The Price of Knowledge

Sirius jolted from sleep with his heart pounding like a hammer, threatening to shatter his ribcage. He tried to sit up, but his whole body ached, so he remained lying in an unfamiliar bed. He felt a gentle touch on his chest. The male hands were rough, but their movements were careful and precise, that of an experienced mage. The man's wrists were decorated with bracelets - white for his right hand and black for his left - as sign of a priest of Twin Gods church. He wore a black robe with white floral snakes on the edges and high collar, ending under his dark hair. Sirius knew this person. Father Gregor often visited his master's home and taught Sirius some magic of the church. With that, the memories of yesterday began surfacing in his foggy mind.

"Father Gregor... Uncle..."

"Good morning, kiddo. You are in dire need of rest, so don't overexert yourself. The body is still healing."

"Have you met?.."

"Verden? Sorry, but I did not."

Sirius closed his eyes.

"Explosion..."

Gregor stiffened. "What explosion?"

"Uncle said... to run... But... He was still there..." Tears seeped from behind his eyelids.

"Was there anything else?"

"I don't remember..."

Gregor felt silent and thought for a minute about all these details. He then got up and went for the door.

"Then let it wait for when you are healthy. I will bring breakfast."

"Not hungry..."

"I will bring it anyways. Try to eat anything, treat that as a medicine."

Sirius heard the door close. He tried to think of yesterday, but the only thing he could remember was soul-shatterring thunder, blazing fire, bright flash and pain. Deep, dull, gnawing at his heart pain.

Trying to distract himself he tried to meditate. With his eyes closed, Sirius' mind wandered around him, touching the mana in the air, feeling its gentle movement like a breeze. When he felt acquainted with the surrounding mana, he began trying to pull and push it around in tact with his breathing, like he did hundreds of times when practicing. The moment he felt mana pass through his body, terror flooded his mind. He saw everything again. Flash. Thunder. Fire. Crystals. Powerful pull of the surrounding energy, like a vacuum, tearing his mind apart. He lost concentration and control of his emotions, as intense feelings sent mana around him in disarray. In fear his arms and legs were tense, his unfocused eyes tried to find shelter, and his mind tried to save itself from the danger.

The door opened with a loud bang, bringing Sirius back to reality. Gregor tightly hugged the boy, despite all the ice that appeared around him, sharp spikes poking in every direction. In daze, Sirius looked around. The room was covered in frost, the temperature dangerously close to freezing point. Candles were extinguished, thin strands of smoke lifting up, irritating smell filling up the room. The bed he was sitting on froze stiff and was no longer comfortable as it was just a minute ago.

"Are you all right?"

Sirius flinched.

"I don't know..."

"Did you remember something?"

"I do now... Green and purple flash. Verden asked me to tell you something about flashing silver."

Gregor released the boy and held him by his shoulders. He looked directly in the golden eyes.

"Are you sure? Did he said the words Silver Flash?"

"I think so..."

"I need you to promise me something."

"I mean... Sure... What is that?"

"Not a soul will hear that phrase again. Neither from you nor me. Got it?"

"Yes... But why?"

"There are many dangers in this world and in the Kingdom, so we had a number of emergency codes and plans for resolution. Silver Flash was one of them."

Sirius gulped. "And what does this one mean?"

"I will tell you that when you will recover. For now, you are in safety. All I can say is - some bad people wanted to take you away."

"Is that it?"

"And..." Gregor took a deep breath. "Verden could not protect both you and himself."