My Ancestors

The two masters were a bit salty, but at least didn't take it out on me. "By the way, you promised me some answers. How about keeping to your promise? Tell me more about Auras, energy and whatnot", I said.

"I told you already, Aura isn't something you can explain. This is a force, mood or however you like to call it, that each individual has to comprehend and learn by themselves. I can give you a sort of hint, if you will. All of us have certain talents or rather specialisations. Your mood has to focus on that specialty of yours. For example, my Hateful Aura originates from the rage inside me. In other words, that is sort of my specialty. The same is with your father, though he is different at the same time", master Irwin replied.

"In what way?", I asked, confused. "Well, he has three Auras", he replied. "Three?! How can that be? You guys each have only one, right? How come he has three?", I asked, shocked. "There was a way for me to comprehend two Auras, but for some reason, I never bothered. Humans have one Aura… Most of the time. There is an exception. There are those who are already born with one, like you, me or your father. I simply never bothered comprehending a second Aura, which of course was a mistake. Now, it's simply too late", he explained.

"That doesn't explain how my father was able to get three of them", I pointed out. "Actually, it does. He was born with two Auras, not just one. You were born with only one, the rage that's inside you awakened that one Aura. You, your father and me have similar Auras, we awakened in similar ways. Then there's his Unyielding Will. Your father isn't a normal Human, he's actually one of the rarest kinds walking on this earth", he replied.

"Unyielding Will?", I asked, confused. "Yes. Sadly though, you haven't inherited his Unyielding Will. He'd know about it already, and we would probably see that during your journey. Do you know why it's revered so much? Records suggest that the first Emperor of the Endrosian Empire had that Will. Now, is your father related to the Imperial Family? I don't know, though the possibility is rather small. There's one thing I know for certain. There were three main families who managed to awaken that Will. Your father's ancestors had to belong to one of them", this time master Yater replied.

That was indeed something new to me. My father seemed to be much more complicated than he let everyone believe. "The Imperial Family didn't have an individual with Unyielding Will for centuries now. Though that is only one family. Do you know what happened to the other two? Endros, the first Emperor slaughtered them. Once Endros became an Emperor, he had all the military power of the Empire. Destroying two families was too simple for him. That power allowed him to get rid of people who could oppose him, and stand at the same height", master Irwin added.

"But, Endros was too full of himself. The two families were much older than the Endrosian Empire itself. Their roots were deep, and Endros wasn't able to eradicate all of them. I'm pretty sure your father's ancestors come from one of those families. Moreover, this history isn't well known to others outside the Forbidden Arts circle. The reason for that is also simple. Some of the survivors of those two families walked the path of Forbidden Arts. That is what they recorded, that is the story most of the Empire doesn't know", master Yater said.

"... I'm lacked for words, this whole thing feels like my parents were destined for each other. After all, my mother's ancestor created one of the Arts. While my father mastered it. Moreover, his ancestors possessed the Unyielding Will… Then there's that anger too…", I said quietly to myself. "Maybe if we tell you about his third Aura, you'll get an idea. Your father's third Aura comes from his body. You must be aware of his past, at least to some extent, right?", master Yater asked.

I nodded. "You must be aware of his appetite too, since you lived with him. Your father's body requires loads of energy. The reason is precisely due to his past. Because of the events in his past, his muscles became compacted or compressed. Normally, people wouldn't survive such change, but that's where his Unyielding Will comes in".

"Due to lack of food and hard work, his body burned the fat away, then started burning the muscles. He was able to sustain himself, barely, allowing his muscles to transform in a way. That's also why you have such a strong body. Compared to others at your stage, you are much stronger than them. That is thanks to your father", master Yater explained.

"From what he told us, he created that Aura while reaching the Outer Limits stage. He pushed his muscles to the limit, and comprehended the Aura he calls Domineering Aura. Now, this name is a bit of a misconception, because your father wasn't aware of the Aura's real properties", master Irwin said.

"That's right. He thought that the Aura pressured his opponents, making it hard for them to move. But all Auras can pressure opponents. No, his Aura promotes compression, extreme compression. His opponents weren't able to move, because this compressing force worked on their body. Imagine exerting a huge compressing force on lungs or heart. Without an Aura, fighting against such force wouldn't be possible. Your organs would be squished until you died. We tell you this, because Auras don't come from skills alone. There are many ways an Aura can be born", master Yater added.

This was a clue for sure. 'My specialisation, or things I'm adapted to are probably Formations… and perhaps the sword. I'm not sure how Formations can allow me to make an Aura, but the sword…'. The sword should be sharp, quick and deadly. These were the primary attributes when wielding a sword. That meant, I had to figure out a mood concerning these attributes. "That actually gave me an idea. Now that I know much more about Auras, how about energy?", I asked.

"The energy is universal really, your Aura uses energy too. I told you before, an Aura is like the energy and mood combined. Using your father as an example. He was able to exert his energy outside his body, and the mood came from compacted muscles. Once he combined that, he received an Aura", master Irwin said.

"Of course, energy can be used in many different ways. Irwin taught you about energy compression. Your father taught you about the flow and division, which of course promotes a certain type of control. Your energy can be used for pretty much everything, so long you know how to use it. There's nothing else we can tell you, it's up to you really. The type of control you decide on, will dictate the sort of applications it will have", master Yater added.

"Right, so that means I have to decide on how to use my energy, then discover my mood. Finally, when I combine both of them, an Aura will appear, right?", I summarized. "Pretty much. We have a few months left, before our time is up. Your father gave us two years, even though we told him this was too little... Hence the difficulty. Did you really think we like to abuse little girls? We are too old for that, but I do admit we enjoyed some of your predicaments", master Irwin replied.

"One day or another, I'll kick your asses for that. Just make sure to live long enough", I said, not happy about the experience. There was no way I'd let that slide. Training or not, I really didn't appreciate things they put me through. "Haha, sure. I'll be waiting. Don't take too long, because we really might die of old age", master Irwin laughed.

"There's one more thing", master Yater said while pointing behind us. He didn't explain anything else, but simply pointed in a certain direction. "...Arf, arf!", a familiar barking sounded in my ears. "Curly?", I asked unsure, before she really appeared in front of me. "Curly!... Hey, that's not an illusion, right?", I asked master Yater. "Of course not. This is real Curly", he replied.

"But why? I thought you wanted to come back home, to the other martens", I asked her. "Arf, arr…", though Curly barked, I had no clue what she meant. "Let me help you out here. You see, this marten lived in captivity for most of her life. The wild martens didn't want to accept her back. Mostly because she smelled like Humans. They were afraid, suspicious or maybe even hostile to her. That's why she decided to go with you. Once she realised she was happier with you than with other martens, she made the choice to follow you", master Irwin explained.

"Is that so?", I questioned. To my surprise, Curly nodded then licked my face. "There's no going back, alright? You chose to stay with me, so don't leave anymore. Maybe I'm a bit selfish, but I missed you", I said while petting her. Curly returned to her place, the back of my neck where she usually spent her time. Curly returning to my side was great news, but my journey wasn't over yet. There was my Aura and Half Step to work on.