Herbs and you by the church.
Hmmm, herbs were something he gathered in the past with his sister; it was mostly a boring topic, but he figured if he was serious about alchemy, this would be needed and opened the book, as he at least wanted to try and learn it.
Herbs are often overlooked as just plants, as normal people do not need to gather them or understand their real value.
Herbs are powerful ingredients in many things, from food to drinks, even potions, if pushed into alchemy, but we won’t be covering that.
He frowned at that. Why no alchemy? He understood the danger of abuse, but at least teach the basics, he thought as he skimmed the book. It was mostly alphabetically A to Z, all known herbs.
What surprised him more was that it even broke down into more magical variations of many of them, but stressed they were seen as poisons and should not be eaten unless properly prepared by a professional.
He fell asleep reading. The next day was mostly uneventful, and he went on reading when he could. Nina stopped by a few times to pester him, as did Len, to make sure he was ok, but overall, he was left alone to read.
It was only a few days later, like that, when Coby came; he was losing interest in reading and went to catch up with his missing brother.
“How have you been, brother?” Happy they got time alone after so long.
“Been fine,” he spoke passively while scouting the area with keen eyes that surprised him, wondering if there was danger nearby.
“What’s wrong? Is something coming?” He saw Coby, surprised, and then he focused once more.
“Nothing wrong, just scouting.”
“Here?” He did not understand they were near home; nothing had happened here. Coby smiled at Wolf’s confused face.
“It’s a habit I developed with Dad; we always watch, always observe; there are always dangers we must watch for.” He nodded, not sure how to respond to that.
“Ok… But even here?"
“Yeah, even here,” he smiled, excitement in his eyes. “I got a secret to share too!“ He got excited with his brother, wondering what it was…
Coby was silent for a moment to build tension.
“I learned wind magic,” he finally said. Wolf nearly passed out in shock magic…. His brother had magic! He was excited and demanded to know how he was sure!
Coby laughed, “It happened during a hunt. I shot an arrow, and it was going to fall short. I messed up my draw on the bow."
"Frustrated, I kind of willed the arrow to fly better, and it went from falling halfway to flying true!"
“No!”
“It’s true.” He could see the pride his brother had, but he needed to know more…
“Do you feel different having magic?"
"You don’t look different.” He proceeded to scout all around him, looking for changes, even poking him a few times to check…
Coby just laughed at that, saying it tickled and to stop; he finally relented when Coby agreed to show him.
“I'm still not too good, but it is usable.” He looked around and found a small rock, tossed it up and down a couple of times, and then when he threw it up again…
It shot forward as if it had a mind of its own and was tired of being played with as a toy.
Wolf could feel the wind brush him as the Little Rock flew by magic; he wanted to feel only pride for his brother, but he couldn’t stop the nagging of desire; he did not have any power…
“You know I’m jealous, but I’m still happy for you … If only one of us could get magic. I’m glad it’s you, Coby…” Coby saw the pain in Wolf’s eyes and was not happy with the turn of events.
“I forgot how much it meant to you."
"Well, no… I remembered it’s why I wanted to show you, but forgot that maybe there was a chance you do not have any magic yet."
"Sorry, Wolf, that was rude of me.”
“What? No! I meant what I said… It was just Dad the other day who reminded me magic is rare, and I hated being reminded…"
"Not you or your gift; besides the gods seeing you fighting, I’m sure this is their way of rewarding you; it just means I have to push harder.
Coby nodded. “You know there's a seer in the church who can tell you if you got a blessing.”
“ WHAT? How do you know?” He saw Coby getting fidgety.
“Well… I left this part out from before… "
"But when I made the arrow fly? I couldn’t do it again and told my dad I wasn’t sure what happened, so he took me to the church to check. They confirmed I have level two wind magic."
“Level two? He remembered hearing Teva mention her level, but it slipped his mind to ask; he did not realize the depth of what could be.
“Yeah, surprised me, too,” the bishop explained it a bit and offered me a book on it, but I was not interested in reading."
He said he had level one light magic; he could do some things, but he tired easily. Level two is stronger and has a lot more control but is still limited."
"He said three and beyond is the true blessing from the gods, as it allows mastering an element they gave you."
He was excited all these different magical things existed but got scared thinking even blessed could be a minor blessing but let that go quickly even a single bead was still magic…
Talks tapered down, and they agreed to go to the church tomorrow, as it was a bit late today. Coby also let Wolf know he only had a couple of free days, as the hunts took longer to prepare and scout.
Wolf reflected on how funny it was that everyone was drifting away, always busy, but he understood it was part of growing up. He also wanted his own things and told others, Sorry, he was busy.
Coby hugged him goodbye and said, “Don’t worry, brother, a day or a year can pass; we will still be brothers.” He laughed at that.
“Yeah, a day or a year, we are indeed still brothers.” Before he left, he decided to tell him about Nina and how she was a sister now too, and maybe they would get a chance to hang out more later in life. Coby was mildly interested but did not seem to care too much.
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The next day started early; he said goodbye to his mom and left early to see the church.
He was worried it might be too early, but when he met up with Coby along the way, he assured him not to worry. It is why they lived in the church, so night or day, they could always help.
As they approached the church, it was a busy day with a lot of people coming and going. It seemed more people used the church than he gave them credit for.
He did not really believe they were important, but seeing it now showed things differently. There were random sick people seeking healing from magic as well as those just here to pray…
They found one of the black-robed priests and asked if the bishop was available, but he was out today and went to the city. When he asked if they could help instead, Coby spoke up.
“We’re here to see if my brother has a blessing.” The priest nodded in understanding.
“Did he show a sign of a blessing?” He was embarrassed he forgot people had lives and were not just there for their whims…
“No,” Coby said, steady, not nervous at all. “But I did recently, and he is my brother. I’m sure he got his too.” He felt pride. Coby spoke up for him, yet the priest was frowning.
“I’m sorry if we stop every time just to check for blessings; our seer would faint from exhaustion. She tends not to say no to young kids, so it is unfair to ask if we do not have something to look for.
“Does it take that much power?” He was wondering and spoke up before Coby.
“No… well, not for the stronger people in darkness magic, but she is only level two, and it is more of a drain for her to try to see magic if she doesn’t know what to look for. Level two darkness…. He needed to know.
“Isn’t darkness evil magic?” The priest laughed at that, then covered his mouth and looked around, ashamed at his outburst.
“Sorry, that was rude of me. I felt joy in your ignorance, and that was wrong."
He was not mad; he just did not know. He looked at Coby, and he was also indifferent… Both Wolf and Coby shook their heads, but Wolf spoke first.
“It’s ok, we didn’t know; please teach us.“ He felt Coby thought the same, and they wanted to know the process. The priest smiled, happy they're such good kids…
“The misunderstanding of darkness is that it’s not evil, just different than light. Darkness can be shadow magic, which allows one to hide in it, but it can also be seen with darkness magic, so it helps see things others cannot. In this case, magic: the more magic flows in a body, the easier it is for darkness to see it.
Both Wolf and Coby were amazed at what could be done with magic.
“Are you sure you can’t let us see them, please?” He was desperate to know if he had magic…. The priest watched him carefully before speaking.
“How old are you?
“Just turned 14 recently; it should be old enough to receive a blessing.
“True, you’re more than old enough… Okay, let go,” he paused. “First, let me ask them if they have been busy with mundane things, but nothing of a magical nature; perhaps it could even be a break for them since magic is a different strain than physical work.”
The priest asked them to wait among the others praying and keep a low voice while he went into the back.
Coby whispered to Wolf while he was lost in thought, “Don’t worry, I’m sure they will see you.”
“Who?” He whispered back.
“Dunno if it’s the same person; for me it was a girl in black, but I don’t know if it’s the same this time."
“What was her name? Coby thought for a moment.
“Dunno? They just called her Seer, and I was nervous. Magic was never a big deal to me, but now that I have it? It is different..."
Wolf knew that feeling; he was feeling it now, the idea that he could have magic, but being told no? It hurt him deeply, more than it should… He had friends and family, but…. Not magic. Coby saw Wolf’s dejected spirit.
“Cheer up, brother, we did not come this far to give up; we will find a way, even if it takes years.” He flinched at those words years…. Then he had a wave of cold fear wash over him, or never….
Coby saw his attempt to help Wolf feel better had failed, so he kept quiet and instead silently prayed. I know you all exist, and you know I don’t care about magic, so please help my brother. He is a good friend to me, and though he may seem selfish, he never once denied me anything if I asked.
He was saddened to see Coby praying and knew he was doing it for him…
He knew he was never big on the gods or magic. It helped him feel better knowing he wasn’t alone.
He knew he was never truly alone, but that was different. It wasn’t magic; the one thing he wanted, he knew he was selfish, but he could not stop thinking about it. He couldn’t even focus on praying, as he knew it would not be sincere, just begging to the gods who already knew how he felt.
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What felt like hours but surely was minutes, the priest came back, smiled, and in a low voice, just above a whisper, spoke, “She is in good spirits and says she is willing to help; follow me, please."
Wolf and Coby quietly followed the priest down a side hall and a new door, their many grey robes moving things and doing random work, but all seemed to be lost in their own world, not noticing them; it seemed they were used to letting random people pass through.
The door they ended up at was plain; he could sense nothing from it…
As they entered, it was a surprisingly dark room. Lots of windows surrounded the room, but were covered in drapes. There was light, but it was a soft glow, not very bright. There was a desk to the side, but in the middle, when he focused his attention there, he saw her.
She was dressed all in black, even with a veil. He thought he saw a tail flicking, but he was embarrassed to look, so he looked around a little more.
Besides the 4 oversized windows, the room was nearly empty—just a small bench near the desk and a couple of chairs in a corner. What was this place?
“This is the child," the priest said, touching his shoulder and getting a soft smile from her as she watched Coby bow slightly and sit in a chair nearby unprompted. The priest also bowed and spoke, “I’m sure you can find your way out after; if not, just ask a gray,“ and quietly left.
He now felt singled out, standing alone, so he bowed, “Hello, nice to meet you, I’m Wolf.” Still smiling, she spoke in a lovely voice.
“My well-mannered, but I see the turmoil in your soul, which is tragic, and I do wish you peace.” He wasn’t sure how to respond to that and breathed deeply and sighed.
“Please check me for magic, and if I don’t have it, please help me earn it if you can.” He got the words out quickly before he could stammer or take anything back; he bowed down low after that, refusing to look, also afraid to see a disapproving look on her face.
“Hmm,” she said lightly, “I would assume the bishop already told you we cannot bless others? And if you think the gods listen to me more than others, I fear I will only disappoint you, I’m sorry to say.”
“No,” he said bitterly, reliving his words. He was expecting too much and for free? When he knew God's frown on that… “I misspoke. I… I just really care for magic and feel like it is always beyond my reach.”
“I understand," she said carefully.
"I never cared for such a blessing but could see envy in others for my blessing when they had none."
"It was a blessing to be able to help others find their path, and I embraced it. I fear for you; with no road to travel, you feel lost.”
He was still bowing but still nodded; that was how he felt, well, mostly. “May I ask why it was dark? Does it help your power of darkness? She laughed lightly at that.
“My power is indeed born in darkness, and I must hide my eyes from the light to see deeper, but I don’t need to hide from the light."
"I personally dislike the sun also. Gods are equal and love all; why would they deny me or others for having a single element?"
“Single element?” he gasped at those words and rose from the bow, looking at the seer. “So people can hold more power?! Light dark fire at once !?”
She shook her head sadly.
“No, you misunderstand. The gods don’t hate each other, so why would they hate us for not being the one a god picked?"
“Aha," he dejectedly realized he had misunderstood…
“There is one god that blesses others with all elements,” she replied as if an afterthought.
He wished to be numb from all this casual information about secrets of the gods, as if they were common facts everyone knew… As he saw her face, he knew once again he was misunderstanding something.
“The god that grants all powers is the god of balance… But to balance the gift of having all powers, they cannot use them the same as others; they will never have the same gifts…
He wasn’t sure he understood, “So… they have all the power …. But can’t use any of it? How does that work?“
Seer calmly replied, "It is part of the balance; they may find a way to use the power, but they cannot do it the same way as others."
She said those words, still smiling as if it all made sense, but to him, it all felt backward. Why give more power and take away the ability to use it if not to punish?
“Balance is a rare god to give out blessings, as many look down on them even though they’re needed most of all, so they pick carefully who they bless. He hated the idea that he could be blessed with power and never use it.
“How was that different than having no power?” He let it slip from his lips before he could stop himself. She frowned at that. “Sorry,” he felt abashed.
But she shook her head.
“No, I understand your fears, but we are all the same; it is why Balance tries to help us by limiting magic; we will lose ourselves to power. And wage wars once more, for more…”
He knew the idea of war but could not picture it; he only knew peace, so even little things were a big deal to him…
“Thank you for your time; no matter the outcome, I’ll accept the truth."
Coby spoke up in the background.
“You will be fine; the gods have eyes. At least wait to see what she sees before we decide your fate.” He smiled at those words, and so did I.
The seer finally approached. She was slender; the robes were deep black, loose, and free-flowing, but still were tied around her waist, showing her form. He was dying to know how she could see behind that veil but kept quiet, waiting to see where this went…
As she got close and looked him up and down, she spoke in a soft voice, “So young and trying to control fate, dangerous, but that is the path you seek, and the gods will see if they agree with your desires.” She knew she was playing it up a bit, but she was having fun; she was hoping this wouldn’t end like those other times …
He was enchanted by the way she spoke; it sounded like an unspoken oath, as if his longing was not a petty desire but a challenge to the gods themselves that he demanded more, and what if they listened….
He was scarred now for the judgment for them to deny him, for them to agree he was unworthy.
She held his shoulders and steadied him; her eyes glowed behind the veil with darkness as if the god of darkness itself looked at him and judged him a mere child trying to understand the mind of a god. He was paralyzed, unsure of what to do.
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As she looked into his soul, she did not see much… She felt it was like the other times when they had no magic, but she was giving it a better look to be safe; she wasn’t doing much anyway; they usually spoiled her with grey robes working…
The eyes of darkness were still clear as day. “Hmm,” she said in a low voice, “That’s different.“ He was afraid to speak but just watched as her hand moved to his chest, to his heart, then he felt a building as if her hand were the only thing holding back a door, and that feeling he felt was building just beyond her hands, something he had never felt before…
She was surprised she saw nothing and was about to tell him so, but then a trace formed and built; she tried following the lines; it led to his heart; it was an amazing thing to see; she had never seen the birth of someone’s power only after it was in the body or not…
“Oh my! She exclaimed in a low voice, “Awakening now? You must have awakened the gods,” she said with mirth. He was unsure if it was a joke or if the truth was that he was going to get powers of darkness? He did not want that well, depending on what he could do, it would be interesting, so he did not protest.
Her hand stayed near his heart, unmoving, and the flow would not stop building.
He wasn’t sure if it was her doing or the supposed blessing, but as it got near painful, it was like melting ice and slowly flowed into him. He felt heat, darkness, light, wind, earth, and everything in a strange balance sink into his body as he felt everything embrace him.
Then it was gone as if it had never been theirs; he felt empty, like he had lost everything.
It was a sea of colors; she couldn’t help but shed a tear at the display…
So much power as it spread into his body; she finally got to see Balance's power and was awed. She wanted to gauge his strength and let him know she saw it, but it faded as fast as it happened, disappointing her, losing the rare sight.
He looked up at her, wondering what had happened. She frowned and said, “You’re not ready, it seems, but the gods did indeed favor you, and they won’t take away a blessing, just suppress it till you’re ready.” She heard it could happen, just rarely; she guessed now she knew what it looked like.
"What do you mean?” He was looking at her; the eyes of darkness he had seen so clearly before were gone now; just plain cloth was all he could see. Her hands moved back to his shoulders; she breathed in slowly and back out, then collapsed on the floor before Wolf or Coby could react or understand what had just happened.
Cody ran over and lifted her head onto his lap. Get help, Wolf. We need a priest. He was unsure how things ended this way. Was she being punished for helping him? But why? He only wanted to have some magic, not hurt anyone, as he ran out looking for help in a panic.
His only thoughts were that they all tried to warn him of this: his desire for power hurt others, and what was worse, someone who only wanted to do good with tears and fear and confusion.
He found a grey robe and grabbed one of them. “Please, she needs healing. We don’t know what happened!” With that, everything seems to fade for him as the blur of events, as everything is unrivaled around him. How did a blessing that was a gift lead to this…
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An hour passed in a blur at first; everyone clamored to solve the problem, each tripping over the last to solve it…
It was only when the black-robed priest returned that he got the ability to calm them. He told them, “She was fine; she strained her magic and pushed too far and just needed rest.”
He proceeded to shoo everyone away from a room they managed to secure for her to rest in, but Wolf and Coby begged to stay; they couldn’t let it end like this when they were the cause.
The priest sighed and relented but demanded they behave; she needed rest, not nosy kids, even if they wanted to help. They both agreed and quietly sat next to her, waiting for results.
Another hour passed in near silence, and Wolf finally felt brave enough to speak a bit meekly, “It’s my fault, Coby.“
“What?“ Coby said in a harsh whisper, "Why do you say that?”
“She was trying to help me, and the gods punished her for it.”
“Noooo… She used too much magic, and it weakened her."
"I’ve done it before with wind, but for me, it made me sick for a bit, and I needed to rest. I heard a potion exists but dunno the details."
He was near tears again and wasn’t sure what to say. He got his wish, kind of; he has magic, but the details are lost to him. Whatever it was, it hurt another, the one thing his dad warned him about, and he ignored it with indifference. Who else would he hurt for that pursuit of power? He thought it wasn’t worth it, magic he desired; his goal was dangerous, and he felt depressed he couldn’t pursue it without hurting others.
Coby wrapped his arm around Wolf as they sat in silence, neither wanting to speak.
They came early, so they had time to wait, but what if she never woke up till night? Wolf guessed they could say sorry tomorrow, but it felt hollow if they were not there when she woke; as if stirred awake by that thought, she moved and opened her eyes.
“Oh, why are you in my room? Did something happen?” she asked
“Uh,” Wolf started, “this isn’t your room, at least I don’t think?“ He wasn’t sure.
Coby spoke up.
“To clarify, you fainted helping us; do you remember?”
“Hmmm, yes, the blessing was very strong; it drained me. I remember your power eclipsed mine, and I couldn’t keep hold of the sight; that was a first.”
She has seen level four before and was fine…. There is no way…. She just must push herself too far.
Wolf wasn’t sure how to feel about that, so he potentially had a level three. Or a strong level two magic gift. He felt shame asking, but he had to know,
“You never said what my gift was?”
Coby frowned with a disapproving look, but he had to risk knowing now that he knew she was ok.
It seemed he wasn’t as mature as he thought. If at the first chance, he went back to his old ways, he would change, but not today, he thought.
She stared at them for a moment, then smiled. “Yes, I did fade out before speaking."
"Hmmm, well, your gift is one of the few very rare ones, not the rarest, well, I don’t think?” She said, unsure, but then stopped, realizing she was starting to ramble. “Sorry.”
“It’s ok,” Wolf said. ” I was rude to ask after you needed to recover; you don’t need to tell me.” He hated saying that, but it was needed; he got what he wanted, a blessing; now he needed to learn not to hurt others, even if not on purpose.
” It’s fine,” she said in a sleepy voice. “The rarest gifts and most dangerous are level five; the power of those is enough to stand against kingdoms alone and win.” He was surprised the power went that high; your gift, child, was level four; you won’t topple kingdoms, but it’s enough to challenge armies alone.” He paled at that. Such power! She was smiling as she said it, which surprised Wolf.
“Why would you be happy anyone had that kind of power?”
“I’m sorry though…"
“Uh, why?” he asked
“I’m not sure which god you hope to bless you, but it seems Balance picked you, so though you have enough magic that armies would fear you, you will never be able to use it directly.”
It took him a moment to process what she said, and he almost laughed at the irony…
The gods listened; they agreed with his desire; they even gave him more power than many will ever see.
Then chained him with never being able to use it…
it.
Was.
Brilliant…
What better way to humble a man wanting power than to give him what he wants with no way to use it…
He saw Coby filled with amazement, the opposite of him.
“Wow, I’m level two, and you’re twice that.” He did laugh. That’s amazing!"
“Yea... Amazing.” The seer saw his dejected nature and wanted to comment, but the door opened with a harsh, whispering priest.
“I told you to keep quiet. I was passing in the hall, hearing laughter and talking about why someone is sleeping…“ He stopped when he saw her awake.
“Are you well?” rushing to her, feeling her head.
“I’m fine, just tired. It was a strong blessing that drained me. Nobody did anything wrong, and I’m ok.” The priest nodded at that.
“Be that as it may, you still need rest. You boys got to see her; she’s fine. If you want to visit her again, please schedule another time, perhaps next week. We were busy with many things."
“It's ok,” Wolf said. ” Thank you for your time; you were a big help.”
“Thank you.” Coby also bowed to the priestess; she did not want to end it like that, so she asked before they left for the priest to bring a book on magic levels and the gods.
The priest wanted to object that it was a rarer book meant for specific teaching, not common knowledge, but she insisted she said Wolf had a rare blessing and needed to understand more of his gift.
He wanted to be grateful, but he felt he already knew, and it would just be a waste of time, but he thanked her all the same as the priest left to get the book, and she gave them some parting words.
“The gods have eyes; they give us blessings for many things. You may think this is a burden, but it is a gift. Don’t lose sight of the goal that led you here.”
He nodded, though he felt nothing, and he did not want to add to her burden when she did nothing but help him.
When the priest came back with the book, it was a simple, small book with a very nice glowing silver cover. “It was magic,” he said, not able to help himself. The priest was surprised and replied
“Yes, not many can sense the magic, but it is light magic meant to preserve the book to be passed down without wear and tear. We have other copies, so it is not rare, but it is not so common we would just gift it to anyone outside the church, so treat it with the respect it is owed.”
He felt grateful for the gift, even if it came with the burden of a truth he did not want to face, and they left the church. Coby was still excited from all the excitement and wanted to adventure, but he just felt drained and hugged him, saying he appreciated all he did but wanted to rest.
Coby did not like the answer but understood; he said it would be a while before they next met, but he would make time for him.
The trip home was uneventful. Mom and Nina were cooking, and Dad and Len were at the shop, but Mom and Nina saw his sour mood and asked what was wrong. He just played it off as getting sick and wanted to rest and read some books.
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Nina promised to bring him food later, and Mom said she was there if he wanted to talk, if anything happened, but he insisted it was just not feeling good. as his day ended at that…
and then Add to home screen.