In the universe there are infinite possibilities, multiple worlds where life has made its way through countless events as our planet did. Even in those confines where desolation seems to prevail, there are worlds like ours where living beings weave stories and give meaning to their existences.
Alkaria, the planet to which Astaroth sent Aurora's soul, was a world whose civilization resembled our Victorian period. Society was governed by a strict caste lineage system, cruelly marking the gap between nobles and commoners.
But even in this bipartisan society, ethnicity played a crucial role in determining who was at the top, such as who was in the lower rungs of the nobility.
The highest positions were occupied by the Lichen race. Beings similar to the vampires of the old folklore of our world. Followed by the Lupus, men who could take the form of bipedal beasts at will, preserving their reasoning. Lastly, the Aspirtenes; a race that was distinguished by the scales that decorated its skin and the characteristic of the slit pupils.
The individuals that made up the bloc of the mob were not very different in appearance from what human beings on earth are. With the difference that their life expectancy more than tripled the expectation of our species, as well as being endowed with a strength that could be compared to that of the great primates of our world.
Despite her fragile appearance, Maria was an extremely strong woman. Able to carry out any task no matter how rudimentary it might be. When the young maiden and baby arrived in Maria's hometown, the new mother searched for her old home and returned with her family to work in the fields.
Trading her luxury goods for the sickle and the rake, she began working the day's wages from sunrise to sunset while leaving the baby in the care of her grandmother. At nightfall, the young woman returned with her hands full of blisters and slight cuts, with an empty stomach and dry lips.
Paying attention to these details, Silvia tried to smile at her mother as she extended her arms to her. Relieving a bit of the stress that was accumulating on the maiden's muscles. To Grandma Edith, that only seemed like the impetus of a baby longing for its mother's arms. But both María and Silvia knew perfectly well that the creature was using its latent magical ability to heal him.
That routine was repeated as long as the warm seasons prevailed, while, when the freezing times arrived, Maria occupied herself with sewing work inside the warm hut nestled in the countryside.
With the changes of seasons, came the years. And with the passing of that time, Silvia had completed five years of living in that new world.
"Mother, I want to go play in the stream with the children of Mrs. Gertrudis. I can go?" – A little girl who could barely reach her waist, held on to Maria's lap, who was stirring the ladle inside the pot on the fire. Thanks to her lineage magic, little by little Silvia was able to develop her innate abilities as a Lichen, among which telepathy helped her to communicate with her mother.
With curly silver hair and crimson red eyes, her smile showed the gaps of the missing pieces due to the change of age. Despite having been despised by her birth in the Albert mansion and exiled, Silvia had developed fully and happily in that small town with the commoners.
Due to her peculiar skin tone and the characteristic features of her race, Maria had to lie to her family regarding the origin of the girl's birth. Telling them that she had been thrown out of the Albert mansion for having shared the bed with a relative of the noble family. Not caring that her honor was sullied with it, the maiden accepted that price to save the life of the little baby.
As marked by the traditions, the bastard sons of the noble houses were presumed dead and the mere mention of such an incident was severely punished among the commoners. Therefore, during the last years, Silvia was able to grow up without the burden of the stigma of unclean blood.
- "Okay, you can go play with them. But promise me you won't go beyond the edge of the stream."
- "I promise mom" - Extending her small hand to make the pinky promise, Silvia hastened to take an old and worn cap with which she covered the tips of her ears. Opening the door of the hut as he turned around to say goodbye to Maria.
Feeling the cool afternoon breeze that hit her cheeks, Silvia ran through the pastures passing her fingertips to feel the pleasant tickling that the tender tips of the ears of wild wheat produced.
- "Teacher, teacher Silvia, we are here" - A boy of a little over seven years old got up from a fallen log while a girl the same age as Silvia held him tightly by the wrist, gesturing for him to come down the voice so as not to attract attention with his screams.
- "Lucas, I told you not to call me a teacher out loud. You know very well that even when the adults take it as a game, if any official finds out it will get us into trouble" – Making a fuss with an awkward expression on his face, the boy provoked a complicit laugh from Silvia. Who only put his hands over his mouth trying to hide his toothless smile.
Because her mental maturity was far from that of a little infanta, Silvia was continually bored at home. Dolls and children's games were not something that could satisfy him, so he decided at the time to teach Doña Gertrudis' children mathematics.
Due to her skin tone, some mothers had forbidden their sons to get involved with the little girl. Being only Lucas and his sister Abigail, the only ones who dared at the time to beg their mother to let them play with her.
As she grew up, Silvia listened and watched adults do rudimentary arithmetic operations. Realizing that the mathematical principles of that world were not very different from his old home.
Since the inhabitants of that village barely subsisted on the income from farming the fields, few children could afford to go to school, which was four hours away by cart. The lucky ones who were sent by their parents studied enough so that, at the age of twelve, they had the opportunity to find work as servants of the nobles in the big cities.
In the case of Lucas and Abigail, Dona Gertrudis was too poor to afford to send them to school. Being a widow and with no other support than her work in the fields, the poor woman tried with all her might to provide the best for her children to the best of her ability.
One morning when Silvia was alone playing near the stream, Lucas approached her in silence to watch her while she used a twig to write on the damp earth on the shore. Her sister, who saw them from afar, impulsively ran up to them, startling the little girl. Who, feeling discovered, erased with the sole of his foot the scribbles he had written on the ground.
Those children were aware of their situation and feeling sorry for their mother, they begged Silvia to teach them arithmetic. Promising that they would keep his secret and in return they would pay him with fruits that they collected from the surrounding forest.
- "Very well, before we start our lesson, you know what to do" - Extending her hands, the young Lichen received the payment for her tutoring. Lucas had brought a few nuts and little Abigail had with her some purple fruits that had a slightly sweet and sour taste that resembled the wild strawberries that Silvia knew.
Even when they were insignificant things, Silvia gladly received them from those children with a smile. Well, I wanted to teach them to value work and effort, as well as how fair it is to receive a payment for providing their services.
Despite this, the three children were close friends who shared their joys, sorrows, and worries like any other child their age.
Using pieces of firewood that she had secretly collected from the ash bucket in the fireplace, Silvia wrote with them on the rocks that rested on the bank of the stream. Diligently teaching the children, who did their calculations on the ground using small stones or branches that they found lying nearby.
When the sun's rays began to languish on the horizon behind the mountain ranges, the children washed their hands in the cool water of the stream and Silvia brushed off the soot, taking great care not to stain her clothes. Well, she had to keep a secret from her mother that she gave lessons to doña Gertrudis's children.
As they walked back to their home, insects similar to fireflies began to come out of the grass. Unmistakable sign in that world, that the first days of the icy season were near.
- "Mom is soon out of work again" - Pressing her hands against her chest, Abigail lowered her face trying to hide the sadness that harbored her heart. Well, he knew very well that his brother would have to go once again to work in the mercenaries' workshops to get a little sustenance that would allow them to survive the winter.
Seeing him out of the corner of his eye, Lucas placed his hand on his sister's head, shaking her hair. At the same time that he smiled from ear to ear while with an air of security, he told her that he shouldn't worry.
Moving forward a bit to give them space, Silvia remembered with nostalgia the relationship she had with her late sister. Unable to prevent the memories she evoked from bringing her light tears of nostalgia, the girl wiped herself with the sleeve of her blouse. Saying that the wheat pollen had stung her nose and made her feel a little unwell.
Saying goodbye on the sidewalk that connected to their houses, Silvia hurried to arrive with Maria, who was waiting for her sitting at the table with a stern look in her eyes.
- "Silvia. Did you break the promise you made to me?" – Maria's voice rumbled in the little girl's head, with a different look than she used to feel.
- "No mother, I did not break my promise. I swear I didn't cross the creek"
- "I don't mean that promise!" – Raising her voice with a tone of severity, Maria got up from her chair and walked to where Silvia was. Who was still surprised by the change in her mother's countenance.
- "Show me your hands. What are you waiting for? Do it!" – Trembling with fear and beginning to whimper, Silvia extended her little hands while Maria checked under her nails. Passing a small piece of straw between the skin and the nail, one by one he went over the fingers until he removed the lumps of ash dust from them.
- "Doña Gertrudis came to talk to me after you left. When I knock on the door, she looked very happy and brought with her a basket with barley bread. When I wrote asking him the reason for that gift, he told me that it was in gratitude for teaching his children mathematics." – Holding her gaze steady, while containing the anger in the timbre of her voice, Maria watched the little girl whose lip did not stop trembling.
- "I had to lie to him! Tell him that I was teaching you and your children the math I learned at the Albert mansion. Do you know how stupid I felt when I realized that you have deceived me all this time that I trusted you? What would have happened if an adult found out that you were teaching arithmetic to Gertrudis's children? Did you also break your promise not to use your magic?"
- "No mommy, I have not used my magic in public"
-"Do not lie to me!" – Unable to contain herself before the feeling that the soul of the adult woman who resided in the body of that girl overwhelmed her, she completely broke. Starting to cry like any child who is scolded by their parents would.
Realizing how hard she had been with the girl, Maria fell to her knees and hugged her trying to comfort her while she regretted the fact that she had reprimanded him in that way.
In all the time she had been a mother to Silvia, the former maid of the Albert house had sworn to herself that she would never hurt the baby she took as her own daughter. But that cool early autumn night, that vow had been completely broken.
Feeling a strong pang in her chest, Maria began to cough uncontrollably to the point that the air in her lungs collapsed from the spasms.
- "Mom, mom, what do you have, mom?" – Surprised by that sudden event, Silvia tried to help her mother using her magic without having any effect on Maria's body. Desperate not knowing what to do, the girl tried to remember the little medical knowledge she had acquired in her past life. Praying that the physiology of the body of that species could receive first aid as he remembered it in humans.
As the minutes passed, Maria's countenance improved and the color in her cheeks returned. For a moment Silvia felt relieved to see that her mother had recovered, but a doubt inside her did not allow her to remain calm.
Trying to manipulate magic to create a spell that would allow her to see the inside of bodies like the x-rays she used in her past life, Silvia managed to reproduce something similar through the mana conduits that circled inside the bodies of living beings from that world.
Unlike humans, the humanoids from the planet Alkaria used their mana channels as blood vessels. Commoners being affected by being exposed to nobles with an immense amount of mana.
Usually, the mana of the higher species was harmless and was expelled from the body of the servants, when undergoing purification rituals administered by the priests who served the temple. But in Maria's case, upon receiving a curse spell from Miss Emilia, the mana had embedded itself in the mana lines of the maiden's body. Causing his body to develop a condition that little by little consumed his life.
- "Gluttony of mana. It is a curse that kills its bearer" – With teary eyes and barely holding her breath, Silvia's mother extended her hand to the girl's face trying to comfort her.
For the first time, little Lynche felt powerless in that world, contemplating the woman she considered a true mother, bedridden with one hand against her chest.
- "Is there any way to ease your pain, mom?" – Holding her mother's hand with her little hands, Silvia asked María for some concoction or medicine that would help her alleviate her ailment.
- "In the forest that is crossing the stream, grows a plant whose root is often used as a sedative by commoners when they cannot receive purification from the priest in the temple. Maybe it will also help to alleviate my pain" – With a slightly lost look, Maria felt her eyelids grow heavy and she told her daughter that she needed to sleep.
With those words in mind, the girl stood by her mother, keeping watch, while the fire in the fireplace continued to burn, warming the lonely room.
For the next morning, having only slept for a couple of hours, Silvia washed her face and left her mother covered with a blanket to keep her warm in bed. Taking a bag that was hanging near the door of the hut, the girl ran to Mrs. Gertrudis's house and asked Lucas to accompany her towards the forest.
- "Go to the forest? You know that we are forbidden to go to the forest that is beyond the stream. If the adults find out, they will scold us."
- "Lucas, my mommy is dying" - As if a bucket of cold water fell on him suddenly, the child could not understand what Silvia was saying.
- "What do you mean by dying? Was there an accident in the field?"
-"Nope! She collapsed in the night and can't get out of bed. My mother told me that she has the curse of gluttony" – With her eyes wrapped in a sea of tears, Silvia could barely repeat those words, almost stuttering, trying to breathe to hold back her tears.
Mrs. Gertrudis, who was listening from the kitchen, quickly approached the door and took the girl, trying to comfort her. Closing the door of the house and taking Abigail to go to Maria's hut. Ordering Lucas to accompany the poor creature to the forest and help him look for alcorn stems.
- "Okay teacher, walk. Don't worry, we'll get the yerba de alcornio so your mom gets better" – Wiping her nose with the sleeve of her blouse, Silvia nodded and took Lucas's hand, heading quickly to the stream. To later cross the vast forest that was in front of them.