[Tournament Day - From Niyara's Perspective]
When the tournament drums began to thunder, my heart fluttered in my chest like a Liyrai bird. In the stands, I sat beside my husband, Kadros, but my eyes were on only one figure in the arena: My son. My Aetron.
"Calm down, Niyara," Kadros said in his usual calm, leader's tone. But when I squeezed his hand, I felt how tense his fingers were,too.
For the last year and a half, it was as if there was an invisible wall between us. My son's body was there, but his soul was in a distant land I couldn't touch, couldn't reach. That childlike sparkle in his eyes had faded, replaced by a distracted, melancholy emptiness. Even when I hugged him, I would feel that distance in my arms, that his soul didn't respond to me. There is no greater pain for a mother than this.
Then came that three-day disappearance. When we found him, I was filled with fear and worry. But the moment I hugged him, I understood something had changed. His body was still my son's body, but the energy inside, his aura... was completely different. More intense, more pure, and more... aged.
If my guess is correct, a guide like our ancestor Auryan showed my son the way. Perhaps in those three days, he lived an entirely different life that we know as years. Now he's trying to understand who he is, which memories belong to him. When I call him "Aetron," I see that momentary hesitation in his eyes, when Thera hugs him calling him "brother," I see that complex expression of guilt pass over his face. He's not the child I knew. But at the same time, he's more himself than ever.
No matter what happens, he's my son. And as a mother, I will always love him and always be by his side in his journey to find who he is.
When his name was called for the first fight, he refused the sword. My heart leapt to my throat. "Kadros, what is he doing?" I whispered. "This is an insult to the Valerius! They'll hurt the child!"
Kadros murmured, "Wait and see," but I could see his jaw clenching too.
But then, I watched him evade each of Lycor's attacks like a leaf floating on the wind. This wasn't a child's fight. This was a master's dance. And that final move of his... Vibrating the metal with Resonance power, softening the ground... This was the result not of months of training, but of deep understanding. When he raised his hand in victory, I couldn't hold back my tears. I turned to Kadros, who was smiling at me with pride.
The fight with Elara was even stranger. When my son took the sword in his hand, I felt his aura change for a moment. It became colder, sharper, more... mechanical. As if another being was controlling his body, a soul moving with perfect logic. When he defeated his opponent in three moves, I could hear the shocked silence in the stands.
"Did you see, Kadros?" I whispered, my voice filled with both admiration and worry. "This... this isn't my son's fighting style. It's as if..." I couldn't finish my sentence.
Kadros said, "He's growing stronger, Niyara. He's releasing his inner potential." But even in his eyes I'd seen a moment of hesitation. In that moment I understood that the guide inside my son wasn't just wise, but also a deadly warrior.
When he challenged four people at once, I couldn't take it anymore. "Kadros, this is madness! Don't allow it! He could get hurt!" I shouted, jumping to my feet.
Kadros held my arm and gently sat me down. "I believe in my son," he said. And I believed too. Despite my fear, I felt that the limits of the being standing in that arena were far beyond what we knew. When he won the victory, I jumped up and shouted amid the crowd's enthusiasm. Our son, our son, had been reborn as a leader.
Then I watched that strange moment with Princess Eirlys. My son's shyness, that momentary awkwardness... I felt warmth in my heart. No matter how strong he became, no matter how much he changed, inside him was still that shy 14-year-old child.
The excitement from the tournament area continued around the massive victory fire lit in the clan square that evening. Everyone was singing, dancing, and celebrating Aetron's victory. My son, his face glowing in the firelight, was laughing with his friends. But his eyes occasionally searched for me in the crowd as if he was waiting for reassurance, for approval.
Later that night, he slipped away from the crowd and came to me. He said nothing. Just stood there.
"I'm proud of you, Aetron," I said, placing my hand on his cheek.
He closed his eyes and savored that touch for a moment. Then he did something I never expected. He hugged me. This wasn't like any hug he'd given me in the last year and a half. This wasn't a distant duty, but a sincere, warm seeking of refuge. He wrapped his arms around my waist so tightly, like a child afraid of being lost. In that moment, I felt all that complexity inside him and my son Aetron. And I accepted it all as one soul.
When he pulled back, that identity search was still in his eyes. But beneath it shone a determination I'd never seen before. He knew he wasn't alone anymore.