Break of Autumn, Week 1, Day 5
After trying to pull a single wisp of mana from my veins failed for the umpteenth time, I decided to try a different approach. The book said to use your will to impose your intentions on the mana. That was the first step to forming runes. And I had seen Evelyn do that in real-time.
I imagined the feeling of a cold breeze blazing past with a bolt of energy. I imagined my mana vein like blocks of ice that needed to be melted. I thought to myself, my body is warm enough to melt the ice –make it easier to move. I wanted it to move. Even if it was just a single sweat drop falling from a cube of ice. I let my imagination overlay my desires as I stared at my mana veins.
And then I felt something move.
I smiled, ready to do it again–
A knock resounded, and Sir Limrick’s face filled the windowpane, “Time’s up!”
I harrumped and leaned back. I had done it. Which meant I could do it again. It was fine.
I went back to knitting more granny squares.
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Rather than stopping for lunch, Dame Arella slid me a sandwich and a drink, and we pressed on. We were getting close to Wig.
On the plus side, Sir Limrick said I could use the middle hour meant for lunch to practice a mana Skill.
I imagined a block of ice.
And then I felt it move.
I smiled, preparing to do it again–
What the–
[Congratulations! You have learned the Skill: Mana Manipulation! Mana Manipulation is now Level 1!]
Oh, I smiled to myself and began moving more mana from my veins.
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The outskirts of Wig were not as impressive as Adeline or Juvel. Instead, the walls were lower and made of wood. But the width of the city went wider, and I would sooner see the horizon than the curve of the wall.
That made all the more sense when we passed through the gates, and I saw that most of the buildings were flatter than in Juvel –rarely did one go to the second story, let alone the third. The houses were meticulously crafted, some more than others, and they looked like an old Germanic town. It was homey in a way Juvel and Adeline couldn’t be, not with their flocks of people and towering cities.
We only went deep enough into the city to reach the merchant district. The outer residential, Sir Limrick had explained, was not as well protected. It’s the same reason we’d gone to the inner city in Juvel and the noble district in Adeline.
As we approached the inn, I tucked my granny squares into my bag –with the other items I’d gotten from Juvel– and Noir. Since we’d be going out, I made sure I knew just where my coin purse was. It was just shy of four gold coins left. A fortune and burden both.
I stepped out of the carriage and flattened any strays that had sprung from my braids. I also straightened my travel clothes and tapped my shoes on the welcome mat –I wasn’t one of the ones who traversed the wilderness, but it didn’t hurt to be polite and knock off any dirt I could have.
Sir Rellar took charge once we were inside, and the whole of the place looked deserted of people.
I made eye contact with Sir Neil and beckoned the scarred man over. As he leaned down to meet me eye to eye, I whispered, “Why is it empty?”
With a smile in his eyes, he answered, “We reserved it for a block of four days in case we got in late –or in this case, early. We’re a day ahead of schedule, but they should still have the inn free for us.”
I nodded and gave a quiet thank you.
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I was rearranging Noir, Haze, and Shade into a circle around me when a knock came from the door. I bounded up off the bed and over to the door.
I paused with my arm reaching out for the door, sense filling me.
“Who is it?” I called.
“It’s Arlen, my Lady. And Klein. Dame Arella sent us to ask if you’re ready to go to the market?”
The voice did sound like Arlen, but –just in case– I took a moment.
[Mana Sense]
As I confirmed the two boys were outside alone, I nodded to myself. Good call, Nora. Could’ve been undesirables.
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Strictly speaking, I couldn’t tell it was Arlen and Klein –but their mana veins were so much weaker than the other knights it was hard not to notice the distinct shade of teal they both had. Whether that was what all Tier 1 Classes looked like, I didn’t know, but I knew mine didn’t look like that.
I opened the door gently, careful not to make the hinges squeak as loudly as they had when I’d opened the door the first time, “I’m good to go.”
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Half a market, three entered shops, and one new board game later –similar to checkers and programmed to respond to a single player’s moves– and I was ready for dinner.
Dinner itself was a simple affair at the inn, but it was more lively than while we were camping. It was much like that night we spent in Juvel –with Skills flying and jokes and dancing. None of the knights were drinking that I could see, but they were rowdy in the kind of way I thought a sports team might be.
I asked Dame Arella to show me the water Skill she’d used against the Weeping Blight.
She winked and said, “Your wish is my command.”
The world was filled with twisting and turning streams of water –water that was plucked from mugs and bowls and off one knight's still shower-wet hair. She directed the water around in a clearly pre-rehearsed show. There were loops and timed races, and at one point, she even circled me in several perfect hoops.
I laughed and reached out to run my hand along the hoop –only to wind up breaking the smooth pattern, and the water went into a majestic flurry through the room at Dame Arella’s behest.
Whether it was a manipulation Skill or something else, it was as beautiful as [Shadow Manipulation].
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I cuddled into bed and activated [Shadow Animation] on Haze, Noir, and Shade.
“Guard me while I sleep.”
It was a simple command, something I didn’t even need to push with my will too much. To be honest, I left my will pretty much out of any commands to the spirits –I thought of them more as chatting companions than servants. Sure, I gave them a home in the constructs, but I was desperate for their affection –and they seemed more than happy to give it.
So, while they curled up against me, I practiced [Shadow Manipulation].
This time, I wanted to carve a sword.
I started with a rectangular base and carved off the form of the hilt. Rather than starting at the blade, I began at the pommel. I rounded it out and created indents on the grip.
Would I be holding the sword? Probably at some point. While my control will increase as I practice, I want to be able to use mundane weapons eventually. Whenever this journey ends, I have every intention of calling on Dame Arella and holding her to her promise to teach me. To guide me.
For now, this would do.
I pushed, pulled, smoothed, and pinched a guard. Then, as if my will was a grinding stone, I began on the blade. I wasn’t going for anything artistic—just a simple flat blade. So i dragged my hand across it, flattening the shadow into a centimeter-thick line. Then I pressed down and sharpened the blade with my mind. It wasn’t perfect –I could see where the blade was warped from my imperfect mental image– but I wouldn’t be able to recreate a perfect blade unless I got more acquainted with a physical copy.
The only reason I had been able to create the daggers so easily was because of elsewhere. But where in elsewhere would I have seen a sword? Nowhere. Swords were out of date in my– in whose era?
I grit my teeth at the reminder of my missing memory. Whatever had been there reaffirmed my irritation that I would be at yet another church tomorrow. And with that thought brought forth the considerations I’d been avoiding.
Who did I pray to? What did I pray for? The only God that was safe was Morloch, and I was happy to take the easy way out and send my thoughts to him. But he had said not to pray for strength. He told me, Be the God of Nora.
I sighed, falling into my thoughts as I twirled the shadow sword around carelessly.
What would the God of Nora pray for? For the demise of the Twins? For Scylla to get her just desserts? For Morloch to re-appear and tell her she’s been doing good?
That last one made me snort.
No, the God of Nora would pray for the suns in the sky to continue to shine. For the rivers to continue to run. For wheat to continue to grow. The God of Nora would want the world to flourish so Nora could prosper in it.
I smiled, a sharp thing.
I wanted to prosper. I was a far cry from the girl who had left the manor all those days ago. I had drive now, desire, and a burning hatred for anything that would drag me down.
Tomorrow, when I entered the church, I would pray to Morloch, and I would ask for the world to keep spinning. Nothing more, nothing less.
Then I twirled the sword too fast and dropped it, sliding the blade across my palm as I tried to catch it.
“Garbage,” I hissed. My Vitality and Endurance couldn’t protect me from my own idiocy, it seemed.
I pressed down on my palm, beading with blood, and released the sword of shadows –allowing it to disperse into the aether. I bit my cheek to keep the pain at bay, climbed out of my bed, and went to the small bathroom attached to the bedroom. Even though there was no way for the sword to give me tetanus, I really didn’t want to die of tetanus, so I’d be washing my hand and wrapping it up with whatever fabric I could find.
Which, as it turned out, after a brief search of the bathroom, meant a thin stretch of fabric that was maybe a washcloth, but was definitely not a bandage, for my slow-bleeding hand wound.
I sighed and tied it as tight as I could with a single hand. It was too bad that I didn’t have a hand-shaped animation. That would have been helpful.
…
No, that’s insane. Let’s not go into the uncanny valley territory. I promised myself I wouldn’t be knitting, crocheting, or otherwise sewing a human hand to animate.
Once I was done, I crawled back into the bed and covered myself in plush animals –as one is wont to do when there is an abundance of plush animals surrounding one.
I drifted off to sleep, feeling the cold but soft bodies of my friends and hearing them occasionally chat with each other in a language I didn’t quite understand. Occasionally, one would wish me a good night, and the others would chime in, too. This happened whenever I drifted in and out of sleep. Eventually, I slipped into a true slumber, and the night faded away.
I dreamt of being the God of Nora. Of destroying the Dawn estate, and Evelyn, and the Twin Gods. I dreamt of home –of elsewhere. And when I awoke, a gentle warmth filled my chest.
I forgot about what I dreamt by breakfast.