A glimpse into the past

Some years from then,

Year 4254, 33 of the second month

Fasnilthar 

A girl sat in a room waiting. She was with her parents at a temple, and they had been talking to one of the sisters in the following room. While she waited, a sister and a brother had been spending time with her. They offered her a lot of interesting kid books, as well as some toys she wouldn't normally find at home or at the daycare. Which was why, despite the length of her parent's conversation with those sisters, that girl was pleased at that moment. The two accompanying her would sometimes ask about her playing, though the girl couldn't decide herself well on what to do at that point. She liked having as many options for toys as she did then, and she was enjoying the stories there, especially since the path tracers with her would commentate on some of them. Hence, it felt less like she was waiting and more like she had been offered a particularly interesting place to play at for that moment. 

This girl had bright blue hair, and usually wore it in a ponytail by that point. Her mother instructed her on the habit, since according to that mother, this would keep the girl from making as much of a mess of her hair as she usually would. At that moment, her hair was tied in a red lace, one her father said matched well with her hair color, though usually the mother would keep her from wearing it in day care, since that would put it in threat of that girl's extracurricular habits, which often involved roughing up her classmates. (Or at least those who failed to understand the girl's view of the hierarchy in her class.) That day, the girl was hit for the first time in a brawl of this sort, something she didn't particularly mind, if it were only for the pain of the punch. What did bother her though was that her mother usually was bothered when she entered fights like that, hence why she preferred not to leave clear evidence of her hobbies. Especially after having successfully intimidated the weak kids who liked challenging her into stopping snitching to their parents every time they tried ganging up on her. 

The sisters had healed her wound some time from then, though. And combined with the fact they even brought her and her parents to such a special room in their temple, the girl was fairly confident that day that they wished to congratulate her. Why else would they have offered her such impressive pass times during her wait? "Hehe. Five on one, and all of them were older too. Mom will be impressed this time for sure!" 

—Well Fas, you've really tried your luck this time, haven't you? — The sister accompanying me told me when I recounted my achievements. 

—Oh, you know. They were trying to be scary and all, so I was like, maybe I should just play along until they're distracted, and they just, like, totally threw their guard, right?! So I took down their leader, and used him as a shield too! — Not being content on showing off my merits, I had started bragging about the fight to the two around me. They were listening in amusement while I tried deciding on what to do. 

You know, it's not like I loved the idea of beating others up or anything. It's just that kids are really cocky, right? Like, sometimes a group of them would form and they would start playing as heroes together, as bad at pretend fighting they were. Their choices on doing this were questionable at best, but it's not like I would pick a fight just because of that. I mean, I was still a toddler too at that point. But then a particularly large group of them formed and they started trying to include the whole class in this play. So it ticked me off a little. Hence, I took the habit of observing them back then. Just to see if they had the strength to back the attitude. And really, I was still a little kid, though it was clear they were weak. By kid standards, I mean. There wasn't a lot of thought behind the way they "practiced", if you could call it that. 

So one day, while playing along with that BS, I got the drop on one of them. For their sake, of course. Kids don't get to suffer for this issue often, but in the real world, overestimating your strength can be dangerous, so I figured it was best they understood they were just normal as soon as possible. And it turns out, the guts of many kids tends to fail when they actually get hurt, even if just a little. Their courage tends to become frailer if you beat up their boss easily too, might I add. So, after taking down the leader, the others were kinda in doubt of what to do with me, until I decided that was an opening to take even more down. After that little brawl, I became known as the villain of the playground, and occasionally the heroes would try to challenge me. None of them succeeded, and eventually one of the boys called others from an older class. I've already explained what happened to them, of course. 

—My, how brave of you. You made sure not to hurt them too much either, right? — The brother asked, seeming equally as amused by my tale as the sister beside me. Both of them were human, and looked to be around their eighteens at the time, so maybe they weren't that used to handling kids yet. Especially not kids like me. 

—Course. Just enough to scare them a little. Gotta teach them fear before the boys start outgrowing me. 

—Really now? So the boys will eventually outgrow you, Fasny? When did your parents tell you that? — The sister said, while occasionally looking towards a magical item I had on my wrists. I didn't know what it did, but since putting it on that day, I felt I had an easier time identifying the things around me. I also noticed I appeared to be more focused than I would normally be, which may have been why I had no trouble remembering that scene. 

—Oh… I don't know, actually. Don't remember hearing it. I just sorta know. 

—Is that so… — The brother said, while still trying to entertain me with some of the toys there. While doing so, he glanced towards the sister with us, as if to confirm something between them. 

During that wait, they would show me some of the toys or read some of the stories there and ask what I thought of them. Most of them were in some way or another connected to magic as I remember the scene now, and I managed to make that connection back then. Be it stories about mages or figures which depicted magical creatures, they would present to me this kind of stuff and ask me some things about each. Sometimes when I was answering I noticed the bracelet with me would begin to shine more intensely, as it varied in brightness constantly over that conversation. Generally, one of the path tracers would be asking me the questions while the other monitored the shade of that item. Most of the questions were things I had never heard or studied before, yet for some reason, after a few seconds thinking about it, the right replies would always come to me. They asked me what that felt like at some points, but I found it hard to describe. I simply got the intended answers, without really ever noticing where it was coming from. 

At times they would also ask questions about the fights I had to that point. As a kid, I thought they did so because they were impressed by me, so I detailed it pretty clearly. They were particularly interested when I said the spots in which I usually aimed attacks at. Not in general, but specifically enough to ask me to point exactly where in their own bodies. That was made harder, since they were far taller than the children I was used to dealing with, though I managed to find the places I targeted, and when asked why, I simply told them those spots tended to weaken an opponent quicker. When I mentioned using throws and armlocks against the others as well, they asked me to try to show them how I did them. 

After talking about it with them for a while, one asked how I had been learning these things, and like with the other questions, I just said it came to me. Except that time, I specifically mentioned those ideas that came to me when one of the other kids pissed me off a little. I called those some of the body's weak spots as well, the main reason why I had chosen them as points to attack. Like the transition between the thorax to the rest of the belly, or specific points on the thighs or arms, or even the chin as a whole. Blows to those points tend to sore spots where blood circulation is really important, hence slowing down the opposing fighter a bit over time. Hurts a lot too and untrained people, which includes most children, have a harder time staying focused while they're feeling it. 

That lasted some time, though ultimately, the other emblem bearers there called me and those two to the room my parents were in as well. Like the other room, that one was pretty flashy, and there was a ton of stuff in it that caught my attention. A ton of books, drawings, toys and other similar things. Basically, it looked like a great place for a child to be at. This distracted me for a second, but when I looked over to my parents (to tell them how great that place was), I noticed they seemed a bit confused over the situation. Like, whatever the sisters were talking to them about, it appeared to make them somewhat happy, yet also worried, like if they didn't know what the best response to have was. I also saw the sisters with them for the first time then. One was human, though much older than the others. She appeared to be a bit older than mom if I had to guess, however it was hard to tell seeing as sisters like almost any other kind of mage, tend to age slower than normal people. The other was a Qal'niphizus, and she seemed to be smiling at me kindly when I glanced at her. It was the first time I saw one of her kind in anything other than pictures or storybooks, so I got a little excited. 

—How was the pre examination? — After acknowledging me, she turned to her coworkers that were working with me. I heard some of her kind have strong accents in human tongues, due to some of our differences in speech. Still, she spoke our language pretty fluently. 

—The results are as expected, so far. We haven't measured her score fully yet, but I suspect she will be over the 4,5 mark. — The brother who had been with me spoke. As he did so, the sister who was also with us gave the other two some notes she had with her. Those two had been using it to write down some things while we talked, and generally they had been swapping who registered things and who talked to me as we went through the chat. 

—Oh! I was being rated for something? Did I do good, mom? — I had no idea what that number meant back then, so I looked at my parents with expectations waiting for their answer. I hadn't been tested much by that point, being four and all, still, I really liked seeing how proud they got over some of that stuff. They seemed pleased by my reaction, though still a little hesitant. 

—Oh, dear Fasny… You've done great. Much better than any of us could have expected. — Mom answered. She still seemed unsure of what to think. 

—Though sister, if I may ask… — Before continuing, dad looked over at me, as if in doubt over how to continue. — Those suspicions of yours… Have they shown any grounds? — While hearing him, I made sure to take note of some of those words. They seemed like big words for little old me back then, likely intentionally ambiguous as well. Dad always knew how to use words with some skill. 

—She seems to have some inherent knowledge of human physiology so far, sir, but the cause of that could be many things. We'll only really know if we've been reading her case well once this part of the testing ends. — The sister that had been with me answered him, looking a little nervous. 

—Though I should add, a soul's inclinations can't determine all of a person's life, regardless of how strongly they've set their roots. Her affinity and inclinations aside, only the Greater Ones can read into a soul so deeply as to guess what the future might hold for it. And even they would hesitate to close the case to one who is still so young. — The (Qal'niphizus) sister said, while drawing closer and placing a hand on my head, messing with my hair a little in the process. Her petting was comforting, despite the fact I didn't understand most of her words at that point. 

After saying that, the sister holding me asked me to take part in a different sort of test. I was curious, so I happily went along with that suggestion. The human sister that had been with her and my parents then showed me a bunch of pictures, drawn like you might expect from a picture book meant for kids. There were a lot of them, and upon glancing at them for a few seconds, I realized most depicted some form of magical usage. Some also portrayed people using armor or carrying weapons, so by context I guessed it meant they were physically oriented kind of mages. In most of those pictures, there was a mage using some form of spell casting, and sometimes that caster wasn't even from a social species. There were one or two dragons there, as an example. Since those drawings were meant for children, the targets of the spells weren't shown, for obvious reason, though you could more or less guess it was an attempt to portray a mage in battle in a non violent fashion, for most of them. 

Some of the images also depicted more harmless usages for magic, of course, like healing, enchanting, guidance or various forms in which spell casting could be used to facilitate certain fields of life. Like how some of the pictures showed the usage of familiars or golems in a way to portray how helpful they could be with assisting in jobs that typically required a lot of hands. After being shown those pictures, the sisters there started asking me questions about them. Stuff like, what were those people (which I called wizards back then, since kid stories often gave other names to refer to mages more frequently than most other sources) were doing, or to try to identify what were the effects of their spells in any given picture. Some of them were really easy. Doesn't take a genius to know that rocks don't float normally, that kind of stuff. For others, I usually would find it hard to explain for a while, though like it was with the questions in the waiting room, the answer would just come to me after some time staring, usually while the bracelet in my arm was shining pretty intensely. The explanations I gave when the answers came like this usually carried more detail then. My parents were glancing at the bracelet pretty intently from the start of those questions, by the way. 

After doing that for a while, they also asked me to tell them which pictures I liked the most of certain given groups, as well as which of those groups I preferred. The first picture I chose depicted an elven woman as the mage center to it. She floated in the air, high enough to where the clouds weren't that far away from her. Some shiny objects resembling giant weapons took shape around her, and from small orbs floating around her small beams were fired. I could identify the beams as light, and seeing those weapons, I could also have guessed they had been conjured. 

That, and it looked to me like she was doing something strange to the air around her, as if she made the whole picture seem more intense or vibrant. The mages in this same group were mainly throwing around lightning bolts, fire or ice, though one of them also carried similar objects with them. That, and there was another mage wearing armor among that group, though that one wasn't carrying armors on their person, but instead having them float around them as they themselves flew around. There also seemed to be something impressive about the way their weapons flickered, which made me pick that image as my second choice. The other pictures were all really flashy in their own ways, but those two seemed to call to me far more strongly. 

—Really, little Fasny? What made you choose these ones? — One of the sisters watching the scene asked me. 

—Donno. Just… They look impressive. 

—Is that so? What makes you think that? — She asked again, while a different sister monitored the functioning of the bracelet with me. It was shining at the point the question was asked. 

—How…? These two just look stronger. Especially the flying lady. She could probably wipe the floor with all others in this group. — I answered again, while pointing at the elf in the middle of that specific picture. She was an azure one, and dressed herself in a get up similar to the sister's, the only main difference being that she had a blind fold covering part of her face. To me, that made it look like she was even more confident in her skill than otherwise it would have been. 

We continued going through those groups on that same pattern. They would ask me who I found more impressive and I would point it out. Strangely, most of the ones I picked for first place were elven women. One of them ended up in second place, though I still felt like she looked really strong. Something about that set of pictures also seemed different, but in the end I decided it would be fairer to the spirit of the test if I ignored this obvious pattern with one of them, at least. One of the groups seemed to encompass only non combatants too, from what I could have noticed then. Among them, I chose one that was messing with some metal, likely armor or weapons. That group had been my third choice, by the way. After this part of the test was over, the (Qal'niphizus) sister said she had a few remaining questions, before taking me up and placing me in front of her. 

—Fasnilthar, do you know the word Thalgignir? — She asked, while looking me straight in the eyes. She seemed to be a bit more serious than before, but it still felt like her tone was somewhat playful. 

—Thal…gignir? Hmmmm. Thalgignir… Sounds familiar, ye. 

—Really? Did your parents ever use it? Or maybe your teachers? 

—Nooo, I think. But I like the word. Donno how I learned it. 

—Oh? And why do you like it? — She asked, staring at me more intently. The bracelet had been shining since I first heard that word, but that question made it shine more intensely than it had at any point before. 

—Thalgignir… It sounds really useful. Getting at problems from the front is always scarier, isn't it? The elegant solution to an issue is oftentimes the most reliable. — Thinking about it, I told her. After speaking out my reasoning, I realized I had no idea where it was coming from, to an even odder degree than it had up to that point. Also, some of the words I used wouldn't be very common in my vocab as of then. 

—Right. That's why you've been looking for weaknesses in the other kids, isn't it? 

—Yeh, 'course. You gotta fight to win. Thinking about stuff beforehand makes that easier. Makes it easier to use your advantages and stuff like that. 

Following those questions, they asked me about the following set of words. You might have figured what each was. Nairsylvir, Laenixir, Iscathnerin, Favighea and Yealmyrn. I recognized each word, but my reaction varied to which as well. For Laenixir and Favighea, I had some compliments based on my own side of things though also some cautions I felt were needed. The main terms I used for each were "well rounded" and "reliable". With Yealmyrn it was similar, yet kid me also noted that friends that use it are really helpful, even if she didn't entirely understand what she meant. I also noted something akin to "attention needed". Lastly, for Iscathnerin and Nairsylvir most of what I had were vague cautions like: "expect anything and everything" or "scary, keep away". During that whole talk, the bracelet with me never stopped shining. At least one of the path tracers there was also constantly taking notes of my words, and whatever it was that my parents were worried about, it looked to me like it might have been confirmed, based on the way they were acting. 

—Seems like we're done for now. Little Fasny, would you mind waiting outside for a minute more? Me and the others want to discuss something with your mom and dad first. — The Qal'niphizus sister said, while the sister and brother that had been entertaining me outside guided me there again. 

I followed them peacefully. I was really curious, of course, though I had the feeling that resisting wouldn't help with much. And in that instance, my patience was quickly rewarded, as it really did feel like their talk lasted only a minute or so, even if for the entirety of it I couldn't stop thinking of what it was about. Thus, as soon as that door opened up again to call me in, I rushed in as fast as my toddler sized legs would take me. For some reason, I got a feeling that whatever they were about to tell me, I would really enjoy hearing it. Hence, when I entered the room again, I was acting all sorts of impatient until the Qal'niphizus sister finally dropped the news. My parents also seemed really nervous to hear how I would react to it. 

—Hey little Fasnilthar, what would you say about training to become a wizard too? — It barely took it long enough for me to listen to her reply before I knew my answer. To be honest, a part of me doubts it was even something I did voluntarily by this point. It simply felt like the answer was obvious, as if I had been waiting for that question since I had been born. 

—Of course! When do I start?! — The speed with which I accepted seemed to shock my parents, though the emblem bearers themselves, especially the older ones, seemed to have been expecting that sort of reaction. 

—That depends. Your parents have already agreed, but first, we should decide where you want to learn magic from. — The older human sister in the room spoke. From then, she explained my choices in this phase of learning. 

Basically, there were three of them. The sisterhoods themselves, where I wouldn't have any obligation to their order. The local knight orders, though they likely would ask for a longer commitment out of me. And some private schools that trained kids in the early stages of development. Normally, those would cost you a lot, but as a child with high affinity, they would accept me there with a scholarship. If anything, according to the sisters, my score likely was high enough to where they would potentially offer me some benefits for choosing them, even if those would come with obligations for finishing my early magical studies in a academy of their choice (one that was rather obviously connected to the owners of said small scale schools of course). They said the quality for my early studies with the knights would be slightly comparable to the one I could find in the sisterhoods, but that generally this kind of paid to learn school wasn't even near their feet in this regard. 

(Which might sound strange considering sisterhood is the most costless option, after all, you should always be skeptical of a deal if it sounds too good, but a reminder. The main public for this kind of paid school are rich kids that are neither talented enough to be chosen just because of that nor show the traits the sisterhood usually looks for in a potential mage, before taking them in. This was the main reason why they occasionally sought to lure in people of high affinity with this kind of deal, as raising the eventual accomplished mage made it easier for them to sell their classes. After all, most of the rich kids that paid for their services didn't do so seeking to become real mages as much as simply making use of cognitive enhancements to improve their abilities in their family's actual business. Besides, we are talking about the sisterhood, right? In other words, the place from which modern magic teaching practice was formed. Considering all of the other options are still dependent on the Great Sisters for the production of guiding eyes, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they only existed in human society because the Greater Ones allowed them to.) 

I heard her whole explanation though I thought the choice was obvious from the start. From the look of things, it seemed like my parents wanted me to choose as well. That was a little surprising, with me being four and all, but it seemed they were fine with either choice, despite the fact I had a suspicion the one they wanted me to choose the least were the knights. I wasn't particularly charmed by what I had heard of them then and there either, so that limitation was hardly an issue for me. Still, I wanted to pretend I was listening to the whole explanation, however much I had reached my conclusion from the start. So after hearing her out, I spoke my mind. 

—I wanna train with the sisters! They're way better at this than the other two. — I sort of got the feeling from the start going with them for that part of my period would have been way more helpful than the alternatives. 

—Alright, your evaluation to join our starting classes for mages begins now, then. Parents, would you mind excusing us for a few minutes? — The Qal'niphizus sister asked, before my parents agreed and removed themselves temporarily, though not before hugging and congratulating me. The younger emblem bearers headed out with them, leaving me only with the Qal'niphizus and the older human woman there, whose age remained a mystery to me. 

After my parents left, those two took out some different papers and started asking me questions. Most of them revolved around hypothetical situations, ones I found no issue with answering. I also noticed that the bracelet I had been wearing was stabilized during that entire part of the conversation. It didn't alter in intensity, as it continuously glowed at its maximum the whole talk through. One of the sisters was also using some kind of magic on me, one that made responding to their questions all the faster for me, for some reason. It just kind of felt like the answers were jumping out of me, and oddly enough, at some points I felt like I had heard similar questions in the past, or at least had lived through similar situations. Nothing to the point of actually remembering those situations in detail, though. 

At some point, they also mentioned they would be getting my complete score for those tests sooner or later, and they would stop questioning me to discuss something amongst themselves. Or rather, they would talk freely in front of me, but in those parts of the conversation I wouldn't understand anything they said, as the topic appeared to be beyond me. Eventually, they got over that part of the test as well, and told me I could start training with them as soon as possible, even if neither would personally be my instructor, most likely. They also asked me to pass along to my parents the time slots I would be practicing at. Since the daycare I attended and the school I would be placed in were near one of their temples, a sister would be the one accompanying me during the start of my training initially, but they still said it was relevant to warn my parents of this. Before I was given the chance to leave though, I also got to hear another part of their cryptic conversation, one concerning me, which I will register below. 

—So, she has a strong Heroic Factor, doesn't she? Is it just that, or are the others developed significantly as well? — The human sister there asked. 

—Based on my analisis, her Paragon Factor has also gone through much growth as of now. Overall, I believe it is safe to say this adorable girl will turn into an angel eventually, by now. Though likely not in this life, unless it turns out to be really eventful. 

—Really? Good to hear she is safe from demonification by now, at least. And the Sage Factor…? 

—Definitely her weak point, however it is still far beyond the average for a human being. It will probably keep her in a mortal form for some additional lives, until it has been fully sharpened as well. Knowing how faulty their creation can be sometimes, this might be hard on her for this life, yet she still seems to have enough of an inclination for wisdom not to die too young. Based on previous encounters like this, I would also venture a guess that she won't stay with us for the long term in this life. This one was born with the knack of a free spirit, even if a well intentioned one. Tying her to a vow for a hundred years might be difficult. — Not only were they using expressions I never heard before, their words were getting too big for my little head. I couldn't help but look on in confusion as I watched them. 

—I see. Do you think she will remain our ally down the line, at the very least? 

—Probably so. This young one has likely lived over thirty lives as a mage by now, judging by her affinity, and multiple of those might have placed her alongside our path. She likely carries the will of many of our predecessors in her. Hence, I believe that even in her potential future rebellions she will still be seeking to protect and help others. What exactly will guide her in her path is yet to be seen, as the analysis of the basis to her Factors has yet to be completed. But I am confident this girl will not disappoint our trust, I can tell you that at least. Right, Fasnilthar? — She said while looking at me. Her smile at that point seemed hopeful, but also really gentle. 

—Yeh, I think so? But miss, what are you two talking about? — I couldn't hide my confusion any longer. 

—She hasn't lived enough as a path tracer to recognize the angel's terminology, this I can tell too. — The human sister told us while smiling. 

—You know how it is. The Watchers and Greater Ones rarely ever go into too much detail into the activities of those creatures, even among us. If she had lived enough lives as a mage to recognize what their Factors mean, she likely would have already turned into an angel. Hopefully a friendly one, once this is all over. — Having said that, this sister guided me towards the waiting room again. 

There, I met with my parents and said goodbye to the two sisters that had just been with me, before being guided out of the temple by the other two emblem bearers. As they predicted, my training began shortly after that conversation, and that eventually led me into becoming the mage you've seen and read about already. Still, oddly enough, even though my memories of my childhood are pretty detailed compared to other humans, that scene in particular was one I had a hard time remembering for most of my life. Sometimes I would recall it, but for the most part, whenever I stopped thinking about it it felt like it vanished from my mind entirely, as if its presence had been erased. And as it just so happens, I only ever seemed to remember bits and pieces of it when I was dealing with a sister or brother. That, and the memories of it were fragmented to the point the scene barely felt coherent to me most of the time. Regardless, that was the day The Rebelius Spear began her sharpening.