Chapter Two

A little over a year after my birth, another baby was on the way. At this point I had learned the language enough to understand my family. I kept quiet most of the time so they didn't suspect I was anything special. My older siblings were more than I could have wished for. Not only were they adorable but they also did their part to take care of me. Especially looking after me during my feverish states. They didn't fight more than typical siblings and got along with each other quite well. Almari seemed the more intelligent of the two, having a good head on her shoulders. She even started learning magic from our mother, apparently to help when I was sick or when she hurt herself. When Almari turned five years old she received a dolI and tools to weave baskets with. Apparently birthdays were only celebrated every five years. At this point I was looking forward to eating solid foods.

The newest member of the family, Timothy, was born just before the fall season. A cute and healthy baby boy. The family was relieved when he was born normal and crying. One advantage of the new baby brother is I was no longer confined to a crib at two years old and though I still got plenty of attention when I was sick, I was mostly left alone. I was allowed to wander around the garden and play with my siblings, as long as I didn't go farther than the edge of the garden. Being a fragile child was a good excuse to not play with my siblings, but they were adorable to watch.

After another winter, and another bout of fevers I spent most of my time watching my siblings play or my parents work in their studio. Life was peaceful, but also boring. Though I had learned the value of patients in my many lives, sitting around got tiresome. At this point my siblings had broken down my resistance and even gotten me to play with them, on rare occasions that is. I had to do something about this boredom.

My chance to relieve some of my boredom came during one of Almari's magic lessons. I started by acting like a curious and adorable child. "What you doing?" I asked her, watching her produce little balls of water with an incantation. "I'm practicing magic!" she exclaimed excitedly. I was quick to shout "I wanna try!" I began clumsily copying her incantation as she practiced, trying to make myself look as cute and innocent as possible.

This sherrade went on for several days. It seemed Almari could only produce around six balls of water a day and it increased by one about every other day. Slow progression in my opinion but I wasn't about to show her up. After she managed to create ten balls of water I took my chance and said the incantation. The actual words were meaningless to me, I could easily use a Create Water spell without any components whatsoever. I felt the incantations were important in this world though so I didn't want to reveal that they were unnecessary just yet. As I said the pointless incantation, I used mana to draw in the water vapor from the air and condense it into a small ball in front of me. I let it grow to a slightly smaller size to the ones Almari made, then let the ball fall to the ground. This was a manipulation effect to "create water" but I was pretty sure the spell Almari was casting used transmutation techniques instead.

You might be wondering what the difference was then? Well manipulation allowed me to collect and condense the water in the atmosphere, whereas transmutation changed expelled mana into the desired material, in this case water. After I had cast the spell Almari stared at me in surprise. Then excitedly bouncing up and down shouting for mother.

In this world a two and a half year old using magic was apparently a big deal, even if it was a small effect. I could tell Almari was a proud big sister, having taught her little sister magic. Mother was ecstatic as well but also worried. She made me promise to only ever use magic around Almari or her, afraid that I might hurt myself. But sorry mother, that's just not a promise I was going to keep.

After discovering I could cast magic at a young age the family treated me a little differently. I was no longer the child who almost died from a fever twice or more a year. No, now I was the fragile girl who could probably grow up as a magical prodigy. Whenever I was feeling well, and Almari was practicing magic, I would join her. I even began using the actual incantation to cast the spell, without cheating, figuring it might come in handy at some point.

The sensations of casting a spell with the incantations were similar but at the same time different. I could only imagine it was due to the way magic flowed in this world and the formula that the spell was based on. That being said I was correct about it being a transmutation type spell.

A couple months later and magic practice was going well. I was making sure not to show up Almari, so she could stay the confident and talented older sister. The incantations were easy to learn and use, so it's safe to assume that's why they exist. While we were practicing with mother I took a chance by asking. "Mommy, why do we have to say those words when we cast a spell?" She seemed to think of it for a moment. "That's just how it works dear." A simple answer but apparently she didn't question it herself. Perhaps a magic education later in life would hold the answers.

Years went by, and on my fifth birthday my parents pooled their savings to buy a book of beginners and intermediate magic. I assumed such a purchase would cost a great deal even from an upper lower class family so I was surprised when I unwrapped the package. "A book?" I said, almost reluctantly. "Yes, a book." My father was the first to speak. "You must promise to take care of it and share it with Almari. It costs a great deal, so keep it safe." Almari was quick to peek over my shoulder to view it, awe in her eyes. "I would have loved to get a tutor for you two but… it's just too much. So I hope this book can teach you what I can't." said mother, her words contained a lot of sadness, I guess because she couldn't provide the best for her two adorable girls. I made sure to say a big ole "Thank you!" Though in the end the book could only teach me the incantations used in this world, I felt guilty that my parents had seen the need to purchase it. Given that it probably cost a good portion of their savings. I held out hope it would at least aid Almari in the end.