《The Painter》 Chapter 0: Prolog Prolog She often wondered what would happen after death. Though she did not consider herself to be a religious person she often found herself staring out the window during school days and just contemplating over the beauty of the sky. During those times she felt as if her soul was reaching out for something different. Perhaps something better. She would sit in the very back of the classroom and observe the birds soaring over the small lake you could just catch a glimpse of out the window if you really strained yourself to see. With quick strokes of a pencil she could draw whatever caught her eye in great detail during these treasured moments. These drawings were then carefully hidden and stowed away and while her friends and classmates knew she often doodled during class none of them had ever seen any of these pictures. One thing both she and the people around her could agree on was that she was a dreamer ¨C or at least very absentminded at times. Of course she would often hang out with her friends. She would laugh. She would crush on boys. She would share her insecurities and in turn she would listen. She would stay out late with friends having a good time. Do things she would regret ¨C mostly because her parents almost always found out about it. That is not to say she never felt sad or alone but she wasn''t the type to dwell on it. All in all she was a seemingly ordinary girl in her late teens. Her house lay on the edge of a grand forest. She would often take a daylong trip in the weekends with her sketchbook, pencil case with all her favorite pencils and a book or two in her backpack. She would do this especially in the summer but was not averse to a few shorter trips during the winter as she found all seasons to be enchanting. The brown color of her hair would blend in with the bark of the great oaks she sat beside while either drawing reading or just enjoying the day, her avid green eyes would sparkle with wonder and she would have a gentle smile on her face. This was one of the few things she had never shared with anyone as she always went alone. While she was often absentminded, she was actually quite levelheaded when it came to this, as she knew exactly how dangerous it could be if an accident should befall her while she was deep in the woods, and she took care not to be overly reckless in her choice of route and what she packed of practical necessities (for example extra water or food if she should be unable to return home) on such trips. And while she knew that it was not a good idea not to have a partner she simply could not bear the thought of sharing this deeply personal part of herself with anyone. Apart from this she was an avid reader and if she had not been so absorbed in her own world she would have been very likely to be the top of her year. As it was, her grades were average. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. It was on one such trip during the late spring of her seventeenth year that she disappeared. She always informed her parents of her route for the day, when she expected to be home and carried a GPS-tracker with her as an extra safety measure. Her parents had always worried about their youngest out of three wonderful children as she had always been quite independent. The two oldest ¨C both sons ¨C were already in their late twenties and had long since moved out and settled down with a girlfriend and wife and two children respectively. Even though both of her parents greatly worried for her safety when she went out on her own they knew they could not stop her as it was an irreplaceable part of her life. So as the day of her disappearance slowly drew to a close and one hour past time became two which became three and then four, they became more and more frantic as this had never happened before. She always called in if she knew she would be late. Hurriedly they got a search party out to look for her starting from the location of her GPS-tracker. They found the tracker, but there was no sign of the girl or her other possessions. They searched for days, but there was no sign of her. In the end the grieving family, her friends and classmates buried an empty coffin. Her mother was inconsolable for weeks. She stayed almost every minute of the day in her daughters room either crying her eyes out or slowly going through what things her daughter had collected over the years. On a sunny day early July her mother stumbled upon a relatively small wooden chest beneath the bed. It had been tucked behind several boxes filled with bits and pieces of her daughters posessions. The wooden chest was something the girl''s mother had given her which her mother in turn had inherited from her mother. She put the chest on her knees, smiled, brushed the dust off and opened it. What she found was seven completely filled sketchbooks. All filled with beautiful drawings. Her right hand flew to her mouth. She almost began crying once again but restrained herself. Slowly she began looking through the sketch books picture by picture. Completely dumbfounded. Had her little girl really drawn all these? It took her all morning to look them through. She carried the chest down to the kitchen, called her sons and her husband and then sat waiting for them to come home. Chapter 1: Rebirth Chapter 1: Rebirth It was still early in the morning and she was enjoying the scenery covered in a light layer of fog when she heard laughter. She turned to the direction from which the laughter came. It came from somewhere off the path down the slope. As far as she knew there weren''t any tracks in that direction. She wondered if it hadn''t just been her imagination when she heard the laugh again. It sounded like a young girl who had not yet reached puberty. This was when she became worried. Down the slope was the river. It was a seemingly peaceful river with a slow stream, but appearances can be deceiving. It had a strong undercurrent and if you weren''t careful it could make you fall and pull you downstream. It would be easy and hit your head on a rock, lose consciousness and drown. Hurriedly and slightly panicked she moved off the path and down the slope. In her haste she did not notice the GPS-tracker falling. She hoped the girl was with adult supervision, but if that wasn''t the case it could become dangerous. The slope mostly had younger trees so she grabbed hold of their trunks so she wouldn''t fall. She heard laughter again, this time closer. She increased her speed. In a few long minutes she was at the bottom of the slope, but she could not see the girl anywhere. She was only a few meters from the river. Down here the fog was thicker and she couldn''t see very far. She stopped to listen. There. Voices. Only slightly distinguishable above the sound of flowing water. It came a bit further from the river. She walked briskly towards the voices. The earlier panic mostly replaced with lots of relief and slight anger. This was not a place to bring a child. She passed the turn behind which she was sure they''d be. The small clearance was devoid of people. She looked around, listened, but nothing was there. It was as if they had disappeared into thin air. She walked to the center of the clearance. She turned a full circle. The clearance was oddly circular. Laughter reverberated in the clearance. She turned a full circle again ¨C no one was there. This was getting slightly spooky. The fog was still thick. She tried to move but found she couldn''t. She was stuck. The fog thickened. Just as she really began panicking small lights began swarming around her. Oddly enough it calmed her. Perhaps it was because of the beauty of the scene. She had once or twice encountered a bear and the same clear-headedness from those situations befell her now. Her eyes darted back and forth. She still couldn''t move. Suddenly the fog dissipated. She stood frozen ¨C she could move again but did not seem to notice it. She was no longer in the small clearance but rather in a small cave formed of what appeared to be wood. All lighting came from the large opening five to ten meters before her. Slowly she moved forward. What emerged before her was a sea of clouds. Once again she stood frozen. This time with fear and awe and not just pure panic and incomprehension (though both of these elements were still present). Where was she? Nowhere on earth ¨C that was for certain. She hurried into the cave once again searching for a way back. This was not her world. Even though her fingers were itching to draw her first priority would be her own security. She found nothing. The cave was completely empty. For a moment she sat down trying to collect her thoughts. What should she do? She took a few calming breaths. She decided to go outside the cave. Sitting and waiting when it had no meaning had never her style. No one would come and rescue her if she stayed put. Outside the cave was bright. A huge sun shone in red hues to her left on the horizon. An enchanting sight. She turned towards the cave and found herself to be standing at the foot of a gigantic tree none like any other she had ever seen before. She took a deep breath and nodded to herself. Her decision made. Slowly she made her way across the large roots that covered everything all the way till the edge of the sea of clouds to explore the area further. --- She looked at her watch. It had been roughly an hour since she began to walk and she was once again back by the cave. The sun was now much higher in the sky. Seems it was also morning here. The roots of the tree defined the borders of what she could now see was something akin to an island. She sighed. She had met no other humans. Not even animals. The island was devoid of life. She took her sketch book out and began to draw to calm her nerves. "It''ll be all right" she told herself. Deep calming breaths. A few more strokes of her pencil. "It''s going to be okay." The sun was now high in the sky so she sat in complete shadow because of the large crown of leaves from the island tree. She had put down her open sketch book and was now just staring out towards the sea. Only the faint rustling of leaves was heard when there was wind. She closed her eyes for a minute. Once again she took a deep breath. She couldn''t detect any scents whatsoever. This was nothing like her beloved forest. Suddenly a faint male chuckle could be heard. Quickly She opened her eyes and stood up. An old man came into view. He was dressed in a moss green tunic, brown pants, leather boots, had his white hair in a ponytail and his beard was well kept. On his back she could barely make out the shape of a bow and quiver. He sat on his heels staring down at her from the bigger root. He seemed to be in good shape she noted absentmindedly. He grinned lopsidedly and his brown eyes were sparkling in a playful manner which made him seem much younger than what his appearance suggested. "Ye''re an odd one ain''t ya. Did ye get lost or somethin'', young un?" She stayed silent. He tilted his head slightly to the right. "Ye can''t talk? Ah well, can''t be helped. Most spirits who stray in ''ere can''t hold a conversation much less keep up their appearance. Ye even conjured ye possessions." He chuckled loudly. She stared warily up at him. "I can speak." His grin grew wider. "And I''m not a spirit. By the way, who are you?" He jumped down from above and landed about two meters from where she was standing. "Oooh, this is the most excitin'' thing that''s come around ''ere for centuries. Tell me; do ye remember anythin'' from before ye came ''ere, lass?" She moved a bit further away keeping her eyes attentively locked on him should he make any sudden moves. "Of course I do, why wouldn''t I? And you still haven''t answered my question." She picked up her sketch book intending to put it in her back but the old man ¨C quick on his feet and with nimble fingers ¨C snatched it right out of her hands. "what''s this? Ye''re an artist?" She tried to snatch it back before he could look further. "Hey, That''s private! Give it back!" He quickly moved out of her way all the while leafing through the sketch book. His eyes still with that playful light in them. She stopped chasing him while being filled with anger and a great deal of annoyance. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. He stopped around midway through the sketch book where the newer drawings should be ¨C his eyes turning serious. With his hand on the page he closed his eyes as If trying to sense something. His facial expression grew even graver. Her wariness of him increased. "Lass," he barked and she almost jumped right out of her skin "Did ye make these?" She stared at him for a little while, then nodded jerkily "Y-Yes. Yes I did. Why do you ask?" She began backing away. "Stay where ye are, lass" Lifting his right hand with his palm towards her. She could no longer move an inch. Then he looked up and yelled deafeningly loud; "Moria! Moria, come down ''ere this instance!" A beautiful woman suddenly appeared beside the old man looking slightly displeased. She had dark blue hair and a long light blue dress that matched her deep light blue eyes perfectly. "What do you want, Baltimore? The Crow and I had just started a game of chess. I''ve been bugging him for almost three decades for a rematch and you have to call me now of all times. For your sake I hope he hasn''t left by the time I get back." Moria didn''t spare her a glance. "ye''re done complainin''?" Baltimore looked at her in slight annoyance. "Take a look at this." He handed her the sketch book. "Oh my. Oh my. Where did you get this? These are wonderful! They even have slight traces of the mana signature!" Moria''s earlier attitude was nowhere to be seen. Baltimore gestured towards the girl and Moria''s eyes followed suit. "The spirit? She did this?" She looked back at the old man. "You can''t possibly be serious ¨C the girl isn''t even a spirit from a mana endowed dimension." Moria spoke as if the girl wasn''t even there. He looked Moria straight in the eye. "Ye see my problem? This could only mean she was misplaced ¨C which in the end is your responsibility as the governor of managin'' the rulin''s made by Fate. Aye, this un''s on you, Moria." Baltimore looked angry. "If a spirit of a mana dimension where Fate ''as strong influence doesn''t go where it''s supposed to go we all know what could ''appen, aye Moria?" His tone was low and intense ¨C almost growling. He took a deep breath and added in a calmer tone; "fix this Moria. Now." By now the woman was looking flustered and slightly shameful. "I''ll report to Fate and see if we can limit the consequences." She glanced shortly at the girl ¨C then disappeared the same way she came. The girl stood like a deer in headlights ¨C once again completely panicked. "Everythin'' will fall into place soon enough so don''t ye worry, lass. Now. As ye ''ave probably noticed, me name is Baltimore and though I know ye think otherwise; ye''re already dead and ye''re current body is only un yere spirit ''as conjured from ye memories. I''m un of the governin'' sprites and as ye might be able to guess I hold authority over the hunt an'' forests in general. I''m what ye might call a god." She didn''t say a word. She had no idea of how to answer that. She was dead? The old man in front of her was a god? "Lass, do ye remember ye name? Any names?" Finally something concrete to focus on. Yes, this was something she should be able to answer. "Of course I remem-" I don''t remember my name? I don''t remember any names. I remember lots of faces and what each person meant to me. Family. Friends. Classmates. Acquaintances. But no names. Confusion was etched into her features "I don''t remember. I remember lots of faces but their names..." She looked sad though Baltimore actually looked kind of relieved by her response. The girl sat down heavily with her head in her hands. "Oh my god. I actually don''t remember the names of my parents. My best friend. My brothers. Anyone!" She began rocking back and forth. A hand was put on her shoulder. Startled, she looked up into the face of Baltimore ¨C sympathy eminent on his face. "Lass, it''s for the best. Since ye ended up the wrong place an'' therefore didn''t live the life ye were supposed to, ye can''t stay in the spirit realm. Ye''ll ''ave to be reincarnated, an'' names will be too much of a burden to take with ye into ye new life." Her eyes were big and round. "reincarnated? New life? Why would I want that? I just want my old one back!" She began hitting his chest. "I want to go home!" Slowly she stopped hitting and began crying hysterically which again slowly turned into quiet tears. By the time she had gained her footing slightly Baltimore was hugging her and stroking her back in a calming manner. After she had stopped crying and moderately calmed down, Baltimore took her to the of the top of the island tree where she ¨C among other sprites ¨C met the aforementioned Crow. He was a quick-witted young man who appeared to be in his early twenties. Since she was quite the commodity all the sprites present were very nice. Some were very understanding while others were so curious that they didn''t notice their insensitivity. As it turned out it was a few of the minor wind sprites who had unintentionally lured her to the portal. Since only spirits could gain access to the spirit world her real body had simply disintegrated ¨C for the lack of a better term. She spend the next couple of days in the spirit realm and while she was greatly saddened by the fact that her none of her loved ones would ever know the truth of her death she enjoyed meeting the many eccentric sprites. Even the minor ones. On the day of her departure Moria herself took the girl down to the Edge where a small plain boat just big enough for two awaited them. They took off and floated in the clouds for what may have been days or merely an hour or two. All of a sudden the boat stopped. The girl looked towards Moria. Moria smiled warmly at her. "This is it. I don''t go any further from here on out". The girl could feel her body beginning to float "Thank you, Moria." The girl was gone. --- Her first thought was one of pain. It hurt. Something was pressuring her entire body, pushing her forward. She couldn''t breath. Everything was very chaotic and as soon as the pressure on her chest was gone she began to franticly cry ¨C clearing her lungs and struggling to breathe. Suddenly she was in a warm embrace. She could faintly hear crying, but it soon grew unclear as her world became dark and she fell into a deep sleep. --- Thank you very much for reading my fiction! Sorry I''m later than I said I would be, but it took longer to write than I had first anticipated. Oh well. It''s out now. I sincerely hope you enjoyed this new chapter, though I must admit I''m not really sure why it turned out like this even though I had ''planned'' (as in not-thought-through delusions) something vastly different for this chapter... Chapter 2: Infancy Chapter 2: infancy Lying on her back she tried for the fourth time to open her eyes. Feeling her eyelids move and once again seeing only hazy contours. This can''t be happening. I can''t see! She knew she was exaggerating but her sight meant a lot to her. I won''t be able to draw! She was frantic, but was nearly completely powerless in her limbs and could in reality not really control whatever little, she could move. Completely beside herself she moved her eyes back and forth and could somehow from the source of light figure out that there was something akin to a window to her right and a wall right beside where she lay to her left, though in reality it looked more like one big shadow. She struggled to regain her emotional posture so she''d be able to judge her situation properly, though she only partially succeeded. She closed her eyes and tried focusing on her other senses, to figure out whether it only was her sight there was something amiss with and to find out more about her current environment. First on her list was her sense of smell. She could smell a faint scent of something flowery, but the most penetrating scent was her own, though she couldn¡¯t quite put her finger on what she smelled like. She definitely smelled differently from what she did before, which was something she''d have to get used to along with now being an infant. Next she focused on touch. She was lying on a soft surface ¨C a bed or crib perhaps ¨C with a slightly coarse texture, which could either mean her new family wasn''t that well off or the technology for making finer fabrics was not present. It didn''t mean much to her either way, but it was fun making conjectures. She was covered by a blanket of some sort but she could feel a refreshing breeze blowing on her face. The window must be open. Her mind turned to her hearing. There was a soothing sound of bird song and a distant sound of laughter. It seemed only her sight wasn''t quite working as it should. When her thoughts turned back to that damnable fact she once again grew uneasy. Perhaps it was only a matter of practice or maybe it was something completely normal in newborns she rationalized. Her unease remained strong and the more she thought about it the more her unease strengthened. Up until the point where she grew depressed ¨C she drove herself completely into the gutter. Her limbs wouldn''t move as she wanted them to and she couldn''t see. She began crying. Loudly. She heard the sound of a door opening and had yet another attempt at using her eyes which of course now was even harder because her eyes were full of tears. Her crying intensified. She felt herself being lifted in to a warm embrace and the person ¨C probably a woman judging by her voice ¨C making sounds at her. The babbling sounded somewhat systematic when the woman wasn''t hushing at her and she therefore assumed that the woman was speaking in a different language. With her curiosity awakened, her crying quickly died out. This new language sounded melodious with not many consonants to stop the continuous stream of sound. She tried to replicate some of the sounds, but yet again found she couldn''t ¨C this was getting increasingly frustrating. The woman ¨C probably figuring she was hungry ¨C had in the meantime moved to a chair and positioned her face right in front of the woman''s right nipple. Out of instinct her mouth sought out the nipple and began sucking for milk ¨C it had a sweet taste. After she had had her fill she tried to figure out more about the woman. Maybe even getting her to talk to her again. She wondered if this person was her mother, though there didn''t seem to be anything much familiar about her. She thought back to the fuzzy moments before she fell asleep after her birth. She couldn''t remember being inside her mothers womb, so she figured the soul only entered the body during the birthing process and memories before that would be entirely subconscious. During her previous life she remembered something about babies recognizing their mother''s voice, but this woman''s voice didn''t seem familiar in any way. So either this woman wasn''t her mother or her other memories had somehow suppressed something she was supposed to remember. Now that I think back, didn''t I hear someone crying then? It was so chaotic and confusing then, but I''m pretty sure it was a man. Perhaps my father? And it didn''t sound like tears of joy either ¨C more like heart-wrenching sobs. She went quiet. By now she was almost certain that the woman wasn''t her mother, but she wouldn''t be able to verify this before she learned the language. Oh well... She babbled at the woman and the woman answered her gibberish with a kind voice. She seems nice enough. At present her eyes were feeling heavy and her mind tired. She fell asleep. --- The learning ability of a baby is incredible... She inwardly sighed in amazement. Currently it was about 30 days since she was born. So it had been roughly a month. At the moment she was lying in the arms of the woman ¨C Andrea, she was now certain was not her mother, but rather something along the lines of a nanny or wet-nurse. She had wondered where Andrea''s own child was but had soon come to the conclusion that the child had been stillborn as the woman would sometimes get this sad look on her face when she looked at her. She was listening attentively to the woman as she gossiped with another servant of her family''s mansion. By now she had figured out that her first name was Analia (Andrea called her ''miss Analia'' so she assumed that was the case) and her family''s name was Castian. She was growing quite fond of her first name as it filled a void in her heart, she hadn''t even realized she had. Analia''s eyesight was gradually getting better as she could now see things close up more clearly. She couldn''t see much farther than a meter or two without everything turning blurry and she still had a hard time distinguishing colors in similar nuances such as orange and red, but it was getting there. It had been a great relief to realize that her bad sight probably had been a completely natural occurrence. Although there still were a lot words Analia had no idea what meant she had a general idea of what the two servants were talking about. The gist of the conversation was that the master had shut himself into his study to catch up on paperwork, though they were sure that the real reason was the death of his lover. Analia wasn''t really sure about the last part ¨C it could just as well have been ''wife'' or ''mistress''. But ¨C again ¨C her vocabulary wasn''t that developed yet (though it was certainly on its way with how much Andrea liked to gossip). The lover in question was Analia''s mother and ''the master'' should then be her father, though she had yet to meet him. In reality it wasn''t the first time she had heard this conversation round the mansion. She had heard different variations of it but the essence of it was the same. Still she listened attentively in case they should unintentionally disclose some new information of interest to the present her. Andrea often took her outside her room for which Analia was grateful, though she had her doubts whether Andrea''s motive was her health or the many small chitchats around the manor. The young woman seemed to need it. The manor itself didn¡¯t seem that large as far as she could tell ¨C granted her knowledge on that matter was dubious at best. It was also not rare for Analia to be left alone in her room for long periods of time and she honestly wasn''t sure whether that was a good or a bad thing. On one hand it opened up time for a lot of boredom while on the other it gave her time to practice moving around and forming words. She did this with an almost unhealthy single-mindedness and she could now roll around and push herself backwards nearly 2 meters or forwards roughly 1 meter before she tired herself out and had to rest. Crawling however was still in the future. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. This one month period had been very mentally taxing for Analia. She had had neither opportunity nor means to immerse herself into her own calm little oasis of drawing or go out and soak in the ambience of nature. For one she didn''t have the quality of delicate motor function that she had in her previous life so she''d be unable to draw even if she had the necessary materials ¨C which she didn''t, and she was still far off from being able to walk let alone getting permission to leave the manor on her own. This was also one of the reasons she practiced so desperately. She felt an incredible need to draw and enter into an almost meditative state to feel right with herself as it was an irreplaceable part of her soul and had been a large part of her daily routine for years. As it was she was on the edge constantly and often grew frustrated with herself and her body. --- A few days had passed since she had met the man she had surmised was her father and it had been roughly one and a half month since her birth. He had stayed with her for about an hour before he went back to work. Overall he had seemed nice, though a bit distant. He had smiled at her, but the smile hadn''t really reached his eyes and she wasn''t sure whether this was because he was still grieving or because he didn''t really like her much. Hoping it was the first she lay on her stomach on the thick carpet in her room with Andrea sitting in the corner and rested. It was late morning. Analia rolled onto her back and closed her eyes. She focused her other senses outwards and breathed deeply. Suddenly Analia felt a weird sensation in the middle of her chest. Briefly she opened her eyes in surprise before she focused her senses inwards. The sensation wasn''t physical as such, but rather like there was a spark of light inside her chest. Trying to feel it more intimately she tried to somehow see it in her minds eye. All of a sudden the little spark flared to life. Overwhelmed by the sensation she promptly lost consciousness. --- When Analia woke up later she found herself lying in her crib with no one apart from her in the room. She first opened her eyes to figure out how long she had been asleep, which was a habit she had gained to keep track of the days, because of her irregular sleeping patterns. It seemed to be sometime in the afternoon, but she couldn''t pinpoint exactly how much time had passed since she passed out. (On a side note she had yet to see any clocks so she wasn''t sure how people around here kept track of time.) She then closed her eyes again and turned her attention inwards. There was something akin to a small ball of energy in her chest. She knew it wasn''t there physically but rather there like some sort of spiritual connection. In an attempt to understand this unfamiliar sensation better she began to observe the ball in her minds eye ¨C studying it from every angle before she dared to touch or tap into it. Uncertainly she neared the ball of energy with her mind, where she first sort of poked at it before quickly retreating. Nothing happened. She braved herself close again, where she this time dared to stay in connection with it. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before. It was like a pure calm lake comprised entirely out of energy. Slowly she retreated again. What is this? Could it be mana? Baltimore did say something about a ''mana endowed dimension''¡­ She connected herself to her inner mana again. This time she tried to draw some of the mana out of the lake and into her stomach as it seemed the most neutral target. Her first attempt didn''t go well. She tried to drag the energy out of the lake, but her efforts with this method ended in complete failure. Then she tried to just imagine a bit of mana flowing from the lake and into her stomach which yielded a bit results as the mana within the lake seemed to react and try to leave the ball, though it couldn''t seem to break through the barrier. Her third attempt ended in partial success. She tried to gently pull at the mana while keeping the same image as in her second attempt and somehow pulled out a tiny strand of mana. A lot less than what she had in mind and the process was somehow very strenuous for her mind. She once again fell asleep. Over the next two months along with building up strength in her body to move around and practice speaking, she now also used a lot of time on learning how to pull out the mana from her core efficiently, and experimented with how to use this mana. About two weeks after she awakened to her awareness of the mana lake she found out that by moving it to different areas of the body and letting these areas absorb it, let her progress faster in her training. She could now crawl and her eyesight had become completely normal again. Analia assumed that this development of mana-awareness was something that happened naturally for humans in this world but this would be where she would later find out that her assumption was slightly off. As the months flew by and Analia soon hit her six month mark, the weather outside became colder and the days slightly shorter ¨C it seemed to be something akin to mid-autumn if she had to compare it with her old life. Her body grew at an astonishing pace and she had only just learned to walk ¨C although it was still more like waddling than actual walking. Analia had gained a much larger vocabulary and she had become a lot better at pronouncing the words and making the correct sentence structures. To her great dismay she had figured out that paper wasn''t easy to get your hands on. It was expensive material. So along with pondering over a solution she had somehow convinced Andrea to borrow a few books from her fathers personal library to read with her. It was harder than Analia first thought it would be to learn the letters all the while keeping it a secret from Andrea and she had yet to crack that code. It was around this time one early morning when she woke that she noticed that the world around her felt different somehow. Her eyes were still closed but she could somehow feel her surroundings. It was as if a new world had opened up before her. There was mana in everything around her, but it wasn''t like the mana in her body. Where the mana inside her was a large conspicuous ball of energy, the mana in her surroundings blended completely in with the world around it. She opened her eyes and found that she, along with sensing it with her mind could see faint glimmerings in her surroundings. This gave a whole new dimension to the world and Analia couldn''t help yearning for the opportunity to portray this new beauty. --- Here it is! Chapter 2 is finally out! I''m later than I said I would be. Again. But the research for this chapter was all over the place because I was unsure where to start and instead of writing the chapter like I should have I ended up writing a whole bunch of notes and still being completely blank as to how to start the chapter. Well. Aaanyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I will probably edit the chapters more running as I catch my mistakes.