It wasn’t too bad, maybe 15 minutes of running through the forest. I realized it was my own fault…so it is, what it is. Honestly, it was actually kinda fun…the trees flying by, ducking branches, and dodging rocks. When I finally caught up to my Dad, we were in a small open field. I followed my Dad up onto a small ledge in the center of the field and joined him sitting on the cold rock.

“Learn your lesson?” My Dad said with simple cadence, as if he was asking someone to pass the salt at the dinner table.

“Yes”. My young voice filled with gasps for air.

“Ok, then, it’s time for lunch.” With that said, my Dad pulls his backpack off, and begins to pull out some bread, cheese, and dried meat of some sort…its not the normal stuff we eat at home, so probably his traveling stock.

“Umm, this is pretty good. The meat is spiced with something”

“That’s your mom’s special recipe. It works better with dried goods, and your mom only gives it to me when I am on the road. It’s her way of telling me to come home safe. Huh, I would have thought you guys would have sampled it before. Maybe your mom actually loves me.”

“Ugh, dad, you two are already a bit mushy. Becky says you have ruined her for marriage.” At that statement, my dad busts out in laughter.

“Yeah, I suppose it’s not easy being this far outside the village. If we didn’t have each other, we would probably dead by now. Granted, your Grandfather was an earth parity, so we didn’t have to worry about many beast attacks. He taught your mom some tricks, even though she is a weak. It’s a good lesson to know, a spear is a spear, a wall is a wall, a dagger is a dagger. Any good weak can do two of those, and an exceptional weak, like your mother, can add momentum to them.”

I had always wondered about that. We get two or three attacks a year, sometimes in a single week, but it’s always mom taking care of them. Well, now that my sister is back, she just hops up on the roof and drops boulders on them. It doesn’t take much effort to drop rocks, but my mom would usually come back exhausted.

“Dad, what should I hope for?”

“Hope? A domain is not a gift. It is not a pie lottery, or playing blind hunters. You are, what you are. You can work to make yourself better, or make yourself worse. All this drama with the testing is just to help you figure where you are starting from. Whether you find out you are an influencer or an avatar, you will still have us. Well, assuming you don’t bug me again.” A cheeky smile growing on his face after the last statement.

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“I know, I know. Becky says that it is best to be a weak. You can do many more things than the other strengths. She also told me that if I become a strong, I should run.”

“Run? Maybe. The number of Strongs who make it to age 40 can be counted on one hand…but, there are some. I actually had a friend who became a strong. We met when I was hunting in these woods. We were kids …maybe 5 or 6…hunting squirrels with slingshots. We never caught anything, but we had some great adventures. He always had this intensity to him. It was like everyone was talking to him at once, and he had to concentrate to talk to one person. Our birthdays were months apart, so when I came back and told him I was a weak earth, he almost seemed relieved. A few months later, my dad told me is was a strong. I didn’t see him again for 20 years. I honestly wouldn’t have recognized him if I saw him passing by. Your mom and I were in the village getting supplies and he came into the general store with his 5 handlers. He stopped and looked at me for a long time. Scared the crap out of me. It last so long, that one of the handlers started to ramp up some air…he laughed. I am not sure if it was the laugh, or him telling the handler to calm down, but I knew it was him.”

My dad paused for a bit, reliving the memory.

“He was retired. Not even 30, and retired. Pension from the kingdom. He came back to the village to check on his parents before heading to the retirement area. Never thought about it since then, but I guess they need a special place with their power. He looked…good, actually. The intensity was still there, but it wasn’t something you would pick out when first meeting him.”

“We chatted for 20 minutes or so. We had to get back to the house…we left your sister with your grandfather, so there was bound to be drama…but he looked good. I am not sure he can be used as a marker for all Strongs, but at least, he made it out.”

I thought about it for a bit. Twenty years living like a prisoner…and who knows how long he lived after that. I guess it’s better than getting killed the minute you are found to be a strong, but it still isn’t fair.

“Yeah, I still don’t want to be a strong.”

“Yeah, I hope you are not.”

“I thought you told me not to hope?”

“Parents have that exception, it’s a right born from all the times you poop and peed on me. Be happy I don’t hold grudges. You were the worst of the bunch.”

“Huh. Does it tuning hurt?” I asked, attempting to change the topic quickly.

“It’s…different. I am not sure I have something I could use to compare it to. It’s like being hungry…maybe…and you your first bite of food is a spicy beef.” My dad seemed to lose focus as he looked out over the tops of the trees.

“So it doesn’t hurt?” I asked…again.

“Yes a bit, but also no. It’s a weird thing kid. For me there was a burn, but it wasn’t unbearable pain. Maybe you should ask Becky. She might have gotten more information from school.”

“I did, but she went on and on about a water wheel, and how the speed of the wheel is your strength, and that the faster the it spins, the greater wear on the axles…honestly, I didn’t understand that much either. She said hers felt like getting dunked in freezing water.” I did try to dip my bare foot in the partially frozen river this past year, and it did make me suck air through my teeth. I lived though it, so I guess this won’t be that bad.

I quickly stuffed the remaining portions of jerky in mouth and got up.

“Hrmnhhime, do go,” I mumbled out, spitting some jerky bits.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full, and yes, let’s get going. The tuner is only there 3 hours a day, and today he has the early hours.”

With that said, my dad stands up and then quickly tackles me to the ground.

“Shhh.” It was said with such quick intent, I froze up.