“You are too soft. Aren’t you supposed to be a war orphan or something, kid?” the guard asked while Ari was sprawled on the ground near the gardens. Cyrus and Sir Vandron agreed that since it will take time for the young man to learn Krazhnori and be ready to practice druidism, he needed to start training his body for the life of a legitimate explorer. A wooden sword slammed point down into the ground near Ari’s head, interrupting him from his stupor. “The other’s may be taking it easier on you because they see how pampered you are, but I remember the kid that Lady Laine picked up all those years ago. Get up and grab the quarterstaff or I’m going to start beating you while you’re down.”
The rough older guard, named Amsre, was a wiry muscled man that preferred to call little attention to himself and clung to his Lady’s shadows. He had been serving Lady Laine since she debuted to wider society, and as one who was drilled in the martial ways since he was just a boy found Ari’s performance pathetic. “Up, Ari. I would expect all this hiking through the hills to have helped build up your endurance.” When Ari failed to push himself back up and collapsed back into the dirt, the guard took a knee and leaned down to whisper in his ear. “Do you need me to get Lady Laine? Does she need to come out here and offer to kiss your wounds and tuck you in to rest?” The guard spoke with scorn and mockery in his voice, and a fire was ignited under Ari. He pushed himself up and got back to sparring with Amsre, taking the counters and corrections that came in the form of strikes with the practice sword without complaint.
Inside, Colette Laine and Cyrus III sat at a reading nook with a window cracked so they could listen in and watch Ari’s training. Colette appeared pensive and slightly frustrated, but Cyrus calmly sipped his tea as they both overlooked the young man’s endeavor. Cyrus eventually spoke up, breaking Colette from her concerned pondering.
“Every day since that old monster arrived last month. I don’t know whether to be impressed or worried, despite what your bastard guard says.”
“I am definitely worried. I know you, Uncle, and Ari spoke often in the days following his visit but..” she paused and sipped her tea “I recall my beloved said he trained often from childhood; he said that it was brutal but expected of him. This seems almost abusive, however.”
Cyrus chuckled with a shake of his head. “That’s because compared to this, Quincy and I were pampered. We trained a few hours every other day from the ages of about eight to sixteen. A bit less in my case since my father was primarily a merchant and didn’t fully see the point of our tribe's mandatory martial training. If I recall properly Quincy’s dad was beside himself trying to get his wife to lessen what he saw as ‘overly savage combat exercises,’ but the woman wouldn’t budge. When the two of us learned from our parents that we received the equivalent of the amount of training that a cripple would receive, or someone who was never expected to ever touch a weapon, we both almost joined the military to prove ourselves. When I discovered my path as a Phoenix Knight, I was barely considered a swordsman so my master needed to beat the skills into me much like this. I’m almost nostalgic watching him” Cyrus explained with a snort.
Colette shook her head, then turned back to continue watching her ward’s struggles against her oldest guard and friend. They remained in silence watching as Ari got up again and again, but after another twenty or so minutes Ari and Amsre left to go bathe. Colette watched him go with a grimace, and looked back at the impassive face of Cyrus before her frown intensified.
“When he starts training the magic- once Uncle returns with a hedge druid to teach him, are there plans to reduce his physical conditioning and martial training?” she sounded almost hopeful as she asked, but her face retained the serious frown.
“Nope” the man smiled and shook his head. “He will only be able to train every few days. It will replace his language studies, geography lessons, and survival skills on those days. His path isn’t like mine, but until he has a strong enough grasp on his magic he won’t be able to use it to defend himself. The boy is playing catch up already and he will most likely have to rely on a quarterstaff more often than magic until he can set out and find a proper archdruid to train him. I doubt whatever druid old Vandron brings back will be able to teach him more than the basic information he most likely already has in the scroll. The whole reason he went to find-”
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“I know why he left to bring one,” Colette interrupted. Her face slowly became red, then pale, as she got up and excused herself. A servant stepped up to grab her tea and snacks as she left. “I’ll be resting in the hidden solar, enjoy the tea.” The Lady Laine’s voice was no longer as amicable, as she trudged back towards the stairs near the dining hall. Cyrus sighed as he watched her go, considering how unfortunate it was that she was so attached to the young druid-to-be. He returned to overlooking the area where the training had been taking place, it was the cleared area of the garden where Cyrus flames had burnt down the foliage. The dried and burnt grasses were pulled up and the soft dirt packed hard to make a mimicry of a training yard.
Ari eventually found Cyrus, and joined him at the table in the nook. He wordlessly began pulling his studying materials out of his bag, a concentrated expression on the young man’s face as he attempted to read the merchant’s emotions. Without further fanfare, they dove into the study of the Krazhnori language. The dialects, the various scripts: both ceremonial and more commonplace, even the different modes of writing that were used were studied. When Cyrus made to leave for his room, several hours later as the sun was just beginning to set, Miss Colette found Ari and bid him to follow. Ari did so without a word, and the two walked out into the chillier evening air out the front of the manor for a few minutes before they reached a bubbling brook not far from the gates to the front courtyard.
Miss Colette took off her shoes, sat on the bank of the small stream, and dipped her feet into the flowing water as it made its way downstream beyond the hill the manor rested atop. Ari raised an eyebrow, before joining Miss Colette on the ground sitting in a cross-legged position. He maintained his level of dress and just sat in silence, wondering what was happening as Miss Colette looked for the words she wanted Ari to hear. Minutes passed this way, the tension never quite building as the two were very comfortable with each other, as Ari t considered his surrogate sister’s slightly odd behavior. Even though they had been very close, he had never seen her do anything that could be seen as unladylike or inappropriate.
“I do not like the plans that my husband left in motion for you, and I do not like the ideas that Cyrus has for your future. I also am unhappy with how dangerous it will be for you to even practice the most minor of the magic you will learn.” She spoke without looking Ari’s way, her voice weary and tired unlike her usual air of optimism and joy she carried in her flowing speech. Ari just nodded as she finished her statement.
“You think something will happen to me?” These were clearly not the right ones, for as soon as Ari spoke them aloud Miss Colette's head snapped to stare at him and she looked him directly in the eyes before she answered. Her calm facade cracked as she exhaled a shaky breath.
“Ari, you are about to train dangerous magic while harboring dangerous knowledge, then after a few years without enough preparation you may have to travel very far from civilization to seek further insights into dangerous magic that way you don’t accidentally kill yourself. I don’t think something is going to happen to you. I know something will. I don’t think, nor do I even want to consider, that you will perish. But you will be hurt, you will be afraid, you will be lonely and probably lost once you leave. You will soon be going off with whatever strange master that my uncle brings for jaunts to nearby regions of relative wildness inside Henosyria’s borders, and even with Uncle Vandron accompanying you I know bad things will befall you. I’m afraid and I am going to miss you each time you depart, because you are someone I love dearly.”
“I wasn’t expecting such directness” Ari hurriedly said as he blushed, but as he considered what she mentioned about dangers the realization quickly overtook the embarrassment from her sisterly affections.
“When your family and friends die abruptly,” she spoke with a grief stricken voice, “you learn how important it is to say how you feel about those you love.”
Ari nodded and gathered his thoughts before he returned her pronouncement. “You are my only family left. When I was young I thought you somewhere between a mother figure and older sister. Now, all I know is that I love you too and that you are my family…” he inhaled “ and that I know I owe Quincy.” Miss Colette flinched when Ari spoke his name, but she looked back into his eyes as he continued. “He, however indirectly, led you to me. I will be forever in his debt for that.” They both turned to look back at the stars slowly emerging in the night sky. Colette rested her head on his shoulder, and her curly blonde hair smacked him in the face as he did so. ‘Soft,” Ari thought to himself.