Morning light crept into the room like a shy creature, slipping through the cracks between the crooked wooden planks that served as a window. It stretched across the cold stone floor in thin, pale lines, illuminating dust that floated lazily in the still air. Beyond the walls, leaves rustled with the soft rhythm of a gentle breeze. Birds called faintly from the forest. And from behind the fortress, the colossal roar of the waterfall echoed like the steady heartbeat of some ancient giant.
The world was waking up slowly.
Firion was not.
The water came without warning.
A splash crashed onto his face, sharp and icy enough to steal his breath. The shock jolted him upright, water dripping from his eyelashes, sliding into the collar of his shirt, soaking the ends of his dark blue hair.
A strangled sound escaped his throat as he blinked furiously.
Someone laughed.
Warm, amused, absolutely unbothered.
Vladimir stood above him with a wooden bucket dangling loosely from his hand. He wore a light armor set, the leather straps slightly worn from constant use. Stubble shadowed his jaw, softening his sharp features. His brown hair fell loosely around his face, brushing against the metal earring on his right ear. And his eyes, deep and red like embers behind smoke, carried an affection that never needed to be spoken aloud.
He grinned down at the soaked boy."Good morning, Firion."
Firion pressed his palms to his face."You… attacked me."
"I woke you" Vladimir answered, his grin widening"You refused to get up."
Firion shot upright with a gasp."I did not refuse. I was sleeping. A normal human activity. Something you clearly don't understand."
"I called your name three times"Vladimir squatted so he was eye-level with him"You growled at me."
"I don't growl. Ever."
"You kicked me too" Vladimir added with a thoughtful hum"Right in the stomach."
"That was probably an accident" Firion muttered"Or maybe you were too close. I have reflexes. They're very strong."
Vladimir laughed again, the sound deep and warm."That's why I used water this time. Safer for everyone."
Firion pointed an accusing finger at him."You'll pay for this. I'm warning you right now. Once I'm fully awake, you're finished."
"Then attack me" Vladimir said with a gentle shrug"It'll help you wake up."
Firion narrowed his eyes.His expression sharpened with sudden fire.
"You asked for it."
He launched himself forward.
His feet slapped the floor, his arms stretched out, his whole body throwing itself toward Vladimir with reckless enthusiasm.
Vladimir did not stop laughing.
He stepped to the side with a smooth ease, catching Firion's wrist as the boy flew past him. With a small twist and a gentle redirect of momentum, Firion found the world suddenly tilting. He hit the ground with a muffled thud, landing flat on his back.
Vladimir's knee settled lightly between his shoulder blades, pinning him without hurting him.
"Impressive" he said"You jumped farther than yesterday."
Firion writhed underneath him."I'm going to destroy you when I'm older. I swear. You'll be begging for mercy."
"I look forward to it" Vladimir replied, still laughing"Until then, stay still. You're slippery when wet"
"Get off me. I'm suffocating. This is child abuse. This is torture. This is—"
"You're fine."
He let Firion go and helped him sit up.Firion slapped his hand away, hair dripping everywhere.
"I hate you" he announced"But also not really."
"That seems accurate" Vladimir said"Come. We have work to do."
Firion stopped immediately.Suspicion took over his face.
"What work."
"Take a guess."
"No."
Vladimir headed toward the door."Yes."
Firion groaned loudly."Please. Not the hall. Anything but the hall."
"The hall" Vladimir confirmed with a warm smile"You love the hall"
Firion threw his arms in the air."I love nothing about that disgusting pit except watching you suffer in it."
"Then today will be good for you. You can watch me."
"You're lying. I can hear it. You're going to make me do everything again."
Vladimir said nothing.
Which was confirmation.
They descended the stairs.The air grew heavier with every step.
A thick smell rose from below. Strong alcohol. Smoke that had soaked into the wood beams overnight. Cold bits of roasted meat left in plates. Sweat from hunters who had pushed their training too far the evening before. All of it mixed into a warm, stale blanket of scent.
Firion gagged dramatically."They smell like dead boars. Old, rotting, ugly boars"
"They trained late." Vladimir said"They deserve their rest."
"They deserve soap."
"They don't have soap."
Firion spread his arms in despair."Of course they don't…"
They reached the hall.
Firion froze in place.
The room was a catastrophe.Tables were shifted out of place.Benches overturned.Chopes lay everywhere, some broken, all of them stinking of old ale.Plates were stacked with scraps of food.Smoke still drifted faintly from a brazier that someone had failed to extinguish properly.And on the floor, on chairs, on the tables even, were the hunters.
Dozens of them.
Large, muscular, exhausted men sleeping wherever they had collapsed.
Firion put a hand over his chest."I am… going to die here."
Vladimir patted his head affectionately."You'll live."
"Alive is not the same as happy"Firion pointed at one particular figure"And look at him. Look at him."
Victor.
The twenty-year-old hunter slept face-down on the table, his long blond hair cascading like a golden waterfall over his arms. His face was ridiculously perfect for someone who snored like a dying bear. A half-empty mug dangled from his right hand.
Firion walked over to him with a serpentine slowness.He lifted a mop dripping with cold water.
"Victor" Firion whispered"You handsome idiot…"
Then he slapped the mop onto Victor's face.
Victor jerked awake with a startled gasp.His blue eyes blinked rapidly, confused and bleary.Firion stood above him, proud and furious.
"You smell like fermented mud. Get up. You're helping."
Victor rubbed his face."… Firion… why are you like this every morning…"
"Because everyone else is disgusting"Firion shoved the mop at him"And because I am not suffering alone today."
Victor blinked again.Then he smiled.He had a warm smile, lazy and kind.
"Fine. Give me orders, captain."
Firion puffed his chest."Finally. Someone sensible."
Behind them, Vladimir laughed so hard he nearly dropped a bucket.
The cleaning began.
Slow.Heavy.Excruciating.
Firion scrubbed the floors with all the determination of a martyr.Victor carried overturned benches on his shoulders as if they weighed nothing.Vladimir moved through the hall picking up weapons and sharp objects before Firion could injure himself with them.
One by one, the groggy hunters woke up and staggered out of the room without a word, leaving the three of them to restore order.
Half an hour later, the hall was transformed.
Firion collapsed onto a polished table, arms dangling.His breathing was loud and uneven.
"I'm amazing" he said weakly"I'm the greatest person alive. Build a statue of me. A big one."
Vladimir walked over and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder."You did very well, Firion."
Firion froze.His eyes widened as if he had heard a prophecy.
"… Say it again."
"You did very well."
Firion covered his face."Why are you like this. I can't hate you when you talk like that."
"Good" Vladimir laughed"Come. Training time."
Firion sprang upright instantly."I'm ready. I was born ready. I'm more ready than anyone has ever been ready."
They stepped outside.
The air was fresh, sharp, filled with the mist of the waterfall crashing behind the fortress. The stone walls rose tall around them, dark and vast, like the ribs of some ancient beast enfolding them.
Vladimir stopped in the clearing.
He lifted his hand.
Firion's breath caught.
The air rippled.A warm glow gathered.Then a sword of flame bloomed from Vladimir's palm, bright and alive, painting the air with red light.
He looked at Firion, eyes warm with challenge and affection.
"Ready for the basics, little one."
Firion stepped forward, eyes shining."I want to learn that. Right now."
Vladimir laughed.The sound rose warmly from his chest, rich and genuine, filling the entire courtyard with a kind of easy brightness. The flame flickered as if amused alongside him.
"Right now. Of course you would say that."His eyes narrowed playfully."Firion, you can barely hold a wooden sword straight for five minutes. If I give you a flame like this, you will burn your feet, me, and probably half the fortress."
Firion lifted both arms dramatically."Then why show it to me. You want me to suffer. You want me to explode from frustration."
Vladimir let the flame dissolve, its light fading into the morning air."I wanted to impress you. And to motivate you. You always make the same face when you see it."
Firion pressed a hand to his chest."Of course I do. No normal person would stay calm after seeing something like that."
"There is a reason I showed you."Vladimir's voice softened, though the humor stayed in his eyes."I want you to feel what you could reach someday. To understand what you are fighting for."
Firion raised his chin proudly."I am going to be like you one day. Maybe even better. I will control fire. I will—"
He froze mid-sentence.His eyes narrowed with suspicion.
"Vladimir. Do you think I'll get a fire gift too. Something powerful. Something amazing."
A quiet moment passed.Then Vladimir placed a warm hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Maybe you will get nothing at all."
Firion's mouth fell open."Nothing. How nothing. I refuse. I did not agree to existence for nothing."
Vladimir burst into a louder laugh, the kind that shook his shoulders."Calm down. I am joking."
He ruffled Firion's dark blue hair with affectionate ease."But you must understand. Gifts are not chosen. They are given. By the Sky. By something beyond any of us. Arthur received gravity. And I received the four elements."
Firion blinked slowly."All four. Fire, water, earth, and wind."
"Yes."Vladimir lifted one hand as if weighing invisible possibilities."It is rare. There are only a few awakened like me in the entire Kingdom. It makes me useful. And sometimes complicated."
Firion exhaled sharply."And me. What will I get."
"No one knows."Vladimir's smile widened into mischief."You might receive something powerful. Or something strange. Or nothing at all. Knowing your luck, I think you will receive something ridiculous. Maybe the ability to grow hair faster."
Firion stepped back, horrified."That is rude. And false. And extremely rude."
"I am realistic."Vladimir laughed again."And you are very fun to tease."
Firion crossed his arms."One day I will be stronger than you. With or without legendary hair powers."
"Good. I look forward to the challenge."
Vladimir stepped back and shifted into a training stance.The air around him changed as if obeying his movements.His body aligned with the ground.His posture filled with a quiet, effortless precision.
"Watch my movements."
Firion focused.
Vladimir slid one foot back.His weight shifted smoothly.His hips rotated.His chest stayed open.His shoulders relaxed.Then his hand cut through the air in a gentle arc, a blade imagined but perfectly outlined.Each movement flowed into the next.Every shift of muscle seemed to connect to a hidden rhythm.
Firion mouthed a silent breath."It looks like you're dancing with the air."
"It is the foundation." Vladimir replied with calm certainty."If you cannot master this, you will never touch the real style."
Firion raised his wooden sword.It trembled visibly in his grip."I can do this. I can do anything. I am unbelievable."
"Show me."
Firion moved.
He stepped forward unevenly.His foot slid at an awkward angle.His arm lifted too high.His hips twisted too late.His swing carved a crooked, wobbly line through the empty air.
Vladimir corrected him patiently."Lower.""Breathe.""Your shoulders are too tight.""No, Firion, not like that. You will hit yourself.""You hit yourself."
Firion paused to rub his forehead."That was the wind. The wind attacked me."
"The wind attacks you often."Vladimir's laughter slipped between the words."Continue."
Time moved slowly.
Firion's breath grew heavier.Sweat formed beneath his collar.His arms trembled under the weight of repetition.His feet slipped and regained balance.Vladimir stood nearby, correcting, adjusting, guiding.
Then footsteps approached.
The side door of the fortress opened.Victor stepped into the courtyard.
He wore a dark leather coat fitted to his frame.A longbow rested across his back.A travel pack hung from one shoulder.His blond hair fell like a curtain of sunlight along his spine.His blue eyes held their usual calm, the kind that came from disciplined training and quiet confidence.
"I am leaving for the griffon." Victor said with an easy smile."The one near the town. I received the contract this morning."
Firion straightened immediately."You need to bring me chocolate. The big kind. The expensive one. If you come back without it, I will spit on your bow while you sleep."
Victor blinked before laughing."I will see what I can find."
"Not see. Bring. There is a difference."
Vladimir picked up a pebble.He flicked it gently.It bounced off Firion's forehead.
Firion clutched his head."Why me. Why always me."
"Because you say too many things at once." Vladimir replied warmly."You require balance."
Victor waved, still laughing, and crossed the courtyard toward the exit."Good luck, Firion. Try not to collapse before noon."
Firion brandished his wooden sword weakly."Bring chocolate or I haunt your dreams."
Victor disappeared through the gates.
Vladimir tapped the ground with his training sword."Again. One more hour. You can rest after."
Firion stared at him with despair."You want my death. I know you do. I feel it."
"Not today. Maybe tomorrow."
Firion groaned and continued.
For another hour, he pushed himself through movements that scraped his muscles raw.He stumbled.Recovered.Fell again.Kept going.Vladimir corrected each mistake with gentle patience, softened by laughter.
When the hour finally ended, Firion's legs trembled.His arms felt like wet cloth.His breath came in ragged bursts.But he was still standing.
Then the main gate opened.
Arthur stepped outside.
The seventeen-year-old moved with the ease of someone ready to sprint at any moment.His dark violet hair fell in disorganized strands.His eyes glowed with restless energy.Bandages wrapped his forearms tightly, already stained from older training sessions.
He gave Vladimir a small nod."I take Firion now."
"Perfect timing." Vladimir replied."He is exhausted. Which means he is almost ready."
Arthur grinned."Come on, Firion. Today is muscle reinforcement. You know what that means."
Firion raised both arms in hopeless surrender."It means pain. Endless pain. Why are you like this."
"Because pushing you is fun."Arthur's grin widened."And because you need it."
Firion dragged his feet as they moved toward the training grounds."This is cruelty. Pure evil."
"This is destiny."
Arthur stopped in the center of an open space.He snapped his fingers.
A wave of violet energy swept outward.A circular field shimmered on the ground.A nearly invisible dome rose around them, enclosing both boys in a twenty-meter sphere.
The effect hit instantly.
Firion's body became heavier.His breath thickened.His muscles strained beneath the increased pull.
Arthur smiled, bright and dangerous."Gravitational field. Let's begin."
Firion tried to lift his leg.It felt like lifting a boulder.
"I am going to die."
Arthur stepped forward, his own body pushed down by the same invisible weight."Not yet. First you train. Then you die if you really want."
Firion lifted his wooden sword with both hands.It shook uncontrollably.His breath came out in harsh bursts.
Arthur watched him with a grin that promised chaos.
"Ready, Firion. Move."