After the Tournament chapter 3
The afternoon had been surprisingly uneventful though Myrves had listened to Raven tell her a story about the first week of his first tournament long ago about what had nearly happened when two warriors had accidentally wandered off from the paths when looking for their standards. The blonde haired girl wasn't sure why her mentor was telling her this story at first but did not object.
"They were both really lucky you found them." Myrves commented.
"Indeed; it is one reason why I always remind warriors not to wander off as worse things could have happened." Raven said in reply as they arrived at their campsite for the night.
Now the blonde haired teenager, who had to blink her blue eyes a little bit as she took off her glasses to wipe them off after stopping walking, got why he was telling that story. He wanted her to not have to learn don't stray from the path the hard way. She finished cleaning her glasses and put them back on then helped with making supper. Myrves was hoping that tonight would be as uneventful as today was.
Raven was observing Myrves as she ate her food and then opted to look at the stars as opposed to writing in her journal this evening. She was waiting for the few clouds that there were to move so that she could properly see some of the constellations she had learned about in school. Of course if she wanted to be an astronomer instead of a warrior, he could have her become a student to Cyrus but when he asked, the reply the warlord got was surprising.
"I don't want to be a professional astronomer. I just wanted to look at the stars since I never really got to do that very often." Myrves explained. "Growing up in a fast paced world meant not a lot of time to appreciate things like this and I just wanted to take a little bit of time to admire the sight. I still want to be a warrior for the rest of my life."
Satisfied with that answer, Raven did have another question for the champion sitting next to him. "Yet you still found time to read despite living in a fast paced homeland; can you explain that?"
"Well, yeah. I always set aside half an hour to an hour to read every day since my parents were okay with that as long as I kept up with my studies and my household chores." The teenage girl explained. She was thinking of how much she missed home and the peace of it but at the same time, did not want to go back. Not right now.
Then Myrves was distracted from these thoughts upon seeing what looked like a shooting star. She made a wish that the other champions would accept her as one of their own despite the fact that she was probably a little strange to them as well as to Raven.
Of course the warlord could guess what the young warrior's wish was; he knew only time would tell whether it would come true. "I would not sit here too long, young warrior. You do need to get some sleep." He reminded her.
"I know that." Myrves replied. She was thinking about her family and friends now. "How do you get used to being away from home despite missing it?"
"With time and experience, my friend. I do still miss my own homeland at times although I do not think about that as much as I used to." Raven answered her. "That is a story for another time though."
"I can't wait to hear it." The teenage girl admitted as she got up and unrolled her bedding. She then went to bathe in a nearby stream, being aware that someone could catch her in such a vulnerable position and attack. Thankfully such a thing did not happen and she was able to clean herself off in peace. She then put on her white pajamas and took her dirty clothes to stuff them back in her bag of belongings. Once she was done doing that, she placed her glasses in their case and put that away as well before laying down.
"Good night Myrves." Raven said to her.
"Good night Raven." Myrves yawned and fell asleep as her mentor kept watch and tended to the fire. She was dreaming of being on a tropical island and relaxing once Nevar was defeated. Whether that possibility would become reality was another matter but it was still a nice dream nonetheless and was something the young warrior wanted to achieve no matter how hard it was.
The next morning, Myrves had not quite gotten up in time and so Raven had to wake her up.
"Myrves, breakfast is almost ready." The warlord reminded his young champion.
"Okay. I wish I could have five more minutes though." The teenage girl got up and started putting on clean clothes. After she was dressed, she put on her glasses and packed up her belongings. She then had breakfast with her mentor and then they put out the fire before quickly washing the dishes in the stream and making sure they had everything before leaving.
As they walked, Raven listened as Myrves told him about her dream and that it had taken her a while to get used to the fact that she was now somewhere that wasn't quite as warm as her hometown got.
"I guess it's a good thing this outfit magically keeps me warm." Myrves had finished.
"Aye, all of the warrior clothes past competitors and champions have worn were specifically made that way via a spell that was cast on the threads used to sew them." Raven explained. "You will be learning that particular spell soon."
"I can't wait to learn it. I'm kind of excited about getting to learn about magic in general." Myrves looked like she was about to bounce up and down in excitement. She had read fantasy books involving magic at home, mainly the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and the Harry Potter books. She knew of course that there was a huge difference between fantasy and reality much like most people her age and she felt sorry for those who couldn't tell the difference but that thought could be entertained another day.
Raven was not surprised. Most of the past champions had felt the same way. Still a willing student was the best kind of student to have. "You will learn more about it in time, young Myrves." He assured her.
Myrves smiled as she walked beside her mentor. She was ready for whatever happened next during her time as a permanent warrior. At least she was sure she was.
