53 Dagger as a Gift

Tara joined me outside to watch my training, though she mostly looked at my father's illusion. Her expression was starting to annoy me. "You know, I wouldn't mind staying for more than a few days. I can keep you company, we can talk about the sculptures and other stuff. What do you say?", She asked out of nowhere. "No", I replied, annoyed. "Huh? Don't be like that, we are friends, right?", she added. "No, go back home", I didn't change my mind.

"Don't be so cold… I just wanna stay with you a bit longer, we see each other so rarely", she tried again to convince me. "Do you really think I'm that stupid?...", "Swoosh!", "Pak!". "...You don't want to spend more time with me, you are simply delusional about my father. Go back home when you get better. You have your own pare… Whoa.. Parents", I replied while fighting against the illusion.

"That's unfair…", she whispered. "Unfair? He came back a few days ago, and everyone's trying to make me go away. Even my mother tried to get rid of me…", "Pak! Pak! Bam", "... He's my father, not yours. Go spend some time with your family", I told her. Tara finally gave up her futile attempts, but then simply left to talk with my real father. 'This will only get worse when others come here… I get my father back, and suddenly everyone wants to see him', I thought.

Tara pestered my father wherever he went. She asked loads of questions, but mostly about Frosty. He was lucky not to mention anything I wasn't aware of already, otherwise I'd be really angry with him. My sword practice ended, when father dispersed the illusion and told me to rest. 'I don't really have time for that…', I said to myself before grabbing my Rune drawing brushes.

Since all the trinkets and easy stuff was mostly completed, I focused on the paintings. There were loads of Formations to be placed, and even more links to be added. In the afternoon, father brought me new frames for the paintings. "These are really great. You really are a craftsman indeed, thank you", I thanked him. "Yea, they aren't half bad. If the North had access to better trees, I'd make one from teak or mahogany. Anyway, they should look good on the paintings", he explained.

The paintings fitted very snuggly to the new frames. Father sculpted a few different frames, just to add variation to the style of the paintings. "Though I'm still surprised the Arena is used for performances, and not battles. Heh, the North really did change a lot", he added. "I think it changed for the better though. Who'd like to live in a gloomy place? Besides, mom said that Atols are slowly planting trees and whatnot outside Apium. Who knows, maybe we will have a few forests in the future", I replied. "Yep, they are working hard on making the North a more pleasant place", mother added.

"That reminds me, we should visit our families. It's been a long time since I saw them", father said. "With our guests arriving soon, don't hope for any time off. Though we must go. I want a real wedding, with both our families present", mother replied. "Huh? You guys want to have a ceremony?", I asked, surprised.

"Though your father is alright with anything, I want our families to know. No one besides you and Tara knows about this ring. I want to make sure people know that he has a wife", mother replied. "She also wants to wear a wedding dress. Tha…", "Bam!". Mother threw something at father before he could finish. "... Anything for my lovely wife", he simply added.

She returned to her book, as if nothing happened. I just shook my head then looked for the thing my mother threw. I expected a ladle or something, but it wasn't anything like that. "Wait! You threw a dagger at him?", I asked, shocked. "Don't worry sweetie, this idiot has a tough skin. Besides, I made sure to hit him with the hilt, not the blade", she replied as if that didn't matter. 'What if she missed though?…', I asked myself.

Father picked the dagger up, then handed it to me. "Here, you can have it". I wasn't sure what was going on anymore, 'Why is he offering me that dagger?'. "I… I don't use daggers. Besides, this belongs to mom… Shouldn't you give it back to her?...", I replied. "She has loads of them. Just because you train with a sword, that doesn't mean you can't carry a dagger. What if your sword gets knocked out of your hand? Or you have no space to utilise a sword very well? A dagger is a great sub weapon to have, you know? Moreover, this is an old dagger I made. Keep it, might come useful to you", he said with a smile.

"You made this? It looks so… weird", I replied. "Yea. I was still learning how to smith properly, therefore this was created with the use of a mould. I can make such shapes by hand now. You know, many years of practice. Anyway, this dagger is made from Black Steel, it's not bad and will serve you well… Ask your mom to make a scabbard for you, she will match the design of your sword's scabbard", father explained.

I took the dagger and gave it a more detailed look. The blade was slightly curved like a wave in the sea. The hilt was also a bit weird. Flat on both sides, but rounded at the top and bottom. The hilt was slightly curved inwards as well. The hilt and blade met at the top, not in the middle. Moreover, the blade extended towards the handle, which resulted in a sort of guard for my hand.

The dagger was basically one piece of metal. The hilt and blade couldn't be separated, like with some swords. The dagger wasn't that big or heavy, and it laid very well in my hand. 'Heh, this is not bad at all', "If mom's alright with it, I will keep it", I said. "Your father spoils you too much, but alright keep it. Before you ask, I will make that scabbard in a few days, so just wait patiently", she replied while reading her book.

"By the way, where is Tara?", I asked, a bit confused. She wasn't stuck to my father, which made me wonder. "Ah! I told her to water the herbs for me. I haven't made the watering channels yet, so the herbs need to be watered by hand", he replied. He got me confused with those channels at first, but then I recalled Apium and their farming. "Do you want to copy Apium's farming?". Father nodded, "Yea, pretty much. I designed it after all". "Huh? You did?... Why am I even surprised? Anyway, it's time for my energy control practice. I'll be outside if you need me", I said before leaving the house.

Indeed, Tara was watering the herbs father planted. This made me chuckle, because he made her work. The next step in my energy control practice was to move a quarter of it. Being able to split my energy in half, should also allow me to split it in quarters rather easily. That would be a misconception. Splitting my energy once more, required a lot more focus and control. The energy didn't act like a piece of log, which could be split a few times with an axe.

Energy acted more like a river. In order to split it, there had to be something blocking the middle, so that the river could flow on both sides. To achieve a quarter, there had to be three such blockages. Of course, energy wasn't strictly like a river, it sort of behaved like that. My exercise didn't depend on blocking the flow, but rather restricting it and making many flows at once. In a way, I'd have to make four rivers out of one. The difficulty of achieving that increased a lot with each step.

I practiced for pretty much the rest of that day, before hitting the uncomfortable bed in the workshop. The next morning a familiar pain resurfaced in my body. 'Go home, Tara…', I said to myself wondering how one bed could be so uncomfortable. Before heading for breakfast, I assumed the pose father taught me. '...About twelve seconds… Well, he didn't lie at least, there is improvement'.

Just like before, they already started breakfast without me. "So, how do you feel today, Tara?", I inquired, mostly in hopes she would leave already. "Not bad at all. I don't feel any pain while moving around, but I haven't used my energy yet. I'm not sure if my body is ready", she replied. "Why don't you give it a try? The pressure points should've healed by now. Just make sure to do it slowly and gradually", father proposed.

Tara agreed, then tried using her energy a bit. "... Nothing's wrong so far, I'll try moving it faster...Wow! This is so cool! My energy flows much better than before, and that's not even my maximum speed… Should I go for it?", she asked. "Give it a few days, then I'll be sure you can use it to a maximum. For now, just circulate your energy, get used to the faster flow", he replied.

Tara nodded before thanking him a few times. She was really grateful that my father could help her, but then she looked at me. "Go home", I said, annoyed. "Haaah… Alright, alright. I will be back before my trip to Sedon though. You already finished the easy things, and the paintings look great to be honest. We should be able to sell them for a good price", she replied. After a short farewell, Tara finally left and at the same time vacated my bed.

"She was really annoying me. I mean, she has her own father. Besides, dad. You are a bit cruel, you know? Why did you make that workshop bed so uncomfortable?", I voiced my complaint. He looked at me confused, unsure why there was a complaint. "Well, my whole body hurts every morning. How do you explain that?", I added.

"Eh? That's not because of the bed. That's why you should listen, when I explain things. The pose I taught you places a lot of stress on your body. You don't feel it immediately, because you move a lot throughout the day. That changes after a night of sleep, since your body didn't move or exercise. That is why you are allowed to do it once a day, you thought I was joking?", he replied, a bit annoyed that I didn't listen.

"... I'm sorry. Though that means, my body will hurt no matter where I sleep, right?", I asked. "Yes, to some extent. Over time, your body will get used to it somewhat. Though the fatigue will be there for a long time. Besides, the bed I made is actually very comfortable. It's the bed in your room that...", he tried to explain, but then mother stared at him. "... is also comfortable?", father added in a questioning way. 'I knew mom was stingy, and my bed wasn't comfortable… She's an evil wife and mother', "Whatever, I'll just go practice something", I said before leaving the kitchen.