"Sennin," a distant voice called out from the darkness. Though I couldn't discern it completely, I knew it sounded familiar.

"Sennin," the muffled voice grew louder and more agitated. "WAKE UP SENNIN!"

With the boom of the final words ringing in my head, my eyes shot open. I was laying face down in an endless sea of grass, the blades dancing in the wind around me. Immediately, I recognized this place.

As I began to try and pull myself up, flashes of pain shot through my body. I groaned as my breath became labored, my muscles burning. It felt as though I had torn every ligament and muscle fiber I had. My bones like they had been shattered.

Uncontrollably I let out a scream in pain. Weakly and slow, I raised my head to clearly see two legs in front of me. As I continued to look upward, the rest of the figure came into view.

What I saw was almost beyond my comprehension to describe. The figure was somehow almost reminiscent of a cartoonish drawing, with no defining features whatsoever. Just the most basic outline and shadow of a child. Like a void that swallowed all light, the beings body was pitch black aside from two perfectly white holes punched out where eyes would be. Despite being able to clearly speak, its face was absent of a mouth.

To put it simply, its appearance was unsettling. Like looking at something you know you were never meant to see, the feeling was almost nauseating.

"Get up Sennin," it uttered in its childlike voice. "The seed."

"The seed?" I shakily replied, still attempting to raise myself off the ground.

"Yes," it answered, turning to look at something in the distance, though with my vision still hazy, I could not discern what it was. "The seed has begun to sprout…but you are too early."

"Wh-what?" I muttered, turning to look back at him. When I did, I was met by the petrifying stare of its empty eyes. Like a phantom it had seamlessly moved to now have its face mere inches from mine. My entire body stiffened and my throat began to feel tight.

"You are not supposed to be here," its voice began to sound agitated once again.

The wind started to pick up and howl. Almost instantly, the entire atmosphere of the dream-like plane had changed. Where my presence once felt natural, it was now closer to a feeling of intrusion.

I had wandered somewhere that I was not welcome.

As I stared back frozen, he began to lift his hand towards me, with a malice that was almost palpable.

Anxiety filling my body, I began to speak in a panic. "B-but I don’t even know where I am! I have no idea how I even go-" before I could finish, he extended his finger and placed it against my forehead with a slight push.

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My vision quickly became blurred as I felt myself collapsing. When I reopened my eyes, I was met by my mother's face hovering above me, her tears raining down from her cheek onto mine like warm drops of rain.

"Don’t move," she uttered in a relieved voice.

"What happened?" I muttered weakly.

"I'm so sorry," she replied shakily. "I didn’t…how?" she looked at me. "How is it that you were able to cast? It shouldn’t be possible! No elven child has ever used magic before puberty. The youngest recorded was still no older than at least 10." her rambling was frantic, like someone trying to rationalize having just seen a ghost.

After that, she continued to hold me as she silently cried and spewed apologies. I wanted to comfort her, but I couldn’t. It felt as though my body was tethered to an anchor that had been dropped in the middle of the sea, my throat like I had swallowed glass.

My mind was so scattered that I don't recall how long this went on, but eventually, I drifted back to sleep.

As I awoke I found myself still stuck in a daze. Turning my head slightly to scan my surroundings it seemed to be later that same day, the dim light of the setting sun still creeping through the window. My mother was asleep in a chair beside my bed, and as I tried to reach out to her, a sharp pain filled my right arm. When I winced and went to look, it was completely wrapped in various herbs and bandages. I

It felt tight, like if I moved too much my skin itself was going to rip and tear.

"You're up…" my mother's soft and sleepy voice interrupted me as I stared at my bandages. Taking notice, she explained, "Finn and his grandmother came as soon as they could. She said the herbs should prevent any infection, but” her voice fell soft and full of guilt “she didn’t have the materials she needed to prevent the scarring, I’m sorry…"

I sat in silence for a few seconds after she finished talking before looking up at her. "What happened?" I asked once again in a fragile and confused voice.

Her face immediately became solemn. Taking a moment to clear her throat as if holding back tears. "I apologize, truly, this is entirely my fault," she answered looking down. "I’m sure you must be aware by now, but that book I bestowed to you, is a monograph of magic. Since the time you were able to crawl you were always so fascinated with learning about anything and everything. Your curiosity for the world has always seemed boundless. So I believed that, maybe, you could just enjoy the information it contained until the day came that I could show you how to use it. Even if it could only remain between us.

Her eyes began to swell as she tried to justify her actions. Though she directed it to me, she was clearly trying to justify it to herself. “Honestly, I thought it would be safe but-" she stared at my bandaged arm before redirecting her eye contact to me.

"Sennin… you managed to successfully cast. Moreover, you did so with the power output of a mid-level mage..." carefully she reached down and picked up a rainbow-colored shard, handing it over to me.

With my left hand, I accepted and turned it around in my palm examining it. It was a shattered piece of the quartz sphere.

"I promise, it should not have been possible." She stated in a shaky yet matter-of-fact tone. "As a child, your mana should develop linearly alongside the rest of your body. Until it begins to properly mature the body should not be able to physically release any mana because it would not have the reserves; it would be suicide! And yet, even with that said, not only did you release mana, but you released enough to completely drain and kill at least 4 kids your age."

Looking at my hand I asked, "Is that why-"

"Yes," she interjected, "The output was far beyond what your body could handle; we are lucky that your arm even remained attached to your body. We are lucky that…” she paused “ Had the quartz not taken a portion of the damage…".

Her voice was full of guilt, but she did her best to keep her composure.

"It will take time to recover. I know it is selfish, but you must vow not to speak of this to anyone. I promise in time I will explain but for now you must trust me, and rest.

Silently, I nodded that I understood.

Accepting my agreement, she continued, “ In the meantime, I promise to you that I will do anything and everything to repay this."

"Anything?" I muttered

"Yes! Yes, anything you desire," she pleaded as she gripped the edge of my bed.

I know that what I did was dangerous, and that after being left like this my curiosity should have been stunted. Yet, even now, it feels as though I have been ensnared by what I just experienced.

"Teach me more…" I responded softly, still staring at my arm before looking directly in her eyes.

"Teach me more about magic!"