Two days later
The sun was setting by the time Luis and Sera made it back to the village. On the walk to his house, Luis did a big stretch, spreading his arms out wide and taking a big yawn. The journey made his entire body feel sore but the thought of his comfy bed brought him a sense of relaxation. Luis looked over to Sera who would be taking a different path to her house.
Looking straight ahead while walking on the village pathways before they diverged into two different paths.
"I won't be dropping you off, you can go back by yourself."
"Won't Mom want to know why getting the blessing took longer than a month? She will probably want to talk with you."
"And that's why I am not going to drop you off"
"Oh, that makes sense."
As the pathway diverged Luis did a slight jog heading to his house turning around and waving.
"Bye Aunt Sera."
Sera waved back
"Bye Luis"
Stopping in front of his house, the familiar sight brought him a sense of relief. Upon opening the door he was greeted by the excited voices of his younger siblings.
"Big Brother!" Kael and Lira yelled,
Both were six years old and were born as twins. Kael was chosen by the Phoenix to be the next clan proxy, meaning the next clan leader. No one knew how the Phoenix did it while it was dormant, and since it hadn't spoken to Luis in a long time, it did not look like they could ask it. Kael had taken his looks from their dad, with black hair and dark green eyes. Kael was three feet eight inches tall and has a slim build.
Lira on the other hand resembled their mother more. She had brown hair and brown eyes.
She was taller than Kael, four feet tall and had more of a healthy build not slim or overweight. The Xoliti clan deity when visiting to seal the Phoenix essence from leaking out, saw how Lira had no blessings in her, none that had been passed down to her. The deity attributed this to the Phoenix being born in Luis and choosing Kael as a proxy. It then offered to pass off its blessings to Lira.
The Xoliti clan being a clan who's blessings are not made for battle have a lot of blessings in their lineage that are just meant for supporting and enhancing their main blessing abilities. The main reason for this is that the Xoliti clan like a few other clans is a clan whose blessing is not compatible with any other blessing that is not a support blessing. This means that they need to have perfect support blessings.
Of course, as the years went along the clan found better and better creatures to receive support and blessings from. This caused their current problem since everyone is born with one blessing from their lineage. It hinders the clan being able to get the perfect blessings which all support each other perfectly.
Though it will be slowly possible as people start using the worse blessing less and less, the process is too slow. Within a months time of when they get a new core, they will have to get other blessings, so blessings from their lineage don't appear. This gets harder and harder as a person reaches a higher aura tier because they gain multiple aura cores. If someone goes form the intermediate to elite tier they make eight new cores, meaning that if you don't want to inherit any bad blessings you have to find multiple creatures that can offer better blessings in a one month time limit.
The Xoliti clan deity wants to see how strong a person with the perfect support blessings would be. This is why it chose Lira when he saw that she had no blessings. Luis was also born with no blessings but the Xoliti clan deity did not want to make the perfect set of blessings through Luis because their was a high chance he would die, meaning it would never be able to see the full potential.
Noah and Elena, unlike the other clan members, did not reject the idea of the Xoliti clan deity offering its blessings to Lira as a sort of heir or person who could in the future give birth to Xoliti clan members with a perfect set of blessings. They believed that having the support of a strong clan deity would make their daughter safer, which led them to agree with the Xoliti clan deity.
Kael and Lira both crashed into Luis, their faces lighting up with excitement.
"Big Brother!"
Kael and Lira, both five years old and born as twins, rushed toward him, their small arms outstretched. They crashed into him, their faces lighting up with excitement.
"Did you get the blessing?"
Kael asked eagerly, his eyes wide.
"Yeah, what did it look like?"
Lira chimed in, bouncing up and down.
Luis couldn't help but smile.
"I'll tell you in a second, alright?"
He heard footsteps coming from the house and turned to see his mother, Elena, walking out of the kitchen. She furrowed her brows slightly.
"Your home later than, you were supposed to be, Luis,"
Elena said crossing her arms.
"You were only supposed to be gone for a month. Why did it take so long?"
Luis hesitated,
"I actually ended up getting two blessings, Aunt Sera said I should get another blessing."
Elena spoke in a sharper tone
"Did she tell you before or after you left because I had to go to Uncle Bane and find out why you were so late."
Luis responded in a quick and earnest tone. "Mama, it wasn't my fault she told me after we left, I had no choice it was by force I couldn't do anything"
Elena's tone softened a bit
"I thought she told you but you didn't tell me,"
With a bit of frustration in her voice,
"I'm not surprised she did that but don't worry you won't have to do something random next time. Well, all that matters is your home now, so what blessings did you end up getting." Elena said with a smile on her face.
Before Luis could respond, Kael and Lira tugged at his sleeves, their voices filled with excitement.
"Big brother show us your blessings! we wanna see"
Kael said
"Yeah! What can they do, we wanna see"
Lira added eagerly.
Let's go outside I'll show you, Luis said as he smiled down at them.
Elena watched with a smile, before interrupting them. "
Let your older brother have some food before going. Also Luis there's going to be a village event next week. It's a blessing showcase where everyone from the nearing village comes to show their blessings, it will be a good chance for you to show off yours and see other cool ones."
Luis froze surprised,
"I thought that wouldn't happen for another two months, they always happen at the same time every two years."
"Oh that's because after two months the kingdoms have a succession ceremony, so everyone has to get ready to celebrate that"
Luis replied more confused now "What's a succession ceremony?"
"Well it's when the king has gotten too old or thinks one of his sons can lead the kingdom better, so that's why he's gonna be the new king"
"Wait, does that mean it's like another village festival? Will there be good food and games when the celebration happens?"
Luis responded in a more curious tone.
Kael and Lira chimed in excitedly at the same time
"Wait, Mama! You didn't tell us there would also be food?"
"Yes, there's gonna be food and games. But for now, Luis, come get some food, and all your questions can be asked while you're eating."
.
.
.
The moon shone light on the forest clearing as Luis stood in the center with small arcs of lightning crackling around him every few seconds. His father stood by a tree with his arms crossed while his mother stood near his younger siblings smiling while Luis demonstrated his new speed and improved defense from his new blessings.
Luis glanced at his younger siblings, Kael and Lira, standing opposite him. Both of them had their auras faintly glowing, a mix of determination and mischief in their eyes.
"You have been showing your new blessings but why not give more of a proper demonstration."
Noah said his tone calm but challenging.
Luis tilted his head.
"What do you mean papa."
Noah smiled.
"Practice with Lira and Kael. A sparring match. But no kicks or punches you can't hurt them. You can only grab them or make them tap out. And Lira and Kael can do whatever they want. All of you can use your blessings fully."
Luis glanced at his younger siblings who both looked eager to spar.
"That's fine with me."
They finally moved deeper into the forest away from the village. Into a much bigger clearing surrounded by tall trees and soft grass, perfect for a private sparring match.
Kael and Lira stood opposite of Luis thirty meters away. Both channeling their auras to activate their blessings. Luis stood on the opposite side with faint sparks of lightning flickering around him every few seconds, doubling his speed.
"Ready?" Noah called out.
"Ready!" Kael and Lira responded.
Luis gave a small nod, his stance relaxed but focused.
"Go!"
Kael charged forward first, his movements steady and precise. His eyes glowed a faint white hue with the effects of his blessing *Undying Will*.
A non-elemental Phoenix blessing that helped sharpen his focus and mental clarity in battle. Kael didn't use his other blessing resistance that damped the effects of heat or cold and even mental attacks. These were two of the many blessings the Phoenix can give.
Lira stayed back, her hands glowed as she used her first blessings received from the Xoliti clan deity called *illusion*.
Luis's eyes widened as a veil of darkness rose around him from which four Kaels emerged each moving in sync with each other.
"Not bad"
Luis spoke as he was genuinely impressed by the illusions and their coordination.
The veil of darkness fell as soon as the four Kaels appeared from behind it. They attacked in unison aiming at him from all sides. Luis relied on his reactions and reflexes. Sidestepping the first strike ducking under the next.
The speed from his lighting blessing allowed him to quickly dodge all the attacks but he still had to focus and anticipate them.
The coordination of the Kael's made it hard to pinpoint which one was the real one and as Luis could not attack them, he could not do anything to find out which one was the illusion. If he defended the wrong illusion he might get punched by the real one.
Additionally, Lira could then dispel the illusion and cast a different illusion to distract Luis.
While dodging Luis caught something at the corner of his eye, grass flattening near the tree-like. A footstep.
Luis smirked widely.
"You should watch your steps, Lira."
With a burst of speed, he dashed by the Kael's towards the spot. His blessing doubled his speed and with Luis having a bigger build than Kael, it didn't let Kael catch up to Luis.
He had caught Lira off guard with his speed. He reached out his hand brushing against something invisible.
Lira yelled as her invisibility from her second blessing given by the Xoliti clan deity dropped. Luis grabbed her wrist gently but firmly.
"Hehe got you,"
Luis said while grinning.
"Dispel the illusions you would have lost in a real fight."
Lira frowned but nodded as she deactivated her blessings.
"Fine"
she muttered.
Luis turned to face Kael who now stood alone since the illusions dissipated.
Kael stepped forward with determination pointing at Luis with his right hand.
"Brother no more tricks stop running away, let's settle this with a test of strength."
Luis raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"You sure about that Kael my lighting blessings don't raise my strength, but… I'm still pretty strong"
Kael said with determination from his blessing.
"It's fine I can win"
The two brothers walked closer locking hands their grips firm both their hands outstretched forwards. With Luis towering over Kael.
Undying will sharpened and bolstered Kael's determination. His muscles tensed as he used all his might to push, locking eyes with Luis.
Luis held his ground with a relaxed expression. Luis was impressed with Kael's strength but him being older and more athletic gave him the edge in this test of strength.
Kael gritted his teeth straining his muscles more as he tried to overpower his older brother.
"I'm not giving UP!"
Luis chuckled.
"I know you won't"
With a controlled push, Luis forced Kael's hands down, his movements deliberate. Kael stumbled and fell slowly backward on his bottom with a hint of frustration on his face.
Luis helped Kael up and patted him on the shoulder. "
That focus of yours is impressive Kael but you can't beat me yet."
Kael sighed and then grinned
"I'll win next time."
"We will see next time then."
Noah stepped forward with Elena a smile on their faces
"You all did well." said Elena
Noah then spoke
"Lira your illusions were convincing and your coordination with each other was very good. And Kael that resolve is impressive and your aura control is also very good I noticed the punches you were throwing with aura when attacking with the illusions."
Lira crossed her arms
"You won't see my footsteps next time."
Elena smiled,
"And Luis you handled yourself well. You already have great control over your blessing, it's good to see how much you have improved after your training with Sera when getting the blessings."
The family began the walk back to the village, the forest illuminated by the moonlight. As they walked Luis felt a sense of pride seeing his siblings grow stronger and felt more confidence in himself to grow stronger.