The room around Leinad started to grow dark, the tears on his face still pouring down. His thoughts were a mess of the one memory he had and the idea of being trapped in a loop of death. He had a sister. Although Julia had said that wasn't the reality of his situation, he felt that pushing that aside would be a betrayal. He had to do something, he had to help her. Had she been brought here as well? Where could she be? If he died again, would he lose his chance of helping her?

Leinad wrestled with this, but then his thoughts cleared. He felt something bubble to the surface of his thoughts, and he had no idea where he had learned it from, but he knew.

"I can't help anyone, if I don't help myself first," he said aloud, wiping his eyes. "I'll do what I have to."

He felt a little odd talking to himself, but thinking inwardly wasn't working. He needed to assure himself. Just then he heard a soft bell.

-You have brought yourself back from a moment of despair. While thoughts of helplessness may destroy the wills of some, you have found a truth within yourself. Due the the unusual circumstances surrounding your situation, a have received a boon.-

Leinad studied the lines of information as they vanished. Still unable to understand how he was getting this information for the ornate lines in the transparent boxes. It felt easy and natural. The information felt almost burned into his mind. With the vanishing of the prompts, he felt the weight in his chest lift, his breathing became easier. He pulled himself out of the bed and dressed in the undergarments, tunic and skirt that were left out for him.

-

Julia walked into the kitchen. Du'Vel, Isabella and Cliff were all sitting around the kitchen table, drinking wooden cups, they had set up one for her. Julia had been told so many offputting things about commoners, but she had never experienced them herself. If anything, Julia felt more comfortable here in this tiny wooden home than in the wonderous stone dwellings of Orthenill. 

Du'Vel was the first to speak.

"Is it as you feared?" Du'Vel asked, Isabella and Cliff both turning to look at Julia.

"It is," Julia replied with a sigh. "We'll have to move forward with the plan we discussed. Preparing him for the trial is his best hope for a normal life. I'll head back to Orthenill and consult the Master Matchmakers. Maybe they'll have some idea of why this happened."

"The implications of that memory," Du'Vel said. "It shouldn't have been possible."

"We'll do our best to make sure he has the tools he needs," Cliff said. "Isabella and I are both Journeyman in our craft. We'll make sure he's fully prepared."

Julia nodded at them, understanding both of their concerns.

"Do what you can," she said. "I'll make sure to bring back the information I gather as soon as possible. I promise you, whatever I can do to hep you're son, I'll do it."

Isabella nodded at her.

"Thank you Matchmaker," she said, looking back down at her cup. "We appreciate your efforts."

Julia nodded at them.

"I'll head back through the Waystone," Julia said with a bow. "I'll return as soon as I get the answers I need."

Julia turned and to the front door, leaving the house.

Du'Vel took a sip from his cup.

"I'll take my leave too," he said. "It has been a long night and I'm sure you'll want some time alone with Leinad before you rest yourselves."

"Thank you Elder Du'Vel," Cliff said. "Let me help you to the door."

Cliff led the elder to the door and closed the door behind him as he left. He came back to the table and put the cups of the guests in their sink. He looked back at the table where the love of his life sat, he could see the worry on her face.

"We're going to help him Izzy," he told her, walking to her side and laying a hand on her shoulder. "We can do this. You can do this."

She looked up at him, her eyes still red.

"I can't get that memory out of my head Cliff," she said. "He was a child, that shouldn't be possible. I can't imagine what he must be going through."

Her head dropped, but Cliff took her chin and raised her head so her eyes met his.

"The Matchmaker told us what we need to do to give him his best shot," Cliff said. "The same as with any child."

He shrugged with a smile, "It'll just have to be a little bit faster."

She smiled at him.

"You're right," she said, standing from her seat and embracing him. "We'll help him the best we can."

-

Leinad walked out of the room, fidgeting with his skirt a little. Isabella and Cliff looked over at him, both smiling. Isabella rose from her seat and moved over to the stove.

"Have a seat Leinad," Isabella said. "I made some food for you, you were asleep for a while so you must be hungry."

Leinad watched her scoop something from the pot on the stove and put it into a wooden bowl. He sat at the round table besides Cliff. 

"After you're done eating," Cliff said after taking a sip from a cup. "We'll go out to the one of the small plots where I can show you one of your first skills. The skill of our family."

Leinad looked down at the bowl Isabella placed in front of him as Cliff spoke. She took a seat across from Leinad.

"After that I'll take over for a bit," she told him. "I have a bit I can teach you as well."

She folded her hands over each other and smiled.

"I know Julia spoke to you a bit about the urgency of learning as much as you can," Isabella said. "We both are taking it very seriously and we'll do our best to make sure you learn as much as you can this year."

"Thank you," Leinad said as he stirred the contents of the bowl.

As Leinad looked at the bowl he noticed pieces of vegetables and mushrooms floating in a thick broth. A small prompt seems to emerge at the top corner of the bowl. The line simply read, "Mushroom Stew" and had a small heart in the corner of it. There was a small pinging noise, but Leinad was fully focused on the stew.

He took a spoonful and placed it in his mouth. While it had been a bit hot, the flavor was extortionary, he blew out hot air awkwardly before he really chewed and enjoyed the flavors. The mushrooms themselves were his favorite part.

"This is so good," he said to Isabella. "Thank you so much."

Her smile grew wider and brighter as she watched Leinad eat.

After finishing his meal, he thanked Isabella again before following Cliff out of the house. The home was near the edge of the city, and along the edge there were several plots with fences around them. The plots further away form the house seemed to have a variety of plants growing in them, while the first plot they walked up to smelled like freshly tilled dirt and had nothing growing.

Cliff stopped next to the tilled plot and back to Leinad.

"Okay son," he said with a smile. "Isabella and I act as this Manthenill's farmers. Besides hunters and merchants, we're one of the primary sources of food for the village. There are other farmers, but none have been given as much space within the walls itself to work, and for good reason. Personally, I'm a Journeyman Farmer, and I'm pretty close to breaking through to Master soon."

He stood a little taller while saying that last part, with a wide grin.

"So, we'll quickly see if you have an affinity for farming," he said as he produced a small bag from his pocket. 

He pulled a small seed from the bag and handed it to Leinad. Leinad looked down at the seed.

-Potato Seed-

Pointing over to the land that had been tilled he started to give instruction.

"Different plants have different requirements for growth," he said. "This particular type of potato will grow well this month, so it's the type we'll plant. If you tried to examine the seed, you probably didn't learn much about it, besides that it was a potato seed. As your skill level in Farming increases, your access to knowledge in Farming will increase as well. This tie between your level and your access to knowledge is given to you through a system we call the Mind of the World. Try planting the seed about seven centimeters into the dirt here."

Leinad moved over, got on his knees by the edge of the plot and pushed the seed down.

Cliff looked down at the spot, his eyes going a bit unfocused and then returning to normal.

"Great," he said as he held out his hand. 

A tin watering can appeared out of nowhere, firmly in his grasp. Leinad was a bit shocked by this, but again, he couldn't explain why. Cliff had done it as if it were something normal, but something about the act had seem so...out of the ordinary to Leinad.

Cliff seemed to notice Leinad's reaction.

"Eventually you'll get access to your own personal inventory space, where you can store items without having to carry them on your person," Cliff said. "There are certain rings and bags that will even increase the amount of space you have available, but it'll grow as you increase skills that require the space. I've even heard that some merchants can keep the equivalent of several warehouses in their personal inventory."

Leinad nodded, the explanation easing his slight unease. Cliff handed him the watering can to Leinad. 

"Go ahead and water the seed," Cliff said.

Leinad did as instructed before Cliff took the watering can back and placed it to the side.

"Now come place your hand on the earth here," Cliff said.

Leiand felt the unease again, but this time it was at something Cliff had said.

"The earth?" Leinad asked.

Cliff face bunched up, as if he had tasted something sour.

"What did you just say," Cliff asked him. 

Leinad felt the unease being to build, but this time he felt it around him as well. Something was wrong with this conversation.

"You said to put my hand on the earth," Leinad said.

Cliff looked back at him and nodded.

"Yes, right here above the seed," Cliff said. "What was it that you thought I said?"

Leinad felt the tension start to fade and again he couldn't put his finger on what exactly was out of place.

"I don't know," Leinad said. "I think maybe I'm still tired."

Cliff nodded and smiled at Leiand.

"I have a feeling we'll be done here soon," Cliff said, waving him down.

Leinad got on his knees next to cliff and placed his hand over where he had planted the seed.

"You'll learn Casting from Du'Vel," Cliff said. "But for now, I want you to try to feel beyond yourself, into the dirt, through it and into the seed."

Confused, but determined, Leinad tried to do as instructed. He stayed like that for a minute but nothing happened. He could see waves though, small waves bunches up against the edge of his hand, as if they were being held back. With that, he tried something, his mana started to drop as he active his eyes. Instantly he could see into the ground, he could see thick waves of moving through the dirt and over the seed, and he could see the seed doing something. It was like a small bit of the waves going over it were breaking away and funneling into the seed. And as he noticed it he felt heard something and his vision lit up with a prompt.

-You have acquired a new skills-

Leinad relayed his new skills to Cliff, so seemed very pleasantly surprised.

"Herbalism is an incredibly useful skill Leinad!" Cliff said, clapping Leinad on the back. "Your mother was going to try to teach it to you later, but learning it while farming is actually very good, especially from someone without the skill." 

The both stood up and Leinad looked down at the seed, his mana stopped dropping as the ground above it blocked it from sight again. 

Cliff started walking back to the house and Leinad followed, his thoughts still dwelling on the word Cliff had said.

"Earth," he whispered to himself.

Cliff heard a sharp ring in his ear again, but he ignored it this time. He didn't want to worry Leinad about anything. He put waited up a bit for Leinad to catch up before putting his arm around his son's shoulder.

"You made that look easy Leinad," he said. "You really are my son."

Leinad couldn't help feel a smile on his face as he looked up at Cliff.

"I have a great teacher," he said. "And a great father."

He had said it, and he had meant it. Out of all the unsure feelings he head, he knew his parents and he felt safe here with them.