First Steps

When Shi's parents took him home and put him to bed, Shi immediately started to try to move around. His body was sluggish and didn't want to do what he told it to. After a few minutes of this, Shi managed to roll over. This small victory had thoroughly tired Shi out, but he pushed through it and managed to roll over again.

He did this about 10 times before he fell fitfully asleep. When he woke up, Shi went back to work rolling over until he couldn't and going back to sleep, this went on for about a week.

When Shi was comfortable with his body and was able to move, he started trying to crawl. He had to do this when his parents weren't around, which was rarely, but whenever his parents were there he just practiced rolling over some more.

One day, Shi's parent's had a guest over to celebrate their new child. The man was thin, but he seemed to possess a wiry strength and he fawned over Shi. During their dinner, the man accidentally hit his cup and spilled some water, but right before the water hit the floor, it stopped mid-air.

Shi rubbed his eyes, he couldn't believe what he was seeing, he immediately started focusing on everything the man was doing. If he focused hard enough, he could see subtle lines connecting the man to the water. The lines seemed to intermingle with the essence of the water and maneuver it like a puppet's strings.

The lines seemed to emerge from the right side of the man's chest. Shi suddenly had an idea, he turned his focus inward towards the right side of his chest, and saw a sizable black sphere there. He sent his thoughts into it and felt a small stir in his surroundings, Shi could barely keep himself from blowing his cover by shouting out in joy, and instead smiled brightly.

His parents and the thin man took his smile as a reaction to the thin man's pretty magic. "Oshieru, would you mind doing some more magic to entertain Shi?" Kea asked. "Of course not." said Oshieru, getting up and making lights dance in his palm and then suddenly dart out at Shi like moths to a lantern.

Shi giggled obediently, but he stayed razor-focused on the strings connecting Oshieru to the lights, trying to find a pattern. When Oshieru left, Shi started focusing on the black sphere whenever his parents were around and getting better at crawling when they were gone.

He was sure to maintain his cover since a baby talking while only being a month or 2 old would be burned on the stake. Over the next few months, Shi's physical abilities improved greatly, especially when he became an acceptable age to crawl in front of his parents.

With the magic however, Shi could only make things twitch when he reached out to them with his mind. When he turned a year old, Oshieru returned to celebrate Shi's birthday with Kea and Toishi. By this time, Shi had started walking, and he was glad for the opportunity to study Oshieru's magic again.

By now, he had grown more used to observing magic so when Oshieru demonstrated it to entertain Shi he was able to see the strings of magic coming from Oshieru as they seemed to coalesce into solid lights. Shi stared intensely at where the strings came from and saw a blood-red glow coming from Oshieru's chest.

Shi immediately turned his sight inward to his black sphere and after careful study he realized that there were tiny bright red cracks in it. He had taken his first steps toward magic! Before, he had only been giggling for Oshieru's benefit, but now his mirth was genuine.

After Oshieru left and Shi's parents went to bed, Shi started practicing magic with even more vigor. He stared at the sphere in his chest as he did and saw that as he got things to twitch, or move slightly the red cracks in his sphere grew slightly larger. 3 years passed with Shi training both his body and magic intensely throughout them, he knew he might only have one shot in a world like this so he made the best of it.

His sphere had evolved from a black sphere to a dark red one, and once it had done that Shi had been able to control small objects if he focused. Today, Shi's father, Toishi took Shi into town for the first time trade the tools he made in his forge for the necessities of life. Shi's new family wasn't rich, but they weren't left starving since Toishi was the only blacksmith in the village, and people needed tools to farm, and blades to slaughter and butcher animals.

Toishi also wanted to have Shi inspected by the village's top wizard Shiryoku. All townsfolk brought their kids to Shiryoku to have their aptitude for magic judged. If they learned even a bit of magic, the quality of whatever they produced would be greatly increased as even a beginner could use magic to slightly improve any item.

After Toishi traded for a few bags of rice, grain and a butchered cow, he went to the biggest house in the village. A few minutes after knocking on the door, it was opened by an old woman, her skin looked like a raisin that had been left out in the desert for a decade.

Even though she looked so old, she still had a plumpness that should be impossible for someone her age, and her eyes had a sharp look of intelligence and wisdom. "I'm here to test my son, Shi" Toishi said, as he bowed stiffly with his eyes cast down in deference.

"Come on in then." Shiryoku said calmly, as she walked into a spacious room with a large couch opposite a love seat with a table in-between, both largely cushioned. Toishi's eye's bulged when he saw this, most villager's were lucky if they got a clean cloth to put on their seats, the rich ones getting straw cushions on them. But this lady had feather cushions on every seat.

This was to be expected though, as she was the richest and most powerful person in the village. Shiryoku sat on the couch while Toishi and Shi took the loveseat. "Well, lets see him then." Shiryoku said, "Go on Shi." Toishi said, so Shi slowly walked over to the old lady.

She grabbed his cheeks, arms, and chest and then stared at his chest so intensely that Shi could feel her gaze go through him. "Interesting," Shiryoku said "your son is already at the beginning stages of a dark red mana core Toishi." Toishi brightened instantly, "is that good?" he asked, "Yes," Shiryoku said, "it means he has pretty good talent."

"Those who I would suggest start learning would only have barely started breaking through their black core, with there being red cracks running through it." "His being already beginner red core isn't extraordinary, but it's definitely above average." "I would suggest finding a teacher for him, if his talent is nurtured well, I might consider training him myself later on."

Shi and Toishi both were ecstatic about this new information, "Thank you very much, for everything" Toishi exclaimed, bowing so deeply his beard nearly brushed the floor. After they made it home and Toishi told Kea the news she cried for the joy of it and hugged both Toishi and Shi tightly.

After this, Toishi sat down Shi for a conversation, "Son, you've made me extremely proud today, and now it's time for you to start working and learning some things." "For the next 12 years, until you turn 16 and are your own man, you will spend 10 hours a day with Oshieru learning magic, and 8 hours with me learning to master the forge." "Ok dad," Shi said, "I'll make sure to work hard." Shi's adventure into this new wide world had truly begun.