Chapter 12: Baptism, Religion and Magic

As the days went by spring had reached it's height and there was another festival to come. But this festival wasn't a days long one, nor was it one of indulgence. This was more of a party to be honest, it was time for the baptism of the children that were born in outumn and this spring.

This party was being organized for some time but right now every new mother was in a hurry buying cloth and dyes and other materials nescessaries to this festival. For this festival was not about man, it was about the stars that looked over them and the sun that they worshipped as a god, and you don't want to be disrespectiful to a god.

Isn't that right Alex? If I didn't had a debt to you I could have thrown you into this world as some slave or unwanted child or the son of a protitute or beggar! Really, I don't know why I do this to me, and now I have to write this story for him! Really a pain in the ass. Sigh...

Ranting aside god and religions are a very big deal in this world, I mean imagine if most of a countries law was based on religion and the religious states had a secret police to execute infidels and heretics and religious figures having a great deal of political power that could influence the king and even start wars, all of that for a fictional character that was created by man to explain what they didn't know and why things were the way they are. I mean, if you are to do all of that then at least don't be corrupt and keep all the donations that your followers have given you in your personal pockets and piggybanks!

Mortals, am I right? Of course I am! Anyway respect was very important to them so all mothers would create beatiful clothes for their babies so to pick the interest of god.

The market was flooding with woman looking for cloth and dye and the like and Urion was busy practicing ritual and Alex was trying to eat full solids for the first time, starting with pieces of soft fruit like berries and such.

Alex was unaware of anything that happens in this world, he didn't know about their culture or religion, he didn't know about their language and writing and he didn't know about magic. Instead the once curious, and creative man that was reaching adulthood, the one that thought about so many things at once that he would day dream all the time was now a toddler that was giving his first steps and would drip sauce from his mouth when eating, me I hope I don't have to write the tale of a simple farmer or anything...

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It had been a bit more then two months since the Blood Moon apeared in the sky, Alex was 5 months old and he was awaken early. He was put in the clothes that he tried in the tailor shop, with it's hard red robe, decorated pants and a cape that was black like the night and white stripes that looke like starts conected in a constelation. It was like a black tiger that was grand even with a toddler wearing it.

Helena carried him in her arms and entered in a carriage with the rest of his family. They went in the direction of the chapel and on their way people would bow to the carriage when passing and give way. The carriage was wide and grand, made with black wood and decorated in white writing and lines, the white paint was mixed with mana stone dust that made it shine with the sun, in the middle of the door of the carriage was the badge and coat of arms of the family of a star that had curved rays surrounding it and a wolf and griffon standing beside it like guards to a king and above the stars was read " May we shine like stars in the night and the sun in the sky" and above the carriage was the same simbol made out of gold, silver and other precious metals.

It was in this grand manner that the family went to the chapel. When they arrived Urion lead them inside where chairs that had soft cushions that were colored in vivid and the chair was decorated with paterns carved into the bright white wood.

As every seat was filled with families with new born children, Urion went to the front of the chapel and started preaching, in the end of the preach Urion started calling the names of families to go up in the stage with their child, when the families came Urion would chant a prayer and make a circle and then an X chape with his finger then hold one of the hands of the baby and put the other in a mana stone that was shaped like a cristal ball then put his other hand in the ball.

Urion would then pass mana through the baby forcing the his mana to activate into the crystal ball, then he would activate the mana stone to release the baby's mana and in the process reveal the infant's mana type. After that Urion would ask the parents their birth sign and the baby's birth date and then would anounce his birth sign. The birth signs in the beastman culture was a proclamation of wich of the stars above, the beasts that Tamar had conquered and gave to the skys would look over, protect and guide the child.

-This child son of the brave Bear and the astute Owl is blessed by the cunning Hyena.

Urion proclaimed about a baby with light brown hair with black spots and stripes.

One of the characteristics of the beastman is having paterns in their hair, although it's not the beastman that was created in Alex's previous world fantasy this world beastman didn't have like animal ears or anything, like even if I'm a God I can't simply create a human but with ear of animals that evolved separeted from humans hundreds of thousands years ago! Why would a human that evolved to have no fur and has evolved for milions of years to not have ear above their heads to somehow evolve to have ears that are identical to that of existing animals, and worse a tail! I mean cut some slack, I may have evolved and guided the evolution of the living beings of this world by making certains random mutations apear, but I can't make the individual with the mutation survive and artificialy create a new species that can't survive without divine intervencion! Like how do you expect me to make a monster 50 meters high and wheight 100 tons in land without considering the square cube law and gravity! The poor creature would colapse under it's own weight or die from overheat! Fuck fantasy, think a bit about how it's possible! I mean how do you expect to have so many animals with six limbs like dragons! Wiverns I can understand but really this world griffon for example don't have wings because you know it's evolutionarily easier to lose a limb then getting new ones! That's why bugs are monsters in it's own right...so many legs...

Anyway, ranting is over... I hope. Many more families came one after another, Urion would to the prayer, discover the mana type of the baby and proclaim the birth sign, there are times when babies have the same birth sign and as time went on it was time for Alex's baptism as this ritual was called.

Helena carried Alex in her arms to the stand, she stoped in front of Urion that gave the prayer and holded Alex's hand and channeled mana through him.

"What is this feeling? It's like there was a stream inside me... I can control it's direction like a snake that is inside me..Ugh.. What is this... It's overwheming. It's unconfortable I feel like I can't control it anymore and it's going in the direction of my other hand. Geh, I felt like a jolt came out of my hand. Like something was forced out of me like my arm had exploded, not that I had ever felt my arm explode, but like something went out of me and gave me a recoil, I feel like my arm is twiching to! Very unconfortable indeed."

That was the feeling of mana running through his blood and then being ejected, Urion took control over Alex's mana to force it to go to the cristal ball. I would guess it would indeed feel unconfortable to have part of your body being taken control of but that is mainly because Alex has no control over his mana and Urion has exelent control and Alex was also not expecting it to happen but it's not easy to take control of someone else's mana and for the most part illegal without permission.

Urion then leted go of Alex's hand and activated the cristal ball, the ball then started rolling faster and faster until the mana stored inside it was used. Urion thought for a moment and reached the conclusion.

-Young master Alexhander has the mana of acceleration always going faster and faster or slower and slower.

Acceleration magic is similar but diferent from velocity magic, velocity magic makes the speed constant, it would be perfect for exemple for a marathon but acceleration magic makes the velocity of something change constantly, it would be perfect for a sprinter if we were to compare. Also is needed to note that when mana is transformed in to magic as a phenomena the mana is dissipated very quickly if used on the external ambient, so for exemple there is no such a thing as a fireball being launched by a temperature magician, to begin with there would be no fuel to burn the fire and the magician himself would have some pretty bad burns from being so close to fire. Magic in this world is used to strengthen oneself. It would be difficult to even make a weapon have to mana property without a mana stone to be an intermediary.

Urion then asked Achilles and Helana their birth signs, they responded with the leader Wolf and the wise Fox. With their answer and the date of birth of Alex Urion proclaimed.

-The child Alexhander fum Baduk, son of the leader Wolf and the wise Fox is blessed by the majestic Tiger. May the stars watch over us!

-May the stars watch over us.

Everybody repeated the last phrase, I would guess it's like the amen from Alex's old world, I really don't think I will ever understand religion, but I guess it's fun to think about it.

As Alex goes back to his home he wonders, what was that feeling and how he can reproduce it.