The alignment of a core is an easy thing to discern for the trained eye. Elemental cores, the more common of the two, have a rhombus-like appearance with a multi-faceted surface, while conceptual cores are spherical and usually larger than their elemental counterparts. Some rare conceptual cores have fewer physical structures, seeming to fade in and out of existence as they connect deeper to the ethereal.
General awakening studies, volume II.
Energy Cores, Page 17.
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Aodhán and Daruk made it to Grandma Alderman’s house an hour later; they’d passed by the Areli tree once more, and Daruk had had to pull him back as he’d unconsciously begun to move towards it.
“It’s a crime to go near it; to touch it is akin to an abomination.” Daruk had whispered urgently to him, and he remembered Unrid’s words about the soldiers not being here to protect them.
Unrid had also mentioned that the soldiers were all awakened and stronger than him. With all that power available to the village, Unrid shouldn’t be so worried about the horde, except he knew they couldn’t rely on the soldiers to protect them.
He now understood the mixed feelings most of the villagers had about the soldiers and the open hostility some even showed them.
Fortunately, they experienced no further potential disasters, and Aodhán managed to convince Daruk that he’d always known about the tattoo and that he’d only been pulling his legs with his earlier display.
Now, an hour later, they stood at the entrance to the alderman’s house, dressed in woolen coats that caused him to cook in the heat.
Daruk knocked, and a moment later, the door opened to reveal a wizened old woman who managed to stand without a hunch. Her gray hair fell to her waist even though it was braided, and she was covered in flowing green robes.
Her bright blue eyes seemed to pierce through him, and although Daruk had said she wasn’t awakened, Aodhán’s intuition said otherwise. She emanated a regal air and pressure that was impossible for normal villagers, and what was a woman such as her doing in the Warren anyway?
“Greetings, Daruk Brystion. I hope you aren’t too distressed by this terrible weather.”
“Not at all, Grandma Alderman,” Daruk replied with a small bow. “In fact, I brought a friend who’s very interested in seeing your library.”
“Is that so?” The old woman turned to Aodhán , her piercing eyes seeming to stare into him. “What is your name, young man?”
Steeling himself against the imaginary pressure, Aodhán replied with a bow.
“My name is Aodhán Ashoka, a guest of Unrid Brystion. I am very interested in seeing your library.”
“Well, come in,” she said, moving away from the entrance to create room for us. “Any guest of the Brystions is welcome in my home.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Alderman.” Aodhán replied as he stepped into a sitting room many times larger than that of the Brystions. The floor was uncovered, revealing gleaming brown wood that matched the color of the walls. Cream-colored curtains fluttered in the breeze, and multiple couches lay against the walls, creating a large open space in the middle.
Stairs lay in a corner of the room, leading towards the upper floor, and Grandma Alderman led them towards it, all while chatting politely with them and asking slightly probing questions that were casual enough to not seem like prying.
Aodhán expected to find rooms on the second floor, but instead, what greeted him was an open area filled with sunlight, chairs, and wooden tables.
Not an inch of the brown stone walls was visible, as they were completely covered by rows of brown shelves, completely filled with books. A circular object hung from the ceiling, covered in enchantments similar to the ones he’d seen in the earthen cave but more refined.
Aodhán had been concerned that the library wouldn’t hold enough books to be beneficial, but he was impressed.
“So, is it to your liking?” Mrs. Alderman asked, and Aodhán nodded.
“Yes. Thank you, Mrs. Alderman. Your library is very impressive.”
“Then I shall leave you two to explore.” She said as she moved down the stairs. “I’ll send Helen up with some phlorian cookies in a minute.”
“Thank you so much, Grandma Alderman; we really appreciate it.” Daruk called out as Aodhán moved to check out the books.
The first shelf housed about 200 books, but they were all cooking books. One caught his attention, though, and he pulled it out to read the title.
The basics of awakened cooking by renowned conceptual cook, Avara Isondo.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
Conceptual cook? Aodhán thought it was weird that someone had awakened a cooking ability, but it was a concept, and he needed more information on those, so he took the book before moving to the next shelf.
“What exactly are you looking for? I could help you find it. I’ve been in this library countless times.”
Yes, that was a good question. What exactly was he looking for? He was so ignorant about a lot of things that he had no idea where to start.
“I’m not sure yet, but I think I’ll know when I find it.” He replied, and Daruk shrugged before walking to a shelf that seemed to contain books on court life and etiquette.
Aodhán continued his perusal, moving from shelf to shelf as he read titles that fascinated him. He even took some whose titles had made him curious enough to at least skim through them.
The next shelf contained various books about awakeneds, but they were mostly historical or lore about important awakeneds and ascendants. Aodhán resolved to read them at some point, as it wouldn’t hurt to know more about the world he was in.
He was about to leave when a thick brown book caught his attention, and he tilted his head to read the title.
General awakening studies, volume II, by prominent scholar Eric Tython.
He pulled the book from the shelf and flipped it open. As he skimmed through the acknowledgement, Daruk called out from beside me.
“That’s a 7th grade textbook; what could you possibly need it for?”
Aodhán shrugged dismissively. “I found it very interesting in 7th grade, so I thought I would give it another read.”
“By ascendants! You are weird.” Daruk groaned as he picked up a table and dragged another chair towards it.
“I don’t want you hovering over me while I read.” Aodhán stated with a glare, but Daruk scoffed and replied.
“I won’t be hovering; I’ll be sitting.”
After a minute of silent contest, Daruk finally relented, and with a groan, he stood to his feet.
“Fine, I’ll move. Perhaps I should read one of those cooking books.”
Aodhán sat down a moment later and opened the brown book. He had no idea what class 7th grade even represented in this world, but whatever it is, it should be simple enough for him to understand it.
The first topic in the book was awakening, and as Aodhán read through it, he realized that it basically described the natural awakening process and how it can be nudged or manipulated.
There was no mention of spontaneously absorbing cores in dark caves or transmigrating to another world entirely, so, with a sigh of disappointment, he skipped to the next topic.
He was about 15 pages in when the door opened, and a girl his age walked in. She held a tray of cookies in one hand and a jug of water in the other.
She placed the tray on a table near the entrance and said, “Mrs. Alderman insisted that I tell you to be careful and not to damage any of her books.”
“We’ll be careful.” Daruk replied, and the girl stepped out of the room. Aodhán flipped the page and found the next topic to be energy cores. With renewed interest, he focused on the book, reading it carefully to find any new information that he wasn’t aware of.
He found it two pages later, as the author described both conceptual and elemental cores in exquisite details. Nothing was said about the limit, but after reading the topic twice, he was almost sure he knew the cause and how to avoid it.
He continued his reading until Daruk insisted that it was time to go, and with reluctance, he placed the book back where he’d taken it from. They made their way out of Mrs. Alderman’s house a few minutes later, promising to come back the next day, and she assured them that she would keep a fruit cake waiting in expectation.
The journey back to the Brystions was uneventful, and he spent the rest of the evening sharpening his control over lightning. He tried to change the shape of the bolt, but he had little headway in that direction. Still, he was sure it was possible.
When night came, Unrid returned home with a grave expression, barely speaking to any of them during dinner, except to ask Aodhán what his plans were to avoid joining the military when he turned 18.
“I’m not sure yet, but I’ll figure it out soon.” Aodhán responded.
“If I awaken by the time I turn 16, we could enroll in a school.” Daruk suggested, but Unrid grunted in disagreement.
“The academies are just as dangerous as the frontlines, you’ve seem your brother’s letters; besides, they do not just accept everyone who applies; there are tryouts, and you know how low their acceptance rates are.”
“I think it’s worth a shot.” Aodhán said.
“It is.” Daruk agreed. “Anything is better than the military.”
The conversation devolved from there, and although Synové glared at the three of us from time to time, she didn’t comment on the fact that we were having an inappropriate discussion at the dinner table.”
The next morning, as we ate breakfast, Synové complained about the lack of rainfall in the past week and how her flowers were withering, so Aodhán volunteered to help.
When they finished eating, Synové led them all to the garden, where Aodhán instantly created a storm cloud that covered the entire garden.
He decreased the sound of thunder until it was nothing but a slight rumble that sent a tingle down their spines. Instead of a downpour, the rain drizzled, and the wind picked up slightly.
10 minutes later, the earth was soaked, and the flowers glistened with moisture. Synové was ecstatic, and she let out a squeal of excitement as she moved around the garden.
Many of their neighbors had noticed the scene, and they immediately came closer to have a better view. Before long, a burly old woman who lived across them asked if he could make a stronger storm so she could fetch water.
He almost declined, as he didn’t think that was a suitable use of his abilities, but when he turned to his other neighbors and saw them hesitantly holding on to wooden buckets, he agreed to help.
With a thought, he dismissed the storm cloud above Synové Garden and created another above the cobbled stone pathway. As soon as it appeared, thunder boomed, lightning flashed dangerously, and rain poured down heavily.
People rushed to place their buckets under the storm cloud , getting themselves drenched in the process, but they laughed and shouted in excitement before rushing back to their homes to get more buckets.
An hour later, everyone on the street, including the Brystions, had filled all their buckets with water, and Aodhán was finally able to proceed with his plans for the day.
He changed into a better-looking outfit and then made his way to Mrs. Alderman’s house. Daruk wasn’t with him this time as he’d gone to visit some of his friends, so Aodhán had to go alone, but it wasn’t that big of a deal as Aodhán preferred reading alone anyway.
He continued from where he stopped yesterday, and by the time evening came, he’d read the book completely. He’d gained a lot from the book, but nothing major or ground-breaking. At the end of the day, the textbook was for 7th grade students, which he’d recently found out represented the first class in junior high.
He left the library, said goodbye to Mrs. Alderman, and made his way back to the Brystions house, only to come to a halt when he saw a group of farmers stationed outside the house, speaking eagerly to Unrid even as he stared at them in confusion and bewilderment.