As always Giliath demands your power stones!
*****
"This is seriously going to be a pain in my ass, ain't it? You're the one who even said I should attend Aramis. Just what kinda hand you're playin' at here, Naoto?", Van uttered to himself as he carried along inside the first floor of the dorms. Despite it being winter time, the school was still open for extracurricular activities. Playing sports as one of them. His next destination was the Aramis Courtyard behind the school itself. This Courtyard was very similar to what Thors Military Academy had, except on a smaller scale.
He wasn't alone either. Rene was walking alongside him. Seeing Van take a pause, it caused Rene to look back at Van.
"Did you say something just now, Van? Those feet aren't going to carry themselves you know.", Rene said, pushing his glasses upward with his finger.
"I ain't tellin you nothin' you bespectacled sadist. You're about to get your ass handed to you in our next game.", Van declared.
"We'll see about that. I haven't had a good challenge in a while.", Rene responded. A sense of vigor spread through his body hearing that.
One might be wondering what kind of game these two are going to participate in. Sports do actually exist in the Trailsverse! So far, the games confirmed the existence of Swimming, Tennis, Lacrosse, and now, Basketball. There might be other sports out there, but Basketball was particularly popular in the Republic of Calvard. At Aramis Academy, the Courtyard out back dedicated an entire section of it to house a Basketball court. It was big enough where two teams could challenge one another.
As Van and Rene exited the building which was directly connected to the Auber District, Elaine could still be seen in Van's room, looking out from the window. She saw the two now on the street. She seemed to be deep in her own thoughts as she held onto the letter that was delivered to Van.
"Liberl's Crown Prince...", Elaine uttered. "If I recall, his name is Naoto von Auslese? That declaration spread like wildfire in the news a couple days ago. Two countries entering an engagement with one another. This doesn't bode well for us in Calvard.", Elaine continued to utter.
"But that isn't the most surprising thing. This prince somehow is related to Van. I'm just not sure how. He refuses to talk about it. Perhaps he's part of the reason why Van suddenly showed up again not too long ago?", Elaine wondered to herself. "Either way, it will not sit well if we try to force it out of Van of what happened back then. He's here now, and that's for the best. We might be nearing the last term of our first year, but we still have a lot of catching up to do. It's good he's already opened up to Rene again. Me on the other hand...", Elaine uttered again.
Seeing herself turn quiet, Elaine suddenly clapped her cheeks with her hands.
"No. I can't get sidetracked with a fleeting dream. It's becoming way too busy to make room for romance. Plus I've got Bracer duties on top of all of that.", Elaine concluded.
"Still, an invitation for three, huh? I haven't been to Erebonia yet. This could be a good time to broaden my horizons. The Purple Lightning should be there too. We've only recently gotten acquainted with one another. She's a pretty amicable gal. For whatever reason, she has really high hopes for me as a Bracer...", Elaine said, recalling the hot-headed woman she spent some time with over the celebration of the recent new year, drowning herself away in booze.
Elaine then took some time to ponder what was mentioned in the invitation letter as she saw Van and Rene depart the street the dorm was situated on. Seeing as she was alone now, glanced back at the letter she held in her hand. After all, she had supported the two during their sports endeavors. She wouldn't want to miss out on a game. Even for a girl like Elaine, she found sports fun.
As the two vanished from sight while walking down the street, Elaine knew she couldn't loiter in the room any longer. She scurried off after them, placing the letter on the stand nearby.
It wasn't just Van's group of three who suddenly received an invitation out of the blue to participate in the upcoming engagement banquet Liberl's Crown Prince will be holding in the upcoming month...
Deep within the Eisengard Mountain Range, situated north of Erebonia...
A sole building could be seen, appearing old and decrepit. On the wooden plaque hoisted above the large wooden doors had a symbol on it. Eight leaf petals.
A sole figure could be seen walking from a distance, walking up stepping stones in the appearance of a staircase. Each stone was carved into the earth itself. These types of floors were common in the eastern martial art stories Naoto had often read in his past life. This figure was wearing a black school uniform, coming straight from St. Astraia. She had a shade of black hair, which made it appear as if it were indigo. She carried herself with grace, not wavering with each step she took.
If one had a close look, a letter could be seen in the figure's hand. It was a girl, and it wasn't the first time she had taken this path up to where this place was. In fact, she was already used to walking up such a long staircase. She no longer found herself short of breath by the time she arrived at what appeared to be a dojo. Quite an old dojo at that.
But this place was one of few dojos that existed throughout Zemuria. It was home to the Eight Leaves One Blade School.
Once the girl arrived, she heard faint voices inside, causing her to pause her approach.
"Focus, Rean. You don't want a repeat of what happened a couple years back, do you? Don't let that power consume you. Rein it in.", A voice of a girl spoke. The voice was dampened, considering the dojo's doors were closed.
"You make it sound so easy. I don't even know what IT is. I'm not you, you know.", A boy's voice retorted, slightly annoyed.
THWACK!
"Is that back-talk I'm hearing? Less yapping, more concentrating!", The girl's voice exclaimed.
"Sheesh. You're a demon, you know that right?", The boy retorted again.
"Do I hear Y-A-P-P-I-N-G?", The girl spelled out. The girl still outside heard this, and the atmosphere suddenly turned still.
"Perhaps now is a bad time...", The girl uttered, clenching onto the closed letter in her hand. A hint of worry appeared in her eyes seeing as it turned quiet all around her so suddenly. Yet that stillness only lasted for a moment.
"Hoho. Have you come to check on that brother of yours? Perhaps it is because of what you have in your hand, yes?", A voice suddenly called out, coming from behind. The girl paused, not expecting to hear a voice call out behind her. She turned around, and saw an aged man approach her. The hard clacks of his wooden shoes struck against each stone, creating an ambient noise around them. Both hands were placed behind his back.
"Master Yun. I didn't think you'd still be around. Weren't you looking to head to Calvard soon? I thought you would have left by now.", The girl responded, politely. Unbeknownst to most folks, she too held this old man in high regard. After all, she had recently become a disciple of his. Another student of the Eight Leaves One Blade School. Albeit not as serious as this person's other disciples. She only picked it up on the side. Either way, this old man sees this girl as one of his students nonetheless.
"All in due time, Elise my dear. I've still some business to wrap up here before I head out on my trip. Sounds like things have been quite lively here. It is nice to see Shizuna again during the new year. I thought she would have remained behind in Calvard as well.", Yun replied.
"True. We even had such a gathering here at the dojo during the celebration. Mr. Cassius. Mr. Arios. Mr. Alan. All of your disciples came.", The girl said, smiling back at him. She was Elise Schwarzer of course. The younger sister of the person presently behind the closed doors of the dojo.
"The ones you know of, anyways. The continent is a wide, wide place. The Far East already has their own problems they're dealing with, so I am a bit hesitant to start my trip.", Yun responded.
"Is that so? Also wasn't there that travelling priest who decided to pay us a visit. I recall him saying his name was Mr. Barkhorn?", Elise questioned, trying to recall the bulky figure who suddenly showed up at the dojo's doorstep.
"That would be correct. He's an old acquaintance of mine. Once upon a time, I offered him a chance to learn the blade, but he declined. He prefers fighting with his fists, despite being an old coot like I am.", Yun answered with a smile. "It was still nice to see him again. Seems he picked up a new disciple, one of many he has already. And one that will follow his close combat techniques. I recall his name being Van Arkride.", Yun explained.
"Van Arkride?", Elise uttered, pondering the name for a moment. She came up empty, and shook her head. "Can't say I've heard the name, unfortunately.", Elise continued to say.
"It's not surprising you don't. Most of Father Barkhorn's disciples remain in the shadows or don't like being in the limelight. Still, it's a pretty small world out there. I should've put two and two together more quickly than I should have. Especially after seeing you are holding onto, now.", Yun said.
"What do you mean by that, Master Yun?", Elise questioned. She had no clue what the old man was referring to here. Instead, from seemingly out of nowhere, he pulled out what appeared...to be a newspaper?