Clailip stared at the older boy before him, his eyes sparkled in curiousity. He had been told that the boy was another divorakk, so he couldn't help but stare at the goat horns that grew on the sides of Collin's head. He wanted to put his fingers on them and tug at the cream-colored horns, he wanted to know how strongly they were attached.

"Good day." Collin looked down and smiled at Clailip, he patted the boy on the head, and let him and the spirits into his room.

He locked the door when all six of them were inside the rather spacious inn room. Clailip kept staring at Collin, he wanted to know what another divorakk was doing in this place, and why the boy requested to talk to him. He wasn't cautious though, Collin looked trustworthy enough, though he couldn't help but think why exactly the child wanted to see him.

"So uh, let's see. How do dianians greet again…? Oh! The sun shines bright and makes us work away the day, but, rises the moon, the night will come and respite will be had. How are you, little lune?" Collin curtsied and smiled at Clailip.

"...huh?" Clailip's brows furrowed and his face distorted as he tried to process what Collin was saying, was he being greeted? He wasn't very sure, this must be the type of thing taught at schools, sadly his home went up in flames before he could learn the proper dianian manners.

"Oh, you must have not been schooled yet. I apologize, I was trying to be polite." Collin smiled sheepishly, he cleared his throat and looked at Clailip's eyes that looked like a forest in the first few days of autumn.

'Interesting, a memetic vision-type skill holder? Great thing I have mental resistance, or else I may be affected quite badly.' Collin made a mental note of avoiding eye contact with Clailip; he could feel the tiny child's skill trying to break through his mental defenses, so he quickly looked at Clailip's forehead instead.

"Uh, so why did you want to see me? And also cool horns! I've always liked the idea of having horns. You're a divorakk right? Why do you have horns?" Clailip asked excitedly, his legs were still stiff and he still stood uncharacteristically straight, but he was really fascinated with Collin's features. "Also are your mommy and daddy here? What are you guys doing in this place? It's super dangerous you know!"

"Slow down. I'll answer your questions. Do you like tea?" Collin asked as he sat himself on a simple wooden chair and conjured up a wooden mug adorned with colorful leaves on its twine handle, he watched as Clailip nodded and quickly conjured up a small cup with a flick of a wrist.

"Woah, you're really good at magic…" Clailip watched in awe as Collin effortlessly weaved a spell to make the cup and the mug. He took the seat that faced Collin and took the cup in his hand, inspecting it.

"It's a basic nature-type spell, if you had my attribute you'd be able to do it with ease too. Now, onto the topic. Now what type of tea would you like? I have all kinds, even the rare and expensive ones, courtesy of my arcana and magic." Collin asked as he filled up his mug with a hot, amber colored liquid, it seemed to come from nothing. The mug was just filled up with tea from the bottom up.

"Arcana? What's that? Anyway I'd like moonflower tea please." Clailip didn't know what an arcana was, but he has heard the word from his grandparents from time to time.

"Well, little lune, an arcana is a sort of magic that isn't elemental. Everyone has one, they awaken it after receiving a magical medium. How have you not heard of it? You must have been very sheltered." Collin was definitely surprised, before he realized that he was talking to a dianian. Unlike danzians like him, their magic was very deeply rooted in the elements, arcana weren't a very big thing in their culture.

"Oh! Cool! What's your arcana? Also why did you want to see me? Also your ho-"

"Slow down, Clailip, was it? You know you have a very odd name. But that's besides the point, stop asking questions one after another, slow down and let me talk after you ask one question. To answer one of your questions, though, my arcana is pharmacy magic. It's a complicated arcana, but in short, I can make any drug, supplement, or anything of the sort, as long as I know how they are made and their ingredients. Teas go under the supplement umbrella, so I can make any kind I want at any time, as long as I know what type of plant they originate from." Collin explained, he didn't want to ramble much, but he wanted to entertain the boy's questions first and gain his trust so his job would be easier.

"Odd name? Wait, what about the horns?" Clailip tried his best to refrain from asking another question right after this one.

"There are different types of divorakks, lune, specifically four. I'm a danzian, and we are known for our increased proficiency in handling arcanas. That and our animal characteristics, see, when Sir Danzel, our beloved guardian god, made us with the increased capability of using arcanas, he feared that we would lose our connection to nature and the elements. So we were given animal characteristics, making sure that we would always be in tune with the land and sea. I actually have a tail too, I'm just hiding it right now. I'm also just using a spell to make my pupils look round, in truth they too are very goat-like and rectangular in nature." Collin watched as Clailip's eyes grew in awe, it seemed that he had the same thirst for knowledge that he has. He briefly contemplated taking him in as a junior scholar, but decided against it, though he didn't want to make decisions for a random child that still missed his parents. He didn't want Clailip to be treated the way he was.

"Woah… that's so cool." Clailip stared at Collin and watched as he filled up the cup he was holding with warm moonflower tea. This was his favorite beverage, his mother would prepare it for him every night. He missed the sweet and slightly citrusy taste of the tea. It dimly glowed a comforting light, and when the cup was fully filled, Clailip carefully brought it up to his mouth and took a sip.

"So that's why your name is Clailip… your mark and that tea would mean that you must be a very weak child." Collin rambled, "If you didn't know, Clailip is the name of a young boy in old divorakk fairy tales hat died early due to disease. The word Clailip itself is a portmanteau of the words Clalan—meaning useless and weak— and Dalip—meaning cursed and wretched." Collin steetched and yawned in place as he rambled, not realizing the expression that was painted on the young boy's face. "They say when a parent names their child Clailip, it is because they don't expect the child to live long. Judging by your dim mark, you must have been a sickly infant. I am glad though, that you are here, still alive. The name Clailip itself is said to carry a curse, and for you to overcome that curse and still be alive up to now, it says a lot. You're a strong boy, now, onto the reason why I called you here…"

Clailip's face was warped in disbelief, he sipped on his tea as he listened to the ramblings of Collin. He wondered why his parents would name him such an awful name, his forehead wrinkled as he thought long and hard. Did his parents actually hate him? Did they not want him? Why would he be named Clailip if it had such a negative connotation attached to it? He visibly deflated in his seat and brought the cup down from his lips into the table.

'Maybe I shouldn't save them after all… but my happy ending—well if my parents do hate me then I don't think I'll be getting that happy ending—if they do really hate me then maybe I should call it quits and return to those gods and try to gamble on a better life. If they hate me then I don't think there'd be a reason for me to stay. Maybe they just tried to love me and gave me affection because they hoped I would die soon.' Clailip's thoughts and imagination ran wild as tears pricked at his eyes, he sank in his seat and his brows furrowed and relaxed as he tried to process what he just heard.

"Clailip? Hey, don't be upset. I'm sorry I told you all that I was just rambling, and I only told you the danzian point of view of Clailip's story. Each major tribe has a variation of the story of Clailip. I'm not too sure about the significance of the name in dianian culture." Collin comforted Clailip, "I mean, in gregorian divorakk culture, the name Clailip is associated with a young hero who did die early, but not due to disease, but because she summoned a demon so great that it banished Tennenborough's inner darkness—Tennenborough being the name of the city governed by gregorians and a mountain in the northern part of the western Isles."

"...Really?"

"Yes, really. Now I'll put official business on the back burner for now. What can I do to cheer you up?" Collin smiled and pat the tiny toddler on the head.

"Can you tell me more about magic? Uh, I've been practicing for so long but I still can't do much. I have so much mana but I'm having so much trouble."

"Of course. We'll if you haven't gone through the magical Invocation ceremony yet then that's a factor. You being mediumless is too. Don't worry too much, you're probably just a late bloomer. I mean, I bloomed too early, now I'm stuck with a child's body and I can't make myself look any older as I am a trahed—the formal name for divorakks like me who bloomed too early." Collin explained.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, little lune, unlike most creatures on the Isles. Divorakks mature and stop aging when they evolve their basic attributes into their own special magic. For example, I leveled up my nature-attribute magic to ten on my fifteenth birthday, and then it evolved and turned into my own personal magic, flora magic. Now I am stuck in this extremely childish appearance." Collin knew that it was the parent's responsibility to teach the child these things. But he had a hunch about the type of parent's Clailip had, and he didn't want the child to live in the dark forever.

"Woah, interesting…" Clailip couldn't really process the information right now, currently he was still trying to process the things Collin rambled about earlier. He was having trouble keeping up and this was evident in his expression that grew more confused by the second.

"That's just an oversimplification though, it is better if you experience it for yourself. Now then, since you haven't gone through your magical Invocation ceremony yet, why don't we do it now? It is needed to access the voice of the system and to know what are your magic's defining traits."

"Hold on this is a lot of information at once. What's a trait? My head hurts. This is all just one big dump of knowledge." Clailip held his head in his hands, his face was contorted into a difficult expression as he processed what each and every word meant. He knew what the magical Invocation ceremony was but he had no idea what a trait was or what anything else Collin had said.

"In simple terms, it is a word, an image, phrase, or title, that would shed light on how one's magic works. My defining traits are beauty and a flower, it's why my nature magic evolved into flora magic."

"Oh."

"Yes, so let us start. Shall we?"

 

Flowers bloomed where Collin walked, he finally finished the magical array needed to purify the curse set upon the divorakks systems. This was the main goal of the magical Invocation ceremony.

Every single piece of furniture in the inn's room were minimised by Collin's potions and set aside. Despite having a very deep distrust and discontent with his master, he does have to give credit where credit is due, his master was an amazing alchemist and he has been taught numerous recipes and methods of concocting potions and the like. This, combined with his pharmacy magic, lets him whip up all kinds of liquids at the drop of a hat, as long as he had mana.

Clailip sat dead center of the room, surrounded by fragrant pink lilies—the perfect flower to cleanse curses due to its high concentration of pure mana.

"Now, reach deep down within yourself. Imagine yourself slowly submerging yourself in a pool that reflected all of you, and stare deep into your own eyes." Collin instructed, as he activated the array, making the pink lilies glow a dim yellow light that originated from their stamens. "Since you haven't bonded with a magical medium yet, you most likely will materialise one from your deepest most personal mana conserves. So hold your hand out."

Clailip closed his eyes and breathed, he cleared his mind and did as he was told. He dipped down into the deepest recesses of himself, and found a hole where a pool should be, a dark hole, a hole devoid of all light. The hole had nothing inside it at first glance, and Clailip was about to submerge himself into the inky blackness thinking this was normal.

But he was stopped by a pair of green eyes staring back at him.

"Lilianna?" A soft-spoken yet masculine voice asked. "No… you're different. Broken—damaged. Who are you?" Asked the pair of green eyes that stared from within the inky depths, its voice was no longer kind, it turned hostile, deep, and raspy.

"Uh… Clailip Diancia. I don't know who Lilianna is but what you just said is very hurtful you know. I'm not damaged goods, a bit unstable maybe, but not damaged." Clailip took offense with the pair of eyes' words, he didn't think he was damaged at all, maybe a bit unbalanced and off due to the burning of his home but definitely not broken.

"Her descendant… I'm assuming you're here for the invocation? You're still young—a toddler at most—but out of the last fifty Diancias you resemble her the greatest. But your soul… how disgusting." the pair of eyes muttered in a low voice as it retreated into the darkness. "Do not dare tarnish her name, you—you may be a Diancia in name. But you are not one in heart. There's something different about you. Be wary of that darkness within you, Boy, it's volatile and violent, and if not given proper attention it will engulf both your soul and mind, poisoning your intentions and killing off what remains of you."

"Okay okay, jeez. What a blabbermouth. Can I take a dip now?" Clailip was trying his best to keep his voice as polite-sounding as possible, his lips twitched as he smiled at the hole. The eyes were no more and he hadn't received a reply, so he took that as a yes before taking a dip in the pool of darkness.

As his feet touched the nothingness, it started to ripple into a reflective surface, the darkness was gone and Clailip could see himself in the pool's reflection.

But there was something different about him.

Dull dead-fish eyes, colorful but soulless. His skin was a sickly pale color and his mark was bleeding out. His arms were filled with cuts and bruises and his mouth was stitched shut, and yet he could still speak.

"Oh ho, cool. So this is what inner me looks like. He looks very beat up." Clailip stated the obvious as he stared into his reflections eyes.

He watched as his reflection morphed into a dress, into a scarecrow; and into a needle, scissor, and thread combo. And then it turned back into him, or well a version of him. This Clailip wore a dress that looked as if it was woven with the fabric of the night sky itself, and this one looked much healthier and happier than his earlier reflection.

It mouthed something, words that Clailip couldn't quite understand. But he knew it was important and used every single bit of his brain power to remember how the reflection's lips moved.

With a gasp, Clailip returned to the real world, in his held out hand a sewing kit and a doll.

[The system's limitations have been successfully removed. Your traits will now be displayed.]

[Error, Harmless Sempster has been deemed incompatible. Rerolling]

[Error, Little Seamster has been deemed incompatible. Rerolling]

[Error, Bumbling Tailor has been deemed incompatible. Rerolling.]

[Traits assigned, perfect match.]

[Clailip Diancia, Traits:Tailored Horror]

"What…?" Was the first thing that came out of Clailip's mouth. He didn't understand why exactly he was called a 'Tailored Horror', he was offended, he wasn't scary. He couldn't remember any time in his life when he had inflicted great terror upon someone, so he was definitely very confused when the voice in his head said that his trait was a perfect match for him. He was a harmless sweetie, an innocent angel, how dare the voice call him a horror.

Collin looked speechless too, not for the same reason as Clailip's shock, though. All the lilies dried up and every single protective glyph he had written down were destroyed. This could only happen in very specific circumstances, he knew because he too had experienced a similar thing during his Invocation ceremony.

"Clailip, you're a witch." Collin's voice was dry and so was his throat, the young boy was a natural-born witch.