The first step on our little crafting experiment is me figuring out how to absorb magical items into my body; items that Naya happily provides me with before Mia directs them to search for a few items in and around the building.
While Naya is occupied with their own task, I try my best to absorb the trinkets, starting with a small cross shaped amulet that is meant to soothe minor pains. I am not sure why they are carrying something like that around, but I guess you end up with various trinkets over the years, and if you have dimensional storage like us, there is little point in leaving them behind.
The cross is sadly rather unresponsive to my attempts to absorb it. Or rather, my magic is when I try to get it to do so for me; it’s almost as if it is unwilling to absorb the trinket, as it does not have any direct use to us. Even when I try to impress on it that the pain killing properties could keep us in a fight longer, my magic barely acknowledges my effort.
With the amulet being a dud for now, I move on to another of the trinkets. The next one is a small ruby crystal with several patterns engraved into it. Naya said that it is supposed to be used as a weathering ward, shielding its holder from the cold and heat in equal measure, though only to a certain extent. It does not, they impressed on me, grant me immunity to fire. It’s also supposed to keep me dry, but that part is useless to me as my scale feathers are already exceedingly hydrophobic.
The same spiel repeats itself once more, though my magic seems to be more aware of my thoughts this time around. But even then, it only languidly moves along, there is no real interest in the stone. Though something tells me that it is not because my magic is uninterested in it, after all, I am interested in it, even beyond just learning to absorb it. Being slightly more weather proof is only an upside!
There has to be another problem stopping me from absorbing the trinket, something that acts as a barrier between me, and the magic imbued in the stone. I mull it over for a few moments; I absorbed the dimensional storage while.. presumably liquified inside my cocoon, though I don’t know whether the ring had been liquified as well. I’d rather not weave another cocoon just to test this out though, regardless of how sure I am that it will work if I do. Instead, I want to figure out a way to do it whenever I want. The other way I know of absorbing things is through consuming them, as I have done with the octofiend and the tree wurm.
Spinning the little gem in my paw for a few moments; I decide that it’s worth a try at least. My tongue shoots out and snatches it up, placing it in my mouth, though I don’t swallow for the moment. Instead I keep it in place, and only a few moments later I feel myself… my magic; when did the differentiation between us fall away? The thought lingers as my magic goes to work, slowly breaking down the gem. Though even now that I have refocused, reestablished the separation, it feels like it is not as strong as before; the magic is me, and at the same time, I am my magic. Together, we, I, break down the crystal, analyzing every little bit there is about it. We’re no enchanter, but the enchantment is still plainly visible to us, we see the intent behind it, we see how it is used to weave the magic into its purpose. And then, we take the magic and make it ours. It does not work the same when we make it ours; instead we weave it into our being, we adjust it, change it, to not use the magic that is not yet ours. Instead, it now uses what is ours, making it, me, US more, making us better, in its own tiny way. Its origin will be forgotten and lost, but it has become part of a greater whole.
I blink my eyes and look around. Alone. Mia is still with Naya, directing them to find what we need, her presence is only faint here. The absorbing of the crystal was… enlightening. In a way I am not quite sure I like… or hate, for that matter. It felt right, but so foreign to make me shiver in fear. I’ve not had an experience like that, where I am me, but also something else, in a long time.
The moment when it first happened was when I was just a little child, a beginner at magic. Mother was there with me still, showing me the ropes on how to use it. She’d always talk about it like it is a separate entity, something to use for us, but also to listen to. Separate but aware, with its own needs. When I used it though, it felt different. A part of me, of a greater something, like I too am part of that something, like we are one. It’s after one of these moments I talk to my mother; her response is… apprehensive, but not hostile. She tells me to find my own way, to do what feels right. She does not, however, stop referring to the magic like it’s something separate to her. Nor does she stop telling me how to use it, she does not stop her lessons, even if they seem not quite right to me.
I am lost in thought until Mia’s presence returns, though I do not really react until she speaks. “Ada? Little one? Are you okay? You seem a little… out of it.” Her presence is warm, like a caring hug I want to lean into.
It takes me a moment before I finally answer, Mia is patient with me, waiting for me. “I… am not sure, honestly. I think I’m fine? It’s just… so much has changed…” My voice is quiet, timid. “Anya is out there somewhere… I don’t even know where, or whether she’s okay… And me? I’m… different. Still changing…” Mia’s presence envelopes me closer, becomes more physical and warmer, soothing my anxiety a little. “I hope she’s okay… that’s… that’s what matters. That she’s okay. That you’re okay. I can deal with myself changing… especially since these changes… they’re not… unexpected. I like them, it’s just strange to be aware of the changes as they’re happening. It’s not like before, it’s not nearly as slow and gradual. This… this is different, but also so much more. I am becoming more, in a way I am not sure how to understand.” I fall quiet, and the silence lingers for a long moment.
Mia is the one to eventually fill it. “I am sorry that you’re going through so much change at once. That you don’t understand yet. I wish I could help you, but I am as much in the dark as you about a lot of this. And your wife… she seemed fine, when we talked, I could feel her pain, her regret about not being here with you. But she’s alive, out there, somewhere. I understand you miss her, but we can’t reach her now, so you’ll have to trust in her.” Words do not come to me, and I merely flicker my understanding across my skin. She’s right; my focus should be on us for now, I should trust in my wife like I always have. And the same applies to myself, I’ve not doubted myself in a long time, now is not the time to start again.
A few minutes later I finally have fully recovered and get up. Naya is standing in the doorway nearby, watching me with a passive expression. They do not comment on my state, nor do they tell me how much they’ve seen, but my guess is that they saw most of it. Instead, they step inside and kneel down next to me. “Figured out how to absorb the trinkets? I see one of them is gone.” I flicker a confirmation at them. “Alright, we’ve found everything we need, but we’ll still have to do some work on it.” They summon a set of various items, vines, rocks, pieces of bark and leaves, and a few more things besides those. “Mia said we’ll have to create an anchor with these. Not the ship kind though, spatial, gonna need some enchanting or something. Which… none of us is an enchanter, Mia only knows the little bits that Anya has implanted in her.” They shake their head before continuing. “Most of it should be a natural effect by the materials, but we’ll need to solidify it.”
I eye them for a moment. “I don’t think I can do an enchantment. When I tried to absorb the trinkets, my magic didn’t want to pass out of my body.” I shudder slightly at the memory, though it is not followed by the same anxiety as before. “But… the way of absorbing it was… interesting. I didn’t just take the trinket and put it in my body. I kind of… made it mine?” Naya raises an eyebrow at me, and I can feel Mia’s curiosity too. “Well… it’s like I made the enchantment part of my body? Like when I ate the octofiend, I made its abilities part of myself. I kind of did the same with the trinket. It’s not the trinket anymore, it’s just… part of me.”
Naya stays quiet for a little bit, clearly mulling over my words. Mia seems to be somewhat concerned though. “Are you sure? That… could be a problem. If you have no control over it, do you have control over it? Or does it just happen?”
Before I answer, I think back to every time I have absorbed something so far. The only time it has been truly unintentional so far has been with the storage ring. However, even then, we determined that the enchantment is beneficial to us before absorbing it. I slightly tilt my head towards Naya. “Mostly? It’s not necessarily fully conscious, but I don’t just randomly absorb things either. There’s a part of me that makes sure that whatever I incorporate is beneficial… also, I am fairly sure I can remove it again, if necessary.” I pause for a moment as I consider that, I know I can remove it, but can I return it if I want to? “Not sure if I can get it back after though. I’ll have to try sometime.”
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Naya on their part just listens to me ramble, only commenting once I am done. “If you’re sure it’s not just going to backfire, then we can continue.” They reach for a few of the supplies they brought and lays them out in front of us. “I am not particularly great at external magic either, at least this kind. But still better than you by the looks of it. So, how exactly are we supposed to do this Mia?”
Mia has been quiet since Naya has returned, but doesn’t keep her silence. “Ah yes, first things first though. Ada, please try to see if you can reject an enchantment you have already incorporated. That… might be required down the line with this particular item. As I mentioned before; it will act as an anchor, keeping the weakened spatial barrier in place, or rather, with you. That weakened spatial barrier is not a one way affair, as you can probably tell by my presence here. Though I do have an easier time due to my general affiliation with this planet, other things can also exploit it. It’s highly unlikely, as there are plenty of other weaker places around, and a moving target will complicate thing, but it is not impossible.” Mia pauses for a long moment, waiting for my reply. After mulling over her words for a bit, and catching a slightly worried glance from Naya, I flicker my understanding. “Alright, please do try now. It’s unlikely that anything will happen with the anchor, but it is better to be prepared. If you can reject the enchantment, ideally destroy it even, then we can simplify the process a little bit as well… if you want to, that is.” She quickly adds the last bit at Naya’s expression of disapproval.
I am not particularly excited to reject the trinket I already ate, so instead I grab the one that’s supposed to be a minor painkiller. The healing ability from the wurm clearly already has a similar property, so the trinket will be much less beneficial to me.
Absorbing it is rather simple, and not accompanied by the same fugue state as before; though I am very much aware of the changes it brings to us, how my perspective shifts as we analyze and integrate it. The result is an enchantment that seems somewhat more complex than the original. Small parts of the knowledge we’ve obtained from our previous items are worked into the final product. Clearly, we can work off of previous knowledge, a good thing to know.
Our next step is to purge the enchantment, something done even more easily than incorporating it. Merely a small nudge, a small shift in perspective, and we consume it in its entirety; not a single bit of it left over. And then, after making sure it is gone, we remake it. It returns to our body in its entirety, working just as before.
I look up towards Naya, who is eyeing me curiously. “You good? You spaced out for a few moments there.” I flicker reassurance across my skin.
“Yes! Just testing the enchantment things! I can make them go away, and remake them! Even improve them based on other ones I’ve absorbed! Not sure if I can make completely new ones or anything like that though!” Excitement flickers across my skin, which earns me a small grin from Naya.
“That’s much better than anticipated, little one. Sadly we do not have the time to experiment much more for the moment, but there is a lot of potential in your abilities. Since you can use elements of other enchantments, we should create the full one, with all precautions added to it. A wider repertoire is only going to be helpful in the future.” Mia’s presence is filled with a quiet anticipation that slightly leaks into her voice. “Naya, if you’d be so kind to get started? I’ll guide you through the finer details, for now though, use the vines to form a loop, with the leaves woven in at an even interval. Ada, do pay attention while we do this, it might be helpful. And feel free to eat the rest of the trinkets.” I flicker my understanding across my skin as I snatch up the other trinkets with my tails. There’s still a good half dozen left, each with some minor quality of life improvement or another. The only really interesting one though is a little ring that Naya said would allow me to project my voice.
I spend the next few minutes eating the other trinkets first as I watch Naya go about their work. They’re weaving together the vines into a circle as instructed, while also imbuing some of their own magic into it. The process is fascinating to observe, the magic still lacks the clear patterns of the trinkets I’ve eaten, but I can tell that it has purpose. It is there to stay, to facilitate something else.
As I eat another of the trinkets, I notice that the way the enchantment I have absorbed, and the enchantment that Naya is forming, and the ones in the trinkets, are fundamentally different. The trinkets draw on the ambient magic, shift it into a new type to accomplish an objective. The enchantment Naya is making right now seems to not draw from the ambience at all, instead it protects what is already there; stabilizes it and makes sure it does not leave.
The enchantments in my body are mostly based on the trinkets so far, but they do not work the same. Instead of taking other magic and changing its purpose, they just accomplish their goal without any shifting of aspects. Merely a blueprint of sorts for my own magic to follow. It’s odd, and does not quite make sense with what I’ve observed from magic so far. Except… it does, does it not? Mia was able to use her magic to lift objects, even though that is not something her magic seems quite aspected towards, but it was still her magic. Maybe the way I absorb the enchantments just allows me to do the same, without losing as much potency.
Naya meanwhile is on the last bits of the loops as Mia speaks up again. “Remember not to close it entirely. Alright, next up is the bark and sap. Break up the bark and mix it with the sap, then form an orb out of them around the rock.”
Nodding an affirmation, Naya continues weaving the loop as they motion towards me. “Break up the bark, as small as you can.” I follow their instructions and get to work, grabbing the last trinket for a snack as I work.
Breaking up the bark is a quick endeavour with my claws, and Naya kindly provides me with a bowl to place the torn up pieces into. Making the mixture doesn’t take too long either, as the sap is rather fluid still. Once done, I grab the rock that Naya brought with them earlier, an almost perfect sphere with small veins of blue running through it. It’s a beautiful stone, though its size has me slightly concerned for my stomach. Until I realize that my body doesn’t really have a stomach anymore. Sure, the organ is still there, but the actual processing is done almost entirely by my magic.
I place it inside the bowl with the sap and carefully coat it in the mixture, making sure to cover all of it in an even manner. The end result is oddly familiar, but also not. Like someone took earth and… changed it. Which, considering the state of the world after the Genesis, might just be an accurate representation of it. Oddly enough, the sap solidifies the moment I am done, almost as if the magic is aiding us in making the talisman.
Scurrying over towards Naya, I present them the orb. They take a look at it and raise an eyebrow. “Didn’t think you could solidify it, that takes external magic. But good, saves some time, give it here.” They hold out a hand and I place the orb in it as I take a look at what they’ve been up to. The circle has an opening at the top, and two vines coated in sap crossing through its middle, forming a little cradle in which they slot the orb into.
“Ada didn’t solidify it. The magic seems rather eager to be part of it, so it did that part for her; or maybe it has something to do with her own brand of magic and it’s more capable of influencing our surroundings than we thought? Not in a conscious manner though, so far, nor is it readily apparent.” Mia muses a little on what exactly happened as Naya finishes inserting the orb into its cradle. They then attach a few leaves to cover the opening at the top of the loop, though they do not fully close it with the vines.
“Interesting, Ada, you should pay more attention next time to what your magic is doing. It’s important to know as much as you can.” They add a few finishing touches, her own magic entirely fading from the anchor as they do so. “Alright, done. Did I miss anything Mia?” They hold up the anchor and look at it from all sides to make sure everything is in order.
“No, that should be all. Ada, how does it look like to you?” Mia’s voice is curious, and Naya looks up at me with a raised brow as well.
“Oh! It’s… really full of magic. The magic that’s around here? Not the magic from the forest or anything, but the different kind here! Like someone took a lot of it and put it all in one spot. I think it worked!” The magic is almost blindingly strong in the anchor, even though it does not give off any light. “I think it might have weakened the barrier a bit more as well? There’s a bit of a different taste to it. Not sure how to describe it though. Like a diluted juice but somehow it tastes… more?” My new magic senses are still somewhat hard to parse at times, and the contradiction between the increased density of magic and a less dense barrier is certainly not helping.
Naya and Mia both seem to find it amusing however. “That does sound like it worked, yes. Next up would be you eating it. It can maintain itself on its own for a while, so don’t feel like you have to do it now. It’s also likely that it will act differently from the other enchantments, as it is more of a concentration of a concept, of a state of the world, than a use of magic.”
Next to me, Naya gives a nod in agreement. “Don’t need to eat it now, don’t have to at all I think, we can make do without. But it might be useful down the line either way.” They shrug a little and place the anchor on the ground, leaving the decision up to me.
bluesky, and on !
