A Tamer's Tale

Eliza picked Elias up, placing him on her shoulders. She grabbed a few finished blankets, and then they left.

They trotted down the dirt path that kissed their door, casually making their way to a nearby dirt road that led to the rest of the homes in the Hamlet. Elias swung his head back and forth as they walked down the dirt road. His gaze focused on the cookie-cutter homes that the Count developed for the recent refugees because of the recent beast wave in the south.

Thousands of families were displaced due to the chaos, and similar amounts died in the stampede. Some of these displaced families who were lucky enough to survive the journey settled in the Count's territory. Elias wasn't sure why everyone fled here, but apparently, the Count was gracious enough to accept them. Quite a few Hamlets had been founded since then, some turning into small towns, each fostering lively communities and atmospheres.

Elias had not heard a single person talk negative about the Count since he had been here. Granted he didn't get out much, but he still found his merciful behavior suspicious. People in power often don't just graciously help others. But it was hard to deny the Count was doing good things, his family for one was extremely happy about their new home, even if small.

His father especially loved the location. They were located on the edge of the Hamlet, close to the fields he worked in. He would always talk about how awesome it was to only have to walk a few minutes to get to work.

Elias ushered his focus back to the present. A few pre-teens ran out in front of them, some were swinging sticks, and others flinging pinecones as projectiles.

Nearby an old lady with salt and pepper hair, her face and hands wrinkled waved at the varieties of people walking to and fro. Older people were a rare sight in the Hamlets, mostly because their populations consisted of refugees who could survive long treks through the wilderness. Old people couldn't often make those treks. This old lady had either been extremely lucky or was highly skilled.

Elias couldn't help but raise his little arm and wave back, a giant smile forming on the old granny's face.

Eliza walked towards the Granny, her smile turning gentle. "Good afternoon Keira. How have you been?"

Keira leisurely motioned towards a nearby chair, encouraging Eliza to sit which she did. Keria's wrinkles smoothed, "I am quite lovely. Everyone is so helpful around here helping me gather herbs and ingredients." she said as she placed a book she had been reading on a nearby table. The book didn't pass by Elias, people who could read were quite rare in Verdant Hamlet. His father was one of the few that could and he was at a kindergarten level.

"That's great! We all appreciate the potions and pastes you make. My husband in particular loves the Relaxation paste after a hard day."

"Ha, it also seems quite popular with those youngins who spend their days playing Griffle. They practically beg me every evening for whatever paste I have left over."

"I hope they aren't being annoying. I could always tell them off." Eliza proposed, a tinge of concern in her voice

"Nonsense, those kids keep me company. If I have to part with some leftover paste to have a conversation, I would do it in an instant."

Eliza nodded. Though she guessed Keira was a little lonely, she was happy to hear that she wasn't totally isolated. "Is there anything I can help you with today?" Eliza asked.

Keria looked thoughtful, "If your hubby comes across any fire-weed send it my way. Ever since I had seen a goblin blow out billows of fire I've always wanted to experiment with the substance."

Eliza laughed, "I'll make sure to let him know." Pausing she turned her attention to Elias on her shoulders. "By the way, this is Rue. He is my youngest. Almost 7 months old." Eliza introduced

Keria scanned Elias, "He is quite a big boy for only being 7 months, what have you been feeding him? I might want to study that as well." Keria said with a chuckle

"What everyone else eats." Eliza strained. Elias just kept on growing, she had never seen a child develop so fast.

"Interesting" Keria mumbled, she stared at Elias.

Elias felt like her gaze was piercing straight through him, unsure what to do under such a disrobing stare Elias just decided to act his age, the fewer people who suspected him the better. All he really wants is to grow up and explore what this world has to offer.

The way he had decided to act his age was the action of poking his finger into his nose, digging at the gold deep within the canal. Keria's gaze softened a sort of understanding flashing in her eyes. She tore her attention from Elias, glancing back at the people passing back and forth in front of her home.

Eliza stood, "Thank you again, I'll make sure to tell my husband about the fire-weeds."

Keria smiled, her wrinkles noticeably folding around her mouth. She gazed back at Eliza "Don't forget to stop by every now and then, this old lady can get lonely."

Eliza and Elias waved goodbye to Kiera, heading further into the Hamlet.

Eventually, Elias and Eliza arrived at another wooden home, it shared many similarities with their own but it sat on the opposite side of the Hamlet from their own. She gently knocked, patiently waiting with Elias perched on her shoulders.

The door opened, and a ragged young woman answered. In one arm was a screaming baby, tears falling from its closed eyes, her other arm was holding back an over-energetic little boy, his body practically vibrating with energy. "Oh! Eliza hello, how can I help you?" She strained a smile.

"I finished your blanket and I thought you may want it back. Winter is coming soon, and you need to stay warm." Eliza spoke, glancing around she noted the lack of available arms "Would you like me to set it on your table Samantha?"

Samantha spared a gracious smile, her body relaxing as she turned to allow Eliza in. "Yes please, would you like any bread while you are here? I made it just recently."

"I would love some!" Eliza graciously accepted the warm slice of Bread, breaking off a small piece, and handing it to Elias atop her shoulders.

"This is quite good," Eliza commented after she swallowed a small piece. "So, has your family had any trouble settling in?"

Samantha shook her head, "No troubles here, at least if you don't count my chaotic little Gavin, and Miss Screamy Pants right here." a tired laugh escaping her lips.

Eliza laughed, offering a partial solution to the worn-out mother. "My Gabe is around Gavin's age, maybe they could play with one another during the day."

Samantha thought for a moment, "What do your kids do during the day?"

"There is a field north at the edge of town that all the children go to play Griffle, have Gavin tag along he might like it."

"..." The conversation continued, Elias sat silently on Eliza's shoulders watching what a child his age actually acted like. The baby looked to be a girl from the two small braids on her head.

She crawled around on the ground, pausing at times trying to fit her fist in her mouth or picking her nose, sometimes attempting both. The last action was quite impressive to Elias, he could tell she had a bright future ahead of her.

Eventually, the mother's conversation ended and Eliza with Elias perched on her shoulder left Samantha's home. Instead of walking home, Eliza set her next destination to the center of the Hamlet evident by the presence of a giant pine tree towering over the small wooden homes.

At the center of the Verdant Hamlet a series of stalls selling grown and harvested goods lined the small center square. Hunted meats, wheat, potatoes, fruits, and all kinds of leather.

Eliza made her way towards a particular stall selling wooden trinkets and furniture. An older man, his hair beginning to gray but his muscles still full greeted them, "How can I help you, Eliza?"

"Good afternoon Gerit, any progress on that bed I ordered?"

Gerit perked up, his eyes opening in excitement, "Sure missy, it's nearly done. When it's finished I'll have my son deliver it for you."

Eliza thanked the man. Finally done with her errands she headed home.

That night Elias laid in his crib. Jerimiah recently made a sparkly mobile with different animals and human figures formed from quartz. It turned slowly, each figurine dancing above Elias's head. Elias stared at a quartz horse with wings as he slipped into his soul ocean.

Months passed and Elias had made a few conclusions. Firstly, he could condense his soul ocean as much as he wanted, he had yet to begin to feel a limit if there even was one. Secondly, his father, Jerimiah confirmed the need for affinities to create permanent soul fixtures.

He had got lucky, as one of the newly awakened stopped by to ask Jerimiah for some advice. Jerimiah dropped a few intellectual bombs during that visit that had set Elias straight.

Those who use magic are ranked based on how many ripples of Aether form when a mage uses Aether. A magic user who is in the first stage will only successfully create a single Aetheric ripple in the surroundings when they control and make use of Aether, while a magic user who is in the fifth stage will produce five ripples. No more, no less.

Within the ranks of magic, you can further tell others apart by how intense each ripple is. The first ripple to originate from a magic user represents the amount of accumulation they had during their first stage and so on.

Affinities are another story. They are the anchors that give permeance to soul constructs and environments, feeding attributed Aether to them. Affinities constantly feed a stream of Aether to constructs, and depending on their strength they could sustain only one construct or hundreds! Affinities attached to certain constructs also give them certain effects. If you had a soul construct that was just a normal sphere and sustained it with fire, then you would have a fireball construct that you could quickly cast. If you changed the affinity sustaining that sphere to wind, you would get a wind ball instead.

Soul environments aren't too different. You sustain environments with affinities, which you use to build a complementary space for whatever beast you want to tame.

Advancing to the next stage is where it gets dangerous. Jerimiah didn't talk much on this, only that it was dangerous and should consult one of the Count's mages.

Elias was elated when he overheard this conversation, his mind began spinning with so many ideas! But first, he needed to get an affinity. How? Well, he had a few ideas but he doubted any of them would work.

Over the last few months, Elias also discovered that the Soul Ocean had been nourishing his body. With Elias being that of a toddler, he was very thankful for this convenience. He was quick to walk at 7 months and now at 9 months could steadily walk and even occasionally wobble to run.

Though he had learned a lot and was making quick progress developing his independence he still was stuck on how to get an affinity. He remembered the importance of the shiny stones which he assumed contained some form of Aether, but how would he get his hands on some as a child?

But all of that wasn't important right now, as he was currently facing down his most fearsome opponent to date.

Elias stood on his surprisingly steady baby legs, his face forming into a scowl as he stared into a dark corner where the walls met the ceiling.

A grotesque, horrifying 8-legged monstrosity, with uncountable red beady eyes adorning its hairy body, hung still and silent. Though only a centimeter in length, it evidently was mocking the toddler far beneath it.

Elias shivered in disgust, his hands unconsciously clenching as he imagined crushing the creature. Then his clenched fist opened as he imagined it biting him before he could successfully crush it. He shivered again. 'Uuuahhhhhhhhhhhh, I HATE spiders!'

Throwing his hands out in front of him, he stomped away turning to scowl once again at the spider. It appeared only a few days ago but since then Elias had not had a good night's rest since.

He was tempted to ask Jerimiah or Eliza to get rid of the spider, but he was scared they wouldn't kill it. Both were quite careful with some previous insects that got trapped indoors. That was not an acceptable outcome for Elias. He hated spiders and it needed to DIE. So he developed a plan. It was risky, maybe the spider would escape, but it was better than giving it mercy. Spiders don't deserve mercy.

Elias would watch at night, observing the creepy crawly. When the candles were extinguished and everyone was put to bed its bright beady eyes would move. It would skitter around the roof, only hiding in the dark corner during the day.

Eventually, it would crawl down the same path each night, skittering around and disappearing into the darkness only to be seen again the next day hanging from its web in the corner. Elias was fine with spiders if he could clearly see them, but the instant they left his vision was the moment he snapped.

It could be literally anywhere! In his hair, his ears, maybe it was trying to crawl up his butt. So many places a spider could go after it escaped his detection. Elias was not okay with that.

That night, after Eliza pinched the candles sending the room into darkness, Elias began his grand plan. There was little he could do as a toddler, his coordination was abysmal and his balance was not much better. But he had to make do with what he had.

His pudgy fingers undid a latch on his crib. He grabbed the side, slowly guiding it down. Climbing down from his crib with the agility of an obese cat he made contact with the ground.

Glancing at the ceiling, Elias made sure the spider was still hanging from its shadowy corner. Its beady red eyes were visible in the dark.

Elias tip-toed over to the bookcase, grabbing the heaviest tome of the three.

-------------------------

Scitter hung silently in its new domain. Its web lay across the whole of the odd hollow tree it had been guided to. Curious furless squirrels resided in the short branchless tree. Scitter's web inside the hollow tree was quite large, but it had especially been safe. There had been no threat from the animals of the forests or sky since it had moved its lair. Though he had to share his domain with these furless squirrels, for now, the veil of safety was worth the cohabitation.

As one of the large furless squirrels pecked the heads of the smaller squirrels, it extinguished the miniature suns that illuminated a large portion of Scitters layer, sending the room into darkness.

Scitter waited, biding its time until the baby hairless squirrels stopped moving. Scitter moved, its thin hairy legs gripping the ceiling. Its beady red eyes focused on the smallest of the hairless squirrels. The creature had moved from its normal sleeping spot, but Scitter still had to check its other webs for food.

Scampering down the wall, Scitter headed for its designated exit. A warped board met the ground, creating a gap between the floor and the wall.

Scitter danced among the shadows, darting forward, seemingly each step having a purpose. As Scitter approached its exit, the shadows around it grew deeper. Scitter froze, searching for the cause. Towering above it stood the smallest hairless squirrel, a large flat surface rocketing towards Scitter's fragile body.

Scitter couldn't even let out a clack of resignation before the surface of a hardcover book pummeled the ground, splattering the surface of "How To Tame A Beast." with red and black spider guts.

Just before the book met the floor in an ungodly fusion Scitter made eye contact with the creature that would be its end. The hairless squirrel's violet eyes shined in glee, a crazed look of anticipation and disgust shared its furless face.

But that wasn't what shocked Scitter, no it was the potency of the energy that unconsciously backed its hatred. Then "Splat" Scitter was no more.