After the unspecialized mage left and Sophie finally had a chance to make her morning tea, she began to look over the pile of items that the person from town would be picking up today and wondered if there was anything else she could add to it. She had gone over the shrine pretty thoroughly, but there was always the garden shed… She thought back to all of the dead plants in there, but felt like she could probably find a better use for them. She wasn’t much of a gardener, but at the very least, she thought they could be used as fertilizer or something.

The cart came some time after lunch. Sophie helped the man load things up, even after he kept insisting that it was no work for a shrine priestess. She laughed, amused at the idea, given that most of her duties since she arrived here had been related to cleaning up the shrine. Despite his protests, she helped him carry the items down the short stone staircase as Elowen floated around the courtyard, watching the process and apologizing for not being able to help.

It was late in the afternoon by the time they were done, and the shrine's entryway was starting to feel particularly refreshing with the pile of stuff removed. She remembered thinking the shrine had looked downright decrepit on that very first day, but with the brand new window, the lamps in the entryway lit up, and the space cleared of debris, it was practically sparkling. Even the strange mana-filled plant seemed a little perkier in its corner in the front of the room. She remembered thinking the mana lamps were a little dusty the other day when she had been lighting them by hand, and she suddenly felt compelled to clean them.

Wait, did she like… enjoy cleaning? She shuddered. Surely, not. But there was little else to do in the shrine today, and she had no real reason to go into town, especially with her pastry stockpile.

Besides, the cabinet in the back of the shrine that held Elowen’s mana stone and the small scribe’s desk next to it could both probably use cleaning, too. And it wouldn’t hurt to sweep up again in here, now that the entryway was cleared.

That settled it. She went to find a broom and a rag and began cleaning the entryway until it actually sparkled under Elowen’s watchful gaze.

“We’ll need to get more cushions,” Sophie mused aloud, as she finished sweeping. There had been some in here before, but those had been nearly destroyed and had ended up on the cart along with the rest of the discarded items. Although she still wasn’t quite sure what they had been used for. “Did people, uh, meditate in here?”

“Sometimes,” Elowen confirmed. “Some who wished to train their mana would do so here.”

Sophie glanced around the empty space. She could imagine rows of cushions, set up almost like yoga mats at an exercise studio, but she wondered what benefit it would serve. “But why?” she asked. It wasn’t as if others would have empty mana stones to fill all the time.

“Mostly to practice control or sensing,” Elowen explained. “Mana sensing can be very fine-tuned depending on one’s Understanding of it, and the shrine used to be a wonderful place to practice.”

Sophie frowned at the thought. That must have been before, of course. But Sophie still couldn’t even sense mana or the lack thereof. “Well, do I need to meditate?”

Elowen shrugged. “It probably wouldn’t hurt, but I doubt it would help much either. Your abilities are still in their infancy. Since your mana stores are limited, it’s best to focus on becoming skilled at one thing at a time.”

Ah, now that Sophie could understand. Of course, channeling would be the most useful thing to practice. Sure, it would be great if she could sense mana, but it would be way better if she could actually channel mana into Elowen’s mana stone and help her become corporeal again.

“That makes sense,” Sophie agreed, and after a final glance around the room, she knew exactly what they should do next. “Well on that note, let’s finish lighting the lamps in the courtyard,” she suggested.

Elowen looked absolutely thrilled at the idea, but Sophie’s stomach immediately protested, growling its displeasure. Right, food first.

After a hearty meal of more bread and pastries, it was nearly dark by the time she finally made it out to the courtyard with Elowen in tow. The already-lit lamps helped the ambiance a lot, and it felt much less creepy than she somehow expected it to be. She still shivered a bit at the chill in the air as she crouched down to light more of the little lamps, though. She even experimented with lighting them at a short distance in hopes of speeding up the process, but she found it impossible to even grasp what she would even do to get the mana from her hand over to the stone.

When the final lamp was lit, she stood up, feeling considerably better than she had the previous night. Granted, she had already lit most of the lamps then, so it made sense that she wouldn’t feel very tired today. She wondered if it would be enough, though. To get her to Level 4. She didn’t like the idea of going to bed without doing as much as she could.

She walked to the edge of the courtyard, glancing down the stone steps that led to the forest path and the little markers that faded quickly into the darkness. Those markers were probably made of mana stone, right? She could continue training with them…

Her stomach dropped with the thought of stepping into that darkness alone, though, without even Elowen at her side. The spirit would be unable to accompany her past the courtyard.

“You shouldn’t go out there,” Elowen said suddenly from right next to her, making Sophie jump.

“I wasn’t really planning on it,” Sophie admitted. She didn’t know what dangers lurked in the darkness, and she definitely didn’t want to find out from firsthand experience, but she should probably ask about it, at least. “Is it really that dangerous?”

Elowen frowned at the question as they made their way back into the light of the courtyard. “At a higher level, with the proper gear, no. But in the darkness at your current level…”

Sophie shivered at the implication.

“I haven’t been out there in a very long time, so it’s hard for me to truly say,” Elowen continued. “The forest used to be quite safe with the shrine here and the priestess to protect it, but corruption spreads if left untended for too long…”

Corruption. Just the thought of it made Sophie feel uneasy.

“Mana corruption can happen to anything that contains mana,” Elowen explained. “Crafted items, plants, animals, even humans. Perhaps especially humans. Humans, after all, are likely to engage in activities that attract corruption.”

“They are?” Sophie asked, surprised at that revelation. “But what happens to them? What does it do?”

Elowen shook her head sadly. “It depends on the extent of the corruption. Humans are eventually driven mad by it – animals as well. Places that are steeped in corruption can create twisted, malevolent mana spirits. Crafted objects that are cursed by corruption can cause problems for their users.”

Sophie almost couldn’t believe it – It sounded like something out of a horror movie. Like zombies or demon possession. Situations that seemed totally outside of the realm of possibility, even in this strange fantasyland. Surely nothing like that was actually lurking in the forest?

“But as a priestess, you will help prevent all of these things from happening.” Elowen’s hand hovered over Sophie’s arm, almost as if she wanted to pat Sophie reassuringly. “Not for quite a few more levels, but you’ll learn eventually. And your Tailored priestess gear will help protect you from mana corruption, as well. Besides, it’s safe enough in the daytime, at least. Animals that have gone completely mad from corruption tend to avoid the light.”

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Sophie gulped, not sure how reassured she was by that. Either way, it seemed like there was not much else she could do today to train further in her current state. She made her way back into the shrine with Elowen trailing behind and decided to call it a night, hopeful that the training she did manage would be enough.

***

Sophie woke up the next morning to a curious, blonde shrine spirit staring down at her intently.

“Um, can I help you?” she asked, carefully sitting up.

Elowen blinked a few times in reply and finally sat back. “I just don’t understand,” she complained. “Your mana has definitely grown a lot, but it’s not quite there yet…”

“So I didn’t level?”

Elowen shook her head. “No, you’re still Level 3.”

Sophie frowned and tried centering herself, focusing on her mana. Just like the previous morning, she could feel the energy within her, completely renewed, but she still had no idea how to tell what level she was. “How will I know, anyway?”

“You will gain an Understanding that allows you to sense levels,” Elowen explained. “Likely not until Level 5 or higher. It’s something a priestess usually gains when they receive their class blessing, but –”

“But, of course, my level was too low. Right. Gotcha.”

That was definitely getting old. Level 5 felt so far away, let alone Level 10. And that sounded like it was still just barely scraping the surface of an acceptable level for a shrine priestess. Blah.

“Well, I guess that means more training today,” Sophie said, although they were definitely out of lamps to work with. “Can I try working with the shrine stone finally?”

Elowen shook her head. “It would be too dangerous at your current level. Channeling mana into something that large is difficult. It’s much harder to control the flow of your mana, so it drains you much more quickly. And besides I’m bound to it.”

Sophie frowned. “Why does that make a difference?”

“Because I’m also pulling on the mana from the stone,” Elowen explained. “No, it would be better to find something smaller to work with. At least for another level or two…”

Sophie wasn’t sure she understood exactly, but she thought back to the markers along the path. Those were quite small – smaller than the lamps in the courtyard at least – and there were a ton of them, leading all the way back to the main road. If they were really made of mana stone, they would be perfect to practice with. And surely she’d level up after lighting them all.

Although the thought of going back into the forest felt strange after Elowen’s spooky explanations last night. Elowen had said it was safe enough in the light, however, and Sophie hadn’t exactly felt unsafe on her previous trips to town.

“Well, I want to try the markers, then,” she announced. “The ones on the forest path.”

Elowen frowned at that idea, as well. “I still can’t go beyond the courtyard. You do have to be careful if you’re training alone, you know. You still –”

“I know, I know,” Sophie interrupted. “Don’t use all of my mana. Don’t pass out in the potentially creepy forest. Trust me, I totally got this.”

Elowen didn’t look very convinced, but Sophie began to get ready for the day anyway. She had her customary tea and pastries – although she was starting to get low on those – and then she set off to the edge of the courtyard and made her way down the stone steps, trying not to think about Elowen’s remarks from the night before.

The little markers started a pace or two away from the stairs, and Sophie glanced back to Elowen, giving her what she hoped was a reassuring wave. “I’ll start here,” she said.

Elowen put her hands on her hips, looking unimpressed. “Just do a few,” she called out in reply.

“Okay,” Sophie agreed. “But, let’s see if it even works, first.”

She crouched down next to the nearest stone marker. It was much smaller than the lamps in the courtyard, maybe only going up to her ankle. She held her hand slightly above it this time, wondering if she might be able to make the distance channeling work today. After a few moments of focus, however, she gave up on that idea. What if it wasn’t even made of mana stone? She should at least try it the usual way first.

She put her hand directly on the small stone – it was cool and almost mossy to the touch. She found her mana again, and she could feel the moment it finally connected with the stone, flowing out easily. The little stone almost immediately glowed blue, just like the lamps in the courtyard.

“It worked!” she called back to Elowen. This would be so much better – she wouldn’t have to worry as much about stumbling around in the near dark if she stayed in town too late. Although, a lantern might still be a safe bet just in case.

Sophie moved on to the marker on the opposite side of the path, crouching down and lighting that easily as well. She stood up, pleased at her progress. She didn’t feel tired in the slightest after the two small markers.

“I’m going to continue onwards,” she announced.

Elowen made a displeased face at the idea, but Sophie really wanted to level up again.

“It’ll be fine,” Sophie insisted.

“Just be careful,” Elowen said. “If you get tired, be sure to come back.”

Sophie nodded. She was starting to understand what mana exhaustion felt like, and she really didn’t want to pass out in the middle of the forest. “Okay,” she agreed.

She walked a few paces down to the next set of markers, crouching down again and lighting each one easily in turn. She quickly fell into a pattern as she made her way down the path, pausing a few times to stretch out her legs when they began to get cramped from all the crouching. She really needed to figure out the whole channeling at a distance issue. She tried a few more times – hovering her hand above the stone – but the best she could do was channeling with a very light touch with only the pads of her fingers.

She stood up after trying a few more like that to take another break and she suddenly felt a shiver of… something. Like someone watching her. Her arms prickled with goosebumps, thinking of the corruption discussion from the night before. She glanced back down the path, but no one was there, and she was too far from the shrine to see Elowen at this point.

She turned her gaze to the trees and nearly gasped out loud when she saw two, intelligent eyes blinking back at her. But it was just the little dragon creature from before.

“There you are!” she said. “I haven’t seen you since the other day!”

The creature tilted its head as if it was trying to understand her. It was sitting on a branch quite high up in a tree, right above one of the markers she hadn’t lit up yet. She wondered briefly about mana corruption again, but brushed the thought aside. Elowen had said that it instilled madness in humans and animals alike. This little thing seemed too friendly for something like that to be the case.

“I need to come over there,” she explained carefully, as if the little thing could actually understand her. It seemed to settle on to the branch further, folding its wings against its thin little body, as if saying that it didn’t mind in the slightest.

Sophie cautiously took a step forward towards the unlit marker, keeping a watchful eye on the creature in the tree branches above. When it made no movement, she tried a second hesitant step. And then another. She glanced down at the marker again – she was almost at her goal.

She wished she had some sort of food to offer the little creature, to tempt it to stay. It would be fun if it kept her company while she lit more of the markers along the path.

Suddenly, its whole body froze, eyes wide with surprise. Sophie froze as well.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, but it was already zipping away into the forest again. “Drat.”

“What are you doing?” a suspiciously familiar voice asked from behind her.

Sophie spun around, only to find Acacia staring at her with a concerned look on her face. “Acacia!”

“Who are you talking to? Is it Elowen? Is she out here?”

Sophie shook her head. “No, it was just a little creature I keep seeing in the forest. What are you doing out here?”

Acacia lifted the paper bag in her hand and wiggled it tantalizingly. “I come bearing gifts. Sweets, for Elowen. Oh, and maybe for you, too, I guess.”

Sophie glanced longingly between the bag of sweets and the path ahead, full of more of the unlit markers. She had promised Elowen she would only do a few, and she wasn’t exactly sure how long she had been out here for, by now. Elowen would probably be happy if she returned soon, and she supposed she could finish lighting the markers another time.

“Thank you. I’m sure she’ll love them,” she conceded. She gestured towards the path, back towards the shrine. “It’s just up this way a bit.”