“Don’t all mejai take months to sense prana?” Riyan replied calmly. “Give her more time.”
“Easy for you to say, training a prodigy like Vir. Even so, her progress is slower than most mejai.”
Prodigy . Now that was a word Vir never thought he’d hear in the same sentence as his name.
Vir still hadn’t grown used to Tanya’s attitude change. Ever since she learned of his Talents, she’d been treating him more politely, giving him a bit more respect.
He’d been mistaken about the woman. She didn’t dislike Ashborn—she thought him weak for being prana scorned.
Sadly, the opposite held true for his friend. Tanya had been getting angrier and angrier at Maiya for having failed to progress even an inch in her mejai training.
“I am as surprised as you, Tanya. The boy is certainly not what I expected. Did you know? I was ready to throw him out when they had first arrived. What a terrible mistake that would have been! Perhaps the girl will manifest her abilities in time as well. She certainly has the affinities.”
“I only hope you’re right,” said Tanya.
The two fell silent, forcing Vir to leave lest they discover him. He’d just wrapped up training for the day when he happened upon a rare conversation he could overhear. These days, he tried to glean every little morsel of information he could, considering how tightlipped Riyan and Tanya had been about the Godshollow encounter.
They had both refused to say a word about the identity of the ones who had hunted him. Nor did they divulge why or how Tanya had suddenly appeared to rescue him. There was something going on here—something beyond the veil of what he could see. In fact, Riyan hadn’t even discussed the outcome of his fight with the spider. Tanya had seen its corpse, so she had likely informed the man of Vir’s success, but even still… he didn’t like this secrecy.
Inside the bedroom, he found Maiya on her bed, hugging her knees and sobbing.
“You got into a fight with Tanya, didn’t you?” he mumbled, sitting on her bed.
“You tell me. You’re the genius ,” she said, head still buried in her knees.
“Am not,” Vir retorted, his back against hers, staring at the hairline cracks that covered the clay ceiling. “You oughta know that better than most. Doesn’t take a genius to figure out what happened.”
Maiya finally popped her head up, peeking at Vir with one eye. “I’m not making any progress, Vir. Do you have any idea how hard it is, being constantly compared to someone who’s mastering Talents one after another?”
Vir met her gaze with a wry smile. “I do know, Maiya. I’ve known that feeling for most of my life.”
Her cheeks flushed, and she stuck her head back into her knees. “Sorry,” she said a moment later. “It’s not right of me to complain like this. I know. I know that! But still!”
Vir stroked her back, then moved his way up to her shoulders.
“Hmph,” Maiya mumbled. Vir didn’t need to see her expression to know she was pouting, and was probably embarrassed at her outburst, but was too shy to admit it. So he threw her a bone.
“I could use a change of scenery. How about we go catch the sunset at our spot? C’mon! It’ll be good.”
Vir got up and left, not waiting for his friend. He’d learned long ago that the best way to handle a grumpy Maiya was to let her have some space.
He threw on his boots and plodded through the sand up to the tree that capped Riyan’s abode, all the while thinking about how Dance of the Shadow Demon would’ve made quick work of the trip, with the long shadows of sunset. He’d been mulling over the ability over the past few days after he got back, but hadn’t taken even a single step towards mastering it.
Then there was the other issue he was dealing with—finding excuses not to use Talents when Riyan asked him to. There was such little Ash prana left near Riyan’s place that Vir felt like he could use his Talents once… maybe twice before all the prana ran out. The man couldn’t understand that Vir’s prana was a scarce commodity.
Must be nice having unlimited prana to use.
Vir found a spot under the branchless tree and plopped down, making himself comfortable. They’d come here less and less lately. He’d forgotten how much he missed the spot.
The warmth of the sand soaked into his back, and he found his eyelids drooped. Soon, he’d drifted off into a peaceful slumber.
He woke up just in time to see the sun slip beneath the horizon, finding Maiya curled up beside him.
“Morning, princess,” she said with a smirk.
“Princess? What are you, then? My knight in shining armor?”
“Do you want me to be?”
“Dunno. Haven’t gotten along all that well with knights so far…”
Maiya burst out giggling, forcing a smile of his own. She looked off into the distance, and her smile slowly gave way to a frown.
“Any word from Riyan about those people hunting you?” she asked with a strained voice.
“Nothing,” Vir replied. “I’ve lost count of the number of times I asked him. I don’t get why he’s so secretive about all of this. We already know about those people, not like telling us would change anything.”
“Maybe he doesn’t know?” Maiya asked.
Vir shook his head. “If that was the case, then Tanya wouldn’t have shown up. He knew they’d be there, chasing after me. All I know is they weren’t knights. They dressed differently, and they said they weren’t.”
“But if it’s not the knights, then who could it be? Who’d want to harm you? And besides, how did they even know to find you there?”
“I don’t know, Maiya. I really wish I did. I’d always thought we were safe here, at Riyan’s place. But now? I’m not so sure anymore. We can only rely on our own strength to keep us safe, and neither of us are strong enough yet.”
“Tell me about it…” Maiya said, looking down at her feet.
“Well, why don’t we see what we can do about that?” Vir said, cracking his neck.
“What do you mean?” she asked with a tilt of her head.
“I’m saying maybe I can give you some tips if you show me what you’re doing,” he said.
“Hmm,” she said, falling silent. She’d occasionally throw furtive glances his way while tapping her chin. A classic Maiya quirk. “Well, if you figured those Talents out by understanding prana as you said, then… then maybe there’s a chance? Thought you said your magic worked differently?”
Stolen novel; please report.
“Maybe? I’m not really sure, so let’s find out!”
Vir activated Prana Vision as she crossed her legs and closed her eyes. He saw the wind and ice prana circulate through her body, its course slightly altered thanks to the weird breathing exercise she did. Same as before.
Maiya was right, whatever she was doing truly wasn’t working. No prana entered her body… and in fact, not much of anything happened at all.
“Alright, walk me through the steps again, will you?” Vir said, hoping for some inspiration. “First, you detect prana, right? What then?”
“Then you have to ‘prove your faith to the gods by offering up your limb’. Or something.”
Vir groaned. This was beyond terrible. Nothing he had seen about prana had even once hinted at faith. It was almost like mejai were purposefully trying to hobble their students. Either that, or they truly had no clue how prana worked. He’d initially thought that Tanya was trying to dumb things down for Maiya, to simplify the process for a newcomer. Now? He wasn’t so sure anymore.
Closing his eyes, he puzzled through how all of this might work. He spoke his thoughts out loud for Maiya’s benefit.
“Okay, so, I’ve found that Talents use prana. Earth Affinity and Shadow Affinity prana.”
“Neither of which anyone’s ever heard of…” Maiya said, contemplating.
“Right. I fully admit that’s bizarre, but let’s just assume I’m right for now. The way I make Talents work is by seizing control of the prana inside my body.”
“Hmm. Tanya keeps telling me how the prana in our bodies is useless for anything.”
“Yeah, I don’t use my prana to power Talents. There isn’t nearly enough. I just… yank on it. Except, prana’s bound to blood, so that can cause some issues. I haven’t found a way to break that bond yet. Whenever I move the prana inside me, my blood moves as well.”
“Hmmm. Huh. Interesting… Wait,” said Maiya, “You think that’s why Tanya says magic ‘hurts’? Because mejai yank on their blood?”
Vir’s eyes widened. “Uh… you might be onto something there, Maiya. I’ve been assuming that orbs work differently from Talents since orbs remain charged until they’re used. Talents have to be activated right away… But what if they’re the same? What if orbs just store the prana you pull in?”
What if mejai did exactly what he was doing with Talents, but instead of consuming the ambient prana inside their own body, they funneled it into the orb instead? Of course, in Maiya’s case, she’d be pulling prana from the air and not the ground, but the principle was the same.
It irked Vir that even with Tanya’s newfound respect for him, she still refused to demonstrate her magic in front of him. If he could see her using magic, things would’ve been much easier.
Vir had even considered hurting himself just to have Riyan heal him, but these days, the man refused to intervene unless he hurt himself badly. Something about not ‘coddling’ him anymore.
No matter how much he wanted to improve, he wasn’t about to kill himself half to death just to see Life magic up close.
“Okay,” Vir said, “Let’s just pretend that the prana in your body is important for a minute. I know that goes against your mejai teachings, but play along for now, will you?”
“Sure. What do you want me to do?”
“Right, so don’t even bother trying to detect prana outside of you. I think we can skip that step entirely.”
“Uh, alright? I’ll try anything at this point, to be honest,” she replied hesitantly. She wasn’t convinced, but it wasn’t like his method required her faith.
“Try, um,” Vir searched for the right words. He was stumbling around, discovering things on his own. And now he was trying to teach someone? He felt so out of his depth. “Try to imagine prana flowing inside your body. Y’know, like your blood. It flows everywhere through your legs and arms, right?”
“Uh, huh…”
“Alright, so now think about slowing down that flow. Like you’re damming a river. But just inside your arm.”
Maiya scrunched up her face in concentration, to the point where sweat beaded up on her brow.
“Nothing’s happening,” she said.
That was wrong. Nothing visible had happened. Not to her, at least, but Prana Vision revealed the facts for what they were. The blood in her arm had slowed, though only by an imperceptible amount.
“Maiya, do you have an Ice affinity orb handy?” he asked, his excitement growing.
“Uh, not on me. But I could grab one from Tanya? Probably…”
“Do it. And meet me at Bumpy.”
“Uh… now? It’s about to get dark.”
“Trust me,” he said. “If I’m right about this, it’ll be well worth your time.”
— —
It took a full fifteen minutes for Maiya to return, C grade Ice affinity orb in hand.
“You won’t believe the trouble that witch gave me,” she complained. “‘Why do you need it’, ‘What are you planning’, ‘Walk before you run, you talentless lout!’ Ugh. That woman drives me up the wall!”
“Yeah, well, if this works, you’ll have the last laugh. C’mon, get on. I’ve already checked out on Riyan’s roster. We’re good to go.”
Maiya mounted Bumpy behind him, and they rode for the plains that stretched south of Riyan’s abode.
The half-hour ride passed in silence, with Vir refusing to tell Maiya anything until they’d actually arrived. The last thing he needed now was to confuse her with more unnecessary jargon and prana specifics.
“Just trust me,” he’d said.
“I do,” Maiya had replied, resting her head gently upon his back while they rode.
Vir soon located a small brook. Not the most ideal setting, but with night having just fallen, the temperature had dropped steadily as well.
That was important, because the amount of ice prana in the air had gone up noticeably. Still only trace amounts, but more traces than before. The water body helped as well, acting like a magnet for Water and Ice affinities.
“Alright, now do what you did back home,” Vir said, motioning for Maiya to sit beside the river. “Exactly like last time. And close your eyes.”
Grasping the orb in her left hand, she concentrated.
Vir stared into her body with Prana Vision, and saw the blood to her arm slow just a hair. It was nowhere even close to the level of power he had over his own body… but it was there.
“Not working, Vir,” Maiya said.
“Just keep it up,” he said, his gaze fixed on her arm. Slowly but surely, the prana inside her arm was being depleted—dissolved by her muscles.
A minute passed. Then five. Maiya kept complaining, but stuck through it regardless, her eyes shut in concentration the whole time.
At the ten-minute mark, something changed.
“Vir… I think I feel something. My arm feels weird. All tingly, and it hurts a little.”
“That’s great, Maiya! Keep it going!”
Maiya’s tingling sensation gave way to pain… and finally to numbness.
Only at that point did Vir tell her to open her eyes.
Her jaw hit the floor. “T-t-t–t-the!”
“Haha, yep,” Vir replied, gazing at the dimly lit ice orb, partially charged. If a mejai saw it, they’d say it was barely a quarter full.
But even then, the clear light that illuminated Maiya’s palm told it true.
“I… did magic?” Maiya said, staring blankly at the orb. “I… did magic… Chala’s knees! Vir! Vir! I DID MAGIC!” She screamed, nearly deafening him.
“You sure did, Maiya,” he replied warmly, sharing his friend’s jubilee.
“Viiiiir!” She tossed the orb aside and tackled him, sending them both to the ground. Maiya continued to cling to him, refusing to let go. “Vir, how?”
She squeezed him tightly. “Vir, I love youuuuu. Thank you so so soooo much! You can’t know what this means to me! I’m not supposed to charge orbs for like… a year! Or more! This is insane! Just wait till Tanya sees!”
Vir laughed, awkwardly patting her back as he sat back up. “Ha ha, t-thanks Maiya. I’m gonna have to take some time to process all this, but I think we just confirmed that Talents and magic work in exactly the same way. Oh, but keep the details of how this works to yourself, yeah? I, uh… I don’t think a lot of people know about this. Not even Tanya.”
“You’re incredible, Vir,” Maiya said, finally breaking her embrace so that she could wipe the tears from her eyes. “How did you possibly figure all this out?”
“Hey, you were the one who had the realization about Talents working the same as orbs,” he replied with a wink. And he meant it. It wasn’t Maiya’s fault that her instructor didn’t know how to teach her. “From now on, try training near places with a lot of wind and water. And especially at night. I think you’ll have a much easier time of it.”
“Got it. Anything else?” she asked, looking at him with eyes full of wonder.
He ruffled her head. “Start with that for now. And be careful about how much you restrict your blood flow. Too much and it can be dangerous… Ask me how I know.”
While Maiya might have been excited, Vir was honestly relieved at her breakthrough. If they did end up separating in the future, he’d feel a lot better if Maiya knew how to hurl powerful spells in addition to her Kalari training.
Maiya suddenly frowned and looked away, her previous energy dissipating into thin air.
“I wish mom and dad could see this,” she said. “They’d be so proud. I miss them so much, Vir.”
“Well, why don’t we show them? In person.”
She turned to him, the faintest hint of hope in her eyes. “You think he’ll let us go back?”
“I’ve got a duel coming up with him,” Vir replied. “If I… perform well enough, I can’t think of a reason why he’d refuse. I wield Talents. You’ve made a breakthrough. That has to be enough to satisfy him.”
“Can you imagine how they’ll react when they see everything we can do?”
Vir only hoped things turned out as well as she hoped. A small whisper at the back of his head said otherwise. A voice he did his best to ignore.
Next time: 54 - Duel on the Dunes