Chapter 02: The Spell

Chapter 02: The Spell

I was right. There are indeed two suns, one rises from the southern horizon, while the other rises an hour or two later and is situated in a more central position. Yet even with the two suns together, we barely have six hours of peak sunlight.

The southern sun, Som, lasts an hour or two short of half-day, but it is more of a dimming presence. On the other hand, Noly’n revolves quicker, splendouring its vibrant presence for a fourth of the day.

Now, I know nothing about celestial positioning, but all this sounds weird.

Weeks fly by, but my days remain about the same: boring, repetitive, and forgettable. Well, aside from occasional system texts like these:

[Congratulations! You have completed the Way of Words I (100/100)]

[+1 Cognition.]

[The Way of Words II (100/1000) is now accessible.]

The glittering text of the spell greets my sight, followed by a narration of what they mean. I blink twice and stare suspiciously, wondering if double the Cognition will make me double smart.

This line of thought hardly goes anywhere. I’m unlikely to figure that out anytime soon.

Less than a month has passed, and I still have yet to find any sign of my father. I halt my train of thought before jumping to any premature conclusions. It hasn’t even been that long; he is probably busy with something else. Something more important...

For the last month, it isn’t just the words that I’ve begun to figure out. The magical power still eludes me, but I am only a little baby. It is only natural that magic is largely lost to me. The Way of Meditation can help with that. I can’t be sure, but I’ve found my mother meditating as part of her morning ritual is a great incentive for me to keep my hopes up.

On top of that, Meditation is also a lot more difficult than Words. I have been trying that since the message, and barely got the hang of it yet. There is a difference in how progress is counted in the Ways. The Way of Words measures the number of words I learn, whereas the Way of Meditation likely measures the hours I spend meditating. It seems it counts only the time I spent in complete thoughtlessness state. Passed out or asleep do not count.

On another note, my mum isn’t a healer. Probably not a mage, either. She is still paranoid about my health and casts the light spell on me three or four times a day. She does the same for other babies, occasionally, when their mothers bring them to the house with colds or other minor illnesses. I guess that does make her a healer, but nothing too revolutionary. Just the other day, she sent back a man with a broken arm, since healing broken bones is beyond her abilities.

Still, I’m not disappointed in her.

After rubbing some smelly oil all over me, she left me in the open for sunbathing, where I see her carrying a huge chunk of stone from one corner of the yard to another.

Sheesh! That stone is enough to squish any normal person to a bloody pulp, but she moves like she is taking a stroll in the park. She doesn’t even break a sweat. Her figure doesn’t imply any inhuman build either, though she does cut a lean, slightly tall womanly figure with long auburn hair bound in a braid. I watch her carrying stones and gathering them near our house—which she is rebuilding. Single-handedly.

Every time she crosses after dropping a small boulder, she checks on me, a smile playing on her lips.

She is some kind of magic crafter, and her work isn’t limited to smithing metals into tools and weapons. She works with leather, cotton, and wood as well. I’ve even seen her fix light constructs—blobs of magical devices that emit warm light when triggered. Villagers come to her for repairs on those and many other tools.

She scribbles a peculiar symmetric geometrical pattern with runes on them with a sharp pen for a minute or two, checks their utility, and hands them back. When the villagers press her to accept coins for her effort, she always refuses, telling them the little repair doesn’t warrant any pay.

My mother works like a machine. She is relentless once she starts, which is every morning. I don’t think we are so poor that she has to put in half her waking hours doing heavy work, but I can’t be sure—like most things.

The uncertainty of my life is killing me, but all I can do is not make it extra hard for her. Slowly and unwittingly, my mum has become my earliest inspiration, rooting deep into my memory. Watching her work so tirelessly motivates me to do the same.

I want to learn the language as soon as I can, to learn new things, to understand her better, and to understand the world. Since she takes care of all of my needs, I devote half my waking hours to meditation.

At first, it was draining for the most part, but one day, I begin to feel refreshed after a meditative session.

[Congratulations! You have completed the Way of Meditation I (10/10)]

[You have awakened the attribute: Focus (Elementary).]

[+1 Focus.]

[+1 Cognition.]

[The Way of Meditation II (10/25) is now accessible.]

So completing the Way can give new attributes, too. Now, with two mind-based attributes, my mind perhaps isn’t as feeble. On top of that, they will help me make more out of my time. Focus means it will be easier to concentrate. Like I won’t be distracted by hunger or my bowel movements, right?

My progress in meditation skyrockets from here. At first, I was barely gaining a point every two or three days. Now, it is quite the opposite.

With nothing else to tire myself with, I clock about fifteen unfamiliar words and a couple of points in meditation from then on.

My hard work bore fruit. Within the next week, I completed the Way of Meditation II. The rewards don’t disappoint me at all.

[Congratulations! You have completed the Way of Meditation II (25/25)]

[+1 Focus.]

[+1 Cognition.]

[The Way of Meditation III (25/50) is now accessible.]

The improvement is staggering, and I’m not slowing down at all. But there are still more things I can try.

****

Days pass as they should. It is still springtime, the atmosphere lovely, with the occasional wind carrying cold air from the south.

My mother stopped casting the golden light on me after I learned to crawl. I guess her paranoia has eased as I grow fast and strong. Still, she makes sure to give me the magical light once or twice every week. But those spells have helped me in more ways than she is probably aware of.

Visualising the golden energy threading its way into my body has led me to the Way of Meditation, but it doesn’t end there. After sensing the familiar energy hundreds of times, I receive another Way.

[A new Way is accessible: Essence Sense I (1/10).]

That isn’t all.

[A new Way is accessible: Motor Skills (1/100).]

This is a long time coming. Crawling is still difficult. I’ve bumped my head on the ground more times than I can remember. Oftentimes, it hurts like a bitch… and I cry like a bitch too, wailing at the top of my lungs, even though I do everything to muffle my cries. Some things just aren’t in my control.

Mum usually bolts from whatever she is doing to heal me. Unfortunately, she decides crawling is too difficult a job for a barely 105-day-old infant. She won’t leave me alone long enough to finish the Way of Motor Skills. The little practice Mum allows will barely get me through it in about a year.

Thankfully, she relents whenever I make the face. I am glad to learn she isn’t impervious to cute baby faces. I only get to practise for about an hour, and that too under her direct supervision. Her cheers and encouragement for my feeble attempts are a nice addition, however.

[Congratulations! You have completed the Way of Motor Skills (100/100)]

[You have awakened the attribute: Alacrity (Elementary).]

[+1 Alacrity.]

Finally, an attribute to cast aside the frailty of my fragile form! I cheer. Sadly, Motor Skills seems to end there, though I don’t have to be disappointed as more Ways are waiting for me to unlock.

Weeks passed…

[Congratulations! You have completed the Way of Meditation III (50/50)]

[+2 Focus.]

[+1 Cognition.]

[The Way of Meditation IV (50/100) is now accessible.]

[A new Way is accessible: Balance I (1/100).]

[A new Way is accessible: Mobility I (1/100).]

…

[Congratulations! You have completed the Way of Meditation IV (100/100)]

[+3 Focus.]

[+1 Cognition.]

[The Way of Meditation V (100/250) is now accessible.]

[A new Way is accessible: Perseverance I (3/10).]

Great, more physical-based Ways. I’m going to be buff in no time. Well, technically, it will take months—years even—but I am too moved to care.

****

“Can you say it again, Pumpkin?” Mum asks, lifting me up with her hands under my arms.

“Mama,” I oblige.

She pulls me close, kissing my cheeks, a twinkle of tears in her eyes. It is difficult for me to comprehend the kind of joy my mere existence brings her, and I likely won’t be able to understand it for a long time.

It has taken me longer to speak my first words than it has to do most things. I guess it is because I am a silent child, my vocal cords and voice probably haven’t developed enough. Who knows not crying at every little discomfort would come back to bite me like this?

My mother has been worried sick for a couple of months, since all the other infants my age are babbling incoherent sounds. She has even brought me to a local healer a few weeks ago.

“Mama,” I call again and point towards the bookshelf. It is story time, and I’d even miss my meditation session for it.

“Sorry, sweetheart,” she whispers into my ear. “I have some errands to run.” My expression falls, but she knows how to coddle me. “I promise to read you one at bedtime.”

She asks if I want to come with her, but I shake my head.

Just after she leaves, I jump to my feet and drag a stool over to the bookshelf. I can’t read, but some books have beautiful pictures in them. I enjoy them as much as the tales bound within the pages. Although, I can’t deny that a tiny part of me hopes to gain a Way—perhaps something related to reading—out of it.

Not all the books have pictures in them. In fact, only a few do. The rest are large leather-bound volumes. Who knows what kind of gospel they hold? Mum rarely reads those, as she barely has any spare time.

After a few minutes of scuffling around, I find a picture book. Well, it is more like an encyclopaedia of rare plants and exotic animals. All that matters is that it has pretty pictures. The book is thick, and the number printed on its cover suggests it is the third volume in the series. I search for its predecessors but can’t find them.

Well, it’s not like I can read...

A thought crosses my mind, and I immediately summon my full profile, turning my attention to the tiny mark on my palm.

[Status]

Arylin O’Leon

Path: U/A

Attributes:

• Cognition (Elementary): +9

• Focus (Elementary): +13

• Alacrity (Elementary): +2

• Body Coordination (Elementary): +1

Gift:

• [Fractal Soul]

Ways:

• In progress:

  • Meditations VI (479/500) | Essence Sense III (35/50) | Balance II (294/1000) | Mobility (75/100) | Perseverance (7/10) | Words III (2593/10000) | Breathing I (1/10)

• Completed:

  • Meditation V (500/500) | Balance I (100/100) | Words II (1000/1000) | Motor Skills (100/100)

  My [Profile] looks a little more impressive since the first time it revealed itself. Meditation remains as my most accomplished Way, while I found some success in Essence Sense.

  The Way of Breathing still eludes me, even though it has been a week since I gained it. Even after trying different breathing exercises, I see no progress in it. I fear something magical is involved. I failed to complete most of the physical Ways. Mobility requires movement, and Mum isn’t keen on letting me practice. As a baby, I have limited freedom. Balance is the only one I succeeded in, and it helped me Body Coordination (Elementary).

  Yeahhh! No more (less) falling on my head from now on.

  I have pushed Meditation and Essence Sense the farthest because I can do both while confined to my cradle and the house.

  More attributes help, but I am still very much within mortal limits. Engaging in Essence Sense for extended periods inflicts piercing pain on my mind, and only Meditation can save me from the headaches.

  Right now, my focus isn’t on my growth. What matters is the fact that I can read profile texts... Why? The Spell has narrated them so many times that my mind has memorised them. What intrigues me is the possibility of learning to read from this.

  Grabbing a notebook and a pen, I sit down on the floor and start scribbling all the unique letters from the profile. I count thirty-three of them.

  Then I go back to the thick volume and write down the missing letters. There are nine more, but thankfully, most of those seem to be rarely used.

  Next, I begin noting down words that only use the thirty-three known letters from the encyclopaedia. I pronounce them aloud, or at least try, hoping they’ll be among the 2593 words I already know. The total isn’t that large, despite being enough to understand most of what my mother or other people say on a daily basis.

  The results are depressing. Out of the couple dozen words I note down, I barely recognise a fraction. While I can make guesses for the rest, they’d just be that… guesses. Maybe I should ask Mum to teach me...

  Learning the numbers is easier. It runs on a decimal system, which I pick up from the page numbers in the book. Oh, I remember what a decimal system is...

  Clicking my tongue, I trudge along the path of literacy. It is a dark, depressing road full of guesswork.

  Here’s what I managed to learn about a certain plant:

  So?egir Grass: A highly — grass, grows on —. It does not demand (require?) earth to grow, — water grows like —

  Hardly readable. But I don’t give up easily. After all, I have all the encouragement I need.

  [A new Way is accessible: Education I (1/100)]

  “Great!” I jump to my feet in celebration. “Thank you, Spell… I’ve been waiting to hear your voice all week…”

  I’ve likely been scribbling for over an hour, prompting the Spell to grant me this new Way. Most Ways are time-based, so it is easy to make the conjecture.