The next few days prove peculiarly busy for the man as he takes notes on the burnt patch of runes and tries figuring out what caused the failure and how to fix it, eventually concluding his theory and works on drawing the new runes, an equally time consuming process of resetting the pitons, cleaning the burnt chalk and ash, and editing the other runes to work with the new ones. In contrast Elio seems to be rather unbusy, as after spending the rest of his four days on the ballista he finds himself in the inbetween of chores and rewards.With nothing but time to fill up he thinks on what to do, he could draw, but he already did so for multiple days, he could play with his toys or make new ones, he always enjoys seeing the man try to guess what conglomeration of pieces he randomly puts together are, but that got old after the fifth conglomeration. he is about to give up when he suddenly remembers, magic! Throughout the last week and fey days, the idea of learning magic has been stuck in the back of his head, not as anything sinister but because it's magic! Magical magic, you can do whatever you want and make whatever you want, he wouldn't need to load shots manually or push the ballista, all he would have to do is...draw? and it shall perform as commanded! Of course that is a gross oversimplification, but even so the thought of working with magic the same as the man pushes him to try.Elio walks to the place most likely to hold the keys to learning about magic, the man's room, and having searched there before for ballista pieces he already knows we're all the documents are held, the desk and a chest, he decides to start with the latter first as it looks the most interesting. He swing the door open and scrounges inside the chest like a racoon in a trash bin, excitedly pulling out handfuls of scrolls and large papers, but soon finds they have little to do with magic and they turn out to be blueprints for the house, the elevator and so on, he does find a pair of interesting scrolls tied together, and opening up the first he is taken aback by the drawings. They look like runes, but not any on the gate, for one the black ink is drawn around the symbols, and they seem more artistic than anything, lacking any hard lines or writing, but still very visually complex. Opening the other scroll he finds that it is exactly the same, except the colours are reversed, with the runes drawn in ink. Elio gawks at the other scroll, when he notices the other begins to move in the corner of his eye, he turns to face it, but sees nothing changed, only for the same thing to happen to the other scroll. Suddenly he is caught in a loop, where every time he focuses on one of the scrolls, the other begins to move from the corner of his eye like an optical illusion, until, eventually his eyes hurt from constantly darting back and forth, and he closes up the scrolls.Quickly searching through the rest of the box only gives a map of the pit that disappointingly doesn't show anything new and so he gives up, and moves to the desk. There he is greeted by dozens of papers whose rest he dares not disturb, though he does pick up a few wayward sheets and tries to read them, which he can, but understanding them proves a degree above what he can manage. circles, lines, and calculations a plenty and though he recognizes a few symbols to be similar to the drawings on the gate there purpose eludes him greatly, it doesn't help that they are all written in an italicised cursive that he isn't used to reading, but he isn't going to rest at something so unsatisfactory as this. he pulls the drawers open in a, 'ah-ha!' motion only to find a book of cooking recipes, quickly scanning the pages he recognise a lot of the meals to be familiar and the paragraphs to be written in a penmanship that is easy to read, though interrupted by red circles that lead to notes written in the mans cursive. Reading along he finds some unfamiliar ingredients and new meals he has never heard of, but he eventually remembers what he's here for and closes the book before he starts to become too hungry.In the second drawer he finds instructions for tanning leather and working with metal and medicine, all with easy to read penmanship and less notes, but not a magic explanation in site, until finally he opens the third drawer of four and is greeted by thick books with no names, taking the first out and opening it he is greeted with the same sort of perplexing drawings as the papers on the table and flipping through them he finds that this is no book, but a folder that holds failed runes for future reference with the cause written in red, skimming through the pages he sees the runes go from complexe, to ridiculous, and then some, the paragraph of red ink growing longer and longer until there are entire pages of just writing and calculations, theorising the cause of failure and ways around it, returning to the drawer he finds more of the folders with varying amounts of papers in them and even some files but at this point his goals have slightly changed, and now he seeks a book that he can actually understand, so that instead of spending hours on trying to decode what the runes mean and, you now, maths, he is trying to find something akin to a beginners guide, or anything simplistic for that matter.Eventually and through his diligent search he finds a book, one much older than the others, most of his the man documents are very well maintained if a little messy but this book has been forgotten or at least left to rot, the metal edges have become rusty, the papers are crumbly, and the hardback cover has been folded diagonally from being pressed by the side of the drawers. Elio is very confused at the decrepit nature of the book and feels compelled to investigate further, he flatins the folded cover and sees through the tattered leather one word still surviving, 'magic'. that simple word creates a sparkle in his eyes and as swift as the wind he shoves the rest of the books in the drawers to close them up and runs into the hall not even bothering to check if anything was misplaced, and forgetting to organise the chest, the prospects of finally learning magic being far too exciting.In the hall he set the book down on the bench of the first table from the mans room because he is not tall enough to put it on the table without sitting down first, but as he does so who walks in but the man, "Hello Elio, i see you're messing around with some metal, don't forgot your gloves" the man says oblivious and with his body turned to take off his boots, at first Elio thought he was busted and had froze in surprise, but the man's greeting proved otherwise, he recognizes the opportunity and slides the book off the bench and onto one of the boxes under the table, were it would sit fully out of view of the man, he then walks over to the man to ask why he's here, trying to be as unsuspicious as possible, "Hmm? I'm back to get more chalk", he says, and Elio begins to panic as he realises the box of chalk is under the metal working table, where the book is also currently under.He breaks into action, darting over to the table to 'help search' for the chalk, he reaches the table just as the man does and slides the book off the box, standing it up in between the legs of the table and the same box so that it would be out of view, and just in time as well as moments later the man would have seen the book, they quickly find the box and the man takes out a dozen or so sticks which he places into a specific compartment already filled with chalk dust, before taking his leave and waving goodbye as he does so, with Elio doing the same. As soon as the man is gone Elio takes a sigh of relief and walks over to the table to grab the book, when the man pops back into the hall suddenly, scaring the daylights out of Elio, he turns around and sees the man swiftly grab his booklet off the closest table to the door and walk out, "sorry Forgot the booklet, goodbye!". After recovering from the shock Elio waits a bit and checks how far the man has left before retrieving the book and bringing it to his room for safety.Setting it down carefully he reads the cover again, and confirms no other word then 'magic' written on it, he then flips to the first page and is introduced to a few details, in the middle of the book the words 'owned by:' sits next to a light smudging of ink, and directly under that the faint line of a simple magic circle can be seen, crossed out by a spray of ink that blankets the middle in black. Turning to the next page he is introduced to some scribbles, damage, and emptiness, he flips to the next page which provides the same result and so flips to the next and next and panic begins to befal Elio, he had not considered that the book has withered to the point of unreadability, most of the pages have been degraded by time and are brittle to the touch, the ones that arent have there writing incomplete, not blacked out per say, but at random points in the paragraph the words thin out and then reappear several spaces down and for only a few words at a time, the pages that do remain intact fill the end of the book with more of the same indecipherable writing as the documents on the man's desk, but Elio isn't going to give up just like that, he flips to the earliest page that is still intact and tries to read the cursive handwriting,

'Description: Ballistic flame cylinder, also known as gatling fire barrage, is an advanced combination spell between the Main use of a wind spell and simple fire use, the spell allows the user to create a more powerful and consistent flame attack as a projectile, although the spell is strong and efficient it has trouble with accuracy, the spell in turn tends to be used in large quantities and/or in a constant barrage;How to do it: After the use of the advanced wind magic and the use and creation of the vortex cylinder spell, type 1 [look to the previous page for more information]'Eio proceeds to flips to what was mention in the brackets only to find that said page had been devastated, leaving only the degraded jagged edges of the paper still stuck on the back of the book, Elio stares at it for a few moments before flipping back and continuing his reading,'To begin aim one side of the cylinder away from yourself [The output] and one side to face you [The input], create a simple fire, Warning: Make sure it is not too week in which case the flame would get extinguished, and be sure to not make it too strong, the fire could consume the cylinder and detonate which may harm the user if not careful, it is always suggested to begin with a weak fire and put it through the cylinder, then repeat the process while increasing the strength of the flame little by little until the desired result is achieved: and insert it into the The input, the result should be apparent instantly, a concentrated bolt/ball of fire will launch out from the output at high speeds, t-'At this point Elio stops reading, his head hurting from trying to understand what it was talking about, and this didn't even have maths, a quick peek into the other pages shows complex algorithms and formulas that he doesn't even bother to try to understand, desperate for anything that resembles simplicity he recalls the magic circle on the first page and quickly flips back to it, too quick in fact, and he injure his thumb on the sharp and rusted metal, breaking skin drawing blood. Elio quickly puts his thumb in his mouth to stop the bleeding and then when the pain calms, checks the book to see where the blood landed, but is relieved to see the first page stain free, and the edge of the book also stain free, and the floor, and when he takes his thumb out to check on it, also injury free, he is confused and could have sweared he actually cut his finger, but that to hurts his brain and he chalks it up to placebo, though he doesn't know such a word exist. he tries to decode the magic circle further, only to find it fuzzy and more incomplete then he once thought, at this point he gives up and solemnly closes the book, having had his dreams of magic dashed, he checks if the man is in or close to the house and sees him still on the gate working away and so goes to return the book.

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along the way being struck with a sudden tiredness which he blames all the thinking for, he places the book into the drawer and doesn't get two steps away when he is hit with an even bigger wave of tiredness which has him barely being able to keep his eyes open, he ignores sorting the mess and stumbles back to his room, but with every step he grows more tired, more sleepy, more sickly. he begins to sweat and his vision starts to blur, he has to lean onto the wall to stay upright, and the distance to his room feels infinitely long, he eventually makes it in and he's so tired he can't even keep his eyes open and he has to walks with a hand raised forward, dragging his feet one step at a time and pushing all the toys aside, if he can simply reach his bed it will all be ok, but the distance keeps feeling longer and longer, he wishes his bed was closer, brought to him, suddenly, heeding his command the bed begins to slide forward to Elio, dragging along the wood, pushing everything aside, until they both meet in the middle, Elio doesn't even notice the movement, deaf from a ringing in his mind, too tired to open his eyes, and too feverish to even notice, he only wishes the man was here.The man works away, climbing incredible heights and drawing on precarious ledges, slowly but surely getting closer to completing his new theory and testing it, but his work is interrupted when while climbing higher, he feels the rope get tugged from under him, he stumbles slightly but sticks his landing on a ledge, and looks down with confusion written on his face, but sees nothing. Thinking it to be a fallen piton dragging on the rope he decides to climb down, but he doesn't find anything of the sort and he reaches the bottom soundly. He feels anxious, like something is wrong but not what, and unable to focus on the gate he opts to go back to the house to hopefully clear his mind.Entering into the hall he doesn't see Elio, and so says audibly, "Elio, im back!" to no response, he doesn't think much of it until he finishes taking off his shoes and turns around to find Elio still not there, he says aloud while taking of his coat, "Elio!" and he waits again for a response, but does not hear the whisper of the slightest movement. He suddenly he feels a knot in the pit of his stomach and he rushes towards Elio's room, entering he is surprised to see the bed dragged to the middle of the room and Elio on it, sweating profusely and heaving for air, at that moment the man's iris flares into a ring as he tries to wake Elio again but to no avail, in his attempt he finds more worrisome symptoms, Elio's hands are cold even though his heart is beating extremely fast, his face turns to one of worried panic, the red ring around his iris spreads.He launches into action, grabbing a towel and dipping it in cool water to place it on Elio's forehead but that only alleviates the fever slightly, and to do anything meaningful he will have to figure out why Elio is in such a state, without skipping a beat he dashes into his room and to his desk were he slides the first drawer so fast it flies off its hinges and dumps everything onto the floor, but he doesnt find the medical book he is looking for, he opens the second drawer and its still not there and he eventually finds it in the third, he grabs the book and turns around to go back to Elio's side when in the corner of his sight he sees his chest, wide open and obviously searched through, he looks at it with further confusion, a million different thoughts clouding his mind, he is about to leave the room when a realisation hits him, he freezes in place as his eyes flare into a red glow.He spins around and accidentally knocks his chair over with his hand but doesn't care, he rushes to the fourth and last drawer were the cause of Elio's sickness sits slowly healing, the magic book, its edges reforming, its metals slowly gaining back its lustre, and it's pages regaining its pearly white, he grabs the magic book and leaves the room, the red glow in his iris breaking through and spreading into the rest of the eye and pupil, like blood in a puddle. The man enters Elio's room and places the magic book close to Elio and he instantly seems to get better, his breathing eases, warmth begins to return to his hands, and his heartbeat lowers, but the fever and its effects still linger.Seeing as Elio's fever is still high the man goes to change the towel when he notices his right hand shaking, he grabs it with his left to stop it and he takes a deep breath, the redness in his eyes retreating back into the iris. And in its place, focus, he replace the towel on Elio's head and goes back to the hall were he opens the medical book and begins working on a medicine of sorts, he grinds up the shards of the red crystals, there colour faded, as well as an assortment of herbs that he consults the book for, and then distils them in water under a low heat, this goes on for multiple hours and into the night until he deems the mixture complete and he pours it through a sieve, a thick red liquid not dissimilar to blood, and after letting it cool he brings the cup to Elio who is still in the midst of his dazed fever but still stable, propping up his head he slowly pours the mixture in and though Elio seems disgruntled by it, his health betters and his frow relaxes. The man also calms down greatly, the red ring dissipating.But his work isn't done, he looks over at the magic book and sees that it is a long way from fully repairing, and with no crystals left or light in the sky still visible, he prepares the collection basket next to the door and sits at the side of Elio's bed with a candle to light up the room, he doesn't get much sleep. The man slowly opens his eyes as the morning light begins illuminating the inside of the room, the first thing he does is check on Elio whose fever has gotten worse since last night but not anywhere near as bad as when the man found him, he changes the towel and reluctantly goes outside to collect more crystals.The day is young, but forever silent, in the sky the borders of the night is slowly being pushed back by the day in a quite literal sense, half the world still blanketed by darkness, the other bathed in light, and were the two meet only a few shades of the either is created before the extreme resumes, there and on the edge of night the man walks from corpse to corpse as they themselves are slipping into the day, only for the crystals to be taken away and there body rudely left, it's not like he would have a place to hold the items as he had only brought the bare minimum to rip them open and nothing else, he keeps going until he has close to a dozen and then wastes no time in going back home, walking next to the line were the day ends and night begins, tantalising the shadows with his own.He comes back into the hall almost with a greeting as a habit of his, but he stops himself before he says anything and falls silent. after checking on Elio he quickly starts making more of the potions, he grind up a portion of the crystals and goes through the same time consuming process, hours pass until the first cup is done and feeding it to Elio it only alleviates the symptoms slightly, and he has to keep making the potions throughout the day and into the next.

Elio feels dazed, opening his eyes the blurry vision slowly subsides and in its place he can see the harsh afternoon sun filtering through the ceiling, a bitter taste fills his mouth, a damp towel cools his forehead, eventually he is able to sit up and remove the towel, he stays seated, confused as to his condition, he doesn't understand it to be a fever, having not experienced, or at least forgotten, such a thing in his lifetime.Still in his daze he hears the rustling of leather from his right and tries to turn to face the sound but with the coolness of the towel gone he is struck with a horrible headache deep in his mind, and he doesn't see the man drop a towel and rush to hug him, Elios headache calms enough to be placed aside and to wonder what is going on, the only words said by the man after seconds of silence is, "You idiot, i told you not to mess with magic" and it is spoken through gritted teeth, Elio is even more confused by the act of kindness and the words of frustration, and it only grows as the man lets go to look at Elio with a pained look in his eyes.His words were as filtered as he could make them, but at the same time he is happy to see Elio moving again, but as he lets go and steps back he sees the confusion on Elio's face and a realisation hits him, he asks, "You didn't know, did you?" to which Elio looks even more confused, confirming the man's suspicions. He pinches the bridge of his nose as he sits down on a chair, and explains "You made a contract with a grimoire, in layman's terms a book of magic, and when said grimoire is damaged, as one of many functions it begins to heal itself, the problem is, when it suffers critical damage, it will end up sharing the owners life force to heal, and-..." as he talks, he can see the interest within Elio grow, and soon he is enraptured by the concept of the grimoire being his own, but the man doesn't share Elio's fascination, no, the three day of worry and restless nights that were slowly burning through his facade rush forth and he stands up suddenly,"ELIO, don't make light of this! You realise what that means? You almost-" he shouts on an impulse of anger but he catches himself. Elio is taken aback by it, having lived with him all his life and never seeing him like this, the man sits back down, a well of emotion swelling inside him he says with pain in his voice as if reluctant, but forced, "if i came back home too late, if i didn't see the mess, if I turned the wrong way-" he stops talking, his right hand beginning to shake. in the silence of the past three days those scenes have been replaying in his mind at nauseam, he doesn't want to confront the possibility of not having realised, that in his panic he would have never noticed the mess and wouldn't have the cure, he tries to ease it by telling him it was going to be an eventuality, though that eventuality might have been too late, especially when he found Elio in that state, what could have happened, he doesn't want to say, but, without meaning to he implied them, through gritted teeth and filtered word he inferred it, and Elio understood it, finally realising the detriment he was in, and how horrifying it was for the man he begins to cry, the man hugs Elio again, "i promised i would protect you, from any and everything, and i won't break that promise again" as he speaks Elio digs his face into the man's shoulder to hide his tears, and he doesn't let go, not for a long time.Time passes, and Elio ends up falling asleep on the man's shoulder, he rests him back onto his bed, and as he does so makes a promise to himself that Elio would never hear,"And I'll never show my worry again, I promise".