Elevation of Mana Chapter 22 Winter Oncoming

The next few years were much of the same. I slowly tried to figure out what to add to our tribe, while also trying not to draw too much attention. Magic slowly, but surely grew in skill and strength as well, but the best thing for that seemed to just be using it.

And before I knew it I was eight. I was perhaps a bit smaller than I'd have thought I should be, but between diet and not being the same race that was probably normal. My friends though looked almost the same, all seemingly lacking in time as I caught up. This was normal it seemed, with our aging slowing significantly right as we neared puberty.

Today when I'd awoken it was unseasonably cool outside. I frowned as I looked up at the sky, which had turned slightly grey. Rain in and of itself wasn't terribly uncommon, but those clouds normally came in rolling storms, not like this. I frowned, as this was something we'd been waiting for for some time.

"Yes, it is here," Elaya said as she came over to where I was.

"Took longer than I thought it would," I said.

"Don't hurry it along boy, it's going to be brutal."

"It will, but can we be any more prepared elder?" I asked.

"Not by much. Come then, I need to make the announcement."

I stood by my parents as everyone was gathered. It wasn't like anyone could change the weather, at least I didn't think any of us could, might be something to explore later. Mother looked grim, as did most of the village, all thoughts and worries written clearly on their faces. The adults all had varying looks of worry, the children, even us who hadn't seen such an event before mirrored our parents.

"...As we all know the beasts of the woods will shortly be in a frenzy for the last of the food, and that is why in this last bit we need the hunters to keep near the gathering party, and aid where they can. Meat will still be available for awhile yet, but once this growth of nuts and berries is gone, we will likely get few more until the season is done," Elaya said, finally ending her speech.

It was odd for the men to spend too much time with the gathering parties. Normally some were nearby, and our territory wasn't that big, so they could always come running. Now we'd have them on hand, the idea of losing out on some meat not too big a deal for the moment. Our little ice house had as much dried and frozen meat as Elaya and I could manage to store up, so it wasn't like we'd have none, but we'd certainly have less.

That day we boys made our way to the local stream. If nothing else we could get fish aplenty here. We settled in, and I used my magic to help us all along sometimes, I could see the others doing similar things. Ninden in particular had been practicing his throwing trick quite a lot, and could now do it several times before he failed.

"You've gotten stronger," I commented as I watched him once more.

"You're one to talk Elian," he returned with a smile.

It was true, over the years I'd gotten quite decent at magic. I'd focused mostly on pure force, since it was the easiest to work around others without causing undue concern. Ice was coming along well too, from nothing else than just filling up the ice-house periodically. Fire was still frowned on by all though, and while my restrictions on some of my abilities had loosened considerably if I were seen tossing out fire someone would quickly drag me off by the ear, generally my aunt.

"So, you going to join the hunters soon?" I asked my friend.

"Hmm, after the cold season, at least that's what father said. I am old enough now, but seems they want me to hold off just until that's over. Not like you all need anyone to look out for you." He gave a proud smile at us, we were all his friends, and he'd taught us well.

"Guess, I'll be oldest after that," Rindal commented, he was indeed a couple of years younger than our leader.

I didn't comment. Rindal's general irritation at me and my magic had evolved into a full-blown issue. He didn't like me, and at this point the feeling was quite returned. I'd have been happy to let it drop but he was just too jealous of magic, and the fact that I was given a lot more leeway because of it. He wasn't wrong though, the adults of the village did generally listen to me a lot more than they did the other children.

Not that there were many of us at any rate. In the time I'd been with the boys not a single male child had joined our little tribe. Two girls had been born, but no boys.  Elven birth rates were truly abysmal, though with how long we lived that might be a good thing.  A species that were biologically immortal could easily overrun their lands if they also reproduced quickly.

"Anything going on?"  One of the other boys asked.

I popped my head up to look at the adults.  A few of the men were climbing trees to get down some fruits, and also getting a good look around.  My own father was sitting near our creek knapping flint.  There were also some scouts coming in and out of the field.

"No, not as such," I responded.  "Though it looks like auntie is getting yelled at again for making too many pots."  There was a round of laughter at that.

"Yeah, she likes those huh," Alun commented.

We kept up with our fishing, and trapping, and all the like for the next several days.  Though eventually we did end up in a clearing where there wasn't enough water for the former, and we had more than enough of the latter going on.  I decided to try my hand at pottery, and see if I couldn't add a bit to auntie's own efforts.

I'd been thinking about things for a long time, particularly tools and the like that were achievable in our current state.  Honestly there was a lot that I couldn't do right now, if only because it would require space I didn't have or explanations I couldn't give.  I'd put most of that on the docket for later, but there were some options, even with things like pottery.

Two of the easiest were a basic magic powered pottery wheel, that would let me make some really nice little cups and stuff.  The other was glaze.  We weren't using any glazes at this point.  Now I wasn't a potter of any renown in my old world, but I had taken an art class in middle school, and with my new memory I could remember it almost verbatim.  One of the things I remembered was an offhand comment from the teacher about how some glazes had been made with nothing more than slip (watered down clay) and ashes.  Both of those things were easily available to me, so I decided to give it a go.

I wasn't glazing my little cups of course, that would be impossible to hide from anyone.  A few tiny beads in the shape of decorative animal heads I'd made and fired at home though?  No problem getting those in and out at all.  So I sat around watching the little pit my aunt and I were using today while she was gathering.  The most interesting thing happened of course, the fire was hot, and regular, and required almost no wood at all... I got looks but admitted to nothing.

At the end of my day spent doing, well honestly very little, I broke open the makeshift kiln.  Several pieces had broken, though that was expected.  Bits of pottery were always braking, so no problem there, though I'd be introducing the idea of using them in new pots eventually.  Some of my little cups had come out well, so that was good.  In the very bottom though was something that alarmed me.

My little trials had almost all succeeded, and something about the mixture of the slip and whatever was in the ashes had made rather unexpected results.  They were all brilliant shades of violet, bright, very visible violet.  I knew my home, and my people, and nobody had anything violet in the whole village, save a few flowers every now and then.  As soon as I knew they were cool enough for me to grab them up I did, looking for a place to dispose of these before anyone else saw.

"Oh they're done, how did things..."  Auntie Atie was walking over, but stopped narrowing her eyes.  "What did you do Elian."

"What... nothing," I attempted, looking about for an escape.

"Your face says otherwise, you always have the guiltiest face boy," she was already advancing, and we were attracting too much attention.

"Lies and slander!  I've done nothing wrong!"  I said backing away.

I had no choice, I had to run for it.  Without any further worries I turned and bolted, aiming for an area away from some of the others.  My auntie had far longer legs than me, but I had something she didn't, magic.  I used force judiciously to push myself along faster, aiming to escape.

That came to an end quickly as mother saw me.  With a wave of her hand a massive section of the ground sprouted into soft, but very blocking, grass.  I landed in it like a pillow, being stopped dead.  I heard dad off to the side laughing as the stern disciplinarian of our family descended upon my location, looking unamused, her plants wrapping around me to keep me from flight.

"Elian, what in the world has gotten you so worried as to use your light to run from Atie?"  How could her voice be so sweet, but so angry all at once?

"Nothing, she's accusing me of doing something wrong!"  I said, pushing my hand and it's contents into the grass, hoping that dropping them there would work.

"He had something, that's for sure," my aunt said as she joined us.

Mother went for my ears, why was it always the ears?  All the while my aunt looked at the ground, eventually finding what I'd dropped, at least some of them.  I knew I'd failed when she breathed in loudly and her eyes widened.  She at least had the good sense not to show off her prize as she drew in, nose almost against mine.

"Elian, where did you get these?"  She asked.

I was trying to come up with a lie as something interrupted.  A loud series of booms and a light filtering over our field.  It was the signal to gather, not extreme emergency, but immediately.

Elaya stood near the center of the gathering area, the rest of our people filtering in quickly in small groups.  Her face was hard, and set.

"Check for everyone in your hut, we need an accounting right now," she said.  "One of our scouting parties has gone missing."