Weaver of Shadows

Chapter 1 of The Shaper:
 

Three years later, Levi’s hands trembled as he lined up with the other orphans. He stood nervously behind Anson as they waited for their turns to enter the tent. One by one the orphans went in, spent a couple minutes inside the tent, then left out the back. Finally, Anson was called into the tent. Levi waited for him to exit, but he didn’t. It’s been over five minutes now, he thought nervously. None of the others took this long to be Tested. 

The Testing was the time of year when children were checked for Shaping power. It was supposed to be random chance but an unproportionally large number of Shapers were nobles or part of the upper class. That being said, anyone, urchin or prince, could be a Shaper. But by the same token, it wasn’t guaranteed for either.

Levi finally watched Anson exit the tent. Anson grinned and flashed him a thumbs up, then joined the other orphans. What does that mean? Is he a Shaper? Levi pushed open the tent flaps and entered. The tent smelled heavily of incense that almost covered the smell of unwashed bodies. Although the Testers provided an important duty, they were not paid especially well and were on the move often, leading to a lack of proper hygiene.

“Come over, I need to see you,” came an old man’s voice. Levi jumped, looking over. Sitting on a ratty old chair was an elderly man. He jumped up with agility despite his age, walking over to Levi. “Are you the last one?” he asked, sounding bored. 

“Uhh… yes sir,” Levi said.

“Quickly, come sit. I just need to look at your palm,” he said. Levi sat, and the man grabbed Levi’s wrist with a quick movement. He flipped l Levi’s palm face up, looking at it intently. Then he gasped.

“What is it?” Levi asked.

“Your Manna lines are…”

“So that means I have it!” said Levi, cutting him off. 

“Yes, you do, and the lines are some of the most distinct I have seen in a long time,” he said. “You will be a powerful Shaper, and it is my duty as a Tester to explain the basics of Shaping and Manna to you,” he said, much more excited then when he had started. “Shaping is an ancient art of great power and importance…”

The old man droned on for a while, explaining the origins of Shaping. Levi listened with half an ear, mulling over the power Shaping could grant him. When will he get to the interesting part? Levi wondered.

“Now, I will explain to you the abilities Shaping grants,” the old man said, almost as if in response to Levi’s thoughts. Levi perked up, refocusing on the conversation. The man chuckled. “I see that got your attention. With this power you possess, you can do amazing things. Do you remember what I told you about the three elements of a human?”

“What are those?” Levi asked.

“I see you were not paying attention. You kids rarely do. That isn’t important right now though. The three elements are the physical, mental, and spiritual parts of a person. Any Shaper can influence any of these elements but most are naturally suited to one of the three. Usually, most Shapers focus on the physical element, believing it to be the most powerful. Personally I agree, the other elements are less useful in most situations. Anyway, back to what I was talking about. The physical part of Shaping allows you to harness energy. You can conjure fire and lightning, increase or decrease temperature, and even control the air around you. Additionally, you can increase your body’s natural abilities, allowing you to run at high speeds for increased amounts of time, jump higher, punch harder, and many more things.

“The mental element obviously centers around the mind. Using Shaping, you can speak in other people’s minds, mess with their memories, and with enough practice you can even glimpse their thoughts.

“Lastly, we have the spiritual element. This is the most mysterious element, and scholars debate whether it is its own element or just a subsection of the mental element. But that is beside the point. The spiritual element allows you to affect your own and other’s subconscious. You can influence their emotions, cause them to sleep, give them adrenaline, and even more.

“It is my duty to explain that when you use your shaping for one element your own capabilities in the others will be decreased. For example, if you blast a fireball, your thoughts will be muddled for a time and you will be less influenced by your emotions. You may also grow tired.

“As of now, your store of Manna will be miniscule. For unknown reasons Manna stores only appear after the Testing. As you age, your store of Manna will grow. That is all, you are free to go,” The old man said. 

“Okay…” Levi said hesitantly, still confused.

“You will find the rest out on your own. I have told you all I can in this short time,” the man said, ushering him toward the back of the tent.      Levi left the tent through a small flap, and as he exited an excited Anson ran over to him.

“Do you have it too?” he asked anxiously.

“I do, you do too, right? You were in the tent for so long, you must have it,” Levi said.

“I thought I might because when Isaac…” Anson fell silent. He didn’t like to speak of that night and neither did Levi.

“One time my dad said I have power, I must have had some way to tell,” Anson resumed, but he didn’t have the same excitement he had before.

“Mine did too, I think they must have discovered how to know if someone will be a Shaper before they are Tested,” Levi said.

“Boys! What are you doing? We need to go, now! Or are you wanting to spend the night in the casket?” Madame Florence said, a dangerous fury to her voice.

“No Madame” Levi and Anson said at the same time. They hurried over to the rest of the group.

“You know what this means for us, right?” Anson asked, looking at Levi.

“A lot, what are you thinking?”

“We can cause so much trouble,” he said mischievously.

Thanks for reading! And thank you to @Aeoliae for idea to post these on my profile page.