Reiki shouted from inside the house, “Rai, make sure you don’t cheat! You’re not allowed to use magic to do your chores!”

Rai lamented, “But if it makes it easier then I want to use magic.” He could never really understand why his mum wouldn’t allow him to use magic to accomplish simple physical tasks. This time he had to chop logs in chunks to prepare firewood for the next few weeks, since the weather was starting to get worse. “Fine, I’ll do it the hard way then!”

The eight year old Rai fiddled with the black bands on his wrists and went to grab the axe from the storehouse. As he was walking away from the house, he saw Jin tending to the crops in the distance. It’ll be time to haul those to Acies soon. He ended up as a delivery boy, doing his mum’s old job half the time.

I wish Aunt Elly would come so we can do more magic lessons. Elira would come to the farm twice a week to help Rai with his ‘Studies of Mana’ as she liked to call it. She’d been teaching him since he could remember. Rai always enjoyed magic lessons. Though he still hadn’t done anything all that flashy yet, just learning to feel the flow of mana in his channels was fun to him. It felt... freeing.

The storehouse was only a few minutes’ walk away from the house, and housed many of the tools they’d use for farming, and other miscellaneous tasks. As he neared the door, Rai tied his long black hair back into a ponytail with a hairband his mum gave him. He went into the storehouse and brought out the woodcutting axe. Rai couldn’t understand a number of things, and that included why old man Jin wouldn’t replace his old tools. They were making enough money, but Jin preferred to maintain these tools instead of buying new ones. He shook his head and thought about his task as he walked over to the pile of logs near the house, with a single wide tree stump that they placed the logs on to chop.

How on Zenith does that old man always chop down so many trees? He wondered to himself. Jin was like a father to him, even though he was a grandfather in actuality. Rai sighed. Whatever, I’ll just get this over with and practice magic on my own when I’m done.

Rai was used to physical labour, as anyone would be when growing up on a farm. He always tried to apply Jin’s teachings to whatever he did, and it was no different for chopping logs for firewood.

He placed a log segment on the tree stump in front of him. Focusing his lightning blue eyes on the log, he looked for the imperfections. Find the crack in the armour. He recalled Jin’s words. Tensing his muscles, he lifted the axe with both sleek, toned, arms up above his head. Rai zoned everything else out. To him, there were only two things in the world at this moment. The log, and himself. As if he’d finished scanning the log and searching for its imperfections, his eyes aimed at a single point. At a single grain in the wood. In a flash, the axe fell onto the point he was aiming at and through the log.

A perfectly straight, clean cut.

Rai continued chopping the logs, and as the hours went by, the pile of firewood grew. He was so entranced in chopping the logs, he failed to notice that Jin was sat nearby, observing him chopping the wood. Rai reached for another log and seemed to grab thin air, which awoke him from his trance.

“Good technique, you’re learning well.” Jin gave Rai some words of encouragement, after noticing him breaking out of his concentration.

“Thanks old man, I just wish I could use magic to make things go smoother.” The twin suns were on their downward path, indicating it was past midday now. Rai started chopping logs in the morning.

“While you could use magic, you’re developing your body far more effectively without the use of magic.” Jin knew from experience that the earlier one started developing their body, the better foundation they’d have to build upon later in their lives. Though that wasn’t enough to convince an eight year old boy who could theoretically complete the work with a snap of his fingers.

“Yeah, I’ve heard this a thousand times before, and I understand it’s better for me in the long run. Still, I just want to see what I can do.”

A child’s curiosity often leads them to choosing their path. Jin knew this all too well. After a minute of contemplation, Jin tenderly touched the scar that ran down his right eye. He posed the question, “Would you like to see what magic cannot achieve?”

Rai’s eyes showed confusion for a moment. What magic cannot achieve? Is it even possible for magic to be limited? But Aunt Elly said that anything can be achieved with magic.

“I know what your Aunt would have you believe, and yes magic is incredibly versatile, but it cannot break the chains that bind one’s own body.”

Rai was curious now, he wanted to know what could possibly be so great about one’s body that it could surpass the possibilities of magic. “Okay, show me.”

Jin told Rai to go to the open field just near the farm. While Rai went and sat near the field, waiting for Jin, Reiki walked out of the house as if she’d been listening. “Is it really okay to show him? You were so worn out last time.”

Jin let out a soft laugh, “Is that what you thought little one? Perhaps I was rusty and out of shape, but even then his father couldn’t land a single hit.” He recalled the three days that Rai’s father hid on the farm, and his enthusiasm to fight Jin, only for the fight to end without him landing a single hit. Rai’s father begged for numerous rematches, but each time he lost faster and faster, unable to land a hit.

“I’ll show him, and he can decide what he’ll do with what he sees.” Jin pulled his slick black hair back into a ponytail and tied it with the hairband that Reiki handed him after his declaration. He went into the house and came back out after a couple minutes with two sheathed blades at his waist.

Wonder what’s taking him so long... Rai thought to himself as he sat swaying with the wind on the field. Moments later, Jin walked past him and stood at a calculated distance away, then he turned to face Rai. Rai had never seen the swords that Jin wore at his waist. The only types of swords he’d come across were the greatswords, straight swords, and rapiers or daggers when he was making his deliveries to Acies. Moreover, he’d never seen Jin wield any weapons before. Most of all, he’d never seen anyone wield two swords of this shape together.

“Do not look at what is in front of you. You must see it for what it is. Etch this into your heart, your limits can only be broken when you achieve true Balance.”

Jin closed his eyes, and placed his hands on the sword hilts, “These are swords that you won’t have heard of, katanas.” Rai had never heard of such a weapon in his small experience of the world. “The type of sword doesn’t matter, what matters is the person who wields it. Only they can push the boundaries of the body.”

He slowly raised the swords out of their sheaths, the sound of the metal blades grinding against the edges of the sheaths. In an instant, as soon as the blades left their scabbards, they fell into what looked like a starting position. A stance. From what Rai could tell, the stance was very open. There was no resting guard, nor was there an intent of attack in Jin’s stature. He simply stood, holding the blades at either of his sides, with one foot in front of the other. Reiki came and sat behind Rai at this point, pulling up a chair to watch her adoptive father.

Jin’s eyes opened. The bright amber wolf-like pupils were focused. In consecutive instances, the blades would shift positions quickly. Jin continued shifting stances as the blades swiftly moved through the air. It seemed the air was being sliced. Rai had to imbue mana into his eyes just to perceive all of the movements. The images that seemed to form from Jin’s stances shifted through Rai’s mind. At first they were animals: a tiger, a wolf, a dragon, a turtle, and a snake. Then images of other types of wildlife began to flow, it seemed like flower petals were forming in the air even though Rai knew they were in an empty field. Jin’s blades continued to fly through the air, as his body shifted to accommodate the stances.

The blade in his right hand would back up the blade in his left hand depending on where he shifted his weight, and the same could be said for the blade in the left hand. Was this what he meant by Balance?  Rai was far too entranced in the dance to think about that question. These movements were all executed within the calculated radius away from Rai, he noticed. No matter what, the blade would never reach him, so long as he stayed where he was. Jin’s swords held a calmness and serenity that Rai wanted to experience himself, they were a beauty and spectacle to witness. A powerful dance. His footwork was no different, he seemed to be gliding along the ground, leaving no marks or indents from his movements.

Waves of wind would fly past Rai and Reiki whenever Jin would slice the air in their direction, but their gazes never faltered. Jin continued for a number of minutes, then the dance seemed to be reaching its conclusion. The katanas whistled through the air a final time and the dance finished with Jin holding the blades vertically opposite each other. He closed his eyes and slowly sheathed the blades. Click!  They made a satisfying sound as their guards met their scabbards.

Rai was sweating, he didn’t realise how much he’d been straining himself to keep up with Jin’s movements. Reiki fared no better, she held utter concentration throughout the dance, with little mana of her own she strained her eyes to keep up. Jin was the only one without a bead of sweat anywhere on his body. His eyes remained closed, “Balance. It can be achieved with one’s own body, and cannot be achieved through magic.”

Rai was blown away. Jin’s sword dance was perhaps the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen in his whole life. Clap! Clap! Clap! Reiki was clapping for her father. A tear rolled down her cheek. “It’s always so beautiful, every time I see it.”

Jin walked over to her and took a clean cloth out of his pocket, wiping her tears and sweat away, “I’m glad you think so my child.” Jin smiled as his daughter hugged him. “Do you see now Rai? Or is your vision still too limited?”

How is it possible for the body to execute something so beautifully and to such perfection? Is that Balance? Can magic really never hope to match up? It’s so beautiful. He knew that Jin was the same as his mum, even though they weren’t blood related. He had very little mana, and he had no divine form. Rai’s mind was filled with different thoughts and questions. But one thing was certain. With resolve in his sparkling blue eyes, “I want to learn.”

Jin smirked, “Good.”

Rai only just started to pick up on the hell he’d have to go through, but accepted it and steeled his will.