Three years after Maya's birth, The Solace Clan's Royal Family had another child, that boy's name being Ren.
Ren wasn't gifted, Weaker and nowhere near as intelligent as Maya, Ren wasn't born with any abilities like his sister, His only strength was his willpower and dedication. Ardun constantly made attempts to train Maya & Ren.
As the years passed by, Ren stayed focused on the Clan's Technique Training.
Maya, instead went on to ignore the training. Sleeping and sneaking out of it any chance she could get, yet somehow without fail, Maya always seemed to be stronger than Ren.
-Twelve Years Later-
At this point in time, Maya was now 15, Ren being 12.
It was that time of the week, Maya and Ren's Training. The two step into the room, Ardun stood in the center of the room with his arms crossed.
There was a cold wind softly blowing through the training room, not one sound echoes, but his gaze was intense.
"You two are late, five minutes and forty-three seconds."
The two looked to each other in complete silence for several seconds, Ren seeming more upset than Maya.
Maya's voice breaks the silence as she looks back to Ardun. "Come on dad... That's barely any time at all!"
"You are to call me Master while within these walls, Maya. As for you, Ren. I presume you're late because of your sister?"
Maya looks to him with a nervous look, Ren returns that look as his eyes slowly shift back towards Ardun.
"Y-yeah... Maya wanted to go down to the lake again..."
Maya's arms droop down with disappointment as Ren spills the secret she trusted him to keep.
"C'mon dude, really..?"
"Sorry, I cant lie to dad- I mean, Master like that.."
"Regardless, the two of you are here now, It is time to begin."
Ardun looks at the two kids and sighs. "To start, you two are going to spar again. Maya, you are to not use your powers, It is not fair towards your brother."
"Lame! They're mine, why should I restrict myself 'cuz he can't do it!"
"Because, Ren needs proper training too, if you act this way every time you two spar, he'd never get any real training in, understood?"
"Yes, Master.."
Maya sighs, stepping back, looking at Ren before bowing, Ren doing the same. After they bow, the two take a stance before approaching each other. Ren acts first, launching a swift jab at Maya's face. She steps to the side, avoiding the blow while sending a punch up towards his gut. His face lights up with joy, seeing an opening in Maya's attack. Ren sweeps at her legs, throwing off her balance, causing her to fall to the ground. Right before Maya's back hit the floor, she threw all of her weight to land on her stomach, right as she touched, she launched herself back up, taking her stance once more. A new determination & annoyance appears in her eyes. She rushed in at Ren, throwing a punch directly at his nose. Ren ducks right before contact, lunging forward with a heavy punch to the gut. Maya's eyes widen in pain as she falls to the ground. Once she falls, Ardun raises his arm, signaling that the fight was over.
"Ren, congratulations in your victory. Maya, can you tell me what you did wrong there?"
She stands up, coughing as she regains herself. "I threw a blind punch, Didn't focus on all of my opponent, Blah Blah, the same stuff as usual... If I'm fightin', I'm gonna be usin' my power anyways! so why does it matter that I learn how to fight without 'em!"
"You never know if there will be a time that you cannot use them, If that time comes, you will surely fail."
"Tch, Whatever! It doesn't matter anyway!"
Maya scoffs as she walks out of the Dojo, her hands slid into her pockets.
"That girl... She never changes. Ren, Promise me you will stay on track with your training."
"Of course Master! It's fun learning how to fight!"
Ren closes one eye before jabbing at the air a few times before smiling at Ardun.
"And Sis can't do it, so I have something I'm better with!"
Ardun smiles lightheartedly. "If its a motivation, then I'm glad, Ren."
"Well duh! Maya may have powers and all that cool magic stuff.. But If I can fight, then I can do well too!"
Ardun sighs softly, patting Ren's head as he sits back down, The air starts to warm as the day progresses further on. Ren continues his training for five hours after Maya had left. His skill was much more refined than that of his sister.
-5 Hours Ago, After Maya had left the Dojo-
She walks through her clans town, looking all around for something to do while she waited for Ren. Maya approached an older man's food stand. She sat down at, laying her head against the table.
"Skipping your training again, Maya?"
"Mhm... Ren beat me again, If I was allowed to use my power, I'd totally kick his butt! Don'tcha think, Old Man Grant?"
"I do not doubt that dear, but you must look at what happened, not what could have. You lost because you rely too much on one aspect of yourself..."
"What're you talkin' about.."
She looks up at him, pouting.
"You rely much too far on your power, It is strong, but if you can't work you power along side your strength, then one will fail alongside the other that already lacks.."
"I don't get what you're sayin', Are you going senile-?"
He looks at Maya with a disappointed face. "Maya, I'm only 63, I wouldn't test an old man's patience."
"Hehe.. It's so much fun though!"
"You'll be in my shoes someday, miss..."
Grant puts a bowl of soup on the table beside Maya, Steam rising out of the bowl.
"Eat up now, before it gets cold."
She whispers quietly as he puts the bowl beside her. "Thanks.. Old Man.."
Grant smiles, putting his hand behind his ear as he leans closer to Maya. "Hmm? what was that? Kekeke!"
"Nothing!! Forget it.."
Maya scoops up some soup on her spoon, coughing as she tried to put the still hot soup into her mouth without letting it cool.
Grant laughs to himself as she does, warning her to be careful afterwards.
"You're the worst, Old Man Grant!!"
"Now now, is that any way to treat and old man who just gave you free food?"
"I was gonna pay, but if its free!"
She laughs as she starts to eat the soup, blowing on the spoon before putting it in her mouth. The two talk as she eats. By the time Maya finishes the soup, half an hour had passed, The two discussed life, The importance of several different things, Maya's training specifically.
She puts the empty bowl on a rack, standing up and starting to run away, waving back at Grant.
"Thanks for the food old man! I'll be back soon!!"
Grant waves back as Maya slowly disappears into the distance.
After a few minutes of running, Maya finds herself standing in front of the forest, looking off into the distance. Maya glances around, making sure nobody is watching before sneaking off into the depths of the forest.
"It's so dark out here, was it not just the middle of the day?"
She spoke calmly to herself as she stumbled around the place forbidden to her. She felt uneasy, as if her being alone wasn't truly alone. A faint blue glow flashes in the distance, easily catching Maya's sharp eyes. She begins to make her way over to the light. She stands over a blue light under some leaves. Clearing them, she looks down at a crystal embedded in a stone, a language she couldn't understand carved into it.
"Woah, What is that? I dunno what is it, but I want it!"
Maya crouches down, grabbing the stone and pulling with all her might, yet it doesn't budge at all.
She stands up, thinking to herself, her mind settles on one option.
"Yeah, that'll work for sure!"
She puts her hands forwards, a blue flame softly glowing in her palms. She pressed her hand against the rock, burning away at the inside of it. Slowly but surely, the crystal was loosened from the grip of the stone. She grabs it with a proud smirk plastered onto her face. She stuffed it into her pocket as she quickly ran back to the village. As Maya returned to the village, she makes her way to her home, quickly running up the stairs and into her room. She closes the door, making sure nobody can enter before stuffing the strange crystal into a hidden compartment on the side of her bed, one added by herself.
"I'll be back soon, so stay put!"
With a huge smile stuck on her face, she quickly makes her way back into town, waiting for Ren to finish training. Thinking about everything she wanted to tell Ren, about how she snuck out of town and the crystal.
-Present Time-
As per the usual time, Ren walks back into the Village, wiping sweat off his forehead as his eyes lock onto Maya, he smiles brightly as he runs over to her.
"Hey Sis! You missed out big time! Training was so fun today!"
"You say that every day, dude..."
"Well, yeah.. but-"
"Yeah Yeah, same boring stuff! I ain't going to training, and I'm certainly not trying.. I don't care about all that!"
"Sis, You can't keep skipping.. Dad says this is super important!"
"Uh huh..." Maya gives Ren a bored glance.
"Y'know Dad's is just tellin' ya' that so you keep training.."
"No!-he wouldn't do that, It's really really important! He said I'm gonna learn some special moves soon!"
Maya breaks away from talk of training, jetting up with excitement out of nowhere. "Oh! Ren, Ren! Guess what!"
"You're really excited! What is it?"
She smirks, looking around.
"It's super super important.. I can't say it out in public!"
Maya stands up, grabbing Ren's hand, taking him to the lake they usual hang out at.
"So!"—Maya stands up, Pointing to the air with a bright smile on her face—"While you were gone, I got super bored, soooo, I went into the woods!"
"HUH!? B-But Dad said we're never to go there!"
"Shhh!!! Don't be so loud!"—Maya reaches forward, pressing a finger against Ren's mouth—"It's no big deal there, and I found something cool, come on! I'll show you!"
Maya & Ren start to walk back to the house. Ren tried to lecture Maya for her actions as they walked.
"Sis... You shouldn't go there! Never ever again!"
"You're such a buzzkill, It was no biggie! Dad's just makin' Ya' worry too much, Okay?"
As the two kids arrive back at the house, Ardun was standing in front of the door with his arms crossed, a disappointed look on his face. As Maya's eyes lock with his, she laughs awkwardly before turning to Ren.
"Maya, I need you to be honest with me."
She looks to Ren with a terrified look, then back to Ardun.
"W-what's up..?"
He raised his head, looking down at Maya as he spoke, his voice rough with a tone of disappointment. "You went into the forest, didn't you."
-Chapter 1: END-