Vivian and Jaden were casually walking through the city, making simple comments about the plants and how they interweaved into the ancient buildings.

Daryl was even more frustrated with the oracle of late, even though the madness it displayed previously had proven to be accurate. The things it spouted now were just beyond absurd. He was seated on a stone bench that had been completely covered in moss, his brows furrowed in consternation.

"Ah, Matriarch!" he called when he spotted Vivian. He missed the anguish on her face, as it only flickered for a moment and vanished. Jaden pitied her that aspect. Despite her efforts, everyone insisted on treating her differently than she asked.

"Daryl." she greeted him.

"Just... about the prophecy..." Daryl knew this was a touchy subject with her of late, and while reluctant, he had to address the oracle's recent madness.

"Yes?" Vivian sighed heavily, her previously good mood soured as she ushered Jaden to continue on and assured she'd catch up.

"It's just well..." Daryl straightened himself and spoke with respect, "The future has become uncertain, when before it was clear. Please take raising the child of prophecy seriously..."

"How I raise my son is not serious?" Vivian scowled, "He's happy and healthy. What more can the oracle need than that to see a brighter future?"

"F-f-forgive me." Daryl apologized as his knees buckled. "But maybe you could start him on martial training?"

"You're suggesting I teach a ten-day-old how to wield a weapon?" Vivian scratched her chin. This practice was not unheard of in their race, at four years of age they were subjected to rigorous training with various weaponry, it just never amounted to much. Evan and Bayne were prime examples of that.

"Please Matriarch..." Daryl asked as politely as he could.

"He may talk and act like a ten-year-old, but he's still only been in this world ten days," Vivian stated exasperatedly. "You believe I'm wasting time?"

"Matriarch..." Daryl's voice became weaker.

"He has plenty of time to fulfill his role as the 'child of prophecy' but what about his life as 'Jaden'? I'm not raising some nameless phantom but my child. When the time comes and he wants to walk that path, that's his decision to make. Not yours, not mine. And certainly not some faceless nameless oracle. You can tell it I said so too." Vivian spat and walked away.

"Mother..." Jaden overheard their discussion not because he was eavesdropping, but because she got that loud. He couldn't help but admire how she was raising him for his own sake. He was not some tool to her, but the rest of them were a different story. They only saw a savior, a tool to make their lives supposedly better.

In fact, everyone overheard. Molli and Lulu actually agreed with Vivian's point of view, even though they were amongst those pushing her to raise a monster.

Isa looked at Vivian's retreating figure. "She's had a complete change of heart since he was born..."

Anya rustled her leaves answering Isa's musings.

"Mother and child bond you say?" Isa asked, "Perhaps. That makes the most sense. But I still think there's more to it."

Vivian caught up to Jaden, her face bright with a smile, "Sorry for that, shall we continue?"

"Yes!" Jaden hugged her tightly.

Isa watched the pair of them continue on as Jaden asked questions about anything and everything, with Vivian answering to the best of her ability. Isa turned her gaze to the defeated Daryl, "I have to wonder just what the oracle saw though."

Jaden looked sheepishly at his mother, "Do you have a weapon you prefer?"

"You heard that little spat earlier?" Vivian was caught off-guard, "I don't know, all my life I was dragged along and forced to run from any and all dangers. I've never held more than a stick before."

"In that case... would you learn with me?" Jaden asked.

"This is what you want?" Vivian asked.

"If I can stop seeing your smile disappear whenever you talk with the others, I'll do it," Jaden responded.

"You're wise beyond your age," Vivian said lightly.

"I feel older than I physically am," he said with an air of mystery behind it.

"Shall we pay a visit to Bayne then? He has some martial skill, so that should help us skip over some bumbling around."

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Late in the afternoon, Vivian and Jaden were looking over Bayne's sad assortment of weapons. Some chipped daggers, an axe about to lose the head, a bow with a broken string and no arrows to speak of, and lastly a broken short sword.

Vivian and Jaden exchanged glances. "We don't even have a proper weapon to train with and everyone's insisting you start weapon training."

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Anya's leaves rustled briefly.

"Please Anya," Vivian said in response.

From the ground, vines grew carrying two oaken quarterstaves, one sized for Vivian, the other for Jaden. The wood had been carefully prepared and petrified, hardening and preserving the integrity of the wood.

"I don't have any experience with that," Bayne said dejectedly.

"That makes three of us... hm?" Vivian picked up the quarterstaff. Deep down she felt something stirring.

Ancestral memory detected. Skill Potential detected: Quarterstaff(Master) Passive Skill acquired: Quarterstaff(Novice)

Sasha? Explanation please?

I don't know either, but it seems one of your ancestors was quite skilled with the quarterstaff, and you've managed to tap into it; something akin to muscle memory, but at a deeper level.

That's not really an explanation. Are you not aware of all your functions? That seems... flawed.

"Something wrong mother?" Jaden asked, picking up his own quarterstaff.

"I don't think so," Vivian replied as she looked over the staff in her hands. Her posture changed slightly as her hands properly gripped the staff.

"Are you sure you've never used that before?" Jaden asked as he watched his mother slowly twirling the staff around her body.

"Call it beginner's luck," Vivian replied as she focused on spinning the staff faster around her body without hitting herself.

"There's a limit to beginner's luck," Bayne retorted as he gave Vivian more space.

Vivian came to a stop with a frown, "Seriously, I've never even held one of these before."

"That was impressive to watch," Isa commented.

"Jaden, we have a few hours before dinner. Let's get started." Vivian stated as she walked behind him and began instructing him on holding the staff and the motions.

By the time dinner was ready, mother and son were standing a short distance apart slowly twirling their quarterstaffs around themselves in sync.

"That was some amazing progress today," Vivian complimented as she set her quarterstaff in a vine rack.

"I had fun," Jaden replied.

"There's something about twirling a stick around that doesn't feel like exercise or training huh?" Vivian considered she had fun too. What they didn't realize was that they had an audience.

"Matriarch, can you teach me too?" Evan asked. Bayne and Emily also indicated they wanted to learn.

"I don't see why not." Vivian stated, "You'll help out too, Jaden?"

"I can?" her son replied as he set down his own staff in the vines. Jaden grew a smile from ear to ear when his mother nodded.

"Should we begin after dinner or tomorrow?" Vivian scratched her chin.

"After dinner!" was the unanimous response.

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Spirits and excitement ran high as they ate. Vivian ate by herself at dinner. Her silence and her permanent frown as she ate didn't go unnoticed. There was only a population of nine including their resident tree spirit after all.

Jaden was about to go interrupt her thoughts when Isa landed on his shoulder. He looked over at her and she just shook her head, "That's her 'I've got a lot on my mind' face. Nothing to worry about. She just needs some time to herself to sort it all out."

"Alright." Jaden answered and returned to eating, but his eyes were glued to her. He noticed how she seemed to be talking to herself. As though she felt his stare, she looked at him, waved and smiled. What burden does she carry? Jaden thought to himself.

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After the meal Vivian returned to her usual self, which relieved everyone.

"Did you get your mind shorted Matriarch?" Emily asked in her peculiar manner.

"Yes, I did." Vivian answered after a pause, and sighed afterwards.

Am I the only one who knows she hates being called 'Matriarch'? Jaden asked himself, or are they doing it on purpose because they know? No, that doesn't seem to be the case... but then, are they oblivious to how it affects her?

"It's my job to frown when I think, not yours." Vivian interrupted Jaden's thoughts with a chuckle, "But I suppose that's a quirk you got from me..."

"I'll work on it," Jaden replied as he picked up his quarterstaff.

Vivian nodded to his response and turned to Anya, "If you would, we need some more please."

The giant tree bowed in response and vines grew from the ground bearing six more staves.

"Thank you," Vivian curtsied to the tree, then retrieved her own staff.

Vivian and Jaden opened class by showing the others how to hold the staff, the various stances they'd be making use of, and how to spin the staff without hitting themselves. Isa simply watched from the sidelines.

Bayne was the first to pick up on it, and he stood off in the open twirling his staff around. He tried to increase the speed before he was skilled enough and ended up smacking his head a few times, his midsection, somehow his tail got in the way, but the best one was when he managed to hit his foot and he was hopping up and down on one leg. No one could resist laughing at his comical sight, Molli surprised them all by laughing the loudest.

Emily and Evan picked up on it pretty quickly as well, they made sure to stand far away from Bayne, they didn't want to get hit after all. Molli, Daryl, and Lulu spread out around Emily and Evan, and they all slowly twirled their quarterstaves around their bodies. Jaden moved off with his mother and watched their progress.

Before long, the mother and son began twirling their staves as well, increasing their speed together until the air was filled with a light wooshing sound.

Vivian nodded in satisfaction as she slowed down and signaled everyone to stop. She took center stage, "I'm not sure how long I can do this for but enjoy the show while it lasts."

Vivian closed her eyes, grasped her quarterstaff, and began twirling it. Taking full advantage of her higher dexterity, she spun the staff into a blur around her. The spectators could feel the wind generated from her motions. Vivian took a slow, deep breath and started injecting mana into the passive skill [Quarterstaff(Novice)] turning into the Active skill [Quarterstaff(Intermediate)] and when the requirement was met, it became [Quarterstaff(Expert)]. Her eyes opened. She began walking and running while twirling her staff all around her body. The blur became a solid circle as she continued, she started mixing strikes into the artistic display. The wind she generated was intense, and the noise from it was equally impressive.

She stood still as she slowed her twirling just before her mana pool drained completely as she didn't want to hurt herself or those around her from the sudden drop of skill level when her skill returned to the passive [Quarterstaff(Novice)].

Her audience was sitting there in stunned silence unsure of what they just witnessed for the last few minutes, let alone how she had such advanced skill with the quarterstaff. Jaden broke the silence.

"How long did you have to practice to be able to do that?" he asked.

Well... do I tell him I cheated and today really is the first time I held a staff? She looked at him with a sly grin but didn't answer.