The Price of Knowledge

Sirius once again shook of the dizziness, brought by the warm sunlight piercing the canopy. Wind carried the smell of moist soil in between trees in a forest older than history itself. Among the rustling of bushes a faint chirp revealed a quail. Sirius remembered his mission.

"Finally some game..." He thought.

Sirius didn't dare even mouthing those words, he felt that his thoughts were already too loud and could scare away the bird. Without sound the boy extended his hand and pointed at his prey. He opened his palm, prepared to grasp at something, and stalked the quail from behind the foliage. There was still a couple of strides between him and the quail, but it was outside of his concerns. He was focused on something else entirely.

Suddenly he clenched his fist and the bird floated away from the ground, tightly squeezed by invisible force. Seconds later, the prey fell silent.

Sirius winced a little. He was used to the sight of animals losing life, but it was still an unpleasant scene to witness. He stood upright and walked to the motionless bird, now not afraid to make noise.

"Come out, Seth. Let's see if there is something for you too."

The air simmered and a translucent snake materialised mid-air near Sirius, blue and purple glow shining between its pearly scales. The boy removed his cape, revealing his shortly cut golden hair adorning the tanned face. He and the manasnake were together for as long as he could remember, it could be called his pet, but to him it was his companion and only friend in the woods. Sirius gave a small pet to the animal and went to search for eggs that would be the Seth's reward for a successful hunt. While walking past the bird, he casually tugged the air with his hand, manipulating some of the mana in the air, throwing the prey into his hands. Then he collected several eggs from empty nest, immediately feeding one to Seth and storing the rest in a belt pouch.

Now that everything was taken care of, they went home. This part of the forest was well known to them, but Sirius still took time to double check their direction. As a present for his fourteenth birthday he was allowed to go hunting alone, and the excitement from the first success of his own was overflowing.

Soon in the forest opening Sirius saw the all-too-familiar wooden hut. A man was relaxing on the porch, awaiting the return of his disciple. The bushy brows covered his eyes, and a neatly cut beard fluttered from his calm yet powerful breathing. His pale white skin contrasted greatly with jet black hair littered with white hairs. Noticing the boy coming out of the grove, he stood up, his face bearing a smile of a proud teacher.

Sirius, unable to contain his excitement, began sprinting towards the hut waving his hand high in the air, showing off his trophy to Verden.

"Uncle! I'm home!"

"It's master Verden for you!"

"Yes Uncle!"

"Why am I even trying?... Let's go, I want to know what spell you decided to use. You didn't ask Seth to catch the bird, didn't you?"

"Not really..."

"Didn't you?"

"I did..."

"Then the next time you will go alone."

"Yes, master Verden..."

"Now-now, I'll make your favourite stew. Either way, you earned it."

They went inside and into the kitchen, where Sirius put the quail on the table and began watching his master kindle a fire in a stove. Verden twisted his wrist in the air, his index finger leaving a green trail, filled with warm sensation. Sirius enjoyed watching his master cast spells, no matter how simple they were, but something felt wrong with this colour and mana inside. Sirius felt distress and fear when looking at the arc, but he was too slow to stop his master. As Verden completed the circle, something imploded and filled the air with mana, sucking it from outside. A blazing wave rushed in every direction, drowning the hut in fire and burning the lungs with intense heat.

Then Sirius woke up...