That night, at the end of her first day in this new world (which she'd spent almost entirely within the confines of this room), Melisa sat at her desk, surrounded by a pile of books and scrolls.
She looked like a crackhead.
Breathing heavily, her hair a tangled mess and her eyes almost bloodshot, she stared down at her table. Her battlefield.
She was on a mission, and that mission was to unravel the secrets of this world's magic.
[I don't care what anyone says,] she thought, her brow furrowed in concentration. [I'm going to find a way to use magic, even if it kills me!]
She had been studying for hours, pouring over every text she could find on the subject. Which was, of course, not many.
Why would they have a lot of them? They weren't mages.
But none seemed to help. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't tap into the well of power that everyone else seemed to have access to.
[This is ridiculous,] she thought, slamming a book shut in frustration. [How am I supposed to be important in this world if I can't even cast any spells?]
She leaned back in her chair, rubbing her temples. She needed a new approach, a fresh perspective.
And then it hit her.
[... That's right. I'm a software developer. I know logic, syntax, and manipulation of data. How can I apply that to this?]
She grabbed a fresh scroll and started scribbling furiously.
The way magic worked, one required three things in order to cast a spell.
1. An incantation.
2. "Weaving" the spell in the air.
And:
3. Essence.
Nim lacked that last one, which was the issue.
Melisa stared at the diagrams in the book, her brow furrowed in concentration.
[It's almost like code,] she thought, tilting her head to the side. [The way the incantations are structured, the specific order and placement of each word... it's like a programming language.]
She grabbed a fresh scroll and started scribbling furiously, jotting down notes and observations.
She noticed how each spell seemed to follow a specific syntax, with certain words and phrases acting as keywords and operators.
[And the way the weavers draw the spells in the air,] she mused, sketching out a quick diagram. [It's like they're writing the code, line by line, to create the desired effect.]
As she worked, a sudden realization hit her.
[Wait a minute,] she thought, her eyes widening. [If spells are like code, and weavers are essentially writing that code with their Essence... Then, as long as I can find Essence from somewhere, I should be able to cast spells, right? The rules just say you need Essence. Does it really have to be my Essence?]
Her mind raced with possibilities.
[What if I could create spells using something else?]
She started brainstorming, jotting down ideas and possibilities. And then, like a bolt from the blue, it hit her.
[Runes,] she breathed, her eyes wide with revelation. [Can runes exist in this world? I mean, they should, right? I-If they could, I could use runes to create spells!]
There was no real reason to believe that this had a high chance of success, but this was the best idea Melisa could think of in the moment. She couldn't let it slip.
Runes, as she remembered from her favorite fantasy stories, were physical objects with symbols and etchings that gave them power.
Some magic, some Essence, would need to be infused into them to make them work. But, Melisa felt like she was on the right train of thought.
[People in this world have to have tried just writing down incantations and spellsigns themselves. I have to do it in a way they haven't tried.]
It was a reach, nothing but a flickering candle of hope in the snow.
But to Melisa, it was everything.
[This is it, I'm sure of it,] she thought. [This is how I'm going to use magic, even without Essence. I know it.]
She knew she had a long way to go, but she was committed to this.
---
With this having been figured out (or, at least in progress), there was another matter that needed her immediate attention.
Her family's struggles. The debt they owed and the mysterious figure named Striker who seemed to be the cause of all their problems. Melisa needed to find out more.
She started digging.
The halls were quiet.
[Guess my parents like to sleep in early.]
Melisa walked around, her tiny bare feet thudding lightly against the wooden floor.
[A library, a study, any sort of place like that is what I need. All I need is a...]
She stopped.
Moaning reached her ears.
She stopped right where she stood, and from where she stood she could see into one of the rooms to her left. The door had been left open.
Meaning, she could see her two new parents...
Doing their best to give her a sibling.
[... Wow.]
Melisa blinked.
Shaking her head, she walked away.
[.... THIS IS THE PERFECT DISTRACTION!] Melisa kept going, the rhythm of her footsteps matching the clapping of cheeks in the air. [YES, THEY'LL... THEY'LL NEVER CATCH ME SNEAKING AROUND NOW!]
Sure enough, she soon found what she was looking for.
A place with all sorts of books and records pertaining to her family.
She opened each one up, one by one, and...
What she saw was enlightening, in the worst way.
The Blackflames, which apparently only consisted of a handful of people, her parents included, were in deep, deep trouble. They owed a massive sum to some shady organization, and Striker was their enforcer.
He had been putting pressure on her father for months, demanding payment and threatening dire consequences if they failed to comply, and each time, Melistair had only barely managed to get the sum needed
[Wait, this is bad,] Melisa thought, her heart sinking. [Really, really bad.]
She knew she had to do something, but what? She'd just gotten here.
[Financial troubles, huh?] Melisa sighed. [Well... If runes don't exist in this world, then, making them would probably amount to some pretty good money, right?]
Melisa closed the book in front of her.
[There's more riding on this than just my power fantasy. I need to figure this out.]