Very inspired, I smiled as I decided to design my own coat of arms. I was the head of the Rhombus Family. I had 3 sons and 3 daughters so far. That brought the total to 6 children. I was not going to have more. I was a very rich man. That did not mean I had infinite money. The town's sauna we built was all my idea, so I did own it. I still had to pay tax on the earnings and pay wages. It was not like my remaining gems and gold bars were liquid. I had to be really smart. If I was not, it would be bad for me and my family. Doing myself a favor, I was going to start training my daughters. I was not able to teach them how to wield a weapon. I could get them on track to being fit and strong. They could start small with simple calisthenics and cardio. I had her come to the fields of the Brownflank Tribe. Push-ups, Pull-ups, Dips, Chin-ups, Planks, Pike Push-ups, Squats, Lunges, Jumps, Burpees, Crunches, Leg Raises, Planks, Jumping Jacks, Mountain Climbers and the basic yoga stances would be a good place to start. It was unacceptable for any of my children to be weak. They needed strength.
I was also going to have my tutor begin to teach her magic. If she could not be a knight, she could be a mage if she had any mana to pull it off. That remained to be seen still. Holly and Molly would be great to test out as well. I loved them. The 3 boys could just focus on being knights unless they wanted to learn magic too. Johna loved going out with me and looking at the centaurs. I let them come by as guest often. My kids were a bit confused about centaurs. When they did not understand how it worked. I did my best to explain it to them. It helped a bit. Zipping through all the exercises with her, some were easier for her than others. Some were more fun for her than others too. She was tired out by the end of the day. As this was the first day, it was actually pretty impressive. In a small way, she did a decent workout. Some of the centaurs had gathered around to watch. There was no way that she was going to make back on her own. She could ride on my shoulders. I praised her and told her we would do it more often. She seemed to like it too. Grissell was at the door waiting for us.
She wanted to know everything. It was clear that she was concerned I would go back on my word. Johna was more than willing to tell her what we did. I had nothing to fear. Grissell looked at me. "You guys didn't do any fighting, did you?" she asked. "Grissy. You know I honor and respect you as my wife. If you have said no to her being a knight, then she will not be one. I still have the right to make sure she remains healthy as her father. If she has any real mana proficiency, we can see about making her a mage." I said with a smile. She frowned. Even being a mage was a male dominated field. That was fine. I was not going to let this stop me. Not after compromising so much already. If Johna, Holly or Molly had the talent, I would not let anything or anyone get in their way. It took us a couple of years for us to completely clear our debts with the White Family. The Swifthunts had discriminatory views towards them for being colorless. They did not want to rely on them for building the new settlement. They had the ear of a king. He loved to come here for the sauna. Steam was good for health.
It was the only time he could clear the hardened phlegm chocking him to death. He was all for opening up the coffers to make a simple motte and bailey castle with a town. Simon's hand was promised to one of the king's many nieces. It just made sense with how close the families were getting. Their wedding took place in the capitol. It was shaping up to be a really big ceremony. We all had to go. That meant the court saw the hybrid children. I was not bothered by that fact. My children were very well groomed and well behaved. Leonardo, Lenard and Lennox were 3 years old. The twins were 4. Johna was almost 7 years old. Raolin's children were coming with us as well. I was surprised by that. There was nobody willing to look after them, he said. I thought it was much more likely that he was too embarrassed to ask anyone. It was ridiculous how he had not given them any names yet. They were only referred to as "boy" or "you". I was tired of the neglect. I declared I would be naming them. I went with Cody and Brody. That rhymed. Raolin looked like he did not like the names. Tough.
