When Yuriko returned downstairs, her eyes were puffy and swollen but her composure had returned and she felt ready to face the revelations of her Atavism. If she only knew exactly what it did, then it would be much easier to plan. 

The aroma of lunch drew her to the kitchen where Virgil was carrying a rasher of bacon. A plate full of fried potatoes and a pitcher of lavan juice was already at the table, along with a woeful Rami, throwing hurt glances at his elder sister. 

Yuriko gave him a wan smile and ruffled his hair. "Sorry."

That was all it took and her little brother was all bubbly smiles again. He didn't say anything else though and, instead, looked over at Virgil. 

"Feel better?" Virgil asked with an eye at the crispy bacon and another at Yuriko. 

"I guess." 

"Well, let's eat first. Things won't seem as bad after you've had a full stomach."

Nodding, Yuriko noticed that the table was set for three. "Kato?"

"With his friends." Rami snorted. "Ever since he and Caera became 'friends', he began preferring his gang's company."

Yuriko blinked. "Who?"

"Dame Virra's daughter. It’s because Kato had such a sweet tooth that they're together." 

"Don't say that, Rami," Virgil rebuked, "it's not polite."

"Yes, Da." But Rami stuck out his tongue with a grin. 

Yuriko poured glasses of lavan for herself and Rami. 

"Kaf for me, thank you." Virgil took some of the bacon and placed it on his plate.

Kaf was a stimulant derived from the leaves and roots of a shrub endemic to Rumiga. It was one of the town's chief exports. She mixed the ground leaves and roots shavings with freshly-boiled water. 

Virgil usually drank a cup with every meal. 

When she returned to the table, she found her plate with a heaping serving of bacon and potatoes. 

"Finish your plate."

Rolling her eyes, Yuriko dug in. 

The meal was finished quickly and in relative silence. Virgil filled a mug of kaf for Yuriko.

"Drink. It will help you with your Animus later."

Plate empty, Yuriko took a sip and blanched at the bitterness. She added a dollop of honey, tasted it, then added a bit more. Only then did the kaf become palatable. 

The warmth from the drink spread from her belly to her core. Her Animus, half-depleted from her attempts at inlaying her Facet that morning, recovered slightly.

"Kaf can help recover your reserves, but it's only effective if you've gone through the Atavism Ritual." Virgil added, "don't drink too much though, otherwise, it will have the opposite effect."

Yuriko nodded. 

"Rami, once you're done with the dishes, continue with your lessons."

He stood up and motioned for Yuriko to follow. They sat together on the porch. Father and daughter nursed a mug of kaf each and settled on an armchair facing each other. 

"Care to tell me?"

Yuriko shook her head then hastily clarified, "I'm not sure. I can't seem to get the inlay process started."

"Oh? Is there anything in the pattern that's familiar?"

Yuriko looked at the kaf as though the muddy brown liquid held the secrets of Chaos. "I...don't know. I think it's closer to Mother's, but from the vision…"

"Before you continue," Virgil interrupted, "You don't have to tell anyone what you saw during the ritual."

"It's fine, Da." Yuriko sighed. "I've been trying since this morning and I can't make any progress."

Virgil grunted. "The difficulty of your first pattern inlay is usually proportional to the pattern's power. It's good that you're having a hard time."

"Really?" Yuriko perked up. 

"It's not always true, but it's more likely so than not."

"My vision showed me mother's and your pattern. The one I have isn't even located in either of yours."

Virgil’s eyebrows furrowed in deep thought. "Hmmm."

Yuriko took another sip of her kaf, swirling the liquid in her mouth. The honey in the kaf blended well with the bitterness, adding to the flavour rather than overwhelming it. 

"What's your problem with inlaying?"

Yuriko was startled out of her blue mood. "Uhm…I can't figure out which of the terminal points is the start. I've tried each of the ones I found at the edges of the pattern but none of them worked."

"That's troubling," Virgil muttered. "Where's the pattern located?"

"My head."

"Oh? Hmmm, your Heritage might be derived from your mum's line, then."

"It looked nothing like mother's."

"It may not, at the start."

Yuriko shook her head. "I'm sure it isn't, Pa. The feel of it was completely different."

"You're basing this on your visions? Be aware that they may not reflect reality. Either way, we're now faced with a rather thorny issue."

Yuriko fidgeted uneasily. "What to do?"

"Yes, what do you want to do?" Virgil shook his head, "I knew that the chances of you receiving your mum's Heritage would be more likely than you receiving mine. But I trained you in my path anyway. Why do you think so?"

"Because I asked?"

"Hah, yes well, that's one reason," Virgil grinned, "but the other is that most of the skills I had you practice are useful no matter the path you choose. Unfortunately, until you figure out your Facet, there's no way you can specialise."

Yuriko shuddered. "More basic training?"

Two years ago, when she had finally been allowed to train with Virgil--well, more like she pestered him until he gave in, really-- she had been subjected to increasingly intense strength training. Running in the morning followed by calisthenics, and sometimes weight training. 

Weight training was done every two to three days but endurance running was done every morning. 

It wasn't that she disliked it but the monotony was unbearable, especially when Virgil started her on Animus usage and marksmanship training the year after. Then she had gladly thrown herself to skills training, conveniently neglecting the original, foundational sets.

"More basic training." Virgil smiled. "There's also the training camp for you newly-awakened kids but that's a couple of weeks away. I'll make sure you're ready for it. None of this training will be wasted once we determine your Facet. You still want to join the Imperial Legion Vagaris?"

There were other choices available, if she really wanted. Virgil now served as the Watchtower’s Commander of the Militia but prior to that, he was part of Vagaris. The Imperial Legion’s mandate was to explore the Chaos and secure any habitable plane they found for the Empire. That was also where he had met their mum, who now served the Imperial Court in Realmheart. 

Marron was in the militia but only until he gained enough rank and experience to transfer to a Legion. Kato followed a similar path and graduating from Agaza Academy was the first step. Rami could speak of nothing but destroying the Wyldlings that threatened their safety but since he was too young to attend the Atavism Ritual, his path was far from being set. 

Yuriko wanted that life; she wanted to follow the same path her Da and brothers were following. She wanted to roam the Chaos Sea and discover new planes and bring them under the Empire’s protective light. And the first step towards that dream was to enter the Agaza Academy in Rumiga City. 

Virgil remained quiet throughout her musing, sipping his mug and making contented sounds. 

Yuriko met his eyes and nodded. 

The fact that her Heritage wasn't the Davar Marksmanship would not stop her from fulfilling her dreams.  

“I’ll write to your mum about your Facet. She may have an idea what it is and how to advance it.” He stared at her gravely. “Yuri, you still have the rest of the season before you can enter an Academy. You don’t have to rush, but needless to say, having a Facet inlaid is necessary to enter Agaza.”

Yuriko nodded as she finished her kaf. She felt better after talking with her Da. She felt the weight of his expectations, too; she had been lost after the ritual but now she could somewhat see what she needed to do.

The Atavism Ritual had been conducted during the 91st Day of Earth and lasted until the 1st Day of Fire. She ended up spending the rest of the day trying to inlay her pattern, but to no avail. There were eight terminal points at its edges, and none of them appeared to be the correct one to start with.

Depleted of Animus, she set about making dinner for her family. It reflected her state of mind perfectly: she overcooked the vegetables and undercooked the beef. Kato teased her mercilessly about it but as annoyed as she was, all she could do was throw a weak kick to his shin that he easily dodged.

*-*-*

The 2nd Day of Fire saw Yuriko up bright and early, making a breakfast of waffles with butter and honey. She left them on the kitchen table and left for her morning run. Kato, Rami, and Virgil were still in bed when she left the house. Yuriko’s days would flow in about the same way from this point on.

Her choice of clothing was a pair of loose cotton-weave pants, a brown sweater over a white tank top, and her most comfortable pair of running shoes. Her hair was in a tight ponytail, though some strands of hair swung free. She had wanted to have her hair cut short but not only had her brothers protested, saying that long hair looked great on her, Virgil had threatened to tell their mother.

Matron Rosie was already awake as well, sweeping her front porch when Yuriko ran by. 

“You’re up early!” Matron Rosie yelled out, waving. 

Yuriko waved back. “Need to run today!”

“Take care then!” The Matron yelled back. She was a bit hard of hearing but she had a heart of gold and a very discerning eye. She babysat the Davar children a few years back when Yuriko’s mom had first been stationed at the Imperial Capital.

After jogging past a couple of households, Yuriko slowly increased her pace. She was headed west for now but as soon as she hit the Farmer’s Market, she intended to loop around to the Children’s Park, then the Town Center, before heading back home for a proper breakfast.

She sucked her breath in sharply and groaned. She had forgotten to set aside any of the waffles for herself. By the time the ravenous horde got through with it, she might find herself without anything left to eat.

Yuriko sighed. Oh well.

She sped up to a sprint for a few hundred paces then slowed down to a jog for another couple hundred. The idea was to keep alternating between the two speeds for the duration of the run.

The Farmer’s Market was already bustling when she passed by. Her clothes were already damp with sweat and she found herself constantly wiping any that beaded on her forehead.

The start of the Season of Fire signified warmth and heat, with only the first few days of it still exhibiting some of the chill of the Season of Earth. As the Seasons changed, different parts of Rumiga experienced strong variations of weather, though it rarely snowed in Faron’s Crossing during the Season of Water.

With the Season of Fire came the Harvest Festival which was about six weeks away. The start of the Imperial Academies’ enrollment drive would come the week after. 

‘I need to finish the inlay before then.’ Yuriko thought. 

She waved to the farm hands who yelled out a crisp good morning to her while she ran on. She saw Ashley Gin among them holding a basket of greens. She noticed Yuriko jogging by and nodded in greeting.

Soon enough, she was on her way to the Children’s Park where she, her brothers, and other neighbourhood kids fought mock battles using the two forts on opposite ends of the park. Wooden swords and arrows tipped with bundles of cloth were provided and they spent many happy hours playing Knights and Wyldlings.

This early in the morning, there were no children in the park yet; instead, a middle aged woman wearing an orange jacket was clearing the park of litter and leaves. 

The Town Centre was already busy at this time. Aside from the Temple, the Centre also had the militia’s command center and barracks where Virgil normally went on the mornings when he didn’t need to be at the Watchtower, and the town hall where Alderman Rivos, the nominal head of Faron’s Crossing, held office. 

By this time, Yuriko’s path was over four longstrides long and the alternating sprinting and jogging had taken a toll. She was down to a slow jog the rest of the way home. 

Her brothers and Virgil were feasting on waffles when she arrived. Someone had thoughtfully set aside a plateful for her which she was grateful for. She grabbed a glass and filled it with water from the tap.

“Flexibility today,” Virgil declared.

Hydrated, Yuriko nodded and trudged out to the backyard, a small, fenced-in garden with a covered wooden deck.

Yuriko began with doing a full split. On the deck, she extended her left leg forward and her right leg to the back until she was fully down. She bent forward, touching the tips of her toes and held it for a few seconds. She then bent backwards as far as she could.

She moved through several positions, grunting as she reached the limits of her joints and tendons and tried to push past them ever so slightly. She was ever mindful of what her body told her and never quite pushed beyond to what would definitely injure her. There had been mishaps in the past where she’d been overenthusiastic and wound up unable to train for weeks. More than anything, it was the regression of her abilities that she regretted rather than the forced idleness.

When she was done, she soaked in a tub full of hot water, allowing the heat to soothe her fatigued muscles. She would probably be so stiff the next day that she would barely be able to move. Still, Virgil had instructed her to push her limits as much as she could and she was determined to take his words to heart.