A Discussion

A short walk later, Sana and her parents arrived at her uncle's study. Her mother turned to her and said, "Wait here, the talk should-"

"No, young Sana is also invited," her uncle's voice interrupted from the room. "Since her status within the clan will change drastically in just a few years keeping her out of the discussion is pointless." Her mother frowned but eventually just sighed and took her along.

The inside of the study was well organized, several bookshelves stood against the walls and a sizable desk was across the door, underneath a window overlooking most of the clan compound. Her uncle sat at the desk writing on a message scroll and beckoned them to sit on the chairs in front of the desk with a wave of his hand.

After about half a minute of silence, only broken by the scratches of the quill on the paper, he looked up and began, "I have just written the message for the Cloudsea Sect about young Sana and will immediately send it along. It was already incredibly fortunate that a triple affinity was discovered with young Kenta but a double affinity is practically unheard of in our city."

Seeing the confused look on both mother and daughter, he explained, "As you know, most people are not sensitive enough to absorb Primal Qi, and even fewer people have an affinity with any kind of Elemental Qi. Of those people, most have four affinities which, apparently, restrain each other and hinder the person in their Immortal cultivation. So, the less affinities one has, as long as you have one, the better, but only one in a thousand of those people has a triple affinity, and only one in a thousand of those has a double affinity."

Unlike Sana's stunned expression, her mother wore a frown on her face and asked in a stern voice, "Should we keep her results secret, Lord Father?" Sana looked up startled, she had never heard her mother use that kind of tone.

Her father grasped her mother's shoulder and said calmingly, "Don't worry, no one in the city is going to do anything to Sana. Despite being rivals with the Mara Clan, we are still one city, united."

"Exactly," her uncle picked up, "Despite or clans disagreements we still share our fortunes and misfortunes. Especially considering the importance of young Sana to the Cloudsea Sect.

"As I mentioned before, the time for the admittance of new disciples is in two years time, about half a year after young Sana's twelfth birthday. The journey will take about a month so it would be best for her to get used to extensive trips. Aria, it would be best for you to accompany her since Andrus is needed in his capacity as head guardian."

With that he leaned back in his chair and waited for Sana's parents to collect their thoughts. Her mother still had a frown on her face despite the brothers attempt to put her at ease.

Her parents and her uncle continued discussing her circumstances for a while longer, though Sana herself was lost in thought. Her father's voice pulled her out of her internal musings.

"Sana", he called out and, after she looked up, continued, "What do you want to do? First train a while to become a Martial Warrior or start going outside the walls immediately?"

She almost blurted out that she would like to leave immediately but quickly managed to stop herself and actually consider the options. If she went outside right now she would likely have to be kept close to a guard detail and never leave the roads. Maybe she'd even be kept inside a carriage until they arrived at another city. That couldn't be called real freedom. She would need the power to at least defend herself before setting foot outside the walls.

Her decision made she said, "Before going outside I want to be strong enough to at least not hold anyone back!" The adults, when they heard her determination, smiled down at her making her break out in a blush.

"Then it is decided. You two will train her in the Martial arts until she can defend herself from the dangers in the wild-lands. You are dismissed." Her uncle sat back up at the desk and bid them to leave with a wave of his hands.

The small family stood up, bowed to Lord Tekiel, and left his study to quickly return to Sana's parent's courtyard. They quickly ordered some food for Sana and sat down together before going to bed.

"So, how are you feeling after all the excitement today? You must be really tired." her father started after she was finished eating.

"Honestly, it really was. But I'm also so excited. I know Lord Father always said to keep my outbursts in check but I just can't seem to stop myself today." She looked down in shame.

The feeling of her father's hand on her shoulder made her look up. "That is totally fine, you know your uncle wouldn't have hesitated to speak his mind if he were truly bothered. Plus, you got you mother's excitability. She can never sit still for more than a moment." He whispered the last part in her ear making her giggle.

Seeing his attempt to cheer up his daughter succeed made him break out in a smile. Aria returned shortly, having cleaned up after her daughter and husband, and hugged Sana to her side.

"What do you say you sleep together with us for today and tomorrow we start immediately with your training, sound good?" her mother asked.

Sana simply nodded and let herself be guided into her parent's bedroom. The bed was already made but not by servants. Instead, her mother made the bed and cleaned most rooms in her parent's compound herself, though apparently, the servants insisted on helping after weeks of confused watching. Her mother was weird like that sometimes.

Her parents laid down and left a space between them for Sana to squeeze in. Being embraced by the comforting warmth of her parents she closed her eyes and slowly fell asleep, dreaming of the coming days.