"A deeper discussion on techniques for remaking or reinforcing your mana path ways will begin after a couple of years. When I decide that you have learned enough of other things that may influence your path forward as a body path refiner, I will tell you that I believe you are ready and we will work together to create your initial level refinement technique."
Gunnar's mother leaned forward with a bit of frustration on her face. "You don't think that he will my family's technique even if he doesn't use one of your…shall we say, extended family's techniques?"
Lisa shook her head as a knock sounded at the door. "The little bit of awakening energy I can sense from the boy is of my clan. There is always the change he could dual awaken, but I am pretty sure he wil take after us and want to pave his own path, for better or worse."
As she finished speaking she opened the door to find a tall, slender, raven haired dark elven woman. The elf stepped back and motioned to follow her then turned and walked down the hallway towards the far end.
Gunnar assumed that they were heading towards the meeting hall, as neither his mother nor Lina acted surprised or declined to follow the woman.
Lina filed out and began to follow the elf and Risa guided Gunnar to walk ahead of her.
After they had walked for 3 or so minutes and had seemingly no intention to stop, Gunnar began to pay more attention to his surroundings. After 20 more seconds Gunnar realized that the walls were seeming to repeat. Not just being similar but actually repeating in an exact copy.
Gunnar opened his mouth to ask his mom if she had noticed the elven woman suddenly stopped, pulled out a notebook and wrote a short note then put it away and pressed on her wrist compact and the world began to shimmer before fading away to reveal the door to the mentoring room they had been in before.
"You did well little one." The dark elf spoke with a small smile on her face. "I played a little joke on you to test your observational skills. Other children I used that test on will go for ever and just begin to complain. You noticed something was wrong though didn't you?"
Gunnar nodded slowly then answered with a little frustration in his voice. "I saw that the walls and doors were repeating. Not just being similar but exact copies."
She nodded and then stepped to the next intersection of the halls and opened a door, leading Gunnar and the other two into a room with a long oval table with many people sitting around it.
Some faces he recognized from visiting his grandmother or mother for weapons or tools. Others he knew nothing of at all.
Sitting at the closest side of the table he noticed Jarsa and Narrick, with Narrick on the left of the table and Jarsa to the right. Between them was a set of two chairs, one of which already held Cassie and the other one sat empty.
Taking his cue from Cassie, he approached the empty chair, leaving his mother and his new tutor to stand beside the door with Cassie mother, Jennifer Milton and Jarsa's war partner, Kilara. Before he sat he look at the table full of the different leaders of factions and families across the trium-forgeworlds and bowed his head slightly.
"I greet the leaders of the factions and clans. I am Gunnar Ull Everforge."
As he finished his greeting, he turned and sat. Upon sitting down he gave a smile to Cassie and a small nod of reassurance. He then faced the table and waited to be addressed.
Gunnar, looking down the sides of the oblong table, saw many faces of different races such as: canine beastkin, birdkin, dwarves, elves, fae, feline beastkin of several types, and finally several human clans.
Oddly the canine beastkin had only two representatives, Gunnar knew that the canine kin were organized in pack like structures and elected to send their strongest to fight to decide their leader or alpha, who would then be responsible for leading and providing for the rest of the clans. So the fact that they had sent only two representatives meant that these two were either the leader and an adjutant or they could be two sent by the alpha as his reresentation.
The cat species beastkin, on the other hand, were too fiercely independent to elect a single representative or leader. They each would send an elder or warrior depending on the needs of that particular Council meeting. What he was seeing now were mostly warriors.
Gunnar started as he realized he had been asked a question by one of the dwarven council members. He quickly turned his head and bowed it a little.
"I apologize, elder dwarf. I was a little in awe at the fierce warriors of the different clans! I regret that I didn't hear your question, would you please repeat it?"
The stout female dwarf, red haired with a scar down the side of her sheep and chin, nodded her head with a pleased smile. "Yer a right polite little lad aren't ya? I asked ya if ya had any lingering cuts or bruises from yer scrap? Are ya all in one piece?"
Hearing the irreverent, accented speech in common, Gunnar relaxed a bit, he answered with a slight grin in the dwarfs own toungue.
"I've taken several beatins' from ma maw fer interfearin' in the forge hall that was worse." He then glanced at Narrick with a slight eyebrow raised. Upon receiving his nod, he continued. "Ma ribs have mostly healed up from the rebuilding of the completed awakening. But all will be well."
Several of the different dwarven clan leaders grinned at his speech and acknowledged his joke about his raising in his clan. They appreciated his making light of his injuries, they valued that toughness in a youngster.
Down the table, a human council member slammed his hands on the table and responded with a harsh tone. "You will speak only with common and respectable speech as this table, you runt—!"
Before he could get another word out of his mouth, a flash crossed the room and thunked into the table next to the man's hand. Everyone immediately froze and slowly turned their heads to where the knife had come from. Lina had another blade in her hand and was glaring down the table at the much taller buffer man, with absolute fury in her eyes.
"If I hear another one of you damned pink skinned pigs utter that insult about a descendant of MY Badger Titan Clan, I will take that insults to your clans and get my pound of flesh. Is. That. Clear?"