"What I mean by this is that I'm going to help you. I will teach you Witchcraft." She smiled, crossing her legs as she said that last phrase.
I felt a warmth through my shoulders and my body, but I stopped the feeling just as it arrived. "And the price? Nothing is free in this world, after all," I asked as I straightened my back.
"True. In fact, I want something." She moved her hand and made the fire in front of me change again. It was me this time. "I want you to become part of my coven." She said as she kept shaping the fire.
"Coven?" I asked with a hint of caution in my voice. 'That shit sounds shady as fuck,' I thought before Violet tapped my head with her palm.
"Language." She said casually as she kept speaking. "Yes, a coven. Based on what your future self told me, I can theorize that something happened to the rest of us." Her smile trembled a bit as her eyes closed slightly.
I noticed the tone in her voice. I remembered that my future self said that the books were written in a dead language, so that meant nobody left spoke it.
She noticed my thoughts and looked at me. "The other book may be Agatha. She's also from the coven." I felt a chill when she said the name. "I want you to join the coven and discover what happened to the rest of us." She stopped and looked at me with a serious face. It was the first time she wasn't smiling.
"Don't you think they perished when the meteorites hit Earth?" I asked.
She smiled at me again, raising her eyes a bit. "Tell me, does this look like Earth to you?" She said as she pointed to the room and the citadel. Then she shook her head while closing her eyes. "These poor younglings today. Not all witches stay on Earth. Most of us like to travel, to explore and study the universe. At least our coven does."
I opened my eyes and raised my eyebrows. 'That shit sounds like fucking aliens to me,' I thought as I received another tap on my head.
"Hush, you need proper training, Leo. You are too vulgar." I wanted to protest, but I didn't. I knew that I wasn't the most educated person, and I really didn't care, to be honest.
"You should care," she opened her mouth to say something but closed almost instantly and just sighed. "Well? Are you going to accept the offer?" she asked, returning to her usual smile.
"What does it mean being part of a coven?" I asked.
"Being part of the coven means you become family. If you are in trouble, we help you. If we are in trouble, you help us. You have the qualifications to be a witch. No, in fact, you are already one." I remained silent as she kept her explanation.
"Witches need a coven. It's not a suggestion, it's a fact. To protect themselves and become stronger, the knowledge passes from the old generations to the younger ones." She stood up from the chair and walked toward me, then sat on my lap as she smiled.
I felt how the heat of my body started to rise. I couldn't take my eyes off her face even when my Instinct was screaming at me. "There are some rules too, or more like traditions. But it differs from each coven." She whispered in my ear, sending shockwaves through my body. "We have ranks and some other bureaucracy, but it's always for the best of the coven. We are free individuals who bond for life. We become family." After she said that, she stood up and walked to her chair again.
I tried to calm my breathing as I looked at the floor and held my hand to my heart. 'Dammit, she keeps messing with me.' She didn't say anything this time. She just waited until I raised my gaze. She was smiling.
"Can you promise me that you are not my enemy?" I said as I tried to decipher anything: a gesture, a sudden move, any hint that could tell me that she was lying. But even if she was lying, I knew that I would accept anyway. My other choice was not learning witchcraft and having two books without utility until I eventually met the future my future self had witnessed.
"I, Violet, promise by my True Name—The Witch of Joy—I am not and will never be your enemy if you join the coven." As she said the words, the fire of the fireplace moved through her neck like a collar, then formed a chain through all of her limbs before disappearing and melting with her body.
'True name... That thing again.' Violet raised her eyes in noticeable surprise.
"Oh, so you've already heard of that? I think I'll need to spy a little more in your mind, hehe." Before she started to walk toward me again, I placed my hand to make her stop.
"I have one condition. No more reading my mind, no more messing with my head," I said, looking at her directly in the eyes.
"I accept. I will not 'charm' you unless you ask." She smiled and clapped her hands. From the fireplace, the fire shaped through the air and moved to my left arm, shaping into another tattoo, just like it did with Legemens, but this time it was a silhouette of a woman with a hat, extending her hand to the sky... or to my shoulder to be precise.
I felt warmth, but not enough to burn me. When the tattoo finished forming, it was followed by a warm feeling in my heart. It felt good. I felt covered, the same feeling when I covered myself with a quilt on a cold night.
"Welcome to Astris's Coven, Eleonora." She smiled and walked toward me as she embraced me in a hug. I let her embrace me. It felt good, and that worried me. I wasn't used to things feeling right, because things never turned out right.
After I don't know how long, Violet broke her embrace and grabbed my hands. "Okay, time for your first lesson." She grabbed my hand and guided me to the writing desk. She moved her hands and the old chair appeared there, manifesting with purple fire, then she made me sit there.
"What do I do? Wait, do I have time for this? I need to return before the others wake up. Now that I think about it, what is this place? Does it—" Violet placed a finger on my lips and moved her hand, conjuring a paper and a quill on the desk.
"Don't worry, I already thought about that. First, write what you can do on that paper." She sat on the desk table and spoke again. "Status Window. That's what they call it."
"They?" I asked as I started writing.
"The gods. It's been a while since a Game of Gods occurred. This is the first time I hear they destroy planets, though. They usually give mortals a 'System' so they can have a visual way to see their own souls." She explained.
[Status Window]
Name: Leo / Eleonora
True Name: Witch of Adversity
Gifts: None
Innate Abilities: [Instinct]
Flaws: [Adversity]
Spells (Unique): [Sigil] [Legemens]
Class: Novice Witch
Stored Essentia: 0
UNDETERMINED: ---
[You have two new notifications]
"The Goddess who enjoys battles would like to give you a Gift. Do you accept it? Y/N"
"The Goddess who does not believe in friendships is interested in you"
—
As I finished writing the paper, she snapped her fingers and created a copy in her hands. I noticed how her eyes raised a bit just for a moment.
"The Witch of Adversity." My heart gave a big thump when she said the name. "This is your true name, Leo. Make sure not to tell anyone you don't trust. It's fine with the members of the coven, but outside of the coven, keep it private. Names have power. Never forget that."
I nodded as I looked at the name on the paper. 'So that's my True Name. I'm not even Leo anymore,' I thought as Violet spoke again, cutting my chain of thoughts.
"And the description?" she asked and looked at me with a puzzled face.
"Description?" I asked with confusion.
"Right. Try to focus on the names of the items—you should have a minimal description of what everything does." She explained while she moved her legs playfully and snapping her fingers, conjuring another piece of paper and handing it to me.
I looked at the paper and focused on the names. Then suddenly the information started to appear in my head. I wrote it down.
[True Name: Witch of Adversity]:
Once upon a time there was a witch who wanted to live a peaceful life, but no matter where, when, or why, adversity always followed her. Where the witch walks, adversity follows.
The witch attracted those who sought to harm her, consciously or unconsciously. Broken people driven by adversity sought out the witch. No matter how absurd the situation was, adversity always followed the witch.
But the witch never gave up, not ever once. She persevered through adversity. The witch understood finally why adversity always followed her.
"I am the Adversity of Adversity. I am The Witch of Adversity."
(Your True Name gives you the Innate Ability [Instinct] and the Flaw [Adversity])
[Instinct]:
You have lived your whole life fighting against adversity, developing a keen instinct that allows you to avoid deadly situations. The more deadly situations you survive, the keener your instinct becomes.
You'll never win against the Adversity, but you'll never lose as long as you don't give up.
[Adversity]:
You will have a hard life until the end of your days. You have a tendency for extremely improbable and absurd bad things to happen to you. The more deadly situations you survive, the more dangerous situations you'll come across.
—
I stopped writing and looked at the paper in silence. I felt a lump in my throat, for a moment breathing became hard. Violet snapped her fingers, making a copy, and read it too. She also remained silent.
"Well, that's messed up," I mumbled as I noticed the truth behind my True Name. Violet stood up from the desk table and walked behind me and hugged me.
"I know it sounds horrible, but trust me, there's good in the bad. It's also just your interpretation of your own name." I felt her warmth, but the lump kept stuck in my throat. I wanted to scream and kick everything, but I didn't, I couldn't.
"There's a saying in our coven: Through my magic, the impossible bends to possible." She tightened up the hug and pressed her hands towards my belly. "Give it a chance and try saying it, Leo" she said slowly and with a soft tone.
I felt the hug and held his hands, perhaps too tightly, perhaps too weakly, I wasn't sure. But it helped ease the lump in my throat. I tried to breathe, but it was difficult, the stupid air was not entering as it should have.
"F-fuck you adversity" I mumbled then take a deep breath "My magic is making the impossible possible." I heard her chuckle. I felt embarrassed. 'Ah, fuck. I want to die.' But her laugh for some reason made my body relax
"Well, I like your version more to be honest" She said and slowly broke the embrace returning back to the desk..
"It's fine. I don't care anymore. I already knew my life was not going to be easy." I shook my head, trying to regain my cool. "What now?" I asked.
"There are a few things you need to know beforehand. If I remember correctly, you used Legemens on that girl, Olivia, right?" she asked, trying to return to her usual smile.
"Yes, the old man said that I need to make physical touch," I said as I showed my right palm where the symbol of the spell was. "But I think it stopped working. I couldn't read Livia's thoughts when I woke up in the cave," I said.
"Clearly, 'the old man' didn't teach you well." She said, making a mocking gesture with her hand. "You don't need to make physical contact to use Legemens, that's a bad understanding of the spell."
"The basis behind our witchcraft is Essentia—in physics they call it Energy." She said as she moved her hands and made one book from the bookshelf fly to us. "Everything is Energy. Have you ever heard that, Leo?"
"Do I have to? I barely read after high school," I asked, raising one of my eyebrows.
"Don't worry, you'll study a lot." She said as she pointed at the bookshelves. "The first and most important concept is this: Everything is Energy." She lifted a finger toward the ceiling, and at once, everything around us began to levitate.
"When you sleep, you recover energy. When you eat, you gain energy through the nutrients. This chair was made by the hands of an artisan who used their energy to make it, the same applies with the paintings, the bed, the curtains, everything. Even money is a form of condensed energy." As she pointed at things one by one, they started to melt and transform into liquid purple fire and traveled to the fire in the fireplace.
"In order to cast a spell, you need to use Energy that belongs to you. We call that Essentia." She placed a finger toward the first paper I wrote, and then the information started to update by itself.
[Stored Essentia: 0]
Everything is Energy
According to the Witch Violet, Essentia is the energy saved that belongs to you. This is the primary resource to cast spells.
—
"So you're telling me Legemens stopped working because I'm out of Essentia?"
"Correct. The amount of Essentia you use can also affect how you activate or manipulate a spell. That's why I told you you can use Legemens without the need to directly touch someone. It will cost you more Essentia, though."
"Okay... How do I get more?" I asked.
"That's the first problem we want to address. You need to use the [Sigil]." She pointed toward the fireplace. "If I'm not mistaken, you are currently in Vulkris. You need to prioritize your Essentia wisely. I wouldn't make any new from your sleep or meals if I were you."
"Then what? I won't be able to cast magic then?" I asked.
"I didn't say that. You can use Essentia from objects you own, from your thoughts, from your feelings, and even from your memories. Let me teach you a trick." She said.
She wrote a word on the paper,"Alacrity", and gave me the paper. "Do you know what it means?" she asked.
"No? Should I?" I asked.
"It means 'cheerful willingness to oblige.' For example: the children tackled the chores with surprising alacrity." She said with a smile. "Now burn the paper in the Sigil. Just think that you want to gain Essentia." She pointed at the fireplace.
I nodded and threw the paper in the fire.
[You have gained 5 Essentia]
Although I didn't see the window in front of me, a mental image appeared. I babbled as I looked at Violet. "I gained 5 Essentia."
Violet smiled and asked me, "Could you please tell me what word did I teach you just a moment before, Leo?" I froze. I didn't know. I knew she had taught me a word and its meaning, but I couldn't remember.
"That's why you need to study. Do you get it now? As long as it takes energy that belongs to you, you can create Essentia." She said, smiling.
The realization hit me like a punch. 'Of course, it makes sense. I didn't even know what I used in the first place to use Legemens.'
Before I could ask anything, Violet started to speak again.
"Now the second problem we want to address: You will not be able to learn spells from me, Leo..." I opened my mouth ready to protest. "Yet." Then I closed it.
"Different witches have different types of specialization. I specialized in charmings, as you may have already experienced. And that's the problem, the current spells that you could learn and use now, are only useful against people. They will not be useful against non-rational beings. If you had more essence, I could teach you other spells that would work against them." She said as she walked towards the full room, restoring the bed, the curtains, and the paintings.
"Wait? You can charm monsters too?" I asked with genuine concern as I looked at her. She stopped walking and chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand.
"I can charm even gods, Leo." She said as she walked to my side by the fireplace. I tried to think she was bluffing, but maybe by the way she said it, I thought that it might be true.
"But that does not mean you are alone. You are part of the coven now, and as your superior, I'll help you. Always." She said as she grabbed my hand. I tried not to look at her and focused on the purple fire. "My advice is that you try to be 'necessary' for your new comrades." She whispered in my ear in a sweeter voice, implying something.
"Y-you mean, Livia?" I asked, feeling my face starting to blush.
"I was thinking more about the other."
"Milaine? No way, that chick is crazy!" I said with disgust.
"Language. Leo, you may not like her. But she's strong, from the memories I saw, she can heal injuries. So you need to get along with her." She stopped a moment before speaking again. "She reminds me of you in a certain way."
"Which part? Besides, I don't trust her. She's hiding something, I can feel it. My Instinct is always on around her," I said with disgust.
"Really, you don't notice the similarities? Well, that's homework for you. And of course she's hiding something. Everyone is doing it. But that's more reason to keep her close and try to get along." She said, squeezing my hand.
"Okay... I'll try," I whispered as I tried to calm my heart rate. "About the gifts... is it true what my future self said?" I asked with a low voice, too feminine for my taste.
"Half true. The gods that like to be involved in the Game of Gods tend to patronize humans in order to use them as their future reincarnations. Usually when you accept one gift from one specific god, the rest lose interest and assume that you will accept the patronage of that god."
"So they don't own your soul?" I asked, still avoiding her gaze and looking at the fire. She was still holding my hand, and she was trying to intertwine our fingers.
"Not yet. If you are smart, you can get one or two gifts from different gods, but when they notice that you are trying to trick them, they'll use other mortals to hunt you. Not counting the flaws of the gifts." She finally intertwined our fingers.
"What do you recommend?" I asked as I finally looked at her. She was smiling at me. Even though I knew she wasn't using witchcraft on me, I couldn't stand holding her gaze. She was too much.
"I would not take the bait. Once you accept a gift from them, the one who gave you the gift will have access to your status window. But I'll try to call their attention, even if they don't patronize you. They are still watching because they are bored. That's the type of creatures they are, so use them."
"Something like trying to support their favorite player in a game?" I asked.
"Exactly. Now you are starting to think like a witch." She kissed my cheek as I felt a giggling that made me want to push her to the floor. Before I could notice, the world started to melt and disappear. The world started to blur and darken. I could hear the distant voice of Violet.
"Good luck, Leo. Visit me again when you are safe."