Chapter 9
The next morning was spent at Kail’s modest workshop yet again. Considerably cleaner than before, they were able to sit inside with enough sunlight pouring in through the windows too see clearly: the windows those that were obstructed just the day before. As expected, first thing Kail did when Jasper went through the front door was to hand him a piece of wood and ask him to carve, which he obediently obliged.
They started on simple animal carvings, carving out rough shapes of a bear, a bird and a dog. Kail, despite appearances, was a meticulous person in his craft, teaching Jasper the tricks to using the different knives for different parts of carving. After concluding the day’s lesson with a quick run down on how to finish the simple carvings using sandpaper and the pen knife for details, he hurriedly sent Jasper packing home. A rather speechless Jasper was left on the path back to the town after being ushered out by Kail just a little over noon.
Oh well, nothing left to do but find something else to occupy myself till evening, he mused. So he walked back to town, skirting the noisy town square and the children who were busy playing within. He might as well put the time he was supposed to be at Kail’s to good use. He walked in a straight line till he reached the creek that was connected to the one behind his house.
He started hunting around for more pebbles the size of his fist again, picking out the relatively even ones. The one which had a scrying rune inscribed on it yesterday he had already buried beside the walls outside his house. Finding three, he sat down and started doing the same thing he did last night and within 15 minutes they were done. Jasper’s shoulders slumped with exhaustion, beads of sweat pouring down from his temples, dampening his brown hair. Blinking the stinging salty drops out of his eyes, he panted for quite a while before recovering.
Ruefully glancing at the three newly engraved runes in his hands, he swiftly pocketed them. The small undeveloped child’s body he was in right now couldn’t handle the stress of mana channeling, although he had abundant amounts of it gathered throughout his reincarnations. This was the most basic limitation of a human body compared to a djinn’s. A human could be likened to a gas tank but their bodies could only tap into meagre amounts of it. A djinn’s was the exact opposite, they were built to process mana, in fact the more the better; they are the engines. However their astral bodies dissipates mana faster than air leaving a balloon.
So for now Jasper was limited to 3 runes a pop. He sighed and lay flat on the lush grass nurtured by the water swaying in the breeze. Relaxing, he drifted away to sleep in the comfortable cool summer air.
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A dusky room. The fireplace in one end of the hall and candles adorning the walls were the only sources of light, shedding their soft yellow incandescence onto rows and rows of books. A nostalgic musty smell, the crisp sound of flipping pages.
The two of them had the whole library to themselves, the quiet solitude cradling them in comfortable tranquility. Her awkward smile, her unfaltering gaze, her wonderful smile…
Enid…
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Jasper slowly woke up at the calls of crows, heralding the evening come. His emotions poignant, the melancholy painful. Without much thinking he started carving out a pendant out of the few pieces of wood Kail had him bring home to practice on.
Not sure what compelled him to start, a beautiful falcon was already forming with every stroke. Spread-eagled majesty of a bird of prey revealed itself before long. It could be a distraction yet again, running away from the memories, or it could be reminiscence. Jasper wasn’t quite sure himself.
Once again the blade glowed like moonlight, forcing his body to bear the strain, he engraved yet another rune. The rune of speed, the spirit of the wind, bringer of gales. It seemed fitting, and he didn’t stop to ponder why.
His hands trembled when the knife finally left the wood, dropping the pen knife while the other struggled to keep the carving from falling. He was sweating even worse this time, his vision slightly dizzy and strength seemed to have left his limbs as he waited for the weakness to pass.
The calls of the ravens grew ever more raucous; the night approaching, they searched for a place to roost. Jasper glanced at his impromptu handiwork, his lips pulled into a thin line and a slight frown creased his brows.
A peregrine falcon, just like his namesake.
Rebirth Online World 