Great Uncle and Aunt

Frosty flew above the clouds for a few hours, before descending below them. We didn't want to miss our destination after all. Though the views were fantastic, I cared more about those other worlds father told us about. 'What might they look like? What sort of people live there? What if they have access to similar tools, and can see our world? Maybe they also wonder about those who live in the worlds other than theirs… Wouldn't it be great to visit the same places father visited? Take a look at the wonders he saw, and experience the world the way he experienced it. I'd love to see these other worlds as well. See the moon up close, and stare at the skies like those World Observers', I thought.

My thoughts were more like dreams, rather than something that could happen in reality. Father had no real intentions of travelling beyond our own continent, while Frosty wouldn't go anywhere without my father. Besides, he was lazy. The feeling of confinement wasn't a great one, but there was no solution to that. At least not at that stage.

'Perhaps our Formations will improve over time. Perhaps we might be able to gaze at other worlds in the future. See the moon up close, and maybe even travel to other places without the need of flying. Just like father said, those World Observers probably used Formations to achieve such feats. Therefore this should be possible for us as well, so long we work hard. Aunt Alicia and Suly managed to make this quick travel Formation, why wouldn't they make a Formation that can see those other worlds?', I asked myself.

The North had many great people. Why should we be worse than others? There were no Scorpions in the past, there were no fun courses. There were no massive Formations that could let people travel between two cities in an instant. All of that had to be created from scratch. 'I think this is what I want to do. Making items for people was fun, but such a job will get us nowhere. If we don't strive to make something more difficult, yet magnificent at the same time, we will never improve', I said in my mind. "Without the struggle, people will stagnate...", the words escaped my mouth involuntarily.

"Yes, that is true. You mother must've told you that. If we don't struggle and try to improve ourselves constantly, one day or another, we will simply stagnate. There won't be any improvements, because we don't strive to improve", father said. "What made you say that now?", mother asked instead. "I decided on something. Father told us about those ancient races, about those crazy things they can achieve… Who said that the North is worse than them? Why should we simply give up? We should strive to make our home better, right?", I replied.

Father laughed out loud, which annoyed me a bit. "I'm not laughing at you, child. I'm just laughing that a sixteen year old kid was able to come up with such resolve. You are right. The future is limitless, it will be what you shape it to be. Seems your old man motivated you a bit, and I'm happy about that. It's good to have a purpose in life, a goal to pursue. Remember this feeling, Anna. Do what your heart is telling you to do", he said. "Yes! I will try my best", I replied.

Shortly after our conversation, father instructed Frosty to land just ahead of us. I couldn't see any cities or anything, which made me wonder if our relatives lived inside the forest. "Don't be silly, Anna. We don't need Frosty to make a lot of commotion, and scare everyone inside the village. Look over there, that's the village we are heading to… Actually, it's a bit bigger since I last saw it", mother explained. "Yea, it's actually twice as big. They even made stone walls. Seems they were hard at work past all these years", father added.

Frosty descended slowly, until we landed in the forest. "Alright buddy, have some rest before we go grab the others", father said. Once Frosty merged with his arm, we were ready to leave. We slowly made our way through the forest, until a clearing appeared in front of us. Further up was my father's family village. I also saw a few warriors dressed in leather armour, standing at the gate. When we approached them, they ordered us to stop, but then stared at my mother. "I know my wife is beautiful, but would you mind? Anyway, I came back home. The name's Nex Wintersteed", father said politely.

The warriors drew their weapons for some reason. "Here we go again", father shook his head. Just as they were about to attack, father raised his hand, and then lowered it. The warriors slammed into the ground, unable to pick themselves up. "Seems that people don't recognise you", mother chuckled. "I think you are the bigger problem for them. Anyway, it's been like twenty years. I don't recognise these guys either. Doesn't matter really, since my uncle's inside. If he didn't feel that, then he's getting old", father replied.

Just as father finished saying that, I could feel something trying to envelop me. "You seriously want to test me?", father asked, then swung his hand horizontally. The force trying to envelop us disappeared completely, while a surprised "Huh?!", sounded from inside the village. Suddenly a man appeared in front of us with a smile. "You got stronger, a lot stronger, Nex… A Furian?", the man asked. "You know Fox… Although she used to wear a mask back then. Well, she is my wife. Next to her is my daughter, Anna", father introduced.

The man's face changed. He looked at us in disbelief, as if this was a miracle. "Heh, to think you were that shy kid back then, following Nex everywhere. We kind of expected you two to get together, but now I know why you wore that mask. Must've been hard on you", the man said while making his way towards us. He grabbed my father and hugged him, "Twenty years, Nex. Why didn't you visit us sooner?". "It's good to see you too, Finch. I've been away for a while, so couldn't really pay you guys a visit. I'll tell you more later. How's Tina and others doing? Everything's alright?", father replied.

"Yea, they are fine. They have their own families now, but look at you. A beautiful wife, and a daughter… She looks just like you, Fox", the man replied, then walked over to me. "I'm your great uncle Finch. Anna, right? Your parents gave you a good name… I assume it was your mother who chose it, your father would name you something stupid after all", he said with a laugh. "Nice to meet you too", I replied a bit shy. "Heh, you already grew up so much. Anyway, come on in guys. Let's not stand out here like some wooden poles. Welcome to the Savala Town", great uncle added.

People stared at mother when we walked through the streets, but she didn't seem to care at all. 'Well, Furians and Humans were at war in the past. No wonder they see mom as someone dangerous or suspicious', I thought. Other than staring at my mother, they stared at father too. He just waved at them as if this was normal. Great uncle didn't seem to care that mother was a half Furian either. He was surprised at first, but treated her with respect just like my father. 'Seems like our family is not that bad after all', I thought.

Great uncle Finch took us to the largest house in the whole town. "Dad, does that mean great uncle is some sort of king or owner of this town?", I asked my father quietly. He laughed so hard in reply, he almost fell to the ground. "Ha...Hahaha...Good one, Anna. Ohhh, this was the best joke I heard. A king… He is a simple Village… I guess Town Chief now, nothing else really. It's a sort of position where he takes care of this town, but has no power anywhere else", father explained. "That's funny to you? I'm at least a Town Chief, you are just a traveller. Don't try to compare with me, ha!", great uncle said proudly.

"I'm sure if you visited us in the North, you'd know that Nex is the Emperor there", mother said smugly. Great uncle's face changed a few times when he heard that. "Nah, you are just trying to fool me", he refused to believe. "Whatever, I don't need that title. I'm fine being called a traveller", father said. "Wait, you are serious? You can't be serious", great uncle replied. "It's true. Dad is the Emperor of the Great North. Mom is the Empress and I'm the princess", I added a bit proudly too. "Anyway, let's go see Tina. I haven't seen her in a long time as well", father said, leaving my staring great uncle behind.

"Wait you guys, are you really serious? You became an Emperor of the North? You are not trying to fool old Finch?", he asked. "Give it a rest will you, let's go see Tina", father replied without turning around. Once we entered the house, great uncle Finch shouted, "Tina! You won't believe who's here!". "Stop shouting like that, will you?", an elder woman came into the hallway. "...Nex?... Is that you?", she asked my father unsure. "See, didn't I say you won't believe?", great uncle added.

She quickly ran over and hugged my father, "There was no news from you for twenty years. We thought you were gone already. Why didn't you visit us sooner?", she asked. "Calm down, Tina. I was away, I didn't even see my wife and daughter for a long time… By the way, this is my wife. You know her, though she used to wear a fox mask back then. This young lady here is my daughter, Anna", father introduced us.

My great aunt grabbed mother into a hug as well. She didn't care that mother was half Furian at all, she didn't even ask. "It's great that you two got together. You are even more beautiful than we expected", she said then hugged me. "Little Anna… I guess not so little anymore. I'm your great aunt Tina, it's nice to meet you", she said in a sweet and caring voice. "Come in guys, you must be hungry", she invited.