The common consensus among scholars is that every living being has at least one affinity, even if one does not have the ability to either use them or break through the first stage. The “starting affinities” as Gronveld likes to call them develop almost exclusively during puberty. Although a few exceptions where individuals developed them as late as the sixteenth year have also been documented.

There has not been an empirical conclusion for the reason behind the extremely diverse range of affinities in Ceraviehl, as in other cultures such as the Drakh the majority of Mages inherit affinities related to their environment. In the case of the Drakh, it may be due to the homogeneity of their society and the similarity of their desert-like environment.

Ceraviehl with its harsh and cold north, swampy west, and heavenly south may thus provide more diversity for the different affinities to manifest in each individual.

Excerpt from Genetics, Environment, or circumstance? A comparative study regarding the manifestation of affinities in children, by Isolda van Hjelmstad

Silas became fully awake the moment he laid eyes on the odd creature in front of him. Scrambling away from the unknown creature, his back soon hit the wooden wall of the little niche he slept in. The creature appeared to mirror his actions, watching him apprehensively.

Not feeling threatened by the little thing in front of him, Silas began to study it in earnest. Its shape was comparable to a humanoid, but that was where the similarities ended. Around ten inches high, the creature looked to be made almost completely out of gnarled gray wood. Dark green specks decorated its torso and head like freckles.

It had two small legs and arms which appeared to be vines braided together, ending in three similarly braided toes and fingers. The head was unusually big for its small size, being made of the same grayish gnarled wood the rest of its torso was made of.

A few smaller twigs stuck seemingly random out of its head, like if someone had tried to imitate human hair by using small twigs.

But the most striking feature was its eyes. They were the color of amber and gave Silas the impression of containing an immense depth behind them. Silas noticed how its pupils were of a slightly darker shade than its round and large eyes. Meanwhile, the creature continued to stare at him apprehensively.

‘What is this thing? It doesn’t look like an animal, but it’s definitely alive’ Silas thought with curiosity.

He felt somehow connected to the little creature, but he couldn’t quite figure out why. Thinking back on his nightmare from last night, Silas realized he could remember most of it with strange clarity. Almost as if it had happened mere seconds ago. Even now, he still felt the emotions that had echoed with his own while he had floated inside the white mist.

Remembering the nightmare, Silas once again saw his father’s lifeless body blaming him. As the despair and guilt rose from within him, the creature suddenly took a small step forward. A rush of compassion entered Silas, the emotions almost feeling palpable.

They didn’t come from himself, and he began to wonder about the small wooden-like creature in front of him. Was it the same being that had ultimately saved him from his nightmare?

Silas focused his gaze on the little creature, trying to let the creature know he wasn’t going to hurt it. Concentrating on the compassion he had just felt Silas soon noticed he was able to vaguely perceive the feelings of the little creature, similar to seeing them through muddy waters. It mostly felt afraid and lonely, but Silas could also detect a fair bit of curiosity.

With a start, Silas understood he really had bonded with something in his nightmare before the mist had faded away. And it probably was the little creature that stood in front of him right now.

“You aren’t afraid of me, I hope,” Silas said to it. “I’m not going to hurt you, little thing.”

Silas stretched his right hand out, stopping a few inches before the little creature. It regarded his hand with a bit of apprehension before slowly taking a step forward. Then another.

It stopped right before his hand, staring into Silas’ eyes.

Silas had to smile a bit as it scrutinized him, trying to evaluate his trustworthiness. After a moment of consideration and several seconds of intense staring the small creature heaved itself onto the back of Silas’ hand.

Using the knuckles of his fingers as footholds, it stood up shakily. Silas didn’t want to scare the little creature, so he slowly moved his hand nearer to his face to admire the little fellow from close up.

It was truly a marvelous creature. Apart from its amber eyes and vines that served as arms and legs, it was made completely out of gnarled wood. A mouth and ears were also visible, although it seemed to lack a nose. Its arms reached for his face, so Silas moved the creature a bit closer until their eyes were hardly a few inches apart from each other.

The three fingers from each arm then took hold of his nose, its huge eyes gazing intently into Silas’ clear blue eyes. Opening its mouth, it emitted a high creaking sound like a stick refusing to break.

Silas didn’t understand what the creature was trying to say, and he very much doubted it was a real language. Nevertheless, through the bond the two shared he felt and understood the question it seemed to ask.

“Yes, my little friend. We are together, you and me,” he assured it.

Feeling the confirmation in his words, its mouth began to curve upwards, revealing a set of brown molar teeth. Silas felt how its worries and the uncertainty from before dissipated, a wave of relief washing over him. The creature then began to jump up and down on the back of his hand with sudden enthusiasm, holding onto the sides of his nose to not fall down.

Silas chuckled, a welcome distraction from all he had been through the day before. Taking a deep breath, he began to think about his situation. Both of his parents were dead, killed by savage murderers. His desire for vengeance rose and joined the guilt he felt for letting his parents die, remembering him again of his impotence.

He sat inside a large tree, somewhere in an unknown forest hundreds of miles away from his hometown. Silas realized he had no idea in which direction the road to Bryme lay, and the escape from the day before still left him feeling exhausted and fuzzy. Studying his new wooden companion, Silas thought about what his best options were.

“If you have parents, you should probably go back to them, because I can’t stay here forever,” Silas told his new friend. A grumbling in his stomach reminded him of his growing hunger.

Still standing on the back of his hand, the expression of the creature turned serious again. Silas realized it also had gnarly brows, which it now used to frown at Silas.

“Creaaaak,” it vocalized, patting Silas’ nose for emphasis.

The emotions coming through the bond were a bit vague, but Silas got the impression it was just as alone as he was. Without any parents to care for it, it wouldn’t mind leaving the safe confines of the massive tree Silas had slept in.

“My name is Silas, by the way,” he said to it, still looking into its big amber-colored eyes.

The small creature titled its head, and Silas felt the confusion radiating from his new friend. Apparently, it didn’t understand what having a name meant. Thinking for a second, Silas used the bond the two of them shared to try and explain the concept to his new companion.

The creature understood after a short while, its eyes widening suddenly. Silas felt the shock coming from the little creature when it realized it didn’t even have a name.

“What should I call you then?” Silas asked the creature still standing on the back of his hand.

Shrugging with its shoulders in an all-too-human gesture, it looked at Silas helplessly.

“Hmmm… What if I just call you Creak?” Silas asked it.

“Creak? Creeeaak,” it responded doubtfully and frowned at Silas with its wooden eyebrows.

It didn’t look overly convinced with its new name and even seemed to judge Silas a bit for his lack of creativity. But another idea soon popped into his mind, and Silas promptly shared it with his new companion.

“Oh, I know! I’m going to call you Gnarly!” Silas told it enthusiastically.

“Creak!” it responded while sharing Silas’ enthusiasm, although it didn’t seem to realize how Silas came up with the idea, given its rather gnarly appearance.

“Alright then Gnarly, let’s leave this tree together, shall we?” Silas suggested.

After the small creature bobbed its little head Silas placed his right hand near his shoulder, offering Gnarly a place to sit. Stepping unsteadily from his right hand onto his shoulder, Silas felt how it used one of its arms to hold on to his ear while the other tightly gripped his hair.

The creature gave the impression of being a bit afraid to fall, so Silas left the niche with care. He put it back on the ground before squeezing himself through the tight roots surrounding the massive tree.

The creature eagerly stepped on his hand after passing the web of thick roots, once more clinging to his hair and ear when Silas placed it onto his right shoulder. He stood up cautiously, feeling a wave of astonishment coming from his new companion as it took in their surroundings.

“You like the view from up there, hm?” Silas asked, peering at the small fellow out of the corner of his eye.

“Creeaaak,” it responded in confirmation, looking at the forest around them in wonder.

Turning slowly around, Silas took one more look at the massive giant of a tree he had slept in. It was even more impressive now with the light of the day breaking through the canopy and illuminating its massive form.

Both Silas and Gnarly regarded the tree in awe, sharing a mutual respect for something so majestic. Silas’ new companion emitted a sense of belonging when looking at the tree, although he couldn’t fathom why.

“Do you feel comfortable up there little guy? Because I think we should try to find the road. Hopefully, we’ll be able to see in which direction Bryme is in,” he declared.

A shudder went through Silas.

He imagined himself coming back to the road and encountering more barbarians. Or worse, finding the mutilated corpses of his parents, blaming him for their death as they did in his nightmare. This was not something he could endure.

Nevertheless, Silas didn’t have a clue where he was. He knew that randomly walking around in the forest would not get him far in his current state. His only hope would be to find the road and wait for either a caravan or a random traveler to pick him up.

Soothingly creaking into his ear, Gnarly tried to assure Silas that it would protect him should he be attacked again.

“I’m not too sure what you could do against those barbarians, but thank you, my friend,” Silas replied with a slight tremor in his voice.

As if understanding his words, the little creature puffed its chest out and made a fist with its three fingers, striking the air fiercely. But it lost its balance for a second and almost fell before catching itself, frantically grabbing a couple of Silas’ hairs for support. Seeing how the creature almost fell from its unstable perch Silas turned his head, glancing at his little companion.

“We can’t have you falling and hurting yourself though,” he said to it.

Thinking for a second, Silas concentrated on the bond the two shared and imagined his new friend making a knot around its waist with his hair, watching it demandingly. It seemed to get the message, even if it fumbled a bit with Silas’ thick hair since the concept of knots was new to it.

After managing to tie the knot around its waist it bumped a fist into the air, which caused it to stumble once more. The knot proved safe enough though and his new companion quickly righted itself. This time, Silas chuckled without fearing it to fall and hurt itself.

His new friend sulked a bit after seeing Silas’ reaction, defensively crossing its arms and sending a flood of confidence through the bond, assuring him it hadn’t actually been in any danger. It then demonstratively showcased the flexibility of its arms, waving them around and while tightly gripping Silas’ ear with its three fingers.

Smirking, Silas chose to let the matter drop. “In which direction lays the road, what do you think?” he asked the creature standing on his shoulder, strands of Silas’ brown hair tied around its waist.

He still wanted to reach Bryme and join the Guild, even if he didn’t have a way to pay for the appraisal. It had been a mere wish yesterday, but now he was determined to enter their ranks as a Seeker. He would train under their tutelage and avenge the death of his parents.

The wish to become a fully-fledged Mage was like a burning desire in his chest. It drove him on and overshadowed the growing hunger and thirst he felt.

Silas’ new friend seemed to consider his question, worry flooding through the bond as it noticed his vengeful thoughts. It then pointed its right arm a bit to Silas’ left in a decisively, urging him to walk forward.

While Silas couldn’t discern why Gnarly had chosen this particular direction, he was also helplessly lost. Feeling like he didn’t have any other options Silas chose to follow Gnarly’s advice, glancing over his shoulder to look at his little friend.

Its back was ramrod straight as it stood on Silas’ shoulder, heroically raising its right fist into the air. Gnarly looked intently into the woods ahead of them, its eyes shining with concentration.

“Alright then, let’s see where you lead us, my friend,” Silas thought out loud.

The wooden creature creaked enthusiastically, using its left hand to hold onto Silas’ ear for balance as they began their journey into the woods.