state of his body, he could barely summon the energy to even lift his arms, let alone concentrate on an image and circulate his Mana.

    A light meal and more cups of tea than he would like to admit manage to get him past midday and slowly inching his way out to the field. Freya had hovered slightly behind him for most of the day, concerned but unable to heal him. Eres had told him about Brom''s order to not heal until the lesson which had caused her no small amount of worry, having to watch her Young Master wander around like the oldest of servants and not a boy of ten.

    Eres managed the walk across the far side of the courtyard where he had started his lesson with Brom the previous day and slumped onto the floor. He let out a long sigh as the cramping in his body started to subside.

    "Bits of me hurt that I didn''t even know could hurt. Gods I can''t wait until I am a bit stronger and less prone to this," Eres mumbled as he leaned forward and slowly tried to stretch his legs.

    "That''s good, Kid. That''s when you know it''s working," Brom spoke, standing just a few paces from the two of them, "though I reckon that is probably enough development for this run. Miss Maid, would you mind healing him? Something simple should do the trick for muscle soreness."

    Eres and Freya had both jumped out of their skins at his sudden appearance. He certainly hadn''t been there when they walked across the courtyard, and Eres had been slumped staring at the door.

    "How did you-"

    "Kid, the things you know wouldn''t fill a page in a book of things I have learned in the last year. If I wasn''t surprising you then I would be doing something wrong. Now come on, heal him so we can get to it."

    "Heal!" intoned Freya, a soft golden light falling from her hands onto Eres'' body. Where he had been struggling to stand, now his muscles moved easily and without complaint, and any fatigue felt washed away.

    "Thank you, Freya! I feel better already," Eres grinned as he hopped on the balls of his feet.

    Brom was squinting his eyes at Freya, tapping a finger on his chin.

    "How old are you, Miss Maid-" Brom started, before catching Eres'' glare, "Alright, alright, Miss Freya wasn''t it?"

    "Nearly 14, Sir."

    "Not even 14 and you can shorten a mid-level Divine Chant to one word, without screwing up your own reserve of Divine power?" Brom let out a long, low whistle, "You should stay. Having a proper healer on hand will let me train him a little more, without worrying about injury."

    Freya began to complain, but Eres gave her a short nod and a smile. Brom''s face split with a grin at the boy''s attitude.

    "Alright then Kid, time to learn. Today is physical combat. I will be here five days a week, three of those days will be purely physical training for the first few months, just like you did yesterday. The other two days will be like today. Your muscles will get worked, but it will be combat training, we will start with hand to hand and when I think you are ready we will move onto weapons, but not until I think you are ready. Any questions?"

    Eres slowly shook his head. Three days a week of that training?! Gods, I am going to need to get fit fast, or I might not survive to learn any weapons, he thought, grimacing at the thought.

    "Alright then, no questions or complaints, that is what I like to hear. First, you need to understand that if you are fighting someone with a weapon and you don''t have one, you are at a disadvantage," Brom spoke while settling into a fighting stance, his hands raised just below eye level with the palms facing out, legs shoulder width apart with the left leg slightly forward. "I can teach you to fight on an even playing field with anyone without a weapon, but once they have a weapon in hand..."

    "Can you win? If someone has a weapon I mean," Eres asked.

    "Can you win?" Brom scoffed, "Sure, you can win, but it isn''t just down to your skill. Luck, environment, weapon type, their level of skill with it and a hundred other factors will go into it. So to start, we are assuming you are fighting someone with no weapons. Copy my stance."

    Eres took up the same stance, studying it carefully. Brom broke his position and walked a quick circle around Eres, kicking his front leg out slightly further and pushing his elbows down slightly so his arms weren''t nearly straight.

    "Remember how this feels. This is going to be your home now. Every single movement I am going to be teaching you for quite a while yet will come from this position. When you finish a movement you will settle here. You are going to spend so much time in this position I half expect you to shuffle to the bathroom still nearly asleep in it, got it?The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    "Alright, good. So, tell me. What do you think you are going to be learning first?"

    "I don''t know," Eres replied honestly. He already knew that Brom would teach him in his way, and he didn''t see the point in pretending he knew more than he did. "Maybe how to throw a simple punch?"

    "Not bad. Wrong, but not bad. You didn''t start thinking about how to kill a man with one blow or kicking through a tree," Brom laughed, "Before you can punch you are going to learn to step."

    "To step?"

    "Yes, to step. Footwork is important, how you move your feet controls the power you generate in your attacks, how open you are, and how many lines of attack you can cover. If you learn one thing today, make it that footwork is one of the most important things in all fighting, hand to hand or swords, even mages should concentrate on their footwork so as not to get caught off guard."

    "Okay, footwork is key, I get it," Eres rushed the words out as soon as Brom''s torrent of explanation on stepping and movement had ended. "So then, how do I move?"

    "Start with your front foot. As it lifts you put pressure on your back foot so you can spring if you need to. When the front foot drops, the back foot follows. Keep both feet close to the floor to keep the movement short and quick. Looks like this," Brom showed each movement slowed down, breaking the entire movement into steps, and then showed him stepping forward. It looked smooth and easy.

    "Like this?" Eres tried to lift his front foot and stretch it forward but quickly heard a loud THWACK followed by a stinging pain in his back leg calf. With a yelp, he turned to see Brom''s sword, still sheathed, grasped in his hand.

    "You didn''t charge that back foot. No pressure on it. Do it again."

    Bewildered, Eres began the movement again before a sharp rap across his forearms stopped him moving.

    "I don''t remember telling you that you could drop your hands at any point. Do it again."

    This was how the next hour of Eres'' life passed him by. Every time he tried to step, a minute adjustment was made with a swing of his instructor''s blade, and he got closer to moving how it was wanted. After nearly twenty minutes the sharp pain only occurred in the second half of the movement, such as when his foot was going to touch the ground or trying to bring the back foot to follow. He had heard every complaint, he wasn''t moving fast enough, he was rushing, too much tension, not enough tension. The information was enough to make his head explode. Yet after almost an hour, he tensed to feel the pain of the scabbard striking his flesh, but there was nothing.

    "Not bad, Kid. Now again, forward step," Brom gave a brief smile, before commanding Eres to move again.

    A few more adjustments now, but less, lots less. Then none, then two steps in a row, then three. After the entirety of the first hour, Brom called to a halt.

    "Alright then, Miss Maid, sorry sorry, Miss Freya, would you mind healing those welts on him?

    "Thank you, he looks good as new. Now then, Kid. Time to learn how to step backwards."

    The rest of the lesson went quickly for Eres. He picked up the back-step quickly, and the sidesteps only earned him a few blows for crossing his stride before Brom was satisfied. Eres spent the whole time trying to get his body to memorise the feeling of the movements so they would become natural, that he hadn''t noticed Brom''s look of bewilderment.

    "I wouldn''t worry, Mister Brom, Sir," Freya whispered as Eres practised a set of steps, "He just does this. His memory is absurdly good and he thinks nothing of completely ignoring boundaries people would usually struggle with.

    "That Magic Core you were impressed with? He gathered the mana for it in one sitting and only a day after his Blessing was revealed to him. He had no prior magic training, he just read about it and then did it. I tell you this so you understand that he may surprise you, but also to say that he himself has no idea how unusual his learning ability is."

    Brom thought for a moment, and then gave a small bow in the maids direction.

    "My gratitude to you," Brom spoke in an oddly formal tone, as if this was something rehearsed, before spinning to Eres and shouting, "Alright then Kid, stop those feet moving. Grab a seat now, I am sure your legs are jelly."

    Eres slumped to the floor in a similar position to how he had ended last lesson, nearly spread eagled in the dirt.

    "I was just stepping. Not even walking, stepping! Why does it hurt so bloody much," Eres groaned as he rubbed at his thighs.

    "You said it yourself when we started, muscles you didn''t even know you had. New muscles getting worked, you will get used to it eventually," Brom said, peering at the prone form on the floor, "That will be it for today though, Kid. You got any questions to round the session out?"

    "I have one, but it isn''t strictly related..." Eres hesitated, but seeing Brom just standing there he hurried on, "Magic users control Mana, Divine users control Divine Power. What about martial artists and warriors? I have read about some of their abilities, but none of the books on Magic I have touched on it."

    "Kid... are you stupid?" Brom stared at Eres for a few seconds before sighing deeply, "It isn''t magic, so of course it wouldn''t be in a magic text. You talk so smart I forget how little you know.

    "Alright, listen up, ''cause I am only going through this once today. Martial users, those with the Shield and Knight-type Blessings usually, use Spirit to power their capabilities. I don''t know a lot about it in the theoretical sense, other than that it is an internal force, unlike Mana and Divine Power it doesn''t have to be pulled in, it has to be pulled out. Some say it is a life force, other willpower, who knows.

    "All that matters is that well of Spirit can be channeled into Spirit Arts. These Arts can be anything really, from something as simple as increasing your strength and speed to something as strange as shrouding yourself in shadows or recalling thrown knives to your hands. Some people learn a specific set of Arts, others attempt to create their own, its all a big jumble. But as someone who knows both, let me tell you, its far harder to get a handle on than magic."

    "Why? It sounds like you can do nearly anything with it, so why would you even need magic?"

    "Well for starters, ''cause learning an Art is harder than learning a spell. A spell is like a sword strike, and an Art is like a sword style. Learning an Art is akin to learning an entire type of spell. Multiple facets in how a Spirit Art can be used make them flexible but hard to learn. Even most capable warriors only learn a few and focus on training around them."

    "What about you, Sir?"

    "Me? I know a thing or two. Want to see?"

    Watching both Eres and Freya nod eagerly, Brom laughs out loud, his head thrown back to the sky. The edges of his form began to waver, as if in a mirage.

    "Well then, I will see you two tomorrow," Brom said, before a gust of wind blew through the courtyard, and dispersed his body into mist.

    Eres and Freya both stared wide-eyed at the patch his feet had stood on for quite some time before they hurried inside, talking excitedly about how he did it all the while.

 Town

    Time passes quickly once one falls into a rhythm. In fact, nearly a month had passed since Brom had begun to train Eres on five out of the seven days of the week. Weekends were kept free for Eres to do as he wished, and he spent them researching and practicing more magic, expending his Mana reserves to the tiniest amount before drawing more in and doing it again. In this way he felt his Mana Core growing, or perhaps getting purer? The books he read were not clear on if it was the quantity or the quality of the Mana in the Core that increased, but only that the amount of Mana that could be drawn at once was increased as was the total amount available. This meant that Eres had started to attempt spells beyond the beginner level, though with little success. He had managed to increase the size of the purple wall of light from his Shield spell by putting more Mana into the casting and changing his mental image accordingly, but any spell stronger than the most simple beginner spells seemed out of reach.

    This inability chaffed, as Eres wanted to improve quickly, yet he knew it was likely a natural stumbling block in progression. In a few more weeks Master Brom had said he would make some time for lessons on Mana, Magic and Incantations, so Eres decided to shelve learning more and master what he had already learned. That being said, it brought him to the current situation.

    Eres was slumped in the large chair in the study, his head hanging backwards over the edge looking at a very surprised maid. His clothes were somewhat sloppy today, and the tea cup next to him sat unemptied.

    "I am sorry Master Eres, what did you say?" Freya asked, eyes wide.

    "I said that I am too bloody bored for this," Eres grumbled, head still hanging backwards and face slowly going red, "My last few weeks have been nothing but study and learning."

    "Well Master, you have been working very hard since your blessing, but you seemed to be enjoying yourself," Freya looked troubled as she continued, "I apologise, Young Master. I should have advised you to take more time for yourself."

    Eres stared at her, open mouthed. He let out a deep sigh and then said, "You are right, of course. How could you possibly not tell a ten year old boy to do less work, that he himself has chosen to do, when you as a nearly fourteen year old girl know so much better!" Eres glared at her for a moment, then righted his head and wandered over towards her, "Freya, there is no way you could have done anything. I was just moaning and complaining, no reason to take it so seriously. My overcrowded schedule is no one''s fault but my own, but you make a good point. It isn''t even lunchtime yet, why don''t we head into town?"

    "Into town? Do you have something you need to buy? You can always send me or one of the servants?"

    "No, no, I don''t need to buy anything in particular. An outing! Stress relief, you know?"

    "Oh, I see. Yes that does sound nice," Freya smiled a little and dropped her eyes, "shall I call some of the guards to accompany you?"

    "What? No! God no, I don''t need judgy pricks following me around all day, just me and you will do," Eres laughed at Freya''s face from his rude outburst before continuing, "I will go put on some day clothes, go change out of your uniform! Meet me by the front gate in say half an hour?"

    "This seems like a bad idea, Master Eres, maybe we should-"

    "Well, I will see you then!" Eres shouted over Freya''s mumbling as he ran off to his room to try and find something in his wardrobe that didn''t scream of being a child of Nobility.

    * * *

    Nearly half an hour later, Eres stood just inside the front gate of the compound. He had taken his long silver hair and tied it into a thick braid that lay down the centre of his back and covered the crown of his head with a dark blue cap. His doublet was a dark grey and his trousers a dark muddy brown. He wasn''t sure when he had gotten these clothes, but he was glad to find them. With a little beating and rubbing in some dust out in the courtyard, it looked the part of the people he remembered seeing walking around in the town on the few times he had been there.

    He had left any of the accessories he usually wore back in his room, except for the family ring he kept on a thin chain around his neck. He wanted to be able to play around in town, but he also wanted to be able to get help from the people of the town if he got lost. Adrien''s memories of the dangers of children leaving the house on their own swirled through his mind, but Eres reasoned that he probably wasn''t as much at risk. With the Hytheiem ring and his prior experience as Adrien he was sure he could manage an afternoon in town on his own.

    Just as he was feeling pleased with himself and excited to explore the town, a slight tug on his sleeve caught his attention. As he turned around, he saw a girl with long brown hair hanging past her shoulders, bright green eyes and a dusting of freckles over her nose and cheeks. She wore a long dress that cut off at mid calf, and well worn leather boots. A thin brown jacket hung over her left arm, and the other was what had tugged on his sleeve.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    "Master Eres, are you sure we should be doing this? Don''t we need permission?" Freya said, shuffling uncomfortably out of her uniform.

    "Freya! Gods, I hardly recognised you out of your maids dress, you look great!" Eres laughed and smiled as he greeted his maid and friend. "And as for permission, technically as long as I go out with one member of staff it should be fine, so you just need to stick close. Come on, let''s go explore!"

    As he grabbed her hand and marched through the front gates, Eres managed to entirely miss the slight blush on Freya''s cheeks. The guards standing to either side of the gates saw them exit and gave a small nod, but no other recognition as the pair of children walked out onto the cobbled road.

    "Okay, first things first, no "Master Eres" while we are out here. We are just two friends having some fun, so none of that stuffy formality okay?"

    "Hmmm..." Freya hemmed and hawed for a moment before, "Okay fine... Eres. Just Eres."

    "See, much better! Alright, I figure we go get something to eat, and then explore the rest of the town, sound good to you?"

    "Umm, sure. Do you... Do you know where you are going, Eres?"

    "Nope, not a clue!" Eres laughed, before quickly stopping a passing man. The man was tall and thin, and his hands were crusted from dirt working in the feels, but his eyes were bright and his face seemed set in a permanent smile.

    "''Scuse me, Mister. Where''s the nearest bakery?" Eres asked, trying as best he could to keep his words simple. He had read that advanced literacy wasn''t common among most people outside of the noble class, and while they could sign their name and read most simple words in the language, using longer words and avoiding slang was a clear sign of ones upbringing.

    "Oh, ha''nt seen you two around here ''fore." drawled the man, smile stretching wider across his face. "If you go down that street an'' turn left you will find Regis''s place. Good bread, and pies to be true."

    "Thanks Mister! Have a great day!" Eres shouted over his shoulder as he was already pulling Freya down the road at a fast trot, grinning as he looked all around him. He had memories of all these other amazing cities from Adrien''s life, but the memories still felt disconnected, like it wasn''t really him who saw them. Maybe that was why every thatched roof, scowling housewife and browbeaten husband looked so fresh and interesting to him. As the midday sun was beating down, many people were sitting on benches or on their porches, smoking pipes and finishing off the remains of lunch before they headed back to work, and everything looked so alive, so visceral. Not like the Hytheiem estate.

    The household was quiet most of the day, and only when an event happened was it ever bustling. The servants moved around talking quietly under their breath, the guards stayed silently at their posts until their shift changed, and this routine was almost never disrupted. This town was so full of everything that Eres hadn''t realised he was missing, from the overwhelming noise of the general bustle of the main street to the glimpses of families through half-shuttered windows.

    Just as he began to be lost in this reverie he felt an impact against his stomach, and looked down to see a young girl sprawled on the floor. Maybe 4 years old she had wandered into him and landed straight on the ground. Now, this little blond thing was staring up at him with big watery eyes.

    "Oh no, no no, you don''t need to cry! Are you okay? I''m okay! Did you hurt yourself?" Eres blurted out as he reached down to help the toddler to her feet. She nodded her head and chewed her lip.

    "Ifa brave," said the girl with a trembling voice, "Ifa won''t cry. You okay, Mister?"

    "Me? Of course I am okay. Shall we get you back to your parents so they can make sure you are okay too?"

    The little girl nodded, and pointed down the street as she grasped Eres'' hand and began to lead him towards a somewhat familiar sign, reading "Regis Baked Goods". Eres looked at the confused Freya, shrugged and began to follow the tugging of the toddler in front of him.

    "So, Ifa was it? Your dad works in the bakery?"

    "Uh-huh! He makes all sorts of yummy bread!"

    "Well, lets go see him then, huh?"

    With a few nods, Ifa continued to pull Eres down the street until she pushed through the wooden door into the bakery. Almost instantly Eres thanked whatever instinct had told him to go to a bakery before anything else, because this place smelled like heaven. Fresh loaves of bread lined the walls behind the counter, and a metal plate covered in fabric had a sign on the front labelling it as "Pies, Sweets and Treats". The shutters on the windows were open wide but inside was still dimly lit, but even so the kind smile of the man behind the counter was plain to see.

    "Daddy! This mister brough me back when I fell!" Ifa piped up, running around the counter and hugging onto the large man''s leg, "I went out to try and find Myla, but I fell on the ground, so I came back!"

    "Oh Ifa, you scared your mother half to death. She chased you out the door, she will be back any moment now, I don''t know how she missed you!" the man said, picking Ifa up and settling on his hip with a troubled smile. "Thank you so much for bringing her back, can I get you anything? A drink or some food?"

    "Actually we were on our way here anyway to pick up some lunch, if possible?" Eres said, walking up to the counter and taking the cap from his head to wipe the sweat off his brow. It was only once he had finished cleaning his face that he realised the man hadn''t spoke for a moment, and looking up he could see the shopkeepers eyes bulging out of his head.

    The man was tall, bald and broad across the shoulders, with thick hair poking out from the top of his shirt. It was a distinctive look, and Eres realised too late that he had seen the man before when he had been catering for his Mother''s tea parties, and exchanged a few words with him.

    Bollocks, Eres thought, however am I going to explain my way out of this one?

 Myla

    As the tall, broad baker stared at Eres with shock creasing the lines of his face, Eres tried so very hard to signal with his eyes.

    Don''t say anything, just leave it alone so I can keep wandering around town without a worry, Eres thought, treat me like any other customer.

    The man was staring very intently and slowly placed the toddler on the floor behind the counter.

    "Go on Ifa, go wait upstairs for your Mother, okay?" He smiled as he talked, but a slight sheen of sweat glinted in the low light, "I am sure that when she and your sister get back they will want to see you are alright, so go change out of that muddy dress and get ready, okay?"

    "Alright Daddy! See you later, Mister!" Ifa called out over her shoulder as she scampered through a doorway in the corner of the room, the gentle patter of her feet climbing up stars echoing through the now very silent room. Freya had stepped back to stand near the door and give the man and the boy some space.

    "I am sorry for not greeting you properly sooner, My Lord, I just didn''t want my daughter to -" the Baker said, as he hurried around to the front of the counter and began to kneel.

    "Oh please Gods no, none of that!" Eres nearly yelled as he gripped the larger man''s shoulders and tried to pull him to his feet, "I don''t want any kneeling, no "My Lord"''s, no worry or courtesy. I snuck-, I mean came out of the estate, I came out of the estate to wander around with my friend and get some fresh air. That is all, okay?

    "We came for some lunch, we just wanted to grab that and go. I am sorry for causing you any distress, I really didn''t mean to worry or scare you, I just wanted to help that girl."

    "Very well, My-... Well, what should I call you then, Sir?"

    "Just Eres will do, I am sure," Eres laughed, "And you?"

    "Apologies again, Mister Eres Sir, you can call me Harral. Myla, my other daughter, should be back soon, as should my wife Lyra. I will whip you and your companion up some sandwiches with this morning''s bread, and give you a nice picnic basket to keep on with your day. How does that sound?"

    "Just Eres, Harral, no Misters or Sirs, okay? I am so much younger than you that you are going to make me feel awkward. A picnic basket sounds lovely though, don''t you think Freya?"

    "That sounds wonderful, thank you, Mister Harral," Freya smiled as she spoke, before squinting at Eres, "Though do you know where we could even go for a picnic, Master-, ah I mean Eres. Neither of us really know anything about the town?"

    "Ah, we will work it out when we get there. You heard the lady though Harral, a picnic sounds just perfect."

    "Alright then, I will get started on that one now for you. Take a seat over there you two."

    Eres laughed at the man''s jovial nature and wandered over to sit at a small round table next to the window, where Freya came to join him. They talked and joked around the table, waiting for Harral to come out from the back, his whistles and occasional grumbles echoing around the shop, until they were interrupted by the shop door swinging wide open and slamming against the wall with a thunderous BANG!

    "Dad! Dad! Is she here?! I saw Mum and she said that Ifa ran out, but I ran all up and down the street and not a single soul saw her!" the new arrival yelled as she ran into the room, breathing heavily.

    The girl who had run into the room was rather young, likely around the same age as Eres. She had a shaggy head of short blonde hair that didn''t reach her shoulders, a soft white shirt, and a grey pair of shorts that barely reached her knees. Her boots were worn and grey with kicked-up dust from the road, and her legs were covered in partially healed scrapes, bruises, and other wounds, and if her voice hadn''t carried out ahead of her Eres would have assumed she was a particularly mischievous local boy who couldn''t stay out of trouble. Her head didn''t turn to see Eres or Freya sitting in the corner, her focus solely on her father behind the counter.

    "Calm yourself Myla, calm! She''s alright, she is upstairs getting herself changed after falling in the road and getting all muddy," Harral held his hands up as if to slow a rushing animal, "The two behind you brought her back safe and sound, so no need to worry! When your mother comes back I am sure we will have to calm her down too, so for the sake of my sanity please, calm."

    The young girl stopped, whirling around to see the two people sitting at the table behind her, face frozen between embarrassment at someone unfamiliar having seen her outburst, and relief her sister was safe.

    Eres raised a hand gently and gave a wave.

    "Hi, um, I''m Eres. Sorry to worry you and everything, we didn''t realise anyone was out looking for her and she said she knew the way home so... Still, I am sorry you got worried," Eres'' words tumbled out, trying his hardest to speak in the same manner Harral did, and failing somewhat miserably.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    "Oh. Well. Urgh, fine." the tomboy, Myla, huffed, "You brought her back safe, and you seem nice enough. And I know you ain''t trying to worry me so... look, thanks. I''m glad she got home safe, so yeah. Thanks."

    Freya smiled and Eres rubbed the back of his neck, eyes down. He opened his mouth to say something when the wooden door once again slammed into the wall, hinges rattling.

    An older woman rushed through the door, a dark grey dress and shawl clutched in her hands so not as to trip her steps. Her long blonde hair was tied in a thick braid down her back, and her face was marked with dirt and sweat.

    Before she could even begin, Harral and Myla both started rushing their words out.

    "Hey, Lyra, it''s all okay, Ifa is upstairs getting changed out of her muddy dress, she came back fine thanks to these young people behind you, so you don''t need worry, she''s okay, okay? Take a breath love," Harral stepped around the counter as he spoke quickly, trying to calm the woman who seemed to be his Wife.

    "Mum, Mum, it''s fine okay! Ifa is safe and sound, these two brought her back and Dad said she was fine, so we don''t need to worry anymore!" Myla bounced up and down as she talked, running up to her mother''s side and tugging on her hand.

    As Harral hugged his wife close to his chest and Myla tugged at her hand, Eres felt his chest tighten. He remembered Adrien loving his mother, and being this close to her. But as Eres, he couldn''t remember the last time he saw his Father, and since their walk, his Mother had been as distant as ever. It hurt to think about it, and just as he was starting to bite his lip at the pain, a hand rested on his shoulder.

    "Mas.... Eres. Are you alright?" Freya looked at him, her green eyes pinched at the corners with worry.

    "Yes Freya, I''m fine. Thank you," Eres smiled at her as he patted her hand gently. He had someone looking out for him at least.

    Just as he was regaining himself, a little excited firework rushed into the room.

    "Mummy! Myla! You got back!" Ifa squealed as she ran from behind the counter and hurled herself at her family, Myla quickly grabbed her in mid-air and hoisted her into her mother''s arms.

    "Ifa, oh baby I am so glad you are safe," Lyra began softly before her tone switched, "but by all the Gods you need to be more careful! You can''t run off on your own, no when one of us can''t watch you! If these kind children hadn''t found you, you could''ve been lost for hours before we found you! And that would have scared me to death, you understand?"

    As her lecture continued, Harral chuckled before heading back behind the counter to finish up making the picnic, and Myla hurried a few steps out of her mother''s grasp before slumping down in the other seat in the corner, right next to Eres.

    "So... who are you two? I thought I had met most of the other kids in town, but I guess not," as Myla talked, Eres felt his palms sweat. He hadn''t thought about how the other kids played together, it had completely slipped his mind that they would probably know all the other kids. "Oh, I know! You gotta be kids from some of those merchants who just rolled into town right? Especially with how clean you are looking there, Eres right? Yeah, that''s gotta be it, merchant kids!"

    "Yeah, that''s right. Don''t know how long we are going to be in town, so wanted to see the sights and have some lunch," Freya slipped into a more comfortable accent than the clear and clipped tone that she used up at the manor, covering for Eres as she saw him gaping like a fish. "I''m Freya, nice to meet you Myla!"

    Myla grinned as she reached out and shook the older girl''s hand, before doing the same to Eres.

    "Well, nice to meetcha! Thanks again for helping out Ifa, just let me know if you need anything, alright?"

    "Yes, please, let us all know if we can do anything to help," came a much calmer voice from the middle of the room.

    Lyra seemed to have finished her scolding and was now rocking Ifa on her hip, seemingly not willing to let her out of her grasp just yet. Her eyes widened slightly when she met Eres'' gaze, but a quick glance at her husband was the only sign of her knowing who he was.

    Well, at least she is more subtle than Harral falling to his knees, Eres thought.

    "Your husband is making us a picnic for our lunch, how could we ask for anything more?" Eres laughed a little as he spoke, just enough to be pleasant. "We found your daughter by chance and brought her back because it was the right thing to do, nothing more than that!"

    Eres paused for a second thinking, "Though perhaps you could also give us directions for where we could go and eat? We aren''t familiar with the town after all."

    "Well I can-" Myla started before her mother cut her off.

    "Of course, if that is all then we would be happy to do so. Let me go ask my husband where he thinks would be best," Lyra smiled, but it was strained at the edges. She placed Ifa on the floor as she turned to her husband, "Go play now, little one, just stay indoors, okay?"

    "I could''ve told you where to go, " Myla grumbled, glaring at her mother''s retreating back, before swivelling her head quickly and staring at Freya, "So, what''s it like where you come from!"

    Freya smiled and started answering the barrage of questions Myla was firing out as honestly as she could, and Eres had to stifle a laugh. Who would have thought that coming into town for a day would have been so interesting?

    As Harral wandered over with a wicker basket stuffed full of food, his wife behind him with a curious glint in her eye, Eres decided that living vicariously through others was all right. Sure his family wasn''t quite what he wanted it to be, but the town probably had hundreds of happy families just like this, and if he could catch glimpses of them in their happiness once in a while? Well, maybe that would be enough. For now, at least.

    As he gave his thanks, ruffled Ifa''s hair and took the large basket from Harral, Eres felt lighter. This was nice, all of this was nice. Lyra looked like she wanted to say something else after giving them directions to a nearby picnic spot, but Harral managed to drag her back inside before she ruined Eres'' cover.

    Yep, Eres thought with a smile and a stretch of his shoulders, this is turning into a good day out of the house after all.

 Picnic

    As Eres and Freya walked away from the Bakery, with a large basket of food clasped in Eres'' hands, they chatted and laughed at their chance encounter.

    "Look, I know I shouldn''t laugh Eres, but your face when Mr Harral dropped to one knee was priceless, I promise you!" Freya could barely speak through the giggles. Her tone had stayed somewhat more free after speaking to Myla. Eres wondered privately if this is what she usually sounded like, and how he could get her to speak that way when they were back home.

    "You know I''m not used to any of that pomp or circumstance! I could see him getting ready to bow and scrape and call me ''Mi''lord'' and I don''t need any of that, nope not one bit!" Eres protested between fits of laughter at the whole bizarre circumstance.

    They walked down the dirt road in the centre of the territory with their shoulders nearly pressed together. If others were watching, perhaps they looked like siblings sharing a joke, or perhaps something more intimate. Freya was short for her age and Eres carried himself as if he was a little older. To them, however, they just enjoyed the freedom of the air outside and the hustle and bustle of the crowd in the town.

    The laughing, joking and idle small talk continued for a few minutes, and then the next few were spent in a comfortable and companionable silence. Eres knew in his head that most ten-year-olds would need to talk constantly, but whether due to his quiet upbringing or the other memories bouncing around in his skull, he enjoyed these moments of quiet. Not loneliness, not silence, but comfortable companionship.

    It was as Eres was considering just how much he enjoyed these moments, that it was rudely interrupted by a small blonde cannonball slamming into the space between him and Freya, wrapping an arm around both of their shoulders with a loud shout and a laugh.

    "Ha! I knew I would find ya if I ran quick enough!" Myla laughed, her voice as loud and brash as it had been in the bakery.

    Eres released the flow of magic he had begun to channel. It was too slow, far too slow to respond to someone touching him. He needed to get faster, or better with his body if he didn''t want to be a sitting duck.

    "Oh, um, sorry you two. Am I interrupting? Eres here looks pretty upset," Myla sounded a little embarrassed and more than a little apologetic, and started to take a step back.

    "No, no. Sorry Myla, you startled me and I needed a second is all. What can we do for you?" Eres laughed off his shock and smiled at the girl. They were nearly the same height, now he looked at her. Strange, he had thought she would be taller, considering her attitude.

    "Of course, you aren''t interrupting," Freya smiled also, looking back at Myla. The divine power she had gathered leaked back into her core unused.

    "Well, you guys seemed nice, and I wanted to be friends, ya know after Ifa and all. Plus you didn''t know town, so I figured, if you don''t mind I mean, maybe I could tag along. The other kids are all busy today and... well look, if I am a bother..." Myla began talking with a confident, almost arrogant air, yet with every word her voice got smaller, more worried. Eres couldn''t stand to see anyone like that. It reminded him of Freya refusing to meet his eyes when they first met.

    Gods, it hasn''t been long at all, but it feels like nearly forever, Eres thought with a chuckle.

    "Of course you can come! Your dad made way too much food for us anyway, so we could use the help getting through all of it," Eres smiled as he stepped to one side to let Myla move between him and Freya, "Oh that reminds me... your parents don''t know you followed us, do they?"

    "Huh? Oh um, no, I just said I was going out to play, I didn''t exactly say where, and Mum was busy hounding Dad about something. Why?"

    "No reason, really, just... when you tell them where you were, remember what your dad''s face looks like, and describe it to me the next time we see each other, alright?" Eres had a smirk on his face as he spoke, and Myla cocked her head to one side, confused.

    "Ignore him, Myla. He''s just being weird," Freya joked, glaring across at Eres for enjoying the panic they both knew the baker would feel when he learned where his daughter spent her afternoon, "Come on then, let''s go find this picnic spot and get started on this food!"

    Eres laughed out loud as the girls hurried onwards, before quickening his pace to catch up.

    * * *

    They reached the outskirts of town quickly, and along the way Myla turned out to be quite the chatterbox, and Eres and Freya learned a lot about her.

    She was eleven, but only just, Ifa was only four. She had lived here all her life but she wanted to see a city someday. She played outside a lot and knew all the cool spots in town, and she loved meeting new people and learning about all their different experiences.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    "Sorry, sorry. I talked all the way here huh?" Myla shrugged bashfully, hands wringing, "Mum always says I talk too much for my own good and others can''t get a word in edgeways. I don''t mean to, I swear I don''t, it''s just... oh bloody hells I am doing it again.

    "Look I am sorry you guys, I didn''t mean to keep talking I just... most of the other kids are a lot older or younger, ya know?"

    Freya nodded along with a kind smile, and Eres just looked at Myla with a bemused expression.

    "What are you apologising for?" Eres asked, shrugging his shoulders, "I always get told I don''t talk enough, so you can just fill my gaps.

    "Plus, if there was a problem with you talking so much, we would have said so. I can be rude like that, so don''t worry about it at all. Now come on, these sandwiches need eating, so sit down!" Eres spread his jacket on the floor and gestured for the girls to sit, while he perched on a nearby log.

    They had made their way a little past the town''s southern edge and were out looking over the fields that surrounded the place, the forest a few hundred feet to their east. It was a damn fine view.

    When Eres looked back, the girls were sitting on his jacket, giggling about something or another. He grinned at how fast they had become friends and reached into the basket for a sandwich. He grabbed the top one before handing the basket over to the girls, taking a big bite out of the baguette.

    He knew right away that Harral had conned him. Leftover bread? Yeah right, this tasted about as fresh as could be! It was filled with a sweet and salty sauce, peppers, onions and what tasted like chunks of beef. It was good, really good.

    Eres took another two bites, chewing and swallowing as fast as he could before looking up and seeing his companions stare at him.

    "What?" He mumbled out around a mouthful of food, barely managing to swallow it before continuing, "I''m hungry, okay?"

    The two girls just shook their heads before taking a bite of their sandwiches. Both of their eyes widened as they began to chew and swallow as fast as they could to take another bite, and Eres grinned at the site.

    Yeah okay, I can see it. That''s pretty funny, he thought, as he finished off his food and grabbed a cloth from the bag to wipe the sauce from his mouth. They look like squirrels with tiny bites and full cheeks.

    He managed to hold in the laughter and hide the smile by rooting around in the wicker basket until he found a large bottle and some cups. He popped the stopper and the sharp smell of lemons drifted out. He grinned at the citrusy smell before he poured some of the yellow cloudy liquid into the glasses before handing them over to his companions. He took a sip carefully at first, before swallowing a larger mouthful. The sour tang of lemon and the sweetness of sugar mixed as he enjoyed the drink.

    "Huh, that is some really good lemonade," Eres muttered, before draining his glass.

    "You like it? Mum makes it and says it''s good for you. I just think it tastes good, at least when she doesn''t forget the sugar," Myla stuck her tongue out at the memory.

    Freya recoiled at the smell before taking a sip, and then another. She didn''t seem convinced, but she kept going back for small sips again and again. Eres nearly burst out laughing watching her, the analogy of a squirrel still very fresh in his mind.

    He rolled his head back, his face facing the sky, feeling the warmth of the sun and feeling the rough bark under his hands. It had taken him a while to get used to having another set of memories, but he was starting to feel more at home with it, less like a stranger in another body. Yet still, the memories yelled at him to do more childlike things, and to stop letting his family walk all over him. Going and playing outside seemed like a good compromise, but he hadn''t realised how much he had missed it.

    "Freya, is he alright? He looks... I dunno, sad maybe? Hard to say really, but he doesn''t look okay," Myla whispered, looking at Eres worriedly. His face was twisted somewhat like it was in pain, but the lines were slowly starting to smooth out.

    "He will be," Freya said with a smile, "He has people looking out for him, he just has a lot on his plate right now, so I think some time in the sun is doing him good."

    Myla nodded her head for a moment, before grinning at Freya and shaking her head, "I think you might both be strange. It''s alright, a good strange, but strange all the same."

    Eres sat up straight, the scrunched-up and stressed face from before gone and instead a peaceful smile in its place.

    "Nothing wrong with being strange, Myla," he laughed as he readjusted on the log, "far better to be strange than boring, don''t you reckon?"

    Myla put her hand up to her chin as if she was thinking really hard. Then her face split into a wide grin as she shrugged and flopped back into the grass.

    "Sure, if you say so," she laughed as she started picking at flowers next to her head, "I ain''t ever met someone who thinks strange is a compliment, but I think you might just be right this time."

    Eres and Freya both laughed at her carefree comment, their shoulders shaking with how hard their laughter tore out of them.

    It was that moment of laughter, that moment of joy, that froze around them as a low buzz filled the air.

    The buzz turned to a soft thud as the stump Eres was sitting on shook slightly. Looking down at his hand, Eres saw a shaft of wood sticking out of his makeshift seat, maybe a foot from his hand. The feathers on the back of the shaft were torn and ragged, but that didn''t change what it was.

    Looking up to his east, Eres saw a single creature stalking towards them from the forest. Green-skinned with a wide, toad-like face and jagged teeth, the short creature had a long, rusted knife in its right hand and an old bow in its left. Covered in furs and patches of leather, it started to pick up the pace as Eres stared at it. It took everything he had to stand, point and scream the only thought in his head.

    "GOBLIN!" Eres yelled, pointing at the toothy, slavering monster slowly approaching from the woods.

 Goblin

    "GOBLIN!" Eres yelled, pointing at the toothy monster running at them from the woods.

    His voice was high and reedy with fear, but the message was received loud and clear as the girls stopped what they were doing and looked in the direction he was pointing. As their eyes found the toad-like face of the goblin and the mouth full of jagged teeth, they screamed and struggled to their feet.

    Eres looked at the town gate off to his left. It was maybe 150 metres away, but it may as well have been miles with the Goblin in front. Perhaps if they could run straight away from it, but all that was behind him was empty fields, the same off to his right. The forest behind the Goblin was thick, and the branches cast long shadows. Were more of them hiding in there, waiting to jump out?

    The Goblin continued slowly stalking towards the group, as they started back-pedalling towards the town as best they could. It moved along with them, moving slowly at a diagonal to cut them off, its wide mouth dripping with drool.

    Eres looked at the gate again. It still felt so far away. He didn''t see any guards above it. Were they gathering because they had seen the Goblin and were on their way to save them? Or were they doing rounds and hadn''t seen the threat? Or maybe they were slacking off and would be even slower to react. He just didn''t know.

    Eres tried to draw on his core, and tried his hardest to pull Mana through his body and into his hands to create magic, but it just wouldn''t move. It felt like a frozen lake, still moving under the surface but trapped by a solid layer. In this case, Eres was pretty sure that his fear and panic were holding him back but he couldn''t be sure, not really.

    "Freya, can you gather any power?" He whispered, not taking his eyes off of the creature.

    "Maybe a little, but not much, not now," her voice was shaking, and Eres could hear tears choking at her throat.

    "Enough for a flash of light? You know the one, Flare?"

    "Yeah... yeah I can do that, why?"

    Eres didn''t respond.

    "Eres, what stupid stunt are you planning? This isn''t a joke, this thing will kill you!" Freya hissed, the anger breaking through her fear.

    Eres was still thinking. He might be able to make a shield, maybe. It would show Myla something strange about him, and confirm Freya''s suspicions that his blessing was more than he was letting on. But it might let them get away.

    Should he risk showing how strange his magic could be?

    As he was deliberating over this, the goblin stalked ever closer, and Freya began to conjure her divine power into her hands. Then, everything stopped. At least, for Eres.

    He watched, almost like a passenger, as the Goblin sprung through the air, plunging its blade into Myla''s throat. The blood fountained out as the Goblin cried with bloodlust, turning its blade onto him. Myla, bloody and dying, tackled it to the ground and gave them time to run. He ran and ran, and ran until he couldn''t run anymore. And he never tried to cast a spell, not at all. He knew he shouldn''t, someone had told him not to show his magic, not ever.

    Then with a feeling like his head splitting in two, he was back in control. Back in the field, with a Goblin preparing to jump, and two friends he wanted to protect.

    "Freya, get ready. When it jumps, let go of the Flare. Myla, get ready to run, okay?" He hissed through the pain, seeing the creature''s legs beginning to knot, its stride beginning to lengthen.

    "Eres-"

    "Freya, enough. We can''t outrun it, so we need to do something, just be ready."

    Freya nodded glumly. She didn''t know what to do, so she decided to follow Eres'' lead and feel bad about it later. If there was a later.

    Myla was whimpering slightly, her hands placed on Eres'' shoulders. He shrugged her off gently.

    "Myla, when the Flash comes, you and Freya run, okay? As fast as you can, I will be right behind you, I promise," Eres'' voice was much lighter than he was feeling. He couldn''t look back at Myla. Images of blood bubbling in her throat were still tearing around in his head. Was it a premonition? Was it what would happen if he didn''t act? Maybe it was the only way to survive this.

    He didn''t know. All he knew was the rage he was feeling. His blessing was that of a Defender. How could he run? How could he let someone take the blow in his place? He wouldn''t let it happen. He couldn''t. And with that realisation, he learned something. Rage melted the ice that held his Mana down. It moved now. It was sluggish, but it was moving.

    The Goblin stopped, crouching down ready to spring. It didn''t take long before it exploded into motion, sailing towards the children.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    "FLARE!" Freya cried, her hands outstretched as a light flew from her hands and exploded into a shower of bright sparks. The creature''s arms came up to cover its eyes, screeching in surprise.

    "SHIELD!" Eres cried, forcing the mana out through his hands and into the world. The translucent pane of energy formed in the Goblin''s path, stopping its momentum with a thud, "Now run! RUN!" Eres yelled over his shoulder, holding the shield out before him.

    He wanted to have formed it faster. He wanted the Goblin at a distance, but there it was, climbing to its feet on the other side of his spell, less than ten feet from him. He could hear his blood pounding in his ears as he watched the creature through the shimmering pane of purple energy. A slight crack ran through the shield, but Eres had put as much Mana as he could gather into it. It should have been strong enough to stop something this size hundreds of times over, and yet it was cracked with only a single stopped charge.

    The Goblin stood, one hand pressed up against the shield. The blade in its other hand pointed at the ground, swaying side to side as the creature stared at Eres. Drool dripped from its wide mouth as it stared at him and bared its teeth wide. Maybe it was trying to threaten him, or perhaps it was grinning thinking about its next meal. All Eres knew for sure was that it was staring at him without moving.

    As Eres took a step back, the shield moved with him and the creature followed. Another step, and another. Eres thought perhaps he could keep the monster like this, watching him from the other side of this magical barrier, until the guards came to help him. Sure, they would know he could do magic and who he was, but at this point that seemed like the least of his worries.

    But the monster didn''t stay still for long. It stepped to the left, and Eres made the shield follow it. It stepped to the right and Eres mirrored it the same. The pair of them had covered nearly a third of the way back to the gate when the Goblin''s face split into a snarl, and its blade began to move. The tip raised high above its head before crashing down into the translucent barrier that separated it from its prey.

    Eres watched on with wide eyes as the blade bounced off the shield. It deflected to the side, where the Goblin swung it again, and again, and again. And with each heavy swing, the cracks in the shield grew.

    Eres felt his throat clench shut as he saw his protection being chipped away right in front of him. He tried to reach inside himself, but the Mana was once again locked away, unresponsive to his call. He tried to feel that rage again, but the sound of the blade scratching across his lifeline left only fear to fill him. He wasted precious moments trying again to gather Mana before abandoning it, instead picking the pace he moved towards the gate. He didn''t dare look over his shoulder, but he was sure the girls would have made it inside by now. They must have, it had been what felt like hours of Eres slowly stepping backwards.

    Another crack split across the shield. Eres could feel that it was almost broken. Another few swings and he would be alone with the Goblin and no magic to help him. He risked a glance back over his shoulder. He could see the gate, maybe fifty metres away from him. Myla and Freya were nowhere to be found. He hoped they were safe, and that they had found guards to stop this thing before it hurt anyone else. He wondered if he should stop concentrating on the spell and run. How many steps could he make before it leapt? Would it be enough?

    Then he felt the magic break. He thought he had longer, but as his eyes met the Goblins, he saw the rusted blade plunging towards his stomach. It was driving at an upwards angle. He knew from his conversations with Master Brom that a blade at this angle would catch his gut before it killed him. A gut wound was a bad way to go, but he doubted the Goblin would stop there. It would probably just keep stabbing and stabbing til the job was done.

    Stabbing? Again? Isn''t it stupid to die the same death twice? Eres thought as he watched the blade stab towards him as if time was at a standstill, as if it was slippery and he couldn''t quite grab hold of it, Couldn''t I just... live? Just a little longer?

    Eres felt his body move before his thoughts caught up with him. His front foot drifted to one side, and he sprang off the back foot, stepping quickly to the side. Almost quickly enough that the blade missed him, but rather than sinking into his belly it nicked along his side and slid up his ribs, slicing a thin line across the skin.

    The pain lanced across his skin like fire, and he felt blood begin to drip down his side, but he was alive. Time slipped back into place as he felt the blood trace its way down his body, and the Goblin stared at its blade in confusion. It growled a low sound in its throat almost like a bullfrog, before swiping out with the blade at Eres'' chest. This time, Eres shifted his weight backwards and stepped out of reach, the tip of the blade barely catching one of his buttons as he leapt backwards, but the creature was already following him. Slashes, stabs, slices all flung as fast as the creature could throw them and none found purchase on Eres. Until they did.

    Eres wasn''t sure when the second cut on his skin appeared, but he noticed the third showed up shortly after and the fourth he saw coming and knew he couldn''t escape. The toll of constant dodging was slowing him down, and he couldn''t see the swings of the blade as clearly anymore. The wounds were minor, but they began to mount as he continued retreating towards the gate. It was a moment of weakness that almost killed him, a moment where he wanted to look back to see how close he was to the gate. At that moment the Goblin lunged, blade slicing through the air towards Eres'' throat. Eres knew he couldn''t step out of the way in time so he did the only thing he could think of. He managed to get his arm in the way.

    The other wounds were shallow. Long, stinging cuts from the tip of the blade. As Eres felt the blade''s edge bite into the flesh and bone of his forearm, he knew this was different. This wound didn''t burn like fire, it throbbed like a heartbeat. As the blade was wrenched from it he screamed out, pain flooding his mind as blood began to spurt out from the giant laceration in his arm. He managed to leap backwards, landing on his behind in the grass, left hand clasping the serious wound he had been dealt. Blood poured between his fingers as he felt his vision dim. As the Goblin approached he could almost laugh.

    Stabbing again after all is it? Well, at least we tried this time, He thought bitterly.

    He stared at the Goblin as it raised the blade high above its head, glee shining through its eyes. He wouldn''t look away, not from this.

    "Stay the hell away from my friend!" came a roar from behind him, as a small girl with blonde hair ran forward faster than Eres could see, plunging the head of a spear deep into the chest of the creature, lifting it clean off the ground and throwing it nearly 30 feet back.

    And that absurd sight was the last thing Eres saw before he slipped from consciousness and the void of sleep took his sight.

 Negotiation

    The first thing Eres noticed was that he couldn''t feel the intense throbbing from his arm anymore. The pain that had pulsed through the wound with every heartbeat was gone, replaced now by only a slight ache. The second thing he noticed was that he could feel anything at all.

    Wait, how can I feel anything? His mind raced as he tried to process his situation through his sluggish mind. His thoughts felt like they were fighting through tar, slow and struggling. The last thing I remember was that Goblin rushing at me with its blade drawn. I was sure I was going to die but then...

    As understanding began to dawn on him, Eres slowly began to try to force his eyes open. Sounds bounced around him, but they were muffled and echoey. His eyes couldn''t focus and squinted against the bright light above him, and his arms came up to cover his face.

    My arms? His thoughts started to pick their pace up, struggling to reach a conclusion, I remember I was saved¡­ I think it was Myla? Maybe I got healed afterwards? Gods this is going to be so hard to explain.

    Blinking against the light, he saw a pale blue sky stretching above him, dotted with the occasional cloud. He also saw a pale and very concerned face staring down at him, so creased in worry that it very nearly hid her freckles.

    ¡°Hey Freya,¡± Eres croaked out, ¡°What brings you here?¡±. He coughed a little around the laughter as her face swapped between exasperation, rage and amusement, before settling on worry and relief.

    ¡°Eres¡­¡± she mumbled, before strength came to her voice, ¡°What were you thinking? You are just a child! How could you get that injured, there was so much blood and then it was going to kill you¡­ If Myla hadn¡¯t stepped in, you would have died! What the fuck were you thinking!¡±

    Freya¡¯s voice was choked, and her eyes full of tears.

    Damn¡­ Eres thought, I made my only friend cry. I¡¯m glad they are both okay, but still, I wish she wasn¡¯t this upset.

    ¡°Come on Freya,¡± Eres wiped the tears from her eyes, giving her a smile, ¡°I know it was dangerous, and I am really sorry I worried you. So don¡¯t cry, okay? Please? I just couldn¡¯t stand there and let it happen, I needed to do something. I know it was dangerous, and I know that I probably have you to thank for the fact that my arm is still attached, and that I have Myla to thank for my life.

    ¡°I just need to get stronger so it doesn¡¯t happen again. I just wanted to protect my friends. Is that so wrong?¡±

    Freya let out a long sigh as her shoulders slumped.

    ¡°No, it isn¡¯t wrong, Eres¡­ Just scary,¡± She mumbled.

    Eres sat up slowly, realising she had been cradling his head in her lap. He was a little embarrassed about the fact he had clearly been resting there for a little while at least. Looking around he saw a few guards standing around what looked to be a corpse. All he could see was some blood and a cloth covering, with the guards standing around and whispering. Eres felt his blood freeze into ice.

    No. Please don¡¯t let it be Myla. I thought I saw her kill it, but what if it ended up just like that flash I saw, where she needed to die for me to escape. Please don¡¯t let it be true, I don¡¯t want her to have died, not for me, Eres'' thoughts tumbled together in a whirl, as his mouth went dry and his eyes widened, I wanted to save them both!

    He felt rage then. Rage at himself for not saving her, rage at the world for letting it happen, rage at the guards for not being faster. His Mana began to swirl, no longer sluggish it began to roar around in his Core like the deep sea in a storm.

    His rage was stopped quickly though, as a small blonde cannonball slammed into his side and knocked him over, back onto the grass. Gasping for air he looked down to see Myla¡¯s tear stained face.

    ¡°Eres!¡± She cried, wiping her tears on his shirt, ¡°Stupid! Idiot! Moron! What were you thinking!¡±

    Eres laughed a little at the similarities between his two friends, but then had to spend a few minutes calming Myla down after she thought he was laughing at her crying. As he climbed off the floor, he realised that not much time must have passed. The sun seemed to have barely moved, and it was only the four guards, surrounding the corpse he now assumed was the goblin, that had joined them beyond the walls. He looked at Freya, still sat and pale faced, and grimaced.

    ¡°You used too much to heal me, didn¡¯t you?¡± His voice was low, but it was barely a question, ¡°How long before you are okay? And how much does everyone here know?¡± The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    He noticed the puzzled expression on Myla¡¯s face and gave her a quick smile of reassurance.

    ¡°Just an hour or so until my body is back on its feet, but another day or more until I can cast another miracle,¡± Freya sighed as she spoke, her hands bunching into her skirt, ¡°So don¡¯t do anything stupid like charging a Goblin.

    ¡°As for how much everyone knows¡­ They were playing cards when Myla and I found them, so are probably trying to work out how to get out of trouble or make us keep our mouths shut. They were slow, Eres, and it''s only thanks to Myla that you are still living, not them.¡±

    Freya¡¯s voice was cold as she talked about the guards, but she reached out and grabbed Myla¡¯s hand as she spoke about her.

    Eres let out a long sigh, looked at the guards and touched the ring underneath his shirt. It was still there, hanging from the thin chain. As he was wondering how he could deal with this, he remembered that flash he had seen. The future, maybe? Where he was sure he shouldn¡¯t show his abilities, where he was scared of them, and Myla died because of it.

    ¡°Oh fuck it all,¡± he spat, before pulling his hair back into it''s usual style, ¡°Myla, things are about to get real weird for you. Just follow me and Freya for now, and we can have a proper conversation, but I want to jump in before these assholes start trying to throw blame around, okay?¡±

    Myla nodded slowly, and stuck a hand out. Eres helped her, and then Freya to their feet, though the latter swayed slightly, so he had to let Myla steady her. He might have been older in his head, but a 10 year old boy doesn¡¯t make a great support. Then, with one final sigh of sheer exasperation, he started walking towards the guards.

    They were still whispering and mumbling to each other, gathered around the corpse and gesturing wildly. Eventually one of those gestures turned to point back at where the children had been laying in the grass, but now Eres was standing only a few feet away, giving his best attempt at looking imperious.

    The guard who had turned around immediately looked like he had sucked on a lemon, and turned his whole body to loom over the newcomers.

    ¡°Boy, we are having a conversation. You go and wait over where you were, and we will deal with you shortly,¡± his words were clipped, and it seemed the worry of the situation was coming out in anger. Well, that was about to get a whole lot worse.

    ¡°Well of course, Sir, you are having a conversation,¡± Eres let his tone become as clipped as the mans, as his hand fished into the front of his shirt and pulled out the ring, dangling it in front of their eyes, ¡°and considering as I am Eres von Hytheiem, the son of the Baron, and I was harmed on your watch, I feel I should be a part of this conversation too, don¡¯t you?¡±

    The guard''s eyes went wide and his mouth started opening and closing like a fish out of water. The other guards had taken two big steps back, clearly letting this man deal with whatever this problem was turning out to be, but they had similarly stupid expressions on their faces. A quick glance over his shoulder confirmed that Myla looked nearly as surprised, but she had managed to keep her mouth closed at least.

    ¡°Oh, um, ah, Sir, I mean Eres, I mean Lord Eres, Sir, um¡± the front guard started to sputter, falling to one knee in front of the young boy. How quickly his attitude changed.

    ¡°Master Eres will be fine, Guardsman,¡± Eres tutted as he looked over the situation, ¡°Now my companion here tells me that you were perhaps not minding the wall as well as you should have been, and that it was a young girl who slew this creature, and not yourselves? I believe this to be true, but I would like your confirmation.¡±

    The man, who Eres had now named Guardsman in his head, cast his eyes around, seemingly searching for something before his shoulders slumped once more.

    ¡°That is¡­ That is correct, Master Eres,¡± he sighed, before straightening his back and looking Eres in the eye, ¡°However as captain of this squad, this is my fault. I should have been keeping my men in line, not leading them in acts of indulgence. I apologise for my disrespect, but I ask that any punishment finds its way to me, and not my squad members, even if the cost is my life.¡±

    Eres peered at him, surprised at the man. I figured he was just a sack of shit, intimidating kids and slacking off, but at least he seems to care about his men, Eres thought, We can use this¡­ as long as Freya doesn¡¯t insist on a punishment anyway.

    Eres let his face soften slightly and looked around the man at the corpse on the ground. Monsters were rare near here,but not unheard of. He at least had to make sure the guards stepped their game up.

    ¡°Look, Guardsman, on any other day I would have you brought up on charges, and flogged at the very least,¡± Eres felt Freya bristle behind him, but pushed on, ¡°however, I have a vested interest in my family not finding out about this. They would likely never want me to step outside the walls again, and that just won¡¯t do. So why don¡¯t we make a deal?

    ¡°As far as anyone is aware, a lone goblin wandered up to the walls, and you and your men dispatched it with ease. So much ease in fact that I doubt it warrants more than a passing mention in any report you might have to give for the day. Of course, that means we were never here.

    ¡°However if I find you or your squad to be slacking off again not only will I personally see to it that you are each punished, I will make sure even your descendants can''t settle in this lovely little town. Am I clear?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master Eres,¡± the Guardsman hurried his words out, nearly choking on his tongue in surprise, ¡°You were never here, and the goblin is a footnote on a report somewhere. That, and we will be far more attentive to the wall.

    ¡°Truth be told, even if you hadn¡¯t said anything¡­ the thought of someone dying on my watch doesn¡¯t sit well, so you can be sure I will hold that end of our bargain.¡±

    ¡°Very well, I will leave you to deal with the corpse, and we will return to town,¡± Eres turned to the two girl''s behind him, both looking more than a little baffled, ¡°because we need to have a nice long talk somewhere. Not least about the fact that I am pretty sure I heard you swear at some point in there Freya.¡±

    With the flustered maid supported on both of their shoulders, they headed back into town, leaving the goblin, and its danger, behind them.

 Berserker

    Eres, Myla and Freya were sitting around a wooden table that had been polished to a shine. It was clear Myla¡¯s parents took great pride in their shop and their house, even if Myla had snuck them in the back door and up to their dining room to avoid her parents'' eyes.

    The tomboyish blonde was currently staring at Eres, chewing on her lip slightly in thought.

    ¡°So. You¡¯re a noble, then?¡± The words came out slowly, as if she was trying to work out how to make each syllable with her mouth before it actually reached the open air, ¡°Like, a proper one?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ yeah. Kinda,¡± Eres sighed, fingertips playing with the edge of his shirt, ¡°But not a very important one. My parents don¡¯t really care, and I''m not going to inherit anything other than a name, but yeah I am. Sorry I lied, Myla. Just wanted a normal day in town, you know?¡±

    Eres was the one chewing his lip now. He tasted blood, just a little, as his teeth tore through the skin. He hadn¡¯t expected lying to Myla would twist him up as much as it had done. Maybe this was the original Eres, the thoughts of a ten year old desperate to make friends.

    ¡°Okay. Sure. Noble,¡± Myla was nodding along, and cast her gaze over to Freya, ¡°You too?¡±

    ¡°No! Gods no, I am just his maid,¡± Freya waved her hands about in a panic at being considered a noble, until Eres cut in.

    ¡°Well, not just a maid, she''s my friend too, and as you can tell by the fact my arm is still attached, one hell of a healer too,¡± Eres muttered, glaring at his friend, ¡°though as you can see, she has a habit of being a little meek and putting herself down, so hopefully you can help her with that. I know I haven¡¯t had any luck yet.¡±

    Myla¡¯s head whirled around at that point, staring at Eres with a startling degree of intensity.

    ¡°Wait. That means¡­ You still want to be friends?¡± Myla strained her words out, but both Eres and Freya were surprised by her intensity.

    ¡°I mean, yeah?¡± Eres found himself rubbing the back of his head and fiddling with his hair tie again, ¡°Obviously, only if you are comfortable with it? If you don¡¯t want to be friends with me cause I am a noble I get it, but I figured I might as well ask, you know?

    ¡°Whatever you do though, no bowing or treating me differently, cause I really, really hate that.¡±

    Myla¡¯s gaze whipped between the two of them, seeing Freya shrug and nod, and Eres¡¯ awkward fidgeting.

    ¡°But¡­ you saw me kill that¡­ thing right? Aren¡¯t you¡­ freaked out?¡±

    ¡°Oh, that?¡± Eres brightened up a bit, ¡°That was awesome! Thanks again for saving me, but it was really cool! I guess it was some type of Knight Blessing, right? Why would we be freaked out, you helped us!¡±

    It was only when tears started to gather in Myla¡¯s eyes that Eres realised he might have put his foot in his mouth, gazing jumping across to Freya in a panic, but she just shrugged at him and went to rub Myla¡¯s back and whisper to her. It was only a minute or two before she stopped crying. She looked around awkwardly, her gaze on the table in front of her most of the time.

    ¡°Okay, so, I haven¡¯t got the most amount of experience talking to people, so forgive me if I am wrong,¡± Eres spoke softly, as if reassuring a scared animal, ¡°but that didn¡¯t seem like I just put my foot in my mouth, unlike usual. You want to talk about it, Myla?¡±

    The tomboyish girl nearly jumped out of her skin at her name, but shook her head as if to dislodge a thought, before looking up and letting out a big sigh.

    ¡°A few months back, the priest came through and did the usual blessing ceremony. I turned 10 just after the last one, so I had been waiting a few months, and already knew some of what was going on,¡± Myla began with stilted speech, but as she spoke the words sped up, like she wanted to say everything she needed too before she couldn¡¯t anymore or got too nervous, ¡°I had noticed I was a little stronger and tougher than the other kids I was playing with, even the older ones. Turns out, as you said, it was to do with my Blessing.

    ¡°It ain¡¯t a nice simple blessing like Swordsman or Mage or anything,¡± she blew all the air in her lungs out, her fluffy fringe blowing up out of her eyes as she made eye contact with Eres, as if challenging him to see his reaction, ¡°It¡¯s a hybrid Blessing, Shield and Knight, called Berserker. It helps with two handed weapons, strength and toughness. It doesn¡¯t make me crazy or anything, but everyone heard the name and thought I would hurt them, so none of the other kids wanted to see me anymore. Even their parents are worried about it. Ma and Dad say it¡¯s nothing to worry about, and that it makes me special, but I didn¡¯t feel special.¡±

    ¡°So when you saved Eres, you figured we would be scared off too?¡± Freya questioned, her hand still rubbing circles on the other girl''s back.

    Myla nodded slowly, still staring at Eres face, that was still suspiciously blank, ¡°He seems scared, or¡­ he seems something anyway.¡± If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Oh no dear, that is his thinking face, it shouldn¡¯t take him long, he thinks fast,¡± Freya laughed sitting in the chair closest to Myla, ¡°But I am very confident that fear isn¡¯t even slightly on his mind.¡±

    She was right. Fear hadn¡¯t even entered into Eres'' thought process, but his brain was flying at a million miles an hour as various trains of thought collided into twisted piles of scrap and burned ideas.

    Should I tell her about being able to change your blessing if she hates hers so much? Eres thought, face still carefully schooled and blank, I have only known this girl for a few hours, but she has confided something pretty personal, and I feel bad giving her nothing in return, even if she isn¡¯t expecting anything.

    Ekros said I should wait until I could defend myself to let people know about my blessing, but it''s a Defender blessing, surely having some close friends to defend would be the best thing? I just don''t feel good to know all about her blessing and her to have no idea about mine. Not to mention Freya has helped me so much and she is still in the dark¡­

    ¡°Eurgh, nope, fuck it, too much thinking,¡± Eres suddenly blurted out, and then scowled at Freya¡¯s expression, ¡°And don¡¯t look at me like that, you swore earlier too, so I¡¯m not going to bother moderating my language around you now, deal with it.¡±

    He stuck his tongue out at the older girl, but nearly burst out laughing at her shocked face, as she turned to Myla and said, ¡°See I told you it wouldn¡¯t take long,¡± and turned back to wait for whatever revelation Eres had come too.

    ¡°Okay, so, where to start¡­¡± Eres paused as he thought about what to say, feeling his head burn with ideas and thoughts, before deciding just to wing it, ¡°Alright, first off Myla, I am absolutely in no way scared of you. Having a hybrid Blessing is powerful and great in and of itself, plus you used it literally to save my life, I would be quite the ungrateful sod if I just ignored that, wouldn¡¯t I?

    ¡°Second¡­ Alright both of you need to promise to keep this quiet, okay? And I mean an actual promise not just a half-hearted ¡°I probably won''t say anything¡± promise.¡± Only once both girl''s nodded and promised did he continue speaking, ¡°Myla, do you hate your blessing? Or do you just hate how people are treating you about it? Cause while I can¡¯t do anything about how people are treating you, if you just want something that you think fits you better, there is maybe a way around that¡­ Maybe.¡±

    Both of them looked at him in shock for a long few minutes. Myla shook herself out of the stupor first.

    ¡°What do you mean? Blessing¡¯s are what they are, Eres. I got this and that¡¯s that. I need to suck it up, that¡¯s all,¡± Myla sounded a little forceful, like she was annoyed at Eres for bringing it up.

    He ran his hands over his youthful face, wishing he was a little older so what he was saying sounded more reasonable.

    ¡°Well, not exactly. You know how if you get really good at the thing your Blessing wants you too, some people get stronger right, and they go and get it checked and the Gods have given them better Blessings?¡± Blank stares with slow nods followed his words, but Eres kept on forward, ¡°Well, apparently it¡¯s actually simpler than that. Apparently it''s all to do with our hard work and our natural talents. What I am saying is if you really don¡¯t want a Berserker Blessing, then I am sure I can get someone out here to teach you Magic until you get a Mage Blessing or something. Obviously you can¡¯t easily get it re-identified, and the people in town won¡¯t know, so it won¡¯t help how they treat you, it is more about what you want.¡±

    Eres was panting a little after all the words rushed out at once, but he noticed that both Freya and Myla were looking at him like he was more than a little crazy.

    ¡°Look, I know it goes against common sense, but it¡¯s true,¡± Eres exclaimed, before turning to Freya, ¡°Freya, you have seen how much research I have done on Blessings and Mana and all of that. I can swear to you on whatever oath you want that I fully believe this is how Blessings work.¡±

    ¡°So¡­ does that mean if you train fighting with Master Brom for long enough without training magic, you would stop having a Mind blessing?¡± Freya asked after a long pause.

    ¡°Master Brom?¡± Myla muttered confused.

    ¡°He is my teacher for combat and eventually magic,¡± Eres explained before answering, ¡°Kind of? I am a bit of a special case, but if a Mage trained in weapons for long enough they might get a Hybrid or even eventually a full Knight Blessing, yeah.¡±

    ¡°Why are you a special case?¡± Myla asked, still peering at Eres with a slightly hurt and confused look. Eres let out a long groan as he bit through his lip again. The taste of copper on his tongue brought him back to reality as he decided just to get it over with. He gave Freya a slightly apologetic glance.

    ¡°Sorry Freya, I would have told you if you asked, but you are learning now, so forgive me, alright? And this is another one of those secrets,¡± Eres murmured before spitting the next lot of words out, ¡°So technically I don¡¯t have a Mage Blessing like I told everyone. My Blessing does help me manipulate Mana and it makes certain spells easier, but it isn¡¯t a Mind Blessing, it is a Support Blessing, one of the weird ones that aren¡¯t about direct combat. It¡¯s called a Defender Blessing.¡±

    Once the words left his lips, he felt his shoulders sag. It was like a weight had been forcing him down, and now he could finally relax. Eres hadn¡¯t realised how much he needed to tell someone, anyone, about what was going on, just for the sake of his own sanity if nothing else. It felt good to say it out loud.

    ¡°Defender?¡± Freya murmured, ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of that one. Is it a rare Blessing like a Sword Saint or an Elementalist?¡±

    ¡°Oh oh!¡± Myla jumped up, ¡°Those are Blessing¡¯s that those high ranked adventurers who saved the port last year had, right! Ma told me about that, said that their Blessings were super rare and had set them on a path for Glory from the moment they were Blessed.¡±

    ¡°Um, well, kind of,¡± Eres winced, ¡°Actually, it might be a little rarer than that even. As in¡­ I got told I am the only one who has this Blessing right now, from what I got told.

    ¡°Also, if it matters Myla, I reckon they probably had Blessings just like yours and progressed to those ones, I reckon most people who rely on their Blessings to live probably know about evolving them and all of that, maybe they even-¡±

    ¡°Eres,¡± Freya cut him off with a sharp word and a glare, ¡°What do you mean you are the only one who has the Blessing.¡±

 Unique

    ¡°Eres,¡± Freya cut him off with a sharp word and a glare, ¡°What do you mean you are the only one who has this Blessing.¡±

    The room was still for a moment as Eres ran his palms across the shiny and well-rounded edge of the table. Myla¡¯s family truly kept their house absolutely spotless, as there was no dust in any of the corners, no cobwebs in the corners and even the table itself was clean of smudges other than the ones his hands were currently making on the edge. He yanked his hands away as he realised he was marring the otherwise shiny surface.

    ¡°Eres,¡± Freya said, her voice softer now, ¡°Come on. You can talk to us, alright?¡±

    Eres saw the concern in her eyes, and even Myla looked worried, though it was spoiled slightly by the red-ringed eyes and snotty nose from her earlier tears.

    ¡°I know Freya, I know. Sorry, it''s¡­ I have spent the last month or more trying not to let anyone know about this, so it is going to take me a second,¡± Eres'' voice was choked slightly. He still wasn¡¯t sure talking about it now was the right choice, but he wanted to. He didn¡¯t want to end up with no one to talk to about this Blessing he had been given.

    ¡°It all started when I went to get my Blessing at the Church. I put my hand in the bowl, just like anyone else does I guess, but then I wasn¡¯t there any more, I was talking to a boy, who was hovering in this blank white space. He said his name was Ekros, and that he was a God.

    ¡°I know it sounds insane, but I have gone over it again and again in my head, and I don¡¯t think it was some strange hallucination or anything. He said that he was speaking to me because my Blessing was Unique, and that only one of that type was in the world at any one time. He said I should hide it for a time until I could protect myself because people might want to exploit it, and so I have been trying to get stronger really fast cause I hate hiding it and lying, especially to people who helped me out a lot, like you Freya.¡±

    Eres let out a long breath and slumped into the chair throwing his hands up in the air in exasperation. He hadn¡¯t mentioned memories of his previous life being one of the main reasons the God wanted to speak to him, but he figured one giant reveal was enough for today.

    ¡°There you go, that is the whole crazy story,¡± Eres laughed bitterly, tasting metal as he bit his lip again, ¡°Want to try and pull some healing magic on my head Freya to make sure I¡¯m not just cracked from the pressure of being an unwanted noble son?¡±

    Silence followed for a good few minutes as Eres stared stubbornly at the smudges his hands had made on the table. He had wanted to share this badly enough his body felt lighter every time he exhaled, but now his brain was running around in tighter and tighter circles, tying itself up in worry and concern.

    Then he felt something soft against his hand. He blinked away a few tears as he saw two different hands gripping his left hand. He hadn¡¯t noticed the girls coming up on either side of him, too caught up in his brain. Their hands were warm on his, reassuring.

    ¡°I don¡¯t really know you, but you seem honest and you seem worried. That seems like truth to me, anyway,¡± Myla muttered as she gave him a small smile.

    ¡°I know you a little better, and you aren¡¯t one to brag or to lie, Eres. If you say that¡¯s what happened, then I believe you,¡± Freya murmured, before she let out a chuckle, ¡°Not to mention, with the amount of Divinity I shoved into you outside that gate, I think I would have pushed back any insanity, even if only temporarily.¡±

    Eres laughed at that, grinning up at both of them.

    ¡°Ha. True enough,¡± He smiled, teeth bared and eyes slit as he felt the panic in his head recede, leaving only the comfort of telling people his secret, ¡°You were so tired that you even started swearing. Are we finally gonna talk about that or¡­¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you are talking about,¡± Freya huffed, a blush rising on her face.

    ¡°Haha, if you say so,¡± Eres grinned, before turning back to Myla, ¡°Anyway, what I was saying about your Blessing is true, at least as far as I know. Obviously, I don¡¯t know how long it would take, or what you would need to do to work up to another Hybrid Blessing, but I want you to know that if you want to change it, then I will do whatever I can to help.¡±

    Myla stared at him intently as she slowly nodded. She sat back down, much closer now she had walked around the table. ¡°If I don¡¯t work to change my Blessing, will it get stronger? Will I get stronger? Or do I need to train with the weapons it wants and stuff?¡±

    Eres paused for a moment, trying to think of the best way to explain it. With memories of video games, RPG¡¯s and mathematics from his previous life, the way he understood Blessings was as a percentage-based boost, something that got more and more valuable as the base skill improved. Explaining that without those concepts already in place proved to be slightly tricky, however. The common theory was that Blessing¡¯s grew stronger as you did, but it was more that they just had more to amplify. Eres chewed his lip a little as he thought.

    ¡°If you stay as a Berserker, it will impact you more as you get older. Blessings don¡¯t work in a vacuum, they magnify what we already are right? So as you grow up, and naturally get stronger, tougher and more coordinated, it will have more to work with, if that makes any sense?¡±, Eres paused for a second as he saw both of the girl''s nodding. Apparently, this was outside of even Freya¡¯s understanding. ¡°That means if you train, with weapons and strength and whatever else, it will have even more to go off of. So it is kind of both. It just depends on what you want to do with it. Most people don¡¯t use their Blessings much, they just kind of have them. A Baker or a Farmer doesn¡¯t need a Swordsman Blessing, after all.¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    Eres drummed his fingers on the table, wondering something. Do Blessings get any stronger themselves? I feel like as I have learned to control Mana, my Blessing has got more in tune with it. It felt like maybe a quarter boost at first, and now it''s nearly at half of the control I have again. So a growth from 25% to 50%? Not sure how I know that, it''s just how the place I concentrate on the feel the Blessing feels now. The place they connected to in the Church.

    The idea crashed into Eres'' brain like a lightning bolt. Blessings weren¡¯t granted by the Church, they just had a ritual that made connecting to that place easier. Maybe if he got Myla to focus on that connection, she could feel it change and grow, and make decisions from that.

    From everything he had read, most people took their Blessing at face value, and only Soldiers and Adventurers, those who lived and died by their Blessing, their skill and their Magic, ever got their Blessings re-examined. But for them to know that they needed to get it checked, then there must have been a difference they noticed. Maybe those at the top or those with a lot of experience skipped the step with the Church. Maybe he could learn to teach those around him to do it too. It was an interesting possibility.

    ¡°So, why are you training then?¡± Myla asked, snapping Eres from his contemplation, ¡°You said earlier that you had some sort of Master. You doing all that just cause you¡¯re expected to, as a Noble?¡±

    ¡°Huh, that''s a good point,¡± Freya mumbled, before turning her own gaze to Eres, ¡°I got so caught up in you learning magic stupidly fast that I never really considered why you were doing it. Why are you getting stronger?

    ¡°Oh Gods, do you want to become the Head of the Family? To challenge your brother?¡± Freya gasped at the thought, swallowing a lump in her throat at the divide that could bring. But if that is what Master Eres wants, then I will just have to support him, she thought, her resolve forming.

    ¡°Oh sweet fuck no!¡± Eres spat out laughing.

    Freya slumped, her previous thoughts fizzling at his response.

    ¡°No, I can¡¯t think of anything worse than trying to deal with all the responsibilities of a Noble. My Family have made it pretty clear that they want me gone, or at least don¡¯t really care what I do,¡± Eres shrugged as he saw the slightly pained look in Freya¡¯s eyes, and the shock in Myla¡¯s, ¡°so I am going to do whatever I want to do, which in this instance is stupid and vaguely dangerous, hence the training.

    ¡°I want to be an Adventurer. I want to delve into dungeons, explore sub-realms and traverse portals. I want to live a life full of excitement and new experiences and hopefully help a bunch of people along the way. So killing monsters, suppressing dungeons and completing Guild and Kingdom requests seems like a good way to do that, and having a Blessing that lends itself well to that¡­ well, feels like the world helped me make that decision.

    ¡°But, like I said, stupid and dangerous. So I am going to train into the dirt until I get kicked out of the house at 18, and then I can go and start looking into- Freya, stop looking at me like I¡¯m an idiot.¡±

    ¡°Master Eres, I don¡¯t need to explain how dangerous being an Adventurer is, do I?¡± Freya¡¯s voice was icy, but Eres had to bite his tongue to hide a smile. She sounded so much more like family than any of his blood relatives, well perhaps other than Ellsa. Her care for him was touching, as much as it was perhaps misplaced, ¡°Dungeons and fighting monsters are dangerous enough, but portals?! Only Adventurer parties of the highest rank get to clear those, and even they often have casualties!¡±

    Myla was swinging her head between the two of them looking worried, as Eres stifled the chuckle that was rising in his chest. He shook his head slightly and smiled at Freya.

    ¡°I know Freya. Genuinely, I know. And if, over these next eight years of training, my resolve falters, and I decide to do something else, then I promise to be the first to let you say I told you so,¡± Eres spoke softly, but there was an edge to his voice. Not anger, but something else. Surety, perhaps. ¡°But for now, I am going to learn how to fight, and I am going to learn how to use magic better and faster. If I could cast like an actual Mage, then today wouldn¡¯t have ever been a problem.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have a death wish. I just want to be strong enough to help people. What else should someone with a Defender Blessing do if not defend others?¡±

    He watched the ice melt from Freya¡¯s eyes, her shoulders dropping slightly as she let out a long sigh. She grumbled under her breath, before nodding at him, ¡°Fine. I can¡¯t stop you, but you are going to train very, very hard, and you are going to learn everything Master Brom can teach you. Spells, Fighting, and even Spirit Arts if there is time. Deal?¡±

    ¡°I was planning on it anyway¡­¡± Eres gulped at the look on Freya¡¯s face, ¡°Yep, okay, whatever you say. Deal!¡± He turned away from the still slightly uncomfortable look on her face to look at Myla.

    ¡°Sorry Myla, we got distracted, we were talking about your Blessing and wanting to change it. Have you had any thoughts? After the whole getting stronger as you get older and train, I mean.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. Sure, I¡¯ve had some thoughts,¡± Myla mumbled, before looking up at both Eres and Freya, ¡°I think, for now, I ain¡¯t gonna change it. You said it¡¯s pretty strong, and if I practice then maybe I can change people''s minds. If not, whatever. It helped my friends out, after all, it¡¯s probably a good thing!¡±

    ¡°I think that''s a good way of looking at it. All Blessings can be useful, no matter how much you train it,¡± Eres smiled at her decision, ¡°and if you need any help I am sure we can lend a hand. We should be able to sneak into town once every week or two at least until I am a bit older and have some more freedom anyway.

    ¡°Speaking of freedom¡­ Freya, it is getting more than a little late. We should probably be getting back¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh no!¡± Freya started as she looked out the window at the sun nearing the horizon, ¡°We need to hurry! Myla it was so lovely to meet you and we will be back to see you soon!¡±

    In the rush to get their things together and say goodbye, Eres completely missed the smile settled on both of his friend''s faces, and the grin that kept creeping up on his own.

 Spellcraft

    It had been a few weeks since their adventure in town, and as far as Eres could tell no one in his family was any the wiser. He and Freya had managed to sneak out once more and briefly check on Myla, and it seemed like all the guards had kept their mouths shut and the incident would remain behind them. Myla had been happy to see them, and the three of them had chatted briefly before Eres and Freya needed to get back and Eres was extremely happy to see Freya talking to Myla like just a normal friend, and vice versa. There was none of the hierarchical bullshit that came when she spoke to him. It made him a little sad that she couldn¡¯t talk to him like that yet, but he lived in hope.

    ¡°Up and at ¡®em, Boy,¡± came Brom¡¯s barking tone, ¡°conditioning is over, I want to move onto combinations.¡±

    Eres sprang to his feet with surprising ease considering the ache in his muscles, and slowly began going through the motions as Brom directed him. Eres was always shocked at how readily he fell into the motions, how natural they seemed to him. After not even two months now, he was feeling more and more confident in the training and in his own ability to understand it.

    After their run-in with the goblin and Eres¡¯ admission to wanting to be an adventurer, Freya had come to Master Brom and explained that she wanted to go through some training of her own. She also mentioned that both she and Eres believed his training could stand to be ramped up a little if Brom thought it would be more effective. Eres wasn¡¯t sure he had ever come as close to cursing anyone''s name as he had Freya¡¯s after his next session with Brom.

    Rather than conditioning and martial practice being split up, Brom condensed the two and had Eres working at full pace the entire time. It was exhausting, but Eres quickly began to see the effectiveness, his body responding faster and faster to what he required of it. Brom still had him on basic unarmed combinations, how to flow from a block or a parry into a strike seamlessly and how to capitalise on a landed strike or retreat depending on your opponent''s reaction.

    ¡°Brom,¡± Eres panted, taking a break after nearly an hour of working through combinations, ¡°I know we aren¡¯t focusing on magic yet, but can I ask you a question about it anyway?¡±

    ¡°Well, you dropped the ¡°Master¡± at the front, and you worked hard today¡­ Sure I can answer a few questions,¡± Brom replied tapping his chin with his finger thoughtfully, ¡°though in truth you are picking this up fast enough that it doesn¡¯t feel like teaching a beginner. It will be soon enough we mix magic lessons into the week, so this isn¡¯t too far ahead of schedule.¡±

    ¡°Oh, really? I¡¯m glad,¡± Eres smiled at that. Having his hard work recognised felt good, and he was dimly aware that he just wasn¡¯t used to that, not in this lifetime anyway, ¡°My questions have to do with the nature of spells and Mana, really.

    ¡°From what I have read, Mana is essentially a form of energy, and the way we use spells shapes it into the more ordered form that we call Magic. My main question is¡­ how? Is there a master list of spells somewhere? Is there something about the sound of the spell that causes a reaction in the Mana that stabilises it into Magic? Or is it just the intent we put behind the spell that forms it?¡±

    A few, long seconds passed as Brom stared hard at Eres, so hard in fact that Eres started fidgeting a little nervously.

    ¡°Anyone ever tell you that you don¡¯t seem like a ten-year-old, kid?¡±

    ¡°Oh. Ah, yeah, all the time,¡± Eres laughed uneasily, feeling the twist in his gut. He was tired from training, and the facade he had kept up, especially in how he was speaking to Brom, had dropped without him noticing, ¡°I guess it is because of how I was raised?¡±

    ¡°Huh. Maybe,¡± Brom stared for another few seconds before shaking his head, ¡°Truthfully, what you stumbled on is the difference between a lot of third-rate mages and those that go on to gain titles in the colleges and towers as Wizards and Arch-Mages.

    ¡°You essentially got it right at the end there, it''s all about intent, but it''s a little more complicated than just that. What is a spell you know and feel comfortable with?¡±

    ¡°Um, Shield is always one I find comes easily,¡± Eres murmured, still shifting from one foot to the other.

    ¡°Weirder and weirder, Kid. That''s an odd one, but always good to have in a back pocket I suppose,¡± Brom chuckled, ¡°but it works fine as an example. Well, when you cast that the first time, did you have a mental image pictured? Like held strongly in your mind? No, I didn¡¯t think so. See, it''s not just the intent, it''s the form and function of how you want the spell to work that is important. The interesting thing about Mana though, is that it has a memory.

    ¡°Not in the same way we do of course, but it remembers the spells that have been cast through it. That is to say, common spells become easier to cast as the Mana remembers them, and it can fill in the form and function of the spell as long as you direct the intent. Now, if you hold a strong mental image and know how the spell works, that will make it all the stronger as more and more Mana will be attracted to the spell and form the Magic. That answer your question?¡±

    ¡°I mean, it answers the question but opens up a million more,¡± Eres laughed a little as he rolled his shoulders, ¡°So the actual speaking of the spell, that''s more¡­ just to remind the Mana? Or to tap into the pool of visualisation that it remembers?¡± Brom nodded. ¡°Which means if you know the way the spell works¡­ you don¡¯t need to call it out, which is a pretty solid tactical advantage and would let you cast even faster.¡±

    ¡°Exactly right,¡± Brom gave a rare smile, his lips pulled back from his teeth in something that was nearly a grimace, ¡°Speeds up your casting, and it even lets you cast spells that aren¡¯t really spells when you have a good enough mind to understand the workings of it and to picture it strongly enough.

    ¡°It is actually why many Arch-Mages and Wizards are fine with letting the incantation for their own personal spells be known. There isn¡¯t enough memory in the pool as you called it, so unless you know the inner workings of it AND you can picture it in your head clearly, you can call the incantation as much as you like, and nothing is going to happen.¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Interesting¡­ What about modifying spells then? If you know how it works, surely adding things is easier than creating something from scratch?¡± Eres was busy running through all his knowledge from Adrien¡¯s life, and wondering if anything there would help with his visualisation. 3D Modelling was pretty common, but it isn¡¯t like I was exposed to a whole lot of it.

    ¡°That right there, kid, is a damn good instinct. If I didn¡¯t know better I would say some Wizard already trained you,¡° Brom peered at him before sighing, ¡°I wish training every noble brat was as easy as you, no offence.

    ¡°Modifying is easier, and it is how most Mages, especially ones who don¡¯t specialise in theory and understanding, make their bread. Many spells that are now common started out as twists Mages put on already existing spells. Things like Fire Lance and Air Barrage started out as simple spells that were modified for more penetrating power and area bombardment respectively. Of course, now those have enough Mana memory that they are castable without the knowledge of them, but in their true form, with the knowledge of both their form and function, they are far more effective than the watered-down version that is more common these days¡­ You okay there, Kid? You look like your brain is going to leak out your ear.¡±

    ¡°No, no, I¡¯m fine¡­ Lots to think about though,¡± Eres smiled stiffly, his brain still running a mile a minute, ¡°Do you mind if I play around with it for a second? Would rather have someone who knows what to look for here when I try this idea I just had.¡±

    ¡°Knock yourself out, it usually takes a long time to build up what you need though,¡± Brom grimaced now, remembering his own eagerness to move on to incantation-less spells and twist them into new forms.

    Eres was busy starting to run over how he knew Mana worked from everything he had read. He had the mental image of the Shield spell held squarely in his head, but the workings of it weren¡¯t something he was as sure about.

    When the goblin struck the Shield, its blade bounced off. So some sort of repelling force? Not magnetic, but spatial maybe, Eres thought, brow furrowed, Well, I won''t know until I try. Shield!

    The first attempt resulted in nothing, as did the following five attempts. He could fill his Mana core responding, but it wasn¡¯t quite manifesting into reality. It wasn¡¯t until he thought of the shield as a plane separating two spaces that he had an actual effect. The plane of solid, transparent purple energy rushed out of him and filled the space in front of him in a wave, much larger and brighter than the ones he had previously cast.

    He knew instinctively, perhaps because of his Blessing, that this shield was far stronger, almost tenfold in fact, and hadn¡¯t required any more Mana than when he was casting with the incantation. A feral grin tore across his face, and as he looked over at Brom¡¯s open mouth he didn¡¯t even care if it looked unusual or suspicious. This was what his blood wanted. This was Magic, unfettered and unbound by anything other than his understanding and his imagination.

    ¡°Damn kid, you sure are full of surprises,¡± Brom sputtered out after a few moments, ¡°I guess we will bring those Magic lessons up to start next week.¡±

    ¡°Sorry Brom, but I¡¯m not done yet,¡± Eres grinned, steeling his mind. The idea had come to him as soon as Brom had mentioned twists. If a Shield could protect him, why did it have to be shaped like that? Why did it need to be anything other than exactly what he needed? He let the spell drop, and felt the Mana cycle back into his Core, ready for his command.

    He pictured exactly what he needed, and thought of it working exactly as Shield did, separating two spaces to protect one of them. His grin widened as he felt his Mana coil and run up his hands, ready for his intent.

    With a whisper, he spoke his intent aloud, hoping it would work.

    ¡°Armour.¡±

    The response from his Mana was instant. It roared from his Core and into the world whirling around his body until it settled on his arms, solidifying into a pair of translucent, purple, oversized gauntlets. Almost comically too big for him, they hovered a little above his arms and hands, the fingers moving as he moved his own, testing mobility.

    A quick moment of shadow-boxing later and he felt confident that they wouldn¡¯t impose on his mobility. A whole suit of this might be too much, but if his hands were protected he could use them to parry weapons and strike armour without worrying about harming himself.

    He almost managed to forget the old Battle-Mage behind him, but reality returned as Brom gave a short barking laugh. Eres turned around, ready for whatever might come. He could lie his way through scrutiny, maybe say that he felt his Blessing affecting it, and make them think he was developing a hybrid blessing. Hopefully, he could still learn more from Brom before he got suspicious enough that Eres had to distance himself.

    What Eres wasn¡¯t ready for was the animalistic, grimace-like smile stretching across Brom¡¯s face.

    ¡°Kid¡­ you are either insane or a genius, or both,¡± Brom hissed out of his mouth like it was under intense pressure. Tell me, why am I training you? Just because you want to learn? Or is it something else? It will stay between us, not even your family will know. I will swear it on whatever God you prefer.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­¡± Eres pondered a moment before he shrugged. The information would get out eventually anyway. ¡°I want to become an Adventurer. I need to be able to protect myself and eventually a party. As for why I want do that¡­ well, that''s a much longer conversation.¡±

    Brom held his gaze for a long moment, the smiling slowly settling into something less animalistic, something more¡­ understanding.

    ¡°Well alright then,¡± Brom spoke softly, but the smile hadn¡¯t lessened at all, ¡°let''s train you up into a proper Adventurer then. Trust me, Kid, this is going to be a lot of fun.¡±

    Even as Brom slapped him on his back and sent him back for the day, Eres got the impression that his and Brom¡¯s idea of fun were going to be very, very different.

 Parting

    ¡°What do you mean you are engaged?¡± Eres nearly launched the book he was holding across the room with the speed at which he turned around. Ellsa stood behind him, leaning against the back wall of the study, a pained look on her face.

    She had wandered in over an hour before, chatting to both him and Freya quietly, but something had clearly seemed off. Eres had prodded gently at the issue with no result, and he had figured she would tell him whenever she was ready. Obviously, now she was ready.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Ellsa murmured, ¡°Father sent a missive to tell me this morning. I am now engaged to the first son of the Hillcost Barony. Once I come of age I will go live there until we get married after a courting period, the usual process. I just¡­ Didn¡¯t expect it to happen this early? Does that make sense? Now I have this hanging over me, no surprises are left, and I already know where I¡¯m going to end up.

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m not complaining,¡± she sputtered, her slumped posture straightening, ¡°I will do my duty for our household, I know how important it is. It was just unexpected.¡±

    Eres stared at her for a long moment, turning to study her face. She was standing stoically, but he could see the slight tremor in her hands, one knotting and twisting a lock of her silver hair, a nervous habit she had never been able to break. Freya was looking on from the side, and hidden from Ellsa¡¯s gaze, she seemed sad. Even as a servant of the household, Freya was older than Ellsa by a few years, and to see another girl''s life signed away¡­ clearly hurt her.

    ¡°Sister¡­¡± Eres started and then bit his tongue. This was the norm for noble families. He knew the disgust he was feeling mostly stemmed from Adrien and all the memories he carried. Yet still, some of it was from the previous Eres. It wasn¡¯t that arranged marriages were wrong or hurtful, it was just that he didn¡¯t like seeing his sister sad. Eres almost felt the memories of Adrien slip further in with his own. It had been happening more and more often recently, and he was finding it hard to work out where one personality started and the other began. For now, though, that was good, as it made up his mind on what to say.

    ¡°That is such horseshit, Sister.¡± Eres spoke flatly, standing up to hug her. She might have only been a year and some change older than him, but she had always towered over him growing up. Seeing that in the last few months, he had nearly caught up to her height was a sobering thought. She was meant to be his big sister, looking out for him, but all he could think about was helping her. Bloody past life memories.

    ¡°I know you want to do what is right for the Family but you are your own person,¡± he continued, giving her a tight squeeze before holding her at arm''s length so that he could study her face, ¡°and to me, you look like someone has handed you a death sentence. You don¡¯t want this, Ellsa. You barely even want to learn from Bruna, let alone manage a household. We both know it isn¡¯t you.

    ¡°And before you leap down my throat, I also know you would be bloody good at it. God¡¯s only know how good you would be at something you both dedicated yourself to and actually enjoyed. I also know this is pointless, Sister. I know you have made your mind up, and the decision is yours. Even if I wanted to, what could I do? We both know the answer to that is flatly nothing. But there is one important thing.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to pretend. You can bitch and moan and complain. You can rage against the unfairness of it, of lost opportunities and planned endings. You can do whatever you want, and it won¡¯t leave this room. You are the only person in this godforsaken family who ever gave me the time of day, who played with me or taught me or even gave a shit, Ellsa. You are my sister, and I love you, and if all I can do is listen to your complaints, then I am damn sure going to do that, okay?¡±

    Ellsa looked down at him, her face scrunched up. She looked angry, and for a moment Eres was worried he had pushed too far, had said something that upset her. He worried that the person he was with his memories meant that he had hurt someone he really didn¡¯t want to.

    ¡°It just¡­ it just hurts, Eres. Why don¡¯t we get to choose?¡± Ellsa muttered, resting her head on his.

    And then she started to cry. It wasn¡¯t a quiet, ladylike kind of crying. No, these were deep, wracking sobs and they hurt his heart to hear. He held her against his shoulder and spoke about how everything would be okay, but even he didn¡¯t know if it was true.

    * * *

    It had taken nearly an hour for Ellsa to get all the tears out. Now she sat quietly on the floor, a blanket around her shoulders and steaming teacup clasped in her hands. Her ruby eyes were red-rimmed and puffy, her cheeks stained and blotchy, but the tension seemed to have eased out of her a little. They spoke about little things, and Eres entertained her with minor feats of magic, showers of sparks or an umbrella of purple force. He even surprised her with a few incantation-less casts, which at least brought a smile to her face.

    By the time the knock at the door came, she was almost back to her usual self. She went to jump to her feet, trying to straighten her rumpled clothes, but Eres caught her shoulder with a hand and pushed her back into her nest of blankets.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got it, Sister. Just drink your tea, alright? If it is for you, then they can wait a few minutes.¡± Eres smiled at her as he moved over to the door, Freya walking a step and a half behind him and off to his right. It was a surprisingly nice feeling, having someone always at your back and looking out for you. He really should tell Freya how much he appreciated her more often.

    ¡°Can I help you?¡± Eres opened the door with a smile that he hoped looked natural and pleasant on his face. The young servant at the door seemed surprised to see him there rather than a servant, and his eyes went over Eres¡¯ shoulder to where Freya stood. He paused for only a second, but Eres saw it and sighed internally. Another social stumble he was sure, but he was tired of it. Once they kicked him out at 18 he wasn¡¯t going to be a noble any more, so no point getting too caught up in their ways. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°The Lady of the House has called for you, Young Master,¡± the servant''s voice cracked a little as he spoke. Ah, puberty. Eres really wasn¡¯t looking forward to going through that again.

    ¡°Very well, lead on,¡± Eres said, motioning to the hallway, ¡°Freya, would you be able to deal with the books and that other thing? Maybe some more tea when I return.¡± Eres nodded towards Ellsa as he spoke, letting Freya know to look after her.

    ¡°Of course, Master Eres. I hope your meeting goes well.¡±

    With that, he stepped out into the corridor and followed the young servant, eyes once again searching along the walls, getting lost in the varied and interesting decor. Well-cultivated plants in huge pots, suits of shined and engraved armour and finely painted landscapes dotted various corners and walls, and they were so interesting it took Eres longer than it should have to realise he wasn¡¯t being led to the gardens, he was heading to his mother''s personal rooms.

    Interesting, Eres thought, I wonder if she is just busy, or she has another reason for breaking from pattern.

    It didn¡¯t take long, even in a manor the size of this one, to get to their destination. The servant went to knock on the door, but Eres waved him away, his previous conviction returning. If he was going to be a normal person sooner rather than later, then perhaps he could use that to get a little leeway in his actions.

    As the servant retreated down the corridor, Eres rapped his knuckles against the door smartly. A moment later the voice called for him to enter from the other side, so Eres pushed the handle and walked straight in.

    The room he walked into was empty, and it surprised him. This was his mother''s sitting room, various settees and chairs in blues and greens, arranged around ornate wooden tables perfect for tea and snacks. This had been where he had met her the few times he had come to her rooms.

    ¡°Through here, Eres.¡± The voice floated in from his left.

    Her study? Curiouser and curiouser, he thought. He walked through the heavy wooden doors and almost laughed aloud. Her study was nearly three times the size of the one he had commandeered as his own, but other than that it was nearly identical, mostly because of the mess.

    Piles of books lay scattered over nearly every available surface, only a section in the centre of the desk cleared for writing and reading. Bookshelves covered the majority of the wall space and they were stuffed full, books even lay on top of each other in an attempt to fit more of them on each shelf.

    ¡°Apologies, I am deep into researching something, and I didn¡¯t want to leave so I thought we could talk here?¡± Adalia looked slightly embarrassed at the mess, but Eres gave her a genuine smile. She didn¡¯t have that cold smile on her face right now, and he found it preferable.

    ¡°My study looks much the same, mother. Perhaps it is a trait we share, getting lost in research. What can I do for you?¡± He stood in front of her desk, hands clasped lightly behind his back. Even if he was taking some liberties, he knew better than to act familiar with his mother.

    ¡°I just wished to speak to you, Eres. To see how you had been, and if your training was going well,¡± Adalia stood from her desk and gestured to two chairs that were pushed against a small table, also overflowing with books, placed near the door.

    ¡°Ah, well. My training is going well, Master Brom is a good teacher and I am progressing quickly. Honestly, I am keen to learn as much from him as I can before¡­ well,¡± Eres settled into the chair, but as he remembered Ellsa and everything that had happened before he came here, he felt his stomach twist a little, and a piece of him wanted to be petty, ¡°before the family is done with me and I have to make my own way,¡± he finished, looking up at his mother. The slight flash of pain in her eyes surprised him and made him feel a little bad, just a little.

    ¡°Yes well¡­ I am sure you will learn a lot in that time,¡± Adalia recovered quickly sitting in the chair opposite him. The mask he was used to had settled back onto her face, the impersonal smile and cold eyes, ¡°and that it will serve you well in whatever you decide to do.¡±

    Silence hung in the air between them for longer than a moment, and Eres let it hang. He quickly realised that he was angry with his mother. Not just angry, but furious. The last time they had spoken she had shown a kinder side to her, but now knowing she must have signed off on Ellsa¡¯s engagement, with every small slight over the years, he felt the rage bubble in his chest and felt his Core respond. He quieted it with a thought, but it was still concerning.

    ¡°Are you well, Eres?¡± His mother finally asked, quietly, the cold, impassive look on her face just barely cracking, worry around her eyes.

    ¡°I was speaking to Ellsa before I came here, Mother, perhaps I am out of sorts from that.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I see. The engagement. Is she okay?¡± The mask didn¡¯t slip this time. Eres thought he knew what she was asking, so he just decided to answer the implied question.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she will do her duty, you don¡¯t need to worry about her making trouble or anything like that,¡± He kept his tone as light as he could, but when he looked up it didn¡¯t seem to have mattered.

    His mother looked like someone had slapped her. Eres had never seen that look on her before, and suddenly he felt like shit.

    She was just genuinely asking how she was handling it, and I just told her that I thought she saw her children as some sort of trade commodity, Eres thought glumly, I know she hasn¡¯t been the best to me, but she didn¡¯t deserve that. Shit.

    ¡°I apologise, Mother,¡± He spoke before she could, the hurt still plain on her face, ¡°That was¡­ rude of me. I am reeling from the knowledge and struggling with it. Please forgive me for any insult.¡±

    Silence stretched out again, as Eres bowed his head in apology. He looked up tentatively, expecting to see anger or upset or even the mask settling back into place. He wasn¡¯t even slightly ready for what he saw instead.

    ¡°I thought I told you, son, that you don¡¯t need to bow your head or apologise to me,¡± his mother spoke softly, tears rolling down her cheeks.

 Glimpse

    Fuck, Eres thought, both of the women in the family crying in one day. Good going, asshole.

    He went to apologise further, but she interrupted him before he could.

    ¡°Eres, my son, if anyone needs to apologise it is me. I am truly sorry for how you have been raised, and I want you to know that your sister''s engagement was something I fought against as best I could,¡± her voice was almost scratchy and he could hear the tears clawing at her throat as she spoke, ¡°I am sure you know that woman of our station don¡¯t get to marry for love. I wish it was different, but that is not how fate has decided things to be. I know you must hate me, for how coldly I have treated you, but I hope I have enough trust from you, if not as your mother then just as another person, that when I tell you it was for your protection and what I believed is best for you, you will believe me.

    ¡°I want you to know that it breaks my heart to act as aloof and above you as I do. The only reason I am telling you this, even now, is because I know that without this conversation any bond is irreparable. Your concern for your sister and the way you speak to me now speak of intelligence and emotional understanding that I would not have credited to a ten-year-old boy. Perhaps that is my short-sightedness or perhaps you have had to grow up too fast because of me, I genuinely don¡¯t know. All I know, as your mother, is that I needed to explain this to you and beg for any forgiveness you were willing to give me.

    ¡°I knew it when you apologised to me in the garden, but I didn¡¯t even know where to start, and when you spoke about leaving with a piece of my tree¡­ I realised I didn¡¯t have a lifetime to repair our relationship. We both know that the second you are an adult your father will insist on you leaving the household, either to start your own branch family or forgoing your title entirely, and I don¡¯t want you to think I don¡¯t care about you.

    ¡°So Eres, I am sorry. I am sure you can guess at many reasons as to why I would have to act this way, and once you are older maybe I can tell you. I just want you to know that it isn¡¯t real, and if you would let me, maybe, in private, I can try and treat you as a mother should treat her son.¡±

    Eres sat there stunned. Not only was it the most he had ever heard his mother speak at once, but the usual schooling of her expressions was nowhere to be seen. She looked genuinely pained as she explained herself, and he could see that she meant every word.

    Truthfully he didn¡¯t know how he felt about it. Part of him just wanted to accept everything she had said at face value and trust her, and let himself have a mother who cared about him, even if not in public. The other part though¡­ that part told him it was too good to be true. Told him that there was more to the story. Gods, she even admitted as much, that she couldn¡¯t tell him more until he was older.

    Still, she thinks I am a normal kid, so I suppose she is trusting me a lot with this, he thought, fidgeting a little, and the fact she looks so damn nervous certainly lends some credence to her words.

    ¡°I accept your apology, Mother,¡± he said after a moment, ¡°as for changing the relationship we have in private¡­ I would be happy to try, but we would need to start small. I won¡¯t pretend I understand everything you have done over the years, but I will try to forget it so we can start again, how is that?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that is more than enough,¡± she slumped slightly, her breath running out of her, ¡°more than I expected and more than I deserve. Let me call someone to get us some tea, and we can just¡­ talk for a while? Would that be alright?¡±

    ¡°Of course, Mother, that sounds great.¡±

    * * *

    After nearly an hour of talking, Eres had calmed somewhat. The woman in front of him was so hard for him to reconcile with his mental picture of his mother, but he certainly preferred her. She asked after his life, about his day, advised him on difficult topics, laughed at jokes and gossiped about all sorts of little facts. It was night and day from the woman who sent him to get the maids to patch him up so that she could meet with the Baron.

    ¡°I apologise for keeping you so long, I should let you get back to your research,¡± he said eventually, eyes scanning the desk.

    ¡°Ah, I suppose you are right. It¡¯s just¡­ I have wanted to talk to you like this for a long time, and I have a lot I want to know,¡± she spoke somewhat regretfully, ¡°but you are right. However, we should do this again. Rather than walk in the garden you can come here and we can just¡­ talk. If you like?¡±

    ¡°That sounds good to me, mother,¡± Eres smiled, ¡°though you should do the same with Ellsa. She is¡­ struggling right now. She needs someone who knows more than me to lean on, and she needs to know that someone is on her side. You should give her that.¡±

    Adalia looked at him for a few moments before nodding, ¡°You are right. Honestly, I shouldn¡¯t need you to tell me that, I should have thought of it. I have spent far too long invested only in the games of the nobility. My two youngest children still need a mother, and I will step up for them as best I can. Thank you, Eres.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to thank me, Mother. Just looking out for both you and her,¡± he smiled, ears flushing red a little at the thanks, ¡°though it reminds me, I know she is marrying into the Hillcost family, but do you know their name? I didn¡¯t hear it.¡± Stolen story; please report.

    ¡°Ah, yes, the first son in fact,¡± Adalia said, face still somewhat stricken, ¡°Aaron von Hillcost, he''s only two years her senior, so it is a better match than many, I suppose.¡±

    She might have said more. Eres wasn¡¯t really sure. For him, everything went dark for a second. Then he wasn¡¯t there anymore, he was somewhere else. Just like when the goblin attacked, he felt like a passenger, though this time it didn¡¯t quite seem like his body, but it did feel¡­ familiar.

    The person he was a passenger in was reclining in a chair staring out an open window. There was a pipe sitting on the windowsill, a small curl of smoke rising up and out into the open air. Wide-brimmed, comfortable boots were on the feet that were crossed on the same sill. His clothing seemed to be of fine make, all in black. Eres could just see what looked like some sort of chainmail piled off to one side with a pair of daggers lying around it.

    The person was fidgeting with a large silver coin, rolling it along the back of their knuckles to drop into their palm, and then starting the cycle again. It was a familiar tic, a habit Eres was sure he had seen someone else have but he just wasn¡¯t sure who.

    It wasn¡¯t until they dropped the coin, and had to turn to pick it up that Eres realised what the hell was going on, or even began to have any ideas. As they stood from the chair and strode across the small room to where it had rolled, Eres got a look at them in the mirror. At himself in the mirror.

    He was much older, in his mid-twenties at least. His silvery-white hair was long, nearly to the centre of his back, and the top half was tied up in various plaits and braids, some of which had beads and other curios woven through them. His eyes were the same deep blue, but the nearly black bruises underneath them spoke of a bone weariness that Eres hadn¡¯t ever experienced. Or hadn¡¯t experienced yet.

    Somewhere along the line, he had picked up a collection of scars, one thick and knotted across the right side of his jaw and three that looked like claw marks that crossed through his left eyebrow and onto his cheekbone. The older Eres picked the coin back up and wandered back to the window, picking up the pipe and taking a long inhale, letting it out with a sigh as he looked up at the night sky.

    The door on the other side of the room creaked open, but he didn¡¯t move, still staring out into the darkness. Judging by the street below, this was an attic room. Maybe an inn? Eres wasn¡¯t sure, but his mind was spinning with all the implications and possibilities about what this was.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Eres. We will kill the bastard, burn the place to the fucking ground and salt the earth,¡± came a low voice from behind him. It was almost husky in register. As the older Eres turned around, Eres could feel the body''s heart rate start to increase, his skin start to flush. And considering the sight in front of him, he really couldn¡¯t blame his older counterpart.

    The woman had clearly just climbed out of bed, wrapping the sheets around herself for some modesty. She had long black hair tied into a high ponytail and it shimmered in the light from the lanterns around them. Her skin was darker than his, nearly nut-brown and her eyes were a green so bright it would have been the most striking part about her if not for two other key features.

    First were her tattoos. They were mostly done in whites and blues and they trailed across her collarbones and down both arms, winding around her arms and onto the backs of her hands, even trailing onto her fingers. Eres didn¡¯t recognise the designs from either of his lifetimes, but they felt important.

    The second feature were her ears. Much longer than his and scalloping to a point, they marked her as obviously other. Her left one had an array of silver rings and chains piercing through it. She stared at him with a strange mixture of respect and fury in her eyes, but there was a hint of worry bleeding through.

    ¡°I know, Pyrae,¡± the older Eres finally spoke, and his voice was low and raspy, but oh so very tired, ¡°they will pay, noble or not, I swear it on my blood.¡±

    The woman, Pyrae apparently, gripped his hand and began to drag him back towards the bed on the other side of the door, and the man slowly followed, his boots scuffing along the floor. As they passed the threshold he stopped, reaching down to pick up what looked like a newspaper that had been thrown onto a table.

    The sight of the headline caused Eres'' head to spin even faster, even as he felt the rage build in the body of his older self, his Core spinning to life. The ridiculous amount of Mana at the command of this older version of himself didn¡¯t even cause Eres a moment¡¯s pause as he was still too focused on the single line of text.

    ¡°Ellsa von Hillcost was found hanged in her bedroom. Her Husband was unavailable for comment, but is currently under investigation¡± read the words in bold, black ink, and before Eres could read any more, his older self turned with a frustrated sigh and walked towards the bed.

    ¡°Sorry Ell¡¯s, all I can offer is revenge,¡± he muttered as his sight went blurry and eventually disappeared.

    Eres found himself looking at his mother''s worried face instead of at the bed containing the beautiful elf or the window with its pipe.

    ¡°Are you okay, Eres? You seemed to space out for a second there. I didn¡¯t mean to keep you too long,¡± She murmured, hands wringing at her dress in worry.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I just¡­ it was just a second? Sorry, I guess I went into my head for a second there, apologies Mother,¡± Eres stumbled through an excuse, head spinning, ¡°I will head back to my study. Thank you, Mother, and I will see you soon?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Honestly, I am in here almost every day around this time, feel free to visit when you like, and I will send someone to get you whenever it is time for our more official conversations. Look after yourself okay? I know you have been training hard, maybe you need a break.¡±

    Eres nodded politely and wandered out of her study and into the halls, heading back towards his own. What the fuck had he just seen. Was it the future? No, if anything it was a potential future. It was like with the goblin, he stopped it from happening, or maybe it was just the worst-case scenario, what could happen if everything went horribly wrong?

    He wasn¡¯t sure, but he knew he couldn¡¯t do anything about the engagement. What he could do was go and check on her long before he was that old. Hells, maybe he would go and check on her as soon as they kicked him out of here. That would put his mind at ease at least.

    As he slipped back into the study, he saw a still steaming pot of tea on his desk, next to the last book he was reading. Clearly Freya had been here recently.

    I really must thank her when she gets back, Eres thought as he settled into the chair and poured himself a cup, getting ready to continue reading about ice magic.

    And then, time did what time does, and it passed.

 Moving On

    Eres couldn¡¯t keep the grin off of his face as he packed up his various belongings into a large leather rucksack. It had been a gift from his mother and had a minor spatial enchantment on it to increase how much could be carried inside it. It was no infinite storage like some of the protagonists from the fiction of his last life had acquired, but it quadrupled how much could fit in the small space and made it so the pack was only maybe five kilos when fully packed. It made packing his entire life into one bag much, much easier.

    Truthfully, Eres had thought he would feel some trepidation or sadness about having to leave his family¡¯s manor and lands to set out on his own. He had known it was coming for years, so he was pretty sure that he would be prepared when the time came, especially once he started his training with Brom, but he still thought he would feel bad about leaving.

    Yet he didn¡¯t.

    Honestly, the only thoughts going through his head were excitement and adventure. When he had been given the slip of paper by a sneering servant yesterday, the rush of joy and adrenaline had nearly spiked his Magic Core into action. It was a perfunctory statement, stating that now he had come of age Eres had to decide between leaving to create a branch family under his father''s name, or striking off his last name entirely and leaving the ranks of nobility for a commoner''s life. It had, of course, been signed by the Baron, but Eres was pretty certain it had just been another piece of paper coming across the desk for a signature.

    Since Ellsa had left a year or so ago and his mother was having to stay in the Capital for the social season, the only person in the household he had spoken to with any regularity was Freya, so he wasn¡¯t really sure what was going on with his older brother and father, but he was pretty sure he didn¡¯t care. This little bit of paper gave him permission to give his last name the finger and ignore all the parts of his family he didn¡¯t like. In fact, he didn¡¯t even need to do anything to do it. It specified he should present himself to the ¡°Master of the House¡± if he wanted to start a branch family.

    The rest of the letter treated it as a foregone conclusion that is what he would do, talking about all his responsibilities as the head of such a branch. There was more than a small amount of vindictive joy in Eres¡¯ heart when he thought of the surprise and shock when he just walked out of the house and didn¡¯t look back.

    He managed to get the last of his books shoved into the backpack and buckled it closed, before turning to look at his room. Truthfully he didn¡¯t have many memories here, and he hadn¡¯t updated the room since he regained his memories of his past life nearly 8 years ago. The same luxurious furnishings, drapes and nearly floor-to-ceiling windows. The same bowl of water to wash one''s face in the morning. He strode over to the bowl, swirling his finger through his reflection.

    Truthfully, Eres was far happier with his appearance at 18 than he had been in his last life as Adrien. He hadn¡¯t fretted over it too much, but the long silver hair framed his face nicely and the features were something he considered attractive enough, and if the not-so-subtle passes a few of the town girls had made when he had been out in disguise were anything to go by then he wasn¡¯t the only one. He didn¡¯t look quite as rugged as he had in that one glimpse of the future he had seen, but he could see he was on the way to looking like that man, though as of now he didn¡¯t have any of the scars. Looking back at the deep blue eyes in the water, Eres gave himself a wide grin.

    ¡°Alright. Fuck this place, let''s go find some trouble,¡± He laughed at his reflection as he shouldered the pack and gave his room the finger as he walked out, happy to be moving on.

    He hadn¡¯t seen Freya yet today, and she had been avoiding him the past week. It was strange, because the young woman had been the only constant in his life for the past eight years, and she had barely missed a day of work. It had only been two years ago that Eres had managed to convince her to take her own birthday off of work, for god''s sake.

    Still, he wasn¡¯t too worried. He knew what she was planning, no matter how well she thought she was hiding it, and he was assuming that her avoidance had been in prepping her surprise and in trying to make sure he hadn¡¯t caught on.

    Well, Eres thought as he strolled through the halls, gaze flicking across the various pieces of art, I will need to pretend at least. After how well she has looked after me the last few years, might as well let her have her fun.

    He did a cursory sweep of her usual haunts on the grounds to make sure he wasn¡¯t entirely off base with his assumptions but didn¡¯t catch sight of her. Finally, he headed out of the large main doors at the front of the house, onto the drive where he had waited for his parents to arrive and take him to his blessing ceremony those years ago, and began to head down the long pathway towards the main gate. He was maybe halfway there when he could see two silhouettes standing in the open just beyond it, waiting.

    Two people being there surprised him. Eres knew Brom wouldn¡¯t be there, as he had left nearly six months ago after declaring Eres had a solid enough base to stand tall on his own and could learn the rest on the road and through actual practice. The only other person that Eres could think of was¡­

    ¡°Myla, what a surprise,¡± he laughed as he approached the pair of young women. Freya had a slight grin on her face, and Myla was looking around uncomfortably. Looking over the pair, Eres had to take stock of himself for a second. He was very aware that his two friends were attractive, but it wasn¡¯t until he saw them there that he really thought about just how much they had changed.

    When he had met Freya, she had been a few inches taller than him and had barely been able to meet his eye. Now she barely reached his shoulder, but her bright green eyes met his with the ease and comfort of years of friendship. The dusting of freckles across her nose and cheeks highlighted just how fair her skin was. Her long, dark brown hair was pulled into a high ponytail that just brushed the top of her shoulders. She was dressed in travelling clothes, thick trousers tucked into well-worn leather boots and a long staff clasped in her left hand, while her right gripped one strap of a travelling pack much like his own. Her lips had curled into a wider smile as he drew closer and she had noticed his surprise. Stolen story; please report.

    While he had seen Freya nearly every day for the last eight years, seeing Myla had become much more sporadic as he got older and more recognisable. As sneaking out from the manor became harder and harder and his visits became less and less common, he had needed to rely on Freya to go and make sure Myla knew he wasn¡¯t just bailing on them because he was lazy. This made the beautiful woman standing in front of him even harder to identify as Myla, as he was sure just a few months ago she had still been that little girl who cried after saving them from a goblin.

    Time sure does fly, Eres thought as he looked at his other friend. Gone was the short blonde tomboy with scuffed knees and wide eyes. Instead, the woman standing before him looked like a warrior or adventurer. Her blonde hair was still shorter than most, in fact, it was shorter than Eres¡¯ own hair, but it barely brushed along her collarbones where it wasn¡¯t pulled back from her face with a leather band. She was wearing heavy leather vambraces over her own travelling clothes, and a suspiciously familiar pack was slung over both of her shoulders. Unlike the grin that was pasted across Freya¡¯s face, Myla looked a little nervous, ice-blue eyes darting around as she shifted her weight back and forth between her feet.

    ¡°Good morning, Master Eres,¡± Freya smiled as she spoke, giving Eres a small bow, ¡°I hope you have been having a good morning?¡±

    ¡°You know what, Freya?¡± Eres put a hand to his chin as he pretended to ponder, ¡°It was a very good morning. I woke up a little late, got to leave a house I never really fit in at, and now I find two of my friends waiting for me.

    ¡°However I have to say, my maid must have been slacking because she didn¡¯t come to wake me up like usual, and I couldn¡¯t see her anywhere in the house. I wonder what that is all about?¡±

    ¡°Ah, I see,¡± Freya said, her grin widening, ¡°Well, Master Eres, I regret to inform you that as you are no longer a member of the Hytheiem household, you are no longer eligible to have a maid, and all of your privileges as a noble have been removed. I apologise for any confusion.¡±

    ¡°Well, why are you still calling me ¡°Master Eres¡± then?¡± Eres laughed as he reached out and flicked her in the forehead, ¡°Go on then, tell me whatever you have planned. I know both of you wouldn¡¯t have been here to greet me as I leave unless you were planning something devious.¡±

    ¡°Devious? Not at all, Eres.¡± Freya smiled sweetly as she stressed his name.

    Eres cocked an eyebrow as he looked across at Myla, who was still shifting her weight from side to side, eyes flicking between the two of them. ¡°Hey Myla, sorry about not being around much recently. You managed to stop this one from getting you in trouble?¡± He smiled as he shoved a thumb in Freya¡¯s direction, getting a sound of mock offence for his troubles.

    ¡°Hey, Eres,¡± the blonde girl laughed a little at their antics before she answered his question, ¡°As for Freya getting me in trouble¡­ Well¡­¡±

    ¡°Ah, ah!¡± Freya interrupted, ¡°No spoiling it! Come on, let''s go and have a late breakfast and Eres can tell us where he plans to go from here, now he isn¡¯t one of the lauded noble scions.¡±

    Eres and Myla both looked at Freya wide-eyed. She had got more and more talkative as the years passed, but it was rare that she would poke fun at Eres. The fact she was teasing him, and the emphasis on his name let it all come together. He knew she had planned something, but he wasn¡¯t quite prepared for this, and he couldn¡¯t stop the outburst of words.

    ¡°By the Gods, you actually fucking did it, didn¡¯t you.¡± He muttered, staring at her.

    ¡°Hmm? Just what is it you think I did, Eres?¡± Her eyes glinted with mischief as she hefted her staff and pack.

    ¡°You just up and quit on them, with no warning, didn¡¯t you?¡± Eres stared harder now. Freya¡¯s family all worked for his father, so quitting with no warning would mean she wouldn¡¯t be able to come back. They wouldn¡¯t let her after an insult like that. Freya¡¯s shoulders slumped down as she glared at him.

    ¡°You couldn¡¯t just let me spring it on you?¡± She whined, poking him with the rounded end of the staff before she stepped closer before Eres¡¯ eyes could drift away from her face.

    ¡°Eres, this was my choice. I¡¯m coming with you, as you knew I would, and I¡¯m not going to use any sort of trickery of your family to make it technically part of my job for a while. I''m going to be sticking around and keeping you from killing yourself with harebrained schemes, magical experimentation or anything else. This is what I''m going to do, so you need to deal with it because if you start moping or complaining, I am going to politely ask Myla to pick you up and throw you to the top of the nearest tree. Are we clear?¡±

    Eres kept looking at her for a minute or two, looking for any signs of hesitation, doubt or anything that might tell him she was making a really big mistake. All he saw in those green eyes was confidence, and a spark of something else, something he had been ignoring for the last couple of years. Something he didn¡¯t know how much longer he could ignore.

    ¡°Yes, yes we are clear,¡± Eres finally huffed, before looking over at Myla, who was now very focused on a stone she was nudging with her toe.

    ¡°Judging by both of your clothes and packs, my Mother had something to do with this too?¡± He asked, not really needing the answer, ¡°Which means I can assume I can¡¯t talk you out of this either, Myla?¡±

    Her eyes darted up to his with a movement so sudden Eres felt his training preparing him for a strike. Her face was strangely blank for a moment before a serene smile appeared.

    ¡°Eres, I have been planning to follow you since the day you told me you were going to be an Adventurer, and that hasn¡¯t changed. Now, if you are going to try and dissuade me, I am going to do far worse than just throw you to the top of a tree.¡±

    ¡°Well, that settles that,¡± Eres shook his head as he laughed a little, ¡°What a start to my new life, both of the women in my life threatening me!¡±

    As he walked down the dirt road, shoulders still shaking with gentle laughter, he didn¡¯t catch the look or the smiles his new companions shared. If he had, he might have been less surprised about how his life turned out.

 Setting Out

    Eres lay out on the grass outside the town walls, using his new pack as a pillow as he looked up at the clear blue sky above him. There was no sign of any of the summer storms that the region often had to deal with, just a cloudless sky and a blazing sun, with just the right amount of breeze. It was glorious.

    They had stopped by Myla¡¯s father''s bakery and grabbed some supplies for a picnic, which turned into a second tearful goodbye between her and her family, though it was mostly just hugs and encouragement and promises to return whenever they could.  After that they had wandered back to the patch of grass they had eaten at all those years ago, the stump still sporting a slight mark from the goblin¡¯s arrow. The food had been pleasant and the company wonderful, but as the morning continued, Eres began to feel restless.

    ¡°So, what''s the plan then?¡± Myla said as she finished off her food, ¡°We headed anywhere specific, Eres? Or just playing it by ear?¡±

    ¡°Well, I want to get on the road sooner rather than later. I don¡¯t trust my family not to be vindictive about me not being a branch head and setting out on my own,¡± Eres spoke without lifting his head, focusing on a small Mana construct he was throwing between his hands, ¡°It would be hypocritical for them to care about it now, but considering it is just the Baron and his heir here right now¡­ Yeah, trust isn¡¯t so much something I am feeling for them.

    ¡°I talked to Brom about it before he left, and he recommended heading in the general direction of the Capital. There are more than a few towns and cities between us and it, so we should be able to get registered as Adventurers at the first one we come across with a guildhall. Maybe get lucky and make some money with a bounty or a dungeon run before then. That¡¯s what I have been thinking anyway, but what about you two? There are three of us here, decisions aren¡¯t just on me,¡± Eres¡¯ eyes began to shine purple as he reinforced the Mana in his hands, making it more and more solid as he rolled his head to look at his companions.

    Myla was staring transfixed at his hands and the now mostly solid purple dagger that he was tumbling between the two and rolling over his knuckles, wrists and palms. Freya however had gotten used to his habit of playing with magic whenever he had a spare moment and was instead looking off into the distance and pondering something.

    ¡°The Capital sounds like a good idea. I have always wanted to see Leodas for myself, so that seems as good a place to aim as any,¡± Freya furrowed her brow as she spoke slowly, ¡°I think a dungeon might not be the best idea, though. Monster bounties are one thing, but dungeons need more cohesion, and usually, it''s more than a party of three that delves into them.

    ¡°We should really work on fighting as a group before looking at doing that. Our formation is pretty obvious because of all of our Blessing¡¯s and skills, but we still don¡¯t have a Mind or Knight Blessing, so it might take us a while to kill anything strong, even with you and Myla being as strong as you are.¡±

    ¡°Huh, that¡¯s a fair point,¡± Eres muttered, rolling onto his feet and smiling at the green-eyed girl, ¡°Sorry, guess I got ahead of myself. So, let''s go sign up for the guild, kill some monsters, and get some practice in. Oh, and make some coin while we do it too, ¡®cause the purses Mother slipped us won¡¯t last forever.¡±

    Myla and Freya looked at each other blankly, before turning slowly to look at Eres.

    ¡°What purses?¡± They said, simultaneously.

    Eres looked at the pair of them incredulously. ¡°You¡­ you didn¡¯t check the packs before you started loading them up, did you?¡± He struggled to keep his face blank and emotionless, but he could feel laughter rising in his throat.

    ¡°What? No.¡± Myla stuttered, looking at the bag on the floor next to it, ¡°An enchanted bag is such a gift already¡­¡±

    Eres barely managed to keep the laughter from erupting. Both of his companions were looking at their bags like they were venomous snakes. ¡°Well, you might as well open it, go on. Myla I would expect Mother to get one over on, but you Freya? Come on now, you know that woman at this point. You figured she would send me off with my two only and dearest friends, and not give them gifts?¡±

    ¡°I thought the bag was the gift,¡± Freya muttered darkly as she shoved her hand into the bag and started rooting around, her arm disappearing up to the shoulder as she began to search. Myla was only a half second behind her, both of her arms disappearing into her own bag.

    At the bizarre site of these two gorgeous women looking stricken and pale as they rooted around in enchanted rucksacks that they clearly underestimated the price of, Eres couldn¡¯t hold back anymore and rolled back onto the floor, shoulders heaving as he laughed. It wasn¡¯t the gentle kind of chuckle you get from a good joke or the snicker at someone else''s expense. It was a rolling, deep belly laugh, the kind that leaves tears in your eyes and steals your breath, leaving you gasping and struggling to do anything other than try to remain sane until your brain caught your body up with the real world again and got you back on your feet.

    It took over a minute before Eres could wipe the tears from his eyes and get his lungs to stop screaming at him for oxygen. Once he managed to get back to at least a sitting position, he could see both of his companions holding coin purses and trying to count the amount inside, looking rather nervous. Myla in particular was slowly getting paler and paler as she counted.

    ¡°Umm¡­ Eres,¡± Freya said, eyes as wide as saucers, ¡°I think the Lady might have made a mistake.¡±

    ¡°Nope. There was a note with mine, and it wouldn¡¯t surprise me if there is one somewhere in that bag, though knowing Mother maybe wait til you are on your own to read those, it is likely there is either an embarrassing anecdote about me or unsolicited advice¡­ or both,¡± Eres shook his head as he remembered his mother''s letter reminding him to be safe, that she would always love and welcome him, and requesting grandchildren sooner rather than later¡­ The last eight years of them actually being close had really led to her being far too free with her advice. ¡°Anyway, the note in mine mentioned she had given both of you the same amount she gave me, about 50,000 Leons. Mostly in gold and silver, to keep spending it easy apparently.¡± A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°What!?¡± Myla shrieked, nearly dropping the bag and losing count, ¡°That¡¯s more than my Father¡¯s shop made in a year!¡±

    Eres shrugged. ¡°I mean, I get what you are saying but she can afford it. She owns a bunch of stuff in the capital, separate from the Barony¡¯s interests. So she can afford to give us some seed funds, and trust me we will need it. Potions aren¡¯t cheap, and neither are weapons and armour, especially if we are looking to get them enchanted, and we will need to if we want to end up working on clearing dungeons.

    ¡°Yes, Freya, I can see your pointed look. I¡¯m not saying we are about to arm up and dive into the first underground ruin or monster nest I find, but if it is our end goal we should keep it in mind.¡±

    Freya stopped with her mouth half hanging open and glared at me, while Myla was still pale and staring at the coin pouch.

    In the Kingdom of Leodas, named after its capital city, or vice versa, the history books were never particularly clear on the matter, the currency was Leons. These were divided into Copper, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Royal coins, equalling 1, 10, 100, 1000 and 10,000 Leons each. Eres couldn¡¯t help but relate the currency back to dollars or pounds in Adrien¡¯s life, and one Leon seemed to be basically the same as a dollar. This meant, between the three of them, Eres¡¯ mother had swiftly dumped the equivalent of more than 4 years'' average salary on them as ¡°going away¡± money. Eres might be acting cool about it now, but when he opened his own pouch he had had much the same reaction.

    ¡°Anyway, stop trying to catch flies in your mouths,¡± Eres laughed as he clambered to his feet once more, shouldered his pack and held a hand out to either of them, ¡°If you feel bad you can take it up with her once we get to the Capital. She should be in Leodas basically year-round, now that the Baron is spending all of his time with the heir and Ellsa and I have left.¡±

    Both of the girls gripped his hands as he hoisted them to their feet. Myla¡¯s complexion had started to even out, but Freya was still slightly glaring.

    Or maybe pouting is a better description? Eres thought, eyes skating over the pushed-out bottom lip and the hand placed on a cocked-out hip. Yep, pouting. That¡¯s new¡­ I wonder why I am seeing so many new sides of Freya today. What is she up to?

    They gathered up and packed away the last scraps from their breakfast and made sure all their packs were secure before Eres looked back at the wooden walls of the town. ¡°Alright, ready to go then? We can always come back, but it will probably be a while, so if you need anything, better to grab it now.¡±

    ¡°Oh!¡± Myla suddenly gasped, a hand shooting into the air like she had a question, ¡°Sorry, I will be, like, five minutes? I need to grab something from the barracks, I will run- wait here!¡±

    She was already running before Eres or Freya could speak a word. Eres just shrugged at his ex-maid and started forming and playing with another mana construct, this time a short spear that he tossed from hand to hand, focusing more and more mana into it until it was barely even translucent. It had taken him quite a while to work out how to harden his creations beyond what their initial manifestation was capable of, but he now used it as a good way to train his Mana control and Magic output. It was while he was training this way that he caught sight of Myla running back, and his concentration was so thrown that the construct shattered into pieces before turning into dust.

    ¡°Myla, love¡­ What the fuck is that,¡± Eres said, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible. He had expected her to be grabbing a coat, or maybe even a mount or a pet or something. Instead, Myla had come jogging in their direction carrying a huge weapon across both of her shoulders. It looked to be a spear or polearm of some description, with the total length being longer than Myla was tall, around six feet long. Rather than a simple spear point or a halberd head, the head of the weapon was a two-foot-long sword blade, built thick and sturdy like a broadsword. Then came a large crescent-shaped crossguard that swept to either side of the weapon, before it melded with the four-foot haft of the weapon. There was no ornamentation to the weapon, it was all dark wood and polished steel, even the counterweight on the back of the haft looked to be a cap of thick steel.

    ¡°Oh, this?¡± Myla smiled as she twirled the weapon like it weighed almost nothing, ¡°This is a Great-Spear. It''s what I learned to fight with. What did you think I would be using?¡±

    ¡°Um¡­ Honestly, Freya told me you were training with the town guards, so I assumed a pike, maybe a sword¡­ but that¡¯s me being stupid I guess, wasn¡¯t thinking about your Blessing,¡± Eres muttered, rubbing the back of his head, ¡°It sure looks impressive, I look forward to- What?¡±

    Eres came to a sudden stop when he realised Myla and Freya were both looking around guiltily.

    ¡°Well, M-Myla might have been getting a little more t-training the last few years,¡± Freya stuttered, ¡°and your mother and I might have had something to do with it.¡±

    Eres let out a small sigh and gestured for her to continue, feeling his earlier embarrassment disappear.

    ¡°Well, you know how, when you were fourteen you and Master Brom decided to lose one of your Spellwork sessions during the week so you could work on experimentation yourself? Well, me and your mother thought, that if he was here anyway, and you weren¡¯t missing out then maybe we could get him to train Myla up?¡± Freya rattled off quickly.

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Eres dragged the word out into as many syllables as possible before he continued, ¡°And you are both looking guilty about this why?¡±

    ¡°Um, well,¡± Myla spoke up, not dragging her eyes off of her feet, where her boots were once again digging into the dirt, ¡°We didn¡¯t tell you, and he was your tutor. But your mother and Freya both knew how much I wanted to come with you, so they helped out. Still, feel bad, ¡®cause I feel like I took time away from your training¡­ so yeah, sorry.¡±

    ¡°So let me get this straight,¡± Eres spoke before standing before the two surprisingly guilty-looking women, ¡°You are telling me that you chose to come along years ago, you found out that a skilled tutor who could teach you to fight, as well as give you tips on how to fight alongside me most likely, knowing Brom, and you jumped on that chance to get stronger so that when I did leave you could make sure you could fight alongside and protect me¡­ and you expect me to be annoyed at the pair of you? For what, looking after my best interests?¡±

    Eres laughed as he scooped both of them up into a hug, their feet briefly leaving the floor as he squeezed them for a second, before depositing them back on the floor. ¡°Thanks, both of you. For looking out for me, and for coming along. Now, come on, we gotta hit the trail soon or we won¡¯t make it to the next town before nightfall, and for our first night outside of home I reckon a bed at an Inn is far better than a bedroll in the woods!¡±

    Eres pulled them by the hands as he walked backwards towards the thin road at the edge of the forest, making sure they were moving before he let them go and turned back to face their destination.

    ¡°No time like the present for adventure, I guess,¡± Freya laughed, as they settled into a comfy walking pace and, for the first time, set out on the road.

 Adventure

    The first day of travel through the woods was uneventful. It didn¡¯t stop Eres and his party from being on constant alert, jumping at every snapped branch or whistle of the wind. At first, it was easy to laugh off, but as night began to creep closer it got harder and harder to concentrate, as they became more and more fatigued.

    Eres had thought himself well prepared for adventuring, but he hadn¡¯t expected the very act of travelling through unfamiliar terrain to be quite so taxing. By the time they reached the waystation, a small inn and stables by the side of the road, all of them were ready to collapse. In fact, the hearty stew and bread that they ate, the rooms they paid for and even the beds they slept in were all a blur for Eres. He had been exhausted before, Brom had seen to that more than once, but his brain felt so sluggish that he was asleep before his head even hit the pillow.

    Eres woke with the sunrise, as he had developed a habit of doing, and he was surprised at how refreshed he felt. There was a patina of fatigue over his memories of last night, even now, but he felt much better now. He rinsed his face with water, dressed in his clothes and leathers, and headed down to see what the options were for breakfast.

    He was pleasantly surprised to find that breakfast was plentiful, with rashers of bacon, eggs with runny yolk and more fresh bread. He made his way through two plates of food and three cups of tea before the clatter of feet on the stairs made him look up. He watched Freya and Myla head across towards him and wondered how he had got quite so lucky.

    Eres might have been focused on training these past eight years, but he wasn¡¯t blind. He knew that both of his friends were incredibly attractive women, and if he was being completely honest with himself he might have thrown himself into the training even harder as they all got older to avoid it. While he had gotten more comfortable with remembering his past life, he still had holdovers from that life. Such as it being wrong to feel attracted to someone who was technically employed by him or one of his friends, not talking about the fact that they had grown up together and had only recently come of age.

    So when they both came walking towards him, hips swaying, hair still slightly mussed from sleep, with smiles on their lips¡­ He really didn¡¯t think that he could be blamed for spilling the tea all down his chest.

    ¡°Still half asleep there, Eres?¡± Freya laughed as she slid into the chair next to him. Eres mumbled something unintelligible as he mopped at the stain.

    ¡°Morning, Eres,¡± Myla slurred as she slumped into the other chair. Eres hadn¡¯t been able to tell from across the room, but her eyes were still half closed, and she had a sleepy smile on her lips.

    ¡°Morning, Myla,¡± Eres smiled before turning back to Freya, ¡°Ah, I have been up for a while, had breakfast and asked some questions about the road and such. So I can¡¯t blame it on sleep, I guess I¡¯m just clumsy.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to go and grab the rest of my things, see if I can work out a way to keep my head clear so I don¡¯t get quite as burned out as yesterday. You guys grab some food and meet me out there in a little while, okay? And Myla, love, grab some tea, wake yourself up a little, yeah?¡± Eres squeezed Myla¡¯s shoulder and she looked a little sheepish as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

    Eres walked away as his companions began to talk and laugh softly, and he got the strange feeling that he was the subject of the conversation, but he just shook his head with a chuckle and headed upstairs to grab his bag.

    ***

    It wasn¡¯t much more than an hour later that they were back on the road. Unfortunately, the only thing any of them could come up with to help with the mental exhaustion of always being on guard was to take a few more breaks and see if Freya¡¯s miracles could do anything for their exhaustion during the rest periods. They talked softly as they walked, the winding dirt road wide enough that they could easily walk side-by-side, yet still managing to feel claustrophobic.

    The cause of that feeling was the forest itself. The trees surrounding them weren¡¯t particularly thick, nor were they particularly tall. Yet they still blocked the majority of the light from the sun above them, so it felt like they were moving through a perpetual twilight. Eres found that while he was a little less jumpy than yesterday, he was till nearly permanently on edge, and when they found a little clearing and decided to have an early lunch, he couldn¡¯t have been more glad.

    ¡°You know,¡± Freya said, dropping onto a large rock, ¡°I didn¡¯t think learning Miracles to heal the mind and fortitude would be a huge benefit, I only really looked into them after you and Master Brom recommended them, but Gods I feel better.¡±

    The first thing she did when they broke for lunch was gather her Divine power and whisper a prayer for strength of mind, and the difference was night and day. Gone was the fog and the fatigue of the morning''s march and guard, replaced with a calm surety that they were as aware as they could be. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure glad you bothered to pick them up,¡± Eres mumbled around a hunk of bread, ¡°Honestly I think if something had jumped us last night before the waystation, we would have been too slow to react. We should keep an eye on that and try and keep aware of it in the future, so a break or two to refresh our minds like you have sounds perfect.¡±

    ¡°Yep, we will be relying on you, so keep my brain from going to mush!¡± Myla laughed as she washed down her food with a swig from her canteen. Eres hadn¡¯t even seen her take a bite but the food was already gone, and he had to stifle a laugh. Myla had always been the one sitting around waiting for them to finish their food, and it felt good to know some things wouldn¡¯t ever change. Even if change was pretty much all that was happening in their lives right now.

    The crack of a breaking branch echoed through the clearing, breaking Eres from his contemplation. All three of them froze, straining their senses. The forest around them was silent apart from the rustle of wind through the branches high above them.

    Then they heard the first growl rumbling from the brush.

    Eres and his companions were on their feet with weapons ready in seconds. Myla stepped to the front, her huge Great-Spear held in a low guard, point forward towards the noise. Freya had her staff held across her chest and stood a few paces behind Myla as her eyes roamed over the edges of the clearing, her skin starting to cast off motes of what looked like golden dust as she began to channel her Divine power.

    Eres stood at the back, ready to protect his companions. Instead of a weapon, he was swirling the Mana around him in and through his Magic Core. It rolled back and forth, responding to his call quickly. It had taken years of practice to get it to respond quickly, but after all that time the lethargy in it was gone, and it was always ready for him to call on it. He couldn¡¯t see it, but he knew that his eyes had changed to the deep purple colour of his Mana. They wouldn¡¯t start glowing unless he had to channel huge amounts of it, but he had been told it was a striking sight, if not slightly unnerving.

    The silence stretched out again for a second, then two, then ten. Then, the undergrowth exploded into motion.

    Three shapes dived towards Myla, with another two coming from the opposite side of the clearing and pouncing towards Eres. Eres caught sight of open jaws, large teeth and glowing green eyes before instinct took over and he gathered himself.

    ¡°SHIELD!¡± He roared. He pictured the solid planes of purple power he was so used to summoning, he envisioned what he wanted them to do, what he wanted from them. What he needed from them. And then he commanded his Mana to exert his will on the world. He told reality to bend itself to protect him and his friends, and it listened.

    The pair of Mana constructs appeared in front of him and in front of Myla, with all of their attackers crashing nose-first into the solid walls. The shields spiderwebbed with cracks from the impact, but he pushed more Mana out through his Core and into them, and he saw them solidify.

    The creatures slammed into the floor with a whimper as they rebounded from the walls, and they got their first good look at them. They stood on all fours, eyes glowing and drool dripping from their open jaws. Their heads came up to Eres¡¯ breastbone, but the most notable thing about these seemingly canine monsters wasn¡¯t their size, it was their flesh. Rather than fur, skin and muscle, these creatures consisted of various plant matter. Vicious thorns, creeping vines and twisted roots made their bodies. Even what they had thought to be teeth seemed to be sharpened stakes of wood.

    ¡°Briar wolves,¡± Myla spat as she twirled her weapon around into an overhead swing, cleaving one of the creatures in half, ¡°Their bite is poisonous, but they die easy enough. Use fire if you can!¡±

    As she heaved the weapon back from the dispatched monster to parry another bite, golden light settled onto her shoulders, and her weapon smoothly knocked the wolf aside. Freya was praying as she blessed Myla with strength and speed, her staff held ready in case one slipped past their Berserker vanguard.

    Eres had dived forward after his two attackers fell to the ground, summoning the thin dagger made of Mana that he often practiced with. The shields had dissipated, and all of their power was concentrated now into the small blade he clutched. His right arm whipped out, driving the arcane blade deep into the right-hand wolf''s throat. A gout of thick, green, brackish fluid burst from the wound and covered his hand. It smelled like stagnant pond water and rot, and he had to stop himself from gagging at the stench.

    He circled the other wolf, now back on its feet. He could see Myla fending off the other pair of monsters easily, so he focused on dispatching this one safely and quickly. He called back the Mana from his construct and watched as the dagger shattered into pieces, then began to reform with his will.

    Eres was trying to use incantations less and less and to channel with just his will, but a fight like this wasn¡¯t the time to practice that. ¡°Armour.¡± He hissed, watching the oversized gauntlets form around his hands and forearms. He and Brom had trained in all sorts of weapons over the years, but he had kept coming back to hand-to-hand fighting as being the most comfortable, and with his Mana constructs it eliminated a lot of the downsides of fighting without a weapon.

    As soon as the weapon was solid, Eres didn¡¯t wait for the monster to pounce; he sprung forward instead. The extra reach from the oversized construct let him slam a jab into the creature''s face before it could spring backwards, slide to the side and hammer a blow into its ribs. The whine it let out mixed with the crunch of its body, but Eres kept the pressure up. He slammed blow after blow into the briar wolf, punching until the same green fluid leaked from its mouth and its eyes went dark.

    It was as he was looking at the beaten monster in front of him and the torn throat of its partner that he heard Myla scream.

 Battlemage

    The sound of Myla¡¯s scream tore Eres¡¯ attention from the corpses in front of him. He spun on his heel and started towards the sound before he had even thought to move. His body reacted faster than his brain, turning him into a dead sprint across the clearing, but as soon as he saw what was happening he didn¡¯t think he would be fast enough.

    Myla had dispatched the second of the trio of briar wolves, and judging by the fact that its torso was still sailing through the air behind her, it hadn¡¯t been long since the killing blow was struck. However, at that moment the third wolf had charged into her, clawing her side and dragging twisted brambles through the wounds.

    If that was all it was, Eres wouldn¡¯t worry. Myla was far tougher than him and she would shake that wound off in no time, and by the gods, it wouldn¡¯t have made her scream. No, she had screamed not in pain, but in rage, as she realised that the monster wasn¡¯t aiming for her, it was aiming for Freya.

    The limb that¡¯s claw was shoved into the Berserker girl''s side had been used like a springboard, launching it through the air with jaws spread wide as it lunged towards Freya¡¯s throat.

    If Eres had thought more, then perhaps he wouldn¡¯t have worried. After all, Freya had been trained by Brom, just like him, and she was no slouch in a fight. She was deadly enough with her staff or a long knife, and she had learned to evade attacks from all angles with nearly no warning so that she could deal with situations just like this.

    But Eres didn¡¯t have time to think. He didn¡¯t have time to do anything other than act. The Mana in his Gauntlets was tied up so a Shield spell wouldn¡¯t be fast enough. He was still learning how to deal with multiple types of constructs at once and in the time needed for one to dispel he knew he would never get the second up in time. He wouldn¡¯t be able to run there in time, and as far as he could tell, Freya could die if he wasn¡¯t there.

    The thought tore at him, as all of these worries blasted through his brain in an instant, he remembered the vision of Myla¡¯s death, of his sister''s suicide. It wasn¡¯t real to him, these things never happened, but still, they weighed on him. Never again, he raged, heart pounding with rage and fury.

    So he reached for that other place, the one he hadn¡¯t channelled yet, the one he was still meant to be creating. He reached for that place that no one had properly explained, his soul, his life force or his willpower. He reached for his Spirit and he did what he did with his Mana. He demanded the world change and commanded action to happen. He felt that well of power erupt in his chest, scorching through his veins. Unlike the cool, lethargic ebb and flow of the first time he had channelled Mana, this was like molten metal, searing him from the inside out as it fought for release.

    Eres poured all of that rage, fire and Spirit into a single thought.

    MOVE!

    He felt time still around him, his body tearing apart with the heat and effort of what he was trying to do. Something he wasn¡¯t meant to do, something he hadn¡¯t yet learned to do. He didn¡¯t care if it hurt him, crippled him, even killed him. He just needed to stop that thing from getting to Freya, but his body just wouldn¡¯t move through the stilled time.

    ¡°Really, Eres, stepping into my domain already?¡± A young voice chimed from around him. Familiar, but also distant, almost ethereal.

    ¡°Very well, but please, try not to break yourself next time. I won¡¯t be able to interfere again,¡± Ekros¡¯ voice echoed out and faded before Eres'' vision seemed to¡­ snap. One moment he was staring across the clearing, the next he was directly in front of the monster''s snapping jaws, its jagged wooden fangs approaching him. His entire body screamed in pain, and he could taste blood, but he didn¡¯t have time to think about any of that.

    He had appeared slightly off the floor, directly in the wolf¡¯s path, but with no foothold or purchase the best he could do was twist his body around and bring his forearm up in front of his face. He barely noticed that the gauntlets he had created had vanished, only concentrating on getting his limb in front of his vital areas.

    Then time was a blur of green and red. There was pain shooting through his arm and he thought he heard someone shout his name, but all of his focus was on the creature worrying at his bone. Somehow they had rolled and ended up on the floor, or were they still rolling? Eres wasn¡¯t sure, but he capitalised on it, pushing his arm further into this thing''s mouth and ignoring the scream of pain as his body begged him to stop. He pushed and pushed until he had its head pinned to the floor. Its jaws still worked back and forth as it tried to bite him, claws still scrabbled weakly at his leathers as they tried to find purchase.

    Then, all of a sudden, it just stopped moving. There was no more struggling, biting or clawing, just stillness. It took more than a few seconds for Eres to realise what was happening, to feel the hands on his shoulders pulling him up from the ground, to hear anything other than the blood thundering in his ears.

    ¡°Damn, there is blood everywhere,¡± Freya muttered, a frown etched on her face, ¡°Eres, you have fragments from at least one of its fangs in your wounds. Healing you is going to push them out, and it is going to hurt, so bite down on this and bite down hard.¡±

    She shoved a strip of leather between his teeth and looked at him, still frowning and stern. ¡°Ready?¡±

    He nodded. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    A few whispered words later and her body once again started to shed motes of gold into the air around her, and Eres clamped his jaw down, feeling the leather between his teeth and the stale taste of it on his tongue. He tried to focus on those sensations rather than the pain in his arm, but he couldn¡¯t stop himself from staring at the ragged wound on his arm. He could see the perforations through the skin and see various shards of wood in the wound where Freya had cleaned the blood away. When had she done that? He didn¡¯t remember.

    He tried to remember, but his focus was quickly stolen by the throbbing in his arm being replaced by a searing sensation. He groaned into the leather but kept his eyes on his arm as he watched some of the golden motes settle into the skin. Eres remembered watching time lapses in his last life, nature documentaries often showed a whole area of forest growing and dying or a creature decomposing. Watching his arm heal reminded him of that, in an abstract way.

    He watched each shard of wood get drawn out from his flesh inch by inch and watched the skin and flesh ripple as it filled in the wound over a few seconds. Honestly, he was glad it was so jarring and unpleasant to watch because it let his brain focus on that rather than how awful it was to feel. Each movement of the wood before it left his skin felt worse than the bite that put them there and the flesh that grew to fill the wound itched as if biting insects were crawling inside his skin.

    Eres didn¡¯t think he would ever get used to how unpleasant the faster healing Miracles felt, no matter how many times Freya used them on him.

    ¡°Alright, looks like that will do for now. I will give it another look tonight.¡± Freya hummed as she wiped the blood off from the skin and leather of his forearm, ¡°It might scar, but I don¡¯t want to do anything more intense now, not when we need to move and I might need to cast more later.

    ¡°Also¡­ Eres, what the fuck was that?¡± Freya snapped irritably.

    ¡°Ah,¡± Eres said dumbly, his tongue feeling heavy in his mouth. He knew he had fucked up now he had longer to think about it, but the look on Freya¡¯s face was murderous.

    The look on both their faces, he thought as he looked over to see Myla scowling at one of the monster''s corpses.

    ¡°¡®Ah¡¯? Really? That¡¯s all you have?¡± Freya seethed, ¡°That thing wouldn¡¯t have come anywhere near me, and we could have killed it easily, especially if you had used a fire spell from over there. You know how hard I trained, Eres, so explain what the hell that was all about, because right now I¡¯m wondering if I need to smack you around the head a little to screw it back on straight!¡±

    ¡°Well¡­¡± Eres started before he had to stifle a laugh.

    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± Freya said coldly, eyes narrowed.

    ¡°No, no I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m not laughing at you it''s just¡­ How quickly you turned from calling me Master Eres to threatening me with violence. It made me laugh and it made me happy, that¡¯s all,¡± he said quickly, hands up to placate the angry brunette, ¡°And as for what happened¡­ I don¡¯t know, but that¡¯s on me. I heard Myla scream and I saw it jumping at you and then¡­

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Freya. I just got scared of you getting hurt, of losing one of you and I reacted. I wasn¡¯t thinking. I know you can look after yourself and I will be the first to put my hands up and say I fucked up on this one. I got hurt cause I jumped in the way of something you two could deal with and because I let my emotions get in the way, but this wasn¡¯t me thinking you couldn¡¯t deal with it. This was me not thinking at all.¡±

    Freya glared at him for another few seconds before she let out a big huff of air and poked him in the forehead. ¡°Apology accepted. Don¡¯t let it happen again though, okay? We are a team, so let''s work like it.¡±

    Eres looked over at Myla who was still scowling down at the monsters. ¡°Yeah, I will try not to let it happen again. What about you Myla? You okay, love?¡±

    She started a little, looking back at the pair of them and grimacing slightly. ¡°Yeah, sorry, I¡¯m fine. Freya healed me at the same time she healed you.¡±

    ¡°No, not that, though I am glad you are okay physically. I meant am I forgiven for my fuck up,¡± Eres said gently, smiling at his blonde companion.

    ¡°Eh, you are fine. Mistakes happen, and you learn. Good enough for me.¡±

    ¡°Then why do you still look like you want to take one of these wolves and put it through the nearest tree,¡± Freya asked, brushing her hands off as she stood and helped Eres to his feet.

    ¡°Oh, right. Just¡­ I fucked up too. One got past me. I¡¯m trying to let it go, ''cause yeah it was just a mistake,¡± Myla laughed, ¡°Way easier to give that advice compared to taking it though.¡±

    ¡°Look, both of you. It was our first fight, and we got out alive with no major injuries,¡± Freya soothed as she put a hand on each of their shoulders and smiled, ¡°As Myla said, we learn, right? So now we know some pitfalls and how we should work on them.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you are right,¡± Myla sighed and the tension and rage seemed to bleed out of her posture. She kept her head swivelling around, keeping watch as she gathered up their packs and handed them out. ¡°There is one thing I don¡¯t get though.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°Eres, how did you¡­ get there? Teleportation spells are high-level and usually require a lot of time to focus on, right? I don¡¯t know much about magic compared to the pair of you, but that one stuck with me, cause spatial magic sounded cool. So what did you do?¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Freya said, ¡°I was so pissed off I hadn¡¯t even thought about it. One second you weren¡¯t there and the next you just¡­ Were. Myla is right, it looked like teleportation. How did you manage to have the Mana for that? And when did you even learn that spell?¡±

    ¡°Oh, that.¡± Eres hadn¡¯t noticed until now, but the feeling of pain throughout his body was mostly gone, now more of an ache. Whatever Miracle that Freya had used must have patched up the damage he had got from forcing his body to move with Spirit. ¡°Well, I think it was more a fluke than anything. Brom helped me work on channelling Spirit, but I never started working on an Art, I just didn¡¯t have time. When I knew I couldn¡¯t do it with Mana I tried to use the only other thing available. It hurt like nobody''s business, and honestly, I think the only reason I can stand right now is because you healed me right afterwards but¡­ It worked, even if it wasn¡¯t necessary.¡±

    He turned and saw both of them were just staring at him open-mouthed.

    ¡°What?¡± Eres shrugged, ¡°I always intended to be a Battlemage. Needed to learn to use Spirit eventually¡­ but maybe not anytime soon. I have a lot more to learn first.¡±

    Not to mention a God of Time to talk to, Eres thought as they set back onto the trail.

 One Day At A Time

    Moving through the forest again was strange. After the intensity of the briar wolf attack, Eres had expected the same sensation of fatigue from being on guard to overwhelm him quickly, but it didn¡¯t come. Instead, he felt almost relaxed. He was still watching his surroundings and listening for anything moving around them, but rather than feeling on edge, he felt comfortable. He felt sure of himself.

    Looking around at his companions he saw that they seemed to be feeling the same. The fight had bled the tension out of them and now they were on guard but not wound as tight. They had tested themselves against an ambush and survived. Sure, it hadn¡¯t been a complete success, with Eres'' injury and impulsiveness, but they had killed monsters they had previously only ever read about. It seemed that was the confidence boost they needed to start to feel at home in the twisting confines of the forest path. There was still tension in the air, but it was wariness and readiness.

    It made Eres feel proud. Proud of himself and his companions.

    Companions, Eres reminded himself, they are just my companions.

    He tried to circle the thought again and again, but the thought of Freya¡¯s face, flushed with worry for him and then anger at him, kept creeping into his mind. Was it just leftover worry from having to look after him for much of their lives? Concern for her friend and companion? Or maybe something more?

    Eres shook his head ruefully. Most likely wishful thinking on his part. He wasn¡¯t oblivious and he could tell that Freya had some affection for him at least, something that had become increasingly clear as they got older and that he had needed to try harder and harder to pretend to be oblivious to. Now she wasn¡¯t his maid though¡­ He found himself doubting those feelings. Maybe now she had more freedom to do whatever she wanted that affection would fade. Maybe it was just a physical attraction. He just didn¡¯t know.

    In his last life, he was big on honesty and communication, but as Eres¡­ He hadn¡¯t even told his friends that he remembered his last life. They knew about his Blessing and that the Gods were interested in him, and he had been open about basically all his thoughts in this life, all except the ones that concerned anything more than friendship.

    That look on Freya¡¯s face though, Eres thought, it isn¡¯t so bad no matter what. If she holds that affection and wants to pursue it, then I want that. If she just wants to be a companion, a friend¡­ Well, I can survive a little pining.

    He looked over at her and saw the swaying ponytail as walked carefully along the trail. Her posture was relaxed and her gaze scanned the treeline, focused on their journey. Her hips swayed with her gait and Eres had to fight to get his own gaze back onto their surroundings and away from her figure. Puberty had been a particularly trying experience with her always around, but he wasn¡¯t a horny teenager anymore. He could concentrate.

    Yet no matter how many times he refocused himself on the task at hand, he found his mind drifting. Now he felt less stressed out and anxious about their travel, it left his mind free for other thoughts and it seemed that it would invariably circle back around to romance and his friends.

    That was the other problem. Eres was aware of his somewhat less common romantic nature in his last life as Adrien, and that seemed to have followed him into this life. He knew that because at the moment whenever he thought about romance, sex or anything in that vein it wasn¡¯t just Freya he imagined, it was Myla too. Hopefully at the same time, if it was an option. He wasn¡¯t sure how common polyamory was in this world, but he hadn¡¯t seen it mentioned in any of the books he had read and that led him to believe it was pretty uncommon, or at least not talked about often, just like it had been in his last life.

    Thinking about the headache that was falling for more than one person at a time led him to look back at Myla who had taken up the rearguard position in their little procession. He found himself looking directly into her ice-blue eyes while her face almost immediately began to flush red. She quickly looked away and started looking anywhere but at him, but the blush that settled onto her face didn¡¯t leave for a little while.

    Eres knew it didn¡¯t leave for a while because he found himself looking back at her a few times over the next few minutes. Had she been watching him? Staring at him? He had noticed Myla get more shy around him in the last few years, but maybe it was more than that. He certainly didn¡¯t mind if she had been checking him out, though it made his current thoughts and worries come back to focus, and no answers seemed in sight.

    As he continued pondering the issue he felt a touch of wetness against his cheek. The slight gaps in the trees above showed a darkening sky and he wondered how much longer they had before the weather truly turned.

    Then, as if his thoughts had summoned it, a bright flash of lightning split the sky above them and a peal of thunder rolled through the forest barely a moment later. The patter of rain impacting the leaves and branches above them began in earnest, more and more droplets finding their way through.

    ¡°Alright, that looks like as good a sign to find camp as any, no point travelling through a storm if we don¡¯t have to,¡± Eres said, gesturing at the trail, ¡°No way we reach the next waystation today in this weather, so let''s get to the next clear site and get the tents up before it gets too wet. Sound good?¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s no feather bed but I agree we aren¡¯t getting much further today. I think you are right, lets camp early.¡± Freya let out a sigh as she spoke, but nodded at Eres¡¯ suggestion.

    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°Myla?¡±

    ¡°Huh? Oh, right. Yeah, I think camping is the right call. Storm looks like it will get pretty bad, and we still have rations and supplies enough to make a longer camp easy enough,¡± Myla said quietly. She still seemed to be having trouble meeting Eres¡¯ eye, but he figured that would change.

    ¡°Alright then. Let¡¯s find a rest spot.¡±

    ***

    It hadn¡¯t taken them long to find a spot that was relatively clear of foliage and brush but still somewhat covered from the rain. They had quickly divided the work of setting the camp and set to it.

    Myla had cleared space for the tents and was now gathering stones to ring the campfire, as well as getting anything out of the packs the others needed. Freya was setting up the tents and making sure everything was sealed and as watertight as it could be, while Eres was ranging out to gather firewood, tinder and kindling so that they could get the fire going sooner rather than later, and hopefully get it large and hot enough that the rain that got through the canopy wouldn¡¯t be an issue.

    They all settled into their roles like they had done this hundreds of times and Eres felt strangely comfortable with the circumstance. He had known these women for years, and collaborating with them like this felt natural. Everyone working together to get the campsite set up, moving around in comfortable silence with only murmured instructions or requests. He found that he had a smile plastered across his face by the time he was actually building the fire, and he noticed similar expressions on Freya and Myla¡¯s faces.

    ¡°Alright, lunch was just boring dry rations, but I have a soup base I made in here somewhere. How about I throw that together with some of our salted meat and make a stew,¡± Eres said once fire was flickering between the pieces of  wood he had neatly arranged in the ring of stones, ¡°Probably won''t be as good as the food at a waystation or inn, but it''s better than another meal of bread and cheese.¡±

    He was still rifling through his bag when he realised that his question had only been answered by silence. He looked over his shoulder to see both of the women staring at him in confusion.

    ¡°Eres¡­ you can cook?¡± Freya asked, eyebrows raised in surprise. ¡°When did you learn to cook?¡±

    ¡°I mean it isn¡¯t like I''m a chef, but I can put the basics together yeah,¡± Eres laughed as he pulled ingredients and a cookpot out of the weirdly enlarged space of his bag, ¡°I used to sneak into the kitchens to practice once in a while. I didn¡¯t want to get you in trouble with the others though Freya, so I left you out of it.¡±

    ¡°Wait,¡± Myla said, brows furrowed and mouth twisted slightly, ¡°No one taught you? You just snuck in and practiced?¡±

    ¡°Well yeah. Again it¡¯s not like I can put together a three-course meal, but I can fry or grill meat and veg and I can work out what tastes good together to make a soup. Is that so strange?¡±

    ¡°Eres¡­ You do know that you are a noble, right?¡± Myla sputtered out, ¡°They don¡¯t cook or clean for themselves. They wouldn¡¯t know how because others always do it for them.¡±

    ¡°Okay, but I¡¯m not a noble anymore.¡±

    ¡°I know that! But¡­but¡­¡± Myla seemed to deflate and let out a big sigh, ¡°Freya, this is weird right?¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah, weird as anything,¡± Freya laughed, but she seemed far more comfortable than Myla, ¡°I just stopped assuming anything Eres did would be normal when he was about eleven. It helps with the anxiety.

    ¡°That being said, Eres, the point Myla is making is most nobles wouldn¡¯t have bothered to learn even if they knew they wouldn¡¯t be nobility forever. It is just another thing you have done that completely ignores the logic that we consider normal. Hence her being so flustered.¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t that flustered! Just¡­ surprised,¡± Myla muttered as she slumped to the ground.

    ¡°Of course love,¡± Freya laughed before turning to Eres, ¡°Go on then, Master Eres, dazzle us with your stew.¡±

    Eres shivered. ¡°Only if you never call me that again. It feels so very wrong now.¡±

    ¡°Nope. I reserve the right to use it to freak you out at any time,¡± Freya said happily. All three of them laughed at that, and Eres started setting the pot above the fire, using Mana to summon clean water from the atmosphere and adding various powdered ingredients to make the soup, adding in chunks of meat and placing the lid on top.

    ¡°Am I really that unusual?¡± Eres said once he could hear the stew simmering.

    Both of the women smiled at him, but their gazes were full of laughter. ¡°Yes, Eres. You saw how the rest of your family was. They are the norm. Even Ellsa was the same until she started spending more time with you, but then you rubbed off on her.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it''s a bad thing or anything,¡± Myla added, poking the fire with a long stick she had found and watching the embers swirl through the air, ¡°If anything it''s good. I like that you are so surprising or unusual or whatever, I just forget sometimes. Sorry if I made a big deal out of it.¡±

    Eres laughed at that and reached over to give her shoulder a brief squeeze. ¡°You don¡¯t have to apologise, I just¡­ I never really think about whether or not I fit in, I just do my own thing. I didn¡¯t realise how obvious it was, but I¡¯m not going to suddenly start trying to act some other way. Especially now we are travelling and it¡¯s just us a lot of the time. Easier to be yourself around people you trust, you know?¡±

    He stirred the stew and looked at them, both smiling at him again.

    ¡°What?¡± He asked.

    ¡°Just good to be reminded you trust us,¡± Myla murmured, looking back into the fire.

    ¡°Yeah, she''s right. And you better keep that in mind next time you dive into a monster''s gaping maw!¡± Freya laughed, poking Eres in the ribs.

    ¡°Gaping maw?¡± Eres laughed, ¡°It was hardly big enough to qualify, and I already apologised for that one multiple times! Alright, this stew will take another hour at least. I¡¯m going to go and grab some more firewood, keep an eye out, yeah?¡±

    Both made happy sounds of affirmation as Eres wandered away from the fire shaking his head, with a large smile still plastered across his face.

 Dusk and Dawn

    Eres¡¯s stew had gone down wonderfully. Honestly, he hadn¡¯t expected the girls to be so enamoured with his cooking. He cooked a lot in his last life, and he remembered most of what to do, so working the muscle memory into this body had been easy enough. It felt as if he was remembering a lot of the steps rather than learning them for the first time, and the campfire cooking seemed even more familiar. Even so, he was happy about it. Watching the pair devour their bowls and then shyly hold them out for seconds was endearing if nothing else. He wasn¡¯t so impressed with it himself, making a few mental notes on spices and herbs he would need to pick up in the next town to bulk it up even more.

    He even went so far as to pull out one of the notebooks in his bag and make some notes on possible trail recipes, taking what he knew about what his companions liked and trying to come up with ideas and combinations that would keep and be easy to store. Even with their enchanted bags, he didn¡¯t have a way of stopping things from spoiling, so most of his impromptu brainstorming session boiled down to ways to use dried and salted meat and make more of the pre-mixed soup and stew bases. He enjoyed the process, writing little notes by the side of the recipes as he thought of them, letting his mind wander to various places.

    The crackle of the fire and the soft conversation of Freya and Myla were a soothing backdrop to the exercise, and soon he could feel his eyes beginning to grow heavy. Eres sighed as he put the book and pen back into his bag and looked across the fire. The pair across from him seemed to be just as close to dozing off as he was, and he figured it was about time to bed down for the night. It was hard to tell with the storm still whipping above them, although the thunder and lightning had been absent for some time now, but he knew it hadn¡¯t been long since true dark fell.

    ¡°Alright, shall I take the first watch?¡± Eres said, standing from the rock he was perched on and brushing the dirt from his hands along his trousers. Just standing was enough to shake a lot of the sleep from him, and he smiled as he saw the others try and fail to shake the sleep from their eyes. ¡°Come on, I will tend the fire and keep an eye out. Who wants the second watch?¡±

    ¡°I will take it.¡± Freya yawned before continuing, ¡°Sleeping in shifts is easy enough for me ''cause of waking up at all hours for chores. Plus, it means I can make sure you are both getting enough rest and are healthy.¡±

    Myla nodded shyly. ¡°I tend to be a little hard to wake up,¡± she said, face flushing a little, ¡°So it¡¯s probably best to put me on first or last watch.¡±

    Eres nodded at her, a grin stretched across his face. She was adorable, especially for a woman who wielded a polearm with such skill and strength. It often seemed like the brash tomboy she had been when they first met had vanished as she grew up, but Eres knew better. She might have gotten a little more shy over the years, but she was still a bundle of energy and excitement half the time.

    Eres shook the thoughts from his head as he concentrated on the swirl of Mana in his Core. A deep breath and a mental prod got it moving towards his hands as he concentrated and honed his mental image before conjuring four long javelins made of the solid purple energy that all of his magic constructs consisted of. Keeping all four of them stable and ready for fighting was more of a challenge than he had imagined, but as he hefted one into his hands, the burden lessened.

    Interesting, Eres mused, Does physical contact make it easier? Or is the image just stronger for this one because I can actually hold it in my hands, feel its existence?

    He shrugged as he tested the balance of the javelin. He could test it more on the road; for now, he needed to make sure he kept a good watch. He walked around the outside of their little camp a few times, making sure he knew likely entrance and exit points. By the time he returned to his little perch by the fire, he could hear the sounds of soft breathing coming from the women''s tent. He settled in for a long and tedious few hours, keeping himself alert by sketching in another notebook

    He figured that maybe an hour or so had passed when Eres realised that he recognised what he had been sketching. The page was full of smaller studies, the curve of a jawline, the swell of a pair of lips, the sweep of a brow and the shadow of a collarbone. This was common enough for him, but the fact he recognised every feature he had sketched out as either Freya¡¯s or Myla¡¯s was surprising, to say the least.

    ¡°Wow,¡± He sighed, closing the book and sliding it back into its place in the bag, next to pots of ink, quills and a pouch of needles. ¡°I got it bad¡­¡±

    He slumped onto the stone. He knew he had been doing everything he could to ignore the issue at hand, at least in his head, but everything was pointing at his head and his heart having a difference of opinion. He didn¡¯t want to put any pressure on the situation, he wanted to let this new relationship where he wasn¡¯t a noble settle down so he could try and work out if it was a good idea to even broach the issue.

    ¡°Gods,¡± Eres grumbled, pushing the heels of his palms into his eyes so hard he saw spots, trying to focus his thoughts. ¡°How the fuck do I even talk about this shit. Do I need to talk about the other weirdness in my life as Adrian? I would want them to talk to me but¡­ Eurgh, fuck.¡±

    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    The thoughts chased themselves around his head like a dog chasing its tail. He knew he would need to tell them he remembered his past life if he wanted to actually pursue either of them. His conscience wouldn¡¯t accept anything else, but that didn¡¯t stop the worry that it would hurt them that he had hidden something from them or that it might lead to them deciding to walk away.

    Staring at the gaps in the branches above, at the occasional wink of moonlight through the cloud cover, Eres just let the thoughts tumble. He knew himself well enough to know he would tell them, and soon. He wouldn¡¯t be able to help it now that he didn¡¯t have the pressure of being in a noble house around the whole time, not to mention the eavesdroppers. His mum, back when he was Adrian, had always said that sometimes you just had to bite the bullet.

    Bite the bullet and do the damn thing, and then keep on going, that¡¯s all life is. Eres smiled as he could almost hear her voice echo through his head. Truthfully, he tried not to think about her too much these days. It was too hard, wondering how she held up after his death. He still missed her, but it had been a long time since he had thought of her advice. Too long, probably. She always did give good advice, no matter what he threw at her.

    Guess I should follow your advice on this one too, he thought, smiling up at the sky. Might not be in your world anymore, Mum, but you¡¯re going to help me make a mark on this one, at least.

    ¡°Soon then, in the next town,¡± Eres spoke softly but aloud, hoping it would give him more courage. ¡°I can get them a gift, tell them about Adrian and see how they react to that. Once that is done, I can start to deal with the other stuff.¡±

    The second he spoke the words aloud, it was like his mind quieted. Now he had a way forward, a plan; it wasn¡¯t as stressful. Good advice, Mum, Eres thought with a smile. He stood from his perch, prodding at a knot in his lower back from where he had hunched on the rock to draw and think. He let out a little grumble of pain as he pushed into it before he felt the pain start to ease. He felt warmth flow through his body, and all the aches and pains from the afternoon¡¯s walk faded without a trace.

    ¡°If you had told me you were sore, I could have done that before I went to sleep.¡± Freya¡¯s voice was soft and clear, but there was a hint of reproach hidden under it. Eres looked over his shoulder and had to stop his jaw from falling open.

    She really was beautiful. Her hair had been let down to sleep and fell in dark waves around her shoulders, framing the paleness of her face and highlighting the bright green of her eyes. His gaze darted down to the soft swell of her lips and remembered his sketch of them earlier. He hadn¡¯t done them justice, they looked far softer than they had on his page. Though they were slightly pouting in annoyance currently.

    ¡°Ah,¡± Eres said dumbly, trying to pull blood back up to his brain, ¡°Um, honestly it wasn¡¯t bothering me until now. Otherwise, I would have said, I promise. Guess I am still used to Brom wanting me not to heal when I''m sore so that muscle builds.¡±

    ¡°Well, get out of the habit,¡± Freya grumbled, moving closer and putting her hand against the area the knot had been. ¡°We all need to be healthy. Training your body can wait until we are out of the woods and somewhere safe. Alright?¡±

    ¡°Alright, Freya.¡± Eres laughed, bumping her shoulder with his own. ¡°Thanks for looking after me.¡±

    She sat down on the rock that he had been perched on, throwing another log onto the fire. ¡°Alright, anything I need to look out for? No? Go get some sleep; one of us will wake you in the morning.¡±

    As soon as the words left her mouth, Eres felt his eyes begin to droop. It felt like sand was in them with how gritty and heavy they felt. He nodded at her and mumbled out a barely intelligible thanks before he stumbled to his own tent. His face impacted the bedroll a little harder than he had intended, but he was already asleep before he could feel the pain.

    ***

    Freya watched Eres stumble into his tent with a smile. She hadn¡¯t heard most of his conversation with himself, but she had caught a few snippets as she was waking up. She could tell he was finally close to making a decision, and she had caught the word gift. She wondered what he would get for Myla. The poor girl was so nervous around him these days, and a gift would go a long way to making her feel sure he wanted her around.

    She reached out with her Divine Power and settled it around the camp. It would warn her if anything moved in the area, and it settled like a fine web of gold through the air. Angel Dust, Eres calls it, she remembered. It brought a smile to her face, but she wasn¡¯t feeling very angelic. She was feeling frustrated.

    She knew why Eres was hesitating; she could tell what he was worried about, and she wasn¡¯t about to push him and force a decision, but by the gods, the wait was a struggle. She had waited half her life already, and waiting any longer felt like torture. But she would be patient. He was worth the wait.

    Glancing at the bag to her side, she saw the edge of a book poking out of the bag. She nearly picked it up, nearly sated her curiosity on what new things he was working on. She loved to watch him draw. She just loved to watch him, but he always looked so calm when he was drawing, so peaceful.

    She pushed the book deeper into the bag and closed the flap over it, pushing back the temptation. She would just have to be patient. She would have to wait. Her eyes flicked over to Myla¡¯s tent, thinking about her shy friend. She would need to be patient with both of them, but at least one of them already knew her plans. All she would need is a little nudge.

    Freya leaned back and watched the sky begin to brighten through the gap in the trees, a wide smile on her face as she thought about what the future would bring.

 Gates

    ¡°Eres, you gotta get up. Breakfast is done, and we need to get back on the trail.¡±

    Eres grumbled a little but sat up. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and turned to thank Freya for waking him up. She had needed to do it often as his maid, but he tried to remember to thank her even then. Now that she wasn¡¯t his employee, he needed to make sure he was even more clear with his thanks.

    His head turned, and his gaze met a pair of ice-blue eyes, and his brain promptly froze. Maybe he was still half asleep, or maybe it was something else, but the second he met Myla¡¯s eyes every single thought that had been in his head went scuttling out of his ear and ran for the hills. She was looking at him, face slightly flushed red. She wasn¡¯t looking at his face, though. Her gaze quickly darted away to the side of the tent as she began to blush even more.

    Ah. Eres thought, Yeah, that would do it. He realised that he had pulled his shirt off during the night, and when he sat up, she was confronted with a little more skin than she had been expecting. Though judging by her shifting and not instantly leaving, it hadn¡¯t been something she had disliked. The thought made Eres smile as he pulled the shirt over his head.

    ¡°Thanks for getting me up, Myla.¡± Eres smiled at her, trying to defuse the awkwardness of the situation. ¡°Sorry, I took a second there. I think my brain was still half asleep. Did your watch go alright? And you said something about breakfast? I think I smell bacon, which smells good. I mean, sounds good. Well, it smells good too, but what I meant was¡­¡±

    He could feel his cheeks heating up as he rambled on. He had just meant to say thanks, but once his mouth started moving, it wouldn''t stop. It seemed to work, though, as Myla gave a soft laugh before looking at him again. She didn¡¯t seem quite as nervous today and managed to look him in the eyes as they spoke.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome, and yes, there is bacon on. You can thank Freya for that, she started on it as soon as I woke her up. Now come on, lets get the tents packed away and then you can have bacon that sounds and smells so good.¡± Myla laughed as she teased Eres, heading out through the flap of his tent and towards the sound of the crackling fire.

    He packed up the few things he had inside the tent, grabbed them and headed out to join the others. Their tent had already disappeared, packed down and inside one of their bags he assumed. Myla was already pulling the spikes out of the ropes holding his tent up, throwing him a smile.

    ¡°Go grab a seat and some food. I don¡¯t mind finishing this up, and I already ate.¡± Myla said, grinning up at Eres. ¡°Don¡¯t want to wait for you any longer than we have to, Young Master.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Gods, not you too,¡± Eres groaned, still rubbing sleep from his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s too early for this. I thought my stew had proved I was no noble anyway!¡±

    Myla just smiled sweetly at him and continued pulling down the tent. With a laugh and a shake of his head, he joined Freya around the fire. A few moments later, he had a few slices of bread filled with fried bacon in front of him. The smoked flavour of the meat was enough to rouse him the rest of the way to wakefulness, and Eres chewed on the sandwich and made appreciative noises in Freya¡¯s general direction, much to her amusement.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome. You can show some appreciation by conjuring some water to wash the pan out and douse the fire.¡± Freya laughed, ¡°After that, we can get back on the road and make it to town by noon. What was the name of this place again?¡±

    ¡°Mmmngruffl,¡± Eres said around the last mouthful of his sandwich.

    ¡°What?¡±

    Eres swallowed. ¡°Sorry about that. The place is called Manneck, it''s a good size bigger than the village we were in, so should have a Guild and everything else we need.¡±

    ¡°Manneck¡­ Oh! Is this the place that sent those parade floats around the villages a few years ago?¡± Freya asked. Eres concentrated for a second and then began to turn his Mana into water, scouring out the grease from the pan and letting it all fall into the embers of the fire.

    ¡°That¡¯s the one. Mother said it was something about one of the Nobles there doing well and trying to show up all the smaller nobles in the surrounding countryside,¡± Eres explained, wiping out the pan with a rag before shoving it into his bag. ¡°Still, it was a good time for 99 percent of the population, so I¡¯m here for it, no matter the reason.¡±

    ¡°Huh,¡± Myla huffed as she dropped the rolled-up tent into my bag. ¡°It does taint it a little knowing it wasn¡¯t really for our benefit, but I loved getting to show them to Ifa.¡± Her face dropped a little at her sister''s name.

    ¡°We haven¡¯t talked much about it,¡± Eres said, ¡°but you both left people behind. Freya, I know you didn¡¯t like your family much, but even so¡­ I don¡¯t want either of you to feel like you have to come with me. Not if you are leaving too much behind.¡±

    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want us here?¡± Myla blurted out, eyes wide.

    ¡°What? No! That isn¡¯t it at all. Of course, I want you here; I just don¡¯t want you to miss out on things because of me. Just because I can¡¯t stay at the estate doesn¡¯t mean you need to leave, that''s all.¡± Eres had his hands in the air as he tried to get in the way of Myla¡¯s worries, ¡°I just saw your face thinking about Ifa, and I thought¡­ I just wanted to make sure you were still sure that¡¯s all.¡±

    Myla still looked more than a little forlorn. Eres looked over at Freya, hoping for help and instead got a scowl in response. ¡°We are here ''cause we want to be. I know you were just trying to check on us, but saying things like that makes it sound like you would rather do this alone. So no more of that, alright?¡±

    Eres nodded slowly before walking forward and grabbing Myla¡¯s shoulders so she would look at his face rather than down at her toes. ¡°That was my bad, Myla.¡± He spoke quietly but firmly, making sure she could see the truth of his words on his face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t mean it like that, not at all. I¡¯m so glad you are both here with me; I just worry that I¡¯m causing you both more trouble than I¡¯m worth.

    ¡°But I will trust that both of you will let me know if you miss home and want to swing back through, okay? That seem fair?¡±. Eres made sure he got a nod from both of them before he stepped back with one last squeeze of Myla¡¯s shoulders.

    Freya was still glaring at him, but he just smiled at her and shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m still getting used to this, I will probably fuck it up a few times,¡± he murmered sheepishly, ¡°but that just means you two need to keep an eye and tell me if I am being an idiot, and then we can talk about it.

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get on the road. We want to be out of this forest sooner rather than later.¡±

    ***

    The morning¡¯s journey through the forest was relaxed and calm. They came across no other travellers, saw no signs of dangerous animals or monsters, and the weather was clear and bright. The entrance to Manneck, however, was anything but.

    The town was surrounded by stone walls that stood at least fifteen feet tall, and interspersed along it were even taller towers. Facing them was a large entryway leading through the wall and into the streets. There were armed men on either side of the gate, speaking to everyone who was trying to pass through, and there were a lot of people trying to pass through. At first glance, it was just a large group of travellers milling around without any order, waiting to get in, but Eres quickly discarded that assumption. While it looked to be a disordered mass, he could see various groups were circled around wagons, carts or carriages. Each of these groups seemed to go through together after the guards spoke to them.

    Must be inspecting the goods merchants are bringing in, Eres thought, looking at the other groups of people milling around. That means the ones getting fast-tracked down one side are likely nobles or people on official business, and the steady stream heading slowly past the guards are single travellers and small groups. It was a simple system, but Eres could appreciate how it must have streamlined things for them. It might look like a chaotic jumble from the distance he was at, but it let the guards check on everyone they needed to and still had everyone moving at a slow but constant pace, minimising the wait.

    ¡°Eurgh, we would get here the day before market day,¡± Freya grumbled, looking at the mass of people.

    ¡°Market day?¡± Eres asked, ¡°I thought you hadn¡¯t come out this way before.¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t,¡± Freya answered, still scowling at the crowd, ¡°but this looks exactly how it would look on the day before market back home. Outside the gates are crowded with people looking to sell. A lot of traders and merchants will do a weekly route, stopping at towns and villages for each of their market days, restocking at home and then doing it all over again.¡±

    ¡°Yep, some of them go on even longer routes. There was one guy who sold spices from down south, near the border. He only turned up once a month, but he always made good money on the deals.¡± Myla added, ¡°You snuck out enough times; how come never on market day?¡±

    ¡°They always upped security on those days, and by the time I was old enough that they had less issue with me leaving the grounds, I was so involved in learning magic and combat that it never really came to mind,¡± Eres said sheepishly. Both of his companions shook their heads ruefully.

    ¡°Anyone else would have been excited to get out of training and go and play in town. But you,¡± Freya laughed, poking Eres in the chest, ¡°were more excited by a new book or a new weapon than you were a market.¡±

    ¡°Now, let''s be fair,¡± Eres joked, dodging a second poke and flicking Freya¡¯s forehead gently, ¡°my first foray into town would have ended in my untimely demise if it wasn¡¯t for our friend here¡¯s quick thinking. Maybe I was just waiting until I could be sure she was around to watch my back.¡±

    Myla blushed at his reminder of her heroics, and Eres just laughed, bumping her hip with his as he continued to dance around avoiding Freya¡¯s half-hearted attempts to flick and poke him.

    ¡°Come on,¡± Eres said, jumping forward and just out of Freya¡¯s reach once more, ¡°we need to join the line if we want to get in, check for a guild and find somewhere to sleep before dark. Let¡¯s get a move on!¡±

    He continued to laugh and joke with the girls as they continued down the trail towards the waiting crowds at Mannecks gates. His excitement was infectious, as both Freya and Myla found themselves dragged along with his pace, and even found themselves working together to try and trap him between them, earning both of them a swift flick on the nose as he tumbled out of the way, landing directly on his ass not fifty feet from the crowd.

    ¡°Well now, stop playing around,¡± Eres said, stained with dirt and grass and nose held in the air, ¡°we should show decorum before entering a new town!¡±

    The trio shared glances for a few long seconds before bursting out into a fit of laughter, not caring about the strange looks the other waiting travellers threw their way.

 Manneck

    The wait to get into the township of Manneck was about as boring as anything Eres had ever gone through before. All the varied groups of travellers kept to themselves and slowly edged closer and closer to the gate as each group was taken through, and the queue moved slowly enough that even people watching could only keep him entertained for so long.

    That being said, it took more than an hour before he was bored of inspecting the various people around him. Many of the merchants, who stood huddled around their caravans and conversed in hushed voices, had skin tones that he hadn¡¯t seen since his lifetime as Adrian. Some of them had hair tied in braids, woven with gold and silver thread, and extremely dark skin. Others were clad in silk sashes and had skin tones ranging across the entire spectrum, with strong features and long hair swept back from their faces with more silk bands and sometimes even things that looked similar to the turbans he remembered.

    The other travellers, those that milled around in groups of two or three, now they looked more like the people that had been in his father¡¯s village. Most of them had pale skin turned bronze from the sun, a handful of freckles cast over their faces and various shades of brown as their hair. Realising that he and Myla were the only ones around he could see with light hair, he asked the girl''s if they knew anything about it.

    ¡°Oh, well, I don¡¯t know about you. I figured your mum just wasn¡¯t from around here either,¡± Myla murmured, gazing at the crowd around them as she shifted from foot to foot uneasily. ¡°My mum''s family originally comes from down south, all the way in Soldun. The further south you go, the more varied it gets, where families have mixed over the country lines more over the generations, or at least that is how she explained it. Her family came up her years back, so she always sticks out a bit amongst northerners.¡±

    ¡°I figured you would have read about this,¡± Freya chuckled, poking Eres in the side, ¡°no books on geography or culture in your study?¡±

    ¡°I mean¡­ they were there, but so were the magic books, so they quickly got forgotten,¡± Eres admitted, hands up in defeat. ¡°None of us are exactly worldly, but you probably no more than I do. Give me a rundown on what you know. I¡¯m bored as all hells, and if I don¡¯t entertain myself, I¡¯m going to start practicing magic out of habit and cause chaos.¡±

    It took dealing with a little more teasing before Freya finally answered his question. ¡°Myla had it right. Most people from Soldun have fairer skin and hair than people up here in Leodas. It is a bit of a simplified view, though; in a city, it won¡¯t be obvious because of how much intermarrying has been done over the years, but you can usually tell in villages. They are a bit more insular.¡± Freya¡¯s voice dropped into the calming register she had used as a maid, rather than the slightly more excitable range her voice had sat in since she had left. ¡°The merchants over there look like they came from the east, in Arador. Their country gets unbearably hot and even has entire stretches of nothing but sand. That¡¯s why all their clothes are loose; it helps keep them cool.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know much about the country, really. They are super open to visitors, though, and they love it when outsiders bring delicacies or bits of home with them. Something about sharing homes? Maybe we could visit?

    ¡°Anyway, the only other people you are likely to come across are people from Kringard to the west. They look similar to people from the north of Leodas, lots of dark hair and light eyes, but some of them live in the higher reaches of the mountains, I think. Up there, you find more blonde and red hair, and they tend to be taller too.¡±

    Eres just stared openmouthed at Freya. That was a lot more information than he expected to be given. He wasn¡¯t under any false impression about his companion¡¯s intelligence; both of them were incredibly smart. The problem was that information wasn¡¯t easy to access in this world. There was no internet, no public libraries and no instant communication outside of specialised magic, so most people only knew about their surrounding areas unless they went to an academy or a school in some city.

    Seeing his confusion, Freya blushed a little. ¡°When we realised you were ignoring the world for magic, your mother thought it would be a good idea if I picked up the slack. She tutored me a little and gave me access to her library.¡±

    Eres laughed and shook his head, giving his friend a quick hug. ¡°She did that for you, and somehow you were still surprised when she slipped you a small fortune? She has been setting us up for success ever since she decided to be honest with me, and clearly, she decided you are going to be the one to navigate us through people and places, so look after us!¡±

    Freya squeezed him back and smiled, her face still flushed. She had to let go as the crowd shifted and moved them closer to the door, but Eres couldn¡¯t help but notice that she stayed pressed close to him, nearly always in contact with him, even when the press of the crowd eased up.

    A few more questions about the world around them occurred to Eres, but he could see the portcullis ahead of them and a guard waving them forward to his guardpost at the town gates.

    ***

    ¡°It is a completely fair charge,¡± Freya said, her shoulders shaking as she tried to hold in her laughter.

    ¡°Fair? Fair!? It¡¯s horseshit is what it is!¡± Myla spat, a scowl etching lines into her face. ¡°Eres can make weapons out of thin air, you can conjure literal miracles, and I am the one who gets charged extra for bringing a large weapon into the town?!¡±

    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    ¡°They did offer for you to leave it at the barracks and pick it up on the way out?¡± Freya snickered before holding her hands up as Myla whirled to face her. ¡°Alright, alright! Sorry, you are too fun to tease. You never get worked up like this, and I was enjoying myself.

    ¡°They aren''t punishing you or favouring us, it is just how it works. A short sword or a dagger or something they handwave as personal protection, but that giant thing is a weapon of war, love. Every town and city is going to tax you coming in with it, and that tax will only go up when we all get into enchanted armour.¡±

    Both Eres and Myla looked at her questioningly at that, so she elaborated. ¡°It is basically an unofficial adventurers'' tax. Officially, the tax is to disincentivise people to bring weapons and armour into civilised areas, to lower chances of someone getting gutted in a bar fight. In reality, it is more just a way of making sure people who make a lot of money with violence, usually adventurers and sellswords, pay up to the town.

    ¡°And yes, Myla, I know you aren¡¯t going to cause any trouble. We might be the exception, though. The tax didn¡¯t come out of nowhere; a lot of towns had problems with people drawing blades over the smallest thing. The tax helps them repair damage and reminds those with weapons that they are still required not to be assholes,¡± Freya shrugged as she thought for a second, ¡°but you are right, them charging you and not Eres is actually kinda stupid. Though that is just because no one is going to outright tell them their Blessing, so they just tax those in weapons and armour. It isn¡¯t flawless, but it is what it is.¡±

    ¡°Come on Myla,¡± Eres said, ruffling her hair and bending down to look into the smaller womans blue eyes, ¡°It sucks, but let¡¯s not let it get you down. We have the coin to pay for it, so let''s just let it pass and find somewhere to stay tonight. We want to look around the market tomorrow, right?¡±

    Both of them nodded in response, though Myla¡¯s was more than a little begrudging.

    ¡°So, let''s grab some rooms and some food, and then we can have a look at some shops, maybe find an Armourer and see if they have a Guildhall here. We aren¡¯t in any rush, but we should try and keep the momentum we have, I think. Obviously, this is just my idea. if you guys think we should do something different¡­?¡± Eres trailed off, raising a questioning eyebrow towards his companions.

    ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± Freya said, stretching her arms above her head. ¡°I could do with a real bed and not carrying this bag around for a few hours. I know the thing is lighter than it should be, but it still causes knots after a few days.¡±

    Myla nodded, still looking a little sullen. ¡°Fine, but can we prioritise getting us all some armour while we are here? Not cause of the tax or anything; I¡¯m not being petty. It¡¯s just something I want us to get sooner rather than later, before one of us gets hurt.¡±

    The unspoken words again hung in the air as she looked down at the torn sleeve of Eres''s shirt. He had thought about stitching it up or just tearing it down for spare cloth, but the rip wasn¡¯t too bad, and all of the blood had washed out of the cloth easily enough. He had noticed both of his friends looking at it throughout the last leg of their journey, but he hadn¡¯t realised how much it had bothered them.

    ¡°Sure, I think it is a good priority to have. We can ask around for a good one as soon as we find a place to stay, how about that?¡± Eres said softly, smiling at the worried blonde.

    It didn¡¯t take them too long to find somewhere to stay. As they got nearer to the centre of town, they saw more than a few nice-looking inns. There had been a few near the gates, but they looked to be more bunkhouses, somewhere to stay the night and hurry on about your business, not somewhere to rest and relax.

    It was the sign hanging outside the door that decided for them. It read The Lanced Wyvern - Bed, Breakfast and Baths. Freya turned to Eres with a look in her eyes almost like a child begging their parent, and Eres barely nodded before she took off towards the door at a near run.

    ¡°Hi! Welcome to the Lanced Wyvern. What can I do for you?¡± Asked the girl behind the desk. She was pretty, with long dark hair and eyes so pale blue they almost looked grey. The inside of the Inn itself was all done in dark wood, every surface looked polished and clean. There were stairs off to the left of the front desk and a bar and taproom off to the right. The smell of cider and roasting meat rolled out from a kitchen hidden somewhere out of sight.

    ¡°We were to find somewhere to stay for a few nights, and hopefully food and a bath too,¡± Freya said, her face cracked into a friendly smile.

    ¡°Sure, we can do that!¡± the girl chimed, smiling back as she pulled out a book. She looked over us, and her smile changed a little, to something a little more mischievous. ¡°Is that just one room for the three of you?¡±

    Myla instantly began to go bright red, but Freya just smiled and shook her head. ¡°Two rooms, please, one for me and Myla, and one for Eres over there,¡± she said, pointing as she named her friends. ¡°Plus dinner, breakfast and a bath as soon as possible for each of us.¡±

    ¡°Alright, that is easy enough. For the whole lot, that will be 50 Leons a day, 40 on any day you aren¡¯t using the baths. Dinner is extra, but you pay at the bar, not here. Do you want to pay for a few days in advance?¡±

    Freya looked back at Eres, cocking her head at the question. He thought for a moment, then nodded. ¡°Call it a week for now. We will need to be here at least that long to get anything fitted and tailored. And as long as you don¡¯t mind us utilising the baths every day, we might as well make use of them until we are back on the road.¡±

    ¡°Alright, 350 Leons then, right?¡± Freya asked, fishing into the small pouch at her belt and fishing out a few gold and silver coins. ¡°Mind showing us where to drop our stuff and then to the baths? I want to get all this trail grime off me before we eat dinner and shop around.¡±

    The girl took the coins and got them to sign into the ledger in front of her with a smile that was back to being simply professional. ¡°Of course, here are your keys. Let me show you to your rooms.¡±

 Purse

    ¡°Gods, I feel so much better after a bath and a meal,¡± Freya said, a grin plastered on her face. Her long, dark hair was still wet and was pulled tight behind her head in an intricate braid. Eres had sat behind her and combed and woven the strands together after they had eaten, something they had done many times before, but he noticed more than one person giving him a strange look for it. He shrugged it off, deciding that if Freya didn¡¯t have a problem with it, then neither did he, and considering she had bugged him to do it, he was pretty sure she didn¡¯t have an issue.

    ¡°Oh, so my stew wasn¡¯t good enough, huh?¡± He teased, poking at the ex-maids ribs. His silver locks were also tied back from his face, though he had kept it more simple than Freya¡¯s braids. He had a single braid along either side of his head, tied into a ponytail that kept the top half of his hair up. He had taken to wearing the style after he saw his future self wearing something similar, and he found he liked it. It was comfortable and kept his hair free of his face without being restrictive.

    ¡°I mean, the stew was good, but that was special. Whoever is in that kitchen has harnessed whatever makes homecooked food special, I''m telling you,¡± Myla said, one hand resting on her stomach. They all had gone in for seconds, but Myla was the only one who had gone for a third helping. Her shorter blonde hair had already dried, and now that they were back out on the street, she was keeping a lookout for their destination. The girl behind the desk, who had introduced herself as Sara when Eres had asked, had pointed them through the town centre and towards the other side of town when they had asked about an armourer.

    They were searching for a place called the Hydall Smithy, but they were taking plenty of time to look at other shops and places they could visit while they were in town. Sara had also let them know that there was a Guildhall here and that they did have the facilities to register adventurers, but it was closed for market days, so they would have to wait a while. That suited Eres just fine, gave them time to look around and time for him to think of ideas for the presents he was planning on getting.

    ¡°Oh! There it is!¡± Freya pointed at a sign in the distance showing a crossed hammer and sword and began to pick up the pace, ¡°Come on! It looks like it is still open. Let''s go and see what they have!¡±

    ¡°Was she this excitable when she was with you in town?¡± Eres asked Myla, not even trying to keep the grin off of his face. They could hear the ring of steel against steel echoing out from inside the shop and see what looked to be the glow of a forge casting its light out into the back of the lot.

    ¡°Nope, this is new,¡± Myla laughed and shrugged. ¡°I think she is just finally letting loose now she doesn¡¯t have to worry about it blowing back and her losing her job or making you look bad, you know?¡±

    Myla picked up her pace to catch up to Freya, but Eres paused for a moment, stunned. Was that true? Had she been so reserved just because she was looking out for him? He shook off his surprise and followed along, grin still firmly in place.

    It''s good to know she has always been looking out for me, Eres thought, even if I do feel bad she couldn¡¯t be herself. Just got to give her opportunities to be whoever she wants to be from now on.

    By the time he joined Freya and Myla inside the shop, the ring of metal had stopped, and a burly man was walking towards them. He was huge, taller and broader than Eres, with a thick black beard and long black hair tied back from a soot-smeared face.

    ¡°Well then, what can I do for you young folk?¡±. His voice rumbled out of him like a peal of thunder, and it took them all a second to realise what he had asked. Even through the shroud of the beard, Eres could see a good-natured smile wide enough to show a glimpse of teeth.

    ¡°We were told that this shop did work as an armourer as well as more common smith work?¡± Eres said, stepping forward and holding his hand out. ¡°My name is Eres, It¡¯s a pleasure. We were hoping to get at least some armour for all of us. Either custom work or resizing any pieces you currently have on hand.¡±

    The man wrapped Eres¡¯s hand in his giant mitt and pumped it up and down, his smile growing wider. ¡°Ah, young adventurers, is it? I don¡¯t have too much on hand currently, but I am always happy to work up something custom. More interesting than orders of horseshoes, nails and kitchen knives, I can tell you that!¡± he said. Eres could feel his chest rumble with the low growl of the man''s voice. ¡°Well, let me know what you think you need, and we can start sketching up some ideas. I warn you, though, custom work isn¡¯t cheap, so I will bring out what I do have so we can see about repurposing it for your needs.

    ¡°Oh, and excuse my manners, I get caught up in the work sometimes. I¡¯m Gregor, and this is my shop. I was just putting my tools away, but we can sit and discuss your needs and draw up some designs tonight and look at prices and timelines.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good to me, Gregor,¡± Eres said and gestured at his friends. ¡°This is Myla. I think she will need the heaviest armour, but she knows her own needs far better than me. And this is Freya; I don¡¯t think either of us know how you usually go about armouring those in the backline, so we might need you to help inform us there.¡±

    ***

    The conversation with Gregor didn¡¯t take very long. He was adept at understanding their needs and moving to fit them, but they did have to be rather up front about their fighting styles. The decisions made were about what Eres had expected, with a few surprising caveats.

    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    For Myla, they had commissioned a full shirt of chain mail, vambraces, gauntlets, a plate heart guard and a set of greaves. She wanted to stay lighter on her feet than someone in full plate so she could still get back to protect us if she ranged too far forward, and this was the compromise that Gregor came up with. The heart guard and greaves had been at his insistence since a lucky crossbow bolt would cleave through even the best mail armour, and many monstrous beasts would harry the legs to bring their opponents down.

    For Freya, the order was simpler. He would get a set of robes and lay in armour strips to help them turn aside a blade, as well as a thinner and lighter shirt of chainmail to put underneath. Eres had been surprised to learn that too much armour could interfere with channelling Mana or Divine Power, as he had never had that issue when training with Master Brom, but both Freya and Gregor swore it made the process harder. Freya also needed specific hand and body motions for some of her more powerful miracles, so it was imperative she had a full range of motion.

    Eres¡¯ armour was the part that they struggled with the most. While learning to fight, Eres had learned from a Battlemage, and as such, that was where his inclinations lay. His Blessing helped with all sorts of Mana control and various defensive spells, but it didn¡¯t do anything to help him with physical combat. That was why he had Brom train him so hard over the years, to try and help bridge that gap. To let him protect his allies not just from the back with shields and wards but with his body and weapon when necessary.

    It took some back and forth with Gregor, as well as double-checking with a few pieces of spare armour that he could channel mana even burdened with it, before they settled on armoring him as if he were a speed-focused brawler. They commissioned another chainmail cuirass like Myla¡¯s, along with solid vambraces and greaves. He decided not to wear gauntlets, as while the armour didn¡¯t seem to impact his Mana, spellwork was still much harder with his hands covered.

    With all three of them needing various pieces of custom work, the price Gregor laid out wasn¡¯t cheap, coming to nearly 8,000 Leons total. He seemed shocked when they didn¡¯t bat an eye and paid for half of the work up front, with the rest to be paid upon completion of the armour, something that shouldn¡¯t take longer than a week.

    By the time they waved goodbye to the giant bear of a man and got back out onto the streets, night had well and truly fallen. The moon was nearly full in the sky above them, and a few flickering lamps were the only other light they had to guide them back the way they had come.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t need to pay for it all, Eres,¡± Freya complained for what felt like the tenth time at least. ¡°We were given the same amount you were, so why did you have to go ahead and pay?¡±

    ¡°Freya, we have been over this. This adventurer thing was mostly my idea, and I dragged you both along with me. Yes, you were willing and chose to come along, but if I wasn¡¯t doing it, you probably wouldn¡¯t be here,¡± Eres grunted, shoulders slumped in exasperation. ¡°The least I can do is make sure we set off on the right foot and make it less likely for you to get hurt.¡±

    ¡°I know, I know,¡± she grumbled, bumping her shoulder into his. ¡°I don¡¯t have to like it, though.¡±

    ¡°No, you don¡¯t, but if you keep asking, I am going to start making up outlandish stories about owing you my honor and sing them in front of a local bard to see if it gets picked up and spread around. So zip it.¡±

    ¡°Zip it? What does that even mean? And there is no way you would-¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s this then? A lovers spat?¡±. The voice that drawled out of an alleyway a little in front of them was scratchy and rough and made Eres think of broken glass grinding together. ¡°You gotta be nice to the ladies, mate, or no matter what coin you are payin'', they won¡¯t put out their best effort.¡±

    The man that stepped out into their path might as well have had the word Criminal written in giant red glowing letters floating above his head at all times. He wore what looked like piecemeal leather armour in dark browns and greys, covered by a long cloak with a deep hood, although it was currently pushed back to show his face. And what a face it was, pale and pockmarked with a pair of long scars dragging down one cheek and snaring the edge of his lip up into a permanent snarl. The teeth that showed were blackened with rot, and his eyes were rheumy spots underneath a mop of greasy black hair.

    Eres had never seen someone who screamed Bad Guy so obviously.

    ¡°Well, if you don¡¯t know how to treat ¡®em, we will take ¡®em off you ¡®ands,¡± the criminal said, face widening in a sickly smile as he gestured behind their backs. ¡°Along wth any coin you ¡®ave. Hand that over now, friend, if you know what''s good for you.¡±

    Glancing behind him, Eres saw four more men dressed in similar attire. All were dishevelled and dirty, but they were also wielding knives and daggers. They were poorly made and maintained, edges chipped and blades marked with rust, but that wouldn¡¯t matter much if they were slipped between the ribs of an unsuspecting mark.

    ¡°So wait, this is¡­ this is actually what you do?¡± Eres said, trying to keep the laughter off of his face. ¡°You wait in alleys for people to come out of the shopping areas late at night and jump them for their money? I don¡¯t know how well it is working out for you. I reckon you might be in the wrong business. Knowing how to choose a mark has to be important, right? Yet you swing out in front of us, threaten me and threaten to take away both of my companions? Bold, and stupid, play.

    ¡°So, Freya, what are our rules and limits here?¡± Eres turned his head but kept the now-stunned criminal in the corner of his vision as he asked the woman next to him his question, all while beginning to move the Mana in his core up and through his body.

    ¡°They have threatened violence and theft. We can use lethal force if necessary, but don''t destroy the street or any of the buildings.¡± Freya laughed, rolling her neck and shoulders as she loosened up, ¡°Myla, try not to use the Greatspear; too easy to end up doing damage to the town.¡±

    ¡°Fine,¡± the blonde pouted, putting the polearm up against a nearby wall, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t need it for these lowlifes.¡±

    ¡°Well, there you have it, friend,¡± Eres smiled, but his voice dripped with venom. ¡°I would offer you a choice here, but honestly, the hard way is the only way I see this happening.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯re you fucks waiting for!¡± Screamed scar-face, ¡°Kill ¡®im!¡±

 Explanation

    The smile on Eres¡¯s face as he lunged towards the pockmarked leader was nearly feral. He got in close before the man could even get his marred and chipped shortsword out of its sheath and slammed the palm of his right hand into the man''s sternum. The rush of air out of the thief¡¯s lungs was quickly cut off as Eres cracked a left hand across the jaw, sending him spinning back into the wall of the alley he had stepped out from.

    Eres looked back and saw that one of the other men was already lying on the floor with blood spilling from his mouth as he groaned unintelligibly. It looked like he had gotten the business end of Freya¡¯s staff before she had moved on to corralling one of the others against a wall, keeping the dagger-wielding man at a distance with her staff and waiting for an opportunity to finish the fight.

    Myla was fighting the other two at the same time, but both of the men had already been disarmed, and their knives lay off in the distance as Myla bobbed and weaved, slamming punches into their midsections whenever they lunged to grab her. Their movements were sloppy and untrained, but fighting multiple opponents is always dangerous, and seeing her in that situation brought a scowl to Eres¡¯s face.

    ¡°Myla, stop playing with your fucking food, now isn¡¯t the time!¡± Eres shouted. He saw her shoulders slump a little at being caught out, but she quickly darted forward and brought her hands around the back of one of the men''s heads. Before they could react, she had brought it down fast, crunching her knee into his nose once, twice, three times before throwing him to one side to land in a bloody, groaning heap. She closed on the next man, teeth bared as Eres turned back to his opponent.

    Scar-face was climbing up off the ground, shortsword now drawn, spitting blood on the floor next to him. As he stood, his left hand flashed from under his cloak, and Eres swayed to the side as a knife cut through the space his head had just occupied. Off balance now, he wasn¡¯t able to completely stop the following thrust towards his stomach, the tip of the blade just barely reaching his shirt.

    The blow didn¡¯t draw blood, but suddenly, Eres felt a panic envelop him. He remembered being Adrian, remembered the knife sticking out of his gut as everything went cold. Remembered worrying about his Mum, the kid that almost got stabbed, and even worrying about what came next. He hadn¡¯t imagined he would get a second chance, let alone in a world like this one, and the idea that it could be ended all over again by some asshole with a knife was something he couldn''t accept. Whatever it was inside him that had felt so called to magic and adventure raged against the idea of it being torn away from him, and suddenly he was on the man in front of him.

    He didn¡¯t remember knocking the man''s sword out of his hand, nor did he remember tackling him to the ground and mounting him. He didn¡¯t remember the first or second punch that he slammed into the scarred face in front of him, but he did remember the tenth. And the fifteenth. It was only as he was starting to lose count and the face in front of him began to look more like ground beef that he was hauled boldly off the man. He whirled around, hands raised to continue, to channel this burning rage into whoever had stopped him when he saw the wide, blue eyes staring at him.

    Myla had been the one to pull him off, the other assailants already down and in various states of injury. The shock on her face was enough to pull him out of whatever strange state he was in. The fact that he had been ready to fight her, hurt her even, made him feel sick to his stomach.

    ¡°Freya¡­ Heal him, please,¡± Eres¡¯s voice was barely above a whisper, but she nodded at him and began her prayer, motes of light settling onto the man¡¯s ruined face and body. Both of the girls were looking at him, concern etched on their faces, but he just shook his head. He would try to explain himself later but now wasn¡¯t the time. ¡°Now what? Do we take them to the guards?¡±

    ¡°We bring the guards here if possible. I will tie all these guys together. Myla, go find the nearest member of the guard and bring him over here. It shouldn¡¯t take long to explain all this.¡± Freya finished her miracle, and while he was still unconscious, Scar-face looked like he would survive just fine and wouldn¡¯t spend the rest of his life only eating soup.

    Eres looked down at himself and thought that it likely wouldn¡¯t be as quick a conversation with the guards as Freya thought. His hands were covered in blood, and his chest, face and hair were splattered with the red fluid. He felt his stomach twist but just shook the thoughts from his head.

    What will be will be, he thought, teeth worrying into his lip until he could taste metal on his tongue. This conversation will be easier than the one coming up, anyway.

    ***

    The conversation with the guards went nothing like Eres expected.

    Freya took charge of the conversation, quickly explaining what had happened to the squad of guards that came, even going so far as to explain that they had nearly killed one of the men but rendered them aid after the fight was over. Eres was ready to be questioned or at least have to go through a bit of due process, but instead, they walked away five minutes later with a handful of extra silver coins.

    ¡°So wait, they knew what the guy looked like and had a bounty on him and his guys, but no one had found him and claimed it?¡± Myla asked, bouncing the Leons in her hand before she slid them into her coin purse. They were nearly back to the inn now, and the adrenaline crash had finally worn off. They were all feeling tired, but their hands weren¡¯t shaking anymore and they all had enough energy to speak.

    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    ¡°The bounty was too low for most any actual bounty hunter to bother with,¡± Freya explained. ¡°It was a pretty recent one too, I gather, so they hadn¡¯t done enough to raise the price and bring professionals in yet. Pretty common in towns, and if the guards catch them, they get the bounty price as a bonus, so it works on all fronts. Just glad we stopped them before they hurt someone.¡±

    ¡°Huh, I guess that makes sense,¡± Myla pondered, opening the door to the Lanced Wyvern with her shoulder, eyes scanning the room before she stepped in. Eres hadn¡¯t spoken since they started back towards the inn, but he had noticed all three of them were now being more vigilant after the attack. She raised a hand to the girl behind the desk with a smile as she decided the room looked safe. ¡°Night, Sara! Had a bit of trouble out there, but we are going to bed down. Still good to use the baths in the morning?¡±

    ¡°Sure, they are open whenever. Breakfast is served until the tenth bell, so make sure you come grab a plate before then!¡± Sara smiled at them as they walked in but faltered when she saw the state of Eres. ¡°Oh wow, are you all okay?! Do you need me to call a doctor? Or the guards?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sara, we already saw the guards, it''s all sorted,¡± Freya said, letting out a long sigh. ¡°I think we just need to wash up, sleep and then wash up again. We will be fine after that.¡±

    The young girl nodded a little too quickly, eyes still wide and flicking to Eres blood spattered face every few seconds as she said, ¡°Of course. I will get some water heated and brought up to your rooms. The baths themselves are shut this time of night, but no one will mind if it''s just a bucket or two.¡±

    ¡°Oh gods, yes,¡± Freya nearly moaned, just barely keeping her composure. ¡°I thought we would have to scrub off in cold water. Sara, you are a lifesaver. Bring them up to Eres¡¯ room, please? He needs it first, I think.¡±

    Sara nodded as they headed off, feet scraping up the stairs wearily. Eres could feel the knot in his stomach coiling and uncoiling like it was a snake. He had spent the entire walk back trying to work out what to say and was coming up empty. He had had a whole plan about a gift and explaining everything, but he had never thought he would need to explain how he died. Gods, he hadn¡¯t even realised that it still affected him.

    Sure, there were nightmares back when he first remembered that life. Those first few years, he hadn¡¯t had a night without remembering how the knife felt going in and how his life felt bleeding out of him. It had faded with time, and now he barely even remembered it. Or so he thought. He thought he was over it, but clearly not.

    He was so preoccupied by his thoughts that he barely even noticed the girls leading him into his room and sitting him at the small table, nor the gentle feeling of them wiping blood off of his face with a warm cloth. It was only when Freya called out to him that he snapped out of it, the world coming back into focus.

    ¡°Eres, love,¡± Freya said, her voice low and gentle, ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    It was so unexpected that he nearly burst out laughing. He had almost killed a man for no reason, almost hurt Myla and hadn¡¯t spoken a word to them since the event, not reassuring them or even apologising. Despite all that, the first question they asked was whether or not he was okay. A few tears slipped down his cheeks as he looked up at the pair of them and saw the concern and the care in their eyes.

    ¡°No, not really,¡± He choked out, forcing a smile onto his face, ¡°but I will be, eventually.¡± He scrubbed his hands up and down his face. His eyes felt gritty, but his brain was still moving far too fast to even consider sleep. Distantly, he noticed the barest scratch of stubble along his cheeks. He couldn¡¯t grow a proper beard as Adrian, it was a patchy mess at best. He wondered if it would be different this time.

    ¡°Eres¡­ obviously something is wrong, and if you don¡¯t want to talk about it, I don¡¯t think either of us will make you,¡± Myla spoke in the same soft tone as Freya, almost as if they were afraid of startling him. ¡°But if we can, we want to help or at least hear what is wrong so we can work out how to help.¡±

    Freya nodded emphatically. ¡°Please let us help. We want to help you, just like you would want to help us.¡±

    Eres nodded slowly. ¡°Alright. Honestly, this is pretty overdue. It¡¯s just not how I wanted this to go, not at all. You remember all those years ago when I explained about my Blessing and about that¡­ other thing.¡±

    ¡°The Gods, yeah, I remember.¡± Freya nodded her head cocked to the side thoughtfully. Myla was slowly nodding in the background, but Freya continued. ¡°Did you lie? Is that what this is about?¡±

    Eres winced at how close she was to the truth. ¡°No, not directly. But I didn¡¯t tell you the whole story. Have you heard of past lives?¡± The pair shook their heads. Eres had expected as much; all the research he had done showed it wasn¡¯t a common theory in this world. ¡°The story doesn¡¯t start with me. It starts with a guy named Adrian Holcaster. He lived somewhere else, a world called Earth. There was no magic there, no monsters or dungeons. Instead, there was science and technology. Some buildings stretched thousands of feet into the sky, and some cities contained millions of people, all living together. Just like here, some people were rich and some were poor, and there were wars and conflicts.

    ¡°For Adrian, though, it was a peaceful life. His father left before he was born, but his mother loved him dearly. She raised him on his own, but their life was easy, never wanting for much. He went on to learn at a university, a place where they teach all sorts of things. He was learning about books and writing when something happened.

    ¡°There was this kid and a man threatening him with a knife. Adrian got the stupid idea to get involved. He got the kid out of the way, but not before he got stabbed. He got stabbed trying to save a kid in a moment of stupid heroism, and he died. I died. It wasn¡¯t until I was ten that I remembered all of this. It was almost like I woke up from a dream and suddenly had two sets of memories in my head.

    ¡°I¡¯m not Adrian, not anymore. I¡¯m still Eres. I just¡­ I remember another life, another world. And I have been terrified of telling either of you for years, in case you thought I was crazy or you thought I wasn¡¯t really me. Then time passed, and I was terrified of telling you because I hadn¡¯t for so long, and I had been lying to you, and I just¡­

    ¡°I had a plan, you know? I was going to buy you guys some gifts and tell you the truth and then see if you wanted to go on travelling with me. That is what I am really scared of, I guess. That this changes everything, and that you will both leave. And I won¡¯t blame you if that is what you choose. I just¡­¡±

    Eres finally trailed off, realising he was rambling. He slowly looked up from where he had been picking at his nails, looking for the reactions of the two people he had realised mattered most in the world.

 Overdue

    Eres didn¡¯t know what he expected when he finally looked up. Disappointment maybe? Anger, certainly. At the very least, he thought he would see signs of broken trust and betrayal. However, for now, at least, both of his companions'' faces were still neutral, seemingly thinking about what he had said.

    ¡°So¡­ the reason you freaked out on that guy was because it reminded you of this¡­ other you¡¯s death?¡± Freya said slowly, trying to wrap her head around the knowledge. Eres noticed her mouth was twisted slightly downward, but it didn¡¯t feel like she was upset with him. It was something else he hadn¡¯t worked out yet.

    ¡°Y-yeah, pretty much,¡± Eres agreed, ¡°but it was more than that. It wasn¡¯t my memory of dying so much as the thought of everything I had now being taken from me in the same way as last time. I can¡¯t even tell you why I reacted so strongly; it wasn¡¯t a conscious choice. One minute, I was worried about dying and not being here anymore, and the next, I was beating that guy.

    ¡°When Myla pulled me off him, I wasn¡¯t thinking. I wouldn¡¯t ever want to hurt you, either of you. It felt like I was surrounded and needed to fight my way out. It was¡­ it was horrible, honestly.¡±

    ¡°Eh, I knew you weren¡¯t going to hurt me.¡± Myla shrugged it off with a smile. ¡°As for the past life stuff, well. I don¡¯t know about any of that, but I trust you. If you say it happened, then I believe that, but it doesn¡¯t change anything about who you are. You got these memories back before we even met, and I get why you wouldn¡¯t tell us about them until now.

    ¡°Everyone has their secrets, Eres, and I¡¯m not going to hold yours against you unless you keep hiding them even after it becomes a problem. If, like now, it becomes an issue and you come clean and ask for help? Well, that is what friends do, we help.¡± She walked over and hugged his head against her chest. He did his best not to notice how soft and comfortable it was and how safe it made him feel.

    ¡°We are all good, but you should talk to Freya,¡± Myla whispered in his ear as she hugged him. ¡°She is probably feeling all sorts of different ways, and I don¡¯t know what she is thinking, but just¡­ just hear her out and be honest, okay? You are always good about listening to people, so just channel that for her, okay?

    ¡°I¡¯m going to go back to the other room, and I best see you in the morning. None of that guilt or running-off nonsense, okay? You did good, I didn¡¯t get hurt and we will help you heal. Remember that, and go help out the maid.¡±

    Myla slipped from the room with a smile, and Eres wondered what he had done in either of his lives to deserve friends this compassionate and caring. Myla stood and slipped out of the room as Eres turned his attention back to Freya.

    Her face was still pinched in worry, and her gaze had settled on a patch of floor at her feet. Eres wasn¡¯t even sure if she had noticed Myla leave; she was so wrapped up in her own thoughts.` He took a moment to study her features, something he had been careful to avoid doing in recent years. He had caught himself doing it still, of course, but it had been a while since he allowed himself to look without fear of being caught.

    She still hadn¡¯t let her hair down, something she usually did as soon as they were resting, even if only for a few minutes. It trailed down her back from a high ponytail, just a slight wave to the dark brown cascade that fell almost to the middle of her spine. It was the longest Eres had ever seen it, reaching down past the small of her back when she let it down and brushed it out. The light dusting of freckles across her nose stood out against her otherwise smooth and pale skin. Her lips, usually full and red, were rolling together as she chewed on one slowly in her thoughts. He couldn¡¯t see them from where he was sitting, but he knew her eyes were a deeper green than they had been as they were growing up together. They had darkened over the years, just like her hair, but he still found them captivating.

    ¡°What are you thinking, Freya?¡± He called out softly, almost cautiously. Nothing had changed yet, but he knew the next few minutes could change more than he was willing to admit.

    ¡°Huh? Oh, where did Myla go?¡± She mumbled, shaking her head a little in confusion.

    ¡°She headed back to the room to get some sleep. She seemed alright, but I want to check in with her again tomorrow and make sure she really is.¡± Eres smiled at her. She always was checking on others before worrying about herself. ¡°What about you, though? You seem¡­ pretty distracted, but you don¡¯t seem to want to rip my head off. If I can, I want to help. I want to talk, and listen and understand where your head is at.¡±

    ¡°Eres, no, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine! I just-¡± Freya said quickly, her hands raised in denial, but paused as she looked into his eyes and let out a long sigh. ¡°Sorry for going quiet earlier. Really, I¡¯m mostly fine. It¡¯s a lot to take in, but I¡­ I do understand. I get why it took until now for you to tell us.¡±

    ¡°Sure, but¡­¡± Eres stopped, thinking. She seemed to be working through it on her own, was it worth just letting that process happen? He shook his head, before continuing hesitantly. ¡°Freya, I don¡¯t want the people I care about to only be mostly fine. I want to be there for you and listen. I would rather you talk to me, even if you are mad at me, upset or sad, okay? I¡¯m not going to be angry at you for ugly or negative emotions, they are just part of being alive. I can¡¯t force you to talk to me about this, and if talking isn¡¯t what you need I won''t push the issue, but I just want to help, especially when I caused the problem.¡±

    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    Freya stared at him for a moment, eyes wide and mouth slightly open before she let out a little laugh. ¡°You always know just what to say, don''t you?¡±

    Eres moved his chair closer, so their knees were almost touching, and waited for her to continue.

    ¡°Okay, um, how do I explain¡­ I guess I should start by saying I get it. I understand why you wouldn¡¯t want to tell us at first, and why it weighed on you more and more until you needed some sort of reason to come out and say it. For what it¡¯s worth, I don¡¯t have much to say about it. You are the same Eres I have always known, and your remembering some other life doesn''t change that.

    ¡°It does explain why you are so unusual sometimes, and why you aren¡¯t at all like most nobles, as well as why you were so unlike other children growing up. I was older than you and I still felt like I was struggling to keep up with you half the time! So honestly, if anything, it explains a lot and helps me understand you more, which is¡­ it¡¯s good.

    ¡°Just because I know all that though doesn¡¯t change that¡­ well, it hurts that you didn¡¯t trust me until now, I guess. Which I know isn¡¯t really true, that''s just how it feels, and that sucks. Does that make any sense at all?¡±

    Eres nodded slowly. ¡°Yeah, that makes sense. Just because you know something logically doesn''t change how you feel about it. Is there anything I can do to help? Any questions you want to ask? Or would you rather I just give you some space to work through-¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Freya barely stopped herself from shouting as she grabbed for Eres¡¯ hand, before quickly letting it go with a slight blush. ¡°No. I don¡¯t need space, Eres, I want to work through this and you are right, I want to listen and understand too. So¡­ okay. Questions.

    ¡°When you were young, some days you would seem really out of it and tired, and you never wanted me to wake you up in your room. Was that because of¡­?¡±

    ¡°Ah.¡± Eres grimaced. ¡°Yeah. When I first remembered it all, I had nightmares about it a lot. I still do, sometimes, but I thought I was mostly over it until today. That level of panic and reaction isn¡¯t something I have had before, but I used to wake up in a cold sweat, crying. I didn¡¯t know how to explain it without going into detail, so I just didn¡¯t tell anyone. I knew you would want to help and I just wasn¡¯t ready for that yet.¡±

    ¡°Okay, makes sense. I guess that is also how you picked up fighting and magic so fast?¡±

    ¡°Huh? Oh, no. That other world¡­ I couldn¡¯t fight and magic wasn¡¯t real, to the best of my knowledge anyway. It was just something out of books and games. I guess it helped me study, but I didn¡¯t already know how to do it or anything.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm.¡± Freya hummed, hand on her chin thinking, before a smile slowly grew on her face. ¡°So, if you are answering honest questions¡­ You have been a bit fidgety around me and Myla the past few days. Haven¡¯t seen you like that in a few years. Was it to do with this weighing on your mind? Or something else?¡±

    ¡°That was¡­ that was something else,¡± Eres murmured, breaking eye contact.

    You are really going to ask that now? He thought, feeling like his head was spinning. Both of you basically brushed off my biggest fear like it was nothing, and you feel like probing for answers now? Talk about loaded questions.

    ¡°Something else? Care to elaborate there?¡± Freya teased, poking her finger to Eres'' cheek. Seeing how he was reacting to her, how open he was with her, it felt like all her worries had been blown away. He was still just Eres. He was shockingly competent with strange priorities, and more kindness in him than almost anyone she had met. He scared her earlier, but not because she was afraid he would hurt them. She knew he would never do that.

    Looking at him now, she was more sure of her choices than ever. His worries had made sense, and clearly, there was damage there, but here he was, worrying about her. It made her heart swell.

    ¡°Well, I- Um.¡± Eres stumbled. He knew she wasn¡¯t going to let him get away with a non-answer, but he was still on edge. All his plans of gifts and slow flirting went right out the window when he looked up at her and saw the expectant look in her eye. He really never could tell her no, but he felt compelled to try. ¡°Freya, we both know what it is. If I say it, out loud, it is out there and we can¡¯t take it back. After everything you just learned, do you still want to push that button?¡±

    She raised an eyebrow at him in challenge. ¡°I don¡¯t have any idea what you mean. So come on, Eres, spit it out.¡±

    ¡°God, you are such a brat,¡± Eres whispered under his breath, before raising his voice as he looked at her. ¡°Fuck it. The reason I have been so distracted around you recently is because of you. You are incredible, and beautiful, and amazing, and getting this far without you wouldn¡¯t have been possible. So yeah, being around you when I want you so damn badly is hard, especially when I didn¡¯t want to tell you until all this had come out, cause it would feel wrong.

    ¡°So my whole plan to get gifts and explain everything might have something to do with wanting to get on your good side after it. There, that''s the long and short of it. Happy?¡± Eres was breathing a little hard, the words having come out of him in a tumbling rush as soon as he started admitting what was going on in his head. He had watched Freya¡¯s cheek go pink as he kept speaking and her eyes go wide.

    ¡°Yeah, you could say happy works.¡± Freya laughed, and then she leaned over and pressed her lips against his, and suddenly he knew that everything would be just fine.