Two years into my search, having scouted nearly the entire northern kingdoms of Odera, there was another pulse of the same magnitude. I spotted it by chance during an evening stroll through a remote village just south of the Silver Mountains. It took me to one of the larger cities one could find in the kingdom, straight into a tavern where I witnessed the birth of a girl. This one would be easy to find eventually, I needed to focus on the boy first.

“Again!”

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Samos moved back into the first stance of his form. The morning had not properly begun yet and already Serifé had them working as hard as their bodies would allow. She had not been joking yesterday. This was going to be exhausting.

“Begin!”

Her voice was like a whip, slashing away at their strength with every lashing. Samos moved into the familiar form, his sword following the swift motions of his hands. He could have dreamed the forms by now, they were engraved into his mind like nothing else ever had been. They were strikingly similar to the forms Ralph had taught them at first, but Samos felt the small adjustments that made it a more aggressive approach.

It certainly showed of Serifé’s personal preferences when it came to fighting style. Where Ralph was more reserved and let the enemy make the first move, Serifé was a woman of direct approach. Every step, every strike was intended to drive the opponent back and overwhelm him.

“Reverse!”

Without thinking, Samos turned on his heels and moved back the way he had come all the while letting his strikes flow into one another smoothly. The steady pace at which they trained, while exhausting, made him feel at ease as well. For a moment, there were no worries. Only him and his sword, slicing through the air without a thought.

“Feet!”

In between heartbeats, he sent power towards his feet and enhanced them. This was a new type of exercise, one Ralph had told about but had not yet showed them. His pace quickened, the extra strength in his feet allowing him to progress a lot faster than usual. The rest of his body though remained the same, forcing him to adjust every single movement to compensate for his slower upper body.

It was a fine balance he had to hold. Move to fast and he would topple over in imbalance, move to slow and the point of the exercise would be lost.

“Release!”

The power left his feet and for a brief moment, his movement was too fast for his feet to keep up now that the Enhancement was gone. He quickly caught himself though and continued the form as if nothing had happened.

“Arms!”

Power surged to his arms, the sword in his hands instantly feeling lighter. The makran hilt grew warmer in his grip as if it was sensing the influx of power coming its way. It did not get even a tiny flicker of it, Samos blocking off the outward flow as he had grown accustomed to doing.

This time, it was his lower body that need to adjust. With how light the sword now felt, he could easily throw his entire body off-balance as it could not hold against the momentum of the swing. Finding the perfect spot in between, he continued the forms.

To his left, Eder was mimicking his every movement. In only one hour, Samos already noticed a difference in his friend’s technique. Were he had been too wild and wanting before, there was now a certain limit he had to hold himself to in order to complete the exercises. Bit by bit, he would learn to be patient and in control.

“Rest.”

The final command came less brusque than the previous ones. Samos released the remaining power with a sigh and lowered his sword. The first rays of sunlight were founding their way atop the gardens, bathing their green surroundings in a pleasant light. The lines of power that held the seals on this garden, slightly visible as they were during the night, disappeared completely.

“So tired,” Eder sighed as he joined Samos on the bench, two cups of water in his hands one of which he handed over.

Samos gladly accepted the cup. “Definitely tired, but I feel the reason is more the early hour than the training.”

Eder gave an understanding nod. “By all rights we should be exhausted already, but I somehow feel like I could go on a few more hours without issue.”

“Be careful what you wish for,” he snickered.

“Ah, breakfast!” Eder suddenly said with a smile as he stood up and turned.

Samos followed his gaze and, to his surprise, saw Yara and Faye walking towards them carrying baskets that appeared to be filled with food.

“Why are they bringing it,” he whispered to himself.

“No idea, but I’m not complaining,” Eder grinned. Samos rolled his eyes as he noticed his gaze strictly fixed on Faye. “You reckon we should take our shirts off next time?”

Samos slapped Eder’s head. “What are you, a boy who just discovered he actually likes girls?”

Eder shrugged, giving Samos a knowing look. “Don’t act like you’re any better. I’ve seen the way you look at Yara.” He smiled mischievous. “And she at you.”

Before he could serve Eder of an answer, the girls reached them and set down the baskets on the bench.

Yara didn’t waste any time. “So we’ve been discussing with Ehli, the Sealer of the Conclave, and we all think it’s about time we start digging into your mind, Samos.”

He gave her a startled look, a piece of bread suddenly stuck halfway down his throat.

“We want to find out what caused your amnesia and now that we have plenty of taen at our disposal, we might actually be able to find something. So in between your training sessions, we’ll be coming by and delve into that skull of yours.”

For a few seconds, Samos could only gape at her as he processed the sudden overflow of information. “I…” It was all he could say before he was forced to swallow the bread still awaiting digestion.

“Great,” Yara smiled. “That’s settled then.” She plumped herself down on the ground and grabbed a piece of bread for herself, giving it a satisfied bite.

“I… What made you so set on this all of a sudden?”

She looked at him in disbelief. “Don’t you want to find out who you are?”

“Of course I do,” he retorted, “but there has never been talk of healing my amnesia before, it’s impossible.”

She gave him a comforting smile. “Samos, if an innkeeper’s daughter from Ters can travel to a floating city and become a Son’Sha, then nothing is impossible. It’s only a matter of trying.”

Failing to find any counterarguments, he finished the rest of the meal in silence while the other discussed their training and experiments. Was there a chance he could regain his memories? And what would he find if he did? Did he have parents, a home, friends…? The thought of finding out what might have happened to them if they even existed frightened him. Maybe there were people waiting for him that he had abandoned…

“Again!”

Serifé’s voice came sudden and unexpected, but in an instant both Samos and Eder stood ready in their first stance. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Yara and Faye whispering with each other while glaring at them.

With a sigh that had nothing to do with Serifé’s instructions, he felt into the second form.

¥

Yara had to admit she gave a little jump as Samos and Eder jumped up in perfect unison, standing ready for their exercises in a matter of seconds. She would have to start training her Enhancement as well one of these days, but she felt like it could wait at least a day or two. There was experimenting to be done.

“They sure are a motivated bunch,” Faye whispered as she moved to sit next to Yara. “I don’t think I ever saw Eder this concentrated.”

Yara nodded. “They sure changed a lot since we left Ters.” They watched on as the two moved through their forms, obeying Serifé’s commands without pause or hesitation. There was a certain beauty to the way they moved, Yara observed. Every swing of the sword, every placement of their feet, every twist of the body. Each one merged over into the other, creating one continuous and smooth motion. She would eventually learn how to do the same.

Maybe Samos could teach her, she considered. They had been travelling together for so long now that he no doubt knew what exercises and training would be best suited to her abilities. Nearly three months underway had created some sort of bond between them, she realized. They were friends, that she was certain of, but was it just that? Lately, she had found herself thinking of him more often.

“Yara?”

Faye’s voice interrupted her train of thoughts. She looked to her side into a grinning Faye.

“What?” she asked, trying to sound innocent.

“Don’t what me,” Faye laughed quietly. “You’ve been staring at Samos nearly five minutes straight. I’m surprised he hasn’t noticed it yet.”

Yara blushed. “I was just thinking. And by the way, you’re not one to talk. I’ve seen the way you and Eder look at one another.”

This time it was Faye’s time to blush as she gave a quick look towards Eder. “Hush,” she whispered and Yara snickered.

“Don’t worry, it’s only natural.” She gave Faye a wink. “Let’s go, I reckon Ehli’s waiting for us.”

They stood up and left the gardens, leaving the bread for the others to enjoy in between exercises. When they entered the Eulium moments later, they found Ehli already working on the same makran roots they had ended with yesterday.

Concentrated as she was, she only noticed the two entering the moment they joined her at the roots.

“Ah, good morning!” she exclaimed with a start. “I certainly hope you recovered from yesterday’s ordeal. Tell me, what did the boy say?”

“He agreed,” Yara answered. “I… think.” Now that she thought of it, he hadn’t exactly told her he would let them do it. No matter. “We’ll do the first experiments during midday, when their morning routine is done with.”

Ehli scoffed. “Knowing Serifé, they’ll be occupied until well over midday. So until then, let us continue.” From her pocket, she fished out the piece of ceramic that Yara had healed yesterday and smashed it on the table, breaking it again. She handed two other pieces to Faye.

“If we want to conduct more experiments, we will need the two of you to grow stronger. Heal the pieces. When you’ve healed them, break them again. Keep at it until you can fix them in the blink of an eye.”

Yara managed to subdue the sigh that almost escaped her lips. Doing this healing process only once had left her on the brink of exhaustion. Now she was to do it again and again until it came easy. She wondered if she would have the time to experiment on Samos’ mind.

Surprisingly though, the Healing seal came much easier to her now. It was still a tiring process, but she felt that over time it would cost her less and less power. Faye was showing the same progression, connecting the two pieces together for the first time after only half an hour. Ehli was beyond ecstatic, clapping her hands every time the two pieces were seamlessly healed to one another.

Even if it came easier each time, by midday both Yara and Faye were exhausted, Ehli relieving them to go relax in the bathing rooms.

“Rest up,” she told them. “Once you’re well rested, we’ll start working on Samos.”

A tiny prickle settled in her stomach, not in any way related to the actual experimenting.