Lynefra sat in a squatting position in an auditorium. Except it wasn't an auditorium, the majority of the floor space was sand, there was a large skylight in the center of the ceiling that was perfectly parallel to the sand portion of the floor. When the sand stopped, the skylight stopped. There weren't any large bleachers for crowds to watch, and there was steam in the room. The steam wasn't really steam, it was an illusion of steam. The soft white floating substance was actually a large barrier around the "sand pit" that Lynefra was sitting in.

Lynefra had always been instructed by her family's guard captain, Kets, in the few swords forms the man knew that would be applicable for a woman. The Nihili family combat practices didn't suit Lynefra or Altresca at all. The combat techniques were strictly for men, the flow of the Qi and mana for the skills, and the way the skills were physically carried out didn't suit a woman's physique at all. The Weapon Traigar was famous for and the weapon Freyd used in battle were very large, very heavy swords. The blades were 2 meters long and the hilt of the weapon was another whole meter in length. If the length wasn't an issue for the average size of females, the mass of the blade would be. The weapon weighed in at an impressive 300kg but being a full 3 meters in length and having a blade as wide as its user's back, it certainly looked domineering. Even more so if you were a male member of the Nihili family who could twirl the sword around in your fingers. Not only was Lynefra too weak for this sort of weapon, when her father had jokingly asked if she wanted to learn how to use it she pouted at him and stuck out her tongue claiming it looked, "too ugly" for women to learn and that if she was ever going to fight she wanted to look graceful while doing so.

This was a week after Freyd had left to the east with his company of soldiers. Traigar had been recalled to the Emperor's palace to discuss the situation at the northern borders. The current Emperor, Cirwyn's brother and Lynefra's uncle, had taken the opportunity to host a private gathering of his immediate family and Traigar's immediate family. He had always doted on his younger sister and he didn't have the same notions of High Humans that most of the High Elves had. It had been one of the few times Traigar had been angry with Lynefra. She had insulted his prized weapon and his familial heritage in front of her mother's side of the family, what normal man wouldn't be angry? In order to keep things from getting out of hand Cirwyn had quickly come to her child's defense saying, "it's true though dear, that huge sword and the way you and Freyd fight depend too much on strength and brute force. Lynefra is a woman, there are other things she'll have to use to fight." She had then smiled at her husband and like the first time they met, his heart had melted and his anger dissipated.

Just because no one sees any god besides Syble with a weapon doesn't mean we don't have weapons or use them, A voice had appeared in Lynefra's head after she had gotten home that very evening.

Lynefra was often amazed at how her head seemed to be the gathering place for all the gods she had ever studied. Loki appeared every so often. His jokes would make her laugh, and he didn't seem nearly as sinister as the legends claimed. He actually found himself at a loss whenever he dealt with another frequent guest of "her mind," It was a woman with dark silk-like hair wearing a lavender colored kimono. She had narrow eyes by High Human and High Elven standards but Lynefra couldn't help but feel some kind of attachment to her. A total of nine equally lavender and fluffy tails always followed the woman around, her name was Kuzunoha. Lynefra often teased her and called her Kuzu for short which drove the woman up a wall.

Lynefra had never seen a person or beast like Kuzu so she often asked her who her people were but she only ever got very cryptic responses. Lynefra had been able to glean some information from Kuzu though, like how she originally was hunted and wasn't a god at all. Something about odd words like "pop culture" and "20th century" would come out of Kuzu's mouth and she would always just smile, covering her mouth with a fan of course, at Lynefra's confusion.

Loki would always claim that Kuzunoha shouldn't bother with "his" future wife which would cause Lynefra to blush furiously even though the conversations were only ever carried out in that odd white space in her mind. She'd only hear bits and peices of the various gods and divine beings arguing and talking though, it was like sometimes she just happened to leave the door to the room open and the voices wafted though. That's how Lynefra heard most of Kuzu's and Loki's arguing.

Seriously child, why don't you like your father's weapon? a gruff voice questioned. Lynefra sighed, closed her eyes and when she opened them, she was in that white space again surrounded by several figures. It was Syble's voice. He was standing in the back with Lystall, just watching Lynefra interact with the other Gods. As powerful as they might be they weren't aware that all of this world's gods and even gods from outside would often visit Lynefra just to pass the time. Lynefra still heard their voices even if they were trying to talk quietly to themselves like those delinquent children her sister always complained about who sat in the back of the classroom. She didn't know it was because of her connection to those two specific deities that she always heard them...always.

"The way father fights is impressive but I want to be more like mom, she's always graceful when she fights. She uses light weapons and parries father's blows well. I think mom is stronger than dad," was Lynefra's reply. The room of gods was filled with laughter. 'They're all laughing at me,' Lynefra frowned internally. 'Assholes.' She might have been a quiet and soft spoken person but she was just as opinionated as her sister, Altresca.

Well, your father is the most powerful thing alive that doesn't have powers given to him by some divine being or another. He also isn't a divine being himself, he could possibly live forever thanks to Syble *cough idiot *cough*, a Loki's voice replied. He was one of the few gods who didn't laugh at her just now, he only smiled in amusement.

mmmm, Kuzu's suggestive voice continued, I do like strong men. if Traigar single-mindedly in love with Cirwyn I'd probably try my luck. Lynny, do you want a little sibling?

Lynefra's eyes took on a cold light to them, Kuzu immediately noticed and quieted down, I was just joking dear. Don't be so angry. Lynefra didn't realize she had just emitted potent killing intent but she did realize she didn't like the idea of her father being with anyone besides her mother. "That's wrong. Big brother would kill dad if he betrayed mom," Lynefra mumbled.

ahahaha, another female voice sounded out. The voice belonged to a supremely beautiful woman whose color palette seemed to change depending on her mood. It was Aphrodite. Kuzunoha, I doubt I could even tempt Traigar, let alone you. Aphrodite then looked at Lynefra, her eyes twinkling. I don't personally use weapons my dear child. I prefer to fight with beauty and I've certainly given you so much that you could be a close second to myself but beauty doesn't disarm all fowl creatures. Some would rather have their way with us instead... her voice trailed off before she flicked her hand dismissively and a very long curved sword appeared next to Lynefra. I had a friend make this. He made my all of my brothers' weapons so I can guarantee the quality. The "brothers" she was talking about were Zues, Posidon, and Hades.

Oho! Aphrodite, how did you get that old codger to make you something? I've been after him for years but he absolutely refuses to make me a weapon! So what if I played a prank on him once or twice...it was only a walking stick and it was only missing for four centuries, Loki chimed in green with envy.

You know Hephaestus has bad legs and you still stole his walking stick, Aphrodite admonished Loki, and before you ask, no, I won't ask him to make a fancy staff for you.

Oh, I never thought I'd see Aphrodite using anything besides her body to curry for someone's favor, Kuzunoha remarked disdainfully.

DID YOU JUST CALL ME A SLUT? Aphrodite was enraged.

Before she could say anything else Lystall's figure in the back flickered and she appeared in between Kuzunoha and Aphrodite. oh come now old things, why must you be so ugly in front of Lynefra. Lystall only spared a glance at Aphrodite and Kuzunoha. They stared daggers at eachother and then at Lystall but both knew Lystall would easily squash them so they buried their anger down inside them.

Lystall picked up the blade delicately and she then looked at Kuzunoha, expecting she would know something about the specific weapon, she then looked at Lynefra, I don't know much about bladed weapons, magic and archery are my strong suit but I feel this weapon isn't one dependant on power, more on finess. It should serve you well. She placed the weapon firmly in Lynefra's hands.

Kuzunoha fanned herself lazily before speaking, It's called an Odachi. This one is larger than most I have seen but it is a weapon from my homeland. Watching an expert use it is like listening to a beautiful symphony...or listening to you play the harp. (Author's note: An Odachi is a japanese longsword. It's larger than a katana and most often depicted being worn on a samurai's back due to its length. Though the weapon is still curved, it predates the katana or the "samurai" sword most of the world is familiar with. I'm not an expert on the history of this specific kind of sword though.)

Syble walked over eagerly. If the other gods didn't make way for him he "lightly" pushed them out of the way...tragically sending them flying out of sight. He looked down at Lynefra for a moment, and then to the Odachi in her hands. Aphrodite, what is its name?

Kamikira, Aphrodite replied. Hephaestus said it means "God killer."

mmm...named by someone who isn't fluent in my language, Kuzunoha said off to the side, No matter, it suits the weapon's character.

When the weapon's name and translation was announced, several murmors of concern started among the gods who had been gathered. Lynefra stayed silent for most of the time and was just about to speak when Syble's voice rang out again. I SEE! He yelled excitedly. Since that's the case you must train well, girl. I look forward to the day we can exchange some notes! Before anyone else could say anything he gave Lynefra a nudge and the noise of her cousins talking filled the air. She jerked her eyes open and felt a weight in her lap. Looking down, she saw Kamikira sitting in her lap.

The incident of Lynefra suddenly having a weapon in the royal palace was somewhat of an uproar among the nobles but no one dare say anything against the favorite neice of the Emperor. Traigar and Cirwyn tried to find out where Lynefra had taken the weapon but the Emperor had said there was no sword like it in the royal armory and left the incident at that.

Lynefra had been given a weapon but she wasn't taught how to specifically use it, fortunately Kets was a natural with any weapon and told her she should just use it as she would a bow in hand to hand combat, only to be mindful that it had an extremely sharp blade so some of the defending maneuvers couldn't actually be used.

It had since been a month since Lyenfra aquired her divine weapon. She kept it with her at all times, for some odd reason the weapon made her feel complete but she didn't disclose this to anyone. She didn't know that any weapon worth its salt would actually choose its own master.

(If you're a foreign reader or someone who isn't familiar with some of the phrases I use, when you say something is "worth its salt" the original saying is "worth its weight in salt." In the past, spices like salt were more precious than gold and it was often used as a form of payment. The reason salt was so valued is because food items such as meat could be heavily salted and its "sell by date" so to speak would be extended out by several weeks...sometimes even months. The more you know )

Lynefra's life at the Dulsan Academy had started two weeks prior and besides orientation and her aptitude tests, she hadn't gone to classes. The dean of the Academy had personally witnessed her magical aptitude tests and watched her inner strength test. She shattered the records for Inner strength and Qi her brother, Freyd, had set, and she completely destroyed her sister, Altresca's, records for magical aptitude. The results had 4 categories for scoring and in order from lowest to highest scores they were: bronze, silver, gold, and Superior rank.

When Freyd had tested, he scored gold for magical aptitude and superior on Qi and inner strength. Altresca's results were the opposite, she scored Superior for magic and Gold for Qi and inner strength. When Lynefra's siblings had tested, they were praised to have been monstrous talents and the skies were the limits for what they could achieve. Elite studends usually scored silver and gold. Children who scored superior in anything would undoubtedly have very poor scores for the other test, whether it be magic or Qi.

The testing procedure was quite simple. For magical aptitude the examinee was required to place their hand on a very large white stone. The stone would sense their mana and change colors accordingly. Bronze coloring would be for Bronze talent, silver was for silver talent, gold was for gold talent, and the stone would turn purple for a superior talent. When Lynefra tried it the stone cycled through all the colors before turning black. The dean and the head examiner thought the stone might have been malfunctioning and as they approached to test the stone shining gold letters had appeared on the stone's surface just above Lynefra's hand reading, "Godling." This, of course, casued a major uproar. Lynefra's inner strength/Qi test was conducted the same way and had the same results. Due to her testing results the dean didn't quite know what to do with Lynefra, especially since she had been tutored extensively by her mother since a young age to control her magic.

"You already have training with magic?" The dean had asked.

"Un." Lynefra with her magical voice projection. Her attitude had changed somewhat since her initial "face to face" meeting with Syble and Lystall. Syble's eyes had caused a mental shift in Lynefra's thought processes. She was colder and more introverted than before but Lystall's coaxing had caused a subtle rise in self confidence. Lynefra was well aware that most people didn't have the gods constantly "bothering" them and attempting to strike up conversations, the situation had caused Lynefra to became a little more confident in herself. Before she had just thought she was crazy and had imaginary friends to make up for her parents' excessive sheltering while she grew up. Syble had told her they weren't sheltering her from the world, they were sheltering the world from her.

"Ah. That's most unusual. Do you happen to know why your esteemed mother would act so irresponsibly?" The dean was once one of Cirwyn's suitors and didn't have a very good impression of the woman who married a High Human.

Vague attacks on the character of her family was Lynefra's bottom line. Before she had her brother, Freyd, who would always jump to the defense of herself, her sister, or her mother. This time she was alone and Syble's eyes had casued an awakening of Lynefra's heart of sorts. Her family assumed it was just puberty and hormones but the gods knew differently. The dean's comment sufficiently enraged Lynefra so to correct the dean's attitude towards her mother, Lynefra decided to release a miniscule amount of mana.

The room started to shake violently and the skies darkened as the winds picked up. Funnel clouds started forming and the tremors of the earth got worse. Lynefra opened her mouth to speak as the dean was looking around in fright. While he was a powerful mage and there were many powerful mages teaching a the academy, forces of nature could still easily stomp them out. "Because my mood can have...adverse effects on the environment," Lynefra's voice carried her innate magical charm, one of the reasons she didn't speak. There was also an edge to her tone that the dean hadn't expected.

He turned his head back to Lynefra, "You're saying you can cause something like this?" He still felt fairly safe. The school had magic barriers to protect the campus from even the most severe freak storms.

"Can cause something like this?" Lynefra replied, her voice sounding cooler as the temperature in the room dropped, "Dean..I am causing this."

"Impossible," The dean started to get angry. He figured Lynefra would be proud, considering her testing results and her family's background but this was a little much. "Student Lynefra, you should refrain from hyperbole." He tried to sound stern but the tremors got more violent and the funnel clouds that had formed had impacted the school's barrier.

"Please." Lynefra waved her hand and the funnel clouds turned more extreme and shattered the schools barrier. High winds started howling across the campus and the talisman for the barrier control burned up in the dean's hand. Lynefra proceeded to give no face to the dean and marched out of his office, then just as suddenly as it had started, the tremors stopped and the winds died down, leaving the prestigious Dulsan Academy's Dean standing in the center of his office in a daze. Lynefra was 15 and she exuded an attractive charm that made the director want to take her to bed with no fear of the consequences, by force if he had to, but her "little" display had left him terrified. So much so that as soon as he left his temporary trance he discovered his leg felt warm and wet. Looking down he realized he had wet himself in fright.

He made up his mind then and there that he would do everything he could to try and supress Lynefra's rise to fame. He had unwittingly offended someone who certainly shouldn't be offended and he had to get rid of her before she fully came into her own. Getting rid of her would be such a waste of talent though, maybe I should just conquer her. The dean thought to himself. She's only fifteen. So what if she has the potential of a god? Magic at close range would still hurt its user and being so small and frail, it should be easy to over power her. The dean filled himself with disgusting thoughts. In his false confidence he had forgotten he was only a High Elf and she was Half High Human. How could the two even compare in terms of physical strength?

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"Oh?" a female voice rang out in a dark room. Her alluring figure could cause the rise and fall of civilizations. She had just finished "playing" with Bis. "It seems I don't need information from you anymore cow. It appears as if my dearest husband has used a bit of his power intentionally for the first time. I guess his shattered soul has started to heal." The woman smirked and then her form slowly turned transparent. Just like that she was gone.

Bis' head fell to the ground and his body was lying several meters away. "Fowl creature." the Ox head said with disgust. "Executioner, bring my head to my body! Someone get a hold of Odin and Zues. See if they can manage to delay Veorful until we get word to Syble!"

"Syble already knows. He's always with the girl," an amused laugh rang out right next to Bis' head as it lifted his head into the air and carried him to his body.

"Loki...how did you? Nevermind. You already let Syble know?"

"Of course not. Syble and Lystall are always with the girl, how could they not notice when she intentionally taps into some of HIS original power? Yama's seal has been breached and the souls have started the final merging process. It should be an interesting show to watch, do you have cable?"