Diane was off collecting material on the different animals and beasts of the training fields. I’d be sent there to raise my levels alongside young nobles next month. Sir Richard had to investigate my eyes, as such, by the king’s order I was locked in my room. It was for my safety, he said, to hide my eyes and stop the spread of rumours.
I needed to find more information on the demilitarized zone, at least its location—I glanced around. There were only five books, a small pile of blank parchment, a purple plume, and a stone inkwell. I read the first page of a book on shadow magic, but soon snoozed. I didn’t know how humans read such drawn-out things. It was easier to see or listen than read.
I looked up my skill points. Obviously, they were lacking. By the time I would find my freedom, I’d have wasted all my points. I sat down on the floor. Something pressed on the inside of my throat and threatened to come up. Images of a younger king, a roasted chicken, and well-tempered swords came up and spilled on the floor. I checked my skill proficiency.
- Mental dam (proficiency 6%)
How long would it take to increase my proficiency to a decent level? With this strength of mine, I wouldn’t be able to escape even if this wall were to crumble.
The memories kept flowing. They didn’t stop. Hopefully, they would.
No, I had to look at it another way. Six percent wasn’t much, but from one to six percent in a few hours was good. For now, I’d need to find peace and comfort in the trees and grass. But why didn’t I have a window? Even a demon’s lair would have glass. What kind of cruel animals were humans? Something about them made them all feel cold and distant. But perhaps this was only for these humans. That boy I had met before, what was his name again? Tim, yes. He was different. He had a warm voice and an unbound spirit.
Humans, demons, and birds; what exactly had I become? My status said I was something which belonged to the Ravn familia of beasts. I knew they evolved from ravens and other similar birds like crows. The same as the draconid familia which evolved from reptiles, or the high familia composed of High-humans, High-elves, and the like. However, I didn’t know what kind of ravn I’d become once I passed level 15 and reached adulthood. Since I was a humanoid beast, my magic had to resemble that of humans. I remembered that one of my hidden magical types recently revealed was fire. I didn’t know any skills, nor did any of the five books in this room discuss it. Perhaps I could try…
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
No! I’d never met Tim. Tim came from Julian’s memories, not mine. Julian’s. The name flashed, and yet again I was dragged into his past.
#
Julian’s POV
“I’m sorry Julian.” Diane patted my head. “If there are no stars, it means you can’t use magic. But don’t worry, your father is trying to fix that.”
“But I can still try.”
Diane crouched down to meet my eyes. “Look here.” She raised a five. A star weaved through her finger gaps, leaving behind a light-yellow figure eight trails. “I have three elements. Do you know which one this represents?”
“Light.” I reached out and caught it. Warmth spread across my hand.
“That’s right.” Next, a ball of water appeared in her hand. “And now what is this?”
“Water.”
Diane smiled, “Yes, it is.”
“I want to try magic too.” I copied her smile and hugged her waist.
Diane took a step back.
“Ok, we can try one.” She walked over to her desk, wrote something on a parchment, and showed it to me. “To use magic, you need to recite a spell. Skilled mages can simply imagine them, but you're new, so I'll need you to say it out loud.” She placed her hand against mine. “Try it.”
I looked at the paper in her other hand and read,
Let the light between my fingers spark health and vigour.
A tiny star flew between my fingers.
“I did it!” I threw my hands in the air. The light continued to flutter in between Diane’s fingers. My mood died, and my hand fell to my side. “Thank you, Diane.” I looked down. “Could I still get some books with incantations? I can memorize the spells so that when Father finds a way to grant me magic, I’ll already know them all.”
Diane nodded. “I’ll have them sent to your room within the hour.” She left, leaving me alone in the empty room. I went to my corner and slumped down. Dust bunnies jumped up and came to sleep on my lap. A few decided to land on my lips. I sneezed and wiped away dust tears. I took up too much space in this castle. I brought my knees to my chest, letting the bunnies fall back down into the corner. If I stayed hidden here, would they forget me?
“Fuck… Fuck. Fuck!” I screamed into the room. I didn’t want my father to look at me like he always did. I didn’t want to be a stricken name in the royal records. I wanted to be king.