In this world, the annual celebration of your birth doesn’t exist. Instead, every 4 years, on the solstice or equinox closest to your birthdate, there’s a celebration to mark the passage of time. First from infant to child at 4, then from child to adolescent at 8, then from adolescent to teen at 12, and finally at 16, you were considered a full legal adult. Of course, the “infant”, “child”, “adolescent”, and “teen”, are just my own words for these stages, translating into the English I know from Earth, and they don’t quite line up.
It was time for my transition ceremony from infant to child, at the local church. I was born in late fall, putting me just barely closer to the fall equinox than the winter solstice.
Unlike a child’s birthday party back on Earth, this was a solemn church event, where every child who was turning 4 close to that day was dressed in a white dress (even the boys like me), taken to the local church, baptized with holy water, then taken home for a normal dinner with their immediate family. Relatives attended the church service, practically the whole city was there, but no one came to our house to celebrate afterwards. They stayed for the rest of the ceremonies, if they had 8, 12, or 16 year old children, or went home themselves when the ceremony for the child they were there to see ended.
The one custom that remained familiar was the practice of gift-giving. As we finish the mouthwatering steak, scallops, and grilled corn that Sarya prepared for dinner that night, Carlisle looks over to me. “Alright, stay there a minute, we’ll be right back.”
He and Rachelle then retreat to their room, leaving Albirea, Sarya, and me at the table. The two of them rarely spoke during dinner, and if they did they were scolded by my parents. Apparently, it’s considered rude for slaves to speak at mealtime. I really hate that, especially since Albirea is easily my favorite person in this strange new world.
I learned, not long ago, that my “gift” on the transfer ceremony when I turn 16 and become a legal adult is intended to be Albirea herself. Apparently, Carlisle wasn’t joking when he said he bought her because I seemed to have taken a liking to her, and he’s been planning to make her my slave since day one. The problem here, of course, is that I don’t want a slave. The thought of owning another sentient being makes my skin crawl. It was all I could do to hide my revulsion when this plan came up.
Since I started taking magic lessons under Albirea’s care, I’ve mastered all the spells she knows. It turns out Rachelle is acolyte tier in healing and detoxification, and advanced in light, though she knows no other schools, while Carlisle is acolyte tier in earth, and basic in fire, healing, and detoxification. Once Albirea taught me all she knew of her magic, the two of them began tutoring the both of us in the spells they knew that we didn’t.
So, now, my proficiencies are as follows:
* Fire: Acolyte
* Water: Basic
* Earth: Basic
* Wind: N/A
* Light: Acolyte
* Darkness: N/A (I will study this school some day.)
* Healing: Acolyte
* Detoxification: Acolyte
* Barrier: N/A
* Summoning: N/A
Albirea has moved up to acolyte tier in healing, learned more acolyte tier detoxification spells than just the one to neutralize her own venom, and achieved basic tier in both earth and light. She seemed to struggle quite a bit when Rachelle was teaching us light magic.
At this point, I’m thinking it’s time to end my magic lessons. It’s never been my intention to become a mage, and other than the supremely cool darkness magic, there’s nothing else of magic I want to learn. My goal is to be a knight, and I already know more than is necessary for that.
Speaking of becoming a knight, Carlisle and Rachelle are returning from their room with my gifts, and it looks like he’s carrying a sword! It’s a wooden one, but still, I wasn’t expecting this. Rachelle, on the other hand is holding a stick of some kind, about 9 inches long, made of polished dark oak, with an emerald at the end. A wand? Lame! Why couldn’t it have been a shield or something?
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“Well, son, here are our gifts today. If it is still your intention to become a knight, you must practice with both of them.” Wait, both? Why does a knight need a wand? I don’t get it. “Though, you’ve already mastered far more magic than most knights ever bother with. I know you never intended to become a mage, and I can’t say it’s a path I’d choose for you, but you clearly have the talent should you wish to pursue it. In that case, I fear your mother’s gift will be far more practical for you than mine.”
“Father, I don’t understand. Why do I need to practice with a wand to become a knight? Surely it’s the sword that matters most, right?”
“Between the two, the sword is definitely more important for a knight, as you say. However, you can’t be a knight without using both a sword and wand. It’s part of what separates knights from common foot soldiers. You see, a knight is expected to know basic healing, detoxification, and acolyte tier spells from at least one attack magic school. A true knight’s sword, unlike this practice sword, has a wand embedded in its hilt, and can be used to direct your spells on the battlefield.”
I was about to interject that I understood, but after drawing a breath, he continues, “Additionally, once you’ve mastered the use of a wand, you’ll find spells you cast with it are both more powerful, and consume less energy than if you cast unaided. This is even more so with a mage and their staff.”
“That all makes sense, I guess. Still, I have one more question. Does this gift mean you’re finally going to start teaching me swordplay?” I had been bugging him about that for the past year. Once I was about 3, and starting to get a little less clumsy as I moved around the house, I figured it was time.
Carlisle, however, disagreed. He’d always say, “You’re still too young. The time has not yet come.” It was infuriating. I started my study of magic early enough, but I wanted to get on with swordsmanship. Still, the fact he was giving me a practice sword must mean it was finally time, right?
“It does. Though, I must warn you, normally I wouldn’t even think of training one so young. You’re an uncommonly precocious lad, and with the insistence you’ve shown, I’ve found myself with no choice but to give in. Normally, it would be at least another 2 years before your training would begin, but now that you’ve had your transition ceremony, I fear I can refuse you no longer. With that said, it will be hard. I do not intend to go easy on you based on your age, since you requested this. Softness in training means death on the battlefield. Do you understand?”
Gulp. That sounded a bit more serious than he usually does. What is he planning to do to me? Still, I asked for this. I can hardly back out now, can I? “I understand. I’m ready for this.”
So, from that day forward, my magic tutoring lessons were moved to the mornings instead of the evenings, and rather than focusing on learning new spells, we focused entirely on channeling my magic through my wand. Apparently, it would be easier than normal magic once I mastered it, but it was hard at first. Much harder than I expected.
The reason magic practice had to move to the mornings was my evenings were now occupied by Carlisle teaching me swordplay. His normal evening duties of tidying his ledgers were assumed by Evan and Kline, taking turns with one of them handling the books, and the other sweeping up with Albirea’s help, now that she was no longer occupied with tutoring me.
Let me tell you, he wasn’t joking when he said sword practice would be hard. First, we started with cardio, a brisk 2 mile jog out of the mercantile district, down to the docks, and out the city gate to the east. There, we arrived at the field that was our training ground, a nice grassy field, separated from the wet, silty beach by a large rock outcropping.
Once we arrived, there was a short rest to stretch, breathe, and drink some water, after which, Carlisle and I would begin our workout. It was the same routine every day. 100 squats, 100 crunches, 100 push ups, 100 lunges, 50 pull ups on the branch of a nearby tree, followed by a rest, then 200 practice swings with my sword. I wasn’t allowed to use any healing magic to alleviate the pain and soreness from the workout itself, but basic enhancement magic to temporarily increase my capabilities enough to get through it was not only allowed but necessary.
We never sparred, though. Carlisle said that would start once he felt my stance and practice swings were up to par. As it turned out, that took almost two full years. However, the next major event in my new life happened about 3 months before that.