Kara's Skills

The first on my list was Kara, my father's student. "Wow! You grew up so much over these years. How have you been?", she seemed happy to see me. "Hehe, not bad at all… You have a guest?", I asked instead. "Oh, yea, you don't know. Nade! Come over, we have a guest", she called him over. "Hehe, your boyfriend?", "Yes, why are you jealous?", she replied with a smile.

"Miss Anna, we didn't have much chance to talk during the ceremony last time. I'm Nade Roleheart, your father helped me a lot in the past. Thanks to him I could become a warrior", he introduced himself. "Heh, it's thanks to him I'm with you as well", Kara added. Nade was visibly younger than Kara, she was about five maybe more years older.

"Nade, you like older women?", I teased. "Hehe, Kara is older than me by a bit, but I've always felt… you know. She might be a bit cold, but she's pretending most of the time", he replied. "What? If you don't like it, you can leave. I'm not holding you", "Perhaps I'll visit another day? You two can work it out between each other", I proposed.

Nade grabbed Kara into his embrace, "Don't be like that. Nex's daughter is here, and you know I love you". I could tell she blushed and got embarrassed, but didn't stop him from hugging her. "I'm off for my duty, but we can talk more once I'm back", he added, then left us alone in the house.

"He really loves you", "...Ahem, anyway. That's my boyfriend, but less about us. Tell me some of your stories", she tried to save herself with a change of the topic. "I don't have that much time, we're supposed to meet for dinner at my great uncle's place… How about you join us? I'll try to gather a few others. This will save me the trouble of recounting my events ten times, hehe", I proposed.

"You know what? Why not? I'll meet you at their house then", she replied, then bid me farewell. Next on my list was uncle Aran. He supervised the training as usual, but there was no surprise on his face when he saw me. "The news travel fast, eh?", "Hehe, the news travel fast. How was your journey? Learned anything?", he replied.

"There's too much to talk about. How about we all meet at my great uncle's place? The dinner's in about forty minutes. Can you make it?", "Ha, who's going to stop me? Though, are you sure they'll be fine with that?", he asked instead. "Saves me the trouble of explaining multiple times. Moreover, can they even refuse me?", "... Don't make these eyes in front of me, please. Alright, I'll see you there", he agreed.

I've visited uncle Paul and Gerond next, then invited them for a meal together. Uncle Paul decided to bring his wife as well, she wanted to see me a lot. Paul and his wife Elen acted a bit like parents for my father. They knew he lost them, and couldn't help themselves but worry about him, like a real son. Our families were that close after all.

My great uncle and aunt were a bit surprised by the amount of guests, but didn't complain. They liked the company of others, especially close friends. Fortunately, my great aunt always cooked too much. There was plenty for everyone to eat. "Now that we are here, spill the beans, Anna. Tell us about your journey and whatnot", Kara said.

I recounted some of the events from my previous trip to the Endrosian Empire. Kara voiced her strong thoughts about the two masters, but uncle Aran seemed happy they taught me so much. They also met my friends, but we kept their identities a secret. My great aunt and uncle were fine, and they were only two people. The less people knew, the better.

Others told me about their own experiences, interests and general events. We pretty much sat there until the evening, before everyone got shooed away by my great aunt. "Anna needs some rest, give her a break. She'll stay here for a while, so you'll get a chance to chat more". No one argued with her, because my great aunt could be really persuasive.

"Loads of people like you here", Dawn said when we returned to my room. "Well, this is my family's home. What did you expect? How about you guys? Do you enjoy this place?", I replied with my own question. "It's quiet, and people are friendly to us. I've also managed to get nice info on some items, hehe". Tara replied.

"I'll probably challenge some of the warriors tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll be careful… Anyway, this place sort of resembles a miniature city, but it's quieter… A bit like Apium. Hehe, with less greenery inside, but there's a huge forest outside. I guess that's similar", Teri said. "I didn't explore the place yet, so don't look at me. Anyway, it's a nice place so far", Dawn added.

"Alright you guys, we've been travelling for a long time. Get some rest on proper beds. Tomorrow, just do whatever you like. Explore the town, or the areas close by. Don't go too far away though, I don't want you to get lost, hehe", I added before wishing them a good night.

The next day was a bit busy for me. Uncle Aran for one, decided to test out my improvements. He was really impressed with my rhythms and the movement technique. The biggest surprise to him was the fact I broke past the Half Step. He didn't know anyone younger than me, who achieved that. Nonetheless, we had some fun time together.

Kara wasn't any different. She decided to show me her medicine making skills. She was really good, and even displayed her Aura for me. "I don't have any fancy names for my Aura. I simply call it the Growth Aura. As you can see, it's a perfect name for this Aura", she explained with a demonstration. Indeed, her Aura promoted the growth of herbs. They were somehow stimulated by it, and grew faster. Of course the herbs wouldn't ripen or grow fully in an hour or something, though she could speed up the process substantially.

"Taking this example into consideration, I can speed up the growth process by about two weeks. Normally, this herb takes about a month to fully grow. Neat, eh? Of course, it's possible to do it even faster, but I'd have to focus on that one herb all the time. Perhaps one week would be the most I'd achieve with my Aura", she added.

"That's really good. You can even grow stuff during the winter, right?", "Not bad, Anna. Precisely. Some herbs are not available during winter. With seeds and my Aura, it's possible to grow them. During winter, the summer herbs take longer to grow, even with my Aura, but there's no shortage. I'm really happy with my Aura, even your dad praised it a lot. Hehe, he taught me a few new things as well", she replied.

"What about you? What's your Aura?", "Actually, there are two. One of them… I'd rather not awaken. The other is a bit weird", I said. "Hmm, in what way?", "There's a condition for my Aura to awaken. I need to hold a blade, dagger, sword… Basically, a weapon in my hand, otherwise the Aura will not awaken. I can show you, but be careful". She told me not to worry. Though her Aura promoted growth, it was an Aura nonetheless. She could pressure people all the same.

I released my Aura, and saw her struggle immediately. After quickly retrieving my Aura, I apologised. "No, I underestimated you a lot. Wow, that was some heavy pressure…", "That's because my Aura is condensed. Usually, our Auras work like a bubble, right? There's a specific area of effect, all around us. We can extend that area, or shorten it. Depending on which way we go, the Aura will weaken, or intensify", I began.

"Now imagine that my Aura clings on to my body. The strength of my Aura would be really intense, right? Now imagine such strength, but spread to a bubble. That's how my Aura is so strong", I added. "That's just broken… I guess you wouldn't be his daughter otherwise, hehe", "There are drawbacks. One, a blade, remember? The second? Energy usage. You don't use that much energy in order to maintain that bubble. I use a lot more energy than you. It's stronger, but I can't last for a longer period of time", I said.

"Yea, but you can overpower a lot of people that way", "Hehe, perhaps", I said with a smile. "Hey, why don't you learn a few things from me? Since you travel around, the ability to recognise herbs and make medicine is really useful. I'm not saying stay here for a year and study, but just some basics you could use during the travels", she proposed.

I decided to accept her offer. Mainly because the skill was useful, and we wouldn't need to rely on my father in the future. At least not that much. The other reason was my friends. They agreed to learn cooking from me. I decided to broaden my horizons too, just like my father who tried a lot of things.

"Should we start then?", "Whoa, slow down. I'd like to chat more with others, and visit my other aunts and uncles", I replied. "Ah, don't worry. I'll simply give you this book first. You can read it in your spare time. This book contains basic herbs, but no recipes. You don't have to give it back, I can write another", she reassured me while giving me the book. "Huh? You wrote this? Wow… There are pictures inside as well. Your drawing skills are great, you should learn Formations", I praised her.

"Hahaha, if you only know. I'm not that great at drawing as you'd think. I used real herbs to draw the templates, then coloured in everything", she explained. 'Maybe she used a template, but even then the drawings look great', "Thank you, I'll be sure to read this through". She bid me farewell shortly after that.

There were a few other people I visited that day. I wanted to get that off my head, since the next day was trip time. Me and my friends would travel to the villages close by, and visit my aunts, uncles and cousins. I couldn't wait to find out how much they grew.