Energy Control

Father dispersed his illusion, then went back to work on his workshop like nothing. Mother on the other hand, took a seat outside to read the book father gave her. "What did father give you?", I asked, curious. "Anna, go back to your training. You had enough break", she replied, refusing to show me the content. 'Mom is as stingy as always…', I thought. There were loads of questions on my mind, but these guys simply acted like nothing ever happened. Like a pair of old people, which got on my nerves a bit. Then I recalled something, "Hey, hey, dad! Let me show you something".

My plan was to surprise him with a Formation, since that was something I was confident in. A few Runes later, the Formation was ready. "Swirl!", a gust of wind rose from the ground. The strength of that twister surprised even me, but then I realised the reason. My energy was stronger because I reached the outer Limits stage.

"Very nice, Anna. You must've studied Formations really hard, neither me nor your mother can do that", father praised me. "Huh? You don't seem that surprised though", I said. "Me and your mother had a small chat. I couldn't wait to find out about my daughter. Anyway, this looks great", he explained. "Mom! How could you!?", I exclaimed angrily. "Calm down, dear. Your father nagged me, so I told him a few things. That's your achievement anyway, but you should've seen his face, hehe. He was really surprised to hear about Formations", she replied.

That made it even worse. I wanted to see that reaction, and surprise him myself. "I give up… I can't win against you guys", I said quietly then went back to my training. My new strength was really something else. I became quicker, swifter and of course stronger. I tried a few moves with my sword too. Using my full strength to swing, the sword released a quiet "Swish" sound.

"Now that you broke past your limit, make sure to get used to your new strength. Moreover, controlling your energy is another aspect you should practice. Currently, you can only move your whole energy around. That's inefficient and ineffective sometimes. Being able to distribute your energy accordingly, will help you immensely in the future. Trust me", father commented while working on his workshop. 'How did he even see anything, when he's preoccupied with that workshop of his?…', I asked myself, then asked, "How do I do that then?". "You can move the energy around your body, right? Now you have to control that flow. In a way, make the flow weaker", father explained.

'That doesn't sound overly complicated… I think', I said to myself before giving it a try. About an hour later, there was no progress whatsoever. When moving my energy, everything flowed to the area of my desire. "Dad, do you have any clues?", I asked. "Focus", he replied with one word. 'Really helpful… Oh well', that was a bit disappointing, but maybe my expectations were too high.

Another hour or so passed, but nothing happened. This only got me tired, instead of actually accomplishing something. "Hehe, you struggle, eh? This might seem easy, but in reality it's not at all… How about this? I'll give you one week. If you manage to learn it, I will reward you", father tried to encourage me. "Alright, what will I get?", I agreed, albeit intrigued by the reward. "You will find out once you can control your energy", he said with a smile, then went inside our house.

'Whatever it is, his reward shouldn't be rubbish… or cheap. One week to control my energy, eh? Hehe, better ready that reward, dad!', I exclaimed to myself, fully accepting that challenge. The practice of my energy control went on and on, but nothing really happened. 'Even though I'm not using my energy for anything, moving it around my body all the time tires me out anyway. One week doesn't seem that much anymore… To think father was as stingy as mother. Oh well, time to stop now. I should visit Turry as well', I thought.

"How are you, Turry? Did you rest well?", "Moo!", Turry replied, then burrowed his head into me. "Hmm? Seems like dad already gave you some food. What do you think about him? Do you like my dad?", I asked. "Moo, Moo!", Turry seemed rather happy when I mentioned him. "Tomorrow, I promise we will go ride a bit, alright? Good night, Turry", I said while leaving the shed.

"You guys stick together like glue…", I said at the sight greeting me at home. "Your mother told me about the little business you and your friend set up. I'm happy that you want to be independent, and you already earned something. My daughter is all grown up already", father said. "Hehe, it's nothing much. We simply buy some items, I place Formations on them and Tara sells them. That reminds me. Since I had a few days off, I should really work on the items Tara brought. Don't want to be late with the delivery, right?", I replied and sat next to him. "Want to hug as well?", father asked but hugged me anyway.

"Master Ama told me that you worked with her in the past. I was sceptical, but turns out you were a craftsman for real…", I said. "Well, I learned to craft when I was pretty much your age. My parents died at that time, and an old craftsman took me in. He taught me his craft, so I could at least pay for my food", he explained. "... You were left all alone?", I asked. "Well, I had the old man taking care of me for a while. The workers also warmed up to me and didn't treat me badly. Later though, I made some stupid decisions... The rest is history. Though I'm glad everything happened the way it did. If not for those mistakes, I wouldn't be here with you and your mother", he replied.

"So, was mom your first love?", I asked. "Ehh… First real love?", father replied with a question, while mother stared at him. "I was naive and stupid back then. One woman wrapped me around her finger… I actually planned to marry her. She wasn't after my love though, she was after my family's heirloom. Besides, nothing really happened between us. She left heartbroken though, this made me hate women or rather never trust them. I didn't trust your mother for a long time either. This took a lot of time, but your mother's persistence gave me the ability to express my feelings for her", he added.

"He can read others like an open book, but at the same time, he lied to himself so many times. You realised that you love me in the Imperial City, right?", mother asked. "Yea, something like that... You loved me way before that, right? What did you see in me anyway?", he asked. "Your stupid face I suppose… and the look in your eyes. You never judged me…", she replied and kissed him.

"You probably don't know that, but Humans and Furians were at war for a long time. Your mother didn't live in the North. She had to wear a mask to hide her eyes, otherwise Humans would try to hunt her down", father explained. 'So that's why she had that weird mask on her face!', I thought then asked, "You didn't mind mother being half Furian?".

"Nope, I actually think she's more beautiful than Human women. Besides, I never had bias towards any race. Mostly due to being raised in a small village, which didn't even know the existence of other races. I actually hated my fellow Humans more, than any other race. Furians and Elysians are considered Humans, though they evolved differently. That's why it is possible for me and your mom to have kids. The same was with your grandpa and grandma, they were able to conceive your mother because of that. Human and Shade parents would be impossible for example. We are completely different", he replied.

"What about those Elysians?", I asked. "They live next to the Endrosian Empire. Their Empire is smaller than the North actually, but they are as strong as the Endrosian Empire. That's because they delve into Formations. I mean, all of them. Moreover, they place those Formations on their bodies, which both North and Endrosians don't do. Actually, that knowledge comes from Hatmandor in a way, but was fully developed by Elysians over many years", father explained. "Wow! They all know Formations? Their Empire must be great!", I exclaimed. "Though, how do they place Formations on their bodies?", I added.

"Well, not as great as you might think. Humans are not allowed inside their Empire. There are exceptions, but most Humans are simply not allowed, especially the Imperial Family. They are weird people for sure, but I don't really care about them that much. Their Emperor controls everything, there is no freedom there. I don't know how they place Formations on their bodies, but they are like slaves over there. The only positive thing about them is the strong opposition towards war or conflict. They will not take part in any wars, but if you attack them…Well, they will fight", he added.

"That's bad, right?", I asked. "Well, it's their lives. I'm not responsible for them. Though, they lost the ability to choose a long time ago", father said. "You also mentioned those Arts. Can't you teach them to me?", I changed the subject. "Hmm? Didn't you already learn a few things?", father asked, confused. "No? You mentioned them to me not that long ago… So…", I replied. "Didn't you train your balance and senses? Those are the basics in the Art of Stealth. Your mother taught you quite a bit", he explained.

"Huh? She did?", "Yea, your balance is great, but you need to work on your senses. Other than that, there is the control and Auras", he added. "Auras?", my head tilted in confusion.. "...You didn't even… Sigh… Aura is kind of a mood a Human or Furian can exert. I can't explain this very well, because you have to learn it by yourself… Besides, you already have an Aura", he explained. "I have an Aura? Since when?!", I asked, shocked.

"Since you were born. That anger inside you is related to that Aura. The moment you broke through your limit, the pressure you released was an Aura. Of course, you did it subconsciously...", he stopped for a second, then added, "... I can show you and Aura, if you want". "Yes, show me!". The next instance, some kind of wild and vengeful pressure enveloped my body. Fear became the prominent emotion, my whole dobby warned me about something. That pressure full of anger felt suffocating, demanding my life in a way. Breathing became hard, while my desire to run away became priority. Suddenly, everything seemed to disappear. The pressure, the anger and fear simply vanished into thin air. "Haah...Haah… What.. What was that...?", I asked while trying to catch my breath.

"That is my Bloodlust Aura. You have a similar Aura to mine, but of course you can't awaken it whenever you wish. We will work on your anger and Aura in the future", he replied. 'What a scary thing… To think I have something like that as well?', "What about you mom?", I got curious. She smiled, then simply vanished from my view. "This is my Aura. I call it Night Gale... Yea, like my mother's last name. My Aura isn't only about stealth though, it's also concerned with shadows and whatnot. A bit similar to some of the abilities Shades have", she explained. "I can see her though", father said with a smile. Mother appeared back in the same place, "That's because you are a freak".

"There's so much I don't know… Mother was really stingy with everything, it will take me years to learn all that stuff", I said, dejected. "Perhaps, but you seem to be much more talented than both of us. Breaking past your limit at the age of sixteen, extensive knowledge of Formations and a well trained body. I don't think you should complain, Anna", father said. 'Perhaps, but compared to the two monsters in front of me, I can't help but feel inferior', I thought.

"Why don't you tell me some of your stories now?", father asked. I nodded and recounted the most interesting events to him. I blabbered on and on, but father really enjoyed my stories. We talked like that until the night, where both my parents shooed me to sleep. 'It's a shame he couldn't see me grow up. Though he's here now, that's all that matters', I thought inside my bed.