"Curse. What do you think this word means and how can it be applied to an object or living creature?" she asked, looking at Vallynor. He thought for a split second and then raised his head to answer.
"A curse is magic that can be cast upon an object or living creature to bring misfortune. It can deprive someone of luck or something that is dear to them. To be cursed means that a curse has been cast upon you that brings misfortune or even death. That's how I understand the meaning of this word," he answered with a serious expression on his face.
"Mmm, no, you don't fully understand what a curse is. It is magic that ancient necromancers used to punish or kill their enemies. You shouldn't look at me so surprised. Ancient necromancers could communicate with the dead, but they couldn't resurrect them. They used curses as a weapon to kill or punish their enemies. But their art was weak, and their curses often backfired on them," Baba Yaga explained.
"I can't believe that ancient necromancers used curses. I thought they were powerless old men that demons ignored. They could only fulfill the last wishes of the dead..." Vallynor replied, still looking at Baba Yaga incredulously.
From her words, everything seemed illogical. Vallynor knew that ancient necromancers weren't powerful, and the idea of them using curses sounded like nonsense. If they used curses to kill dangerous bandits, maybe that made sense, but Vallynor didn't believe that some skinny old man could kill a dangerous bandit.
Baba Yaga, who was watching his eyes, immediately realized that he had only grasped part of the knowledge. She thought about how narrow-minded he was and now thought about how to get revenge for him interrupting her valuable lesson.
"Well, narrow-minded, did you understand how stupid you are? Not a word, and let's continue. I see your ingratitude in the fact that I am teaching you myself. Now be quiet and listen," Baba Yaga said.
Vallynor felt a little depressed, then lowered his head and began to listen to Baba Yaga's story.
Baba Yaga continued her explanation, "Well, the curse was weak and ineffective, but safe. However, everything changed when the necromancers were caught by demons and their magic was enhanced. The curse branch received a push and began to grow rapidly, but with the risk of backlash. The curse is magic, and you are right, but not completely. It uses emotions as fuel and amplification. Over time, the curse became independent and began to develop more, without using the power of the necromancers. But the curse of the necromancers still exists. Essentially, there are two types of curses. The first belongs to necromancers, for which they use necro-energy and the souls of the dead who did not pass into the afterlife. The second is completely separate and has become independent and more universal," Baba Yaga explained.
Baba Yaga stopped and placed two spheres on the cleaned table. Both were crystal, one of which emitted a weak green light, similar to a snake ready to bite, and the other was black and emitted not warm or cold but practically neutral light. However, something was bothering her inside.
"These two spheres are sealed with two curses. The green one was created using the curse of the necromancers, and I think you already understand what the second curse is. The curse of the necromancers is aimed at the complete destruction of the enemy, and the second curse, like a spider, waits for its victim, just as a new form of magic develops in different directions. But not all curses are aimed at killing or torturing the victim."
"Can a curse be useful? How is that possible?" Vallynor was surprised.
"Yes, you heard right. The curse can be developed in all directions where you can curse someone for something that essentially does no harm, and on the contrary, can even be beneficial, such as the curse of a long life. In fact, it can even be useful. A curse is not something that brings the victim's death, but the dictated conditions under which the result is launched. Most people just think about the dark side of curses. For example, there is a ring that, when in contact with the wearer, heals a wound, but at the cost of endurance. You can reduce the price to a minimum and use the ring as something that can save a life, but you can also increase the price to a maximum, and even a simple scratch will drain all your strength or even kill you. The curse is only the conditions and goals, and it is very similar to enchanting an object, but still different. The curse is not eternal, and over time it will weaken and disappear, while an enchanted object will work as long as it exists. Also, curses can be placed on the living, but objects cannot be enchanted. There are many subtleties that you will learn over time," Baba Yaga explained.
"Now let's do a little practice. I'll tell you how to create a curse and what you need for it. But first..." she paused, taking two balls and putting a regular iron ring in their place, as well as white chalk and several small items, such as herbs, organs, ore, and so on.
"Here's an iron ring. I'm going to curse it so that whoever wears it can't take it off afterward. A common curse. Because it's made of iron, magic is very difficult to pass through it. Therefore, the imposed curse will be weak. And yes, to keep you from distracting me with your questions, I'll say that each metal has its unique properties. For example, iron doesn't handle magic as well, while silver is very suitable for magical things. And gold - well, it's a waste of money for magical devices. Gold can't be sealed, and one weak spell is enough to break it. So whoever walks around with gold magical devices is an idiot who doesn't value money and spits in the face of real mages. If you meet one, please try and kill them. All right? Excellent."
Taking a piece of chalk in her hand, she started drawing a circle, then three smaller circles. Next, she drew runes on the circles and connected them with a path made of runes to the first circle. When she finished, she placed the ring in the large circle and, taking three ingredients - leather, grass, and hair - continued the ritual. At this point, she felt tired and drained from the magical work.
"See, you have to draw a circle where you can place the object you need. If you want to curse someone, you need something that belongs to them. Or take a photograph. But if you're really poor, you can draw their portrait. Then you have to think about what curse you want to cast. As I've chosen, the ring can't be taken off once you put it on. You need three ingredients: finger leather, so the thing knows when to activate upon contact; grass that will stick to the body upon touch; and hair that will bind the victim to the ring. You also need to connect them all with runes to the ring and pour a little mana into the ring."
Touching the ring, she poured some of her mana into it. After which she pulled her hand away. Five seconds later, the ring began to glow, and blue lines started crawling towards the runes. The white runes slowly blackened, and the items from the other three rings turned to dust. The runes quieted down and disappeared, leaving only the old iron ring.
Baba Yaga took the ring in her hand and began inspecting it, talking about the nuances.
"As you have already been told, iron is not the best ore for magic, but better than gold. This ring will be activated. It won't work for long, maximum 300-400 years. In the worst-case scenario, if a mage wears it, 600 years."
"What do you mean 300 years? But that's a very long time. Whoever has this ring on their finger will have it for their whole life," he was stunned that 300 years was not a long time for Baba Yaga. "Wait, how old are you?"
"Well, that's inappropriate to ask a lady's age," and quickly taking Vallynor's hand, she put the ring on his finger.
He didn't even have time to realize it, but he was already holding the ring in his hand. He looked at it for a while, then tried to take it off. But he couldn't. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't even move it a millimeter. After several attempts, he gave up and looked at the culprit. She was looking at the sky and singing.
Feeling his gaze on her, she turned to Vallynor and said, "Beautiful day. The sun is shining brightly..."
"Always cloudy," he interrupted, not letting her finish. Then, showing the ring, he continued, "How do I remove it?"
"Grandson, don't get worked up. Grandma didn't think..."
"How do I remove it?" he asked again, sensing something was wrong.
"You see, I used stickyweed grass that can multiply. If you remove the ring by cutting off your finger, the same rings will appear on two other fingers, and they will keep appearing over and over again," he explained.
"How do I remove the ring?" the hero asked, realizing something was not right.
"You must wear it for some time until the ring's grip subsides, and then I can remove the curse. So you'll have to wear it for some time," the sage replied.
"Gosh, Baba Yaga calls herself and curses people," the hero thought.
"Okay, I'm tired of you now. Now you will learn on your own. I'm an old widow, and you're making fun of me," she said and tapped his forehead with her finger.
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He felt her finger tap his forehead, and felt as if something was burning inside him. If he were alive, his forehead would have turned red.
"Am I the one making fun of you, or are you?" he raised his hand and showed the finger where the old iron ring was. "You put this cursed ring on me, and I can't remove it... What if I cut off my hand instead of my finger?" he suddenly had a brilliant idea.
"It won't work. It will appear on the other hand," she said as if she saw him as an open book. "Even if you cut off both hands, they will appear on your feet. Cut off both legs, and it will appear as a necklace on your neck."
"How do you know that?" he realized he was cursed because of some witch.
"Because I am a real witch. And how do I know? Well, when I created new curses, I tested them on my exes," she replied, smiling and reminiscing about the past.
What a horrible woman... Oh, don't forget she can read minds. I can only forget about this trick of hers. What a disaster.
"You're really stupid. Sorry, I will offend all the stupid people by calling you stupid. No, you're an idiot," she said.
"Why are you being like this to me? Is it all because I asked your age?" he asked.
She looked at him for a moment and then nodded seriously. "Are you kidding me? Because of that, you made me turn into an old hag."
"Who did you call an old hag? So, I see, you still want..."
"No," Vallynor interrupted her, not letting her finish, and quickly began to apologize. "I'm sorry that I can't keep my tongue in check, that I can't keep my thoughts to myself..." Vallynor began to recite a tirade full of apologies that he "borrowed" from anime and manga.
The grandmother sat with a satisfied grin and listened to the boy's words. And after nodding and getting up, placing several sheets of paper on the table, she said, "Okay, grandson, this time I'll accept your apologies. I'm the one to blame for the ring I wore. Here's your practice task. You already have the knowledge in your head. When you need it, it will appear. And the ingredients and items for practice are in this iron ring."
Vallynor looked perplexedly at the old iron ring, which turned out to be a magical tool for storing items, and he didn't even think to check whether it was an ordinary ring or not.
He was about to thank her, but she disappeared, leaving him amazed and with a multitude of questions, such as where to get the knowledge, and so on.
Taking the paper, he began to read. "Hmm, cursed items with different effects. There's even a section on creating your own curse. Well, shall we begin?" Taking out the necessary items and ingredients, he began to curse.
***
After two unsuccessful attempts to curse objects, as required by the instructions, only the last item remained - to create your own curse.
But a problem arose: several ingredients needed to be used that were not in the recipes. And it would have been easy, if it were not for the fact that every time at the last moment a recipe with an effect came to mind.
Also, after two weeks of continuous practice, the question of backlash arose. Grandmother said that a curse can cause damage. Several times I tried to find her and ask a question, but she was nowhere to be found.
And one day, when I had to complete the ritual and curse another object, the answer came to mind. After that, I woke up with a black face. It turned out that I had no backlash for two reasons: either the backlash was so weak that it could not be noticed, or there was none at all.
The first reason was understandable - the curses were too weak and harmless. Calling curses "hemorrhoids" or "frequent urination" that do not cause serious consequences. And the second reason was that no one alive had been cursed.
So what is the point of a curse if it cannot be activated and placed on someone, and it remains inactive?
"Grandson, maybe you'll take a break for a day? Rest and eat well," unexpectedly spoke Baba Yaga from behind.
"Can you please not scare me like that?" he replied with a black face from failure when he cursed an object.
Baba Yaga looked at the few trinkets lying before her, snapped her fingers and they all disappeared, along with the table and chairs. Turning around, she said:
"Come with me, grandson. You need rest."
"I don't need any rest or food. I'm dead, after all..." he objected.
"You are both dead and alive... You must understand that even the dead need rest. Even the gods rest. You are no exception, grandson. I am glad to see that you have become interested in curses, even if you are a necromancer who must communicate with the dead," Baba Yaga said with a lecturing tone as they approached the house.
"Even the undead need rest?" he asked, not believing his ears.
"Yes, if they have a soul, then they need rest too," she replied, opening the door and going inside, leaving the door open.
"But how can it be? If undead have a soul, then they need rest. And what about the undead that are separated from their soul? Nevertheless, they remain in their body, even if the body is essentially just a vessel?" he asked, closing the door and sitting down at the table in the room, which looked like a kitchen, with plates of food and chairs.
"You're talking about liches and similar beings. It's very simple here. When their souls are trapped in phylacteries, they fall into a semi-conscious state, so they can always rest, and the liches themselves can work forever. However, they must take breaks and rest, otherwise they will start to develop two or three times slower," she said, preparing the plates and spoons.
"What about the undead that don't have a soul? What happens to them?" Vallynor asked.
"They don't care about rest. They don't possess a soul or mind; they're just puppets fulfilling the will of a necromancer. Don't delve into such things. Not everything can be explained in words, and I don't know everything about souls. Only God knew and could tell about it in the smallest details, but He is no more. Don't trouble yourself and enjoy the food."
Vallynor took a spoon in one hand and a piece of bread in the other. "Oh, fresh, soft, and tasty," he thought, looking at the borscht with bread, where chunks of meat were visible. Closing his eyes, he tried not to think about where the meat came from.
Baba Yaga watched Vallynor eat, smiling. Then she left the room, leaving him alone. He pondered slowly about their conversation and why the soul needed rest. Time dragged slowly until Baba Yaga returned.
When he almost finished his borscht with bread, he happily nodded and sat next to the old woman, waiting for her to finish her food.
When Vallynor finished his portion of borscht with bread, Baba Yaga clapped her hands, and all the dishes on the table disappeared. Then she stood up and showed him with her hand to follow her.
He silently got up and followed Baba Yaga. They passed through the door and found themselves in a small room with one bed. On the floor, under the bed, sat rusty chains covered in blood. Vallynor got scared seeing them.
Feeling the fear of her grandson, Baba Yaga understood that he was scared of the chains and immediately explained:
"Don't be afraid of the chains, they're not for you. I used them to keep my former lovers and prevent them from running away with me after the first night. Widows need a lot of attention, and just one night is too little."
"And what about the blood on the chains? Is it fresh?" Vallynor suspiciously asked Baba Yaga.
"That's the blood of my last lover. He was a scoundrel and tried to deceive me by putting an old bottle instead of his 'sausage.' I got angry and beat him, so his blood remained on the chains - in memory of that scoundrel."
Sitting on the bed, Vallynor didn't even think about what Baba Yaga was doing there, otherwise he might imagine her naked. He got scared when the door suddenly opened, but quickly remembered that Baba Yaga could read his thoughts. Fortunately, she was already at the door and couldn't read his thoughts even if she wanted to.
"Sleep, my grandson," Baba Yaga said, and the door closed behind her, darkening the room.
***
Hmm, sitting at the table, Vallynor looked at the circles with ingredients inside. He incinerated them with his gaze, if he had such an ability.
"Come on, idiot. What's the problem? Why isn't the process working properly, and as a result, the curse isn't what was expected in the beginning... Look, even Anino is smarter than you. He's already started studying earth magic and, although with difficulty, is gradually developing. And you've been sitting on my neck for years. I teach you, feed you for nothing, and you throw everything away like trash," she continued after waiting for some time. "Come on, I'm already tired of looking at your incinerating gaze... Ahh, idiot, look. This rune is crooked, which changes the meaning. And here the sequence should be reversed. And here..." Due to the fact that Baba Yaga was tired of sitting for hours, she started explaining and showing the mistakes herself.
When she had already shown more than half of the mistakes, she looked at him and saw him smiling. "That's right, bastard," she thought.
"Well, young one, you understood a long time ago. Why were you silent and made your grandmother so angry? I'm already old, I can't get nervous. My pulse will rise, and I'll kick the bucket," she began to speak resentfully, looking at him with disapproval, and then turned to the table and wanted to gather everything from it.
"This is for you from last time, grandmother... Leave it, I want to finish it," he said, hitting Baba Yaga's hand not too hard, making her stop and look at him with offense.
"Grandson, for several years you've been eating all my things, even starting to take them from your own stash. You want to deprive your beloved grandmother of all her money... It's a good thing I didn't start teaching you blood magic. Otherwise, I could have woken up with you at night, holding a jar and a knife. And start sucking my blood."
"Grandmother, can you still teach me blood magic?" - After correcting all the mistakes, the grandson started the process and, taking the cursed items in a ring, turned around and asked.
"I've explained to you a thousand times already that when you fulfill my request and successfully complete it, then I can teach you blood magic, as well as most curses and black magic, and necromancy, which you sometimes learned."
"But I want you to show me everything, not just remember. I would even fulfill your request for free," said Vallynor.
Baba Yaga felt warmth in her heart. Her grandson's words were sincere and without ulterior motives. She even cried, if not for those words he spoke to the helpless woman.
"And once again, your reward will be me teaching you blood magic when you fulfill my request. Now let's go home. Anni is already waiting for us, hungry and lonely. And I still need to create new dolls."
"I'll help you."
"Hah, I know you want to watch me use blood magic. Try if you want, maybe you'll learn something, but you won't get far. Let's go already."
Walking slowly, Vallynor began to remember how he lived with Baba Yaga for several years, where he learned magic from morning till night every day. His grandmother taught him black magic, curses, necromancy, and elemental magic from books.
He also created his first staff using that low-grade magic stone and thus completed a quest from a book. After that, he completed the third quest using a skeleton from a temple and was rewarded with an apprentice mantle that adds proximity with all types of magic and is universal. Baba Yaga says it's just a normal thing, but Vallynor was so happy he didn't pay attention to it.
The second item he received was a bone necklace that serves as an inventory. He already had a third one, so he left it in the book. It has a slot where he can keep his personal items, and he got it for completing all three quests. This was already his fourth inventory.
On the old one, only one new quest appeared, which talks about development.
In addition, Vallynor was able to restore some of his soul. Those cursed children only sleep and only woke up once when he turned Farfalle's soul into the first soul rune.