Merla had bounded home after her visit to the library. A black book with gold writing on its cover was tucked in her arms, Source: The Beginning. The title shimmered slightly when the sunlight touched it.

As she navigated her way through the town’s streets and alleyways, Merla felt like she was floating. Her excitement from seeing the otherworldly displays by Eliott had not only aroused her imagination but also interested her on a more intellectual level.

With the magic that was shown to her in the library, anything seemed to be possible. So why not try to help her family with it?

Hers was one of the families that lived on the outskirts of the town. A father that worked on the orchards for meager pay and a mother that kept the home intact by doing odd jobs nearby for similar pay. It was a small family, but it still had its fair share of struggles as commonfolk. 

Merla loved them very much so she wanted to help in any way possible. She did her fair of odd jobs when her parents weren’t around by going to multiple establishments and taking part in the less strenuous tasks. This allowed her to have some personal income to help with the living situation and to borrow books from the library. 

She never thought she’d meet a man that would show her a whole new world of possibilities.

Once Merla found her way home, she entered and called out to see if her family was home. Unfortunately, they seemed to still be at their jobs at this time of the evening.

She went into her room and situated herself on her bed, before placing the pristine book in front of her. Its title silently glowed in the dim light. For commonfolk like her, encountering precious items like this in their entire lives was uncertain.

Merla relished the cover before opening it. The pages inside were covered with a beautiful script that she couldn’t recognize, but as she ran her eyes over them comprehension of the meaning seemed almost natural.

Source is one of the many natural forms of energy that a world can generate. Of the various types, it is one of the few that that is considered living.

If one wanted to tame this kind of energy they would first need to sense the energy.

Close the five senses and open the senses of the natural form. Source will naturally come to find those that are willing or have a form that resonates with it. 

You will know it by the refreshed feeling you will get when it interacts with the natural form.

She closed her eyes and tried to tune out the noises of life. Almost immediately, a cool feeling permeated throughout her being like a gentle breeze.

As Merla slowly opened her eyes, she saw the transparent, blueish energy that she saw in the library, but this time they took the form of little birds. They flew around her, leaving trails of blue particles behind them which flew towards her body. It was a silent spectacle.

She grinned and slowly raised her hands towards some of the ethereal birds. Her heart was beating faster in excitement at the fact the man in the library hadn’t lied to her.

One of the bigger ethereal forms slowly made circles over her hands before landing, absorbing the smaller forms. It increased its size slowly, the features becoming more apparent of a raven she once saw in the fields when worked there once.

The point of contact between the raven and her hand was cool. The raven calmly looked at her and exuded blue particles which were absorbed by her body. This was Source and it was alive!

Merla quickly glanced at the book to find more information.

As it is living energy, it can take various forms that are native to the world it is born in. Naturally, these forms are influenced by the environment or those that want to tame it.

However, the forms it can take are only visible to those that can naturally sense or intake it.

So the form that Source took in her presence was a bird because of her? Merla wondered what kind of significance that meant since Eliott helped her sense it rather than discover it on her own.

She looked at the raven now roosting on her hand. 

It was blue, see-through, weightless, and silent. If not for those features, it would most definitely be indistinguishable from a regular raven. 

Her eyes trailed down to the book’s pages once again, this time though on a particular piece of information.

Source as living energy is highly malleable to the creative mind of a being. This allows the creation of various magic or existences that can exceed the potential of the original energy itself.

It is limitless in form and functionality, just limited by the constraints of the vessel.

Merla opened her mouth in awe at the passage. It was limitless… even she knew what that meant. She had never known anything that was considered limitless.

Through books she’s read in the past or through stories from various individuals she’s met it was undisputable knowledge that there was a limit to everything. Kings and their kingdoms eventually fell after some time. Even the churches mentioned that gods could fall or cease to exist. So to read that this energy, Source, was limitless... dealt a heavy blow to her worldview.

Merla continued to read the pages of the book with more fervor than before. She had learned various things and even tricks concerning the uses and functionality of Source. There was a little bit of history in there as well, but it was vague and exceeded her bounds of comprehension.

A brief summary of what she learned.

There were seven stages of magic and currently she was an Apprentice at the Source Opening stage. Merla believed that Eliott had to be in one of the higher stages because he seemed very proficient in using Source.

Of the basic spells that were written in the book, she was able to cast Prestidigitation because it seemed to be the most optimal spell for her current lifestyle. It took a bit of practice, but she managed to eventually clean the stain on her clothes and was satisfied with her decision.

[Prestidigitation. 1st order magic. A minor magic skill that allows the caster to summon a brief wind, a small flame, a hand-sized illusion, or to cleanse the filth off a small area in areas that can be seen.]

Merla had seen another spell in the book that interested her but decided to ask Eliott about it tomorrow. She had started to feel exhausted after her many attempts at casting Prestidigitation and didn’t want to try anything more until she was taught more.

The book did state that casting too many spells can damage her body if she wasn’t too careful; however, casting spells in repetition could improve her intake of Source especially in the Source Opening stage. So she wasn’t too concerned.

She closed the book and reveled at her newfound knowledge.

Merla took the book and gently set it under her pillow. An aroma of reheated stew took her out of the reverie. Her parents must be home!

As she jumped off her bed, Merla could hear the flapping of wings next to her ears. The corners of her mouth curled up and hurried into the other room to greet her parents. 

Before Merla could say anything, the ground shook and there was a loud explosion in the distance which rocked her ears. Her parents shouted and screamed before running towards her. The sound of flapping wings grew louder as well as the feeling of comfort and safety.

A flock of birds, mostly small ravens, flew around the clustered form of the family. Their blue forms glowed and eventually faded as the shaking earth stopped. 

Merla looked up from her family’s embrace to see the remnants of Source fading back into obscurity. She could hear the shouts and exclamations from the neighbors outside. There were a few words that kept being repeated.

Fire. Explosion. Makers’ District.