*AETHERIUS*

After finishing choosing our weapons, we headed to the training area while looking for our rings and someone who could adjust them to fit us. Meanwhile, our parents took Elowen to buy the things my siblings would need to return to the academy.

Trevor, Layra, and I were in the room to test our weapons. Trevor was awestruck seeing his sword and how perfectly it resonated with his fire magic, balancing it and doing some exercises with it. "Wow, guys, look how good I am, huh?" Trevor says with a smug face.

"It suits you well," Layra says, juggling her spear, trying to get used to its weight by making various attacks. She noticed that even with her magic, she could move fluidly without having to exert too much effort. "I like how it feels, but the weight of the blade still takes some getting used to," she says happily.

"And you, Ther?" Trevor asks. "How do you feel about your weapon?" I respond, "Well, apparently fine, but due to my height and the height and weight of the weapon, they don't quite match. I can compensate for that with mana strengthening," I say frustrated. "Don't worry so much; the taller you grow, the less discomfort you'll feel," Layra says. "Right, I just need to get used to it little by little," I start to make a pattern of attacks, spinning and moving the scythe between my hands, passing it behind my back, moving and twisting my body smoothly so the weapon passes without hurting me. Then, I add my lightning attribute, making a cut and releasing a lightning bolt hitting the target. "Awesome," I say with a satisfied expression on my face.

Atheria arrives with the rings and the person who can adjust the rings for us. Atheria tosses Trevor his ring, "Trevor, this is yours," "Thank you, Miss Atheria," Trevor thanks her. "The other one is for Layra," "Thank you, guild master," "And you, dear, this one is for you," she approaches me to hand me my ring, "apparently your ring matches your weapon; that's good." At the same time, a man arrives and asks us to show him the rings, which we do. Next, he places our rings on each of our palms, and they start to glow.

When we open our eyes due to the sudden light, we realize the rings are already placed on our middle fingers. "As you grow, the ring will also expand, so you won't have any discomfort from constricted blood flow," "Thank you," we say in unison. Then, we are given some instructions, "It seems you've already tested the weapons with your affiliated element, so you just invest mana in the ring and in your mind say, 'manifest,' and your weapon will appear."

Just as our parents arrived along with Elowen, "Oh, she's here; she missed adjusting her ring," my father says, pointing to Elowen. "Of course, allow me then," the man gives the same instructions to our parents since Elowen hasn't finished manifesting her affiliated element yet. So he just gives her the ring, adjusts it, and gives the weapon to our father to keep.

Some introductions were missed as some members were running errands in other places, so we decided to head to the academy, chatting comfortably until we reached the academy gates, with the gear they brought from home.

"See you later, my children, take care and eat well, see you next time when Trevor graduates," my mother says. "Train hard, kids, especially you, Trevor, you don't want your brother to keep defeating you," my father says with a mocking smile. "Yes, Dad, I won't let Trevor beat me next time," Trevor says as he grabs his head and ruffles my hair. Layra was saying goodbye to Elowen, hugging her to calm her crying since they wouldn't see each other for a while. "Calm down, Wen, we'll see each other later, right? Keep training so you can fight your sister next time," Layra says smiling at Elowen. "Yes, Layra, I will, I promise," we all finish saying goodbye, and we let Trevor and Layra go.

We continued on our way to our inn where we would rest for the rest of the day, leaving in 2 days in the morning to explore a bit around.

The next day, we went out for breakfast at a restaurant owned by the guild where my parents had unlimited access for being part of the guild. So Elowen and I ate until we were full, then we went back to the guild to greet other members we couldn't greet yesterday.

"Hello, man, it's been a while since I've seen you," a muscular man with black eyes and short reddish hair in his early thirties hugs my father. "Likewise, Octavious," my father introduces us, "Ther, this is Octavious Lamish, a man who has more muscle than brains but smart enough to fight," "Nice to meet you, Mr. Octavious, I'm Aetherius Emwind," Octavious laughs, "Nice to meet you too, boy, I like your appearance, especially those eyes that reveal you're the son of these two," "Thank you," I reply.

"Hi, Altea, it's good to see that you're still in shape despite your age and four kids. From what I see, they've done well since they retired," that compliment earns my mother a kick in the butt from my mother, then three more people arrive, two women, and one man.

One of the women was about a head shorter than my mother, one of those people who wear little clothing but show enough, slender with a good bust, pearl-colored hair, and gray eyes.

The other woman was the same height as my mother, and like my father, she had white hair, although they weren't related, and her eyes were much lighter green than my father's. Even though they had few curves, in this world, I seem to be condemned to fall in love with any woman older than me.

Finally, a man with long blue hair and pink eyes, those eye colors never saw them coming, he was tall like my father, athletic body with tan skin.

The first woman speaks, "Hi, guys, how have you been?" "Very well, and you, how have you been?" my mother asks. "You know, here and there, there and here," the woman looks at me and is surprised, "oh my, who are these cute children? Nice to meet you, I'm Sara Millar, I'm an earth element squire, and my core is yellow; I'm 29."

The second woman introduces herself, "Hello, children, I'm Valentina Eliot. I'm a fire element mage and I handle dual blades. I'm 31 years old, and my core is at the yellow stage." 

Next, the man introduces himself, "Nice to meet you, kids. I'm Fredic Butcher. I'm an ice mage, and I can handle the double-edged long axe. I'm 32 years old, and my core is stable in yellow."

"Pleased to meet you all, I'm Elowen Emwind. I'm 9 years old, my core is in dark red, and I'm showing signs of earth element despite being in the process of my first refinement. I'm going to learn to handle a thin-bladed greatsword." Elowen introduces herself with great enthusiasm, earning a hug from Sara.

"Likewise, nice to meet you all. I'm Aetherius Emwind, I'm 12 years old, my core recently stabilized in orange, and I'm affiliated with the lightning element, just like my mother. I can handle the scythe," I introduce myself to the three of them, and they stare at me almost as if they're analyzing me. "What a child with such a peculiar appearance," all three of them say at the same time. It seems like most people here tend to speak their lines at the same time. Sara speaks first, "I like your combination of hair and eyes." "Me too," Valentina and Fredic say at the same time.

"It's fascinating genetics. How did you inherit the hair color and eye color from your parents?" Fredic says, fascinated. "Well, it doesn't matter. Hopefully, we'll discover it someday," he finally says.

"Why don't you come with us to the training area?" Valentina says. "Let's go, why not?" I follow them as they hug Elowen, and our parents follow us.