Chapter 15.2 Copper Mountain (Part 6) 

I was so absorbed in this activity that the news from the miners made me shake with surprise: I hadn't been on the mountain for more than two weeks and hadn't checked the results.

The most inconvenient thing was that the signal image from the spider leader (entered in the unit responsible for the overall coordination of the puppets, the leader-slave) came in the morning when I was busy practicing with the spear. It threw me out of rhythm and I almost sprained my wrists.

But that was okay, because there was something worse: I still had to go to class, I still had to practice in the garden, and my friends had promised me a story about the historical chronicles of the mystical world. More specifically, I wanted to learn about something that my teacher had neglected to mention in class, and the details of which, as it turned out, were only mentioned in passing — the Great Contract.

A treaty about the balanced coexistence of ordinary people without gifts — simpletons, gifted people and the world of mystical beings — ayakashi, yokai, spirits and others. In general, I know something, I understand what it's about, but my teacher did a good job of leaving out the details and directing my attention to other things.

 I do not know what it has to do with, but I think that the existence of the Great Contract requires close attention. Moreover, it includes, or rather, later included, the "Statute of Secrecy" — keeping the mystical world secret from the simpletons. I know a lot about this because I spent a lot of time on it. In short, nothing on my to-do list for today can be removed, and the news burns my consciousness, from which I had to restrain myself all day. It's a lot of willpower training.

Finally, I arrived at the mountain at five o'clock in the evening and immediately went into work mode. As usual, I sat under a favorite tree. To be precise, it was a half-dry, stunted tree struggling to survive on stony soil, but I needed dense shade from the heat.

I willingly spent a few days channeling my powers into the crystal, working with the spiders along the way. When I'd accumulated enough power, the middle spirit of the forest took over. In just one night, a stunted, half-dry, dying tree grew into a mighty giant with a sprawling crown, a dense dome hiding a ring several meters around in the shadow of its foliage.

It stood twenty feet tall, and its girth was such that one would expect it to be taller. But the spirit explained that it could not be taller, for the seasonal storms might break the tree, but the thickness of the trunk and the strength of the roots would be enough to withstand the local weather.

 The crystal now rests somewhere in the center of the roots, and will serve as an accumulator: when it can, the tree will use some of its strength for preservation, and when it needs it, to draw it back.

The spirit was obviously a cunning and clever one, for it settled in the tree and gathered a bunch of smaller ones. Now, at dusk, if you look closely, the branches of the tree look like garlands of yellow and green lights.

Goro-san was curious about the sudden appearance of the tree, but after hearing a slightly modified answer (I was afraid the locals might do something bad), he just shrugged and that was the end of it. Except that sometimes people come to see the beautiful lights, but they don't want to damage the tree — what a contrast to my former countrymen, huh?

Anyway, after settling down in the shade, in a comfortable bed of roots, I calm down (a little) and fall into a trance, connecting with the puppets. The clever guide immediately directs my attention to the right place and the fireflies turn on their "light bulbs". Well, I can congratulate myself for finding one of the underground streams.

 The stream is strong, but cold (it is determined by spiders, because they are really alive, only not something, but plants), and this is good, because in hot springs, gems have never been found. Then there are all the available fireflies, and most of the spiders are summoned to this place, and when they are gathered, I send them to both sides of the stream.

The spirit operators are certainly intelligent, but their level is no higher than a four-year-old child with no wild interest, so they have no initiative. Told to "look for water," they obeyed and stopped, alerted to the find, no orders to investigate. Well, that's not so bad. I mentally dictate a chain of tasks to the leader of the spiders, reinforcing them with thought images, and disconnect from the net, going into full meditation.

Meditation is very important in the life of a magician, everyone finds something in it, something common, can find something unexpected. Meditation brings order to the flow of energy in the body, allows you to better understand yourself, your body, your power, your place in the world. Leads to an understanding of how to use your strengths better, more effectively.

Sometimes meditation opens the hidden, and for brief moments allows you to hear and understand the whispers of spirits, and even catch a faint shadow of an image or thought of a kami or even the Great Essence. I once managed to catch a glimpse of a powerful force — cold, prickly, unapproachably large, but unusually bright and not indifferent — I felt its faint interest. Honestly — it was an uncanny sensation, but at the same time very attractive.

On the edge of consciousness I heard rustling and soft voices of people. This distracted me and I fell out of meditation, noticing that the sun was already hiding in the sea and the sky was gradually darkening. Unpleasant, but not critical. There is no need to hide on these islands, so I take out my prepared paper seal and throw it in the air in front of me, where it hangs.

— Meditating under the big tree, just finished, I'll be back soon.

Finished, I wave my hand again, and a simple shikigami takes the message away to reassure Mori's family (though I know I'm sometimes watched) and to avoid any unnecessary trouble. We already have cell phones here, but they're expensive and rare, and they don't work on the islands yet; only walkie-talkies work here, and that's when they allow it. After looking at two older women and five children, about five to seven years old, I bow and leave. No, I can't just sit here until the dolls find something, can I? I think to myself, so I walk over to where a hot meal of ethnic food and strawberry jam pastries are waiting.

***

POV The Mori Family

...For a few seconds, the room was silent. The family sitting around the table reacted in different ways. The girl just dabbed her eyes at the paper bird, thought for a moment, and returned to her dessert, savoring the cakes that one of the maids was simply masterful at making. The woman looked nonchalant, as if everything was as it should be. The man, on the other hand, looked astonished.

— How long had he been able to do that? — The head of the Mori clan waved his hand uncertainly.

— As far as I understand, yes, for a long time. — His wife replied calmly.

— That's news to me... — the man stretched out his hand uncertainly.

— So the fact that he agreed with a medium forest spirit and grew a huge tree just because he wanted to meditate in the shade — that's normal? — The wife asked without changing her face, looking at her husband and just arching an eyebrow gracefully.

— I kind of let him out of my sight. — the man admitted dejectedly. — Well, raised, well, with magic, so what? You know, I've got a lot on my plate right now, so my head is full of things to do. — The man shrugged nonchalantly.

— I don't blame you. — The woman nodded, realizing that her husband had been very busy lately. — The boy is very good at working with spirits, he can talk to them, can you imagine? I've heard him talking to the little spirits in the grass, and they listen to him! — The woman got more and more upset with every word. — Do you remember what I told you about the stone beast he asked me for? — After waiting for a nod, the wife of the head of the Mori clan continued. — Well, he didn't just put a spirit into the statue, oh no — he almost brought it to life! Do you have any idea what it can do if you train it seriously? — The woman spoke much louder than decency would allow, but her husband ignored her, only grimacing, but not at all.

— We can't do anything. — The man replied quietly, lowering his eyes. — He has already been assigned a role, and against the elders our words mean nothing. — He finished almost in a whisper.

It was as if the air had been sucked out of the woman, and she leaned back, dropping her shoulders and not looking up. The couple was all too familiar with the realities of the clan hierarchy, so they had no illusions. They didn't even hope that things would change for the boy after their daughter's marriage.

Moreover, there were rumors that the boy had already chosen not only a wife, but also concubines, which traditionally a man of the status of a lord has the right to choose himself, or to refuse them altogether, as Mori Goro did in his time.

Their daughter," both parents looked at their child in turn, "was born with a rare neurological abnormality that affected her psyche and could not be cured by either magicians or simpletons, so the parents were not even sure if their daughter loved them or if they were no more than candy to her.

Such a husband would be the perfect lever and leash to control the boy absolutely. The Mori family can only regret it, because there is really nothing they can do about it.

This was the strange atmosphere the boy found when he returned from the mountain, heavy and sad, as if covered with leaden clouds.