Dread Mage

A week had passed since their heartfelt conversation by the campfire. Sonder, now more invested in her studies, persisted with the grimoire.

With assistance from Hiraeth, she had begun to comprehend more of its content. The term 'epistemology', once a perplexing puzzle, now felt like a familiar companion, as many hours were spent dissecting its meaning and implications with the sprite.

The book was less about spells and more concerned with the theoretical aspects of magic, mana, and the underlying philosophy of wizardry.

Sonder might have appreciated it more had it provided deeper insights into the practical application of magic, but nonetheless, she enjoyed reading it.

Sonder found herself revisiting numerous pages, not due to the complexity of the words—Hireath was there to assist—but the underlying implications they held.

She had never dabbled in philosophy before, so it was only natural that many concepts felt alien to her.

However, much like any young child, complex ideas often seemed to enter one ear and exit the other.

She would have stopped reading it if not for Hiraeth's detailed discussions and Vell's initial gift.

She read as they traveled, she read when they rested for the day, she read when sleep was due, and during the rare occasions she did eat, she read.

Her constant reading led to stumbles and exhaustion throughout the day, and she often made a mealtime mess. Yet, she wanted to get through the book as quickly as possible while understanding everything it wrote about and taught.

If she was struggling to comprehend 'Introduction to Initial Wizardry', as the title implied, then what hope was there for her to understand anything more complicated?

She had never attended school or received any formal education. Hence, she was pouring her heart into understanding, sometimes haunted by the fear of disappointing Vell if the book's 'simple' concepts escaped her.

She read the last chapter and the afterword again, which claimed to provide further clarifications and new concept introductions in the third volume. She wondered about the author of this book series.

There was neither a named author nor any signature, but she speculated that if the writer wasn't an elf or something the like, which would have been likely as it spoke about magic so ethereally, they must have been dead long ago.

Vell appeared to be someone who cherished books, and considering the apparent age of this book, it must surely be ancient.

While engrossed in her reading and oblivious to her path, she tripped over a small rock. Vell suggested, "You might want to put the book aside; we've reached our destination."

Looking ahead, they stood atop a small hill, and beneath them lay a quaint village.