Under the Light of the World at War: Early Chapter 40

“Blessing of Wisdom.” I spoke, feeling the spell flow over me again.

I’d sat with Chocobo mostly because I was just feeling a little awkward in this new place, while I worked with charcoal pen and paper to create a schedule.

Wake up and exercise. Clean up and eat breakfast. After breakfast time with El’Tela.

Then I should grind spells for a while. After that more exercise. Followed by some free time,, probably would go find Kimi for that. And then dinner, spend time with Mama and Papa and bed.

It was simple enough for now, and I knew it would evolve as I went, but it felt like writing it down made it more real. This would be my life for the next while. I breathed out, looking at Chocobo who seemed content to not be running around constantly. I reached out and petted her head and she blinked her eye at me, but didn’t move.

Okay. Time to get to work.

I got up, since I was already missing the early morning exercise I’d go do some more spell work.

Climbing out of the stall, I walked back inside, and then up the stairs, noticing Papa was still distracted with the Enchanting. 

As I made it to the main hall by the fountain, a door opened, but not one of the western wing doors.

Sha'Narin, came walking out and stopped like a deer in the headlights when he saw me, throwing me a bow as he seemed to hurry up to head back downstairs…

Was he the one living in the other wing of the house?

Either way it hardly mattered, time to grind. I walked to the fountain and took a seat along the edge. The noise of the rushing water was nice, and it helped push away all the noise of the city that I was still getting used to.

Now, what was the cycle?

Mage Armor and then, Conjure refreshment. So I’d have the drink ready. I put the waterskin down after making it and placing it on the edge of the fountain. Evocation was obvious, but that was used after I ran out of Mana, not as a sole focus considering it had a time limit. 

Blessing of Wisdom to burn mana obviously, but… It would be the focus, but not at first. I threw my hand up, and instantly the mana surged, the sigil of the Blessing appearing over me, before fading away.

Then I put my hands together and started casting, whispering the spell under my breath as I swirled and shifted the spell.

The noise of matter being created echoed out from my hands, a Mana Agate falling into my lap.

I took a sip of water and started casting again. A second Mana Agate. Then another, and another. 

I took sips in between when I could, to help support the return of my mana. Mage Armor, and Blessing of Wisdom synchronizing to keep the flow of Mana.

And it was here sitting on the fountain that I felt it for the first time. Just how much mana was in the air. It wasn’t like inside El’Tela’s Glyph, but the ambient amount of Mana in the air was basically thick. 

It meant that as I was gathering mana it came readily, without hesitation. 

Perhaps because I was re-activating Mage Armor as its cooldown had ended at that moment that it made me realize just what El’Tela had really meant.

So far from the Sunwell, I had understood instantly how important it was to keep my Mana regeneration up. But here? So close to it? It wasn’t even a problem. I was absorbing more mana now that I was when actively trying back home.

No wonder she considered her skills so important. 

Running out of Mana really sucked.

I shook it off, and conjured another Mana Agate. Grinning as the skill leveled. 

[Create Mana Gem Lv 2 1/20]

The rush of knowledge was simple, but still exactly what I wanted. More Mana into the agate, more power, and so more sustain.

I kept conjuring, filling my lap with little green gems of Mana. 

Finally running out even with sipping water and Blessing of Wisdom.

So I raised my hands and activated Evocation, letting the flow of Mana rush into me. It only took a second it felt like, to refill my Mana.

Then I continued. Blessing of Wisdom and Mage Armor whenever the spells ended, although by this point Mage Armor was just a habit to keep up anyways.

And then I ran down, Evocation was still a bit away from safely activating again, so I popped the first Mana Agate.

Hmm… The feeling was similar to Evocation. A quick charge of mana was useful, but you couldn’t really keep doing it without hurting yourself. Ugh. Considering how little it gave me back it wasn’t like I was going to be spamming them, but when they got strong enough they would!

So drink water, and restart.

—---

“Dorah! There you are… What are you doing?” Mama asked, as she came up the stars and noticed me sitting at the fountain… I looked down, and all around me…

“Uhh… Taking a break?” I lied, badly.

“And the reasons you are covered in… What are those?”

“Nothing.” I said and reached over to my left and swiped all the gems there into the fountain…

I still had a bunch more. I quickly started cleaning up under Mama’s watchful eye. No doubt she was wondering how I was planning on getting around this little white lie of mine…

Think fast Dorah!

“Ummm… Oh look Mama! A Mana Agate gem, it’s very pretty, but not half as pretty as your eyes! You should keep it!” I said cheerfully, grabbing one of the gems and hurrying over to offer it to her.

There, that would totally work! I was so sma-”Ow!”

“Lying is bad.” Mama said, squeezing my cheek and tugging on it!

“Shorry!” I whined as she kept tugging for a bit before letting me go, but she did reach out and take the gem.

“So this is what you are working on right now? Why so many?”

“I’m practicing! They’re kinda not great right now, but I can definitely work out how to make even better ones! El’Tela had amazing pretty blue Gems.”

“Alright, well, I was coming to find you. Come on.”

“Where are we going?”

“Supplies. We left everything, and we all need clothes. If I don’t do it, your father will just wear the same clothes forever… And so will you.” Mama said poking me, and I giggled as she was definitely teasing.

“I wouldn’t! I’m not stinky!”

“Mhmm.”

“Wha-? Am I stinky!?”

“No, but your clothes definitely need a better wash than what we’ve done so far. Come on.”

“Yeah! New clothes!... Wait, do we have the money for it?”

“We do.” Mama said, rolling her eyes at me, and patting my head. “Maybe we’ll stop at a spa and get our hair cut and cleaned up too. I haven’t been to a spa in years.”

“Hmm. Okay.” I agreed, even if all I wanted to do was grind right now. But Mama was right. Everything was so up in the air right now, we still needed our basic supplies once again.

It made me realize. The Troll Wars were going to last for years. By the time I got back home, none of my clothes would fit.

Aww. I had really liked some of the cute outfits Mama had gotten for me.

—--

It turned out we did have money, although I knew we hadn’t been that wealthy before. But Mama had bought outfits for all three of us, after a bit of sneering by the attendant at a seamstress, that quickly shifted to a much more accepting attitude when Mama started talking about what she needed.

That was all carried back ‘home’ by one of the shop's workers, so we didn’t even have to carry anything.

The spa was kinda neat, even if I didn’t really like how chatty the hair cutters were. People in the city were weird.

But when we got back, we had lots of packages waiting outside our rooms on the west wing. 

It looked like the poor shopkeeper kid had been the one to haul everything up as he was placing a package among the pile when we arrived and he once more just started bowing to us as he tried to slip away.

“Thank you!” I called out to him and he just bowed and disappeared back down into the shop. “He’s a little skittish.”

“He should be. The family that runs the shop he works for just moved in, and he likely has no idea how that affects him.”

“Why would it affect him at all? It’s just a job, he just does stuff for the shop right?”

Mama shook her head as she looked over the packages and handed one to me. “Go put this away in your room. Put it away, not just leave it on your bed or something.”

“Kaaay!”

Mama just laughed at my call as I hurried away. 

Whatever, shopkeep guy, Umm… Sha'Narin? That was his name. Whatever he was doing wasn’t my concern. Put this away and get some more spell work done!

—--

Sha'Narin

Apprentice Shopkeeper for the Arkhana’Shola Atelier

“All done Mistress Tira’nore.” He said, making sure to report to her properly and not yell across the shop. She looked over from the ledger she was going through and nodded. 

“Alright, that's the last chore for today. You are dismissed.”

“Thank you Mistress!” He bowed and then hurried into the back of the shop.

The Arkhana’Shola Atelier was amazing. The workshop was full of high end equipment, capable of making any magical item a customer might need. As the apprentice he was allowed to learn at the foot of anyone inside, if they allowed it, and right now, to his delight a full on Master Enchanter was working!

Master Aran’Alah was the exact kind of Master Sha’Narin loved. The type that talked or muttered as they worked.

Trying to get professional training from an Enchanter or Alchemist, or Weave Tailor, or anything was incredibly difficult. He’d worked hard in school, and apprenticed under Mistress Nata’liore, for a year doing nothing but hard jobs for her, until she had eventually cast him away. 

But as horrible as that had felt, he’d done good enough that she was responsible, and so while working at the Arkhana’Shola Atelier she had got him a job here.

Room and board, at one of the most prestigious magical Ateliers in Silvermoon!

It had all been worth it. He’d already learned so much just from watching. Nata’liore, worked in the back room here in the Atelier, and she had even revealed a few things, more than he had learned in the entire time as her Potential. 

Then there were the arrays of alchemists, coming by to rent the equipment in the back of the shop. Often using their labor to make things for the shop in exchange for the high end equipment for their own research. 

After all, spending a few days crafting potions for the shop with their own supplies was well worth getting access to the shop's equipment for a day in turn. 

It was a great deal, and Sha’Narin looked forward to someday being able to take on the same deal. He’d be able to enchant for the shop when they needed it as well.

His thoughts had nearly distracted him, as Master Aran’Alah finished his current project, apparently disenchanting, and re-enchanting the same object, and it was only through long practice that Sha’Narin didn’t gasp at just how much extra dust came out of the pair of gloves he’d just worked on. The dust was carefully gathered with a magical attractor, and stored in a glass dish.

Before he had started, the dish had been nearly empty, as it always was after Nata’Liore came in to enchant for the shop.

Now it was almost full, and there were still half a dozen more items that Master Aran’Alah was going to work on.

It was insane! Absurd!

Nata’Liore he knew, enchanted for Magisters sometimes!

“Papa.” The voice nearly startled Sha’Narin, as the younger girl walked over to her father while he was working.

“Dorah?”

“You’ve been distracted all day.” She said grinning at her father as she leaned into him and looked over his work.

“Hmm? What is that enchantment?”

“Not something I’ve done in a long time. It improves the power of one's Arcane spells.”

“On Gloves? Makes sense. It looks complicated.”

“It is. Not an enchantment most can do successfully.”

“Ooh, now you’ve challenged me! I’ll just have to learn it… Someday. Oh, I need to get my Enchanting supplies going again… Is there a rooftop or something?” She muttered quietly, but Sha’Narin heard it.

Enchanting… Supplies?

“Oh, thinking of setting up your flowers again?”

“I mean, yeah, I want to keep training enchanting too, it’s fun. Oh, actually… I bet… Mana Gem?” She kept mumbling, whispering to herself, and Sha’Narin watched as her ears started bouncing up and down as she thought, nibbling a bit on her finger as she was obviously thinking of something.

Master Aran’Alah just watched on with a proud fatherly smile

It was a sweet moment, if Sha’Narin wasn’t so confused. So she was Master Aran’Alah’s apprentice? Learning Enchanting? That would make it hard for him to try and learn from the man. Plus the girl was weird.

She’d talked back to the Magstrix, but being her Granddaughter? Great Granddaughter? He wasn’t quite sure the relationship between them made sense.

Then again Sha’Narin was just freaking out about being so close to an actual Magistrix! He hadn’t known the entire house above the shop was hers! He’d only known to stay out of the North Wing, and had done so.

It’d been empty for so long he’d honestly never considered it would be filled!

“I need to go do some magic tests!” She declared raising her fist into the sky and Master Aran’Alah looked amused at her declaration, and then she looked at her father. “Ah but first I need Papa energy.” She said and squeezed in for a hug. The two of them hugged for a moment before she nodded and ran away.

Sha’Narin just watched confused at this whole situation.

Then just as the girl hit the stairs she seemed to spin around and came right back down.

“You!” She declared pointing right at him.

“Umm… Yes Miss?”

“Is there a roof, or a place that gets lots of sunlight, or moonlight? Something high up that won’t be blocked from the sky?”

“Umm… The viewing floor?”

“Viewing floor? Where is that?”

“I’ll… Show you Miss.” He said, keeping the sigh from his voice. Just when the chance to watch a Master Enchanter work!

He motioned her to follow and led her up the stairs to the house, and then down her wing. “Each of the wings has a set of stairs to the viewing floor, umm. We didn’t use it much, and we probably won’t use it at all anymore, as it’s connected to the Magistrix’s room.”

“Oh neat. I’ll tell Grandma.” She chirped, and he just nodded, showing her the staircase that led up and then shifted towards the center of the home. There it opened to a terraced garden. The two stairs ways across from each other, and the large fancier glass doors that led into the Magistrix’s bedroom.

He felt awkward knowing she might see them up here.

But the girl, Alah'Dorah, looked around, and then nodded. 

“Yep. This’ll do perfectly.” She even walked over and checked some of the flowers that were growing out of the planters. “Hey you got a sec?” She asked and he flinched as he’d been half moving towards the staircase.

He didn’t sigh. Don’t sigh. Don’t sigh.

“Of course miss.”

“Cool! Can you help me get all of the gems out of the fountain and bring them up here? I really shouldn’t have dumped them. Mama didn’t buy it anyways.” She admitted, and she was joking, but Sha’Narin didn’t understand the joke?

Gems… In the Fountain?

“Okay you do that, And I happen to have this!” She pulled out a piece of chalk from her bag and grinned. “Thanks!”

And she knelt there on the white tiles of the viewing area and started tracing out with her chalk.

Just do it. Do it quickly and you could go down and learn more about Enchanting. He hurried away the faster he did her task the faster he could get back to what he wanted…

The fountain was full of green gems.

“The Sun itself couldn’t explain this.” He whispered, scooping them out and looking them over.

Gem stones! These were probably gold on their own, and there were dozens of them! Toys for a child? Who game a little child gemstones to play with!?

He couldn’t understand anything about what he was seeing, but the fountain water was clear and it didn’t take long to scoop them all out and carry them back up.

When he got there, he expected to see some child like drawing, or something.

Instead he was looking at something that made no sense.

That was a Glyph. He’d seen them before, Magisters often had some room with a Glyph in their home for some magical effect. They were powerful, and not something he had any knowledge of.

But she was cleanly drawing one out free hand with chalk.

He stopped, unable to tear his eyes away from something he didn’t even begin to understand.

“Finished! Oh you’re back, great! Put those right there for me?” She asked, as she stood up and without even a moment's hesitation pulled one of the flowers from the garden bed.

He swallowed because Master Arkhana’Shola was very exact about the home, despite almost never coming here.

Please don’t let him get in trouble for this!

“Okay and you go there.” She placed the flower in the center of the Glyph, along with a clod of the dirt it had been planted in, then she waved him over.

He hesitated before coming closer.

“Okay can you put the gems here. Thank you! You were a big help.”

“Sure.” He whispered emptying his pouch of the gems next to her, and then she grabbed the first one and then stuck her hand over where the glyph markings were and then like snapping her finger the gem came apart.

He jerked back in surprise. What!?

“They’re Mana Gems. Not real. You conjure them, and they can be a way to store a bit of Mana.” She explained, as she started popping the gems into the glyph, and the chalk markings began glowing brighter and brighter with each one.

“I was right. It’s pure mana, not quite as good as letting it store it over time, but with the amount of Mana in the Glyph… I’ll be able to harvest a lot faster.” She muttered. And Sha’Narin watched on just wondering what he was seeing.

The girl was a child. Not even fully grown yet, and yet… This was magic! She’d just made a Glyph!

“What does it do?” He asked, hesitating before asking, but his curiosity was getting the better of him.

“Heehee!” She chuckled, rubbing a finger under her nose, her ears wiggling as she did. “It’s a Glyph that traps the ambient mana inside, and that causes the items inside to absorb Mana at a faster rate. Once something has absorbed enough ambient mana, you can break it down for Enchanting dust or Essence.”

It clicked. He’d seen something like this before with Nata’Liore. At her shop she always had the weird Mana heavy room. It had been underground, and she kept him out of it, but he’d seen it before.

Now he knew what it was for…

“I need to learn Glyphs then.” He whispered. He didn’t have the tons of gold to make a Mana heavy room. But if she could make a Glyph with just chalk!

“Oh I can teach you if you want. It’s not hard. The trick is mostly getting the sigil correct, and knowing what the correct route to draw it out. You can’t just do it piece by piece. The Glyph actually forms as you are making it.”

“You… You’d show me?”

“Sure. If you want, I’ll show you how to do this one, if you help me make more. I’m all out of Enchanting stuff, and I need to stock back up.”

“Yes.”

“Great. So I do have another test I want to do, so we’ll do that.” She popped up and adjusted next to the first Glyph. Where she picked up the chalk. “Okay I’ll show it to you now, but I’ll get some paper and show you the correct lines in order. So you always start on the outside, line, but you won’t complete the circle until the very final bit of the Glyph-”

Sha’Narin was staring, taking in every word she said, and trying to memorize every line.

Enchanting materials were worth their weight in Gold.

If he could start selling even a little around town? That could pay for his education.