Chapter 192 - Gergusser

"Shall we start with your training?" a few hours had gone by. News about Arda's alliance with Oxshield sped slowly. A few individuals spread said news as a rumor. Coming out right away would have caused too much of an uproar. With it being just a rumor, the ones responsible could sit atop and study the reaction. For most people, many were angry at first, lashing out and swearing. Despite it being a rumor, many thought it was serious. Those who lashed out were drunken, the wise chose to remain silent and study from the sideline.

That burden fell onto branches that monitored and helped with what the populous needed. Simple atop but complex underneath, Arda's rule could not have been any more complex. Details of which many remain secret for it was unnecessary for the public to know.

"Yes," dressed in a leather bodysuit, with a small chest piece and leggings – Eira stood. The sword given to her went along perfectly with her hair and body. "What about you?" they stood in a small training ground – one used by Staxius so many months ago. One that the Protector had access to.

"Well," he sighed, the tone gloomy, both stood in the middle, "-I broke the first rule of being a swordsman. One must always keep their blade and never do harm for it's thy soul that one wields. Tis was what my father taught me anyways." Each word he said was captured instantly by Eira's photographic memory, she forgot nothing – a blessing and a curse. "Nevertheless," the tone semi-serious, "-exception can be made to that rule. Tis but a way to keep swordsmen from not letting their blade getting blunt."

"I get that," she interjected, "-how does that relate to us now?" she asked.

"What it comes to is this, one who chooses the way of the sword must be strict and never abandoned the weapon. What I did was a sacrilege, I broke my blade without a second thought – to which I must atone by not wielding another sword ever again," the voice serious and eyes blank.

"Surely you jest," Eira took a step back, to not wield a sword again, what sort of joke was this, the mind wandered.

"I'm pulling your leg," he chuckled.

"Come on," she sighed in disappointment.

"Never forget those words, it may be a joke right now, but out in the field – if the weapon breaks, you become worthless to both thy side and the opposition."

"Are you going to teach me without fighting, what about our spar?" the voice sharp and unforgiving.

"You've sure grown a temper," he pointed out, "-what happened to being cool and composed, aren't you the ice-princess?" he teased.

"You got me there," her stance relaxed, all that small talk wasn't without purpose.

"Much better," he smiled. "-the rigid and stressed stance is now gone."

"Were you trying to get me to loosen up?"

"Who knows," the eyes changed into one serious, the hair levitated, it untied itself from the ponytail. "Either way, you better show me what you got," a smirk later, "-I'll brandish a sword if you can put a scratch on me."

"Don't underestimate me, father," her eyes went from red to blue in an instant, without incantation, ice-spears manifested and hovered behind. She immediately took the lightning-strike stance, shadow variant. Not even a second went by, the sword unsheathed with the aim directed at Staxius's neck. Even a trained fighter would have had a hard time evading, much less blocking. Alyson's technique truly was a thing of wonder.

"Good effort," to him, all that felt slow and sluggish. An effortless sidestep sufficed to get out of the way.

"Not yet," she called, the ice-spears weren't there any longer. Immediately, he got down onto the knee, the spears shattered into the wall in front. "You've certainly grown," he complimented to which, her eyes never left her opponent. From a barrage of ice-based attack combined with a very good sword technique – it took him by surprise just how much the girl had grown. The eyes were filled without doubt, her control over her magical element was scarily good. Naming her a prodigy would not have been far from the mark – however, it would but disclaim all the work put in.

*Huff, Puff,* she panted, sweat dripped but froze, and icy-cold mist came from her body. From her chest outwards, it was frozen, the feet were vailed by a black mist. Eira wielded both Ice and Shadow – one offensive and one defensive. It was a common misconception by many, as strong as the ice was – it sure gave a good defense but tis was at attacking where it shined. The Shadow element perfectly suited disrupting a person's vision, creating diversions and personal enhancements.

"I'm not done yet," the fighting spirit remained, *Ice-element: Gergusser,* the temperature dropped, a dragon manifested itself above her back, it looked impressive but not fully formed. A single slash sufficed, the beast on her back followed the path laid by the sword. A beam of dense and pure ice shot out – the devastation sent tremors throughout the floor. All of the power converged into one single point, Staxius's location.

"Weak," a voice echoed. At full force, Eira gave it her all, a move she had been working on secretly behind the scene – a move strong but unpolished.

"Weak…" she could not believe it, "-even with all that," her eyes opened wide, the stance faltered, fatigue took over. "Who cares," not wanting to give up yet, the intensity of the beam grew, it froze the entire room.

"You managed to cut me," he voiced, *Blood-Arts: Crimson Threads.* A tiny cut on his face, one that didn't give much blood. It only but made a single line, a line that held Eira's unplanned attack, a single thread that blocked the assault and remained unhinged.

"You've improved," he vanished, "-good to see that the training wasn't in vain," the voice came from behind, "-sadly, this battle is over." That same tiny thread of blood poked at her neck.

"What about holding back against your daughter," her body let loose.

"Jeez," he caught her, "-you sure are reckless," he smiled.

"H-how was i-it," she asked, fatigue slowly faded, Staxius transferred over some of his mana. "With that skill level, you've gone beyond my expectation," words of encouragement to not break the spirit.

"I did get you on the receiving end for a bit, so I'm happy," the energy revitalized.

"Just so you know," both sat on the ground, she laid on his lap, "-that move you pulled. Gergusser, I don't know if this may be related to anything but, that's the name of an ancient dragon. Similar to Undrar, the bringer of death, you also have Gergusser, the Lady of ice," the mind wandered around.

"I see, the name just came to me one night whilst I was out training in the nearby forest. I came across a cave that looked frozen and figured why not use my ice-element there and practice. Ever since that day, there's a moment where I can't hold-back the element. My whole body freezes, to a point where I can't move."

"You should have probably told me this sooner but what the heck," the eyes closed, rather than one aura, there was two present inside her. 'Ancient dragons were imprisoned long ago, cursed by creation itself to never be awakened. That was what I got from Lord Death's library. If my suspicions are correct,' his hand rested atop her forehead, 'Eira might have accidentally found the imprisonment site. It would not impress me if that dragon felt an affinity to her power,' he smiled.

"What's the reason behind that creepy grin?" she faced upwards at her dad.

"Disrespectful much, calling yours truly creepy at such a young age. Can't you see the beauty that shines before you," he spoke out in jest, the eyes stared upwards and the hair levitated.

"Ha-ha-ha," she laughed without concern.

'Just in case, I'll add a limiter to the secondary aura,' without her knowing, the hand moved – using knowledge from a forgotten time, symbols and writings were placed on her back. She thought he was playing around trying to tickle her. 'I've made it strong enough to hold any forceful takeover, she should be able to harness that secondary aura's power even if it's not Gergusser.'

"Alright," he stood, "-get up, training is not over yet." For the next few hours, each time Eira got tired Staxius helped by giving a portion of his mana. Nothing dangerous though complicated. He managed to teach her what his father did for three months in one day. Further analysis of the way of the sword. Nothing that would counteract what Josiah had been teaching her.

"Maintainers sure aren't going to be happy," he pointed out, the room was destroyed. Mainly with ice, and explosions from mana control, the lesson ended.

"Not my problem," she voiced proudly.

"I'm headed to the bath," Staxius called first – the one he used with Xula.

"I'll join you," the stance unbothered, she didn't care about dignity when face with her dad. "Do as you wish, just make sure to not cause another problem," he led the way, the next task was to contact Skokdrag again.

'This is heaven,' he sat with eyes covered by a towel. Consciousness slipped into the realm of dreams.

"Don't mind if we do," Eira and Shanna came to join.

"He's asleep," the queen pointed out and soaked.

"I must say, I've never seen that vulnerable side of him before," Eira pointed out, "-I always thought dad was strong, but never this," she smiled.

Another few hours went by, night time came sooner than expected. From a bath, he decided to head to the royal bed chambers and spend the rest of the afternoon sleeping. A moment of rest – it had been hard; the past few days were filled with unexpected events.

"Wake up," teeth sunk into the neck.

"Cut it out," he jumped, "-again with the jaw-ring wake-up call."

"Was that supposed to be a joke?" Adete watched intently.

"I guess comedy isn't suited for me." The time now was six, a quick visit to the portal room revealed Skokdrag's location. It didn't take much convincing. The dwarves were happy to help with the newly acquired building. Tharis got fixed as well as new clothes. The increase in size had put quite a strain on the attires previously owned. Nothing a quick visit to the tailor couldn't fix. He went back to the previous uniform, the same worn for the trip to the mainland.

"I'll be off for today," not staying the night, he left. Eira had a good lesson and Xula managed to spend some time with her beloved. All and all, a normal day except for the newly founded guild.

"This is where you'll be working," a temporary portal from Arda to the office was opened. "I've laid out the specifics and plans, now it's time to impress yet again with that craftsmanship."

"No worries majesty," the same accent and same joie de vivre, the man wasn't afraid to take on challenges. For the next two days, the place would be off-limits to everyone. It would give the party time to rest and recuperate.

'It's over,' silence – after taking care of Skokdrag, he headed back to the shop. Laid inside the attic, the moon could be seen through the window. 'I do wonder how far Eira will go. That girl has tremendous potential… Gergusser, he thought, 'the lady of ice.'

The mind could not settle down, '-imagine the power she could wield if that secondary aura came into her complete control. I fear that it may also devour her from the inside. Let's hope that there never comes a time where she has to unleash everything and go out of control. I shudder to think what that could bring.' With this new development, another question was raised, '-what if there are other people whomst were possessed by the five great dragons,' an idea which seemed out of reach but plausible.