Achre felt a torrent of energy course throughout his body, radiating down from his face. His senses darted around the room, every detail in a fuzzy focus.
Compared to when his skin was being split apart and turned to moss, it wasn't as clear. His senses were, however, far clearer than before the entire tribulation.
Up close he could see every detail that marked Odessa's face: her pores, hair follicles, her expression. They all bemoaned a sinister mask. Achre felt an intense drumming in his heart, the blood being pumped through every vein and artery. The smell of earth had faded, only the deep ebb of smoke and ash billowed in the air.
Odessa shut her eyes, her smile stopped. "That was the 'Ritual of Daruun,' or more plainly, the 'Deepsoil Ceremony.' Simple."
She opened her eyes again; her face rosy and tender.
The immediate expression change blared sirens in Achre's mind. Only just now had he regained control of his body. As it stood, there was no way out - at least not immediately. In less than a tenth of a second, Achre's mind sped up to devise his next move.
'As it stands, she holds an incredible advantage. Realistically, I have a null chance in defeating her. She seems to want my ongoing survival, at least for now. Any half-assed attempt to escape would immediately get me caught. She can potentially communicate with all animalia, not just birds, as well. God only knows what other abilities she has. I must focus on the now, the danger staring back at me.'
*****
'That was incredible... a mutated boy of four.'
The thought mentally soured Odessa's mood. The boy's introduction to druidic magic had gone far too quickly. She felt as if Achre held some mystic internal power, as her ritual was forcibly completed. It was a snap second, but Odessa had caught some trace of Achre's being; and she despised it.
"Lie down now Achre. You can sleep in the spare bedroom we set up... okay?" She murmured gently. He hid it well, but the faintest falter in his brow called, and Odessa noticed.
She rose to her feet and stepped towards the stone hearth. Her figure slumped down, legs crossed as she sat on its edge. The clang of metal sounded out, the poker in her grasp.
*****
"Go on my dear. I promise nothing else will happen tonight." Odessa called, her back facing the boy.
"Thank you, Odessa." He said, his eyes locked on every fibre of her being. Achre rose as well, his four arms tensed in anticipation. Calmly, he made his way to the spare bedroom door.
Creak
Achre stood inside the room, his thoughts burning. The girl was a menace, but she would allow his living. So Achre shifted his thoughts, to whatever this newfound power was.
He innately had understanding for the outline of his abilities. Firstly, his natural senses had developed leaps and bounds. From the tinge of woodgrain on his tongue to the feel of stagnant air on his skin, he could inherently understand where things and beings were in relation to himself. Compared to when Odessa was touching him, it felt duller. Back then, it had felt as if his body enveloped the central room - as if the room was of himself. As he was now however, he felt as if it was inherently different to the moss Odessa sprouted.
'If what I experienced was some portion of her own ability, she spread her presence through the room akin to moss. The manner in which she pulled apart my senses, was far more direct than what I feel now. Even though it's dulled, it would seem my sensory ability encompasses every crevice and cranny of some non-descript localized area.'
Next was his own mind. His thoughts were quicker, sharper. Achre could grasp slightly more than what he could prior, and more importantly, he could utilize it now. Where before he could assess the passage of time through the passing of the Twins, now he could mentally block each passing moment in accordance to himself. However, it did not seem to bring about further depth to his thinking. Moreso that his breadth of conscience was further opened, and any action or thought could be processed more astulely.
Finally was his physique. Of the changes it was far and away the most minor. He had not grown in strength or muscle, but his connection to each fibre of his body felt clearer. He intuitively understood when to fire his muscles and when to force them lax.
'I haven't grown stronger per se, but my mind-muscle connection has. I must study my new powers - find the limits and drawbacks.'
As time wound down and moved into night, Achre still sat in his bed. The ephemeral journal grasped in his lower hands. From the moment he had concluded his thoughts and collected himself, he tested and retested his abilities. Although he could not do any form of stress testing whilst hidden away in the room, he could still study his own control of them.
He finished inking the journal before flicking his hand, the journal gone.
'My primary short-term goal is simple: devise an acceptable escape and evasion. The most likely avenues to pursue are: stepping further into druidic magic or the mental hand I had willed. Until a clear marker appears, I will pursue both in some mindful equivalence.'
He flicked the switch near his headboard and shut off the lit wall sconce. A ruffling could be heard, as he slid under the sheets.
'My long-term goal feels fairly vague... I suppose first on my bucket list, is solving the riddle of my own being. I am both Achre, who lives in the here and now - and he who died by betrayal. The most consequential individual to speak to on this is Gol; but I've no way to contact It. For now, I'll look for any history on my biological mother and father.'
The boy shuffled under the sheets, his body having rolled. His eyelids grew heavy, but the boy remained awake.
'Ultimately, I need sleep. Whether my guard remains up or not is of no consequence to Odessa - so I might as well make the most of it. As I sleep, I'll attempt to maintain my blanket sensory ability. Really gotta come up with a name for that.'
The boy smirked, his eyelids grew heavier. It appeared as if the boy was on the well of dreams, sleep only a dash away. His face grew flush, a deep muscular tension visible on his skin.
Achre's senses rushed out from him, a wall of feedback slamming into him. Achre grunted, before his muscles relaxed and his face cooled.
'Okay. Hurt more than anticipated, and it annoys me to not know why. At least I can feel the room around me now. Time to experiment!'
The boy laid asleep, his light breaths happily matching his chest.
*****
It was morning - Achre survived the night. He immediately set out to search his own person. Of any effects or distortions. He found nothing.
'As I suspected, conscious control is a requirement. It's inconclusive if that remains the case for further steps along druidic magic, for some like Odessa.'
'In spite of the immediate danger with Odessa, I'll maintain my current affable attitude towards her. I suspect she believes in my intellect, but obviously, has failed to realize my veteran experience. This is the only card I have, and the penultimate key to my survival. No matter what, I can't allow myself to be found out.'
Achre steeled himself, his mind calming in preparation to go out the door.
The morning went without fault. To Achre's senses, she had returned to the very same girl that consoled him, near the hearth. Their meal and conversation felt as yesterday's, as if nothing had transpired since then.
Achre was led to the garden, Odessa nearby, gifting him her knowledge. Noon quickly passed by as well, Odessa holding no shortness in her teachings. From flowers to tubers to fungi to seeds, the girl happily touched on every point.
They made their way back up the cliffside path; before they set up a picnic spot on the overlook. Again, the conversation was thoughtful and the meal pleasant. As they finished cleaning up the site, Odessa spoke.
"This my dear, is your free time. From just after noon to evening will be your period to train or relax. You could even try to walk the forest... although I wouldn't recommend it."
Odessa's grin grew large, her faint crow's feet still. She walked directly in front of the boy, holding firm his shoulder. Her body lowered, gaze tight to the boy's.
"Curfew is dusk, we have lessons at night, understood?" The smile only grew larger, her teeth pearl white.
"Most days will see me... preoccupied... during that time. With that said," She leaned over and tenderly kissed the boy's forehead. She rose and stepped towards the tree line, before a sharp whistle echoed from her lips. "I'll have little Orsin keep an eye on you, just to make certain you're being safe. Cheers!"
Achre witnessed her stolid form, before it disappeared from his sight. Just like before, she had vanished.
Achre immediately began his plan.
*****
'The boy learns quickly. Not even two months in and he has already achieved his base taxa. His is incredibly unique, not even Highlord Drosera has so rare a deepsoil.'
Odessa had just finished her teachings to the boy, and quietly sat on her cliffside porch. Two months had passed and their peaceful lives hummed along.
The boy was a quick study, and proved to be useful for the daily chores. On occasion, Odessa would stalk him from afar; her senses pinpointed on the child. Aside from the initial ritual, there had not been much stress in this clearing in Quailoon.
Odessa's hand balled into a fist, a sadistic grimace was all that marked her visage. Her mossy rocking chair undulated tirelessly beneath her, the greenery slithering against her skin.
'My dear Achre has gone and gotten me excited for what's to come. I suppose his walk is due soon...'
*****
Achre closed his shimmering journal, reflecting on what had occurred in the time since his acquisition of power. His life was good, all things considered. He had a roof to sleep under, food to eat, and a 'companion' to keep him company.
Achre did not waste his time idly.
He attempted to recall the mental hand he had willed, to conjure it within his mind. Nothing came as a result of it, his efforts be damned. There was nowhere to turn for knowledge regarding it, and he certainly wasn't going to ask Odessa. So continuous trial and error was his current strategy.
However, his understanding of druidic magic had grown substantially. His deepsoil, as Odessa called it, was the baseline of his abilities.
According to Odessa and some of the books she kept, all iterations of druidic magic formed in a unique manner. In other terms, it meant no two druids had the same abilities, as similar as they may be.
Through his own study and Odessa's testing, Achre discovered his. Achre compiled his new knowledge as such:
'All druidic magic is extracted from the nature of living things. The initial stage or deepsoil taxa, is where the practitioner's raw energy is drawn out. As every conscience living being is unique, there are no two practitioners with precisely the same ability.
The deepsoil is molded from any one of nature's four kingdoms. The two most common are flora and fauna, deepsoil molded into pines and sunflowers or jaguars and storks. Lesser seen are those belonging to the kingdom of funga, think death caps and morels. The rarest are those with germ deepsoil, so likely things such as e. coli or influenza.
Mine belongs to the final category. I can most aptly liken it to the common cold. Virulent and ever present, but not overtly fatal. My sensory ability broadly monitors a great area, but my depth of connection is poor.
As for what it changed within my body, I suspect my deepsoil has also developed some beneficial infection for my physique; it's currently minimal at best. It has however, greatly improved all of my cognitive functions. Reflexes, memory, simultaneous thought, and that's not counting what I've yet to discover.
I suppose next would be how to use it offensively... or should I focus on it's beneficial infection aspect? Hmmm... either way, Odessa claims my manifestation will adapt and evolve with me.
I wonder what lies beyond this level?'
Achre closed his eyes and went to sleep.