"So what are we doing exactly?, you just took off without telling me anything" Severa asked her father as she walked beside him, "We are going to train you in the art of the sword" Lon'qu answered in his usual and calm tone, "I know you wanted to ride a pegasus like your mom did in the past, but i cannot teach you that as she along with the queen where the only skilled pegasus riders left in the Ylissean Army" he answered with a somber visage taking over for a moment.
"That's fine a sword is easier to maintain than a mount and besides i honestly didn't want to ride a pegasus, i'm already compared to mom more than enough as it is" was the bitter tone that escaped her mouth as she kept walking, her father beside her just looked at her while they walked "How to deal with this? If I don't try to reassure her she most likely will feel worse however if I do answer she will probably blow up, Cordelia was way better at this than me" with his mental process finished and course of action decided Lon'qu stopped and put his hand on his daughter's shoulder making her stop as well.
"And they are a bunch of idiots for it" he started suddenly, surprising Severa, "You are your own self, the same way she was her own self and don't listen to them, at the end of the day you don't even know their names, why should it matter what a bunch of strangers think of you?" he finished with a slight smile looking at his daughter in the eye, and she too started to smile with her usual cheek in it, "You're right, Mom was great but not perfect, if she was the best pegasus then good for her, it doesn't mean that i must follow that path" she said before the smile faltered, being replaced with a genuine one, "Thanks daddy, i needed that" to which said father smiled back the same way "You're welcome my daughter, now let's go your training partner awaits" he started walking again, Severa following closely behind.
As they reached the training grounds they were received by a kid holding a stick engraved in ground, the handle in his hand as if he was a mighty guardian, "Finally my master, the Cold Wind of Ferox is here, i the Chosen Hero of Darkness seek your strength so that mine can increase" as the blonde boy kept talking the man looked to his daughter who shrugged her shoulders not understanding any word of what he was saying, "I ask of you Great Master of the Sword that you aid me in becoming the great hero i was supposed to be" he said bowing to the myrmidon who just looked confused about the whole thing.
"Sure i guess" he finally answered to the child who smiled and swung his stick at him, only for Lon'qu to move the sheath in his hip, pulling the blade out and using the sheath to break the stick and moved the pointed edge just in front of the kid eye, "Hideous attempt, the blow lacked strength as well as speed or precision but it was your first try so i will let it slide" he said sheathing his blade again "Out of that attempt at a sword swing you were able to regain your footing pretty quickly even while you were in bowing motion, recovering that quickly considering your skill, is impressive" he said while turning around, walking to two training swords and giving one to each, "Severa and Owain, from now on you will learn how to use a sword from me and i will be honest, it will hurt" he said expecting doubt but instead he saw determination from the both of them, so he smiled "Let the training begin then".
—-
A few spaces beside the three swordsmen Kjelle blocked a lance with her shield and then tried a stab to the abdomen of her opponent with her own lance, said opponent just dodged a bit the left and used the handle of her lance to hit Kjelle on the head the blow making her fall in an instant.
As her daughter recovered Sully smiled, twirling her lance and then resting it on the floor "No point in wearing that much armor if you are not going to cover your head you know?" she said as kneeled to help her daughter regain her footing, only for said daughter to ignore her and get up on her own "Again" she said as she put herself position, only to be sended back to the floor with a single punch from her mother, "Enough for the day, you barely can stay on your feet, let alone fight" Sully said as she picked the weapons from her daughter putting them back in the weapons rack.
Meanwhile Kjelle got up from the floor and started taking off her armor, "I don't get it, how come I can't land a single hit on you?" she said frustrated, "Maybe because you just started and i have been doing before you were even born? experience can get you very far" was her mother's answer as she shrugged her shoulders, "Well you are free to do whatever you want for the rest of the day, i will tend to Cain if you need me" with those words said Sully turned around and started to walk to the stables.
Kjelle saw her mother retreat and looked to the floor disappointed in her own performance, "You shouldn't take it to heart, she is easily the strongest woman i ever met" she looked up seeing an orange haired man munching on a lollipop, "You can reach her, but it will take you plenty of time before you do" as he said that he turned to look at her armor on the floor before talking again, "You know, taking the blows with an armor that thick is not a bad idea, but maybe you should consider a lighter one, dodging is not a bad thing" with those words he turned around and left leaving Kjelle to take his words into consideration.
"A lighter armor huh" she said before clutching her head, "Mother really made a number on me, i better go to the healers, just in case" she left, leaving her discarded armor on the floor all the while thinking on the words of the orange haired man.
Upon arriving at the infirmary the healers immediately put her in one of the beds, apparently she got a concussion from the blows, which sounded bad "So why are you here exactly Kjelle?" asked her neighbor as she lay down on one of the beds, "Sparring with mom" she answered calmly, "You?" she asked to her neighbor the bandage that covered their face completely, "Violin broke and slashed my whole face, pathetic i know" he said with a mirthless laugh, "Just a bit, at least you can lie about it and say a sword did it", she said with an actual laugh.
"Nah, this is fine," he said, his voice returning to normal, "Do your parents know?" she decided to ask with slight concern "Ma does, Pa was not exactly closeby so we could not tell him, i would not be surprised if he showed up soon tho" Brady answered with a bored tone, and suddenly a crow landed beside him "Forget it, he's already here" as he said that Henry entered as he carried a child and settled him beside Brady's bed, Laurent entering behind them, "Brady what happened to you¡?" "Violin" "Sad" "I know" was his answer, "But you will be fine right", "Yeah, the bandages are overreaction from Ma" Brady answered to his father who just smiled and rubbed his head, "Good to know, apologies but i must go to help a friend, Laurent tell me if anything happens" and so Henry left as quickly as he arrived.
—-
Inigo entered a dimly lit storage room, looking at his surroundings he could see why she liked this place so much, it was comforting to be honest.
"Hello Inigo" he heard a voice beside him in the darkness to which he smiled, "Hello Noire, it has been a while" he said turning to his friend from a while back, "Yeah, It has, are you searching for mom?" Noire asked, seeing her friend still looking for something around the large room.
"Yeah, i need some help from her with a curse, Henry is busy right now so she is my best option for this" he answered calmly looking around and just seeing crate after crate of discarded things, "Probably treasures of her" he thought as he saw them all, some looked old, some looked new.
"Well if you look for mom she should be at the back, behind all those crates in the middle, well i must get going she asked to bring some things or she will teach me a lesson" and so she left leaving Inigo alone with the monster that lurked in the dark, so he took a deep breath and started walking towards his father 'friend'.
As he approached the destination he heard the voice, "What do you want, son of Robin?" he heard the voice and chills crawled up his back, dear gripping at him, before steading himself and answering to the dark, "You already saw my soul, you know why i am here, so please help me and i'll leave" the voice didn't answer, Inigo breathed a sigh of relief and then he saw her, the black mage from Plegia, and somebody who could make him shiver even through the curse placed on him.
"Well then, i won't deny that it sounds interesting on both requests, but you should know by now that a deal with a black mage is never easy or free" she said a creepy smile that promised pain etching in her face, "I'm aware of that, Henry told me as much the first time, but since i was the son of my mother he would let it slide" Inigo answered trying to stay brave in front of the woman in front of him.
Tharja just smiled and turned around, a cauldron that he was sure wasn't there before lighted up and she started, "Eye of vulture, fang of bear, human's finger and lastly a bit of black magic" the cauldron light up and a purple substance suddenly appeared in it Tharja smiled as she pulled a vial the substance floating into it, she turned around and looked to her new experiment handing the vial to him, "Well there you go, this will last you for around another 5-6 years" she said with her usual nonchalance.
Inigo just looked at the vial for a few seconds, before drinking it all in one gulp, he clutches his chest as he felt the substance flowing through all of his body, "Thank you, aunt Tharja, what is the prize?" he asked while being wary, ready to bolt out of there if it was anything dangerous, said witch just smiled "First one is free for my dear nephew, your other request will cost you however since it Is more difficult than a simple curse to get rid of shyness" she turned around thinking about what could she get from the young boy, before smiling deciding exactly what she will ask as payment.
"First i will need you to bring me the materials, a Wind Tome and a Bronze Sword, with those i will be able to create what you want" she said her smile disappearing completely as she uttered her next words, Inigo heard intently looked to ground for a few seconds as he thought and then nodded, he accepted the deal with the witch.