AR10 Ch16

Chapter Sixteen

The evening was full of laughter and good memories. Clover, Ling, and Mindie each sparred with Verka. Since they all used the staff as weapons, all of the fights were competitive. Jenn and Ragnar also got a match in after them, which shocked Ivar and Moha at how well the much smaller woman did. Ragnar still won in the end, but it took him wearing Jenn completely down to do it. They both took small wounds, though nothing life-threatening. With Ragnar having used so much aether against Jenn, Gregory opted to spar with Yukiko and Roshana. Yukiko held back her shadow hound, not wanting to let their spies see it, which might’ve made things more competitive. Without being able to go all out, Yukiko and Gregory opted more for training instead of victory. Roshana didn’t have to hold back, so Gregory had to use foresight to stay as dry and clean as he could. She didn’t just use water, but saturated the ground to make disguised mud pits to try trapping him, but he never stepped into one.

When training was done, all the wives went inside to help with dinner. That left Ivar, Ragnar, and Gregory to tidy things up and get what they could ready for tomorrow morning. Ragnar told his father they’d be leaving at sunrise and having breakfast in town. The older man understood, as they had to get back to the city. When they finished what they’d set out to do, the trio rinsed off at the water pump before going inside. Dinner was good, but it was soon time for Ivar and Moha to turn in for the night. The magi and their friends all acted as if they were going to bed, too. After a few hours of meditation disguised as sleep, they once again met out by the fire pit to chat.

With memories being a problem for Gregory, the group stuck to more recent topics while they talked. They traded stories of growing up, which did at least cover when the siblings found out who they’d been. It would’ve been awkward if they knew their last lives as an infant, but thankfully, the memories of who they’d been didn’t return to them until they were both around five years old. Even that was rough on them, as having memories and knowledge of thousands of years of life caused them severe headaches for a few months. That baffled the healer their parents had visit the farm, as he couldn’t find anything to help with. Ivar and Moha were glad when their children’s headaches passed, not questioning the shift in their personalities as the reborn gods started to look to the future.

Even the memories of who they were didn’t stop some of the shenanigans that children get up to. Ragnar befriended Erika and Donic shortly afterward, and the two would rope Ragnar into their mischief, which brought Verka into it, too. The pair cherished those times, even when standing in front of their parents, explaining why they were sorry for what they’d done. Ragnar, in turn, got his friends to start training with him, able to talk them into it by saying he’d lead their raids when they were adults. So they played as magi slayers as they trained as children. When they got older, Ivar took them into town to see an actual weapon trainer. It was then that Ragnar let some of his old life through, quickly mastering the axe. His friends didn’t get discouraged. Instead, it fueled them to push themselves harder. Donic wasn’t about to let Ragnar be the only one using the axe, but Erika chose the sword instead as she wasn’t built like the boys were.

The family shared stories of their past with the siblings in turn. Gregory felt bad for his wives when they talked about the bigotry they’d endured and overcome. Jenn’s stories centered mostly on her family’s forge and learning from her grandfather. Yukiko focused on traveling with her father and learning trading from him. Gregory thought his stories were lackluster in comparison, but he still shared. He talked about Gunnar and the twins, mostly the embarrassing stories that he could laugh at now. In the end, he shared the story of his mother’s death with them.

“That explains why you’re so moved by a mother’s love,” Verka murmured softly.

“It also explains why foresight was your first magic,” Ragnar said. “Between your love of Lighthand’s stories and your mother’s dreams, it makes sense.”

“It wasn’t his first magic, though,” Jenn said. “Physical enhancement was his first.”

“What?” Ragnar asked.

Gregory pulled his sleeve up to show the scars on his arm. “There was a bane wolf on age day.” He then told that story, as well. “I didn’t touch it again until the fight with you.”

“That’s amazing. You were able to jump straight to almost being coated in flame during that fight.”

“Something I’m still working on,” Jenn added. “He’s quickly picking up the techniques I can teach him, too.”

“Not surprising at all. He was the second best with that magic, right after me.”

Gregory shook his head. He had the sense that it was an old argument between Krog and Aether. Thankfully, he didn’t get a headache, so he stayed quiet about it.

“Since I can see the false dawn,” Verka sighed, “should we start training for the day?”

“For the best,” Yukiko said. “Squares and meditation to start.”

~~~

Training gave way to leaving the farm behind. Ivar and Moha were smiling as they invited the magi back again when they could visit again. Both of them embraced the family and welcomed them as a part of theirs. Verka beamed in happiness that her parents had accepted them. After hugs and handshakes, the large group left the parents behind as they headed back toward Krogheim.

Breakfast in the nearby town was fine, but far from great. The townsfolk were surprised to see seven magi, but didn’t raise a fuss, as Ragnar and Verka were with them. If the best champion in Krogga was there, it was clearly fine. The group talked about small things while they traveled, prying eyes and ears following them as they went.

Yukiko made plans with Verka; there were days when she should join them before marrying into the family. Gregory and Mindie had birthdays coming up, but would be sharing the day in celebration together since they were only a few days apart. Then, the following month, they’d be celebrating Ling’s birthday. They needed to verify that they had the days off with Rudit, but Yukiko was sure they’d get them. She didn’t mention anything about her plans for the night of Mindie’s birthday, as those couldn’t be shared with the people watching them.

“Only a few months before you two can marry,” Ragnar chuckled. He nudged Gregory, who was walking beside him at the back of the group. “Is it as odious a task as your magi think it is?”

“Not for me,” Gregory said, motioning at his wives. “I find all my wives beautiful. Your sister’s heritage doesn’t detract from her beauty. Not for me, at least. For other magi, they’d be less pleased that she has antlers for part of the year.”

“Most of the year, not part. There’s only a couple of months where she doesn’t have them. Three months of them growing in, and then all winter with them as they are now.”

“Which would not be seen as attractive to most magi. I know others would be fine with them. A lot of them probably think I have a fetish for certain women. I heard whispers like that when I was with just Yuki.”

“I bet those are the same ones who want all full and partial eurtik enslaved or dead,” Ragnar rumbled, anger tinging his voice.

“The Eternal Flame is certainly one of those clans.”

“I’ve heard of them.”

“Well, we pissed off the younger generation in the academy,” Gregory chuckled. “Let me tell you about Nick Shun and his countless mistakes.”

Ragnar laughed as Gregory told stories about how the Eternal Flame had, time and again, ended up defeated by him and his wives. The topper was Nick’s grandiose mistake during the Buldoun tournament.

“Good and bad there,” Ragnar said. “His second took over?”

“Jason Argon. He’s smarter than Nick was. I’m sure he’ll be a problem again at some point. Rumor was that he was being groomed to lead the younger generation.”

“He’d need to marry into the Shun family for that. Magi don’t let control go to non-family often.”

“Nick has a twin, even if we’ve never actually seen her. She likely isn’t a magi.”

“She’d carry the ability in her blood, though, which means their children might end up with fire magic. That would continue the Shun dynasty.”

“Very true, but for the next few years, they won’t be a problem for us. After this posting… we’ll have to see.”

“No Eternal Flame members would be welcome in Krogga. They have no honor, and your stories only reinforce that point.”

“Far be it from me to bad-talk another clan to Krogga,” Gregory said slowly. “Not all clans are like them. We did have friends in other clans, notably Swift Wind, even if Hayworth and I didn’t start off as friends.”

“Let’s hear it,” Ragnar chuckled. “It helps pass the time as we head back to the city.”

“Sure. Let me see… it started when I had just arrived at the academy…”

~~~

“He can learn,” Ragnar nodded. “You realize that he likely went back to what he was before, right? Without you there as an example, the empire would have had time to poison his mind again.”

Gregory caught Ragnar’s eyes, then let his flash up at the sky without moving his head. “That’s Kroggian thinking. Even if there are things we don’t like about the empire, it isn’t purely evil.”

“I will hold my peace on that to not offend a friend and soon-to-be brother. One day, I hope you can see the truth, Gregory.”

“And I hope you can put aside old hatreds to see the wider picture,” Gregory said. “Let’s move past this point. I’ve told you stories about the clans. Tell me about some of the other champions.”

“That would be fair… hmm… let me see…”