The Great Forest (1)

"How did it go?" Aldryn asked, noticing that his friend was gone for a while now, judging by the hour displayed on the clock.

'I should have stayed there' a part of him thought with a hint of jealousy.

"And do what? Make the Kenman kick both of you out?" the fox asked with a sigh and a shake of its head, "At least without you it seemed that he spoke with Klyran" it then added, making the blonde pout.

"You make me sound like a nuisance" he frowned at the Thrae.

"Ohhh... Don't you catch up fast? I have only been telling you this for what... Seven years now?" it mocked back with a smirk.

At the harsh words, Aldryn only shook his head in disappointment. The mean words never bothered him much, since he knew that the fox cared deeply for him.

Klyran looked between the two men, noticing that both of them have obviously just came out of the smithy recently.

'Did I interrupt something?' he thought guiltily.

"My sword?" he asked, gathering his courage and approached the pair, but quickly understood by the apologetic look that it was not his blade that came out of the smithy.

"Sorry, but the fox seemed more of a priority. Not to mention that you sword is made out of material that doesn't exist here and I need to find something compatible" Ylvis said, trying to explained.

With a sad nod, Klyran looked at the two of them. Feeling like he was missing something.

"What were you two talking about while I was gone?" he asked, glancing between the two brothers.

"This and that" Aldryn shrugged, "But more importantly, how was it with the Kenman?" the blonde asked again.

'Info. Info. Info' the blonde happily chanted in his mind, while the Thrae only scolded his behaviour.

'I know when someone is silently telling me not to pry' Klyran thought with a frown, feeling left out, which caused an unpleasant feeling to arise in his chest.

With a sigh, he retold all the events that took place while he was separated from them. It took some time, but by the end, both oracles were smiling.

"He must have really like you" Ylvis then said, after hearing how the older man treated the young Ryan.

'How curious... Is that another prophecy?' the Oracle of Earth silently wondered, 'Whenever the Kenman speaks in this manner he is under the influence of the "Sight"'.

The "Sight" that Ylvis thought about was a skill that the Kenman had. It allowed him to see pieces of the future and made him to be seen in the eyes of many as a Seer or Prophet.

"Are you sure?" the Ryan questioned questioned back, unable to believe those words.

'That man doesn't really seem capable of liking someone' the black-haired male sneer in his mind, thought the idea made his lower back twitch, as if his tail wanted to wag.

"Yeah" Aldryn then nodded, "That is the nicest I have ever heard him being. I am actually a bit jealous", the blonde then laughed.

'If that's the nicest... I don't even want to see him be mean to someone' Klyran then decided.

"What is a fawn?" Klyran then continued to ask.

"You didn't see a deer before have you?" the blonde priest wondered trying to remember if they encountered at least one since the two of them met.

"It's the baby of a certain animal" Ylvis then supplied, which caused the Ryan to frown, feeling somewhat insulted.

"And antlers? Hooves?" he asked, trying to understand more of the strange words that fell from the Kenman's mouth.

"Antlers are like horns and hooves are part of the leg of such animals like horses. You must have noticed how different they looked. We humans have fingers" Aldryn explained and flexed his fingers, "While animals like horses, deer, goats and so on have hooves."

"You said antlers are like horns?" Klyran continued to ask.

"Well", the blond begun trying to remember the difference, "From what I know, antlers are shed every year, but then regrow, while horns don't..."

Despite the explanation, the Ryan only grew more and more confused. At first, he thought that maybe if he knew what the words meant, then he would be able to understand the Kenman, but despite the explanation, he only grew more confused.

"Why would he say that?" the young man asked, "I don't have hooves. I do have horns but they are not ripped out or anything. And I am pretty sure that I can't grow fangs... Well... I guess my true form does have fangs" he then mumbled at the end.

"Don't mind it. The Kenman was speaking metaphorically, he tends to do that", Ylvis said as he sat down at the table, leaning his elbows on it.

"Meta-what?" Klyran could not help but ask.

It took the two priests another good hour to explain to the Ryan the concept of figurative speech. But even then, the young brunette could not understand its usage. It was a foreign concept to him, his people being blunt and never hiding behind words.

After some time, despite having grasped the meaning, Klyran still doubted that he understood all the words that the Kenman said to him. He understood that the older man called him a fawn to compare him to an innocent child, though why it was deer that he chose, the Ryan had no idea. When he finally mentioned the Greenyads, Aldryn quickly nodded and claimed that they should go to the forest.

"I have some business there and it would be enlightening for you to train with the warriors of the forest. I am sure that this is what he meant", the blonde said in a rush and did not even wait for a reply before declaring that they shall departs the next morning.

"But before I forget. Have you seen the status of the Kenman?" the blonde asked and faced Klyran, curiosity lacing his voice.

"Not really", the Ryan then shrugged, unsure how to explain, "When I tried to use the skill it gave me an error and then everything appeared as question marks".

"What skill are you two talking about?" Ylvis then decided to interfere.

After a brief explanation offered by Aldryn, the Apostle of Earth looked amazed. He gained a new appreciation for the young Ryan. What a useful skill it was to have, he thought. Ylvis also could not help the concern that appeared on his face.

"Let us hope that it is a skill that only Klyran has, because the other option is simply dreadful", he said.

"Why?" the Ryan then could not help but inquire.

"If Shyra's resurrected puppet is by any chance also a Ryan, it would be horrible if it also possessed this skill" he then explained, causing Aldryn's eyes to worry.

"I never thought about it this way", the blonde admitted and the fox silently agreed.

"Well…It's useless to think about the possibility until we don't know for sure. Meanwhile, I am quite curious about this skill of yours. Have you used it on me already?", Ylvis then jokingly asked.

"No", Klyran shook his head, "I decided that I will only use it on my opponents, or those whom I feel threatened by. I feel like I should give you privacy otherwise."

"How kind of you", the older man then joked again, "But how about it? I give you my permission, I am quite curious to hear my numbers."

Then, with a single nod, Klyran activated his skill and hoped that it would fail. Thinking that maybe the Kenman's status was not visible due to an error.

[Error. Skill Level Insufficient]

[Character Information Will Be Displayed Based On Comprehension]

'Not this again' Klyran desperately thought, 'What the f***'.

The error made the Ryan's brows twitch in annoyance while a frown took over his face. He also felt a few muscles in his lips draw in a snarl at the message.

[Character Information]

Name: Ylvis

Race: Monia

Occupation: Blacksmith (Level 35), Heavy Weapon Wielder (Level 27)

Strength ??

Magic 45

Physical Defence ??

Magical Defence ??

Vitality 50

Agility 17

Accuracy 49

Luck 28

'Are you broken?' he asked the skill and for whatever reason clenched his fists and felt disappointed when no reply came, despite logically knowing that he shouldn't even expect one.