AN: Yo, here's the next piece. Chap 5.13 includes four separate story pieces that are all connected to one another, with the Sirius one more for amusement and getting the charms to act as a good break from the tone, so I'm choosing to split them up into four parts so everyone doesn't get overwhelmed. I know many were excited to get to the end of HP, but you know, I figured we put this much effort into the world of HP, why don't we end strong and close up all the plotlines well. I want to move on without regrets that I didn't expand on things when I could. After all, this story is about the adventure, not the destination.

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Hope ya enjoy , and make sure to let me know your thoughts below, I need feedback to know if people love/hate/don't care/etc.

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Disclaimer: I own no source material.

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Chapter 5.13: Ancient Languages, A tale of a Warrior, A Sirius Adventure, and A King's Hell.

Part 1: Ancient Languages.

Jin carefully changed the wet towel from Magnie's forehead with a troubled look. 'What did you do to yourself you crazy woman?'

Fleur had long since fallen asleep with her head in his lap, but his mind couldn't rest.

After the ritual was complete, he used his new bulk to carry Magnie's full weight as the three rushed back to the tribe. All they had to do was signal one villager, and soon a whole party of centaurs hurried back to the grotto to retrieve their fallen mages.

Tyreus and Rakor appeared soon after and hastened them toward Magnie's tent while calling the tribe's healers to help.

The healers didn't use magic like a doctor at Saint Mungo's, but they were expert apothecaries, and as nature affinity mages, they had a passive ability to heal over time in nature-rich areas.

All the nature mages from the clearing were checked over and given medicine to get over the worst of mana exhaustion, but they would be down for a week or two with a light fever. Jin felt guilty and donated as many health-related potions as he had, but they assured him the mages would be fine.

Mana exhaustion was a case where a magical species hit empty on their tank and kept pulling faster than it could refill, often straining their core. In extreme cases, a magical being could draw on their life force and shatter their core, effectively killing themselves in the process as a magical species had their very souls tied closely to their magic. With the nature mage centaurs, they only reached empty and fainted rather than seriously damage themselves.

The real concern was Magnie. She had no physical injuries, but her magic was at an all-time low and barely recovering at all. At first, it was hard to tell if she was even recovering, but her mana was coming back in drops, and her core and lifeforce were fine.

However, she wasn't waking up. It had been hours since the event, and she was the only one who hadn't stirred awake so far.

Jin had refused to leave without hearing his answers, and he felt he owed the older woman too much to abandon her. 'I would have died, and it was no one's fault but my own for getting curious about the kaleidoscope magic in me. I should have known not to stare into something I couldn't comprehend.'

The fact that he didn't even realize what it was at first, or that he was entirely out of his element the whole time didn't occur to him in his self-loathing. He didn't even realize when his claws lengthened on their own and stabbed into his palm, but a hand landing on his shoulder snapped him out of it. "Don't blame yourself lad."

Jin's head turned with gritted teeth to see Tyreus standing behind him with a tired look. He whispered for the sake of Fleur, but the annoyance was bubbling inside him. "How can I not blame myself? She's like this because of me."

Tyreus eyed his bleeding palms and gave him a stern look. "Calm yourself, you are no child and this is no place for a tantrum."

A growl grew in his throat, but something about the old and wise man's gaze settled his instincts to rip into something. He took a deep breath and retracted his claws.

Tyreus didn't push him as he breathed for a long minute. "I'm sorry. I've been feeling easily provoked since the ritual for some reason."

It was little things. Jin's sensitive ears picked up sounds that grated on him, or a scent that he didn't like, or his own feelings. It was all prickling at him like needles, and he couldn't understand why. He had to return to his human form, and even then, it was just subdued but not gone.

The chief had a look of understanding at his words. "Ah, you were connecting deeper with your animal spirit, correct?"

Jin looked up with a nod. "Yeah, my tiger spirit."

"Hm…then I believe I know what the issue is." He made for the door. "Wait here, I shall return in a moment."

Jin didn't have to wait long before Tyreus returned with something and tossed it over. "Here, chew on that."

The younger man eyed the weird green root in his hand with an unimpressed look. "You want me to eat this?"

The chieftain chuckled. "No, just chew on it. It's a Valerian root and contains properties to sooth the mind. Some say even the soul. Give it a try."

Jin sniffed it and recoiled slightly at the bitter scent, but seeing as he already felt himself getting bothered, he bit the metaphorical bullet and threw it in his mouth. His teeth crunched through it with ease and spread a taste he didn't favor through his mouth.

"What do you think?"

"I think….it tastes gross."

Tyreus laughed lowly. "Indeed. It's not a great flavor. It's often smoked rather than directly tasted, but I didn't believe it was wise to smoke around the ill. However, I was referring to your mental state with my inquiry."

Jin blinked and realized the feeling had faded almost immediately. "Huh, that sensation went away, what the hell?"

The older centaur took a seat next to him with a smile. "Do you know how a tiger lives young Jin?"

"You mean its habitat?"

Tyreus shook his head. "No, I meant its preferences. Tigers are a species that can thrive in most environments, but what you are missing is that they are not pack creatures."

"….are you saying I'm getting annoyed so easily because I'm around others?"

The chieftain shrugged. "I can't say for certain. Spirit strengthening rituals are not commonly performed, but I have seen a few in my time. It cannot be done between two foreign souls, but you and your animal spirit came from the same soul. Your spirit was born from your soul and magic, taking on aspects of yourself that you may have not known you had. During the ritual, you became one with your spirit, and therefore share its characteristics. Just as a tiger prefers solitude, so will you. I am a centaur, not a tiger, so I cannot tell you what else might change."

"I thought I already changed when I became an Animagus?"

"No young Jin, you only awakened the spirit. Gained the ability to take on its form, but it still existed separately from you, inside you. Now you have become one with it, and two parts of the same soul became one once more. I don't believe I need to warn you of what happens when you push away a part of your soul, do I?" The chieftain stared knowingly at the young man. "You stopped fighting your nature."

Jin grimaced at the reminder of how he finished the ritual. "Yeah. I couldn't kill it or be killed. So I had to embrace it."

*Flashback*

"I won't be you!"

Tiger Jin roared his defiance and charged his spirit as it met him with an enraged roar of its own. Except this time, Jin didn't attempt to dodge and charged straight into the claws of his spirit as his own dug in.

Man tiger and spirit tiger stared into each other's eyes from inches apart as their blood spilled.

'I won't be you, but I can't reject you, can I?'

His spirit's eyes widened slightly, and Jin could swear it smirked at him for a moment before it bared its throat with a look of daring.

Jin understood the silent message.

To be one with the tiger, you had to embrace the tiger. Jin growled and pounced.

A tiger was a predator. A tiger was a hunter. A tiger, did not bond peacefully.

*Flashback end.*

"Only when I stopped letting my fear of becoming an animal suppress me did I manage to bond with it. To give in to the savagery and violence, the thrill and desire to declare my dominance."

Tyreus nodded solemnly and patted his shoulder. "We Centaurs are one with nature, but nature is not always kind. Nature can be cruel and vicious, deadly and vile, just as it is nurturing and loving, caring and giving. We understand those aspects and don't reject them, but we learn to live with them." He squeezed Jin's shoulder gently and firmly. "Learn to coexist with your other half, embrace what it has to offer, but at the end of the day, YOU choose who you wish to be. Always remember that."

Jin hummed at those words and looked down at the sleeping Fleur in his lap, idly running a hand through her hair. "Does that mean I have to keep chewing this nasty thing?"

The chieftain suppressed a loud laugh with a hand and gave him a wry smile. "I advise keeping some on you at all times if you wish to be around others. For us Centaurs, we have many long years to come to terms with our natures. You are young, young but fierce and strong, so don't be ashamed to use some help until you get a handle on yourself." He paused for a moment. "Although, I advise learning how to use a pipe until then. No one likes the raw taste of Valerian root."

Jin cracked a smile at that. "It's gross."

"Yeah, its really gross."

The two men chuckled and descended into a state of peace for a few minutes as they stood sentinel over Magnie. But eventually, Jin's curiosity couldn't be contained.

"Chief."

"Hm?"

"What are ancient languages?"

Tyreus sighed. "I assumed you would ask. Tell me Jin, do you know where magic comes from?"

Jin raised his head in confusion at the return question. "Do you mean inside us?"

"No, no, I mean in general."

"No, I don't. Do you?"

Tyreus ran a hand through his beard. "In truth, neither do we."

"Then why would you ask?"

The older centaur chuckled. "Humor really."

Jin deadpanned at him. "Can we get back to my question?"

Tyreus waved a hand. "Be patient with an old man, will you? I'll get there." Jin rolled his eyes but nodded, and the chieftain went on. "We do not know where magic came from, nor its origin point. But we do know that it is part of the world, part of nature just as all things are." He lowered a hand to pat the ground. "To us beings close to nature, we can feel its flow just as we feel the flow of life in the world around us. We don't see it with our eyes, but feel it with our beings, with our souls."

Jin's inner researcher shined in excitement. "You can sense mana?"

"No, of course not."

And then it died. Tyreus laughed at his expression. "We feel the mana within nature, not in all things. I cannot feel the mana inside you the same way I feel it pulse through the earth."

"Huh, cool but where's this headed?"

"Patience. Centaurs are long lived, and our stories and history are passed down through word of mouth." The chieftain looked up at the ceiling, not really seeing it, but something beyond. "Tales of wonder, stories of war, wisdom learned through time, all are passed down, from one generation to the next. However much we grasp is up to the individual, but the tales don't change."

The chief waved a hand over the dirt, and Jin blinked as moss grew and took the shape of a centaur. "In the beginning, it was said that magic was thick in the air, sprouting from the land like geysers. As the world took shape and birthed its life, so too did magic. Ancient centaurs were said to be birthed by magic, just as all beings of magic were."

The moss changed shape, from centaurs to phoenixes, to merfolk, to snakes, dryads, dragons, and more. "It is not known how we took shape. Perhaps magic touched non-magical species, or perhaps we were formed from energy; there are many theories but no true answers. But all magical species were touched and changed by magic to be able to harness it, to let it flow through us, to channel it."

The moss formed a sphere. "The core. It exists within all magical beings, not physically, but spiritually. It is our connection to magic, energy that flows through the world. To those without it, they are blind to its touch, but the energy is always there, part of the flow of the world around us."

The moss around the sphere lit up with small glowing lights, slowly moving into the sphere like fireflies. "The core is a conduit and container; it lets the mana of the world fill the pool inside us, giving us the energy to channel in various ways." The moss sphere changed shape back to a centaur. "Many species are born with connections to the elements of the world, an affinity that is instinctively known by our blood. We Centaurs connect with nature, the plant life, and a rare few of us with the stars." The moss changed to a bird. "Some like the Veela resting in your lap are connected deeply to fire and emotion, their allure often a byproduct of the mana instinctively channeling toward their affinities." The moss became a humanoid with a pointy hat and a stick. "Even wizards and witches hold the same connection, and while they don't often have a racial connection to an affinity, they are creative and crafty, inventing new ways to harness the mana within them. They are the most adaptive magical species, even if they have slowly become deafened with the ages due to their inventions."

Jin's eyes lit up at that, his mind returning to something he had realized months before in his research. "Because of their wands, right?"

Tyreus gave him a surprised look for a moment before chuckling. "Ah, I should have guessed you would realize with your unique state. But yes, magical mediums are not inherently wrong." He waved his hand further as the moss changed shape to a wand, staff, bracelet, and more. "Mediums can be very powerful. They increase our ability to pull on the mana within us, channel the mana and enhance it, and even increase our ability to recover mana in rare cases. But they are a tool. Millenia ago, before the rise of the human empire known as Rome, magicals were raised to harness their magic without a magical medium. To become intimate with their mana cores and pull on the magic within."

The moss formed the shape of a seed, slowly growing into a tree. "Back then, magical mediums took time to form. Requiring a magical to bond with a branch of wood and infuse it with their mana for many years to form a medium attuned to them. Some cultures even had their young grow a tree from a seedling and feed it mana for decades until it grew enough to give them a branch. The time spent in their youth went toward connecting with mana and the world. And then the wand came, and with it, a shortcut."

The moss became a burning building. "Human's are a short lived race compared to many, and in their haste and immaturity, many lack the patience and the teachers to guide them on the correct path. The wand gave them a shortcut to learning, giving them direct access to their mana so they could learn the teachings of their ancestors at a rapid pace. And just as a child is likely to play with fire, so too did the young wizards play with magic. Doing incredible and awful things, igniting wars and shedding blood wantonly. It was an era of unrest for the magical world as they felt themselves conquerors."

The moss returned to the shape of a wizard. "Unfortunately, while they have calmed over the millennia, their ancestors' pride and arrogance still remains,believing they are kings in a world they do not rule. Not all are the same; just as you have the mind to be respectful of other races, so too do many of your kind, I have met many in life, but just as there are good, there are also bad who take on the arrogance to cruel levels." Tyreus's gaze passed over the sleeping Magnie with a significant look. "A truly mixed bag the human race is." Jin noticed his gaze, but the chief waved his hand once more as the moss image of a wizard lost its wand.

"Back to the point, however, the generations of wand wielders have bred a race of magical beings that have forgotten what it means to connect with their core. They speak of how only the very best of them can perform simple acts of magic without a medium, but that is rarely due to skill, but simply the large mana pools that come with age and repeated use."

Jin cut in there. "Actually, there is a school out there that teaches magic without a medium. In Africa."

Tyreus blinked at that. "Truly? Hm, perhaps it is best if I narrow down my story to this land. I'm afraid the communication between centaur tribes across the seas is not as common as those between ones in the same land. We tend to live and die in the forests we were born into after all. The tribes of this forest tend to be more informed than others thanks to our close living quarters with Hogwarts. The founders often came around to share their tales over drinks, Godric and Slytherin especially loved our liquor and got into brawls over it."

"You're a millennia old chief?"

"Ha, no, but my grandfather was a young chief at the time and passed down his tales."

"Ok, while I do want to hear more about that, I think we're getting off topic. You were talking about mana cores?"

"Ah, yes, yes, my apologies." He waved his hand, and the moss once more became a sphere. "The core is a conduit of mana. No matter where we go, the core will always refill as it is the connection between us and the magic of the world. It pulls from the world to refill the pool inside us."

"I thought wizards believed they generated magic."

Tyreus chuckled. "The words of children. We do not generate it, we are but buckets, being granted water by the world itself. It is possible to sever the connection through natural materials or specific magic, but otherwise, even if you were to go to other dimensions, mana is everywhere, and it would still reach you."

Jin blinked at that. "You know about dimensions?"

"Of course. Do you believe this is the only one? Demons are a magical race that exist, just as the Fae exist in their own space. Magic has birthed many things over its long existence."

Jin rubbed his chin and nodded. "Fair. Wait, we're doing it again. Go back to the core."

The chief gave him an amused look. "You asked this time."

"My bad."

"Yes, 'your bad'."

The two shared a low laugh as the chief went on. The moss sphere split into three portions. "The core is a conduit, a bowl, or a cup, bucket, pool, however you wish to call it, inside us that fills with mana." He pointed to one part of the sphere. "When one trains the body, the container becomes more robust, able to handle more strain, channel more mana from the core." He pointed to a second part. "When one gains knowledge and wisdom of the mind, they learn to channel the mana inside their container. To harness it in a variety of ways with different magical species inherently channeling the mana in ways unique to them." He pointed to the last third. "And finally, when one trains the soul, the connection to the source of mana widens, allowing for us to surpass the limits of the body and mind."

Jin's eyes shined as he pulled out his journal. "Are you saying a stronger soul can break the limits of a mana pools size and recovery rate?"

Tyreus chuckled and nodded. "Among other things, but yes. The soul is the limiter of our species. To enhance the soul, is to widen the conduit that limits the mana pool and recovery rate, but the body and mind need to be prepared to handle that strain, or else either can shatter." The chief's face grew solemn as he patted Jin's shoulder and got his attention away from taking notes. "Beware, Jin, the soul is sacred to magical species for more than simple empty devotion. It's also a warning not to tamper with it, for tampering with the soul can have unforeseen consequences on the mind or body."

Jin's mind snapped to Voldemort and his horcruxes. 'Voldemort was a genius of his generation, but his fear of death pushed him to try and escape it. Perhaps it was the splitting of his soul that deranged his mind.' Outwardly, he looked to the chief. "I think I can understand how to train the body, but how does one train the mind?"

The chief removed his hand with a smile. "Knowledge, wisdom, experience, will, there are many ways. Gathering knowledge, expanding your understanding, connecting deeper with the world, experiencing hardships or challenges, testing your will against obstacles. Even I don't know all the paths. But young Jin, you have a remarkable will for one so young."

Jin's pen stopped as he raised a brow. "How so?"

"Your second ritual, do you fully understand the significance of the pain you were under?"

A phantom throb of pain ran through him at the reminder, but Jin shook his head. "I try not to think about it. It wasn't fun."

Tyreus wryly shook his head. "I bet it wasn't. Magnie shared the details with me. You effectively suffered the same fate as a crutiatus target for fifteen minutes, albeit without the lingering curse damage, and managed to retain your mind where others would fall in minutes. That speaks of a tremendous will, likely born through simplicity than experience." The chief gave him a meaningful look that had Jin leaning away slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"Jin, I do not know your circumstances, nor will I ask of them, but I believe I'm old enough to recognize an empty cup. You are a curious and fierce young man, and I highly approve of you, but you lack much life wisdom. It is like seeing a teenage cub that forgot its youth under the tutelage of its parent. When one grows, the mind is filled with habits, desires, thoughts, things that derail us from giving our all to a singular task. You lack that distraction. That clutter of one who lived a full life."

Jin flushed under the older man's look and scratched his cheek. "I may have….partial memories of my time before last summer."

Jin was a shattered mind put back together by Zelretch, who picked up the pieces and sent him along on a journey. He was given a new body, and the memories he retained were aspects of fiction the kaleidoscope magic grasped onto when his mind shattered. Whoever he once was, he was a human in a modern world wishing for so much more to his reality, to the point his fictional dreams were more potent than his desires for anything else.

When he arrived in the world of Harry Potter, he had nothing cluttering his mind, no past relationships, no fears of hate. He was just going with the flow of his new reality.

Perhaps he was just a patient in a coma somewhere in a hospital, but that didn't matter to him. He was awake in his reality, and whether it was an illusion or not, he wished to proceed free of heart.

He studied magic like a man possessed. The Wit-Sharpening potions helped him retain knowledge, but his simple-minded love and joy of learning more about real magic pushed him on with little to no distractions. He took advantage of his increased talents for Charms and Arithmancy to study years of coursework in weeks. Filled his mind with decades of theory from generations in months.

The time in between was, of course, spent relaxing and enjoying his life. Eating lovely meals, relaxing by the hearth, enjoying the breeze on a beautiful day, working on simple chores with or for Hagrid, interacting with magical creatures, or helping Hagrid with classes.

And then Fleur came, and his world brightened. A new connection was made in his empty mind, and he gave to it wholeheartedly.

Fleur might believe it was her Veela heritage that pushed along their relationship so firmly in such a short time, but that was only in part. Jin gave of himself freely to her without hesitation or distrust. His heart was open to her, and the bond between them soared. He showered her in affection, and she returned it with a passion that would make any Veela proud.

When he entered the Chamber of Secrets and found Slytherin's journal. His mind was overcome with the emotions left behind, and his floating, empty mind gained focus. It gained a will. A will that had little to no obstacles in taking root and rooting itself as a building block in his mind.

When he did battle with the spiders, and his tiger aspects encouraged him to fight on, it met few obstacles, and he found himself loving combat. No matter the injuries, no matter the pain he suffered, no matter the blood and sweat, he pushed on, and his will grew.

The rooted seed at the center of himself sprouted and grew deep. Jin wanted to be free, follow his heart, travel and explore, see new things, and enjoy life with those he loved, the family he was building around himself. Fleur, the elves, shadow, they were dear to him.

He wanted to be strong to have that freedom. To enforce his freedom against others with their own desires. He wasn't naïve enough to believe wishing for something so significant without strength would end well. So becoming strong was part of his freedom. And learned that the process of becoming strong was part of the fun.

He wanted to be free. To never experience the same defeat Salazer held at his end. The defeat of the self, where your fire burned out, you were tired and sad, and all you wanted was to die to be with the people you loved.

Jin wanted to live with his family and never let the journey end. He was a traveler, a tourist, if you will. And the chaos of his journey would paint his mind with experiences he couldn't ever imagine.

His will wouldn't bend so easily, and the second ritual put that to the test, spitting him out stronger than he was before in body and mind.

Tyreus laughed at the look on Jin's face. "There it is. The eyes of a warrior ready to stare death itself in the face and laugh. A quality one so young shouldn't have, and yet you do. I saw that the day I met you. I thought it was simple youthful arrogance, but soon learned it was so much more. Your mind is strong because your will is strong. Never lose that, and your future is limitless."

Jin smiled at the older centaur. "Thank you chief, I think you unintentionally helped me put a few things into perspective just now, including my feelings on certain things and people." He looked down at Fleur's sleeping face with a gentle look and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Feelings that had been building for months seemed so much more apparent to him at that moment.

Fleur mumbled in her sleep and nuzzled deeper into his stomach like a cat, much to the watching Jin and Tyreus's amusement. But unseen to both of them, a broad smile was on her face as she listened in.

The chieftain patted Jin's shoulder gently. "My pleasure young warrior. But I believe we deviated once more. You wanted to know what ancient languages were, correct?"

Jin nodded. "Yeah, not that I didn't enjoy the talk, but why explain all that about the mana core?"

Tyreus waved his hand to make the moss take on the shape of waves. "Because to explain what an ancient language is, I had to explain why it mattered. The ancient tongues were used by magical species far older than those living today. Just as the tide of the ocean rises and lowers. The flow of mana in the natural world reaches peaks and lows. As the mana of the planet rises, more magical phenomena, beings, and events come to pass. As the mana recedes, the magical aspects degrade. The dragons you see today are not but distant descendants of the mighty creatures that once roamed. The phoenixes used to be higher in numbers and strength. The Veela's ancestors were truly beings of fire. The merfolk were descended from the mighty creatures of the true deep."

With each line, the moss changed. "Those ancient species were different from us. Our ancestors, born in a time of dense mana, could speak in tongues foreign to us that empowered their magic for a single reason. Do you know what that reason is?"

Jin opened his mouth to answer when a rough voice did it for him. "Soul." Jin and Tyreus's heads snapped to the resting Magnie's open eyes and disgruntled expression. "It's the soul ya god damn long winded bastard."

""Magnie!""

The woman coughed harshly and pushed herself up as she eyed Tyreus. "Why do ya always have to run people around in circles. Just answer right away ya old coot."

Tyreus's brow twitched despite the smile on his face. "If I'm old, what does that make you?"

"It makes me a woman who will shove her hoof up your ass if ya don't get me some water." She smirked right back, and Jin was quick to summon pillows from across the room and prop them beneath her.

"Take it easy will you, you were in a coma for all of eight hours."

"Oh, is that all?" She rolled her eyes but didn't fight him as he supported her. Fleur had somehow remained 'asleep' through the commotion, and Jin couldn't move easily with her clinging to his waist, so he levitated the pillows.

Tyreus handed her a water satchel and leaned in to whisper. "You pushed yourself again Mag, maybe too far this time."

She took a long drink and scoffed. "I did what I wanted to do Ty. I got my reasons."

He sighed sadly. "I know. But was it really necessary?"

Magnie side-eyed the impatient Jin, trying to gently remove Fleur's arms from around him without waking the girl up so he could get closer with amusement. "I think it was. The lad needed the kick to get the job done." She winced at a flare of pain. "Although, I didn't expect things to go that badly. Lad never makes it easy for me."

"You know Daz wouldn't want this for you, right?"

"Bah, who cares what he would want, that idiot went and died years ago. I'm my own woman Ty, don't you forget that."

The chieftain chuckled and backed up just as Jin gave up and dragged himself and Fleur closer. "I think even mother magic knows it Mag."

"Mother magic knows what? Sorry, I was distracted." Jin stuck his head in, and the two centaurs chuckled as Magnie idly pushed his head away.

"That I'm a badass, lad. The old coot here gave you one of his patented long winded speeches. Let me make it simple for ya. Unless he disagrees?" At her look, the male centaur just rolled his eyes and waved her on. "The reason ancient languages are a big deal is cuz of the soul. Dryads, ancient dragons, the serpents of ole, the Fae, they all are capable of channeling mana through the use of languages to empower magic but it takes energy from the soul. For us lower grade magical beings born in a weaker tide of mana, our souls simply aren't strong enough to handle the strain of using em for long."

Jin rapidly wrote her points down. "So the trick to using an ancient language for magic is to have a stronger soul? But you used it a few times in the rituals?"

She chuckled and laid back against the cushions. "Ya, and it damn near killed me. The soul is different from the body or mind. It can be trained all the same, and its resilient, but you overdo it and it can cause long lasting damage." She focused inward and winced. "Like me. It took me years of painful training to increase the strength of my soul, and I could only use a few words every couple months. Doing it the first month drained me spiritually. Doing it the second month strained me. And this third month finally did me in. I won't be doing anymore rituals for a good long while."

Tyreus coughed into his fist. "She means she won't be doing any more magic for a good long while." He gave her a stern look that had the woman flipping him off.

"Don't baby me Ty, I'm the best mage in the tribe, I know what my condition is like."

Jin cut in there with a solemn tone. "And what is your condition? Don't sugar coat it and just tell me honestly." He stared hard at the woman who looked back at him with a sigh.

"Damage to the soul can be fatal if you push it. But for me, I just went far enough that my mana recovery slowed to a crawl. Cores a bit raw at the moment as well." She scoffed at his look. "Don't look at me like that lad, I ain't dying anytime soon. Besides, Saya's ready to step up to the plate. I can afford to be off hand with my training from now on."

Jin's solemn tone didn't waver at her words. "That's not a good enough reason. Why did you do this? Why would you sacrifice so much for me? I'm just a random traveler that's passing through and will be gone in a few months, there was no reason to give up your magic for me." He was growling at his words by the end, having chewed out the root in his mouth without him even realizing it.

Tyreus was about to reach forward to remind him when Magnie surprised everyone by reaching out to grab the back of Jin's head and shove it into her bosom. "You're pretty wordy today Jin. Don't you know not to be so pushy with a woman?" A soft smile stretched across her lips as she spoke.

Jin's issues with being around others went silent at her actions, and he found himself internally getting choked up. "Why?" He wanted answers.

Magnie chuckled and rubbed his head. "Believe it or not, Jin, but everyone's got their own reasons." She sent Tyreus a look, and the older man understood.

"I'll head back to my tent. Rest up Magnie, we're going to have to talk about your retirement when you can get up."

The woman waved him off lazily. "Yeah, yeah, get going."

Tyreus chuckled. "You never change. Get better Mag."

"Will do Ty."

He paused at the door and tossed a satchel at Jin, who offhandedly caught it without looking up. "And Jin, keep chewing. I'll show you how to grind it up to smoke tomorrow."

Jin groaned and pulled away from the woman to reach into the bag as Magnie laughed. "I'll show him Ty, but you better break out your good stuff later. I know you keep a stash of Wyrmwood hidden away."

Tyreus's face scrunched up as he left without a reply. "How does she always know…?" His mumbling voice trailed away as Jin through a new root in his mouth with a wince at the flavor.

"Wyrmwood?"

Magnie chuckled at his expression. "It's a natural wood that can be ground up and smoked for flavor and minor mana recovery properties."

Jin's eyes lit up. "It recovers mana?"

"Yeah, but it's so minor there's no point in going crazy over it. It's best used for recovering over a long period, but most of us enjoy it for its flavor. Forget about it and focus on your Valerian root." Her shit-eating grin pissed him off, only for the root to relax him. And then it repeated. An infuriating cycle.

Jin definitely didn't pout at the older woman. "Can I get some answers now?" Magnie laughingly coughed to the side, and Jin worriedly patted her back. "Hey, if you need rest, we can wait."

She pushed him away with a scoff and took another drink. "Fuck off with that shit, I told you, I ain't dying. My bodies just going through some aftershocks from the soul damage."

Jin grunted and eyed her. "What exactly is soul damage?"

Magnie wiped her mouth and sighed. "The long winded one explained everything already, so you should understand when I say its damage to your core, or conduit. Your mana pool will lose size and your recovery rate will shrink."

Jin blinked at that. "Shrink more than 1%?"

She gave him a weird look. "1%?"

He flushed and scratched his cheek. "I did my own research and found that wizards all recover around 1% of our mana pools a second."

Magnie hummed at that and nodded. "I guess it's accurate for most magical species. Well, mana pools would differ greatly by species and age of the individual, but for those with low grade souls, the recovery rate stays the same."

"And your recovery rate shrunk? Is it permanent?"

She winced and waved a hand in a so-so gesture. "Not permanent, but its gonna be a slow recovery. Soul damage takes a while to heal unless you got some miracle stuff." She glared at Jin. "And don't you dare go looking for em. Most of em have vanished from the world for centuries, not even phoenix tears can heal soul damage."

The woman strangled Jin's rising thoughts before they could even take form. "Tch, fine. How come you can cast in an ancient language? I can't make mine work for shit."

Magnie blinked at that. "Excuse me?"

Jin didn't even bother caring at that point and just admitted it. "I'm a natural Parselmouth. Got it the same time I got my skin." Which wasn't a lie; even if his backstory said it was from a botched ritual with dark mages killing themselves in the process of fueling it, he 100% got the abilities at the same time when he entered the world.

The woman just deadpanned at him and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Of course you are. Why are you such a pain in my ass lad?"

Jin smirked at her. "Didn't know you like it rough Magnie."

Fleur rolled over to hide her laugh, but Magnie had no qualms as she laughed freely. "Ha! Good one. Anyway, I advise not pushing it. Soul injuries ain't fun." Her face scrunched up as another wrack of pain went through her. "Not fun at all."

He nodded seriously. "Whenever I tried to cast in Parsel, it either failed, or drained me until I felt faint. My instincts told me to stop pushing after that."

She huffed. "Good instincts. I wish I had more to tell you lad, but I only got to where I am through repeated attempts, suffering backlashes, and healing slowly with a more robust soul each time. But you ain't a centaur, and you won't passively heal through natures embrace."

Jin sighed at that, and the older woman internally caved at his expression. "Alright, I got one thing I can share."

He looked up with big hopeful eyes, and she shook her head. 'He's like a damn cat. When did I get so soft?' She scowled and went on. "I got no idea how to help ya increase the strength of your soul. Mine is stronger than most, but it's not that different from others, just inflated I guess." She pointed a finger at him. "But increasing the size of the soul ain't the only way to improve. My own master from back in the day always told me about refining my soul, but I had no clue what she was on about. The damn batty woman was half senile by the time I started learning under her." She mumbled the last line to herself, loud enough for him to hear.

Jin chuckled at the mental image of a young Magnie getting hit over the head with the staff of an old grandma centaur.

He looked up at her clearing her throat with a dry look. "Did you just imagine something rude?"

"Yes."

"I'll smack you boy."

"Stay in bed grandma."

"Come here you!"

"Oi. Fleurs sleeping."

"Uhu." Magnie side-eyed the suddenly sweating Fleur as she trapped Jin in a headlock and nuggied him. "I'm sure she is." She lifted his head and stared into his eyes. "Jin, promise me you won't recklessly try to improve the strength of your soul by healing from the backlash of forcing the ancient tongue. You . Won't . Heal. Trust me."

Jin's stubbornness reared its head, but his instincts retreated at her honestly caring look. "Fine. Tell me more about refining then."

She wryly smiled and let him go. "Not much to tell. I never understood it much myself, figure it our for yourself."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

She shrugged. "I already opened the door for you, go examine your soul on your own time." Her eyes narrowed on him. "I don't know what you experienced in there, and I won't ask, but your mind was suffering some serious damage before I channeled close to half of the charged mana from every nature mage there to hold things together. Whatever you did, don't do that again. I won't be there to help you."

Jin winced at the memory and nodded. "Noted. What did you mean about opening the door?"

"Did you feel something shatter when the ritual started?"

He thought back to when something hooked his naval and slowly nodded. "Yeah….I think I smashed through something on the way to my soul."

She flicked his forehead, only for her to be the one to wince. "The hells your bones made of?"

"Manliness."

Magnie rolled her eyes. "Sure. The thing you smashed through was the barrier everyone has to accessing their soul. It can be opened through long periods of meditation or enlightenment, but I chose the shorter path."

He blinked at her blunt words. "I feel like this is a bigger deal than your making it out to be."

She scoffed and adjusted her pillows. "Pretty much. Anything to do with the soul is shunned by most species out of fear. Centaurs have the history of our ancestors to remind us of where we can and can't walk. You're likely to get shanked for even talking about soul related topics to your own kind."

Jin silently agreed with her as she went on. "Besides, that ritual was one of my own creation. And it only worked cuz I could use an ancient tongue. Don't take the path I made for you for granted. You got all the keys you need to figure out how to refine your soul on your own time."

She relaxed back into her hill of pillows with a sigh of pleasure, obviously dismissing him, but if she thought that was enough, she didn't know him.

Jin's eyes glared a hole into the side of her head. "Woman. You're not asking my question. Why did you do all this for me."

Magnie clicked her tongue. "Damn, almost got away with it."

"Talk woman."

She adjusted onto her side and rested her head on an elbow. "You're really gonna be stubborn about this, aren't you?"

He nodded shamelessly. "Damn straight. You almost died, you crippled your ability to do magic for years, if you think a little advice is gonna make me go away your mistaken. I want to know why you did all this. You could have told me about the costs, and we could have postponed the ritual a month or two at least."

She hummed and stared at him. "And would you have that kind of time lad?"

His brow scrunched up. "What do you mean?"

Magnie just lazily looked at him. "You're not gonna be around much longer, will you Jin?"

"Well, yeah, but why does that matter?"

"Because I want the spiders gone."

"You want them gone enough to push yourself to this point?"

She scoffed, and Jin was taken aback by the sheer venom in her voice. "I would shatter my soul to kill those fuckers." Her face smoothened out rapidly as she relaxed. "But that's just one reason among many."

Jin finally understood how deep her emotions were about this and sat back. "Will you tell me about it?"

She lazily looked at him. "You want to hear an old woman's tale that badly lad?"

"When she gives so much for me, yes."

She sighed. "Fine, fine. It's been a while since I talked about this anyway." She pulled on a necklace that was tucked away under her tunic, revealing a silver ring glowing in the torchlight of the tent. "If you want to know so much, I'll tell you." Her eyes tracked the ring with a distant look. "The tale of the idiot warrior who left me a widow so many years ago. The tale of Daz, the centaur."

Part 1 Over.

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Part 2: A Tale of a Warrior.

AN: Thoughts?

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P.S. More will be shown in the future, but Parseltongue's ability to empower magic will make a difference in this story. An example for people to imagine, is Skyrim's dragon shouts with their cooldown needs, albeit to a much lower grade of impact. The stronger Jin grows his soul, the deeper his mana pool can grow past the 400 unit limit, the more his mana recovery speed will improve, and the more often he can use Parsel to empower a spell before he has to wait for it to recharge. It's an ability outside his mana, stamina, and health. He can still talk to snakes normally, its just for actually casting magic. Plus, a stronger soul has various benefits in the long run that will be revealed throughout the story.

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Response to reviews:

/: Noahbadoah – If you guessed the plans for Parsel, major props to you my friend! Hope you enjoyed it.

/: OoOXylionOoO – Hope you enjoyed the Parsel reviel. Aragog gets his own backstory in part 4 'A kings hell'.

/: charly22salazar – Healing charms exist. If you were referring to adding them to the vote, there was no point. With a limited slot and many powerful options, Jin already has his healing bloodline.

/: HughJasz – Thanks! I put a lot of thought into how to make the rituals come out. Hope you enjoyed Magnie's part here.

/: Slooth – thanks! Never tried fallout, I'll give it some youtube vid tries, but I'm hyped to start playing Hogwarts Legacy in a few days. My dumb ass bought the reg version instead of Deluxe, and the refund process is a pain in the ass. Gonna wait till Friday and game my heart out.

/: Guest, shinigami101505, Mr BrownOptometrist, sethmtx, flip flip2 electric bogaloo, .pc – thanks for the votes!

/: erozoth – you have confused me.

/: LB97 – Thanks for the vote and reasoning! I wanted to redo the vote with the final options to let people realize what exactly they would be capable of in the short term. And yeah, that was my reasoning for an earing as well. I'm all for a necklace, I just didn't want to give him something that might get in the way during a fight. The cash will be well spent ;). And yes, the elves are 100% with him all the way. Fleur's reveal will come at the end, no spoilers!

/: Vansmoke – Pirates of the Caribbean would be fun! The world has a surprising amount of really valuable stuff for a mundane world. It's like all the pirate fantasies come to life, without being kid friendly lol.

/: Raidentensho – Thanks! Wuxia could def be in the list, but not for the first few worlds at least. Soul Land would be awesome if Jin got a spirit ring or two.

/: A potato – Thanks for the vote! And I agree that too many combat spells clutter things up. My plan is to make Jin have his 'staple' go to spells. And mix things up when they are necessary. For future worlds, I don't plan to change Jin's fighting style. It will stay the same, but be enhanced by future partial powers he gets.

We have similar thoughts on Fidelius. Although, I'm debating between making Gol or Shadow the secret keeper. Cuz shadow is her meowjesty, and seeing people have to earn her favor to be blessed with the paw of acceptance would be hilarious.

To be honest, I like anti-apparation more than space expansion. One is a spatial lock, the other is expanding. And considering Jin doesn't have runes yet, he can't exactly permanently expand anything not touching his body like his coat pocket. But spatial lock has many uses. Both charms however can lead to future teleportation with Jin learning to shift the space around him, rather than try to force his body away from a location.

I also fully agree with the unbreakable charm logic. And no worries on the review, I love theory talks!

/: randomguy9005 – the atmosphere charm is the most limited in immediate short term benefit, but it has the largest potential for sheer destruction in mid to late game.