Upon exiting the house, I was blinded by the bright light of the afternoon sun. My sensitive eyes needed some time to adjust. How long had we stayed down in the basement this time around? Time sure as hell passed quicker when you were having a good time. I could watch that kid play for hours on end.

We walked for quite a bit. I could feel the soft grass beneath my feet with every step I took. This must be what walking on clouds feels like. Can we just lay down now? The vast plains of the village looked especially soothing during this time of the day. I never thought about it much before, but how did this village make a living if not through agriculture? There were no signs of any crop cultivation whatsoever! All I’d ever seen around were fields of grass. If there even was a village to begin with anyway. The next house wasn't exactly around the corner, you know? We might as well have been neighbors with that skyscraper.

The old man led the way as the two of us followed behind closely. No one said a word as we walked. While I awkwardly struggled to keep my pace, Rheka trotted along behind her grandfather, smiling without a worry in the world as per usual.

“That should be enough.” Vrintas stated, plunging down on the grass immediately after. “Come, sit.”

No need to tell me twice, my legs were killing me already. Double the legs equals double the pain, gramps.

“Let what I’m about to tell you children be your introduction to the ways of the arcane.” he continued. “I’m risking a lot with the things I want to teach you. The knowledge I want to pass on to you..." Vrintas paused. "Family aside, it is often looked down upon with disdain to teach others anything even remotely related to magic if you’re not a certified tutor. And that’s only if it’s not illegal through local law already.”

I peeked over to catch a glimpse of Rheka’s reaction. I hadn’t seen her this seriously engaged for a while. With her eyes wide open, hair wings up straight and her hand to her chin, she focused with great intensity on the man she was clearly trying to imitate. Yet, I wasn’t sure if she actually understood any word the old man was saying. Others might have changed their speech when talking to a child but not him. He spoke to us as if he was just chatting with other adults.

“Despite all that... I can see the longing in both of your eyes. I could see it for a while now, to be honest. Whatever might happen to me one day, use what I teach you with care. I'm certain it has been said many times over, but the ways of the arcane can be as destructive as they can be helpful.” He paused for a bit. I could see him gathering his thoughts.

“Fo our first lesson today I’ll bring you two closer to the concept of Manipulative Aura or Mana for short. It is the very essence of the arcane world, allowing us to interact with it and shape it if we wish to do so. Mana can be found all around us. In the air you breathe, as well as in the ground you walk on. It flows even through your very own bodies. Remember; wherever magic is, mana is as well.”

Huh, strange. I couldn’t recall ever sensing anything around me similar to the sensation he was describing. So, either I was inept, or it was damn hard to detect “Mana” by default.

I'm aching to know if he realizes that I understand every word of what he’s saying. Well, I guess he does. Otherwise, why would he really bother to explain things in such great detail? Vrintas seemed to notice my lack of attention, as he stopped speaking for a brief moment, throwing a sharp glance in my direction. This sure already feels a damn lot like school.

“Ahem. Most importantly, abusing the arcane can yield disastrous results. Certain doom will find its way, should you ever overestimate your own capabilities. Sudden fatigue, dizziness and slight pain throughout your body are the first signs of what users of the arcane call Mana Drought. A naïve novice might tell himself to ignore such minor side effects and continue on, while in reality – he's pushing further and further over the edge. While the unforgiving forces of the arcane begin to consume him...” Vrintas paused, sitting before us still as ever, hand to his chin.

“Avoid scenarios that may force you to overuse mana. The Drought is not a kind stranger. Of course, as time goes on and your abilities progress with it, you’ll be able to handle more and more. Strangely enough, mana and your physical capabilities corelate to each other more than you might expect. A stronger body supplies easier ways for mana to flow freely – I suppose.”

Huh? You suppose? We’re putting our future- hopefully magical- lives in your hands here!

“Pa?” Rheka raised her hand. “Who... Who taught you? She asked him. And rightfully so – it was time to state your sources, old man.

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“Well dear, I had multiple tutors. Time and patience were certainly among the most important ones." He chuckled. "I didn’t seek to live the life of a magician at first, but destiny has its ways I suppose.” He gave Rheka a pat on the head.

“Huh? No fair! That’s the same thing Mom and Argius say all the time!"

Well. I don’t, but I do think it. Can you read minds by any chance?

“So... When do we get your rings?” She inquired further.

“Oh these? Ah well, that’s not quite how it works, my child. Hahaha.” There it was again. Seeing that old man crack a smile and laugh on top of that? It sure was a pleasing sight.

“This, Rheka, is what you call a Catalyst. Channeling mana through a catalyst is essentially what allows you to shape it to your liking. It’s the last part needed to successfully cast a spell. A ring isn't the only object that serves as a catalyst. Staves, weapons, raw materials and even nature itself! Can be used as catalysts for the arcane. However, through all shapes and forms you will find that Manatrite is often involved in one way or another. You could call it... the origin of all arcane things, I suppose." He gave his chin a light scratch.

You, my child, are a nowadays rare and special case. For you Argius acts as your main source, your very own personal catalyst so to speak.”

I’d read about this before. I couldn’t quite remember where exactly, but what the old man was teaching us about at that moment were so called Nekros. People born alongside a Forpal, a companion who’d share their Nekro’s fate and act as their personal guardian for the most part. I knew it sounded familiar when I skimmed over it first and didn’t realize immediately how perfectly it really described our situation. The literature of this world wasn’t exactly easy on the mind to be honest. Add my short attention span and likelihood to forget things I don’t consider important, and you’ve obtained my personal recipe for not remembering half the things I learn. I know that isn't exactly what you'd expect from your everyday conman, but what can I say? I was very selective with my memory.

I suppose that makes me the Forpal then. It was a lot to digest for sure, but some of the things we were told brought my curiosity for magic to an all-time high. I was dying to finally use magic myself.

And it seemed the other two were sharing my enthusiasm. Rheka was practically on the edge of her seat from what I could tell by just glancing over. The wings on her head were beating fast, which was always a clear indicator of excitement.

"I wanted to save this for next time, but I’ve changed my mind. It's not like I'm getting any younger by letting you children wait. Let’s start with practice. Right now.”

Imagine my level of disappointment when we found out that perhaps I was unable to use magic at all. Shortly after our first theoretical lesson had ended, we’d all gotten up to jump straight into the practical. Vrintas showed us Luminance, a spell that would produce a small hovering orb of light, which would then follow the caster. The duration and brightness of the spell depended on the caster's skill and the amount of mana used to cast it. The average time it’d stick around was about a minute. This spell was as beginner friendly as it’d get. Pretty simple stuff I’d figured.

Well, I was wrong.

According to Vrintas, to successfully use a spell, you had to attune to it first and foremost. Which required a heavy amount of concentration, as well as someone or something that’d demonstrate the spell to you over and over for a considerable amount of time before that. Or you could imagine what the spell looked like and how it worked. The latter would typically occur in cases where you’d read about spells in books. You could only ever be attuned to four spells at once, but if you ever needed to re-attune to a spell, you’d already learned about in the past it’d apparently be much less of a hassle to do so.

Rheka had some trouble at first, but after a good hour of watching, she managed to produce something that at least slightly resembled an orb of light. When she did, I felt a sensation similar to what I’d experienced that night in the forest. Granted, the light was dim and only lasted for a couple of seconds, but it clearly seemed to work for her at the very least.

However, in my case, there was nothing. No fuzzy feeling. No sound. And no orb of light. I’d watched the old man cast the spell for God-knows-how-long, just as Rheka had, yet I couldn’t cast up a damn thing. It was depressing. Soon enough we’d spent the better half of the day trying to get any kind of result. Rheka’d started to make some considerable progress, but even she’d stopped practicing at some point and opted to help me out instead. Vrintas looked puzzled and was probably deeply in thought, trying to figure out what was wrong with me. I still couldn’t quite voice my opinion, but I didn’t need to. The frustration was plastered across my face.

Vrintas walked towards me slowly and as he came to a halt right in front of me, he raised his hand, hovering it over my head. “Detect.” He whispered. A faint glow emitted from the palm of his hand.

“That's... odd.” He stopped.

“Alright. That’s plenty enough for today.” Vrintas proclaimed just as the sun was about to disappear beneath the horizon. “Let’s head home, I’ll figure this out by tomorrow.” he said. Rheka seemed relieved by his words. I, however, couldn’t stop thinking about how much of a failure I must've looked like. If I couldn't even cast a single spell, then what use did I have?

Whatever. The old man is right. Tomorrow will be different. I'll try again. Shit can't be that hard.