After looking at everything, he pushed the books aside and rested his head on the rooting wood of the desk. Ryo felt overwhelmed by everything that was happening. It was like everything that had happened in the last few days collided into him. And now the mistress had basically tossed him into this room and told him to get to work.But he had no clue on where he was supposed to start!

He didn’t even fully understand what a sigil was, so how was he supposed to make one?! Ryo lightly bounced his head off the wood a few times, hoping it would help. When that didn’t work he took a deep breath in and let out a lengthy sigh. Sitting up straight, he rubbed his eyes before looking at the books. If he was going to start anywhere, that would be the best place.  At random, he picked up one of the many books on the table.

“The Vision Quest by Hans Rache” Ryo mumbled to himself, reading the cover. Opening to the first page, he read: 

“Among most primitive cultures, there is a rite of passage one must endure to be accepted by the community. These rites usually vary depending on culture and species, but most share one commonality, the vision quest. During the vision quest, the person prays or cries out to a spirit or deity that may grant them a vision, one that will help and give meaning to their life…”

The book described how Hans went to different realms and studied tribes and their rites of passage in significant detail. From the author's findings, he created his own vision quest named the Rache method. Instead of using a god or spirit as a guide, he devised a method of using potent elixirs called “Sage Rites” instead. The book also explained how the elixirs are made and the refining process needed to create them. It warned the reader that not properly refining these materials would make the elixir deadly. It also cautioned the reader to take the elixirs in the correct order, or risk death or serious illness. 

Since most about half the book talked about the materials, refining process, and brewing method of the elixirs, Ryo laid the book down. There was no need for him to read it, because he guessed the vials the mistress had provided were the elixirs the book talked about. The mistress probably didn’t want him wasting his time reading about potion making.

Picking up the vials, he examined each closely, as if trying to glean more information from them. Ryo noticed that at the top of each cork was a small number that had been burned into it. This probably was the order he was supposed to take them, but would look to see if there was further instructions before trying. He was sure the mistress probably left something like that somewhere in the pile of stuff she left for him on the desk. 

Putting the vials back in their place, he picked up another book at random and opened it up, reading its contents. For the next seven days, all he did was read and take notes. When he finally finished the last book, he sat it aside and looked at the undertaker book. It was the only one he hadn’t read yet and actively avoided it till now. The reason being was that the look of the book was a little unnerving and made him feel a little uncomfortable. Looking at it would sometimes send a shiver through him, like it would jump up and sink its fangs into him at any moment. 

He slowly reached out his hand and poked the skull on the book before quickly recoiling from it. When he saw nothing happening, he reached out his hand again and poked it again. But this time he didn’t recoil, and just kept poking it to see if anything would happen. When he was satisfied that nothing would happen, he placed his hand on the cold leather. The two gems in the eye sockets of the book, although creepy, were also beautiful. Taking in a deep breath, he slowly opened the book. 

Four hours later, Ryo had lost himself in the book, forgetting everything else. It was so well written and thought out that it was perhaps the best book he had ever read. The author had the ability to break down complex thoughts into something almost anyone could understand. In a way it almost reminded him of the mistress when she taught, but even better. Plus, the hard writing was so neat, which made reading so much easier. 

Sometimes the books the mistress gave him were hard to read, due to the quality of writing. It was very hard to read what some books said, because of poor handwriting. The other issue with some books was that some authors used complicated words that made him seek out others so he could understand. Ryo wasn’t sure why anyone would write a book so that only a handful of people could understand it?

Sitting back in the chair, he closed his eyes to give them a rest. Ryo moved his neck from side to side, stretching it out. Folding his hands across the table in front of him, he laid his head down on them. He cleared his mind for a brief second before thinking about what he needed to do next. Making a sigil would be much harder than he had thought initially. 

All sigils needed a basic shape, runes, and symbols to make them function. The books only provided a few examples from sigils of the past. But they also provided hundreds of different runes, magic arrays, symbols, and shapes that could help someone find inspiration in designing their sigil. However, it wasn’t as easy as that. Sigils needed to be “true” to the user, or else it could backfire on them. To get your sigil to resonate with you, one must go on a vision quest. From the vision quest, they said you to get a clear picture of what your sigil should be. He tried to find out more information on the vision quest, but it was apparently different for everyone. 

He had taken time to study the sigil examples in the various books. As well as taking notes on the various runes, magic arrays, and any other relevant information he needed to make one. Opening his eyes, he lifted his head from the desk, and reached for a note he had found with the books. It was from the mistress and in it; it laid out the order in which he needed to take the sage rites elixirs, to go on a vision quest. 

Re-reading the note, he took out the vials and laid them in order in front of him. Checking each vial multiple times to make sure they were in order, before sitting back in the chair once again. Tilting his head up toward the ceiling above him, he closed his eyes and rubbed them. Although he knew he needed to go on a vision quest soon, he was still nervous about it. 

The door swung open, making him jump out of his chair. He swung around quickly to see the mistress in the doorway. She had rarely stopped by since the day she first led him into this room. The mistress would only come briefly to check his progress before leaving. Giving her a small bow, Ryo greeted her. 

“Hello, mistress.” 

“Are you going to attempt your vision quest soon?” She asked, arching her brow. 

“I-i...yes, mistress. He mumbled, struggling to collect himself by her abrupt visit. 

“Good, good.” She said, walking over to him. 

Why did you have to come now? Ryo complained to himself as he tried to calm himself. It was already hard enough to try to learn all of this in such a short amount of time, without her breathing down his neck. Now she had come just when he was trying to build up the courage to drink the vials!

“Well, don’t let me stop you.” She insisted, stopping in front of him. 

“Oh-uh-well…” Ryo stuttered, not sure what she meant. 

“Don’t worry I made those myself, so they are safe to drink. I’ll even stay and watch you if that will ease your worry.” She explained, crossing her hands across her chest. 

“Oh-I...but…” He tried to say, before the mistress cut him off. 

“Come on, drink.” She insisted, giving him a predatory grin. 

“Y-yes mistress.”  He mumbled, his blood turning cold. 

Ryo didn’t want to take the sage rites elixirs at the moment and wanted more time to study. But with the mistress here, he felt pressured to try. Turning around, he picked up the first vial, making sure it was the correct one, before removing the cork. Holding his breath, he tilted back his head and drank the first elixir. Quickly he drank the content of each vial, only verifying it was the correct one. 

Once he was done with the last one, he placed the empty vial on the desk. Taking in a deep breath of air, all the flavors of the elixirs hit him at once. Reaching for some water, he tried using it to rinse his mouth. Although not the worst thing he tasted, it still was very unpleasant. Even after he took several sips of water, there was still a bitter taste in his mouth. 

Huh, I guess it’s not that bad. Ryo thought to himself as he turned around to face the mistress. He was worried that he wouldn’t be able to drink them all in the short amount needed. The world spun around him as he felt himself fall forward. Just before everything went dark, he could hear the mistress mumble.

“Idiot.” 

***

When He woke up Ryo found himself lying down in the middle of a field of cherry trees, in full bloom. Where am I? He thought to himself, as he slowly got to his feet. The sight of all these beautiful blossoms was breathtaking. It was like a sea of pink, red, and purple flowers. From the corner of his eyes, he could feel tears begin to stream down his face. The last time he had seen such a sight was the spring before they had forced him off the island. 

Every year each village, town, or city would host a cherry blossom festival, to mark a new beginning. There would be delicious food, games, contests, and beautifully made crafts. It was one of the few fond memories he had about the island. 

“What the hell is going on?!” A voice called out, a familiar figure stumbling out from behind a tree.

“F-floyd?” Ryo stuttered, shocked to see the old man here. 

“Ryo?” Floyd asked bewildered, turning towards him. 

 “What have you done?” The man added, stomping towards him. 

“Me?” Ryo asked, confused about what the man was saying. 

“Yeah you, magic boy!” Floyd huffed, his face red. 

“I was just having dinner with my wife, then bam, here i am!” Floyd barked, stopping in front of him.

“I-i’m sorry Floyd, I’m not sure why you're here.” Ryo apologized, recoiling from the old man a little. 

“You better start explaining, kid, what’s going on?” Floyd grumbled, crossing his arms across his chest. 

Ryo explained to Floyd what had occurred since they had left. Of course he didn’t fully trust Floyd, so he omitted some information. It wasn’t that he had thought the old man was a bad person, but he had only met him twice before. Plus, he didn’t know too much about Floyd yet, so he decided to be cautious. 

“So...you need to make a sigil to cast magic?” Floyd asked, rubbing his chin. 

“U-uh yeah…” He mumbled, looking away from the old man. 

“I thought you already knew how to cast magic?” Floyd remarked.

“I-i do...this is a unique magic.” Ryo stuttered as he nervously bit on his lip. 

“Alright, so what are you looking for exactly?” Floyd asked him. 

“I’m not sure honestly, inspiration I guess.” Ryo replied, looking back toward the man. 

Ryo was a little embarrassed, because the books didn’t really go into much detail about this part. All the books briefly mentioned a dream-like world, but other than that, nothing else. Everyone's vision quest was different and held unique meanings. 

“Can you show me what this sigil is supposed to look like?” Floyd asked, Ryo could hear the old man was annoyed. 

“Yeah, of course.” He answered.

Walking to a nearby tree, he snapped one of the smaller branches off. Making his way back to Floyd, he bent down and started to draw in the dirt. He tried to make an exact copy of an example he saw of a sigil in one of the books. When he was finished, Ryo stood up and looked over to Floyd. 

“That’s what you’re trying to make?” The man asked, rubbing his chin. 

“Have you seen this before?” Ryo inquired. 

“Uh-Yes, but where I’m from they are meaningless.” Floyd answered, shaking his head. 

“What do you mean?” Ryo asked excitedly. 

“Well, I’m not sure when, but I think they were used to try and turn metals into gold.” Floyd remarked, scratching his head. 

“Can you show me one from where you come from?” Ryo blurted out. 

“Buh! I don’t think I could make one off the top of my head. It’s not something I really studied or cared about.” Floyd grumbled, bending down to take a closer look at the sigil he had made in the dirt. 

“O-oh…” Ryo answered dejectedly. 

“But maybe I can help with the overall design. If I remember right, these things are all about geometry.” Floyd mumbled as he gestured towards his example. 

“Geo...mtry?” Ryo mimicked, never herding the word before. 

“Oh-uh don’t worry about it, I should be able to help with the design.” Floyd awkwardly replied. 

“I’m confident in my ability to draw, so I should be able to make it more exact. I can even teach you a few tricks I learned.” He added, looking up at Ryo.    

“Thank you.” Ryo thanked the old man, bowing his head slightly.

“Don’t thank me, who knows maybe this thing will turn you into a fish. And the sooner we are done, the sooner I can return to my wife.” Floyd sighed, gesturing for Ryo to hand over the stick he was carrying.   

“Anyway, what do you want to design it after?” He added, after Ryo handed it to him. 

A cool breeze picked up around him, causing the trees to shake and rustle. Blossoms and petals danced in the wind, weaving in and out of the trees. They then swirled around him and Floyd, before rising into the sky above them. Then just as quickly as it came, the wind vanished, causing petals and blossoms to rain down. Something deep inside of him told him to reach his hand out. Following that feel he reached as he spotted a large purple blossom slowly descend in front of him, landing in his palm.