Lenton Filibree's Perspective
Life in the Finlest Empire was not easy. Village's were wiped out regularly by beasts and bandits. Rarely a year passed without a town falling somewhere across the empire's vast domain.
Even so, the people of the Empire consistently proved to be up to the task of surviving, even dominating these deadly lands. Hardy, stubborn, driven, and powerful. These traits ran through the blood of the populace.
Lenton had watched countless children grow into these traits. Harsh lessons of reality beat down on the young, hammering them into the strong tools they would one day become.
That is exactly why Lenton Filibree was so shocked by the child sitting calmly in front of him. Density rejection scars covered his skin, yet not the slightest hint of surrender could be found.
Any soldier would have been proud of the adaptability this child showed. Not only did he nearly instantly react to my appearance, ready to fight or flee. But he also had the restraint to wait until he knew which action would be more beneficial. Any street rat can run from danger at the drop of a coin, to show controlled restraint along with those reflexes is another thing entirely.
Then like a career politician, he used the formalities available in the situation to buy time. Once more adapting his entire demeanor on the fly. All this from a child of no more than nine seasons. Samris was right, this child is unique.
Hammered but not broken, both reflexive and adaptable. What else do you have in store for me child?
"Elder? That's quite the tongue you've got calling a young man like myself Elder. No manners, no manners at all. Tell me, boy, why do children have no manners?"
I'll throw him off again and see if he can think creatively and not just critically. It won't matter if he can observe and react to a sudden situation if he can't think his way out of something truly unexpected.
Ignorance? Another logical response, however excellent that logic may be for a child it's still not enough. Show me you can be creative or I won't waste any more of my remaining time on you, boy.
"Acceptable reasoning, now answer me this, what is the meaning of life?"
There we go, that's the look! I can feel it, this kid has potential, maybe even enough to succeed where the others have failed.
Curse you Samris, you already knew. When did you turn into such a smug brat?
Struggle! Yes, that's exactly it. Well done, well done indeed. This child is perfect for my goals.
Hmm, I did say three questions, let's see what you've got.
"Last question Jiran, what is the true nature of Density?"
"I don't know, but I'm going to find out."
"Hah! What makes you think some cheeky brat like you can discover the secrets of Density? Sure, you're clever, creative, and driven. I can see in your eyes that you won't give up. But I've seen the look of a man possessed with passion plenty of times."
"What could be more exciting than discovering the truth about our world? So that's exactly what I'm going to do."
Confident enough to confirm my suspicions, he's hiding something. These eyes may be old but I can still see right through you. Your mana is so tightly knit to your emotional state, you might as well be an open book.
This kid is baiting me, Hah! Exactly the way it should be, Alright, Jiran, I'll give you what you want if you can give me what I want.
"Enough games, Little Sammy, I'll teach the boy. In return, he'll unveil the secrets we've been looking for or die trying. Are you willing to put your life on the line, Jiran?"
"Whatever it takes, Master."
Jiran's Perspective
Success. Jiran used Bullshitting 101! It's super effective!
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
"Now show me exactly what you think you did out there in the storm then we'll go test it."
Several minutes later a boy and an old man sat outside in the dirt arguing.
"I'm telling you it works, I'm doing it right in front of you, how can you say it's impossible?" Said the boy.
"Because it is impossible! I'll explain it so even a child can understand, maybe then you will see the fallacy in your words.
"To match the direction and fluctuations of Density one must first perceive said Density. In your case Jiran, you perceive the Density around your hand using the senses of that hand and the mana attached to it.
"Once perceived, that information must reach your head. Then, inside that thick skull of yours, you understand what your hand has perceived. Only then, can you tell the mana on your hand how to match its surroundings.
"Under normal Density conditions, that would be simple, however, this is chaotic Density which fluctuates unpredictably. Multiple. Times. Per. Second.
"What you are trying to convince me of, is that you are skipping several, or all, of the necessary steps required.
"Explain to me, how exactly that is possible?!"
By the end of his rant, the old man was practically yelling in his face. Yet Jiran didn't mind, he had never felt so mentally stimulated in this life.
The two went back and forth several more times before agreeing that Jiran was skipping some fundamental step in the process and that more testing was required.
"That's enough for tonight, you are still injured and need your rest. You're close to Tier two, do not attempt the tiering until you are healed.
"For now, you will claim all the Density you ingest and hold it over your wound. You must be gentle in this process, at no point should you force the mana into your injury. Listen to your mana, and release it as it requests, so the healing may develop naturally. We will speak again when you have mastered the technique."
With those words, the old man vanished as if he had never been there. Leaving Jiran alone, sitting in the dirt, wondering when his life had become so amazing.
The next morning, Jiran joined Samris for their usual morning exercise. They met in the yard before First Father had crested the horizon.
Jiran glided through the now familiar movements. Over the last moon, Samris had guided Jiran on a technique to hold the mana inside his body. To actively push against his own muscles. This form of mana manipulation drastically increased the difficulty of some movements, to further stimulate muscle growth.
Jiran loved the increased challenge, but he especially enjoyed this exercise, as it was the only form of mana manipulation he had been allowed since moving into the manor.
By the end of their first routine, he was coated in sweat. However he was not breathing hard or tired, on the contrary, he was brimming with energy and ready to move on.
Between two blasts of exploding clouds of Density, the duo sprinted to the nearby woods. An intense game of tag ensued as they dashed between the trees along an obstacle course Samris had set up. The goal was to touch as many targets as possible while not being tagged. Jiran had yet to tag Samris. Even now that he was allowed to use mana to boost his movements, he still could not come within a yard of the man.
On a hill in the woods near the obstacle course, Samris and Jiran had cleared a swath six meters wide of all trees and brush. At the bottom of this cleared section were two stacks of different-sized boulders.
Starting with the smallest boulders, they picked them up over their heads and ran them up the hill. Multiple sweaty, grueling trips later, all the smaller stones were stacked at the top of the hill. This left only the largest boulders, which had to be rolled or pushed up.
Afterward, they stood in difficult-to-hold poses while throwing the boulders back down the hill. With thoroughly exhausted muscles the two walked down and stacked the rocks for tomorrow. With their daily routine complete, it was finally time to enter the creek, to clean off.
Jiran was satisfied with the results of his continual training. He no longer felt like a puppet with its strings cut after every morning.. Climbing out of the freezing creek, Jiran flexed his muscles in wonder. He had certainly never felt this strong in Brandon's memories. For a child to be stronger than a healthy adult from Earth, he felt the addition of mana to the muscle recovery process was truly a cheat.
Samris did not appear ready to leave yet so Jiran headed back without him, after a short bow of gratitude. Breakfast was the usual amazing meal, mingled with the familiar annoyance at not being healed. As instructed, Jiran focused on the Density he absorbed from his meal. He did his best to hold the energy over the area in his neck where it usually disappeared. For some reason the mana constantly wrestled with him for control, not wanting to be held in that area.
After struggling for a short while with no success, Jiran headed to the library. Sharaal would definitely yell at him if he sat in her kitchen any longer.
In the library, Jiran was pleasantly surprised to find three new books on his table; Fundamental Principles of Elements, Jayling’s Memoirs on Relative Density, and the Systemic Corruption of the Arlinth Kingdoms.
No doubt primers for his first lessons with Master Filibree. Jiran vowed to memorize all three of them, even if he knew half of what he learned from the books would be wildly inaccurate. Having a clear grasp of current worldly knowledge, would help him place higher in the army and give him insights if he was forced to fight other humans. Digging into his second favorite pastime, Jiran lost himself in the new books, tucking away the few nuggets of information that seemed useful.
He especially found the Fundamental Principles of Elements to be hilarious. To think they believed that fire came into being for the sole purpose of countering the existence of water.
Jiran felt like he was reading a strategy guide for a game with how outlandish the theories were. By far the most laughable was the back-bending, convoluted, inane lengths the author took to convince the reader that light was just a single aspect of the lightning element.