Adolé’s eyes flash open after cultivating the Jiko Kensa all night. It was now almost dawn and first light was was fast approaching.
“It’s time to make my way to Minerva. I fear if I’m late.....actually I don’t even want to think about that possibility.” Adolé said as he shuddered.
A short while after, Adolé donned a training gi riddled with holes and tears, yet it added a certain air to him. He leaves his residence and makes his way to Minerva. As he appears at the gate, something flies out of the shadows.
Phew. A single silver needle whistled through the air and strikes him in his left shoulder.
“Argh. Who the hell!?” Adolé groans in pain.
“First lesson. You are far too lax. I figured since you had your father’s bloodline, you would have your mothers instincts at least. I told you, I would personally train here, so you should have assumed this entire place as a battlefield with your life on the line.”
“That’s not fair, I did not think you would attack me so sneakily.” Adolé protested.
“On the battlefield, will your enemies provide you with that luxury?”
A silence passes.
“I did not think so. You have been struck by one of my poisonous needles. The poison has a fiery characteristic, so just that one should not be a threat to your life since you have such an affinity to the fire attribute, you should be able to drive the poison out using the healing properties of the light attribute while absorbing the fire essence.” Minerva explained.
“That is too much to do at once, how can I use two different attributes at once?” Adolé asked.
“Then until you become more familiar with this, we will repeatedly do this. So for now, try to do the tasks separately, but careful. If you are not fast enough and are hit by too many of these needles, the poison will build up, and even I won’t be able to help you.”
Adolé shuddered as he sat down and began to try and purge himself of the poison.
“Adolé. Do you know yourself? Are you aware of who your parents are? Are you aware of the power you have slumbering inside you and wasting away inside you?”
A needle whistles through the air and strikes Adolé in his right shoulder.
“Through the Jiko Kensa, all of these things can be learned. Your mother and father are beings who were at the pinnacle of their strength. They were strong before they met each other, but meeting each other and having you two only made them stronger. You understand that the Balmorals were created due to the fusing of the blood between the Gods and humans correct?” Minerva asked
“Yes!” Adolé responded as a needle finally falls out and is quickly replaced by another in his abdomen.
“You should pick up the speed, surely two of those can’t be a good feeling.” Minerva joked.
“Then if you know that you, should probably stop. Finally another one down.” Adolé jokes and exclaims as the second needle falls off.
“Since you have the time to back talk and give smart remarks, it must mean the difficulty has become too lax.”
Phew, phew.
Two more needles whistle through the air striking him in both of his thighs.
“Aghhh. Why do——“
“You better hurry “young master.” that’s a total of three. I know it feels like something is pooling in you now. You better hurry.”
“You damn demoness!” Adolé said under his breath.
“Adolé let tell you a little secret.”
Following that sentence, a short silence followed and as Minerva released these secrets two needles fall from Adolé and two more hit his feet simultaneously.
“Your mother is not dead. She was taken away.”
The wind blows and whistles and Adolé doesn’t make a sound as the last two needles strike him.
“Your mother was betrothed to another God in order to "strengthen bloodlines." However, your mother believed in true love, so she ran away from the Gods' domain. This is how she came here to meet your father. Your mother was very weak after that, traveling between domains is by no means a simple task. It requires a lot of energy and an understanding of spatial laws. Your father found your mother stumbling through the beast forest. He said it felt as if something called out to him, so he took your uncle me and Faust and this is where the trouble began. Your father and mother fell in love at first sight and as he cared for her it only deepened their bond and love. Coincidently, there was another pair of eyes who seemed to also meet that love at first sight. This was your uncle Gerudo. He never openly professed his love but if an opportunity presented itself when your father was not around he was trying to slyly move on your mother, but it was a fools trial. By this time your mother and father were already wrapped around one another and this is what bred that jealousy we spoke of.”
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A needle falls out as Adolé silently listens.
“But that was not all that contributed to this. Your father was named the successor to the throne, and your mother announced she was pregnant. Both of these were significant blows to your uncle and it was the last of what he could put up with. It led to them ultimately fighting, and it lasted for about two days before your mother stepped in and convinced the two to stop. I told you he won, but that’s just due to him having the least amount of injuries. Had your mother not intervened I’m almost certain your father would have had to pay a price to defeat Gerudo. Later someone gave up your mothers location secretly to the gods. After, a great battle ensued, which ultimately led to her being taken away just a short two or three years after you two were born when she was at her weakest. After she saw that there was no way to win, she gave up after a long hard fight and returned back to the Gods’ Domain. Upon returning, many realized not only had she become powerful after "interacting" with your father she also gained an unexpected blessing and because of it, she was almost as powerful as one of the Primordial or Old Gods. Still, she was punished for trying to escape her fate. Shortly after, your father communicated with your mother, and later we found out that the gods’ domain was dealing with an internal strife.”
The air around Adolé had suddenly become tense and another needle fell out.
“There had been small-scale skirmishes, turning the Gods’ domain into a battlefield everywhere, but the final battle supposedly affected all of the new gods the same. All of their presence simply disappeared. This was a shock to most of the Balmorals since many of us had links to most of the new gods, but we knew they most likely had been sealed and not killed due to the phenomena in the sky. Afterward, the Gods’ domain appeared here, well some of it anyway, and was just one tall mountain in the sky. Pillars surrounded it and the God ki, spread out all over the myriad domain, saturating it and creating new races.”
The final needle fell out.
“The culprit behind your mother being taken away was your Uncle.”
Adolé’s eyes snapped open, and a needle quickly pierced him in the center of his head. A purple substance quickly escaped through his pores, and Adole became immobile.
“Your uncle is very strong, but your dad is stronger and wouldn’t lose to him if underhanded tricks weren’t involved. He plans to take his “rightful” place as king of the of the balmorals and already has a number of supporters. This is why I told you the balmorals were broken up into factions, so you must hurry and grow into your strength and rise through the ranks of the army, bidding your strength and gaining supporters. So we will not delay, and I will warn you, this will not be a walk in the park. Rest easy young king, you have a long road ahead of you.” Minerva said as she walked closer and closer to Adolé.
Soon the final needle falls and Adolé loses consciousness.
“I didn’t expect him to absorb all of the fire properties, and get rid of the poison so quickly. Now that I’ve cleaned his meridians and opened up his channels, his body will be more malleable and able to handle what’s to come. Although this may strain his body a little bit, nothing that I can’t fix!” Minerva said as she tossed the unconscious Adolé into a bath of hot water and medicinal herbs.