At dawn, Torian stood on the cliff's edge.
Wind tugged at his cloak, his sword unmoving across his back. He didn't turn when Aiden arrived, breath misting in the cold.
"You're late," Torian said.
"It's barely sunrise."
"It's already too late," Torian replied. "The Ash Circle knows you exist. They will come. And when they do, you need to be more than a boy with luck."
He turned, eyes sharp. "Let's begin."
---
They moved to a stone clearing beyond the village, carved with ancient sigils.
Torian motioned for Aiden to sit. "Close your eyes. Breathe. And listen."
"To what?"
"To them."
Aiden frowned, but obeyed. The world fell quiet—just wind, trees, heartbeat.
Then… a whisper.
At first faint—like wind beneath water.
Then clearer.
He could feel the world—not see it. Like threads of energy woven through everything: the sky, the rocks, the birds flying above.
> "All life is stitched with Threads," Torian said.
"Five primary strands—Time. Matter. Spirit. Flame. Void. Most can learn to touch one. You were born able to feel them all."
"But I can't control them."
"Because you lack anchor."
---
Torian threw a small crystal toward Aiden—it hovered in air, spinning.
"Touch it. With your mind."
Aiden focused. He felt the Thread of Matter—it pulsed, earthy, strong. He reached toward it.
The crystal trembled… then exploded.
Torian sighed. "You're pulling. Not guiding. You don't control Threads by command. You offer them purpose."
Aiden clenched his fists. "Then tell me how."
"Fine." Torian drew his sword.
It wasn't metal—but woven of solid threads, flickering in and out of visibility.
"This sword doesn't cut because of sharpness. It cuts because it exists partially in the future. That's Time-thread manipulation."
He swung once—and a tree across the field fell with a clean, delayed slice.
Aiden's jaw dropped. "That's… insane."
"That's mastery," Torian said. "Yours will be harder. You're a Thread-Soul. Which means you'll either bind this world back together… or tear it apart."
---
That night, Aiden lay exhausted, hands shaking. His attempt to lift a pebble with Flame-thread had nearly scorched the ground.
But for a moment… just a moment… the pebble had glowed.
A thread had answered.
Small.
But real.
---
✧ Magic System Unlocked:
Thread Types:
Time: Alters moment speed or creates echoes of movement.
Matter: Controls physical weight, shape, and form.
Flame: Elemental energy—heat, power, explosion.
Spirit: Emotion, memory, connection—used in communication, healing, illusion.
Void: The rarest. Uncreation. Silence. Death. (Aiden has glimpsed this.)
Control Requires:
Anchor (mental clarity)
Purpose (intention > force)
Balance (emotional stability)
---