Chapter 7: Upcoming expectations. Edited*

The girl with sensitive senses immediately caught the scent of deer meat, one of her favorites. A gleam of genuine excitement filled the young woman's blue eyes. She loved her mother's food too much. Really, Alice simply loved to eat. Knowing this, Ana had put a lot of care and effort into food. Cooking was one of the few tasks she could still do for her increasingly independent daughter. 

Alice went to place the basket of special herbs on the side of the entrance, somewhat hurried, the excitement of the food distracted her a little. Although this did not make her neglect her work, she first made sure to moisten the cloth with which the fire breath flowers were wrapped to prevent them from damaging the iron heart herbs. Some precautions had to be taken to preserve both herbs, especially in such proximity to each other. 

Ana drew a sweet smile when she saw how excited her daughter seemed and that despite her age she still did things like get excited about her food, this gave her unparalleled satisfaction. Slightly amused, Ana sat down. "Made one of your favorites, let's eat, I don't want to have to wipe your drool off the floor."

The rich, creamy aroma of the stew immediately aroused the young lady's appetite. "I'm not drooling," Alice replied, with a childish pout. But only then did she remember to wash her hands and face, she knew that her mother would not let her sit at the table otherwise.

Little jokes at mealtime had become commonplace, but mother and daughter never got tired of it. After being separated most of the day by the difference in their responsibilities, any interaction was an object of joy and worth remembering. Ana couldn't help it, she always found it adorable, the way Alice seemed to enjoy the little things in life and somehow always ended up infected by her daughter's joy.

Such was life in the countryside, you enjoyed the little things, the tranquility, and stability. Of course, there were also overwhelming and labor-filled days, and others slightly more special. Coincidentally, that was the case the next day, both ways. It would be the beginning of the planting season and Alice's birthday. The fifteenth birthday, one of the most important.

No matter what kingdom or continent you belonged to, no matter your race or religion, social or family status; Any citizen of the world knew that the fifteenth birthday was incredibly important because it was related to one of the most mystical, strange, and ancient aspects of this world; the Akash.

Legend has it that thousands of years ago, during a dark age, mortals struggled to survive. Being the most fragile and weak creatures at the time, this struggle was fortuitous and only bought time until their inevitable destruction. In her moment of greatest desperation, the mother goddess took pity on how fragile humans were and bestowed upon them a gift. 

This gift came in the form of a possibility. It gave mortals the opportunity to reclaim their connection to the Akash, the essence of nature, and brandish it at will. Giving them a greater chance of survival. According to the teachings of the church, Althea, the goddess of the sun and life, had no other motive than to protect mortals from calamity, because of her infinite love for them. 

However, only those truly related to this gift experienced the awakening of that possibility, of igniting the spark of potential that they called the Nexus and with this access to their Grimoire. 

The grimoire was where each mortal could express their understanding of the Akash, they gave it form and intention, thus creating the Arkano knowledge; giving birth to spells capable of all kinds of feats. An artifact hidden in the hearts of mortals by the goddess herself, who could awaken precisely on the eve of their fifteenth birthday. Unfortunately, these cases were incredibly exceptional.

Although the Arkano was quite unknown to Ana and Alice, there wasn't a single person in the entire world who didn't know about the grimoire and the first spell that came with it. It was like not knowing that the sun was warm and the sky blue, something so strongly linked to the gods was common knowledge. 

There were even traditions regarding the fifteenth birthday, at least in the empire of Esthra. It was customary for the family to gather and wait for the exact moment of the birthday, the hour, minute, and sometimes the exact second in which the individual first arrived on this earth. That, it is believed, is the moment where the connection was strongest and where one could, with much luck and the favor of the mother goddess, witness the birth of a new magician.

Although, not only did they sit and wait, they also used to make offerings, but they were not large or presumptuous offerings. To thank the goddess of the sun, for the miracle of life that was granted fifteen years ago, the birthday person made the offering in the form of some kind of harvest or seed, commonly typical of the region where they were born.

It is also directed to the goddess of Akash and Arkana, Is'zara, the high guardian of the grimoires. Although she was a lesser-known and revered deity in places such as the countryside, it was still customary to make a small oath towards her. In this, it was already a tradition to make promises regarding the good use of magic and never get carried away by ambition. However, each birthday person formulated this oath in his own way.

For them, who lived a comfortable life in the countryside, such fantasies seemed an unnecessary luxury. It was the subject of heroic Iliads; legends and myths narrated miles and miles from Palo Verde. Something they would only see portrayed in the pages of fairy tales, a thing too strange, wonderful, and extremely alien to them. 

Although they didn't think too much about the subject, without admitting it, they still harbored in their hearts a little hope of living it. Even if it is just a little illusion of adventure. They still carried out preparations for the offering in the form of some summer breath flower seeds, appropriate for the sun goddess, while Alice was preparing the right words for her oath to the goddess of magic. However, she never shared them with anyone and tried to make sure that no one besides her mother saw her write them.

That innocent and playful little illusion had become, somehow, part of their habits in recent months. In addition to the preparations incorporated into the daily routine, the mere possibility was already part of their conversations. 

Ana guessed with her daughter how they thought her first spell would be. According to what mother and daughter knew, all grimoires were slightly distinct, as unique as their bearers, a reflection of oneself. So pointing out qualities of Alice that could be expressed in the Grimoire was to some extent a new subject of entertainment. It was especially the case for the first spell contained in said grimoire, unique to each bearer of the Akash.