Chapter 6: As Quick as Lightning

“Anwar, I have to tell you something.”

Anwar paused, “go on.”

Elwood sighed and paced back and forth. “The girl… Anya-”

“Ayda,” he corrected.

“Ayda, right… Stay by her side.” Elwood said, “protect her, make sure she isn’t harmed in any way. Got it?”

Anwar felt confused by her sudden task and felt compelled to ask her what was going on, but a nervous look on her face told him to not ask. It could either be bad news (for him), or bad news (for the girl). Either way, he chose not to hear and live in complete ignorance.

“Alright,” he replied dryly.

“Eh?” Elwood let out in surprise, “wait. That’s it? You’re not gonna ask why? You’re not even going to deny it?”

“No,” he snorted. “After all, ignorance is bliss. Besides, you were going to force me to go with her if I said no, right?”

“True,” she nodded. “But I’ll tell you anyway.”

Don’t tell me after I said all of that! Anwar yelled in his mind.

Elwood coughed. “As the Goddess of Nature, I am in ropes with the other Gods - naturally. This includes the God of Time - also known as the God of Future, Past, and Present, however you want to say it.”

“Ooh,” Anwar let out, mentally clapping his hands.

“In the near future, something will happen and tip the balance of good and evil. Of course, due to this something, another something will happen concerning Ayda, leading to something, and-”

“Hold on,” Anwar frowned. “What’s with all of these ‘somethings’?”

Elwood chuckled mysteriously, “I see you’ve noticed…”

Who wouldn’t?!] Anwar frowned.

“I am, unfortunately, a less important major god. According to the God of Order and Balance, we’re not allowed to help either side of good or evil. However, since I’m not helping her, but rather telling you - a weak animal - to stay by her side, this counts as something ‘safe.’”

Basically a loophole, Anwar sighed.

“What’s in it for me?” Anwar asked.

“Hmm,” Elwood rubbed her chin before pounding her fist on her palm. “You can get out of this small town and explore the world as much as you like… As long as you watch over her, of course.”

“Ergh…” Anwar had been wanting to escape this hell hole ever since Day 1, with the feeding incident. However, as much as this appealed to him, anything involving the gods seemed to be dangerous. He didn’t want his new life to be put to waste so easily.

“Think about it, Anwar.” With those parting words, a rush of wind blew through the room, and Elwood disappeared.

Anwar sighed and pondered his choices. After a minute or so of concentration, he finally came up with the best remedy to his problems.

I’ll sleep on it.

…

“Starting today, we’re going to train for real!” Ayda declared. Causing Anwar to tremble, yesterday wasn’t real training? “In the mornings, I’ll practice using my weapon with father, then I’ll practice using the bow, then using the bow while riding you, then…” Anwar spaced out as she listed her various drills and practices she would go through today.

“...oh, and also you’ll train to increase your strength, speed, and flexibility!” Ayda concluded, smiling.

Wait, what? Anwar whipped his head to face Ayda, who smiled up at him.

“Ayda, you there?!” Zander yelled, peaking his head through the doors. “It’s time for Anwar’s warm up.”

“Okay!” Ayda called back. She grabbed onto Anwar’s rein and lead him outside, where he saw a familiar elf waiting. It was Elwyn.

We meet again, Anwar glared.

“Good morning, Anwar,” Elwyn grinned. “I’ll be taking over your training from now on. Do not fret, you’ll see Ayda during her breaks.” Elwyn comforted him, as if Anwar cared about that little girl.

Elwyn grabbed onto Anwar’s reins. Ayda grinned, “see you later, Anwar!” However, as soon as Elwyn pulled, Anwar pulled back. He refused to go with Elwyn.

“Eh?” Everyone looked baffled.

“Anwar, it’s time for training,” Ayda smiled, a slight frown on her face. However, no matter what they did, Anwar did not budge.

That was until Elwyn started to laugh evilly, “HAHAHAHA!”

“Oh, no…” They groaned.

“Elwyn’s other side came out,” Ayda sighed and looked at Anwar with pity.

“He’s so kind, I wonder how he ended up like this,” Zander shook his head at Elwyn, who had a crazed look on his face.

“I’ve never met a horse as stubborn as you before,” Elwyn grinned evilly, licking his bottom lips. A shiver coursed through Anwar’s body, cold sweat dripped down his body.

In one motion, Elwyn ran and pulled himself up onto Anwar’s saddle. It was as quick as lightning, Anwar could only see a blur passing by him.

Then, as if possessed, he felt a huge amount of pressure compel his body forward. He was unable to stop running at max speed towards the field, with Elwyn laughing wildly on his back.

Zander sighed and grinned. “Back in the day, Elwyn was known as the Forest King. There was no animal he could tame. Even the strongest magical animals were subdued by him.”

“Wow! I didn’t know Mr. Elwyn had a background like that!”

Zander laughed, “don’t judge a person by their cover. Got it, Ayda?”

“Got it,” Ayda nodded in confirmation.

…

“Ugh,” Anwar held in a mini barf as he panted in exhaustion. After charging Anwar to the fields, he forced him to run around non-stop until he finally slowed down into a trot then a walk.

“Good boy,” Elwyn grinned. A new form of fear and respect built within Anwar for Elwyn.

Anwar walked around for another ten minutes, occasionally turning either left or right (or however Elwyn saw fit). After this, Elwyn lead him to a place with low bars on the ground.

“Good, no one is using the ground poles,” Elwyn nodded. “Come, Anwar. Trot over them,” Elwyn pulled the reigns towards the ground poles and followed his lead.

He sighed, when will this be over?

…

As stated previously, as soon as Anwar was done with his morning routines, he was allowed to see Ayda, who was still practicing using her weapon with her father. Much to his surprise, her weapon wasn’t a sword, but rather a long, slender pole. Or stick - however you see fit.

In Anwar’s personal opinion, it was a stick. Thankfully, there were no mind-readers to hear him say that.

Whap!

A loud noise resounded throughout the forest surrounding them.

“Uuu…” Ayda whimpered, a red mark slowly appearing on her calf.

“I can see you slacking,” Zander glared.

“But I’m tired!” Ayda groaned.

“Listen, child!” Zander suddenly yelled. “Do not slack off, just because you feel slightly tired. There are many other kids who would die for a chance to be able to learn how to train, but are unable to find a mentor or even afford a simple book that talks about the basics of training!”

Ayda frowned but sucked it up and continued to practice diligently for the rest of the time.

During her break, Ayda quickly ran over to the nearby Anwar. Her face was red and she was pouting.

“Can you believe it, Anwar?” Ayda grumbled. “I can’t believe father punished me because I took a small break after feeling tired. Isn’t that too much? I mean, it the first time I’ve slacked off a little. Couldn’t he give me a break?”

Anwar paused to think to himself. Her father was reasonable in telling her not to slack off, but as a child, she still didn’t understand - or didn’t want to understand - why she got punished for something she’s done for the first time.

Anwar just snorted and neighed at her, shaking his head.

“W-what?” Ayda’s eyes widened. “Don’t tell me you’re on his side, too!”

In his eyes, Ayda’s training was comparable to his past life. Albeit he barely remembers it, he recalls being bitter of the fact that he was born with a not-so-pleasant face and was unable to obtain a girlfriend because of it. Other children were unable to train due to certain circumstances, despite wanting it desperately.

In this world, training to even a low level still means you’re above average, giving you a higher status than normal people (although you’re still below nobles and such). A higher status means better paying jobs or even friendlier (business) relationships with others.

It was a strong-eats-the-weak world.

Anwar just neighed back.

“Ergh…” Ayda pouted. “I just don’t understand.” A sigh came from behind Ayda.

“Ayda,” Zander called her name. “Let me tell you, in this world, who do you think dominates the top?”

Ayda turned to face her father. “Obviously the strong,” she replied.

“How do you get stronger?”

“By training!”

“Why is getting stronger important?”

“You can get a higher status and earn more money!”

Zander sighed. “And most importantly?”

“Father, what do you mean?” Ayda frowned.

“Ayda, getting stronger isn’t about getting wealthier. There are more important things to life. Getting stronger has a deeper meaning to it, and those who don’t realize it, are unfortunate and fortunate at the same time.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ayda asked.

“To get stronger means you can better protect those you love or things important to you. Those who don’t realize this fact, have, fortunately, never encountered a situation in which they must protect something they love. Unfortunately, they don’t have the luxury of having that one drive - that motivation that pushes you through your hardships and allows you to attain a higher level of strength.”

“So I have to find something I need to protect? Isn’t that easy?” Ayda frowned. “I want to protect you, Anwar, and Elwyn.”

“It’s not as simple as that. Ayda you need to find your motivation.” Zander then said, “the reason why I punished you for slacking off, is due to thousands of people dying from being suppressed by the strong. Everyone wants to get stronger to be able to fend off those who want to harm them. However, here you are, training to get stronger in a safe environment.”

“This is a luxury millions of others can’t have,” Zander ended.

“Why can’t others train by themselves?” Ayda frowned. “Do you really need a book or a teacher to teach you how to punch?”

Zander laughed, “you don’t need a teacher or a book to teach you how to punch. However, you need one or the other to learn how to form your foundation to train. Without your foundation, you’re rendered unable to learn certain skills requiring mana.”

“Why is that?”

“Forming a foundation enables one to connect with mana. Think of it as a medium between you and mana. If you don’t have this connection, then it’s impossible to learn anything past physical skills.”

“Have I formed a foundation already?” Ayda asked, unsure of herself.

Zander burst into laughter again. “Ayda, let me tell you several ways to obtain a foundation. One, you’re born with it, two, you form it yourself with professional help, three, you’re given it by an entity or object. Elves are a race of magic, we’re born with foundations. This includes half-elves.”

“Hmm…” Ayda paused, thinking to herself for a minute or two. Before she nodded. “I understand why I was punished. I apologize for my bad behavior,” Ayda stood up and bowed.

Zander patted her head and began to rub it roughly. “Good.” Then he walked away.

Ayda looked at Anwar, too, a flash of intelligence in her eyes. “Thanks for listening to me rant, Anwar.” She then ran off towards her next activity.

Anwar paused, are all elves as quick as lightning?*

__________________

* Refers to how fast she matured, if you didn't catch it, lol. Or I might just be bad at writing in between lines...

Stellar's Box:

Long time no seeeeeeee! Things are starting to slow down a bit, so I might be able to post chapters every couple weeks or so. c:

If there's any mistakes, feel free to point them out. (I haven't written in a long time, so any help would, well... be helpful).

ALSO, I would like to add in the fact that I've changed my opinion on a lot of things ever since I went on a small hiatus. Things I've said previously might not be true now. Thanks!