Almost an entire year has gone by since my promise. I have grown, not much, maybe to the size of a toddler. I can walk on two legs, though my mother still likes to carry me. The Dwarves that came have finished their contracted work, and are now experimenting with the mutated ore from the mine. All the soldiers in the army are equipped with high quality gear, and are ready for a campaign against the Val'tiir Giants that live in the Fey Ruins to the north, beyond the mountains. Personally, I think it will be a slaughter, not a single officer has the knowledge or foresight to properly prepare for this kind of battle. They weren't trained for this stuff, they were only taught how to use magic effectively in a war.

Speaking of magic, I finally completed my original Aura spell: Combat Burst. Basically I take a massive portion of Aura and use it to stimulate the Vital Force in my body, enhancing all my attributes 10-fold. And it will only get stronger from there, since as I get older, the amount of Vital Force in my body grows. I also managed to use Aura as a replacement for Mana in both Water and Earth Magic. This caused Water Magic to take on a stronger healing quality, putting it on par with Light Magic. Earth Magic gained the ability to compress stone further, making it way stronger for both defense and offense.

I also learned about the date I was born. So, there's Ages and Eras: Ages are a period of 1,000,000 years where as Eras are periods of 100,000 years. I was born in the Fifth Era of the 16th Age. My Father was born in the Third Age, and Mother was born in the Fourth Era, 100,000 years before me. Most of the High Elves that live here in Arves were born during that time, as birth rates were at a high point. That's not saying much as all variants of Elf have extremely low fertility. It's more the fault of the male Elves as they aren't virile like males from other Races.

How do I figure that? I can see it, nobody is having much sex. I discovered after a while that my Aura Vision's range had increased dramatically. Instead of just the Palace, I could see most of the city itself. I mean it did take me a couple days to readjust to the new information of this boost. Putting that aside, I have seen maybe two couples doing the deed in a year. Everybody else is more interested in learning Magic or their hobbies. While that is what I'm doing as well, that's only cause I'm still in a child's body. I'm just now realizing, thinking back, there aren't many that leave either. Maybe only one or two people leave the city, soon returning afterward. Are they Hunters? Adventurers? I think I will try and find out when I'm older, might be nice to have a small career like that. It'd give me some monetary reward while I train and fight.

Hopefully I won't have to wait to long to leave the Palace, Father said he'd take me to see the Forest to the east when my Birthday arrives. He said something about a surprise, maybe a pet? I hope so, I'll be able to try that experiment that I thought of so long ago. Maybe if I try infusing a huge amount of either Mana or Aura? That would make sense, the Mana could mutate its body so it can accommodate the new energy. But if it were Aura, hmm... Well, it might have an even greater effect, making it a new kind of monster.

Monsters don't technically need to eat, they can process the raw Mana in the air into nutrients. But why do they still choose physical meals, then? Well, I guess if I could do the same, I'd still choose food, mainly because I can taste it. It fulfills that primal urge, and makes me happy.

Anyways, getting back to my previous thoughts. I think that Mother won't be sending the army until after I have my first Birthday. I'm confident in my predictions, and that's not a good thing. This will be a wanton waste of Elven lives, while the number of casualties on the Giants will be minimal. And that's for four reasons. One, they have a tactical advantage due to the elevation and location. North of the Mountains that surround us is a vast tundra, and the High Elf soldiers have no equipment meant for that kind of weather. Two, Physical Superiority. Giants, especially Val'tiir, are incredibly strong and are capable warriors, easily able to demolish the land with just their fists. High Elves, while amazing Mages, are unable to put up much of a fight in close combat. Three, the Val'tiir know the area very well. Having lived there a while, they've learned much about it. What routes are safe, where to put traps or ambushes, where to best fight head-on. My Mother's army doesn't have any intelligence on the battlefield or the ruins. Four, the problem of supplies. The officers have not made any plans for how to get new supplies while stationed outside the ruins. This is an extremely bad thing, no supplies means no provisions which means soldiers will begin to starve. That means weakness will spread through the Elves which in turn strengthens the Giants.

But that's none of my concern, I'm just a child.

*Sigh* It's a real burden being this aware when you're still a baby. Well, it's not all bad, at least I found out that [The Archive] is able to access some information on certain Jobs in this world. These Jobs I speak of are those that require a decade of training just to start. These are Hunters, Alchemists, Adventurers, Clerics, and Knights. Hunters are those who are sent out to hunt various animals and small monsters to bring back as food and materials to keep cities and towns running. Alchemists are doctors who specialize in the creation of various medicines like potions, pills, and salves. Adventurers are those who have trained for many years to take on the most dangerous tasks. These can range from collecting special and rare herbs to killing the most dangerous monsters. Clerics are those trained by the Church to go around and heal the unfortunate people who cannot pay or to exterminate nests of the undead or Necromancers. Knights are powerful soldiers who are trained solely to protect the Human Royalty and their kin. They are master-swordsmen and are allowed to learn Divine Magic, one of the most powerful and dangerous Magics.

Honestly, out of all these jobs, I'm most interested in Adventuring. Seems like it would be the most exciting, going around fighting foes and at the end of the day having a drink with companions. It would be a fun existence, completely different from my life now. I'd better start thinking of a way to tell my parents without them freaking out and stopping me. Well, mostly my Mother, I think Father would welcome my choice.

I haven't given much thought about if I'll take over the kingdom, though I think most of the population wouldn't allow it. High Elves put so much emphasis on purity, it's ridiculous. At least Mother was progressive, marrying a Dragon. Most of the nobles were outright against this marriage and had planned to rebel and take the throne, but who could fight against an Archaic Dragon. And since I'm only half-Elf they definitely would try to rebel. It'd be beneath me to try and reason with such ignorant and stubborn old fools, so I'd have to completely annihilate them, roots and all.

That got a little dark, I'm not usually like that. Maybe it's because of the fact that they'd probably threaten my Mother first. Something along the lines of "This child must be disallowed from wearing the crown of this proud Kingdom of Elves." You know, the howls of an ancient codger trying to protect his outdated way of life. At least I'd be a more competent ruler than those before Mother. She's at least trying to tear down some of these nonsensical laws that were put in place back when High Elves had conquered half the continent. She made some progress when she got rid of the banning of Races, other than Elves, from entering the Capital.

I should just try to sleep for now, these thoughts won't help anyone for awhile.