The problem is that he’s not a child anymore. All the stories have Brynn as the youngest of the Five, and that hasn’t changed, but he started adventuring when he was fifteen and now he’s twice as old as me! All these ‘youngest’ titles and ‘child’ titles just won’t fit!

- Klare the Namer complaining about Brynn Willow following his desertion as Chosen of the Heavens

Brynn didn’t really match what I expected of him. In town, he was one of the five ‘elders’ of Veliki, but all that meant was that he was one of the first to retire there. It also meant he had been given the lion’s share of responsibilities, but unlike the others of the five, Brynn had stuck with fulfilling his duties.

That meant he was usually tied up in one important matter or another, such as someone’s past coming back to haunt them, or settling a dispute between two ‘villagers’, or something else along those lines. It also meant that he was constantly moving about among circles that didn’t include me, which was why I hadn’t really interacted with him much while Weylon, Taranath, and Vycar had had a much more active role in my life.

Apart from Weylon, really. That he hadn’t even noticed six years rolling past meant he was out of touch. We’d spoken once yesterday, and I wasn’t sure when the next opportunity to talk would come. Taranath and Vycar were the ones I’d actually spoken to in between the unveiling of the prophecy and my shit show of a birthday.

Voxis was even more reclusive than Brynn, but that was because she was an actively studious character. She liked dark, quiet, and still places, while I was three for three on hating each of the things she liked. I had lived in a town with a gnome my entire life, but I still wasn’t sure what a gnome looked like.

When morning rolled around and I was still rubbing sleep from my eyes, Brynn was there talking quietly with Torment just inside the cabin. Torment had some more chimera meat lined up and ready to cook, but he was busy so I just did it and started eating while they talked.

Torment was surprised when the aroma reached him and broke off his hushed discussion to check on me, but I knew how to cook. I kicked him away from me and enjoyed the meat this time because it was actually cooked well.

I didn’t like that I knew how to cook, since the skill came from Mary’s ‘wife classes’ taught by the charismatic and personable Adjutant. That did not, however, stop me from taking full advantage of the fact that I could feed myself in most situations. The meal wasn’t as good as it could have been since it was actual chimera meat and I hadn’t cooked that before, but Torment gave me a parting compliment as Brynn started walking me back to town.

“Never compliment my cooking again.” I scowled at him, causing him to backpedal. Then I was out of the cabin and it was just me and Brynn travelling back to Veliki.

We travelled in relative silence, which I hated, until Brynn finally decided to make some noise.

“I had a talk with Voxis.” He said.

“I don’t know Voxis.” I retorted.

“Hm,” Brynn hummed, some angel or another chiming in. “I travelled with her for many a year, and still I cannot help but say the same. But that isn’t why I mentioned it. What I’m about to tell you comes from a place that has been analysed by more than a single mind. The words are mine, as they are the council of Veliki.”

“So it’s about how the Shepards asked you to not train me?”

Brynn paused, picking his words as the insects around us buzzed. “The Shepards did come to Taranath with such a request shortly before you and Avien were born, but it was pointless.” I rounded on him, giving him my full attention. “We had already agreed to not impart any training once Veliki was established, for reasons beyond a single family’s requests.”

I crossed my arms, but kept pace. “This’ll be rich.”

“You’re familiar with the reasons behind the founding of Veliki?” Brynn asked.

“It was made to be a place where heroes could stop.” I recited with a roll of the eyes. Everyone in Veliki knew that.

“Not just heroes.” Brynn corrected. “Villains that have decided to lay down their ambitions and come here serve penance as well, as well as Chosen that do not fall into the strict hero or villain dynamic. It is a stopping point for quests, often prematurely. With the way All works, the more a repeatable and significant event happens, the more likely it is to continue to occur in that way. The rule banning martial and magical training was established with that in mind.”

“So it wasn’t just to hoard all the power to yourselves?” I asked in my best sarcastic voice.

“Far from it.” Brynn agreed, missing my not so subtle subtlety. “Training a young chosen goes hand in hand with the beginnings of a quest. Quests take Chosen all across Santoria, they would leave Veliki. Once word spread, Chosen Ones would come to us for training before a final encounter, making this place neither a stopping or starting point for quests. We didn’t want to risk that disrupting what we’ve established here. That was the reasoning behind the rule.”

“Torment ignored that and I can do Rezan now. What are you going to do about it?”

Brynn sighed. “Nothing in the way of punishment. Voxis is of the mind that after three decades in this place, we’ve made our claim and gotten away with it. But training will only be permitted to residents of Veliki. Others will still come here to stop, but it isn’t fair on the younger generation, including yourself, if you can’t defend yourself in this hostile place. If you ask for training, then the one you are making the request to will not be pressured to say no. They still may, it’s up to the individual. Now before you ask-”

“Teach me Rezan.” I demanded.

“Fuck.”

I gave Brynn an incredulous look. That had been the single most musical and charming curse to ever grace my ears, and I was a little sad to realise that I would likely never hear another like it. The man was looking up, as if to ask for guidance that he knew was far out of reach. I had to remind myself that because Brynn was Once Chosen of the Heavens, it very likely was out of reach.

He gave a sigh that had the trees around us sighing with him, then looked at me. “Tomorrow. I have things to do today.”

I clenched a fist in victory. “Yes!”

Brynn ignored my celebration. “Bring a weapon that you believe to be suitable for you. Make sure it is made of metal.”

That made me frown. “I thought Rezan was supposed to be used to make sticks into weapons.”

“Sir Torment’s form of Rezan is capable of that.” Brynn said. “Mine simply makes up for my lack of strength. I choose one weapon, and it becomes immensely powerful despite my own admitted lack of physical strength, but only in my own hands.”

I eyed his white weapon. “Is that Mithril?” I pointed at it.

“It is.”

“Can I touch it?”

Brynn gave me a charming smile. “You will become much more familiar with it tomorrow.” He promised, sending a chill up my spine.

“You don’t mean with the pointy end, do you?” I asked, somewhat unnerved.

Brynn just smiled mysteriously.

“Okay… Do you think this knife will do?” I unsheathed the blade and held it up to change the subject.

“Your father’s blade will be going back into his possession.” Brynn told me and I cursed. Of course Dad figured out I took one of his weapons. Come to think of it, he still didn’t know about the bow. I was not looking forward to having to explain that.

The rest of the walk passed by in relative quiet. All too soon we were back on the streets of Veliki. For a place that had so many people with the power to level cities in it, fuck all was happening here. There were three main roads leading from the centre of town to the border, and they were the only ones that were actually regulated.

All the rest of the roads were works of art or personal projects for when enough adventurers got tired of the status quo and wanted to change something. As a result, Veliki was in a constant state of construction and destruction.

The road my family lived on was one street that was more a work of art. The whole length was a perfectly flat floor of stone bricks shaped into a repeating arrow like pattern. It was like that because Mary Shepard was my neighbor and enjoyed flaunting her fabrication magic that I was pretty sure she copied off of Vycar. The eight sages that visited Avien certainly hadn’t gone into that much detail for this use of transmutation magic, and the ground was like that before that one showed up anyway, so the point was pointless.

There usually weren’t that many people out and about but there was always someone different walking around the centre of town, frequenting Chooze Your Booze. It was a tavern that I wouldn’t be allowed into for another two years, but there was something to be said about that someone.

There was only ever one ‘someone’. They were always new, and they always seemed to be a bard. Considering how out of the way Veliki was for people who weren’t Chosen, a new bard every day just wasn’t feasible. Yet there they were. Today it was a woman with dark curly hair that was such a mess it made me wince just looking at it. Yesterday had been the male bard with a predatory grin that had played at Avien’s party. Before that was a teenager with impressive talent beyond his apparent years.

I didn’t get it, but I just assumed some kind of conspiracy and moved on. That and I made an effort not to engage with bard types.

Before Brynn delivered me back to my family, he pulled out a familiar strip of leather and handed it to me. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion.

“How long have you had this?” I demanded.

“Ever since your parents asked for my assistance.” Brynn replied smoothly. When my eyes narrowed again, he cleared his throat smoothly and continued. “It’s been dispelled, and it would’ve been counterproductive to return it to you last night.”

“Red!” I clapped my hands in front of his face. He recoiled, seeming genuinely taken off guard by that. “Now tell me the real reason.”

“Is that Amber?” Unfortunately, the front door opened before I could extract the answers I wanted from him. My mother came rushing out and wrapped me up in a hug that I didn’t want. “You’re safe! Are you injured? Did you encounter anything dangerous? What possessed you to go out without your charm?”

Somewhere in all that she released me from the hug, checked me all over, patted me down, then wrapped me in another tight hug.

“I’m fine, mom.” I tried to say, but she’d already released me and was waving something in my face. I paled. It was the knife.

“Your father is going to be having some very stern words with you, young lady.” Mom wagged the knife in its scabbard. “Running off into the woods for the night is one thing, but stealing from your own family is another thing entirely.”

“I just wanted to-”

“I’ll be hearing none of it!” Mom cut me off immediately. “That stunt of yours embarrassed me and Jaskair in front of Weylon, who I know you were getting on with yesterday. Then we had to go to Brynn for help, and we had to deal with the she-devil when she realised you had absconded from her child’s celebration!” Suddenly she ran out of steam and I saw a very tired, very relieved woman. “Why didn’t you come home last night? We had a small celebration planned just for you.”

I was stunned. “You what?”

“Come inside.” She urgently insisted, pulling on my wrist. “You too, Mr Willow. I must insist you at least stay for tea.”

“Of course, Mrs Jewel.” Brynn smiled. “There was actually something I wanted to discuss with you and Jaskair before I left today.”

“Well then come inside.” Mom told him as she lead me to the dining table and sat me down. “You stay right there. Jaskair is out back working off some tension. I’ll go get him.” The parts about my dad were directed at Brynn, who was standing somewhat awkwardly in the door to the kitchen, dining, and living area.

My family wasn’t that wealthy, and dad hadn’t made that much money in the military, so we had the most humble abode in Veliki, what with everyone else being a Chosen One that had at least been somewhat successful before coming here. We still had more than enough space to live comfortably, and I had my own room to sleep in. There was a storage room that didn’t see much use which we could transform into a guest bedroom with a few hours of work, but that never happened.

No sane person visited Veliki for something so trivial as family, after all.

Speaking of family, my dad was back. He was wearing a loose shirt with a deep enough neck that I was embarrassed looking at him, and was holding onto the scabbard of the longsword he normally hid behind the headrest of his bed which, thankfully, was holding onto the blade at the moment.

Jaskair Jewel had been roguishly handsome back in the day, at least according to my mother. I didn’t doubt her, there were still traces of that roguishness every now and then, especially whenever he put on a confident smile or showed off. He had dark brown hair with grey seeping in that he let the barber maintain, and thus looked better than I’d expect him to, given how he tended to neglect things like appearance.

My mom, Sandra Jewel, looked every part a housewife, but she was also a seamstress. She was chubby thanks to never needing to do hard work on the battlefield like my dad did, and had the habit of wrapping her own brown hair up to keep it out of the way. She made all the clothes in the house to save money, and sometimes let herself loose on more exotic clothes for special occasions. I knew for a fact that she had a birthday dress made for the purposes of yesterday, which was actually one of the reasons I’d gone hunting so early yesterday.

I recalled all that and more as my dad stared at me from one of the two doorways leading into the room while Brynn awkwardly occupied the other one. Soon my mom peered over my dad’s shoulder and impatiently ushered him inside. Dad walked up to the table and placed the longsword and knife heavily on the table, then sat opposite me.

“Thank the gods you’re safe.” He broke the tension, and I relaxed just a little. I knew I wasn’t out of the woods yet, but I let myself crack a hopeful smile. Dad frowned, inspecting me. “Where is your bow?”

I coughed purposefully before answering. “It’s in Bubbles.”

Dad looked at me evenly, trying to determine if I was lying or not. I let myself put on a sad smile, and I knew it was convincing. Both because the Heavens made me practice such expressions often, and because it was genuine. I was genuinely mourning those pieces of stick and string.

“I hate this town sometimes.” Dad rested his elbow on the table and leaned on it heavily, making the weapons jumps slightly. “Brynn, I didn’t see you there. I trust my precious stone didn’t give you too much trouble.”

I frowned at the pet title, but didn’t say anything. Now wasn’t the time. Not after what I’d done since yesterday.

Brynn gave a chuckle that had angles tittering along with him. “Not at all. She was an immense challenge to deal with.” I frowned even harder, but didn’t meet anyone’s eyes. “Though, I have more pressing business with the one that made the faux demiplane and suggestion stone. They will be giving me much more trouble, I suspect.”

“What and what?” I asked. Those were some big words he was dropping, but I knew what they meant.

“Amber.” Dad warned and I shut up.

“But that’s not necessarily of your concern. Amber is safe now, and I’m not expecting a repeat of yesterday’s events.” Brynn finished.

“Tea is ready.” My mom announced, bringing over a platter with three steaming wooden cups on it. “Sorry if it’s too hot. We only have one blend at the moment, so if you don’t like it you better be discreet about getting rid of it. Don’t pour it over the plants. You’ll kill the poor things.”

“Thank you Mrs Jewel.” Brynn accepted the cup, and mom gave one to dad before taking the last one for herself. When I met her eyes to ask for one, she gave me a look that said this was part of my punishment.

Damn. I kind of wanted something to drink. A cup to fidget with would’ve been nice as well.

“What exactly happened?” Dad asked Brynn while looking at me.

“Amber encountered a Beithir, and narrowly escaped with her life thanks to the timely intervention of Sir Torment, as you already know. After that, Sir Torment escorted Amber to his camp where they had some rest to allow Amber’s nerves to calm. In the morning, I escorted her here.”

“And what is a Beithir?”

“A creature comparable to an adult dragon.” Brynn answered. “They are flightless, but are good at hiding and can be challenging in the right circumstances. Sir Torment would know more.”

“I’ll need to get something for this Sir Torment, then.” He rolled Torment’s name over his tongue, questioning the purpose of its existence. After all, who named their son ‘Torment’?

Brynn cleared his throat. “There is another matter. In light of this event, the council has decided to lift the restriction on martial and magical training in Veliki. With the number of monsters that approach this village every week, it doesn’t make sense for us to deny residents training that could save their lives.”

Dad grunted. “I didn’t know that was a rule.”

“Oh.” Brynn blinked. “It only applied to retired Chosen Ones, so it makes sense for you not to know. My apologies.”

Dad waved his hand, telling Brynn to get to the point.

“This was done so that Sir Torment could train Amber in the art of Rezan without repercussion, but it became clear he was not suited to teach her that skill. Rather, I am the best candidate to teach her.”

“Don’t bother.” Dad said. “She doesn’t need whatever Rezan is.”

“Dad!” I shouted, standing up.

“Sit down, Amber.” Dad told me. I didn’t, but he kept talking. “You got yourself into mortal peril, and it was all because I foolishly allowed you to own a bow. That isn’t a mistake I’m going to make again.”

“Did you listen to him?” I pointed at Brynn. “He just said that monsters approach this village every week! I didn’t see any of them until yesterday, but there are going to be more. Why should I leave myself defenceless when I can learn the skill to turn sticks into weapons!?”

“You already have defences.” Dad said, refusing to match my volume.

I slammed my hands down on the table, making the weapons jump and clatter again. “No I fucking don’t! The Shepards are our neighbors, that is not a defence!”

“I didn’t say that.”

“But you fucking thought it!” I shouted. “You know how I feel about them! Why aren’t you being a good fucking dad, and just solve this whole marriage thing by saying no!?”

The three adults in the room took a moment to figure out something to say.

“Amber-” My dad started.

“I don’t want to hear anything from you!” I kicked my stool away from the table and stormed past Brynn. He wisely stepped back and out of my way as I stomped past. I made it out of the room without being stopped and kept going.

“You’re a terrible father!” I shouted just before reaching my room and slamming the door shut. The house was rather quiet after that. I ruined that by screaming into my pillow.

\V/