The Plain Mask

A few days passed before I was allowed to leave the house. Mother also made me drink Serelis every day, while my training became postponed. Ridding Turry was alright, so long I did it near the house. Mother was really worried about me, but there was no point complaining. She talked to me very often, and even hugged me a lot. I apologised many times for what I did and said, but that didn't seem to calm her down. Only after about a month of uneventful life, did mother finally calm down a little. I could slowly return to my training and even ride Turry further away from the house. Though visiting the cliffs was out of the question. Not because mother said so, but because I decided so.

Uncle Ulon visited us often during that time. He checked up on me a few times, but found nothing wrong really. I was healthy and fine for the most part. Still, mother asked me to drink Serelis at least once a day. She had a peace of mind, and it couldn't harm me either way. That made me wonder though. Serelis had a very short lifespan. Uncle himself said that the effects would disappear very quickly, but they didn't. One day when uncle Ulon visited, I asked him about it. To my surprise, Atols had a special method of extracting Serelis and prolonging those mind calming properties.

Mother changed a bit though, or at least her way of treating me changed. She didn't try to push me with the training, or anything really. Her only wish was for me to be healthy and live a happy life. 'It's that I don't want to be happy, but all these years of training were for one purpose. I want to travel around, meet other people and explore other places', I thought. The only solution to this I could think of, was to prove my strength to her. Show her that there was nothing to worry about, that I could handle myself.

Even during our sword practice, she was reluctant to even attack me. "...Mom… Are you afraid of hurting me?", I stopped the sparring and asked. She tried to find an excuse, but it was obvious to me already. "What happened was not your fault. I never blamed you for that… I'm not going anywhere, mom… But, I need to be stronger. I don't want my emotions to take over me like that again", I explained. She looked at me for a while, before letting out a sigh. "Come over for a minute", she beckoned. Just as I stopped in front of her, she hugged me and whispered, "My heart almost stopped back then. The thought of losing you forever… still lingers in my mind. You are not the only one who had to drink Serelis love, I had to as well. A child will not understand what horrors a mother can imagine, when it comes to her child safety".

As the tears welled up in my eyes again, mother continued, "But, you are right. Sheltering you is not the way either. Besides, that's not what I promised, right? I'm scared, really scared of losing you one day, but I can't be selfish... Mommy decided to teach you something. This will not be easy… Actually, it will be very hard, but you can handle it, right? My Anna is a strong girl, right?". Mother smiled honestly for the first time in a while. It wasn't a painful smile I was getting used to, but a heartfelt smile. "I will be strong for mom! I will overcome my emotions and prevail. Mom will never worry about Anna… Never again, I promise", I replied with a smile as well.

We stayed like that for a while, it felt comforting and calming when we hugged like this. "The training we will do, it's something I myself did in the past. You will find out in a while, but before that, let's eat something. If you want to grow up well, you need to eat well too", she said after releasing me from the hug. While mother prepared dinner, I asked myself what sort of training she had in mind, 'I really don't know what to expect, but she did that in the past. That means, I can do it too'. Just to make my mother happy, I ate double my usual portion. Although I was stuffed, mother took me outside to introduce the new training. "We will be training your senses. With a better sense of hearing, smell and sight, you will be able to deal with unexpected events better. That is only one part of your training. The second part of your training will focus on your mind. You are not so bad in that departament already. Formations require loads of focus, precision and patience. What I will teach you, is how to multitask and focus on a few things at the same time", mother explained.

She then took out a weird mask from her storage item, and passed it to me. The whole mask was grey in colour and really bland. Besides some flame-like designs on the sides and small holes for eyes, it didn't look like anything special. "You will wear this mask, and activate the Formations inside. Before you ask, wear it then activate the Formations. You will know what I mean", she instructed. I wore the mask as asked, then activated the Formations. "Huh? Mom? What's going on?", I asked before taking the mask off. This made me realise what that mask would be used for. That mask had a vision sealing Formation. 'No wonder I could only see darkness everywhere', I thought.

"It's not only vision. It's your sense of hearing and smell can be sealed as well. Don't worry love, you can activate one Formation at a time. For now, we will focus on your sense of hearing and smell. Therefore place the mask back on, and activate the vision sealing Formation only", mother explained. 'This is not what I expected, but it was my own wish… No point complaining now', I thought before placing the mask back on. After activating the necessary Formation, I asked mother what to do next. "For now, just walk around. Get used to it", she replied, but her voice sounded kind of funny. The moment I took a step forward, my face smashed into something. "Ow! What the?!", I exclaimed.

I knew there was nothing in front of me before I put the mask on my face. 'There is no way I could've hit my head… Mother had something to do with it', I thought. Since that was the case, I extended my hands forwards and checked for anything in my way. 'There's nothing in front of me, I'm sure', I thought to myself. Not even three steps later, my head was smacked by something again. I quickly took the mask off and exclaimed, "You are cheating! There was nothing in front of me, I checked! What did you do?". Mother laughed it off, "Why do you cry cheating, when I didn't cheat at all? I never mentioned anything about me standing around and doing nothing. You have to learn how to avoid obstacles with your hearing and smell. I even told you it will be hard".

"Yea? Can you do it then?", I asked smugly. Mother extended her hand, "I can prove it. You really think mother would teach you something she had no clue about?". I called her bluff, and handed the mask back to her. "No cheating. You have to activate the Formation, alright?", I said just to make sure. "You don't believe your mom?", she asked. "I do, but I want to make sure", I replied. Mother placed the mask on her face, but I wasn't sure whether the Formation was active or not. "How about this? Instead of approaching me, throw some rocks at me… How about I make this even more interesting? I will stand with my back facing you, sounds fair?", she asked. 'That would mean, she can't cheat…', I thought and agreed.

When mother turned around, I grabbed a few rocks off the ground and threw them one after the other. I didn't throw them too hard in case she was lying. It turned out my worries were completely unfounded. Mother stepped to the side each time the rock was about to hit her. None of my rocks scratched as much as a loose strand from her clothes. Even my hardest throws were not effective, therefore I gave up. "How can this be? What sort of sense of hearing is that? Being able to hear a flying rock?", I asked dumbfounded. Mother took the mask off then faced me. "This is nothing. I know someone who can hear and see much better than me. Anyway, this should prove to you that it's possible. Here's the mask, it's time for you to practice now", she replied.

The practice consisted of me hitting my head many times, getting quite annoyed in the process. When I got angry, mother stopped the practice and gave me some Serelis. I wasn't angry at mom, but the anger existed within me in a way. Serelis did help though, and mother got loads of it from Uncle Ulon. Towards the end of the day, my head hurt quite a bit. "I will aim at different parts of your body next time. You did very well, though this will take a long time. A few years if you try really well, and many years if you slack off too much", she said at the end. Mother also told me that studying my Formations might not be possible for a while.

"Your knowledge about Formations is actually excellent already. If you take a break for a month or two, this shouldn't pose any problems for you. Moreover, improving your senses is something I will require from you, when it comes to your travelling", mother said. I nodded and made my way to the house. I didn't feel like drawing Runes or Formations, I was too tired for that. Mother made some food for me, but then I went straight to bed.