Years passed quickly, and Dark's body grew stronger. By the time he was two years old, he had gained enough coordination to crawl, to walk, and even to manipulate small objects with his hands. But while his physical development was typical for a child, his mental progress was far beyond that.
His mind was as sharp as it had been in his previous life, and from the moment he could observe, Dark had begun learning. His new family, Lord Eldarion and Lady Eldarion, were powerful nobles, not only in title but in their command of magic. They wielded magic as casually as one would breathe, using it to light fires, summon water, or move objects from one room to another with barely a gesture.
Dark watched them closely. He didn't speak much, he didn't need to. He absorbed everything. He had always been a man of observation and analysis, and now, as a toddler, that trait served him well. Magic is a system, he had realized early on. It follows rules, just like programming.
From his crib, Dark had watched his father conjure fire with a flick of his wrist, whispering an incantation under his breath. The flames danced in his palm, flickering with an intensity that no ordinary human could summon. To others, it might have seemed like sorcery, a gift only the most talented mages could hope to control.
But to Dark, it was a system, a series of inputs and outputs, governed by rules that could be learned. His mind dissected each incantation, each gesture, mapping them to the flow of mana that permeated the air.
Mana, Dark mused, focusing on the strange energy he could feel all around him. It was everywhere, invisible to most but palpable to him. It flowed through the air, through objects, and through people. His parents bent it to their will, but Dark suspected there was more to it than they realized.
It wasn't long before Dark began his own experiments. He couldn't perform magic yet, not with his current limitations, but that didn't mean he couldn't prepare. He spent hours sitting quietly in his room, his eyes closed, focusing on the flow of mana. It was subtle, like an undercurrent beneath the surface of the world. But the more he concentrated, the clearer it became.
If magic is a system, then I can learn to control it, Dark thought, his mind racing. It's just a matter of understanding the rules.
One afternoon, when he was alone in his room, Dark decided to test his theory. He sat on the floor, his small hands resting on his knees, and stared at a wooden toy that lay a few feet away. His eyes narrowed in concentration. He could feel the mana in the air, swirling around him, just waiting to be harnessed.
Move, he willed, focusing all his attention on the toy.
At first, nothing happened. The toy remained still, lifeless. But Dark didn't give up. He adjusted his mental approach, trying to visualize the flow of mana like lines of code, lines that could be rewritten to produce a different outcome.
Move.
This time, the toy wobbled. It was a small movement, barely perceptible, but it was enough. Dark's heart raced with excitement, though his face remained calm. The toy lifted slightly off the ground before dropping back down.
Dark smiled. It's working.
It wasn't much, but it was progress. He had made his first connection with the mana around him, and now, there was no turning back.