As Aunt Tamaya leads me out of the dining room after a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs on toast, with Mom walking beside me, I take a moment to examine her.

It surprised me at first how quickly it took me to accept her as family. We had only just met after all. I think it’s the easy camaraderie she shares with Mom. The two have clearly known each other for so long, that even as a relative outsider of their relationship it seems wrong to imagine them as anything else but close friends. Possibly even sisters, despite differences in appearance.

They're almost a study in opposites, really. Where Mom is tall and slender, Tamaya is shorter and has more curves. Where Mom’s hair is light blonde and is cut short, Tamaya’s is a darker brown and flows down her back in a braid. And where Mom is guarded and closed off to those who don’t know her, Tamaya is more open and expressive.

It makes me wonder the kind of things they’ve been through together for two very different people to be so close. I know Mom hasn’t told me everything about her younger days. I’m not that naive. The things I’ve seen people are willing to do to each other on TV were bad enough, but when you add magic to the mix?

There’s no way that ends well.

“Hey Val, you good?” Armsmaster’s voice pops into my head. It was a bit of a shock the first time, even though she told me she could do it, but I think I’m getting the hang of it.

Yeah, why? I reply, focusing on sending the thought to her like Aunt Tamaya said.

“Because it seems you’ve yet to notice you’ve arrived wherever it is she’s taking you.”

“Huh!?” I look up to see both Mom and Aunt Tamaya waiting for me, the two looking like they’re used to this kind of thing. Though Aunt Tamaya seems almost nostalgic? Why?

“I’m sorry! I got lost in thought, I didn’t realise you stopped,” I say.

“It’s alright dear. Ariel used to do the same,” Tamaya chuckles.

Mom looks almost affronted. “Excuse me?”

“You still do, you’ve just gotten better at hiding it,”

Mom grumbles under her breath and looks away. I take the moment to look around at the yard out the back of Aunt Tamaya’s house they brought me to. It’s fairly understated, as they go, but well maintained and looked after with care. The house opens up onto a veranda which steps onto flat grass. From there, I can see a simple flower garden on either side, up against the fence around the yard. At the back of the yard stands a smooth stone plinth with a plaque on it that I can’t make out, surrounded by another garden, this one a touch more ornate in it’s placement.

The simplicity is beautiful, in its own way.

“Right! Let’s see it then,” Aunt Tamaya says.

I look to Mom to see if she has any input, but she only gives me a small smile and nods.

I take a deep breath to calm my mounting nerves.

“Hey, calm down, you got this,” Armsmaster says, her calm assurance doing much to calm me.

I absently nod, and reach out with one hand.

After Armsmaster brought me to my personal section of the Armoury, we picked one weapon of each type that she listed, or a few in the case of the daggers. Then she had me bind them to myself by simply running a thread of mana through them by the time I’d recovered enough.

I can still feel those threads leading off to my new weapons, and I tug on one now. A few adjacent threads are grabbed in my haste, but I’m not too bothered by the wasted mana right now. I shouldn’t need it. A ripple of night flows down my arm, and I summon my sword.

There’s a faint shimmer in the air, and in that shimmer tiny points of light form. Then darkness flows through it, filling out the vague shape the lights indicate.

My sword is a long, slender thing. Armsmaster says we can rebind a different one if it feels off at any point, but I don’t think that will be necessary. Like each of the weapons I picked, it just feels right in my hand. The crossguard is equally slim, but sturdy all the same, and the hilt is the right length to be comfortably wielded in both hands without throwing off the balance, which the Armsmaster’s training these past few days has shown me is more important than I thought.

“A weapon Aspect? That’s unexpected, I thought you’d get something more magic-focused,” Mom says with one eyebrow raised. Then both eyebrows furrow. “Wait. Is that a Relic? Your Aspect makes a Relic?”

I blush slightly at the intensity of her regard. “Ah. Well, I have several, actually.”

“What.”

I dismiss my sword, then summon my spear. It’s a bit shorter than most spears, in order to accommodate the highly mobile fighting style Armsmaster aims to teach me, though I haven’t used it much yet. We both agreed to focus on the sword for now before branching out.

Seeing the impressed look on Mom’s face, and the mildly surprised one on Aunt Tamaya, I dismiss the spear in favour of my daggers. These are all weighted to be thrown, like the knives Armsmaster spent an hour or two chucking at me, but they remain usable in melee as well, in case I need to get in close.

Both their faces progress further into their individual expressions, so I send back the daggers in favour of what Armsmaster insists I use when fighting barehanded. It’s like a pair of metal bracers, but extends from the elbow, down past the wrist and covers the knuckles a bit. Cloth wraps around my arms so as to prevent chafing, and binds my fingers to protect them from impact. A set of metal shin guards are also wrapped around my legs, to aid with kicks and the like. They weigh a bit, but not too much. The metal all my weapons are made of is fairly light, and Armsmaster assures me I’ll quickly get used to it with practice.

I consider bringing out the whip, but decide against it. Something about the look on Armsmaster’s face whenever she mentions it puts me off.

“Four Relics, all from a single Aspect. That’s absurd. Absolutely ridiculous.”

Mom has a very obvious look of appraisal on her face, whilst Aunt Tamaya has one eyebrow raised. She glances at Mom, back at me, and seems to come to a conclusion, and shakes her head in exasperation.

What was that about?

“Have you learned to use any of them yet?” Mom seems to be considering something, and something in me grows a bit wary at the look.

“Ah. A little bit? We covered the ‘do’s and do nots’ of each of them, but have been mostly focused on the sword for now. I’m also not going to be all that great with it until I get a chance to practice physically. I know what to do, but my body hasn’t learned yet, I haven’t developed the muscle memory. Also, Armsmaster explained what Relics are to me, so I should point out these aren’t quite Relics. They have most of the general properties, but no mana storage. So that’s worth keeping in mind.”

Mom nods to herself, “Well, I can think of one way to develop that muscle memory.”

She holds out her hand, and I notice she’s now wearing a ring I hadn’t seen before. It’s made of two silvery metals intertwined with each other, and as she raises that hand the space between the two metals glows a soft blue. In a small flash of blue light, a hefty chunk of metal appears in her hand.

Her hand takes on that same reflective silvery sheen I saw when she made that bracelet back on Earth. Actually, now that I thought about it, I notice the bracelet is now on my left wrist. Huh. Weird I didn’t notice that sooner.

The metal in Mom’s hand flows like last time, though I can tell it’s smoother, and more refined. Almost like she’s having an easier time now that we’re on Aldor. Or maybe it had just been that long? Who knows.

Eventually it takes the form of a blunt longsword a bit sturdier than my own, and without a wrapping for the hilt, though I suspect Mom’s magic let’s her ignore the need for extra grip.

“You can’t be serious? I just started on the basics three days ago! Everything before that was just set up!”

Mom gives me a look. “And what does your Guide think?”

Armsmaster immediately pipes up, “I say go for it.Your Mom definitely knows how to handle herself, and you have a top quality healer on hand. You have no way to know how often you’ll get an opportunity like this, and you should take every one you get to improve yourself.”

I sigh. “She said go ahead.”

Mom brightens a little at that. “Wonderful. Has she taught you how to enhance yourself yet?”

I blush in response, “Yes, but she also said I’m not allowed to until I improve my mana control. It’s… not great.”

“Surely it’s not that bad?”

My blush deepens. “I’m pretty sure the only reason it’s not the worst she’s seen is because the actual worst deliberately got everything wrong just to see what would happen.”

“Hmm. We can work with you on that later, if you like. How long can you hold it for? Three? Four minutes?”

My face is practically on fire at this point. “Minute and a half.”

Mom’s eyes narrow slightly, then return to a neutral expression. “Yes, we’ll definitely be working on that with you. Very well, then. Bring out your sword, let’s see how well you’ve taken to the Armsmaster’s lessons.”

I nod, summon my sword, and settle into a neutral stance, intended to allow for a quick switch to either offense or defense. It feels awkward at first, as while my mind knows what to do, my body hasn’t done it before, but I push through it. Now’s not the time to hesitate, as much as I don’t particularly want to do this. I get the feeling that this is important to her, so I’ll give it my best.

“Hey, let’s surprise her a little. Your control might be crap, but you adapt to the change like few I’ve seen, and you’ve learned quite a bit more than I expected you would. I think you should be good to push yourself, just this once.”

My eyes widen slightly, but I don’t respond. Instead I take a deep breath, and pull on my mana once more.

Like a loyal puppy, my mana springs into place almost before I tell it to, though I can tell I’m still wasting a lot. That doesn’t matter, though. Once more the world around me sharpens, my limbs surge with strength, and before Mom can register the change, I leap forward.

I notice her eyes narrow before I reach her, and just before my first swing connects, Mom’s whole body takes on that same reflective sheen, and then goes one step further.

Her whole body, even her clothes somehow, turns to metal, and the instant before the blow lands, her sword is in the way.

My weapon rebounds almost painfully, but Mom’s barely moves an inch. Her eyebrow quirks, almost mocking, and I grit my teeth and swing again.

Every attack I make is blocked, deflected, or evaded whenever she needs to, and it’s done in a way that is so fluid and efficient that it doesn’t matter that I’m faster than her, because I am, a distant part of me notes. Each motion she makes seems decided on before I even start the strike, so she already knows how she’s going to defend by the time I start moving. It’s so effortless it’s infuriating.

To make matters worse, my sword’s Relic status is easily apparent, given how often it bites into Mom’s with ease, but she shrugs that off too. The cuts and divots I force into her weapon are repaired before my next attack, so it’s meaningless anyway.

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve swung at her, but I’ve yet to get her to take a single step.

Frustrated, I decide to get a bit reckless. I cut low at her legs twice, and use the momentum from the rebound on the second hit to power into an overhead chop. This leaves me open for retaliation if it fails, but she’s had plenty of chances to hit me. I should be-

Unable to maneuver her sword to block my last hit, Mom instead kicks me in the chest and sends me skidding across the yard. The shock of the blow makes me lose my grip on my mana, and the weakness from ceasing my enhancement sweeps over me. The pain from Mom’s kick keeps it from overwhelming me like it did the first time, but that just means I have something else to worry about.

It’s hard to breathe. It feels like I’m going to be sick but each time I go to my chest freezes up from the motion.

“Tamaya,” Mom’s voice cuts through the haze of pain, and the next moment I can see a wave of golden light flow towards me out of the corner of my eye. The instant it reaches me, I feel my chest flex slightly, like the sternum had been shifted out of place by the kick. Once it does, the pain recedes, I no longer feel sick, and the weakness from my enhancement fades with it.

A bit shaky with adrenaline, I sit up.

“Ow.”

Aunt Tamaya gives me a worried look. “Are you alright, dear? Sometimes pain can linger after healing.”

I shake my head, then regret it from how dizzy it makes me. “I’m okay, Aunt Tamaya. Thank you.”

Mom approaches, makeshift sword back in her ring and skin and clothes returned to normal. After giving me a once-over to ensure I’m alright, she says, “Now then, what did you do wrong?”

“Fight you,” I say, half-sarcastically, still reeling from that one-sided beatdown.

She smirks a bit. “Well, yes, that’s generally a bad idea, but there may come a time where not fighting comes with a price higher than you can afford. What else?”

That makes me realise she is trying to help me by getting me to analyse my own mistakes. Recognising that, I think back over the spar and come to a conclusion.

“I left myself open with that overhead swing. I should have gone for a different avenue.”

“Close. You knew you’d be creating an opening, and did it anyway. Your actual mistake was assuming I wouldn’t take advantage of it, likely because I hadn’t done so with any of your other openings. Would you say that’s the case?”

I hesitate a bit. Had she really read me that easily? “...Yeah.”

“The lesson to learn from this then is that in combat, nothing will ever be certain. Things will take you by surprise, your opponent will make moves you don’t expect, the troll will turn out to know magic.”

Aunt Tamaya butts in. “Hey! That was one time!”

“The fact it happened even when you assured us trolls were completely incapable of magic is an embarrassment, Tamaya, and we have yet to mock you enough for it.”

She plops down on the grass in a huff. “It’s not my fault the book was wrong.”

Mom shakes her head in exasperation. “The point I’m trying to make is that you should never bet everything on an assumption. It doesn’t matter if you’re very very sure. If you cannot know for a fact that it will go the way you expect, then always act as if it might go wrong, and make your plans accordingly. You only have to guess wrong once for it to end you.”

“Okay Mom.”

“Good. Now then, your movements were wild and uncoordinated, you were practically throwing yourself around with every strike. You lacked discipline, precision, and focus. And Armsmaster was more right than you know about your mana control, it’s atrocious.”

I could feel every word weighing down on my head. I know I hadn’t done all that great, but was it really that bad?

“All in all, I’d say you did pretty well.”

What?

“What do you mean? You tossed me around like a ragdoll, I couldn’t get in a single hit, not even make you step back. How is that doing well?”

Mom’s face softens. “Valerie. You’ve only had three days of training, training you said yourself you’ve yet to fully consolidate. I first picked up the sword when I was 13 and hadn’t changed weapons to my cloak until I was almost thirty, and I still make sure to practice with it in my free time. The very idea of you matching me in any way is laughable.”

I turn my face away, ashamed, but Mom gently pushes it back around.

“However, in those three days you’ve already made progress others would have taken a full week to match, I can tell. And while your control is poor, your aptitude is incredible. I’ve seen Wind mages who need to push themselves hard to reach that level of speed, and you didn’t even seem to be all that bothered. Believe it or not, sweetie, you have no small amount of talent for this.”

I can only stare at Mom in disbelief.

“Oh,”

She chuckles. “‘Oh’ indeed.” She pauses for a moment. “It occurs to me that having only your Guide and myself to compare to might be skewing your perspective. Tamaya?”

“Yes?”

“You said Alex’s girl would be turning up sometime soon, when can we expect her?”

Aunt Tamaya thinks for a moment. “Sophie is supposed to arrive sometime tomorrow or the day after, Alex was a bit vague. But he also warned me she tends to wander, so she could be a day or two after that.”

“Alright then. I think we’ll spend the next few days working on your control, as that’s your biggest weakness at the moment, and you can have a quick bout with Sophie once she arrives, see how facing someone your own age feels. How does that sound?”

I take a moment to consider. She’s probably not wrong that my perspective is a bit off. Given Mom is something of a living legend to most people, and Armsmaster has had hundreds of millions of years to perfect her craft, it makes sense that I’d have a hard time telling how well I’m doing.

And something in me is starting to like the idea of a challenge I might actually be able to beat for once.

“I’d like that.”