As soon as Yuriko closed the door to her living room behind her, Marron, who had preceded her inside, flung his hand and caught her side in a brutal pinch and twist.

“Ah, ah, ow!” Yuriko shrieked as the bag dropped to the floor and she tried to hop out of her brother’s reach.

“I’ve told you again and again not to call me ‘Maru’.” He looked at her, eyes narrowed, a stiff grin on his face.

“Alright, already, let go!” Yuriko squealed, all the while trying to get away.

Marron, on his part, managed to match her footwork. He was just strong enough that his fingers still managed to pinch her skin. It didn’t hurt as much as it probably should but it still stung anyway.

“Meeeoow!”

“Huh?” Marron barely managed to react when a bundle of flying fury managed to land on the back of his head and dug his claws into his scalp. “Ow, ow, ow, ow!”

“Hunter Kitty!” Yuriko cried out, while her cat clawed and bit at Marron’s hair. Her brother managed to catch hold of the cat’s body but his attempts at pulling him off his head were only met with claws digging deeper into his scalp while Hunter gnawed and drooled on his hair.

“Gerroff, geroff!”

“I can’t reach him if you’re dancing around like that!” Yuriko screamed.

“Urk!” He managed to control himself enough to bend over, though it only made the cat grip harder. “Ow!”

“Hahahaha!” Yuriko couldn’t help but giggle. “Let go of him, Hunter Cat, he’s my big brother and doesn’t mean to hurt me,” she added with a reproachful look.

“Hurt? I could barely even pinch you through your thick skin. What in Chaos are you talking about?” he protested.

“...who has thick skin?”

“Uhahaha, not you. Certainly not my lovely little sister.”

“Hmmph! Come on Hunter Cat, your claws need sharpening elsewhere.”

Her cat allowed himself to be picked up, though he flexed his paws and dug a little bit more into her brother’s scalp in a warning before completely letting go.

“Ow!” Marron grumbled as he collapsed backwards on the sofa. “Since when did you get a cat?”

“Oh, Hunter Kitty just came into my bedroom one day and we sort of hit it off. He’s nice and fluffy. And cuddly!”

“...and weird.” Marron chuckled. “Anywho, open the bag and confirm for me please.”

“Oh, sure.”

Yuriko carried the bag next to the sofa and opened it, revealing her artefact greatsword, Fri’Avgi. The sword’s golden alloy seemed to absorb the light from the ceiling panels and then throw out about double the brightness. The red gem in the middle of the crossguard flared with lurid light, and an outpouring of emotion flooded into Yuriko’s mind.

Relief, joy, tenderness, and a fierce will to protect enveloped her, much like her Da’s embrace. She ran a finger along the hilt, feeling Fri’Avgi burst with pleasure at her soft touch.

“I have to say, transporting that Chaos-born thing was such a pain. I had to keep Boost going the entire time I had to carry it and we had to designate a troop transport to bring it over. No way the Commuter Tram could have carried it!” Marron complained though she barely paid attention to his voice.

Fri’Avgi was back in her hands.

A part of her that she didn’t even know was missing was back. The sword pattern in the middle of her Facet started glowing. A golden light traced out the entire pattern without her will or even knowledge. She only noticed it when it was complete and a resonating flare came back from the weapon.

The feeling of completion bounced between her and the artefact. Bounced against each other and amplified until the only thing she knew was that Fri’Avgi belonged to her, and she belonged to the Anima Telum. The feeling grew stronger and stronger until she felt as if they were one and the same.

She was Fri’Avgi. Fri’Avgi was Yuriko Mishala Davar.

With a final surge of Animus, Yuriko gasped and pulled her hand away from the hilt. She drew in a sharp inhalation, letting the air fill her empty lungs. All the while, Marron nattered about his difficulties.

“...the hauler broke down twice, you know. When we were climbing the Zarek road. Fallen Sun, I had to push the rotting heavy thing all the way to the waystation to get it fixed. Huh, Yuri, you alright?”

Yuriko sat back on her heels and nodded. “I’m just a bit out of breath.”

“Huh, why?’

“Fri’Avgi’s excited to see me.”

“... I see. Are you sure you should be referring to the artefact as if it’s alive?”

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Yuriko looked up at her brother’s puzzled face and smiled. “That’s just the thing. She feels alive.”

“...If you say so.”

Yuriko grunted and got up off the floor, taking the greatsword in hand. There was just barely enough space in the living room to swing Fri’Avgi from left to right without touching the walls. As long as she stayed in the middle anyway. The artefact was as light on her hands as if it were made of rattan wood, even though visually, it looked as if it were as heavy as she was.

“Don’t swing that here.” Marron admonished. “Anyway, here.” He pulled out a cloth wrapped rectangular thing from his belt pouch, an identification card, Yuriko assumed.

She lowered Fri’Avgi to the floor and took the card in hand, unwrapping it quickly. The card itself looked like a prism. Embossed gold runescript ran along the edges and if she tilted it so that the light hit it just right, she could see Fri’Avgi’s silhouette in it. Tilted another way and her name came out on the top.

“Channel your Animus inside.’

She did as instructed and words suddenly spoke in her head.

“Imperial Artefact, Anima Telum, Fri’Avgi. Unorthodox Greatsword, unknown alloy. Licensed wielder, Yuriko Mishala Davar.”

Afterwards, a string of numbers and letters indicating the license number imprinted in her mind. She couldn’t remember it, honestly, since the entire code was something like a hundred digits and letters long. A simple mental command would repeat the string of numbers and with another command she could press the card on a piece of paper and it would emboss the license number on it.

“Always keep that in your person. Losing it means that the Empire will confiscate your artefact until the license can be restored.”

Yuriko nodded. “I’ll put it in my safe pouch.” She fished it out from inside her shirt and slipped the card inside.

Marron sighed. “You’ve changed quite a bit since you’ve left Faron’s Crossing.” He gestured towards her body. “Growth spurt aside, what you’ve grown an inch of height, I think, and it looks like you’ll need to buy new underwear soon.”

Yuriko nodded. “I’ll ask Krystal to help me buy.”

“Right, I’ll deposit some funds into your account. Speaking of which…Hmmm, Sharom, huh? I thought you wanted to go to Agaza?”

Yuriko plopped down on the armchair opposite the sofa. “So did I. Rotting elite trials! Apparently I aced the Sharom trials so much that Agaza withdrew their approval.”

“So I’ve read from Kato. Heh. Chaos, Mum, did you plan for all this?”

“You think she did?”

“I wouldn’t put it past her. What I can’t figure out is why she’s so insistent on keeping you out of Agaza.”

“I want to enter the legions, Marron, you know that. The Masters told me that I could still do so if I graduate as a Sorceress from Sharom.”

“You’re on the Sorcery track?”

“Well, there’s really only one track.” Yuriko said, “it’s quite linear though, as any Sorceress is also a Spellweaver and a Runescribe. The track goes, Runescribe, Spellweaver, then Sorceress.”

“You’ve started studying runescript?”

“Just the basics so far.” Yuriko pouted. “It’s hard to read.”

“Ah, yes. Your reading problem.” Marron shrugged. “Why don’t you ask someone to study with? As long as somebody reads it out to you, you won’t have any trouble.”

“I’m not sure anyone has the time to babysit me like that,” Yuriko grunted. “I suppose I could pay them. Ah, yeah, I fought a Hunter in the tunnels last week and got a shard. Sold it for a gold mark and five silver crowns, so I’ve a bit of leeway. Oh, I had to buy a new side-blade too.” Yuriko winced. “That cost me the entire gold mark. And a Chaos Lord tried to abduct us, but we managed to get away.”

“Wait, what? You fought a Hunter and a Chaos Lord?” Marron’s voice rose in pitch until he was hitting really high notes by the end of his sentence. “When? How? Why?”

“During the Chaos Storm on the 30th,” Yuriko said. “There was an incursion while all of that happened and I helped out.”

“Oh Ancestors! I thought you would be safe here, but goodness, does your luck have to be that bad? No, no, you’re the one looking for trouble, aren't you?” He glared at her. “Where in Chaos is Kato and why isn’t he watching over you?”

“Marron, he has his own life,” Yuriko admonished. “And I’m not a child who needs a watcher!”

“Oh yeah, so how did you manage to encounter a Chaos Lord when you should have been safe in a shelter?”

“Er, I went out to help.”

Marron shook his head. “My baby sister, please don’t put yourself in danger. Bad enough that there’s still no news of Da and the others, I don’t want to be worrying about you, too! Please! Promise me you won’t look for trouble.”

“I…”

Marron looked at her with his eyes opened wide and a pout on his lips. For such a huge man to act like that…Yuriko couldn’t help herself. Her hand darted out and pinched Marron’s cheek. “Oooh, you’re so cute when you act like that!”

“Quit it!” He yelped and pulled away while Yuriko giggled. “I’m serious. Please promise.”

“Oh, alright. I won’t look for trouble if I can help it.”

“A bit stronger please.”

“That’s as much as I can honestly give, big bro.”

“Fine.” He sighed and leaned back on the sofa, slouching until he was practically lying down.

“So…how’s Rami doing?”

“Still the same. He’s actually managed to make the garden flourish so much that we can rely on it to supply our vegetables by next year. He’s missing you, of course, and I’ve got a letter for you from him and you’d better write one by Firstday. I’ll head back to the Watchtower by then.”

“Sure.”

“Hmm, there is some troubling news from back home though. Some people have gone missing, one of them is one of your yearmates.”

“Oh, who?”

“Ashley Gin.”

“Little Ashley?” Yuriko yelped. There were only a dozen people in her year and Ashley had always been the most petite. “What happened to her? I thought she stuck around with the family farm?”

“We don’t know. Her family reported to Constable Andersen that she’d been acting odd for a couple of weeks then she just suddenly disappeared. There were no signs of struggle in her quarters. Oh! And the Wyldlings are back.” Marron spat out with a curse, “Those rotters haven’t had enough, apparently. I thought incursions would stop for a while, but no, the Gemheart detected a powerful resonance that entered through the Tidelands a few weeks ago. We haven’t seen anything though, just the usual Wanderers. No swarmlings so far. No Hunters either.”

“I thought the Will was defeated?”

“Yes, and the Wave has been broken but there are enough leftover elements to pose a serious risk.” Marron shook his head. “Though thanks to that, Faron’s Crossing’s coffers are starting to refill.”

“They really are endless, aren’t they?”

“Yes. The Chaos Sea will breed new Wyldlings for every moment that passes. It’s a good thing the plane always weakens them so much that any newborn that attempts to enter will be drained and assimilated in short order.”

The two of them remained in silence for a couple of minutes. Marron had fallen into a daze and Yuriko was deep in thought too. Still, her tummy protested her ignoring it, and once again made its displeasure known by a loud gurgle.

“Heh,” Marron smirked. “Come on, let’s go have lunch. I’m starving. Ah, I haven’t been on campus for a couple of years now. I miss the food at the Strip. What say we head over to the Bistro Ilvain and grab a bite?”

“Only if you’re buying. I kinda feel out of place there.”

“Well, don’t wear your blue coat then.”

“Fine. Wait for me, I’ll take a quick shower then we’ll go.”

“Fine, but I want to eat now instead of two hours from now.” Thonk! “Ow!”