5 Chapter 5

Mads and Emika were conditioned to the boys bickering and didn't ever try to butt in and settle it. Attempts to break them up in the past had concluded that not only did it make the situation worse, but they learned that they tended to settle down on their own. It wasn't as though Lars and Soren hated each other in a toxic way, rather Soren merely uses Lars as a punching bag, as he is an easy target to get satisfaction from.

Primus usually puts them in their place for the most part, whenever he sees it necessary. He watches over them and sets the example, to which both emulate in some regard. In Soren's case, he tends to think and act similarly, for they always seem to be on the same page whenever situations come up to prove such.

For Lars, he just tries to imitate and copy what Primus does, and to an extent Soren. His admiration and development orbited around his elders, and being the youngest of most, if not all group dynamics, he absorbed plenty to figure out his unique personality and self identity.

It took them about ten minutes of casually paced walking to get to the fjórir tree, which sat like an ancient rune in the center of the wide circular clearing. The two branches that jutted out to its right had dead leaves attached to their ends, though each gentle gust of wind would work to dislodge them so as to express the solidification of the new season. Such an odd yet iconic landmark that was thick and dark, unyielding yet elegant, tall and weathered.

The three eldest would take out their respected Vættirtols from their trusty pouches that were to go with them everywhere they went. These tools, custom made in design for each trainee, were capable of being made based on practically any material, and thus, no two ever looked identical. Mathias made it well known that making them at this point wasn't nearly as difficult as making a proper artifact, since they are far less complex than a properly functioning Drive.

Primus had a silver and black tinted oath ring with raven heads at either end of the small, metallic band, to which he bent gently to make it firmly stay around his left wrist. These devices were designed not to become weak and snap due to this, for it used to be a common problem. Mathias made them to be simple and practical, taking every consideration into account by improving their fundamental factors based on situational practicality since the first ones made quite some time ago.

When his Vættirtol aligned with him, he felt his green and yellow aura as it radiated from his body in an energetic manner. It felt like a tickle that coursed through his body, and it excited the young boy as it always did before his spars. This is generally how it felt for every Úlfhéðinn, with slight differences based on the nature of the user's soul. He bounced up and down on his toes, ready now to enact this little display of power so as to demonstrate for his brothers to take in.

"So, is this a free for all or are we making teams?"

Emika, being one of few female Úlfheðnar trainees amongst the Balderklan, had a distinguishably different form of her Vættirtol, which was in the form of a spiral hair bead that she put in her single braid on the left side of her head. When she put it on, her body began to illuminate with a calm magenta, as her bead hummed gently. Her hair was gracefully touched and moved by the auras flow, as she began to stretch her arms in her spot across from the others.

Her feminine elegance tended to battle her almost boyish personality, though she took pride in being able to hold her ground in what was once considered a purely male dominated occupation. Peers saw it with a mixed ambivalent wash of uncertainty, though those such as Primus's mother were hardened examples of what is not only a rare set of progressive ideals, but a standard that all girls and women must become if they volunteer, or if their parents offer them. A warrior of their own right, yet trained just the same as everyone else. No exceptions.

"Free for all, Chuckles! Unless Mads thinks he can take us on by himself."

Mads laughed at the notion while he equipped his own Vættirtol, which was in the form of a leather arm brace. This simple yet effective tool had the carving of a wolf on it, to signify his inevitable goal of becoming one of the best Úlfheðnar once his time eventually came to be. It was made into leather and wrapped around his thumb and covered the top of his hand, and once properly equipped his aura exploded with a prominent red that flickered and spewed out like a fountain.

"We can hold temporary allegiances if we need to, but I would say we should start off solo."

"Oh?" Said Emika with a sense of intrigue, "I seriously would have expected you to take us both right off the bat."

Mads cracked his knuckles as he slid into his defensive stance, bringing his arms out to his side with clenched fists and his feet spread and staggered to balance himself.

"This will be more fun than starting off with teams. It makes us have to improvise more and keep allegiances short-lived."

Primus nodded in agreement as he and the other two walked to the center of the clearing to initiate the spar. Soren and Lars were sitting against the mighty fjórir tree in anticipation, both hoping they get their turns with a Vættirtol before they are summoned back by their mother, who could yell exceptionally loud to gain their attention at any point. Even from a quarter of a mile away and then some, her war cry-like announcing could be well heard and still shake you to the core.

With all said and done, the three exchanged respectful forearm shakes before each one leaped back and into their fighting stances, with the spar officially initiating.

The three were immediately entranced in the mentality of their training, which came off both playful and jovial, with a subtle hint of seriousness. This form of roughhousing that they enact in, with the involvement of Vættirtols, is surprisingly standard for children their age within the Balderklan, and is more flashy than detrimental. As young children, their tools do not emit at full capacity, due to the design. By the age of 18, most are full of angst yet drilled with discipline throughout their childhood, so few dare to lash out at their society. Their potency is admirable, but when one transitions to early adulthood, the difference is staggering.

For these children, full of ignorance and inexperience, the tools simply were designed so they do not harm or kill one another during their upbringing, or cause damage recklessly. It should be clearly stated that the output of children's tools does not compare to their true, unfiltered potential. These tools offer them a glimpse of what is yet to come, and for these children, their self expression comes in many forms; from sparring to self identification, from development to reflection.

Their fancy essence is an enigma to them until they properly understand what it is. So, in practical design, they cannot seriously cause harm to anyone until the brain is properly developed enough to understand the weight of their potential. Hence these spars, and hence the discipline. Hence the reiterating words and guidance of the elders of the Balderklan. Without it, without proper scrutiny, without a proper perspective, none could be trusted to become the next step in human evolution so swiftly in this day and age.

Technology truly swiftens complex social evolution.

Primus, being the more hyper focused of the three, was met head on with Emika, who was attempting to grab ahold of him and grapple him to the ground. Her actions were purely offensive in trying to get past his defensive stance, and thus the two were exchanging swings and grabs with about a foot distance between them.

"Come here, you!"

Exclaimed Emika, as she aimed to grab Primus by the back of the neck, though Primus, following muscle memory primarily, managed to defend himself and grabbed her wrists. She managed to pull away, so he predicted her second charge and began using his forearms and hands to counter her attempts. Both were shifting on their feet to and fro, stepping forward and back ecstatically, while Mads took this opportunity to plan an approach of his own.

Primus, upon seeing Emika reach for him once more, took a calculated turn and ducked low, lunged forward, and wrapped his arms around her midsection, remembering his training and kept his chin tucked into his chest. He began pushing her back, making her stumble backwards as she tried desperately to break loose of this hold.

Grunting and already panting, the two began to tap into their tools to boost strength and endurance, their auras fluctuating more sporadically in response. Primus then felt an elbow strike his back, and then another. He used an enhanced form of strength to lift her up and literally picked her up off the ground for a moment before Primus was struck in the back by a tenacious red beam from Mads, who had a hand extended and aimed at the two of them.

"Leta fricking GO!"

Shouted Mads, as he then began to toss a volley of baseball sized orbs, potently red and numbing upon contact, at the struggling two, which were thrown with impressive 60 mph. The initial beam that struck Primus made him flinch and stagger, but when Mads kept throwing them at his back with only a couple seconds between each one, Primus reluctantly let go of Emika and was pushed away by her. She was now aiming to stop Mads with blasts of her own. Primus staggered backwards and tripped, falling down on his bottom with a hearty thud.

He felt that, to which he had to shift on his knees to stand back to his feet swiftly. He got up, still feeling the numbness on his back, to which he rubbed it before brushing it off and left it alone. Mads and Emika were having a lightshow of a battle by the time he stood upright and rubbed his buttocks, wiping dirt and leaves off in the process. Primus merely slid over to the side and got out of their way while he recovered.

Emika and Mads were running about in a circular pattern, tossing orbs at each other with competing speed and size variation. Heaving and running, stopping and deflecting, with the occasional strike to the torso and face as throws were timed and calculated. Emika seemed to be more precise than Mads, as she was compensating by making her smaller orbs land decisive blows, as opposed to Mads, who was missing more of his bigger, slower ones. She'd brush off his successful strikes, but that didn't mean she didn't feel them.

They didn't do much but offer a noticeable warm tingle, but this meant that their training and tenacity were up to par with one another in this regard. They popped and dissipated in particles as they struck one another elegantly.

Soren and Lars watched in awe at the spectacle, as they cheered and yelled at the three of them with excited tones.

"Mads! Throw smaller ones!"

"Primus, get in on that!"

Primus did eventually gather his bearings and stood in a charging stance, as his aura began to gradually rise above his head at about a foot. His arms were bent, elbows pinned to his sides, and his fingers clawed inward as both palms began to materialize yellow green particles that swirled around his hands. They began glowing more and more potently as he confidently charged them with a low tone chuckle and exaggerated enthusiasm.

Mads and Emika were closing in on one another now, and as he tossed a now smaller orb, Emika quickly closed the gap and took it to the cheek before she tackled him down to the ground, quickly disarming the skinny Mads as they began to rustle and tussle in the dirt and crispy foliage.

"H-hey! Get off me you psycho!"

Mads exclaimed, as Emika tried pinning his right arm, but his Vættirtol began to glow red and, in doing so, boosted that arm's physical strength, and he pushed upwards and swiped it back, before grabbing her free arm and yanked it to his right, tossing her that way.

She quickly gathered her bearings and her aura became thicker, boosting her strength slightly further so as to get back on him before he had a chance to get back up. She caught him as he leaned back up, and thus, shoved him back onto the filthy ground with noticeable oomph.

Lars and Soren were loving this, taking mental notes as they watched the two struggle. They saw Primus charging an attack of his own, but knee well enough not to draw attention to the matter. It'd make the fight less fair for them, so they kept quiet and watched.

Mads struggled to keep her off of him, trying to wriggle and squirm as Emika was slowly but surely beginning to pin his left arm, shifting it so she could try and make him tap out of the fight. She rolled over and held his arm by the wrist with both hands, her legs now over his chest, pulling back on the arm as Mads rolled towards her and tried to lessen the pain.

"You're gonna feel this one, squirrel-boy!"

Mads was kicking and squirming, and as a lanky spastic child would, he was twisting his thin arm and pulling away while slapping orb after orb off of her point blank with his free hand while slapping her as the energy popped upon contact. This made her wince, but it merely made her more forceful to try and pin him.

"Ack- pfft! It's useless! You're gonna be out for the count!"

Mads was running out of energy quickly, and was about to just tap out before he heard an odd chiming sound from Primus, who he'd forgotten about for a moment. When he looked over, his eyes widened and he yelled in excited fear, almost laughing as he spoke.

"Emika! Emika!! Wait, stop- OW! Primus! Don't!!!"