As they left the town behind, Arshan and Aric ran for hours, their footsteps pounding the earth in unison. The sun beat down on them relentlessly until they finally stopped at the river's banks. The cool water was a welcome relief, and Arshan splashed some on his face and clothes. He looked out at the river, where his reflection stared back at him wheatish skin, black eyes, and hair, with clothes that showed the wear of their journey.
Aric was also a sight to see, his light black hair and grey eyes contrasting sharply with his knight suit and armor. Despite their hardships, Aric looked every bit a warrior, moving fluidly and confidently.
After resting for half a day, they set off again, leaving the river behind. The path was dangerous, but Aric led the way, skillfully navigating through the dense forest. They walked for three days, taking breaks along the way, until they finally reached the old village.
As they neared the old cottage, Arshan thoughts swirled with emotion. He was lost in thought when he bumped into Aric, who had stopped at the entrance. Aric knocked on the door, and an old woman answered, her face creasing into a warm smile at the sight of Aric.
"Ah, Aric!" she exclaimed, her voice trembling with emotion. Tears glistened on her cheeks, and Arshan realized she was crying. She hugged Aric tightly, and Arshan understood this was Aric's mother, Grandma Gillian.
The cottage was warm and inviting, filled with the smell of cooking food. Arshan stomach growled as Grandma Gillian served them a bowl of steaming hot rice. Exhausted from the long journey, he soon drifted off to sleep.
When he woke up, Grandma Gillian smiled at him, her eyes full of kindness. "Poor child, everything will be okay," she said, wrapping him in a tight hug.
Aric and Arshan sat at the table, and Aric unfolded the map of Basera Kingdom. The kingdom was vast, about the size of Poland. Aric studied the map, his expression serious.
"There are thirty-four nobles in our kingdom, now thirty-three," he said in a low, steady voice. "The twelve nobles from the north and west support the third prince. We don't know about the others."
Arshan listened closely, not wanting to miss anything. When Aric's eyes met his, he nodded. "The king is still alive, so there won't be a civil war... at least not yet. It's better for us if it's delayed a few more years. We'll be ready in eight years."
Aric looked back at the map. "There's a bigger world out there, Arshan. Basera is just a small part of it. Our first challenge is here in Basera."
Arshan focused on the map, absorbing every detail. "We should start by cutting off the third prince's supplies," he said firmly. "The route between Mahnis and Odario city is a good spot for our first strike."
Aric grinned, a fierce glint in his eye. "Absolutely, good plan. But first, you need training. Come follow me." With that, he slung his bazooka over his shoulder, and Arshan knew their journey was just beginning.
The biting cold of winter had descended upon the land, making it an ideal day to stay indoors. However, for Arshan and his instructor, Aric, the weather was merely an obstacle to be overcome. The young boy breath misted in the chill air as he charged at Aric, his wooden sword flashing in the pale sunlight.
Aric, a seasoned warrior, watched Arshan movements with a discerning eye. "The boy technique was improving, but he still had much to learn". With a swift motion, Aric deflected Arshan sword and kicked him to the ground.
Arshan sprang to his feet, determination etched on his face. He threw his sword at Aric, attempting to distract him, and then charged from the right. Aric stopped the sword with ease, but Arshan was already sliding towards his legs, his eyes gleaming with a mix of excitement and frustration.
Aric thoughts were a mixture of amusement and concern. "The timing of his sword and sliding is good for a seven year old boy, but he needs a long way to go".As Arshan struck, Aric jumped out of the way, avoiding the blow.
"There it goes, another unsuccessful try," Arshan grumbled, pouting. "You're no fun, Uncle. Let me hit you once."
Aric chuckled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "You're wrong, boy. You shouldn't abandon your weapon on the battlefield. It'll cost you your life. Remember that."
Arshan nodded, his face set in a determined expression, and charged again. The training session continued for five hours, until Alphonse grandmother, Grandma Gillian, appeared with a tray of sweet buns.
"Listen well, Arshan," she said, her voice firm but kind. "There will be no one on your journey towards your dream, not even Aric. He'll be there to help you on some occasions, but you have to make your path by yourself. Your hard work will make it easier to get through that road."
"A family needs to be strong," she continued. "If there are any doubts in a family between husband and wife, that family can't go past a few more years. It's the same for a kingdom. A kingdom citizens are like wives to the king, and king need to take good care of them. A kingdom with a good foundation will never crumble."
As Grandma Gillian finished her lecture, Arshan sat down, folding his legs and closing his eyes. He began to breathe in and out, focusing on the flow of Mana within his body. Few people awakened to their aura through this method, preferring the quicker but less effective method of injecting aura from another user into their body. However, Arshan was determined to build a perfect core, one that would allow him to store 1.3 times more aura than those who used the injecting method.
Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. Arshan trained daily, listened to Grandma Gillian lectures, and cultivated his aura. And then, on the 25th day of June, 3011, according to the Ferdical calendar, Arshan felt it. The flow of mana through his veins, the mana hitting the veins' circuit, opening a path. His eyes snapped open, a sense of excitement and wonder filling his chest. He had done it. He had awakened.
Arshan had his eyes closed while focusing on transferring his mana from the veins throughout his body (all major arteries) into the core of his body. The way the mana flowed into his body was very similar to how water would flow through a river, if it became too intense, Arshan would still be able to hold on. But he had to concentrate on developing the Core and not on his body being overwhelmed by the mana flow.
A lot of sweat dripped from his forehead, as he tried to maintain himself without giving up. It took everything he had to finally develop the Core and feel the mana flowing through his body.
He had finally created the Core for developing his own aura energy and he felt an immense surge of pride.
The world of Ferdica had a lot of different tier levels, every time you progressed one tier higher, it provided more and more opportunities for you to develop a larger and larger aura energy. In total there were eleven tiers of Aura User. When you reached the first tier, you would have increased the total number of years you lived. For example, in first tier your Life was extended by 8 years,
in 2nd tier, you would have increased the total number of 21 years.
Arshan first step to becoming an Aura User was the first step towards achieving this goal.
Aric was watching Arshan very closely, he could see that he had done very well at completing his task. He said to Arshan, "You have done better than I expected."
Then Aric took off into the trees above to see if there were any possible threats around. Even though he was in direct sunlight, he continued to run and remain aware of the surrounding area while maintaining a heightened level of awareness.
Aric walked straight into the village and found Arshan. The 9-year-old seemed to have mastered the skill of looking proud of himself. Soon enough he would be harnessing his peerless confidence as a weapon.
"Arshan, I found out a caravan is traveling the Odario city routes." Aric presumable pointed out the obvious since he knew his voice would not carry. "It belongs to the 3rd prince. If we intercept it and steal the valuables, we'll deal him a heavy loss." The excitement in Arshan was undeniable, "There's no need to ask, I'm in, let's go!"
Aric found himself grinning as he watched Arshan excitement. It was in his nature to want to prove himself.
In the 16 months since their escape from the Count manor. Aric knew he would
have to lead a loyal following. After enough time he did have a following loyal to him. Most were in abject poverty. These were the people that the world deemed worthless. They were the loyalist people Arshan would come to lead.
After four months of training, 357 people had been assembled who were all genders and
from all professions. Those people had learned how to fight and how to stay alive in a world that was against them and how to take the next step toward a new way of living.
The plan was to attack a caravan so they could take its resources. While this was
an extremely risky plan, Aric had complete faith in his team's ability to execute it as he had chosen his team carefully and he believed they would be willing to follow him anywhere.
On the morning of 28 August 3011, as per the Ferdical calendar, Arshan and Aric stood at the forefront of their 357 fellow warriors. Although they looked like a hodgepodge of people, they were united in their desire for a better existence. With a nod, Aric indicated for everyone to begin moving towards Mahnis, his thoughts focused on what lay ahead.