Disclaimer: I do not own Mahou Sensei Negima or Magic: The Gathering. That's why Richard Garfield & Ken Akamatsu are the ones rolling in the Benjamin's while I'm typing a fanfic in my apartment. (Sigh…)

The Einzburg-Planeswalker Cycle

Chapter 6

Owin was called into the principal's office by the old man, & he had brought Helmer along with him. Owin was going to see if the principal would allow Helmer to hired as a bodyguard for the class as well, though he thought the chances were slim. Owin had been raising hell ever since he had gotten there.

"Well then Owin-san, thank you very much for your hard work preventing the school from being attacked. I must say you handled yourself very well in taking on that rather large demon" The old man said happily, to which Owin replied "Thanks".

"On another matter, however, I have received a complaint from one Kugumiya Madoka-kun, saying that you broke her arm & nearly killed her".

"She had attacked me & I defended myself. The broken arm was an unfortunate setback" Owin said.

"Even so, I will have to ask not hurt the students anymore. It defeats the purpose of your bodyguard status if they need protection from the one protecting them".

"Yeah about that, I have everything planned to sort it out so don't worry about it".

"I would hope so. Now then, this is?" the old man asked, indicating Helmer.

"This is my brother, Helmer Lancaster" Owin said, to which Helmer bowed to the principal saying "pleased to meet you".

"I was wondering if he could help in the bodyguard department" Owin said to the principal.

"Hmm, I don't think the class needs two bodyguards when one seems to be sufficient".

"Sir, I'll be willing to work for free" Helmer cut in.

"Oh, well if it's like that, then by all means" the principal said.

"Well then, excuse us" Helmer said, bowing again, & they left the room.

"So, that is the principal of this school?" Helmer asked.

"Yes. He's a good man, never getting in the way".

"Sounds like just your type of person".

"Indeed. It makes things easier".

"So, who is the teacher of the class?"

"Some extremely annoying brat teacher. Only ten-years-old".

"They allow ten-year-olds to become teachers here?!" Helmer asked, unable to believe it.

"It is a test for his magic license or some other thing brother" Owin said.

"Ah, I see. This country is truly different from our home".

"Indeed. Anyway, brother, remember what I told you about this class".

"What do you mean, dear brother?" Helmer asked with an innocent tone.

"You know what I mean. you can never control yourself when it comes to women & I don't want you doing anything to the girls in the class. You always have a habit of causing trouble when it comes to women".

"I think you breaking a girl's arm was a bigger problem-maker than anything I could do, brother. In any case, they are only fourteen to fifteen year olds, right? What can I possibly do to them?"

"Let's just say a bunch of them could pass for college girls".

"What's college?"

"Apparently it is school for those who have finished the mandatory school years & wish to continue studying. We're here" Owin said as they stood outside the classroom door.

"How do I look?" Helmer asked as he began to fidget around with his collar, wearing the same outfit as yesterday.

"Who gives a damn how you look?" Owin asked irritatingly.

"You're in as bad a mood as ever. Anybody I should watch out for?"

"Just the boy. He's going to be pretty annoying. You ready yet?"

"Yeah" Helmer said, & Owin opened the door & entered the room, going straight for his desk.

"Ah, you must be Helmer, yes?" Negi said, walking over to the door.

"Yes, I am Helmer Lancaster. Pleased to meet you, Negi-Springfield-sensei" Helmer said bowing to Negi, who bowed in turn.

"If you would please introduce yourself to the class, Helmer-san" Negi said, indicating the front of the class. Helmer went to the front of the class, took one look at them, & nearly had a heart attack. Holy shit!, he thought, there's not a bad looking one in the bunch! Brother was right! Some of these girls look way older than they are! Oh man, I'm going to have so much trouble here! How am I supposed to control myself with so many girls here?! What the hell am I supposed to do?!

"Helmer, remember what I told you" Owin said from his chair. Helmer then took a short breath, & said "My name is Helmer Lancaster, pleased to meet you" Helmer said as he bowed to the class. The girls greeted him with enthusiastic cries of "Nice to meet you" & "Hello" as Helmer made his way to the Owin's table & Negi began the class.

"I don't know what you were talking about, brother. Everyone here seems to be really nice. Especially Negi" Helmer said.

"Well, you're much nicer than I am, so maybe that's why" Owin said with his head in his arms as he tried to sleep.

"I bet you just got in everyone's face & didn't give them a chance, right?".

"I guess".

"Wow, that Helmer guy is kinda cute don't you think?" Haruna asked as she talked with Asakura, Misa, Madoka, Makie & Sakurako.

"He doesn't seem to be like his brother at all" Madoka agreed.

"They don't seem like brothers at all" Makie added.

"I wonder if he's like his brother & doesn't talk much with women" Haruna said.

"You think maybe we should try to talking with him?" Misa asked.

"Oh, look! Sakurazaki is talking to them!" Asakura said pointing at them. Setsuna seemed as though she were having an argument with Owin about something. She was trying to yell something to Owin, who was still with his head down looking opposite from her.

"I wonder what they're arguing about" Misa said, when Owin got up & started talking with Setsuna.

"I already told you that unless you did this, I wouldn't get trained by you, so you should know what to do" Setsuna said.

"For what do I have to apologize? They shouldn't have been bothering me about pointless shit!" Owin said.

"Even so, we agreed that that was going to be the conditions".

"I never agreed to that!" "It's either you do this or my training stops here, you're choice!"

"Does it even matter? Why in the hell do you care?"

"Because they are my classmates!"

"Come now, brother, is it really that much to ask? Just apologize. It's not like it would hurt" Helmer said. "Stay out of this! I don't see why I have to apologize for something so trivial". "Because if you don't then I won't learn from you, so the decision is yours" Setsuna said with a finality in her voice. Owin sighed & then after a few minutes went up to the front of the class. He didn't even have to call for everyone's attention, because everyone was already looking at them once they're voices began to escalate.

"Yeah, everyone, about the way I've been acting, um…" Owin began with a large amount of difficulty. He hated apologizing for anything he did. Why should a planeswalker have to apologize for anything they did anyway? "Well…uh…it's your fault for not just staying out of my-"he began to yell right before Helmer smacked him upside the head. "Do it right, brother" Helmer said as he stood next to Owin. "Geez, I'm sorry to anybody I've hurt before or anybody I've been unkind to" Owin finally said. "Do what I told you, brother! It will give it more feeling!" Helmer said. Like I give a damn about putting more feeling into it, asshole!, Owin thought angrily. He then bowed to them & yelled "I'm very, very sorry!", frightening all the girls. "There, happy now?" Owin asked Setsuna angrily. "Yes, that was very good" Setsuna said as she left to take her seat. "The stuff I have to go through sometimes. If we were back home I would have never allowed something like this to happen" Owin said as he laid his head on the table again. "That just shows that you are becoming nicer, brother" Helmer said, patting Owin on the shoulder. "It is not helping anything. Damn that Setsuna, she's going to get very hard training today" Helmer said with a rather malicious grin. "Don't kill her brother" Helmer said pleadingly.

"Now then, we begin your training" Owin said as he, Setsuna & Helmer both entered their designated training grounds. Setsuna's heart was beating heavily. This was going to be the first time she would train with Owin-san, & she had heard from both brothers that Keldon training was extremely brutal & barbaric. Setsuna was even beginning to doubt her choice of studying this fighting style. Owin had himself told her that there was a very large chance that she was not going to be able to master it, & even if she did, there was still a very low chance she would ever be able to learn the Warsong. Why should she almost get herself killed to learn a style that she had such a low chance of succeeding? As encouragement, though, Owin had told her that since the sword had accepted her blood, then there was still the chance that she would be able to take it. Also, Owin had said himself that if she didn't have the potential, he wouldn't have even bothered trying. Still, Setsuna was nervous. Apprehensive. Doubtful.

"Setsuna! Hurry up!" Owin had called, knocking Setsuna out of her thinking. "Coming!" she called , running to the middle of the field where the brothers stood. "Now then, first I want to ask you one thing: Are you sure you want to continue with the training? There is still time to back away" Owin said to her. He must have read my mind, Setsuna thought. That was way too accurate for a guess. Now the doubt in Setsuna intensified. Should she really go through with this? Yes, she did want to learn the style. Yes, she did want the power. Most of all, though, she wanted the power to protect Konoka. If Owin had not entered the battle back then when he had, she knew she would have been killed & would have failed in her mission & promise to protect Konoka. She wanted power to make sure that something like that never happened again. In her mind, Setsuna thought of Konoka, her perpetual smile, the way she always knew exactly what to do to cheer her up, & the fact that even though Setsuna was nothing more but her loyal bodyguard, the one girl had transformed Setsuna from a quiet, resolute half-demon into simply, her friend. When she imagined that, the doubt left her, & she knew what she had to do.

"Yes. It is too late to turn back now" she said.

"You might not be able to learn everything" Owin said.

"I will. I have decided on that" Setsuna said.

Owin took one look at her stout, resolute face, & smiled. "Hmph. Even if it isn't for the right reasons, that is what I like to hear. We'll get started now" Owin said as he beckoned her to the center of the large clearing they had made.

"Wait! What do you mean 'for the wrong reasons'?" Setsuna asked.

"That can wait. First I must explain to you some things. After a while, we may need to jump to a different plane in order to complete your training".

"You mean I will need to go to a different plane? For what reason?"

"That is due to something I must explain. Every plane comes with a barrier. Because the Blind Eternities cannot provide mana to every single plane in the Multiverse, it is necessary to put a limit on every planes power level, how strong any one being can possibly be on that plane, a power level that can never be passed no matter how much effort the being in question puts in. Because of this, Setsuna, no matter how powerful you become, you will never become as powerful as Helmer & I because you were born on a plane that has much lower barrier than our plane. However, if we continue your training on a plane with a much higher barrier than this one, than you can grow stronger. Do you understand?"

"A little bit. In other words even with your training, I still wouldn't be able to go passed a certain point?"

"Exactly. In this plane, I guess Evangeline would be the highest power".

"What of the Thousand Master?"

"Who?"

"Negi's father, the Thousand Master".

"Who is that?"

"He was said to be the strongest man in the world, he's legendary now. We were planning on trying to find him" Setsuna said.

"Never heard of him. Anyway, that's beside the point. Do you understand the point I was trying to make?".

"Yes".

"For now, however, we can still continue the training here in this plane. Come here Setsuna".

As Setsuna neared Owin's side, he pulled out his mana storing artifact, & released some mana to cast a spell on Setsuna. Setsuna suddenly felt rejuvenated & could distinctly make out a white lining on top of her skin, but she couldn't feel it at all.

"This is a white spell that will prevent your death. Most likely this plane has different laws as to what's possible to bear & what isn't, so I cast this spell on you in order to prevent you from dying at an improper time. This way we can train you as hard as we want without you dying from it. Keep in mind, however, that even though this will prevent you from dying, it won't prevent pain. Now move over there" he said, indicating a spot about fifteen feet away from him.

"Now I'm going to fight you in hand-to-hand combat so that we can have an easier start. You are to fight with your hands as well. A Keldon warrior is a master of Hand-to-hand as well as weapon combat. I hope Shinmeiryuu has also trained you for this?"

"Yes".

"Then we'll begin".

Owin got into his fighting stance & Helmer walked up to the middle of the space. Setsuna got into her fighting stance as well, her left arm extended & her right fist under her shoulder, her feet spread with her left in the front. Owin was once again in his boxing stance. "Setsuna, A Keldon warrior does not fight using only his eyes, but rather feels the flow of combat, feeling what they're opponent is going to do. You must do this. Do not think, feel" Owin said. "Ready…Begin!" Helmer said & they both began.

Little then half a second passed before Owin had teleported right next to Setsuna & executed a right elbow strike directly into her solar plexus. The blow was almost enough to knock Setsuna out, but she managed to retain her consciousness as she was sent a few feet back. Owin immediately followed the strike with a roundhouse kick to her face, which Setsuna barely blocked. However, almost right after the kick made contact with her arm Owin teleported somewhere. In the split second it took for her to look for him Owin teleported right behind her & front kicked her in the back sending her flying straight into a tree.

"That was pathetic!" Owin said angrily as Setsuna tried to pick herself up, coughing blood. It's true what he said. Even though that didn't kill me, I feel like I should be!, Setsuna thought as she struggled to get back on her feet. "I thought I told you to sense & feel the flow of combat! You're letting your eyes see for you when it should be your body & instincts!" Owin said, watching the girl try to stand up. "Your too fast. I can't keep up with you" Setsuna said as she finally managed to pull herself up on shaky legs. "Of course I'm too fast for you! I'm too fast for this plane! No one in this entire world is faster than me! But that doesn't mean you can't anticipate what I plan to do & counter accordingly! That is why you must feel rather than think. I move faster than your eyes can keep up with! Do not use your eyes, use your instincts!" Owin said as he resumed his battle stance. "Now get ready & let's try this again".

Setsuna struggled to get back into her stance, & as soon as she did, Owin once again charged at her faster than she could see. This time she was able to predict that, & used instant movement to move behind Owin & gave him a punch to his back. Owin then side-stepped the attack & gave her a roundhouse kick to her head. Setsuna was fortunate enough to dodge this, & tried to charge in, but Owin teleported next to her & kicked her straight into another tree, which broke from the impact. Once more Setsuna began to cough up blood, & this time she thought she had some broken ribs. Setsuna could hardly get up from the pain. "Better. Much better than before. But still not good enough. Get up. We will try again" Owin commanded. "I-I can't! I think my ribs are broken!" Setsuna coughed out. "And? That is no excuse. Do you think that if you shout that out to a thousand soldiers all crying for your blood, then they will show compassion & let you live? They will cut you down, right? It is the same here! Besides, you can't die from those wounds, so stop being lazy & get up!" Owin said, still in his stance. Setsuna shut her eyes shut from the pain & effort & some how managed to pull herself to her feet. As it was, she couldn't even manage to put her fists because she was in so much pain. She hadn't even prepared for anything before Owin ran straight for her face. Setsuna couldn't muscle up the strength to do anything, & he kicked her straight in the face, breaking her nose though she fortunately wasn't sent into another tree. "What happened? You were doing well before! Why didn't you even try to dodge my attack?" Owin asked. "I-I-" Setsuna tried to say, but the pain was too great. "You're not dead yet! Can't you get up & fight! What's the matter with you?" Owin said as he walked over to Setsuna. "Maybe that was too much, brother. I don't think the humans of this plane can take that much pain. She seems to be seriously hurt". "Just from that? We were only going at it for only five minutes!" Owin asked exasperated. He looked over to Setsuna & saw that she had knocked out. "Oi, Setsuna, wake up!" Owin said, lightly slapping Setsuna on the face. She stirred a little, but was unable to wake up. "Do you think she might not be able to make it through the training?" Helmer asked. "If she wouldn't be able to, the Sword of Choosing wouldn't have accepted her. The fact that it did proves she can" Owin said as he picked Setsuna up & laid her down in the middle of the clearing. He pulled out his mana-saving artifact & caste a healing spell on her, her wounds disappearing & her ribs returning back into place. Setsuna stirred after a while feeling rejuvenated & refreshed. "Nice to see your up" Owin said. "Did I fall unconscious?" She asked dizzily. "Only for about five minutes. Rest a little, & then we will go at it again" Owin said as he put the artifact back into his coat. "Master, this is too much. Please, I don't think I can take it" Setsuna said as she tried to get her bearings. "I know. I'll tone it down a little bit. But now you see how hard the training is. Be happy. When brother & I trained, we were not fortunate enough to have the spell on us" Owin said as he sat down next to Setsuna. Setsuna continued to lay on the floor, her head still spinning. She couldn't believe this was the power of true magic. The only person she knew who could heal someone so quickly & so wholly was Konoka-Ojou-sama. There was almost no pain at all, & the only side-effect was that disorientation & dizziness. After a while, Setsuna got up & said that she was ready to continue.

"Now, we shall practice an extremely important factor in Keldon fighting. We shall practice running".

"Running?" "Yes. When we would fight thousands of enemies, we had to move very quickly, so we developed this technique which allowed us to fight without losing speed. We would use the life-force produced by our bodies to coat our feet. Brother tells me that in this plane, life-force is known as Ki. Do you understand how to use Ki?" Owin asked.

"Yes. I'm rather proficient in it" Setsuna said.

"Good. Now I want you to focus all of your Ki into your feet, letting it line around the foot".

"Yes" she said, & she began to try. It was easy enough to focus her Ki into her feet, but it was slightly harder to let it coat her feet. Her Shinmeiryuu training however, made her have to be proficient in this, so after a few tries she managed to do it.

"Good, even spacing all around" Owin said as he examined her feet. "Now, we're going to practice moving around. I need you to imagine yourself sliding on your feet as though you were on ice. Then I need you to move that way on the floor" Owin said. Setsuna managed to have an easy time with this, as it simply meant she needed to put enough Ki between her & the ground. Before long she was sliding on the ground. "Good. From now on, whenever we do spar training, I want you to use this technique. You have to get used to focusing on your Ki during combat to the point where you don't think about it. Now we begin the hard part of your training. We will now begin your pain management training" Owin said, while Setsuna stopped sliding.

"Brother! I don't think she's ready for that part yet!" Helmer said, a sudden frightened look on his face. "She will have to be. I'll heal her at the end" Owin said as he approached Setsuna, a knot of fear forming in the pit of her stomach. This is even making Helmer-san frightened. What kind of training is pain-management?, Setsuna thought. "Setsuna, this part of the training will be to increase your pain tolerance, so it will hurt a lot. Remember that you need not fear death thanks to my spell, so don't get scared & listen to my instructions. Understand?" Owin said. "Yes" she said nodding, trying to not to show the immense fear she already had.

"Hold out your hand" Owin said as he conjured a small towel. "Here. Bite down on this" he said as he handed her the towel, which she then placed in her mouth. This only increased her fear, & it took considerable effort to stop her hand from shaking. "Are you ready?" Owin asked. "Yes" Setsuna said, slowing her breathing in order to calm herself down. Owin pulled a switchblade out of his pocket, pulled out the blade, & then plunged the tip into her wrist. Thanks to her previous training, this didn't feel to bad, until Owin pushed the tip slowly more down until it reached her bone, then he began turning the blade on its tip, causing Setsuna to scream in agony. Then he pushed the knife farther up her arm slowly, grating it along her bone. Setsuna's knees began to buckle & she was biting the towel fiercely as Owin's knife began to trace a very large gash all the way up to her shoulder. Biting on the rag did not help the pain much but Setsuna opened her eyes & took one look on her arm. The arm was bleeding profusely & the jagged skin was stained a deep red, her bone completely visible. The knife was discolored blood red all the way up to the handle, & blood would squirt onto Owin's hand. This more than the pain broke her resolve & she could feel bile rising into her mouth. She fell to the floor as Owin's knife continued to mark her arm.

"Get up, Setsuna!" Owin said. Setsuna could barely hear him as her head began ringing & she felt as though she were falling unconscious. Owin used his other hand to smack Setsuna in the face, waking her up a little.

"Get up, Setsuna! If you were in the middle of a battle & you're opponent sliced your arm, would you do as your doing now, cringing on the floor, waiting for your death to come? It is the same here! Rise, Sakurazaki Setsuna! You've been stabbed & sliced & cut before! This should be no problem for you!".

"The pain is too much!" Setsuna yelled in between screams, tears streaming down her face, her body screaming for her to run away, to get away from that evil blade that was hurting her so badly.

"Setsuna, I know you can do this! You know that you can do this! You can deal with this pain!".

"I can't! I'm not ready for this! I can't do it!!".

"Setsuna, look at me!!"

And she did, seeing his serious, stoic face. Him, her flushed, pale face covered in tears.

"Setsuna, I am a planeswalker, a being capable of transversing a universe ten times that of what you know, & do you know why I came to this backwater plane? For the scenery?! For the people?! I am came here for you! I am came here sensing there was someone here who was capable of learning & mastering our people's teachings, the first non-Keldon ever! The sword sensed you, my brother sensed you, & I sensed you! Are you going to give up with just this? Is this where the story of Sakurazaki Setsuna, the first non-Keldon ever to learn our style, a young woman I have seen capable of so many things then what she has, a woman with a strong as will as I have ever seen, ends?! Will you let the time I have put up now be for nothing, & will you give up the path of power as you are doing now?!"

Suddenly, Setsuna began to feel the pain much less than she did before, her strength returning as she listened to Owin's words. That's right, Setsuna thought. I can't give up now. A swordsman's life is spent dedicating themselves to a life of pain & strength. If I want to get stronger, then there's no way I can give up here. If I gave up this, she might as well give up everything. She thought of how Negi had not given up when he had fought Chachamaru in order to be tutored by Evangeline. How he had not given up when fighting Fate Averruncus, when fighting Takahata, when fighting Chao. He had always tried his best, never giving up until he had beaten them. Asuna, who wasn't even connected to the magic world, was training so hard in Kendo everyday so that she could get stronger, never complaining no matter how hurt she got. Even her Ojou-sama was trying her best everyday so that she could be a great magister magi. Would Setsuna just give up here, just with this pain? No, she thought angrily, like hell I'll give up here! This isn't enough to make me quit! Not in a million years!

Slowly, ignoring the shaking in her legs, the sharp pain in her arm, the ringing her ears, she began to rise, holding onto Owin's arm for support. "Yes, that's it!" Owin said as he continued to slice her arm, ripping apart her muscles & arteries, happy that at last it wasn't affecting her. "That's it! Rise! Rise, Sakurazaki Setsuna! Rise, future warrior of Keld! Rise & overcome this, & take your place as a true warrior!!" he yelled as finally she managed to stand straight on her feet, her face ablaze with a new fierce fire & determination. Now nothing hurt her. The skin & meat of her arm was nearly completely sliced off, hanging by mere skin & tissue but her face showed no signs of pain. She looked at her wounds with a new fierce stoic face, a face Owin knew all to well. He had seen this face on all the young of his people who went through this training & emerged from it with this new look, a look that spoke a single thought: I am not afraid to die, & pain is of no consequence to me. Now Owin had a smile on his face. Now he knew for sure that Setsuna was capable of this, & if his feelings were correct, hers would be an incredible new destiny.

Owin removed the knife from her arm & put it away, as Setsuna's arm continued to bleed all over the floor. Setsuna tried to move her arm though she was incapable of it now that the nerves & muscles were cut. "Owin-san, about these wounds…" Setsuna asked. "Speak no more. I'll heal it now" Owin said as he took his mana-artifact out of his coat. He cast the white healing spell, & Setsuna could see as the muscles, veins, & arteries were re-connected, new blood was created within her arms & her skin tissue was renewed. The one thing she hadn't expected though was that she now bore an extremely large, extremely puffed-up scar stretching from her wrist to her shoulder. "I wanted to ask you about this" Owin said as Setsuna pondered why the scar remained. "For us Keldons scars were a badge of honor, a reward for those who had gone through the strict training. However, I understand that you being a young woman, you might find scars to be ugly & unwanted. So do you want me to heal the scar, or should I leave it?" Owin said as his hand was still covered in white mana. "Would it be okay If we could hide the scar instead? I'll bear it, but seeing such a large scar may cause the others to worry" Setsuna said. "Are you sure?" he asked. "Yes. I might be able to understand how you Keldons lived if I live like you" Setsuna said as she looked at the scar. She was surprised however, when Owin began to laugh. "I'm sorry. It's just that I didn't expect that kind of answer" Owin said as he tried to control himself. He saw that Setsuna was blushing, & said quickly "It's not that you're answer was wrong. It's just that I thought you would reply differently. Anyway, I'm glad that you are taking an interest in our culture" Owin said smiling. He used the white mana on his hand to cover the scar. Suddenly, his artifact began to ring an alarm. "Oh, it seems it's running low. I will have to leave for a while" Owin said getting up. "Where are you going?" Setsuna asked as she stretched her arm to work out the kinks. "I will need to go to one of the core worlds to re-gather energy. Setsuna, training is over for today. We will continue tomorrow. Brother, would you like to come with me?" he asked Helmer. "I'll follow you after a while. There are some things that I need to take care of before hand" Helmer said. "Fine. I will be in Dominaria. I should be back by tomorrow morning" Owin said as he closed his eyes. "See you soon" Helmer waved as Owin seemingly stepped into bare air, & disappeared. "He-He just disappeared!" Setsuna said shocked. "Yes, that's what planes walking looks like" Helmer said, now standing next to her. "Now then Setsuna-kun, do you really feel okay?" He asked her. "Yes, don't worry about me. Now that Owin-san healed me, I feel much better. Though…" she trailed off, staring at the spot were Owin had planeswalked. "Yes? You can talk to me if you'd like" Helmer said. "Well, I was wondering…is the training really going to get harder then it already is? I barely made it through today" she said, scratching her arm. "Actually, I'm rather surprised. Brother took it rather easy on you" Helmer said as he sat down on the grass. "You mean it gets harder than that?" Setsuna said, unable to hide the apprehension in her voice.

"Setsuna, how big do you think are village was?" Helmer asked her.

"About one hundred to two hundred?".

"More like Fifty".

"Fifty?!" Setsuna asked incredulously.

"Almost every year there were about one hundred to one hundred-fifty children born, but only about twenty to thirty of those every year managed to live & learn the Warsong. The rest would all usually die during their training" Helmer said, a far-off look on his eyes as he remembered his childhood. "It wasn't uncommon that you would go to sleep everyday to find out your siblings or your friends all died during their training".

"That's horrible! Every year that many people would die! Why would anyone go through such horrible training!".

"For the same reason you are going through it now: For power. We would accept anybody outside the village who wanted to gain power, but nobody was willing to go through the harsh training to get it. The children of the village were not so lucky. All the children were forced to go through it until their fifth birthday. Then, we would ask each child whether they wanted to continue or not. Saying no meant that you were banned from the village, you & you're family would be shamed forever, & you would be forced to make your way out of the village through a path filled with creatures living in the mountains. Even for us, at five-years old, choosing that fate would be suicide".

"That must have been horrible for the parents" Setsuna said.

"Not as much as you might think. I understand that in this country dying during battle was considered a great honor, yes?" Helmer asked, to which Setsuna nodded. "In our country, it indicated that you were weak enough to get killed. If you died during battle, you & your entire family was dishonored. For one day the family of the shamed mourned, & the dead warriors name was stricken from our wall of warriors, never to be mentioned again. The only honorable death was one where you died from old age or sickness".

"& those that died from training wounds?"

"They were only children, so they were considered as unfortunates, though the fathers often considered them weak. For our people, weakness was a sin".

"That's horrible. That's way too horrible" Setsuna said.

"Indeed it was. It was too horrible too imagine & I hated being born in a country like that. I always considered it a curse. Did you know Owin & I had five brothers & sisters?".

"No. I didn't".

"Not one of them survived through the training. They all died before I was even born. Do you know what that is like? Having five brothers & sisters you never even knew, never even had the chance to talk to or to play with, & being told all your life that they were dead because they were weak? Because they couldn't take it?" Helmer asked.

"No. It sounds like Owin has no problem with it though".

"That's the one area my brother & I never got along. Brother had always admired our father, who was the leader of our tribe. Everyday my brother welcomed the hard & brutal training, saying that everyday it would bring him closer & closer to being as strong as father. My brother loved him to death, & everyday father would fill brother's head with nonsense about killing & the weak. Father was always a staunch believer of the Keldon code & would spout off that nonsense about how "the weak shall die" & " the weak deserve death" & "being strong is all that matters" & everyday my brother would drink in that garbage" Helmer said as he balled his fist in anger.

"I take it you hated your father?" "I despised him. My brother used to be kind & gentle until he began the training. But of course, you can see how he is now".

"Does Owin know about how you feel?".

"I don't even care to tell him. What changed him most was that day".

"'That day'?".

"The day our father was slain. It was a great shame for any warrior to die in battle, but even more so when that warrior was the leader. My brother couldn't live with it. All his life he had thought that father was the greatest warrior that ever lived, & here father had committed 'the ultimate sin'" Helmer said with a sarcastic tone, " & was killed in battle. For five days, Owin was conflicted. He loved father with all his heart, & yet he, by father's own teachings he should despise him for his weakness. He had always thought father was the greatest warrior of all, & yet here he was killed in a small battle. How In the world is a fifteen-year old supposed to deal with that?".

"So what happened?".

"Father's teachings won out, & to this today, Owin hates talking about father. I think he still has no idea of how to go about it, & is still conflicted. From that one stem Owin has become a man of contradictories, preaching & believing one thing yet going against it completely. When I asked him about, all brother could say was, "I don't know what to believe anymore"" Helmer said, & now, as Setsuna turned to look at him, she saw that he was crying.

"You must care for your brother a lot" Setsuna said with a smile.

"He is all I have left".

" & the people of your village?".

Without answering the question, Helmer got up & wiped the tears from his face. " I think I'm going to follow brother to Dominaria now. I suggest you take the time now to play with your friends, Setsuna, you may not have time later".

"Yes, but when do you think you both will be back?".

"We shouldn't be gone long. Be safe Setsuna" Helmer said, & then he walked into thin air & disappeared, leaving Setsuna by herself in the clearing.

Setsuna stayed there for a while, the cool breeze whistling through the trees as her hair blew behind her. Her body hurt from the training, but that was nothing compared to the hurt she was feeling in her head. When she had thought about it, she truly knew nothing about her new teachers, knew nothing of the world that they grew up in, & the world that only they knew, worlds she couldn't possibly imagine. & yet, after experiencing for herself some of the hardship they must have gone through, some of the pain they had to endure, & some of the anguish Owin had been in, she felt, just a little, as though she understood her teacher a little more. & that was enough.