A Tamer's Tale

Elias stood before Eliza, actively trying to make himself look as adorable as possible. Eliza looked at Elias, her eyebrow raised, "You want to visit Granny?"

Elias nodded. His plan was quite simple: He wanted to ask the old lady to teach him how to read. He had guessed the old lady had already accepted he was weird. He was a little worried that she would out him back when they first met, but she didnt. Either she hadnt for some reason, or he convinced her with his masterful acting. Though he doubted it was the second explanation, he could hope.

He didn't know what she thought of him, but he knew she was lonely. Even if he was trying to act like a toddler to her, hopefully, some conversation is bound to be better than none.

Granny seemed quite sharp for someone her age, and he wanted to take advantage of whatever knowledge she had. Plus, he was confident it wasn't a coincidence that she was one of the only elderly people in Verdant Hamlet. She had to have some skills that contributed to her survival.

So, Elias decided to ask Eliza if he could visit her. Eliza was pretty busy during the day, so she would likely drop him off instead of staying as well.

"Yes! Visit Granny." Elias responded to Eliza

"Okay, but we will have to ask her permission first. Are you okay with that?"

"Yes." Elias nodded his chubby head.

Because of Elias's rapidly developing body, Eliza could no longer carry him on her shoulders. She merely held out her hand, which Elias grabbed. They walked towards the center of the Hamlet, hand in hand. They walked slower than normal because Elias's stride was quite short, but Eliza didn't seem to be in a hurry. She would occasionally glance towards Elias, making sure he wasn't getting too tired.

Eventually, they arrived at Kiera's home. She was sitting out front, her nose deep into an ancient-looking book. She dropped the book as she heard the duo approach. "What do I owe the pleasure of seeing the most curious child in Verdant?"

"He wanted to visit; apparently, he enjoyed the last visit we had a few months ago," Eliza said, looking somewhat confused.

Keria raised her right eyebrow. "Really now?" She paused, glancing up and down Elias. "Why would you want to visit little old me?" she asked, directing her question at Elias.

Elias pointed at the book in her hand, leaving his answer up to interpretation. He didn't want Eliza to hear him straight up ask if Kiera could teach him how to read. He was already an anomaly; he didn't want to freak out his parents in this world more than he could help it. He had yet to discover if people believed in possession or reincarnation and didn't want to test the waters. 'It's best if she just assumes I'm curious about what a book is. A 9-month-old kid shouldn't be asking to read; a 9 month-year-old should barely be able to form coherent words.'

"You want me to read to you, little one?" Kiera asked.

Elias nodded his head.

"Is that okay?" Eliza asked, not wanting to burden the older lady too much.

"Sure, I wouldn't mind the little gremlin's presence. I was reading anyway."

Eliza looked relieved but still turned to look at Elias. "Make sure you stay on your best behavior. Don't cause trouble for Miss Keira!"

"Okay! I will be on best behavior." Elias responded, giving her a thumbs up.

Eliza nodded, turning back towards Kiera before she left, "I will come pick him up near dinner time. Thank you for appeasing him."

"It's my pleasure, little missy. Now, go and do whatever a young lady like you does during the day." Kiera shooed Eliza away, waving goodbye.

Elias stood quietly on Kiera's porch, watching the old lady sit back in her rocking chair. She motioned for Elias to sit next to her. He trudged over to the chair, plopping down on a rocker. His feet hung off the front, a solid foot from touching the ground.

Kiera curiously looked over at Elias, "What's going on in that brain of yours?"

Elias stared at her, trying his best to look like a proper toddler. He tilted his head, "What's a brain?"

Kiera chuckled, "I don't know how you did it, but awakening before you hit 1 year old must be recorded." She said, her eyes turning stony. "Something is going on here, and I don't want whatever horrible plan you are cooking up to affect that sweet Eliza. She has a hard enough life as it is."

Elias froze. 'Crap, she can see that i'm awakened?' His mind turned. Should he tell her the whole truth? Part of it? Continue with the lie? His mind spun through dozens of scenarios, each possibly ending worse than the last. He didn't think she would have been so sharp, clearly discerning much more about him than he expected. He had to be more careful about who he found himself around. 'Best to avoid powerful people in general.'

'Why didn't she tell Eliza when we last visited her?' Elias's little eyebrows scrunch. He stared straight into the lady's eyes. Sighing, Elias closed them. He decided to divulge part of the truth.

"I don't know how I got here," Elias spoke, a certain weight lifting off his chest. Getting this off his chest felt better than he expected. His words were clear, with no sign of child-like speech present.

Kiera looked doubtful at Elias; she clearly didn't trust him. "Why should I believe you?"

Elias stared back at Kiera, a look of helplessness clearly etched on his face. "If I was some evil mastermind, why would I come to you to learn to read?"

"Why not ask your 'parents'" She retorted,

Elias let his arms fall to his side, "I'm already odd enough. I didn't want them to be even more cautious of me."

Kiera nodded, "You are quite odd, but I've seen many oddities in my life." Her gaze softened, but she still was on guard, "I can tell you are telling the truth, but I still don't like it. A lost soul puppeteering in a child's body doesn't sit well with me."

Elias's gaze fell. He guessed as much; there was no way someone would let him off that easy, and it wasn't like he knew what the heck was going on. He had just been trying to roll with the punches since he arrived.

"You will have to visit me every day so I can make sure you aren't plotting anything evil." Kiera said, with a gentle look in her eyes.

Elias looked at her with wide eyes, his violet iris sparkling. "Really?? Thank you so much!" Nothing good would come out of his secret being divulged. He was growing attached to the unique life that was forming around him and he didnt want to see it end so soon. He enjoyed experimenting with his Soul Ocean, using his brand-new affinities, and even playing with his siblings. The squirrel was all right, too.

Kiera chuckled, but she looked at Elias with a stern look. "That doesn't mean you are free to go. You have to prove to me you aren't some demon child." Her voice was laced with a threatening undertone.

Elias vigorously nodded, "Nothing demonic about me! I promise!" He announced, a look of relief washing over his chubby cheeks.

Kiera looked at him funny, but nodded nonetheless. Grabbing the old book she had been reading, she put it away, grabbing a smaller, less intimidating book from her packed bookshelf: "I'm guessing you wanted me to teach you to read."

"Yes."

"Okay, let's start with this book, then." Opening the small book, Kiera glanced at Elias. "But before I teach you, what should I call you?"

Elias paused for a couple of moments. Then he turned and looked at Kiera, a big smile adorning his face, "Call me Rue."

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Since Rue had visited Kiera that first day, he had returned every day since. It had been a month, and Rue quickly absorbed as much knowledge as possible. Kiera was impressed with how fast he was learning to read, but Rue had nothing else to do besides that or condensing his Soul Ocean.

Dying of perpetual boredom, he decided to ask Kiera about Soul Constructs today. He felt that she had relaxed enough since their first conversation to be receptive to his request.

Broaching the topic would be somewhat difficult as they hadn't actually discussed Rue's awakened status in full yet. Kiera merely had begun to teach him how to read, but he felt that she knew more than she was showing. As someone who had been constantly hiding something since arriving in this world, he could see she was hiding something as well. What was it? Rue had absolutely no idea.

Even though he had yet to ask any advice, his fine control over his affinities had slowly but steadily increased over the last week. It felt like he was controlling a long-lost set of limbs he had just recently discovered. The earth affinity was pretty easy to practice, but the pale gray affinity still alluded Rue. He was leaning towards it being some sort of affinity with death, but not the dead. It was odd, only working on dying trees and soggy plant matter.

He had experimented on a patch of grass, pushing what little Aether he had accumulated of that attribute into the green blades. The grass's green luster quickly shifted to brown, and the sharp blades wilted.

Speaking of affinities, the Treasure Squirrel returned each night. It would drop different sets of rough and dirty gems for Rue to pick through, but sadly, none had any Aether. However, Rue still traded with the squirrel, grabbing whatever gems were the most valuable before giving the excited little rodent the shiny quartz figurines from his mobile.

He was slowly accumulating a decent stockpile of valuable jewels. At least jewels that were valuable on earth.

Within Kiera's wooden home, herbs and plants of all kinds hung alongside the walls. Some were planted in pots, others dried, and some were submerged in strange liquids.

Rue stood nearby Kiera, waiting patiently for Keria to finish adding the final ingredient to a new batch of Medicinal paste. Kiera looked over at Rue, an amused smile gracing her wrinkly face. "You have been awfully quiet today. What has gotten into you?"

Rue decided to ask rather than beat around the bush. "Please teach me Magic," his voice sincere and tinged with anticipation.

Keira stirred the contents in a small pot, her left hand caressing her wrinkled chin in thought. "Why should I teach a brat like you?"

Rue couldn't just say that he wanted to learn magic really badly. He thought back to the few demonstrations of magic that he had observed in his short time here. He didn't know if magic was only taught to the privileged; he had seen very few refugees use it, so he at least assumed it was more accessible to the more fortunate.

But he also didn't want to cower in fear that someone would find him out and not be so gracious as Kiera. He also didn't believe that whatever graciousness the Count supplied would last forever. Shit will hit the fan eventually, and he didn't want to be stuck with his affinities and Soul Ocean unused.

Feeling that his reasoning had some merit, he expressed his concerns.

Keria stared oddly at the toddler who had actively begun to convince her to teach him magic. Never in her dreams would she have imagined such an odd scenario.

Reluctant but understanding, Kiera spoke, "I will teach you the basics, but I won't hold your hand. The potential of magic can be stifled by the tradition of those who teach it." She paused, a lecturing tone replacing her normal rasp. "If you ever join a School of Magic, take their teachings with a grain of salt. Don't limit yourself because of their lack of imagination."

Rue nodded up and down at her words. He was excited that she had acquiesced to his request. Now, he could finally learn some real magic. A systematic approach was bound to be hundreds of times better than whatever he had been doing so far.

Keria sat cross-legged with surprising agility, motioning for Rue to sit in front of her.

"I can tell you have already awoken two affinities. What are they?"

"One is Earth," Rue scratched the side of his head. But i'm not entirely sure what the other is. I believe it has something to do with things that are dying but not quite dead."

"It sounds like Decay..." She glanced Rue up and down, her face turning serious. "Some people believe affinities are a description of the soul that houses them."

"Do not tell anyone of your second affinity. Gems of decay and death are tightly regulated because of this. Some people just get too... worked up." Scowling, she paused, "How did you even get these gems?"

Rue awkwardly chuckled, looking to the side. "I traded with a squirrel..."