Chương 78: Chapter Seventy-Seven: Spoken Secrets

Serena woke to an unfamiliar ceiling in an unfamiliar bed. What was familiar, however, was the warm body of Amelia pressing against her. She was sleeping soundly, so Serena took a while to enjoy the sensation of her girlfriend's chest rising and falling against her back. It was a comfortable pressure that brought with it a satisfying feeling of warmth and, strangely enough, a sense of safety. Her mind felt refreshed and free of burden.

The layers of stress that had built up repeatedly over the last month from her military obligations, academy duties, and studying for the commodore exam had vanished entirely. Even with Amelia frequently healing Serena, the mental strain would return the same day. Was this newfound clarity… due to last night's activities? No! Surely not! What kind of indecent woman would that make Serena, if she were the type to destress through such… actions?

Although she naturally rejected that, Serena could admit to herself that she felt some level of pride. After all, Amelia was sleeping like a babe, exhausted and entirely satisfied by Serena's extensive punishment. Is this what a man feels like, after…? Serena thought, quickly pushing the topic out of her mind and refocusing on the mental revision of fleet tactics and logistics.

She remained absorbed in her thoughts while the room progressively brightened as natural light diffused through the paper windows and doors. Not long later, the Asamaywa bell towers began their early morning cries. It was Saturday – the day of Katalin's weekend session. While a part of Serena wanted to remain in bed, sharing warmth with her girlfriend, she knew the Northern swordmaster would be returning to the North soon, and every session was a tremendous benefit to both Serena's and Amelia's training.

With the exception of the cancelled session immediately after the Asamaywa fire, Serena and Amelia reliably attended every one. Katalin's sessions were split into two parts; the first was a more standard training session attended by perhaps two dozen of the academy's staff, while the second was relentless, consisting of intense duelling and simulated situations that pushed those who remained to their limits. Only those with a strong yellow aura could keep up.

In addition to her and Amelia, the only instructors reliably attending the second part of the session were Ryosuke, Nathaniel, and Joey. Amelia struggled, but that was only due to her minimising the use of healing magic to keep herself going. Her girlfriend had become quite accustomed to pushing herself through difficult experiences. While she didn't have the mindset of a soldier, she'd significantly matured over her time at the academy.

Not to mention, Amelia's body had even built a little muscle, putting the sensation of her body somewhere between firm and soft in a way that Serena was secretly delighted about. The arms of that body were now squeezing her tightly.

"Morning, Ren," Amelia mumbled before yawning loudly.

"You knew I was awake?"

"I know how you breathe when you sleep," Amelia replied, nuzzling into Serena's back.

"Wow, now I've said that, it sounds creepy, doesn't it? Here…" Amelia invoked her magic, healing and cleaning them both.

"Katalin's session today, right? She mentioned she would do something special." Amelia yawned again, likely more out of habit than any morning tiredness, as the latter would have been obliterated by her spellwork. Amelia sat up while Serena rotated onto her back. She idly moved her hand and lightly rubbed Amelia's back, running her fingers through her silky golden hair.

"No coffee here," Amelia said quietly. She turned her head down towards Serena and asked, "Should we–" Amelia stopped talking, suddenly looking away.

"Uh, should we get coffee on the way?"

"Yeah, and some food," Serena replied.

"We can walk slow…" She felt herself frown.

"Lia?"

"Mmm?" Amelia hummed, looking away.

"Look at me," Serena requested, her mouth curling with amusement. Amelia was quiet for a few seconds before turning to face Serena, revealing a flushed face. Not only that, but Amelia found it challenging to meet Serena's gaze.

"Oh?" Serena asked.

"What's made you so timid?"

"I'm not timid!" Amelia exclaimed, puffing her cheeks out.

"It's just…"

"Just?"

"I remembered…" Amelia chewed her lip.

"Last night…" Her voice became extremely quiet.

"It was so much more than you'd done before…" Her girlfriend giggled.

"You haven't treated me like that since that time we got drunk in Kenhoro! It was overwhelming…" Amelia looked away again.

"But also really nice…"

"Ha!" Serena laughed. So that was all she had to do to reverse the deck against Amelia!? For months she'd accepted a relationship where Amelia would relentlessly try to make Serena blush with her lewd compliments and requests. Only now, it was Amelia on the backfoot and Serena relishing her victory! All it took was a night-long aura-enhanced assault against her girlfriend's senses!

"Well." Serena couldn't stop herself from grinning.

"It has been a while, hasn't it? Have to make up for lost time, don't we?"

"You…" Amelia rolled her eyes.

"Look so smug right now."

"I've been taught by a master of smugness, after all!" Serena reached out, pulling Amelia into a hug. They held each other for a while before agreeing to get moving. They quickly dressed, helping each other adjust their kimonos. They would have to stop by their rooms in the academy to get into their uniforms before going to the session. Suddenly, Serena's enhanced ears picked up the sound of someone knocking; not at the door to the house, but at the unstaffed gate at the estate entrance.

The individual knocked again before calling out Amelia's name. Serena sighed. She was concerned it might be a friend or an acquaintance of Lord Kanamori, but it was neither. What was he doing here, so early?

"As Head of House Thornheart, why don't you go and greet your first-ever visitor?" Serena offered.

"I'll come out in a bit."

"Mmm! Sure!" Amelia nodded happily, her golden hair rising and falling in waves. The wards surrounding the building were released as Amelia bounced out of the room and down the gravel path winding through the well-kept gardens. Serena tied her hair, only moving after she sensed Amelia cast more magic. She followed after Amelia, quickly reaching the gate where she found a very annoyed-looking man knee-deep in the entryway of the estate. Amelia's earth magic had made him sink, trapping him completely.

"I remembered!" Amelia declared proudly, putting her hands on her hips as she twirled to face Serena.

"To put him in the ground! Remember?" Amelia turned back to the trapped man, lecturing, "This is what you get when you make plans behind our backs! Hmm!? Are you sorry now, Aiden!?"

"... I wasn't the one who made the plans…" Aiden countered, his voice exasperated.

"Besides, look!" He held a suspiciously bottle-shaped gift in one hand.

"I bought a housewarming gift! Ah, can you let me up? I can feel dirt getting into my shoes…" Ignoring his complaints, Amelia grinned and took the gift.

"A housewarming gift?" Serena questioned.

"It's a popular tradition in Centralis," Aiden explained as he slowly sank further into the ground.

"And I haven't met Amelia since Kenhoro, so I thought it would be appropriate!" His voice sped up as the stone reached his thighs.

"Amelia, can we do something about this?"

"Oh!" Amelia beamed, ripping open the gift.

"It's loqua! Blue!" Amelia showed the expensive bottle to Serena before turning to Aiden.

"Bribe accepted! You'll live for now, Aiden!"

"Give me that," Serena instructed, taking the bottle from Amelia. There was no way that Aiden the Drunk would willingly give up a whole bottle of loqua. As it turned out, she was right.

"He's already drunk a third!" Serena exclaimed, pointing out the level of liquid to Amelia.

"You idiot!" she said, chastising Aiden.

"Who paid for this? Intelligence? Are you planning to drink all the diplomatic gifts you give? Amelia…" she intoned, making herself frown and seem serious.

"It's bad luck to have your first guest be a man controlled by greed and alcohol. Better bury him completely. We'll tell the Old Guard we never saw him."

"Mmm!" Amelia crossed her arms, nodding.

"It was nice knowing you, Aiden. We'll drink to your memory!"

"No! Wait!" Aiden cried as he sank to his waist.

"I have your deployment orders!" He stopped sinking. Amelia looked at Serena with an expression that said, "Should we bury him anyway?" Serena shook her head.

"I suppose he can live a little longer." She snapped her fingers.

"Let's see them, then." Aiden fished a thin, sealed letter from his pocket and handed it to Serena. The envelope was addressed to Captain Serena Halen and sealed with the sigil of the Imperial Navy. She tore it open. There was only one piece of paper, and it didn't take her long to find the important part. As she read it, she frowned.

She was to sail south through the Kraken Kur archipelago, take the Southern Passage west to the Southern Terra Firma and make land at Ishaq, where she would then receive information about her next destination. The orders gave no information about what she was supposed to be doing other than travelling. They only clarified she was to establish her elite team of recruits by the semester's end. If… if Ishaq wasn't the true destination, were they going to have to traverse the Arakian Desert?

Lift engines didn't work over the red sand of the Southern Terra-Firma, nor was there any rail network – the local wildlife made it impossible to maintain. The residents of the south had to either walk the sands or ride animals.

"W-what's our destination!" Amelia asked, bouncing on her toes.

"Secret," Serena answered, folding the paper and putting it back in the envelope.

"What?" she asked, seeing Amelia frown.

"These are military orders and you are a civilian. You'll find out our destination when the rest of the crew does." Despite their relationship and closeness, there were still lines she shouldn't cross.

"Fine!" Amelia pouted, but didn't chase the matter.

"Can you at least tell me if it's somewhere different?"

"Maybe," Serena answered, giving Amelia a sly smile.

"On a different subject," she said, eyeing the half-buried Intelligence officer.

"How did you know she was here? No one followed us here." Serena had been extra careful the night before, flaring her aether to make sure there wasn't anyone lurking around any corners. With Amelia's wards of privacy, they should have been invisible to the world.

"Ah," Aiden mumbled.

"You were seen walking into this area, and given Amelia's recent acquisition – congratulations by the way – it was easy to figure out where you both were. Speaking of clandestine information gathering, I've been told that our favourite human here has become somewhat proficient at Kanaxai spellwork?" Aiden faced Amelia and continued, "How's that going? Can you maintain second-circle glamours without them collapsing?"

"Mmm!" Amelia nodded. There was a momentary look of concentration before a pair of horns materialised upon Amelia's head. A very familiar set of horns.

"Of course," Serena said, rolling her eyes.

"Like 'em?" Amelia asked with a grin. She gave a twirl and continued, "You can't say no without insulting yourself!"

"Not bad at all," Aiden affirmed.

"They look like the real thing. They look solid."

"Sadly not." Amelia sighed, raising a hand and passing it through her horns. Where her hand passed through, the surrounding illusory horns shimmered before slowly resettling into their usual solid appearance.

"Can you do eye colour?" Aiden asked.

"Hair colour? Change the shape of your face?"

"Eyes and hair, yes." Amelia nodded.

"But not my face. At least, not without it becoming some horrific blob. Facechanging is the hardest of all and to be honest it feels like too much, you know? I like seeing my own face in the mirror. After all, anything else would just be a downgrade, wouldn't it?"

"What's with all the interest in her Kanaxai capabilities?" Serena asked, crossing her arms while ignoring Amelia's egregious, but not incorrect, self flattery.

"You're not thinking of doing something insane like sending her undercover? We both know the moment she sees an injured bird or shiny rock she'll break cover."

"Hey!" Amelia pouted.

"I can be extremely discreet when I need to be!" With her girlfriend's brief moment of mock outrage over, she turned to Aiden and asked, "So? Am I going undercover?"

"Not in the way you're thinking," Aiden returned.

"I was just asked to ask you. Whatever bighorn makes these plans wants to know." Chesterfield, Serena thought.

"Now, if that's all your questions…" Aiden's voice took on a hint of annoyance.

"Can you please release me! I want to die surrounded by expensive liquor and elegant women, not buried underneath some noble's estate!" Amelia giggled.

"Okay!" she exclaimed. Moments later, Aiden was standing on solid ground. Amelia's cleaning magic took care of everything before he could complain about the state of his clothes. Before he could thank her, Amelia leapt forward and hugged the man.

"Long time no see!" Amelia stepped back.

"Did you hear about me becoming a saint? Want to celebrate after? I doubt we'll have a chance to drink much while sailing to wherever!" Empress save me, Serena thought. She's worse than him! While Amelia and Aiden caught up, they walked towards the academy. They stopped at a nearby coffee shop, where Amelia brought them all a cup of steaming Jimari coffee. They found a stall selling wraps where Amelia was happy to see that they sold a wrap filled with choco meat and a tangy cream sauce.

They arrived at the academy shortly after finishing their breakfast. Aiden bade them farewell, but before he left, Amelia healed him, citing how haggard he looked. Serena had to agree. Intelligence was putting Aiden through an accelerated course on fieldwork to get him up to speed before they left. He told them he was averaging four hours of sleep per night.

"I…" Aiden mumbled after the golden light died down.

"It really is amazing… your magic, I mean." He looked at Serena.

"You're blessed to be able to access this ability whenever you want… Seven hells, now that I really look, it's made you younger, hasn't it? You look like you're in your mid-twenties! That's crazy…" He shook his head.

"No one would suspect that you're really–""See you later, Aiden," Serena said, clicking her tongue and guiding Amelia through the academy entrance.

"B-bye!" Amelia said with a wave.

"I can't believe he's coming with us," Serena said once they were alone.

"Hope he can adjust to life on a ship." As she said that, she remembered something about Aiden. Didn't he once tell her he got terribly airsick? He would be okay… wouldn't he?

"I'll see you there," Serena said. She returned to her quarters, changed into her instructor uniform and walked to the training hall. She lingered outside until Amelia appeared, then they entered together. Katalin, as usual, was there. She was warming herself up, seemingly not paying attention to them, but Serena knew the highlord's senses were sharp. Something about the Northern demon made her want to be better.

Feeling herself almost unconsciously straighten her posture, Serena collected her training sword and began warming up with Amelia. The first session was, as expected, intense but manageable. While a few less experienced warriors had to step out occasionally to rest, the remainder powered through. Katalin took them through exercises, one of which involved forming groups of eight, where one person would stand in the middle of a circle formed by the rest of their group.

They would then take turns attacking the defender in the middle, who would need to adapt and counter. At first, the attacks were prescribed and done sequentially in a clockwise order. Then, changes were made to gradually increase the difficulty for the defender. The first change was the requirement that they had to counter using a different strike each time. Then, the attack order was changed to be random, forcing the defender to rely on their instincts and aura-enhanced stances.

Next, the attacks were no longer prescribed, allowing the attacker full freedom on how to conduct their assault, requiring the defender to react instantaneously to a slash or stab targeting anywhere on their body. The final change was that there was no longer any restriction on how many people could attack at once. That last rule essentially turned it into a brawl.

Serena was defending, and when Katalin barked the order to begin, she flared her aura into a bright yellow, slipping past the defence of a junior instructor's orange and throwing him at the rest of the group. She twisted out of the circle, parrying an incoming blade away before kicking sand in the faces of her attackers. She didn't stop and give them a chance to organise themselves; she struck, kicked, punched and tripped everyone she could, striking as often as possible and only defending when necessary.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Katalin's prior lessons on fighting groups formed the basis of her actions. Even as Serena moved, she couldn't help but consider how much real combat experience the highlord had. How Katalin handled herself, how she moved, how she explained martial concepts… the rumours that she lived a reclusive life in her father's estate couldn't be true.

Serena fought desperately for another few seconds before Ryosuke managed to overwhelm her, tripping her and putting her on the floor. He wiped sand from his face while keeping his sword tip against Serena's chest.

"That was some excellent defending, Instructor Halen," he intoned.

"It's been a while since I've been punched in the face in a swordfight." He shook his head.

"If you fight like this on the battlefield… I fear the next fool to challenge you." Katalin called for them to stop and, after checking that no one was seriously injured, had someone else stand in the middle. This cycle of chaos, with a brief respite, continued for half an hour. Sometimes, the defenders got overwhelmed immediately, but other times, they replicated Serena's aggressiveness and focused on escaping the circle first. Amelia did alright, considering her lack of experience.

She managed to block a few attacks and even counter before the group overwhelmed her with their yellow and bright orange auras. By now, Amelia's partners no longer held back against her red aura; they understood that the layers of wards she had backing it made her more than a match for their yellow. Even so, Amelia's footwork kept letting her down, exposing her to strikes she should have been out of range of. As the exercise continued, everyone was tested to the limit.

The repeated flaring of aether and quick rounds built up, and soon Serena, along with everyone else, was dripping with sweat and panting heavily. After the third person collapsed, Katalin called it quits.

"Second part! Five minutes!" she declared. Despite the impolite nature of the sound, half the room groaned in relief.

"Praise the fell gods…"

"It was like I was on the battlefield again!"

"Greasy. I need to eat something greasy…"

"I'm going to nap before my afternoon class…" While the majority quickly left the training hall, Serena and Amelia joined up with the usual suspects: Ryosuke, Nathaniel, and Joey.

"I fear I may need to ask for healing if the second session follows the same intensity…" Joey mumbled, rolling his shoulders.

"Although, don't you think we've improved?" After a short discussion they all agreed that if Katalin had run that session early on in the semester, they wouldn't have made it through. As difficult as it was, these sessions were making everyone involved stronger. It was a type of training that Serena didn't have access to in the course of her regular duties. The Vengeance wasn't a suitable location for such intensity. Katalin came over, prompting Serena, along with everyone else, to straighten their backs.

"I've been enjoying these sessions," Katalin mused.

"It is a shame, but with the war ending, I have new obligations in the North. The next session will be the last, understand?" She blinked, her purple eyes radiating something. Regret, perhaps? Ryosuke recovered from the sudden declaration first.

"It's been a great honour to host you, Highlord Driss." He bowed deeply.

"Your skill has reinvigorated my competitive side. One day, we'll cross blades again and I'll show the result of my effort." The others murmured their agreement, thanking Katalin for her time.

"I am most proud of you," Katalin intoned, turning towards Amelia.

"Rarely have I seen a human grow so fast. You have talent, mmm?"

"Ah…" Amelia's posture collapsed slightly, and she twiddled her thumbs.

"Thank you, but… I always lose when my opponents get serious," she said.

"But I'll improve! I promise!"

"Don't compare your experience against these instructors, understand?" Katalin gestured to Serena and the others.

"They have the experience of the battlefield and decades of practice, yes? You can survive against them longer than most people who have wielded the sword for ten years can. It is… a good sign." Katalin nodded approvingly.

"Thanks!" Amelia smiled, adding, "But it's only because my wards enhance my abilities. I don't think I could take more than a few hits if I only used my aura!" By Serena's estimation, while Amelia's first-circle wards were as powerful as a normal mage's third-circle wards, her red aura, despite its magnitude, was about the same as a normal warrior's deep orange. That alone was outstanding, and Serena was certain once Amelia had spent several more months refining her aura it would hold against most warriors' yellow.

"There is nothing wrong with using one talent to help develop another," Katalin explained.

"Using your strength to develop your weakness is common sense, yes?"

"Mmm!" Amelia hummed.

"I mean, yes, Highlord Driss!"

"We'll focus on meditation and expelling aether for the first half of the second part," Karalin explained.

"Amelia, you can Speak with elegance, yes?" Seeing Amelia tilt her head, Katalin rephrased.

"You might know it as Speaking silently."

"Oh! I can, yes," Amelia nodded.

"Show us," Katalin instructed.

"N-now?"

"Yes."

"Umm… okay," Amelia said with a nod. She took a few steps back and closed her eyes.

"Pay attention," Katalin commanded.

"The first step is to cycle your aether. By definition, a warrior's convection of aether cannot remove it from the body, understand? Amelia is heavily cloaked, but you can still sense some of her aetherflow, yes? Notice it's thick when it leaves her body, but most of it is prevented from coming back in? This is what you must copy. Once your body is empty of aether, except what is required to keep your aura or wards running, then you can Speak." Katalin cleared her throat.

"Amelia, a First-Word if you could." Serena internally frowned. Why had Katalin said 'First-Word' and not a 'Word'? Did she already know Amelia was a Second-Word Speaker? Glancing at her fellow instructors, it seemed they hadn't noticed the Northerner's phrasing; instead, their attention was focused entirely on Amelia. Serena kept her eyes on her girlfriend, but her mind kept thinking. Did she know Amelia Spoke Asclepius? Did she know she Spoke Suijin?

No one had seen Katalin when the fire was raging, but, given her skill, was it possible she was hiding and observing?" Aseco," Amelia Spoke, producing a small ripple in the aetherfield that kicked up a few tufts of sand. With the Word Spoken, Amelia's hair began to shine even more than normal. Her skin radiated a warming golden glow, with subtle flecks of blue dancing here and there, and her crimson eyes became a brilliant blue, an effect that would last until Amelia released the Word.

"Hells," Ryosuke muttered.

"I fought a Vatican Highpriest during the battle for Gelre, and I thought they were a talented Speaker and mage… but this is something else…"

"I'm not sure our Lunaria could Speak so cleanly," Nathaniel said, a hint of wonder in his voice.

"Did any of you even feel it?" Joey asked, shaking his head.

"If one of our strategic aetherscopes was focused on her, I still don't think they would know that she Spoke at all!" At first, Serena was amused at how surprised they were by Amelia before she realised that they just didn't know. It was one thing coming to terms with Amelia's unusual talent as a mage and budding swordsmanship, but to witness her mastery over the First-Word was another thing entirely. Serena had simply adapted to how powerful and capable Amelia was.

A year ago, Serena had only seen Second-Word embodiments in photographs. Now, she'd seen three of them in person. Two of them were Spoken by Amelia! She'd even ridden the first one!

"The walls here are thick," Katalin began.

"They can handle a loud Speaker, yes?" Seeing Ryosuke nod, she continued.

"Spend the next thirty minutes practising emptying yourself of aether. Afterwards, we will see if those efforts pay off. And…" Katalin trailed off, looking at Amelia. Amelia was looking at Katalin, her eyes slightly wide. Serena realised Amelia had been looking at Katalin since she Spoke. Had she seen something with her Speaker-level of perception? Had she looked at Katalin's soul through the Shimmer? Perhaps the Northener possessed a blessing that Amelia had noticed.

"S-sorry," Amelia stuttered.

"I'll, um, just…" Amelia swallowed and released her Word, returning to her usual golden self. Amelia smiled nervously at Katalin.

"I'll begin my practice now…"

"No." Katalin shook her head.

"You are experienced in this method, yes? It's better to assist others, providing advice where possible. You've been assisting the trainee officers in this manner, haven't you?" Katalin paused momentarily, adding, "Don't share too much information. As a talented mage, you've had experiences these warriors have not. If you tell them all your secrets too quickly, they won't understand. Not yet, anyway. Understand?" Amelia was silent for a few seconds, but eventually nodded in agreement.

She's acting strange, Serena thought. The session on aether control began and it quickly became apparent who had experience with cycling aether. Amelia, with her natural talent, was at the top of the pecking order. Ryosuke was the next best, apparently able to expel nearly ninety per cent of his aether. Nathaniel followed at eighty per cent, with Serena trailing him at a mere forty per cent. Lastly, Joey could barely cycle his aether at all, expelling perhaps one or two per cent.

"As you can see," Joey explained sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Becoming a warrior was the easier path for me."

"Your word is Taruna, yes?" Katalin asked." Taruna Speakers have difficulty with this task. It's quite normal. What you lack here, I am sure you make up for in defence, yes?"

"Yes," Joey nodded.

"Under Taruna, I never faltered, no matter what struck my shield."

"Have you invoked her in this room before?"

"Yes. The walls hold fine as long as I'm in the centre."

"We'll do that, then." Katalin nodded before clapping her hands.

"Gather around!" Serena clambered to her feet, hurrying over. Katalin explained that they would each take turns stepping into the centre of the room, invoking their Word, and moving to the side. Once everyone had Spoken, she would join them and the training would begin.

"I will try and reach Amelia, yes?" Katalin asked, explaining the format.

"If my blade touches her once, I win. You will all try to stop me. We will keep our auras blue since there are so many of us, and I don't want to deal with the hassle from the grandmaster if I break this room's walls, understand?" At her words, sounds of amusement rippled through the group. It hadn't been mentioned explicitly, but everyone knew Amelia and Katalin got dressed down in the grandmaster's office earlier in the semester.

"Question!" Amelia chirped.

"If I'm under Aseco, can I give them enhancements? Many wards under his branch improve a warrior's abilities!"

"Yes," Katalin answered.

"But you cannot heal the others, unless it is a serious injury. Or attack me yourself," the Northerner said with a smile.

"I don't want to be hit by any of his holy lightning, understand?"

"Understood!"

"Ryosuke, you're up first." At Katalin's order, they retreated to one side of the room, leaving Ryosuke in the centre. After taking a moment to expel his aether, he formed his Word. Unlike Amelia, who could Speak almost perfectly silently, Ryosuke wasn't quite there, causing the atmosphere to hum in quiet anticipation. Serena knew Ryosuke Yamamoto as a dual-Speaker. He was a known Speaker of Narean, but no one knew his second First-Word."

Narean," he Spoke, blasting away the air and sand within half a dozen meters, enough to plaster Serena and everyone else with a thin layer of debris, temporarily blocking their vision. The first thing she noted was the temperature drop. Ryosuke's Narean was not of hellfire like Serena's. It was of frostbite. His horns were covered in a layer of blue ice that kept cracking off in large pieces, only to float up and vanish into nothing.

His skin took on an ethereal sheen and, through his now-green aura, Serena could see something resembling mirrored scales. Unlike the hellfire variant of Narean, he had no trace of black wings, but a cool wind constantly flowed around him, subtly rippling his uniform.

"Was hoping you would surprise us," Nathaniel said, clapping his hands.

"Still, your Narean is as impressive as ever. Just the other day you were saying you were getting old!" Serena found herself nodding. It was an impressive Narean, far beyond her own capabilities. Seeing it, she had no doubt Ryosuke was capable of the sixth aura – indigo. Some gods, like Narean, had several communable forms. Narean offered a hellfire and frostbite form, but other gods varied. Serena didn't know any martial gods that offered more than two, but knew some of the mage Words had three or more.

"Thank you, friend," Ryosuke intoned, his voice misting with aether.

"I will wait for you," he said, bowing and walking to the side opposite them.

"Nathaniel," Katalin commanded.

"Yes," he answered, stepping out and into the centre of the room. He stood still for a while, expelling as much aether as he could before forming and invoking his Word." Longinus," he Spoke. A pressure wave slammed into Serena, enough to make her take a step back. The room filled with sand and the crackling of lightning filled the air. Once the sand died down, she saw Nathaniel standing tall. His eyes and hair had yellowed, and his horns crackled with electricity.

Like the Greatlord of Kenhoro, Lei Gong, Nathaniel was powerful enough for lightning sparks to constantly vaporise the nearby sand particles. His skin was cracked, but in those cracks, she saw lightning, not blood. It didn't seem to hurt him at all.

"Excellent!" Joey called out.

"But I still know you're hiding another Word, Nathaniel!"

"Forgive me for being boring." Nathaniel bowed and moved to the side next to the ice-cold Ryosuke.

"Serena," Katalin intoned.

"Yes," Serena answered. As she walked to the centre of the room, she wondered why Katalin was referring to them so informally. Perhaps the highlord felt that titles were not necessary if they were going to do something as personal as train their Words together. Standing in the centre, Serena glanced at Amelia, who mouthed the words"Good luck!" back. Closing her eyes, she cycled her aether, encouraging it to leave her body and trying to restrict the flow back in.

Despite her original talent in earth magic when she was younger, the years of focusing on martial arts had made her rusty. It took her five minutes, but she was eventually able to remove half her aether. Unable to do any more, she formed Narean, and, after only a moment's hesitation, she invoked her Word." Narean," she Spoke. The rush of power and fire was exhilarating. She felt the ancient, divine power of the martial god flood her body.

Her horns ignited with a satisfying crackle, and the sensation of a new limb, her tail made out of hellfire, returned. Although her wings hadn't yet fully manifested, she felt something was there. Not that she needed them to fly; she was becoming ever more adept at pushing against the aetherfield to manoeuvre herself in the air. Serena opened her eyes to see the room filled with sand. A quick bit of spellwork from Amelia brought the sand back down, and once she had finished, she grinned at Serena.

Serena couldn't help but grin back.

"The fire is strong," Katalin said approvingly.

"Your wings will come through soon, I imagine. Narean is a good fit for you, Serena."

"Thank you," Serena replied with a bow, taking the opportunity to try and sense anything unusual about Katalin. Despite manifesting a strong green aura, she couldn't perceive anything about her that prompted concern. Amelia must have seen something in the Shimmer. Serena moved to the side, where she earned a few compliments from the much more powerful Ryosuke and Nathaniel that made her feel a little awkward.

"This will be loud," Joey muttered, walking to the centre. He didn't spend any time trying to expel his aether. One or two per cent wasn't worth waiting the twenty minutes it would take him." Taruna," he Spoke, blasting the room with a violent surge of power that would likely have blown a hole in the wall if he wasn't in the centre of the room. A wall of pressure smashed into Serena, lifting her off her feet and forcing her to flare her aether against the aetherfield to stop herself from smashing into the wall.

Sand was everywhere, and if she hadn't protected her ears with her aura, she would surely have become deaf. Serena sensed Amelia cast a spell, and the sand was once again brought under control. Standing in the centre of the room was Joey, and he looked solid. Serena really didn't know the best way to put it. There was an atmosphere around him that seemed weighty. She knew Taruna had an offensive form and a defensive one, and this was certainly the latter.

She'd fought the offensive type in the café in Kenhoro, but Joey's Word differed. The man had grown an entire foot, now rivalling the Lord Guardian in height and strength. Other than that, he didn't have any drastic physical changes. Joey bowed towards Amelia.

"No blade will reach you while I protect you," he intoned seriously, as if taking a sacred vow. He walked to the rack of weapons, taking a large wooden shield. The moment he touched it, his blue aura engulfed it and then hardened. It was as if his aura transformed into metal, wrapping itself tightly around the shield. How resilient was that blue aura? Enough to withstand whatever Katalin was going to throw at them? As Serena's mind raced, Joey walked over and joined them.

"Quite the team," Ryosuke growled.

"I respect her talent, but can she really fight all of us? Unless she's going to surprise us with an embodiment, I cannot see us being defeated." Serena was sure he was exaggerating. There was no way Katalin, even if she could, would invoke a Second-Word for a training session.

"She only needs to touch Amelia with her sword," Nathaniel pointed out.

"Maybe she'll Speak Kanaxai and rely on trickery and illusion."

"Amelia," Katalin coolly intoned.

"O-okay!" Amelia bounced to the centre and, without any dramatic fanfare, invoked Aseco. She became a golden light that Serena and everyone else had to protect.

"Take your positions, and then I'll invoke my Word," Katalin mused. Katalin wandered to one side of the training hall, while Serena and the others formed a defensive line. Ryosuke stood at the front, with Serena and Nathaniel flanking him. Behind them and in front of Amelia stood Joey, his large frame and shield ready to intercept Katalin should she make it past them.

"If you haven't already, manifest blue," Katalin called, her voice cheerful. Serena gritted her teeth and pushed her green further and further until it was at the cusp of blue. The expected wall never appeared, and she found with delight that she could push into the next level! It wasn't the strongest blue; even if she flared she doubted there would even be a fleck of indigo in it… But it was blue! The elusive fifth-level aura that few her age had managed to achieve!

When Narean had taken over her body and forced her to manifest blue when she wasn't yet ready, it had almost killed her. Without Amelia's intervention, she would surely be dead. Now, after training with Grandmaster Gu in Kenhoro, and then training back home in Asamaywa under the gruelling sessions of the elusive Katalin of Driss… Serena had grown stronger! Noticeably, tangibly, undeniably, stronger!

"Get ready," Ryosuke growled from the front, brandishing his sword in both hands.

"She's about to Speak." Serena snapped her mind into focus. She eyed Katalin, who stood perhaps twenty metres away, looking at them with an easy expression. She seemed relaxed. Too relaxed. What Word would she Speak? Narean? Longinus? Bayle? It would surely be something offensive, wouldn't it? Or… something fast? Katalin closed her eyes and Serena sensed the aetherfield around the Northerner hum. Like Amelia, Katalin was highly skilled at Speaking silently. A few seconds passed without anything happening.

Then the room began to hum with energy. Katalin opened her eyes. Formerly purple, they were now a brilliant sapphire blue.

"Careful," Amelia whispered from behind them.

"It's powerful." Then, Katalin Spoke. It wasn't Bayle. Nor was it Narean. Nor was it Longinus, or any other martial Word Serena knew. Nor was it Kanaxai." Alinyah," Katalin Spoke. It was a Word Serena had never heard before. It was a new Word.