《Mage》Chapter 1 - Magic
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I awoke and looked at the ceiling. I could actually see it now, instead of it being a background. However, it was still blurry. I stood up, something I could now do by myself, and looked around. Everything close to me looked normal, but once it got an arm length away, it was blurry again. This was not important, because I could finally keep track of time. My crib was opposite a window, something I didn't know until very recently, but this meant I could keep track of the day and night much easier than before. What did I do before? I used the power of intuition, pushing my brain to the limits, I added all the clues together, used all the senses to my disposal, kept track of every detail around me, made use of every trick in the book. I took a guess. Fair to say it wasn't very reliable. But I have watched the window for 2 days, and I know it was 2 days because I counted the day and nights.
And I could now also see my mother, albeit only when she got close. She had dark brown hair, and that made me disappointed, if I was being honest. This meant I was in a fantasy world and still most likely had a normal looking hair colour! Now I could only have a crazy hairstyle, or a crazy power to make up for it. While I was thinking about this, and choosing what hair style to have, my body decided it wasn't important and took a dump. The fact this world didn't have real diapers but only cloth really didn't raise my hopes of me being in a fantasy world. Having poop in your pants isn't comfortable, and I knew that my baby bottom will itch and sting if I didn't do something about it. So I cried. Loudly.
It was the only thing I could really do to gain my mother's attention from across the house, babies could be surprisingly loud. She rushed into the room and said something again before making baby noises with her mouth, maybe trying to cheer me up? I stopped crying out, I could control it better now, and patiently waited as my diaper was changed. My mother promptly finished and spread her arms out while exclaiming, as if she won a race. I must have looked a little down because she proceeded to hand me my toy. After I gained, or regained, better vision, I realised my toy was a rough marionette of a human, and I would play with it a lot. A lot a lot. This was mostly due to being largely immobile and bored, and also being a baby with a natural impulse to stick everything in my mouth, like how I did just now. I spat it out and used my little, chubby fingers to try and move it into a running pose, but failing horribly. My mother watched me a bit, before tapping my arm.
I looked up at her, tapping my arm usually meant she wanted me to pay attention to her. She pulled her hand next to her face, her index finger pointing up. I knew she was about to do some funny faces I could barely decipher and try to cheer me up. She angled her index finger forward and began to make a silly fac- HOLY SHIT!
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My mother did not make a silly face, she drew in the air. Trailing after her finger was a white line made of light and mother was drawing something in the air. I looked on stunned, because someone was using magic, I was sure of it! She drew something I knew, which stunned me more. A star. A five point star.
Like the one I used to draw when I was 7, but then she drew a circle around it, connecting all 5 points. Then, sending a 3rd shock through me, she began to write around the circle in very small words. Or letters. She drew all the way around, taking around a second, before she put her finger in the middle of the star. Well, now it was more of a pentagram. Something happened, as the light increased in intensity by a bit, though my eyes felt it, and another circle grew around the drawings, enveloping the star in 2 circles. The second circle was like a loading bar, and it finished, connecting back into itself. The light seemed to pulse, and it changed colour. It turned red.
My little baby heart couldn't handle much more, but then my mother reached out to something next to my crib. I remember that there was a light source in that direction at night. She brought back a candle lightly burning. She blew it out and looked at me. I swear I saw her smile, though she was a bit away from me. Then the red pentagram, or magic formation or whatever intensified in brightness, growing a bit, before shrinking or collapsing into itself and creating a small fire. She flicked her finger and the fire leapt through the air, and landed straight onto the wick of the candle. I was more than amazed. Magic was real! My mother spread her arms out and said something I could roughly translate to a: "Tadaa~!"
She then put the candle back to its place, probably a table, and came back to stroke my hair and kiss me goodnight. I was still thinking over what I saw. When she was drawing around the circle, I realised, that must have been writing. And that means that I could learn how to write if I knew what those runes or letter were. They could be an ancient language but hell! It's better than no language. And if I was able to write, then... couldn't I also do magic? I put the toy down. It was thinking time.
I had little to work on, but that was all I needed. The spell was clearly made only for a candle, because the flame was in the shape a candle flame would be and not a ball of fire and that it leapt onto the wick, something my mother's simple flick of the finger couldn't accomplish so accurately. It seemed that spell was made specifically to light a candle. Though that was indeed bizarre, it was a good thing; it meant people in this world were comfortable enough and safe enough that they could use magic for utility, and not only for something like hunting, which raised my chances of survival a lot. This also meant that whatever Mother wrote must be related to the candle.
I remember the writings pretty well, and now I had something to work with. Mother seemed to write 7 symbols which I hope was the word for candle, and not something like 'Manipulated Controlled Structure Shape Flame' or something like that. But I had a secret up my sleeve, well, up my diaper. Everything that got me here was cliche, and maybe this was too, it was worth a try. The first symbol was the simplest, though I didn't understand it. My memory wasn't good enough to remember everything, and even if it did, I probably wouldn't have gotten far. I needed more spells to work with, but how would I get a new mother who likes to play with her child and that seems to care for them to repeat such an act? Act cute. I wasn't the best at acting in my previous life, but that would change, I was sure of it.
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I picked up my toy and I took a look at it; maybe there was something written on it? Alas, it had nothing and I just put it down. It wasn't long before I picked it up again, boredom quickly stepping in. If I couldn't expand my language knowledge, I shall train my dexterity. I moved the toy, putting it in poses, or at least trying to, and exercising my fingers. I wish my memory was better, then I could've remembered the spell, and study it more, but-
Wait, remembering? A cold chill went through my body, all the way to the bones. I almost reflexively cried, stupid muscle memory. What do I remember from my old life? I've read some stories about reincarnation or going to another world, and while general knowledge is remembered, personal knowledge isn't, which is bullshit; how would that even work? But it was a real fear, that really hit me hard. I closed my eyes, and thought. My address was 18 Queen's Road, England, Europe, of planet Earth, in the Solar System, the 3rd planet in between Venus and Mars, and- Personal! My dog's name was Benny, my cat was called Jemma, I had no siblings, my parents were there, their names were Jeffrey and Laura, I liked the band Queen, I listened to meme songs on repeat, my favourite ice cream flavour was oreo, my school had green walls, my name was...
Yup! Everything was there. I took a breath of relief, and looked up at the ceiling. It was late, I just realised. Babies sleep a long time, and when I awoke it was sunset, but now it was fully night. I was tired once again, eventough barely anything happened. The adrenaline must've tired me out, I want to sleep. A new day, a chance to be cute to learn possibly dangerous spells!
A new day came, and with it, a soiled diaper. Perfect. I cried out, not caring if it was early enough for my parents, or just parent; I haven't met my father yet, to be awake or not. Not even a minute later, my mother came into the room, as cheery as ever, and changed my diaper. Time to play the act. I put on the grumpiest face I could while also not exaggerating. My mother promptly handed me my toy, but I mercilessly let it fall to my side, showing no interest. Then I pulled out my secret move. I lifted both of my arms upwards, towards her. And opened and closed my hands, again and again. My mother seemed to startle for a bit before thinking I wanted food, so she picked me up. Step 1. Complete, initiating Step 2.
As she brought me closer to her, i raised my arms again, and waved them around while opening and closing my hands, before doing circle motions in the air. My mother stopped and seemed to understand. She held me in one arm before pointing her index finger out. Yes, YES! She began to move it, and white light followed after it. I smiled, but almost immediately stopped. She wasn't drawing a circle, she was just waving it in the air, making haphazard patterns in the air. I expressed this annoyance by grabbing her arm, which stopped her and put attention on me. I drew a circle with my hands, then pointed to where I hoped the candle was, barely being told it was there with by my eyes. She understood that as well, and promptly sat me back down in my crib. She then began to draw a circle.
Step 2 was complete, now for Step 3- Wait, no! The simple first looking letter, the rugged second letter, the straight and still and bendy ones following after. This was the same spell as before! I was scammed! My mother kept going, picking up the candle and lighting it, before doing the same shtick at the end. Except this time I won't let her leave. As she came to kiss me on the head, I reached out again, which made her stop and tilt her head, before speaking, something along the lines of: "What is it?"
I put on an unhappy face, and did another circle, before unhappily looking at my mother. She smiled, though I couldn't put my finger on how it was different from the other times, something else was there; it didn't quite reach her eyes. She returned to her prior position and pointed her index finger again. Step 3 had begun, again. She drew the star, then the circle connecting all the five tips, then began drawing the symbols. They were different! Eureka! The act worked! Time to see if I could replicate it. Later, however, right now I was memorising this spell. The word was shorter, being only 4 symbols long, and took shorter to charge. It glowed light blue, maybe even turquoise, I'm guessing it might be wind, or- what was Mother doing? Why is she pointing it at m- Ah!
A gust of wind was hitting me, it was weak, like someone was blowing on me, but it surprised me. I turned away and put my arms in front of me, but not before noticing something different about this spell. The circle didn't go away after the spell was cast, unlike last time. This one perpetually glowed and blew wind at me! Its tickling me. I am ticklish? I began to giggle, joining my mother's laughter. The wind was dying down and I looked again. The circle was shrinking and then it shrunk into nothing, or collapsed into itself, like the other circle. Mother came up to me, smiling. I smiled back. Step 3 was completed. Now for Step 4: Food.
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