Chapter 9: Cradled in Time
Ezra's days were measured in light and warmth, in the quiet rhythms of feeding, napping, and gentle rocking. Each morning, the suns crested over Elfheim's horizon, and the palace itself seemed to breathe in tandem with him, a living organism aware of its newest occupant. Servants moved quietly through the corridors, casting glances at the infant prince, noting the shimmer of gold in his hair and the faint luminescence of his skin. To the untrained eye, he was simply a child of House Aurelius, precious and radiant. Yet the Codex worked tirelessly, nudging perception, smoothing the edges of reality so that none suspected the extraordinary truths woven into the boy's existence.
His mother, though exhausted by the weight of the regency, often lingered at his side for hours in the night while he slept. She would cradle him in her arms, running her fingers through the strands of gold-and-white hair, marveling at the perfection and strangeness combined.
Seasons changed slowly on Elfheim, though the nine suns ensured that the concept of time was as much a perception as a measure. Ezra experienced his first rains, first gusts of wind, and the gentle touch of sunlight on his skin as though he were discovering the world anew each time. The wet nurse encouraged him to reach for the patterns of sunlight, to grasp the warmth that fell upon him, and he did so with astonishing precision for one so small. The palace staff whispered quietly among themselves, claiming it was merely luck or instinct, while the Codex quietly guided their perceptions, preventing the true magnitude of the boy from ever being recognized.
By the sixth month, Ezra had begun to attempt the earliest expressions of independent motion to show to others . Rolling across the soft silk sheets of his crib, pushing against swaddling with tiny fists, and stretching toward the sunlit panes of his chamber, he revealed glimpses of the power and awareness that lay dormant within him. It was during this time that he began his first experiments with his abilities. Tentatively, he tried to sense moments just a few seconds ahead, glimpsing fleeting images of the immediate future. Each attempt left him drained; he would pause, catch his breath, then try again. Gradually, over weeks, he learned the rhythm of these precognitive flickers, feeling the threads of time stretch and fold beneath his perception.
Yet Ezra did not continue formal cultivation. Absorbing mana too quickly would have drawn attention, and the Codex ensured subtlety. Instead, he allowed his small world to slowly generate mana, nurturing it like a reservoir that expanded the tiny continent of his creation. Within his mind, the 1-kilometer grey divine sea formed and stabilized, a personal crucible for energy that would eventually allow him to learn spells and techniques when the time was right. Even in these first months, the seeds of his extraordinary potential were taking root, hidden beneath the ordinary rhythms of infancy.
Ezra's social encounters also began to increase during this period. Distant relatives, members of allied noble houses, and emissaries from the far reaches of the floating continent would visit, their eyes lingering on the child in curiosity and subtle reverence. Each visit was orchestrated carefully by the Regent, who sought to ensure the stability of her rule and the future of her child. Yet for Ezra, these visits were simply patterns in the shifting currents of attention,
Ezra's development continued in subtle, extraordinary ways. His eyes followed the trajectory of sunlight across the room with unnerving precision, and his small fingers could mimic shapes and patterns far beyond the dexterity expected of an infant. Occasionally, he would reach for objects before anyone had placed them, as though he were aware not only of the present but of moments yet to come. The glimpses of precognition, the careful management of his internal mana, and the slow growth of his grey divine sea and embryonic world all combined to form the earliest foundations of the being he was destined to become.
At first, these glimpses of the future were fleeting—a second here, two there—enough for him to anticipate a servant's movement or the soft patter of rain against the palace windows. Each attempt left him trembling with exhaustion, tiny fists curling as his body struggled to process the unnatural stretch of time. He would pause, rest, and then try again, over and over, driven by a curiosity far beyond any infant's understanding. The Codex quietly ensured that each failure left no trace of unnaturalness in the perception of those around him.
Simultaneously, Ezra began nurturing the internal energies that would one day fuel his magic. He did not cultivate in the conventional sense; absorbing mana too quickly would draw attention from curious eyes. Instead, he allowed the small world he had within him—an entire continent in miniature—to generate energy slowly and steadily. Streams of mana seeped into his 1-kilometer grey divine sea, each droplet feeding the growing reservoir and subtly expanding the borders of his internal world. Over time, the continent itself began to shift, mountains rising, rivers forming, as the energy within him became both foundation and playground for his nascent power.
Days blurred into weeks, and weeks into months. Ezra's mastery of future sight improved incrementally. He could extend his perception a few seconds farther each month, catching a falling cup before it toppled or sensing the pattern of wind as it stirred the curtains. Each success left him invigorated, each failure honed patience and restraint. Sometimes he would overshoot, seeing too much and leaving himself temporarily dizzy, the threads of time tangling around his infant consciousness. Yet each time, he grew stronger, learning the cadence of precognition as naturally as a mortal child learns to crawl.
By the ninth month, the grey divine sea had grown to 2 kilometers and stabilized into a grey expanse within his mind, the energy contained therein radiating faintly through his golden-tinged hair. Within it, he could feel the small continent grow, mountains thickening, forests stretching, rivers carving paths like veins of mana. The slow, deliberate cultivation allowed him to experiment safely, without alarming the household staff or regents who might have questioned a child absorbing energy beyond comprehension. The Codex wove the protective barrier of perception around him, hiding the growing storm of power from the outside world.
During this period, Ezra also began combining his awareness of the present with the faint echoes of possible futures. He would reach for a toy before it was placed, smile at a shadow before it passed, or shift his body in anticipation of a caregiver's approach. Every minor success in these exercises fed back into his grey divine sea, strengthening the currents of energy and further expanding the boundaries of his internal world. Each breath, each heartbeat, each blink became a lesson in timing, perception, and control.
By the twelfth month, the progress was unmistakable. Though still a child in appearance, Ezra had begun internalizing the principles of manipulation over time and energy. His divine sea had grown in richness and complexity, ready to serve as the crucible for spells, techniques, and the extraordinary powers that awaited him in the coming years, and the small continent increased in diameter.