Day 34

It's not as glamorous as I thought it would be. Alfred had spent the first part of the morning, after I had woken up, clearing up space in his workshop for me. I wasn't allowed to help, something about ruining the pieces if I touched them the wrong way. Or that I could accidentally move it somewhere where it would never be found again. I learned another side of Alfred, he was slightly possessive and controlling. That wasn't bad, but I worried about our future relationship if that goes overboard.

The rest of the day was spent on teaching me the basics of magic, from the grounds up. His was peculiar, a mix of formulaic and natural magic. He was officially taught by the Connaught Holy Kingdom, when he was hired as a soldier for a 'brief twenty years,' but once he had left he had to develop his own magic. And he was never one to really understand how formulas and logic works, so he naturally moved towards more primitive forms of magic.

Although primitive natural magic isn't at all inferior to formulas in terms of potency and strength, but in terms of how well it could be taught? It was terrible at that. But that's fine, I was Alfred's one and only apprentice, personal lessons designed for me specifically would teach me well. The entire point of formulaic magics is ease of teaching and nothing else. In many ways, learning through formula is inferior to learning by trial and error. Probably.

The first thing Alfred had begun to teach me once my own little workshop was created was the difference between my style of magic and his. For cultivators their bodies naturally begin to enchant themselves with the magic innate within them, for magicians this is an action that had to be initiated before it could begin. What this means in the real world is: if I wanted to live as long as a cultivator, I would have to artificially replicate what their bodies naturally do. Alfred wasn't willing to teach me anything else until I had developed the enchantments on my body.

I'd die too early for him otherwise, at a mere sixty to seventy. Compared to a cultivator's hundred-thirty to two hundred, it was a short amount of time.

Unfortunately Alfred didn't have the full picture of how this is done. The Connaught Holy Kingdom, or CHK, would only provide to their soldiers the basic spells needed for combat. While research and development wasn't exclusive to them, and it wasn't banned, it wasn't actively cultured. But Alfred had enough friends who were interested, and enough friends who've undergone the process, to understand the bare bone spells and enchantments needed.

So we worked together, although really it was Alfred figuring out how my internal mana worked and me trying to figure out his, until we could start to enchant my body. If it goes well, I'll gain the body of a cultivator. What that means for a magician is half the strength of a cultivator, which was still many times the strength of the common folk, with the body naturally building itself to its physical optimum.

Meaning, I won't be keeping my overly soft belly for long.

Day 96

Or very long. After a month went by the bulk of the work on trying to figure out how to enchant myself was left solely on me, and if I thought enchanting the doll hands were difficult the human body was several magnitudes more challenging. Most of the time I was glued next to Alfred, watching him paint, carve, draw, and do whatever else needed to create his dolls. I had to spend nearly the entirety of my day in some way in contact with his skin, so that I could figure out what exactly the enchantments were.

What that translates to is sitting on his lap for the majority of the day. He got used it within three days, I got used to it within a week. I guess it's easier to get used to someone sitting on you than it is having someone work from behind you, finding a spot that was comfortable that didn't feel, uh, lewd, was a difficult thing to do. But eventually I got used to it. Alfred would give me lessons on what it is he's doing with his dolls and how I could do it myself, and lessons on the basics of magic.

I knew much less about magic than I thought. All I know is enthrallment, and I can only enthrall creatures at the level of tiny animals as I am now. Squirrels are about my limit. It was a problem of not having enough mana, and a problem of unrefined skills. Enthrallment may come easily to me, but it doesn't mean what I do is the most efficient method of casting. With that I would require further refinement, but it would come later.

Luckily I had managed to figure out what precisely the enchantment was. It was a single one, and it wasn't any more complicated than Alfred's innate element affinity, which turns out to be wind, repeating itself across his body. I knew what mine was already, water.

It might sound like something that could be easily improved upon, but Alfred had given me a very grave warning on what kind of disaster that thinking would lead into. The basic elemental form was the simplest, and although it was simple it didn't mean it was easy to replicate. It's the result of Alfred's own mana constantly refining itself into smaller and smaller forms, going inward and then outward. The basis is the Holy Circuit, more accurately the mass of spirit that is Alfred himself.

Magicians don't have the Holy Circuit. But our spirits, which is another side of the process of creation, can work as a surrogate. For whatever reason magicians can't efficiently use mana internally, but are twice at efficient as using external forms of magic than cultivators. It's the reverse for cultivators. A strange balance is what it all leads to.

But I knew what to do and how to do it. For the final part, of enchanting my body, I would need Alfred to kick start me. He needs to enchant a tiny, tiny portion of me himself, using the basic pattern of the water elemental for convenience, and then I could build off of that until my body has replicated the same constant refinement as Alfred's does.

No longer do I have to sit on Alfred's lap. He didn't seem to mind, but I started to feel a bit forlorn over not having a heat source constantly behind me.

Day 128

Creating the enchantment wasn't as difficult as figuring out precisely how it's done. All my hard work and research had built up to these moments, when I've almost complete the internal cycling enchantment and finally was able to move on to something else. I no longer had the time to stay near Alfred, and although alone time is appreciated an entire month of doing nothing but assembling an enchantment wasn't something all that enjoyable.

Unlike replicating the mana transmission enchantment, the body enchantment was something I had already figured out. All I had to do was spend the time creating it. My mind was desperate for stimulation and the enchantment wasn't providing it to me, but today was the final day. There was only one pattern left to etch, the basic pentagram that forms the essence of my spirit. Once that is complete my body will start cycling mana around itself naturally.

Only an hour or two to go.

Only a single line was left. I had given each line several times more attention than I otherwise would, if I fail this there was a significant chance that I would have to try again, starting from the beginning and building the foundation all over again. The black line, built from my soul itself, was slowly being constructed. Only a couple of seconds were left. I stopped thinking, I only focused on constructing the enchantment.

And with that, it was done.

I waited for the explosion. For some sign of all my hard work being finished, anything at all. But none came. I knew what the enchantment would do, the pentagram was already starting to spin very slowly. It worked as the source of all the movement, and over time it will increase its speed, reaching its fastest point in around a month and maintaining that speed for the rest of my lifetime.

But I didn't feel anything special. I don't know if I should laugh or cry. Or better, go to Alfred and resume our lessons. Preferably without having to sit on his lap. Maybe every once in a while instead of constantly would be fine. He gets lonely without me, I think.

I pushed myself off my my bed and headed over downstairs. I've gotten very familiar with this home. It felt natural, even if I didn't understand where I was in relation to my original village. Although the snow had been thawing out I still wasn't comfortable heading outside. And since I've never got around to asking Alfred for a new cloak I've not been willing to leave, I never liked the cold. It nips at my ears and tail, making them both painfully numb even at the mildest temperatures. Mom used to call me a drama queen when I'd refuse to leave the house without my hood over my head.

I miss her.

The door to the workshop was always open, and I could walk right in if I wanted to now. Alfred had gotten used my presence enough to not mind when I enter or leave, so I no longer had to knock on the door for him to invite me in. He was where he always was, within his corner working on some doll, or a dress. Lately he had been making very articulate dolls, ones that could mimic the entirety of human movement without any trouble. But other than that, he was as he always was.

"Alfred."

"Eithne."

Alfred didn't move away from the doll he was carving, he didn't spare a glance at me. Conflicted between wanting to disrupt his work so that he could pay attention to me, and letting him be and obediently reporting to him the completion of my work, I waited for him to move so that he could decide for me. He didn't, so I was forced to make a choice. I cleared my throat, trying to grab his attention.

He looked over at me with a disinterested look and waited for me to say something, no longer moving his hand. Did he really now know what I wanted to say?

"The enchantment is complete," I placed a hand on my puffed out chest and proudly stated. I offered him a hand so that he could observe my mana himself and waited.

Alfred set down the things that he held, his hands not as dirty as they could be but still not the cleanest. He grabbed a hand and I waited for him to give a response. Knitting his eyebrows together and putting more concentration to the mana inside me, I waited even longer, the anticipation of his reaction starting to reveal itself in the soft swaying of my tail.

"I had expected you to be a better magician than I was, given that you are from the dark cloth, but I think your ability can't be entirely explained by your alignment alone. You've surprised me once again, Eithne. Congratulations, you are a true magician now. Not an official one, but one regardless." He let go of my hand and got up off his chair. I had gotten used to how Alfred would tower over me when he stood, his robust frame carrying itself with a fluidity that I could scarcely replicate even given my small size. He walked past me and beckoned me to follow.

"Let's prepare you a reward. It's customary, at least within the Connaught Holy Kingdom, for both magicians and cultivators to be gifted either a weapon, a book, or some sort of jewelry once they've completed the foundation of their work. Which would you prefer?"

"I don't think you have any of those, Alfred."

"Good observation. Now, Eithne, I'm going to do something that I hadn't done all year. We're heading to the city."

To the city? We're leaving the house? I had thought Alfred didn't want to leave, but given that he had gold to spare, and I doubt he had picked all these herbs himself, it would make sense he would occasionally leave for the city. How is this related to my gifts? "Are you going to buy me a gift there?"

Alfred turned to look at me, staring as if I was some dumb child. "That's one of the reasons, kitten. The other one would be to restock my herbs, and finally to sell my dolls. While I hate to part with them, many of them were ordered directly by the children of noblemen, and occasionally an adult as well. My research is expensive, after all."

Oh. "I wouldn't mind a cloak, that sounds like a good enough gift." Alfred kept his gaze on me. His face was as neutral as a face could be, neither judging me nor mocking me.

"How about a piece of jewelry? I'll sew you a cloak, I have the materials at hand. And boots, those I also have. Conveniently fitting your size, as well. We won't be traveling today, but rather tomorrow." Alfred began to walk up the stairs, ignoring me. I followed him without needing to be told.

"Were you planning on traveling regardless of whether I had completed the enchantments?"

"Yes, and taking you with me. The deadline for all the dolls would be coming soon and regardless of your presence I would've left this week."

"Isn't it going to take a while to prepare everything that needs to be packed?"

"No. I'll be having you do it, as I had planned regardless. I'll be preparing for you the things you'll need to travel tomorrow, in truth I've been working on them for a week now. The cloak is almost done, and the boots will soon follow."

How convenient, but suddenly traveling to a city isn't something I had planned. I'm not good around crowds, or people in general. I would honestly prefer to stay with Alfred for a bit longer, alone. But with the temptation of a new cloak and boots, I would be stupid to reject this. And possibly jewelry, as well. I don't have much use, or training, in either reading or fighting, but there's always a benefit to looking fancy.

However, I didn't mention the silent decision on my part. Instead I followed Alfred as he opened the door and walked inside into the doll room.

"The packing isn't that hard. If you wanted, we can start traveling by the end of the day. Stay here, let me get everything you'll need." I nodded and waited, spending the sudden free time given looking at the dolls. Alfred came back almost as fast as he left, carrying with him large leather bags, small and elaborately crafted wooden chests, and many folds of what was probably linen. He handed them to me, and I took them, and walked into the room once again.

"I'll have you neatly pack a total of fifteen dolls. Place them safely inside the leather bags, that will be the entirety of your job," I nodded, although he wasn't paying attention. He picked up dolls seemingly at random, moving them next to me gently and going back and forth between picking up dolls and dropping them off. Once he was done I was greeted with the collection of several daoine ainmhithe, the singular catamarán with green eyes being among them. A single one of the strange knife eared folk were also present. Otherwise it was an assortment of colorful dolls, mostly girls but a single man in armor that looked to be made of real steel was also there.

Alfred stood next to me and took the linen from me, taking a single piece of the cloth from the bundle and giving the rest back to me. "Now watch how I pack them. Their safety is paramount, spend as much time getting the details correct as is needed."

"Yes, Alfred." I knew when it came to dolls Alfred rarely joked. I won't mess this up.

Alfred picked up a doll, one of the ainmhithe that I has inspected months ago, and took off all her clothes. He was delicate, and almost provocative, in his undressing of the doll. He picked up the now naked doll, a doll with too many features that should belong on humans and not on toys, and wrapped it gently together with many folds of linen. He folded each piece of clothing, from the underwear to the cloak, in separate, smaller slices of linen, and then packed both the dolls and the cloth into the wooden chest. It was a slender chest, made of dark wood and held together with cast iron.

Embellishments and designs were carved into the wood. I could tell it had stylistic designs of the animal that the doll was descended from, a bunny in this case. It looks like each doll had its own custom made chest, a cute feature. He closed the box and locked it using the tiny latch on the side, and then packed it neatly into one of the leather bags.

"Understood? And leave the holy knight out for me, I'll deal with him later. You wouldn't understand the intricacies of his armor and how to take it off."

"Alright, Alfred."

Alfred nodded and waited next to the table where all the packing was being done. He didn't leave even after I waited a couple of seconds, instead he looked at me expectantly. Did he want me to pack the dolls in front of him? Or does he want to make sure I had watched his example closely? Either way I had a job to do, so I began to pack the dolls. Starting with what was probably a design of an kingly court lady, I undressed her carefully, taking apart each clothing and making sure none wrinkled, setting them aside onto a laid linen sheet so that none of it had to touch the wooden table directly.

The procedure wasn't the same. It wasn't a complicated task, it was one that took a bit of time and careful attention and delicacy, a respect of the dolls themselves in order to complete. It wouldn't take me much longer than an hour to do everything with the care each doll deserved. Once I had packed, tied, and placed each of the items in the chest, Alfred nodded and made his way out.

"I'll be finishing everything else you'll need to travel." With that, Alfred closed the door behind him and left me alone with the dolls.