Chương 10: The Voice's Gift

Step. Another. Keep the pace now. The yard seemed much larger from the height of an almost two-year-old. Watch the dip. Good. Yes! Just a little more— Thud.

"Geng!" The honk rang out, long and full of indignation. He sat on the cold ground, glaring up at the goose, which glared right back at him. He'd had the right of way! Stupid bird. He'd been so close!

"Stupid White!" he snapped, but for safety's sake, he quickly scrambled away toward Sari, taking refuge behind her skirts. He'd already had one run-in with a stupid chicken and ended up fleeing from an enraged rooster. His brothers, washing by the well at the time, had found it hilarious. Not one of them had lifted a finger to help. Well, they'd probably regretted it the next day when they found chicken droppings in their boots.

"Arien, don't scare the birds," Sari said as he reached her.

"Stupid birs!"

"But that warmer blanket helped in winter, didn't it?"

"Stupid…" he replied, less firmly this time. She had a point. The blanket stuffed with goose feathers had made the worst nights of winter considerably more bearable. And there had been plenty of bad nights. Some days had been so cold that Arien hadn't left the house at all. Now that the weather was finally improving, he intended to spend as much time outside as possible. He'd had enough of the stuffy air in their shared room. How many times could he walk from one corner to the other?

Sure, now that he could understand the language almost perfectly, he had learned a great deal about this world from overheard conversations and Terry's stories. Sometimes, however, he simply wanted to be alone somewhere quiet enough to experiment with mana. The more he observed it, the more he wanted to influence it. Yet no matter what he tried, nothing worked, and the frustration sometimes made him want to scream. Mana had to be the bridge to magic, and he could do little more than stare at it.

He felt like a man on the brink of starvation, staring at a perfectly roasted chicken slowly turning behind a shop window. If he had to name the one thing he missed most from his old life, it was access to knowledge. Sometimes, not being able to verify even the simplest idea felt like torture. The creak of the gate broke the flow of his thoughts. His mother was returning with Lisa, each carrying various bundles from the village market. Sari ran up to her, taking some of the weight while peeking inside.

"Where are Arien's shoes?"

"They didn't have any in his size. I'll try again next week."

"I wanted to take him to the pond for his birthday."

"You can take him next week; he has no idea what a birthday is anyway. Here, take this to the pantry," Mari said, pressing the remaining bundles into the girl's arms before walking up to him and crouching down.

"Was Arien good?"

"Arien good," he confirmed eagerly, looking up at his mother expectantly as she smiled faintly.

"Would Arien like a gingerbread?"

"YES!" The crumbly cookie, sticky with honey, vanished from the woman's hand the moment it came within his reach. It was a true delicacy, the only sweet that ever appeared in their home. Arien had only had four so far.

"Mama good," he lisped with a full mouth. She gently stroked his head and went back inside. He quickly followed, worried that White might try to take revenge by eating his cookie. That evening, he managed to persuade Terry to take him out to look at the stars — "persuade" meaning he tugged on his father's trouser leg and kept repeating the names of the moons until the man finally gave in just to have some peace. But Arien had his own goal.

Today was the last day of the Surge, and mana tended to behave in the most interesting ways. It also happened to be his birthday. At first, names like the Surge and the Veil had meant little to him, just words adults used without explanation. Over time, observation had filled in some of the gaps. Erador did not follow a simple four season cycle. Summer gave way to autumn, but before winter came the Veil, when mana grew distant and sluggish.

After winter came the Surge, its opposite, when mana became restless and abundant. The Veil starved the world of it. The Surge flooded it.

"What's the name of that orange moon?" His father's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Lanax."

"Clever boy. Why is it that color?" Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

"Sul fight Beast. Much fire."

"Maybe Mari's right and we should send you to the temple in Jakara?"

"Give Arien?"

"I'm just saying. Let's watch the stars in silence now." Now, sitting on the man's shoulders, he watched as particles of mana swirled in patterns known only to themselves. The sheer number of colors and shades made their dance against the star-filled sky the most beautiful thing he had seen in either of his lives. Eventually, he lost himself in the sight so completely that he felt as if he himself were spinning among the heavens.

Only his father's voice, announcing that they had to head back because he felt like having a beer, pulled him out of his trance. As Terry carried him back toward the house, Arien took one last look at the mana filling the sky. One day, he wanted to do more than watch it. That night, however, just like a year earlier, he woke up with the sensation of falling. He sprang up in his crib, curious whether, like last time, his vision had improved. He wasn't disappointed. The difference was noticeable at first glance.

Mana swirled everywhere, and the different currents now evoked different sensations within him. He couldn't assign any clear meaning to them. There were dozens of variations, perhaps even hundreds. He suspected they might correspond to different elements, but for now, he had no way of knowing which was which. The sensations themselves had nothing to do with heat, cold, or any other familiar quality. Whatever those differences meant, they could wait. There was only one thing on his mind. The System.

He reached for it the way he had for the past year, already half-expecting failure. At first, the familiar presence slipped away as soon as he reached for it. Frustration surged through him, and his fist struck the mattress before he could stop himself. He waited a few breaths before trying again, already expecting the same result. This time, however, the presence did not disappear immediately. It still felt distant, but somehow clearer than before, easier to hold at the edge of his perception.

Arien had no idea what had changed, only that something had. He reached for it again, more carefully this time. The presence sharpened instead of slipping away, until what had only ever appeared in fragments suddenly became clear. This time, it stayed.

Name: Arien Race: Human Profession: Child Traits: Child, Emissary of ▉ Lvl: 2 Experience: 0/300 Stamina: 30/30 Mana: 60/60 Endurance: 3 Agility: 3 Strength: 3 Perception: 7 Intellect: 7 Wisdom: 7 Vitality: 5 Free points: 4 Assigned Skills: 0/5 Available to assign: Mana Sense (uncommon) lvl 7 Foreign Language Learning (common) lvl 10 Arien couldn't hold back his laughter. There you are. For several breaths, he did nothing but hold the Status in his awareness.

He had waited for this for so long that he was afraid even the smallest movement might make it disappear. It didn't. The Status remained steady and clear even after several breaths. With some hesitation, he began to examine it. Seven Attributes. Four Free Points. Skills... Arien took a slow breath. One step at a time. There's no rush. He kept his eyes closed. Far from making the Status disappear, it seemed to become even clearer. Some elements almost glowed in his mind.

Child (profession, common) – grants +1 to every Attribute per level. Ends upon reaching level 10. You cannot enter into any magical pact. Child (trait, common) – grants experience equal to the bearer's age × 100 on each birthday. Ends at age 10. The multiplier depends on race. Emissary of ▉ (mythical) – You rejected the Void, you have known Nothingness. +1 to Perception, Intellect, and Vitality per level. Stronger bond with the Elements. Higher chance of learning rare and legendary Skills. ▉?

He fell backward onto the mattress and lay staring into the darkness above him, not reading anything, just breathing. Then he read it again. Slowly. For more than a year, the words Emissary of ▉ had sat in his mind like a warning. Now the visible part of its description was better than anything he had dared hope for. It had to be the Voice's parting gift. Maybe it wasn't quite as much of an asshole as he had thought. He could almost imagine the Voice laughing somewhere in the Void.

He still had no idea how Attributes translated into physical reality, but the bonuses were unmistakable. At only level two, the Trait had already granted him six additional Attribute points. And that was before accounting for the stronger bond with the Elements or the increased chance of learning powerful Skills. Mana Sense (uncommon) – Mana flows through all things, though few learn to truly perceive it. Allows you to sense mana within yourself and in your surroundings.

When assigned, increases the range and clarity of your perception and improves your ability to distinguish between different forms of mana. Foreign Language Learning (common) – Communication begins with understanding. Allows you to learn and use languages other than your native one. When assigned, increases the speed at which you learn new languages and improves comprehension. He felt tears slowly welling up in his eyes. He could have kissed the creator of the System.

Finally, some information he didn't have to piece together from fragments of conversations and his own guesses. Arien spent a long while trying to uncover more about the System, but it seemed that for now, this was his limit. He wasn't discouraged, though—he would need many days just to process today's discoveries anyway. He decided not to assign any skills or attribute points, afraid of making a mistake that could cost him dearly in the future, since he still didn't fully understand how everything interacted.

He didn't fall asleep again for a long time, but Arien didn't mind. For the first time since arriving in Erador, he had more answers than he knew what to do with.