4 Chapter 4

I awaken to the prickle of grass against my cheek, around me stand trees covered in green moss, the sun barley penetrates the canopy of leaves and I assume I'm deep in a forest. I am laying on my side with the sun sitting in the east. A small stream flows past me further into the ominous darkness of the thicket of trees. I groggily get to my feet and rub my eyes recalling my fairwells with Shia.

———

As soon as I had finished my cup of tea Shia had grabbed my hand and explained a few more crucial things. First she explained that she would gift me an appraisal skill, not as excessive as hers. Mine would only allow me to appraise people and things to a certain extent and I was unable to appraise those with levels above mine. That led her to the second remark, my journey would start out in a place where I was able to raise my levels before nearing other humans and demihumans (beast folk). In her third and final comment she told me to experiment with my powers and body and that she would occasionally drop by to say hello to a friend.

At that point before even thinking I knelt over and embraced her kid like figure. I was going to miss her even if I had only known her for a few short hours. She returned the hug quite enthusiastically and I could only guess that she had very little physical contact with anyone.

As if sensing I was about to leave seven other figures materialized around the room. The first figure I was facing towards was a teenage boy with bright yellow eyes and red hair, he introduced himself as Taryn the god of seasons. The next to introduce herself was a woman with dark skin and the pointed ears of an elf. She was the goddess of night and death. I shivered and hope never to meet her for the latter reason. I turned left looking towards the next god. He stood there silent and I had felt my cheeks heat in embarrassment he was gorgeous, someone who could only exist in ones imagination and his piercing glare sent tingles down my spine. I looked down at the bright white floor to hide my face.

As I was doing so he spoke up in a deep masculine voice "Axel" he said curtly "god of beast folk or what many refer to as Demi human."

{man if all those on Caravia are even 1/5th as cute as Shia or 1/10th as handsome as this Axel god then the whole world will be populated with beauties}

The next to introduce himself was Darius the god of trade, he had a broad figure and wore the highest quality of silk. I noticed gold and silver rings on his hands and started to wonder what the currency of Caravia is if they have gold and silver. I guessed I'd learn as I wing it through this game like world.

As I contemplated currency the next goddess spook up, she was the fifth goddess to introduce herself. Her name was Maxine and she is the goddess of entertainment. When she said this I automatically thought of a red light district although I've never been there before I've heard of it in books and movies. Her body had full curves in all the right places and scantly clad clothes to accentuate those assets. As a fifteen year old I started to feel a little inferior. She seemed to understand what I was thinking and tittered in a way I felt had been practiced for hours.

"I'm not all body Silver," she remarked "Entertainment does not always come from the pleasures of physical contact. I also give patents for products produces by the beings in Caravia. Although the technology is inferior to your worlds the beings in Caravia use magic stones to function in everyday life."

After her obvious disappointment in my small mindedness she disappeared from the white space.

Shia grabbed hold of my hand and squeezed"Don't worry Silver she just gets a little upset when someone judges her by her body."

I nodded once in understanding feeling a bit guilty about how I used her appearance to justify what I thought her definition of entertainment was. I mean Axel had wolf ears but wasn't fully a beast. His ears were pretty much his only beast like feature apart from his gaze and alluring voice.

In the silence that followed Maxine's disappearance an old man stepped forward with a grey speckled beard and a warm smile. He introduced himself in a friendly tone "My name is Felix and I am the god of records" to further explain he said "I record all the goings on in the world and archive those in my database"

{wow so he is practically a living super computer!}

The last goddess stepped up and introduced herself as Naomi the goddess of land and sea. I thought back to the Greek mythologies I was taught in fifth grade and could not help but to compare her to Gaia the goddess of land, but not only does Naomi control the land she is in charge of the sea.

After they all introduced themselves I began to introduce myself but stopped because they already seemed to know a lot about me.

{I wonder if they were listening in to the conversation between Shia and I}

Instead of introducing myself I asked a question that has been plaguing me since they appeared. I turned to Shia "Shia did you create them if you are the creation goddess?"

She looked up at me and smiled mysteriously. "They were all from Caravia. They ascended to the positions they have today. In your worlds terms it would kind of be considered a promotion."

"How?"

"Well I can't tell you all the details but you must go through a trial once you are of a high enough level."

With this last comment ringing in my ears the ground was swept away from my feet and I had freely fallen through darkness.

———

As soon as I stand up I feel a wave of dizziness roll through my head. I slowly walk through the grass over to the stream of clear water and dip my hands under the surface. The current ripples past my wrists leaving an irregular trail in the water. The water is clear enough to see the large red fish at the bottom of the stream. Taking that fact into consideration I decide it is safe enough to drink from.

I pull my hands out of the stream and bring the water I am cupping to my lips. The cool water relieves my parched throat and the water that escaped from grasp runs down my arms making me sigh in pleasure. The feeling of touch is pleasing, it is proof that I am alive.

Out of curiosity I gaze into the stream again and make out a blurry reflection of my face. I have to rub my eyes in disbelief as my hair appears to be pink. I am stuck looking at my hair for a while before I notice my eyes. The blue of a clear sky speckled with an assortment of different colors, cotton candy pink, the dark blue of the ocean depths, rose gold, deep violet, and even smaller flecks of pure white.

{ How the heck do I look like this it's like I'm not human. Wait what if Im a beast folk. It would be easier to see if the water was stagnant}

I peer closer trying to make out any other abnormal features. A strong breeze moves through the clearing and there is a flicker of movement in my reflection on the waters surface. I can just barely make out the shape of wings with white feathers. My eyes open wider and my hands automatically reach for my back. They are met with the softness of feathers. The longer I trace these feathers the more certain I become. I am not human, I have wings. I try to focas on my back muscles, fighting to untuck these magnificent wings. I am unable to move them even an inch.

Pouting my lips in disappointment I move away from the stream back to the area of grass that I woke up in. I sit down with my legs tucked under my butt and close my eyes in concentration. Recalling what Shia had told me about this world made of mana instead of using my back muscles I feel for that mana within me.

The process of finding my mana takes a long time and by the time I open my eyes the sun had moved further westward. I am automatically able to tell that it is 3:23 in the afternoon using the position of the sun. It's a skill I didn't have in my past life I wonder how long.

{It took a while but now I am able to access my pool of mana automatically and I can circulate the mana throughout my body.}

I quickly stand up and almost collapse back onto the grass. Over the five hours I had been sitting on my legs they had gone numb. My muscles shiver as they begin to wake back up and pinpricks of pain shoot down my legs. I groan uncomfortably.

As soon as my legs are fully awake I hop back up to my feet and try to spread my wings yet again. This time instead of using my back muscles I focas on circulating my mana through my wings and visualizing them uncurling. I can feel there movement through the muscles in my back and gather I'm doing it right. I look to my left and right and see that my wings are fully unfurled. Lifting my arms from my sides I notice that my wings end at a point slightly further than the tips of my fingers.

As I am in an eight year old body I find this width quite convenient to work with. They don't drag on the ground when they are curled, they are considerable light, and I will be able to hide them with the use of a cloak. As I grow I suspect my wings will grow with me.

My stomach growls, reminding me that I have not eaten yet, and working with my mana takes energy. In my search for food I decide to head into the forest using the stream as a guide.