***Barbarian Isles***

Max woke with a sharp pain going through both of his eyes. He tried to sit up, but he quickly found out any sudden movements only increased the burning sensation.

At the moment, his eyes felt like they were on fire and he was mustering all his willpower not to scream aloud.

"It will pass... I can tell you that from experience."

Max just kept grinding his teeth as he held his hands over his eyes. After a few seconds, the pain gradually began to lessen.

He felt warm arms wrap around his torso and recognized who was embracing him. Max choose to ignore Kana though as he steadied his own breathing and held his eyes shut.

Sophia continued, "Arthur has told me about what you did to save Kana. Somehow awakening the eyes of my family gave me quite a shock. I'd like to see them myself. Open your eyes."

At first, in fear of only causing himself more pain, Max wanted to reject the request from his mother. He quickly reasoned that she knew more about what was happening to him then himself so he choose to comply.

Removing his hands from his face, Max slowly opened eyelids. The light in the tent made him want to shut them again, but he eventually opened them all the way.

Max heard Kana next to him gasp, but was a bit distracted by what his eyes were registering to to address it.

Everything in his sight was blurry, and the figures throughout the room were barely distinguishable. Although Max noticed something else, there was something more moving throughout the room.

A translucent blue light, stronger and brighter in some places and weaker and dimmer in others. The light flowed through everything in sight, and he stuck out his hand to grab some in front of him.

His touch registered no change, and the light just passed through his hand like it did everything else. He was confused and the thought that maybe his eyes were in fact ruined passed through his mind.

"What you are seeing right now is mana. We've already educated you about the premise but with the 'Mind's Eye' you can physically recognize the force that drives all life in the world. There is mana everywhere, as you learned and now observed."

Kana questioned the woman.

"How does Max have those eyes? I thought someone could only have one family power? Does that mean big sister Skylar has them too?"

Sophia shook her head. "I know for a fact Skylar only has the bloodline of the Soltains. Max appears to be a special case. In the Satele family, we teach our young that one only awakens their eyes through a change of the mind, or how they think. Common examples would be a child changing their personality, goals, or perspective, sometimes all three. What changed for you my son?"

Max blinked his eyes a couple times as the figures of his friend and mother became clearer. He leaned against his pillow and scratched his unkempt hair.

"Uhh... A lot I guess. I remember seeing Kana getting taken away and something inside me just snapped. I'll never let that happen again." He said with a resolute expression.

Sophia nodded. "An experience like that is sure to change all three of you. Though I believe it was important for you to see the darker sides of our world. Learning about something and actually seeing it are two completely different things."

Max looked over to his left to see Arthur passed out on the bed next to him, his breathing even and steady.

"When you two passed out Arthur had to hold on by himself until I arrived. He fought quite well and kept you both safe, you should thank him when he wakes. Now that we've located the barbarians main force the campaign has shortened considerably. You three will be leaving with your grandfather and I at dawn so please rest up." Sophia said and then got up from the end of the bed. She walked towards Max and gripped his right hand.

“Right now you are channeling mana into your eyes passively. That is why they are still activated even now. All you need to do is focus on that string of mana and cut it off. That should bring your eyes back to normal. Go ahead and try now.”

Max was familiar with channeling mana to power certains parts of the body but he had never tried to channel mana into his eyes before, it was an entirely new sensation. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on the mana flowing inside him and closed off the connection that kept his eyes activated. Blinking a few times, the glow simply dissolved and his eyes quickly turned to normal.

"I am very proud of you."

She gave his hand a quick squeeze and brushed her hair aside. Giving Max a loving kiss on his forehead, Sophia nodded to herself and walked out of the tent.

Max watched his mother depart in silence. The hold Kana had him tightened, and he looked to see Kana burying her face into his chest. Muffled sobbing could be heard as the girl started to cry on him.

Max wasn’t exactly sure what to do in a situation like this. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen either of his friends actually cry, even though they were still so young. It seemed to be an unspoken rule not to cry, but he had no idea how it started.

Max noticed the soft-looking crimson ears twitching on her head and elected to pet them. With her head still on his chest, he put his left hand around her back and used his right hand to softly stroke her ears. Kana continued to stain his shirt in tears and Max even felt his eyes getting a little watery.

“We got really close there.” He whispered to her.

Kana replied with incoherent sounds that broke between her sobs.

“But I promise… I will never let anyone ever hurt you again. I will become so strong that no one will ever be able to touch you without getting through me.”

Her sobbing eventually stopped and she looked up at Max with puffy red eyes.

“I don’t need you protecting me. The whole point is that I get powerful enough on my own to reach my goals. I wasn’t strong enough when I needed to be and I almost lost everything.”

Max wiped her face and used his sleeve to wipe his own. “I’m sorry about how I was acting before. But whether you want it or not I’m not going to standby and let you or Arthur get hurt.”

He looked over to his unconscious friend. “I owe you both that much.”

Kana rested her body on Max and her breathing gradually began to steady.

“But thank you.” she whispered.

“Hmm?”

“Thank you for saving me, but I can’t grow up to rely on both of you to fix my problems.”

“Why not?”

Kana’s body tensed as she thought of the response that came to her mind immediately. If she wanted to become Clan Head and rule her own life, she needed to be the strongest and smartest. She needed to be better than the rest of her clan at everything so no one could possibly contest her position. She was the rightful heir, and her friends weren’t the ones trying to accomplish her goal. But, that was just one part of her life. She would certainly have other challenges or obstacles she needed to face in the future, and her friends would be helpful.

“Sometimes.”

Max lightly nodded. “We’ll see.”

They both closed their eyes and comforted themselves in each others warmth.

--------------------------------

***Soltain City***

The general stood in front of the three children like always after they’ve finished their weapon training. Each wore different expressions as they looked up at the older man, they had just returned from the campaign in the isles, and everyone still looked a bit tired.

“You three have been training together for a little less than three years now. This training has been one of the many parts of the tri-alliance that holds your three great houses together. I am sure you will have greatly benefited learning from different teachers, but also from learning from each other. So firstly I would like to say congratulations, for you have finished the training I had planned for you while you were here.”

The kids smiled to each other. Kana even walked up and hugged the older man. “Thank you for your help Grandpa Max.” she then skipped back in line between her two friends.

The older man also flashed a quick smile but it left as soon as it came. “You three have grown a lot, and I hope you come to rely on your teachings as you meet new challenges in the future. You will find that very few will have such an edge like you do.”

Sophia and Jacob approached and stood beside the general, each with smiles of their own. The general's eyes then flashed a serious gleam.

“This is not the end of your training, if anything this is just the beginning. You three will take separate paths and return to your respective homes, to learn all you can about your bloodlines and about yourselves. You will most likely not see each other until you arrive at the Imperial Academy, so you must take this time to build on your own strengths and cover your weaknesses. Still, with such a benchmark, we Soltains have prepared gifts for each of you to aid you in your future endeavors.”

Two maids and one butler walked out into the courtyard and passed the central fountain to reach the groups. Each were carrying what looked to be a book of sorts while the butler was carrying a rather worn black journal.

Jacob looked at the children and said, “For Kana and Max, we have a further continuation on the Soltain halberd and greatswords styles respectively. These books contain the forms and techniques of my predecessors, and shall aid you as you train in your respective weapons.”

“As for my only nephew, I will be giving you my own journal for when I was growing and learning new ways on the uses of daggers. As I said before, your weapon styles will be largely based on how you choose to use them. Even so, I believe the notes I’ve made about both magic and daggers will be of some use to you. You’ll notice some pages are torn out, as I’d rather keep some things about myself in the past.” Sophia said with a chuckle as she spoke to Arthur.

The three received the new gifts with even larger smiles and bowed to the adults in unison.

The general spoke up before they had a chance. “Since the day you’ve arrived, the three houses have paid a large sum to have weapons prepared for you. Sending out a request to friends in the Geotz Kingdom, we have finally seen a return on our investment. You will be glad to know that your new weapons arrived while we were up North, and please thank the knights who flew across the continent for almost a year for three children.”

Seven Sky Knights bearing the Soltain coat of arms entered the courtyard. Each were highly decorated and veterans in the provincial military. Three of the them were carrying weapons not already strapped to themselves, two of the weapons larger than most.

The knights stood at attention to the side of the group. General Soltain gestured for them to proceed and the first knight approached Arthur and presented him with an intricately carved wooden box.

Arthur took the box and bowed. “Thank you for your service. I’m sorry you all had to spend almost a year doing an errand for children.”

The other six chuckled and the most decorated woman openly laughed, “The general offered us plenty of rewards for this mission, not to mention a year of paid leave. When you three first arrived, almost every knight with a griffin was begging for selection. I should be thanking you.”

The general grumbled something under his breath and Arthur opened the box.

“Six mithril daggers bearing the Satele crest. Two twelve inch daggers and four seven inch knives. We agreed to give you a little more versatility as you find your most preferred fighting style. A mix of both quality and quantity in this case.” The general commented.

Arthur grabbed one of the smaller knives and pulled it out of it’s small black sheathe. Like the larger ones, it was double edged and the blade was silver with crisp dark shadows as he scanned it. Each of the four had a hole in the hilt big enough for his fingers to spin it. Though at the moment they seemed a little too big, he quickly realized his fingers would get larger as he grew. The daggers were slim, and the black and green basilisk insignia was barely visible unless one looked closely.

He took the moment to examine the sheathes. All of them were also black and had plenty of leather string attached to each. He assumed that the sheathes worked to wear he could attach them all over his body, and give him a bit of an advantage to enemies who couldn’t see his weapons. That alone caused him to smile.

He looked to the knights again and bowed even deeper than before. “Even so, I must thank you again for your assistance, I will make proper use of the tools you have given me.”

The men and women nodded in response.

The largest knight in the group approached Kana with a slim silver and crimson halberd. It looked much lighter than the weapon currently resting on Kana’s back, but no less weaker.

“One mithril and bloodwood champion halberd for the girl. Standing at six feet vertically, the bloodwood encompasses most of the shaft as the two blades and point are pure mithril. The wood has been infused with fragments of the blades metal to ease the flow of mana channeling. Out of all three weapons, yours was easily the most expensive. Both materials are costly, but bloodwood is some of the rarest in the world. I heard the elders of your clan threw a fit when they heard you wanted to use a halberd, especially at the cost. Yet you can thank your father for calming them and supporting you financially, at least that’s what we’ve been told. Puts a smile on my face just thinking about their reactions.”

Kana took the weapon with both hands and spun it over her head. It certainly was lighter than the weapon she had been training with, yet it seemed far more compact. When she slammed the butt end against the ground she noticed the bloodwood was slightly flexible. She took a closer look at the wood that was apparently the rarest yet.

While Kana remained in a trance, everyone else looked at the three foot wide recession she “casually” placed in the ground.

Breaking out of her revelry, Kana dropped her old weapon on the ground and immediately strapped the new halberd on her back with it’s shoulder strap. She was still quite short, so the new weapon was almost horizontal to the ground she stood on.

She gave everyone her brightest smile and bowed, her tail moving back and forth excitedly. “Thank you for helping me reach my dreams. I’ll never forget any of you for your assistance.”

Kana’s words seemed to put everyone in the area in a rather chipper mood. Whether she knew of her ability to sway others so easily was left unanswered.

The last knight trotted to Max holding a sword and sheathe a little over five feet long. The sheathe looked rather plain, being an ordinary brown, yet it was still etched with the black and gold griffin that made the Soltain House crest. Max grabbed the weapon with both hands and almost stumbled. It was definitely heavier than the training sword he grew accustomed too. Max took a few seconds to just examine the hilt. A solid black and gold made the hilt and crossguard, a golden pommel engraved with a griffin surrounding the end. The black leather on the hilt was thin, yet just enough to increase grip on the sword for one or two hands.

“Lastly, one five-foot double edged mithril greatsword. In terms of amount of mithril, your weapon has the most. The design modeled after my own grandfathers, a man who was feared for his prowess and ruthlessness with the weapon. You have ability boy, but you must decide how you will use a weapon as great as this in the future. There will be times where you hold the lives of others in your hands, and you will need to decide for yourself when the sword should be used. A bane to all evil that rises from the recesses of this world, or a weapon to instill your existence in the minds of others, one to be loved or feared.” The general passed his hardened gaze over the children. “All three of you will surely be recognized for your actions in the future.”

Max grabbed the hilt with his left hand and unsheathed the sword. The weapon itself seemed to absorb the rays of the sun, and the silver mithril blade looked to be a light of it’s own. Max immediately smiled.

Looking towards the knights, like his friends, he bowed. “Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I will use this weapon wisely.”

The knights nodded and the leader spoke. “We wish the young lords and lady well on their future endeavors. Should you ever need the assistance of the Soltain Sky Knight’s, you know where to find us.”

After their departure Max sheathed his new sword and threw it over his back. Looking towards his friends, Max’s eyes shown with newfound determination.

I won’t let you down.