Winter was coming to an end, and flowers began to bloom with the birds returning.

Tsugi was in an intense training session with his father, in the middle of a vast grassy field. His attacks still weren't making it through his fathers defenses, but he's finally been able to go on the offense a few times. He's even getting better at being able to recognize a hallucination.

Tsugi and his father's explosive bout in the field sent grass and dirt flying in powerful gusts of wind. Tsugi spotted one green grass that was a slightly different shade of green from the rest and quickly popped back into reality, still fighting.

The hallucination magic occurred and went so quickly, it was hard to keep track which was which. Tsugi just knew he couldn't give up. Remembering Yahni's warning about near death experiences, Tsugi was more vigilant. His senses are always on alert, watching for anything and everything that could go wrong.

As soon as he felt a hint of confidence in himself, he immediately looked around. As if it was in slow motion, the grass had this weird glitch to it, almost like another grassy blanket was being drug over it.

He immediately heightened his senses, picking up speed. For the first time, he caught his father off guard, barely landed a kick to his chin, and instantly putting a halt to the hallucination.

Tsugi landed on his feet as his father took a step back from the kick. Although it did nothing but leave a little red mark, it was a very big improvement for Tsugi, and he couldn't help but grin.

Sir Gorou held up a hand and touched his chin like he couldn't believe what had just happened. A grin appeared on his face, "Good. We will resume tomorrow."

"Yes sir!" Tsugi was elated. Not only did he stop his fathers hallucination magic, he actually landed a kick. Even though it wasn't a full on impact like how he had wished, it was a victory for him. "Yipeeee!" He screamed as soon as Sir Gorou disappeared. Tsugi ran around the field and leaped with joy.

He ran up the dead hill and into the woods. He's been practicing his magic every chance he could and wanted to show Yahni.

"Let's see what you can do now, Young Master Tsugi." Yahni said.

He closed his eyes, black smoke formed in his fists and when it cleared he held a perfect quill pen in his hand.

"Wow!" Rygo said. "That was awesome!"

"That's not all." Tsugi closed his eyes again and out popped a stick, a leaf, a rock, even a full book popped out. It was complete with pages, words and everything, an exact replica.

"I am very proud of you, Young Master Tsugi."

"Can you teach me how to do it with the soul summon now?"

"The soul summon is a little tricky and dangerous." She said and sat down on the floor. "In order for you to summon a soul, you need to open a door to the spirit realm. That's the door that the soul will come through, but until you send it back it will remain open. That means that it's also possible for other souls to escape."

"How would I prevent the other souls from escaping then?"

"You have to close the door, but like I said, you have to send the soul back first before you can close it, the world must stay in homeostasis. If you pull the soul out here it tips the balance, and if you shut the door while the soul is out here, it will damage the rift, like closing a door on your arm when you aren't even fully through the door.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

You just have to be vigilant and make sure to open a door away from where there are any other wandering souls.

"How would I know which soul to choose?"

"You sense them, souls don't use words like we do, they read energy. So, you need to feel for the best energy that matches yours."

"What if I pick the wrong one?"

"Then the summon won't be as strong as you want it to be. You can always send the soul back if that happens. Once you do find one, you will usually build a bond, and that soul will come every time you call."

"Does the soul have to come from the spirit world? Can it come from our world?"

"Free range souls in our world may not be that strong. It also depends on how long they've been roaming and if they've been consuming energy or not. Most souls that are both here and strong, are the ones that you should 'not' be calling on, they have malicious intent. You should avoid them at all costs."

"Is it possible for any one person to possess more than one soul?"

"Each soul is their own person, they have their own looks, behavior, personality. For someone to possess more than one, I don't know if that is possible, Young Master Tsugi."

"Oh okay. I was just thinking if there was any other way I can do this without risking opening a door."

"That's why I say, don't open it too often. And never open it in the same place, or the souls will start to gather in that spot and wait for you. Not only that, but it'll draw the darkness there too. Now this is something I cannot help you through. You will have to experience it yourself when the time does come. It's not something you can practice willy-nilly. You understand?"

"Yes, I understand."

"I know it's hard to grasp the concept just by explanation. Just remember when you 'do' call on a soul, find the one that you have a bond with. It'll feel almost like a pull."

"Okay. Thank you Yahni."

"Just be careful." She warned.

Tsugi nodded. "Can you teach me how to perform healing magic now?"

"Have you built up enough earth magic already?" Her eyes widened with surprise.

"I hope so, I've been working very hard every chance I get."

"Okay, let's see." She placed her palms on Tsugi's back. "It's good enough that we can start to practice."

"Yes!"

"Can we watch too, mother?" Ryna asked.

"Yeah! Can we? Please, please, please?" Rygo jumped up and down.

"Alright, come outside."

"YAY!" They both cheered and ran out.

"We found an injured bird the other day and we've been nursing it, but it's not getting better. You can try your healing magic on it.”

She pulled an injured bird from the cage and walked outside with it. "Okay, so to heal, you have to touch the person or thing that needs to be healed." Tsugi took the bird from her. "You cannot just heal anything. Like I said before, there needs to be balance. So if you are going to give life, you need to take life. Us healers like to use plants to heal, since there's plenty of it...usually."

"Is that why the hill is full of dead grass? Because you've been healing me?"

"Yes." She nodded. "Now when you heal, imagine your aura drawing up the life from the plants like a straw, and coursing through your body like veins and arteries, then through your arms and to the thing you are healing. Your aura will seep into the wound and just like how you imagined every little detail of that quill, you will be able to see, pull and heal the wound.

Never perform healing magic if you have no plants around. The magic will pull your life source to heal if that happens. Also, if you do not have enough plants to exchange, you may not be able to heal completely or at all. Only use healing magic on life threatening wounds. You will have a higher chance of success that way. Then all other wounds can heal on their own. Now go ahead and give it a try."

Tsugi closed his eyes and did as he was instructed. Yahni guided him through each step, explaining how it should feel, where it should go, how it should look. He tried hard not to lose concentration as sweat dripped down his forehead onto this nose.

Finally when complete, he panted and slowly opened his hand. The bird flew away as if it was never injured.

Tsugi was awestruck.

His head felt heavy, and the world started to spin. His vision turned yellow and he saw the floor rushing to his face before it faded to black.