Elevation of Mana Chapter 48 Cracks on the Surface

I was with some of the younger boys, showing them the basics of trapping.  We didn't do this every day, but as their senior it was part of my duties to lead them as best I could.  Sadly they were all too young for me to speak to properly, all too fresh to the world and all of its wonders.  As they ran off again my mother came to my side.

“They're so small, I remember when you were that small,” she said.

“I don't know, I think I've got a bit bigger I'll yet be.”  It was the truth, I was in my growth phase, but based on the pains in my bones I was nowhere near done.  I still stood almost as tall as my mother even now.

“You're nearly ready to become a man though,” she said, sounding sad.

I hugged her close.  “Don't worry, you'll always be my mother, no matter how big I get.  I'd wager you came here for something else though.”

“Hmm, Elaya told me about what happened with you kids.”

“Yes,” I didn't try to hide the fact that I was unhappy about not being told what I needed to be, and I knew mother had been a bit withdrawn recently.

“As soon as either your father or I are old enough we're leaving,” she said with a hard finality.  “I don't know if you'll join us or not, or if you want little Isha to, but we should have those conversations.  We also need to be prepared.”

“Prepared for what?” I asked.

“If you come with us, our whole family will be leaving.  Larus is so close to your father he's likely to, and if little Isha does that will leave only Elaya in the village with any light.  She might try to stop us.”

“Do you think Isha would?” I questioned, a bit concerned.

My mother looked at me blinking for several seconds.  “My my, how could I have ever raised such a dense boy?”

I had to take a few moments to go over all of the more recent months.  She wasn't like Cala with Rindal, or like the girls Ninden or some of the others were always with.  She didn't hang off my arm, or come and lay against me at night, but I had to admit, she did always seem to want to spend her extra time around me.  Perhaps I was being a bit slow on the pick-up.  It was something I would need to consider.

Then again there was also the real concern of a fight between our side and Elaya's.  Realistically, she couldn't do much about my parents, particularly once one of them started to get white hairs.  At that point it would be expected for them to go off and form their own little village, and as a couple they weren't supposed to split.  I of course as their child would be going with them, that too was expected.

She could however raise a stink over Larus and Isha leaving as well.  That would leave the village without any healing, and with only her as a heavy hitter in case of monster attack.  That could be a death sentence to a village like ours, monsters weren't common, but it only took one.

“Do you think it'll go to violence?” I asked my mother.  “With Elaya, I mean.”

“Hard to say, and hard to say where people will fall if it does.  Larus will at least stay out of it, to protect the villagers that survive.  Elaya is stronger than either your father or I individually, but together we'd win.  With you with us as well, it wouldn't be much of a contest unless she gets support from another.”

“Like Rindal,” I said.

“Yes, you've seen him around more than I have.  What do you think?”

“He's strong, stronger than me in raw power, but he lacks control.  If a fight breaks out he'll side against us, no question about it,” I answered with a frown, unhappy that it was true.

The young man in question was nearby, entertaining some of the younger boys with small light displays.  As always Cala was nearby, clapping and cheering.  Frankly I had no idea how she was getting her own work done.

“Talk to Isha, see what she thinks,” mother finally said before patting me on the back and leaving.

It wasn't until later in the day that I had a chance to speak with her.  On our way back from gathering I moved to her side, letting a lot of the others in the group pull back a bit.  I turned my hand up and let a bit of my magic flow out into a globe around us, focusing on trying to mute sounds.  It wasn't something I practiced much, so I wasn't great at it, but I was good enough.

“Mind if we have a chat?” I asked nervously.

She gave me a playful smile.  “About what?”

“Mother thinks we'll be leaving the village soon, as soon as she reasonably can.  Both her and dad are kind of close to becoming elders, so in the next few years...  That doesn't matter though, when we do, do you want to come with us?” I sputtered, unsure of how to address this.  “She wanted me to talk to you about it.”

Isha studied me, her eyes clicking across my face several times.  “That depends, are you proposing something more serious between us?”

I knew she was still too young, even if elves stayed young forever, she was still many years my junior when it came to age.  Some gap, even a large gap, wasn't that odd among our people, if only because of  that, but it didn't feel right to even consider her like that.  She was, for the time being, still only my friend, and that must have shown on my face.

“Isha, you're one of my few friends, but...”

There was a palpable feeling of disappointment.  The air between us spoke of the test she'd put forward, and how she felt I'd failed.  I couldn't explain things to her, to anyone really, and if I could I felt she'd understand, but for now it was as it was.

“You are still such a child sometimes Elian,” was all she said before turning away, singing a note, and dispelling the bubble of silence around me.

The rest of my day was not great, as a matter of fact, most of the next week was quite bad.  I did a little work around my shop, but I just felt so separated, so apart from the people around me.  A secret was a horrible thing sometimes, and trying to keep this one may well have cost me greatly.  The younger boys as well were now radiating around Rindal, who was showing them more and more magic that others of the village were far more restrained about using.

I ended up working with my aunt at the end of the week.  Auntie Atie sat in a weird spot for me, a good advisor for some things, and not too close to feel weird about consulting with her.  She had a few new glazes she was working on, and my aid getting things hot enough was a big help to her.  One day we were going to have to build her a better kiln, as her current one was still a bit primitive.

“Any advice?” I asked.

“Time Elian, figure out where things are, and where they will go, and take your time.  Now, can you do this one?”  She handed me a new piece, a rather strangely shaped bowl that someone had requested, though I didn't know why.

Sh wasn't wrong, and though she was still obsessed with making the best pieces of pottery she could, spending time around someone else did seem to help.  The fact that my aunt actually liked me was relaxing, even if she could read my face like a book.