Descendants of the Dragon, Book One: The Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 6: A Leap of Faith

Sam had always loved it when his mother would make smoothies for the family. Watching the fruit get tossed about inside the blender had always been so tantalizing, because he'd always known that it would result in frozen deliciousness. But now that he knew what the fruit felt like, he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to drink another smoothie again.

Just as he was about to swear off smoothies for forever, the spinning stopped, and it didn't gently slow down. It stopped with an alarming abruptness. Sam's feet were suddenly back on solid ground, but that fact didn't register with his legs. They buckled beneath him, and he would've tumbled over if a strong arm hadn't caught him.

"Easy, my friend," Mr. Chen said, helping Sam back to his feet. "Steady your body and mind. Magic can be costly, and spatial manipulation is no simple trick."

Sam groaned and tried to stop his head from spinning. It wasn't the dizzy kind of spinning, but more like the delirious-think-I'm-gonna-hurl kind. "I hate magic already," he gurgled.

Mr. Chen chortled merrily. "It has its moments. I find that it can be both a blessing and a curse."

Sam straightened up, but he still felt nauseated. He looked at Mr. Chen and stumbled back in surprise. "You got older!" The man's face, which had once been unblemished, now had traces of wrinkles and one or two age spots. He seemed heavier than before, and his voice carried more weight to it.

Mr. Chen's face stiffened indignantly. "That is hardly a polite way to address your elders."

"Sorry, I just thought that...Never mind."

Mr. Chen broke into a small fit of laughter. "No, it is true. I am much older than I appear."

"Then why did you look like you were thirty? You look like you're fifty now."

"Thanks to many remedies and other manners of the waidan and neidan, I can superficially alter my age. You see, I am an alchemist. Casting magic has a cost on the body. An average person would only age a month or two, but I am much older than the average person. When I use magic, I age substantially. I haven't used as much magic as I have today in years."

"How does that work, anyways?" Sam asked.

Mr. Chen hesitated, looking unsure of how to explain things. "I use the word 'magic' to match your Western terminology, but what I am doing is not actually magic. I am a wū; a shaman. I am—"

"You're a wizard?" Sam blurted out.

Mr. Chen pursed his lips. "Yes and no," he said. "One could call a shaman a wizard of sorts, but a shaman does not use true magic. A shaman has a direct connection to the spiritual world. Some act as diviners or dream interpreters, using their spiritual connection to seek understanding. But a few, like myself, can cause the spirit world and the physical world to...How would you say...To cross?" He frowned, searching for the right description. "To interconnect, perhaps. That is how I am able to perform miraculous acts.

"However, manipulating the spirit world and the physical world takes a great toll on one's own spirit and physicality. That is why using magic always comes at a cost. Forcing what is natural to become something unnatural has consequences."

"So why did you come for me, then? Why not someone else?" Sam asked. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm grateful you saved my life and all, but if that's what magic does to you, why risk it?"

"Truth be told, I probably could have saved some of my own magic by summoning a city portal, but we were in a hurry. Besides, you are worth expending some energy for," Mr. Chen said. "I have not even begun to tell you your role in the coming years."

Years? Sam thought. Is that how long it will be before this craziness ends? His negative thoughts triggered another wave of nausea, and he doubled over and began dry heaving.