Goodbyes

Master Yater disappeared for a few days. That meant I got to be beaten up by master Irwin even more. Once he finally returned, Curly jumped into my arms. "Where have you been?", I demanded answers. "You might not know this, but pine martens are predators. She was held in captivity for a very long time, therefore her hunting skills suffered a lot. Do you know why they brought her here?", he explained.

I had no clue to be honest. "That's because she can smell other martens. She can even do it right now, her sense of smell is much better than yours. They wanted to use her, and find other martens. They are quite desirable creatures. She didn't escape them by herself, they let her out on purpose", he added.

That would make sense. Curly wasn't strong, she couldn't fight against an Aura. "Right, so you taught her how to hunt. I thought you were going to teach her something else", I said. "Have you learned how to jump before you could walk? That should answer your question. There are more things I'll teach her, but she was winning already, so I took her back to you", he replied.

"How can she hunt though? I mean, this forest isn't exactly safe. She's just a small creature, everything else is bigger than her", I asked. "Haha, you think pine martens are that simple? That thing is a natural predator. Martens can take down creatures bigger than them, so long they were taught how. Sure, she wouldn't hunt a bear, but a boar or wolf is a different story. Look inside her mouth, those teeth are razor sharp. Even wolves would envy such sharp teeth", he said.

Well, he wasn't wrong about that. Curly could chew through the meat like a grinder. From what he said, Curly could be considered 'cute but deadly'. 'She wants to go back home anyway. The ability to hunt will be really useful to her. I'm glad he actually taught her that'. Curly remained with me for only a day, before master Yater took her away once more.

Once the spring season passed, summer's hot weather greeted my battered body once more. I hated to admit it, but my body got used to getting beaten up. That didn't mean I liked it, but after a day of training, my ability to move wasn't impaired to a critical extent. Curly herself made a lot of progress. She learned how to hunt properly, and master Yater taught her about illusions a bit.

That's what he said, since I couldn't really check that. Curly remained with us for a long time, but that was thanks to the two masters. They didn't head in the direction of Curly's home, but actually the other way. I wasn't sure whether that was on purpose or not, but I didn't complain.

The summer was… Difficult. They didn't joke around at all. I thought spring was bad, but summer was worse, a lot worse. Thanks to the hot weather and usually lack of water, my body suffered. They wouldn't provide me with anything, I had to get all my supplies. These were the rules, and they wouldn't change. I found myself eating more and more, just to replace the lack of water my body received.

They didn't push it too far. When they knew my body was at a limit, training would cease. I had to rest and drink properly before continuing. Though that sort of regime really pushed my body forward. The pose my father asked me to do? I could stay in that pose for almost eight minutes. That was a huge improvement considering how difficult advancement was, the longer I lasted.

My body wasn't alone. The rhythms and techniques of my sword, they gained a bit of a savage side. The reason was simple to me. I mostly tried to copy master Irwin's moves, even though he used a large and heavy sword. Curly on the other hand seemed to be doing fine. Master Yater described her training, after my constant nagging.

Basically, he'd create an illusion for Curly, and she had to escape from it. The illusions could be elaborate, or very subtle. He said that sometimes, Curly wouldn't realise it was an illusion for a day. Escaping also took her time, especially with those subtle illusions. The good news was, she could hunt by herself. She became really cunning, and selected her targets accordingly. I had a chance to see her hunt once, and I was impressed.

Before the summer came to an end, We took a sharp turn towards the north. The sudden direction change wouldn't be that unusual, but that time it was. We were heading back towards the border between the Great North and the Endrosian Empire. While we moved towards the north, curly urged me to head north-east.

"Your family?", I asked and she nodded. "Guys, can we go that way? She'd like to return home, and it's in the northern direction anyway. Shouldn't pose any issues right?", I asked. The two masters didn't find any problems with that, so we altered our path a bit.

A few days later, Curly became really excited. We were getting close, and she knew that. "We shouldn't go any further. She has to return there by herself, and it's not that far away from here. She'll make it before the evening", master Irwin said. "Huh? How can you know that?", I asked, a bit confused.

"Hehe, I'm a bit like you and your father. I used to travel around a lot in search of strong and unique beasts. Not to hunt them, but to challenge them. I've witnessed many beasts you can't probably imagine, and at the same time learned about other animals, their habitats and so on. I can tell that further up there, she will find the pine martens", he replied.

"Heh, so you secretly like animals?", I asked. "I don't kill them for fun, especially when there are only few in existence. There are some people who do this for a living, though we don't mix well. I only fight for the thrill of it, not to kill. They are after those rare animals and their precious bodies. You could say that marten is a bit special. She's more intelligent than most martens, but also has the ability to sense illusions", he replied.

"Actually… Now that I think about it, all of us liked nature and animals. My master was the same, he cared for animals, and especially plants. Seems the people who learn the Art of War are of this sort... Throughout the history of our Art, only your father managed to become an important figure. The Emperor of the Great North, right? Sadly, the master of the Hidden Weapons Art passed away. He'd be proud of Nex… A triple.. Actually quadruple master in the Arts. He's also the legendary…", master Yater stopped him for some reason.

"Legendary? What exactly?", I asked, eager to find out. "He's just running his mouth as always. Don't mind him. Though, since he does speak like that in front of you, he considered you a friend", master Yater explained. "Oi, old fool! Do you have too many teeth in your mouth?", master Irwin burst out.

"See? A perfect example of someone defending himself. Anyway, that's where Curly should head. This is martens' territory, I doubt there's any danger awaiting her on the way. She shouldn't have any issues reaching her home. As for us? We are heading that way", master Yater added.

Curly really wanted to go, and though the thought of stopping her appeared in my mind, I couldn't do that. I couldn't keep her with me by force. Wouldn't that be the same as me making her captive again? "Hey, I'm sure you'll be happy there. We had it tough, but I'm glad we got to know each other. Who knows, maybe we will see each other one day", I grabbed her and hugged.

"Arf…", she licked my face, but then looked towards her home. "Go, your family is waiting… Hehe, I'll be fine, so don't worry. When I'm around, I promise to visit you, alright?", "Arf!". With that last bark, she jumped off of my shoulder and ran towards her home.

"You grew attached to her, that's understandable. Selfishness isn't a good trait to have, and you are not selfish. You made a friend, and spent some good time with her. That's all that counts. Don't forget about her, and cherish the memories. Alright, let's go. We have to take you back home as well", master Irwin said.

That surprised me. He never tried to cheer me up or praise me, but he was right. 'We shared some good memories together, that's what counts', "Yes, let us go". I left with a smile on my face, because Curly would be happy with other martens.

"You know our expectations by now, right?", master Yater asked on our way. "Break past the Half Step of my Outer Limits", I stated. "Indeed. You can't be too far off, since we really put your body through hell. The control of your anger wasn't supposed to be a part of your training, but I'm sure Nex will be pleased with the progress", master Irwin added.

"Does that mean no more fighting?", I asked. "If you want, we can have a bout from time to time. We want you to focus on your energy, and that Half Step", he said. "I'm fine, I'll just focus on the other things". There was no need for me to go against that lunatic anymore. Who'd be willing to actually continue such torture?

"I also taught you how to use the sword properly. Your mind has developed too, and your own techniques improved by a lot", he added. "Yea, even though you didn't show me any techniques, I can tell that my sword changed", I agreed.

"I, on the other hand, taught you about stealth. I'm sure you are confused because I didn't teach you anything, but you'd be wrong. You followed me around almost every day, right? Try moving like that by yourself now, you'd be surprised", master Yater said. He was right about one thing, I was confused. Though, it didn't hurt to try. After all, I did follow him almost every day.

Just like he said, I tried to follow the same movements he did. The first surprise was the lack of sound to my movements. I had no clue how, but my steps didn't make them. Moreover, my positioning became erratic and all over the place. If someone were to see me now, they'd have a hard time keeping up with me.

"Wow! To think I already learned so much!", "I told you, this is the result of your training. Your father was similar, but different as well. He didn't need my help to do those things, but the method was similar. You have to feel it with your body, me explaining it wouldn't do much for you. Hence, you didn't realise that the seemingly simple training had such great effects", he explained.

"Additionally, your nature is erratic. Hence the sword style you've learned suits you a lot. Try incorporating those movements with your rhythms, and then with your sword. If you achieve that, you'll get a pretty decent technique", master Irwin added.

That suggestion was really great. I tried to achieve that right away, but it wasn't that simple. "I'm able to do that to a certain extent, but it's not practiced yet. This technique will be great for me once I master it. To think my skills were already this good... ", I said to myself. They kept me occupied constantly, while their skills were simply unreachable for me. At least at that stage. That had to be the reason why I didn't realise how well my sword and movements improved.

"Thanks to my teachings, you should be able to master that relatively quickly. Besides, there's also the element of stealth, which you didn't incorporate yet", master Yater said. "Huh? How's that thanks to you?", I asked, confused. "You trained according to the concept in the Art of Stealth. Basically, you were supposed to chase a shadow that never existed. That's how you avoid the light, that is the big secret. Your improvements are surprising, because we told you about them", he replied.

"Your father learned like that as well. The 'avoid the light' phrase doesn't belong to me. He was told that by someone else, someone who taught him and wasn't a total idiot. He was chasing that non-existent shadow for years before we met each other. He needed a little push, and everything became apparent to him. He figured everything out by himself", master Yater explained.

"There is a story concerning each Art, and that's what the founder of my Art did. She chased a shadow, a figment of her imagination. Until she realised the shadow wasn't there. Instead, she became that shadow. That is the principle on which my Art works. Once you become the shadow, there's the final step towards mastery. Of course, I'll not tell you what that is. Maybe you'll figure it out one day, or maybe you won't. That level of skill alone is really useful", he added.

"You mean Arien Nightgale, right?", I asked. "Your father told you? Yes, she was the founder of the Art of Stealth", he confirmed it. "Hehe, did you know she was a Furian?", I asked. Master Yater's face changed. "Your father told you that?... He never mentioned anything to me. Are you trying to fool old Yater?", he had a hard time believing it.

"Not at all, she was a Furian according to my father. Moreover, she was my family", I added, full of pride. Master Yater's jaw dropped. "Your… Your mother is her descendant?!", he exclaimed. "Yes, my grandma on my mother's side was Nightgale. Dad told us that Nightgales had pure Furian blood, and my grandma was considered a princess of the Furians in the North", I said while puffing my chest out.

Master Yater became quiet for a while, but master Irwin pestered me with his questions. He asked whether my father talked about the Art of War, the founder and so on. I would share with them, but sadly, my father never mentioned much about the Art of War, or the Art of Hidden Weapons.

"This news is really shocking… I mean, Furians can use Auras… That makes sense, since Furians used to live alongside Humans… That father of yours, to keep such news away from me. I have a bone to pick with him", master Yater said, displeased.

Father really knew a lot of things. Even a master in the Art of Stealth didn't know that, a master not a student. 'Just how many things that old man of mine uncovered. I mean, other worlds, mysterious lands and never seen before materials… Why does he talk so little about his adventures outside the continent?... Perhaps there were loads of sad memories mixed in there. Who knows, maybe he will open up one day', I thought.