The next day, Levi woke up excited. He got out of bed and went to the dinning room to eat breakfast. His meal was already prepared, and it was waiting for him on the table. The kid was so excited to start his first lesson with Fraya.
Being the smart child that he is, Levi had to fulfill his father's expectations of starting learning at what would seem a young age. Although he was only four years old, he picked up the language faster than expected and developed a basic form of critical thinking. The only department in which he was lacking was manners. This is what lord Clifton wanted Levi to be taught.
Fraya was in the study room, a room that was built as an extension to the house. This room was tailored since the house's birth to be a sanctuary of knowledge and to help any possible future kirin of the family begin their journey.
The walls were covered in shelves from top to bottom. Their structure questionable, these shelves held thousands of yellow tinted scrolls. Some were brittle to the touch and others were covered in dust. These shelves went all the way up to the ceiling, which was decorated in fainted scribbles and housed a glass dome in the middle. It had the sole purpose of providing light to the desk that was directly under it.
The floor was protected by an old rug and books with hard covers were pilled on top of it. Candles in their holders were scattered around the room and were used during the late-night studies.
Although the importance of this room was known to the entire family, only a few people got the chance to study in this room past the age of thirteen. As such, the room held dear to its dust and used it to cover any horizontal surface. Only a few clean islands were found, and they matched the paths that Fraya would take when using the room for herself to study.
Levi got to the door of the study room. With his small hands, he pushed away at the already cracked door only to spot Fraya in the middle of the room. She was surrounded by open books and had a few scrolls unrolled on the desk.
"Good morning, Levi! Are you ready to break down the wall?"
"The wall?"
"Oh dear, it's just an old saying. Older than this room."
Fraya closed the books that she was reading from and placed the scrolls back on the shelves, without rolling them. She made room for Levi to sit at the desk and she began their first lesson.
"First and foremost, the lord's son must be acquainted with what is truly the basic form of mannerism. Thus dear, hold onto your chair and keep up with me. This lesson packs quite a punch, especially for a four-year-old."
She started waving her hands in the air and excitement could be seen on little Levi's face. His smile was short-lived and quickly faded into an emotionless stare when he realized that Fraya was now using her hands to articulate what she was saying, instead of performing any magic.
A few hours later, Levi and Fraya were elbows deep in the study of manners. Fraya's face was filled with excitement, an emotion Levi could not understand in this circumstance. He had already learned the basic form of greetings, good posture, plate and cutlery arrangement as well as how they ought to be used and countless other small details that any lord would have to know.
"Well, I see you are tired from all this learning. I think we should stop here for today." said Fraya in an understanding voice.
"I agree. Thank you for the lesson, Fraya!" replied Levi in the midst of leaving the room.
"Levi, where are your manners?"
"I've just learnt them today. It'll take time." said Levi, smiling and then left the room.
After a short time, lord Clifton entered the room. He was clearly content to see that his son has begun his studies.
"How did he do today?" asked the lord towards Fraya.
"I'm quite happy with how he performed today."
"So, I wasn't wrong to let you start studying with him at this age?"
"Oh no, his little head is like a sponge and retains anything I say to him."
"Do you think he might become a kirin?"
"Well, he is smart and clearly enthusiastic, but this sensible detail…" she paused, as if hope had suddenly left her body, "only time will tell, my lord."
"It's better than a hard 'No', I guess."
Lord Clifton was logging for Levi to be able to become a kirin. After his status was raised and he became a lord, he knew that the only way up the social ladder was to father a kirin.
Back in his room, Levi was blowing off some steam. He was upset that his first lesson was boring, and it had nothing to do with the matters that pressed him the most. This didn't mean that he wasn't paying attention.
'If I want to blend with them, I must learn their customs. I must do it the way Fraya wants me to, otherwise she won't teach me magic.'
An idea popped into his head and it brought with it a smile on his face.
'I should meditate again. It always helps doing that.'
He sat on his bed with his legs crossed in the lotus position. Closing his eyes, he focused on his interior. He searched for a stream, the same stream that he had seen yesterday. The flow was fainted, but he could see it. Unlike his last meditation, this time he tried focusing on what he feels instead of the image that appeared in his mind.
His body began vibrating as if it wanted to move but something was keeping it still. From the outside, no tremors could be seen, but inside, Levi felt every atom of his being bumping into one another.
All the channels were in the same position, as if nothing changed. This helped him build a clearer image of them, seeing more details of those pathways. Levi was now able to see even the finest of the capillaries of these channels. Although this felt like a breakthrough for him, it was nothing more than a mundane familiarity he gained now that he meditated again. The amount of details he could see had nothing to do with his progress. It was all due to him being able to recognize previous patterns and spending the rest of the time and energy to discovering new ones.
More days like this followed in Levi's life. A routine formed itself where he would wake up and then study with Fraya for what was most of the day. The only breaks they would take was for eating and a few short breaks between important topics. Afterwards, he would go to his room and meditate each night, with no exception. He was eager to learn more about magic and this was the only way he could do it for now.
This routine held for five years straight, until he became a master in basic algebra, reading and writing.