Threads of Knowledge I

After having a peaceful dinner, Grace went to wash dishes and finished the remaining chores for the night along with Ava and Isabella. They went to their only bedroom and there they resumed their talk, in the light of Oil lamp.

"So, what does my cutest son want to know?" Grace asked, pulling a half-knitted sweater from a nearby wooden shelf and joining Bella, Ava, and Zephyr in the circle they had formed on the bed.

"What is this scroll?" Zephyr inquired pointing at his own scroll, eager to learn all that he could about it.

"Oh? Are you telling me You can already see Your scroll? Aren't you a talented one my dumpling?"

'I messed up, tch I didn't know I wasn't supposed to see the scroll right now.'

"Well yeah I just saw it today, I thought its magic like you always do", Zephyr lied through his teeth with an innocent expression.

Grace nodded, "I see, Well, you can call it magic because it exists since the times Grimoires and Rifts exist"

"What are grimoires and rifts?" Ava inquired, beating Zephyr to the question.

"One at a time, sweetheart, let me answer Zeph first," she said to Ava with a smile, then turned back to Zephyr and continued, "To tell you the truth, the scroll's origin is not definitively known. Some say it's a blessing of the gods, others believe it's divine wrath, or even a plot by demons to curse all races along with them."

'So, there are demons existing in this world too. Then that means there are other evolved magical races in this world too' Zephyr nodded inwardly at his suspicions being confirmed.

"But the most logical conclusion researchers have reached is that the Scroll grants access to Prana energy, and the curses are merely a consequence of wielding powers that were never meant for us."

"So, curses appear over everyone?" Zephyr asked while thinking, 'Does that means that old coot might not be having a hand in my curse and it's just my luck?'

"Well, of course, Everyone has them. Magic and curse come hand in hand, all things come at a cost Zeph so why would magic come without any? That is the reason why I told Bella that she needed to be at least ten to access magic. A person needs to be at least on the ranking chart to access magic" Grace said.

"Wait, so a curse will not appear unless the person is magical and ranked?" Zephyr asked Slowly feeling fear creeping inside his heart.

"Well, OfCourse silly why would there be any curse when u don't even have magic or rank. It Would be like being punished for a crime you didn't commit." She said laughingly.

Zephyr clenched his fist and added," Do- Do curse carry over to the next life?"

"Where did that come from?" Grace inquired, one eyebrow arched in curiosity.

"No, I was just wondering."

"I am sorry sweetie I have no idea. I don't even know if next life is supposed to exist." Grace shook her head.

"But if it did then?" Ava Asked feeling curious saving Zeph from the trouble of asking it himself.

"Hmmm... let's see, I don't think they should. Because like I said, it would be like being punished for a crime you didn't commit. So, no they won't, who knows if you might Be born as a domestic cat without any access to magic?" She added jokingly.

"What was that age thing you mentioned with Bella?" Zephyr asked.

"Oh that? Most people Get their first rank from the age of 5 years to 10 years. Around 5 percent get their ranks at birth they get special treatment from government and get cared for on reporting it Though it's not a good thing necessarily you know why?" she asked.

The three of them shook their heads.

"Because they are cursed from birth as well. The curses can range from being harmless, like mine, to extremely dangerous, such as having to slay a monster every week to avoid repercussions," she explained, her expression akin to that of someone recounting a ghost story.

Bella and Ava gulped audibly.

"What is Your curse mama?" Ava asked with a spark of curiosity.

"Oh mine? It's just that my hairs will be silvery white, and my Descendants have a 70 percent chance of having the same hairs." Grace said a grin flaunting her hairs to front.

'Well, that explains the unusual hairs of people in this household.' Zephyr thought.

"What else do you want to know?" Grace said smiling.

"How does Rank operate? Why does it bestow upon us Prana energy? And what precisely is Prana energy? What function does our Heart have in connection with that energy and magic?" Zephyr posed a series of inquiries.

"Oh my, oh my Someone is on a curious spree and how do you even frame your words in such a manner my little genius, I feel like I am talking to a 16–17-year-old instead of my 3-year-old cutie", Grace joked making zephyr Grimace at his mistake of speaking too maturely for his age in his excitement.

"Prana is a concept that merges 'arcana' with 'essence,' elements that are omnipresent in our environment. 'Arcana' denotes the facet of energy that grants us entry into the realm of magical power, whereas 'essence' bolsters our physical vigor," she explained, intertwining another strand of wool into the sweater she was crafting.

"As to how our heart plays a role in all this. You see our heart is the core that channels Prana through our body. When we reach Aries Minor rank, it goes through the most major evolution. Do you know what that is?"

"It gains access to Prana energy?" Bella interjected.

"Yes exactly." Grace said with a pleased tone," Oh all my children are so smart, Am I not the luckiest mother ever?" She added with pride in her voice making Bella and Ava giggle.

She continued, "Gaining access to Prana energy is the most important evolution of Heart Because Without that we will just be stuck to our infant and mundane hearts."

'Just like back at earth...' Zeph thought. Which reminds him.

"Mother what is the land we live on called?" Zephyr asked.

"It's not just a Land, we live on a huge ball floating in space called Gaia" Ava interjected before Grace could answer fishing for a compliment too.

"Yes, of course, Ava is right," Grace nodded in appreciation making Ava puff out her chest.

"What is phase I?" Zephyr asked

"It is first of the five phases of heart. A Phase Basically tells us the number of awakened hearts a creature has and defines our control over prana energy." Grace answered.

"So, all humans can have Up to five hearts?" Zephyr asked.

"Theoretically yes, In Reality there are not a lot of people all throughout the human civilization that have made it above even 1st phase. We have ranking system that strengthens us plenty even without multiple hearts, Human body is not meant for multiple hearts at least not naturally"

"So, a non-magical child can be considered having a Phase-I heart too?"

Grace smiled. "Of course, you must have seen your phase in the overview of your Scroll. Phase-1 essentially refers to a spectrum where one heart without access to magic and another with access to Prana energy exist."

"How does ranking works then?" Zephyr asked.

"There are 12 ranks in total. Each represented by a different magical beast, with lowest rank being Aries minor and highest being Leo Major. Each rank itself is divided into two sub-parts, Major and Minor."

"Represented? what do you mean by that?" Zephyr asked scrunching his brows.

Grace ceased her knitting and rolled up her left sleeve to reveal the emblem of a white Ox on her skin, encircled by a white outline.

The three children scuttled closer to have a better look at it.

"Wow mom so cool!" Ava exclaimed.

"I can't wait to get mine" Bella hopped on her knees excitedly.

Even zephyr reluctantly nodded in agreement that it looked cool.

"You see this white outline here?" she asked pointing at the emblem on her wrist.

The three kids nodded in acknowledgement.

"It is black when rank is minor and turns white on major rank. As you can see your mom's rank is Taurus major." Grace said tilting her chin up slightly.

"But mom why didn't I ever see it before today?" Bella asked.

"Of course, You didn't see it because I used arcana turn it smaller or move it around my body." She said while lifting her hand and the emblem moved from left hand to the right hand. "You all might not be able to miniaturize it but moving it around is easy with some practice."

"Why can't we miniaturize it" Zephyr asked not liking the idea of not being able to do so.

"Why OfCourse because its mommy's boon" she said with a smug smile.

Meanwhile Zephyr thought of one question that was plaguing him since the day he saw the rankings.

"Mother? Why is the Ranking of Leo higher than a Dragon?" Zephyr asked with a serious tone.

Grace gazed at his face for a moment and then burst into a beautiful laughter.

"What?" Zephyr asked in confusion.

"Hahaha, Sorry dumpling. It's hard to remember how you are just 3-year-old with all those smart questions. You see I asked my mother the same question when I was little." she said wiping the corner of her eyes." Let me guess you think Dragons are supposed to be so majestic and strong and yet why an animal that has no magical power ranked higher than some creature so grand?"

Zephyr nodded hesitantly.

"Well, it's simple darling. The reason why Leo is Ranked higher than Draconis is because dragons are weaker than lions." Grace said.

Zephyr, Isabella and Ava looked at her like she was looking at some lunatic raving madness.

"What don't look at me like that." She said defensively.

"But mom you told us in stories how dragons are so big, magical and strong, and they fly too. Lions are just normal animals they are not even magical." Ava chimed.

"Oh, My bad. Seems like my cute babies are a bit confused. I am not saying normal lions are stronger than Dragons. The ones that are stronger than Dragons are prideful Celestial Lions. My own mother told me of how in ancient legends, A single roar from One of their cubs Shaped mountains and killed a hundred dragons"

"Wow so strong" Ava said with starstruck eyes.

"Mom please tell us that story tonight" Isabella said.

Zephyr raised his eyebrows obviously not believing what grace said, but he couldn't deny her reasoning as that was what rank hierarchy represented and there was no need to extend ideal chat. He had plenty of new information to process in his head.

'So, there is a chance that even if I die and travel into next life, I might not carry my memories and knowing how my luck has been since last life, I will definitely forget everything and that I can't let happen. Why? because I need my memories to cap that old coot's Flat a*s. I must repay his kindness for the pains I will suffer cause of the curse here and the last life's sh*t too. At least not getting enough food is somehow manageable.'