Basteel scoffed
"If he's alive then I can heal him! Do you even know how fragile babies are? You're incredibly lucky he didn't die on the spot, now get out of my sight!"
She had every intention of chastising Stuart relentlessly later, but that could wait.
Stuart knew Basteel well enough to prepare himself for what would come after, but he simply resigned himself to his fate
"I'll leave him in your capable hands" Stuart said meekly before sheepishly walking out of the room
As soon as he left, Basteel started chanting.
As for Saivas, he was currently experiencing a very surreal sensation.
He could barely see or hear anything. He could still feel the warmth of Basteel, the air around him, and the feeling of drawing shallow breaths, but everything else seemed muffled, as if he was looking and hearing through tightly packed wool.
That was until about 3 seconds later.
'What is this pressure? It feels just like my father's...'
*Whoosh*
Something gave way and a sudden feeling of invigoration seemed to clear away all of the fog. His vision and hearing returned almost immediately and after coming back to, the room seemed to be shaded a hint of green.
'So this... this is magic?'
Since he was paying so close attention, it was obvious to Saivas what had changed. The air he was breathing had become more enriched, every breathe seemed to rejuvenate him, he could actually hear Basteel's heartbeat more resolutely.
If he had to describe the feeling, it was like Basteel's heart was pumping for his, and sharing her monstrous vitality.
It didn't feel foreign or anything, far from it. It felt right, like this was how his body was supposed to be all along.
The energy seemed to enter through his lungs, and with help from Basteel, he could feel the foreign energy connect with an energy of his own. One that had been all but hidden up until now.
Once the two energies met, the prior merged with the latter with minimal resistance and his energy, which could barely be called a trickle previously, turned into a rushing current heading directly to his forehead.
The wounded area began to close on itself. Saivas could almost hear the cells rapidly reproducing to replace what had been lost. Not only that, he seemed to breathe easier, he felt stronger, he felt faster, he even felt it easier to think!
'Oh yeah, I FEEL INCREDIBLE. I CAN TAKE ON THE WORLD. I FEEL GREAT. I. CAN. DO. IT!'
Then, as quickly as it had started, the feeling dissipated. Leaving Saivas with a deep sense of emptiness. The energy was still there, but it was so faint it may as well have been absent.
'...Please tell me mind reading isn't a form of magic'
He was embarrassed by his inner outburst, but not for long.
'That... that was way more than I bargained for!'
While he hadn't heard the incantation or seen the motions made, having felt the effects firsthand opened his eyes to a part of him he had no idea existed up until now!
By capturing the feeling, he found he could still sense the energy circulating around his body, allowing him to move, giving him vitality, and even helping form thoughts.
'It's almost like the feeling of breathing manually' He thought to himself
It was a bit nauseating to think about since it was something that was supposed to occur automatically. Still, much like breathing, it came naturally even if he was aware of it.
Saivas had no doubt gaining control over this energy was the secret to magic!
.
.
.
The next few months were very busy for Saivas.
After that incident his parents never left him alone for long, even moving his crib into their bedroom next to their bed.
This meant 2 things:
1. Saivas was finally able to see incantations and hand weaving as he now liked to call it.
2. He had to be even more careful not to let his cover slip as an infant.
Needless to say those 2 things were a frustrating combination.
'I have all the pieces needed to start practicing magic, but I have no privacy to actually put them into practice!' he inwardly sighed
'If it weren't for the fact that I managed to sense the energies within and around me, I'd be bored stiff'
That was, if nothing else, Saivas's saving grace.
The discovery of that energy, which he would later learn to be called mana, opened many opportunities for him.
After all, now that he could feel it's presence, the changes that rippled through matter when his parents cast spells were all but a cinch to recognize.
When it came down to it, magic was much simpler than he realized, there were 3 main functions, all of which having to do with energy.
The most common use was using the energy within oneself the guide and shape the energy in the world around oneself to create changes to matter. These were typically divided into 6 different elemts.
Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, and Ice, and Lightning
What surprised Saivas was although the incantations and motions for each type of magic were quite different, the basics of how they functioned were quite similar.
Step one: Provide mana from within
Step two: Mix your mana with with outside energy
Step three: Use that mana to alter reality in some kind of way.
Fire usually involved rapidly vibrating molecules to create heat and ignite the air, Ice was caused by gathering moisture and stopping molecular motion, lighting was created by accelerating the transfer of electrons from atom to atom Etc.
Without knowledge of physics and how the world functioned scientifically, there was no way to achieve the result without preprogrammed instructions, but Saivas having a vast understanding of scientific principles had no such limitations!
There also was the ability to transfer or steal energy from lifeforms or your surroundings. Otherwise know as light and dark magic.
This was a basic enough concept, nothing in this world could exist without mana, and the more mana something had, the more durable, efficient, and adaptable it would become.
On the opposite end, if something had no energy left, it would disappear entirely.
That discovery had cost Saivas a couple of toys...
The last magical practice though was the only one that Saivas could currently practice while under constant supervision.
That was the ability to cultivate magical power by absorbing the ambient mana and altering it to recognize your body as it's rightful owner.
That was the magical power of accumulation!