Chap 2

Kane was an orphan. Well at least in his past life. Once diagnosed with a disease no one survives. Even with his life hanging on by a thread, he made the best of what he had. Till the end, he fought for himself and others, not caring about his condition.

Now he was the happiest he had ever been. He can finally crawl God dammit!

Life so far was mother telling tales of her family and past. Apparently, she hales from a dignified clan of Valkyries from a bordering country called Brynhild. Kane couldn't help but be in awe at the war stories he heard. An all-female army that struck fear in those who oppose them. Mother led had her own garrison of soldiers too, being the first daughter of the current queen and all. She gave up her warrior lifestyle for family.

Father came from Troy, a bordering country that lies above Brynhild. The two countries have one of the longest-standing relationships in history. Mom said that Brynhild, one of the strongest Valkyrie gods, fell in love with Gofan, the god of blacksmithing and lightning. Ever since then, the two countries have had a great relationship, often seeking out each other in marriage. Amira and Kon were a result of that culture. An arranged marriage between the first daughter of a queen and the fifth son of a king, but the two would grow to love each other dearly.

Kon, would bounce Kane on his lap and recite his old war stories too. Troy had a long-lasting war with Ilena, a country that neighbored Troy to its left. Father claimed the two shared history and culture, but the current king was bit more bloodthirsty than his predecessors. The war was over resources, but father said that Troy used it as an excuse to deter Ilen's rule. Kon didn't claim to be the best soldier, as most blacksmiths weren't fighters, but Kane saw the glint in his eye when Kon discussed the weapons he forged. Kon claimed to be one of the greatest smiths in the country and Kane couldn't help but believe him.

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It took a few months before Kane crawled successfully. There wasn't a better feeling than freedom. Now at the tender age of one, Kane wanted to explore the family's book room. They were well off, to say the least, to afford a room strictly dedicated to reading while having room for four children. The hallway was abnormally long. Kane was out of breath just crawling there. The door was cracked a bit and Kane put his stubby hands to work. The book room was gaudier than he thought. The large room had bookshelves filled on all four walls with a big desk and a window that easily brightened the entire room.

Kane stumbled toward the shelves closest to him. Being reincarnated meant that he could understand the foreign language with ease. It would've been a pain having to learn another language. The book he picked up was the history of the country he lived in. Sonas had a unique history. Once a war-torn country turned into one of the freer countries. Sonas was built on the backs of enslaved beast-kin. It took almost three hundred years before the abolitionist era came and immigrants from all over flooded in. Now it housed all kinds of people, but the natives still hold prejudice against beast-kin. This was not the book Kane wanted. Why is it so hard to find a book about powers?

Kane knocked over ten books on the floor before giving up. Not from defeat, but from exhaustion. Being a baby did have its cons. After his break, he got back to it, but footsteps getting closer and closer rained on his parade.

"I searched this entire house for you, and now I find you in my study?"

Kon looked at the mess Kane made, but there wasn't any anger. A smile graced his hardened face

"You are trying to read something, son?"

Kane nodded.

"Let us see if we can find you something interesting." Kon cleaned up the mess and paraded him around the study until Kane finally found what he was looking for.

"You want to read about Aether?" Kane nodded hard enough to shake his whole body. Kane's parents had gotten to his intelligence now. Though in the beginning, they did think it was weird, who can blame them?

Dad flipped to the first page and sat at his desk with Kane in his lap.

"A beginner's introduction to Aether," Kon flipped the page.

"Aether is the universe's leftover energy from the creation of the solar system."

Well, that was different. Every novel Kane read made it seem like some supernatural force.

"The planet, in its most basic form, was only a hunk of rock in the solar system. Aether gave the planet life. The ability to wield Aether differed for every race. In humans, one out of every one hundred can wield Aether. In the fae races, the percentage who wield Aether is significantly higher. Almost all fae have an affinity for Aether. Beast-kin also wield Aether at a higher percentage than humans. Orcs and goblins have a rare affinity for Aether.

Kane's wanted to rip whatever hair he had out. All this stalling made him irritable and sleepy, but that may be baby business. Kon flipped the page.

"Aether has three known paths to cultivate it. The body path strengthens the muscles with Aether, causing the wielder to surpass its limits. The body path also strengthens the Aether pathways, lessening the drawback the wielder receives from manipulating Aether.

The spirit path increases how much Aether the wielder can use at any given moment. The spiritual path is tied to the wielder's affinities and Aether limits,

Lastly, the cleaning path. When the Aether core draws on the ambient Aether in the atmosphere, impurities form. Impurities make it hard for the core to progress and for the wielder to draw refined Aether. The cleaning path cleanses impurities and when cultivated, allows the wielder to use less and less Aether to perform tasks."

And the Kon closed the book before they got to the good part. Tears flowed from his eyes for the first time since birth. It wasn't because he was sad but because he was angry the old man had ruined his reading.

"I apologize son, but your father must do his daily training. I'm sure you'll learn something different from the book. What do you say champ?"

The tears stopped immediately and were replaced with the giggles of a happy child.