Technomancer: Genesis Chapter 22: The Path to Knowledge

Ezra had grown accustomed to castle life but he was still restricted to only some parts of the castle. He very much wanted to go to the library to read books and find out more about the world he was in now. He grew bored at the same old scenes. Yes, the castle was extravagant and glorious. It is considered more like a palace, but in this world, all the Lord's home was called castle and was named after their house. The castle was huge. It had inlaid silver fixtures and tapestry made out of velvet. The hall was well lit with a magic crystal and core pair alternated by torches. The family crest hung over the Lord's seat. It looked simple as it was just a flame that was dyed in black. He wanted very much to go outside and explore but he was only still allowed to get some sunshine at the inner castle courtyard.

He pleaded with his mother to let him have some freedom but ever since his father, Reitz, returned from the expedition unconscious she became strict with his mobility again. Reitz had returned with an army of a little more than half of his initial soldiers. He was hurt badly and it took him around a week to be able to walk about and continue his duties as lord. Considering that he suffered a grievous injury, it was very quick. If it were back on earth he'd probably be in an ICU ward for a week and would stay further for more than three months. Ezra suspected that magic contributed to his speedy recovery. His mother told him why his father was badly hurt. He himself was perplexed that Reitz was reduced to such a sorry state as he was told that his father was the strongest magical combatant under the Primarch Seat. His mother never told him the whole story though and Reitz never told him either. He just kept on saying, "Don't worry we'll protect you, my son." This was not the answer Ezra wanted but of course, he was in the body of a child and he should expect to be treated as such.

He found out from overhearing the servants that Reitz was betrayed by a knight.

'Hmm, this complicates things. I might become collateral damage in the skirmish. I am still a baby though and learning combat is a few more years out of my Reach. This family sure is troublesome.'

When he was left to his devices Ezra would practice controlling his magic aura. Every day he made it his daily task to meditate and to try to find more useful ways of strengthening its effects. His mother had told him that he could be the person with the most magical capacity in the entire Kingdom in the future if he kept on improving. He was already on par with his mother's magic capacity and she was already a Primarch Seat contender nonetheless he could still not conjure any magic. He discovered that as he slowly improved in controlling this magic, the more that he could improve his senses, for example, it seemed that he could hear better and smell better. He also found out that he could manipulate magic and make a concentration out of his body. The magic aura could be manipulated in various shapes.

'How does magic affect the body? Is it some sort of macro effect or does it affect it at a cellular level?' Ezra pondered at this, he was very curious to the extent that magic could control the body. If it he could control the body at a cellular level using magic then he could, in theory, make himself mature faster permanently.

What mystified Ezra was that this magic was really erratic. It gave both temporary and permanent effects. How could he manipulate one form or the other? For now what he knew was five things. One magic could be considered a sort of energy. Two, magic could create mass. Three it could manipulate mass. Four, some of the mass created would disappear while some would remain and finally, magic could be manipulated by thought.

But even if Ezra knew all these things he still could not conjure or create magic in any shape or form. He tried everything but every time it was about to form but it kept on failing at the last moment. He did this every day during the time that he was left alone. His wet-nurse carried him everywhere. Aerwyna insisted in this since noble babies were very much taken care of and were not allowed to roam free at all even though he could crawl already. Well, it would seem very strange if the young lordling was left alone. His time was really limited as a baby he would only be awake for six hours. It was fortunate that Aerwyna spent two hours of his waking time with him. During this time he asked about the world around him.

"Mother why is fire hot?"Ezra asked Aerwyna.

"Hmm, Uhm uhh. Fire is hot because that is the nature of fire. All things that are hot causes fire." Aerwyna was lost for words she had a tough time answering most of Ezra's questions. This was her son though so as a parent she had to put up with it. She could not complain though, while all of the parents who had children the age of Ezra were dealing with noise from wailing and whether or not the baby was safe.

'What a dull answer,' Ezra thought, 'These people have no idea what fire is and yet they are capable of creating it instantaneously. Well, that goes to show it with their society, since strength is the single most important aspect, education and discovery are a bitter second to power. If only they knew that there is strength in knowledge. '

'Mother, why do things fall and the sun and moon and the stars don't.?' Inquired Ezra again.

"Ugh, hmm, they fall because uh," This question had stumped Aerwyna.

"It's okay mother you don't need to answer."

Aerwyna was sweating buckets at this point. These weren't questions children his age were asking or rather a child his age should not even be able to ask questions.

"Mama, how is iron made?"

"Oh, that's easy workers get rocks from mountains and they melt them and some of them become iron." Aerwyna sighed internally as she finally had a concrete answer for her child.

'At least they know how to process metal although their methods are somewhat crude.' Ezra thought.

"Thank you, mother. Mother, I want to be able to read so that I won't need to ask you questions. Can you teach me? You don't even let me look at magic cores and crystals." He said this and pouted because he was restricted at touching magic cores.

"Little one, this is taught by Maester Grimfire, but I guess I will have to do for now especially what happened to your father. We must be extra careful. As for the magic crystals and cores, you will have to be patient. They are dangerous and they might hurt you." Aerwyna smiled at her cute pouting son. She was probably the only parent in the world that could enjoy the pouting of a three-month-old baby.

Ezra was elated. He felt that he had become a step closer to finding out more about this world.

"Thank you, mama. Can we start now?"

Aerwyna smiled as she grabbed a book and started to teach her astoundingly intelligent son.

Chapter end