"Straighten your back when you hold your sword, mutt!" The disapproving voice of her father echoed across the compound. Kyra bit her bottom lip—the feeling of annoyance coating her throat.

She wanted to escape. She wanted to return to the house and look at the old maps that her mother had given her. Instead, she was here, clutching a sword slightly larger than herself, standing before her brother, who appeared eager to begin swinging.

Kyra von Stein was many things, but not a swordsman. Her green eyes followed as her brother stepped forward, pointing his sword at her. With a wave of her father's hand, her brother leaped to action. However, this did not imply that she was awful at it. She ran forward—faster than her brother—and struck downward.

The two siblings lashed at one another. Their steel blades clashed, sending ear-piercing sounds throughout the space around them. She moved the sword around like a pair of scissors, throwing kicks and punches into the mix. Munich von Stein was silently furious as Kyra overwhelmed her brother.

"How many times must he be overpowered?" He pondered. Kyra flipped the blade behind her, grabbing it with her hand. Her brother's eyes widened, unable to predict her next action. Kyra effortlessly used the hilt of her sword to knock down her brother before straddling him and putting the blade at his throat.

"I win." She smirked. Luther was quite angry. His sister had embarrassed him. A woman younger than him. His emerald eyes then shifted to those of his father, who stood there looking disappointed.

Luther screamed in frustration before flinging off his sister. The young man then stormed away, his brown hair bouncing up and down with each angry stride. Kyra rose up and gave her father a grin. However, it soon faltered. Munich looked at his daughter with significantly more disdain than she was accustomed to.

And she knew why.

The von Stein House was banking on Luther being a strong heir to his father. He was an excellent swordsman.

A man who will lead his village and house just like Munich did. Munich expected Kyra to be an excellent swordsman, so she did not bring shame to the von Stein household. However, with how strong she was, handing down the reigns of the village to his daughter would be a disgrace on his part. It would make Luther look like an incompetent fool who lost to his little sister.

Kyra couldn't care less when it came to family politics. She hated swords, family politics, and having her future written for her. She wanted to explore the world using her grandfather's map. Fight monsters, dragons, and giants using the magic she secretly wanted to learn.

Kyra didn't want to be woken up at the crack of dawn to be her brother's practice dummy.

If her brother was weak, well, it was his fault. She learned the way of the sword just as he did. Kyra glared back at her father, then turned her head and walked back towards the village. Her short, unruly raven hair flailed with the wind as her emerald eyes watched the blue skies and clouds.

Other than the obsessive warrior lifestyle her father had imposed on the village, Haagedun was truly a beautiful, overly green, and peaceful place to live. Her grandfather had founded the village, building it to serve as a base for his men to train, rest up, and have families. Her grandfather was a character, and the only thing Kyra could remember about the founding father was his many wives. All seven of them.

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Kyra shivered as she remembered being forced to call all of them grandma and how their saliva-riddled kisses would coat her cheeks with stickiness. Oh god, she was going to be sick. It was things like this that had Kyra respecting her father just a pinch. He settled with one woman. Her mother.

A solemn feeling soon befell the young von Stein, and as if God were watching, the weather soon matched her mood. The radiant blue slowly changed into a dull grey as the white clouds darkened. Kyra began speeding up as the rain poured onto her, soaking the material of her tunic and weighing it down. The main part of the village was in sight.

Rows of cottages with smoking chimneys stood in the distance, surrounded by wards of tall green grass. Kyra's eyes travelled to the young kid, who was playing around with wooden shields and swords.

Even when the rain poured, it never deterred the fighting spirits of the village. This often made Kyra wonder what was wrong with her. She never cared for weaponry. Her fighting spirit was there, just stored in a different departed. Magic was where it was at for her.

The young woman picked up the pace and walked into her house. Just like any important person, her family lived in the largest cottage. The blackened exterior and dark brown interior were unique to the village. Anyone who was passing by knew Munich von Stein and his two children resided here. Without a word, Kyra handed her sword over to the maid, who stood by the door before running upstairs and into her room.

The young woman immediately removed her tunic and trousers, leaving her in a white tank top and her underwear. She then stared at the massive map hung on her wall. Zaeda was truly a wonderful continent to study.

The three realms, several kingdoms, and the two empires that ruled over the lands had her kicking her feet every time she learned something new about them. Truly exciting. A soft knock came at her door, snapping her attention away from the map.

"What is it?" She spoke rather loudly. The door opened, revealing the brunette maid.

"Lunch is ready, ma'am." The maid spoke. Kyra nodded before waving for her to leave. The young woman then turned back to her map, and all the pieces of her puzzle fell into place. She then pointed at the map with a massive grin on her face.

"I'll be back." She whispered.

*******

Lunch was uneventful, as usual. Her brother was busy scarfing down the bland chicken breasts smothered with gravy. Her father swigged back the glass of wine before placing green beans in his mouth. Lunch had been like this ever since her mother up and vanished, and it was starting to get to Kyra.

She placed her fork down on the silver metallic plates and rubbed her hands over her white tunic.

It was now or never. Kyra found her resolve and opened her mouth.

"I'm not going to go to sword training anymore," she said. The dining room dropped in temperature, and a thick layer of tension coated the atmosphere. She had never done this. She would grumble about having to go to training, but always went—begrudgingly.

This time, however, she was absolute. Kyra simply needed to start thinking about herself and her own path, no matter how wretched it may be. Munich looked at his daughter with an unreadable expression, the rays of sunshine shining into the otherwise dull room. Luther simply stopped eating, looking at his sister as if she had grown a second head.

"May you repeat yourself?" Munich asked, his tone cold and his words drawn out. Kyra wasn't going to back down from the pressure.

Disownment was the least of her worries. She was going to break the shackles of being held down by this family. She wondered if her mother felt the same.

Kyra took a deep breath. "I said I'm not going sword training anymore. I'm going to focus on magic." A slamming noise echoed through the dining room, scaring both the maid and the siblings.

"You shan’t ruin the name of von Stein!" Munich exclaimed, his brown hair flailing around as he croaked on his word. "Learn magic!" He then added,

"Don't make me laugh. We have no means to learn such a thing. I suggest you get whatever hopes and dreams your mother instilled in you and start facing the facts. The manaless folks of Zaeda fall into two categories. Warriors or scum? I'll kill you myself if you ever become the latter!" The father finished.

Kyra glared at her father before she dropped her fork and ran upstairs.

The disdain for her father turned into full-blown hatred.