Chapter 15
The next morning, Finn woke before first light to begin his day. He found that starting each day with meditation calmed his anxiety, and focused his thoughts.
Following his meditation, he would engage in a dual routine of honing his magic skills and foraging for breakfast. He initiated this by extending his awareness across the forest, searching for both game and medicinal herbs.
Although it went widely unspoken, Finn felt an unpaid gratitude to the villagers who had saved him from the Corrupted Treant and given him a place to stay.
Today, Finn was joined by Oscar, who usually slept. Finn was grateful for his company as he ventured cautiously through the forest.
“How you doing, big guy?” Finn asked as he scratched Oscar’s fluffy head as the panda floated by his side.
Oscar, gave a happy “mmm” doing his barrel roll, nudging into Finn’s side. Finn could feel the deep connection to Oscar through their bond, and could intuitively understand Oscar’s intentions, but he hadn’t established a method of effective communication thus far.
Thanks to Finn’s new status at Iron Rank, what had once taken excessive effort and focus now felt menial and uncomplicated.
Instead, Finn could now feel a much larger pool of mana and potency that Iron Rank brought, meaning he would need to train from the bottom up once again to reach the height of his new rank.
“Looks like I’m back to square one, mate.” Finn said to Oscar quietly. “But hey, at least now we’re the same rank.”
Oscar had been at the Iron Rank since the day Finn met him. Finn didn’t know much about the creature, nor what Iron Rank meant for a Nebulanda; this world’s version of a panda.
As Finn walked on through the forest, he gathered many different herbs, constantly referencing the book Lia and Cadan had gifted him on his birthday celebration.
He absently wondered why he had only had one celebration, when he should be at least 5 years old by now, but it seemed inconsequential. Finn also knew that he had not technically been born at all in this world.
Rather, the god of rebirth had simply directed his soul into the world, and provided him a body to live in? Had he stolen some poor baby’s body? That didn’t make sense to Finn, but he was unclear of the nature of his body in this world.
Finn decided he would ask the gods next time they decided to interject themselves into his dreams.
By this point, Finn had gathered an assortment of fruits, vegetables, and herbs for food and medicine. Finn’s had also been feeling out the area with his aura to search for animals.
Every time Finn sensed a rabbit, boar, or other similar animal, Finn would stop, close his eyes, and send an arrow shaped bolt of magic straight through the animal’s heart, killing it instantly.
Finn grappled with the concept of death with every kill. He didn’t enjoy ending life, but he also knew that it was part of the natural cycle. The gods knew this, and they all had their role in ensuring the world operated the way it should.
This was both a reassurance and a concern for Finn. If gods were the ultimate authority, who’s to check their power? According to what he’d learned so far, the god’s worked in a form of balance, keeping each other in line.
While this sounded good at first glance, Finn couldn’t shake the thoughts of his fate being in the hand of a god.
Oscar nudged Finn with concern, as Finn had stopped walking lost in deep contemplation of the thoughts. Finn scratched Oscar affectionately, glad to have him here by his side.
“I’m good buddy, good looking out.”
Finn gathered the spoils of his hunting, heading back to the village. As he was walking back, he heard a soft “arf!” and froze. The sound had come from Oscar, who was not a dog.
On top of Oscar’s head, was the small dog that Finn kept seeing around Oscar periodically.
“Where did you…” Finn said, reaching out to pet the small dog. Instead of responding, the dog perked up in alarm and disappeared into Oscar’s fur, which should not have been deep enough for the dog to disappear into.
Finn reached out his hand experimentally, touching the spot the dog had disappeared to.
Puzzled by Oscar's unexpected ability to shelter the dog, Finn decided to explore the anomaly further. "Oscar, how did you do that?" he asked, still trying to understand what happened.
Oscar, with a rather playful glance that seemed to convey only a cheerful demeanor, accompanied by a soft, reassuring hum. It was as if he was trying to communicate that everything was under control, despite the unexpected circumstances.
Finn was filled with questions, but trusted Oscar. The bond between them told Finn that Oscar was inviting Finn to examine what appeared to be a ritual marking on his back.
Following his instinct, Finn subtly used his aura to interact with the panda’s and the marking split in half to reveal the dog, happily yipping, and snacking on what appeared to be an assortment of biscuits.
“Well. This is not what I expected.” Finn said. With this, Finn willed the magic opening to close itself again, and decided to continue on. As the Oscar followed along again, the dog reappeared on Oscar's head.
Finn shook his head and walked on. “I really need to find a way to communicate with animals.” He muttered to himself.
As they approached the village, Finn made a mental note to explore Oscar's abilities further. There was so much to learn about this magical world, and with Oscar by his side, he felt ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead. Together, they would navigate the mysteries of this land, each discovery bringing them closer to understanding the true depth of their connection and the magical nature of their bond.
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Finn reached the kitchen and approached a group beginning to prepare food, offering the abundance of food he had gathered on a preparation table.
“By the gods Finn!” A familiar voice boomed down at him. It wasn’t a hostile voice, but the default powerful voice of the man.
“42 rabbits, 13 boar, and an assortment of 132 fruits and vegetables. All edible” Finn said, matter of factly.
“I know I said we’d appreciate the help, but this is enough to keep the village fed for a month!” the man said, nonplussed as he stared at the generous amount of food laying on the table.
Finn scratched his head awkwardly. “Now that I’ve reached Iron Rank, sensing the animals in the forest has made for some easy hunting. I think I’m going to need more challenging targets if I want to improve.”
“That’s why soon we’re going to start hunting Iron Rank monsters, working up towards the many Bronze enemies of area.” Said Alistair, entering the room.
“Well now!” Said the cook, “gotch yourself some big bright ambitions for the young lad, do ya, Alistair?”
“I do, Dorian. Finn has displayed the signs of becoming one of the greats, if he doesn’t get himself fighting a Treant two ranks above him.” Alistair said with a friendly laugh, resting his hand on Finn’s shoulder.
Finn smiled. “For now, I imagine it’s time to start preparing ourselves for the lesson? Let’s get to it then.”
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Finn spent the next couple of hours with Alistair preparing the best content and approach for the day. When the cooks finished preparing the food, the residents of the haven began arriving to receive their meals.
In Finn’s travels, most villages had an assortment of restaurants, food stalls, and venders to sell food or ingredients, depending on the supply and demand.
In the case of the Verdent Haven, Finn had never seen any form of economy between people. Instead, community efforts led to a system of sharing and community.
Everyone had a home, there was enough food for everyone, and everyone had a way to contribute to the village daily.
The population of the haven was around 44 adults and 15 or so children. Which generally self sufficient as long as everyone contributed, which they did. There was no need to enforce laws or incentivise working.
Everyone at the haven was there because they had been displaced, disregarded, abandoned, exiled, or something along those lines.
For these reasons, food was often served 3 times a day, held indoors within a tavern, simply referred to as ‘The Tavern’. Finn was amused at the likeness of The Tavern to be exactly what you would expect in a magical world.
Leaving the adults to drink and sing after breakfast, Finn, Alistair, and the rest of the children gathered in their clearing to begin their lesson.
For now, Finn still needed to help guide them in the basics of controlling their magic, and willing it in the ways they intended.
Finn mostly maintained a hands off method to this, because he didn’t share their affinities, and trying to impose what worked best for him would only hinder their progress.
This is what the goddess had instructed him to do in the addendum to his tablet, and Finn was inclined to agree.
Nyx accelerated above the others, her speed to grasp using wind magic had been so quick, Finn was almost jealous. She didn’t leave her friends behind, instead using her insights to help those struggling the most.
Finn found a newfound respect for Nyx, originally pegging her as the type of person to pick on others or prioritize her own improvement.
Finn felt a little ashamed to think so low of someone, and vowed to be better about judging people without getting to know them first.
Seeing how well the others were beginning to grasp the basics, Finn began creating more complex shapes, encouraging others to follow his example.
Finn read notes he had created from his tablet, experiences, and the goddesses additions.
“For me, it helps to visualize what I am creating, and then allow the magic to flow through my body, and morph into the item I want to create.” Finn panned his eyes across the group of eagerly listening students.
“This will work better for some of you than others. Other people may find that chanting spells, or putting what you want into words will help you to create what you want”.
A student raised his hand in the back, and Finn recalled the name as Emily.
“Yes, Emily, what is it?”
“I’ve tried both of these methods, but it still feels far away, and hard to grasp.”
Finn thought for a moment, recalling Emily’s affinity.
“You have the invocation, right?” Finn asked.
“Yes, but all I have been able to summon so far are light bugs…” She said, sheepishly.
Finn nodded. “That’s okay, you have an affinity no one else here has. That’s not a bad thing, but it means you’ll have a harder time learning than a lot of us.”
Finn pulled out the tablet, swiping through, and he quickly read key sections on her invocation magic. From what Finn could best understand, it sounded like Emily would need to make more of a request than a formative thought.
“Alright. Everyone pair up with someone who has the same affinity. If you can't find someone who has your affinity, form a group of 3. Emily, come join me and we’ll try to workshop how to best workshop your affinity. Alistair, will you help guide the students while I work with Emily?”
Alistair smiled and nodded, greeting the students as he began guiding them.
Emily joined Finn, sheepishly at first, but something about the warmness of Finn’s aura broke the tension.
This was something Finn had been practicing on his own. The book laid out information about manipulating one’s aura to your advantage.
"Aura, a non-tangible manifestation of one's soul, can be perceived through specialized senses. It's influenced by an individual's magical capacity, soul vitality, and insight into aura-related phenomena. At Iron Rank, practitioners gain the ability to manipulate their aura for purposes of concealment or detection, offering strategic advantages in various contexts. This manipulation encompasses hiding one's strength for stealth or decorum and enhancing one's presence for intimidation or authority. [More]"
Upon pressing “[More]” Finn had learned a lot about the specific methods to control his aura. Which allowed him to now gently impose the friendly nature of it to Emily.
Finn sat down, gesturing for her to do the same. Instructing her to meditate, Finn ran through his notes, so that he could guide Emily through a different approach that would work best for her.