The spark of Lyra's idea caught flame over the evening meal. The stew was simple, but the conversation was rich with possibility.
"I can make more," Alistair said, meeting his sister's calculating gaze. "But I can't do it alone. The carving and sanding take the most time. Lyra, you have an eye for detail and your hands are steadier than mine with fine work. Will you help me?"
Lyra looked surprised, then thoughtful. She was used to managing trades, not creating the goods herself. But she nodded, a slow, determined smile spreading across her face. "Alright. But if I'm going to be a proper artisan, I expect a share of the profits. And we do it my way—we don't just make chairs, we build a reputation. The 'Ironwood' brand."
Their father, Kaelen, chuckled, a low, rumbling sound. "My children, turning woodcutters into merchants." He shook his head, but there was pride in his eyes. "The forest provides. Use the deadfall and the thinner birch. I'll help you season and treat the wood. We do this as a family."
The plan was set. The wall would be built in the mornings, a few feet each day. The afternoons would be for crafting.
But that night, as the homestead slept, Alistair sat on his cot, the sounds of his family's breathing a comforting rhythm around him. He closed his eyes and did something he hadn't truly done since waking up in this new world: he deliberately, methodically, assessed his assets.
**First, the memories of Leo, the Engineer.**
This was the bedrock. Knowledge of physics, mathematics, and structural integrity. It was the reason the wall was sound and the chair was ergonomic. This knowledge was a powerful tool, but it was inert. It needed this world's energy to truly shine.
**Second, the memories of the Boy, Alistair.**
He sifted through them, focusing on the tales told by traveling bards and the gossip of the village elders. This land was the **Kingdom of Valerius**, a realm of proud knights and reclusive mages. But they were in the **Eastern Marches**, a vast, sparsely populated frontier on the very edge of the kingdom. The King's law was a distant rumor here; the true powers were the local barons and the untamed wilds that stretched for hundreds of miles beyond their village, Oakhaven.
They were on the frontier. Isolated. Vulnerable. The wolf pack wasn't just a random event; it was a symptom of their position. If a baron decided to raise taxes, or a monster wandered out of the deep woods, or a bandit lord decided to carve out a fiefdom... they had no one to rely on but themselves.
A cold clarity settled over him. Comfort wasn't just about warm chairs and full bellies. It was about *security*. It was about the strength to defend the peace they were building.
**Third, the Power.**
He focused inward, on the two nascent forces within him.
* **The Sword:** His body remembered the boy's clumsy swings. But Leo's HEMA knowledge provided a framework—a understanding of leverage, footwork, and economy of motion. He wasn't learning a style; he was *building* one, combining the practical, powerful movements of a woodcutter with the precise theory of a duelist. He named it the **Woodsman's Step** in his mind.
* **The Magic:** The earth mana was a sluggish, heavy river within him. He could feel it, but directing it was like trying to push a boulder with a stick. He needed control. He needed a system. The Sovereign's Path had given him a quest for synchronization, but it hadn't given him a manual.
He reached out with his senses, as he had with the pebble. But this time, he didn't push. He listened. He felt the deep, patient silence of the stone foundation of the house. He felt the slow, resilient strength of the earth beneath it. He wasn't trying to command it; he was trying to understand its nature.
A new screen, different from the quest log, appeared before his closed eyes.
```
[Mana Affinity Detected: Earth]
[Core Concept: Foundation. Endurance. Stability.]
[Beginner Exercise: 'Stillness of Stone' available.]
[Focus on the concept of unyielding stability. Let your mana resonate with the earth below. Do not force it. Let it settle.]
```
Alistair breathed out, letting the tension drain from his body. He wasn't pushing the boulder anymore. He was simply leaning against it, feeling its immense, patient weight. The sluggish flow of his mana didn't speed up, but it grew… calmer. More focused. The headache that usually accompanied his efforts never came.
When he opened his eyes, the world seemed sharper, more solid. He felt grounded.
The next morning, the work began in earnest. Kaelen and Alistair returned to the wall, their movements more synchronized now. Bren continued his vital duty as clay-master. And in the workshop—a cleared space under a lean-to—Lyra sat with him, a carving knife in her hand.
"Show me," she said, her voice all business.
Alistair guided her hand, showing her how to follow the grain of the wood, how to shape the curves of the armrests. It was slow, painstaking work. But as the sun climbed, a second chair began to take shape, this one a collaborative effort, a product of brother and sister.
That evening, as Lyra massaged her sore fingers and Kaelen admired their growing wall, Alistair looked at his family. His father, whose strength was their shield. His sister, whose mind was their key to prosperity. His mother, whose love was their soul. His brother, whose spirit was their future.
He had assessed his assets. They were not just stone and mana. His greatest assets were the people around this hearth.
The path was clear. He would build the wall to protect their bodies. He would build the chairs to secure their comfort. And he would master the sword and magic to become the unyielding foundation upon which their entire future would be built. The Eastern Marches thought them weak and isolated. Alistair would turn their homestead into an unshakeable bastion, the first stone of a new legacy in the wilds.
```
[Quest: 'The Hearth's Warmth' - Objective 2 Updated!]
[Synchronization Progress: Swordsmanship (Woodsman's Step) - 18%. Mana Control (Earth Sense) - 25%.]
[Skill Unlocked: Earth Sense (Novice)]
[Familial Quest: 'The Seed of Commerce' - 1/3 Chairs Complete.]
```