by Chris Vines
“It’s been long enough that I forgot how much growing boys eat. Thankfully we should be getting a new shipment in tomorrow, so we will be solvent at least.” Jordan remarked as I ate.
“Shipment of what? I was wondering what y’all sold?” I asked.
“Y’all? Um, we mostly sell books, writing supplies, and transcription or binding services. That’s what I’ve got here. We were given a request to copy a book for a client.”
“Y’all is short for you all. A common term where I am originally from. I guess I’ll have to stop using that. Are there a lot of people who are literate? You mentioned that gathering book was free for everyone with a child.”
“Maybe half the people in the city are literate. There is a school that children can attend from the ages of seven to thirteen. Usually afterwards you would become an apprentice to either your parents or a family friend. Unless you had enough talent to be accepted into the Academy, or decided to join the army. The Academy trains nearly every potentially powerful gatherer. The graduates of the Academy form the backbone of the Kingdom’s protection from high level Beasts and are almost always elevated to the lower nobility.”
I nodded as I listened to Jordan. He went on to describe the lower nobility as essentially knights, who had some extra privileges and responsibilities. There were four noble clans in the city, the Kowalski Clan, the Lo Clan, the Haodha Clan, and the Volkov Clan. The City Lord’s Clan, the Kowalskis, ruled the city and the City Lord himself was accountable to the King for keeping the peace, delivering taxes, and maintaining a military and Beast subjugation force. The Haodha Clan was mostly in charge of farms that grew gathering herbs for Alchemy, the Volkov ran a significant portion of the Inscription trade in the city, and the Lo were renowned Beast hunters.
He then talked about the Merchant’s Association, the Laborers Union and several other groups of merchants and commoners who held power nearly on par with the nobles, though without the near immunity to prosecution the nobles enjoyed. I started drifting by this point, my body losing steam like a leaky boiler. Jordan noticed and stopped his discussion before he helped me back to bed.
The rest of the first two weeks of my new life followed this pattern. I would wake up, eat, talk for a bit, and then collapse for several hours. I slowly got stronger, finally able to walk without leaning on the wall or someone after the first week. By the end of the second week, I was able to do a couple squats and push-ups every time I got out of bed. I was determined to get fit and healthy as soon as I could.
I learned about customs and courtesies during this time when I asked about how to help in the store. Handshakes were unknown here, with a small bow being the most common acknowledgement. ‘Sir’ or ‘Ma’am’ were still correct forms of address, though using the person’s title was also acceptable. There was not a distinction between men’s and women’s work aside from caring for young infants, as was seen on Earth. The talent to gather was not affected by gender, so women could be just as strong as men here.
I was also given a quick overview of everything they would have talked about in the ‘school’, which was only a half day, half the week kind of thing. The basics of arithmetic and reading were taught, along with a very quick overview of recent history, the geography of the surrounding area, and some introductions to major trades. With my education on Earth, we skipped over math. I was debating about introducing Jordan and Elena to calculus. Nah, I like them, though it’ll definitely help later on. I hope anyway.
Reading and writing translated as seamlessly as speaking did, with my brain fully interpreting and outputting the correct words, even as I felt a small weirdness to it. The weirdness was trickling away. It seemed that the more I used the translation, the more it added a new set of language files into my brain. This made the transition easier, since I didn’t have to work on learning a new language along with a new culture at the same time.
Jordan and Elena also talked about their business. It was very interesting to me. I got to learn about how they made ink and the process by which they transcribed and copied books. Thankfully, I was able to use paper and start working on figuring out writing in this new language. I found that I enjoyed calligraphy.
Over time, my hands steadied and my endurance improved. I started taking over a couple of small tasks in the store, mostly mixing black and red inks. The black ink had only three ingredients and was very forgiving in mixing. The red was a little more difficult, and I made a couple small boxes. Each box held one of the four ingredients, and I could balance the boxes to have the right amount to mix. This helped me, especially when my hands shook, and let me make the red ink needed for some of the commissioned works in Elena’s backlog.
Jordan and Elena had a number of commissions that they had been unable to get to during Aiden’s sickness, and I did my best to help them get caught up. The bills had piled up too, and they were essentially bankrupt when I woke. I tried to think of inventions from Earth’s past that would help. I never really studied old inventions. At least, not well enough to draw a design. They don’t have a printing press, which I can kind of cobble together, I think. Shouldn’t be too complex, right?
When I wasn’t helping in the store or sleeping, I was trying to get my strength back. I worked on push-ups, squats, leg lifts, and other body weight exercises first, along with walking around the store. Moving books around and stocking shelves helped me get back in shape as well. After the first two weeks I was feeling almost normal, able to function most of the day without feeling like I needed to collapse.
I didn’t leave the building for the first two weeks. I was irrationally scared of screwing up and being found out as a body snatcher. Somehow, Jordan and Elena had accepted it and me, but I wasn’t willing to risk it with anyone else. Eventually I might tell close friends, if I make any, but not right away.
Even though I didn’t leave, I was able to interact with customers, even if briefly. Many repeat customers would approach me to ask how I was doing, as they knew about the sickness. I told them that I was recovering, but had lost all memories from before. This helped to explain any little mistakes I made, though I still got questioning looks when I used sayings from Earth. I had to pay attention and think about everything I said.
After almost a month had passed, I had gotten strong enough to walk to the end of the block and back. Jordan or Elena walked with me the first couple of times, partially to assist me if I needed it, and partially to introduce me to people. I met a gaggle of acquaintances of my new parents, from the bartender and servers at the tavern on the corner to the baker across the street. I also met their best friends, a couple named Alexander and Holly. Additionally, I found out that the culture used a Chinese naming convention. So I was Kupiec Aiden, not Aiden Kupiec as I would have been in America. Noptep Alexander and Holly had a son a couple months younger than me named Jonathan, called Jon, who quickly became my best friend here. He filled me in with lots of stories from his time with Aiden before.
The evening of the next Darkness day, one month Zemian time from the day I arrived, I was given the go ahead to try and start gathering. “Normally, you would have started trying already. Most people take a few weeks to months to start, and they don’t advance quickly until they can find out their element. The Azyl Academy does their test every three years for free, or you can go to the City Hall and get it tested for a significant cost. The Azyl test is in five months, so you have plenty of time to get started.” Jordan told me, again, giving me the book on gathering he had shown me on the first day.
I had not looked at the book since then since I wanted to listen to my new parents’ advice about not gathering until I was ready, and I knew that I’d try as soon as I read how. Now is my chance. Let’s do this! I left the living room and went to my room. Inside there was a bed, a small dresser, and a chair. Solid looking with lumpy cushions on it, the chair was my destination. I sat down and opened the book. I flipped through it quickly, just skimming the pages to start with.
The first cha
pter contained a description of the elements and went into a bit more detail than Jordan did on that first day. The second chapter had a series of drawings that showed the various known meridians. “There are 30 known meridians, and it is suspected that there are a total of 42. Meridians cannot be seen directly, their presence more metaphysical than real? Weird. The suspected meridians are based on symmetry with known ones, but have not been detected ever.” I mumbled to myself as I skimmed through. “Your talent level is just the number of meridians you were born with that are easily openable, with the second number being the amount openable with known alchemical means. What does easily openable mean? Oh, it means that you just need a small amount of Aether to open them.”
“Ooh, alchemy. I wonder how the rules compare with chemistry from Earth. Wait, how does chemistry work here? It can’t be too different or we’d all be dead, well unless the magic fixes the problems. I’m going to get tired of saying, ‘except magic’ aren’t I?” I mumbled as I flipped through the book. The next chapter gave a description of meditation practices and a guide to trying to sense Aether for the first time. Following its directions, I sat up straight with my feet curled under me in a lotus pose. “Breathe in for a three count, hold, release with a three count, hold. Focus your mind on your center. Feel your breath, your heartbeat, and seek out the Aether that is flowing through your center.”
I sat for a while, focused on my breathing. My first goal was to get the breathing pattern down to the point of instinct, so I could then focus on feeling the Aether. Surprisingly, it only took about an hour to get to the point of maintaining breathing in a three count without actually counting it out. From there, I focused on building an image of multicolored motes of light flowing through me, a pulsing flow that increased with breathing in and decreased with breathing out. Then I focused on the point where the Aether would be flowing through my center, a point just beneath the diaphragm, about where you are supposed to push when doing CPR. I felt like I could see myself in a third person view, like a video game. This is like having an augmented reality view of my own body! Pretty Awesome! There I was supposed to imagine a rune with a single vertical line and another, shorter, line that went from the bottom left to the top right at about a thirty degree angle. I’d done enough Trig to get the lines just about perfect.
I immediately felt the change, and my mental image changed without my input. Small multicolored specks began to slow down and curve around the rune, slowly forming a circle. As they came together, a few would rebound directly off the rune, often zigzagging through my heart and lungs. I could feel each one, a tiny jolt that was not too unpleasant. The first stages of Aether Gathering were supposed to help increase the capabilities of your respiratory and circulatory systems, though that was not described in so many words. All the book said was it strengthened your heart and lungs, but I’m sure that it did something to the arteries and veins connecting them as well. If it didn’t, the stronger heart would damage your normal arteries. As the Aether circled, I was supposed to now direct it up through a meridian that went from my center to my brain, circling through the heart and lungs on the way. This was the meridian that everyone had open. A person who had the Life meridian forcibly closed died almost immediately.
Nothing happened. The Aether just kept circling, slowly increasing in quantity. Collisions between the specks of Aether would occasionally push one out of the circle, at which point it would just fly off. I focused my mind on a single speck, watching it slowly progress around my center. Just before the place I was supposed to start from, it collided with another bit of Aether and I grabbed it with my will, forcing the rebound to be in the direction of the meridian. It slowed as it neared, and I pushed with my entire mind. With a non-audible, but rather felt, pop, it entered and flowed up the meridian, giving slightly larger jolts every time it hit an organ on the way around. When it rejoined the group circling, I noticed that it had grown slightly larger. After it rejoined, it circled around once before going back into the meridian. As it did so, I grabbed another dot and forced it to follow the first dot. This was significantly easier than the first one. I spent the next while forcing more and more dots to circle through the meridian. I discovered I could only add about half as many as circled before to the rotation on each rotation. I didn’t stop working on this until I got shaken out of my meditative state by Elena.
“Ok, that’s enough trying. It is supper time and you need to eat. You can try to grab your first Aether again tomorrow. Getting it by the weekend will be plenty enough.”
“But I already grabbed some. I was following the directions in the book and managed to grab some specks of Aether and get them circling through the Life meridian as described in the book. I feel like I’ve got slightly more energy now than I did earlier this afternoon, so it should be helping to heal the damage I’ve still got in there.”
“What, already? In only three hours you’ve got the basics down?! That’s astounding. Everyone I know of took weeks before they could get even the tiniest bit of Aether to flow through the Life Meridian. Come to the table and describe what you did over dinner.” I followed her out of my room into the main living area, where the table had already been set.
Jordan looked up from a ledger, holding what looked like a stick of charcoal in his hand. “So, I heard a shout of surprise. I’m guessing you already gathered some Aether. That is astounding. Sit and tell us about it. Maybe it’ll help us or our friend’s kids.” He seemed to nonchalantly accept that I’d have found something amazing.
We sat down and Jordan passed a soup bowl to Elena, myself, and then himself. Inside was a thick stew made with vegetables I didn’t recognize, though maybe one was a blue carrot, and some meat that looked like beef. After taking the first bite, Elena stopped and spoke up “Gathered Elements, we thank you for this meal. Now, Caleb, tell us what you did.” I described what I had done, starting with the meditation, then going into the visualization of the flow of specks of light.
“Wait.” Jordan interrupted me, “you imagined tiny specks of light, not a liquid flowing through you as the book describes? Why?”
“Well, back on Earth we discovered that just about everything is quantized, that nothing exists on a continuous basis. This was especially true and especially important for energy and light, as this allowed us to discover and use many of these principles to make life better for people. For example, you mentioned a liquid. Let’s take water, like in this mug,” I held up the mug I was holding.
“Water is made up of water molecules, tiny little pieces of water that are lightly connected to the other pieces around them. If we look even closer, we find that water molecules are made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, and even further those are divided into protons, neutrons and electrons, and so on. At the smallest level, there exist only certain amounts of mass or energy that can be used to build up everything else in the universe. I guess with that knowledge I just assumed that Aether would work the same way. This let me work on grabbing only a single speck of Aether to redirect it around the meridian, which the book said was the hardest part. If I was able to do it so fast, I’m guessing it’s because most people are grabbing too much. I could barely manipulate two tiny motes at first. I guess whatever you use to manipulate Aether gets stronger with use, so it won’t work until you are strong enough to grab a huge handful.”
“That sounds correct. I was going to advise you to try to move the smallest amount you could, but I guess I don’t need to do that anymore.” Elena mentioned, a look of concentration taking over her face. “I think this will help me to be able to move forward some more. We’ll have to think about how to share this knowledge. Hopefully we can get it into the next scribing of the Guide and help out the next generation.” Elena turned to Jordan, who hadn’t touched his food since I started talking. “Isn’t Holly and Alexander’s son Jonathan just about ready to start gathering? He’s taking the test at the same time as Aiden. We should invite them over so he can hear what to do.” I had asked
them early on to only call me Aiden, rather than Caleb, to make a clean break from Earth and get used to the name change.
“Okay, I can ask Alexander if they would want to come over in a couple days. It’s too bad we don’t know your affinity yet, though. Once we do you can refine the rune in your center to be more effective. The one in the guide is the weakest and simplest, and thus it can be used by anyone regardless of Affinity.”
“Is there a way to tell besides taking a test? The Aether specks are colored, at least in my mind, so I wonder if that can be used to tell.”
“Maybe, though usually not at first. You will gather every element to start with. That is why the starter rune is so weak; it forces you to gather at the rate of your lowest Affinity. Everyone can gather every element, but it’s not an efficient use of your time. Unfortunately, it is not safe to use runes for elements you have a low Affinity with, just as it’s not safe to use more runes than you have open meridians. The test coming up will let us know what your talents are, and then you will be able to improve your speed.”
We finished up dinner then, with Elena and Jordan discussing the shop. I was always trying to absorb information about this new world. After dinner, Jordan told me to go work on gathering some more because the larger your Aether pool before testing the more accurate the results would be. Also, having Aether in my system now would help me grow stronger, faster. Just what I needed to finish healing from this body’s long sickness and to satisfy the unrelenting drive I felt to improve.
