Jeb spent the rest of the day learning how to knit. He eventually figured out how to cast on to his aunt’s satisfaction, which sparked the next round of debates. It seemed like half of his family thought it would be better for him to learn the knit stitch well, then the purl stitch, and only then to learn how to combine them. The other half, by contrast suggested that it was best to get used to doing both stitches as quickly as possible, so he should start by learning a pattern which required both in quick succession.
His aunt ignored both sides. “What I’ll have you do,” she said, “is knit across the row two times, then purl across the row two times.” The conversation quieted down when his aunt said that, though Jeb did hear a number of muttered replies about why that was a suboptimal way for him to learn.
Jeb shrugged, answering the unasked question. “I’m not trying to optimize how quickly I learn how to knit. If learning like this will eventually result in me knowing how to knit, I’m happy to take the extra time.” That quieted down almost all of the muttering, and he saw his aunt flash him a brief but bright smile.
When his mother called the family together for dinner, Jeb looked at what he had made. His aunt had said that it would eventually be a scarf. Calling the block of fabric wider than it was long a scarf was stretching even Jeb’s ability to visualize. He had noticed that there were fewer stitches on the later rows, but hadn’t thought to ask his aunt about that.
Before walking to dinner, his aunt looked over at Jeb’s work for the first time in hours. Once he had demonstrated that he could, at least in theory, reproducibly make both a knit and a purl stitch, she had left him to his own devices.
“You’ve dropped some stitches,” she chided, pointing to the places where Jeb had missed in transferring the loop from one needle to the other.
“Is that a problem?” Jeb asked.
“Yes.” His aunt said simply
As though to demonstrate, she showed how the stitch being dropped meant that the entire column could be undone.
“That’s ok, though,” she said, seeming to realize how harsh destroying Jeb’s hours of work in a matter of moments was. “It’s incredibly common to drop stitches when you’re starting off knitting.”
“That’s a benefit of crocheting,” his uncle called out, grinning.
His aunt rolled her eyes. But, Jeb noted, she didn’t correct him.
“In any case,” she said, half heartedly glaring at his uncle, “you’re probably better off restarting this scarf after dinner.”
“Ok!” Jeb replied happily.
Dinner was a calm affair, which was typical of winter. Everyone stared out at the sky, already growing dark. There were no clouds in the sky that night, and Jeb knew that it was going to be a great night to look at the stars.
As though reading his mind, his sister proposed it to the entire family. “I think it would be really fun for us all to go stargazing,” she said.
Hearing the general agreement from the table, she grinned. With the new incentive of something different to occupy the night, people ate a little faster. When the table was cleared, they all put on an extra layer or two and walked outside.
Looking up, Jeb saw more stars than he could ever hope to count. There was something so amazing about looking at the winter sky. Each star somehow seemed just a little brighter than it did in the summer. With the moon glinting off the snow, it was no difficulty for everyone to navigate the terrain.
As long as he didn’t turn his head, Jeb could almost imagine that he was alone, staring at the lonely sky with no one near him. The realization that he would need to do that sometime soon struck him suddenly. Even if it not for the requirements of his Class, Jeb knew that no one in his family had spent their entire life in the farm. He hadn’t thought about that fact, but he suddenly realized that his sister might be leaving the farm before him. He turned to her, and she turned, hearing him rustle.
“What’s on your mind?” she asked.
“I’m just realizing that you might leave the farm before I do,” he said.
His sister rolled her eyes, clearly thinking that it was a joke. “Well of course I will,” she said, “I’ll become a Journeyman soon, even if I’m not some fancy Mage.” She laughed a little. When she saw that Jeb wasn’t laughing with her, she paused.
“You hadn’t thought about the fact that there was no way for you to stay on the farm forever, had you?”
Jeb flushed a little. “I just hadn’t thought about the fact that my life keeps moving, even outside of my Class being what it is.”
His sister nodded. “I thought the same when you came back with your Class. Hearing that you were a Mage, I realized that you almost certainly won’t be at the farm whenever I come back. Do you know when you’re going to the Capital?”
Jeb shook his head. Even though he knew that it would have to happen, he didn’t know when in his Class progression it would be necessary. He assumed that his grandfather would tell him, if not the Bard or Librarian.
“I know that I’ll need to go somewhere next Tier,” his sister said. “But I’ll need to know what my next Class is before I know exactly where I’m going to go. There’s a chance that we could both end up in the Capital together!” She reached out an arm and hugged Jeb. He appreciated the gesture, even though both of them knew that there was no chance that she ended up in the Capital.
“At least the stars will be the same wherever we are,” Jeb suggested.
His sister brightened at that. “That’s true. That one right there,” she said, “will be our star. If we’re ever alone, we can just look at it and remember that not only do each of us have a fantastic sibling,” she elbowed him, “but we also have a family waiting for us to come home.” Jeb followed her finger and saw that she was pointing at a dim star near the horizon. It was near one of Marcus’ constellations, which Jeb knew had to be intentional on his sister’s behalf.
“That sounds good,” he said.
“What are you two being so maudlin about?” his father joked, handing them each a mug. “Sarah, you’ll be gone for a few years at the most. Well, unless you find that you love life off the farm so much that you can’t bear to ever come back.”
Jeb’s sister took the mug with an eye roll. “I’m sure that will happen. That’s why the farm keeps getting bigger, right? Everyone goes off, meets the love of their life, gets married, and stays where they are instead of bringing their partner here?”
His father grinned. “Exactly!” The grin grew slightly strained as he turned to Jeb.
“I don’t know how long you’ll need to be away from the farm,” he said. “But if it’s too long, we will find a way to visit you if you can’t visit us, or we’ll send letters.”
“Don’t we only get mail from the Capital once a year, during the Census?” his sister asked.
“In the grand scheme of things, what’s a two year delay in communication?” his father replied.
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Their conversation was by far the loudest in the area, and it drew the attention of his grandfather. In a tone that brought the somber cast back to the conversation, he spoke, “two years can be an eternity,” as he clutched the locket around his neck.
He came over and hugged Jeb’s father. “But,” he said, trying to lighten the mood, “your father is right. However long you need to study, we’ll be here when you come back, even if it’s just a stop on your way somewhere fantastic. And Sarah,” Jeb’s sister turned, “a number of people fall in love with somewhere else. Your Aunt Sue lives in Midville, after all, and she’s hardly the furthest relative.”
“I know,” Jeb’s sister replied, sipping from her mug, “but I can’t imagine that I would ever want to leave.”
Jeb’s mother came over, and the five of them sat near each other, each trying to embed the memory in their minds forever. Each of them knew that there would only be so many more times that they would all be together.
As the night passed, people began drifting to bed. Jeb’s sister left before he did, and he watched her walk away. The stars grew blurry for a moment as Jeb teared up slightly. Thankfully, there was no one there to see. When Jeb finally went back inside, he buried himself under his blankets and tried to get warm.
As his waking thoughts turned to dreams, he pictured the star that he shared with his sister. He fell asleep with a smile.
Jeb’s Status Sheet at End of Chapter:
Jeb Human Age: 16 Class: Least Mud Initiate Level: 1 Experience: 8443/100
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Total Statistic Load: 402 Physical Load: 139 Strength: 33 Dexterity: 26 Endurance: 35 Vitality: 41 Presence: 4
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Mental Load: 263 Intelligence: 47 Willpower: 62 Magic Affinity: 59 Mana Depth: 47 Charisma: 48
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Mana: 1630
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Glyph Attunement: 30 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 Lesser Shape Earth Tier 3 Spell Least Shape Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Shape Water - Efficient Tier 3 Spell Lesser Shape Water Tier 3 Spell Least Hold Water (Modified) Tier 1 Spell Least Create Water 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 Glassblowing
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Achievements: Focused Meditator Student of Magic
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Quests: Major: Slay the Dragon of the West (Progressive)