"Ma, there's something you should know." I closed my eyes and focused on the deep magics embroidered on my skin. Mana crackled from my chest and a stream of energy burst forth. I felt my soul and body separating from Aylwin's and when I woke up, I was on the floor with Aylwin. He's breathing but unconscious. It would take a while for his soul to recover and even longer for it to fill back the hole I made.
"Wh-" My mother gasped. The ladle on her hand fell and she stepped back because of what has just transpired. She rushed in picked me up. "Oh dead, oh dear. What happened?"
I wanted to talk but all that came out were the usual frustrating babbles. I tried to do a rudimentary form of sign language but my damn stubby fingers were too hard to work with to convey what I'm saying. Although, I pointed at Aylwin and she managed to know what I'm trying to do. She laid me down the floor and I climbed back aboard inside Aylwin's body.
"Aylwin?" She asked. She touched me on the brow. She always touches Aylwin on the brow.
"I'm not Aylwin." I smiled. "It's me Silas,'
She demanded an explanation of what just happened. I told her everything except my life before this world, that would be an unnecessary information overload. I told her about my powers and the limits of using it. I expected that she'd be angry because I possessed the body of Aylwin. It's a violation of one's privacy and being after all. What I didn't come to expect is how amazed she would be. Of course, she's a mage. Well, an ex-mage.
Over the next few days, I'd possess Aylwin's body without the boy's knowledge. Of course, my mother knew. Ever since I explained her my skill, she activated her ability to see the soul of another. She knew that Aylwin is possessed when there's a bundle of brown flames wrapped around his blue soul. While in Aylwin's body, I helped around the house and did things I could not do in my infantile body. Like try to play with wooden swords and conjure spells that are embedded in Aylwin's psyche. Rudimentary sparks can come from my hand and I would often use it to light firewood.
As for Aylwin, he noticed the days he lost and forgotten. I'm just bored out of my mind in that crib so there were times that I'd possess Aylwin for weeks on end. My mother, however, didn't like this and advised me to minimize the possession of my brother's body. She was right. It's sad to see Aylwin so stressing about the blackouts that filled his life. He'd cry and ask our mother for explanations at why this is happening. It breaks their mother's heart to shy him away from the truth.
So one morning, her mother thought of a way to remedy this problem. Using her accrued wealth she fostered during her days as a mage, she used it to buy a slave from the next town. There was an argument between my father and mother that day. Father hated slaves because he was one when he was a child. Nevertheless, my mother convinced him to buy one because the jobs around the house are killing her back.
So as of now, my mom is carrying me on her fingers while we're scouring the deep ends of the Proudspire market place. As we were searching for strange hooded fellows, mother talked about that she used to come over here for illegal alchemical ingredients. The place wasn't as stocked as the one in the capitals but it's still a good place to look for slaves.
Finally, we reached a tavern with a huge warehouse at the back. My mom knew her way around here. With just a few rounds of intimidation from the barkeep, a door opened out back and we came in a darkly lit room.
"So you're here to buy slaves eh?" A female voice from the darkness asked.
"Stop hiding in the dark Helga. Show me your stock and we'll be on our way."
From the darkness, a woman dressed in scars and loose barbarian gear emerged. There's a huge battleax behind her and it seems that it is enchanted with runes. With a flick of her finger, the lanterns lit up the place. It seems that the stocks are already around us.
"You have a kid now?" Helga asked. "Who was it? Hroar? Your boy doesn't look like him. Was it Th-"
"We're just here to buy and we'll be on our way. So Silas, who'd you want?"
From the dimly lit room, I saw their faces. I picked...