Niana was the first to enter the room, dashing in like an excited cat. Her round red eyes locked with Carmilla's silver ones.
She wasn't holding the rock this time. Niana jumped on the bed and began speaking with the woman, "Zll, Mama? P avsk fvb, zol'z hdhrl!"
There it was again. That language.
Being well-versed with multiple dialects and languages was a requirement for a person of her position. Their district was an integral part of a bigger organization called E.D.I.N. that handled reviving humanity to its prime.
Their location was cut off from the rest of the world physically to protect sensitive information but their leaders would often meet with the other members through telephones.
Carmilla was a psuedo-celebrity in the space. Inside of their space, she was the third to have been born with powers.
"I'm sorry?" Carmilla asked in confusion, trying to inch away from the child that kept crawling closer.
Niana frowned, thinking deeply as she assessed herself. She immediately realized what it was and turned to her mother.
"P mvynva tf ybpu kvduzahpyz!" She announced, jumping off of the bed and running out of the room. "P'ss il ypnoa ihjr!"
The woman chuckled as she watched her daughter retreat. "She forgot her rune downstairs. I hope you don't mind her rather excited attitude, she doesn't meet other people often."
"I uh..." Carmilla started. However, she couldn't find the right words to say. Seeing her again, now in the day, it felt nerve-wrecking. Despite the stark differences that she noted earlier, she still eerily looked like the girl in her dreams.
"My name is Vaeri. You've already met my daughter, Niana." She grabbed a chair to sit from a nearby desk filled with herbs and plants. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions. Before that, please take your medicine. I've changed the recipe so you shouldn't taste that bitter flavor."
Carmilla eyed the glass on the table. She remembered the events from that night, how easily she agreed to take water from a stranger. She didn't know what to make of herself after such display.
Now, with a more clearer head, she's refraining from doing something similar. "I don't think I will."
Vaeri nodded, as if expecting it. "Very well. We only have a few minutes before my daughter will figure out that I hid her rune."
'What a cheeky mother...'
Speaking of her daughter, "Your daughter... is she human?"
"She is."
"And you are...? I apologize if I seem disrespectful-"
"No need. My Niana is the only human in this realm." She smiled fondly, her eyes drifting to where her daughter ran off to. Vaeri had a look in her face Carmilla could only describe as pride. "As for me, I am an elf."
An elf. She read a book that detailed a fantastical story about a young boy. It had been a long time though. She was sure those books lay forgotten in the Grand Library. Her family's interests didn't align with keeping the fictional stories of the past alive.
Instead of questioning her race, Carmilla was more concerned about her first statement. With a worried tone, she stuttered to ask, "This realm? As in, I'm not... this isn't near any human civilization?"
"This is the realm of life. You are farthest away from any humans. Three days ago, you came through a natural portal with a high fever and minor wounds."
Carmilla was starting to feel a sense of panic form in the back of her mind. Immediately, she suppressed it. Her years of working as a scout kicking in as she re-analyzed her surroundings.
This time, she didn't note the material or what made up the room, but what was present. Thousands of mana points were present in this singular room, filling the air with its presence that nurtured its environment. All things made up of nature cycled between taking certain points and dishing out a rainbow of colors in the air.
She gasped and said. "This place is full of magic..."
"You can see mana?" Vaeri's voice was quiet and surprised, a whisper for herself to note. The elf was keenly observing Carmilla's new behavior.
Wonder and awe shined in her eyes as they darted around the room to focus on different points where mana was overflowing. It was as if each part of the home was a machine. Taking in the mana and refining it into the air for other parts to do the same.
"Incredible. I never thought I would see something like this in my life..."
Carmilla opened her palm. Performing magic was something she didn't do often, her father would worry about the destruction of those around her so she never got to practice outside of her time as a scout.
Over the years, she created a small but reliable arsenal of spells that she used to subjugate and protect as a scout. She still wasn't proficient, but she lived up to the expectations as a child born with power.
Creating fire was incredibly easy. The mana naturally responded to her call, performing a similar action with her environment. She took mana in and molded it to the image of heat and anger. Flame formed in her palm, crawling all over her skin until it fully covered her hand. They concentrated at the tip of her finger before separating from Carmilla's physical form.
A fireball was born.
Twisting her fingers, she found that controlling the ball of fire came to her naturally. The mana from the surroundings gathered around her like a mentor. It spoke in whispers her mind couldn't grasp but her body followed diligently.
"Amazing... humans have only been in Itov for less than a millennium and your bodies have already adapted to the scarce mana in the overworld..."
Had they had access to the realm of life, they would have developed mana far sooner than a few generations in.
Vaeri stared at the fireball, fascinated.
Carmilla released the mana, reabsorbing her own and letting the rest slip away to her environment. Thus, the fireball ceased as soon as she closed her palm.
"Incredible. Your body is an amazing conductive material to manipulate mana." Vaeri noted. "Do all humans conjure spells like you?"
"No. I was born pretty different." Carmilla noticed that Vaeri was more curios than afraid. She doesn't seem to see Carmilla as a threat.
It was either because she was fascinated by magic or she was stronger than what she let on.
She fidgeted with the rock in her hand, "These rocks. Are these how you perform magic?"
Vaeri smiled. "Quite astute. How did you manage that?"
"The one you're holding glows whenever either of us speak. I couldn't understand what that child was saying earlier when she didn't have hers. You called it... rune?"
"Correct."
Carmilla opened her mouth to form another question only to pause when one of Vaeri's long ears twitched. She turned toward the door just as a child's excited voice declared victory downstairs.
Vaeri smiled politely and said, "It seems our time is up." She stood and walked over to the table, her tall figure looming over Carmilla as she handed her the water. "I know you have more questions but I would prefer if you refrain from asking in front of Niana. She tries not to be obvious, but she is quite the sensitive child. She will know that we talked. She will feel your distrust as I do. She won't comment on it."
Carmilla, unsure what to make of the request she received, turned her attention to the glass of water in front of her. "If you know, then why are you doing all of this?"
"Because you don't seem like a bad person." She said without hesitation. As if she was waiting for that question to arise. "Please, take your medicine."
What a weird woman. It was as if she was blinded by her own values that she forgot how dangerous the world is out there. Carmilla was sure there was a reason she was raising a human child alone. After all, there was always a reason for doing something.
A child, out of all things, is a big commitment. To raise one is hard in and of itself, but Vaeri chose to do this. A child that is not of her blood.
She took the glass and downed the liquid in one gulp. To her surprise, it tasted like water.
Vaeri smiled. She must have spent a considerable amount of time perfecting the medicine to give to her. Carmilla suspected that there must have been some sort of magic used to create it. Magic that Carmilla suspected came from the runes that they had.
It was a curious thing. She had never thought to use a catalyst to perform her magic. Especially when she could easily will the magic to her hands.
She recognized the genius behind it. There was less room for error where the spell could cancel out or backfire. Usually, when you fail to cast the skill, the mana you gathered would redirect to the user. It would burst inside your body like fire combusting inside of a sealed can.
Runes allowed a safer and more efficient way to use magic.
Could ordinary humans, ones not blessed with magic, be able to use runes?