The Old Scholar

"Fwaaa...morning mama" a 5-year-old girl voiced as she rose from her slumber, the morning sky outside the little cottage still dark 

"Fufufu, good morning my dear sweet Leilani" her mother replied as she stroked the young Leilani's head, causing her child to giggle and move closer to her mother. 

"Where is Papa?" Leilani asked as she felt her small body calling her back to rest. 

"He is with the other elders. Hush now sweet child and go back to sleep, Mama will wake you when breakfast is ready" her mother soothed her as she wrapped her arms around her young child. 

"Re-really?" The young child asked as she was going back into her slumber. 

"Yes" was her mother's reply and the lady thing she heard before her body succumbed to the slumber. 

Waking up a few hours later, Leilani sat happily on her chair as her mother was feeding her. The scent of roasted meat and vegetables filled the air of the cottage. And as she enjoyed her breakfast, the young Leilani reflected on what has happened ever since she was reborn. 

'Hmm. Lets see'

When she was whisked away into this world, she had expected to be living amongst cavemen and the like considering what Fortuna had told her. But to her pleasant surprise that was not to be the case, she was born into a world that already had a very basic but primitive system on how things were going about. They had primitive forms of agriculture and mostly used wooden or early-esque metal weapons and basic tools, basically meaning that the technology base was just like Fortuna said, Nonexistent. There were also no such things as nations yet, instead, independent towns and tribes were scattered all throughout the continent she was born on. All of them with their own cultures and beliefs and of differing sizes. 

Leilana was born into a tribe calling themselves the “Riders of The Plains” as they were situated in the middle of nothing but rolling plains, with some hills to the south and very intimidating mountains to the far north. She also learned that the pantheon of this world was the following 

• Ragneaus - The God of Creation and Bringer of Light
• Armenakis - The Goddess of Death, Destruction and Bringer of Darkness
• Dashran - The God of the Elements
• Santomin - The Goddess of Wisdom

Although a very small pantheon, Leilani’s mind saw that Fortuna had done her best in trying to condense and simplify the roles that there could have been for the world. A part of her believed that Earth was most likely a testbed to see what would be for the better, many or few gods. Whatever the case, these were the gods of the world and Leilani had to get used to remembering their names. 

Back to her tribe, the “Riders of The Plains” were as the name suggests a horseback riding tribe, as they used them to quickly get across the Great Plains in quick time. And while she had yet to see any other species other than her fellow humans, Leilani knew that they were out there in the world, also starting off with what she had or at least she believed they did. 

Being born as a person with the memories and experiences of her past life you would have expected Leilani to already begin laying the groundwork for the mission she was given. And to some extent, you would be right since she did try at first but realized that her five-year-old body was insufficient and then she simply decided that just asking questions to what her elders did and then giving them a suggestion that would seem like something a girl her age would say was better and she would use her age time and time again to try and slip things that could improve the standard of living when it called for it. For example, when the hunters of the tribe came back one night, she walked up to the hunter in charge and looked him dead in the eyes

“Why do we throw away the rest?” she asked 

“Ah, well. Since we have no way to keep the rest of the meat and spoils of the beasts” the hunter replied with a smile 

“But we keep water in jars though…can’t we do that?” she asked as she tilted her head, 

“I…uhh…”the hunter's smile was replaced by a confused look as he too questioned why they couldn’t do the same with meat, 

“Mama says its bad to waste food, I even see her place them inside a small box and bury them if we cannot eat all of it” She continued as she looked up at the hunter then at the corpse 

“Why don’t you run along now little Lei. enjoy the feast” The hunter quickly shifted as he picked up Leilana and turned her around and gave her a little nudge

“Ok…bye now!” Leilana bid as she began running back to her mom

Later that week, the head hunter would propose the idea of cutting up the remains of the beasts that were not eaten and then store them away in wooden boxes after salting the food then burying them to preserve them. With the salt coming from the rock salt deposit near the eastern fringes of the plains. 

“Leilani! Mama needs your help here outside” her mother's voice broke her trip down memory lane and she immediately saw that her mother was now outside making her finish quickly what little remained of her food. Drinking some water before running out of the cottage. 

“Coming Mama!” she shouted 

Running outside, she saw that her mother was hanging clothes on a line of rope made of beast leather. With a basket on the side that held the damp clothes. Running over and helping her mother hang the clothes was something that Leilani loved to do as she loved her parents to the ends of the earth. Not because she was now in a child form but because she genuinely loved her parents, something that extended from her past life. 

She was the only child of her parents whose names were Malikei and Kalani. Malikei was her father and he was one of the hunters that were sent out by the tribe to gather and forage. He had tanned skin from his days of riding and had a built physique because of his job, he was also very skilled in using the curved blades and spears the tribe mainly used but unlike his wife, he was not as well versed in magic. Kalani was Leilani’s mother and wife to Malikei, she was the one who thought of combining their names together to name their child. Unlike Malikei however, she only knew limited self-defense with the curved sword but excelled at using magic. 

Now, magic in this world to Leilani was something very nice. She considered herself lucky that the magic of this world relied heavily on a power scaling system from F to SS and the size of the mana pool inside a person. Mana pools were like a glass or bowl and determined how much mana and subsequently magic a person could use, and unlike physical strength that can grow and be maintained as one grows older, the mana pool of a person can only expand if certain requirements are met, and what those requirements are is something no one knows. She learned this from her mother who had become her teacher in all things magical. She learned that the power scaling and mana pool system was set up by an angel long ago when the first creations were brought into the world as the story goes and so far from what Leilani could tell, the people of this world suffered from the lack of imagination and the lack of having extensive mana pools. Relying on those with larger mana pools to perform high-intensity magic. 

Going back to her mother, Kalani was one of the few “Seers” of the clan. These were people who had large mana pools and were amazing with magic, and they were usually in charge of trying to “see” whether or not the tribe was going to be in danger or if they would experience something fortunate. And Kalani was the head of the “Seers” as she had been born with a mana pool larger than anyone in the tribe had ever seen before, she was also considered the tribe's top beauty as her fair skin, flowing dark hair and her curvaceous and voluptuous body was alluring to almost any man and woman in the tribe.  

Now, after hanging up the clothes and helping her mother clean up the cottage. Leilani sat down in her mother's lap as she listened to the teachings she bestowed upon her, it ranged from various topics and today it was a lesson on the gods and the creation of the world. 

“Now my little Lei. let your mama tell you about how this world came to be” Kalani began with a soft and gentle tone as she stroked her daughter's head 

“Ok Mama!” Leilani replied with a smile as she enjoyed these moments

“Fufuf ok good. So, in the beginning, there was darkness. Then, Ragneus was born, his birth gave the universe light and within that light, he created the world and all of those who live in it becoming the God of Creation. But Ragneus was not the only god born in the darkness, that other god was Armenakis the Goddess of Death and Destruction. Armenakis despite her name, longed to create something as well as she admired Ragneus and in her many failed attempts she finally did it. Do you know what her creations are my little Lei?” Kalani asked as she looked down at her daughter

“The Demons?” her daughter replied with a tilted head causing Kalani to smile

“Yes my daughter, the demons. But do you know why they are called demons?” 

Leilani shook her head as she heard the question 

“Well, they are called demons as they are creations of Armenakis, for they come from the void that is the realm of death as that was the source that Armanakis found could sustain her creations” 

“But…does this mean they can’t die mama?” 

“No. they can still very much die, that is just why we call them such” Kalani soothed her daughter as she lifted her up and kissed her on the cheek, causing Leilani to giggle. 

“Now, let’s continue. With the creations of Ragneus and Armanakis spread throughout the world, they needed someone to help teach us the ways of magic and the ways of knowledge. And so, Ragneus created two more gods for those tasks. Dashran the God of the Elements and Santomin the Goddess of Wisdom. Those two have sent their angels down time and again to bequeath us knowledge on how to use the magic we have been given and how to live our lives. So be thankful to the gods my darling daughter as they have created everything, for I too am thankful to them because they gave me and your father the greatest gift of all, you” Kalani finished as she embraced her daughter tightly and kissed her head, with Leilani returning the hug as well 

“I love you mama” 

“I do too” 

………………………………………………………………………………………………

A few days later, Leilani learned a bit more about the world as when she asked her mother if the other tribes and people across the world believe in the gods, she was surprised to hear that many don’t. Instead praising different gods with different titles and different names. 

She also learned how to tie knots, season food and other essential things that the tribe was teaching, just shy of learning how to fight or defend herself as her tribe requires them to at least be thirteen by the time they start learning how to use their magic and weapons. 

Later that night, as she slept soundly between her parents in the cottage, she suddenly woke up. Finding herself in the middle of the same place she was in when she died, with the same goddess waiting for her nearby on the same table and chairs, stirring a hot chocolate drink in her hand. 

“Hello there little Leilani, it’s been a while” Fortuna greeted the young girl with a smile as she beckoned her over

“Five years to be exact Fortuna, I thought you would have called me when I was thirteen” Leilani replied as she walked over and sat on the chair, picking up the other mug filled with hot chocolate on the table and drinking it. 

“Oh I still am, but I was monitoring your progress and I heard that your mother talk about the pantheon and how they aren’t really as worshipped by the other residents of the world” 

“If you're going to ask me something, wouldn’t it be better to bring along your pantheon and let me meet them now?” 

“Oh I cannot let them do that, not here in this space at least” 

“Why?” 

“Well, in all honesty. It is because I can’t at the moment” Fortuna confessed, leaving Leilani with a raised eyebrow

“Well, gods are pillars of a world, and if I remove that pillar then the whole structure would come down no?” 

“Ahh…but couldn’t you like do something to prevent that?” Leilani asked with an even more confused expression 

“I could but I am still a god fresh from practically banishment and my powers are still slowly returning. Give me about a thousand years or so and I will finally be up to my pre-evil influence power level” Fortuna answered 

“Ah. I see. So, about your pantheon”

“Why are they not worshipped and instead why do the inhabitants of the world worship other gods you ask?” Fortuna said before she could ask

“Yeah that. Why?” 

“It seems that the residents of the world see that the angels themselves are the gods but despite their efforts, it has only worsened the situation” 

“Oh…yikes” Leilani sighed

“Yep, yikes” Fortuna nodded in agreement

“Wait, won’t that worship and “Spiritual Energy” given to the angels make them gods themselves?” The young mortal asked 

“Oh no, it won’t. You see, gods are created with a certain formula. And only Prime Gods have access to that formula. Same thing as trying to believe a deity that does not exist into existence, unless you have the formula to create a god then it will never happen. So you needn’t worry about that. Also, if the angel or demon gets that “Spiritual Energy” they do not have the power to fight the god that they serve. It was made that way for a reason” 

“Ohhhh…huh, then I guess the only thing to worry about would be that the lack of “Spiritual Energy” for the gods will slowly whittle them away until they die?”

“Yep. but thankfully, your tribe is the literal thing that is preventing that. So keep it up and I will see you later” Fortuna smiled as she bent over the table and tapped Leilani’s forehead, sending her soul back to the world and her body. 

Taking a sip of her own hot chocolate, Fortuna raised her right hand and saw red energy crackling and dancing around it, a smile on her face as she saw it

“Soon. I will be able to right my mistakes…sigh” 

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Soon after that talk, Leilani spent the rest of her years learning basic survival practices such as skinning dead animals, how to use the different materials that come from the beasts they hunt and even how to use the monster crystals and imbue them with magical energy, the last one being a bit of a leap forward as she was not supposed to learn that until she was thirteen. 

But as she was learning all of these things, she still spent a lot of time playing with her parents and enjoying life with them by her side, even sometimes spending more time with them than the kids in the tribal village. Something her parents were concerned about but upon seeing their child's smiling face they did not mind. But Leilani did make a friend, a girl by the name of Chantook the daughter of the tribal chief was a shy and timid girl and the two of them would regularly be seen sewing, skinning, seasoning the meats and other tasks together if their parents were busy. Leilani even beat up some of the village kids when they were making fun of how shy Chantook was. This got her a scolding from her mother, while praising from her father, who then both got into a fight that ended with Malikei sleeping outside the cottage after losing. But after some time, all three of them were as close as they could be again and everything returned to normal.

But through all those highs and lows, the day finally arrived. It was soon Leilani’s thirteenth birthday. And it was to be a big one.

A/N: Hello! so here is another chapter, I had to do some big brain thinking for this one and I am pleased with how it turned out. anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter and I hope you enjoy the rest of the series as it comes out bit by bit. also, give my main series a chance if you haven't already, also let me know what u think in the comments. and as always Stay Safe and Enjoy Your Day!