Lyn follows Captain Ronah to his office through the building gripping Avalon to herself closely as she looks around the halls. The Captain looks back at her every so often and lowers his head somewhat deterred by her current attitude. As they arrive at the room, he opens the door and lets her inside as she sits in a small chair in front of his desk as he sits behind it. With a large sigh, he leans back and looks forward and stares at her looking straight into her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” He asks seriously.
“Huh?”
“What’s wrong, you’ve been acting strange for days now.”
Lyn looks away from him and puts Avalon down on the ground. “I’m worried.”
“About what?”
“I’ve been dreaming of becoming an Adventurer since I was a child. And now I’m unsure if I can even become one.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
He leans back and looks to her staring at her now long face. “You know I have a brother out there somewhere.”
“Huh?”
“Yeah, I don’t talk about him often, but that’s mainly my fault it’s hard to keep up with him even when we were kids. But he always loved writing songs, he always dreamed of becoming a bard.”
“Did he follow his dreams?”
“Somewhat.” He looks down staring at the desk. “He left home suddenly rushing outside of town with only a guitar and a hand full of money.”
“He didn’t make it, did he?”
The Captain smiles happily holding back his laughter. “Most always say that. He did, in fact, make it to Metepo, hell he even played at the Queen's birthday once.”
“So, are you telling me to follow my dreams?”
“Somewhat, no one can truly tell you how to follow your dreams. It’s up to you to determine how you’ll make your path, and no one can even decide it for you.” He says seriously as he stares ahead. “No one can determine your path, and if you decide to be like my brother and abandon it all with nothing but a wish and a prayer, go ahead and I’ll wish you the best.”
Lyn lowers her head looking towards Avalon.
Becoming an Adventurer that’s a hard task. Honestly, I think it’s best if we just sit around here, but whatever you want to do is fine. I’m just going along for the ride no matter what, anyway.
“I don’t know. My apartment is really crappy, my landlord’s annoying yelling at me about my rent while refusing to fix my doorknob or the various holes in my room. I’m not a good guard, I rush off at the moment’s notice, I steal equipment and go off on my own little adventurers, and I worry that I’m relying too much on my friend Rayne.”
“So, what’re you telling me?”
“I don’t know. I have no idea what I’m doing, I have no idea how to move forward or what it is I’m supposed to. Am I supposed to do this the rest of my life or do I run ahead and try to follow my dreams?”
“Is that what you thought the sword would do?” He asks as he stands up from his desk. “Did you think that finding a supposedly legendary sword would let you suddenly find your path?”
“Yes.”
“Well, the world isn’t that easy. You’ve got to decide and follow that path until the end.” He moves closer and stares at her. “Just like how you thought yourself the sword.”
“What?”
“I’ve noticed the way you hold your blade in battle is quite amateurish. But you’ve taken that and moved to make it all your own, using your Prou to forge your own way.” He says seriously.
“Well I didn’t have a choice, it’s the only thing I’m good at. I only found out what I could do is experiment and work at it.”
He smiles as he looks down at her. “That’s the point. Forge your path if others assist to help you along the way take their aid and then move ahead and if anything blocks you break through it and move towards the future on your own two legs.”
Lyn looks at him and stands up grabbing Avalon as she nods and leaves the room. Captain Ronah smiles as she leaves and turns around moving back to his desk and sits down happily.
“One day I’m sure that girl can do it, however, she does I’ll have enjoyed the time she was here. Even with all the broken blades and the stress, she’s just like my brother was, and that’s why I’m sure she can pull it off. She just needs a little push in the right direction, just like he did.”
Lyn rushes out into the training grounds as the sun sets high into the sky as everyone leaves the grounds. She puts Avalon down sitting him on the bench as she pulls a sword from the nearby weapon racks. She takes the sword and slashes into the air as she jumps into the sky practicing her forms and the way she holds the sword.
What’re you doing? Avalon asks confused.
Lyn lands and stares up at the sky. “When I was a kid, I wasn’t so good with my Pour.”
What’s a Pour? Is that how you can keep standing in the sky like that?
“Yeah. Everyone has a Pour, it’s a sort of magical gift that everyone has from the moment they're born.” Lyn leaps into the air and stands in midair looking down. “I can stand on the air, and I call this ability Air Walk.”
Then can you walk in the air?
“Somewhat, it takes a lot of effort. But I wasn’t as good with this ability as I am now.” She says leaping from spot to spot. “I jumped a lot in the air and moved from spot to spot until I could figure out how to master this ability. It took forever, and I fell, I hurt myself, and I even quit at times.”
And then you got good at using your ability. So, what does that have to do with what you’re doing now?
“Because I learned a lesson there, and I have to remember it. I have to go back to the very basics of my abilities and learn from everything I’ve already done in the past and use it to move forward.”
Really?
“Yes, and while that might mean I can’t wield you properly for now. One day I’ll figure out how you work and make you truly mine.”
Yeah, I believe in you. I’ll work hard on my end and figure out how I can manage to make myself work right.
“Thanks, Avalon.”
As Lyn stands in the air swinging her blade, a figure watches up on the roof looking down with a sinister gaze. They stare down at Avalon holding out their hand as they imagine the blade in their hands and smile as they make their plans.
