"Mother!" Ysevel's emotions carried in her voice and our connection. Her eyes flared with scarlet mana as she used Kalia's odoruki technique to quickly reappear in front of her mother, whom she wrapped her arms around tightly.
Aurae tried and failed to hold back her tears, gently stroking the back of Ysevel's head, buried in her chest. "It's alright, child. Welcome home," Aurae's voice cracked. I could hear Ysevel's gentle sobs from where I was, and I knew she'd been holding back her emotions for as long as she could.
Of course, that all went to shit as soon as she laid eyes on her mother.
I stood by as they strode down the steps toward me, wrapped in a side-by-side embrace. Ysevel wiped away a few tears from her grimy cheeks, while Aurae did her best to do so less messily. A warm, welcoming sensation filled my core, and I knew she was just as grateful to be home as I was.
"Welcome home, Thoma. Your mother should be here shortly, as I'm sure she's sensed your presence," Aurae's warm voice hardly managed to hide the well of emotions I could tell she was feeling.
She was a fellow Wraithborn, after all.
"It's good to be home, Your Majesty," I responded with a low bow. "No. No. You don't need to bow to me. You should know that already," she chuckled. "Ah, right. It's just been a long time," I chuckled nervously, prompting Aurae to tilt her head to the side. "What do you mean? Oh, are you talking about your training with the hegraphene?" she asked curiously.
"Yes. We were there for the equivalent of ten years," I shrugged. "Ten Years? But you haven't aged a day," she stepped forward to inspect me more closely. "According to your daughter, I reached my maturation point about halfway through our training," I replied loosely, hoping she wouldn't mind the smell of blood and sweat too much.
After inspecting every bit of me and my armor, she chuckled through her nostrils before stepping back. "Well, in that case, I guess you'll make a finer suitor for Ysevel than I thought," Aurae quipped, wasting no time in addressing what I was sure she felt between Ysevel and I. "I'm just glad you approve," I chuckled nervously.
Aurae stifled a laugh as another wave of my companions stepped through. Irun, Kalia, and Athar, still holding Devyr, stepped through the portal. Many of the guards flinched at the sight of the two hegraphenes, but Aurae immediately recognized Kalia as a fellow Wraithborn and held up a hand to stop the guards from approaching with hostile intent.
"Hell of a welcome party," Athar muttered as his gaze swept from left to right. "Welcome, friends," Aurae said, hiding whatever anxiousness I could feel coming from her. "Mother, these are Irun, Athar, Lady Kalia of the Iron Plume Clan, and her daughter Devyr," Ysevel gestured to each of them.
Aurae's eyes widened slightly, but she quickly got her surprise under control at the mention of Kalia. "So, you're the other Wraithborn," she said, nodding her acknowledgement. "I am, indeed. It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty. I've heard so much about you from your daughter that you almost sounded like a myth," Kalia bowed, a gesture I didn't expect her to use.
"You're exceptionally well-spoken for one who's never interacted with royalty in this Realm. Did my daughter teach you that?" Aurae chuckled. "Both your daughter and Thoma have taught me many things, nearly as much as I've taught them, Your Majesty," Kalia continued formally, still doubled over from her bow.
Aurae lightly tapped Ysevel's shoulder, prompting her to loosen her grip around her waist. She stepped forward, prompting the guards to shift uncomfortably as she approached Kalia. I immediately felt a sense of shock and surprise emanate from her as Aurae gently touched her shoulder.
Kalia looked up, visibly confused, but Aurae's warm smile put everyone immediately at ease. "From one mother to another, thank you for caring for my daughter during her time with you," she said warmly. Kalia glanced at me, then at Ysevel in search of any answer, but when all we could offer her was an approving nod, she gave a light relenting chuckle.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. It was an honor to have trained and fought alongside her. I pray her strength will serve this land for as long as she lives," Kalia spoke warmly, her eyes welling with tears of joy. Aurae shook her head and chuckled. "You don't need to address me by my title. My name is Aurae," she smiled. "Thank you, Aurae," Kalia's voice rasped through a light-hearted laugh.
Before Aurae could address the others, the four of us turned toward a surge of Wraith and Ethereal mana that came from my right. I smiled, knowing exactly who it was, but immediately felt a tinge of anxiety, knowing my mother's personality.
Within the split second that followed, my mother's mana permeated the air around us, and I felt Kalia tense at the presence of such intense Ethereal mana, but I put a hand on her shoulder and shook my head to let her know it was alright. Ren followed closely behind her, but his usual, blank expression hadn't shifted since he already knew we were here.
He must have told her we were back. There's no way any of the guardsmen here were that quick to reach the training area, I nodded to him, getting a subtle grin in return.
"Thoma! Ysevel!" my mother's voice resonated through the snowy courtyard, halting a few dozen meters away from us. Her entire body was letting off steam through her training attire, likely having interrupted her training to come and greet us.
I stared at her with wide eyes before shifting the surprised look on my face into a warm smile. "Hi, Mom. I'm home," I barely managed through the lump in my throat. Wordlessly, I could feel the Ethereal mana in her body surge as she dashed in to hug me, heedless of the others. The air cone left in her wake as she dashed in parted a hefty amount of snow.
Her arms wrapped around me as she crashed into me, forcing me to immediately shift into my fourth stage just to keep my balance before wrapping my arms around her tightly. "I'm so sorry, Thoma. I couldn't get to you in time," she said softly, her voice slightly muffled by my armor.
"It's alright, Mom. I'm back now," I nodded with closed eyes, squeezing her back just as tightly as she was me. As she pulled away to cup my grime-covered face in her hands, I opened my eyes, remembering to shift back out of my fourth stage before I did so. A warm, pride-filled smile grew as she firmly patted my shoulder.
I could feel everything she was and knew she could feel my emotions through the Wraith realm's connection, too. After a moment of exchanging silent words, she raised an eyebrow at me curiously. "I want to see them," she said cryptically, her eyes darting between each of mine.
I was confused for a moment, but recognizing the fact that I'd shifted in and out of my fourth stage so quickly made me sure she'd sensed it.
"You mean this?" I grinned, my eyes filling with scarlet mana once more. "Haha! That's amazing, Thoma. You've broken through the fourth stage on your own! A shame I wasn't there to see it," she cheered, patting me on the shoulder with much more force than I anticipated. "I didn't do it alone. There's no way I could have," I nodded in Kalia's direction, who shifted somewhat uncomfortably.
My mother looked at Kalia with unbridled curiosity and then quickly looked back at me to confirm the myriad of thoughts that had passed through her head.
"I can feel what you're thinking, Commander Siraye," Kalia spoke from a bowed position. "You're wondering how a hegraphene whose mate you killed would willingly take the son of his killer under their wing," she continued, speaking as clearly as she could.
My mother looked at her with widened eyes. "Just know that while I haven't fully recovered from Gravar's loss, I know that you were the better warrior, and as such I must admire your strength," Kalia continued, never once lifting her head.
"But how could you know my strength?" my mother asked, stepping toward her. "Not only did I watch your battle with Lord Gravar through his eyes, but also because of your son," Kalia answered plainly, getting an even more surprised look from Aurae and my mother.
"With everything he and Ysevel have taught me over the last decade, I have held you in high regard, using your son as both a metric and a standard for your character. I only hope that my bond with your son will not get in the way of us learning to trust each other as I do him," she continued, bowing slightly lower as she spoke.
Like everyone else who hadn't spent much time with Kalia, my mother was bewildered at what she said. She glanced back at me momentarily, but all I did was smile and shrug. She looked at Ysevel, who didn't offer anything different than I did, and chuckled as she scratched the back of her head.
She stepped toward Kalia, forcing her Ethereal mana to radiate around her, then suddenly shifting it to scarlet as she placed a hand on the hegraphene's shoulder. I could feel her mana tugging at my core, making me look to Ysevel, who silently confirmed the same sensation with a nod.
My mother took a deep breath and let it out slowly, reducing the amount of mana in the process. She glanced at me over her shoulder one last time, giving me a wry smile.
What are you planning? I sent, knowing that look of hers likely meant she wanted to fight her.
"Lady Kalia of the Iron Plume Clan," she began, gently pushing her shoulder upward to make her stand at full height again. "Yes, Commander Siraye?" Kalia asked, holding her gaze firmly before glancing down at an outstretched hand.
"Swear to me that in both victory and defeat, in honor or dishonor, in life or death, and in the wake of the end of whatever wars we wage in the future that we will always stand by each other's side," my mother said firmly, causing everyone's jaws to drop simultaneously.
So that's why you looked into our cores. Did Ren teach you that trick? I asked, feeling a proud smile grow. Perhaps, she returned wryly.