“Holy shit! I can’t believe this is real! I mean, what are the chances! Do you think there’s more? How many? I just can’t believe this!” Blair rambled on and on, his excitement overflowing as we continued our walk.
I, however, hadn’t said another word. My mind was racing, trying to figure out what this meant. Another person had reincarnated besides me. How many were there? Why were we reincarnated? All of it was giving me a painful headache. There were too many questions to ask, so I decided to just start from square one.
“Do you remember your past life?” I asked Blair, doing my best to talk over his loud voice.
Blair began to slow down, getting quieter and quieter as he continued, not even paying attention to what he was saying. I could tell he was thinking about my question while his voice went on auto-pilot, mumbling the same questions he’d already asked out loud several times now.
“No,” he said clearly, “I’ve had… dreams. But nothing that really tells me anything. Just flashes really. I don’t even remember what my name was.”
“Neither do I,” I responded.
“It’s strange, right? It feels like there’s someone else in your head, telling you what to do, even though you have no reason to listen. I’ve done my best not to, honestly. I’ve always felt more like ‘Blair’ than my previous self.”
“I think…” I paused, not feeling totally comfortable with what I was about to say, “I think I’ve always leaned more towards my previous self. I know I am ‘Sean,’ but it’s hard not to fall back into the bad habits that I apparently had. I want to change, though. The few memories I’ve seen tell me enough to know that I don’t want to live the same life as the old me did.”
“So, what do you want to do in this life, then?”
“Magic,” I said, surprised I answered so quickly.
It was the first word that popped into my head. Normally, something like ‘be happy,’ or “find love,” would be a person’s first choice, but magic was the number one thing I thought about. We were both quiet for a few minutes after that, continuing our walk.
Finally, Blair spoke up again, “I think I just want to do whatever I want, whenever I want. Everything else be damned.”
“Really? Seems kind of… interesting. In that case, what do you want to do now?” I asked him.
“I want you to teach me magic,” he said, turning his head to look up at me and clasping his hands together as if he was begging me.
I sighed, “Fine. C’mon, let's find a quiet place.”
“Yes! Finally convinced you I see! Must’ve been my otherworldly charm!”
“You’re an otherworldly pain in the ass. Now let’s go.”
As we walked towards a small clearing covered in powdery snow, Blair raised a question that I had forgotten to ask, “Do you think there’s more? Of us, I mean. Reincarnates.”
“Maybe. It’s hard to imagine that only the two of us remember our previous life. Before I met you, I assumed it was just me. The idea that there were more like me never came to mind. But now, I have no idea what to think.”
“It’s kind of weird that we have the same birthday too. Maybe that has something to do with it?”
“Let’s just drop the subject for now,” I said, feeling my headache grow stronger, “You wanted to learn magic right? Let’s just focus on that.”
“Okay, yeah. We’ve got plenty of time to talk about it.”
I sat myself down lightly in the snow and gestured for Blair to follow. He didn’t seem thrilled to do so, but I could care less about how wet he got, and pulled him down to the ground by his arm. I grabbed his hands similar to how Mother did to me so many years ago. I wasn’t exactly sure how to replicate what she did, but I understood the general idea. I was supposed to push energy into him, breaking past the barrier over his Soul and let him get used to feeling the energy. After that, everything else was Blair’s to figure out, like I had done so before. I started pushing the energy into his hands. I felt a similar sensation to when I had torn the barrier off myself occurring in Blair’s hands. I had broken past the barrier, and energy from the air around us was entering his Soul.
“Do you feel it yet?” I asked him.
“Yes, I feel it,” He responded.
“I want you to feel what I am doing the moment I push energy into you,” I said, letting go of his hands, “At that moment, I do something that allows you to perform magic. I want you to replicate that.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
He nodded, and we continued. It took the rest of the day for Blair to finally figure out how to remove the barrier, a feat I praised him for, given that it had taken me a year. Now that the barrier was gone, it was time to actually show him how to perform magic.
“I have no formal teaching on this, honestly. All I can tell you is what I’ve figured out on my own, and the little advice I’ve gotten from my mother,” I told him, “You see, when you pull the energy into your Soul, the element you control becomes a part of you, like an extra limb or something. You become connected. You then move your Soul, manipulating it towards the object you wish to move, grabbing hold of it tightly. Then, with both your Soul and your body, you move it, in a similar way you would lift your own arm or leg. Understand?”
“Not at all, but I’ll give it a try I guess.”
A few minutes went by as Blair tried to perform magic, and I could see the sun begin to dwell on the horizon, my mother’s warning about being back to Baird’s shop by nightfall ringing in my ears. I was about to tell Blair that we should try again next time when a small rock flew upwards at me. It was a bit smaller than my fist, and was going straight towards my head. I felt the energy take me over in an instant, and lifted my arms, trying to bring up some snow to block the rock. Unfortunately, I was too slow, and it slammed straight into my forehead while the snow flew upwards and fell on top of me as I plummeted to the ground.
“Oh shit! Sorry, I didn’t mean too! I didn’t really know how to aim it!”
My forehead felt hot as I collected myself, touching my hand to it and feeling a wetness there. I was bleeding.
“Oy, what do you think you’re doing kid?” I heard someone call towards us.
It was Morrison, with Cade walking beside him. Morrison stopped directly in front of Blair, but Cade came over to me, grabbing a cloth from his pocket and pushing it against my forehead. Morrison pulled Blair away from us, and I could see him talking, nbut was unable to hear what he was saying to the short boy. He didn’t look happy. Cade must have noticed me looking at them.
“He’s not supposed to be out here,” Cade said, “I heard him call to you earlier today, but I thought he was just going to tell you to leave. I didn’t realize the two of you would run off into the city. Come, I’ll take you home.”
I thought about fighting Cade, but I turned back to Blair who simply shook his head in my direction. He didn’t want me to do anything. I started following Cade out of the clearing, leaving Blair to take on the wrath of Morrison.
“Where do you live?” Cade asked.
“Just take me to Relva Road. Baird’s waiting for me.”
“Ah, you know Baird! Good man. I really should visit him more often.”
“You know Baird?”
“All old people know each other. Though, Baird is a bit younger than me. I’ve known him since he was born.”
As we continued our walk, I realized something. I had spent all day with him, yet I knew nothing about Blair. We had discussed our reincarnation, but I still had no idea why he was all alone in a guard’s training grounds swinging a sword. Why was he allowed to be there? Who was he in this world?
“Cade, who is Blair?” I asked him.
“He hasn’t told you, huh? And I thought you were friends,” He said with a smirk, “Blair is special. He has a lot going on in his life, more than a young child should. I won’t tell you who he is, but I will tell you this; Morrison and I are tasked with watching over him, protecting him, and making sure he does what he is supposed to do.”
“You really won’t tell me anything else.”
“No. It’s not for me to say. If Blair trusts you enough, he’ll tell you. Though, I’m sure you’ll find out soon regardless.”
“What? Why would I-”
“Oh, and here we are! Baird’s shop!” Cade yelled, interrupting me, “I would go in and say hello, but I have much to do. Stay out of trouble Sean. I’m sure I’ll see you again.”
With that, Cade walked off back in the direction of the guards training yard I had stumbled into just earlier today. Night had finally fallen, so I quickly entered, not wanting mother to hear about me being back to the shop late. As soon as I entered, I heard Baird say, “Thank god! I was worried you wouldn’t be here in time! You and I both know what would happen to us if you didn’t!”
I laughed, remembering how threatening Mother was earlier. I helped him pack up and we both walked home, ready for the long day to be over. I spent most of the night thinking about Blair, wondering why he was in so much trouble for simply playing with me. What kind of new life did he lead? Cade didn’t give me much to go off of, but I didn’t hold it against him. It was my own fault for being too concerned about another reincarnate, and not enough with who Blair actually is.
The next day was the same as always. Me and Baird said goodbye to Mother and Ailissa, while Father had left before anyone was awake. I felt awful not being able to see him in the morning, but I was thankful for the time I did get to spend with him at the end of the night. Baird and I had a usual day, a few hunters showing up to fix their broken wares and shop for new ones, but it wasn’t until the afternoon when something strange happened.
Baird was helping a customer while I sat behind the counter, examining the sword the man was trying to get sharpened. It was a standard, double edged short sword that was similar to the ones Baird made for the city guards, only made of a cheaper steel. I could tell mainly because of the color. This one was much too dull, and the grains of imperfections could be easily seen within the metal. I figured Baird would hate working on this piece. He always complained that cheaper metal was harder to work with, the imperfections always getting in the way of his craft. I had no interest in being a smith, but I always enjoyed listening to what Baird had to say, which had been subconsciously teaching me the art, apparently.
It was then that two guards that I recognized walked in, Morrison and Cade. Behind them, a woman dressed in clothing not even some of the wealthiest people in Dousin would wear outside walked in. I turned to Baird, wondering if he was expecting a visit from his old friend. His face was white, and he wasn’t looking at Cade, but instead the woman in the beautiful dress.
“My lady,” he said with a slight bow, the customer following suit quickly after.
Morrison took a small step forward and shouted for everyone to hear, “Presenting Lady Mairead Frosta, third wife of Lord Malcolm Frosta, you may raise your heads.”