Year 950, day 149, Elfen territory, bee forest, 08h.
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— I did not understand...
— You are still not fully recovered, but you can already do the basics.
— And what's the basics?
— Let's start light, running. Follow me Kalui!
Roldi starts to run slowly, with the boy trying to stay by his side.
— Roldi awaits me! — The child screams, panting.
— I can't wait for you. If you want to run beside me, you'll have to get faster.
A few minutes later, the boy starts to run dragging his feet, more slowly and slightly crooked.
— Roldi, I don't know why, but I feel like I've done this before.
— It's normal. Every child has run!
The two continue to run for another thirty minutes.
— Roldi! — He throws himself on his ass on the floor, and asks angrily. — I'm tired, are we going somewhere ?!
— You can. Get up and let's go!
— OK...
Two more hours pass. A long time ago they stopped running and started walking.
— We're here.
Confused, Kalui asks:
-Where?
It doesn't look like they got anywhere, since they are in the same forest.
— We are now in the center of the bee forest. Try eating a fruit, just climb a tree.
— Are they different from the fruits you normally give me?
— Climb a tree and find out! Just don't go far, there's a tricky cliff around here.
Kalui looks around intently, looking for the smallest possible fruit tree; he walks a little and finds the smallest tree in the area. With his thin childlike arms, the boy starts to climb. For Roldi, it would be enough to raise his arms, but for Kalui, a tree of five meters and a half, it is a lot.
After managing to climb with some difficulty, Kalui stands in the middle of the trunk — on a border between branches — looking at the fruit in front of him. He stretches out his arm as far as possible and jumps, grabbing the fruit before it falls to the ground.
"I really did ... maybe my power is to climb."
— Roldi, she is the same as the one you gave me before ... Red and round.
— Eat, and you will understand.
The moment he bites, he realizes that the fruit is much sweeter than normal. As you take your mouth out, a thick liquid begins to drain.
— It's full of honey! Why does she have honey?
— It's very simple. There are two species of bees. The Giant Bees, which produce honey in their large hives on top of high hills, and the Fly Bees, which are small and grow their honey inside fruits.
— Wow! How big are the Gigantic Bees?
— Giant Bees, did you mean? haha ha! — He puts his hand on Kalui's head. — If I am almost two meters, you must be about one meter and thirty, then the Giant Bees must be between thirty and fifty centimeters in height and one meter in length.
Sitting and eating his fruit quietly, Kalui says:
— Wow ... Anyway, the training is over for today, right?
— No. The warming up is over. Let's go back, eat, and start combat training.
"Why do I always ask? I really don't learn ..."
After the two eat, they return to the stream a few meters from the hut. While Roldi bandages his hands and cinnamon with a thick duvet, he explains:
— Well, let's start with the pattern. You will try to beat me, when you get it, I will bring you another fruit with honey. You have two hours, after that, we will train our body with basic exercises, such as: push-ups, sit-ups and squats. You probably don't know what that is, but it's good to explain it first. Be calm that it is normal not to be able to do much at first, but remember that — He raises the boy's head and says it out loud. — Until you stop trying, you still haven't failed! Ready?
— No!
— What do you mean, no?
— I won't be able to beat you and I want to eat!
— Unfortunately, he will only eat those fruits again when he hits me; or you can try your luck by going to the center of the forest alone. Let's start?
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Year 950, day 195, Elfen territory, bee forest, 19h.
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"It's been over a month ... I really want to eat that again ... He could at least give me a reward for trying! I'm tired.", thinks Kalui.
"It's been over a month ... I think I'll give him some fruit. ", thinks Roldi.
With the pleasant atmosphere of the early evening, the two went to bed after the shower, but only Roldi slept.
Even at night, the forest is still clear, as the moon shines brightly today.
"He'll be surprised when he wakes up and sees me eating ..."
The child enters the forest, going in the right direction, but he does not remember how long he walked last time, so after some time he thinks he is lost. Even so, the child does not appear to be scared, quite the contrary, he seems to be enjoying being alone in the frightening forest at night.
— Aaaah! — Shouts Kalui. — I've been walking for hours and nothing!
A few minutes after the shout, he finally reaches the fruitful area.
With great ease, he climbs the same tree as last time and picks up the fruit without having to jump, just stretching one arm while hanging with the other.
Sitting on one of the branches, he sees a strange movement in the shadows at the exact moment he bites the fruit. For some reason, Kalui remembers one of the many things Roldi said on his trip:
"— Kalui, the animals always stay where they favor them, so a forest predator will definitely be able to catch you in the forest."
Startled, he throws his fruit towards the strange movement and before the fruit touches the ground, a large black panther emerges from the shadows, running at full speed. His cold, bloody eyes are completely fixed on Kalui.
Upon realizing imminent death, the child goes into despair, jumps from the tree and runs with all his might while crying and screaming desperately for help. The panther does not reach it as fast as it should because it slowed down shortly after the hunt started. She is thin and has a fresh wound on one of her hind legs.
"I don't believe it, I don't believe it, I'm going to die and I haven't even eaten the fruit yet!"
The forest is ending and the great fall is its dead end. A few seconds have passed since the fruit fell to the ground. Kalui's eyes are closed, just crying and running. The panther chases even more slowly, as it knows the abyss ahead.
For the goodness of fate, he opens his eyes to see where the panther is, but is faced with the great precipice. The animal silently surrounds him. Kalui is surrounded by death, one step from an abyss and one leap from a panther.
Before losing his hope, in the silence of the forest, there is the unmistakable and frightening sound of Roldi running. Kalui smiles widely, her eyes red from crying and screaming.
— Roldi! I'm here! — He says waving his arms at the top.
Kalui's movement stirs the beast, causing it to attack. However, before reaching the child, the great man emerges from the forest with his red skin and veins protruding, at high speed, throwing a punch that crosses the abdomen of the panther, who dies without even seeing him arrive. However, the impact of the strong steps makes the fragile part of the floor start to break.
With the panther still across his right arm, Roldi realizes that the ground is cracking. Desperate, he shouts:
— Run here boy!
When looking down, the child understands what is about to happen. His joy at seeing Roldi turns to panic. On his first step out of danger, the ground breaks and the boy falls on his back.
The fall is long and Kalui does not scream or even cry; his fear turned him off. As he falls, his body turns and when he sees the ground getting closer, something happens. A strong gust of wind emanates from the child, making him stop in midair. The big trees around it sway like a hurricane. The boy does not understand what is happening, but seeing that he stopped falling and that the ground is close, the sensation of danger decreases and the wind disappears. The fall is still high and, with the impact on the ground, he passes out.
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Desperate, without knowing what happened, Roldi strengthens his body to the maximum and jumps from the abyss. With its fall, a great cloud of dust rises and all the birds flee the place with the thunderous sound.
— Boy! Boy! — He checks his breath and picks him up. — It will be all right, boy. Will be all right.
"I think he passed out from the scare himself. He doesn't seem to be hurt. The most important thing now is that I'm sure I saw him stop in the air, but even for an experienced air creator, it would be difficult to stop in the air so instantly falling at that speed. ... He is probably a powerful creator. "
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Year 950, day 197, Elfen territory, bee forest, 07h.
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— Woke up boy ?! I thought I would never wake up! — Says Roldi while laughing.
— I think I've been sleeping a lot ...
— Well, thanks to your deep sleep, I was able to think well about what to do. I think you are already more than rested, so we will go to a village near the border.
You hug the child tightly and say:
— Ready to go out? Ah, we will continue our training while we travel. Don't think you got rid of it.
"I have already accepted that I will train until I die ... At least we will continue to travel. I hate being still in one place."
Again, Roldi packs his things, and the two leave on another long journey.
— I forgot to tell you. The village is approximately two months from here.
To Roldi's surprise, the boy is excited about the time of the trip.
"Two months of traveling. It feels like a dream! I wonder how many new places I will see."
— So let's go? We will travel every morning until lunch time and train every afternoon until dinner time. Prepared?
"Of course not!", Kalui thinks as he nods.
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Year 950, day 250, Elfen territory, Border town with Mercy, 1pm.
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— We arrived earlier than expected. Is your leg better, boy?
Those weeks were peaceful and laborious. Roldi worked hard on the boy, teaching him the maximum in combat and training him to exhaustion every day.
A week ago, Kalui, frustrated with his training — for not having hit a single blow on Roldi yet — used a rotating kick to put his hand on the ground for support and obviously, Roldi deflected without problems. However, this time the cheeky boy took a piece of earth while he leaned on the ground and, during the turning movement to get up, threw the piece of earth in the eye of the lord. He could have dodged it, but it was purposely agreed, as a way of teaching the boy that every tactic is valid and being unpredictable is worthy of a reward. With the earth in his eyes, the gray-haired lord stopped to scratch them. Kalui took advantage of the low guard and kicked his leg with all his strength. The child's cry after hitting the kick was unfortunately not of joy ...
— Yes ... You can't run yet, but it's better.
Even with his injured leg, Roldi still forced the boy to undergo training that did not require much movement.
The sound of merchants spreading their products screaming begins to reach Kalui's ears. Arriving at the village, they go straight to the fair. Roldi draws some attention, because it is not every day that you see someone so tall and muscular, especially laughing with a child on his shoulder.
After finishing buying some tools, Roldi says:
— So, boy, I know you must be excited and you want to get to know the village right away, but we have to build our house soon somewhere around here. Not too far, not too close.
"I already confirmed with an elderly man that my brother's troops passed through here a long time ago. On the way back from Elfen, they must continue along the coast, passing far from here. Well, I hope so."
— Come on! I explore the village later.
After finding a place far from any trail, about an hour's walk from the village, Roldi builds his house in a few hours. Stacking the logs one by one, he ties them with thick ropes and large, well-positioned nails. After making sure the house is secure, he puts the things of his gigantic bundle inside the house.
The trees in this area are long and with leaves only in the high parts. Their trunk is whitish and the wood is also peeled.
— Let's go back to town and buy a table, a real bed, cutlery and some food.
"Now that I'm taking care of a child, I can't live the way I did. It might even be good for him to grow up strong, but my training will take care of that part hahaha ..."
— Don't you want to go there alone while I wait here?
— Weren't you the explorer who would see every corner of the world and who was all excited to get to know the village right? Where's your determination boy?
— I can explore tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, the day after the day after, the day after the day after the day after...
— Already understood! You can stay here as long as you don't leave the house. And don't try to run! Wait for your leg to be completely healed.
Kalui agrees with a frantic nod.
After a while, the child is already bored inside the house.
"It's been a while since he left ... He must be gone by now. But who do I want to fool? I'm not crazy about taking chances with my screwed leg. Imagine if another animal appears? I wouldn't even run ... I'll just relax while Roldi doesn't come to make me suffer with that training. "
The boy throws himself on the grass, stretching and yawning relaxed.
— It's time to sleep!
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Year 950, day 220, Elfen territory, Village Forest bordering Mercy, 17h.
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While Kalui sleeps, a couple of brothers talk a few meters away. Their hair is light brown, their sister's is curly and goes up to her shoulder, while her brother's is straight, up to her waist. The sister is tall for her age and has a blue eye. His younger brother is even taller and has a dark green eye. They wear green tunics, very humble, similar to Kalui's, and a pair of gray cloth trousers.
— Sister, isn't it time to give up? It will get dark ...
— Brother, isn't it time to be quiet? I told you, I'll find something soon.
— You will never find a boyfriend by being so boring!
Screaming, the girl replies:
— How dare you little ... I'll kill you!
The boy runs through the forest as fast as he can to escape from his sister.
— We live together. Even if you run away now, you won't be able to run away at home!
After a few seconds of running, the boy finds Roldi's house. The house was like a square box, made of stacked tree trunks, very simple and with a window on the opposite side of the door.
— I think it's good to have stopped. I can even be a good girl since she gave up running! Hi hi hi ...
— Shhhhh! There's a house here now! Last week there was nothing. — Says the boy, behind a bush, pointing to the house.
The girl keeps walking and talking loudly. She still has no view of the house.
— You think you're going to cheat me— Ah, there really is a house here!
— Now that you've seen it, speak softly. It is someone who is evil ...
— Dont be silly. Let's see if there's anyone!
— No no no no! Bad idea! Mom will kill you if I tell her this ...
As she punches her hands and looks at him with her baby blue eye, the sister replies:
— I want to see if you would have the courage to say something.
The boy swallows his saliva dry and says:
— Do what you want, but it will be your problem! I will stay here very safe and hidden while I watch you being torn apart by an evil man.
The girl starts to sweat a little, but refuses to contradict herself.
— Stay there, sir, baby. Your big sister goes alone!
— Make yourself comfortable! Big adult lady.
The girl's mind is racing and her body sounds cold.
"I'm not afraid ... I'm brave! I'm strong! Even if someone is bad, you won't be able to do anything against me. Why? Because I'm strong and brave! That's right, don't be afraid Kahyu, you're not coward like your brother! "
With all this talk in the forest, Kalui wakes up and runs into the house, afraid. He sits at the back of the house and a few seconds later hears the invader's footsteps walking very slowly across the grass.
"He's behind the house .... What do I do? If I really have powers, now is the time to be able to use it. I hope he's a nice person! I should have gone with Roldi, I never let him leave me behind ! "
The girl stops by the door, still hidden, because she too was afraid.
— Anybody home? I live in the village, anyone at home?
"Ah, a girl? She looks young ... I never spoke to anyone my age, what do I do?"
— Hi! Who's there?
"Oh, a child? Well, I have nothing to be afraid of now. Not that I was afraid before, of course. "
She puts her arms out to show her at the door and then appears to Kalui.
— Good afternoon! My brother and I were passing by and we came to meet the new residents of the region. What's your name, child?
— Kalui.
— Where are your parents?
— My...
— Yes?
— My father went to the village ... He should be back soon.
— Understand. Whiger can come! It's just a child.
Whiger appears jumping through the window next to Kalui, falling with a somersault.
— What's up! Kalui, right? I'm Whiger. How old are you?
Kalui is startled by his sudden jump.
"Roldi said I must have seven. But ... I don't want to have seven, now I have eight."
— Eight.
— Oh, we're the same age! Cool cool. The stressed one has ten. Don't show respect for her being older. She thinks she's old enough without it.
— So Kalui, what is your element? I control the stone and my father told me that in two years he will enroll me in the elemental super school in the capital of Elfen! Incredible, isn't it? — Says Kahyu.
— I ... I don't know my element.
Kahyu astonished, asks him:
— How come you don't know your element? I knew my element even before I knew how to walk. How is it possible?
— Hey, Kalui, don't mind her. This girl can be considered a prodigy, but as she is boring, she thinks that everyone is like that too. I suffer from that too ... — Says Whiger, crestfallen.
Kalui is not offended or disturbed. For him, it is a chance to find out about himself.
— So, how do I know my element? I've tried to feel things, but it didn't help.
— Look, boy, there's no way I can explain something that is so natural. I couldn't explain to you how to move your arm or things like that.
Apparently not shaken, Kalui replies:
— Understand. No problem. But hey, how is it in the village? What were you doing?
— The village is normal ... A village, you know? Some small houses, some large ones, everyone knows each other, etc. And about what we were doing, my sister and I were hunting, but she refuses to accept my help, so she hasn't found anything since morning until now.
— I would have found it if I were alone, but with one more person the animals run away before we see it!
Kalui starts to laugh alone. The brothers look at each other's faces without understanding what is happening.
— What are you laughing at, Kalui? — Question by Kahyu
Scratching his eyes after laughing so much, he replies:
— Simply happy to meet you! You guys are funny hahaha!
Whiger puts his hand on Kalui's shoulder and asks:
— Hey Kalui, are we going to play something? We won't find anything else to hunt anyway ...
— I don't know many games. Whatever you want I will! It just can't be something that I have to move. Roldi forbade me, since I have an injured leg after kicking him.
— Wait, did you kick your father? As well? — Asks Kahyu.
— It was part of the training!
— So it's! We choose. Are you going to play too, sister?
— But it's Clar -... Since you insist ...
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Year 950, day 220, Elfen territory, Center of Vila da Fronteira with Mercy, 18h.
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In the commercial center of the village, just over twenty street stores are found in this small block; lots of vegetables, vegetables and various accessories, from simple weapons to construction instruments. This is a prosperous and large village, compared to the last one that Roldi was with Enion and Kalui. The houses in this place, like the one in the last village, are made of smooth stone and round windows, but here they are tall, reaching four floors. Many of these buildings are actually not a single house, but several, each on one floor.
— Great sir! What are you looking for? — Many shopkeepers ask.
Roldi draws a lot of attention. There is not a person who does not look at him while walking the streets of brown stone.
— Hello great sir! Do you want a tool?
— Yes. How much can you sell these to me here? — Asks Roldi, pointing to some tools.
The merchant extends his hands forward and says:
— Only two silver coins and still takes some toast seeds.
— I didn't intend to plant, but since you're encouraging me ... Hahaha! I will take it.
"Planting is not a bad idea ..."
Roldi takes two silver coins out of a cloth bag and hands it to the seller. The merchant then stores his tools and hands them to Roldi.
— Here it is.
— Thank you.
— Ah, congratulations on the beautiful swords! Did you buy in any of the tents?
— No sir. I have had it for many years. Thank you!
A few hours later, Roldi had already gone to some tents and bought everything he wanted. He bought a bed, construction and repair tools, a blind, heavy sword, a round, heavy wooden shield and a simple, small wagon with no finish at all, so that he could carry the bed along with the things he had bought, in addition to serve in the future to carry animals he will hunt.
"I want to see the boy's face when I see all of this hehehe."
Coming close to home, Roldi hears lots of childish laughter. He finds the extra voices strange, but since they are children's laughter, he imagines that everything is fine. He leaves his cart with everything close to the entrance to the house.
A few meters from the door, he sees a shoe slowly floating out of the house, passing through the door and falling sharply after a few seconds. Roldi is startled, imagining that Kalui started to dominate the air so fast; however, when setting foot in the entrance, he is faced with a scene beyond his imagination. The strong moonlight illuminating Kalui and the children, while laughing and jumping from wall to wall, from ceiling to floor, from floor to wall, slowly, weightless, with the strands of hair floating aimlessly, as if they were in water, without any wind current.
— Hey Kalui, is that your dad? He seems to be in shock ...