tyro
or ti·ro
a beginner in learning anything; novice.
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Alic closed his eyes and breathed deep. The book said he had to “feel the rhythm of the world,” but it did not go into detail about what that meant. At first he had thought it had something to do with the wind, but that had done nothing. So now he was left with only vague directions and cryptic clues.
But that book was his ticket out of the small village. If he could become a mage, then he would be able to do anything. He could travel around and explore all the hidden places in the world. Find ancient tool of power. Fight dragons and giants. Talk with kings and sages.
He just had to figure out how magic worked first. He heard the sound of footsteps behind him. One of the other villagers, no doubt. They were too heavy for one of his fellow children, so he could avoid being made fun of at least. An adult would just give him empty words of encouragement before going about their day.
Alic put those thoughts out of his mind. He needed to focus. The book said he needed to form a clear image in his mind. He put everything he had into it. He thought a flame might not be good, so he close something less likely to break something, a puddle. Once he thought he had the image, he went to the book’s next step.
It was just as strange and unknowable as the first. How was he supposed to see inner energy, let alone move it around? He thought about his blood. He did not quite know how that moved around, but he knew it did. He thought about that long and hard. And he even thought he felt…something. He was not sure what, but definitely something.
He thought about pushing the energy out through his hands, creating the image in his mind. He clenched his eyes and teeth, willing something to happen. And, much to his surprise, something did. He felt it. A single, tiny drop of water formed on his fingertip. He opened his eyes, looking at the tiny drop. A smile cracked across his face.
He had done it. He had used magic! Sure, it was not much magic, but it was something. It was only his first time after all.
“Well now, isn’t that something.” Said a voice very far too close.
Alic yelped and scrambled back, away from the speaker. A man who looked a few years older than his parents stood, hovering over Alic, looking intently at the drop. The fact that someone had seen him was worrying. What made it worse was that Alic did not recognize the man. An outsider was rare in such far away placed as the village.
“Wh-who? Wha?” Alic stammered.
“Lad, may I ask who taught you to do that?”
“N-nobody, sir. I learned it from a book I found.”
“A book, really? You can read?”
“Yup. Pa and Ma said it’s important, even if nobody else thinks so.”
“Ah. Good to know you have cleaver parents. And this book taught you to do magic?”
“I’m trying to. I don’t get a lot of it though.”
“I can tell. That was indeed terrible. But if you learned only from a book that you don’t fully understand, the fact that you were able to do anything is quite telling.”
Alic came to a sudden realization. Could it be? Could this man be more than just a traveler?
“Uh, m-mister? Are, are you a mage?”
“What makes you say that?”
“Don’t know. I just think you must be. I don’t know why a mage would be out here, but I think you are.”
The old man looked thoughtful and stroked his chin. “Interesting.” He held out his hand. A ball of water as big as Alic’s head formed in his hand. The boy sucked in a sharp breath. “Indeed I am a mage. I could give a list of my positions, but I doubt you’d recognize any of them.”
Alic’s eyes grew wide. This was his chance. A chance to learn from a person instead of a book!
“Can, can you teach me? Like, for real?”
“Really? Right to an apprenticeship? You don’t even know my name. For all you know, I could be a rogue mage.”
“I don’t think so. And even if you are, you’re still the only one I’ve ever seen. And I don’t think any other mages are going to come all the way out here.”
“Another feeling telling you I’m not a rogue?”
“Yup.”
A small grin came to the mage’s face. “Interesting. Very interesting. I wasn’t expecting to come across an apprentice way out here, but you might just be worth teaching. It won’t be easy, but maybe.”
“I can do it.” Alic said, standing as tall as he could. “I’ll be the best student around.”
The mage chuckled. “I doubt that. But who knows, you might just surprise me, young novice. Now, what is your name?”
“Alic.”
“Well, Alic, mine is Drest. Let’s go talk to your parents. Just to let them know that you found yourself a magic teacher.”
The boy was practically walking on air as he guided his new teacher to his house. He was finally about to take the first steps to being a mage and seeing the world. And hhe could not wait to get started for real.
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I'd say this could be the start of something, but we all know that's a lie. I mean, it totally could, but for that to happen, I'd have to actually, you know, work with it more. And that's pretty much not going to happen.
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