Finding age-appropriate combat training for a three-year-old bond-hybrid who could already manipulate dimensional reality turned out to be harder than expected, mostly because "age-appropriate" and "combat training" didn't usually exist in the same sentence unless you were raising child soldiers which we absolutely were not doing.
"Most supernatural combat training starts at adolescence." Vera's research was thorough if unhelpful. "The youngest recorded start age for formal instruction is seven. And that's for basic defensive techniques. Advanced combat magic usually begins around twelve."
Twelve. Right. Hope was three and already more powerful than most twelve-year-olds would ever be.
"What about modified training?" Riven suggested. "Techniques adapted for her specific situation. She doesn't need traditional combat instruction. She needs to learn how to apply her existing abilities defensively."
