[Aran Kha'Serith]

Aran nodded to Stephan's question. He'd never heard the term "Fianna" before in his entire life, and it sounded quite foreign to him. But then again, these men were foreign, so it wouldn't come as any surprise. He listened to the man explain the term. Basically, they weren't much different from Aran's own Vagaran people...well, in some ways. But besides that, these men were Barbarians? Though Aran didn't know much about them, he knew that they weren't citizens of the Empire; rather, aliens you might say. The half-dracon's grandmother had told him to be wary of such people, but Stephan and the others didn't seem bad at all. It made Aran wonder if Rinhild had been wrong about them as she'd been wrong about Dracons. But he didn't dwell on it as Stephan tucked him into the bearskins and left. The bearskins were quite comfortable, something Aran hadn't felt in quite some time. He soon drifted off into sleep, though because of his appearance, he looked as if he'd died.

The next morning, heavy footsteps woke Aran from his slumber. His blue eyes opened slowly as he saw Stephan staring at him from above. The boy sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to get a good focus. The man was holding a spear in his hand, making Aran wonder if he was going to be killed. But apparently, he was wrong. Stephan explained that the half-dracon's training began today, and apparently, he'd have a very busy schedule. Aran pushed himself up and watched as Stephan then left, the shorter spear in his hand. "Lessons? Weapons?" the child thought, looked around in bewilderment. He then remembered that the barbarian had told him he would be training in "the ways of the Fianna." So Aran was training to become a warrior? He didn't know if he'd be any good at it. The boy's poor health caused him to be slow and physically weak, and he often had to sit for extended periods of time to regain what little strength he had.

The boy hurriedly changed into the kilt, shirt, vest, cloak, and boots from the night before, then went outside as well.