Curve 16. Rami and His Papyrum Ramosum; The Girl Who Runs on the Water

Agnesi Maria Caetana is currently ten years old. Rami Ramiro Raminelli has been Agnesi's private tutor for two years. Everything is going smoothly, and unlike Nuvolo Ardito Figliuoli, who resigned, Rami doesn't feel burdened by Agnesi's learning pace.

Well, of course, Rami's skill level is arguably superior to Nuvolo's. Nuvolo is an Epodoi, while Rami is a Mathematikoi. The more knowledge and skills a person possesses, the more they have to teach others.

One example of the difference in Rami and Nuvolo's abilities is that Nuvolo can read Magoi's magic map, while Rami can not only read Magoi's magic map but also calibrate it. Another example of their difference in abilities was seen in the third training session of the day.

Today, Rami and Agnesi, accompanied by a maid, held an Aecte Arts training session on the shores of Lake Como, beginning at seven in the morning. As usual for lakeside practice sessions, the three of them arrived in a four-wheeled wagon pulled by two horses. The wagon transported not only the three of them during the fifteen-minute journey from Agnesi's Como house to the lake but also several items.

Some of the items carried in the covered wagon included mats, a tent with a wooden frame and rope ties, a medicine chest, a food box, glasses, plates, and a drinking water container. There was also a small heating device, an iron charcoal stove. This small stove-like device was brought so the maid could heat or cook simple dishes if Agnesi or Rami wanted hot food or something fresh from the oven.

The water jugs carried on the wagon were intended for the nobility and wealthy. They were made of ceramic, allowing the water to remain cold for longer than water stored in jugs made of other materials. The jugs had lugs on the side for tying with string, and the maid held the jugs throughout the journey to prevent them from falling.

In the first training session, Rami trained Agnesi in shooting straw target boards, alternating between two different elements for each board. These two elements were Aecte's fire and water elements. Fire is an innate element that Agnesi has been able to manifest since she was only three years old—though, of course, in a very limited form and scale.

Rami chose to teach Agnesi the water elemental Aecte Artes for practical reasons: water is Rami's innate element. Rami himself believes Agnesi can learn very quickly to manifest and control elements other than her own.

Rami commented, “I think, Miss Caetana, that by the time you enter the Academy, you will have mastered the four elements of classical Aecte, which not many people can do.”

Agnesi responded with a statement that showed she wasn't being arrogant about her talent. She said, "Thank you, Mr. Raminelli, but to achieve this, of course, I can't just sit back and do nothing. I have to keep studying and practicing diligently."

Agnesi certainly once again showed that she wasn't just talking. He did the first training session today seriously and earnestly, as did the second and third sessions. Several times the maid who was sitting on a mat under the tent gave Agnesi applause as a sign of appreciation.

In the second training session, Rami trained Agnesi to shoot straw target boards with a curved path, not a straight line like an arrow. For this training session, Rami presented Agnesi with two straw target boards arranged parallel to her, with one target behind the other. Agnesi had to hit the straw target board farther in front of her without hitting the one directly in front of her.

Then, the third session. This session demonstrated one of the differences between Rami's skills and Nuvolo's. In the third session, Rami no longer asked Agnesi to target straw target boards. The target in this session was an "artificial human" created by Rami.

Rami, as a Mathematikoi, exhibits a more varied Aecte Arts than the Epodoi. The word "varied" is reflected in the anagnorisma possessed by this Orolico member. Rami's anagnorisma has evolved into a long sheet of papyrus wrapped around his left arm, from wrist to shoulder.

The anagnorisma is covered by Rami's long sleeves when he doesn't want to use it. The one opportunity Rami has to reveal his long sleeves and use the anagnorisma is while training Agnesi today. What is the anagnorisma's ability? That's reflected in its name: Papyrum Ramosum.

Papyrum Ramosum can be translated as “papyrus that produces branches of wood.” The small branches of wood themselves, in the Aethalian language, are called “rami." A name that coincidentally shares the first name of Rami Ramiro Raminelli.

From his anagnorism, Rami can produce small wooden branches. The branches can be used as both defensive and offensive tools. Such a thing is clearly not a manifestation of the classic four-elemental Aecte that Epodoi-level Magoi can create.

Rami used these small wooden branches in the third session of Agnesi's training. Rami created an Aecte manifestation in the shape of a human made of wooden branches. The "artificial human" moved around, acting as a target for Agnesi's Aecte manifestation. This served to train Agnesi to attack moving targets, much like the monsters or Magoi that Agnesi faced.

(***)

Midday had arrived, and the heat was at its peak. Rami decided to pause his training and take a short break. He and Agnesi sat on a mat under the shelter of the tent.

Rami and Agnesi enjoyed cold water poured from ceramic cups in their respective glasses. Meanwhile, the maid was cooking on a small charcoal stove under a tree beside the tent.

The dishes the maid was making were meat pies, or spiced meat pasties, and frittatas. Spiced meat pasties are very easy to reheat on the stovetop in just minutes. Likewise, a frittata, or meat and cheese omelet, only takes about five minutes to cook.

Suddenly, someone appeared to be moving toward Agnesi, Rami, and the maid. It was a girl. The girl wasn't running along the lakeshore on the ground, but on the water of Lake Como.

Once the girl was within sight of Rami, he said, “Oh, that girl. There she is, she is she.”

Agnesi asked, “Mr. Raminelli knows her? Who is she?”

Rami replied, “She is, I believe, Laura Bassi Caterino.”