《Worlds》1. Birth (Prologue)
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Blinding white light and a fury of noizes assaulted the newborn. The suddenness of everything, the chilly air and all the new experiences forced the little chest to rapidly expand and a loud cry be produced by the little life in the hands of the midwife.
A spectacular light-show followed the first gulp of air. Clear, pale purple-pink colored mist with streaks of concentrated luminosity and other tiny particles came out of the baby’s mouth. The misty substance headed towards the woman who had just birthed a new life, shifting through the rainbow, but eventually returning to the same shade of thistle. The moment it touched her it faded to transparent white and a tempest of sparks began raging between mother and child. Those with more acute senses could feel powerful energies coursing between the two.
“It is a healthy girl.” a voice could be heard. As the face of the mother started rapidly losing color. Her right hand held the callused palm of a blonde ear length haired, somewhat tall, male with a youthful face, curious eyes and excited demeanor. The man’s name was Mend.
The hand he was holding belonged to his beloved wife, Aleya. She was with a natural dark blonde colored, hip length disheveled hair and a pained expression plastered over her otherwise stunningly beautiful face.
At some point Mends` face also started looking drained of energy. And the aurora connecting the parents and the baby darkened just a tiny bit from white to a more greyish shade, but remained as transparent as before.
The other people in the room, two women and a small man, all donned in similar garbs, and faces betraying nothing, but how commonplace the current situation is for them. Were prepared to intervene at any given time would one of the parents slip into an unconscious state or any other problem occurs. But such would rarely arise.
The garbs they wore seems to be repelling any and all of the energy wisps going their way.
In the past when sciences hadn’t advanced enough for them to understand what it was, and how to aid or at least not intervene in the process of childbirth, there have been accidents. The midwives or someone unrelated, sapping some of the energy required by the baby. Sometimes causing either or both of the parents to die of exhaustion, or the baby to be born without enough energy to continue living. Or in less severe cases, not be able to receive what its parents were trying to give it.
Thankfully science has progressed a lot since the Day of Vor. Over a thousand years have passed since the first mystiques have been born. Over the years they’ve been called by many names, geniuses, sages, abominations, monsters, most recently the term mages or magicians seems to have been gaining in popularity and the energy known to all people accordingly has been named ‘magic’.
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Meanwhile with long thin wisps of light, like vines, gushing from the stream joining mother and daughter, and gently pecking the skin of the family, came visions of the past. The visage of a giant, making funny faces, a half-naked boy, playing in the mud in summer, a small girl, for the first time separated from her parents, the fear of a boy, caught in a place he shouldn’t be.
As Aleya focused with love on her just born baby to the best of her current capabilities, the seemingly random images, at least at face value, appeared to have gotten a little bit less arbitrary. Images of knowledge, studying, feelings of love, care, playfulness, fun, the touch of furry animals, the smell of breathtaking natural sceneries, and the stars, filling the night sky. Were part of the storm of sensations inside the heads of the family.
Next to her a man, her beloved, with furrowed brows was also doing his best. Mend wanted to give his daughter all he knew, all the knowledge he has collected through the years, the good and the bad, he wanted to giver her everything. Her, his child, and her, his wife. The two most precious things in his entire life.
The lights in the room started slowly fading. Everything was returning to the calm state one could usually find the house in. As things settled down the drained couple could be heard whispering softly to each other in tired voices.
“All those images … was this how it’s supposed to be?” asked the man.
“They said a manifestation of the baby’s power shall appear right after it is born, but I never expected anything like this...” responded the mother.
“I saw a face, wasn’t that your grandfather?” said the husband.
“It was. And the half-naked boy?” asked the woman.
“Heh, Yeah. That was me!” with a smile from ear to ear he answered..
“Then, those must’ve been… what, memories?” Aleya wondered out aloud.
“So it appears.” the other man in the room joined the conversation.
“Then, how does Memory sound to you, dear?” the wife asked while turning her head back to her husband after sparing the small man a quick glance.
“Splendid.” Mend answered giving her a loving kiss.
“Memory Rein.” he mused aloud.
“Un. I like it too.”
As the baby calmed down, life or rather time seems to slowly have started rushing faster ahead. Part of the foreign presences in the house, namingly the midwife and the medic-man left the residence to the tired couple and the assistant.
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The wife fell asleep and her husband soon followed after while still sitting on a chair next to her bed, with a happy smile refusing to leave his face. The baby, or Memory, was still in her mother embrace, but after both parents fell asleep the assistant-lady carried her to her very own crib and left the three of them to rest until she was needed again.
Minutes turned into hours, and Memory woke up a few times, was fed, entertained, cared for, and put back to sleep. Hours turned to days, and fatigue kept growing as the couple took care of the baby. Soon a month had passed and the assistant could no longer be found in the residence. Memorys’ weight had nearly tripled and her hair had started growing and quickly changing color from nearly transparent pinkish blonde to darker and darker brown. Eventually it settled to a shade slightly darker than her mother’s with locks of lighter shades.
The perspective was gradually growing closer to the point of view baby Rein should have. Shorter, closer to the ground, but growing, more energetic, curious, lively, by the hour. The world was getting crisper too, compared to the slightly blurry scene at the beginning. Months rolled past like hours. And the perspective shifted even closer to the view of world through Memory’s eyes.
The closer it got the more the body seemed to respond. Thoughts, ideas, sensations, could be heard, felt. Around the middle of summer the family celebrated her first steps and also her first birthday. After that Memory and Aleya would start going out to roam around town together with increasing frequency.
In the beginning it was just around the neighbourhood. But eventually Memory would insist on them going further and further away from their house. In autumn and spring a lot of souls would pass through this pitstop of a town. On the other hand in the winter the town was a desolate place. Instead in summer a festive mood could be felt all around.
Whenever opportunity presented itself Memory would greet and talk to new people learning from them, about them, about the places they’ve been, about the things they’ve done and about the things she could do once she grows up.
She was very invested in whatever she did. When Memory celebrated her eighth birthday she had already learned enough to not have to be sent to any of the ordinary schools about nature, math, language or even some of the more advanced ones, which would require apprenticeship in the crafter's workshop. Even though her age could still be counted on the fingers on just two hands, her ability(magic) allowed her to have surpassed any knowledge one would usually expect a child her age to possess.
In the town they lived, Kopfer, there was a strong sense of community. Many people knew her and were aware she was a bundle of energy and a chatterbox. They would also sometimes worry about her, because whenever something caught her fancy she would rush in head first, be it a conversation with a traveller, mercenary, mercenary group, sometimes even dangerously looking individuals, petting huge tamed beasts without asking for permission from the owner first.
Because of her sunny personality she would usually often manage to rake in profits from those (‘dangerous’) encounters, sometimes in terms of information, acquaintances or trades of exotic goods. She had already familiarized herself with and befriended most of the merchants frequenting this city, on their travels to the big port city in the east, or on their way back from there to the Capital.
They would exchange souvenirs, various trinkets, gizmos, foods, and whatnot, for helpful tips and info she has gathered. Thanks to that she was growing confident in her ability to get around once a few more years have passed and she had learned to defend herself. In addition those dealings had turned her into nearly a full member of the adventurer and merchant guilds. Provided how much information she had gathered, shared or sold it was just natural.
On a certain day after running around all day, having dinner with her parents and getting to bed, the world started gradually losing color. Until the faint sound of a rotor powering down could be picked up if one pricked their ears up. As the top of a long angular black changing-room-locker resembling box lifted itself up a young man, with dark hair and eyes, emerged from within.
“That’s a damn long character creation!” he heaved out an extra long sigh with some excitement hidden underneath.
‘On the flip side I seriously lucked out on that ability.’ he thought.
‘Ok. Ok. Focus. Food. Toilet. Call mum. Anything else? That should be about it. Let’s hurry-hurry. Got things to do tomorrow.’ he thought while rushing about doing the stuff he could in the apartment.
===
AN: More coming soon.
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