The sun was not yet up. The world was grey and quiet. Caelum stood in the center of the dusty training yard. The air was cold on his bare arms.
He spread his small feet apart. He bent his knees. He tried to hold the low stance of an imperial soldier. He remembered the stance perfectly. He had trained legions of men.
His child's body did not obey. His legs trembled. His back was weak. He wobbled for a moment, then fell backward into the soft dust.
He sat there for a second. Frustration, cold and sharp, rose in his chest. He pushed it down. He stood up, wiped the dust from his pants, and tried again.
He put his feet in the correct position. He bent his knees. He held his arms out to his sides for balance.
This time, he held the stance for three seconds before his legs gave out. He fell again.
He got up.
He did it again. He fell.
He got up.
From the edge of the yard, a soft white light glowed. The ghost fox sat under the shadow of an old tree. It watched him with its bright, steady eyes. It did not move. It was just a silent observer in the pre-dawn gloom.
Caelum ignored the fox. He ignored the ache in his legs. He stood up one more time. He would try something different. A simple balance exercise.
He stood straight. He lifted his right foot off the ground. He tried to hold it there.
His body swayed wildly. He hopped on his left foot, his arms pinwheeling. He fell.
He got up. He tried again. He focused his mind. He pushed away the frustration. He pushed away the cold. He focused on a single point: the broken practice dummy in front of him. All his thought, all his will, centered on that single point. This cold focus was an emotion he knew well. It was the mind of an emperor. This was a different use of his power, not of warmth or fear, but of pure, disciplined will.
He lifted his foot.
His body was still. He did not wobble. He stood balanced on one leg, his arms steady at his sides. He held it. One second. Two seconds. Three. Four.
His leg began to shake from the strain. He put his foot down gently before he could fall.
He stood there, breathing a little hard in the cold air. It was a small victory. A tiny one. But it was a start.
The first light of the sun touched the top of the trees. His secret training was over for today. Caelum turned and walked out of the yard, the silent ghost fox dissolving like mist behind him.