33 The Time Flies By

The training with the mask was beyond hard. My balance training was easy in comparison, at least I was able to see. Every day, I would wear the mask and smash my head into something. I wasn't sure what I smashed my head into, but my guess was something wooden, perhaps even a pole like the one we used for my balance training. Mother upped the difficulty even more, and told me to train my body with the mask as well. Stuff like push-ups or squats were simple, my sight wasn't required for such things. Running on the other hand, was pretty much impossible. Mother didn't even have to place any obstacles my way, I'd stumble and fall naturally due to the terrain.

The practice with my sword was also weird. I couldn't see what I was doing, but mother insisted I had to train like that. She gave me a hint though, "Anna, try to imagine what you are doing. Try to imagine your surroundings, instead of doing everything blindly. Use your body and other senses to figure out where you are and what you are doing". That was easier said than done, but imagination was not a bad idea. I tried imagining the swings and stances. The way my sword travelled and where it would stop. 'My imagination is not that bad. This isn't actually such a farfetched idea', I thought and decided to fully embrace the method. I knew how stuff looked around the house, I just had to visualise it in my mind.

My training went on for months, and even past my fifteenth birthday. The imagination was really the key. I could imagine myself walking around the house, and doing simple chores. I could imagine the swings of my sword, and the way my body was positioned. My sense of hearing and smell improved a lot, and mother taught me how to control them better. I was really grateful for that. Since my senses improved a lot, any bad smell or loud noise could become really annoying. Still, just because I made some improvements, my training wasn't finished. Mother was really good at staying silent. She moved those wooden poles around without much of a noise. Even my sense of smell was of little use. Though there were times I dodged a few poles, it was nowhere close to what my mother expected from me.

The day after my fifteenth birthday, uncle Harlin stayed over again and taught me a bit more about swords. He showed me a new stance, which looked more relaxed compared to others. The stance required me to stand straight, with my right leg a bit forwards. The sword's position changed a bit too. Instead of holding the sword in front of me, it was positioned to the side and pointing at the ground. Uncle called that stance Neutral Attacking Stance. The stance was a combination of neutral and attacking stances, at least in a way. The purpose of that stance was to carry out curved attacks straight away. Uncle also taught me another gripping technique called reverse grip. Although rarely used with a sword, the knowledge and ability to use it was an advantage.

He also demonstrated a few more ways to attack, though all of them were just variations of the eight basic ways of attacking. After the demonstration and a bit of practice, he complimented my stances as well as precision. He also promised to teach me some new forms of chaining the attacks together, next time. Other than my usual practice, Suly and Aunt Alicia introduced a few new Formations to me. They taught me how to make spatial Formations, albeit weak ones. A few Elemental Formations were there as well, which made me happy. I appreciated any Formation knowledge at that stage. Mother worked me so hard, I rarely had any time to practice my Formations.

Turry grew up a bit more, he became a bit bigger and even deeper red. That was all thanks to uncle Ulon's herbs and plants. He assured me that although Turry wouldn't grow any bigger, he could still get stronger. "Your Taurus should be the fastest we ever had. I don't know about other cities, but Turry is the strongest in Apium for sure. No other Taurus received such treatment after all. You take very good care of him", he said. Turry developed an appetite though, he could eat a lot of plants. Uncle had to create another garden near our house, and plant loads of stuff just for Turry. Mother was also kind enough to make a proper saddle for me, which made riding Turry much more comfortable.

Tara visited me quite often, while Dawn showed up only about twice a year. Dawn grew up a bit more, she became a bit taller and a bit more ladylike. Moreover, uncle Crow for once did his job and helped her improve. Dawn could hide really well, and she changed to a bow as her main weapon. "Why the change from a sword?", I asked her at the time. She told me that although swords were fine, my uncle made her test a few weapons. She was really good with bows, and hence changed her main weapons.

I even showed off my Turry to her, and she seemed really impressed. Her Taurus was nothing in comparison, which was proven in a small race we did. My life pretty much returned to normal since that incident. Me and my mother forgot about what happened in the past, and focused on the future instead. My emotions didn't erupt anymore, and I didn't need Serelis either. Though there were some aftereffects, after using Serelis for so long. My mind became calmer, more attentive and collected. Some of that must've been connected to my training, though I believed Serelis played its part too.

A while after my fifteenth birthday, mother decided to change things up. Instead of working on my sense of hearing and smell, I was supposed to focus on my sight. Although happy I would be able to see again, the mask still restricted my field of view. The small holes for eyes were not the best to look through. "No amount of imagination will help you here. You just have to adjust, and use your eyes as much as possible. We will try a few different things. Evasion is still one of them, but we can now train your memory and sight at the same time", mother explained

The exercise she came up with was simple in theory. Mother drew multiple signs, letters and whatnot on multiple pieces of paper. She then showed each paper separately, while I had to guess what shape, sign or letter was on it. Again, it was only simple in theory. Mother's speed of showing me those drawings was off the charts. She basically flashed the drawing in front of me, and that was that. I had see and memorize it at the same time. She would only do five drawings, then ask me for answers. Of course, I didn't know. There was no way for me to even see them.

"Don't worry dear, I'm not mad or anything. I'm making this difficult on purpose. Your eyes will slowly adjust to the speed, and you will be able to notice the drawings. You just have to try", she tried to reassure me. Mother was right, after a few months, I was able to adjust to her speed a bit better, and could guess a few drawings each round. Mother of course didn't make it easy for me. She would change the drawings regularly, hence I couldn't simply rely on my memory, to guess what she showed me.

My sixteenth birthday was approaching, only a bit over two months were left until then. Sixteen years old was considered an adult in the North. I didn't expect mother to treat me like an adult though. I was always her little Anna after all. Though thanks to her, I was able to improve my vision. I could see better than before, and everything became a bit more defined when I really focused. I even came up with an idea to use my energy, and improve my sight even further, but mother quickly explained why that was not a good idea. Eyes were really delicate, directing my energy towards them could blind me. She wasn't joking either, the seriousness on her face spelled that really well.

Tara and two Atol warriors visited us one that day. She mentioned something about my party, but then quickly realised her mistake and shut herself up. Of course, I wasn't supposed to know about that. Tara liked to blabber about things, telling her about any surprise was a huge mistake. "…You weren't supposed to tell me, you know that, right?", I asked her. "... I said nothing… You know nothing!", she replied flustered.

'I don't mind such surprises… I just have to act surprised, but fortunately she didn't say anything else', I thought. "Hey Anna. When you become sixteen, we will be able to travel around together, right?", Tara changed the topic. "I don't know about that... Besides, I want to stay with my mother a bit longer. She will be lonely if I leave". "Huh? Since when did you become such a mommy girl? You always wanted to travel around, that's what you talked about all the time", she replied. "Times change Tara, I grew up a bit and understand a few things a bit better", I explained. Tara didn't know about my emotional issue, or what happened in the past. I wasn't ready to leave yet, mostly because I was worried about my mother.

To my surprise, Tara didn't ask why mother didn't find someone to live with. No one really asked that question, as if everyone knew mother wouldn't search for anyone. 'Heh, seems I was really blind. To think I didn't understand my own mother, while others around me did. She was right, I have loads to learn', I thought. Tara and the two warriors stayed over for the night, but they would leave the next morning. "Land of Sands again?", I asked after dinner. "Ha! Not this time! We're actually heading towards Sedon. My parents sent me to visit a master craftsman living there", Tara replied. "Really? I thought Atols lived in Apium exclusively, only leaving for business or some attractions", I said, surprised. "You'd think that, but she moved there a long time ago. Actually, she is responsible for the walls you saw around Sedon. Moreover! She was the one who designed those Scorpions! See, Atols are great too!", Tara exclaimed proudly. "Heeh… Maybe I will pay her a visit one day too", I said. "Hey, why don't you join me?… Oh right, I forgot", Tara asked but realised I wouldn't go.

"Anna", mother's voice came from the kitchen. "I'll be right back, wait here", I said and left my room. "You'd like to go to Sedon with Tara, right?", she asked when I entered the kitchen. "I would, but I won't. I will stay here with you, someone has to keep you company, right?", I replied with a smile. Mother walked over and hugged. "My daughter is growing up to be a beautiful lady… Mommy will let you go. Training all the time is also bad for you. Besides, you did very well and you are sensible. Besides you and Tara, there will be two warriors there. Letting you go for a while shouldn't be a problem. Though I'm happy you want to keep me company, you have to experience the outside world too", she said.

"Are you sure? You don't have to force…", mother cut me off, "Do you want me to change my mind?". I shook my head and exclaimed, "I will go!". Mother released me and told me to go back to my room. I ran happily towards my room, but then stopped and turned around. "Thank you mom… I love you…", I said quietly. "Did you say something sweetie?", mother asked. "You heard!", I exclaimed and ran back to my room. "Tara, Tara! Good news. I can go with you to Sedon! Mother gave me permission". Tara's eyes almost left her sockets from the shock. "... That's great news! Travelling with those two warriors would be boring, they are rather stiff. We can also do a lot of things in Sedon… This will be a blast!", she exclaimed. That night was really exciting, we could barely fall asleep.