“I’m beginning to hate children,” I mumbled under my breath.

“You are a child. Now hand me that hammer if you're going to take up so much space. Might as well make you useful if you’re here,” Baird replied, overhearing my words.

We were sitting in the back of his blacksmith shop, where I was currently hiding from the local children who begged me to show them more of my magic. Everyday was like this, always wanting me to show them something new. At first, it felt good to have so many people in awe of me and my abilities, it’s what really pulled me out of my shell around others, but over time it grew tedious. It didn’t help that my magic had plateaued in the past two years either. Manipulating my Soul had become much easier, but my stamina was barely improving. The amount of energy that rushed through my Soul had increased as I continued to practice opening it, but the fatigue I felt from just forming and moving a water ball through the air never changed. It was different from training a muscle, where, over time, its strength and stamina would increase. My Soul’s strength wasn’t something I could improve by simply practicing magic, but no other way came to mind.

“If you're just going to sit there and stare, boy, I suggest you go back outside and find something better to do,” Baird said, his hand still reaching out for the hammer he had asked for.

I handed it to him and stood, making my way to the front of the shop and to the door.

“Don’t get into any trouble out there kid. And be home before dark! Otherwise your mother might kill me!”

I laughed at the thought of Mother fighting the short, burly man that Baird was. It wasn’t hard to imagine given that I’d seen it happen once or twice before. Her uneasiness at me suddenly wanting to go outside so much when we first moved here drove my father and Baird crazy, and made my mother seem like a nervous wreck, but something tells me she preferred it over me constantly staying inside.

Over the last two years, our family has grown into a sort of routine. Father worked almost everyday, patrolling an area of the outer city, keeping the people safe from dangerous criminals, as he worded it. Mother and Ailisa spent most of their time at home, preparing dinner and gathering supplies for winter, but they occasionally would go out and enjoy time with their friends. I could tell Mother was much happier in Dousin. She seemed to enjoy the larger city life. As for me, I would join Baird on his walks to his smith almost everyday, as it was located in the inner city, where there was much to see and many children to play with. He and I had grown fond of one another, despite Baird’s protests of the opposite and constant complaints he made to my parents about me. He treated me similar to how he treated my father, with a sense of disgust and annoyance, but given how close the two were, I felt Baird regarded me as a friend, or at the very least, an annoying nephew.

I stepped outside onto the snow covered stone road that was filled with many passersby. Baird’s shop was located on a popular street filled with shops for the wealthy. Just across the street was a place known for their warm and comfortable fur coats made from beasts. Given how cold Dousin was, coats were almost a necessity year round, the only time where it wasn’t below freezing was in summer, where an uncommon hot day would call for only two layers of clothing, rather than three. When we’d first arrived in Dousin, it was summer, but we learned quickly that the cold was going to be common, to my Mother’s dismay. Apparently she grew up in the south, where snow was uncommon. I felt bad when I saw her teeth chattering at home. I, however, love the cold. Or, rather, I loved the snow. Snow was just frozen water, meaning that when I drew in energy for magic, I could feel it all around me, as a part of me. Manipulating it with my Soul was incredibly difficult, more so than regular water, but just feeling it was good enough, for now.

I walked down the road, avoiding bumping into anyone as best I could, with the snow crunching under my feet. It was nearing the middle of August and the end of summer, but a random blizzard had blown from the nearby mountain tops and onto Dousin recently, leaving it blanketed in a few centimeters of snow. The oncoming winter was exciting, as it would allow me to practice manipulating snow more, but I truly couldn’t wait for my approaching birthday on August fifteenth. Mother had promised me a big celebration, one that I couldn’t wait for. I could feel a giddy smile form across my face at the thought, which immediately fell into a frown when I heard someone yell, “There he is!”

I turned to see three five year olds a few meters back, running straight at me. “Sean! Do something cool! Show us the water ball again!”

I shot into a full sprint. I had no desire to be one of these kids play-thing for the rest of the day. I had to find a place to get away. As I made my way, pushing through the adults blocking my path, some yelling at me to ‘watch out’ or ‘go find your parents,’ I could hear the footsteps of the kids crunching on the snow grow louder. They were gaining on me. I came to full stop and turned around, facing them.

“Get him!” the one named Hector yelled, pointing his finger straight at me.

I opened up my Soul, allowing the energy to flow through me, the strength I had grown used to feeling overcoming every part of my body. I became more aware of all the snow around me, only it was more blurry than regular water. I could still feel it as an extension of myself, as a part of my own body, but it felt farther away, harder to reach. Even with the more limited control I had over it, it was still very possible to manipulate the snow slightly. I reached out with my Soul for the snow that was atop the awning in front of me for one of the shops. It wasn’t a lot, but I figured it would do the trick. I waited for just the right moment when the kids were under the awning and grabbed the snow with my Soul. I made a sweeping motion downwards with both of my arms, pulling the snow off the awning and down onto my pursuers.

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I worried for a second that I had done too much. Burying them in snow might’ve been a little dangerous, but my fear dissipated when Hector’s head poked out of the pile saying, “Woah! That was cool! Sean, let’s have a snowball fight!”

I sighed and began running away again, hoping it would take them forever to get out of the snow pile. Unfortunately, my hopes were washed away when I started to hear the laughing children chasing me from behind. How fast were they? I turned a corner and was met with a circular street with a frozen fountain in the middle. On the other side of the fountain I could see two guards standing in front of an archway into a walled off area. I looked up to the left and realized I was now far into the inner city, as the castle that was carved into the mountainside was right next to this small open area.

I had an idea. I crazy one that I knew might get me into a ton of trouble, but it would also guarantee me getting away from the kids. The only question was, was it worth it?

“Lennox! He’s over here! Sean, show us how to do the snow thing! Are you scared we’ll be better than you! I bet I will be!”

Yea, it was worth it. I started running towards the two guards I spotted earlier. I was already fatigued from that one small move I made with the snow earlier, but I figured I had enough strength to do what needed to be done. As I approached the guards, I once again let the energy in the air flow through my Soul, connecting me to the snow on the ground. I reached out with my Soul, and quickly swung my arms upward in front of me, lifting the powder off of the ground and into the air. The action was taxing, a feeling of lightheadedness coming over me afterwards, but I was still able to move. Everything around me went white, and seeing would have been impossible for anyone nearby, but I already knew where I was going. I dashed past the guards and through the archway, the snow covering me from the guards view. I exited the cloud of snow and ducked behind a bush that was up against the wall. The snow I had thrown up into the air had begun to settle, and I could see the confusion on the guards face, as well as Hector and the others searching wildly for me near the fountain. I had gotten away, and into a place they couldn’t follow.

I took a huge breath, waiting a few seconds for my body to recover. Moving that much snow was the apex of my magical abilities. I felt somewhat proud of my ingenuity, making some kind of snow cloak so that I could pass by undetected was pretty cool, but given how weak I felt afterwards, I was disappointed as well. Was this my limit? It seemed like magic would be a more trivial thing if it was like this for everyone, but others always seemed to regard it as impressive. Surely there was more to it than this. I hope so, otherwise life may go back to how it was before. Sure, I was able to go outside and talk to people now, but without magic, it all seemed, well… boring. Without magic, what else was there? A single word popped into my head after that thought. Family. I guess magic wasn’t everything, but that didn’t mean I was going to give up on it now. There's definitely more to it. I’m sure of it.

After catching my breath, I took a peek out from the bush I was hiding behind. To my back was the wall sectioning off this area, and I could see that the bush extended all across the bottom of the wall. The actual area was simply a dirt field, with several soldiers inhabiting it. Over to the right of me, at the far end of the field, I could see a few soldiers loosing arrows at some targets. Behind them, two soldiers were sparring hand to hand. To the left was a circular platform, where two soldiers with swords stood atop it, fighting one another, while others waited their turn or cheered on their favored competitor. I realized I was in some kind of training ground for the city guards. I had heard from my father that a few of these places were dotted all around Dousin, but I had no idea that was what I was running into. It was mainly meant to be an easy escape, but I thought it would be cool to explore a place I wasn’t allowed to be in.

As much as I did want to see everything Dousin had to offer, and was excited to watch the two guards who were sword fighting, I realized it probably wouldn’t be good for me or Father if I was found here. I started preparing myself for a sprint past the guards, seeing as I couldn’t do my snow cloak move again. I just hoped I would be fast enough to outrun them. I took one last look around the yard, and as I was about to leave, something caught my eye. Behind the platform with the two swordsmen, just barely out of my view, was a single person, swinging a sword, all by themselves, far away from anyone else. No, it wasn’t just a person, it was a boy.

Why would a child be all alone with such a dangerous weapon? Curious, I started to crawl behind the bushes towards him, so that I could get closer to the boy. As I got closer, I could make out his features more clearly. His black hair had been cut incredibly short, making me realize how long mine had gotten as it fell into my eyes. I pushed my white blonde hair to the side and saw that he was shorter than me by a few centimeters at least, but he carried himself as if he was much larger. I assumed he was younger than me, but the look on his face said otherwise. A look of focus and determination, one I wouldn't expect a child to have, given their short attention spans. All of his energy was being put into the sword that he swung through the air. I could tell they weren’t random movements, but rather a series of well thought out swings that might disarm an attacker. He was actually training. This child was actually serious about the sword.

I wanted to talk to him. To hear what he had to say. What was so different about him than the other children that enabled him to be so calm and collected? All the other children I’ve met my age just wanted to play and carry on, and while that was fun for a while, I really wanted to have a serious conversation with someone. To talk to someone and have them understand me, or to take me seriously. If this boy could take these few sword swings that he made over and over again so earnestly, then maybe he was someone worth talking to. Maybe he was someone worth befriending.

Not thinking, and too excited about making a real friend, I called out to the boy, asking, “Hey! Why are you all alone? What’s swinging the sword like? Is it fun?”

The boy's eyes fell on me instantly, looking me over as if I was something he’d stepped on. His eyes were intense, dark brown with a look of apathy. Soon, he turned to the guards near the platform and yelled, “Hey Morrison! Some kid snuck through the gates!”

Immediatley, two guards started rushing towards us. I looked back at the kid, who smirked at me, almost laughing. I scowled in return. Nevermind being friends with this kid. I wanted to punch him.