Maevyn swung her hefty greatsword at her husband Sidryn whose sapphire blue dragon eyes glared at her. Being a Valkyrie, Maevyn’s swing carried a deadly intent with it.

“Hold on!” Sidryn shouted but his voice was drowned out by the impact of the sword. As soon as he raised his arms to blocked it he ended up being knocked to the ground. Since he was taking human form that he had rarely used throughout his long life, it made sense that he wouldn’t be able to respond properly.

“You were saying?” Maevyn asked.

Sidryn spit out a mouthful of dirt and dusted himself off before standing up. “Just because Ira made me marry you doesn’t me that I’ll willingly continue to be subjected to such treatment.”

“Oh? Is that a threat?” Maevyn raised her eyebrow slightly. It was clear that she didn’t put any worth in Sidryn’s words which drew his ire.

“If I were able to revert to my normal state you’d find it a lot harder to do that,” Sidryn replied.

“Somehow I doubt that would be true.” Maevyn stabbed her sword into the ground before she shifted her gaze to a young girl auburn hair and orange reptilian eyes who held a swordspear and a round shield while standing in the corner. It was the young apprentice she was assigned by Casey, one who was incredibly talented in combat and was likely to become an important figure in a few years.

“Cibylla.” Maevyn called out to the girl who looked to be either fifteen of sixteen.

“Yes, Ma’am,” Cibylla answered in an orderly tone. Over the course of three years, it seemed like her eager and childish temperament had changed into one with serious devotion and dedication to the Keeper.

“We’re fighting,” Maevyn stated before she lifted her greatsword with one hand and rushed forward.

Cibylla raised her shield and pointed her swordspear toward Maevyn who showed no sign of stopping. Once the greatsword made contact with Cibylla’s shield, a metallic ringing sound spread through the room. Cibylla held her shield with a firm grip while gritting her teeth but she couldn’t help but be pushed back a few feet. Even with her half-dragon blood, she could do little against a Valkyrie who nearly mastered her weapon.

Just as Cibylla sought to recover her stance, she was kicked in the abdomen which pushed her back further before the heavy greatsword was swung toward her again. Cibylla rolled to the side and thrust the swordspear forward but it was parried by Maevyn who used the opening to throw an uppercut toward Cibylla.

Suddenly, Cibylla put strength into her legs and leaped backward. Maevyn nodded and rested her greatsword on her shoulder.

“Good,” Maevyn said. “I think you’re ready to move onto the next step.”

“You mean the Bone Engraving?!” Cibylla’s previously serious expression was nowhere to be seen. She held an immature delight but Maevyn didn’t reprimand her, instead, the Valkyrie showed a faint grin.

Sidryn, who was watching the entire thing, almost had his mouth go agape. Technically speaking, Maevyn was his wife but she didn’t show a hint of joy no matter how hard he tried. Then again, since most dragons were extremely prideful he rarely made any attempts to elicit a positive feeling from her.

“Is that what they’re calling it? It seems you’ve been keeping a close eye on the developments of this empire.” Maevyn thought of what was most commonly referred to as the Bone Engraving Ceremony. It was the name given to Charles’ research that dealt with inscribing permanent magical arrays into living beings.

Once Charles finished his work with it, making sure that the procedure wasn’t fatal to the recipient, the Dark Elves made a ceremony out of it. Of course, having conduits that drew mana and produced spell-like effects carved into your bones would be painful. The ceremony only took place when the Red Moon was full since it made most of the races of the Underground City far more powerful. For the Half-Dragons, they weren’t able to receive the benefits of the Red Moon so it meant they would have to withstand the ceremony with only their willpower and a few healers. Still, there weren’t any Half-Dragons who received it because most of them were still too young or still needed training.

“Cibylla, in a few weeks there is going to be an event to demonstrate what you’ve learned. Ira will be in attendance so I’d advise you not to let yourself become lax for a single second. I expect you to practice all you’ve learned right up until the week it starts.” Maevyn’s demands seemed inhumane, to put someone through rigorous training without rest but Cibylla nodded earnestly.

“Yes, Ma’am! I won’t disappoint you or the Keeper.” Cibylla brought her fist to her chest and saluted.

“You can rest today but tomorrow you’ll go through the ceremony so be prepared.” Maevyn once again flashed a faint smile at her student.

“Thank you,” Cibylla bowed before she left the room.

To Maevyn, who preferred to be alone, Cibylla had become something like a daughter to her. She had grown accustomed to the talented half-dragon girl who didn’t complain at all.

Sidryn looked at Maevyn’s warm expression and began to speak without thinking. “...If it’s children you want then perhaps me and you can find some common ground–”

He wasn’t able to finish as Maevyn raised her greatsword toward him. “Again.”

“I just thought–”

“Again.” Maevyn spat coldly before rushing at him.

Sidryn came to regret his words almost immediately as Maevyn attacked him with her greatsword relentlessly.

…

“I can cut it,” A little boy said with an eerie calm. He looked to be around five or six but the truth was he was born three years ago. His bloodline was the source of his logic-defying growth. It was Valeryn, Ira’s second son. His short black hair was parted neatly in front of his yellow eyes.

“What are you talking about, Ryn?” Raveria asked. She who wasn’t much older than him looked as if she reached nine years old. Her speedy growth rate slowed down to some extent and it didn’t appear as if she would grow into an adult any time soon.

Valeryn pointed a set of armor on the wall and spoke again. “I can cut it.”

“Can you, Ryn?” Zephyr asked with a tilt of his head. “How?”

In contrast to Valeryn’s neat black hair, Zephyr’s hair was shoulder length and untamed, much like his father. He looked around the same age as Valeryn and one might’ve believed they were twins if it weren’t for some obvious differences in their features. Valeryn’s face seemed colder due to the sharp features he received from Ira and Avery, while Zephyr’s face was a bit softer which made him look more innocent like a child his age should’ve been.

“I can,” Valeryn nodded.

Zephyr raised his hand and the armor floated over in front of the children.

“Be careful, Ryn. You too, Zeph,” said Raveria who was the attentive older sister.

“Mhm,” Valeryn nodded but focused on the armor.

“Cut it, Ryn!” Zephyr held the armor in place.

Valeryn opened his palm and a saber sheathed inside of a black scabbard slowly emerged from the surface of his skin as if it were incorporeal. There was no hint of discomfort on Valeryn’s face as the sword fully surfaced. He drew the saber and his small hands easily gripped the handle.

Valeryn put the scabbard on the floor and placed one hand behind his back while the other raised the sword up. In an instant, his form resembled a master duelist at the peak of his ability. Valeryn’s hand flickered and the saber flashed, it happened so quickly that Raveria and Zephyr just barely noticed his movements.

“I cut it,” Valeryn said while tapping the scabbard with his foot. It stood upright and he sheathed the saber before absorbing it inside of himself.

“...Where?” Zephyr asked as he moved the armor closer to inspect but as soon as it was pulled forward it split into three perfect, vertically sliced, sections.

“Woah!” Zephyr seemed to be in awe and even Raveria looked surprised. What was most surprising to her was that she couldn’t predict Valeryn’s movements with her precognition.

“Hey, I can do something too,” Zephyr wanted to show off.

“What is it?” Valeryn asked curiously though it was hard to detect on his straight face.

“Watch this,” Zephyr opened the pouch tied around his waist and pulled out a metal marble. He raised it up and let it float above his palm before stretching his hand outward. As the tiny marble hovered above his palm, it let out a low hum and several arcs of electricity shout out from it. He moved his hand and then the marble shot forward with an air ripping sound. It seemed to be out of Zephyr’s expectation as the small projectile burst through a wall and continued on.

“Uh…” Zephyr looked worried.

“Zephyr, didn’t I say to be careful,” Raveria admonished her brother.

“I didn’t know it would go so far, Ravi,” Zephyr replied with helpless eyes that softened Raveria’s heart.

“Hey,” A familiar voice reverberated in the ears of the three children.

“Dad!”

“Dad!”

“Father.”

Raveria, Zephyr, and Valeryn all called out in a strange order.

“Did you lose something?” Ira smiled as he produced a small metal marble and handed it to Zephyr.

“Thanks,” Zephyr accepted the marble while looking at his dad with shining eyes.

Ira turned to look at the display of armor which had been sliced into three even segments. He focused his sight on it and he couldn’t see a single imperfection on the edges of the cuts.

“Valeryn,” Ira called out to his son.

“Yes?” Valeryn answered with a clear sense of joy.

“That’s a good cut.” Ira nodded with approval.

Valeryn’s stoic face turned into one that grinned with delight.

“I think your mother is going to start teaching you soon.” Ira ruffled his son’s neat hair.

“Are you done with your training, Dad?” Raveria asked.

Ira chuckled before putting Raveria on his shoulder and lifting Valeryn and Zephyr into his arms. “Well, I guess you can say that.” Ira smiled. In his eyes, he didn’t spend three years in vain at all.

“Anyway, it’s time to eat so let’s go,” Ira said before he carried his children toward the dining room with light steps.