Jacob was basically jumping with excitement, barely able to remain seated in his chair.
'The more of these runes I learn, the closer I get to doing some real enchanting. . .'
Arthur took the shirt in his hand and readied his pen.
"Ok, so the first thing is that this is a top-down pattern, which is basically the opposite of what we have been doing. The base will go on the top with the other runes below that. Also, the pattern will make little triangles by placing the second rune between each of the base runes at an equal distance."
He demonstrated slowly, drawing three clean runes with practiced precision. As the last one settled into the fabric, the shirt gave a subtle shimmer before the light dimmed.
"There. That's the starter set. I can only manage these three runes. Your turn, but finish the base up first; it shouldn't matter that I added one additional rune first. Not with your power."
Arthur looked a bit uncertain, but there was still a confidence in that uncertainty.
Jacob leaned forward, studying the spacing, the shapes, the way the magic settled into the threads.
He began to draw.
His lines weren't quite as smooth as Arthur's, but they held firm, and they improved with each additional rune he drew. For the visualization, he focused on something familiar from his previous life.
'Self-cleaning windows . . . Like those water-repellent coatings back on Earth with the soap and sprays to keep things nice and clear.'
He imagined grime sliding off on its own. He pictured cloth that resisted buildup, that stayed fresh even with heavy use, disinfecting itself when necessary. Dissolving any buildup that managed to stick.
As he finished the final rune, the array glowed for a moment longer than Arthur's, then gently dimmed.
Arthur gave it a tug, lifted it up to the light, then nodded. He pulled some dust off the ground and sprinkled it on the shirt, seeing that it promptly slid off without even the smallest particle sticking to the cloth.
"Solid work. You can enchant anything you wear like this now. We never did it because we needed to save the one or two enchantments we can do each day for the tools."
Jacob nodded, beaming at his success and the obvious look of pride on his father's face.
Before they could get deeper into any of the intricacies of enchanting, May called them in, and they cleaned up the workbench before heading home for the night.
May had a wonderful dinner ready for them, and Caleb was already digging in.
That evening, Jacob lay in bed with his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling.
'Cleaning enchantments, comfort runes, weight distribution… It's all starting to click.'
He could feel like something was forming in his mind; the magic seemed to be taking on a form of its own, but he also felt like he just didn't have enough information.
He quickly fell asleep as he started thinking of the patterns they used while enchanting.
'It's like we are making 2D images out of 3D objects . . .'
Jacob woke to the scent of breakfast and the usual background noise of farm life. He got dressed quickly, scarfed down a few eggs and toast with his family, then ran outside before anyone could rope him into an extra chore.
The chickens were already out, pecking through straw and dirt like they had secrets buried under every patch of ground.
He crouched near the coop and watched them for a while, arms resting on his knees, head tilted just slightly as he observed the rhythm of their movements.
'They don't need to think. They just move. Scratch, search, peck. Over and over. It's so . . . relaxing . . . but it seems patterned instead of aimless.'
He watched one hen kick up a clump of straw and uncover something shiny, a coin that had somehow worked its way into the dirt.
Jacob blinked a couple of times, then leaned forward to pick it up.
"Were they looking for this or did they find it?"
'They're not searching,' he thought, watching one hen dig a shallow furrow, then move down the line like it knew something would be there eventually. 'They're following instinct. Like a rule.'
He tilted his head, eyes narrowing.
'Is that what enchantments are? Not commands, but instincts built into the object?'
He sat back in the dirt, thinking it through.
'When I make a rune, I'm not telling the item what to do. I'm giving it a reflex. A reaction. Like muscle memory . . . but for tools . . . objects.'
He smiled, letting the idea settle.
'That's why the visualizations matter so much. It's not just symbols. It's giving the magic something to expect . . . a response to a situation.'
A hen flapped its wings next to him, kicking up dust, then went right back to scratching.
Jacob chuckled.
"Thanks, girls," he said, standing up and brushing off his pants. "That helped more than you know."
'Who knew that chickens could help me understand some magic . . . chicken magic?'
He took one last look at the coop before heading back toward the house, the morning sun high now and casting sharp lines across the farm.
By the time he walked into the kitchen, May was already setting out plates. Caleb was finishing off a slice of bread, and Arthur was drying his hands by the sink.
"Well, look who made it back before the food disappeared," Arthur said with a grin.
Jacob smiled, sliding into his seat.
"Had a bit of a breakthrough, with the chickens," he said, grabbing a biscuit. "About enchanting."
Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah?"
"Not a new rune or anything," Jacob added, shaking his head. "Just . . . the way it works. How it's not really about control . . . It's more like teaching something how to react."
Arthur gave a thoughtful nod, mentally reviewing his own understanding as he reached over for the butter.
"Sounds like you're starting to understand it properly. It's important to have these little moments of realization where you draw your own understanding of the craft."
May placed the last dish on the table and sat down beside them, his younger sister in her lap.
"Well, just make sure none of your new magic gets tracked across my clean floors," she said with a playful look."
Jacob grinned.
"But it would be such a good chance to try out your new broom!"
This roused a laugh out of everyone, and they ate before heading back to work.
Arthur went with the farmhands, tending to the crops and animals. Caleb was focusing on the animals, and Jacob was with the chickens to make sure they were comfortable and happy.