Zac’s arm brushed along Mahon’s flank as he was executing a forward lunge, his arm pointed in front of him. They both ended their moves at the same time and continued on the next one in perfect synchronization.

They moved at a slow but constant pace that required Zac’s full concentration. Mahon stepped back close to Zac’s own foot and pivoted as he timely avoided Zac’s leg, which glided along his back without touching him. The strange dance continued for a dozen minutes before Mahon called the end of the session and Zac collapsed on the ground with a sigh.

“How did I do?”

“You did good. We’re still moving slowly, but there is no real interest in speeding up in Nightmare. It’d be too different from Ratho. But you got most of the moves right and our coordination is way better than three weeks ago, that’s for sure.”

“Great.” Zac muttered, still laying on the floor. “Can we rest now? It’s Faday tomorrow, and you never got enough sleep before Faday.”

In front of his friend’s pleading eyes, Mahon couldn’t prevent an amused smile from creeping up.

“One last exercise and then we rest. Flash me a retreat.”

Zac grumbled, but he executed and gestured to Mahon the symbol for retreat.

“Pincer attack.”

Again, Zac moved his fingers to the correct posture and Mahon nodded.

“Focus left.”

The instructions followed one after the other and after two dozen tries, Mahon was satisfied by his friend's progression and he stopped the exercise.

“Great job, Zac.”

“Thanks. Can we rest now?”

Mahon laughed and acquiesced.

“Yes, go on. I’ll practice a bit on my own. See you tomorrow in Ratho, then.”

“Don’t be late, we need to move early if I want to show you around a bit.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be the one waking you up as always.”

Zac grunted. “You underestimate my will on the morning of Faday.”

Mahon smiled and shook his head in denial as Zac laid comfortably in his meditation stance for the night. After three weeks in Nightmare, he was getting better and better at resting in the inhospitable place.

They had started training in Nightmare since the day the First Red abandoned their training spares against them. Actually, Mahon and Zac had to lose a few times themselves, otherwise they would have ranked up after the first week and meet back with Tiarsus. The noble didn’t deem it worthy to downgrade to beat them and thus they were stuck in that strange status quo where they skipped any fighting against First Red.

Depending on the other team rankings, sometimes there was a First White duo who agreed to fight with them and they could train a bit, but they didn’t fight more than once a day. Thus, they had to come up with some Nightmare training to help them progress in duo fighting.

They couldn’t practice real fighting but Mahon could still pass his knowledge to Zac and train him how he used to be trained to duo. In Nightmare, it was with hand signs and perfect coordination. They would be able to reuse most of what they learned in their fight and the few times they had fought against a First White duo, they had noticed how they had improved. Not yet enough to beat them, but at least they were progressing.

Mahon finished his own stances before joining Zac in meditation. Tomorrow would be his first real interaction with Ratho’s world since he had this memory and he had great hopes for it.

Contrary to Mahon’s expectation, Zac did wake him up. It had been a long time since he had been pulled out of Nightmare like that, but he followed along the weird traction and opened his eyes to his friend's joyful face.

“Wake up, you lazy slug! It’s Faday!”

Mahon pushed him away as he sat down on his bed, rubbing his eyes. Zac was already dressed and in the process of closing his bag. In front of so much zeal, he couldn’t suppress a smile and packed up under his friend’s impatient glare.

Zac led him through Ratho, and already the streets felt more lively than usual. It was hard to tell what exactly differed, but there was that weird atmosphere hanging around. People smiling to each other, good words being exchanged, polite bows from the passerby. It was almost invisible, but after the numerous patrols they had to do in those same streets, Mahon was able to spot the difference. A smile here. A nod there.

He followed Zac to a more residential part of the city. He was walking among nobles, but the feeling of celebration was just the same as a few streets before. Both commoners and nobles were acting warmer and more welcoming, showing how Faday was universal among Ratho’s citizens.

Finally, they reached Zac’s residence, an impressive old mansion in the heart of the district. It was neither imposing nor intimidating, like some old residences could be. Instead, it was pleasant and inviting. The portal was wide open and flags of the different Colors were hanging under the windows. One could even hear a joyful tune coming from one of the open doors and people were everywhere. The place was teeming with life and joyful discussions.

As Mahon was still deciphering the scenery in front of his eyes, Zac pulled him forwards with excitement and walked through the portal.

“Who are all these people? Your servants?”

“What? No, they are all family!”

Mahon looked around with skepticism. There were more than two hundred people crowding in a happy mess outside Zac’s residence.

“Obviously, they are not all here, it’s mainly the younger generations.”

This time Mahon threw an annoyed glance at his friend.

“I’m not joking! Didn’t I tell you before about noble families?”

“Yes. And they all have pretty much one heir and that’s it.”

“Ah, yeah, true. But that’s mainly for the top families! They don’t want to be diluted by their own progeny. They wait a long time before having a child and they have only one, so the succession is not a problem and their assets are never split between their offspring.”

“So how can you have two hundreds people in your family?”

“But that’s mainly for top families that are already swimming in power. For other low nobles, such as us, the strategy is the complete opposite. Strength of the number, united by blood. We don’t have any servants. We are mainly servants of our own family. My own family goes back to twelve generations and with everyone having children it eventually grows to this.”

Zac gestured to the crowd of people in front of them.

“There is one main branch of the family ruled by our ancestors and otherwise everyone is free to do what he wants. Usually it’s either sticking with the family and helping the business grow or starting a new one. With Nightmare, however, things were heavily shaken and my parents opened their own business. Now they are an important part of the family and others often come to work with us.”

Mahon nodded at the explanation. He hadn’t expected anything, but he had still been surprised at the sight, although with Zac’s explanation it actually made plenty of sense.

“And this year it’s their turn to do Faday?”

“Yeah! Well, they organize it every year to be honest, they just love it too much. And they love being surrounded by family and friends. They’re that kind of simple people, a beer, a relative and a friend and they can live happily for the rest of their life. Come now, I’ll introduce you.”

Mahon followed Zac into the crowd and they lost themselves inside. Zac was like a duck to water and smoothly moved from one group to another, calling people by their nicknames. They often were pleased to see him and Mahon met nothing else but warm smiles and genuine laughter. Zac presented him to countless cousins, uncles and aunts and they all shook his hand without another thought.

Mahon even met Zac’s parents, and he came to the quick conclusion that Zac had indeed well described them. His father was built like a bear, a head taller and a shoulder wider than everyone else. And he loved to hug to the death everyone that made the mistake of coming too close to him. His thunderous laugh could be heard from anywhere in the crowd, and he was laughing often.

In comparison, his wife was discreet. She was a beautiful woman, around one hundred and twenty years old, and moved graciously like a real lady. She was following her husband and chitchatted cheerfully with everyone. Mahon talked a bit with her and she was attentive and affectionate. When Zac was released from his father’s embrace, he joined them.

“Mom! Don’t bother my friend too much!”

“Oh, Zac love, you know me, I'm just asking how things are going.”

“That’s what I said! Everything is going great at school. We’re training hard to progress and Mahon, here, helps me a lot with it.”

“That’s great! Thanks for helping my son, Mahon. He can’t help himself but to follow crazy ideas like his life depends on it. Joining the Pine Hill Officer Institute! Who would have believed that?”

Mahon hardly repressed a chuckle, and Zac threw him an annoyed look as he tried to grab his friend’s arm and pull him away from his mother. But the woman was not done with them yet.

“Your father told me you’re now patrolling on the streets, ready to face these Fada fanatics? Isn’t that way too dangerous for students to do?”

“Mom, it’s fine. We’re training to be warriors, not shepherds!”

As his mother eyed him with worry, Mahon felt the need to intervene in his friend’s favor.

“Besides, there are a lot of city guards with us, so we don’t need to worry about anything. In fact, we’re probably safer when patrolling.”

“Oh, that’s good, that’s good. By the way, do you think we have to expect problems with them today? Your father and I were wondering if something could happen.”

Mahon and Zac exchanged a knowing look. They had no patrol today, as it was Faday, but Jorik had warned them all to be vigilant because they expected something from the cult. Either the cult respected the Fada too much to do something today or they somehow decided other people were not reverent enough with Faday and would intervene. Either way, they had to be vigilant and Zac and he had agreed to avoid the subjects of the Fada and nobles at school with Zac’s parents. They had stayed silent a bit too long as Zac’s mother asked, a hint of worry in her tone.

“It’s not safe, is it?”

“No, no, mom, don't worry. We’re not six Colors sure, but it should mainly be secure. Just enjoy the festival and let the guards worry about the rest.”

Zac’s mom looked skeptical, but she eventually nodded.

“Great, now we’ve got to go mom, you can’t monopolize my friend like that!”

“One last question!”

Zac turned back with a sigh to his smiling mother.

“Where are you gonna play tonight? Your father and I were thinking about coming to hear you and who knows, maybe sing along.”

Zac winced and hid a flash of sorrow by looking away for a second. The move didn’t go unnoticed by Mahon, though, who knew exactly why his friend couldn’t play.

“Ah, I’m not sure I’m gonna play tonight, mom. Ah… There are a lot of things to show Mahon and I’m a bit tired from all the training and else…”

“Really? But you always play at Faday! Everything’s alright, love?”

“Yes, yes, mom don’t worry. We need to go now. See you later!”

This time Zac grabbed Mahon firmly and dragged them away from the crowd and his too caring mother.