Ryoka stood in the darkness, heart pounding. She was afraid. Mortally afraid. There were things she feared in the world, and she was about to face one of them.<\/p>\n
She had met Dragons, [Necromancers], Goblin Lords, and yes, each one was terrifying in a way that left scars on the soul. If she closed her eyes, she could still taste the fear. Such memories weren\u2019t nightmarish, though. Nightmares were generally figments of the dreaming mind, and as such, couldn\u2019t come close to the experience of seeing a Dragon face to face.<\/p>\n
Part of the fear was wonder. And when Ryoka sat up at night, heart pounding, seeing the Goblins slaughtering the Stone Spears tribe, feeling her fingers bitten off\u2014<\/em><\/p>\n That was a horror, one that did not disappear for waking. Because a nightmare was only suspicion, paranoia, unfulfilled fear. Goblins existed. The Goblin Lord was coming. So was the [Necromancer], and Ryoka didn\u2019t know what to do.<\/p>\n All these traumas\u2014Ryoka hadn\u2019t even included dead things around a fire, or evil carnivorous goats. With so much to be afraid of in this world, it seemed silly to have this fear.<\/p>\n And yet, it stemmed from a different place than the ordeals she had gone through. This one was personal, intimate, and it came from a time when Ryoka had been in her world. She just couldn\u2019t face it without shuddering inside.<\/p>\n She hated<\/em> visiting friends. Or to be more accurate, she thought she did. She\u2019d never actually done it.<\/p>\n Until now.<\/p>\n Ryoka hesitated outside of the door of the large farmhouse. By her side, Mrsha fidgeted in the snow. She looked plaintively up at Ryoka as her stomach rumbled.<\/p>\n It was dark. That didn\u2019t necessarily mean late; winter being what it was, the sun had gone down before it was time for dinner. And that was why Ryoka was here.<\/p>\n Dinner at Garia\u2019s. She\u2019d asked, and Garia had been only too happy to talk to her parents. And of course, Fals had agreed to come and Ryoka had known it was the only good thing to do as a friend. Still\u2026<\/p>\n It was going to be awkward<\/em>. Ryoka dreaded that. She didn\u2019t know what to do, what to say, how to act, and she had a horrible fear of silence at the dinner table. At other people\u2019s dinner tables, that was. Her naturally antagonistic relationship with her parents had made her accustomed to it at her house, on the rare occasions they all ate together.<\/p>\n But there was no help for it. Ryoka had taken Mrsha from Erin\u2019s inn after Safry and Maran had been fired. She\u2019d gone to Celum and run with the Gnoll carried on her back. There was actually a kind of basket the Gnolls used that could be used to carry their young. It wasn\u2019t exactly easy to run with, but Ryoka had crossed through snow and run down empty roads until she reached a farm a few miles west of Celum.<\/p>\n That had surprised her, learning that Garia lived so close by. But she\u2019d never talked to the girl about her family, aside from the basics. Garia lived on a farm. Her parents ran said farm. That was all Ryoka needed to know.<\/p>\n And the farm did seem like a proper\u2026farm. It was hard to see in the darkness, but Ryoka had spotted a structure very similar to a barn coming in. It seemed quite large to be run by just two people. Maybe they hired help? Anyways, it didn\u2019t fit with what Ryoka had expected. She wasn\u2019t sure what<\/em> she\u2019d expected.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd now we\u2019re here. I should have asked more questions. Like do I bring a gift? I\u2019m pretty sure a hungry Gnoll isn\u2019t a normal hostess gift.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka muttered to herself. By her side, Mrsha looked up imploringly. Ryoka had been standing outside in the snow for a minute<\/em>, which in Mrsha time was probably a year. The Gnoll was clearly hungry\u2014she could probably smell the food inside. She edged over to Ryoka and poked her leg with a claw, looking meaningfully at the door.<\/p>\n \u201cIn a second, Mrsha.\u201d<\/p>\n She just had to steel herself. Okay, say \u2018hi, thanks for having me\u2019. Or did she introduce herself first? Ryoka hesitated. Maybe she should\u2014<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cJust go in, you daft coward!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Someone shouted in her ear. Then Ivolethe kicked Ryoka in the back of the head.<\/p>\n \u201cOw.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka swatted at the Frost Faerie. Ivolethe flew around her and glared at Ryoka.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cStop dithering. I grow bored with every passing moment ye stay out here, and my kind watches <\/span>trees<\/em><\/span> grow for sport.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Frost Faerie stared meaningfully at Ryoka. She\u2019d come with Ryoka on the journey, amusing Mrsha to no end by tormenting Ryoka with flurries of snow, snowballs, snow pitfalls, and other winter-related pranks. Ryoka opened her mouth to snap back, felt another poke, and gave in after a short fight.<\/p>\n \u201cOkay, okay. Stop kicking me\u2014stop poking<\/em> me, Mrsha. I know it\u2019s you. Don\u2019t look around. There\u2019s no one else here! I\u2019m doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n Steeling herself, she raised her hand and knocked loudly at the door. Ryoka had heard muffled sounds from within, and there were lights burning behind the shuttered windows. Now, at her knock, she heard a loud exclamation from within and heavy, running footsteps.<\/p>\n \u201cRyoka!\u201d<\/p>\n The door burst open. Mrsha nearly went flying as Garia flung the door wide and then engulfed Ryoka in a bone-crushing hug.<\/p>\n \u201cGah! Garia!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s so great you\u2019re here! Oh! And Mrsha! I didn\u2019t see you there! Hello! Remember me?\u201d<\/p>\n She let go of Ryoka, allowing the taller girl to breathe, and bent to shake paws with Mrsha. The Gnoll blinked up at Garia solemnly, and then licked her lips as Garia held the door open.<\/p>\n \u201cCome in! My family\u2019s here and Fals came an hour ago. He\u2019s really funny\u2014but you knew that! There\u2019s food ready and snacks\u2014oh. Is uh, she coming?\u201d<\/p>\n Garia had caught sight of Ivolethe. Like all people from this world, she stared a bit to the left of the faerie, looking at Ivolethe\u2019s glamour. She looked apprehensive, no doubt remembering the events at the Runner\u2019s Guild.<\/p>\n \u201cCrap. I uh\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka hesitated. She wanted to let Ivolethe come in, but she was well aware of the chaos the Frost Faerie could cause by herself. And it was dangerous for Ivolethe to be indoors as well, even invited. The iron in Garia\u2019s home would be a problem.<\/p>\n For once, Ivolethe solved the problem by herself. She spoke loudly, making Garia jump. Apparently she could speak to whomever she pleased if the need arose, although she seldom bothered.<\/p>\n \u201cI shall take my leave, Ryoka Griffin. I have things to see, and I don\u2019t wish to listen to your mortal prattling all night.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOh. Uh. Sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n Garia stared at Ivolethe, white-faced. Ivolethe grinned at Ryoka and flicked her eyes inside calculatingly.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, if ye would leave food for me outside, I might consider blessing this place. A proper meal, though. Without iron, mind! And with lots of meat!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll uh, I\u2019ll do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Wide-eyed, Garia watched as Ivolethe flew upwards and then disappeared rapidly into the sky. She looked at Ryoka. Ryoka shrugged.<\/p>\n \u201cYou heard her. Put something out after dinner. Lots of meat. I\u2019ll bet her blessings are worth spit, but it\u2019s better than having her annoyed. Don\u2019t worry either way, though. She\u2019s pretty harmless.\u201d<\/p>\n Garia nodded uncertainly as Mrsha lost patience and padded into the house ahead of the two. Ryoka was about to follow when a snowball spiraled down from above. It hit the back of her head and nearly knocked her flat.<\/p>\n Of course Ryoka had grown used to snowballs thrown by faeries before. She\u2019d been hit by ones with rocks inside them, bits of ice, and so on. But this one had come down at an extreme speed and angle. It had a ton of force behind it. In short, it hurt<\/em>. Ryoka stumbled, turned and raised her middle finger to the sky.<\/p>\n \u201cFuck you!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n A distant laugh answered her. That was coincidentally also when Fals and Garia\u2019s parents came out to meet Ryoka. Their first impression of her was thus an angry Asian girl flipping off the sky, hair covered with snow. As first impressions went\u2026well, Ryoka had had worse.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u2014\u2014<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSo you\u2019re friends with the Winter Sprites, Miss, ah, Ryoka?\u201d<\/p>\n A few minutes later Ryoka was sitting around a table with Mrsha, Garia, Fals, and Mr. and Ms. Strongheart. Of course, no one spoke like that, so they were Wailant and Viceria, the married couple who\u2019d raised Garia.<\/p>\n They\u2026weren\u2019t what Ryoka had expected. For one thing, well, they didn\u2019t look the part. Not that Ryoka had expected a pair of Southern-accented people with hats and overalls, but she had considered the standards of farming in this world fairly below hers. She\u2019d been prepared to meet a fairly poor couple, living in a village and farming a patch of land that might be owned by a [Lord] or other kind of landowner.<\/p>\n Instead, she met the oddest pair imaginable. The father, Wailant, had huge, tattooed and scarred arms revealed by his sleeveless cotton shirt. It had taken Ryoka several minutes just to process the incongruity of his appearance. She managed to break down the weirdness into several layers.<\/p>\n Firstly, his arms were muscled. Not surprising on a [Farmer], and Garia was certainly strong as all get-out from her years working. But the tattoos? One was of a twisting tentacle holding a ship, the other of some kind of horrific fish with a gaping maw. The third, well, Ryoka was just glad that Mrsha was more interested in her food than in Wailant.<\/p>\n And his shirt! That was another weird part of him. Because despite wearing a sleeveless shirt, it was far from a poor quality cloth. The shirt itself was a light blue gilded with gold. It had a flowing edge around the bottom and sides reminiscent of a golden wave.<\/p>\n And the scars. Unless farming in this world involved fighting mutant rabbits with teeth like swords, Wailant had gotten the savage scars that covered his arms somewhere else. He had a particularly nasty circular wound\u2014from an arrow, perhaps\u2014on the side of his stubbled face.<\/p>\n In short, he looked as little like a [Farmer] as Ryoka could imagine. And his wife, Viceria?<\/p>\n She was a [Mage]. She wore the robe, spoke like Pisces when he wasn\u2019t being obnoxiously wordy, and Ryoka could sense the magic about her. She had long, flowing hair tied back in a braid\u2014light brown, contrasting against Wailant\u2019s black hair. She was slim, elegant.<\/p>\n Ryoka sat at a dinner table with the two of Garia\u2019s parents as she ate, filling her plates with roast yams, a hot egg-and-pork casserole, spooned potatoes and some kind of weird, soft and sour vegetable called Tashal, and tried to make conversation.<\/p>\n \u201cUh, yes. That\u2019s right. Her name\u2019s Ivolethe. She\u2019s ah\u2026a friend.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh? I wasn\u2019t aware they had names. Garia told me about seeing your friend\u2019s true form. I had no idea they were using a glamour at the time, but that would<\/em> explain their other abilities. How did you meet her?\u201d<\/p>\n Viceria tapped her fingers together as she studied Ryoka over her plate. She was using silver\u2026silverware. In fact, the plates were costly ceramics. Ryoka carefully chewed down a bite of Tashal\u2014it really was good with potatoes, like sour cream\u2014before replying.<\/p>\n \u201cI ah, attracted their notice. Those little b\u2014those pests followed me for days, pulling pranks on me, throwing snow at my head, and so on. In the end I managed to impress them a bit, and Ivolethe seemed to like me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo you have one of those devils following you?\u201d<\/p>\n Sitting next to Fals and Viceria, Wailant snorted. He folded his arms as Mrsha tried to fill her mouth with food. The Gnoll was happily consuming everything she could reach, and her plate kept being filled by Wailant, who seemed to enjoy watching Mrsha eat. She and Garia were the only things he seemed to approve of\u2014Fals and Ryoka were getting the third degree.<\/p>\n \u201cThose pests can wreck a farm in a day. I remember one of the farmers south of here lost an entire spring harvest when they covered his fields with eight feet of snow! He had to hire [Diggers] to shift it while all the other snow had long melted away!\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka coughed awkwardly and saw Garia wince. Her friend was sitting on her right, next to Fals, and she looked guilty as her father stared hard at Ryoka.<\/p>\n \u201cI uh, didn\u2019t know about that. I\u2019m sorry for your friend\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy friend? I hated that bastard. I\u2019m glad the faeries covered his fields. Served him right. But your friend\u2019s not going to do it to my <\/em>farm now, is she?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo. Absolutely not. Ivolethe doesn\u2019t generally cause trouble\u2014she just pulls pranks.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut she can do quite a lot on her own, can\u2019t she? Garia told us about what happened to the Runner\u2019s Guild in Celum.\u201d<\/p>\n Viceria gazed at Ryoka, making the Runner girl cough. She was saved by Fals, who interrupted with a placating smile.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry to say the Runner\u2019s Guild\u2014and most of the people within\u2014probably deserved it in that case, Miss Viceria. I haven\u2019t seen Ryoka\u2019s little friend doing anything else like that. In fact, I\u2019d consider someone who\u2019s familiar with snow and such an asset.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh. So that\u2019s why Miss Ryoka\u2019s had all those lucrative contracts? I wanted to know how she got deliveries for gold\u2014hundreds of gold coins or so Garia\u2019s said\u2014while she\u2019s still running deliveries for silver and copper. Is it all because of your Frost Faerie friend?\u201d<\/p>\n Garia sat up in her seat, flushing scarlet and glaring at her father.<\/p>\n \u201cDad<\/em>. I don\u2019t think Ryoka is\u2014don\u2019t embarrass me!\u201d<\/p>\n Wailant Strongheart was unmoved. He was giving Ryoka a look she wished she could bottle and use on everyone she didn\u2019t like. Coming from him, it was, well, hard not to flinch. Ryoka met Wailant\u2019s green eyes, not backing down.<\/p>\n \u201cI got those contracts because I was in the right place at the right time. I didn\u2019t take them from anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo you say.\u201d<\/p>\n Wailant shifted, uncrossing one arm. Ryoka could see every muscle in his right arm shift from the motion. Sitting across from her, Fals leaned back as one of Wailant\u2019s arms flexed, making the fish tattoo seem to swim. He grinned a bit desperately and nodded at Ryoka.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re ah, all City Runners here, Mister Wailant, Miss Viceria. No one takes advantage of each other if we can help it. We\u2019re a team. Ryoka just happens to be one of the best Runners in our Guild. In truth, I wouldn\u2019t take half the requests she does. Running through the High Passes? I\u2019d rather play tag with a Creler, or paint myself red and run through the streets of Celum naked.\u201d<\/p>\n That got a laugh. Garia giggled and Wailant barked out a guffaw and slapped Fals on the back. Ryoka winced as she heard the crack<\/em> of flesh on flesh. Fals kept grinning, although it looked like he was now struggling not to cry out in pain.<\/p>\n He was being charming, funny, and talkative. At first Ryoka had assumed it was the usual Fals, but she\u2019d quickly realized that this was a defense tactic. Keeping Garia\u2019s parents entertained was far more preferable to having them ask piercing questions. Ryoka wondered how he\u2019d survived an hour already.<\/p>\n To change the subject, Ryoka cast about the table. Hostile parents aside, Garia\u2019s house was really very nice. Extraordinarily nice. Again, Ryoka had expected a family that conformed to medieval economics, which was to say, dirt poor. But everything in the Strongheart family home looked well-made and some things looked expensive. They had a bookshelf<\/em> filled with books for crying out loud! Ryoka chose that as the subject and nodded at it.<\/p>\n \u201cI see you have quite a collection of books. I uh, didn\u2019t know that [Farmers] were so well read. I\u2019ve tried buying books myself, but they\u2019re as expensive as healing potions, some of them. How did you come by this collection?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re humble folk, Miss Ryoka. That doesn\u2019t mean we\u2019re stupid. Or poor, for that matter.\u201d<\/p>\n How did she manage to put her foot further into her mouth? Ryoka saw Garia burying her head in her hands as Wailant pushed back his chair. There was nothing poor or humble about the way he brought out several of the books for Ryoka and Fals to admire. She stared at the covers, noting several from her time perusing Magnolia\u2019s library.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a magnificent collection.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course it is! I\u2019ve read them all. Viceria here knows several [Shopkeepers] and [Merchants] who sell to [Lords] and [Ladies]. Of course, a poor family of [Farmers] can\u2019t afford more than one or two first-edition tomes. Read all of these, have you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot all of them.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka found herself being quizzed aggressively on the books she had<\/em> read as the dinner continued. All the while, she saw Garia grow more and more anxious. She kept breaking into her father\u2019s flow, trying to change the subject.<\/p>\n \u201cSo uh, does anyone want dessert? Mrsha? Why don\u2019t I uh, get it? And you, Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n She practically dragged her father out of his chair and into the kitchen. Mrsha followed, waddling a bit with her full belly and standing upright so the food wouldn\u2019t come out if she fell over. Fals took that moment to flee for the outhouse, leaving Ryoka in a moment\u2019s reprieve.<\/p>\n Well, Viceria was still there. Ryoka eyed her across the table and saw the woman smile.<\/p>\n \u201cI apologize for my husband, Miss Ryoka.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s uh, fine. Call me Ryoka. Why do I get the feeling that he doesn\u2019t like me?\u201d<\/p>\n Viceria laughed softly. She looked like she was ten years younger than she was, which was, according to Garia, in her thirties. Ryoka was having a hard time imagining her giving birth to Garia. Oh, the features were there, the hair color was the same, but the body shape\u2014no.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that it\u2019s because you look a lot like the girls that used to give Garia a hard time when she was growing up. You have their look, and I think Wailant\u2019s concerned you might be taking advantage of Garia. I won\u2019t pretend I didn\u2019t have the same thoughts when I met young Fals, but he seems decent enough.\u201d<\/p>\n That clarified some things. Ryoka sat back in her chair, hearing Garia\u2019s not-so-quiet argument with her father about much the same subject in the kitchen.<\/p>\n \u201cOh? What do I look like?\u201d<\/p>\n Viceria shrugged, looking slightly bitter.<\/p>\n \u201cTall, beautiful, thin. It\u2019s not as if Garia doesn\u2019t look lovely herself, but she thinks she should look more like me, when she inherited her father\u2019s build. And of course, her first class was [Farmer], not [Mage]\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWait, her class?\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka frowned. Viceria looked surprised.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course. Don\u2019t you know? Some classes dictate the way in which we, well, look. I am a [Mage], for instance. Working with magic means I tend to look younger than I really am\u2014of course, there are spells that help as well. But [Mages] tend towards thinness. We burn too much energy for most of us to gain weight. Whereas classes like [Farmer], well, anyone who grows up with that class tends to grow a lot larger than say, someone who was raised as a [Clerk].\u201d<\/p>\n Was that really true? Ryoka frowned as she tried to unpack this. The way you looked could tie to your class? She could buy the bit about [Mages] burning energy, but surely broad shoulders were in Garia\u2019s genes, not a byproduct of her class. Then again, this was a world governed by Skills. Why couldn\u2019t there be a passive effect that did just that?<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t know about classes like that. But Garia and I are, well, friends. She made my acquaintance and we\u2019ve hung out. I wouldn\u2019t ever take advantage of her. She\u2019s a good person.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe know. But while she doesn\u2019t say it, we\u2019ve heard her talking about people less kind than you two are. We\u2019ve met some of them before, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Viceria shook her head, looking troubled.<\/p>\n \u201cSome girls seem to think they\u2019re better than Garia just because they weigh less, or they can run faster. Apparently, Garia isn\u2019t well thought of in the Runner\u2019s Guild.\u201d<\/p>\n The same in every world. Ryoka gritted her teeth. She took a breath, and then looked Viceria in the eye, speaking clearly.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Garia\u2019s worth twice as much as other City Runners. She\u2019s had my back in two fights so far, and both times she didn\u2019t hesitate to help me, even when we were fighting a group of adventurers.\u201d<\/p>\n The woman blinked at her.<\/p>\n \u201cGaria? In a fight?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n There was an exclamation from the kitchen. Ryoka turned her head and saw Wailant, holding a pot full of custard. Behind him, Garia buried her face in her hands.<\/p>\n Wailant put the pot on the table and turned to face Ryoka. He wasn\u2019t frowning, although he did loom a bit.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you telling me my girl was in a fight?\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka leaned back a bit. This was going south. She wondered if she could jump out a window with Mrsha if it came to it.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Mister Wailant. It was my fault. She was defending me after some idiots picked a fight and\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow\u2019d she do?\u201d<\/p>\n Wailant stared at Ryoka. She froze. He stared at her expectantly, as did Viceria.<\/p>\n \u201cDid she knock anyone down? How many folks were in it? Did she kick anyone in the balls? I told her, that\u2019s the way to start and end a fight in a hurry.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDad!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka stared at Wailant. She felt like she was running on the wrong track\u2014she\u2019d felt that way the instant she\u2019d met Garia\u2019s parents. But for the first time, she felt like she could see the right way to talk to him. So she sat up in her chair, smiled a bit, and nodded at Garia, who was red as an apple.<\/p>\n \u201cOne punch, Mister Wailant. She took out a Bronze-rank adventurer with one hit. She probably would have done the same to his friends, but the Watch broke things up before we could get to it.\u201d<\/p>\n The fight at the inn with the adventurers that Persua had brought came out over dessert. Ryoka sat at the table, eating lightly spiced custard while Mrsha licked two bowls clean and then lapsed into a food coma. Fals came back, and Garia covered her burning face as her two parents heard both times when Garia had stepped up in a physical way to defend Ryoka.<\/p>\n The mood in the room had changed. Wailant was nodding with fierce, fatherly pride and Viceria was smiling as they heard how Garia had knocked out her opponents with one hit on both occasions.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s my girl. One solid punch is all you need. Once the other fellow\u2019s on the floor, a few good kicks and they\u2019re out for good.\u201d<\/p>\n He jabbed out with a fast punch to demonstrate, nearly clipping Fals. Ryoka grinned at him as Viceria filled her bowl with some more custard.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re pretty proud of Garia for fighting. I would have thought you\u2019d be worried.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWorried? Hah! Our daughter\u2019s got [Enhanced Strength]! At her age, no less! She could knock out an ox with her fists if she wanted to.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDad! Stop! Come on!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t doubt she could. But Garia\u2019s no fighter. She\u2019s a [Runner].\u201d<\/p>\n Wailant ignored his daughter as she tried to kick him underneath the table.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, but she\u2019s my <\/em>daughter, and that mean\u2019s she\u2019s got a warrior\u2019s blood in her veins. She\u2019s more than a match for a green-ass adventurer who doesn\u2019t know the handle of his sword from the blade.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka eyed Wailant, askance.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought you were a [Farmer].\u201d<\/p>\n He grinned at her, suddenly chummy.<\/p>\n \u201cI am. But I used to fight for a living.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cReally now?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh yes. I was a [Sailor]. Haven\u2019t you seen the tattoos? I used to sail across the world, to all five continents!\u201d<\/p>\n He flexed one bicep to show Ryoka the image of the tentacle grabbing the ship. She\u2019d hardly missed it, but all the pieces suddenly fell into place. Well, some of them at least.<\/p>\n Fals blinked at Wailant.<\/p>\n \u201cYou were a [Sailor]? How\u2019d you end up here?\u201d<\/p>\n Wailant opened his mouth, but his wife cut in.<\/p>\n \u201cMy husband\u2019s not a sailor, Fals. I\u2019m sorry to say that\u2019s the little lie he likes to tell. He did sail, but he was hardly an honest man.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, Dad. Tell the truth!\u201d<\/p>\n Garia glared at Wailant, who protested.<\/p>\n \u201cI was a [Sailor]!\u201d<\/p>\n Two pairs of female eyes stared at him. He sighed.<\/p>\n \u201cNo? Fine. I was a [Pirate]. Happy?\u201d<\/p>\n Both Ryoka and Fals\u2019 mouths dropped open. Mrsha rolled over in her seat, oblivious, but suddenly Wailant the [Farmer] became someone else. He sat back in his chair, the custard forgotten and started telling the two Runners about his past.<\/p>\n \u201cOh yes, I was a [Pirate]. What, you think I got these scars from pulling up potatoes? Well, this one I got from killing a Creler. Nasty bastards\u2014as bad as anything at sea, that\u2019s the truth! But I took my first step on the deck. My family was from Baleros\u2014yes, they were [Pirates] too. It\u2019s in the blood, not that I knew them. My father died at sea before I was born and my mother died in a battle when I was five. I had two brothers and a sister\u2014can\u2019t tell you where they are. But I learned to fight and got my share of the plunder as soon as I could use a sword.\u201d<\/p>\n The world was a funny place. Ryoka knew you could meet all kinds of people in her world, people who lived in quiet places who had all kinds of amazing stories to tell. But this? Wailant had been a [Pirate]. He\u2019d sailed under a ruthless [Pirate Captain], taken down enemy ships, fought in the worst storms against monsters, even battled with a group of Gold-rank adventurers who\u2019d been after his ship!<\/p>\n He\u2019d been a Level 27 [Pirate] when he quit sailing for good and found an honest ship headed for Izril. Not because he\u2019d lost his ship or run into any bad luck either\u2014he\u2019d retired as wealthy as any Gold-rank adventurer. But he hadn\u2019t stayed at sea like the rest of his crew.<\/p>\n \u201cI got sick of rocking ships, the damp, salt in my hair and thousands of glowing eyes watching me from the waters on bad nights. Out there in the depths of the sea\u2026I could have become a [Storm Sailor], or a [Captain] of my own ship had I wanted to. But I chose land instead. Do I have regrets? Perhaps. I could have had a ship of my own, but you see, I knew in my heart that I was making the right choice\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Both Garia and her mother rolled their eyes as Wailant went on. They\u2019d heard this story a thousand times, probably inflated no end over the years. But Ryoka and Fals were entranced. Fals broke in as Wailant waxed poetical about nights spent on deck, staring up at the stars.<\/p>\n \u201cHow\u2019d you end up around here though, so far from the sea?\u201d<\/p>\n The man grimaced.<\/p>\n \u201cPracticality. The vast amount of my fortune went to clearing the bounty on my head. What I had left I used to buy a farm, and then to pay for food and supplies for the first few years before I leveled up enough to make a living with my own hands. I bought it far inland because I was sick of seeing water\u2014and because I had more than a few enemies who would like to see me dead. I thought a farm would be nice and relaxing\u2014and it was, after I learned how to manage it!\u201d<\/p>\n The first few years had not been kind to Wailant, but he\u2019d persevered, not shying from the work.<\/p>\n \u201cPlus, I had my advantages. I couldn\u2019t figure out how to make the damn oxen plough a straight line for months, but I didn\u2019t have to stick together in a village, afraid of monsters at night. If a band of Goblins came roaming around, or a Creler tried to dig a nest in my lands, I\u2019d kill it with this!\u201d<\/p>\n He had a cutlass, shimmering with an enchantment that he apparently kept with him while farming at all times. He\u2019d looted it as his share of treasure long ago, and it had saved his life more than once on the farm.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s also how I met Viceria. She was a Wistram graduate, trying to study the Blood Fields when she ran into a group of Carn Wolves. I found her escort dead and killed two of the damn things before the pack ran off. She and I got to talking, and well, nights are cold on a farm.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEw! Dad!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n Garia shoved her father, sending him tumbling across the room. He cursed like a sailor\u2014or pirate\u2014as he got to his feet, and Ryoka sat back in her chair. That explained\u2026a lot.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s incredible. And you\u2014Miss Viceria\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJust call me Viceria. That\u2019s right. I stayed. I\u2019m an expert at magic involving plants. I\u2019m no [Geomancer], but rather a [Green Mage]. That\u2019s different from a [Druid], by the way. I\u2019m a respectable level in that, but I found being a [Farmer] far easier than competing at Wistram. There\u2019s not much respect for disciplines involving growing, or there wasn\u2019t when I lived there.\u201d<\/p>\n And so, the incredible farming duo had been born. Neither Wailant nor Viceria were specialists in the [Farmer] class like the Level 30 [Farmers] who could supply an entire city with produce, but they had their own skillsets that helped a great deal.<\/p>\n \u201cMost farms, well, they need two dozen farmhands just to harvest and guards and so on. Even a high-level [Farmer] has to be wary of bandits and monsters. I don\u2019t have that issue, and my wife has the spells to grow crops faster than normal, as good as a Skill! Between the two of us, we supply a good deal of produce for Celum. Enough to live comfortably on and I can always hire a few brats to take in the harvest when it comes time for it. Besides, the farming life\u2019s fairly quiet, and I enjoy not fighting for my life every other day.\u201d<\/p>\n Wailant and Viceria smiled as they looked at each other. Garia looked away, blushing, but Ryoka felt a bit envious. Wailant had seen the kraken\u2014literally, apparently\u2014and walked away. He\u2019d found a way to live that was satisfying and he\u2019d found someone to share it with.<\/p>\n She took a sip of mulled wine. By this point, everyone was sitting around a dim fire. Mrsha was curled up next to it, snoring, and Garia was yawning. As Fals and Ryoka chatted to her parents, Garia grew sleepier, until she had to excuse herself for the night.<\/p>\n \u201cI might have to do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n Fals admitted after a jaw-cracking yawn. He stood up as Viceria offered to show him to the room they\u2019d prepared for him. She, Garia, and Fals left as Wailant sat by Ryoka, staring at the fire. Viceria came back alone, and that left Ryoka with the two older Stronghearts.<\/p>\n She didn\u2019t mind. It was odd, but in the course of an evening, Wailant and Viceria had turned from intimidating, antagonistic parents into, well, people. Ryoka even found herself liking Wailant\u2019s style of dressing. Apparently he couldn\u2019t live with sleeves after having bared arms all his life.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an incredible place you have here, Wailant, Viceria. I\u2019m glad Garia\u2019s got such great parents.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHah. Great parents would be able to help their daughter. But she\u2019s a [Runner] and we\u2019ve no idea if she\u2019s safe or in danger half the time. It\u2019s only when she comes back that we know she\u2019s safe, and she does that too seldom.\u201d<\/p>\n Wailant sat with a stiff drink in his hand. He\u2019d already downed six, having an incredibly high tolerance for alcohol, but he was in the depressed stage. Viceria sat with wine by the fire, glancing between it and at Ryoka.<\/p>\n \u201cShe says she\u2019s been doing well. But I\u2019ve heard her stories and I hear you have something to do with helping her out.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJust a few things here and there. Nothing much.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka shook her head. Wailant stared at her, tapping his fingers.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not what she says. She came back with potions at her belt a few weeks ago. That was thanks to you. We offered her coin for it before, but she\u2019s too proud\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe won\u2019t let us buy her magical artifacts, or buy her things ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n That surprised Ryoka. She would have thought Garia would have taken any chance to get ahead, but her parents shook their heads when asked.<\/p>\n \u201cMy daughter\u2019s as stubborn as I am. She wanted to fit in, not get ahead. I told her the best Runners have all the advantages they can get, but she thought it would make her too different, that it was cheating.<\/em> I told her, on the sea you cheat if you can do it! Put a hole in the enemy\u2019s hull, climb onto their decks and stab them while they\u2019re sleeping! But Garia\u2019s not like me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s not a warrior, you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n Wailant shook his head, looking unhappy.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d have liked her to be. It needn\u2019t be her class, but it would set my mind at ease if she could defend herself. Only, she\u2019s got no talent with a sword.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOr magic.\u201d<\/p>\n Viceria nodded as she traced around the rim of her cup.<\/p>\n \u201cShe can\u2019t use a spear\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOr bow\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I wouldn\u2019t bet a Drowned Man\u2019s eye against her hitting anything but a tree with a hatchet. Our daughter\u2019s strong and tough, but she\u2019s too clumsy to be a warrior, if she had the temperament for that class to begin with. Which she doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n Wailant downed his cup, tossed it aside. Viceria gave him an accusing look which he ignored. He stared at Ryoka.<\/p>\n \u201cYou say she punched out a man in armor? That\u2019s good. But fists aren\u2019t enough against swords or arrows, let alone magic. A brawl\u2019s one thing, but [Bandits]? How can I rest easy knowing she might be jumped by them? Sea\u2019s wrath, she has<\/em> been attacked before. Someday I\u2019ll get a letter from the Runner\u2019s Guild, and then\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n He trailed off, looking tired and worried. In that moment, he looked like every parent Ryoka had ever known. Like her parents. She felt something squeeze at her heart.<\/p>\n \u201cGaria\u2019s brave. She has people looking out for her. Fals, for instance, and I try when I\u2019m in the area. If fighting\u2019s the problem, maybe she can carry artifacts?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe. But an artifact\u2019s only good if you can use it. A Skill lasts, and there\u2019s the instinct of a warrior as well. I could be sure of myself if I was jumped, but if someone took her by surprise\u2014salt and shores, I\u2019m not half as strong as I would be on a ship, but I wish I could give that to Garia. Some way to dodge arrows. Or a ring! But that costs coin and the farm doesn\u2019t earn enough for us to buy an artifact that expensive\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka stared at the fire. A girl who couldn\u2019t fight and two parents who worried about her. It was a story for this world. In any other world, Garia could live while relying on law enforcement, but here the law ended at the gates, and sometimes didn\u2019t even work within a city. What could you give someone who couldn\u2019t use a sword? Without the ability to use magic?<\/p>\n The Runner girl stared at Wailant\u2019s arm, and then at her hand. She made a fist, and stared at it.<\/p>\n \u201cOh.\u201d<\/p>\n Both Wailant and Viceria looked at Ryoka. She blinked at her hand. It felt like forever since she\u2019d\u2026she stood up and threw a punch.<\/p>\n \u201cNice one.\u201d<\/p>\n Wailant watched Ryoka as she punched and then threw a hook. She stood differently, moved differently than Wailant as she did. He\u2019d punched like a boxer, but Ryoka kept her hands higher, at head-level, and further apart, bouncing on her feet. She was moving according to a style, and Wailant, used to fighting, saw it.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you a [Fistfighter], or some kind of [Brawler]?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot quite. I learned how to fight back home. Only, it\u2019s not a Skill I learned, but a style. A way of fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka jumped and kicked. Viceria made a sound. Wailant stared.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve seen idiots do that when fighting. Jumping around before they get cut to ribbons. But that looked like it could have done damage.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot to a monster. Not with my strength.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka shook her head, remembering trying to fight a Carn Wolf. She punched and kicked, dodging back from an imaginary foe. Her muscles protested a bit. How long had it been since Ryoka had practiced?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cSo why learn how to fight like that?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt helps. Against humans, people with knives. I could defend myself. But I\u2019m not strong enough. If I throw a punch, it won\u2019t knock down a Carn Wolf. Or a Minotaur.\u201d<\/p>\n She paused, felt a pang and hung her head. Calruz. Wailant nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cMinotaurs can\u2019t be beat with bare hands. I\u2019ve seen their black ships too many times. They\u2019re deadly at sea and on land. No sane [Pirate] goes near their islands. But learning to fight like that\u2026there\u2019s some grace to it. Better than I do in a fight at a bar.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah. Only it won\u2019t save me from a monster attack. That\u2019s what my legs are for.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka turned to Wailant and Viceria. She tapped her arm.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not strong enough, like I said. If I punch with my\u2026style, I can be sure I\u2019ll hit someone. However, even with a good punch it won\u2019t do enough. Not from me. But if someone else punched like that, someone who could knock an ox out with a punch\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n The former [Pirate] and [Green Mage] stared at Ryoka. Wailant sat up. Viceria smiled.<\/p>\n \u201cYou think Garia could learn to fight with her fists? She\u2019s never learnt any other way of fighting. She doesn\u2019t have the knack for it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, well, martial arts isn\u2019t just about talent. It\u2019s something everyone can learn. It just takes practice.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMartial arts. Is that what it\u2019s called?\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka shook her head, smiling.<\/p>\n \u201cNo. This is called Muay Thai Kickboxing. And this\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n She took a different stance, threw a different punch.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2014is called Karate. It might be better for Garia. I don\u2019t know. I thought about teaching some techniques when I saw her in that fight at the inn. I never got around to it. But if you\u2019re worried, I could give her some lessons. She could practice herself if she takes to it.\u201d<\/p>\n She looked at Wailant and Viceria. It was just a thought, something to reassure them. The two parents looked at each other, speaking without words and then Wailant stood up. He cracked his neck, and then beckoned at Ryoka.<\/p>\n \u201cTry me, then. Go ahead. I\u2019ve a few drinks, but if you can knock me down\u2026you don\u2019t have a class, do you?\u201d<\/p>\n She grinned at him.<\/p>\n \u201cNot a one.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGaria said that. I couldn\u2019t believe someone would be that stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cReally? Then let me show you\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka twisted, kicked. Wailant dodged back. He laughed, surprised, as Ryoka hopped backwards. She grinned at him, beckoned.<\/p>\n There was something here. In this room, as Viceria told them to not damage the furniture and Ryoka tagged Wailant with a kick that sobered him up and he showed her how fast a former [Pirate] could punch.<\/p>\n In the end, they stopped with bruises and light hearts. Ryoka found herself being slapped on the back by Wailant, and talking with Viceria. She smiled, and carried Mrsha to a room upstairs to sleep. She thought, just for an instant, that it was strange. She\u2019d expected awkwardness, dreaded meeting Garia\u2019s parents, and gotten off to the worst start possible. But suddenly\u2014<\/p>\n She was enjoying herself.<\/p>\n Fancy that. Then Ryoka slept. The next day, she began teaching Garia how to punch. And Ivolethe\u2014<\/p>\n Began teaching her how to use magic.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u2014\u2014<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Ryoka Griffin stood on a hill, facing the wind. She breathed in deeply, and felt the chill of the morning\u2019s air blow through her hair. She stared into the open sky and felt the world pressing down at her.<\/p>\n The clouds were impossibly high overhead. The wind rushed about her, invigorating Ryoka, filling her with quiet contemplation. Her breathing slowed. Her pulse settled. She cleared her mind, became still, meditative. Her mind grew tranquil as Ryoka absorbed nature\u2014<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNot like <\/span>that<\/em><\/span>, fool! What are ye doing?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Someone threw snow into Ryoka\u2019s face. She spluttered, opened her eyes, and scowled at Ivolethe.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat the hell was that for? I\u2019m trying to sense the wind!\u201d<\/p>\n Ivolethe buzzed around Ryoka\u2019s head, an angry blue butterfly with attitude.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhat kind of an idiot does that with their eyes closed? I told ye, to learn faerie magic, ye must first sense the wind.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cRight. And that\u2019s all <\/em>you said. I\u2019m here for a lesson. So tell me, how do I sense the wind?\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka folded her arms and scowled. Ivolethe looked exasperated.<\/p>\n The two were standing on a snowy hilltop near the Strongheart farm. Ryoka had woken up to a very enjoyable breakfast, talked with Garia about learning martial arts and gotten the girl\u2019s wary agreement. She\u2019d taught the girl how to stand and punch and Garia had seemed willing to give it a try, even though she\u2019d giggled and not taken it as seriously as Ryoka would have liked. But Fals had tried it as well, and that had made Garia grow more focused.<\/p>\n Everything had been going swimmingly, in short, until Ivolethe appeared and demanded that Ryoka start learning faerie magic. And that too was great\u2014in fact, Ryoka was excited by the prospect.<\/p>\n Only it appeared Ivolethe\u2019s methods of teaching weren\u2019t as straightforward as Ryoka\u2019s. She\u2019d taken Ryoka to this hill and told her to sense the wind.<\/p>\n \u201cHow does it work?\u201d<\/p>\n Ivolethe sighed gustily. She flew in front of Ryoka, folding her tiny pale-blue transparent arms and pointed.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYe see the wind?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cUh, maybe. I see air.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka stared at a blank patch the faerie was pointing at, which was probably what Ivolethe meant. Ivolethe smiled.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cGood! Now follow it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n She waited. Ryoka stared at the empty patch of air and then glanced at Ivolethe.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you mean, \u2018follow it\u2019? There\u2019s nothing to see!\u201d<\/p>\n Ivolethe slapped a hand to her face, making a sound like breaking icicles. She flew to Ryoka\u2019s face and punched the girl in the eye. Ryoka shouted and swung wildly.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cDid I tell ye to <\/span>stop<\/em><\/span> looking? Look at the wind, you bleeding idiot!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s nothing to see!\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>Exactly! <\/em><\/span>So look at nothing and see where it goes!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Ivolethe screamed in Ryoka\u2019s ear. Ryoka opened her watering eye and glared at the faerie. The faerie glared back.<\/p>\n \u201cLet me get this straight. You\u2019re telling me to stare at something invisible.\u201d<\/p>\n Ivolethe rolled her eyes.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOf <\/span>course.<\/em><\/span> To control the wind, to know it, ye must see it. And it is invisible! Of course it is! Otherwise you mortals would have already seen it!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBut how can I see if\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka guarded her face as Ivolethe swooped at her again. The faerie flew past her and spoke into her ear.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>Look<\/em><\/span>, fool. Look at what is invisible and see it. With your eyes. With your soul. Look and see. That is all I need tell you. Look. Ye have done it once, on the magic coach.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Ryoka remembered. She\u2019d seen Ivolethe flying, and seen the wind, followed it for one glorious second. She didn\u2019t remember how<\/em> she\u2019d done it, but\u2026she nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cFine. I\u2019ll try.\u201d<\/p>\n Ivolethe nodded, still looking impatient. Ryoka took a deep breath and stared ahead. Watch the wind. See it.<\/p>\n She saw nothing. The wind blew, and it went still. It blew again, but aside from some snow caught up by it, there was nothing to see. Nothing to look at. Ryoka struggled to look at the wind, but she always<\/em> looked at the wind, didn\u2019t she? It was always there.<\/p>\n Invisible. Unseen. How was she supposed to see it? Ryoka tried adjusting the way she looked at the world, focusing her eyes, tracing an imaginary path the wind took. Nothing worked.<\/p>\n Five minutes passed. Ryoka searched the air for something she couldn\u2019t see, couldn\u2019t imagine seeing, and Ivolethe floated in the air beside her, making discontented faces. She yawned hugely, and Ryoka gritted her teeth.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cDid ye? Good. Your eyes are working, then. Now see <\/span>this.<\/em><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Ivolethe yawned wider, showing Ryoka the inside of her mouth, pale red ice and sharp teeth. She flipped one wing as Ryoka growled to herself.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHurry up! I\u2019m bored!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m trying to learn<\/em>. You\u2019re supposed to be my teacher! Shouldn\u2019t you have some patience and let me try to figure this out?\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNo, fool! Because if ye were going to get it, you\u2019d have already gotten it by now! Magic isn\u2019t something you can keep trying over and over!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s because you\u2019re not giving me any instructions. If you want me to see the wind, tell me how in more detail.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka snapped, but Ivolethe just flipped herself over so she was staring at Ryoka upside down. She spoke, suddenly serious.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI cannot.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhy not? Because it\u2019s secret?\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNo, because there are no words for it. It is <\/span>magic,<\/em><\/span> Ryoka Griffin. Magic. It is something you understand in here, not here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n She flew over and tapped Ryoka\u2019s chest, then flew up and tapped her head. Ryoka nodded slowly.<\/p>\n \u201cInstinct? I have to get a feel for it, that\u2019s what you\u2019re saying. Then if I keep practicing\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Ivolethe sighed. She rubbed at her face, frowning hard. She shook her head.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt is not instinct. You cannot learn this by practicing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBut you said\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt is grace, mortal. Grace and naught else. Grace and wonder. A moment. It is not something ye can learn in a book. It is not something you can keep trying to do. You will learn it in a moment of purest understanding\u2014or never.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Frost Faerie looked at Ryoka in the eye. Ryoka felt a slight chill that had nothing to do with the cold. She opened her mouth, paused. What Ivolethe said spoke to her, but it made no sense at the same time.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not how magic works in this world, though. [Mages] study magic in books. They can write it down. They have<\/em> to study.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTrue.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Ivolethe nodded, frowning.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHow shall I explain? That is magic. Tamed, and bent for use, yes, but it is still magic. But it is not <\/span>my<\/em><\/span> magic. Not the magic of the fae. Not deep magic, which runs wild. If ye wish to study that magic, practice. Understand, by all means. But ye shall never see the wind if you think of it as something to be understood, to be learned. The wind is the wind. I ask you to see it, Ryoka. Not understand the <\/span>why <\/em><\/span>of it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Ryoka struggled to make sense of this. On one level she got what Ivolethe was saying. On another\u2026how could you stare at something and not want to know why<\/em> it was? But that was magic. Ivolethe\u2019s magic.<\/p>\n A moment of grace.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBack to trying. Try and if you cannot see it, we shall try later. But this is the first step, Ryoka. The only step. Learn to do this, and ye shall see all in time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n See the wind. Ryoka tried. She really did. But she couldn\u2019t keep what Ivolethe had said in her mind and just try to feel something naturally. And the Frost Faerie saw it.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cStop. Another chance will come. Look for the wind elsewhere, Ryoka, but ye won\u2019t see it here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n And that was it. The lesson was done. Ivolethe floated past Ryoka as the girl sighed, disappointed. The Frost Faerie laughed as she pointed down the hill.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cGo back to your mortal friends. Look at the child!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Ryoka turned and saw that her martial arts lesson had attracted more than just Fals. Mrsha was standing clumsily in the snow, trying to punch like Garia. She kept punching, and falling over by her own momentum.<\/p>\n It was very cute. Ryoka laughed and took out her iPhone as she descended the hill. She tried to turn it on, but found to her deepest disappointment that it had run out of power! She cursed to herself. It was hard to remember to get Pisces to cast [Repair] on it. Erin would just have to imagine Mrsha\u2019s antics.<\/p>\n \u201cRyoka! I don\u2019t think this is right!\u201d<\/p>\n Garia was complaining as she punched the air, blushing as Fals did the same beside her. She\u2019d been willing to try learning, especially after her father had vouched for the effectiveness of Ryoka\u2019s kick, but she was clearly feeling silly.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t worry, you\u2019re doing good. Raise your arm a bit more. And like I said\u2014each time you punch, breathe out. Like this.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka demonstrated, bringing her fists up and punching slowly as she exhaled. Garia copied her, but complained immediately afterwards.<\/p>\n \u201cI get that I\u2019m learning to punch, but I feel silly. I\u2019m just hitting the air!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, that\u2019s the point. Look, you\u2019re practicing, like you would with a sword.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, but\u2014no one\u2019s going to stand there and let me punch them.\u201d<\/p>\n The girl rolled her eyes and Ryoka barely resisted doing the same.<\/p>\n \u201cI know that, but you have to start at the beginning. Look, just punch like I showed you. You\u2019re using the muscles in your stomach. If you can feel them as you punch\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut why would muscles in my stomach help my arms?\u201d<\/p>\n Garia looked confused. Ryoka groaned. How could you explain hundreds of years of biological science to someone who hadn\u2019t even heard of muscle fibers? Well, with martial arts, actually.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all connected. Look, one of the principle of martial arts is connectedness. Every part of the body works together. Your arms aren\u2019t one separate thing. That\u2019s why when you punch, your entire body, from your arms to your legs go into one motion. That\u2019s why you take a stance and move the same way. It\u2019s the most effective.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs that why you had me do jumping jacks?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s part of the warm up, yes. So is swinging your arms, rolling your hips, and everything else. You need to be flexible. That\u2019s what these exercises will help you do as well\u2014build muscle so you can move freely.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t see why. My arms are already strong. Isn\u2019t that enough if I\u2019m punching someone?\u201d<\/p>\n Garia\u2019s cheeks were red as Ryoka walked her through more exercises, making her learn how to do knee lifts to the elbow, and then hiza-geri<\/em>, a form of knee striking from Shotokan Karate. She clearly didn\u2019t want Fals to see her doing this silly routine, for all he was doing it with the two girls and Mrsha was too.<\/p>\n \u201cPunching someone isn\u2019t enough, Garia. Strength isn\u2019t enough, although it\u2019s pretty damn important. But martial arts practices defense, movement\u2014it\u2019s a way of living. It\u2019s\u2026a way to be graceful. Grace.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka stared ahead until she realized she\u2019d stopped doing knee strikes. She made Garia do twenty until the girl complained her legs were getting tired.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I have to do this every<\/em> day?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf you want to get good, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka snapped, growing impatient with Garia. She was trying to help, but Garia seemed determined not to get through even the basic forms! She was trying to help\u2014<\/p>\n \u201cWhy don\u2019t you show us what a master looks like, Ryoka? I\u2019m sure you see how all this matters, but I\u2019m like Garia. It feels silly to do all this. What does it look like once you keep practicing for a while?\u201d<\/p>\n Fals spoke up and Ryoka blinked at him. She opened her mouth to tell him it wasn\u2019t one kind of thing\u2014and then realized he was right.<\/p>\n Mrsha had grown bored of watching Ryoka practice with Garia. She\u2019d started playing in the snow. Garia\u2019s parents had a hot drink and were smiling and Garia looked fed up. Ivolethe was laughing at Ryoka, and Fals had his eyebrows raised.<\/p>\n They didn\u2019t<\/em> know what martial arts looked like. Perhaps no one in this world did. Ryoka nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re right, Fals. Let me show you what it looks like, Garia, everyone. Mrsha, get back. Ivolethe, you can stay right there for all I care. I\u2019ll show you\u2026what training your body can do.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka took a few steps away from Garia and cleared some snow off of the ground. There was grass underfoot. Not ideal\u2014Ryoka would have liked a firmer surface, but it would have to do.<\/p>\n Garia sat back with Fals, blushing at him and watching Ryoka with a bit of interest. Ryoka smiled to herself. There was something familiar about this moment. Hadn\u2019t she done this once? Oh yes. When her leg had been healed. When she\u2019d been able to move again.<\/p>\n It was the same. Ryoka took a breath, and then ran forwards. She jumped, and then did a handspring into the air. Her audience gasped<\/em>, but that was only a warm-up. Ryoka landed, twisted, and backflipped up and over, landing on a patch of snow to silence, and then cheering.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat was that?<\/em> How did you do that?<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n Garia nearly tripped over her own feet, running over to Ryoka. She stared in amazement at the girl, but Ryoka put up a hand.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just getting started. Watch out\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n She did a standing front flip, which was easy, but again, totally astounded everyone watching. Mrsha ran over to Ryoka, screaming in inaudible excitement. Fals stared at his feet and hopped experimentally as if to try.<\/p>\n The Humans and Gnoll watched as Ryoka did another backflip, this time with a run up. Ryoka cursed as she nearly slipped on landing. The snow was not <\/em>the place for tricks. But her audience didn\u2019t care. They had never seen someone move<\/em> like Ryoka could.<\/p>\n The next thing Ryoka tried was a standing cork, or standing corkscrew. It involved her standing with her left leg raised slightly off the ground and behind her right leg, which was slightly bent. Then, Ryoka jumped up and her entire body twisted <\/em>around and up, sending her spinning up and around. It wasn\u2019t like a front flip at all. In fact, it was so fast that Garia and the others couldn\u2019t even tell what Ryoka had done.<\/p>\n It was a move from a martial art devoted just to tricks. Appropriately, it was called Tricking, a way of doing flashy moves like you\u2019d see in movies. Naturally, Ryoka had learned how to do several tricks, and this one, a standing cork seemed to defy the laws of gravity for those watching it for the first time.<\/p>\n In slow motion, it would look as if Ryoka\u2019s leg came up, propelling her into the air, and then her body curled and twisted several times before her foot came down, landing her on the ground. Ryoka did this again for her stunned audience\u2014<\/p>\n And wiped out.<\/p>\n Spectacularly, as it happened. Ryoka messed up the landing and slipped on some snow and hit the ground hard<\/em>. She was up in a second to reassure Mrsha, but she\u2019d hit herself hard enough to bruise.<\/p>\n That actually helped, because after seeing her flub so badly, the watchers were even more convinced Ryoka was insane as she did several more tricks. Determined to make up for that hilarious failure, Ryoka did a spinning aerial kick that hit Ivolethe as the faerie flew a good six feet up in the air. The faerie went flying, screaming insults, more surprised than hurt.<\/p>\n \u201cHow are you doing that?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPractice!\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka laughed as she did a series of tricks, spinning and kicking into the air, flipping around\u2014flying. Tricking. It wasn\u2019t a formal martial art. Or rather, it wasn\u2019t a type of martial arts that applied to fighting or self-defense. It was more like a sport, an activity, an exhibition of what the human body could do.<\/em><\/p>\n There were very few situations that required Ryoka to jump into the air, spin, land on one leg, flip herself forward and then <\/em>kick, but that wasn\u2019t the point.<\/p>\n It was a performance. Ryoka did a running flip off of a handstand in the snow, jumped up, kicked at a target twice her height in the air and landed. She nearly slipped and fell in the snow, but then she was laughing, hearing Garia and Fals shout in amazement.<\/p>\n \u201cSee? This is martial arts! This is what you can do if you practice!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n Next, Ryoka showed the group some more practical moves, doing the roundhouse kick she loved so much, punching, blocking, moving to avoid and counter invisible enemies. It wasn\u2019t as showy as Tricking, but it was just as amazing to the people watching.<\/p>\n Because they had never seen this either. Warriors with swords were one thing, but this was different. This was martial arts<\/em>, which emphasized moves that had no wasted movement, that could be performed because the user had practiced them again and again.<\/p>\n No one in this world did flips. What would be the point? Oh, maybe a [Tumbler] could do it, or an [Acrobat] if they even existed. But no one in this world had had the time to practice, to do a backflip. Because there was no point! No point, which is why there weren\u2019t people doing acrobatic tricks in ancient Rome, at least, as far as Ryoka knew.<\/p>\n There was no necessity to anything Ryoka did. No reason to do it, except because it was amazing and wonderful and inspiring.<\/p>\n And fun.<\/p>\n And as Ryoka ran and did a handspring into the air, she felt alive. She\u2019d forgotten, somewhere, what it was like to just move<\/em> for the sake of moving. The wind was blowing through her hair. She felt like she was flying, just like the first time she\u2019d ever pulled one of these tricks off.<\/p>\n It felt as though at any moment, as you were flying upwards, the world twisting around you, that you could just soar into the heavens, that your body could carry you upwards without limit. Ryoka leapt, and saw something in the air.<\/p>\n A flash of movement. She saw the wind. She saw it twist around her\u2014<\/p>\n \u201cRyoka!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n Garia cried out and Ryoka found herself flipping over and over, upwards and up. And then down. She shouted, lost control\u2014<\/p>\n And fell.<\/p>\n It was a long way down. When Ryoka woke up with Mrsha covering her face, Garia told her Ryoka had gone for a gainer, a backflip off of one foot. She\u2019d leapt into the air, and then, somehow, kept flipping upwards. She ended up flying ten feet into the air before falling. Ryoka had successfully done a quadruple gainer, a feat never performed in the history of human kind as something\u2014the wind\u2014had carried her up.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, she\u2019d missed the landing. Panicked, confused by what had happened, Ryoka had landed the most impressive face-plant in the snow, again, perhaps the most impressive one ever seen. She\u2019d knocked herself out as everyone had gone running over.<\/p>\n When she\u2019d heard all of this and gotten Mrsha off her, Ryoka sat up, looked for Ivolethe, and tried to kill her friend.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat the hell was that<\/em> for? Was that payback for kicking you? Because if it was\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t me! It <\/span>wasn\u2019t me!<\/em><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Ivolethe shouted as she flew away from Ryoka. The girl stopped, glaring at Ivolethe and swaying on her feet.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat the hell do you mean? It was<\/em> you! I saw it! You used the wind\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNot me, you fool! I did nothing!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka stared at her. She realized what Ivolethe was saying and paled.<\/p>\n \u201cBut then I\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n The Frost Faerie grinned at Ryoka. The girl froze, staring at her, at the clear blue sky.<\/p>\n \u201cBut that\u2019s impossible. I was showing off. I wasn\u2019t trying to\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n Ivolethe floated up, smiling broadly. She tapped Ryoka in the chest, grinning and shaking her head.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cShowing off? That was the best time for it! You didn\u2019t try. In that moment, ye were Ryoka at your most natural. You did not feel. You saw. And the wind saw <\/span>you.<\/em><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI did it?\u201d<\/p>\n Ryoka stared at Ivolethe. She stared around, at where Fals was gingerly trying to do a handstand, at Garia, who was determinedly punching the air and Mrsha, doing flips as Wailant tossed her up and Viceria watched with a wand at the ready, just in case.<\/p>\n Then she looked at Ivolethe. To her surprise, there were tears in the faerie\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n The small Frost Faerie shook her head.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAh. I did not know. I did not know what else Humans came up with. I lived with a body like yours for years, but this?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n She did a corkscrew in the air, flipping over, a perfect copy of the move Ryoka had done. Ivolethe laughed.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis! This is new. This is something else. And for this, Ryoka Griffin, I thank you. For showing me something I have never seen.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n She landed on the ground, and took a few steps. Ivolethe kicked up into the air and backflipped up past Ryoka, into the sky. Her laughter was all Ryoka heard. It filled the world as Ivolethe flipped upwards, not flying, but borne by the wind. Ryoka stared as the faerie flew and whispered one word.<\/p>\n \u201cGrace.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Previous Chapter<\/a> Next Chapter<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ryoka stood in the darkness, heart pounding. She was afraid. Mortally afraid. There were things she feared in the world, and she was about to face one of them. She had met Dragons, [Necromancers], Goblin Lords, and yes, each one was terrifying in a way that left scars on the soul. If she closed her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52856846,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"patreon-level":0,"patreon_level":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11693084,349],"tags":[7224,250708,4330244,4472517,11693079],"twi_volume":[11693133],"twi_collection":[],"class_list":["post-4063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-volume-4","category-writing","tag-fantasy","tag-inn","tag-web-novel","tag-web-serial","tag-writing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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