Chương 23: XXIII. Priorities

For 200 [Blood Crops], I was limited by two real problems. The first was a constraint, or something that was imposed on me. That would be my body – 135 tiles was all I could dig with my copper tools, and that wasn't changing without either lots of food, or getting stronger. And I didn't really want to eat that much. The second was a restraint, or something I had to impose on myself. 246 tiles worth of blood was very likely to kill me, and I had my suspicions of 200.

Addy already rescued me once, and that was not a debt I had wanted to acquire again. I mean, I could also die, but at least I earned my death by poor planning. And Ma didn't raise no fool. The solution was rather obvious in hindsight, though I had stolen it from [Woodcutters], of all people – very specifically Lumber Jack's Guide to Lumber Jacking. An Oak Tree takes 30 years to grow, though you would realistically want to give it 50.

A typical [Woodcutter] creates 100 cords a season, and a typical household needs 2. 5 cords for their daily use. More modern houses have central heating, so I am curious if that changed. Maybe the [Woodcutter's Guild] would provide me with some Data later. Regardless, for a 50 year growth cycle, a [Woodcutter] and their [Arborist] would create both coppices – which don't apply in my situation… and tiered regrowth.

It'd be a rectangular pattern that allows the [Arborist] to spend the year fixing the newly cut area, the [Woodcutter] to clear the next acre, while all the other acres recovered! Of course, a carrot only took three days to grow, and Pa would have tilled and planted the entire farmland. But I ain' Pa, just his worth– I could steal from the [Arborists] at least. If I had two maximums, one at 135 and another at an unknown amount – I could just plant 130 crops a day.

It would mean my maximum a week is 130 times 7 which is 910! Almost five times the amount that vampire wanted. Not bad, Pa, huh? We're never going to hear that, you know. We have work to do, stop being sentimental. Besides, that's only with copper. Aren't you curious about using Bone? That's why we have that wolf carcass, right? The bones in front of me were most of a wolf. The posterior left femur was already gone, and my count put exactly 310 bones remaining.

They were all yellowed and cracked, and leaked that black song from the bones. I already knew it was dead, but the melody of the end that seeped would not let me forget. I forced myself off the bones, and towards my pouches of carrot seeds. 945 carrots meant 105 bags of seeds. That was exactly 840 silver pieces, which was 82 gold. I didn't have that much, and it would destroy all of my savings. I had five days though, which meant 675 crops, which was 75 bags – 600 silver.

I gave Gramps 61 gold and told him to keep the change, though he frowned mightily at me for that. We're also ignoring that 'Anima', as we're calling it now, doesn't work like that. We aren't recovering '135 tiles of blood' every morning. We're still feeling woozy from the 54 Blood Crops we planted yesterday. Well, I don't see you giving me any suggestions on how to pay those taxes and meet our goals. I did. We don't have to use our blood for this. I swallowed, and waved my hand over the bones.

Ashley casts [Bone Mend]! I am so aware of this body; and what is owed of flesh. Green-Blue Symphony weaved out of my hands, encircling the bones below. Ice and rot intermingled with growth and snow, forming a melody of icicles dripping into a maw that devoured. Drip by drip, as the cracks resealed and the lattice burst around. The yellowing stains rewound, until they were as crisp and pale as freshly made snow. They were as cold as ice, and in the gleaming reflection I saw… I snapped my head around.

Of course he wasn't going to be there. He was dead. My eyes shut, and I conducted the Symphony. Ashley casts [Ossification]! Is your body a temple? Or is it a primitive tool? The main tools a [Farmer] used were a scythe to harvest; a hoe to till; a hammer to break rocks and ores; an axe to clear stumps and twigs; and a watering can to… water the crops. I also wanted a fishing rod. And Daggers. And Daggers. The bones cracked in reorientation.

The wolven skull melded together, the snout becoming a faucet and the eyes merging into a singular entrance. It was already mostly bucket shaped, but now, it was a [Bone Watering Can]. The right anterior leg ripped out of the socket and merged together; the talons and claws elongating and the bone itself becoming smooth. The pale white [Bone Scythe] rested on the floor, and the rest of the body was repurposed too.

The spinal cord became a [Bone Fishing Rod], the other leg that had its femur used for Madeleine's wand merged with the tail to become a [Bone Hoe]. The final two legs flattened and became heavy – one a [Bone Hammer], and the other a [Bone Axe]. And the rib cage broke apart. There were 13 pairs of rib bones, and they melded together into 13 [Bone Daggers]. All of which rested in front of me, radiating a pale, green, cool light. The black song was heavy, and a solid coldness radiated behind me.

Just like when I was at the woodlot, saved from Old Scar. … These Daggers would easily make work of Old Scar. They were smooth with a gentle hilt, but the actual blade was sharp. It was incredibly light to the touch, and when I flung it into the air – it hovered with the song of [Skeletal Grasp]. I tilted my head and the dagger zipped to the left. I nodded upwards, and it flew to the sky. I tilted my head at the tree hole – and it sliced directly dead center. It followed my thoughts, and force of will!

That was so much better than [Mage Hand]. I approached the tree hole to retrieve the dagger, but there was something else inside. Another letter, but this one had something heavy inside of it. I didn't like letters at the best of times, but this one wasn't addressed to anyone in particular, and it was in the Fairy Home Addy and I used to leave gifts in. The letter tore easily, and the parchment inside had yellowed with age. The writing was too familiar, too childish, and too… Addy.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Hey Ashy, You haven't written back in a bit, and Ma's getting really sick. Maybe you aren't getting these letters, so I put this one in the Fairy Home with some candy for them to deliver it to you. I got you a gift, and Ma, Pa, and I miss you. Are ya comin' back for Ashley casts [Spark]! A Magician's Flint and Tinder The letter burned in an odd green flame. That was new.

So was the emerald necklace there too. It was rather… perfect. The faux-silver string looped around the rusting brass clasp, and the gemstone emerald at the center sparkled at me. It reflected my green eyes, my red hair and my tear-stricken face with my faux-smile. It must have been five gold at most. How did a 12 year old have 5 gold? Well, he shouldn't be expecting that one back, since the faeries never delivered it to me. I strung it around my neck. Hopefully, Maddy would know how to clean it, but right now?

I turned my attention to the fields. Work always made my brain stop spinning. Four. Hundred. Tiles. I assume I could have done more if I hadn't spent some of my concentration making the tools, but I am definitely more Symphonic than I am physical. The [Bone Tools] had no weight to them, and I could still feel them scrape the dirt – but it was like… calculating a difficult math problem.

I didn't feel it in my muscles, but just how much more effort I had to use, to figure out if a root system needed nitrate or phosphate depending on the soil composition. It was like that, and it was satisfying. 400 tiles in one day! The tools were also easy to repair, in that I just needed to use the remaining bone pieces to fix the chips in the tools – and bone was a lot easier, and cheaper, to get than ore was. Of course, the limiting factor was still my bloo– Anima that I had to give to the crops.

I did dig them in the back, near the river this time for two reasons. The first was the easy access to watering them. The second was that Jasmine immediately spotted how foul a [Blood Crop] was, and I planted that near the farm itself. Nana's roast chicken and flatbread smelled nice, and Amaril was beginning to set. I was mentally exhausted, but my body still had energy – and that means I could recharge by reading a good book.

I wasn't feeling reading another Almanac or guide right now, but I did have a copy of the Lysistrata in the original Elvish by Aris of Phanes! She even signed it when she came to the Academy. I nibbled on the roast chicken while holding the novel in the air; I didn't want grease or oil or just… dirt to fall onto its pages. But my mind, even though it was tired, couldn't rest. I let the book fall into my backpack and stood up. I bit my lip and – Ashley casts [Cultivate Blight]!

"But these young scholars who invade our hills… Love not the flower they pluck, and know it not, And all their botany is in Elvish names" The winter storm swirled around my body; becoming a hurricane on its own. The sky above went from bold blue to sequenced teal, and the birds stopped mid flutter; their beaks open in confused defiance. I felt cold, and then warm, and then… nothing. I opened my eyes and the world was in teal.

In front of me was a rather lanky looking woman with blue skin and bluish hair, wearing a dark-blue necklace with a blu– I touched my body, and it had become green.

"What the…" I said, but my words were the only sound around. The steam coming from the roast chicken had stopped, the birds were still mid-flutter, and even Mirchie, who had been dozing in the meadows, was still a furry log. I turned to face myself, and touched my body again. The once-blue-now-green version of me returned to blue – I had selected, and unselected myself! High Symphony! I was doing High Symphony. I was part of the Weave! I was part of the weave!

"Look at me, Ma! I'm doin' it! I'm doin' it!" I shouted, jumping into the air. I didn't drop down, as the simple notion of where I was meant to be didn't exist in the High Symphony. I tried to jump again, and I just ascended, until I had come towards the bird. It was a common dove, and I touched its head. The blue-feathers became green, and in the corner of my vision, something was confirmed. [BLIGHT SOURCE SELECTED] [SELECT TARGET] [SET RATE: 5% (DEFAULT)] I chewed my lip and touched the dove right beside it.

This time, it had become white, and a green line connected the second dove to the first.

"I don't know what that means…" I said. I willed it to be 100% and the dial obliged. The two stood still mid-flap. Nothing moved, nothing changed, and the rate was at 100%. Get back in your body, Ash. I shook my head at the thought, and willed the Symphony over. The winter storm receded into my body and sound and wind came together in one flurry. I felt nothing, then warm, and finally cold – then felt my flesh linger to my skeleton. And the first dove exploded.

The second dove dropped to the ground, Anima drained from it. Its desiccated body cracked against the soil, and no blood spilled out; even if its guts sprayed from the impact. I looked over the bones, and it started to make sense. I pulled out the Mortis Agrariae and began a new chapter on the Blight. FACTS A Blight has a source and target. The Source drains life from the target at a set rate. This can overwhelm the source, and drain the target. INFERENCES Can it sustain a field?

I shut my book and re-entered the high symphony. I willed myself into the sky, and tried to select my entire farm. My entire farm went green. I tried to touch the third dove who had become utterly confused about what happened to its companions. [ERROR! ZONE BLIGHTS CAN ONLY TAKE FROM OTHER ZONES] I… only knew three places, and two of them were cities. Lyrelle forest was in my sight, but I had never fully explored it to unlock the zone. A future problem, another task… but this one seemed far more important to do.

Instead, I selected myself, and then the entire flock. When I returned into my body, all the doves fell at once. My stomach didn't twist into knots, and my brain was working well. But something more troubling came to the forefront of my thoughts. I had excess Anima going through my system. I liked being on my [Blight]. And so did my plants. This was definitely a priority for me… and hopefully, I could get some help with the rest of this from Maddy tomorrow.

Though, I hope she isn't mad I picked Addy to bind Mirchie to me, and not her.