Ugrad Library

I turned my face quite a bit upwards, just so I could gaze at the magnificent Ugrad Library. It was not that magnificent, but it was bigger than any building I had seen in the city so far.

The structure was an old church of Gothic architecture on a smaller scale, however, it had been severely punished by time, cracks were visible in its base as well as in the upper floors. Its exterior details made it seem that the old church belonged to some well-respected and worshiped deity, who had been left forgotten by time.

My mother called me, she had already climbed the short flight of stairs and was waiting for me at the main entrance. She opened the gates, its interior really did not do justice to the deteriorated exterior.

The whole library was incredibly well-kept, the main hallway was really like an old church, seats lined up that went all the way to the altar, but on every wall there were bookshelves with countless books and articles. The combination was pleasing to the eye.

"Beautiful, don't you think?"

I replied nodding my head, I had no words to say, everything passed the mystical and almost divine feeling of the books. On the second floor, there are few chairs and people reading, they were like monks or holy devotees wearing white robes.

"Now, mommy will be busy, I have to research a lot of the maps that are here, you can read anything from this floor."

"On that floor?", I asked, a little confused.

"Yes, the second floor is where adults stay and read more quietly, we can't get in the way"

Her answer was evasive, but I could understand, we "normal" people can't go up the stairs, the peasants, and students stay here, while on the upper floor, the important people stay, I should have known.

That would not shake me, I have my research to do, even though I am 5 years old.

[…]

Mana, concepts and applications; Divine Energy Volume 1; Virtuous Gods; Divine Blessings. These were some of numerous books about Mana that I chose to read. I couldn't carry even the first basic book on Mana and its concepts, a young man ended up helping me put the books I chose on the table.

I read focused for a few hours, didn't go that deep, but managed to understand quite a bit.

According to the monk Lericson, an ancient writer and scholar, Mana is an energy present in all living beings, he called it "The Grace of the Gods," this source gives us strength, basically the engine of all life. It was not restricted to humans only, but to all living earthly beings, without exception.

Humans, Elves, and the Mana Monsters all use the divine grace, the core indicates being located in the heart of the living being, the place where it stores mana.

We can even control it freely, where Lericson went more in-depth in its applications, getting faster, stronger, jumping great distances, seeing hidden dangers, anything was possible as long as you had the right preparation and amount of Mana for it. This Grace, as he mentions, comes directly from the benevolence of the Virtuous Gods.

They are the seven gods, superior beings who founded this world, from their blood flows Mana, and this power falls on earth blessing us, the children of the world. The explanation of the monk devoted to the God of Grace is quite poetic. Many of the explanations of the gods were quotes older than Lericson himself or the founding of the Church of Virtues, they always quote that the gods entered into battles against Sin.

In this part I didn't find that many quotes, I can even imagine why, such ancient things must be restricted only to the Church and its followers.

What I wanted to read most, the book about the Divine Blessings, the one with the most content among them, my eyes ached from reading the fine print transcribed on the thin paper, but it was rewarding.

This book wasn't written by Lericson, but by a mage, with the pseudonym Zoroa, using Lericson's books and other writers from the church, he recompiled and improved concepts, no longer talking about "Divine Grace", but Mana Flow. I found out where this other nomenclature came from. The Blessings were divided into categories:

Amplification; Creation; Metamorphosis; Elemental.

Zoroa was blessed with the Elemental categorie, the rarest of the four, and with it, he managed to become a magician. In his studies, he defined the main characteristics of each blessing.

Amplification was the one that absurdly improved some physical, mental or mana characteristic, it was the simplest of the blessings, but with the greatest possibility of singular use, a notation from the magician caught my attention: 'Such blessings were seen as common by many eyes, however, the uniqueness of their uses make the flow of their mana reach immeasurable levels, they can do impossible things because they are not bound to limitations.'

Creation was, as the name already said, the ability to control and create constructs from elements or your own mana. Metamorphosis was the most restrictive of them, the blessing that changed characteristics of bodies into something already existing, this explanation from Zoroa was confusing, but I managed to understand, using as an example the ability to fly, yes, a blessing that could create bird wings on the person.

When I went to read the part about the Elemental category blessings, I felt a touch on my arm, at the reaction I looked startled, it was my mother.

"Looks like you had a great time, let's get going, we have to eat something before we go. Mom has finished all your work," she was carrying some notes and scribbles.

I tried to explain, but I was just taken by the arm, she didn't even hear my whining, well... that's the life of a child.

[…]

The sunset painted the sky with its orange hue, we were halfway home, the towns, and villages were already further behind us. In the wagon were scraps of grain and cereals with some supplies, my mother's groceries were in my lap.

"Mom, what is your blessing from the gods?", I asked.

"Ah so that's what you read, how nice to be interested in such things, my Blessing is the [Celestial Compass], Mama is never lost," Martha said, she ended up laughing with the old carriage driver.

I was treated like a child who doesn't understand anything, how humiliating, it was only twice today, I can't let the third one happens and then I retorted:

"Mama, I am grown up, you don't have to treat me like this. Today I studied books by Zoroa and Lericson, the lady's blessing is from the Amplification category, right?"

The two were dumbfounded, a child saying such things was like a joke.

"Mrs. Lancaster, he is a genius as madam always says, so explain it a little better, it will be good for him."

Thank you, old gentleman of whom I have forgotten the name, the first person who has taken me seriously today. I was stroked with a pout, my mother then explained again, to the best of her knowledge.

Her blessing worked like a mental compass, she knew the location of the poles precisely and thus distinguished the cardinal points no matter the location. It makes sense why she was a cartographer and so in demand by the Merchants' Association. A perfect combination of the powers.

"Little boy, my blessing is not as extraordinary as Lady Lancaster's, but it is just as useful."

"And what is it?", I asked eagerly.

"Guardian Strength, a blessing of the Amplification category, I'm basically super strong, suits a peasant who spent his life on the farm, don't you think."

We all ended up laughing together in the middle of the trip.