"Up to it, Sami, we got a lot of ground to cover!" cheered Teacher Anna as she marched ahead with Lyra.
Sami was struggling to keep up with the pace with the amount of weight he was being forced to carry. For "training," the teacher decided that it would be best for Sami to carry all the bags everyone had. Which, mind you, isn't that big of a deal, right? Well, it is, because he was given wristbands and ankle bracelets that increase the gravity that is on his body proportionally to his body weight.
Sweat poured down his face as his breathing became labored. They have been walking for about half a day now as the sun beamed down on his back, as if finding amusement at his predicament. Nonetheless, he continued to trudge behind Lyra and the young-looking teacher.
Onyx, though, lazily sat on his shoulder, quickly becoming her favorite spot when they went places. Anna continued to hum as she skipped ahead along the path. Sami looked at her back as he remembered the lecture she gave before they left this morning.
"The goal of being a good mage doesn't come from strong magic. Nope, it comes from a strong body," She nodded as if giving sage advice. Lyra was laughing at him as he was struggling to stand up off the ground after receiving the gifts.
As Sami looked off in the distance, just thinking over things, Lyra and Anna were actually shocked at the progress he was making. When Anna first helped to teach Lyra, it took a whole day for Lyra to even move off the ground.
Let's not even get started on how long it took Lyra to get used to walking. Lyra couldn't help but feel slightly jealous of the talent he's shown so far.
"Teacher, how much further do we have to go before I can rest?" Sami huffed out. Onyx nodded in agreement even though Anna couldn't see it.
"We go until we find the mist, and with the mist, our journey should begin," Teacher Anna replied. Her voice took on a mystical kind of tone, almost high-pitched in nature.
His face went into confusion at the reply as he tried to understand what she meant. "Um, I'm confused on this journey you're talking about. I thought we would be making our way to the academy?" Sami questioned.
Instead of Anna replying, it was Lyra who answered, "Honestly, Sami, do you think I would've stayed behind instead of going on another hunt?" Shaking her head at his lack of forethought. "General Mercer sent out Teacher Anna to help us give you a crash course on magic and how it works."
"Crash course?" questioned Sami.
"Exactly, crash course, or let's say a quick rundown on how the world works," interjected Anna. Her voice turned serious as she even stopped skipping, though she kept walking, making sure everyone stayed on pace. "Only three people in the world know you exist, and your grandfather didn't want to throw you into a den of wolves without protection."
Sami stumbled a little bit, almost causing Onyx to fall off his shoulder before righting himself, going quiet as he tried to understand the implications of what was being said.
"You going quiet makes me believe you're overthinking things again. I mentioned it before, granted it was under terrible circumstances, but the Royal Academy isn't safe," Lyra commented, her voice going sad at her memories.
Anna didn't say anything as she took back on her goofy appearance once again, skipping down the road, humming a song. Anna, while 33 years old, looks around the same age as Sami and shorter than him due to her use of transformation magic.
While she keeps her face the same, she changes her hair quite often, today making it shoulder length and blue because she felt it.Anna, while young for a teacher, has a lot of accolades, even helping Mercer save Sami (not that Sami would remember).
She was known as the Blood Maiden due to her ruthlessness shown on the battlefield. After the war ten years ago, she retired from being a knight, becoming a teacher in the academy as part of the change Mercer was implementing at the time.
A loud thud suddenly broke the reminiscing Anna was doing. Looking back, she noticed that Sami had finally fainted on the floor. Skipping over to his downed body, she could see Onyx waving her hand over his body to make sure he was okay. Lyra followed Anna, awaiting instructions.
Quickly, Anna waved, disabling the runes on the weights Sami was using. Removing the two bags from his back, she handed them to Lyra to carry. Lyra took with them without complaint, as Anna snapped her fingers as Sami's body began to float in the air.
Onyx, in awe, quickly climbed on Anna's shoulders. "Your magic is strong," she gushed, clapping her hands in excitement. "Will you be able to train Sami to be like you?"
"OH, MY SWEET ONYX, FORGET ABOUT SAMI!" commanded Anna, her voice echoing across the road they're walking. "BECOME MY FAMILIAR!" Her eyes were sprinkling as if trying to convince Onyx she is the better choice.
Onyx realized she made a mistake and quickly jumped off Anna's shoulder, rolling on the ground before getting to her feet, taking off running up the road, with Anna following quickly behind her.
"Don't you run from me, my precious!" Anna growled out, increasing her speed to match Onyx.
"NO MEANS NO!" Screamed Onyx. "LYRA, HELP ME!
Lyra shook her head in amusement as she watched them chase each other down the road. Sami's body was still floating next to her, keeping pace with her walking speed as his small snores could be heard. Usually, she makes jokes or is rude to hide her true feelings.
Looking at the sky, she couldn't help but be sad at the loss of her teammates. She was the youngest of the trio, but they helped her open up, and be better than what she was. A kid that overcame a loss of family, hell, they were the ones who helped her learn how to enchant her swords so she can finally use magic like her parents.
It's one of the reasons why she forced Mercer to let her train Sami, to make up for the mistakes of not being strong enough. To help someone new join their world, like they did for her. Wiping tears in her eyes, she watched as Anna chased Onyx down the road, feeling much freer than she had in the past week.