The Witcher: My Own Path

My name is Tyr, no surname because plebeians don't have surnames. I'm four years old and I'm looking at my reflection when I finish washing my face in a bucket of water, we don't have any mirrors at home so I assume it's a luxury item. I have short dark hair and green eyes, I look normal, I'm still a child, so I don't know what I'll look like when I grow up. My father's name is Dewin and he is a blacksmith. He has a strong build, about one hundred and eighty centimeters tall, and like me, he has green eyes. He has no hair or a beard, so either he was completely bald, or it was a side effect of working in the forge. I also know that he loves me dearly, you can see it in his eyes when he looks at me and takes care of me. I never met my mother, she was never with us, there are just the two of us… either she died during childbirth or she left my father right after it, I don't know. I'll have to ask the old man. Immediately after receiving the gifts, I felt like vomiting, all the enthusiasm of reincarnation and gaining control over my body disappeared and the brutal reality came with possible threats and trials that I had to go through once again because of the fear of the unknown. However, I know one thing, there is no turning back and I can either lie down and cry or grab fate by the horns. I plan to do the latter.

I return from the kitchen to my own room, lock the window and door for safety, then take out the super soldier serum and lie down on the bed in case I faint during the transformation process.

I did not faint and the process was short and painless, perhaps because the transformation will take place gradually, and not immediately as in the captain's case. I didn't feel any different, stronger, but I assume that the serum will start working soon. I put the empty vial back in my inventory and pulled out the midi-chlorians. Uncorking, I drank the entire contents at once, this time I was blown away, I didn't even have time to say ''damn''. When I opened my eyes, I was still lying in the same position I had laid down for safety. Sunlight was still shining through the cracks in the boards on the window and the sound of my father working was still audible. I sighed in relief; it could have only been an hour or two at most. This time, however, it felt different. The world was different now, more... connected, as if everything was connected to some extent. I put away the empty vial and took out the holocron. It was a red pyramid and if my memory serves me right, only rushes used such ones, well I won't know unless I check. Holding the holocron in my hand, I tried to concentrate on this faint feeling of connection with everything around me and pour it into the mystical object. From watching the Star Wars movies and reading the books, I knew how to do it in theory, but in practice it was much more difficult. However, if I were a real four-year-old or a young jedi, I would not be able to do it in the next few years, but I am an old hand in the body of a child, experienced in life and patient. Knowing the theory and having the patience of almost a stone, I would estimate that it took me fifteen to thirty minutes for the pyramid in my hand to warm up, start to rise and glow with a stronger light, then start to click and unfold into smaller triangles and a beam of red light reaching almost to the ceiling revealed a character. This figure looked to be about sixty years old, had gray hair elegantly combed back, blue eyes… cold and attentive, yet clashing, with a delicate smile as if they did not match each other. He wore the maroon and red robes of a senator of the Galactic Republic, and when he spoke automatically, it was like your favorite uncle was talking to you.

Sheev Palpatine!

Yeah! The Gift Giver mentioned that if I wanted to hunt the Wyrm, I needed a sharp mind and body, and who had a sharper mind than a man who had defrauded billions of lives across the galaxy and outsmarted who knows how many. Not to mention even Darth Vader in a lightsaber fight? all he could do was scrape his shoes. It is true that he was crazy, but it is enough to take what is best from his teachings and learn from his mistakes, rejecting what is bad, and then there are the rituals and alchemy of the Siths, in which he was proficient. Yeaaaaah, Sheev Palpatine also known as Darth Sidious is a man I want to learn from!

Peering out the window and listening to the sounds from the forge, I still had some time to at least become familiar with my new mentor, hoping that my own fear and prejudices about him and the dark side wouldn't corrupt my mind.

Sitting in a meditative position with the image of Sidious at eye level, I was ready to learn at least a lick of the teachings of power from this terrifying yet incredibly talented dark lord.

''Hello my little friend, my name is Sheev Palpatine, Emperor of the Galactic Empire.''

''All right!'' I thought to myself, his teachings would include everything he did after taking over the Galaxy, not just before.

''My name is Tyr, what can you teach me?''

I tried to sound as casual as possible, but I could see the excitement and impatience in my own voice.

As soon as I saw my new teacher's expression change, I knew I had screwed up

''Don't address the emperor like that, little Tyr, I'll have to give you LESSONS!''

I don't know how a figure made of a small triangle suspended in the air, measuring no more than twenty centimeters in its characteristic pose with arms sticking out, and fingers spread in all directions, could cause me so much pain. And that sick, maniacal laugh. But I knew one thing, that blue lightning is not a joke and I won't make the same mistake again, of course, when I wake up, because I feel that my body can't take it anymore, so my mind will soon shut down.

When I woke up, I could still feel the phantom lightning bolts hitting me and my shoulder and back hurt from lying on the hard wooden floor. The holocron lay about a meter away as if someone had thrown it there. Looking around in fear to make sure no one was in the room, I put it back in the pocket dimension. I wondered how long I had been unconscious and if my father had heard my screams. I assumed not, because he would already be here. Making sure that the room looked as it always did and not a single unwanted item was in sight, I decided to finally find out where I really was and leave the lessons with the Dark Lord for later, or at least until I stopped feeling the pain of lightning bolts of power. Closing my bedroom door behind me and walking through the kitchen, I grabbed the heavy iron door handle, took a deep breath, and yanked it. Either I'll dominate this world and subjugate it to my own will, or it will do it to me, mucking me out and rubbing me down the drain. The future is in my own hands…