Awakening occurs in two steps. For Adult Awakenings these occur back to back with absolutely no opportunity for the body to recover or adjust.
The first step usually occurs around the age of twelve or thirteen and is triggered by exposure to Energy densities greater than that of the Shallows. It requires acceptance of the existence of Energy and of associated Awakened aspects, which is why many adults who might have become Adult Awakened simply end up believing they saw or felt something strange.
The second step marks the completion of the adjustment to being Awakened. For most this completes around the age of 18, earlier completion comes from quicker adaptation while delayed completion often ties to complexity of adjustment.
The second step is signaled by conscious control over their personal Energies as well as the manifestation of their Awakening Gifts. Awakened society views this point as the transition to adulthood and full maturity.
~ * ~
Four months. They'd been Diving ceaselessly, ignoring the briefest of supply runs that didn't require both their time, for four months and they still had no better idea of what they were supposed to discover than they had when they said goodbye to Fay.
They'd hit level 9, they'd improved their coordination, they'd experimented, and yet Seb felt they had nothing to show for it. They fought goblins, they killed goblins. They ran into goblins that seemed afire with glee and who left burns where they touched, goblins who looked ill and left them feeling poisoned. Angry goblins who enraged their kin into abandoning what few tactics they had. Angrier goblins that threatened to make them lose their own tempers.
Some who healed through all but the most fatal of wounds, others who were strong enough to bowl them over with a charge no matter how well they had braced. Archers whose arrows seemed to curve mid-flight to prevent dodging. They ran into every imaginable challenge and yet none of it made sense. He was learning to identify them on sight, to convert the oddities of their Energy Patterns into accurate predictions of their abnormalities.
He could tag them, ensure Anya knew where the surprises would come from, even mark his hindered foes with the briefest effort to help with priorities. Anya could handle all comers, she could stand tall and weave around the worst of the blows, capture their attention and give him free rein to track down the threats that kept their distance.
He could even see Anya's progress, her Energies shifting in spikes just before the mob of goblins would turn on her, sometimes outright ignoring him as he struck at their faces to seek her out. He saw the spikes and he slipped through the troughs.
His blade throwing improved, his accuracy nearly as deadly as that of the archers who would harry them. He could strike a foe and recall it without losing his flow, incorporating the absence into his movements while finally managing to manifest crystallized shards for closer combat.
His greatest breakthrough in that time? Condensing his aura let him leverage his Energy at full power. He could all but blind himself, reduce his constant awareness to a span barely twice the length of his arms, but in return he could flick goblins, not Anya, with strikes powerful enough to hinder, to injure in ways that let his Bladesong take full hold.
Four months and little progress of note. Four months of Depthsborn, of training, of time with Anya. Four months where they both would find themselves wondering if Fay was well.
~ * ~
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Anya could tell how frustrated Seb was getting at not having figured out what the elusive secret to the wall was. She was just as irritated, just as focused on finding the answer. She wanted to go home, she wanted to be able to show everyone she'd done it, to stand tall and be seen.
Had she been down here with anyone else she might have snapped, had she been alone she absolutely would have. No breaks, no pauses, only combat, meditation and time spent with Seb. Time spent in a cramped tent that kept them on top of one another, time spent training, coming up with new ways to push each other, to compete and prove that nothing would stop them.
She saw what he didn't, the improvements he ignored and the ease with which he kept her from being overwhelmed. She heard him complain about how slowly they were progressing, she pointed out every detail she noticed. He was always where he was needed, never pausing, never resting.
She got knocked off balance, he was there to distract and hinder every threat. She took control over the situation and he was ranging about, dashing one way while his blade flew the other, threats wrangled into order before they realized he was nearby.
Together they did what few managed, they throve on the danger and took on the hordes without pause. With him by her side she felt she could handle any threat. With their bond and coordination she knew she would come out victorious. She would stare danger in the face and teach it to fear her instead.
They were together, distinct yet the same. They were what they needed to be, where they needed to be. They would find their answer, they would be ready to advance when they had the needed energy. They would not be held back by the wall.
~ * ~
Seb stood with his arms loose at his sides while Anya swung his blade around experimentally. Their latest brilliant idea was to try to spar as one another. He would have to weave and parry the way she usually did while she'd be relying on his Blade and crystallized fragments.
He felt he had the advantage, he fought weaponless half the time because he would throw-
Hey! he sent as the blade flew past his head to bounce off the wall behind him.
Focus Seb.
He lunged at her, trying to keep her focus while she went for the blade. She couldn't recall it, couldn't disarm herself simply to negate the challenge. She slid by him, rolling under his arm as he over-extended and coming up blade in hand.
They clashed, stinging welts slowly appearing on his arms as her attempts at hindrances tried to take hold. He sent her staggering more than once, blows landing when she hesitated, forcing herself to avoid her typical patterns. He smiled, he did have the advantage. He might not be her equal but she never used weapons, never trained this way.
A crystal shattered against the back of his neck, so faint he barely noticed it as it formed, so weak it didn't even tickle. It did distract him though, it started him long enough for her to club him with the hilt, the burst of energy leaving him gasping.
How? he sent.
I flicked you! she sent back triumphantly.
You figured it out!
Straightening he grabbed the blade, dismissing it to his War Husk despite her grip before tackling her to the ground.
Hey!
Landing on top of her he paused for the briefest of moments, long enough for her to sense his intent and slip herself into his arms rather than continue the fight.
I told you I could do it, she sent.
I believed you, even if you also said it was impossible when I did it.
But you did it, so I knew I could too.
Looking down at her he smiled, she never did back down from a challenge. She never hesitated, never believed she couldn't succeed.
You're going to figure out the wall too, you'll find a way, he sent.
We both will, I'm not leaving you behind, I'm not letting you give up.
She challenged everyone and everything. She pushed him to improve, believed in him. She pushed him to push her, to find new ways to make training work.
That was a challenge, he sent, his thoughts stuck on the word.
I don't like your sword. I don't like having to use it.
You still won, he answered then added teasingly. Cheated, but you won.
Not cheating, tickling is cheating.
Oh?
He thought for a moment, taking the words as a challenge, especially in light of her last success. He knew he could do it, he knew he could figure it out, he just had to get the pattern right for the Energy to flow.
His techniques flickered between them, first once, then twice, then in rapid succession until she squirmed against him.
Cheater! she sent, twisting so she pinned him down.
Still he kept the Energy flowing, flick after flick finding the areas he knew were ticklish. Flick after flick as she broke into laughter, her love flowing through the bond.
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