The Past Events

"We have to go back home, Curly. There's a few things my parents need to know. Hopefully, we'll be able to travel right away", I said while heading towards the Formation room. The guards told me the Formation was used recently, and it required time to charge. Moreover, another person was awaiting its use, therefore I had to wait.

Fortunately, they didn't require any passes from me, I simply had to wait until evening. Since Formation wasn't available, I headed back to my uncle's place. This time though, Leran was inside. "I was actually searching for you. Anyway, you're really working on that course? Dad told me you are making a plan, can I help in any way?", he asked.

"Sure, I don't mind some input. I was about to draw the plan for the First Section, join me if you want", I replied. We sat down at a table, and went straight to work. The plan for that Section came out really good. Leran liked the obstacles and the use of fire as a main Element. He didn't propose any changes, since everything looked great.

"How many Sections are you planning to make?", he asked instead. "I was going for four Sections, but that will depend on the materials. If we use stones, then of course I'll need more time to do it. In other words, the course will be shorter. Sand would be easier to work with, but it's more fragile at the same time. The best way would be to use both materials, but that's up to the Royal Lizards. Anyway, I'll need some ideas for the Second Section. We know how the First Section ends, now we have to transition to the next Section", I replied.

Leran came up with a good idea for transition. His performance experience really showed in that design too. His idea was to make a spiral that'd connect the two paths from the previous section. The people would be flung to the top of the spiral, and then travel downwards. He proposed for the spiral to be made from glass and stones. That way, people could see through the glass slide, while a stone pillar would support the structure.

I like the idea, and decided to incorporate it into the design. Of course, both materials would be required, but that spiral alone wouldn't require that much sand, even if they went for the stone approach. The same would be true the other way around. With that, we had the transition to the Second Section. That was the beginning though. Since people would be travelling downwards, we could potentially fling them up, forward, left or right. The question was, which sort of obstacle should be next?

We thought about that until the evening, but only one obstacle came to our mind. Since the transition was spiral, Leran proposed a whole looping section. The idea might've been a bit repetitive, but we could get around that. Especially when speed and angles were involved. Instead of straight up, down or round slides, we'd tilt them to the sides and even upside down.

With enough speed, people would get through those areas without any issues, while the thrill wouldn't diminish in any way. In theory, that would be just one 'obstacle', but in reality, it would become a whole section. Leran had a name for it too. He called it the Infinite Looping Section. I had to admit, the name had a nice ring to it.

"You helped me out quite a bit today, eh? I'll work out the details later on, but it's time for me to go". Since it was evening already, I should've been able to use the fast travel Formation. "Huh? You are going at this hour?... Did you get a date or something?… Who'd have guessed", he asked. "Pak… Oow! What's that for?", "Stop spouting stupid things. I need to go back home for a while. I'll be back here tomorrow… I think. Something came up, but I'll be back, don't worry. Make sure to tell uncle not to worry. I'll see you later, alright?", I replied.

After a short farewell, me and Curly headed straight to the Formation room. Just like the guard promised, it was my turn to use the Formation. "Yes, the Formation is pretty much ready to be used. If the princess can show me the pass, we can escort you inside", the guard said. '... So they want a pass after all', "... Listen, I don't have a pass, but I need to speak with my parents. It's urgent… I'm not lying. I wouldn't use this Formation for the heck of it", I replied.

The two guards looked at each other, then laughed. "Please don't hold it against us, we simply had some fun. We wouldn't stop you even if you'd like to use it for no reason. You see, our fathers were in the war, and they fought at Sedon. A lot of us have huge respect for you father, and we heard a lot of good things about the young princess too… Just between us, we'd let you use it, even if the higher-up told us not to allow it", he explained.

"...Remind me next time to train with you guys. I'll show you a few moves, hehehe", I said with a mischievous laugh. They didn't find it funny, and apologised for the little joke they did. I didn't hold it against them, but even my friends were scared of teasing me. Nevertheless, they let me pass through. That was all I cared about at that stage.

"Voom, voom, vooom… Huh? Our place has a name now… Varia? Who came up with that?", I asked myself, while looking through the destinations. Well, our place had no name previously, and such an entry didn't exist anymore. That had to be our home. After selecting that, the Formation activated fully, and our Obsidian layered room appeared inside the beam of light.

"It's weird they called our home Varia, I wonder why? Anyway, I have to speak to them now. Let's go Curly, I'll probably need you for support", "Arf…". Since it was evening, everyone was pretty much inside. Frosty of course slept outside, but even with his eyes closed, he was aware of everything.

"Back so soon?", he asked. "... I have something to take care of", I replied. He didn't probe any further, but my father already walked out of the house. "Seems like you came back for a talk, let's go inside", he invited. I knew what he referred to, but that was a small matter at that stage.

"Anna, I understand that you are an adult now, but…", "I didn't come back for that. There are things more important than my argument with mom… Uncle told me about Avians.. The Yagaroths and the Yellow Dust…". This time he cut me off, "So, he told you about that… Hah, yea, I'm not proud of what happened back then. I can't turn back time, neither can you. Your mother worries about you, you know? We are aware that you are an adult already, but in our eyes, you'll always be our little Anna".

"You don't get it, let me finish first! You checked the North for the signs of Bramans, right? Have you checked the tunnel next to Apium?", I asked. He looked at me confused, "How do you know there is a tunnel there?", he asked. "Sigh… That's what I was trying to say. Mother never allowed me to go anywhere. When she left me in Apium with uncle Ulon, Tara got the idea to explore a bit of Wilderness. We didn't explore the Wilderness, we went to that tunnel", I said.

He didn't say anything, simply allowed me to continue my explanation. "That tunnel was about a day's travel away from Apium. We used Tauruses of course, and went towards the southern direction. Inside the tunnel, we found Yellow Dust. We had no clue what it was back then, but that's not all. There was a creature inside, the Corpse Dog… We.. We got scared and ran away. In fear of getting punished, neither me nor Tara said anything about the tunnel… If we did, you'd know about Corpse Dogs, you could search the North much sooner… The Hydra wouldn't escape. It's my fault".

Father walked outside without a word, then woke Frosty up. "Since you discovered that guy, he must've moved someplace else. That's why no Corpse Dogs were present near Apium. I made sure none of them were left alive, no matter how deep they buried themselves. The Yellow Dust you found could've been an issue. You did the right thing, Anna. If you kept that to yourself, someone could stumble upon that stuff... We'll finish our talk when I return", he said, before Frosty jumped into the sky.

"Anna…", my mother's voice came from within the house. I took a deep sigh, then headed back in. "... I'm not the best mother, right? How could I make my daughter feel mistreated?... It's not your fault, it's my own fault. A mother will always blame herself, not her child…", she walked over and hugged me. "No matter what you think about me, I'm your mother. I'll always worry about you, even when you're fifty years old. That's one of mothers' jobs", she added.

"... I'm not saying you shouldn't worry. I just want more freedom with my choices, nothing else. I don't want to abandon you, we are a family no matter what happens. I… I just want to do things my own way sometimes. Whether it's a trip, whether it's a project, can't you trust me a bit and have some confidence in your own daughter? You trained me after all", I replied.

"... You are not a bad mother, never were... Although you were strict, and stingy. This could've been said differently, but the basic meaning of my words remains", I added. "Yes, it does. I can't tell you how to live your life, and for that I'm sorry. A grown lady like you, can make grown up choices. You coming back here just to tell that to your father, that's a grown up choice. Don't blame yourself over Hydra. We surely don't blame you. Just like your father said, we can't turn back time, but we can work towards a better future, right?".

That was true. No matter what arguments we had in the past, it's in the past. Both of my parents were there for me. No matter what, I was their daughter. Nothing or no one would change that. "Just like you guys vowed in front of others, family is for better or worse. We might argue one day, but then laugh the other. No matter what, we're a family", I said with a smile. "Yes… So, are you ready for your punishment?", she asked instead.

My mother's grip around me tightened. "Hey! Wait a minute! You said neither of you will blame me for that!", I exclaimed. "Oh! That was for not telling us. Your punishment is for going to some unknown places with Tara", she replied. "That's not fair!", I shouted, expecting her to beat me up or make me do some stupid exercise. She did none of that, instead a tickling session began.

"How do you like it?", "Hahaha… Haha.. Stop, I had enougahahaha…". She tickled me so much, I had enough laughing for a few years. Dante woke up due to the whole commotion. He couldn't walk down the stairs, so mother had to stop tickling me. "Anna is back!.. Why do you laugh?", he asked. "Yes, haaah… I'm back. Me and mom had some fun, wanna join in?", I asked with a mischievous smile. "Anna made bad face, I don't want to!", he replied.

Well, he had no choice anyway. Soon, the house erupted in laughter, as me, mother and Dante tickled each other. We'd soon forget about those arguments and differences. We were a family, no matter how bad things would get.