I've now been in this world for five years. I'm not sure how, but when I came here I could immediately understand their language; maybe that was some gift from Orion. However, this miraculous ability was not transferred to reading and writing in their language, so that took me a while to pick up and run with. But in the last few months I've really gotten it down and have been burying my head in various books.
My home is just chock-full of books; they've helped me learn more about this world.
Not much has changed at home; I mean, my sister did end up enlisting in the military, but that was to be expected. She comes home around the holidays, but aside from that I never see her, but since we were never too close to begin with given the large age gap, it never affected me too much. I've gotten plenty of love from Mother and Father to make up for any of that.
Especially my mother; she just continues to smother me. It's getting to be too much; she even has me take baths with her. I know she means well.
I don't know exactly when I became able to easily refer to them as "mother" and "father," but it isn't that hard anymore. It was definitely difficult at first, still remembering my parents from my previous life, but the more I've gotten to know them and to see firsthand how much they care about me, the easier it's become to see them in that light.
Anyway, enough about them. I want to get into what I've learned about this world because I just can't get enough of it.
First of all, just as Orion told me, I live in the Democratic Republic of Zankaria. From what I can tell, it's the only country on the whole continent that's run democratically. It's a pretty diverse nation as well, being home to not only humans but also other species like elves, dwarves, and kappa. We lie in the dead center of the continent of Ashara.
That makes us also the most vulnerable nation, incredibly easy to attack on all sides. However, we remain either friendly or neutral with most nations.
To the east of Zankaria lies the Land of Kanzan. It's the home of both samurai and elves. It's an incredible land covered in bright forestry and tranquility. The more I've read about that place in textbooks, the more I've wanted to see it for myself. That's definitely one for the bucket list. Luckily for us on that front, Kanzan and Zankaria, while run differently, have held relatively similar beliefs and values that make us both rather friendly with each other.
To the south of us is the Velvet Dominion. Their country is run as an aristocracy; the wealthy hold all the power there and completely run the show. We maintain a rather neutral stance with them. They don't do anything to abhor or provoke us, and they've proven to be a valuable partner in trade, so they're usually left to their own devices.
To the west we have the most private and hard to crack of all the nations, the Stellos Theocracy. An incredibly religious nation that's run by the Church of Stellos, the largest religion in the world. They prefer to stay out of other nations' affairs and expect the same treatment, so with that we know very little about them or their ways, as they have a mostly closed border policy in place. Very little is even known about their religion outside the nation other than that they believe in a god they call Stellamos and that their leader, whom they refer to as the Celestial One, is a prophet of this god. I can't put my finger on it, but ever since learning about them, I've had an off feeling, but I digress.
Lastly, to the north we have the country that is probably the biggest aggressor and our greatest enemy, the Pax Imperium. We have been at war with them on over seven different occasions since both nations were founded over five hundred years ago. The latest of those wars was around forty years before my birth into this world, which ended after the battle of Fort Belmont, where we successfully pushed back their forces and killed one of the emperor's sons, who was leading the charge. Needless to say, our relationship with them is tense, considering most of how they run their nation and operate is in direct opposition to our way of life. We're a democracy; they're an autocracy. We support diversity and getting along with other species; they're the largest group of human supremacists in the world who enslave other species like elves and kappa. Everything I read about them makes them sound like a nasty piece of work. I have no interest in ever going there.
But enough of the history lesson; my favorite findings have been about magic. I've been so interested in this since I saw my first spell. I saw it around when I was one or so; my father summoned flames, shooting them up in the air to create the most beautiful fireworks I'd ever laid my eyes on. Being able to do stuff like that is the dream.
The good news is that it appears everyone in this world at least has the potential. The bad news is about seventy percent of the population's magic capacity is very low. So there is a good chance that I won't be able to use magic, which is a bit of a bummer, but given that my father is a talented mage himself as well as my sister, I believe I have a good chance of at least being somewhat proficient.
It seems that the rule here is children aren't allowed to use magic until the age of ten. Apparently studies have shown that during their first ten years, the pathways in their body that allow mana to flow and be used properly slowly mature and open up, but if a child is to use magic too early, those pathways could limit their magic capacity or even cut them off altogether.
So with that knowledge in mind, I've decided to respect the rules and await my tenth birthday before I give magic a try. It's a bit of a bummer, but if it makes the chances of me being able to become a strong mage even greater, then by all means I'll be patient. I mean, after all, I am just a kid at the moment; even if I could use magic at the moment, it'd still probably take years for me to properly learn how to wield it effectively.
Until I reach that age, I've decided to dedicate all my time to studying more about this world and magic so that when the time comes, I'll be more than ready for it.
So I spend most of my time buried in books or watching various documentaries and educational films about how magic works.
Oh yeah, I totally forgot to mention, they have television here. This world, or at least the Republic, seems to be really well developed for a world of magic and fantasy.
They have television, plumbing, refrigerators, and all sorts of appliances you wouldn't believe for such a world. Except instead of operating using electricity or fossil fuels, they run purely on mana. I still don't really understand how it works, but I find it rather cool.
They're not completely modern, of course; I don't believe they have things like smartphones or the internet, but all things considered, they operate a pretty advanced world that's comfortable to live in, all things considered. Well, I should say comfortable for me. I am very much aware I live a privileged life in this world, coming from a way less privileged one in my previous life, never taking it for granted and always showing appreciation to my parents for providing me with such a life.
Anyway, that's me. I suppose I'll just have to be patient for five more years. Once I reach the age of ten, however, it's all gas, no brakes. The more I've looked into magic and seen it firsthand, the more I've desired to become a mage, so once I reach the age, I'm going to train my ass off and become a mage that goes down in history.