All those hours of riding against the cold night wind paid off when the pair finally reached Falrin. Housing more than eighty thousand residents within its staggering, remarkable structure, House Loriat's headquarters was certainly the city that most made Jin envy his village of origin.

As the gods would have it, the town of Falrin had been geographically separated into two districts by the River Trikonos. From the east, such side of the settlement was overflowing with humble wooden houses with brown-painted roofs and well-mounted decorated fences. One of them specifically appeared to be an extremely authentic replica of his house, except that the walls of that house were lined with red stone and the roof seemed to be stuffed with winter straw... Well maybe they didn't look so much like each other, but they made Jin think of his home anyway, which was enough for him to already feel more comfortable compared to Sanctum.

Tristan had a rough idea of how the minotaur horn could be used, though even with the knowledge he couldn’t do much by himself. Carrying such a valuable artifact with them without a concrete purpose was naturally too great a risk. Depending on what kind of question they asked the wrong person, they could become targets of looters along the dangerous roads of Elba. Dangers that Tristan Loriat was not necessarily used to dealing with, but the circumstances were clear. He needed to get information from people he trusted. And if his memory served him right, one of them lived right here.

What to Jin looked more like a grand mansion of wealthy aristocrats he would never see up close was one of the places Tristan had built up a lot of memories and friendships.

"What are you staring at so much?"

“That was… a place where me and my brothers used to duel against each other and enhance our swordsmanship.” Though good memories were made here, the barbed wire fences that now surrounded that roof reduced most of it to bitterness.

“We used to come here every morning, but that is in the past now since we parted ways.”

"How many siblings?"

“Just Owen and Julius. The Loriat House name may seem important in contrast to common folk, but among the nobles we, the Loriats, are but a minor house among hundred others. House Loriat sword fealty to Great House Crux after the uprising, and so it is tradition for us to fill their ranks as our duty with the kingdom.”

Jin wasn't the type to pay attention to house names, but he had naturally heard the names of the most prominent ones in Kingdom of Elba, specifically the most powerful houses. Silverfang, Crux and Sunfire were all Houses that even the most ignorant citizen could instantly recall on command.

“But that is not the reason we are here today. Come on, we’re close.”

Behind a counter, a short man with glasses looked up at the opening door. The recognition was such that he immediately got up and swung his legs off the counter.

"Tristan is that you?"

Clumsily adjusting his glasses to focus his vision, there didn't seem to be any doubt. Among so many customers who could enter, this was the one he least expected.

“Tristan, I never thought I’d see you again this soon… You look well…chubbier than last time I’ve seen you… But well!”

Touching the boy's shoulders, there was no mistaking it. This was the youngest son of Lord Loriat, his nephew Tristan had arrived.

“Hello uncle!” Waved Tristan as they approached the reception table, which was also his worktable.

“Who's your friend over here? I don’t think we’ve met.” Pointed out the middle-aged man.

"We haven’t sir, name’s Jin."

“Nice to meet you Jin, good to see you two here. Great to see you two, in fact. I wouldn’t bet on seeing my nephew before he reached Disciple, but an old man like this one enjoys company! Please come take a seat, the two of you!”

Sitting the two boys on benches adjacent to the main workbench, for a moment even Jin felt like he was part of the Loriat family. The receptive sir in front of him did not know him, but his hospitality was truly able to regenerate anyone's spirit. And even that wooden seat that itched his ass had its charm of cordiality with its customers.

The establishment was simple and relatively small to think of anything grand about the place, but it seemed to have everything an alchemist needed. A worktable, a few seats for customers to wait to be served, booths full of jars with various types of exotic ingredients behind the counter. Rustic yet elegant, Jin could see that the old man was clearly proud of the place he had built to frequent.

Before them, lined up against the wall were goblets chill to the touch, the sweet fragrance of the liquid exuding from within.

"Wine?" Looking at what he was offered and forward again, Tristan questioned his uncle.

“You’re not a boy anymore nephew, why are you confused…a resourceful man must drink! It is good I assure you!” said Uncle Gustav between laughs, already leaning on the table with a big smile. Tristan had forgotten how receptive this branch of House Loriat was compared to his brothers and especially his parents.

Turning the wine glass over in just one gulp, that liquid went down, refreshing all the heat and anxiety that had built up in the days leading up to it. His uncle was the last hope of keeping In Tristan's living dream, if there was a way he would most certainly be the man with the knowledge and skill capable of awakening Tristan's kinship.

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"Have you heard anything from father?" Tristan asked as he wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin.

“I have indeed, you know how he is spending his days. Things have not changed much since you departed to Sanctum.” Gustav Loriat declared, an air of sadness imbued in his voice.

Tristan took a deep breath and looked at him wanting to confirm what he thought, "Let me guess, playing dice?"

"Noon to dawn with Lord Tiberius and his retinue." The middle-aged man nodded.

Tristan snorted, his eyes falling to the ground. His fists clenched and it was clear to Jin that he held back so as not to hit the wall and relieve himself of the anger that plagued him. The reality wouldn't change no matter how far Tristan was from home, and he would have to come to terms with that fact.

“You know…I used to dream that I would come back to this place and still have the Loriat's Courtyard to return to and train, now I realize how delusional I was.”

“Your father was born and raised as a soldier, an honorable and skilled elemental warrior. Some say the Divine War would have lasted two more seasons if not for him.”

“What point is there to become strong and powerful enough to emerge victorious yet throw everything away when there are no challenges left, when there are no opponents threatening our position in the kingdom?”

“Nephew, one day you shall accomplish things are not as simple as they seem. Sometimes the hardest enemies to fight are the ones that come from within. Fortunately for us, Lord Loriat cannot gamble his achievements in battle, and songs will certainly echo his name despite his compulsion… but tell me nephew, you didn't come all the way here to talk about family matters, did you? ”

“No not at all, I had to come back because I needed to find an alchemist that I could trust. And you’re the most skilled one that I know."

Tristan looked to the side and lifted his shoulder signaling to Jin, “Show him,” he trustingly said as Jin raised a minotaur horn for Gustav's surprise.

Gustav Loriat was not necessarily the most recognizable name among House Loriat members. But for all intents and purposes, he had over the past decade built his reputation as a promising alchemist in helping to advance the cultivation stages of members of House Loriat.

And alchemy was not a profession that could be practiced by anyone who had the necessary ingredients, if that were the case alchemists would be more common than mosquitoes. However, in reality, Jin only knew of the existence of three of them in Sanctum, a place where technically it should have a higher concentration of elemental artists when compared to any other place in the kingdom. The manuals that needed to be studied to acquire great knowledge in the arts of potion making were rare and hard to find. And even finding them did not guarantee that you could apply the knowledge learned after reading them, as the ingredients of the potions were naturally as important as the formulas. Most people even with noble heritage would need to dedicate themselves hard to make a potion with a degree of purity and stability that make it effective, often being forced to put aside the training of elemental arts for combat.

That had been the case for Gustav Loriat, who despite being out of shape and with a friendly aura today, in the past had vigorously trained and cultivated the Elemental until he advanced to the rank of Guardian. And although his achievement was eclipsed within House Loriat as Tristan's father had surpassed Gustav in cultivation, he was still brilliant. And right now, he was the person he could trust the most to ask what to do with what they had in hand.

"For Ignis’ sake, where did you boys find this?!"

“It’s a long story uncle. We came to Falrin to ask you if we can use this to awaken the elemental in me.”

“Awaken the elemental you say? This could be sold at an auction in Barcana for your weight in bronze coins nephew! You would never have to worry about your father’s gambling tendencies ever again as you could buy all the land that was lost and still have enough coin for your daughters and sons!”

“Currently my priority is to awaken my elemental affinity as fast as I can. I am not worried about the lands of my family nor the coins it can provide me. Those are issues that the entire family must face, and they are not my duty to fix them with what I have been gifted. Tell me dear uncle, this one is utterly ignorant in the ways of alchemy but I have heard rumors of the horn's priorities in the past; according to legend it can allow one to increase their rank if used properly, does it hold true?”

“Of course, it holds true! Crafting a potion with two minotaur horns can make a Disciple sharpen all five of his senses and advance to Sentinel as soon as the potion is processed through their nucleus. One would be a fool to assume it can't also assist one in awakening the elemental and tapping into the inner nucleus.”

Gustav Loriat looked at the ceiling in deep thought and replied, “What you have brought inside my store is, to my knowledge, the political reason of why the minotaurs were hunted all around the Alanothian Empire in ages past. In all my years of experiencing with the arts of alchemy I have only seen a couple of these in my youth, and it was just once in Barcana, the royal capital of Elba. And that was only when the Prime Alchemist of Barcana briefly allowed me to look over the storeroom that is guarded day and night with a Guardian from the Golden Shield.”

“Okay…but get to the point uncle! Do you have enough materials to craft a potion with minotaur horn as the main ingredient for your dear nephew?”

Alchemists were usually extremely expensive to hire to manufacture potions, but in this case Tristan's uncle had known him since childhood. And all through adolescence he had helped Gustav collect ingredients when his shop was still in its early years on the market. Now six years later, Gustav was in a position that many nobles in the city envied.

Pulling out a notebook from the back of the room and bringing it to the counter, Uncle Gustav began checking what he had in stock in his store. “Twelve feathers of a Flaming Peacock...we have that on the top row; an index finger of a Juggernaut with preserved blood in room temperature…it’s right here; white leaves of Dracaena…uh oh.”

Severely rummaging through the back of the large booth, Gustav pushed through tangles of pots with ingredients that Tristan had helped him collect from the wild. With his fingers he pushed his way through the various compartmented materials until he found the ingredient he wanted, but with no success.

Tristan frowned and questioned his uncle, "You’re lacking white leaves of Dracaena to complete the potion?"

“I'm afraid we are. I cannot manufacture such a potion without it.”

“Don’t worry uncle, I know a spot. After all, I know Fanrir and its outskirts like the palm of my hand. How many hours will you remain open for?”

“One more hour, and we’re closing for the evening.”

“One hour is all we need, thank you uncle!” Tristan would not spend one more night without awakening the Elemental affinity within. He would not waste the greatest gift he's ever been given by Jin. And so quickly pulling their friend by the arm they stormed through the exit toward their destination.

Fanrir Noble District.