Chapter 8: Refresher Course

Author's note:

Heyah everybody, new chapter and this one is slow alright. I mean, I wasn't sure how I was going to fit a training sequence without skipping ahead too far. Don't worry action will still show up, but I had to put chapters like these in order to help develop the characters powers and bring forth some world stuff especially to how magic works. Better here and the next chapter than no explanation at all. Also, now you are going to know where all the characters stand magic wise. Anyway, read on! This is TheFoolOfTheNoon signing off!

/

Ankha's P.O.V.

The next day came and the morning sun rose into the air. Falling asleep between my lovers brings me great comfort and security, so it was welcome sight to wake up still between them. Isabelle looked so cute with her hair down and just quietly snoring away. If I could turn around, I can imagine seeing a similar sight with Nacho. Having his trained body to my back and my canine lover's soft body to my front is sparking some naughty thoughts in my brain. Who wouldn't with the history we had?

I have a little craving and well…why not satisfy it now? I hope these two don't mind my wake-up call.

/

Lucky's P.O.V.

Many would say I should sleep, and yes, I do, but really it is necessary for me considering what I am. I was already up when the morning sun came, and I was already up and about along with Amr. I guess you can call it old habits that we are just up and patrolling the area. We wanted to be familiar with the layout of the palace for the sake of our assigned chosen. Granted, I don't see Ankha as that anymore, to me, she is my sister and I only want the best for her.

"Lucky, what do you think of Ankha's relationship with her consorts?"

I chuckled a bit at Amr's question, "Heh, cutting straight to the point aren't we Amr?"

"I asked this as a serious question, it's your role as her guardian to protect her and be close by her side at all times, but I notice you haven't been performing your role well. It would seem that you are leaving the duties to Ankha's lovers."

I gave a chuckle, "Yeah, I noticed that too. I mean, I can't say I'm lacking in my duties to Ankha, but times has change. She doesn't need me looming over her and protect her 24/7. She's been through a lot and honestly, I'm glad she found people she could love like that. If you saw how she was before then you will realize there was only so much I can protect her from."

"Ah…I see, interesting…"

"Diva seems quite attached to you Amr, I assume you two share a strong bond?"

"I guess you can call it that. Mistress Diva and I are never far apart, she may not show it, but she becomes quite…nervous when I am not around."

"Really? Little tough Diva becomes nervous when you aren't around?"

"Please refrain from disrespecting mistress in presence Lucky, or should I call you by your real name? Masud?"

"Just Lucky is fine Amr. Still, sorry about that. She relies on you a lot, doesn't she?"

"Yes, she becomes a bit much sometimes. There is…a reason for this, but I am not allowed to say. Regardless, I will admit that she goes too far in her attempts to stay close with me. Hence how come our room is connected to hers."

"Sounds like she has attachment issues."

"Perhaps, I don't know her thoughts as she doesn't always let me know her feelings. I wish sometimes she is honest with me."

"Well I'm no expert, but I think you two just need to take a moment with each other and lay each other's emotion bare and reflect on each other's relationship with one another."

"You sure that would work?"

"I said I'm no expert, but it would be a start."

"I see…thanks, I will try it when the chance presents itself."

We continue our patrol in silence, only speaking to comment on aspects of the palace, the city outside, or some of the servants we passed by. We greeted them with a smile, as after all, we are servants of a greater power. However, our patrol came to an end as we ran into the ex-queen with Azhum in tow.

("Oh! You two are awake, good. I was going to ask you to wake up the chosen as breakfast is ready and we have an important announcement for them.")

"Indeed, it is actually vital for their mission, so could you two please fetch them for us?"

We were a bit surprised by the request, but I quickly answered, "Sure I can go and relay the message, but they might be awake already."

"Really? How can you be so sure Lucky?" Amr asked with confusion.

"Well…" I raised an ear as I heard a barely audible climatic moan from multiple people. I got odd looks, but I only smiled, "I'll go get them."

I left the group in their confusion as I took my time getting to Ankha and her lover's room. No surprise I can hear the sounds of the shower being used. I lightly chuckled to myself as I gave the room a friendly knock on the door.

"Who's there?" I heard Nacho asking.

"It's Lucky, Ser-Ka and Azhum said breakfast is ready and they have an announcement to share with Ankha and Diva."

"Alright, we will be there is about ten minutes at the most."

"Got it," I gave myself a smile as I walked away from the door and let them deal with their morning business. I assume Amr was already done with his business with Diva and now all I can do is wait. I mean, it is one of the best thing I can do after all as a mummy.

/

Ankha's P.O.V.

With our morning 'exercise' out of the way and got ourselves cleaned up afterwards dressed in fresh new clean clothes. We made our way towards the banquet hall, which is the only place in the palace where the food is served. We found Lucky, Amr, Ser-Ka and the others waiting for us with a fully laid out breakfast platter for all. It honestly looked very delicious, but I kept my composure as I didn't want to come off as gluttonous. Nacho on the other hand looked like he is ready to destroy the entire platter. Considering how much he is capable of eating thanks to his hunting career; it shouldn't surprise me.

We ate our breakfast and once we were done Ser-Ka clinked her glass to get our attention. As expected Azhum floated up and began translating her words.

("Attention, we like to make an importance announcement to Ankha and her companions. Before you and your group can head off in your mission. Azhum told me that he was going to train you three in magic in order to best prepare you for the mission ahead of you. So, we thought it best that you take his training so you can go in with the highest confidence possible. Any objections? Thoughts?")

There was a brief conversation between all of us. It didn't take us long as many of us agree that preparation would be better than running in without the necessary tools to aid in success. Also, the fact I could really use the training and who else is better than the man who knows all kinds of magic?

("We talked about it; we accept the training.")

("Perfect! I will allow Azhum to take over from here.")

"Right, ahem. Lady Ankha, Diva and the rest. It would be a great honor to train you all with my knowledge in magic. While some of you may have knowledge and skill in magic already; it never hurt to have a refresher course. Besides, with my tutelage you may unlock something within yourselves you never thought possible."

"We look forward to it, teacher Azhum."

"You honor me, truly you do. Now, ready yourselves. Meet me in the training hall in ten minutes and I will explain how I will train each and every one of you. This will be a great task even for me."

"We understand, don't we everyone?"

"Crystal clear."

"Understood."

"I'll do my best!"

"Let's see what's new."

"I'm ready if my lady is ready."

Azhum chuckled, "Good good! Glad to hear it, I look forward to seeing you then. That is all."

The talking tome floated back near the ex-queen's side who was smiling and clapping. We all smiled and gave some laughter as breakfast came to a close. We got ourselves cleaned up by brushing our mouths before heading towards the training hall. Apparently, it is an area in the palace where the guards, soldiers, and spell casters go to train. It was no surprise that for the residents staying in the palace that there are programs they can take part in which will test their physical body.

In the case of Azhum, he was able to take the spellcaster section of the training hall for our personalized training. Many of the soldiers and guards that saw us walking pass quickly gave us respectful bows and salutes. We return their respect with waves of our hands and acknowledging them. It felt like being a celebrity again, back then when I taken other identities to walk around in plain sight.

We entered the section and looked quite expansive with various magical artifacts and a large magical crystal in the center of it all. The place is just rich magical energy and it tingled my senses. Floating tome was in front of the magic crystal waiting for us.

"Ah just in time, good good! Let's not waste time! First things first, you two. Nacho and Isabelle, touch this crystal."

"Uh…why?"

"Is it even safe to touch?"

"It is! They call this an awakening crystal, a special kind of crystal that can awaken the mana inside anybody who touches. It is mainly used for initiates who have not yet awaken their natural mana flow."

"That sounds so simple," I commented as that is surprisingly easy just to awaken magical powers.

"It is, not everything magic needs to be complicated, but there is a bit of sensation when touching it. Not a bad one."

I watched as my lovers looked at each other and nodded their heads, "Alright we'll do it, together right Isabelle?"

"Yes, Nacho sir."

"Splendid! Step forward then you two."

We all watched as the two slowly made their way to the blue crystal. They took a deep breath before both putting their hands on the crystal. At first, nothing happened, but then the crystal began to glow and flash as magical energies flowed straight into them. I watched as their bodies tensed up from possibly the magic flow coursing through them. Frankly, I never knew such method existed as I remember my awakening came from mental training and exercises from my teacher.

"W-Woah!"

"F-Feels weird!"

To my amazement, the blue magical aura that coated them changed colors. Nacho's turning a rocky earthly color and Isabelle's turning a natural grassy green. They flashed for a bit before finally the magic coursing through them receded back into the crystal and the glow faded. The two would remove their hands from the crystal as they look at themselves with amazement and wonder.

"Woah…I feel…different!"

"Me too…is this what it like to have your mana awakened?"

Azhum laughed, "The look of newly awakened magic users always gets a laugh out of me. Now then, let's see what your mana type and mana affinity are shall we?"

"Mana type, mana affinity?" Isabelle asked.

"I'm glad you asked miss Isabelle, Mana type is the method of how you use your magic. It varies between everybody, but they are divided into the follow types; Traditional, Ki, Glyph, Psi, and Anti. Traditional is the classic way of using magic; any fantasy game can give you a solid idea how this works with some differences. Ki is more physical based like those fancy shows that involved spiky haired protagonists, but it is different based on the element gained. Glyph is more rare, magical markings appear on your body and become your main method of using magic. Psi is what you think; psychic based magic that mainly revolves around the mind. Finally Anti is the most rare of them all; where you cannot cast magic at all but emit a field that weakens or negates magi altogether."

"Damn, I didn't think there would be so many types of magic."

"Neither did I, my original teacher never told me that there were more types of magic," I said with crossed arms.

"Ah, Ankha, that is because these types of mana were only discovered here in Mythica. In your world learning and even using magic is a rarity and an ability only a few are lucky enough to wield. A such, most are traditional type when they activate their mana flow."

"Wait so does that mean?"

"Yes, according to my scans of your mana. You Ankha, along with Diva have traditional mana types. Amr here is a Ki type and so is Lucky…if he wasn't an undead mummy."

"Aw man!"

"Wait, so what do Isabelle and I have?" Nacho asked with confusion.

"Well…let me get a scan of you two…" There was a small pause as Azhum opened up and a fan of green light scanned my lovers quickly, "Oh ho! Nacho here is a Ki type also! Elemental affinity…Earth! Isabelle…Traditional type, Elemental affinity…Nature! Interesting, very interesting indeed."

I couldn't help but smile as I saw the excitement in their eyes. I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious of their newly gained magical ability and wish to see it in action. Granted I can also imagine them accidently causing some serious damage on accident. Yet one more question remained, and I was beat to the punch by Diva.

"Hey, you mentioned elemental affinity. Is that what I think it is? Like which element of magic, we are more associated with?"

"Sort of, but you are pretty close. Elemental affinity is which elemental magic you are able to use. Example being you and Ankha, which the former has Water affinity while the latter has Fire affinity. However, this is the only elemental magic they can use unless they pick up another element."

Hearing this got my full attention, "Wait, it's possible to have more elemental affinities?"

"Yes, but it is very tasking to even earn another one for a normal mortal person. Key word normal, however, this is a conversation we should save for another time. Let's get into training, shall we?"

Before any of us can ask how he was going to train so many students at once. The talking tome glowed with magical power before separating into six tomes. To our surprise, the copies still acted like him.

"Now…pick a me and prepare for your specialized training."

/

We separated into six groups with our own Azhum to teach us. It is a bit weird, but I want to take away as much as I can from this training as I can. Although I wonder what he will teach me as I firsthand saw just how powerful he is.

"Now, lady Ankha, before we can start your training. I must see what you can do magic wise already, so show me all your magic spells and skills."

"Right," I took a deep breath as I focused on my magic. I been able to knock off some of the rust off between the previous adventure and now, but I still think I'm forgetting some spells. So, I'll just show what I remembered and practiced. Azhum brought out a dummy for my convenience as I started my show case.

Firstly, I shot out a ball of fire before following it up with a whip made of pure fire. Once the smoke cleared, I continued the attack by creating a wall of fire and letting collapse on the dummy before launching a fire mine that traveled a small distance before exploding in a massive explosion. Lastly I launched a small spark that set the dummy aflame before ending it with my trump card the flame serpent which took a lot of mana out of me as the snake coiled around the dummy before finally burning it to ash after all the abuse after sinking it's fangs into it.

I felt my body tire and began to sweat a bit, but I wasn't done yet. These aren't attack spells, but they are spells I used in the past. With one last push to my mana I was able to change my fur and eye color before reverting to normal. I took deep breaths as I still have enough energy to keep standing. There are other abilities I have, but this is far I can go mana wise.

Azhum's eye raised a brow as he studied the damage and pondered to himself on my purpose. I looked around at the progress of the others. I was surprised Diva was still going with her showcase. I'm not sure how many spells she casted already but I can tell she was barely breaking a sweat. Amr, himself was showing off some impressive blasts of Ki type magic which appears to have water element in it as well. Lucky himself was just getting a lecture, but I couldn't hear what it was about. Nacho and Isabelle are getting a mix of a lecture and practice lessons.

"Alright, after seeing your performance I have good news and bad news for you Ankha."

"I rather take the bad news first."

"Okay then, to be blunt your magic skills are quite mediocre. Not only are you clearly winded by your spells right now, but your pyromancy spell knowledge is quite lacking. Furthermore, you are lacking many basic spells that any spellcaster worth their salt should know in this world. Also, I been told you are the child of two priests, right? I didn't see any blessings in your repertoire of magic. In addition, I didn't see your curses that you have been known for. Your mana reserves too low from disuse?"

"Unfortunately, I also have other magic abilities as well that I couldn't showcase. I can hypnotize people with my singing and dancing and can even alter my own scent and give it different effects."

"She is not lying! Trust me!" Nacho shouted before getting whacked by the Azhum copy.

"I see, so then it's worse than I thought."

"Yeah…I went a long time without using my magic and when I did it was only minor."

"That's no good, but this is where the good news comes in. You see, much of the magic you do know come varying tiers. As such, it shouldn't be too hard to have you learn or relearn the magic you should have known before then. This only applies to the pyromancy and grey area magic though. Blessings are another beast altogether, and we need to some separate training to restore your mana to its former glory."

"That's comforting, I'm surprised how much magic power I lost just from disuse. I actually thought I was gaining some of it back when I started practicing with them again."

"Indeed, this loss is great, but it is recoverable. However, this would mean I would have to put you through some intense training."

"That's fine, I will do what I can to keep up with whatever you throw at me."

"Good good, here, take this mana potion. It should restore your strength so we can get started on the basics."

He floated a jar filled with blue liquid floated in on magic power and I took it. After uncorking the bottle and downing the contents I felt my mana quickly restore and some of my strength return. I gave a content sigh as I wiped away some sweat from my head. With some stretching I looked over to Azhum and gave him nod.

"I'm ready, what's the first lesson?"

"The basics, I imagine this should be easy for you?"

"Well, I imagine it should be, or I would bring bigger shame to Bastet."

"Heh, let's find out, shall we?"

I put on a posture of confidence as this should be easy and I was right for the most part. I was placed along with my lovers as it would be faster for all of us to learn the basics together. Much of these lessons I breezed through as seeing it again brought an air of familiarity to me. From focusing my mana and to deep breathing exercises, I did quite well as the lessons of my old teacher came back to me. However, suddenly something new hit me in the face.

"Looking good, time for the first basic spell that many magic users learn quite early on in their lives; Magical Telekinesis!"

I raised a brow as this is the first time, I ever heard of such a spell, "Magical Telekinesis? I never heard of such a spell."

"For that I blame the old ways of teaching magic," Azhum said with a knowing look.

"I'm going to go off on a limb here and assume that it does what the name implies," Nacho remarked.

"Indeed, but there are some…nuances depending on the mana type. Psi types can do this naturally without the cost of mana at all. Traditional and Glyph types require practice and mana in order to perform it. Ki types can't use this at all but instead gain access to Ki blasts, you are probably familiar with this concept. I will explain it more in detail to you personally, but first let us practice this shall we ladies?"

Isabelle and I nodded as Azhum explained to focus our magic onto these vases he brought out as targets. We needed to use our magic like it was a hand, an extension of ourselves. Our hands glowed with the color of our mana, Isabelle's being green and mine having a golden color to it. It took me a few tries to successively move the light object towards me as I have accidently dropped and crushed the vase in some of my attempts. Isabelle took longer as she was nervous and had a hard time focusing her magic once she had the vase in her magic. It took some encouragement, but she was able to do it.

"Wow…I never knew that this spell existed."

"It does and it is the best multipurpose spell in a spellcasters arsenal. With some more practice you can lift even heavier objects, but if you aren't careful then you might drain your mana quite quickly without realizing it."

"I see, then this might be very helpful in the future."

"Indeed, now with that settled. Now let's get to your personal training for you three. We are only going to cover the basics for your elements today so best be ready to listen well."

We all showed our excitement to the talking tome and that is how we spent the rest of the day. Under his tutelage, Azhum gave us the best and quickest lessons in magic anybody could hope to have. He taught us all about the tiers of magic and gave us a quick run through of all the most used spells in tier one of our element.

In my case, I already knew some of the tier one pyromancy spells; fireball, gentle warmth and ignite. However, there are plenty that I didn't know such as; Smoke Screen, Combustion, Fire Pillar, Heat Wave, Weapon Enchant: Fire Coated, and finally Armor Enchant: Protective Flames. It was interesting to know, and I was given the choice to practice two other tier one spells while leaving the others for me to decide whether I want to learn them or not on my own.

This is probably because Azhum and Ser-Ka didn't want to keep us here any longer than we should be. That's fine by me, gives me room to experiment with other kinds of magic, "I chose to learn the Smoke Screen and the Fire Pillar spell as I feel like I would get more use out of those spells than the others on the list."

"Interesting choices Ankha, alright let's focus on the Smoke Screen spell. This is a utility spell that creates a…smoke screen that can distract enemies by making them choke and obscuring their vision. Thus, covering your party or just yourself while being completely unaffected by negative effects. Of course, that depends on who you see as your friends or enemies."

"Sounds right up my alley, so how do I cast it?"

"It's a tier one spell for a reason. Think of the smoke of fire and think of it spraying from your hand. Just like that!"

"Alright…deep breath…" I began doing as he instructed. Closing my eyes and thinking of the smoke that came from fire. I took a deep breath as I felt my mana in my open palm then release, opening my eyes and smiling as I saw grey smoke being sprayed out from my golden mana. I let it spray for a few seconds longer before naturally cutting off the spell.

"Mhm, as expected you picked it up quite well. Not bad, but you only scratched the surface of what such a spell could do. Give it a few more shots while I clear out the smoke as I rather not have you cloud up everyone's vision."

I nodded as I experimented with the streams of smoke. I learned quite fast that I can shoot out a large cloud instantly by expending a good small chunk of mana. I can also expend less mana to make thin streams which looks like it serves no purpose, but I think I can find a use for it. I kept experimenting for a little bit before finally feeling satisfied with it.

"Hmm…I can certainly find use for this spell."

"I'll say, now let's move onto the other pyromancy spell Fire Pillar. This is pretty straight forward as you end up creating a pillar of fire that erupts in front of you. As you probably figured out, imagine that fire is going to erupt from the ground and throw out a bit of your mana out. That is all there is to it, so feel free to experiment as you wish until you feel comfortable with the spell."

"Alright, you might want to take a few steps back then er…float back," Azhum did just that as I went through the process of preparing myself to cast the spell. It took a little more focus this time and once I felt I was ready I let go of the spell in front of me and unfortunately…I over did it a bit.

As soon as my mana touched the ground and created a large pillar of fire that broke through the ceiling of the training hall. The pillar lasted for a few seconds before finally dying out and I could feel everyone's eyes on me. Which is not surprisingly as I just, for Ra's sake, blew a hole in the ceiling hall.

"Whoa! Ankha did you do that?" Nacho exclaimed in surprise.

"Uh..*ahem* yes I did, not intentionally though. Heh heh…" I can feel my face blushing red. This is probably the first time I screw up a spell in such a way.

"Well that was unexpected, next time dial back on the power," Azhum said as he gave a few coughs somehow.

"Right, let me try again," It took a few more tries before I could fire out a perfectly balanced fire pillar that wasn't overly strong or weak either. I manage to pull it off consistently a couple of times before experimenting a bit more with the spell. I quickly found out that I can have a row of fire pillars pop out in sequence. After fiddling a bit, I can send off the sequences in various directions and manipulate them to be a bit unpredictable. Of course, doing so drained more mana out of me and before I knew it, I was feeling tired again.

"Impressive, most impressive Ankha. That will be all for today's magic training, but you all won't be leaving empty handed," Azhum conjured up a couple of small books that floated towards us. We all quickly realized that these are spell books related to our elements, I gave a quick skim and saw it covered all kinds of fire spells while also having recommended pages for first time learners.

"Whoa…this is pretty informative book are you sure we should have this?" Isabelle asked.

"Yes, greatly so. Consider it study material for you to look at in your own time, but please don't try to be bold and attempt the spells beyond the recommended unless I say so. Are we clear?"

"Crystal clear Azhum, thank you for your help," I said as I respectfully bowed to him with the others doing the same.

"Think nothing of it, I am simply doing my duty, but your praise is appreciated."

We couldn't help but smile as we saw Azhum blush a bit while trying to remain professional. Class was done and we were free to spend the rest of our day as we see fit. As much as I would have loved to go out there and explore the city. I decided to stay within the palace to study the book, I was joined by Nacho, Isabelle, and Lucky as we sat together in the main hall. It was fascinating to see what the books had in store for us.

"I never knew fire magic has this kind of intricacies to it. I mean look at all these ways to cast a fireball spell with different properties! Big slow-moving fireballs, quicker weaker fireballs, and even ones that can ricochet off walls!"

"That's awesome Ankha, my book is just telling me to basically punch or stomp the ground to get the earth stuff going. Looks like conjuring up rock balls and stuff doesn't come until later," Nacho said as he explored his book.

Isabelle and I gave some light laughter at the simplicity of his book, "I think Ki-type users are more straightforward with their practice."

"Yeah, Azhum had me stomping and practicing Ki-blasts, so it is less complicated than I thought it would be."

"Regardless, the basics are the foundation mastery. If you don't brush up on it then you might see more of the mat in future sparring sessions."

"Fat chance Ankha, I'm not letting you get ahead of me!"

I couldn't help but let out a smirk at seeing his competitive spirit, "Well you are welcome to try love."

"Okay! Okay! Let's calm down before you two start sparring right here and now. Let's keep that to places where it is okay to spar," Isabelle quickly exclaimed in order to stop us from egging each other on. From our history, I don't blame her as when it comes to our sparring, we tend to go all out and sometimes we get so heated that we end up breaking into a make out session. Plus, I doubt the local populace wants to see such a scene happen in such a public place.

"I never seen you two spar, well I heard the stories but never seen in it person," Lucky said with curiosity.

"Trust us when we say that it is best you don't see Lucky."

"If you say so, still I bet it's quite a show!"

I look over to Nacho and Isabelle, the latter of which flushed red, "Sure…that is one way to put it."

We continued our studying for a bit longer before stopping and getting something to eat before heading back to our rooms as the day ended. We separated from Lucky and said our goodnights. We peacefully went to bed and fell asleep under the desert moon.

/

Ser-Ka's P.O.V.

*Sigh*

I looked out to the statue that stood proudly in front the palace. The man whose efforts is the sole reason Egyptapia exists. His strength, his wisdom, and his leadership brought together a nation divided. He was greatly mourned by all when his passing was known, I myself cried the hardest but he blessed me with two great children. However…I wish…

*Knock, Knock*

("Hmm? Come in.")

The door to my room opened and as expected it's Azhum. I asked him to report to me the progress of the chosen and their companions in their training.

"Ah, thank you milady. I have the reports like you asked."

("Good, how are they Azhum?")

"All of them show great potential. Diva and her guardian Amr proved to be the most magically capable and only require some of my guidance. Lucky, he needed some education on what he can do with his undead physiology but is learning quite fast. Nacho and Isabelle, as expected are green when it comes to their newly awaken magic abilities. It may take some time before they can wield it effectively. Ankha though…"

("Hmm? What happened with Ankha?")

"It would appear that her ability with magic has rusted so to speak. She only knows a handful of spells and despite her becoming already skilled with what she knows, curses included. I'm afraid to say she is not as magically adept as a chosen should be. Another thing of note is that she doesn't know how to cast blessings, a staple of all chosen despite being a child of priests."

("Oh no, she needs to know how to cast blessings in order to fulfill her duties!")

"Indeed, it is troubling. I may have to put her through a more thorough course of training in magic. This would mean I have to mash subjects together while separating her from the others, so she can have more personalized training."

("Do what you must, we can't send them off until they are ready. Especially Ankha…")

"You really taken a shine to her, haven't you?"

("Not…exactly…let's just say we have history…despite never meeting until recently.")

"Hmm…is there something I should know about you two?"

("There is…just…all you need to know is that there is something I need to tell her. The truth to something I was forced to hide until she came here finally.")

"So…why haven't you told her?"

("It's…complicated, I just don't know how to approach the subject…")

"It would certainly help if you told me what it was about."

I sighed, ("Another time, just focus on training them. Let me handle this personal problem myself.")

"As you wish your highness. I'll leave the reports here for you to read at your convenience. Good night."

Azhum left me alone as I let another sigh. I looked over the reports and it pretty much said the same thing he told although ranked in letters. I found myself staring at Ankha's report, to think…that she would fall far behind. I suppose though that there is a good reason for it, but still. This many years of living and she had yet to reach a level like the gods like she is supposed to. Such a rough road ahead of her, all I can do is wish her well. Still…will she understand? Just thinking about it fills me with anxiety.

Slithering away from the papers, I went to bed. With a worried mind, I don't think I would be able to sleep well tonight.