Those nightmares plagued his mind for seven nights, and on the seventh night his memories of the Grimoire returned. With this new information he sought the aid of Jeanne, but she told him that she couldn't help, however if he could alter fate, then his dreams of a terrible future would end.
After being warned, Jaune made a pact with a higher being and began learning how to use magic.
The nightmares didn't stop, every night he was still tormented by the grief of the future and pain of the past, the only reason Jaune could still get any sleep was because Jeanne would use a modified version of the Charm Hex that was weaved into the Grimoire.
Although the fire burning away at his dreams was a terrible thing, he had to acknowledge that his nightly suffering also acted as a fuel for his conviction. And from an outside perspective, one could say that Jaune had changed for the better.
His grades steadily improved, his free time was no longer spent on games or comics instead he began studying and exercising, he also became a lot more outgoing. Every day he would go around his village and ask if anyone needed help. He had developed a reputation as a busybody who would do chores and other such tasks for cash.
When his parents noticed his change, they welcomed it with open arms, excited that their boy was growing up. His mother very much enjoyed that he would help around in the kitchen.
However, Jaune had no doubt he would have broken down long ago if he didn't know it was possible to be free from his nightmares. Every morning after waking up he would write a quick thanks in the Grimoire, and then go about the schedule that Jeanne had written down for him.
And just like every other sunrise, the Hex wore off, his eyes snapped open and his throat choked on the scream he held in. He coughed a few times as he wiped away the tears that had stained his face, slowly he moved a body that was still haunted by the phantom pain of the fire, after getting out of bed he opened a drawer on his nightstand and pulled out a pencil and a leather bound book.
Through blurry eyes he opened the book and was about to give his thanks but he stopped.
"It's been a year and a day since you awoke your Mana and began learning about Magic under my supervision."
Jaune blinked at the words written out beneath his pencil, his mind adequately comprehending them but didn't understand my further meaning, well except for one. "Am I not progressing fast enough?" When someone mentions a time in regards to him starting something, it's normally about how he was too slow or too late.
"No, no, you're doing fine. I bring this up because it's time for your education to move on to the next stage. The reason we've been going over the fundamentals, and only focusing on Alchemy, for a whole year was because of the chaotic nature that newly awakened Mana has. It takes a year, a full cycle, for it to settle down inside the body and form a foundation."
After Jaune read those words, he closed his eyes and focused inward. It was true, he observed, the purple glow that had been violently swirling around inside him was now calmly flowing through his body. "What's next?" He asked.
"Next we move on from theoretical and go to practical applications, we'll start with Mana Manipulation, and soon I'll teach you some Spells."
"And how exactly is Alchemy theoretical? I've made some potions, oils, and ointments, isn't that a pretty practical application?"
"Ah, well y'know, it's not real magic. Any simpleton with a drop of Mana infused blood could do it."
"Uh, hello? I'm literally right here, and you literally taught me."
"My point stands, and anyways what's so magical about alchemy? From what I've gathered from you, this Chemistry replaced all the magical bits with science, if I had a fraction of that technology back in my days I would have been on par with the greatest Alchemist."
"Still, I think it's pretty cool." And he wasn't just saying that because he had spent a year learning the tedious and complex process. Even if he only physically did the first few steps, and focused on liquids only, he had still been taught, tested and quizzed on the rest of it. It had been worth his time and efforts, and he wouldn't hear otherwise.
"Well, duh. I was the one teaching you and don't even get me started on my teacher, he was a complete coot! Ugh, Above! I swear that man was the reason Alchemy struggled to advance, he just couldn't give a straight answer, everything just had to be cryptic ciphers with him!"
"You do know that you aren't really that better right? In nearly every field we've been over you couldn't give a single concise explanation that I could understand."
"That's hardly my fault, I'm a gifted student so it'd be too much if I was given a talent to teach. Think about it, if I could teach as well as I could learn, then I would have tens of thousands of students just as capable as I was."
"Fair point." Jaune smiled as he wrote, his nightmare a distant memory.
Jeanne Arc, a Witch, his ancestor who created this Grimoire and had implanted a simulacrum of her personality with all of her Knowledge inside of it. She was the reason he could even remain sane so if he didn't have her, Jaune would resort to the only other way he knew to permanently end his nightmares.
"Enough pointless banter. This is a special day, now that your magical energy has settled and you're ready to gain a deeper understanding of Magic, I shall now bestow a Magic Name upon you." The pages begin to glow bright white, and golden letters drifted off the pages as words formed in midair. "I, Jeanne Arc as La Malfaisant Doré Sorcière, recognize and acknowledge you, Jaune Arc as Le Jeune Noir Démoniste!" The golden words transformed into a complex sigil before golden light shot straight into Jaune's heart.
Energy flooded his body, making him feel more alive than ever, and then it quickly calmed down. "What just happened?" He asked after regaining his composure.
"Names are an important part of our world, True Names even moreso, when someone invokes Magic directly aimed with your True Name its effect is increased tremendously, so it became common for those who practiced the Mystical Arts to adopt a second name that to use in its stead. The Magic Name has to be vague enough that you can't be pinpointed, but unique enough that it can take root in your body."
"Why?"
"Great question, you know what the names of your heirlooms mean?"
Jaune knew what she was talking about, he had mentioned the weapon in passing as the only thing he could get his hands on. "No." Even though he enthusiastically listened to every tale his father told of it, he didn't know.
"The sword, Crocea Mors, means Yellow Death. I imagine that your great-great grandfather had used that as an Epithet of sorts, a name that invoked the color yellow and death, to imply that he was confident that he could kill his opponents. The effect of the name is only increased as more people know and acknowledge it, but if he couldn't be recognized as Yellow Death then he couldn't profit from that."
"Jeanne, I still don't get it." Jaune withheld mentioning that this was another example of her explanation never making any sense.
"Okay, well, the shield, Vita Alba, means White Life. It… so when… the name… Your Magical name has to be unique enough that others recognize it applying to you, and vague enough that Magic has a hard time picking you out."
"Oh, so it's another case of human comprehension interfering with magical intentions. Does it work on the principle of the Collective Unconscious? Is it that the uniqueness of the name is acknowledged consciously and the vagueness of the name is recognized by the unconscious?" Jaune quickly wrote down his questions.
"Jaune… you're thirteen right? Sometimes I worry this life is negatively impacting your development."
"That's plain rude, so what does my Magic Name mean?" He hoped to avoid any such topics of his growth, he noticed himself that he had stopped laughing at some point, things he used to consider fun just seemed trivial now.
"The Young Dark Warlock, but don't let it fool you, you're still an amateur Warlock so don't let this go to your head. When you grow up and mature, when you're no longer young (Jeune)," clarifying what she meant wasn't something she usually did, "we could replace that part of you with something more fitting."
"What does your name mean?"
"The Dark Golden Witch." Her answer came swiftly.
"Maybe I could become The Dark Golden Warlock someday."
"Jaune… I… don't-" For the first time since he's read from the book he witnessed Jeanne erase words before changing them. "Maybe someday. And, hey funny story, when I was young the Arc name hadn't been taken down by any officials yet, so the way we spelt our name changed depending on which member of our illiterate family wrote it down, when I had to do it I wrote it as D'Arc because my father had a thick accent. I didn't feel too bad about my mistake, because my sister had written D'art."
"Does spelling matter in regards to True Names?"
"Only when you think it does, a True Name is just what you identify it as, some practitioners go a while without hearing it and to them their Magic Name feels more familiar to them. Names could easily change, however the contents are a little harder to alter. Anyways, I think we've talked long enough, pack your bags and grab a weapon, you're finally ready to set out into the world."
Jaune re-read the final words, he knew this day would come but still, he felt a little somber about leaving his home, his family, his village, but his hesitation had already been burned away. He quickly organized a backpack filled with everything he had been informed he would need and he left a quick note on his nightstand.
"I love you all. Don't worry about me."
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