“So….” Milo piped up as he stepped over a wall-like grouping of plants running out of their larger parent bush. Hati peeked out from behind a large fallen tree covered in mushrooms, an attentive and curious expression on his face while Milo came over to his side of the fallen tree. “Why does your pack gather mushrooms every full moon?”
“Lots of reasons!” Hati said cheerfully as he put another mushroom in the bag he’d brought with them, a grayish cotton sack with intricate embroidery that rippled out from the central image of a mushroom. He moved to another patch of mushrooms, the one he’d been harvesting from looking like it hadn’t even been touched. “They’re good to eat since they have a lot of protein and fiber, meaning the pack doesn’t have to hunt as often or eat as much of our livestock we raise, which makes everything last even longer in the winter. They’re also able to make dyes for clothing and fabric, and they have a lot of vitamin D, which is healthy for you! Besides, fungi like mushrooms are really interesting. they help keep our forests clean as a part of the decomposition cycle, and they even help trees communicate with each other. Not to mention, some species are used by our priests for divination. Without them, we wouldn't see as much beauty forests show us today.”
Milo blinked in surprise. “How would someone use mushrooms for divination?” He asked, interested. He’d used mushrooms in a few potions before, but he’d never heard of using them in spells to tell futures or the unknown, and was eager to learn about any and all different magical practices.
Hati stared at him a moment while he paused, as if he didn’t quite expect that question and was trying to figure out how to word it. “Oh, well–”
Milo yelped as he hit something hard with his foot and felt the pain radiate up his leg in less than a second.
Hati was next to him faster than that, checking on him with a concerned expression. “Are you okay?”
“Ah, yeah,” Milo assured, glancing down to look at what he’d hit his foot on. “I just stubbed my toe on a roc-” Milo trailed off when he noticed the familiar etchings on the flat top of the rock. He bent down and picked up the stone, looking at it thoughtfully as he ran his other hand across the crumbling engraving on the face. He hadn’t recognized it right away due to the item’s dilapidated condition, but it was without a doubt a ritual stone. Question was: what was a ritual stone doing in the middle of the woods, far from any trails?
Hati looked at it from over Milo’s shoulder, craning his neck and barely managing to get a line of sight. “What is it?” He asked curiously.
“It’s a ritual stone.” Milo explained. “It’s used in certain spells since the sigil carved here in the face helps charge whatever object it’s on. Even so, this one seems really old; not to mention, out of place.”
Hati made a little hum to acknowledge what Milo said, looking off into the woods ahead as he thought. His expression changed though as his golden eyes locked onto something in front of them. “What?” Milo asked.
“The scars on that tree…” Hati said absently, weaving around Milo’s shoulder and moving a few steps towards it.
“What about it?” Milo asked. Sure, it looked a little strange, but he didn’t know what about it could be so interesting.
“It’s Futhark.” Hati explained, running his fingers across the rough bark next to the carvings. “My pack uses it for writing…”
“You can read it?” Milo asked him, surprised. “What does it say?”
Hati backed up a few paces to see the carving in its entirety. After a few quiet moments, Hati moved again, moving behind the tree on its left side and disappeared into the brush.
“Hati?” Milo asked, following after Hati worriedly. “Where are you goin-” The words died in Milo’s throat as the shrubbery suddenly dropped away and the ground under him became a large, flat stone. Large, tall stones were placed in a circle around the stone-floored clearing. A large, circular sigil was carved into the stone embedded in the ground, and each of the large stones on the faces pointed to the center of the large circular sigil. “Woah.” He managed to choke out.
Hati was looking around wide-eyed, seeming tiny compared to the site around him. “What is this place?” He breathed.
“It looks like an Altair site…” Milo said, taking a couple more steps into the clearing.
“A what?” Hati asked, confused.
“An Altair site is something Sorcerers used to use in rituals.” Milo explained, looking over at Hati’s curious expression. “The style died out a few centuries ago but it’s said that it’s a good way to channel Mana through ritual stones.”
“Mana?” Hati echoed, tilting his head sightly.
“Oh, uh.. it’s the thing Sorcerers manipulate to create the magic you see in spells.” Milo explained. “It’s like… magical energy, of sorts. Altair sites and ritual stones are tools sorcerers can use to help channel the energy and move it in the way you want. “I’ve never actually seen an Atlair site though, only read about them in my studies… It’s strange though,” Milo looked down at the eroded stone, withered and old but still able to be deciphered and understood. “The way this spell circle is carved, it looks like there’s another item to channel Mana, other than the stones… A magical item or a gem maybe?”
Hati looked at Milo’s contemplating expression for a long moment before he spoke up. “I think it’s meant for a werewolf.”
Milo gave him a curious expression. “In sorcery?”
“Yeah!” Hati said cheerfully. “My pack passed down that before the Great Exile, werewolves aided some sorcerers in their magic. It was a very respected profession in my pack.”
“Seriously?” Milo asked.
“Mhm!” Hati said as he puffed up with pride. “Apparently it was common for high-level sorcerers. I don’t know much about it, so I don’t know for sure why, but it seemed helpful in what my pack says and what I read from the records my pack kept.” Hati looked at Milo as he looked at the dilapidated ritual stones that towered over the both of them.
“Hey, Hati.” Milo said after a minute.
“Yeah?” Hati asked curiously.
“Since we’re here, and I have to do a full moon ritual anyway… Do you wanna use the site with me and see for ourselves?”
Hati thought for a long moment on it before he made his decision. He shrugged. “Sure! The instructions for my end are written on that stone over there, so why not?” He said cheerfully, gesturing to the ritual stone a few yards to his right.
“Okay. Cool.” Milo hummed excitedly. “I’ve always found it interesting to see how those before me worked with magic.” He said with a smile. The two split up, and Hati went to read his instructions as Milo stood in the place he’d needed to. After a bit, Hati ran to the opposite end of the circle, taking another moment to prepare before he nodded at Milo for confirmation. Milo nodded back at him, and started the ritual.
Depending on the ritual and purpose of it, one might use words, sigils other than the ones on the ritual stones, songs, and much more. However, Milo didn’t need any of that today. His only goal with this ritual, like every month, was to release the excess Mana he’d built up in that time. Milo actually generated more Mana than the average person; he had ever since he was younger. It was a fairly big problem at the time. To keep the side effects at bay, Milo used his full moon rituals to release his excess Mana– a dangerous and not recommended spell. Letting out excess Mana with no purpose or intention made it harder on the caster, and often it released much more than intended. For Milo, that didn’t tend to be a problem for more than a day or two, but it still wasn’t very great.
Milo’s feet lifted off the ground as the carved sigils glowed with the same bright, vivid purple that his eyes displayed. Stones and pebbles lifted off the ground with him, floating to the ritual stones and fitting into their holes from missing stone like puzzle pieces and fusing themselves together. Time seemed to halt as everything fit into place until finally it felt like time to end the ritual. Milo closed the mental passage he was letting Mana out through, his feet gently landing on the cold stone once more. Milo let out one last deep breath and opened his eyes, realizing with a start that he’d used less mana than normal. Actually, he’d used just the right amount. Now that was weird. The chances of using the perfect amount of Mana with that spell were virtually nonexistent. The spell also hadn’t been as hard on his body as it usually was. Most full moons, the spell would cause his joints to ache and a migraine for at least three days after, but Milo didn’t even feel winded.
“Woah!” Hati’s voice cut through Milo’s thoughts like a knife. He was staring at the stones with wide eyes and an awed expression. He looked back at Milo, practically sparkling with wonder and curiosity. “How come the stones are fixed too?”
“It’s part of how sorcerers make them.” Milo explained, kneeling to feel the cold stone under him. He could still feel the Mana he’d put into it fading as it dispersed into the area around him. “It’s enchanted so they maintain themselves a little every time it’s used for a spell.”
Hati lit up at that; he seemed happy that something actively maintained itself in the woods with the one condition of it being used. Then, he looked around again, a little bewildered. “So… you used enough energy to make stones not used for centuries look brand new?”
Hati was right. The stones looked like they would have the day they were magically carved and put together. A normal ritual wouldn't have restored the site entirely , but somehow…
Milo shrugged. “Apparently.”
Hati seemed doubly excited. “Wow!” He cheered. “That’s amazing!” After a moment, he looked up at the sky, where the blue sky was starting to turn orange as sunset approached. His expression turned a little more serious. “Oh, it’s getting nearer to dusk; I should get going. Atlas is going to get worried if I'm not back…"
"Do you mind going ahead?" Milo asked, looking over with a curious expression. "I'd like to stay here a little longer and look over the site."
"Sure." Hati responded cheerfully. "Can you make your way back on your own?"
"Yeah, Hati." Milo hummed as a response. "Thank you for your concern."
"Of course!" Hati said, waving before he disappeared into the brush.
Milo looked back to the carvings on the stone, running his fingers across the grooves thoughtfully. "Hmm…"
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