It's so warm. Why is it warm? The last thing I remember was being cold and numb so why is it too warm? Warm but darkness is the only thing I see. Strange. I need to open my eyes. Grunting I forced my eyes open to see nothing but green now. Strange. What's going on? I was sure that I was out in the opening when I passed out so why was there green all around me? Forcing myself to sit up as I felt the strain and the popping of muscles I hadn't moved in some time. I gasped out in pain as the final pop sent a jolt of pain through my arm and into my shoulder. I'm sitting but why does it feel like I'm as tall as if I am standing? What's different? Why does it feel so different and as if time has jolted forward and not the next morning? Lifting my arm to look at my hand I screamed. But my throat throbbed with pain as I coughed. Why is my arm so long and why is my hand bigger and slimer? Moving my other hand I noticed the same thing with this arm too. 

Looking down I noticed more and more changes that had happened with my body. I'm semi-naked. The nightshirt that I wore was in shreds now and stained a deep shade of dirty red mixed with brown and black. It was white, to begin with so I expected laying in my blood and outside in the dirt I would expect it to not be white anymore but still, why was it so shredded? My legs were also longer. Did I grow? But this shouldn't happen in just one night. 

Groaning I struggled to move these longer limbs of mine and stood up. The world around me swayed as I tried to keep balance. Definitely will need practice to get used to this height and feeling of growth. Stumbling and struggling I moved forward and placed both hands on the nearest tree. I don't like how the world is spinning. But then again I suppose losing so much blood and doing a summoning at the same time doesn't help that matter. Bile filled my throat as I looked to the side. Coughing out the bile I wheezed and doubled over. This feels awful. I hate the feeling of vomit and how it burns but these smells are not doing me any justice. Pushing away from the tree and moving to the next as I used the trees as support to get back to the village. It took a while but I made it back to the edge of the forest and looked towards the village.

Wait what the? Why is everything torn down and burnt to a crisp? Wide-eyed I took a step away from the tree and looked at the village's condition. What happened here? Wait. Velikiye's house. Ignoring my joints that shot jolts of pain to the muscles, I ran through the village and to where I remember Velikiye's house. It was still fully intake and smoke seeped out of the chimney on top. Opening the door the house seemed empty but a fire was lit and steam rolled off a big pot that was set up on the table towards the middle of the room. Did he recently just leave the room? Walking in further I moved to the stool that was set in front of the pot and sat down looking at the steam rolling off the surface of the water. 

I heard the clattering and shatter of glass from behind me before I could feel a wooden point towards my neck. Looking up and seeing the mismatched eyes of an older Velikiye an eye scarred and longer hair. Did he age as drastically just like me? "Velikiye?" my voice rasped. Why do I sound so scratchy and like I lost my voice? I watched his eyes fill with horror before they softened and tears welled in the corners of his eyes. 

"Shinko," his voice fell heavy, "is that you?" I nodded my head. So he does remember the name that I said. He didn't call me Muriel. He paid attention to what I said to him I would rather be called. "Where were you? I couldn't find you for the longest of time," his voice shook as he moved the wooden point away from my neck. 

"When did you return?" I asked as Velikiye moved away for merely a moment before coming back and wrapping a blanket around me, "what happened to the village?" Velikiye moved with practiced steps and was in front of the pot before moving things around and pouring things into the pot. Was he thinking or avoiding my questions, "Velikiye?"

"A lot has happened but I returned the morning of your disappearance," Velikiye frowned, "I had just entered the house when I noticed the mess as if there was a struggle and I immediately left and got the attention of the whole village only to be told Greth had escaped custody and they were looking for him also. Flayn and her two children also disappeared. The first thing we did was check the house Greth owned only to find a scene out of a folktale. The house and foundation cracked and destroyed. The bodies of Greth and Flayn were found there in the middle of the house with holes in their chest and their faces blank. Not void of any emotions but more like their faces never existed at all. Then we found the twins, Red and Syhcoa. They were further away from the house near the dark woods with the same amount of injuries and no faces as well. Everyone was puzzled into who or what could have done such things without leaving more of a bloody mess." 

"All of them are dead?" Velikiye nodded his head before taking a wooden spoon and stirring the pot. "Did anyone wake up when hearing anything?"

"That's what I had thought as well but as I investigated the wounds I felt the surge of Eldritch energy along with the aura of summoning magic," Velikiye sighed, "then I tried looking for you while in the search for you, we discovered the butcher's knife and the whole scene but couldn't find you. We searched everywhere from the shrugs to the river but couldn't find a single trace of you. But I did find the summoning circle that was smudged and drawn with blood. With how small of the characters were drawn I knew it could only be you. After, you told me your mother had begun to teach you the characters of each Eldritch God and how to summon one though you told me that your mother had said never to try to attempt to summon one until the prime age of 16 when summoning won't drain as much but enough to communicate with a steady mind and not hasty mindset." 

"You saw it?" I asked as he nodded moving the spoon away from the pot before adding more ingredients placing a cover over it and hanging it above the fire, "I should've been right there. I passed out right there so I should've been sprawled out over the summoning circle." Velikiye tensed before turning to face me. His eyes showed fear as he quickly approached me and held my shoulders.

"What do you mean you should've been lying right in the middle of the summoning circle?" Velikiye asked his voice starting to fill with panic. 

"After finishing drawing the characters I threw up what was caught in my throat then started chant the words to summon... did I not summon Shub-Niggurath?" I asked as I watched Velikiye's face pale even more. "Velikiye you're scaring me," I whimpered as he let go of my shoulders and quickly moved to the bookshelf and grabbed a book from the shelf. 

"The characters were smudged and a few were misdrawn," Velikiye opened the book and flipped the pages fast before stopping, "I don't know much about the culture but my old teacher who unfortunately passed several years ago gave me this book that held most characters that are used for summoning Eldritch beings and you might've summoned a whole new Eldritch God by accident. But for what price you paid or what you sacrificed could lead to what happened and why I couldn't find you." 

Velikiye explained more about what he found out and did more research into it before I brought up the question once more, "What happened to the village?" His facial expression froze before he set the book down and sighed. 

"Like you had told me about how the Deities were planning something for Shub-Niggurath to take you away. Right before the harvest season began what I am assuming was the mortal disguise of Shub-Niggurath came here searching for you. Describing you to a tee. The village was wary to say anything but the elders had no filter and against better judgment let their true opinions out in front of her. When they say fear a mother's wrath. It's no joke, especially for a fertility Eldritch god such as herself. She laid waste to the village but for some odd reason left me alone. But I did see a small blue orb next to her so perhaps a Deity was nearby and was actively speaking to her," Velikiye sighed, "I stayed here just on a whim due to this nagging feeling. I guess my guts were right. But you lost your mortality presence."

"So what am I then?" I asked as he handed me a clay cup with water in it. 

"I assume whatever your final wish was," Velikiye frowned, "after all your body and appearance are completely different than what I would have guessed you would look when you grew up. but seeing how you appear to be in your early 20's when it's been about nearly 4 decades since everything happened I could only assume a few options but all of them do not behave such as yourself. This leads to only one thing," Velikiye picked up the book again and turned a few pages then turned it around, "it's not widely known as it is a banned practice among Mages but not so for Dark Mages to make these beings known as Homunculus', but that didn't make any sense as you still have your memories to what happened to you so you aren't made, then I dug deeper into many options and that when I discovered the term Doll. It's something similar that Shub-Niggurath used to appear more human-like but different in biology entirely. Your spirit inhabits a clay or mud form of being that can be controlled as its own but has no free will. Typically summoned to serve for different purposes."

"What's so different about my possession then?" I asked as Velikiye turned a page.

"It has to be what you wished for but it cost greatly which linked you to whoever you summoned that night," Velikiye pointed to a drawing on a page, "but something didn't go right or it wasn't completely leaving you behind, and having a half form but stronger presence than any other Doll that has been recorded from this book my Master gave to me."

Velikiye continued to explain everything to me about what I could be now. However, the questions I asked were either undermined or told that those could be worried about later. He served the soup he had made, dug for proper clothing for me to wear, and brought me to the river before turning around and telling me to take a dip in the water to wash off all the dirt and blood still on my body. Despite it being early spring the water felt very relaxing when I went into the water and I expressed that Velikiye commented that having an immortal body now a lot of things that mortals suffer or are sensitive to no longer apply to me. I suppose it's going to take a while to discover all this new body will offer. I was getting out and drying off then struggling with the clothes Velikiye found for me. 

Crying out in frustration Velikiye turned his head slightly as I asked for help. He came over and helped with the final pieces I needed to be fastened. "It's a bit big but we can always amen it to fit you better," Velikiye sighed as he took a piece of twine and went behind me as I felt the weight of my head move. Was he putting up my hair?

"Can you continue off with my education like before?" I asked as Velikiye hummed, "I still want to learn my letters and what happened after I fell asleep." Velikiye sighed as he tied my hair back and moved my bangs with his fingers.

"We can do that just know that I am only limited to what I know and have gathered while remaining in this destroyed village," Velikiye said with a soft voice as he explained himself. I nodded my head in agreement as he gave a soft smile and we headed back to the house. For the next few days, I sat through his teachings and his long lectures. Through the days I learned how to read and write the way it is expected for someone in their early 20's as Velikiye described to me. I'll try my hardest to keep up with everything but only time will tell when I put it into action. 

"Good writing skills," Velikiye held up the paper I had just written in full, "You have caught on pretty quickly I suppose one of your skills is to catch onto things and adapt quickly. A very good skill to have. But your reading and understanding of currency is a bit slower than most. We can work on that," Velikiye sighed as he placed the paper on the table again. 

"Do I have to do that part again, then?" I groaned as it was already hard enough doing a full paper of conversation writing and copying from the book Velikiye provided onto the paper itself. If I have to do currency figuring again I am going to pass out. 

"Not the entire thing," Velikiye smirked as he grabbed the tablet with the moving beads, "just going to use this contraption until you can do it without the help of the beads. When you gain money or spend money you have to know how much you have at all times and the value of said items so that way you are swindled into items that are of poor quality or have no value at all. To tell the differences it can be tricky as some will polish it to make it look like the real thing."

Velikiye set the tablet with beads in front of me as he held out different items and I had to calculate once more. Several days were spent like this as I struggled to always get it correct. Either I overcalculate it or under. But with the help of Velikiye, I always correct it and then get it correct eventually. But I still struggle another day passes before he has me retake the currency part of the test. Taking it again feels so draining I just want to sleep past this but I know Velikiye is giving it his all so I should do as well. Setting the quill down Velikiye came over and took the paper and looked through it once more. 

"You got it all correct," Velikiye smiled as he placed the paper back down on the table, "congrats Shinko, a full score of passing basics in ethics or adulthood." I passed. Slumping to the table my body fully relaxed as I laid down on my arms. "Tired?" I could only mumble before I heard Velikiye chuckle, "You did stress a lot these past few days I'll pause your education for a few days to let you rest. But the next set of classes is going to be a bit harder for you." 

"Yay," I mumbled loud enough for Velikiye to hear me, "I'm just gonna sleep right here I have no energy to move any further," I mumbled once more as I closed my eyes hearing Velikiye say something but I couldn't make it out as I let the warmth of sleep take me.