I was reborn into the body of a baby dwarf. Not exactly the best afterlife experience out there, but it was still better than anything written about by Dante, or talked about in Sunday school. Needless to say, it was an extremely jarring experience, going from a fully ambulatory and rather strong adult’s body, to an infant who couldn’t even hold up his own head. However, it was better than having my soul disposed of to avoid filling out the paperwork for an errant soul. The name I got saddled with upon my rebirth was Kvalinn Ekgorsson. It didn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but it could’ve been worse. Occasionally I’d overhear my father mention people with ten syllable names in passing conversation with his friends. Those were names I most certainly did not want to have attached to me, spelling them would doubtlessly be a nightmare!As for the language, I learned the same way any infant learns. Papa, mama, baba, ect. Although unfortunately I didn’t get to use the word ‘mama’. Apparen

The next morning I woke up at the usual time, but when I attempted to get started on my usual chores, my father stopped me with a gesture. “Don’t worry about that, Kvalinn. Today you will be accompanying Zikruk to socialize.” Father almost gagged in disgust and revulsion on the word socialize. Apparently he was no fonder of the act of socialization then I was. “Wash yourself up and prepare gifts in case you meet anyone you need to make a good impression on.” “Gifts?” I asked. “What type of gifts should I give?” “Depending on the person, either something small and token, or something more substantial. Customers get the former, and Elders get the latter.” Father then began working on the chores I normally did. Pointedly refusing to elaborate. I began thinking of what gifts I could feasibly give. I didn’t have any money, and most of my practice weapons that I had made up until now had been scrapped so that the materials wouldn’t be wasted. Maybe I could bake something? In my previ

It’s time! I finally get to go back to school! I raced to get dressed in the clean clothes I had washed last night. I knew this day had been coming ever since being reborn and had been anticipating my second attempt at school life, but I had become especially anxious for this day ever since all my attempts to make 21st century technology had failed. Because what’s in every school? A library! Maybe there was some dwarven technology that could approximate the gadgets from my past life.“Are you ready, Kvalinn?” Zikruk called out from the entrance of my home. “We’re gonna be late if you don’t hurry!”Zikruk was at my home this morning to guide me to the school building. One of the things I had apparently inherited from my previous life was my sense of direction, which was so bad back then that I could easily get lost in a grocery store. “I’m almost ready. Just need to pack a few more things.” I hurriedly shoved writing materials and some cookies into my bag and went downstairs. In this

“Good morning, Kvalinn!” Bekhi greeted me with a cheerful smile from the school steps. “How was your winter break? Did you make anything cool for the Elders?” Five years have passed since we first started school and we were both ten years old. It’s been a relatively peaceful time. Mostly spent working with my father or at school, and mostly free from adventures. Unfortunately, the past five years had not brought me one iota closer to getting 21st century tech to my home. My abilities in weapon crafting have increased substantially, I can create nearly any weapon used by men and dwarves. However, all my attempts to modernize my life using rune power have failed spectacularly. After making the first rune for Elder Thrikrondromm, I was not given any more lessons on how to

The next morning I woke up with a mild head cold. Most likely it was the penalty for a dwarfs body after spending so long in sub freezing temperatures. I made a mental note to never make another rune of snow ever again, and since I had overslept I was forced to run to school. Fortunately, dwarves are natural sprinters. Very dangerous over short distances. So I was able to land in my seat a few seconds before Elder Rongrim entered the room. “Kvalinn! Why are you late? You’re never late!” Bekhi whispered to me in concern as I took my normal seat next to her. “Are you alright? You look a little flushed.”“I’m fine, testing the rune yesterday made it freeze in the testing room and got me stuck in there for a while. But it’s nothing serious. I just need to stand