Remi's Determination

Mira had to say something to Lana, because her behaviour changed towards me. She was avoiding me for some reason, as if ashamed or perhaps something else. My plan was to accept her challenge, of course provided she issued one. Otherwise, there was no point to bother her myself. I didn't seek the attention of anyone, maybe except my parents, but surely not my peers. I tried to be nice, but she chose to ignore me. Therefore, it was her turn to ask for my attention.

After two more days, my obstacle course was completed. Vick insisted to be the one who tested it, which of course I had nothing against. "Sure, I don't see why you couldn't be the first one to do it. Let's go then, I'll start everything up for you". My great uncle, and uncle Aron tagged along with us. They were also interested in my course.

"Heh, to think we'll have a Formation master in our family. None of our ancestors knew Formations, right father?", uncle Aron asked. "Not that I'm aware of. Anna should be the first descendant who properly learned about Formations… The obstacles look great from afar, but they seem a bit simple", great uncle replied. "Just wait and see. I'm sure you'll change your mind quickly", I replied with a grin.

After directing Vick to the starting line, I asked him whether he was ready. "Yes! Let's do this, I'll take this course on!", his reply was full of confidence. 'Hehe, yea. We will see how confident are you…', I thought before activating the Formations.

Once he saw the real extent of my obstacle course, his face changed. "Woah… Ain't that a bit overkill?", great uncle asked, surprised. "Come on Vick, where's that confidence of yours gone?", I teased him. "Hey, hey… This is not an obstacle course. This is…", Vick didn't sound confident anymore. "To be honest, the course was designed for people who reached the Outer Limits stage. If you feel this is too much, just give up. I'm not trying to hurt you here", I explained.

"No! I'll do it!", Vick exclaimed before rushing towards the first obstacle. Vick had to cross between two walls, of course both of them spewed out blasts of wind or streams of water towards the middle. There were no easy patterns, because people could simply learn them, and pass without a care in the world. Instead, I added a hint of randomness to the Formations. Though not difficult to achieve, that increased my workload.

Vick's thinking wasn't flawed, when he stopped to try and find a pattern. The randomness simply didn't allow it. Once he made his move, it was too late for him. His speed wasn't good enough, while his strength below the one I took under consideration. He failed on the first obstacle, but that was understandable.

I deactivated all the Formations, then examined Vick. "I told you it's not easy. Are you alright?", I asked, concerned. He was wet and a bit winded, but mostly alright and without injuries. "Ungh… Yea, I'm fine. Let me tell you, this is one hell of an obstacle course. I don't envy those who will train here", he replied while picking himself up.

"Hehe... Aron, go give it a try", great uncle said with a laugh. "Sure, but this isn't much of a challenge to me", uncle Aron replied. "You guys want to show off in front of youngsters? Have some shame, will you?", I said, annoyed. "Why? I'd like to give it a try. It's an obstacle course after all. I promise not to break anything, alright?", uncle Aron replied before stepping onto the starting point. "Alright then", I agreed then activated the Formations once more.

Uncle Aron simply walked past the first obstacle. His movements fluid, and fast. No matter how random these Formations spewed out water or wind, he simply didn't seem to care. The pit was a joke to him. He simply jumped over it, not using the provided pillars at all. One obstacle after the other, uncle passed them all with no issues.

"That's just showing off. Of course you guys can pass this. I mean, the difficulty is not extreme. This course was aimed at people with my sort of strength, not yours… Besides, this will teach them how Formations work. They can find a way to protect themselves better against them", I said. " Don't be mistaken, Anna. I think you did a great job. Even though this isn't a challenge to us, I'm sure the youngsters will find it very challenging. Look at Vick, he failed on the first obstacle", uncle reassured me.

"The course…. Hard…", Vick mumbled under his nose. "Anyway, you put a lot of work into this, and you did it for the town as well. I'm sure no one would complain about me giving you a reward. Now, I'm no Emperor, but what would you like?", great uncle asked.

"I'm fine, guys. This was a sort of training as well. I don't need a reward. Although... I owe Vick a new sword. How about you give him a good sword instead. That would be great, since father isn't back and I don't want to bother him before the wedding", I replied.

When Vick heard that, he woke up from his thoughts. "No, no, you deserve a reward for this. I told you that swords aren't expensive. I can get another one", Vick tried to downplay his own excitement. I could tell he wanted a good sword, especially after he saw my sword. "Haha, come on Vick, we all know you want a good sword. That's very commendable, Anna. In that case, Vick, go to the smithy and ask Gerond for any sword you like. If he's in doubt, tell him he can come and see me for confirmation", great uncle said. "Really? You are fine with this?... Thank you, Anna. I'll go there right away!", Vick exclaimed before rushing back to town.

"Hehe, youngsters. Vick is doing well, even though he slacks off sometimes. My other grandchildren are a different story", great uncle sighed. "What about Lana? Didn't she reach the Outer Limits stage?", I asked. "Well, she did and we were happy about it. She then completely disregarded her training. She became lazy, thinking that reaching such a stage at the age of twenty, was a great achievement. She wasn't that bad at the beginning, but somewhere along the way, she simply lost the drive to improve", great uncle replied.

I knew what he meant. Lana thought too highly of herself, because she managed to achieve something. Then me and my parents arrived, shattering the illusion of her greatness. Reaching the Outer Limits stage at the age of sixteen would be considered very good. She was four years older before breaking that wall. 'Though this was more of an accident, than my own strength', I thought. There was no need to explain that, especially to Lana who acted cold thanks to her achievements.

"Anyway, this course should last for a while, but it will crumble one day thanks to the Endrosian Empire's weather. At least, that's what I think. We don't have rain or snow in the North, so I'm not sure how long this will last", I informed them. "Don't worry about it. We'll use it while we can, the youngsters should be happy about their new training method", uncle Aron smiled, but his smile wasn't kind. Before the two of them rushed to get the young warriors, I explained how to activate everything.

Once that was taken care of, they rushed back to the town. 'These guys are really hopeless. I mean, they looked like small kids, getting their favourite toy… Anyway, I should go back as well'. My great uncle's house was rather packed these days. Some people had to sleep in other houses, because there was no room for everyone.

"How's your day, sweetie", mother asked upon my return. "It's been going well so far. The course is finished, which means more time to lie about, hehe", I replied. "Oh! Hi Anna. Remi was asking about you. Can you visit her room when you have time?", uncle Jeff greeted and asked me. "Sure, I can go right now", I replied but couldn't hide the confusion on my face. Remi was quiet and didn't try to make conversation with others. I had no clue why she wanted to see me, but I was about to find out.

"Knock.. knock", "...Yes?", Remi asked through the door. "It's me, Anna. You wanted to talk with me?", I asked. Remi's hurried footsteps quickly followed after my question. "... Come in, and have a seat", she invited. Once we were seated, silence filled the room. '... I mean, you were the one who wanted to talk…', I said to myself, deciding not to break the silence. If she wanted something, she had to ask for it. We weren't little kids anymore, and there was no need to be shy.

We sat there in silence for a few minutes, before she finally said something, "So, how was your day?". "You know Remi, not to be rude but you should interact with people more. I'm sure you didn't want to talk with me about my day. Yes, politeness is good, but after a few minutes, that's the only thing you managed to say", I replied. "...I'm sorry..", she said quietly. '... How.. I don't even know anymore', I thought before adding, "You don't have to apologise, just tell me what's going on. We are family, there's no need to be shy".

"I… We didn't get to know each other. I hope there was no offence…", I interrupted her, "Look, I'm no idiot. I know you want something, I just don't know what. You don't have to go at length explaining stuff to me. Just say it, I will not bite you, right?". She took a deep breath, "Formations… Can you help me learn Formations?". "Hmm? Why should I help you? You did nothing for me. Nah, I'm not bothered", I said dismissively while standing up. She lowered her head, probably disappointed that I wouldn't help. 'This is payback for making me wait so long', I thought then hugged her. "I was joking. Don't be sad, I'll try to help you out. Girl, you have to work on your communication skills. I used to be shy with strangers, but not to this degree", I explained.

"Huh? You will teach me?", she asked, surprised. "I can't teach you myself, but my grandpa can. I'm sure you know who my grandpa is, right? We'll talk to him, but he should agree'", I replied. She hugged me tighter, then thanked me a few times. "Heh, this is the first time I see you become so lively. To think you had interest in Formations... You should've told me sooner", I added. "Well, I don't want to be a warrior. I'm not skilled at crafting or anything else. I only read a lot... My memory is quite good as well. Since Formations involve knowledge and studying, I figured this was something I could pursue", she explained.

"See, you can hold a conversation. Alright, let's go talk with my grandpa. No need to be scared, he doesn't bite either", I said before dragging her out of the room. Grandpa's room was empty when we checked, which meant he was downstairs or outside. "Mom, did you see grandpa?", I asked. "He went out a while ago, probably for a walk", she replied. "Thanks, we will look outside then".

"Come on, Remi. You are so slow", "Anna… wait a minute… I'm not as strong as you are…", she replied out of breath. "You have a lot of work in front of you… You do realise that in order to create and activate Formations, energy is required. With such a weak body, there's not much you'd be able to do", I explained.

"...Maybe this is a bad idea then. I'm not as strong as you guys… We should probably s…", before she could finish, I faced her, "Wrong! You have to fight for your dreams. Without determination, you'll never learn Formations. I wanted to quit almost at the very beginning, but my mother was there. Together, we learned Formations from the very start. Formations are difficult, but not impossible. I'm here to help you start this journey".

"Don't lower your head, Remi. You are not an idiot, you are only a bit shy. With my grandpa's help, I'm sure you can become a great Formation expert. You just have to have the desire to do it", I added. When Remi looked back at me, there was determination in her eyes. "Let's go find your grandpa", she said. 'Finally, she starts to believe in herself a bit more', I thought after nodding my head.

Though we searched, grandpa simply vanished. Only after a long search, did we return home where mother told me grandpa returned a while ago. We rushed to his room, and knocked. As soon as grandpa opened the doors, we walked in. "Where have you been? We searched for you everywhere. Anyway, that doesn't matter now. You know Remi, right?", I asked. Grandpa nodded, albeit surprised by our sudden visit. "Remi would like to learn about Formations. Now, I can't really teach her, but you are a different story", I explained.

"Oh, so you want Remi to enrol at the Academy? I can arrange that no problem", grandpa replied, but I shook my head, "I meant you become her teacher". "... That's… I teach more advanced students, so…", grandpa tried to decline. I poked Remi, 'It's your turn now. Show him your determination, grab this chance', I thought.

Remi hesitated, so I poked her again. She finally decided to step forward. "I… I can learn, sir. I might not be the best student out there, but I promise to work hard… No, I will work hard. I want to learn Formations, I want to achieve something in my life too!", Remi exclaimed at the end. Grandpa's brows rose in surprise. Remi was a quiet girl after all.

"Hmmm, alright. I will teach you myself, but under one condition. You want to show me your determination? Then here... This is the basic book on Runes. I want you to memorize it, and learn how to draw these Runes. Prove to me that you want to learn, and I will accept you", grandpa proposed.

Remi took the book, bowed to my grandpa then hugged me. "Thank you, Anna", she whispered. "Alright you rascals, now give this grandpa some space to rest. I've been hiking around the forest for most of the day", grandpa shooed us away from his room. "See, I told you that determination is key. You can visit me later. I will show you how to draw the Runes in that book", I said. Remi nodded then quickly ran back to her room. 'She's like a kid who got the best present of her life', I thought.