AN: I always viewed Whisper and the protagonist as somewhat dysfunctional friends… Yes, prepare for awkward teen rivalry. Also I found some things (such as Thunder not knowing the protagonist) in the apprentice section of the game odd so you might notice some (more than usual) deviation from the game.

Warning! There may be some aspects of this chapter that are unsuitable for some readers. However, it does not constitute a 'M' rating in my opinion.

The Guild was now the boy's life. The memories of the Oakvale Flames still scorched in his mind, but soon he had no other thought than training, and he became stronger and more agile with each passing year. His days were filled with grueling exercises. The night with study in the library. Finally he was ready to become a Guild Apprentice, just as Maze had foreseen. The real training was about to begin.

That is if Whisper could just get him out of bed. Whisper and Barron had been roommates for almost seven years now and there were just some things the two had gotten used to. Such as Whisper excepting the task to make such a deep sleeper wake up every morning. Today she had tried a variety of tactics. First it was simply yelling at him to get up. When that didn't work she tried tugging his brown hair. That did not work either. She'd attempt to simply pull him out of bed but had she not learned her lesson from the last time she had done so. Instead she opted to squeeze his nose shut. This only got Barron to push her hand off and away as he rolled over onto his stomach. This lead to Whisper using her most convoluted plan yet. Whisper crawled on top of Barron and sat on his back in a way that could have been considered straddling. Barron let out a groan of annoyance.

Repeatedly hitting his upper back Whisper yelled, "Get out of bed, lazybones!" When this only caused him to wiggle under her, most likely in an attempt to get comfortable and fall back to sleep, Whisper rolled her eyes.

Sighing she said, "We were suppose to meet the Guildmaster at the other side of the river."

Seeing that she got no response she decided to mention something that she might regret later, "But that was an hour ago!" Immediately Barron shot up, knocking Whisper to the ground as he scrambled to get out of bed.

Landing on the ground with an "Oof!" Whisper watched as her insanely silent roommate ran to their shared dresser. Now, this might surprise some people, but the two teenagers didn't have a nudity taboo of any sorts when it came to each other. Even despite the fact that they were of opposite gender. While Whisper had been extremely embarrassed the first several times the boy had casually change out of his night clothes and into his day clothing she quickly realized something. Attempting to explain to Barron why something might be deemed socially inappropriate was a lost cause.

Barron, to say the least, wasn't a people person. He gave no care as to how his words could offend others. He did not notice the odd looks he would get when he dressed in a particularly strange way. Nor was he able to comprehend another Hero's anger when he bested them in something. He'd often come to Whisper in silent confusion after being yelled at for feeding the ever troublesome sparrows. To put it simply, Barron and other human beings just did not mix well. In fact his nonchalance about most things had rubbed off on Whisper. From her inability to give a damn about what most others would think to no longer caring about nudeness. So she waited impatiently for him to get dressed into his apprentice clothing.

Once the young man was fully clothed Whisper stood up and said, "We better get going. Race you there!"

And like that they were off. Shoving eachother when they both tried to go through the doorway. Eventually Barron managed to squeeze past her, only to fall on the floor. Whisper laughed as she ran down the hall. Barron jumped to his feet and gave chase. When he came to the end of the hall he saw Whisper sliding down the staircase railing. In order to catch up to her he leapt off of the interior balcony landing just a few feet away from her. They both then ran through the shopkeepers room and into the courtyard that held the gravesites of once great heroes. Soon they found themselves running over the bridge and over to the training grounds. Whisper, not being one to be beat, picked up speed and made it the stone fence just moments before Barron.

Smiling at their antics the Guildmaster said, "Late again aren't you?"

Looking over at Barron specifically he said, "You do seem to have a problem with getting up in the morning." Shrugging Barron walked into the ring with Whisper and grabbed the all too familiar stick as Whisper twirled her staff around in a carefree manor.

Shaking his head the elderly man said, "You both can put those old sticks away. We'll begin training with real weapons now." The Guildmaster unsheathed a longsword and gave the weapon to Barron.

"Get used to the feel of this sword, and lets see if you can hit Whisper with it." He said as Barron tossed the longsword back in forth between his hands as he got a feel for it. The sword's blade was made out of fine shining iron and was surprisingly light for of weapon of it's length.

"Come on then. Let's see what you got, Farmboy." The young woman teased her friend. The two then sized each other up as Barron lifted his new weapon in the often practiced battle stance. Barron charged with a scream as he brought his blade down on Whisper, whom blocked it with her staff.

Pushing the boy away Whisper smirked, "Is that all you've got?" Gritting his teeth Barron charged after her. No matter how hard or fast he swung Barron could not hit her directly. She would leap or roll away at the last second, dodging his attacks. When he did manage to hit her it was always her staff that his sword met.

"Good, good. Well done, boy." Said the Guildmaster the seventh time that sword and staff collided.

"Now boy, show me that you can block as well. The life of a Hero is a dangerous one after all. If you can't block your enemies attacks you won't live very long."

"Whisper will try to hit you and it will be up to you to protect yourself. So don't expect me to interfere." Briefly Barron wondered upon the implications of the elderly man's words.

"Not all blows can be blocked, but you should be able to handle anything Whisper can throw at you."

Barron brought up his sword as Whisper creeped towards him with her ever present smirk. She swung the end of her staff at her rival but Barron was able to block it. Swinging at his feet Whisper managed to make him stumble and proceeded to whack him roughly in the chest, knocking him a few feet away. Using her staff to launch herself into the air Whisper attempted to land on him feet first. However, he rolled out of the way and jumped to his feet. Whisper continued to swing at him and for the most part Barron was able to shield himself. Eventually the Guildmaster stopped them.

"Well done. Now lets see if the two of you can combine your skills in combat with your skills of defence." He said as a burly, and very familiar man approached the melee training grounds.

Noticing the new presence the Guildmaster turned and said, "Ah, hello Thunder. Come to check on your sister's progress., have you?"

Shrugging the man said, "You could say that."

Looking over at Barron with a glare Thunder continued, "Whisper told me you had her training with that farmboy."

Both teenagers knew that Thunder disliked Barron, though the reason was lost to them. In the past the man would look at Barron with cold eyes from afar. However, as of late, the man would often come and find the dup during their free time and spit venomous words at Barron. Occasionally even threatening the the boy. This often lead to Whisper becoming incredibly upset with her brother and cause a great deal of confusion on Barron's part. It's not like he could know about the whole, "shameless changing in front of each other" thing.

"Maze thinks the boy has great potential." The Guildmaster said defensively.

With a quirked eyebrow Thunder said, "Enough to keep up with my Whisper? Bah!"

"Well, why don't we see. Your sister and the boy are just working on their skills now." The Guildmaster inquired in a challenging voice.

Both men turned towards the apprentices as the Guildmaster said, "All right children, let's see who has learned the most from your training."

Getting back into their positions they bowed before initiating combat. As a sword and staff connected again and again Thunder watched. He cheered his sister on when she hit Barron. He criticized her when she got hit. He was also no doubt thinking venomous things about Barron, but didn't dare speak his thoughts aloud while the Guildmaster was around. Her brother proved to be very distracting for Whisper. As Barron swung his sword in an attempt to strike her she failed to block him. While her first flying kick of the match managed to hit her long time friend the second was inconveniently just a few centimeters off and Barron was able to dodge it. Getting close to the younger teen was difficult due to his brute strength. If she messed up he could have her sprawled out on the ground in just a few good hits. Which is what ultimately happened. Before she could recover Barron aggressively harpooned the dirt two inches away from Whisper's head. I silent gesture that said, "Stay down."

"That is quite enough you two!" The Guildmaster said.

Angrily Thunder said, "That's all wrong, Whisper! You need to practice more!" He then proceeded to gloat, "Shame you couldn't see me at the Arena, You might have learned a thing or two."

As he walked away Thunder said, "Keep training if your want to there yourself one day."

Whisper could only watch as her brother walked away is disappointment. Barron, for once, realized the social situation that had unfolded in front of him. Sympathetically but wordlessly he stuck an open hand out for Whisper to grab. He wanted to help her off of the ground. He wanted to show he was sorry but didn't know how else to express it. When Whisper noticed the outstretched hand she smacked it away furiously. Standing up she glared at the Guildmaster and pointed an accusing finger at Barron.

"I could have beat him if you hadn't stopped us!" She yelled. She could have kicked him in the balls had she been given just a few more seconds. Then as he recoiled in pain she could have knocked Barron to ground and had her staff to his throat. She could have been praised by her big brother instead of scolded for trying her best. Her best, which evidently to everyone else, just wasn't good enough for the man.

In his usual lecturing tone the Guildmaster said, "We have few enough Heroes as it is, without the two of you tearing each other apart in training." Whisper just scoffed and stormed off, ignoring the rare sign of emotion in her rival's face.

After a few moments the Guildmaster said, "Speaking of training, meet me as you make it to the archery range when you're ready to continue your lessons."

"Oh, and about your melee performance... a couple of minor mistakes, but otherwise good work." He added.

And then the old man was gone. Barron just glared at the ground. Angry with himself, angry at Thunder, but most of all he was angry at Whisper. What gave her the right to be so cruel. It was training, did she expect him to not give it his all. However, Barron was able to comprehend her reasoning to some extent, and he wanted to make it up to her. Somehow.

"Wow. Is no one coming?" Said a voice that snapped him out of his thoughts. Looking up Barron saw one of the few Heroes that were adorned with black and red robes.

"What about you? I got this sword here. It's from an eastern country. All you gotta do is a trial and if I think you're good enough I'll give it to you."

Thinking hard he wondered if it would fix things. He never really understood how his arguments with Whisper started, what they were about, or how to fix them. Barron was just too emotionally disattached with the world to get any of it. However, he knows of two Heroes at the Guild whom were a pair. Friends? Lovers? He didn't know. What he did know was that whenever they got mad at each other they would present piece offerings and things seemed to be magically better in five seconds flat. With that thought in mind Barron decided to go through the trial. Which wasn't much at all. It was incredibly simple really. Simple enough that it was so unimportant to him that he forgot any detail of said "trial" seconds after he received the weapon. It was a blade. A katana to be more clear. So, with both weapons put away he walked to his next part of the training. He couldn't just ditch it after all. He needed to enhance his skill at every interval if he ever wanted revenge. That was his top priority - Whisper could wait.

When Barron arrived at the archery training grounds he went through the usual routine. First, string the bow. Second, choose the arrows he would be using. Third, hit the stationary targets. Finally, hit moving targets. He's done it a thousand times before. He no longer needed to wait, nor watch the moving dummies to hit the painted on bullseyes. He knew how fast they moved. He also knew when was the best section of the course to hit them. Today he'd even managed to hit the one in the back four times. Which made him feel a sense of pride when he remembered the first afternoon he had attempted to hit the moving targets, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't hit that last one worth a damn. Now? Now it was second nature. Barron was frankly annoyed that the Guildmaster has so far failed to realize how pointless this had become. Was it good to practice striking down moving opponents? Yes. Was it good to run the same course over, and over each day until he could practically hit the targets with closed eyes out of routine? No. Barron knew for a fact that actual enemies wouldn't work like that.

"Nice aiming." The Guildmaster said, indicating that Barron could stop. In all honesty Barron was thankful, archery had become boring long ago. He actually sorta wished he had prioritized the angry Whisper over this.

"Next we shall see how much you know about the ways of the Will. Let's walk to the training area by the waterfalls." Barron was somewhat surprised by this. Not that he was going to practicing Will, but the fact that they were going to that particular training grounds. It was a rare, if dull, occasion.

Barron walked with his teacher in silence. He listened to the chatter of the Heroes and servants. Stories detailing great adventures. Lewd comments to one another. An argument about whether or not escort missions were worth the damned trouble. All things Barron was largely not interested in.

When they reached the small area the elderly man said, "Let's see what your studies of magic in the library has taught you."

"Use the spell you've been studying to hit these straw dummies." Barron reached deep within himself and felt an electric surge run through his veins as he brought the power of lightning to his fingertips.

"All right, let's see what you've got." With that Barron sent a strike of lightning hurtling into one of the targets. The Guildmaster than made him practice shooting his chosen Will spell into the dummies as fast as he could for some time.

"Excellent use of magic, well done." The Guildmaster said, indicating Barron could stop. Nodding to himself The Guildmaster congratulated Barron.

"Very good, lad. You have learned the three Hero disciplines. We can now move on to preparing for your final test. If you feel ready, that is." The Guildmaster was about to say something else but a Barron interrupted him.

"I am ready." This is what he had been waiting so many years for.

"Really? Well, I thought you would want to see Whisper. She should be heading towards the woods right now." This, of course, was the Guildmaster's attempt to make the teens makeup. Barron new this. "Apparently the old man thinks it can't wait." Barron had reasoned to himself.

"Either way, I shall wait for you in the Map Room." The elderly man informed before walking off. Barron decided that now would be a good time to see her, realizing that he'd be far too tired after the test to do any form of apologizing.

Barron ran to the gates, and upon seeing his friend he shouted her name with a largely unused voice. Turning around she looked at him with a blank expression and said,

"Hmmm, what do you want?"

Unsheathing the katana, the peace offering, and handed it over in the most gentlemanly way he knew how - Bowing as he held it out for her to take. Carefully Whisper took the blade and examined it. However, as soon as Barron was no longer bowing she forced the weapon back into his hands. Barron was confused, and evidently it showed on his face for once.

Shaking her head she smirked, "I get what you're trying to do, and believe it or not I appreciate it. However, I don't use bladed. Did you forget about that, Farmboy?" The only reply that Whisper got was Barron awkwardly scratching the back of his head.

With a laugh she said, "Come on, let's hunt beetles." Then the two friends raced each other into the woods. Eventually they slowed and Whisper took the lead.

"The new beetle nest is just at the top of the…" Whisper stopped mid explanation grabbed Barron and slammed him behind a nearby boulder. Before Barron could start an argument Whisper began to speak again.

"Ssssh, did you hear that? It sounded like it was coming from over there." She said, referring to some old ruins. Both teenagers peaked over the boulder and their eyes widened at what they saw.

"Bandits!" Whisper exclaimed as softly as possible. Barron had become enraged at the sight of the thugs and immediately withdrew the katana, ready to charge through the stream and run them through. However, Whisper had managed to grab him behind the waste and attempted to make her friend think rationally.

"We won't be able to get over there without being seen! I know, use your bow, or some of that lightning of your's."

After letting go she assured, "I'll heal you if you get hurt."

Breathing in deeply Barron somewhat unclouded his mind as he grasped one of the arrows. Moving as quietly as possible he brought his yew bow up and aimed. After release the arrow imbedded itself one of the bandit's necks. The man fell as blood rapidly leaked out of his neck and erupted from his mouth. With an enraged scream one of his allied shot an arrow towards Barron and struck him in the shoulder. As Whisper screamed his name he couldn't help but wonder why the Guildmaster didn't teach him how to dodge arrows. Ignoring the pain he shot electricity out at his enemies causing them to cower behind what had once been stone walls.

After pulling Barron behind their boulder Whisper took hold of the arrow and ripped it out of her friend's flesh. Now, it must be noted that you should never do such a thing. You see, despite the pain it is bad to take a projectile out of yourself when you are not close to medical care. It will just cause you to bleed out quicker. In this case however, it is fine as Whisper studied the less offensive aspects of Will. Concentrating, Whisper put her hands over the wound and soft, peaceful light illuminated off of them. When the light touched Barron's skill it started to pull back together. Within seconds the only signs that Barron had had a wound at all was the ripped and bloodied fabric upon his shoulder.

"C'mon, Jimmy! Let's move through the water so we can get 'em!" One of the Bandits yelled.

After Barron rolled his eyes Whisper laughed in agreement, "They're pretty dumb, huh?"

Upon hearing them enter the water Barron edged slightly away from the boulder. Looking at them with piercing eyes he waited. They were halfway through the stream, and were waist deep in it's water. Deciding they wouldn't be able to escape Barron shot a small pulse of electricity into the water. Before you could blink the stream was blanketed in blue lightning, and so were the two bandits. They stood convulsing from the lightning, and screaming in pain until their now burned bodies collapsed into the water, lifeless.

Whisper cheered, "We did it! Did you see the looks on their faces!?"

Before running off Whisper yelled, "Wait 'till the Guildmaster hears about this!" Barron however felt an odd mixture of peacefulness and unease. Both were feeling that he was rather unfamiliar with. He was unsure of what do. Ending the lives of some bandits before they harmed innocents felt like catharsis for the young man. However, there was this sinking feeling that had lodged itself in the pit of his stomach. Not knowing what to do he simply decided to chase after Whisper. She disappeared from sight however, and Barron opted to look for his teacher instead. Once he found the Guildmaster the man scolded him for wanting to continue training at, "-such an ungodly time." and sent him to his and Whisper's room, where she was already asleep. Barron, only bothering to remove his weapons, walked over to his bed and practically fell on it. Immediately he fell asleep. Nothing but his traumatized mind waiting for him in the realm of sleep.