Chapter 140 - Before The Challenge

♪Hello from the other side...♪

"Hildie, is this kid going to be okay?" (Jonrad)

"... I don't know!" (Hilda)

"He'll be fine." (Nurina)

"Don't think too much about it." (Jullanar)

♪And I, will alwaaays, love youuu...♪

"I kinda like the songs though, where did he learn to make songs like that, sister Nurina?" (Jonrad)

"His past life as he said." (Nurina)

"Again with that?" (Hilda)

"Let me tell you about dragons." (Jullanar)

♪Near! Far! Wherever you are...♪

"I am not sure if this song is good for him." (Nurina)

"Remember that time on the ship, Hildie?" (Jonrad)

"Yeah! I hope you have burnt that drawing." (Hilda)

♪When marimba rhythms start to play, Dance with me, make me sway...♪

"Can anyone just tell him to stop!" (Jonrad)

"You're his father, you should be there in a time like this." (Nurina)

"Yeah, I am well aware but lately I feel like kinda out of practice to give advice about love." (Jonrad)

"That's it!" Hilda was officially done with it. "Jonhild Jonrad Ve Firemane, you have three seconds to stop this or else!"

She walked in Jon's room kicking the door.

"Alexa, pause!"

<Confirmed!>

Hilda was looking at Jon with a strict face but the strange voice that replied to Jon made her confused.

"What was that just now?"

"Alexa."

"???"

"A corporeal being that can play songs and do a lot of other stuff. The real name is a secret or I will be in trouble."

"... I don't care about that now! Stop acting like this... if you like the girl, go look for her."

"I have sent over a three hundred flying familiars all over the town, the fort, and some to Eastmarsh but none found her."

"Flying familiars? Don't tell me... all these ghost-like birds that are flying all over our territory are yours?"

"Hmmm! Yes, I just made some to look for her instead of me."

"....." Hilda was left speechless. It seems she has discovered something new about Jon's absurd conjuration ability.

She left him with some words of warning to not play music again and walked down.

"I am glad its over." Jonrad breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey, Nurina. Did you know that Jon is the behind all these flying creatures that are flying all over the place."

"Mhm!" Nurina nodded with a smile. "Don't you know he can summon a hundred Undead already? Jon's ability has become far crazier than what I anticipated after he started training in that Fire Garden."

"Sigh! Now I have a son and a husband to keep them off that place. How did you deal with that boy all these years?"

Nurina closed the book in her hand and rested her back on the chair.

"Normally, Jon was the easiest kid to raise, the first to speak, the first to walk, the first to understand. I thought it was talent but it seemed that things just get done around him as if he is another responsible person like an adult. Sometimes he gets lazy like this but he earns it."

"Will he be alright?" Jonrad asked.

"He'll be fine."

Nurina said and cast a look at the person who was stroking Nefertiti in the corner.

"Master! I am sowwy, I didn't think anyone would be there."

"it's not your fault. Still, why are you sticking around here?" Hilda asked Alina.

Alina, who has come since the early morning was sitting there wearing a big hood and covering her face.

"I found her sneaking away from the familiar birds Jon sent. I told her to come here since this is the only place Jon won't be searching." Jullanar replied.

"Sigh! Are you afraid of facing him?" Hilda asked.

"He, he is very determined to find me. But it is... I am afraid that..."

Those who were here knew about Alina's problem. When she was young, everyone blamed her for her mother's death and thought of her as a scary child with strange eyes, it caused her to develop a fear from getting her face seen. This is why she started wearing veils. What made her not to remove the veil, even though she gained a bit of confidence and became popular in her clan, was how she grew up to be a beauty Skyrim rarely saw twice in an era. This and that led to her being a very shy person without her veil.

Once before, a visitor to the clan saw her and news spread about her in the other clans. It was said that the Moonblade clan closed its doors for a year until all the so-called visitors stopped flooding.

"Anyway, is he focused on the challenge of tomorrow?" Jonrad asked.

"He'll be ready." Nurina said.

"Yes, he asked me about the details of the challenge this morning. He looked focused." Hilda said.

"Good!"

"What will this challenge be like?" Jullanar asked.

"I saw it once." Alina replied. "Even though the challenge of my clan was said to be pretty intense, the Firemane's challenge was said to take place in the Mind Realm. Sometimes things get really scary as I heard and sometimes it doesn't take a minute."

"It was short with me. Father took the challenge with me so I was really focused and reached the Wolf Guardian in a minute. Jonrad however..." Hilda said proudly.

"Sigh! Let's just say things get really scary if there is a dragon in your Mind Realm. I have never seen a dragon in my whole life and to see on in my mind was an experience that I don't want to experience once again." Jonrad said.

"Oh my! You might need to buckle up as the dragons will be coming in four years and it will get crispy." Jullanar replied imitating Jon.

"It sounds much better when Jon says it." Nurina said.

"Don't believe me? We'll wait and see then."

"So, which Guardian Beast will Senior get to have?"

Alina asked that question and everyone fell silent. Jon would have replied "The Cat!" without a single doubt but this was a serious matter this time. Even Jon himself was concerned about it secretly.

The problem is that in the Mind Realm, one should Chase, Battle, or Imitate their Guardian Beast to win its recognition. In Jon's case, there is a big chance it is either the Wolf or the Dragon like his parents but parents aren't always the deciding factor.

Still, it wouldn't be a problem if Jon found the Wolf in his Mind Realm, the problem, however, comes with the Dragon.

Throughout the Generations of the Firemanes and the 'Titanborn Clan' they originated from, only a few managed to gain the recognition of the Dragon. Ve Firemane couldn't gain it even though he was a proud patriarch. Jonrad Firemane, however, managed to gain it in an outstandingly from the first try. The power he gained by the Dragon made him the most fearsome expert among the Clans. Even though Jon heard the story, it was hard to tell that for those who see that man who likes to act silly most of the time unless one battles him.

That's why Jonrad wanted to give Jon a taste of his power when he met him officially for the first time in the Fire Garden.

"If Jonhild gained the recognition of the Dragon, this kid will be invincible." Jonrad, who is aware of what the dragon has to offer, said those words.

Nurina looked at him and narrowed her eyes when she saw the anticipation he had. Jonrad was actually the most excited person about Jon's challenge.

"What will happen if he gained it?" She asked.

Jonrad looked at Nurina the opened his palm and evoked a flame spell. He then added more power to it and the flame became brighter and brighter. It made a very strong light and one could feel its heat from a distance. He then pulled it back.

"Back then, The Titanborn clan had a strong body build and a high affinity with beasts. When they awakened their bloodlines, they would become mighty beast tamers. Of course three of the nine beasts couldn't be tamed but their obsession was in one of them and the one that doesn't exist." Jonrad said.

"... The Dragon Guardian..." Nurina followed.

"Exactly, but no one of their ranks could manage to get the recognition even the most talented. That is why they looked for new blood from outside the clan for many years. During the Second Akaviri invasion in the Second Era year 572, Windhelm was sacked by the Dir-Kamal, the snow demons of Akavir, and the queen of Eastern Skyrim Mabjaarn Flame-Hair was killed in battle. The rest of the clan managed to escape to Winterhold and make ties with the Titanborn clan. After sixteen years, the first person got recognized by the Dragon appeared and it was when the Firemanes officially came to be. After half a millennia the clan almost got destroyed in the Great Collapse but father and uncle survived and carried on. With them, the clan obsession with the Dragon lived on."

"Nice story!"

Everyone looked at who popped up and it was Jon. He was in his natural mood.

No one really wanted to trigger his emotional state but he seemed fine.

"So, I will have to catch a dragon tomorrow to make a flame like yours." Jonhild looked at Jonrad with a smug face.

"Little bastard! I managed to do it in half a day, if you do it in less, I'll teach you how to make a Flame like mine." Jonrad made the exact same smug face his son made.

"Old bastard! Game on."