Sixteen Years Old

We made our way through the Wilderness, until we got back home. 'Huh? I see nothing out of the ordinary… Didn't she send me to grab my uncle and Tara to prepare everything?', I thought. My first suspicion was that Tara lied to me, or told me about the surprise party on purpose. Though when I looked at her, she seemed as clueless as me. "Mom, we are back!", I called out. "Alright sweetie, just bring the guests inside!", she replied from within the house. 'Maybe the surprise is inside the house?', I thought while leaving Turry inside his shed. Once other Tauruses were dealt with, we walked inside the house. 'Nothing… Where is that surprise?', I asked myself then looked at Tara. She gave me the, 'Don't look at me like that' expression, but nothing else really. "Good evening", Tara and uncle greeted my mother instead. "Good evening to you too. Come in guys, don't be shy. Tara, you can stay in Anna's room, while Ulon can sleep in the kitchen. I have everything prepared for you, but tell me if you need anything", mother replied.

"I'll be fine, don't worry about it", uncle said while Tara nodded her head. "You guys must be hungry. Sit down, the food will be ready soon", she added before returning to her cooking. "Little Anna will become an adult tomorrow. You've grown so much already", uncle said. "Uncle, don't embarrass me… Though I can't hide my excitement, hehe", I replied. "Heh, since you will be an adult, I'm sure you'll start looking out for boys, right? Do you have anyone you like?", he asked, but then we heard a snapping sound from the kitchen. "Oh my, the spoon broke… Did you say something, Ulon?", mother asked. "... No ma'am, I didn't say anything…", uncle replied meekly. Me and Tara looked at each other and chuckled.

We chatted over dinner, but no one really spoke much about my birthday or even the party. "It's getting late, so we should probably go back to my room, right Tara? Good night everyone", I said then grabbed Tara and dragged her to my room. "What's this? You said there will be a party, yet there's nothing going on", I whispered. "I don't know, I'm as clueless as you are... We will find out tomorrow, right?", she replied. 'It's not like they will prepare something overnight… Besides, the other guests haven't arrived yet. Whatever, as long as everyone's here, there's no need for any surprise parties', I said to myself. I was a bit disappointed, but didn't linger on that any longer. Although excited, we were a bit tired and didn't sit for too long before going to sleep.

"Wake up sweetie, it's your big day, remember?", mother woke me up in the morning. "Hmm, it's a bit early, isn't it?", I replied while getting up. "Get yourself dressed, the guests will arrive soon", she added before leaving. Tara was nowhere to be found either, but I didn't think much of that and dressed myself instead. "Mom, is the breakfast ready?", I asked while walking towards the kitchen. She didn't reply, and there was no one inside the kitchen. Since no one seemed to be inside, I headed outside.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNA!", a small crowd of people shouted once I stepped outside. "Huh?", I managed to squeeze out at the sight in front of me. A few tables stood outside, with plenty of food on each of them. There were decorations everywhere, and even a few Formations spewing out water into the air. The ground beneath the tables was raised at an angle, with a message 'Happy Birthday Anna', sculpted onto it.

All my uncles, aunts and friends stood next to the tables. They all cheered, wishing me a happy birthday. "When did you make all of that, mom?", I asked, surprised. "We knew Tara might tell you something, so we made it look like nothing was going to happen. Everyone helped last night to make these arrangements. Do you like it?", she asked. "Yes, this is great! Thank you mom, thanks to all of you. You guys are the best!", I replied happily.

Being the centre of attention was a bit embarrassing, but this was my birthday. I became sixteen years old. In other words, this was considered being an adult. "I'm not gonna lie, this feels great", I said to everyone. Everyone wished me well and success in my future, but then it was time to eat. During the breakfast party, my uncles and aunts decided to give me my presents. First in line were aunt Alicia, uncle Lazar, Suly and Leran. "We heard about your little business that you would like to pursue. I must admit, we were all sceptical about your learning Formations, but you proved all of us wrong. You studied really hard, learning a lot in the process. Hence we have a present for you", aunt Alicia said.

"Yes. We debated whether to wait a bit longer, or give it to you right now. This was the perfect time though, so here it is", Suly added before handing me two books, as well as an exquisite set of brushes for drawing Runes. "The books describe a few Elemental Formations, as well as more advanced techniques of Formation drawing. The brushes on the other hand, are a bit special. Because you are not able to exert your energy outside of your body, me and your aunt made a special set of brushes for you. These brushes will collect your energy, then release it when you draw the Runes. This process is really similar to using one's own energy, though a bit weaker. Moreover, you no longer need any ink", Suly explained.

"Really? I'll be able to draw stronger Formations with this set of brushes?", I asked just to make sure. "Yes, that's what the brushes are for", aunt Alicia replied. "Thank you! This is a great gift. This will really help out with my little business, the gift was really thoughtful", I said, then gave all of them a hug. Aunt Alicia seemed satisfied with my reaction, but then she looked at uncle Crow and aunt Lira. "Heh? You think we can't beat that? Then watch this!", uncle exclaimed with a smirk. He handed me a piece of paper, then told me to read it.

"I'm not sure what you... Wait a minute… This paper allows me to travel using that new fast travel Formation, for free… Uncle, how did you get that? Moreover, the Formation's already finished?", I asked. "The Formation will be ready soon, but the core and most of the elements are finished. These things will be hard to get due to energy consumption, so I gave you one of mine. Although this allows you to travel only once, you can take four people with you", he explained, then looked smugly at aunt Alicia. "Hmph, we can give her ten such papers", she said. "Perhaps, but you didn't", uncle retorted. "Alright guys, this is not a contest, it's a birthday party. Anna will appreciate all your gifts, right sweetie?", mother asked. "Yes, I'm very grateful that you guys even came here. That alone is a gift", I replied.

"Look at you being all grown up already. Well, I'll be next in that case", uncle Ulon said while standing up. Uncle took a book out, then handed it to me. "Remember when you mentioned a certain author of a book to me. Well, I found him and asked for his new book. Moreover, it's signed with a dedication to you", he explained. "You found Iriam? This is his new book as well?", I asked, shocked. "Yes. Finding him wasn't easy, as he travels a lot. The book he gave to me is not so much a love story, but a journey. You seem to like such books too", uncle replied. "Thank you, yes I enjoy such books. This is a great gift", I replied.

Tara gave me a gift for Turry. She ordered special leather protectors, which covered vital areas on Turry's body. "With this, your Turry can worry less about injuries, since this leather was hardened", she explained. That was a great gift too, Turry's wellbeing was as important as my own. Dawn on the other hand, gave me some fancy clothes. "You are a woman now, you need to look good sometimes. That is especially when you meet clients and such. This will come in useful, I'm sure", she said. Though fancy clothes were not my thing, she was right. When I met with clients in the future, making myself more presentable wasn't a bad idea.

"I'm a bit embarrassed to give you only this, but Jira picked this up in hopes you'd like it", uncle Harlin said and gave me some jewellery. "The earrings and bracelet will go very well with the clothes you got from Dawn. You are a lady now, and all ladies need to look good, right?", aunt Jira said. "Thank you, I'm sure they will come in useful. The design looks really good too", I replied, but then shifted my attention towards mother. "Looks like it's my turn now. Well, I could buy you something amazing like the others, but I made something for you instead. You already have some casual and even fancy clothes, but you don't have an adventuring set of clothes. This is a gift from me", she said then handed me a set of leather armour.

Most of the leather was dark grey in colour, with a few areas and elements in an off white colour. The set included leather body, trousers and boots. The body had a few belt-like strips on the belly, the leather was tough and stiff both at the front and back areas. The upper portion where my breast would be, was a bit different though. Not only was it more flexible, but also a lot smoother to touch. The colour of the upper part was off white, instead of dark grey. The sleeves were flexible too, but had added protection on the forearm and shoulder area. Moreover, the sleeves had the off white vine strips sewn into them. It looked really great.

The trousers were flexible, and fully dark grey in colour. They had special loops around the waist, through which I could attach the scabbard. There was a leather skirt on the right side, which covered my leg a bit. The skirt barely reached below my knee, and wouldn't obstruct me during walking or running. The skirt had the same off white vine like leather strips sewn into it, which made the whole set match. The boots were dark grey as well, but the laces were off white. From what I could see, the boots would reach well beyond my ankles. The white laces would really make them stand out, even though they didn't have vine like design on them.

"What a great leather armour! Can I try it out?", I asked. "Of course sweetie, it's for you after all", mother replied. I grabbed the set and rushed inside the house. This was much more practical than any sort of fancy clothes. This was a proper leather armour. Getting into the armour wasn't that easy though, the fitment was really tight. A bit of fiddling later, I finally managed to wear the whole set. I took out my sword as well, and attached it through the loops mother provided for me. 'This is great! I feel like a proper adventurer now!', I thought and left the house.

"How do I look?", I asked. My friends, uncles and aunts exclaimed in surprise. They were really impressed by the design, and how well I looked in that leather armour. "The armour fits perfectly with my sword, I love it. This is the best, mom!", I said and rushed to hug her. "I'm very happy you like it so much. The armour shouldn't be too tight, and it should fit you even when you grow up a bit more", she replied. "It's great mom! I'm sure you've put a lot of work into this", I added. "I have all the time in the world for my daughter", she replied after kissing my forehead. "This is the best birthday of my life! Thank you, thanks to all of you for being here! I'm really happy to have such a family", I said with my voice cracking a bit. Everyone smiled, lifted their cups and cheered once again. "Happy Birthday Anna!".