Hi everybody! Last time, Marta and Tenebrae saved and have started traveling with a Caravan that fans of the first Tales of Symphonia might recognize. Where will Marta and Tenebrae head off to as they travel alongside Nova and his family across Sylvarant?
We're about to find put once we see everyone's reaction to Marta running into faces they're familiar with.
Grass Field Outskirts [Present Day]
As Marta and Tenebrae told everyone about their stand against the bandits on top of meeting a Caravan, Emil was surprised while Lloyd and the others faces were washed in nostalgia upon hearing the name of the man who was in charge of the Caravan.
"No way... you guys took care of bandits by yourselves!?" Emil asked as it blew him away. Granted, when he met Marta in Luin, she clearly had some confidence and strength considering she saved him from a monster, but still.
"Well, it was scary, but I couldn't let those bandits hurt that family." Marta replied, understanding Emil's shock. Thinking back on it, what she did was reckless. If she didn't have Tenebrae ready to help her, she would've have been stabbed to death or worse.
"I'm just glad you and the people you helped didn't get hurt." Emil chimed in as he felt proud of his beloved for doing something so brave back then. Marta just calmly smiled, as she had to admit that helping others felt good. While it's true that Emil's influence strengthened that desire to help other people in need, she always had a good sense of right and wrong to begin with.
Tenebrae on the other hand took note of Lloyd and the others, as if they heard this part of the story before even though they've just been told this for the first time.
"Lloyd? How come you look like you heard this before?" Tenebrae asked Lloyd as Emil and Marta just noticed this reaction too.
"Well, it's funny you should ask. It's because we actually met Nova and his family before." Lloyd said as he responded to Tenebrae's question.
"What!?" Emil, Marta and Tenebrae said in surprise. Granted, Emil never met Nova and his family, but the fact Lloyd and his group met the Caravan family caught Marta and even Tenebrae off guard.
"We met them while we were searching for Aska, one of the Summon Spirits of Light along with Luna." Sheena said as she recalled that part of their journey involved Sheena making pacts with with Summon Sprits of all eight elements. She even made pacts with Origin and Maxwell, but Sheena figured that could be a story to share some other time.
"Wait, there are two Summon Spirits of Light?" Emil asked as he figured there was only one Summon Spirit of each element, but then again, he did learn there's another Tree Spirit aside from himself, maybe even one of three if Tenebrae's theory that the new world tree may be his child is true.
"Yes, it was a unique case as Sheena couldn't form a pact with Luna alone unless Aska was with her. We managed to figure out how to get Aska back to Luna thanks to a clue we received about the Linkite Tree. It involved creating a flute and..." Presea chimed in filling in some bits and pieces while explaining about their little trip to the tree and to Luna's temple. Needless to say, this impressed the three.
"Very impressive, using the knowledge and the stories Nova's family gave you to form a pact with the Light Spirit. By the way, Sheena, did you ever show Nova Aska?" Tenebrae said, not only praising Lloyd's group, but asking Sheena if she managed to show Nova the glowing bird he was fascinated by.
"Yup! He and his family were amazed when I showed them Aska during one of my trips to Sylvarant. They were really happy to see him." Sheena replied. It took her a while to get some time in, but she was able to show him the glowing bird Nova saw.
"However Marta, what you did was very reckless." Raine chimed in, causing Marta to sit up straight.
"What if Tenebrae was a second late and those bandits got to you?" Raine continued in her teacher voice, which caused Emil, Lloyd, Colette and Genis to sit up straight by instinct. Marta nervously fidgeted one of her twin tails as she took Raine's lecture. She wasn't saying it to be mean, she said it out of concern, despite being pragmatic about it.
"'But I couldn't..." Marta said, about to defend herself, but...
"Raine, I understand your concern and while Marta put herself at risk, she knew what she was doing and even had Tenebrae's assistance. Let's not be harsh with her for something that happened seven months ago." Regal said in response to Raine, understanding what she said as in regards to Marta's actions. With that, Raine calmly stopped and nodded. It was funny that Marta thought, and still thought, they would have been a match made in heaven, but those fantasys have been silenced ever since she heard about what happened to Regal's beloved, Alicia. Not just from him, but also after reading an old entry Emil wrote in their travel journal. Like Emil, she never once resented Regal for what he had to do and still accepted him like the others.
"Still, that's crazy you managed to get Tenebrae out in the open like you did." Genis noted as he figured that Tenebrae would stick out, even among unique species.
"Yeah, I did feel bad keeping a lot about Tenebrae hidden and taking advantage of Nova being a Zoologist, but it was the only way to get him out in the open." Marta admitted her guilt back then as Nova treated her and Tenebrae with kindness while she kept a lot of secrets.
"Hey, you did what you had to back then. Besides, considering that you question yourself, it just shows you have a good head on your shoulders." Zelos chimed in, hoping that his words would bring comfort to Marta like he did back at Verius' Temple.
"Thanks Zelos..." Marta replied thankfully, prompting the others to smile and nod in agreement. In some way and form, they've been there and understand Marta, especially Colette and Zelos.
"So Marta, Tenebie, what happened during the month you spent with Mr. Nova and his family?" Colette asked, hoping to get the story back on track as they deviated quite a bit.
"Oh, that's right. Sorry we got sidetracked there." Marta said in embarrassment. She was supposed to be telling the story with Tenebrae and here they are getting off topic. Granted, it was nice to know that her and Emil's new friends interacted with the family who allowed her to travel with them for a while. As soon as every payed attention to her...
"Essentially the next few days were a bit calm and peaceful, we traveled around during the day and at night while everyone was sleeping, I would train with Tenebrae to master my magic and use my Spinner. Needless to say, I slowly got the hang of it. On the fifth day we were with them..." Marta explained as she recalled the fifth day onward she was with Nova and his family.
Ossa Trail [Five days after meeting Nova]
It was around 8:00 in the morning that Nova's Caravan was on the move again, with Marta following closely behind while she rode on Tenebrae. Marta slowly got used to riding on Tenebrae that her motion sickness doesn't kick in nearly as much, with Tenebrae believing that she can handle at least 30 minutes to an hour riding on him. One time on the the thrid day, after an hour of traveling around before setting camp, Marta began to feel queasy and had to rest for a moment before procuring firewood. So, Tenebrae made sure to keep his pace as to not get Marta sick.
Marta however enjoyed her time with Nova, Sarah, Alduin and May, from hearing about the creatures they learned, including a glowing bird that the eight heroes of Regeneration were searching for. While Marta was curious to meet them, she didn't have a good view of Lloyd and Colette right now, but didn't tell the family about it. Colette is for personal reasons and Lloyd? He just destroyed Palmacosta in the name of the Church of Martel! Yet, it still baffled her why he did it though. Granted, Marta wasn't sure if the rumors about Colette running away from her duties and allowing the Giant Tree Attack to happen was true or not, but she felt that for her mother, she needed to keep her reservations and hate of the girl to herself for the time, but Lloyd Irving, a hero in his own right, to do something so vile? It's true that people can change, for better or for worse, and considering what happened with Brute and Richter, it's possible Lloyd changed for the worst at some point himself. Regardless, when she does run into them, she'll cross that bridge then.
Regardless, Nova's family offered a sense of family she longed for. While she hasn't told them the circumstances of her family, they understood that she didn't wish to speak about it. Seeing them happy brought so many good memories of Lily and Brute back to her. Ever since her mother's passing, Marta didn't reflect too much on her as it saddened her and reminded her that Lily was no longer with them. Now, she realized it was okay to look back and remember as it gave her a sense of peace and comfort.
As for her training, Marta managed to master First Aid on the second night and while she admitted to not being able to remember certain things very well, this training came as natural as breathing and she even managed to learn a few other spells like Charge and Dispel as well on the second night and on the third night, she began to learn about Artes...
Caravan [Fifth Night]
"Alright Lady Marta, now we will begin practicing with your weapon." Tenebrae stated as soon as he and Marta found a clearing a good distance away from the Caravan so Marta can practice. This time, it was to use the Iron Spinner weapon she has.
"Lady Marta, care to refresh me on how you used it to fend off Richter and Alice?" Tenebrae asked as he needed an idea on what Marta did and see if he can use that to help her train.
"Well, as I said, while the weapon is unique, it was easy to carry and use compared to swords, axes and lances. However, I simply don't have a strength of a grown up like Richter or Alice and than I recall that Daddy once told me to apply what I know when trying new things sometimes. Specifically, my athleticism and my knowledge of dancing. Once I did that, I just flowed with it, as if my feelings were guiding me." Marta explained to Tenebrae as she slipped the Iron Spinner's strap and extended the blade, recalling her first battle.
"Again, those were wise words your father gave you. However, it may be in our best interest to build up your stamina. First, I want you to swing your spinner 50 times and to kick forward 50 times." Tenebrae explained in return, giving Marta some instructions to improve her stamina she can last longer.
"What!?" Marta expressed in surprise, considering that when she did Physical Education, she only did ten, maybe 20 of each stretch and exercise, but 50!?
"I understand this may be different from how you keep yourself in top condition, but it's for your own good and benefit. You need to build up your strength further to protect yourself." Tenebrae said as he wanted Marta to understand the importance of training.
"*Sigh* Okay, okay. You're the mentor after all." Marta relented as she got into place and began doing the 50 swings with her spinner and the 50 kicks. Once she did them, her limbs felt tired, but then Tenebrae told her to pick up a rock and swing with the other arm and kick with the other leg, which Marta reluctantly did. Now, all her limbs were tired and they weren't even done yet as they had 40 minutes before they wrapped up training.
"Okay, now trying moving around and attack in whatever way you are most comfortable with for the next 40 minutes." Tenebrae explained as now he wants Marta to find her own style. She would have been okay with that if it weren't for her tired arms and legs.
Eventually after 20 minutes of jumping around and attacking the air, she then did something unexpected, Marta twirled and performed an overhead slash with her spinner before she spun around and performed a horizontal slash. This was different from the rest of her attacks.
"Whoa! Tenebrae, did you see that!?" Marta exclaimed as she did something unique all of a sudden.
"What you performed is what is called a Strike Arte. The spells you used are also Artes, but they are called Magic Artes. Strike Artes are related to the users weapon and body, so it has nothing to do with Ratatosk's Core. That was something you developed yourself." Tenebrae explained to Marta, hoping she would soak the info like a sponge.
"Really!?" Marta said as she looked at her hands in wonder. She recalled that Richter, Hawk, Aloce and Decus all learned these unique abilities called Artes in some way and form. Now here she was just learning her first Arte.
"So, Lady Marta, what would you call that Arte you performed?" Tenebrae asked, as Marta turned to look. She figured her Artes need names to differentiate them apart. After a minute or two, she decided on a name for her first Arte, which she then repeated to show Tenebrae.
"I'll call this... Crescent Dance!" Marta exclaimed as she performed her Arte once more with the name she gave it.
"That is a good name. It suits you. One more thing, there is another Arte you should be able to learn. It is called Steel." Tenebrae said as he wanted to teach her how to activate it, which involves sharpening her spirit and calling the power within her forward. After 20 minutes after focusing and practicing, Marta was able to channel and activate the Arte she learned from Tenebrae.
"Steel!" Marta yelled as a sharp silver glow enveloped her. After a while she didn't feel different until she swung her spinner and noticed that she was able to swing it more fluidly then she could normally.
"Hmmm... not how I imagined it, but you seem to got the hang of it. Instead of increasing your strengh, you improved you dexterity, which is helpful in it's own way." Tenebrae smiled as he was happy to know Marta is learning, which brought a sense of pride to the girl despite her tender limbs.
"Now, let us turn in for the night Lady Marta." Tenebrae said with Marta nodding in agreement as the two snuck back to the Caravan camp site to sleep.
Ossa Trail [Six days after meeting Nova]
Since then, on the fourth night, Marta practiced the three Spell Artes and the Two Strike Artes along with the practice swings and practice kicks. Needless to say, her arms and legs were getting sore from all of that, but she couldn't exactly show it to Nova or his family. The last thing she wanted them to know is her getting achy muscles as night.
"Ow..." Marta grunted as her arms began to hurt again while she's riding Tenebrae behind the Caravan.
"Lady Marta, are you okay?" Tenebrae asked as he pain didn't go unnoticed.
"My arms and legs just ache... I never had to train this hard before..." Marta replied as she took a calm breath to ease herself.
"I understand your discomfort, but you will appreciate the effort in due time." Tenebrae replied back, as he knew that this training will prepare Marta for the road ahead until they meet the green eyed boy.
"By the way, you seem to be doing better riding on me." Tenebrae said as he noticed that Marta is handling riding on him in spite of her motion sickness.
"Yeah, I guess riding on creatures isn't nearly as bad as riding in a carriage. No offense." Marta said as she found it enjoyable to ride on Tenebrae.
"None taken, Lady Marta." Tenebrae said as initially, he wasn't down with anyone riding on him like a horse, but he grew accustomed to letting Marta ride him. Granted, she can't ride on him too long or she might start feeling queasy. Fortunately, they stopped near by a lake, which allowed the dragons to get a drink of water while Marta, Tenebrae and Nova's family rested.
Marta sat next to Tenebrae as she skipped some stones across the lake while Aduin and May are playing, Nova was tending to his dragons and Sarah is cooking curry for lunch. Fortunately, they were a good distance away, so they could talk without the Caravan family hearing Tenebrae speak.
"So Tenebrae, the unstable weather... will it really be fixed when we wake up the Centurions and Ratatosk?" Marta asked, wanting reassurance as she skipped a stone that went half way across the lake, compared to the first which only went part way
"I'm absolutely certain the weather will be restored and hopefully, will convince your father to stop his ambitions." Tenebrae replied as he hope it would ease Marta's anxiety. He than grabbed a small rock and threw it into the water, which then sank.
"Heehee." Marta giggle slightly at Tenebrae's attempts to skip a pebble, prompting the Centurion to stare at her. Marta then stood up.
"I'm sorry for laughing, but were you trying to skip a stone?" Marta asked as she didn't expect Tenebrae to try anything like this.
"Skip a stone? Is that what you call this?" Tenebrae asked as he was confounded by this unusual action Marta somehow performed.
"Yes. It's about throwing a stone, primarily a flat one, across the water to see how long it can bounce before it sinks into the water. There's another variant called stone skimming, which involves trying to see how far a bouncing stone can travel before it sinks." Marta explained to Tenebrae, with the Centurion trying to understand himself. Seeing this, Marta leaned over and grabbed another flat stone. Even though her arms and legs were still sore, she can at least tolerate it to show Tenebrae something fun and lighten things up.
"Would you like to learn how to skip a stone?" Marta asked, hoping he would say yes. While Tenebrae wouldn't care about this in the past, he was at least interested.
"Guess our roles have reversed. Very well Lady Marta, I will allow you to teach me something this time." Tenebrae replied, which earned a giggle from Marta. He is right in a way. Tenebrae has been teaching how to fight and use magic, while Marta is now trying to teach him how to skip stones.
"First, the water must be calm, with no crashing waves. Second, the stones must be flat and smooth, usually fitting in the palm of your hand. It can be a large flat rock or a small smooth stone." Marta explained as she currently held a small and smooth stone with a flat edge. Tenebrae, understanding the first two parts, Tenebrae looked around and picked up a large flat stone that fit in his tail like hand.
"Good, next is to grip the stone before throwing it. The most common method is to hook your pointer finger around the stone while using your middle finger to balance between your thumb and index finger while making sure to hold the smooth or flat end downward while keeping the bumpy edge upward." Marta continued as Tenebrae sighed in disappointment at himself as he threw the stone bumpy edge first. Tenebrae made to grip in a way he could.
"Good. Now, you just need to throw the stone with enough angular velocity to make the stone fight gravity and skip across the water. You just bend your knees like so to make sure you have a good backswing before you throw the stone. You need to make sure you throw it in a low sidearm swing at just the right angle to get the most bounces and skips." Marta said as she and Tenebrae got into the proper positions and after a few practice swings, both Marta and Tenebrae let their stones fly out onto the water, with Marta and Tenebrae's stones skipping a few feet, with Tenebrae's stone going under a few feet before Marta's stone sunk halfway across the river. Tenebrae surprised himself with this result.
"Wow Tenebrae! That was pretty good!" Marta praised the Centurion as after only an explanation, he managed to skip it across a good over to where she got to.
"Well... it sunk before it got over where your last stone sunk at." Tenebrae noted as Marta still had a good throwing arm compared to him, yet he felt... amused somehow.
"It takes practice. I remember Daddy showing me and mom how to skip stones quite a bit." Marta said as she fondly remembered the few times they traveled to a calm lake away from Palmacosta to play together. Between the three of them, Brute had the best stone skipping with Lily doing slightly better while Marta didn't do so great. Eventually, Marta improved as she got older and learned how to do it better. Now, she was around Lily's level and Marta wished she was here to see how far she came.
"Lady Marta?" Tenebrae asked in concern as tender tears clung to Marta's eyes.
"Sorry, just remembering some good times. You want to skip a couple more before lunch?" Marta asked Tenebrae as she could have fun with him before she sat down to eat.
"Sure Lady Marta, just don't be surprised when the student surpasses the master." Tenebrae said with a cocky grin as he grabbed another stone.
"We'll see about that!" Marta said with a confident tone as they skipped eight more rounds, sometimes with Tenebrae reaching far then Marta while they're times when Marta reached farther then Tenebrae. There're also moments when both of their stones toed together. Needless to say, it doesn't change the fact that Marta and even Tenebrae where having a fun time together, both laughing all the while.
"So, who do you think won on our little contest?" Marta asked Tenebrae as she sat down and relaxed, having exhausted herself from the stone skipping.
"Considering you won four and I won four, I say it's a tie. I must say you humans have an interesting way to pass the time, but it was... enjoyable. Thank you for showing me how to skip stones, Lady Marta." Tenebrae replied while expressing gratitude for Marta showing him something he never thought would be fun.
"Marta! Tenebrae! Lunch is ready!" Sarah called out to the two as the curry was ready to eat.
"Let's head back over Lady Marta." Tenebrae said as he got up to leave.
"Right! Oh, Tenebrae... thank you." Marta replied as she pet Tenebrae on the head. While Tenebrae didn't like being treated like a dog, he allowed it because he at least raised her spirits playing with her.
"You're welcome, Lady Marta." Tenebrae replied as the two made their over to the Caravan for lunch time. While Tenebrae didn't eat, no one questioned it as they assumed Marta feeds him at different periods. They also enjoyed more stories from the Caravan family as they laughed and had a good time.
Caravan [Sixth Night]
It was night time once again as camp was set up. After Marta helped out Sarah with the laundry and putting away the dishes from dinner, everyone once again went to bed. Tomorrow, they will be heading into the forest to procure some fruits and vegetables that grow in wild until they reach the next town to restock properly, making this the perfect time to put Marta's training to the test. While Nova had a means of keeping his family safe during such, Marta insisted that she can handle that part while helping out, revealing she does know how to fight at least.
After sneaking out to a secure spot where they won't disturb Nova and his family, Marta once again did 50 swings with her Spinner with one arm, did 50 swings with a big rock with her other arm and did 50 kicks with each leg. Compared to last night, she shaved 5 minutes off as a result, but her limbs were still tired. Like yesterday, for the next 45 minutes, Tenebrae encouraged Marta to run around to help her gain a feel for combat to create her own fighting style. Her techniques revolved around using a combination of spins and pirouettes to get the most use out of her weapon. Combining it with kicks and some palm strikes gave her a nimble and graceful fighting style as a result.
During training, Marta ended up creating two new Strike Artes;
"Dancing Swallow!" Marta shouted as she performed an overhead slash before twirling and slashing the air again before conducting a back-flip, with the intent to land a follow kick.
"Swallow Waltz!" Marta shouted again, this time performing a back-flip before spinning and doing two spin-kicks, finishing it up with an overhead slash.
After that, Marta tried to catch her breath after creating two Strike Artes in the same night. Tenebrae was thoroughly impressed, but he noticed something off about how those Artes came out.
"I'm impressed you created two new Strike Artes, but I have a feeling they aren't as fluid as Crescent Dance." Tenebrae said, pointing out that there wasn't as much strength in those attacks.
"You noticed? Yeah, I just don't have a feel for them yet. Maybe with enough practice and experience, I should be able to perform them with no problem, but I can't always rely on Crescent Dance. Plus, there are other Healing Spells besides First Aid, correct?" Marta said as she admitted her lack of experience to use the full strength of her Artes in addition to the possible Spell Artes she can use.
"That is correct, you will need to use other skills to do well out there, which is why I suggest we do a month of training in preparation. For now, Crescent Dance, Steel and First Aid should suffice for tomorrow. However, I should teach you about Chi before we retire for the night." Tenebrae explained to Marta as he prepared the next part of Marta's training; to utilize the hidden power of Chi, a natural source of energy in the users body.
"Alright Lady Marta, to explain what Chi is, it is believed to be the life force that runs through every creature, including humans, elves and half-elves. Chi is an energy current that passes through the inside and outside of the body, and also through physical objects too. When a person's chi is strong, it courses through them and fills the person with life and health. When a person's chi is weak, it remains still and stagnant within the body." Tenebrae explained to Marta about what Chi is and what it represents, hoping she got an idea of what it meant.
"I think I understand. You said Ratatosk allowed me to tap into and I have plenty of it, right?" Marta said as she questioned Tenebrae about how her own Chi.
"Indeed, however it is possible that you can utilize Chi on your own without Lord Ratatosk's power just like your Strike Artes and considering how you are, it's very likely your lively and cheerful outlook gave you a ton of Chi in you. However, as Chi is part of your life force, it is important to keep in mind that you can't abuse it too much. You normally have a natural supply of Chi that will freely replenish itself when not in combat. In fact, your natural set of Chi will increase as you age. However, it is possible to add more through other means, including training. This is because when the Chi you are born with runs out, you will perish, but by training yourself to use the replenishable Chi to support your body instead and thus conserve your original Chi, you increase your lifespan and will last longer." Tenebrae continued in his explanation to Marta, hoping she understands how this all worked.
"So that's one of the reasons you have me do all of this?" Marta questioned Tenebrae as she realized that is wasn't just to build up her strength and improve with her weapon, but to also gain more Chi within herself.
"That is correct Lady Marta. I would like for you to try and focus as you use it in another Strike Arte. I know you just created two, but I know you can make a third one at least." Tenebrae said as he encouraged Marta to try and use the remaining 15 minutes to create a Strike Arte witj the use of Chi.
After 10 minutes of focusing and trying to get a feel for it, she was able to perform a move that involved slicing the air twice before performing a spin-slash move and slamming a nearby thick tree trunk with an energy-infused palm. Once she did this, she proceeded to do it one more time, along with a name for the Arte...
"Tempest Swallow!" Marta shouted as she successfully performed the move again, however she was now exhausted. While she sat down to catch her breath, Marta felt a degree of pride she never felt before. She was putting in some effort and it's beginning to pay off as it was a welcome fatigue.
"H-how did I do, Tenebrae?" Marta asked her Centurion friend as she got back enough strength to stand.
"I say you did well, just remember you need to gain more experience before you can pull a move like that off more often. I say for now, only use it once a day until you're strong enough to handle it, okay?" Tenebrae said as he gave Marta some important advise as she could only do it twice before collapsing from exhaustion. He had to tell her so she didn't accidentally kill herself with this.
"I think... I can manage that." Marta said as she felt a rush of air come into from performing this technique. She agreed with Tenebrae to not use this until she is fully ready, but she acknowledged to use it as a last resort technique for now.
With that, the two returned to the campsite and as Marta slept peacefully, she dreamed of skipping stones with her mother and father and for the first time in her life since her mother's death, her dreams didn't leave her with tears and sadness in the waking world, but a warm feeling in her heart and a bright smile on her face, something that Tenebrae himself noticed before he went to sleep himself.
To Be Continued...
Marta got some good training in along with a good bonding moment with Tenebrae. Yes, it is filler, but it's a good kind of filler.
As for Marta's Arte Descriptions and the explanations about Stone skipping and chi, I did copy and paste some of the explanations to help out with this chapter here, but I hope it helps to explain the context of what's going on here.
Next time, Marta will be helping out with procuring some food before reaching a town, how will that go? Stick around for the next chapter!
