Knowledge and Power: Reincarnated Into A Society That Only Values Strength. (A weak to strong fantasy story)

Sure enough, my brother eventually did come to the range. He let out a long sigh, squatting down and getting a better look at me. "It's a good day I think. We're getting some good rain for the fields, my fingers aren't stiff since it's a bit warmer today, and I'm feeling especially strong. Even breakfast tasted better than usual. What do you think?"

His voice, the lifeless and emotionless voice that I was so used to, had completely vanished. I didn't even recognize the person in front of me. He was smiling. His carefree attitude seemed the same, but it was like something had filled him with life. It was a strange thought, the reality that some people were having a good day, but not even that was enough to make me cry. 'I guess I really am broken…'

He looked at me closer before he brushed my eyes, wiping away the trickles of blood that had stayed wet from the rain. "Right… well… Maybe it's not so good after all…"

I chuckled. "Oh no, don't let me ruin it for you."

He gently shook his head, patting my wet hair as he stood up. "Honestly I hate it when it rains… And I have a headache too, it's not really that great..."

'Why'd you say it was a good day then…'

"It's your fault you know."

"You're saying I gave you a headache? But, this is the first time I even saw you today…" My voice broke slightly as it tried to get used to speaking again, coming out almost too quiet for me to hear.

"No, the rain."

"What… That… Makes even less sense though…"

He took a deep breath, offering me a hand to help me stand up. "They say that when someone's tears don't fall, the angels cry for them."

After helping me stand, he steadied me, and then he gently patted my shoulders before turning and walking over to a large fencepost that separated firing lanes, jumping on top of it and taking a seat. "I take it. Those bruises are from combat practice?"

"Why does it matter? It doesn't affect you."

He let out another sigh. "Well, you're not wrong. But if you have anything you need to get off your chest before we start. Now is the time. Maybe that will stop the rain."

'Does he really want me to cry my heart out because he thinks it will stop the rain? There's no way right… I guess I never had a brother before… But shouldn't they prefer the rain to me crying?' I warmed my hands on the fire one last time, before walking over to the weapon rack. "I'll do my best to make you look good as my teacher, don't worry…"

"I'll quit worrying when this is over. For now though just take a break. I'm not testing you like the others."

'Others? But…' I slowly lowered the bow back into its stand. "What do you mean?"

"You already passed." He cheered, clapping his hands together, seeming to enjoy my confused face for a moment before he explained. "When we shot together, you used a real war bow and hit every target on your first attempt. You really had me going there for a moment when you hurt your arm though, but you pulled through for that one final shot." He pulled back an invisible bowstring as if replaying the moment in his mind. "Beautiful."

"Heh… Well… So… Why am I here then?"

He shrugged. "You got anywhere better to be? It's warm with the fires going. Just relax for awhile… It'll do you some good…"

Hours passed as I watched him calmly shoot his bow… Firing wooden tipped arrows, instead of the real ones that shattered everything. At some point I somehow fell asleep, catching up on rest from the night before, as achy as my body was, the floor was surprisingly soft, especially compared to the hardwood bed in my room.

But of course… It had to come to an end eventually, and Mara found us when it was time to eat. I only began having more trouble moving my left arm, as if it was so sore my body had just cut off my ability to use it entirely. I was right handed, so feeding myself… Or at least getting the food to my mouth, wasn't much of an issue.

Something with cornbread and meat sat in front of me, but the flavor seemed to be gone. I couldn't tell if it was hard and chewy, or if my bruised jaw was just having a hard time working, but either way the swelling made it stiff, and the cut from where I had bit my tongue stung with every bite. Needless to say, everyone else finished their meals before me.

Looking around the table, they all had different expressions. Lu looked sad, while Airsidh's was blank. Bhaltair was cross as ever, and Mara was cold as ever. Each one of their gazes fell squarely on me though, while my father was nowhere to be seen. It created a pressure that made it almost impossible to swallow.

"Siya, finish your food. You'll need to regain your strength quickly for tomorrow."

'Tomorrow… What's tomorrow… How many days do I have to wonder that?'

I stared down at my plate of unfinished food, glancing up at Mara, and then back down at the food. It was hard to taste it, but the scent that it left in the air was pleasant at least. 'It's too bad smelling it isn't enough…'

I took another bite, 'This is the last thing I have to do today.' I took another… And another, slowly chewing each one through the pain even though I didn't want to until I started crying, having to cover my face so that they wouldn't see.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

When I finally stopped and rubbed my hands down to dry the tears, I took in a deep breath and only Mara and Lu were left.

'Looking at her like this, it's almost hard to tell if she's a cute little sister… or someone dangerous.' I sighed, taking another bite, unable to look away from her blinkless gaze. 'Why doesn't she ever just say what she wants, if someone was talking I'd at least have a distraction…'

Her brow furrowed slightly as she began to fidget with something in her hands. 'Is she just shy…? Maybe I should say something to ease the tension… It would help me eat at least…' "So… What did you guys do today?"

My sister's expression finally softened, her hands relaxing as she placed them up, resting on the table. "After training, I went out to the canyon to go rock climbing, and there was a new route I saw that I had never tried before…"

She paused, but her eyes began to sparkle, every word slowly getting louder and more excited. "It took me a while to get it, but when I finally did it felt so good! And the view from the top was amazing. I could see straight down to the bottom of the canyon!"

'There's a canyon? And she went climbing there? I didn't even know she liked rock climbing.' There was so much new information to take in, I stopped chewing for a moment, just one thought, before I glanced back at Mara, who was looking increasingly stern. 'Even if it's her… Doesn't that sound dangerous? I mean, I'm not even allowed to ride a horse unsupervised…' "You didn't go alone, did you?"

She tilted her head to the side. "Well, no. Rummond went with me."

The image of her dangling over a cliff face without any kind of safety harness jumped into my mind. Somehow I was both worried about my sister and yet totally confident in her at the same time, as if she was invincible, and would just survive, even if she did fall off a cliff.

'There's no way she would go on a dangerous climb without safety gear, right?' My first thought was that it was ridiculous, but thinking about all of the other ridiculous things that were my current reality I began thinking more and more that it might not have been the furthest thing from the truth. "Hey… When you go climbing… You do have ropes and stuff to make sure you don't fall, right?"

She shifted her weight, tilting her head to the other side as she thought. "Huh? Yeah, that's why I brought Rummond with me. He was the anchorman."

"That's a relief," I mumbled. 'If I ever have to go rock climbing I'll fall for sure… I'd probably shake right off the wall with how scared I am of heights…' When I looked down, I saw I was holding my hand over my shirt, gripping the fabric over my aching chest. I quickly let go, hoping they didn't notice.

My face relaxed as the worry I was feeling slowly turned into longing. 'Is it her I'm worried about, or am I just projecting my feelings for my old sister… She would do crazy things like that too… And we are sisters. Even if that's where the similarities end–'

I lifted a hand to gently rub my face. I was so tired, and by no means ready to open up that package of emotions, especially not in front of Mara, 'I should hurry up and finish eating.'

"Hmph, I'm not like you Siya. No one has to worry about me. Even without the rope, I would be fine.

'She's right of course…' I sighed. It was true, we were nothing alike, and it seemed there really was no reason to worry. There wasn't even a point in answering her. I suddenly felt like I didn't even have the strength to anyway.

I was perfectly content to just silently return to my meal, but then I heard Mara's voice make me stop again. "Lu…" Her tone was deep and harsh, the kind of tone I had only ever heard her use with me.

She was staring with a dim smile, and eyes sharper than daggers. "If you even think about trying that, you're grounded."

'scary…'

I looked over to Lu, but she seemed completely unaffected by her mother's menacing grin. "Come on Mom, I've done it before, it's not like I'll slip or–"

"Wayalusayo…"

I saw my sister suddenly freeze and tense up at the sound of her full name. Even I stiffened. "Yes, mother…?" It was the first time I saw her like that. Her voice was meek like mine. She was maintaining eye contact, but I could tell it was taking every fiber of her being to do so.

Even seeing her little girl about to cry in fear, Mara's expression was unchanging. "What exactly is it that you've done before?"

Her face turned pale as she looked away, unable to keep her eyes forward any longer. She suddenly winced in pain before frantically placing a knife up on the table. 'Is that she was fidgeting with this whole time?' She grimaced, looking down at a fresh cut on her finger before quickly applying pressure to it while she let out a nervous chuckle… "What do you mean? I didn't do anything in particular."

Her voice was still mostly steady. Besides that though, it felt so strange. I was completely detached, listening in on someone else's life, rather than looking at my own.

The entire interaction seemed so normal. I saw a mother angry at her daughter for being reckless, and a daughter getting in trouble for doing something she wasn't supposed to.

It was so normal that it seemed completely foreign. Like something out of a sitcom. In just a few seconds I ended up learning that Mara actually did act like a mother, at least to Lu… I mean, she let her play with knives and wasn't worried when she cut herself… But… You know… At the same time I learned that in some ways, Lu still acted like a little kid.

It was all so strange that it was enough to make me laugh, suddenly taking everyone's attention and bringing myself back into the spotlight. "You really are still a little kid, Lu. It's cute." She furrowed her brow, puffing out her cheeks, only further supporting my point.

"We're the same age! And you're way smaller than me."

Every moment I spent laughing hurt my ribs more and more, so it wasn't long before I stopped, holding my side and trying not to cough. Mara's stern smile remained as she looked back at Lu. "Maybe you are, but she's definitely the older sister."

'I'm the older sister… I guess I am a part of the family then… Her saying that is almost the same as her saying I'm her daughter… Right? Is this a win? Wait… Do I even want to be a part of the family though?'

My chest tightened up as I looked back at Lu. 'Maybe she isn't Suzuki but… She isn't that bad.' "I'm glad… you're my sister Lu."

There was no doubt that I would have rather been born into a different family, but having a sister who cared about me, even if she pretended she didn't, was a comfort in a way. Of course, for all I knew she really hated me, but even if it was just a lie I told myself, I liked to think she was glad I was her sister too.

She slammed her hands into the table as she stood up. "Shut up. We barely even know each other. If you die tomorrow, I still wouldn't cry at your funeral."

At first, I felt an ice-cold sting run through me, tears filling my eyes, but her face betrayed her, looking like she was about to cry too.

When she saw my tears she suddenly looked horrified and turned, running away.

'She… didn't mean that… Even if she didn't cry, it would be because she was tough… Not because she was happy… She's… A strong person, so of course she wouldn't…'

I sniffled, wiping my eyes dry before any tears actually fell. 'Shedding a single tear is fine, even for a man, but I won't cry not in front of Mara…'

Mara leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. "She's afraid of getting close to you, in case you end up dying. She didn't mean that." Her voice was calm and blunt as ever, simply moving on and no doubt still thinking of Lu's punishment.

I tried my best to keep my smile as I glanced back at her. "You mean in case you kill me?" I let out a small chuckle as my eyes welled up again, my face shaking before I rubbed them dry again.

She looked to the side. "Yes…"

I let out a sigh of my own and took another bite. Slowly chewing and swallowing. It still had no flavor, but it had gone cold.

'She'll only kill me if I'm weak… So if I'm strong then I'll be fine. The first step to that is confidence. I have to believe…' I looked up at her. "When I make it to school, I'll have to keep an eye on her for you. Make sure she doesn't do anything stupid like free climbing a cliff face."

She smiled gently as her eyes relaxed. "When?..."

We both paused, our eyes locked for a long time until she of all people looked away. "I'd appreciate that…"

Even if the food was cold, it was a rare moment when my heart felt warm… It felt… Well, kind of gross to be honest since she was also the person that knocked the stuffing out of me a few hours ago… But it also felt kind of nice I guess…