Aina stood a few feet away, her gaze sweeping over the damage with a cold, almost detached precision. Elias watched her, still reeling from the profound sense of awe and inadequacy that had washed over him. He had seen a level of mastery that seemed utterly unattainable, a display of power and control that transcended anything he had ever read.
He expected her to speak of the duel, to praise his father, but Aina's voice, when it came, was as sharp and analytical as a surgical scalpel.
"So,as you probably observed during their exhibition,they were not using their Traits, little brother."
Her words cut through the remaining silence, a direct challenge to the spectacle they had just witnessed.
"What you saw was not a display of raw, innate power. It was the flawless application of fundamentals. This is a clear example of why you need to know the basic techniques."
She walked over to one of the deepest cuts in the groud and squatted beside it, tracing the jagged line with her fingertip.
"Uncle Alaric used Infusion, a technique that allows a Flow user to imbue their weapon with their own energy. He made his training training sword harder than steel, its edge keener than a razor in order to contend with the real sword sir Eddie was using. The force behind each strike was not a product of his strength alone, but of Reinforcement, the constant, invisible channeling of Flow to enhance the muscles and reflexes."
Elias listened intently, the pieces of the puzzle beginning to click into place. He had felt the power, but now he was beginning to understand the mechanics behind it.
Aina was not a master of the blade, but she was a master of theory. She was teaching him to see the gears behind what just transpired.
"What you saw," she continued, "was a conversation between two masters. They were not wielding their true power. They were using their craft. They were speaking with their blades. That is the lesson. In this world, not everything can be solved with ra power power without the method of usage is meaningless. As Uncle Alaric properly demonstrated, it is technique that wins a fight."
Elias nodded.
"So what's our agenda for the day?" he asked.
'I'll have to polish my Flow Programming and Construct techniques. My Flow needs to have a language of its own. It needs to be programmed to do what I want it to do, not what it does instinctively. I'll go to the library and look at the older manuals on Flow control.'
Aina, however, had other ideas.
She walked away from the scarred ground, her back to him.
"I am not a master of the sword. So I cannot continue teaching anything from where they left off."
A slow, tired smile began to form on Elias's face.
A reprieve?A whole day to himself, to delve into the ancient texts in the manors immense library? He could lose himself in the dusty tomes and finally feel a semblance of freedom from all this training to do his own research. His smile widened.
Aina turned, catching the genuine joy on his face. She tilted her head, a small, unreadable gesture.
"But that duel proved that you need to strengthen your vessel as its too weak," she said, her voice devoid of emotion.
"If it cannot contain the pressure of even the basics then there's no point. So therefore, we are going to do physical training for the rest of the day."
The smile on Elias's face froze.
"I like your enthusiasm, little brother," Aina said glancing over her shoulder.
The smile collapsed into a silent, profound frown. He stood there, frozen, his hopes of a quiet day among books shattering into a thousand pieces.
"Now hurry up," she called before turning and walking again.
Elias scowled at her retreating back. Enthusiasm?
He had been planning to lose himself in the library, to find some shred of a life that wasn't dictated by an unfeeling taskmaster. He wanted to read, to learn, to find a way out of this gilded cage.
‡
>Journal Entry: The Blade Of The World.
I've learned that there are four primary schools of swordplay, all of them ancient and all of them still taught today. These schools are based off the Four Trait Classes. The Stellar Aegis Style for the Cosmic Class, The Phantom Blade Style for the Cognitive Class, The Devouring Edge Style for the Existential Class and The SunBreaker Style for the Soulfire Class.The first two, the Phantom Blade and the Stellar Aegis, were what I saw today. Sir Eddie Gable, is a Grandmaster of the Phantom Blade. It's a style of misdirection, feints, and speed. It's meant to confuse and overwhelm, to make the opponent see a dozen blades when there is only one. Father, on the other hand, is a master of the Stellar Aegis. It's a defensive style, all about parrying, redirection, and finding the still point in a storm. I also learned that due to certain reasons Fathers Ascension Stage is lower than Mother's. He said that it was due to certain conditions placed on him to allow them to get married. Now I'm curious to know what those other conditions were aside him keeping his level lower than hers. Now I kinda understand why there's a bit of Friction between the two Houses. I don't know how this is going to affect me in future it seems that even though the two aren't on the friendliest of terms they aren't outright plotting on each other so it's fine. I'll also need to learn more about the other Houses as well. Anyway,today's fight was a breathtaking display straight out of a fantasy novel.
But here's what I can't wrap my head around.
Who invented these things?
These aren't just fighting styles; they're philosophies carefully constructed to fit the various groupings and be perfect for their desired practitioners. Each one feels like it's been perfected over centuries.
Were they made by one person, or a group? And who were they?
They must have been legends. I have to know.
[Note to self:Look into the founders of the sword styles when looking into the histories of the past Era's].
I'll do that when I'm finally given a chance to access the library. I still have more training to do tomorrow. Aina says my body is a weak vessel which is a no brainer. I am a four year old so it's yo be expected.But my mind is a sponge, and I intend to fill it with every piece of knowledge I can fimd to enhance myself.<