"I will speak to him about it, but please don't go near him," Michael said as he escorted some group of men out of his house. "Who were those persons?" Rose asked while coming out of the room clinging to her son. "It's the elders of Reek, they came to see our son but I didn't let them"
The elders of Reek were descendants of the first magician, Emrys. They were all born with situ, a mark on the skin of the medial part of their left thigh, and it became a means of identification for them. Emrys lived for a hundred and two years and he had 7 children. They were known as the seven Elders of Reek and it was their duty to guide and take care of the young magician until full maturity, then they resort to just leashing out bits of advice.
Since then, there had been irregularities in the elder lineage, and most persons born to some of the elders lacked the situ. So people stopped tracing the lineage and just watched out for the situ mark on the skin of everyone.
In the present day, only 5 elders were left. Abraham, Nelson, Milgram, Jacob, and Matthew Fisher the youngest of them all.
They were well informed about their role and even though they never expected to witness the existence of a sorcerer in their time, they ensured they were well educated about what to do and how to guide a young magician.
"What did they come for," Rose asked Michael her husband. "They think our son is born with magic" he stuttered.
"There's no way Michael has magic. There's no such thing as magic. They must be joking" Rose replied whilst holding her son firmly. "But darling, you weren't there" Michael replied with fear written all over his face. "I heard our son's voice so loud that day, and I saw that rock shatter into several pieces" he continued.
"Until I see for myself, I'm not believing any of that" Rose said as she left the room. Leaving only Carrick and Michael alone.
"Dad, do you think I have magic," Carrick asked his father. Michael went mute and stared away from his son.
"Dad, answer me" he reiterated. Michael turned towards his son and stared at him for some seconds before speaking.
"When you were born, you died after coming out of your mother's womb" cold shiver ran down the spine of Carrick.
"Died as in died," he asked "how am I still alive then" he continued, "It is a miracle we are yet to understand" Michael replied. "Everyone was already in tears but when I and your mother held you at the same time, you jerked back to life"
Carrick was still staring at his father as he continued "That very day, I knew you were special but I tried to suppress every thought in my head until yesterday"
He then drew his son closer to himself and told him with a low tone "The elders might be correct and maybe you will follow them to undergo tests to prove whether or not you are born with magic, but that's if you are okay with it"
"I'm okay with it Dad. The question is if mum is also okay with it" Carrick replied. He then left the house to catch up with his mum outside.
He was going to school and his mum was taking him. On the way, everyone was staring at him. This was because the news had spread like wildfire.
People that saw what happened in the woods had gone around telling people what happened. "That's the sorcerer," a young lady said to her friends as they walked past Carrick and his mum.
"So you haven't heard about the magician we have in our midst?" a matured man at a nearby kiosk said to the people who also came to buy groceries.
"That young boy that just passed with his mother is a magician" the man continued. "How do you know that?" a lady replied him. "That boy spewed out fire from his mouth and shattered a mighty rock" the matured man exaggerated.
Carrick got to school and it wasn't an easy one there either. His classmates and teachers had already heard the story and were treating him unusually.
Even if the elders had not confirmed if the boy had magic, the news was still spreading, even outside Reek to other cities in Ekiboh.
Michael and Rose were trying to live a normal life like before but it wasn't feasible. They couldn't take their son to school due to how he complained bitterly about how everyone was avoiding him in class, leaving him lonely.
Their business was not left out too as people were trooping into the warehouse to see Carrick or ask his parents questions about him.
One old man who came to the warehouse too sat Rose and her husband Michael, advising them on how to deal with the whole situation. He encouraged them to hand over the boy to the elders and they obliged.
"We'd be present during the tests," Michael told Abraham, one of the elders. "Of course, we have no problem with that" Abraham replied.
Carrick was taken to the river, and he was made to undergo the water test, whereby he was immersed in the water for a long period to see his reaction.
"You people shouldn't kill my son," Rose said with tears pouring down her eyes. "He's the only person that is keeping me and my husband happy because we suffered before we got him"
The test was done in the night to avoid ears and eyes hearing or seeing anything going on. This was to avoid the information getting to King Belial who persecuted persons who practiced such acts.
Ten minutes in the water and Carrick was still breathing normally like he was on land and not on the water. They then proceeded to the fire test.
As Carrick stepped his foot inside the fire, it went out completely as if he absorbed the whole fire into his body. The elders and Carrick's parents were in shock at what had happened.
"After a thousand years, a magician is born in the land of Reek again" Abraham, one of the elders said.