Journal of an Ashenkin, September 28th

  "I don't even know where to start writing, these past days have been incredible. Everyone in Alnerwick was so friendly and I learned many things. There's Mr. Aron, who was beloved by the villagers, he taught me how to use tools and apply them for labor. I also had an irresistible drive toward the Smithy where I met old man Ector. He's not a social fella but he took me under his wings and told me that I have a natural talent for forging...I wonder if it has something to do with that...' Dream'? I am not sure to this day the surreal feeling when it happened but it's something in the back of my mind. Oh right! There was an old lady named Sandae. She was a kind yet reserved person, the folks told me she had a long history. She was a refugee from a poor fishing village in the far east side of Acies Fidei. I got to meet her and she shed a tear. She said she was dwelling in the past and said I had the youthful smile of someone she knew. I must visit her more to accompany and learn more about her stories."

  Suddenly, a voice chimes in. "Have you finished writing?" The sudden voice caused him to freak out and jump to the side, hitting his head on the wall. "Ow..." He groans rubbing his head and looking up to see Acacia curiously tilting her head, he quickly closes the journal with a flustered look.

  “Don’t worry, I won’t read your private diary unlike some blabbering teacher,” She claimed while taking a look at the spot where he hit his head. ”Doesn’t seem like it hurts much. However, you should be more careful. Having regeneration is one thing. However, I am still concerned about your health.” He nods awkwardly to her sincere concern before pointing at the open door to his room. ”Ah, Reiya said she had spare keys for when she wants to call you out for something” He made a frowning face, raising his eyebrow and staring at her. She seemed puzzled by his expression, unable to understand the message he was trying to convey.

  He sighed defeatedly, hiding his journal under the pillow before getting up from his bed. Acacia walked to the door waiting for him to finish tidying his bed to suggest:

  “Reiya said that the lesson starts at 5 pm. I plan to revisit the cave after helping the folks with their work. Would you like to join me?” Deki is hesitant to come back to that place again but he takes up her offer with a nod. Acacia nodded back in response. ”I will be helping Miss Julian with baking and preparing a bit of food before heading to the cave. Why don’t you come visit Ector again? He seems to be looking forward to teaching you how to forge.” He nodded to her suggestion, going out of his room and locking the door.

  He headed toward the southern side of the building with smoke puffing out of the chimney. Along the way, he met Aron chopping wood with one mighty swing splitting the log into two even pieces. Aron turns to greet Deki with his big smile, placing the axe on his shoulder:

  “Mornin’ there, sunny! Heading off to the old champ, again?” Deki nodded excitedly, his enthusiasm made Aron chuckle.” Keep the spirit up, young boy! Perhaps your energy might spark something in that grumpy ol’ chum.” He said walking up to him and giving him a pat on the shoulder.

  ”Gotta say, your arrival gave the folks a real stir-up from their lives. Goin’ around helping people with all sorts of errands. You’re a good one, kid.'' Aron looked down on him with a smile, he walked with Deki for a short distance before patting him on the back and sending him off. ”Off you go now, boyo. He may not look like it, but the ol’ chum has much to share yet no one to talk to.”

  Deki continued, greeting the locals and having small chit-chat along the way before standing in front of the Smithy. The old jagged building is withered by smoke and dust, hanging in the middle of the building is a sign that says "The Smithy".

  Walking in, Deki can see the shop filled with a wide range of finished products, each carefully crafted with artistic features marking signatures of the forger. Going behind the counter, he could hear the rhythmic clangs accompanied by the humming of a song and the distant feel of a scorching heat. He gives the door a strong knock asking permission to come in.

  “Coming back so early, boy?” He could hear a heavy sigh and the placing of a heavy object clashing against the steel anvil.

  The door opens, revealing a tall masculine elder with color-faded hair wearing a thick-layered leather apron with the name “Ector” written on it and black charred gloves. He lightly strokes his hairy beard, unaware of the ashes being caught in it. At the same time, he focuses on the young lad standing in front of him.

  ”What got your gears going, coming back to this rundown place?” he demanded with his arm crossed looking down at Deki, who gladly showed a colorful drawing filled with various hearts and shapes surrounding the word. “Teach me please~!”

  The old man took a small moment to process the picture before inquiring. “Did the sly fox teach you to draw this? You could’ve just asked me with a straight look.” Deki’s enthusiasm was greatly demolished as he soon realized the bamboozle that was her “advice”, he could practically hear her bursting out in laughter dropping her glasses from shaking too much. Ector simply gave him a pity scoff before heading back to his workstation.

  Deki shrugged off his disappointment and followed Ector into the back where he saw the source of the blazing heat. A giant furnace fortified by a thick layer of bricks, radiating a searing fire and emitting a suffocating atmosphere.

  In the middle of the room, Ector is examining his craft, it is a big knife with a pointy tip and sharpened blade. The blade’s tang ran down to the end of the handle creating different layers to the knife, he took out a piece of paper and began to effortlessly run the knife’s blade through it.

  Despite Deki’s amazement toward the piece of art he created, Ector’s grunt annoyedly placed it to the side before muttering the word, “Another failure.” His comment dumbfounded Deki, he walked over with a curious look at the beautifully crafted knife before looking back at Ector.

  Ector was amused by his confusion as it was a question he was asked countless customers who saw his crafts.

  He went to pour the smelt of ores from a container that was blasted by the raging heat of the furnace into a molding box, he looked up at the confused Deki calling him over addressing,

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “You’re only a beginner so hear this well, boy. A trusty tool is an extension of the user, only the finest crafts can truly define its wielder." After he finished pouring, Ector stuck a short metal bar into the box and sat down quietly next to it.

  One could imagine why he sat down idle to wait for the iron to cool down, but Deki knows differently. He was chanting, and whispers of ancient words filled the rooms as Deki’s left eye lit up again, revealing hidden lines that formed a magical circle on the floor covering the entire room. He could hear voices echo throughout the room but he couldn’t make out a single word.

  “From the moment you stepped into this village, both Aron and I knew what we were getting into, Ashenkin,” Ector noted, taking out his craft from the box. It was a hammer made entirely out of steel and imbued with strange symbols written by Sakti, Ector wrapped a piece of leather around the handle before handing it to Deki.

  The magical circle vanishes the moment it materializes. Simultaneously, his left eye ceases to decipher the symbols adorning the hammer as they fade from view.

  “Consider it a knick-knack from the crouching ol’ man, boy.” He nods happily to his gift before helping him with handling the store, sorting out the products, placing them in sections of the store, and aiding him in the smithing process.

  After which, Ector guided Deki to the exit before sending him off to the Bakery with a faint grin as he watched the young lad trail on the road of bricks before returning to his crafts.

  Deki happily went to the counter where Acacia was standing and presented to her the new hammer Ector had given him, Acacia let out a slight giggle saying:

  “How nice, it seems that he really looks forward to having a student that shares his passion.” Deki nodded to her comments, walking behind the counter to see someone taking out a batch of freshly baked treats in various shapes and colors. The blonde-haired lady turned to greet Deki after placing the goods to the side.

  “How’s it going, Deki? I can tell that Ector has taken a liking to you.” She chuckles lightly as Acacia returns holding a basket. The lady walks to her side, places the basket on the table, and begins to fill it up with goods and two bottles of drinks. “There, as promised. You youngsters nowadays are so energetic, always on the lookout for a job. If only my children were as hard-working as you are, maybe then I wouldn't have to work these old bones for all that they are worth”. She chuckles, while Acacia takes it and gives her a bow.

  “Thank you for your compliment, Mrs. Julian, I am sure they will grow into dependable children that the folks will look up to.” Julian chuckled more at her innocent and polite answer. ”Please excuse us, we must attend our trip.”Acacia gave Deki the basket before taking his hand and leading him to the road.

  Stopping by the lake, she asked him to come over and have a little side seat right in front of the lake where he could see a batch of fish with various colors swimming in the lake. When he sat down, she picked up a rock next to them and showed it to him.

  “Equivalent exchange? Have you ever heard of it?” He shakes his head as she sighs having expected this answer from him. She continued, clenching her palm around the rock, ” It is a basic principle that all alchemy’s power must oblige.”

  Her palm starts to shine through with a golden glow. When she opened her hand again, it was now a small piece of gold. Deki was amazed by the shining gem on her palm, she smiled at his excitement with beaming delight and sunshine reflecting on his face. She shakes off her admiration as she continues with her lecture.

  “Everything in this world is governed by knowledge and faith. As you know,Sakti flows within everything in the world. Having an extensive understanding of the potential inside the stone, I was able to deconstruct it and used its energy to create an entirely new substance.” Deki stared at it with anticipation, fascinated by the mysterious power being shown to him. He pointed at his metal arm with sparkles in his eyes, wondering if she could do the same.

  “Unfortunately, I cannot make an exchange if I am not aware of the true value it holds. Making an equivalent exchange requires the user to give away an equal amount to make that change, hence the name.” Deki's face dampens a bit hearing it as is written all over him the childish thought of having a gold arm. She giggles.” You’re silly~” She gently pinches his cheeks, getting a light pout from him.

  The laughing and cheering of the young disciples caught the attention of wild animals. Squirrels, rabbits, and deer timidly peeked their heads from the bushes to identify the source of the sound. Rustling noises among the leaves and twigs lightly snapping like dwellers of the forest attended their picnic.

  After the small brief appreciation, Acacia gave him a brief description of the ingredients she wanted for the gathering. Both set out to pick up as much as possible and then come back to the lake to fill up Acacia’s ash basket with the things they could find.

  It took some time for Acacia, having to filter through the wrong ingredients Deki had collected but in the end, they were able to finish the job before lunchtime.

  “Thank you for all the things you have done for me and the folks in the village, you have truly made a positive impact on them.” Deki nodded excitedly giving her a thumbs up and a big smile, she blushed lightly faking coughing to change the subject.

  “How about a bit of a break before visiting him? You must be hungry.” She takes out their basket filled with treats, offering him a pie slice. “It’s Mrs. Julian's specialty, she has been cooking for the folks for a long time now and she loves baking more than anything else.” She takes out a wooden fork and takes a piece out of the slice, and feeds it to him.

  The flaky crust shatters creating a satisfying crunch, combined with the unique sweet and slightly tangy taste from the fillings resulting in a burst of flavor in Deki’s mouth. He looked at her with excitement wanting her to taste it as well. Acacia laughed softly at his reaction saying,

  “I’m glad you enjoyed it, this pie means a lot to the Alnerwick’s villagers. It was made from Alnerime, it is Alnerwick sacred berries because it helped us push through the famine.” She started staring at the pie as her voice drifted off to somewhere far away, reminiscing about something. Deki, who was listening to her story became curious about her silence and came closer waving his hand in front of her face.

  “ Ah, sorry. I was just getting lightheaded, let’s finish our lunch before going, ok~?” She lightly smiled at him before both shared a lovely picnic by the side of the lake. Sharing about their experiences in the past days and making mindless chatter before cleaning up and packing their things, heading toward the direction of the cave.

  As expected, Deki’s left eye lit up revealing the desecrated land. It is as suffocating and barren as he remembered, gripping tightly onto his chest he hesitated to step forward. Noticing his concern, Acacia grabbed his hand firmly to reassure him,

  “Let’s go, Deki. I’m with you this time, there is nothing for you to worry about.” He nodded to her words holding her hand back as both ventured back to the depths. Proceeding forward, they found Tsuguru sitting still with its eyes fixated on the entrance as if it were waiting for them to come.

  “We have returned, Tsuguru.”Acacia greeted in a cheerful voice that bounced off the walls. “This time I brought our friend, it is going to be different, I promise.” Tsuguru closes its eyes, sitting in silence slightly tilting down. Acacia had a relieved smile seeing it ”Seems like he trusts us, let’s get started then.”

  She presented to Deki a piece of paper she had written down to create a ritual. Deki’s curiosity got the better of him, so he asked her to have a look around Tsuguru.

  “You want to have a look around? Sure, just don’t agitate him, ok? He tends to get overly defensive.” He nods before taking a closer look at the chains, the strange glowing symbols on them reminiscent of the ones he saw on the cross of “The Maiden” in that “Dream”, he tried reaching his left hand out to touch it.

  The moment he touched it, uncontrollable energy flowed into his body and arm. A wave of memories crashed into his mind, flooding his thoughts and overloading his brain.

  Frightened, Acacia hollered at the top of her lungs, “D-Deki?! What’s wrong?!” Acacia tried to rush to his side but was blasted back by an explosion of Sakti releasing from his left arm, it shook the entire cave with great intensity.

  The explosion created a beacon of Sakti in a brief moment before disappearing as Deki was hit with a crashing wave of memories.

  At that moment, he could hear restless anger, anguishing cries, and agonizing screams, the insurmountable flashes of memories and voices fried his brain, causing him to lose consciousness.

  Amidst the chaotic memories colliding with each other, a fading image that appeared before him was a shadowy figure of what appeared to be a young boy surrounded by hostile mobs and fire, grieving over a mysterious figure on the ground.