I opened my eyes and I instantly saw an insane array of color swirling around in the air. I noticed instantly that there were apparently unique arcane as well and something I also realized was opened my eyes and I instantly saw an insane array of color swirling around in the air, I noticed instantly that there apparently unique arcane as well and something I also realized was that there was a name for the unique signature and they were a lot like magic types, elements. Such as the air around us had arcane property as well it was flowing in nature as the earth beneath our feet was stagnant and hardened but it also had an aura that I couldn’t quite grasp with my eyes, except it had… welcoming looks? This skill is too confusing.

‘Ting’ the attuned skill [Arcanic Sight] has leveled from increased understanding through and to the skill as well use. Lvl 1 to lvl 3

That’s neat, I thought to myself as I turned to the rustling noise to my right. My mom stopped in her tracks activating an aura skill and 2 other skills, one of them encompassed us in a unique arcane that my mother held within her, when my eyes looked off into the bush I saw 2 two unique arcane signatures that were extremely hard to tell from the ambient arcane in the area I ‘identified’ the 2 of them

[Dire Bear]: ?

[Giant Mantis]: ??

The giant mantis lept out of the bushes at me and my mother. But she was already gone, she was now behind it, she had pulled a pole staff from her back and struck the mantis with a force that I could only describe as an oversized ax cleanly slicing through a tree. But that wasn’t enough to kill it, I decided to safely step in with my new weapon. I willed the blade on my arm to come fire and to seek the target in front of us while my mother used skills to get back, it seemed she couldn’t use the same skills over again after using it so soon which seemed so obvious that I should’ve known before now, the mantis lept forward utilizing the skill it had earlier but I knew that would be dealt with, what I did was raised my tail charging ‘Attuned Disperse’ in only a second because of my new boosts. After it was charged my mother had come to a stop about 10 feet away from the mantis but the bear was now emerging out of the bushes, my mother couldn’t do anything with her skills on cooldown so I let out my newly acquired rally call to make the certain even more certain.

I deathly screech came out of my mouth as my mother joined in taken aback for a moment, and just as I heard a further screech join in I felt the arcane and magic energies within me alter as I released the supercharged tail at the bear as it got about 1 foot from us. The bear was almost vaporized as the arcane bullet flowed through the structure of the monster taking its tissue down as it boiled its body within, the bullet left the other side of the bear and dissipated as the mantis fell to my blade, it seemed to struggle to kill it, that's weird I thought it was a ‘grand tier’ magic item, I thought to myself as multiple dings resounded in my mind, but I felt instant exhaustion hit me, I had used every ounce of mana within me to make this attacks happen so I was overcome by sleep as I really needed it.

***

I woke up still in bed, my room was still a mess. I kept telling myself, I’ll clean it up tomorrow, but deep down I knew I didn’t have the energy to clean anything up. There was still the stain of beer on the wall from when my abusive girlfriend stormed out of my house for reasons that I still have trouble understanding, I didn’t like it here this world is so restricting… and unforgiving. When can I be at peace?

,,

I opened my eyes with tears streaming down my face, I tried to push the thought out of my head, the strain was so overwhelming whenever this resurgence of my past came up. I got out of my crib through a neatly sliced baby-sized hole that I had made when my mom and I got back from the ceremony 2 months ago. I kept having these dreams… no, nightmares about my past almost bi-weekly. I waddled my way on my stubby feet to the curtain-like door trying to get the tears out of my eyes before mom saw them. I opened the curtain to see my mother looking right at me in the dining room putting down breakfast, she instantly knew what was going on even though I tried to block her gaze by rubbing my eyes as if I was adjusting to the ‘morning sun’

“Honey, what happened,” the tone of her voice was always enhanced with magic when talking to me. I knew she had skills for nurturing a child, I’m sure her ‘bee-like subspecies allowed for it. I looked up at her and gave in.

“It… I,” my voice began to crack as the visions of shattered glass dug into my mind. The tears began to become too much as my mother came to my aid.

“It’s ok little pumpkin, it was just a dream, nothing to be afraid of… mama is here,” she picked me up activating multiple skills for nurturing as well as a hormone-induced skill. Even with all this skill, I kept crying until the emptiness left me, filled with a mother’s love.

She put me in my booster chair made of wood and placed some eggs and bacon in front of me, she was getting better at understanding when my body would have the nightmares and I’m pretty sure she got a skill or maybe even a class over the last 2 months.

“Tankw you, mama,” I managed to get out, I started speaking only a few weeks ago, but to my surprise, my parents weren’t taken back by it. They were so supportive and mom had a ‘work at home’ type business where she made advanced jewelry, it was probably her class that allowed that as well.

I have been learning a lot based on magic and the ‘system’ that guided it giving it confinement and purpose, but I didn’t understand that much. I have a very rough draft of what I think the constructs of magic are.

There are the absolute basics which are three levels and tools that make up magical constructs. These three are arcane, at the most deconstructed level, mana; which is a meticulously put together form of arcane making it more pure and usable just as magic is an amalgamation of the mana in a more meticulous way. Arcane isn’t inherently unstable but it is the most, aggressive, of the three as mana is the middle ground giving it a mixture of confinement and ‘stillness’ as well as volatility while magic is completely confined as well as the most refined of the 3, it is hard to understand mana and magic with on the sight of arcane properties but that still gives rise to a bit of an understanding. Finally, all of the three levels have an ‘anti’ Sid to them that acts as the stability to the creation and arcane is the one with the least amount of ‘stability’ but somehow it still isn’t unstable just ‘aggressive’. It then increases with stability as the amalgamation gets more complex.

I don’t know how to put this into use but I felt extremely happy that I finally had a working theory and me and my race traits wanted to learn more but right now it was time to eat and dad was getting home soon after she gets home we usually go take a bath together which I’m slowly getting used to.

———

Ciryth sat at the table with her spouse and daughter she cared so deeply for still shrouding her in her ‘calming presence’ skill as they ate. She had been having these nightmares for a while and poor little Amy never told her why. She started very young age for a lot of things, it would usually take about a year for her to start speaking and walking around on her own, but it seems that her magically enhanced body made her more capable of learning. Her little girl was growing up faster than she had ever imagined, she seems to love to learn anything, a trait that worried her.

It was time for the family bath at noon, and Cyrith thought it was time to bring up ‘the question’ first with her spouse while little Amy seemed enthralled with her chain blade, she loved the thing and it scared her that she always played with it but the blade would never hurt her, High Elder Illithyll told her when she came over worried about the blade and all the questions.

“Airy… honey,” Ciryth asked hesitantly, overcome with thought. Airryl looked at her worried but composed.

“What is it my love, is something the matter?” Airryl asked if she was always so understanding but open-minded when it came to Ciryth’s antics, their younger love life was so much that everything now seemed to be a stump in the redwood forest.

“I think we should start making… or at least begin thinking of what little Amy’s 1-year present is,” Ciryth seemed so worried about such a common occurrence in their culture, maybe it was the presents that turned magical in property. She was even wearing the dress she got, it was her favorite. “I think we should put everything we have into it, everything she has gotten so far hasn’t been seen in hundreds of years, I believe that we can make something just as great,” Ciryth began to rant on as she was overcome by her desires as a mother, “I know neither of us has a class that goes too in-depth but I'm willing to advance my jewelry making class, I want to get a jump on it,” Ciryth paused and looked at her love with pleading eyes, she didn’t want to lose as a mother and would give anything to please her family, especially her daughter, she deserved so much and has so much potential.

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Airryl let out the same soft chuckle she had heard so many times, the weight within Ciryth was lifted as her words reached her. “ ever since little Amy was born I’ve been thinking about that, and since she got her magical items… I’ve been more invested in it than I admit, I’ve gotten the second class I’ve been debating for the last year, I decided it would be ‘enchanter’, I gave it a lot of thought and I know we should make something together just like the young couple,” the words hit Ciryth with love and warmth all around them, she almost teared up from the words. “Let’s make something she will hold dear throughout her entire life, just like all Viscyrlan’s before the drought.” And so it was settled, they would make a gift for the little one, one she will always have.

———

Sadly I heard that entire conversation, I would have loved to have a warm surprise about it but I guess every child gets a gift like that at the first year of age. It seems that Viscyrlan’s mature in a different way, they get most of their commons to sense quickly because of their heightened wisdom at a young age and are quite fit at the age of 1 allowing them to pursue or work for their parents at a very young age, but even then it would normally be the age of 2 when Viscyrlan’s get their ‘fitness’ but it seems i'll be getting work a lot earlier.

There were a few more observations that I’ve made with the culture around me, at first I thought there was no rhyme or reason behind the type of ‘bug’ that they are, but it seems that the family or ancestors that you come from give you a certain type of Carapace and build. My mother is of a bumblebee bug like, their type is mostly built for fertility and motherly love. I'm glad that they don’t have a hive-like mating like bees actually did, if that was the case I don’t know if I would be able to handle it. I’ve dubbed their type ‘Fertility Viscyrlan’.

My dad is different of course, she is a mantis-type bug. It’s type is mostly for lithe and gracious movements as well as deadly physique. I’ve named their subspecies ‘Lithe Viscyrlans’, I got the inspiration for that name from my garments, there were 2 other types I’ve seen so far one of them tailoring towards spiders, and the other was more tailored towards a beetle even giving wings as well but they had way more carapace. I would have to study them a lot more to understand, and give them cool names.

I started getting hair, really fast, it seems to have a purple hint to it but overall it is black, I’m pretty sure it has something to do with Attunement because dad was very dark like purple which I still am yet to understand his attunement, while mothers are tinted a brownish-green, kinda like hazel eyes. Her Attunement being nature like the plants and earth itself. I’ve been able to understand unique arcane signatures, my ‘Arcanic Sight’ shows me the different elements with colors as well so it is really easy to connect the dots, but there is a force that I've noticed as well, the ‘nature’ of the arcane seems to differ based on the conditions they are in, I would need more thought on this but I want to put it into practical use.

***

We had arrived at the bathhouse after a while and I decided to train my ‘Arcanic Sight’ as well as ‘identify’ some people to get some levels in the skills if I could, ‘identify’ seemed to level very slowly while my ‘Arcanic sight leveled with understanding and use of the skill. While I was bathed by my parents, aggressively, they socialized with some friends and I saw one of the infants from the ceremony.

I missed her name while I was snoozing but after coming here everyday to bathe I learned that her name was Raidyth and she was only a month older than me but she was a lot bigger, she probably had a growth spurt, I’m probably in for one soon as well. She had begun to speak before me which is why I began to as well, but she hasn’t fully grasped the language yet, it looks like her Carapace is more pronounced and harder as well, her parents were Edith and Rhythyr the former being her mother figure.

Raidyth looked at me giving a smile, she was smart like me but didn’t have an entire life worth of knowledge, I wouldn’t be surprised if she became a prodigy. But what intrigues me the most about her is the arcane that encompasses her. It’s all the complete same, yes it’s all unique to her and I’m still having trouble distinguishing unique arcane from Attunement but hers is completely different, and if I could just get a closer look.

I rustled in my mother’s arms trying to break free to go have a closer look. “Amarydith what are you doing,” mother asked as I was now getting so close to breaking free. “Momma, can I pwees go pway with Raidff,” I said with puppy eyes, she took a second to take in the cuteness, and then finally thought about it to herself. Dad was already out of the baths, he had work to do as Center Arcis’s scout captain.

Mom picked me up and walked over to the family Raidyth was in, saying her proper greetings to the three making sure to baby talk Raidyth, she didn’t seem too impressed, heh it’s funny isn’t it, I thought to myself.

“If it’s not too much of a bother to you 3, Amy was wondering if she could play with Raidyth,” when mother said that the 2 parents lit up, but Raidyth scurried behind her parents, obviously shy.

“We only got about 10 more minutes left in the bath but we’d be more than happy to let them greet each other at least, I don’t think they're much different in character,” Edith, the mother, said. If only they knew, I thought to myself.

We went to the shallow side of the Japanese style bath house, it was like one except the water was like a pool that would get deeper the further it went. I crawled my way through the water and plopped myself down on the stone beneath me next to Raidyth. She was a little apprehensive which was good, she was an early bloomer which meant she was getting her hormones sooner so things like anxiety were more prominent.

“Hi, my nawm is Amarydiff,” I was looking down at the water trying to mouth the words, it was different with such a small mouth. I looked up at her and she seemed more relieved.

“Hi, my name is Raidyth, what do you want to do,” she immediately got to the point, and her linguistics was a lot better than mine, it made me feel a little bit like an idiot.

“Well, I was wondering… have you uwsed you Attunement,” I asked as carefully as I could trying not to make a fool of myself. This person would grow up with me I wanted to start it properly.

She seemed to light up at my mention of the magic, “I love it, mine is so cool, what’s yours?” She asked immediately.

“It’s uhh… arcane, what’s yours,” I asked a little apprehensively. The arcane that I could see around her was of course her unique signature and a color that was dark green, as if it was nature, but it was completely unique.

“It’s mind! Momma said it had something to do with my increased wisdom and intelligence, my mana pool is almost 1000!” She said the last part while putting her fists to her hips and looking up, proud of her accomplishments. It still didn’t explain why it was so still and… ‘vast’, there wasn’t a large amount per say but it’s ‘nature’ was vast and still.

“Uh, Raidyth, does it say anything other than just ‘Mind’ next to your Attunement?” I decided to ask so I could get closer to figuring it out.

She thought to herself for a full minute, as if she was studying her entire status, “there is a… tag? Next to ‘mind’, it’s says ‘knowledge’,”

my brain clicked as it came to me. It wasn’t like my ‘magictouched’ that meant that magic favored my soul or something along those lines, it never altered my ‘Arcane’ but this was most definitely a change that I could finally understand. It was a ‘knowledge’ based mind Attunement. I may seem too different but it makes total sense. The nature arcane that encompasses the ground below our feet is different than the one that is in the plants because of the, sorry for the pun, ‘nature’ or tag of the Attunement. If I were to guess if you were attuned to the ground-like nature magic, it’s tag would be ‘earth’ or ‘ground’ something along the lines of that.

I was stuck in thought when Raidyth caught me at the end of my train of thought, “what is arcane?” She said, her ‘knowledge’ side showed already, if it even worked that way, I was about to start explaining my theory but stopped myself.

“It’s what makes magic, wanna see?” I tried my best to make it simple but just ‘simple’ words sometimes didn’t work. She seemed to actually light up thinking about it for a second nodding her head in anticipation.

I began to use my Attunement to manipulate the arcane in my tail, it was very ‘potent’ in its hue so it wasn’t hard to get her attention, I swirled it around and then started condensing it into mana construct I observed once, it started turning blue with a hazel hue before it completely collapsed, not finishing the mana construction.

“Woah… Wasn’t Acarils the only one with that type of Attunement?” She asked

“Yes!” I wouldn’t miss my chance to bolster myself in front of my new friend. But in me, I knew it would have looked better if I was actually able to replicate mom's skill, it was like there was an invisible force not allowing me to be able to do it.

“Alright kiddos, it’s time to get out,” mom said to the both of us. She was standing above us, everything… and I mean everything hanging out. I don’t know how I didn’t notice her but I just couldn’t look at the spectacle of my own mother above me like that.

She picked both of us up and carried Raidyth over to her parents, while carrying me to get dried off and dressed. My magic theory seemed to have more additions to it and it was only getting better. I felt something Arcanic in nature shift in me, it had been happening recently and I had little idea of it. Maybe I should ask mom. that there was a name for the unique signature and they were a lot like magic types, elements. Such as the air around us it had arcane property as well. It was flowing in nature as the earth beneath our feet was stagnant and hardened but it also had an aura that I couldn’t quite grasp with my eyes, except it had… welcoming looks? This skill is too confusing.