In fact, how was magic perceived in this place? Was it considered commonplace? Feared? Would he be seen as a legendary hero or be condemned as a demonic entity?
Auntie Jane had mentioned that her son was part of a magic society casually enough, so magic is most likely well established and accepted here. Or was it her nephew? He had been only slightly paying attention, focusing more on the angry man walking behind him. He didn’t think magic was something to be feared, though. With his new eyes he could now see all the magic that was woven throughout the house, so he didn’t think that he was at risk of being burned at the stake. Alex eyed the dragon shaped fireplace suspiciously, albeit appreciatively, before reclining back on a thick, luscious couch. After his shower he had briefly considered exploring the library but decided to get what rest he could. He laid down fully intending to sleep but found himself exploring the different functions of his Network ability. Finally, after incessant reminders from Vi, he closed all the windows and finally went to sleep.
When he awoke, the sun was setting outside, and a warm blanket of fur covered his naked torso. He sat up groggily and stretched. His laundered ashaka outfit was folded neatly on the chair next to him, a jug of water and a plate of bread, cheese and some kind of sliced deli meat. There was also a second set of clothes sitting on top of his cloak, and he picked up the pants. The cloth was made of the same soft material of the pants he was currently wearing but it was a mottled black and dark dray only slightly lighter than his ashaka outfit, instead of the plain brown of the first pair. The long-sleeved shirt was the same color as the pants, except with white thread intricately woven around the hems the wrists and neck. Three small white buttons opened at the collar, glimmering like tiny discs of polished quartz. A surge of emotion filled Alex when he noticed the additional stitchwork that told him Auntie Jane altered these clothes specifically for him, and she must have an incredible eye, because they looked like they would actually fit.
Concentrating, Alex returned both sets of clothes to his storage and then swapped out his pants for the new outfit Jane had altered for him before digging into the food with gusto.
When he finished eating, he stood up and stretched, patting his full stomach happily. To give himself something to do, he folded the blanket he used and gathered up the empty dishes to return to the kitchen. Up until now, he had avoided talking about his situation, but he needed information and if what happened to him placed him in danger, he figured it would be safer telling an old couple in the woods than marching into this Magic Society Auntie Jane mentioned and start blathering about how he suspected he might have been transported here from another world.
Alex opened the door to a startled Jane holding her fist up to knock. She gasped in surprise, clutching her heart with her raised hand.
Easily startled, this one.
“Oh dear, you scared me!” She gasped, letting out a shaky laugh. Her hand now clutching at the shirt over her heart.
“I swear, I’m not doing this on purpose.” Alex said, moving aside to let her in, noticing something else was clenched between her fingers.
She swatted his arm playfully and motioned to a nearby table.
“Put those down dear and have a seat, I have something for you.”
Curious, Alex placed the dishes down and sat down in a chair facing her.
She handed him a large metal tin, and then pulled a pair of thin neon green rubber gloves out of the pocket of her apron. Alex raised a dubious eyebrow – or would have, if he had any, and looked at the tin.
“I’m flattered ma’am, but I don’t think your husband would approve.” He said before he could stop himself.
She smacked him with the gloves, but color suffused her cheeks. “Oh, hush now.”
Alex gave her a mischievous smirk and winked. She swatted him again, the twitching corners of her mouth betraying her exasperated eyeroll.
“I noticed that you kept rubbing your head and eyebrows with a sad look on your face, so I brought you this.”
She gestured to the container he was holding. On top of the lid was a small faded white label with a silhouette of a person with flowing locks of long hair. Stamped into the metal top itself were the words: Warble and Bee’s Instant Hair Growth Cream. Alex looked at the words stamped into the tin and traced them with a finger. Even though he was able to read the label, the indentation of the runes told him that it was not in English. Relaxing his eyes, he tried to see if he could see the real language written there but his vision started to dissolve into streaming colors again.
Alex looked away, blinking hard and his vision quickly returned to normal.
“I’m sorry, dear.” Auntie Jane said, misunderstanding his reaction. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”
Alex shook his head and waved her apology away.
“No, no.” He said reassuringly. “Thank you so much, the thought was very kind. I can’t tell you how much I miss having hair.”
He unscrewed the lid and examined the beige cream inside. Alex brought it up to his nose to sniff it, but Auntie Jane stopped him.
“Be careful dear, when Warble and Bee say instant, they mean instant. Hair will grow on any skin that comes in contact with the cream. It’ll be a little overgrown at first, but I can cut it for you afterwards, if you want?”
Alex nodded with an awkward smile, and she took the tin from him with her gloved hands, scooping out a generous dollop of the cream on the end of her index and middle finger.
“How long does it grow?” Alex asked.
“It depends on how much you put on. We will do the top of your head first, though. I have another type of cream that works better for the eyebrows, so you don't have to worry about needing to trim those afterwards.” She said with a smile. She held up the glob of cream, a question in her eyes.
“Thank you so much.” Alex said again. “I have some spirit coins, let me at least pay you back. Not just for the cream, but for everything.”
Auntie Jane scoffed, clearly offended by the offer.
“Nonsense, dear.” She said and motioned him to turn around, smearing the cream into her palms.
“What kind of people would we be if we didn’t offer aid to those who need it? Besides, the gods have been good to us in our late years. I would not bring dishonor to the matron after all she has provided.” Her voice was teasing but Alex was confused.
Gods? He was burning to ask about it but did not want to risk offending her in his ignorance.
Vi said without providing any further input.
Figures.
Alex didn’t know if it was a potential personality trait forming, or just his imagination; but it felt like her responses were short and dismissive every time he asked Vi a question she did not have an answer for. Regardless of her behavior, he kept forgetting that her knowledge of the outside world was tied to his own. She might be able to perfectly recall information, but that didn’t do much good if she doesn’t know anything to begin with.
Alex suppressed a smile but was abruptly distracted as he felt the hair on his head growing rapidly. Auntie Jane placed her hands where his hairline would be on his forehead, smoothly running them across his head and down his back. The cream felt cold on his sensitive skin initially, followed by an overwhelming itching sensation that erupted from his scalp. Alex shivered and squirmed uncomfortably as the hair grew rapidly, cascading over his eyes and down to his shoulders within seconds. Most of the itching had subsided, with only small patches tingling slightly from time to time as Auntie Jane touched up areas she had initially missed. The thick hair enveloped his face like a dark auburn blanket, and Auntie Jane emitted a soft mewl of appreciation.
“I love the red tint to your hair, are you from Zar-Minethus by any chance?” She asked, combing the hair back out of his eyes.
Confused, he picked up a long lock of wavy brown hair and looked at it.
Indeed, there were slight red streaks in his hair, but they hadn’t been that prominent since we were a child due to his hair gradually darkening over the years until the point where you only saw the red if he was standing in direct sunlight.
“Huh.” He said, not wanting to lie and risk her asking more questions about a place he claimed to be from. “I’ve never had my hair this long, so I never noticed the red. I always thought it was just a dark brown.”
“Well, it looks lovely, dear. It's very striking next to your skin.” She said, running the comb through the long hair with clear affection.
Did she just call him pale?
He looked down at his exposed forearm and studied it. His skin was definitely lighter than he remembered, but he had originally attributed any differences in tone because he was used to seeing tattoos there. Once again, Alex somberly lamented his missing tattoos, but he dutifully thanked her for the compliment.
Her own hair was mostly gray now and twisted up into a thick bun at the back of her head, held in place with an ornately decorated stick. He could see swirls of dark brown similar to his mixed in, and he wondered if she was from the same place she had mentioned.
Vi asked.
“Would you like to keep some of the length or cut it short?”
Alex twirled the lock of hair in his fingers, feeling guilty about disappointing her, as she clearly had her own preference.
“I do like it long, but it’s heavier than I’m used to. However, it would be nice to have in this cold ... Maybe we can leave it a little long for now? Just cut it to the shoulders? I can always tie it back if it gets in the way.”
“Of course, dear.” She said happily enough. “I may not be as experienced as the barber in Dunmere, but I am a deft hand with a pair of scissors. I will fix you up nicely! Don't you move now, we will do your eyebrows after we clean you up.”
Alex sat patiently, engaging in small talk as she flitted around him like a hummingbird, cutting long swathes of hair with scissors and using a straight edge razor to even out the hair line across his forehead and the sideburns around his ears. Peace filled Alex as she fussed over him, and he felt a part of him relax that had been on alert since he woke up in the clearing. Either out of courtesy, or sensing his discomfort at his earlier dodges, she avoided asking any more personal questions, nor did she ask about how he ended up lost in the forest. The only time the topic was broached was when she was working on his eyebrows.
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She had taken out a small cylinder that looked like a paintbrush, twisting the bottom like a tube of lipstick until a small amount of dark gray cream appeared at the tip. She began to lightly trace over where his eyebrows would be, his face itching where the hair grew.
“Matron’s grace!” She gasped, stopping mid stroke. Causing Alex to flinch, thinking she messed up and he was now sporting a very fashionable unibrow.
“You were so covered in mud that I didn’t notice your eyes before.” She stared, transfixed at his swirling irises and he gave a sheepish smile.
“Oh, yeah...” He said awkwardly, his cheeks burning.
“Is that an essence ability? I heard that they could change your eyes sometimes.”
Alex nodded, hoping she wouldn’t press the subject.
“They’re beautiful, dear. It’s like the lights in the night sky. Usually they’re seasonal around here, but they have been visible year-round for the last few years. Before, that only happened when the monster surges were close.” She said.
At first glance, she thought his eyes were merely refracting light in a similar way to some crystals she had seen before. But now that she was this close, she could see almost microscopic pinpoints moving around his irises. Transfixed, she leaned forward and realized that what she thought to be a tiny dot was actually a tiny whirlpool of sapphire listlessly drifting on an ocean of shimmering gray fog until it collided with another whirlpool of molten sunshine.
There was an eruption of green sparks of various hues as the two whirlpools made contact, converging into a single, bright emerald green one. The sparks scattered like a meteor shower containing every black tone of Hunter Greens, the rich, vibrant shades of emerald greens – all the way to the pale, lime green pastels that were so faded they were almost white. Each tiny spark, becoming its own distinctly colored whirlpool, floated peacefully on that ethereal ocean of swirling fog, until it too inevitably clashed with a different color.
Jane had grown more and more captivated as she studied his eyes, slowly leaning in until she was so close to him that Alex could see the undulating colors of his own eyes reflected in hers. The light his eyes emitted bathed her face in refracted light, and she stared in open mouth awe as though she was staring into the abyss of a bottomless pool of water, and for the first time, understanding the depths of what was looking back.
In the light of that unguarded moment of personal revelation and wonder, she was beautiful. Despite the loose skin of her advancing years, the deep smile lines, and the less pronounced worry lines, Alex saw her for who she truly is. And, for the briefest moment he saw her as she was as a young and beautiful woman, with a sharp wit and insatiable intellect that was ready to take on the world.
How long has it been since he felt that eagerness? Since he last shared something like this with a friend – let alone a complete stranger?
Embarrassingly – and surprisingly – it was her eyes that welled up with tears.
She cleared her throat, looking away from him. Her mouth worked as if she was going to say something before anxiously glancing at the door. But then she closed her mouth with a small shake of her head, motioning for him to slightly lower his head with a small smile.
I’m okay, that small smile said, even though everyone knew it was a lie.
However, he did as she bid, closing his eyes as she finished working on his eyebrows. Thankfully, she didn’t bring up his eyes again and when she was finished, she brushed all the loose hair from him with a rectangular yellow stone the size of her fist, every loose strand of hair sticking to it. She scrutinized her handiwork a final time before finally taking him to the mirror in the bathroom for his own inspection.
His hair hung just past the nape of his neck, obscuring most of his face. One eye was barely peeking out, shimmering brightly in contrast with his hair.
He hadn’t seen what he looked like with the long mountain man hair, but this was definitely better than being bald. His eyebrows were also back, and he waggled his eyebrows in appreciation before letting his hair fall over his face again.
“I feel like I should be wearing eyeliner and thick leather bracelets.” He said before he could stop himself.
If he still had his tattoos, he would have to have started his own emo band on sheer principle alone.
“Can I see your comb?” He asked, hoping to derail any questions she had about eyeliner or leather bracelets.
He wet his hair using the sink, experimenting with different hair styles and asking Auntie Jane for her opinion. To his total lack of surprise, she was thoroughly unhelpful, offering compliments for everything he tried without providing her actual thoughts. Finally, he simply combed it back with his fingers to keep it out of his eyes and considered it good enough.
They walked back out towards the library and Alex asked her about all the books.
The majority of the books were academic tomes that belonged to her nephew, Markov – not hers, as Alex originally thought they were.
Alex began to wonder if maybe the intuition, or vision – or whatever he had – about her intelligence was wrong until she started describing what Markov did for a living.
“Mostly, he studies astral magics like familiar summonses, corporeal manifestations, and the various fundamental functions of deep astral creatures that commonly interact with our world.” Auntie Jane said with the kind of vague interest of a relative who doesn’t quite understand what they do, but was told it was impressive.
“But recently,” she continued. “He started conducting experiments to improve interdimensional connectivity via artificial gates that enhance structural stabilization of nascent and coterminous pocket dimensions. It’s almost a purely theoretical field; but you know what they say about the ambition of youth! It is rather interesting, though. If the ambient magic was properly attuned at both locations, while maintaining equivalent frequencies via a pair of synchronized anchoring devices to keep it within a feasible percentile range, it could greatly limit the chance of dismemberment upon traversal. This would undoubtably lead to major advancements in creating teleportation hubs around the world as well as additional entry points to astral spaces.” she confessed.
Alex blinked. The – what?
“There has been a lot of gossip about some competition that happened a little bit ago. Only young adventurers were selected to go due to the nature of the sealed astral space, and they were tasked with the goal of bringing something out. It turned out that it was entirely artificial - the astral space that is, not whatever they were looking for. Markov has been obsessed ever since, convinced that given the right tools, he could replicate the artificial space, albeit on a much smaller scale. He even suggested that there might be an artificial one around Dunmere, of all places! Though, he never found anything to support that theory. ”
Auntie Jane gave a resigned shrug. She clearly didn’t believe the rumors, and that tired shrug told him that this was an old argument that she had long since given up on trying to dispute.
“Even if the space was artificial, they are saying that it was created during a pact between two great astral beings. Despite there being no evidence to substantiate these rumors, he started venerating one of them rumored to be involved, hoping it would share its secrets. But it’ll be decades before they’re willing to share that knowledge with him- if ever.”
Auntie Jane pursed her lips in frustration and opened a nearby book. She handed the book to Alex before continuing, as though expecting him to read it and giver her feedback.
“He has had some positive results with the dimensional transmutation of an unbound cloud flask by incorporating the membrane of a nascent astral space as a transformational catalyst. Eventually, they were able to use the absorption properties of the cloud construct, attaching it like a parasite to the astral space until they obtained some kind of symbiotic equilibrium. But they currently have no way to create their own gateway into the astral space that's accessible from the cloud flask. They can return the cloud construct to the flask easily enough without the connection breaking, but when they release the cloud structure from the flask, it doesn’t reform in this dimension due to its connection with the astral space. Interestingly enough, they can access the cloud house directly from the astral space regardless of its location by uncorking the cloud flask but, without an anchor on both sides stabilizing the connection, it always manifests on the astral side.”
She trailed off at the blank look on his face, giving him a small apologetic smile.
So, maybe she didn’t just memorize the job description. Alex thought ruefully. What was that saying about books and judging?
Alex flipped through the one in his hands, trying to come up with something to say.
“You said these cloud flasks are unbounded right?” Alex said, grabbing a hold of the first thing the thought he understood. “I take it that, the item needs to be unbound in order to sync up with the astral space, and everything someone tried to bond the cloud flask after the connection was made it was severed?”
Auntie Jane looked at him like he was a psychopathic serial killer stopping to discuss the nature of God:
’...They say that in the beginning, God made the heavens and the earth. But why? So, in the beginning there was God, and nothing... Well, not nothing, because that implies that there was something else, but there was only God, existing in his perfection. So, there is only perfection, and non-perfection... No, no, that’s not right. You’re getting me sidetracked! There was only God and.... not God? Yes, that's better. So, God existed by himself for eons; until one day he decided to create something. Maybe He had grown lonely? But if there was only God, and He was perfect; then, wouldn’t that mean that all that existed was perfect? How can a being existing in total perfection look around and want more? How can you take perfection and make it more perfect? Wouldn’t that imply that it was not perfect? That He was not perfect?...’
“Have you studied astral and dimensional magic?” Auntie Jane finally asked, breaking out of her thoughts the same time Alex did.
“Oh, no. I was just guessing.” He admitted with a laugh. “If the connection kept slipping over to the astral side, it makes sense to see if bonding it to someone on this side after the initial connection was made would pull it back towards the middle and stabilize it.”
“That’s quite a good guess.” She said dubiously.
He debated on saying that he didn’t even know what an astral space was but decided against it.
“So, what happened when the cloud flask was bonded?” Alex asked instead.
“Most of the time, the portal that was created would simply close.”
“And the other times?” Alex prompted, even though he had an idea.
“The other times, the person who bonded the cloud flask would be sucked into the portal first, and then it would close; his body later found scattered across the astral space. There was one instance where; instead of being sucked into the portal – he was almost sucked into the cloud flask itself, which isn’t supposed to even be possible. They were able to save him in the end, but even with further testing they were never able to replicate that specific scenario since.”
Alex’s eyes were wide at the cost of the failures, but Auntie Jane just shrugged her shoulders.
“They think the disconnection issues can be resolved with flooding both access points with finely tuned dimensional energy that can pass through the barrier without severing. Creating a type of bond that’ll act as a wedge to keep the portal open, but there has been no progress thus far, and far less people are offering to risk themselves by bonding the cloud flask after the initial connection has been made.”
“I’m guessing that you also study this... Ah, magic?” Alex asked lamely.
“Oh no, I mostly just assist with his... experiments.” She said, laughing a little too loudly.
“I don’t have a full essence set myself, so I mostly study in my free time. We have been saving up the spirit coins to buy them, but you know how hard it is to find the right essence combination on the market in town.”
Alex didn’t, but didn’t want to say so. He smiled in commiseration instead, not knowing what to say without inviting questions about his own essence or revealing his own ignorance about magic.
“How far away is the town?” Alex said instead.
Before she could answer the door from the hallway opened and Hendry walked in, holding three steaming cups on a wooden tray. An almost guilty look flashed of Auntie Jane’s face, and she glanced from Hendry to Alex quickly.
“I brought you some tea, boy.” Hendry said in a gravelly voice, but not unkind voice. “Dinner should be ready soon – once Jane finishes up in here, that is.”
He looked at his wife with an expectant expression while he placed the tray on the table next to them.
“Pay him no mind, dear.” Auntie Jane said reassuringly. “The cold gets into his joints, making him irritable when he’s hungry. I’ll be done soon, dear.” She said directing the last to Hendry, who made no motion to leave again.
They stood there in awkward silence for a few excruciatingly slow heartbeats. Auntie Jane clearly wanting to say more but she remained silent. Giving Alex a quick apologetic smile before making her way out of the room. Hendry turned to leave and then stopped, looking at Alex.
Hesitantly, he said, “That’s my favorite tea.” And motioned to the cup on the table.
“Make sure you drink that while it’s warm, boy.” A touch of apology colored his own tone, and his mouth twitched into what Alex assumed was an attempt to be friendly.
Alex returned the smile and picked up the steaming cup, blowing on the surface briefly before taking an experimental sip. His eyebrows rose in appreciation.
“Good, huh?” The gruff old man asked.
Alex nodded and took another drink.
Hendry nodded in return. “Dinner should be ready soon; Jane will come collect you when it’s ready.”
“Thank you.” Alex said warmly. “And not just for the drink, for everything.”
“Don’t thank us, boy.” The old man growled, but his eyes were sympathetic. “This is what we do here.”
Hendry shuffled out and Alex finished the drink quickly. It tasted like hot chocolate, and he practically chugged it in deep, greedy gulps.
As soon as he put the cup down a wave of dizziness hit him and his vision started breaking down into waves of color like when he first unlocked Asseverating Sight. Vi spoke for the first time in over an hour.
Struggling to keep his feet, he staggered to the door and threw it open, his vision starting to go dark.
Auntie Jane and Hendry were standing in the hallway, but they didn’t move forward to help him when he sank to his knees. Auntie Jane had tears streaming down her cheeks and was avoiding his eyes. Hendry had a pinched but determined look on his face.
“I told you not to thank us, boy.” He growled.
Alex fell forward, fighting to stay awake.
“Why...?” He managed to ask before losing the rest of the thought. He was so warm. So, so tired.
“Like I told you.” The voice seemed to come from far away. “This is what we do here.”
Alex could hear Auntie Jane say something in a pleading voice, but words had no meaning anymore, passing through his ears in an unrecognizable warble, as he finally surrendered to sleep.