Dread Mage

It had been quite some time since Sonder’s last conversation with Pith.

Pith, along with its child, had entered a deep, trance-like state. They had rooted themselves into the earth and had remained motionless for over an hour now.

They were almost indistinguishable from natural trees and shrubs.

Meanwhile, Sonder remained seated on the soft, velvety moss, attempting to soak in the sunlight.

To her, this exercise was akin to meditation—or at least, it was what she imagined meditation to be. She had never actually practiced meditation before; her only knowledge of it came from the stories shared by the people from her village.

As she sat there, Sonder wondered whether she was genuinely absorbing light, which could be the reason behind her diminished hunger. Or if she was only imagining it.

The villagers also often spoke about the power of belief—that if someone truly believed in something, it held the potential to become real.

The more Sonder thought about this specific idea, the more she became convinced that belief might be a fundamental aspect of magic, or at least one of its aspects.

She had witnessed various forms of magic, but the one that captivated her the most was Vell’s word magic, known as Dico magic.

It seemed to be rare, hard to master, or both.

Yet, as Sonder thought about it for even longer, she questioned whether absorbing light was truly even magic.

After all, it was a natural process for plants.

It would be absurd if someone considered a poppy consuming bread or a tart as magical. So, surely, the other way around must also be seen this way.

The realization that absorbing light might not be magic did not deter Sonder from trying.

As she sat there, a new wave of questions washed over her. Was it really just the sunlight that could nourish her in this way?

Would the light from a lamp or a candle yield the same result?

Why was all of this so complicated?

Despite her desire for clarity, Sonder found herself unable to stop the stream of questions that flowed through her mind.

Sonder closed her eyes and took a deep breath, focusing her attention once more on the sunlight bathing her skin. She concentrated on the sensation of warmth, imagining it seeping into her very core.

Her goal was to remain present and mindful, resisting the temptation to let her thoughts wander too far astray. She didn’t want to lose time again.