Chapter 13

I opened my eyes and saw a white ceiling. I looked around and saw that I was on a bed, with drapes around me. "Where am I..?"

The drapes opened, and a woman with purple hair and reg glasses looked down at me. "Balere Lowell?" I nodded. "You passed out after overexerting your mana." I nodded and sat up. "What time is it?" I asked. "It's been a few hours. School is about to end, so I think you should just go home. Is someone going to pick you up?" I shrugged and grabbed my bag, which was sitting in the chair next to me.

I walked out of the school and saw my mother. "Balere? Aren't you out of school a little early?" She asked. "Oh, well, I overexerted my mana and passed out. I'm all better now, though." She looked worried, even though I told her I was OK, and she checked my pulse and my arms. "Alright, I'll believe you. C'mon, your dad has a surprise for you at the house."

We passed all of the other mothers, and we began walking home. As we walked down the street, I began making a map of the way to the school from my house.

Mother entered first, and I followed shortly behind. "Welcome home! Big brother, can you make something for me?" Lucille asked, pulling on my sleeve. "I just got home... Alright, what do you want me to make?" She smiled widely and ran into her room.

When she returned, she was pointing at a picture in her book. "It's called a... how do I say this?" She looked up at Mother. "It's called a fairy." I sighed and looked at the picture. She's a little girl, of course, it'd be a fairy. The picture was just of a small girl with sharp-pointed ears, and her hair up in a bun.

I summoned water in my hand, and it quickly took the form of the fairy. After a few seconds, it completely froze. "Here you go, sweetie." She smiled widely and ran into her room.

"So, you were saying something about a surprise?" Whenever I turned back to my mother, she was pointing a sword at my throat. "Do you dare fight me in a battle?" She challenged with a smirk. "I don't think it'd be fair if you were the only one with an actual sword."

"Then take this!" My father appeared from behind my mother, and he threw me a sword. Before I did anything, I felt it out. I could tell it was crafted very well, even if I didn't have any prior knowledge of swords. The balance is perfect for my size, and it isn't too long.

I smacked my mother's blade gently away with a clank. "Come at me!" She sloppily swung her sword toward me, and I blocked it with ease. "My name is Inigo Montoya," I said with a Spanish accent before our swords clash a few times. "And I am Captain Blackburn Reed!"

She kept slashing at me until she lifted her blade. I took the opportunity, and I used the hilt of my blade to smack her hand, making her drop her sword. "Surrender, or it is off with your head!" She put her hands up. "I surrender."

The three of us laughed and I looked at the sword. "So, what was the point of this?" My dad crouched down. "Well, since you're training your swordsmanship, I figured it'd be better if you had an actual sword to train with as well. To get the experience."

I gripped the handle of my sword and rubbed the leather. "Are you sure about giving a seven-year-old a sword?" He nods. "Come on, let's go see what you can do on that dummy you make."

I went out back and summoned the golem. I'm still low on mana... it's fine, I won't need much to remake this thing.

I focussed only on the dummy, removing everything else. I lifted my sword and began a set of attacks Elder Garnett had taught me.

I kept my focus steady, as I continued to cut and stab the dummy. When I finished, I took a step back and wiped the sweat from my brow. The dummy was barely holding on, and it kind of looked like the inside of a tesla valve. "Well, I think that's my workout for the day..."

"That was so cool!" I turned my head to see my entire family, including my toddler siblings, watching me with awe. "When did you guys get here?" Adrian wipes his knees, knocking dirt off of them. "About 5 minutes ago."

"Sorry..." I twirled the sword around my wrist. "It's pretty good if I say so myself." I made a quick movement, and the top half of the dummy fell to the ground. My father threw me a damp towel, and I wiped off my sword. "So, what'd you learn today, Balere?" Lucille asked. "Let me show you."

I raised my hand, and the dummy returned to normal. Do I really need a wand for this..? I sighed and formed a wand out of the ground. I stepped far back and pointed my earthen wand at the dummy. Oriol said that I needed to master the spell to be able to control my power, but I disagree. I don't need to say the incantation, mainly because it won't work, so I think I can control it.

A small, dim light appeared on the tip of my wand. I can feel my mana draining into the spell, so let's try something. I saw the mana on the end grow even though I wasn't supplying it with mana. I was right! The books were wrong, after all. Instead of the usual dark coloring, the light at the tip of my finger was a dim grey.

I let the spell go, and it shot out, as fast as a bullet. The spell hit the dummy and shot out into a million different pieces. It conjured a thick wall of ice in front of my family, protecting them from any oncoming debris.

"Sorry, guys, I didn't expect that to go flying. Are you guys alright?" The ice wall had cracks in it but it was otherwise alright. "That was crazy! How did you do that?" Adrian asked, his eyes gleaming. "Hey! I'm also interested!" Lucille insisted, pushing Adrian over. "I'm not really how it works," I laughed awkwardly while rubbing the back of my head.

I looked past my siblings, and I saw my father hugging my mother. After that, I saw that her arm was bleeding. "Did I do that? I'm so sorry..." I rummaged around in my bag and pulled out some bandages and wrapped them around her cut. It didn't seem deep, but it was about five inches in length.

I wonder... My hand glowed faintly as I held my mother's arm. "What're you doing?" She asked. I could feel her heartbeat quicken as I attempted this. "Trying to figure out healing magic..." After a few minutes of grasping at straws, I gave up. "I'll have to try again some other time..."

"Well, it kind of worked; the bleeding stopped," Lucille said, noticing what I was trying to do. Mother undid her bandage, and sure enough, all that was left was a small scar. "That's amazing!" They all were congratulating me, but I felt off. It worked, but I felt like I didn't. Like, an outside force took control and did it.

I thought about it and wrote it in my journal. I wrote everything in it, from my reincarnation to how I thought my magic worked, which wasn't very smart.

"Knock, knock!" I turned my head to see my father. "Hey." He walked in and sat down on my bed. "I just wanted to ask you something. How did you heal your mother?" I shrugged. "I didn't do it. I felt off while doing it like I was grasping at something as someone was pulling it away from me at the last second." He sighs. "That's strange...Anyway, I also wanted to check in with you. You were awfully quiet at dinner." A smile crept onto my face. "Maybe it's because I can't talk." He deadpans, making me audibly laugh. This, of course, hurt my throat, so I grabbed it instinctually.

"Well deserved... Hey, I have a question. How did you remember me and your mom?" I shrugged. "I just remembered, I guess. I told the beastmen how we got separated and what the two of you looked like, so I guess it just stayed with me."

"I can accept that. Goodnight, buddy." He hugs me before exiting my room. He always just seems awkward and a little bit off.

I crawled into my bed and laid sprawled out. My hand raised and touched the middle of my forehead. They say birthmarks are how you died in your past life, but I don't have a singular one. Hell, I don't even have a freckle. I used to have freckles all over my face. Is there even a reason for my reincarnation, or am I just a part of a population of the reincarnated?

I flipped over to my side. I should just get some sleep.