The bell tolled above the red-stone tower, a deep iron note rolling across the Commoners' Disc like a wave of thunder. It marked the end of the year, yet the celebration that stirred below felt quiet, restrained,laughter softened, footsteps careful, as though even joy feared being noticed.
Nolan and Sophia stood among a crowd of weary parents. Their son, Kal, sat with the other children, small hands clenched on his knees, chest rising and falling too quickly.
Inside, the school shimmered faintly with old magic. Lanterns hovered in slow circles above the children, butterflies trapped within them beating harmless wings of many colors. An elderly principal stood on a raised stone platform, a glowing orb cupped in his palm. His voice carried through the hall like a wind pushing through winter branches.
Kal's green, glass-like eyes widened. He pressed a trembling hand to his small chest as if afraid it might burst with wonder.
"Repeat after me!" the principal boomed. "I will become a great person first!"
The children shouted back. The ground trembled with their voices,just enough for Kal to pitch backward, arms flailing.
Laughter rose around him _young, unkind, harmless all the same.
Kal blinked, lower lip shaking. Tears brimmed. He fled from the benches and buried himself against his mother's legs.
Sophia bent low, one hand smoothing his hair. "You're alright," she murmured. "You're safe."
The clouds outside shifted, casting the classroom into a passing shadow. The lectures resumed.
A young woman,warm-eyed but clearly worn by the day,walked before the rows of small faces.
"Close your eyes," she said, soft but certain. "Forget everything. Only then will you feel the mana within you."
Her boots moved between the benches. Children tried their best, though many fidgeted. Kal squeezed both eyes shut, lids twitching. The moment the teacher's steps drifted away, he lifted one eyelid,just a crack.
And froze.
She hovered above his desk, weightless, her long skirts hanging like still water.
"You little idiot," she whispered, tapping his head with a stick softer than driftwood.
Kal's wail shattered the air.
Another child joined him,though the stick had never touched her. Then a third.
The teacher sighed, bent down, and gathered them close. "No, no...hush. It's alright."
She had only just soothed them when a pulse,quiet but potent,brushed her senses.
A girl at the back had remained perfectly still, as though carved from calm stone. Now, a faint warmth spread from her body, brushing the room like a breeze off sun-heated grass.
The girl's mana core had awakened.
The teacher stepped toward her, awe and exhaustion tangled on her face. "Good girl." She placed a wrapped toffee in the child's palm. "You've earned this."
"I want one too!" a boy shouted.
"And me!"
The teacher massaged her brow. "From now on, whoever awakens gets this. That's final."
Outside, Sophia waited by the outer boundary. Kal ran toward her, breathless. She swept him into her arms, exhaustion slipping briefly from her shoulders.
"How was it, my little devil?" she whispered.
Kal didn't answer. His breaths slowed until they were steady against her neck, sleep already pulling him under.
"Hnnn… for five years old, he stayed put better than I feared." She smiled faintly and held him tighter as they walked home.
Their stone house waited for them. She pushed open the door, pausing as she glanced right.
"I thought Mr. Griffith was home."
A voice answered behind her, soft as crushed petals.
"Back from school?"
Sophia turned. "Good evening, Lucy."
"I thought you were going east," Lucy said, brushing past her. "To the graveyard,for the knight's death ceremony."
"I can't take Kal there," Sophia murmured, almost apologetic.
Lucy only shrugged and moved toward the house next to theirs, the two homes separated by an open patch of earth dominated by a giant, ancient tree.
Sophia stepped inside, muttering, "I still can't understand her…"
But the window of Mr. Griffith's house
glowed faintly. Behind the glass, in the dark, a man watched her,silent except for the disgusting noises twisting out of his throat.
That night, Kal sat at the table, spoon tapping relentlessly.
"Not hungry?" Nolan asked, eyes on his own meal.
"I want to learn mana," Kal muttered.
"You will. In time."
"No. Now." Kal rose, stamping his foot.
"Kal, don't..."
"Teach me now!" he shouted, arms flailing.
"Kal." Nolan sighed and reached for him.
"I'm not talking to you!" Kal snapped, running to his room.
"I'll handle him," Sophia said quietly.
She took a bowl of steaming soup and climbed the narrow stairs. At the top, she stood before one door, her back exposed to another behind her.
Kal sat cross-legged, back turned, furious in a small, wounded way only children manage.
"Someone smells hungry," she said, sitting beside him.
"I'm not."
"Oh? Then I suppose I'll drink this soup myself." She lifted the spoon, slurping with exaggerated drama.
Kal stayed stiff.
"A shame. I even cast a little spell on it. Might've helped you awaken your mana core…" She rose, taking a step.
Kal swallowed sharply.
"Mom… wait. I'm hungry."
He embraced her leg. "I'll eat."
Sophia knelt and smiled. "Then let me feed my baby."
"No! I can eat myself! I'm not a kid! I can protect you now!"
"It's still hot," she said, settling on the floor again.
Kal eased into her lap.
She fed him slowly, murmuring small comforts between each spoonful.
"Awaken!" he suddenly declared, leaping to his feet. "Why can't I feel anything?!"
"Oh, you will." She drew him close, palm gently circling his back. "Close your eyes. Forget everything."
Kal did. His little fingers curled into her sleeve.
A cold shiver ran down his spine.
Then a pulse,small but certain.
Sophia gasped. "Look! You did it!"
Kal's eyes flew open. A thin veil of moisture-like energy clung to his skin.
He bolted down the hallway. "Dad! Look! I did it!"
Nolan, half-asleep on the bed, grunted as Kal pounced on him. "Gods...Kal..."
Kal's grin was wild. Nolan pulled him into a fierce embrace. "I'm proud of you, son."
Morning.
"Mom! Let's go!" Kal spun around the yard like a loose gear.
"You're excited," Sophia said.
"No! I'll walk today!" He marched past her, chest puffed out.
To the north, the mill towered,stone wheels grinding on their own, runes glowing beneath them. Grain drifted through the air as if carried by invisible hands. Wind-crystals spun atop metal rods, making faint, eerie music in the breeze.
A neighbor passed Nolan with jars stacked in a cart. "You look pleased."
"My son awakened his mana core," Nolan said, lifting a bundle of grass.
"Well! That's something worth smiling for."
The deeper they walked, the more the noise of the mill faded.
"I'll show the teacher!" Kal chirped.
Sophia nodded,though she'd missed the knight who usually stand by the school gate, scattering birds with lazy flicks of his hand.
The school came into view.
And something felt wrong.
No knights. No voices. The air too still.
"I don't see anyone," Sophia murmured. "Did they declare a holiday?"
"But… I didn't get any bird." Sophia looked around, unsure.
"Maybe they're inside." She knelt to Kal. "Stay here. Be good."
Kal clung to her finger. "Why?"
"I just need to check."
She left him by the gate.
Kal kicked a stone.
Minutes passed.
Five.
No footsteps. No voices. No mother.
"Mom…?" His voice trembled in the empty quiet.
He took a step.
Then another.
And crossed the threshold into the school.