23 End of the journey.

Months have passed since Etistin and we were rolling to the gate in Blackbend city that would take us to Xyrus. The cities in between Etistin and Xyrus, while beautiful, didn't have much to offer. The trip itself between the cities was rather uneventful as well, which I could appreciate compared to the first half.

In these months James had become quite the tea brewer and a not half bad swordsman. He was more of a sword and shield kind of guy, so I modified his style to be like Durk's. Though I only saw him fight a few times, I had gotten a pretty good grasp on his moves. Enough to give James some pointers at least. Now we were departing and James was a little emotional.

"Th-thank you so much mashter." Came his words which were littered with hiccups and sniffles from the guy.

"Take care of yourself James, I'll be keeping up with your progress through the guild master." He then stood straight and saluted me.

"As expected of Master Rez to be friends with guild master Kaspian." Tears still streaming down his face. I patted him on the side of the arm and disappeared into an alleyway, there I changed into my normal outfit and made my way back to Helstea manor. Back home.

I never did find Kathyln a gift during my journey, but I'll be sure to find one before our next meeting. I do though have gifts for everyone in the house, and that will just have to do. Walking down the long road I see 2 girls playing in the yard, one older and one merely a toddler. It was Lilia and Eleanor. When I left Eleanor was just a new born still, but now she was 1 years old and had grown a little, Lilia was already 6 and I was close behind as I would be turning 6 at the end of this month.

Eventually Lilia saw me and I could see the tears form in her eyes as she charged to me and tackled me in a hug. Blubbering about bandits and my lost teammates and all sorts of nonsense, while Ellie just stared at me strangely. Patting Lilia's head I break her hold on me and wipe her eyes.

"Now now, Lily I'm quite strong you know? I would never leave you, mom, and dad all alone." I said with a few more pats that seemed to placate her. I looked down at Eleanor and brought out the doll I had bought in one of the cities we visited. The doll shop in that city was known to have made dolls for Kathyln so I figured surely it was good enough for Ellie.

She immediately clutched the doll tightly to her chest before bouncing it up and down as she played with it. I could see a pout forming on Lilia's face so I just grinned as I brought out the dress I had bought for her back in Valden and her eyes started shining as she took the dress. It was still a little big, but she would be able to wear it at her next birthday at least. She hugged me once again and tugged on my arm.

"Lets go inside! We got to show everyone that you're back!" She exclaimed. I picked up little Ellie and let myself be dragged by the arm into the house before she stopped and turned to me timidly.

"Brother." She seemed shy for some reason so I titled my head to the side in confusion as she's not usually a shy person.

"What is it Lilly?" I question.

"I-I was able to see the lights recently!" She started quiet before gaining confidence towards the end and my eyes widened.

"You mean you actually did what I said before I left?" I asked in surprise, as I hadn't expected the young girl to want to do it.

*FLASHBACK 1 year ago, Before the Journey*

"I want to be like you." Lilia said randomly as I was meditating on the ground in between my 100 swings.

"A boy?" I said cheekily, getting a huff as she flopped to the ground on her backside beside me.

"No! A mage, I want to do magic like you!" I open one eye and look at her, seeing her serious face. I frown inwardly as I know she was only able to become a mage because Arthur jump started her mana with his. But I wonder if that just because she didn't know how to meditate? Would she be able to form her core by meditating before Arthur ever gets here? I think deeply for a few seconds as she stares at me in hope.

"I can't promise it will work, but you would have to do what I do everyday to ever even have a chance." I said in a serious tone.

"Sitting on the ground all day?" She asked, and if she hadn't sounded so serious I would have laughed. I decided to just inwardly laugh before correcting her.

"No silly. It's called meditation. I'm focusing inside my body and pulling these bits of mana to a space just above my stomach. For me I can see these lights floating about inside me, and I imagine a whirlpool sucking in all the lights to my core." I peek my eyes at her once again to see her confused.

"Here, sit like I am and try not to think of anything while looking for some lights. It will be boring and I imagine you'll get frustrated with it quite a bit, but it's the only way I can think to help you. Even if you don't see any lights just pretend you do and pull them towards that spot above your stomach I was talking about." Once again looking at her she doesn't seem convinced.

"Are you sure you're not just teasing me?" She asked with a pout.

"Yes Lily, I have been mediating out here everyday in a long elaborate plot to tease you." I said with a small laugh and she just sticks her tongue out at me.

"Now you must do this everyday without fail. The longer you do it the more beneficial, but you're not always going to want to do it. So only do it for a short time those days, and on the next day you can go longer. Let me know when you start seeing the lights inside as that means you're starting to get close."

*END FLASHBACK*

"How long have you been able to see the lights?" I questioned quickly.

"Since my birthday." She said in a brighter tone.

"That's great Lilia, you could really become a mage soon!" I said with genuine excitement and a smile on my face. Her face lit up too, but I spoke again in a serious tone right after.

"Though you need to keep up with your meditations, the more you do it the more beneficial it will be to your potential as a mage." She nodded seriously and before she could speak the door flew open to show Tabitha and Vincent along with Reynolds and Alice. I quickly passed Ellie to Alice before I was engulfed in a group hug by my family.

"Oh it's so good to have you back Jaron! We've missed you." Tabitha was the first to speak followed closely by Vincent.

"And you've grown! My I can tell you're going to be a tall one when you get older." I gave a smile, but inside I could only hope it would come sooner rather than later.

"I'm glad to be home and I missed you all as well! Lets go inside as I brought gifts for everyone." With that everyone entered into the living room and took their places on the couches and chairs.

"I already gave Lilia and Eleanor their gifts, so now I'll start with mom and dad. I also got something for the Leywins, but that can be for after." Garnering nods from everyone I will out the gift I had gotten Vincent. I pulled out a pen from my ring and presented it to him.

"This is a pen made by a crafter in Etistin, he is popular for his quality work. He engraved our family crest, as well as your name along the side of the pen. It also comes with some cartridges of ink, but can be refilled with regular ink if needed." The pen was a sleek black color with Vincent's name and the crest in a bright gold, various designs flowed around the crest and name to give it a real beautiful look.

"I love it Jaron! I'll use it everyday." He said as he stood and gave me a big fatherly hug, before stashing the pen in his shirt pocket and patting it a couple times.

"Next mother. Like Lilia I bought you a dress from a vendor in Etistin, I hope you like it." When the dress came out there were gasps from both Alice and Tabitha as the dress really was very well made. She was stunned for a few seconds before she grabbed it feeling the fabric.

"It's beautiful Jaron, I can't wait to wear it." She also pulled me into a hug, and held it for a few extra seconds before pulling away and looking back at the dress.

"I'll wear it at the next auction." I smile brightly before turning to the Leywins.

"I apologize as this is not actually a gift, at least not in the same sense as the others received. Also I hope you're not mad." I added in a disclaimer at the end.

"What is it?" Alice asked with a confused look.

"Well, it's yours so I'm sure you'll know what it is." This time both of them looked confused but the looks quickly changed to shock as I started to pull out the rest of their belongings from their house in Ashbern.

"Jaron… This. I don't know what to say." Alice said, unable to find the words she wanted.

"You don't have to say anything, it's your stuff after all. I even grabbed your diary." I said as I picked up a loosely bound book and handed it to her. She held it in reverence as tears started to fall. Reynolds was taking in all the stuff as well, he also had red eyes from the emotions this stuff brought.

"I will have to ask your forgiveness on one thing as I had to damage your house to get it." They looked up confused at my words and I could feel an aura coming from Tabitha at the word damage. I pulled out the door frame that had Arthur's heights marked on it and this time Reynolds couldn't hold back the tears as he had been the one to mark the heights. Alice placed a gentle hand on his shoulder as Reynolds held the piece of wood in his hand.

Next he quickly stood up and held out his hand, but when I reached to grab it he shook his head and then gripped me in a crushing hug.

"Thank you Jaron." Was all he said as he hugged me for a few moments more until Alice joined as well.

"You're both welcome. Maybe you could add little Ellie's height on there too." Realization dawned on their faces and they smiled warmly with nods.

"We'll do that. It'll become a tradition." Everyone in the room smiled at this and we moved to the dining room for dinner and tea. Talking late into the night and long after Lilia and Ellie fell asleep after fighting the fierce battle of trying to stay awake. I was losing the battle myself as I could feel my eyes growing heavier. The emotions of the day had taken more out of me than I would have expected.

We all bid each other goodnight, and head off to our own rooms. The feeling of my soft mattress and the familiar smell of home brought on sleep instantly. I could feel the smile on my face, it still hits me from time to time now that I have a family and a home that feels like a home. The warmth and love, that never seems to run out in a true family. It brings my mind and heart to peace, and I can truly relax when I'm here.

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Author's Note

Bit of a short chapter, but I did sneak in a curveball for you guys. I hadn't planned on Jaron being able to help Lilia with forming her core, but I kind of decided on a whim to do it. In the grand scheme of things not much changed except instead of at 8 she'll probably awaken at 7. I do think this would make her stronger though as she started forming it sooner and it was concentrated.

Not sure, as I don't know how prevalent I'm going to have her be in any fight scenes. Guess we will see.

Anyways maybe 1 or 2 more chapters at home, probably another auction house event where we see Kathyln again, along with Jaron's birthday before he goes on his journey into the Beast glades for 2 years.

Thanks for reading.

-SocioPhobia