27 Mundane Magic?

At the new beachfront village, Harry could be found sitting on one of the stone buildings the 'servants' had made. He was currently watching the tribe all performing some kind of ritual in the centre of the village... As always, Kali was standing behind him with arms crossed as he hung his legs over the edge of the roof.

"I didn't think they knew how to conduct rituals..." Harry mutters, curiosity bright in his eyes.

She scoffs as she watches the 'ritual' they were performing. "This is no ritual, rituals require magic, which they sorely lack. The only thing they are achieving is the scarring of their flesh. It serves no purpose other than proving their loyalties to one another, a foolish endeavour as I can already see many who'd willingly the tribe for power."

"I'm going to ask them... Maybe it does something that we are not aware of, even you are all-knowing Kali, you didn't even know Pokemon existed!" he playfully says before hopping off of the roof, casting a Featherlight charm on himself that allows him to slowly descend to the floor.

A few tribesmen notice him approaching but continue their ritual nonetheless. Harry ignores them and walks to the leader of the tribe Adebayo... "Hey, what are you doing?" he asks, causing the man to jump and turn his attention towards the child.

Adebayo is tempted to just tell the child to leave them be, but he catches a glimpse of the demon observing them from a nearby roof and holds his tongue. "This is tradition, to show who we belong to, to show that we are people of these lands."

...

Harry tilts his head to the side in confusion, "Are you stupid? Or is forgetting things common among your people?" he asks, semi-sarcastically.

Adebayo furrows his brow but doesn't retort, "It is tradition, performed by my father, his father, and his father's father. It has always been this way, and I do not remember the true reason we do this, but I refuse to allow my ancestors wishes to die with me."

"Hmm, there might be some use for it after all." the sinfully seductive voice of Kali says, having just appeared behind Harry in an instance. Adebayo struggles to hold his fearful reaction down, but eventually, he manages to swallow it.

Kali continues, "Do you remember what I told you about Runes, Master?"

Harry nods, "History and continuity are important for both function and power... Is it the same with these traditions?" he asks after piecing things together.

Kali smiles and pats him on the head, "Possibly, it all depends on how long the ritual has existed and how strictly it is followed throughout the generations. One broken link in the chain could render it all useless. After all, tradition is just the continuity of history.

"Does that mean I could tattoo demonic runes onto my skin to cause various effects?" he asks with a look of contemplation.

"You can, but I would hold off on that for a while, Master... Placing runes on flesh is an incredibly difficult and intricate art, one with the propensity for causing people to implode. I'd be sincerely upset if you turned yourself into a magical bomb." she says sweetly.

Adebayo upon hearing all of this is quite surprised, he'd not expected his tribe's traditions to hold an aspect of magic. "Forgive me, but... What effects do our traditions have on us?" he can't help but ask.

Kali hums and steps forwards, examining the various markings. "These are caused by stuffing hot ash into cuts, am I correct?" she asks.

Adebayo nods, "They are, it is not a pleasant process, but it shows your will and strength." he explains.

Kali nods, running a glowing finger across one of the scars, "Hmm, interesting... These grant resistance to heat, disease, and poison. Explain's why you are still so weak against invaders, unless they brought flamethrowers of course." she jests.

"How strong is their resistance? Could they withstand flames? Or just the heat of the sun?" Harry asks, wondering if he should get himself some benefits.

Kali wipes her finger off on her clothing as if she'd touched something unsightly, "Nothing so powerful, it simply helps prevent them from overheating in the sun. At least it will help you when you tend to our gardens." she says dismissively before turning into a bat and flying back to the treehouse.

Harry looks back to Adebayo, "Do you think your ancestors knew of their actions? Could they have been magic users?" he asks.

Adebayo shakes his head, "There are legends of magic, voodoo, and rituals... I didn't believe any of them until I met you and your... Lady." he carefully says, trying not to insult Harry or Kali.

"Did your ancestors leave anything behind?" Harry probes.

Adebayo frowns, "They did not." he quickly states.

Harry shakes his head with an easy smile, "You ran from your home right? Wouldn't you want to save the things left by your ancestors? If you tell me about them then, I might be able to bring them here." he explains, using Adebayo's loyalty to tradition and family to his advantage.

...

Adebayo feels conflicted at being asked this. Yes, they'd been forced to flee their home, but he'd never considered what might happen to the things his Ancestors had left... It was mostly just sacred grounds and graves, but perhaps those were what the white men were targeting? It would not surprise him if all of their suffering was caused by another's greed.

He looks at Harry, the child didn't seem all that evil, even with his actions and complicity with the demon. He seemed like an innocent child that was being morphed into something he was not. Perhaps putting his trust in him wouldn't be so bad?

Adebayo slowly nods, "We were forced to leave our sacred grounds, the graves and tombs of our ancestors... No one dares enter them, fear of being cursed for disturbing the dead is enough warning for us, but the white men? I do not think they will show such respect."