Scouting is the art of collecting information, while Stealth is the art of concealing it. Together, they give a combatant the upper hand in the constant battle for information that underlies every struggle. This advantage translates directly into combat strength. It encompasses terrain, weather, and countless other factors that play vital roles. Still, the essence remains the same. Information is half the battle in any conflict.
Elyra had never trained as a scout because her senses were mediocre at best, while her stealth abilities were top tier. Who needed scouting skills when stealth alone allowed her to gather information firsthand? That didn't mean she lacked an understanding of how scouting worked, nor did it stop her from training her new recruit.
That recruit was about to experience firsthand the quiet brutality of Elyra's training in the castle's training grounds.
"Your objective is to avoid all projectiles thrown at you," Elyra instructed. "Once you can start catching them, you can consider this portion completed."
"Um… I'm not very good at moving my body. No one ever—" Ariel started saying when she was interrupted by a knife thrown her way.
She stepped to the side with Dodge, cleanly evading the projectile before berating Elyra.
"Hey! I wasn't ready yet. Whoa!" She dodged another knife, this one faster. "Wait, wait, wait! Give me—"
Elyra didn't listen, continuing to send knife after knife with growing intensity.
Ariel hopped to the side with Jump, then ran around the grounds with Dash. Her wings flared every time she moved, struggling to keep her balanced. A knife clipped the edge of a wingtip, sending her stumbling from the pain.
"Ow! My wings!" she cried, twisting out of the way of another throw. "Do you know how much getting your wings clipped hurts?!"
Elyra said nothing while her hand was already flicking another blade.
Ariel ducked, the knife sailing right over her hair. She laughed nervously, then tripped over her own feet and sprawled into the dirt. Another knife landed with a thud, close enough to draw blood from her cheek. She froze.
"That almost killed me!" she wailed, rolling across the ground in panic. "This isn't training! It's attempted murder!"
Elyra simply approached, retrieved the knives scattered about, and said, "Again."
Ariel gawked, brushing dust off her face. "That's it? That's all you've got to say? I nearly died, and all you can manage is again?!"
Another knife came her way. Ariel yelped, threw herself sideways with Dodge, and rolled clumsily back onto her feet.
Her chest heaved, feathers sticking out at awkward angles. "I… am… going… to… die…" she panted.
"You are improving," Elyra said, tossing another blade. "It won't be long before you get used to your high Strength and Dexterity."
Ariel shrieked and flailed backward, wings flapping as she half-jumped, half-fell out of its path. She landed on her backside, glaring at Elyra through a mess of hair and feathers.
"I don't know what's worse," she huffed, "the knives or your creepy calm voice while you're trying to stab me!"
Another knife shot past her cheek.
"Okay, the knives are definitely worse," she squeaked, scrambling out of the way.
From the sidelines, Bastion, Seraphina, and Lilia watched with pity. They knew how brutal Elyra's training sessions were firsthand, so they didn't even have the heart to laugh.
Ariel staggered upright, eyes wild. "Please, can we stop now? Just for a little while? I can't take much more of this…"
Elyra readied her next throw, her voice soft as ever. "Again."
Ariel's new training session didn't just involve moving her body. That part was only meant to sharpen her situational awareness, visual reflexes, dynamic vision, and threat recognition all at once.
Her next training session was to identify partially hidden objects of interest scattered across the castle's garden. From a bird's-eye view on the balcony, Ariel was forced to name every item of a type that Elyra called out.
"Weapons," Elyra said softly.
Ariel leaned over the railing, squinting at the grounds below. "Uh… that's a sword, I think. And a dagger stuck in the dirt. Oh! There's an axe leaning behind that bush. And… another sword?"
She hesitated. "No, wait, that's just a stick, isn't it?"
"Correct," Elyra replied.
Ariel groaned. "Ugh! Why do sticks always look like swords at this distance?"
"Round," Elyra prompted.
Ariel blinked, scanning the courtyard again. "Okay, um… shield. That one's obvious. A helmet on the bench. And… uh… that's definitely a rock, but it's roundish so it should count, right?"
"Incorrect," Elyra murmured.
"What?!" Ariel flapped her wings in frustration. "It's round! Rocks are round too!"
Elyra simply repeated, "Again."
"Fine, fine," Ariel muttered. "Shield, helmet, and… oh! There's a round pot by the fountain!"
"Correct."
Ariel smirked, puffing her chest. "Ha! See? I can do this."
"Bladed," Elyra continued without pause.
Ariel's face fell. "Bladed? That's—ugh. Why can't we just stick to round things? Round things are easy." She leaned forward again, eyes darting. "Okay… dagger, sword, axe, spearhead poking out from that crate. That counts, right?"
"Correct."
From the courtyard below, Bastion watched with approval. "At this rate, she'll be able to spot a dagger in a pile of twigs during a storm."
Lilia smirked faintly. "Assuming her nerves last that long."
Seraphina sighed. "Or her patience."
Ariel continued her training with other methods designed to sharpen her vision in specific ways.
One exercise focused on identifying people and their unique traits. Guards, servants, and knights passed through the courtyard in clusters, and Ariel had to memorize details such as scars, hairstyles, or posture. Later she picked them out of a crowd at a glance. This built her ability to recognize faces and track individuals in chaotic environments.
Another drill tested her ability to distinguish movement. Ribbons were hung from trees to sway in the wind while sparrows were released among them. From her vantage point she had to tell the difference between meaningless motion and genuine movement. The practice trained her to spot threats hidden in natural patterns, an essential skill for detecting ambushes or enemy scouts.
Her peripheral vision was tested through scattered trinkets placed at the edges of her sightline. Without losing focus on her target, she was required to identify the trinkets quickly and accurately. This improved her awareness of subtle details beyond her direct focus, reducing the chance of being blindsided.
The culmination of these drills was long-range surveillance. From the balcony she cataloged activity across the castle grounds, noting which guard patrolled where, which servant carried supplies, and which knight switched shifts. This gave her practice in mapping patterns of movement, allowing her to predict behavior and detect anomalies.
Each method pushed her vision beyond ordinary use, layering memory, reflex, and perception into a single skillset. By the end Ariel was not only faster at noticing details but also sharper at interpreting what she saw. For a scout, this meant more than survival. It meant ensuring her team never walked blindly into danger.
A few months later, Bastion found Ariel on the balcony, her hands resting lightly on the railing as she gazed at the stars scattered across the night sky. The wind tugged at her hair, carrying the faint chill of the higher air.
"You did exceptionally well today," he said as he stepped closer. "You started catching Elyra's daggers, even caught one cleanly, and your vision drills have improved despite the added difficulty."
"My Scout Art has reached level 2," she replied without looking away from the constellations.
"That explains it. It shouldn't take you more than a few years to reach level 3."
She turned her head toward him, her expression softening. "Thank you, for everything."
"My pleasure."
Ariel turned back to look at the stars before speaking again. "I never realized how much I was missing by staying sheltered with my father all those years. I never knew there were so many facets to combat beyond just knowing how to fight. Had Seraphina not allowed me to level up, I might never have found the courage to fight back against him. And I would never have learned what it means to be a proper scout."
"Seraphina was quite attached to you," Bastion said. "So the effort was worth it."
"Just Seraphina?" she asked, meeting his gaze directly now.
A small smile curved his lips as he stared deeply into her eyes. "No, myself included as well. You left quite the impression the first time we met."
"You liked the image of the damsel in distress I presented?"
"I liked the fire in your eyes despite your bleak situation," he said quietly, looking away. "I wanted to do something for you even then, but my commitments bound my hands. And I was… too distracted at the time to take a proper look."
Back then, Bastion was still weighed down by the dread in his chest, unable to fully see the moment. His focus remained fixed on the Demon Lord and the pursuit of leverage, though in the end it proved unnecessary.
"I've decided it's time to go off on my own," Ariel said with conviction. "Don't worry. I won't rush to Rank 1 blindly like I had planned. I just want to know what else I was missing, whether good or bad. I won't figure that out staying here and being pampered like a princess."
"I've never thought of Elyra's training as pampering before," Bastion said, his voice carrying a trace of surprise and amusement.
Ariel gave a soft, almost weary chuckle. "No, it's not, but to me, it feels the same. I'm still a bird in a cage as long as I stay here. The cage may be bigger, more comfortable, and the training may prepare me for what's beyond, but it doesn't change what it is. Even with the door left open, it's still a cage. I need to step out, see the world with my own eyes, and start an adventure before I can decide to stay with you and the others. If I don't, I'll always wonder what I've missed."
"I respect your decision."
"I'll also be leaving your—"
"Keep them with you as an emergency," Bastion insisted. "If you want to challenge yourself, don't use them for leveling but for emergencies only. That way, you can keep your life when you run into a dead end."
"Thank you."
"Since you're leaving, you'll need parting gifts."
"No, I can't possibly—"
"I insist. I promise it's for your own good."
"Alright."
"We'll see you off tomorrow," Bastion said as he started to turn away, only to feel Ariel's hand grab hold of his arm.
He turned back and found her leaning in, eyes closed out of nervousness. Her lips brushed his in a soft, trembling kiss that lingered just long enough to leave a memory. Then, as if afraid of her own boldness, Ariel pulled back and hurried away, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Thank you, Bastion."
Bastion stood still for a moment, then let out a quiet chuckle. His gaze lifted to the stars above, and a faint smile formed on his lips.
"What a world I've found myself in."
-----
Support me on Patreon
patreon/babywrath