As Jeb made his way home, he could not stop thinking about the knots the Bard had used. It wasn’t a natural pattern for his own Mana to flow through, he knew well enough. Still, something about the way that they looked had hooked his interest.
So, as he walked back to the hive, he focused on trying to shape his Mana into the knots that the Bard had used. When that failed, he tried easier exercises, like thinking of his Mana as a thread, or a rushing torrent of water. By the time that he had made it to his swarm, he could cast a Glyph thinking of his Mana as either of those, though they were still more difficult than visualizing it as a stream of flowing light.
Beside the hive, Jeb noticed a bucket of water that someone had left. As he thought about it, he realized that it was likely him who had left it. Still, it did give him an idea for visualizing the knots.
Up to that point, he had been working entirely in his mind. Maybe working with something physical would help? he reasoned.
He called Least Shape Water to mind and lifted the contents of the bucket up. With a slight twist of his will, he made the orb of water split into a ring. Spinning the water within the ring was easy enough.
“Ok, so next would be a single crossing,” Jeb said, trying to visualize the shapes that the Bard had made. He stretched the loop of water out until it was twice as long as it was tall, then bent the two sides so they would loop over each other. Keeping the water rushing through was more difficult this time, but Jeb managed it.
Trying to split the water again, though, he ran into another issue. He could split the water the same way vertically as opposed to sideways. But, try as he might, he could not turn the loop into the sheet of woven knotwork that the Bard had carelessly crafted out of Mana.
Jeb released the Glyph, moving to sketch on the ground. He tried to call the image back into his mind. The longer that he thought about the knots, the more he saw the pattern in them.
Scratching crosses into the ground, Jeb connected the edges of them together. That seemed to at least resemble the shape that the Bard had made. He found himself drawn not to the actual lines of the shape, where he knew his Mana would have to go.
Instead, Jeb found his eyes and focus drawn to the gaps between the flowing lines. Suddenly, something clicked.
With the briefest exertion of Least Shape Earth -Efficient, Jeb cleared the pattern he had drawn. Keeping the Spell active, he impressed five squares onto the ground. One lay between the other four, points oriented towards each other.
Effortlessly, he filled the lines in around them. Of course, he immediately realized that this was not a knot that the Bard had made. Try as he might, Jeb was unable to fill the entire shape in with a single line.
Adding another internal square and covering it, Jeb looked at the shape he had made. There were two rows of three squares, with an offset row of two squares between them. With the new shape, Jeb was able to trace a piece of dirt through the entire path before it retraced itself.
He let the Glyph fade from his mind and called Least Shape Water to mind again. This time, he was able to form the grid and start a stream of water flowing through it. It was still difficult for Jeb to do, raking most of his concentration, but he knew that it would only get easier with practice.
A questioning buzz came from the hive. Jeb realized with a start that he was getting emotional senses from the bees within the hive. Each of them had only the smallest emotional sense.
Probing the feeling more deeply, Jeb realized that each bee shared most of its emotional state with the overall swarm. It was strange to him that each bee individually seemed less like a distinct being and more like a limb. Shrugging, he moved on. How the bees operated was none of his business.
Calling the Ephemeral Song to mind, Jeb began plucking out its notes. He first visualized his Mana as a thread, letting it form and unravel to create the sight of a deep blue circle. “Ok, so I can do that,” he said, slowly ending his flow of Mana.
With another effort, he called a ring to mind and began pushing Mana through it. “There is no beginning and no end to this Song,” he said, unsure if he was trying to convince himself or his Mana, “only my use of it. I know that this is true because I can find the same rhythm over and over again.”
Try as he might, Jeb could not convince his Mana to form the Ephemeral Song in the form of a woven knot. By the time that the sun was setting, his soul and mind were exhausted. He collapsed asleep, mind swimming with thoughts of woven cords.
Rising before dawn, Jeb made his way quietly out of the home. To his surprise, the bees in the hive were already starting to stir.
“Did Binding with me make you all rise earlier?” he asked. The swarm buzzed in what Jeb could only interpret as a shrug. He nodded, agreeing with the sentiment. Ultimately, it was just nice that they were all up at the same time.
Through the Binding link, he felt the queen ask him if there was any way to create a regenerating pool of Attuned Mana. Or, at least, that was what he was certain her dance meant.
“Not that I could find,” he replied. “I would be happy to work on it, though.”
The queen assured him that it was not a high priority request, and that progressing down his own path was worth more to the hive at this point. Jeb realized with a start that he had never been able to understand the dancing and buzzing of the bees so clearly before. It made sense, as he thought about it, though he did wonder why the Librarian hadn’t told him that would happen.
Sitting with his back to the hive and watching the sunrise, Jeb tried to remember what he had been working on before Binding the lute and hive. “There are really three options for me right now,” he mused to the passing bees. “I could work on projects in the order that I started them, going back through the ideas that I had. I can do the reverse, and finish projects that I started, beginning with the last project I was distracted from. Or, I can once again make a priority list and hope that this one lasts more than a single day.”
When he phrased it like that, it was obvious to Jeb that making another list would not be helpful. Events changed his priorities too often for one to be particularly useful. Retracing his events over the past few weeks, he remembered what he had been working towards.
“Right!” he exclaimed, searching for the flute. He found it in the lute case and pulled it out. Holding it in his hand, he pushed the slightest bit of air through it with Least Move Air.
Whether it was due to the training in Mana control that trying to visualize his Mana moving a different way or something else he had done, Jeb was able to make the flute play notes. It wasn’t entirely consistent, at least at first. But, he was still reliably able to make notes come out of the flute, rather than shrieking overblown sounds.
By the time that his Mana was empty, the sun had fully broken the horizon. He was able to play notes on the flute as easily with Least Move Air as with his breath. It was a strange feeling, being so detached from the playing of the instrument.
Unlike when he played the flute the standard way, Least Move Air never needed to pause for a breath. It meant that the melodies coming from the instrument seemed somehow ethereal, not quite like what they should. Jeb didn’t mind the effect.
After breakfast, he stopped his grandfather. “I think that I am ready to begin working on Glassblowing again,” he said.
“Oh? What prompted that?” his grandfather asked, seeming amused.
“After Binding my lute-” was as far as Jeb got through his explanation before his family stopped him.
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“What did you say?” his mother demanded. “Is that where you disappeared to for another night?”
“Did you collapse somewhere overnight again?” his sister asked.
Other questions came in a cacophony that Jeb was unable to resolve. His grandfather held up a hand, and the family quieted down.
“We’re all adults here,” he said, “I’m sure that we can all wait to ask a question. I’m equally sure that Jeb is happy to stay here as long as is necessary to answer all of the questions we might have.” Jeb took the pointed comment in stride.
There was silence for a moment, before his mother raised her hand. Jeb’s grandfather nodded at her, and she repeated her question, “is Binding your lute why you disappeared for a night?”
“I think so,” Jeb said. At his mother’s unamused stare, he continued. “I also bonded with the hive and the swarm,” he admitted. “When that happened, we all collapsed. I think that it’s completely plausible that I would not have fallen unconscious if I had only bound my lute.”
That started another set of comments, though they died down quickly.
“Why didn’t you think to tell anyone?” his aunt asked.
Jeb grinned sheepishly. “Honestly, I was just so excited to finally have bound my lute that I forgot to tell anyone.”
The conversation continued for another hour before everyone felt like they had their questions answered sufficiently. Jeb was grateful that the general consensus settled in his favor. Most all of his relatives agreed that, while it would have been polite to inform them that he was going to Bind his lute, the fact that the Librarian and the Bard had both urged him on was a good excuse. After all, the entire family trusted the Librarian not to intentionally lead Jeb into trouble.
At the door to the forge, Jeb readied himself to begin Glassblowing again. As he went to open the door, though, his grandfather stopped him.
“What makes you think that this time will be different than last time?” he asked. “Did Binding your lute and hive make you suddenly not feel averse to the concept of Glassblowing?”
Jeb considered the question. “No,” he finally answered, “I still don’t think that I could blow glass myself. But, my control over Least Move Air has improved enough that I think I will be able to make glass with it.” He demonstrated his control, playing a quick scale and ditty on the flute.
His grandfather shrugged. “That seems reasonable to me.” As he opened the door, Jeb was once more met with a wall of heat.
Jeb’s Status Sheet at End of Chapter:
Jeb Human Age: 16 Class: Least Mud Initiate Level: 1 Experience: 6457/100
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Total Statistic Load: 352 Physical Load: 127 Strength: 29 Dexterity: 22 Endurance: 31 Vitality: 41 Presence: 4
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Mental Load: 225 Intelligence: 47 Willpower: 52 Magic Affinity: 55 Mana Depth: 37 Charisma: 34
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Mana: 1070
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Glyph Attunement: 26 Least Shape Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Earth (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Shape Earth - Efficient (Modified) Tier 3 Spell Least Shape Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Conjure Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Move Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Air (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Move Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Hold Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Destroy Fire (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Mud (Modified) Tier 2 Spell Attune Earth Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Water Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Water Mana - Efficient Tier 2 Spell Attune Air Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Fire Mana (Modified) Tier 0 Spell Attune Sand Mana Tier 0 Spell Least Create Sand Tier 1 Spell Attune Sand Mana - Efficient Tier 2 Spell
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Bard Songs Known: 1 Lute Enforcement
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Skills: Least Mud Magic Meditation Mana Manipulation Spell Glyphing Improved Glyph Groking Gift of Gab Running Identify Soil Savvy Animal Handling Fertilizing Lifting Athletics Lute Playing Singing Musician Pollination Brewing Distilling Bardic Magic Smithing Wood Identification Woodworking Soil Improvement Enchanting
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Achievements: Focused Meditator Student of Magic
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Quests: Major: Slay the Dragon of the West (Progressive)