What Rachid did not know—what he could not know, in his inexperience—was that his abilities were abnormal.
Extraordinary, even.
A typical First Grade Scholar Initiate experienced subtle enhancements. A slight improvement in memory retention. A marginal boost in pattern recognition. The ability to recall important details with greater ease than before, but nothing approaching perfection.
Rachid's transformation was something else entirely.
His memory was not merely enhanced—it was flawless. His pattern recognition did not merely improve—it operated at a level that most Second or even Third Grade Initiates would struggle to match.
There were reasons for this.
First, Rachid had always been intellectually exceptional. Even before his initiation, his mind operated at a level beyond most scholars. His analytical abilities, his capacity for abstract thought, his hunger for knowledge—these were qualities that predated any mystical intervention.
He was, in the truest sense, perfectly suited to the Scholar Route.
The Route had not created his genius. It had merely unlocked it. Amplified it. Removed the limitations that flesh and ignorance had imposed.
Second, his master was no ordinary guide.
Master Tour was not just any scholar. He was a Master-tier practitioner, one of the most advanced mystics in all of Mura. His understanding of the Scholar Route was profound. His connection to the entities in the Ethereal Drift was strong. His rituals were precise, refined through decades of practice.
When Tour performed an initiation, he did not merely follow the motions. He channeled power. He opened pathways that lesser practitioners could not access. He attuned the binding stone with such precision that the link it created was far stronger, far clearer, than what most Initiates ever experienced.
Rachid had been initiated by one of the best. And that made all the difference.
Third, the method itself mattered.
Across Nubia, initiation took many forms. In some kingdoms, practitioners were forced into near-death experiences—pushed to the brink of mortality so their souls would separate from their flesh in desperation. In others, years of grueling apprenticeship were required before the formal ceremony could even be considered. Some were born as spirit-children, entering the world with their souls already partially awakened.
But Rachid had been guided. Taught. Prepared by a Master who understood not just the theory, but the art of initiation.
He had been granted a privilege that most seekers in Nubia could never hope for.
And the result was someone whose First Grade abilities rivaled those of practitioners several grades above him.
But Rachid did not know this.
He assumed his experience was normal. That every First Grade Scholar Initiate felt what he felt, saw what he saw, understood what he understood.
And Master Tour, who observed the young prince with quiet satisfaction, said nothing to correct this assumption.
Let him believe it is normal, Tour thought as he watched from the shadows of his chamber, his eyes following Rachid's distant figure through the palace. Let him think all Initiates walk with such clarity. It will keep him humble. It will keep him hungry.
And when the time comes for him to realize just how exceptional he truly is...
Tour's lips curved into the faintest of smiles.
…he will be unstoppable.
Rachid's smile widened as he continued walking, his frail body moving with newfound purpose.
The corridor stretched ahead of him, lit by shafts of golden sunlight. He felt lighter than he had in years. As though the weight he had carried—the disappointment, the shame, the fear—had been lifted.
He reached his chambers and pushed the door open.
The room was simple. A bed. A desk. Shelves lined with books. A single window overlooking the city.
Rachid closed the door behind him and moved to the desk, sitting down with deliberate precision. He retrieved a blank journal and a quill, dipping it in ink.
I need to document this, he thought. Every change. Every observation. The Scholar Route demands clarity, and clarity requires record-keeping.
He began to write, his handwriting neat and measured:
Day One: Post-Initiation Observations
Memory Enhancement:
Perfect recall of the initiation ceremony. Every word, scent, visual detail preserved with absolute fidelity.
Ability to recall past texts, conversations, and observations with unprecedented clarity.
Hypothesis: The initiation has activated a latent function of the mind, or a link has been established with astral entities (ancestral scholars?) who augment cognitive function.
Further investigation required.
Interpretive Clarity:
Notable shift in how information is processed. Previously understood concepts now resonate with deeper meaning.
Connections between disparate pieces of knowledge form spontaneously, revealing patterns I had not perceived before.
Possible explanation: The binding stone created a conduit to entities in the Ethereal Drift who guide interpretation.
Requires testing and validation.
Emotional Regulation:
Significant increase in emotional control following the purification stage.
Emotions remain present but no longer dominate decision-making.
Ability to observe feelings from a detached perspective, as though they belong to someone else.
Question: Will continued advancement lead to complete emotional detachment? Is this desirable?Speculation: The Scholar Route may cultivate the "observer" archetype—one who sees without being seen, who understands without being swayed.
Physical Sensations:
Body remains frail, but perception of frailty has shifted. It no longer feels like a limitation, merely a characteristic.
Movement feels more purposeful, deliberate.
Fatigue is present but distant, as though acknowledged but not experienced.
Philosophical Reflections:
If the path leads to total ego dissolution, I will become something other than human. A mind operating above the fray, untouched by the chaos below.
This may be necessary. Sentiment is a weakness in the games I must play.
Father values strength. I will show him that the mind is the greatest strength of all.
Assumption:
These abilities are standard for all First Grade Scholar Initiates. If this is the baseline, advancement will yield exponential returns.
Next Steps:
Begin meditation practice to deepen connection to the astral.
Test memory retention over extended periods.
Observe how others react to my presence now that I am Initiated.
Request additional texts on the Scholar Route from Master Tour.
….
Rachid set down the quill and leaned back, his eyes scanning the page.
It felt good to externalize his thoughts. To organize them. To transform the swirling chaos of his mind into something structured and deliberate.
He closed the journal and placed it carefully on the desk.
Then, he moved to the center of the room, folding his legs beneath him in a lotus position. The scholar's cloak pooled around him, and he rested his hands on his knees, palms upward.
Meditation, he thought. Master Tour said the integration would continue. That my consciousness would expand. I need to facilitate that process.
He closed his eyes.
And slowly, deliberately, he began to breathe.
The room was silent save for the soft sound of his breath.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
With each breath, Rachid felt himself sinking deeper. Not into sleep, but into something else. A space between waking and dreaming. A place where thought became fluid, where the boundaries of self began to blur.
He focused on the spiral symbol Master Tour had traced on his forehead. He visualized it glowing faintly, pulsing in time with his heartbeat.
And then, in the stillness, he felt it.
A presence.
Faint. Distant. But unmistakable.
The spirits. The ancestors. The scholars who watched from the edges of the Dream Cycle.
They were there, hovering just beyond the veil, waiting.
Rachid's lips curved into a faint smile.
I see you, he thought.
And somewhere, in the unseen, they answered.
Not with words.
But with knowledge.