Corrin was floating in a void. The only things that existed in the world were him and the mana that filled the air, tingling with power and potential. He drew the mana into himself, his breath a small channel to divert the flow of the universe. Now that he could see, he understood the process a bit better. Little blue motes of light were drawn into his body, but most of the mana remained a faint shimmer in the air. Within him, the mana condensed, growing thicker and more potent as it blackened on its way to his core; there, he lost track of it as it diffused into his aura and began to flow throughout his body.
One breath, then another, then another. Corrin still couldn’t draw in more mana while directing his own, so he took the time to fill up completely, and once he was full, he began to let it back out. Ash mana trickled out with Corrin’s breath, sticking to his skin like… well like ash. He’d had experience with that before, and the thought brought back some bad memories, but he didn’t let himself dwell on the past, letting the memory wash over him and pass.
What had Tor called it? Right, mantling. He was forming a mantle of mana around his body, a layer of power that existed outside his channels. Mantling would hold the key to creating a technique like Tor had asked him to, but holding the mana over his body was difficult in and of itself. From within his body, mana had always leaked out very slowly, as if through tiny, imperceptible cracks. Outside his skin however, there was no such barrier. Holding the mantle required active thought, just like circulating to different parts of his body did—in fact it was even harder. He felt like he had less authority over his mantle than he did his channels. It wanted to escape, to drift out of his mental grasp, and it flowed away like water through his hands.
In order to maintain a constant amount, he had to continuously release mana from his body, draining him at an unbelievable rate. Even if he only pulled out enough mana to cover his fist, with how quickly it leaked, his reserves would dry up in only a few minutes. As expected, the more mana he put into the mantle, the faster it drained. But it had still drained even faster in his fight with Tor. From that he gathered he could slow the leakage given more practice and time.
He kept going, feeding mana to the mantle until it had all drained away, leaving him with just the base amount of aura left in his body. It was maybe… forty percent or so of his total reserves. He figured it would take far more strain to cause it to deplete, or a lot more willpower. Corrin couldn’t hold his breath to make himself pass out, but he’d passed out from exhaustion before. Maybe it was possible, but it wouldn’t be practical.
He remembered what Tor had said. Ash channelers couldn’t hold as much mana in their bodies due to its nature. That meant he’d likely lose any battles of attrition. Of course, he could draw in mana mid-battle to continue fighting if he wasn’t directing his aura anywhere, but doing so strained his channels.
Does ash strain my channels faster than a different aspect would? He wondered. I’ll have to ask Tor when he gets back, not that there’s anything I can do about it.
From there, he found something else out. The smallest amount of aura his body would hold wasn’t the same as the amount it could hold. Even before he began channeling again, he could feel aura seeping into his channels. It didn’t come from his core or his breath, but rather from all over his body, as if every muscle was leaking aura to help fill up his reserves. For almost an hour he let it be, practicing directing his mana as he waited for it to fill up.
After fighting Ayden, he realized that his command over his mana was slower by far. A mantle was slower than the mana in his body, so the fact that Ayden had blocked his attack with the mantle directly was a problem. Corrin couldn’t move his mana so quickly, even if it was inside him. So general control was on his practice agenda as well. He had no idea how long had passed by the time the aura filled him back up to half full, but it had been long enough that he didn’t want to wait any longer.
Before he topped back off with mana, he tried drawing the excess aura out into his mantle and found that he could. It drained slower than the mana had, as if it was more attached to him, but there was so little of it that it still only lasted about ten seconds before it was gone.
As the last of the power slipped through his grasp, he finally opened his eyes and fell backwards onto the deck with arms outstretched, letting out a sigh. The sky had grown bright with the sun, and its vast blue stretched out above him, clouds drifting lazily by, in no hurry to be anywhere.
Lucky them.
“Already giving up huh?” Ayden’s voice rang out from the side, sneering.
Corrin rolled onto his side, squinting as he looked over towards the adventurers. All but Ayden were sitting by the railing of the skiff. The spearman was standing alone on the deck, and had clearly been getting in some practice of his own, his brow was beaded with sweat and he was noticeably breathing as he glared at Corrin.
Corrin propped himself up on his elbow and smirked at him. “I’m just making sure the deck is comfortable for you. You’ll thank me in two weeks.”
The shorter mage, who had looked up from her book, stifled a laugh as Ayden’s face turned red. He glanced back at the girl in armor, who was watching the affair with mild interest, and brandished his spear. “If you want a fight then—”
“No thanks.” Corrin rolled back over and frowned. His trash talk was rusty. And there was no point to it if he couldn’t back it up.
He clicked his tongue and started channeling again. Even then, it would still take a couple minutes to fill up all the way, only for it to drain quickly as he practiced mantling. Was that how his next two weeks would go? An endless cycle of channeling and draining his mana? He’d have to take breaks at some point, his channels would strain from too much usage. What a pain.
A shadow was suddenly cast over his face as a kindly voice spoke to him. “Don’t mind Ayden too much, he just gets a bit hot headed with channelers around his age.” The older adventurer stepped into his view and reached down, holding out a hand. Though older was a relative term, he was probably no older than thirty five, around Tor’s age. “Name’s Reiss. It’s good to meet you Corrin.”
Corrin hesitated for a moment, then took the hand and pulled himself up. “Thanks, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Cor—” He paused and snorted.
The adventurer, Reiss, grinned. “Yes, I caught that. I apologize for interrupting you, but it looked like you were taking a moment to recover your mana, and it didn’t seem Mr. Tor had any interest in introducing the rest of us.”
“Well, I’m sure he’s a busy man.” Corrin felt a bit compelled to defend the spirit knight, and Reiss nodded in return.
“That is likely true. But in that case I’ll introduce us in his stead. We’ll be working together for the next few weeks, not to mention the hunt itself, so I think it’s just common courtesy, yes?”
Corrin blinked. “Um, yeah sure.”
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“Fantastic,” Reiss smiled warmly and gestured towards the two women sitting by the railing. When he called out to them his tone reminded Corrin a bit of Fenfreth. “Get over here you two, introduce yourselves.”
The shorter woman adjusted her hat—a wide-brimmed pointed thing—to glance at him for only a moment as she waved a hand dismissively and yelled across the deck. “Melanie, nice to meet you.” Then she returned to her book.
Reiss clicked his tongue, but brightened a bit as the younger girl flushed and walked over, her armor clinking heavily as she walked. As she got closer Corrin found himself straightening his back, she was one of the tallest girls he’d ever seen! She was about as tall as Wyn was, maybe even a tad taller with her thick armored boots, so Corrin had to tilt his chin to meet her eyes as she held out a gauntleted hand.
She smiled awkwardly, and her voice was quiet. “My name’s Emryn, I’m an earth channeler. It’s nice to meet you.”
He shook her hand back, “Corrin, ash channeler. I look forward to working with you guys.”
Reiss nodded happily. “Oh and I should mention, I’m a wind channeler myself. Since she was so rude, I should say Miss Melanie over there is our group’s mage, and quite an accomplished one at that as far as Precipice is concerned.”
“So wind, earth, and…” Corrin glowered at Ayden who was staring at the gathering with annoyance. “Water?”
“Unfortunately for you,” Reiss confirmed.
Water was unfortunate for Corrin? How did it relate to his own ash aspect? “Wait, why's that?”
Reiss chuckled. “You really are new aren’t you?” He waved a hand placatingly at Corrin’s expression. “I don’t mean it as an insult. If anything, your strength despite your knowledge is a testament to your talent. Water is just an aspect that I suspect you may have a harder time against compared to others.”
Corrin frowned. “I’m weak against water and fire? How does that make any sense.”
“I wouldn’t exactly say you are weak to it, but if I understand your aspect correctly—and I may be wrong, ash channelers are rare you see—it will reduce one of your greatest strengths.”
“Which is?”
“Earth mana is without doubt the strongest aspect for defending against physical attacks. It’s heavy and tough to break, so most earth channelers are known for their defense and ability to stand their ground. Take Emryn here, she could stop a charging bull dead in its tracks, even without her armor.”
The girl blushed at the praise. “Well, I would be much stronger if I could mantle better. As it stands I’m hardly a proper earth channeler.”
He put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly as he continued. “Of course, earth mana is also useful in defending against mana and aura attacks as well. But it is not the foremost aspect for such a purpose. In that sense, your ash aspect is perfect for fighting earth channelers, as its power is more potent than a similarly powerful earth channeler’s defense—at least in terms of mana clashes. You can just break through.”
Corrin remembered the golden armor that had surrounded Tor during their battle. It had stopped his attacks entirely until he had mantled mana around his fist. Though it was clear that defense wasn’t the whole story. Corrin remembered the futility in trying to stop the spirit knight’s attacks, let alone the hammer throw he’d demonstrated earlier that morning. Power was power, and there was a difference that no aspect could overcome.
He could put together what Reiss was saying though. “So if earth isn’t the best for defending against mana, then I suppose water is?”
“Exactly,” Reiss smiled. “And water channelers—Ayden included—won’t take hits as easily as other channelers either. They tend to be some of the best at avoiding attacks altogether. While you won’t exactly be at a disadvantage against a water channeler, it’s not a great matchup if you have to win quickly.”
Corrin hummed. “Thanks for the advice, that’s good to know. But I’m a bit confused, isn’t he your teammate? Why would you tell me that?”
The older man laughed. “Ah, to be young again. Are we enemies Corrin? Are you a bandit that has robbed veldstriders and caravans? Perhaps I’ve grown into such a poor judge of character at my age, but I don’t believe you to be that type. If I had it my way, Ayden would be training you himself, but he thinks the same way you do, perhaps even moreso. Oh well, I’ll put it simply. Helping you can only benefit my team, there's nothing bad about having a stronger sparring partner.”
“Huh…” Corrin glanced over at the spearman who was running through forms, thrusting his spear with deadly force and precision. “Well, I appreciate the help.”
“Of course, I only ask you to help my teammates to improve in any way you can as well. Perhaps you could spar with Emryn when you get the chance?”
Corrin sized up the armored warrior, whose eyes had widened at Reiss’s words. “I’m not sure how much use I’d be. If she’s anything like Ayden she’s stronger than me.”
“Oh… I’m not as strong as he is,” Emryn said. “He’s probably the strongest fighter in our group, meanwhile I can hardly mantle.”
“I’m shocked that bastard puts up with that,” Corrin admitted.
“He’s not—” Emryn sighed. “He’s not that bad once you get to know him. He just gets competitive sometimes.”
Corrin snorted. “Yeah I’m sure. He seems like a great guy to me.”
Ayden looked back over, and Corrin stuck his tongue out. The spearman grit his teeth and went back to his practice.
“Well, if you antagonize him…” Emryn’s quiet voice was reproachful.
Corrin blushed, scratching the back of his head. “Okay yeah maybe that’s fair. You guys are nice, and he’s your teammate so I’ll try to stop. He just irks me ya know?”
Reiss chuckled. “Frankly I hope you win, that boy could use a bit of an ego check. Tor is too high above us peasants for him to count, and the officers he brought are busy training up the conscripts.”
“He didn’t bring his own forces?”
He shook his head. “Moving an army takes a long time. Not to mention finding food and lodging for them with winter approaching. Add that to the unusual geography? Better to conscript from local militias and throw some gold at adventurers used to fighting on veldstriders. There’s about two hundred of us, plus several hundred more conscripts. Not to mention, Tor’s worth a whole company of channelers like us on his own.”
“I guess that makes sense. So you’re getting paid a lot for this then?”
“Enough,” Reiss chuckled. “Plenty would come even without the payment though. Can’t exactly let a colossus capable of threatening cities wander around, even if us adventurers do tend to be a selfish lot. This sea is our place of business.”
Corrin nodded. “True enough.”
The older man clapped his hands. “But that’s enough about that. You’re short on time and I’d hate to take more of it. Your mana is recharged now, yes?”
Corrin tilted his head. That was right, he’d been channeling over the course of their conversation, and the ambient mana had replenished him.
Reiss seemed to read the answer on his face. “Great! Now mantle whatever you can for me, I’ll give you some tips to help with the leaking. After that I’d appreciate it if you'd spar with Emryn. Ayden always goes easy on her and she could use more practice.”
“Reiss!” The girl gaped.
“It’s true,” he shrugged. “In fact, why don’t you take off that armor and practice your mantling as well? For his faults, Ayden has been training since Tor left, while you’ve been sitting and relaxing.”
After some grumbling, Emryn relented, and she began to take off her armor.
Next, Reiss turned his attention to Melanie, the mage, sitting comfortably with her hat shading her from the sun. “Melanie, you should—”
“Buzz off Reiss! I’m reading!”
Reiss sighed, then shrugged as if to say he tried. Emryn straightened her shoulders upon hearing the words. She paused as if to agree with the older mage, but as she turned to face Reiss, he glared at her and she wilted like a flower in winter.
Another piece of armor clanked to the ground a moment later.
Reiss turned back to Corrin and smiled. “Now, let’s see that mantle.”
Corrin took a deep breath. The air was cool and fresh, filling his lungs with an energy entirely distinct from mana. Then he exhaled, letting his power flow out with it, and he felt a smile on his face. The feeling was one he hadn’t known in years. Training under someone stronger than himself, surrounded by peers, rivals, potential friends…
Isn’t this great Wyn? He thought, wishing his friend were still there with him. It was the only thing that might make the day even better. We’re not alone anymore.