The forest felt like a quiet song around her. Wind whispered through the leaves like distant thoughts, and every branch, every stone, seemed clearer than before.
Hestia drifted beneath the canopy, her jelly-like form weaving between roots and low brush with practiced ease. Birds glided overhead. Sunlight broke through in patches, dancing on her translucent body and providing light in otherwise dark forest.
But her thoughts were elsewhere.
Hestia* "Sol, I have magic now. But, how do I use it now?"
She said, voice gentle in her mind.
Sol's presence stirred, like a soft breeze through her soul.
Sol* "You train your mana first. Like any muscle. Mana answers to intent, to repetition, and to imagination. To access your mana, look deep inside yourself and try to feel all the magic that goes through your body, then try to visualize it and gather in one place. It will be hard at first, but with time you will be able to train your mana without even thinking about it. You possess illusion magic. To use it you must first understands it's principles. It doesn't change reality, it twists the senses. Light, sound, emotion. You must learn to manipulate perception. After you learn the basics you will have to invest tome skill points into magic capacity, so that you can learn spells, currently you can't use illusion magic, even if you understand how it works."
Hestia* "Okay. Let's try."
Hestia breathed, settling beneath a tree.
She focused. Trying to feel smallest particles of magic, floating around. She sat there for hours, concentrating. Night came, then day, she was still there giving her all. She finally managed to form a single thread of magic. Words couldn't express the joy she felt
Hestia* ''Sol, I did it. I finally did it. I can see magic, it's so bright and it feels warm.
Sol* ''Congratulations, now all that's left for you to do is practice until your mana pool is as big as this forest.
Sol let out a soft chuckle and returned to her slumber.
Hestia tried again. This time, it took only few minutes to see her magic. She spent next few days sitting under the same tree and training. It was pleasant to be in piece and do what she wanted. At this moment she understood that fighting is not what she is meant to do, she would much rather live in piece.
Her control, improved drastically, mana pool that she could use had multiplied 10s of times.
She had no way of knowing this, but she could now rival any level 20 magician that had trained mana their whole lives.
Eventually, her curiosity pulled her onward and she continued exploring.
Through mossy paths, past twisting trees, and over gentle hills, until the trees began to thin.
And then, without warning, the forest ended.
Hestia stopped.
Before her, stretched something vast and endless. It looked like sky had fallen on the ground, it was nothing like what she had seen before. In front of her was the ocean. Waves rolled and broke along the shore, whispering secrets older than time.
She thought to herself
Hestia* "What is this?"
She moved closer, trembling with fear and excitement.
The air here was different. It felt wild and free.
She reached out a part of herself, stretching toward the waves. The water lapped at her form and instantly, she felt it.
Her body began to loosen. Unravel. Melt. It was the same. She remembered her time in the cave when her body began to loosen for the first time.
Hestia* "Ngh!"
She pulled back, gasping soundlessly. Her core buzzed in alarm as her shape wobbled and tried to hold.
The ocean, beautiful and infinite, had nearly undone her.
Hestia* "Too much. Her thoughts steadied. I'm not ready for that yet."
She retreated, back into the trees, her form went back to normal with a little bit of effort she was as good as new. She thought to herself.
Hestia* ''Next time I will put some points into durability, I want to explore the fallen sky in the future and see what it has to offer''
She heard a sound and stopped to listen closely.
From the bush ahead, a soft rustle.
Then another.
Dozens of tiny figures emerged, no taller than mushrooms, peeking from behind bushes and branches.
At first, she froze. She looked at unknown creatures, wondering.
Were they monsters, plants, friends or foes?
They didn't attack, they were observing Hestia, the same way she was observing them.
They were, strange.
One wore a cracked pumpkin for a helmet. Another had seaweed draped like a cape. A third held a stick with a snail shell tied to the end like a ceremonial spear.
They moved in loose, waddling groups, chattering in soft whistles and pops. Their clothes were made from berries, leaves, fishbones, plants and other materials that were lying around. Some even wore armor that was carved out of trees.
One of them looked at her.
It tilted its head.
Then, slowly, it walked toward her and placed something on the ground.
A fruit. Round and soft, it looked similar to Hestia and was glowing faintly with mana.
Hestia* "What is this? They aren't running from me and they aren't attacking me either?"
She didn't move.
The small creature raised a hand. Not a weapon. A wave.
Then it turned and waddled back to the others.
Hestia stared.
They weren't like any other monsters she had encountered before. Everyone up until this point were fighting, as soon as they saw someone who looked different than them.
This was something new. Hestia couldn't put her mind at ease.
It was peaceful and a calming feeling washed upon her.
She watched as they gathered tiny bundles of herbs, mushrooms, even shellfish they had carried from the coast. She saw them share, laugh, hoist one another up to reach fruits. They hummed and drummed their little hands on stones. Living, not just surviving.
Hestia* "They are not like the others. Not like the cave mice or beetles, goblins or humans. They are living in peace."
A few of them noticed her still watching and waved again, masks wobbling.
And then, one lifted its mask entirely.
Its eyes were large and curious, set in a soft gray face. It pointed at her with a tiny hand and smiled.
A real, fearless smile.
Hestia didn't smile back, it's not that she didn't want to, she just couldn't smile. Her core pulsed she felt an urge to close the distance between them.
She didn't need to kill them.
She didn't want to.
Hestia* "Maybe, I can learn something new here. Maybe they will allow me to stay here, with them?"
And for the first time in her strange life, Hestia stayed still, not to hide, train or observe enemies but to learn more about peace. To witness a different kind of strength.
Not in fangs or claws.
But in community.