With this chapter an introductionary part comes to an end. Enjoy!

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Shanahan closed the door behind me, went to the table, fetched two bottles from his robes and put them on the table, where salver with a boar already stood, skinned, fried and ready-to-serve. He turned around and went outside, without saying the word.

"Dad, the boar is huge! How many guests do we have today?"

"Hah. Hunted this one two hours ago. It's called redmaned tyrant. It's for one guest, Akillah, but very special. An active branch holder! He'll stay until tomorrow."

"Dad, I wanted to ask for a while, what is a branch holder? Uncle Bertram used to be one."

Father opened his mouth to answer, but then we all heard the knock. Without writing for someone to let him in, Korhal opened the door with a bang.

"How does it come this girl doesn't know what's a branch holder?! AHAHA, you're lucky, little rascal, let this old man tell you how great that bunch is!"

"Wha.." what the hell is this old man. How dare he break into our house so casualy.

Right after Korhal, Shanahan entered the house. "I'm sory for rude intrusion, Galena. My idiotic brother lived in seclusion for a long time. Seems like he forgot common sencse. I tried to warn him to be polite, but his head is too sturdy to let words go in. You may ignore him for the rest of the evening."

"But how come a youngster has no idea about branch holders. I'm sorry…khm…Galena, was it? I just couldn't believe my ears," he glanced at mother and gave a bow while waving one of his hand in a strange manner. He then looked her in the eyes. "Huh? Red eyed tribe? It's been more than sixty years since I saw last one. Hmm." his forehead covered in wrinkles while he tried to figure out something.

"Let me apologise again, Gallena," Shanahan continued, "in place of my brother. He didn't mean to be rude, when he stared at you." Shanahan's ears twitched. It was a rare sight to see him express emotions other then with words. He must be really ashamed.

"But he's still staring." I answered while making a circle around this old man. He obviously didn't try to make a good impression with his shabby outfit and unkempt hairstyle. I honestly couldn't tell, what's so great about him except of the sword on his hip. He even smells like grass. Meanwhile Korhal ceased to move at all. He could easily beat my father in terms of "space out" skills. A master, indeed. At least something about him is impressive.

"It's bad education, nothing can be done, I'm afraid." Shanahan shook his head disapprovingly, then took a needle from his pocket and readied himself to pierse his brother's leg, but mother moved first.

"It's okay, elder Shanahan. Master Korhal, you must be hungry, sit down here." She took him by the elbow and led to the table where I and father already sat. "Let's leave chatter for later and eat first, while the boar is still hot."

"Thank you. To be frank, Shanahan could not tell me where to go, I would have ended up here anyway. The smell is heard two miles away. It’s no joke, you know? Many warriors were defeated by less dangerous weapons. " he finally looked at my father. "Umm, and you are?"

“Graven, Galena’s husband and first victim.”

“That’s what I’m talking about! A scarred warrior is exactly what to be expected. It’s a perfect trap I’m going to step into. That reminds me….,” he looked at two bottles of wine, then at his brother, ”Shanahan, what exactly do you want from me? How does it come you treat me, and I feel like about to be robbed?”

“Stop blabbering and eat, brother.“ Elder reached to one of the bottles to uncork it. “Let me fill your mug.”

“You’re suspicious, brother. I mean, you always were, but now….” Distrust was written on Korhal’s face but he pushed his mug closer to Shanahan anyway. He then stood up, and with one swift movement unsheathed his sword and cut off a leg of a boar. He was so fast I had no time to get scared. “Well then, bon appetit” he grabbed the leg with his bare hands and took a bite.

“For forefathers sake, put it on the plate, idiot! And don’t swing your sword in the house, use knife.” Shanahan’s covered his eyes with a palm while his face got red from embarrassment. “Why do I even have to tell this?”

“Oh my…,” any puppy would be jealous of eyes Korhal displayed. An old man, standing with meat in one hand and sword in another, while having harmless expression. Something was surreal in the scene. “Oh my…” he said again and dropped onto his chair.

“He doesn’t even hear me.” Shanahan sipped from his mug. “Used to give me headaches back in the day and still does. I tell him to be polite, to not stare, to show some manners, and what’s the result? Polar!!”

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“It’s okay elder,” mother was smiling happily, ”we’re glad to have guests. It’s livelier that way. Why won’t you enjoy the meal as well?”

“If you say so.”

“Oh my…,” Korhal repeated. “A refreshing travel, a feast, a pleasant company. What else would you need?” he raised his mug, “a good wine obviously. Cheers!”

“Can I also have wine, mum?” I felt a bit jealous.

“No you can't.” Having no access to alcohol was a bit depressing. Years are going to pass before I'll be allowed to have a sip.

“It’s not tasty anyway.” Korhal added.

“You may not lie to her, brother. My student here is too smart to fall for such deceptions.”

“A student, huh? So you teach this kid magic?”

“No, I teach her math and languages.”

“Hahah, how old is she? Five? Six? What could a kid understand about math. Isn't that too soon?”

“Akillah, my brother is one hundred sixteen periods old. How many times is he older than you?

“Twenty nine,” I replied calmly.

“See? In fact, I’m not teaching her any more since she finished my whole course in a period and half. She’s the most diligent student I ever had, brother. You’re free to not believe me, of course.”

“Hmmm. You seem sincere” Korhal's eyes darted to me, than back to Shanahan. “A genius?”

"Uhuh."

"Why not teaching her magic, then?" Korhal mused.

“Well, she is certainly a genius, but has no talent for magic. I gave her feather training the first day and she made no progress up until now. She could be a greate warrior, though. If not for her condition, that is. Such a pity.” Shanahan shrugged. I felt a bit offended, but truth can be a bitc…a bully. That’s just how life works, so no need to fret.

“Hmmm. A pity, indeed.” Korhal returned to his meal and was silent for a while.

“I was asking earlier about branch holders, mister. I’m interested in the topic.”

“Oh, how could I forget. Of course I’ll tell you! Branch holders are basically a bunch of warriors, that protect our holy land, San Tofe island. Around ten thousand years ago we got a seed from elves, which we planted in the centre of the island. Had to pour a raft of soil in the middle of the lake to do that,” he sipped from his mug. “From that seed grew a majestic tree. Elves wanted for the tree to become a symbol of our obligations to each other, but warriors from our tribe were fascinated by sturdiness of it’s roots, by sharpness of its leaves, by swiftness of its branches. Some martial arts were created from inspiration that tree gave. With time a tradition formed, where the strongest warriors climb the higher branches by defeating a current branch holder. There is exactly one hundred big branches on the tree, you see? During the monsoon warriors gather around the tree to fight out who's worthy.While being a branch holder is a big honor, only one is destined to reach the top. The holder of the first branch is the one, who represents our whole race during wars or assemblies," he looked at my father. "I thought there is no person in the whole forest who didn't hear of us. How come you didn't tell her?"

"We didn't want to agitate her, master Korhal," father answered.

"Agitate? It's not like she wants to become a warrior, right? She a smartass type, so why bother?"

"Exactly the contrary, brother. She told she wants to become a warrior when she was three."

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"No way." he looked at me attentively. "Hmm," he frowned and started to stare into his empty mug.

"More wine, brother?" Shanahan filled the mug without waiting for response.

"So, she told you she wants to train when she was three," Korhal looked at me while making a gulp, "and you believed her words to be sincere. Kids change their mind, you know? I used to think I'm going to become a tamer when I was young, but..."

"Oh, she didn't tell anything at starts," father answered, "She used to do all kinds of strange stuff, like walking on her hands or stretching in the corner of our house. We thought she was bored and let her be. But when she got big enough to not....you know...injure herself, and we let her out, it became clear that something's up. It was all Bertram's fault, he keeped to bring her folklore books that encouraged her to train. She's been at it for at least a period before we noticed. There was no hint of "change of mind" or something."

"Dear, don't pour fault on Bertram shoulders alone. It's you, who teached her to read. We both failed to buy "right" books eventually," mom pointed.

"Hmm. If only she......hmmm." Korhal continued to stare into his mug for a while. I wanted a change of topic, since the whole metter is rather dolorous for me. In fact, my mood was already spoiled. Sometimes your ears know how you feel sooner than you do.

"Hmmm," he took another gulp. "Shanahan, you'll teach her magic anyway, right? Such a kid shall not be dumped to the side of the road."

"Nope," elder answered without a second thought. "As I told before, she has no tallent. I'm not into spending my time for nothing. Hundreds of kids out there are less smart, but more capable. Each day their parents come with gifts and it's a shame to refuse them every time. Besides, people won't accept her as an elder even if I do train her. As I said, a pity."

"Hmmmm." his fuffs got gradually longer. "A pity indeed," he looked at me with a soft smile, "but don't be sad, child. You'll find your fate eventually."

"Galena, don't you teach her leathery nowadays?" Shanahan asked.

"No, she grasped the basics and now it's up to practice. I teach her cooking, though."

"Hmm." Korhal shook his head and started to stare into his mug. Again.

"You should have seen her when we told her the story of red eyed tribe, brother. Poor girl cried her eyes out. And guess what she asked Bertram before starting to cry a river. Something like.....ah! "If I was to train until I'm the strongest, aint it alright to be a warrior, noone will be able to scratch me anyway".....or something among the lines, I don't remember the wording." I was surprised to hear Shanahan complain about not remembering something. It's was the first time, actually.

"She has a right attitude. If you're a warrior, you have to be greedy. No progress will be made otherwise. But to reach the top you shall go through countless battles, grind your bones into dust, bleed." Korhal told while scratching his nape.

"Exactly! No teacher will be able to compose a training method effective enough, to raise her to the top without falling even once." Shanahan looked a bit happy. What the hell is wrong with him? Smiles at all the wrong times, as always.

"Hmmmmmm." Korhal grabbed the bottle and made a big gulp.

"Lets change the topic, brother. Just look at Akillah. You made her sad with your inquiries, hehehe"

"Me?! You made her sad with refusing to take her as a student! You have no right to call ur self a teacher!" Korhal folded his hands crosswise.

"Easy, brother, you're being loud. We shall change theme anyway. How is your training going? How high did you climb?"

"Seventh branch."

"Impressive! That makes a little bit less then one branch a period. Higher positions do not change all that often. You know, I think you made a right choice to become a warrior. Magic never suited you anyway. If you were to train as a warrior from the beginning, I bet you could rise higher by now."

"Wait, what? My ears got deaf for a second. Did you just approve my actions?"

"You never listen to me, so no wonder. And, yes, you did well. Do you think you could climb seven more stairs?"

"Naah, I'm not getting younger, you know. With all my training I can only keep my shape. I discovered few training methods recently, but they won't drag me too far at this point."

"Such a shame. You should find a student then," Shanahan's voice was all empathy, "to let your legacy do what you couldn't."

"Hmmm."

"What's up with all this fuffs? What's on your mind?" Shanahan tensed a bit, as if he was uptight.

"No, it's nothing," Korhal told while looking at me. "Maybe....hmm," he

took another gulp while frowning, then reached to grab more meat. "Wonderful meal, Galena, truly a chef-d'oeuvre."

Master Korhal didn't say a word for the rest of repast. Mainly father talked from there, but I didn't listen at all. My mood was spoiled. Little did I know that the happiest days of both my lifes were about to end.

Korhall's POV

My brother is becoming more suspicious day after day. Treating me to a meal, sharing his beloved akebian purple, finding me a nice place to stay. We even talked normally the whole day. The breakfast is going to be delicious too. What the hell does he want from me? And that girl. You could see she's special. In more than one way. Right attitude, desire.....a bloodline of real fighter.

I went out to stretch my bones, but saw Shanahan staring at stars right next to the entrance. Something has been bothering me for a while....

"That kid could be ideal student, you know?"

"Forget that. Your training methods will injure her the first day. Don't give her hope when you can't keep your word, brother," his words were reasonable, but...

"Who told you my methods were dangerous. They're cruel, indeed, but not harmful. I could.....No, I'm sure I can take care of her. With an early start......do you think it's wise to let her try?"

"You want to steal my student, and ask me what do I think?"

"Who's your student? You don't teach her properly anyway," this bastard had nerve to neglect her. Ignorant fool.

"True, hehehe." His laugh is as lousy as ever. "You shall discuss it with her parents, then with her. You shall be crystal clear about what kind of life she's going to go through. If that's what she wishes, then I'll intrust you with her guidance," he said.

I've been frowning for a while. It's a risky affair I conceived, but some things just have to be done. I get agitated about the idea the more I think of it. That letter Shanahan sent me turned to something entirely new. He tried hard to stay nice, so I might as well grant him what he wants.

"That favour you wanted to ask. If it's reasonable, I might help you out."

"Ah, the favour," he bite his lower lip. "You see, I forgot what I wanted. The feast was an apology. Sorry."

"..." I had no words at start, then felt as anger starts to boil in me. "You mean I took a two months long journey for no reason?"

"Yep, no real reason."

"You're not kidding, right?"

"Nope."

"ARGH! Never! Never again!!" I turn around and go inside the house. This bloody idiot loosed his screws for good. I won't be able to keep calm if he angers me even more. An important talk is to be done today.

Bertram's POV

It's been one period and eight turns since Shanahan told me and Graven his plan. The day we all waited has finally come. The smell that comes from the north is so good, I bet Korhal is delighted. The only question is, if he'll take her in.

I couldn't fall asleep and started to play with feather I took from Akilla. Graven says there's a nasty trick to them. Lets see. I concentrate just enough to make it move.

"Wha..??" It didn't budge. I had to double, then tripple an effort before I could move it a bit. "How?.......Who made these?"