He could hear the willow tree softly humming an enchanting song. After many visits, he taught himself how to perform this melody. Little Ang sat beneath its silver leaves, playing his ocarina. His round tan face already had a bit of dark stubble. He kept his black hair short to keep the leaves out and wore a brown, loose fitting tunic. As he played the thin branches began to weave and curl, he stopped and the branches fell limp.

“Did I do that?” He started to play again, and the branches danced with exuberance, he stopped and they rustled in the breeze. “It’s just like what mom can do when she sings.” He puffed out his cheeks and played as loud as he could. The tree’s song had a power that entered his body and flowed through his veins. Urging him to jump and dance with the willow, laughing and playing the day away. A branch knocked the instrument out of his hands. Snapping out of his trance he looked up and saw the full moon. A shot of adrenaline cleared the music from his blood, as he realized how late it was and sprinted home. His mother would scold him for being out so late.

He ran into the house. No one’s home, the adults must be having another meeting. He heard footsteps approaching and swiftly ran into his room, jumped in bed and pulled the covers over his chest. His mother Lys, came into the room. He feigned sleep as she gently kissed his forehead and quietly left.

“How is he?” asked Ong. His thick stubbly legs barely reached the wood floor as he kicked his rocking chair back, brawny arms, and hands black with soot held a wide pipe. His trusted battle axe always strapped to his hip.

“Safe and sound,” answered Lys, as her slender form slid through the doorway. She swept her long brown hair back as she quietly closed the door behind her.

“He shouldn’t be playing out there. We don’t know how much longer we’ll remain hidden.”

“It’s alright Ong, he was playing beneath the Silver Willow. Honestly, he’s safer under that tree than in this village.”

“And how do you know where he was?”

“Because a spider went along,” giggled Lys. “She told me some very interesting things happened. I think it might be time for him to learn.”

“Already! But he’s only nine.”

“Shh!” Whispered Lys holding a finger to her lips. “Yes, that’s what I’m saying. He’s already showing an aptitude for magic.”

“I think I was eleven when I started showing, you started at what eight?”

“Seven, my sister showed at eight. Were just early bloomers, which is good. The sooner he learns how to protect himself, the better.”

Suddenly a large hairy man with a bare tanned chest kicked open the door. In his muscled arms he held several glass orbs filled with amber liquid.

“Brother! Lys! It’s been a great day, we need to celebrate!”

“Paouni! Lower your voice, Ang is trying to sleep,” said Lys sharply.

“But I’m cured and didn’t die. We gotta celebrate with some Bubble Beer.”

“When did you get Bubble Beer?” asked Ong.

“Remember when Yoorei, Kiliyi, and me went to that pixie land. I won a drinking competition there, so they gave me all this beer.”

“That was years ago, you’ve kept that beer for this long, I’m shocked,” said Lys.

“Yeah, me too! Honestly, I forgot about it until I bumped the crate I had it in. Come on, have a drink with me.” He popped the tops off with his dusty thumbs.

“Pao! I just told you Ang is trying to sleep. Outside both of you.”

“Ah, let the boy join us,” said Pao.

“Yeah, you said so yourself he’s starting to show, he’s practically a man now,” said Ong.

“Out of the question. His first lesson starts tomorrow, and the last thing he needs is a hangover. Besides, I put some ensomnia on him so he’ll sleep soundly. Now hurry on outside, and hand me one of those beers.”

My first lesson starts tomorrow, Ang thought. He almost jumped out of bed, but his eyelids grew heavy and he drifted into a deep slumber.

#

The next morning he awoke early and well rested. He wiped the drool from his cheek and hopped out of bed. Outside, he could hear his mother humming and tending to her garden. Of all the gardens, hers was the most beautiful and bountiful.

Lys was wearing her blue dress that day. Ang loved that dress. It had a divine hue. She seemed to blend in with the predominantly green landscape, as if she were an integral part of it. Like an irrigation stream, or the sky and she the sun, nourishing all things with her presence. While tending to a budding bush, she wove a tapestry of light in the air, and with a hand sign activated it, causing the whole plant to blossom. Noticing Ang watching her, she called out.

“Ang! You’re awake, come I have something to show you.” Lys beckoned him with a sunny smile. He moved to stand next to his mother. “Now close your eyes”. As he did, she placed a hand on his head. He felt his essence expanding, growing spiritually, becoming one with the surrounding nature.

“That feeling Ang, that’s your Imdrina, your essence. Since you are my son, your Imdrina is like my own. Thus, it is easy to blend some of mine with yours. Now hold up one finger and focus all of your Imdrina into the tip of that finger.”

He did as she instructed. He could feel the energy gathering at the tip of his finger. It was warm, like holding a mug of tea.

“Alright now hold the energy there until you make contact with the bud. Then envision the energy flowing into it.”

Placing a finger on the bud, he felt the connection and let the energy flow. The bud opened only a little. Mother, detecting his disappointment, was ready with a suggestion.

“Let’s try the same thing. This time focus the energy into your thumb.” Thus began Ang’s first lesson in using magic. Placing his thumb on the bud, it began to blossom. Not as colorful and vibrant as mom could do, but it was a good start. In this state of heightened awareness, he could feel the movements of the worms beneath his feet. Something seemed off. He could sense frantic activity. As if they were attempting to burrow themselves deeper into the soil, as if they were trying to get away from something.

Ang knelt down and felt the soil to coerce the worms to come out. The hairs on his neck stood up, as he sensed a sinister presence behind him. He spun around, his mother had vanished. In her place stood a giant figure clad in black armor so dark it seemed to suck in all the surrounding light and had wicked sharp thorns and edges. Its presence paralyzed him. The aura of this monster crushing his soul. Thorny vines shot up from the ground, entangling the giant. Its aura subsided, and the pressure lifted from his chest. A voice in his head whispered “run”.

Heeding the voice he got up and ran. He couldn’t see any other villagers, but plenty more armored giants were around. In his haste he tripped, causing a giant to notice him. It gave chase with surprising speed, quickly closing the gap between them. Its strides shook the ground. The pressure stifled his movement. Claws scratching at his tunic. Then he heard a loud roar and a hammer strike metal. A black helmet flew over his head. landing several meters in front of him. On the edge of the forest. He stared at the empty helmet.

He felt its hot acrid breath on his nap. Something big and deadly breathed heavily behind him. He slowly turned to find himself face to face with a colossal gray bear. Though the bear oozed of primal ferocity, it had an amicable presence.

He heard the voice again. “Keep running.” A figure clad in black robes shot an arrow encased in black aura. The arrow struck the bears rear left thigh. Wailing in pain, it turned to face the attacker. Ang noticed the arrow created an unnaturally large gash already gravely infected and spreading. Other robed figures on dark steeds set the village ablaze. The sky darkened. The bear faced down an army of giants and robed figures. Ang heeded the voice turned and ran.

He didn’t know how long he ran, what direction, or how far. He ran until he blacked out. When he awoke, he looked up. Mind hazy and vision blurred, but he still recognized her figure. She placed a hand on his head, and he floated to his feet. Vision clearing, he scanned his new surroundings. The trees were taller than any he’d seen before, and the flowers were more diverse and colorful. What caught his eye was that blue; the divine blue that stood out amongst the foliage. A small piece of fabric caught in the web of a spider. He approached the web.

Ang took the cloth in hand. He thought about his father and uncle, getting drunk and telling him stories of their adventures. He remembered how he had a bed in every hut, the village collectively raising him. He thought of his mother singing to him, with a voice that made the forest dance. A lump grew in his throat, tears blotted out his vision. He collapsed snuggling the fabric, a deluge of water flowing from his eyes. He cried all day until he fell asleep. The next day he awoke to find a small shelter constructed around him. A blue tarantula with red knee joints was there, standing next to a thick tome. Ang moved to pick up the tome and opened the hard wood cover to the first gold page. On it was a letter from his mother it read.

“My little Ang. If you’re reading this, then I am most likely gone. I must apologize. You being the only child of the Usgrat, we placed the heavy burden of our future on your shoulders. Forget about that. Our tribe is gone, but you still have family out there. I want you to live for yourself. But to live and survive, you must learn to use magic. The spider Kiliyi is an old friend of mine. Don’t let her looks deceive you, she is a powerful caster and has a lot to teach you. Use this book as a guide, and I know you will quickly master your talents.

Love

Mom

Ang turned the page and read the passage.

Basics of magic

The key to using magic is harnessing and focusing Imdrina. Imdrina is the blood of life, and the fuel for all magic spells. All living things and many non-living things possess Imdrina. The age that any creature will exhibit the usage of Imdrina as magic varies. Some may use magic at birth, others can take several years, and many never display the ability.

Imdrina is crafted into spells by channeling it in specific ways. Many creatures at birth still have under developed Imdrina channels and cannot focus it into magic. The methods of focusing Imdrina into spells are as follows.

Runes

Rune weaving is one of the most common ways of producing magic effects. Most creatures can use runes. The requirement for using runes is knowledge of the specific patterns necessary to produce the desired effect, a surface to write on, and something to write with. Often bipedal organisms use this form of casting by drawing the runes in the air with tracer light. Having dexterous fingers allows some to weave complex hand signs. The most common method is carving the desired runes into the dirt.

Sound

Creatures can channel Imdrina through sound. The methods of forming the proper channels using sound vary. Birds especially parrots are very adept at this method. Many birds can produce a wide range of sounds, but parrots and a few other species can also recite incantations.

Organisms that cannot sing or do not possess the right vocal range can recite incantations. An infinite number of incantations can be made in any language. What makes Incantations work is not the actual words said, but the sounds produced. Because of this many incantations, are often strung together using words that make no sense, since the words only serve as guides to help one memorize and produce the correct sounds.

Music can produce powerful effects. Singing an incantation can sometimes provide a boost to the spell. By harmonizing sounds, the effects of magic can be amplified exponentially depending on the number or type of harmonies created. Instruments are inherently magical, though some more than others depending on the craftsmanship.

Color and Patterns

Coloring is the rarest form of casting. Only creatures capable of changing their color or texture can use it. The Chameleon is a prime example of this. By altering their skin color in various sequences, they can produce a vast number of magical effects. Additionally, the pattern on a creature’s fur, scales, feathers, et cetera, may provide some innate magic.

Innate Abilities

Most things have a natural affinity to a certain element or specific magic. Their bodies are designed to leave these channels open. Because they are always being channeled, these abilities can be cast instantly and remain active almost indefinitely.

The whale is a large creature of the ocean, known for its ability to control the tide and produce whale clouds. Zebras can make themselves invisible while moving because of their strip patterns. Turtles can make their bodies hard as diamond. A myriad of innate abilities exist. With training, one can make frequently used magic spells innate.

Items

It is possible to create items with colors, patterns or runes set to produce the desired magic. These can take many forms. Effects can be woven into clothing, carved into clay, or engraved into metal. One can also tattoo, brand, or scar patterns onto skin. Magic can also be braided into hair.

Ardin are special kinds of items that can produce their own Imdrina. Casters can use this to supplement or cast spells without using their own Imdrina. Ardin are rare and difficult to create, often involving a sacrifice. These are most often crafted using glass or wood, since these materials are the easiest to imbue, but almost anything can be made into an Ardin.

After reading the text, he looked up at Kiliyi. He noticed she had an intricate silver horizontal stripe pattern on her abdomen and an elaborate gold line running vertically down the center of her body.

He whipped the crust from his eyes and asked, “So you’re Kiliyi. Are you why they sometimes call my mom The Spider?”

Kiliyi swiveled her head from side-to-side.

He looked around the space. “Did you build this overnight?”

She nodded.

“Do you know where we are? Did any of the villagers survive that attack? What were those things?”

She shrugged and held up her front leg producing a faint glow at the tip. Ang recognized this as tracer light.

“Do you want me to do the same?”

Kiliyi nodded.

Remembering the first lesson with his mother, he closed his eyes and focused energy into the tip of his finger. He could feel the Imdrina gathering warming the tip. Then he imagined the energy igniting into light. His finger got a little warmer. Certain he had done it, he opened his eyes and saw no light shone.

Kiliyi jumped onto his shoulder, and in a moment his finger lit up. She leapt off his shoulder; the light flickered and went out. They spent several hours practicing this spell. Kiliyi assisting with each of his attempts leaping onto and off of his shoulder to help focus his Imdrina. Finally, after many attempts, he could produce the tracer light on his own. The tome then opened to a certain page, with a picture of a rune he recognized.

“This is the protection rune that everyone drew above their doorways.” Kiliyi scuttled outside. “Hey, Kiliyi where are you going?” He followed her to the side of the hut where she crawled above a web, with the protection rune spun into it. She then lit her front leg and waved it in the air.

“You want me to try drawing the rune with tracer light?” She nodded.

Activating his tracer light, he used the web as a guide to draw the protection rune. A surge of energy surround him as the spell activated.

Ang thought out loud. “This rune is meant to provide protection, but it didn’t do much good.” He went back into the hut and noticed the tome had already flipped to the appropriate page. This page detailed how runes are drawn. He learned that straight lines indicate strength, protection, or solid matter. Wavy lines were for manipulation of the elements.

#

He studied rune weaving for many days. At night going hunting with Kiliyi, practicing the runes he learned in his studies on their prey, while also weaving a few experimental signs of his own crafting. He was a fast learner, and within a few months gained enough of an understanding that he could draw improvements to the original protection rune.

He grew accustomed to seeing Kiliyi first thing in the morning standing atop the open tome, prepared for the day’s lesson. On this morning, both were missing. Ang quickly got up and stepped outside. On a branch just a few meters ahead hung his ocarina. Kiliyi rested on the trunk of the same tree, with the opened tome suspended in a web below.

“Kiliyi, you found my ocarina!” Seizing the instrument Ang played the willows song, and watched the forest danced. Kiliyi jumped onto his shoulder and motioned to the book. He picked it up and read the passage.

Transformation Magic

Transformation magic is complex. To use it properly, a caster must use two different channeling methods at once. For most casters this would mean drawing the proper rune and reciting an incantation. Coloring can be used in place of either the rune or incantation. It is impossible to transform into something smaller than oneself, since mass can only be added to the body, not subtracted. The more mass that is added the more difficult the transformation is to maintain.

This means that smaller bodies have an advantage when using transformation spells. The number of things they can transform into is greater, and they can remain transformed longer.

Transformation spells cannot be used to turn into another individual. For example, two casters can transform into wolves. However, they will be two distinctly different wolves. All physical deformities, scars, and quirks will carry over to the new form. If a caster is missing an arm, they will become a three legged wolf. If their eye is scarred closed, it shall remain so. To make oneself look like another individual, refer to the section on illusion magic.

Below this text was a rune with the words “deer” written below, followed by a series of musical notes. Ang took off his ragged shirt and using a nearby puddle of mud drew the rune on his belly. He picked up his ocarina and played the notes. The Imdrina flowed in and around his body. Upon playing the final note, his body morphed. Fur sprouted all over, his fingers turned to hooves, and it became difficult to stand on two legs.

He successfully transformed into a young deer with dirty pants on. His legs trembled, and he toppled over into the mud. He got up and taught himself how to walk on four legs. Once he got the hang of it, he ran around the forest with Kiliyi until nightfall. Tired of being a deer, Ang looked to undo the spell. Kiliyi directed him back to the tome. Which opened to a page that listed several simple methods of undoing transformations. Ang panicked, he had no hands to handle the ocarina, nor could he use his tracer light. Remembering the basics of magic, he bleated a few notes and returned to his normal state. Exhausted, he retired to his hut.

#

For the next several months, Ang practiced using his ocarina to cast spells. After a long day of studying and practicing, Ang returned to his hut to find a special surprise. Kiliyi stood next a delectable treat with a wax candle burning in the center.

“Oh! I had completely forgotten, it's my birthday today. And is that my favorite coco butter cake with strawberry jam on top? But… how, Kiliyi how did you know? How did you know today was by birthday, and how did you know my favorite cake?” She shrugged and gestured for him to sit. He sat, blew out the candle picked up the small cake, and bit into it.

“Mmm, Kiliyi it’s delicious.” He said with a mouth full of moist treat. The flavor took him home. It tasted exactly how mom prepared it every year. Kiliyi crawled onto his shoulder and whipped the tear from his cheek. He tore off a small piece and handed it to her. That night Ang had a lucid dream of sitting in the large meeting hall. His mother, father, uncle, and all the other villagers came to celebrate with a grand feast full of music, merriment and dancing all through the night.

#

While practicing his transformation spells, Ang developed a theory. “Hey Kiliyi you know how the tome mentions innate abilities and how the patterns on fur or skin can grant those. Do you think maybe it’s possible to add those kinds of abilities to my transformations?” Kiliyi nodded enthusiastically.

He draws the rune for his dog transformation. “Now if I add a line here, change this line and add a few dots. Hmm… what do you think?” Kiliyi crawled over and made a few slight adjustments. “Yeah, that’s great, now let’s see if this works.” He picked up the ocarina and started playing the song that accompanied the rune allowing him to take the form of a black dog with jagged red fire strips. He pursed his lips to howl but a jet of fire came out, startling him out of his transformation. Falling back on his bum he exclaimed.

“Whoa! Kiliyi did you see that!” Kiliyi raised her front legs and clapped. Ang displayed a big toothy grin, jumped to his feet, and re-initiated the modified transformation. Spewing fire in all directions he accidentally set a flowering bush on fire. He quickly undid the transformation and ran to the bush.

“Oh, no! I’m sorry, I got carried away. How do I put out the fire? Um… I know.” Activating tracer light he started drawing a water rune, but drew one for wind fanning the flames. He desperately tried to pat out the flames. “Ahh! Hot! Water, I need to find some water!” He ran in circles as the blaze engulfed the bush. A shower drizzled over it extinguishing the flame. In the canopy above Kiliyi spun a runed web. Ang raised his arms, placed his hands on his head, and exhaled. “Oooh, thank you Kiliyi, but look what I did.” He inspects the damage. “I killed it. I’m so sorry bush, and you had such beautiful flowers.” He put his palms over his face. Kiliyi crawled over and tapped him on the ankle. Ang took a shaky breath, looked down at her, and sniffed. “What? It’s dead, and it's all my fault.” She dug into the soil under the burned bush to reveal healthy roots. “You're saying it's not dead, there’s still a chance I can bring it back?” She nods. Placing his hands on the charred bush, he says. “I’m gonna practice my water runes and nurse you back to health. I’ll make this all better I promise.” He immediately got to work pruning the burnt parts, then returned to the hut to study fervently.

Experimenting with different notes and melodies. He realized that music is like using wavy lines in runes, but channeling is much faster and more dynamic. With his ocarina, he could easily cast spells that control the elements. Not only could he start a fire, he could manipulate it. Make the flames take the shape of an animal or spin into a cyclone. He played a song to start the rain, then a different song to clear the clouds. He summoned a gentle breeze that turned into a tornado. He caused many strange weather phenomena to occur in his small corner of the forest.

In his transformation studies, he sought to recreate the giant gray bear that saved him from the giants. After many months of trying, he could take the form of a large gray bear, though he could only maintain the transformation for a short time.

While Ang learned and practiced magic, Kiliyi was not idle. Using her nearly indestructible gold silk, she set up a complex network of trip wire and traps. All of which were connected to a single gold thread linked to the web she set up in a corner of the hut. It wasn’t unusual to feel vibrations in the web from time to time, but on this morning her web jolted violently. Kiliyi sprung into action, jumping onto Ang’s back, she firmly pricked him with a fang.

“Ouch! Kiliyi what was that fo.”

She jumped onto his face and pointed to her web. His eyes widened, as he took shallow breaths. Something or several things were coming toward them. Then he realized, by practicing loud and flashy spells it was only a matter of time before someone would notice. He had compromised their position. Kiliyi jumped to the ground and carefully approached the entrance. Ang slowly crawling behind her. She made it to the corner of the doorway and crawled up the side. Ang slowly poked his head out. His heart sank when he saw three black armored giants approaching.

“Oh no, Kiliyi what do we do?” whispered Ang. The spider continued to climb higher.

Thanks to the protection spell, the giants didn’t notice him yet. He needed to work fast. He started drawing the rune for his gray bear transformation on the ground. Next he carved the runes for his black dog transformation. Looking up, the giants were almost upon him. He wouldn’t have time to draw another rune. Ang grabbed his ocarina and hung it around his neck with a silk lanyard Kiliyi made. He stood up and readied his tracer light. As soon as he started to draw a rune, the giants rapidly closed the distance. They surrounded Ang. Their auras crushing him. He struggled against the pressure. Grabbing the ocarina he tried to lift it to his lips. The giants placed their black clawed hands on the barrier pushing through. Ang looked around Kiliyi was nowhere in sight. The giants were grasping for him.

Kiliyi, mom, dad, uncle, someone, please help me. Ang thought tears rolling down his cheeks. It’s hopeless; These things took out my whole village full of skilled casters and craftsmen. What can I do? What can one little spider do? They’re going to crush me. I can’t even fight back.

Then she sprung her trap. A gold silk net fell from the sky, and simultaneously gold threads shot up from the ground. She ensnared all three monsters in her web. The pressure subsided. Ang looked around and noticed a long thread coming off one giant. It led high into a tree, at the end of the thread stood Kiliyi on the trunk. With a flick of her leg, she ignited the thread with blood red flame. Her gold web burst into red fire. The giants burned rapidly, their sickly black armor melting away into nothing.

Ang stood there for what felt like an eternity. Kiliyi crawled onto his shoulder, and he exhaled.

“Wow, Kiliyi you’re amazing. Looks like we’re safe for now.” Ang sighed heavily and turned. “We can’t stay here anymore, can we?” Kiliyi scuttled off and beckoned for him to follow. She led him around to a tree and waved her tracer light before it, revealing a hollow filled with spider silk threads. Hanging in the center were a brown pair of trousers and a reddish brown shirt. Tucked neatly into the shirt pocket was a small piece of blue fabric.

Ang bent down and gently cupped her into his hands. “Did you make these for me?”

Kiliyi responded by wiping a tear from his eye and pointing to his new outfit. He placed her back on the ground and began to take off his rags. The trousers felt thick and durable but light. The shirt felt the same. They were so comfortable he had to double check he put them on. The shirt created a deep v line that exposed the few hairs he was sprouting. His beard was starting to grow in, and he had put on a bit of muscle. Kiliyi pointed back to the hollow. Ang took another look and noticed a black pair of shoes and a bag. He didn’t care for shoes; his feet were durable enough without them. He figured he will be walking for a while, so best to put them on. He still felt barefoot. Ang slung the ocarina around his neck, grabbed the tome and placed it in the bag, along with some food and magic items he was working on. Kiliyi rigged the hut, and they stood several meters away as she ignited a gold thread and burned it away. Ang with his mentor Kiliyi on his left shoulder. It was time to start the long journey to find a home.