And so, a month passed.

That was what his mind reminded him of, as his erratic breathing began to calm down after the physical exertion he put himself through, and sweat ran down his naked torso, letting him feel the wonders of the cold, moon-chased wind.

His figure was surrounded by fallen enemies, or so he thought of them but a moment ago, while their real appearance was that of cut down trees, unfortunate enough to be chosen as target for the practice of his skills.

Avaln began to control his breathing, released a sigh, then drove his ivory spear into the grass covered earth.

A month. He repeated in his mind, as he sat cross-legged and closed his eyes. The amount of time seemed unreal despite being able to remember every single day since his arrival on Gale.

A month, yet an instant.

There, still sensing the delicate cold brush of the wind, he let his seventh sense out with a swirl, focusing on the spear’s essence and his own. Good. Was his next thought, after realizing his essence circulation had finally stabilised after his last experiment. Refining the world’s essence and a creature’s at the same time had yielded great results, but as a consequence his own circulation had taken quite a while to finally calm down. Or so had been his guess, for there was no precedent he could base his deductions on.

As such, he made sure to refine the world’s essence in a measured manner, every single day, in order to help his circulation return to normal. So was instructed inside The Ten Thousand Petal Lotus State Essence Circulation Art.

Another step. He thought, a certain yearning threatening to flare up inside him, but he quickly calmed it down by focusing on his breathing. The Tempered Essence realm was close, yet even if his circulation had stabilized, it was still too soon to attempt a breakthrough without preparing first. Right now, tired from training, wasn’t the moment.

So, after regaining his focus, it came the demon boar spear’s essence. The past month he’d been coming to the clearing Jeff had showed him, for two main reasons: to fully integrate in his body what he’d comprehended from the Dún Scáith Spearmanship records, and to discover in what ways his elementless essence could interact with the demonic flowing inside the spear. Thanks to his previous experiment, he managed not only to create an artificial circulation in the weapon, enhancing its strength and longevity, but also to nurture the essence inside to its peak.

But recent discoveries after that, made him take a different approach…

“You don’t know what mana is?” Grandma Mira had asked, a thick surprise permeating her face.

Avaln smiled awkwardly, a bit embarrassed. “Is it common knowledge?”

His reply seemed to ease her surprise, as the elderly woman looked up in thought. “Well, it’s certainly not for young disciples of the Domain of War… but given your proficiency in Spellcasting, I thought…”

“I thought the same. When I brought up the matter, Master Avaln seemed to be at a loss, so I brought him to you.” Rei explained as she poured some tea. “I thought you’d be able to explain it better than me.”

With that, grandma Mira finally sat down at the table. Avaln wondered if she was able to say no to Rei.

“A sensible decision.” The elderly woman nodded and took the cup between her barely wrinkled hands, a detail which Avaln found curious, yet didn’t give it much thought. “How did it come up anyway?”

Once Rei returned the teapot to its place, she sat and answered, “I felt like taking a stroll, and convinced Master Avaln to accompany me. I thought he could use the rest… “ She couldn’t help smiling. “On our way, he showed me the places I shouldn’t go to, less I may trigger one of his traps.”

“A stroll, uh?” Repeated grandma Mira, the cup hiding her expression.

Avaln nodded, then added with a wave of his hand, “I needed to recharge the traps anyway, so I decided to take Rei’s up on her offer and kill two birds with one stone. However…”

“Something tells me you’ve failed at concealing your skills once again.”

He smiled awkwardly at the remark. He had indeed failed repeatedly at that since he arrived on Gale, the modifications to the demon boar spear being the first example, the trance he immersed himself in without realizing, the tree he cut down to test the weapon...

And then when the villagers found the frozen demon boar corpses on his traps.

“I became surprised at the amount of traps Master Avaln laid… there were many, and he recharged every single one. That made me ask: ‘How can Master Avaln possess so much mana?’” Rei finished, her index finger pointing to the sky with pride.

“And so, my shallow pond of knowledge was revealed.” Avaln shrugged, looking for his injured pride, yet not finding it. He then realized he felt bad for hiding the fact, and for being discovered, but not for being ignorant.

He’d always known he lacked even what’s common knowledge for some, and because ignorance was often a reason to be taken advantage of, his questions were sporadic and roundabout.

Grandma Mira nodded to herself. “It’s good that you admit it, and that you followed little Ri’s advice of coming to me. Not knowing something is acceptable, yet willful ignorance is another matter. Pride is often what keeps us from being better.” She left the cup on the table, then rested her intertwined hands. “Now, do you know why little Ri was worried?”

Avaln shook his head. “I don’t. I guessed it must be serious by how hard she tried to hide it though.”

Another nod from the elderly woman gave her the turn to speak, “it is. She was worried you were burning through your life without realizing.”

Avaln couldn’t help but lift an eyebrow at this, to which Mira moved her shoulders and adjusted her seating position in order to better lift a palm between them, facing up. Then, after some consideration, she chose the simplest way to explain the concept before them.

“Alright, I want you to imagine a flame. When you get near it, you can feel its heat even though you are not actually touching it. And the closer you get, the heat becomes more and more unbearable… ” Avaln nodded, following her words and imagery. “Essence, the one running through living beings at least, has a similar nature. What is Essence, then?”

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The question was simple, and the one asking it didn’t expect a correct answer. She just wanted him to focus and participate, so that her teachings were better understood and remembered, yet…

A breath of thought, of remembrance of a time spent inside his soul, receiving valuable lessons… then an answer, “Essence is a link, a chain, a river. It flows through the world and makes us part of it.”

Sgithe and her teachings, the unmeasurable time they spent together inside his Tower of Babylon… Avaln became self-absorbed without meaning to.

Grandma Mira opened her eyes in surprise, pleasant and fresh like the morning dew, something she had thought long lost. “You are definitely not simple, kid. You possess an insight unlike those of your age.” Avaln blinked then, shaking his half-trance off. “Indeed, Essence is all that you mentioned… yet is also the flame, and the heat. It burns inside us, and warms our actions, fuels our desires and will.”

That pleasant surprise turned her duty-bound act into enjoyment.

“As it runs and circulates in our body, just like the flame, it emanates heat.” She added.

“Like lava.”

Mira shook her head. “Like the sun.”

Avaln nodded, again falling into a sort of trance. “And like the moon.”

A smile adorned her features then, and for an ephemeral moment that seemed like a dream, Avaln thought she looked younger. “Indeed, like the moon. It’s brilliance, the heat. It’s pale body, the flame. The first, is what we call mana; the latter, what we call lifeforce. Both are the same, yet also different. One is the consequence of the other, yet if the source were to lack its fruit, it would stagnate and rot.”

“Even rot finds its place inside Essence’s cycle.” He continued.

“Indeed. The wheel turns, life starts and ends, yet Essence is always eternal.”

Rei watched from the side, her eyes weary, her mind adrift. Their discussion prolonged for more than she expected, and among their words she caught meaning, a sort of truth so evident it could invite her young and inexperienced mind to an epiphany… but her knowledge and comprehension were lacking, and despite knowing something important was happening, the epiphany soon faded into a bittersweet taste, into a dream about an old friend she couldn’t quite remember anymore.

All the while, Mira and Avaln talked about Essence and its nature, the latter revealing an inner comprehension she found refreshing, inspired, and more than anything, inquisitive. In fact, she soon realized that even if their refinement level wasn’t the same, their comprehension about Essence reached an equal height.

Despite her age, she found herself sharing a sort of connection with the youth in front of her, and after a few hours, her mind experienced a slight breakthrough.

She had long ago discarded hope of ever achieving such a thing.

Of course, despite Avaln’s great comprehension of Essence’s nature, his own knowledge wasn’t really his, but Sgithe’s. He soon understood that. If anything could be said about what he actually brought to the discussion, would be his open mind and quick learning. Recognizing a truth was often harder than finding it.

A few sticks of incense could have been burnt before their discussion came to an end, as Mira closed her eyes and linked their last words to the topic they were originally meant to talk about, “Essence is the heat, and the flame. The flame is your lifeforce, and your lifeforce emanates the heat that is mana.”

A breath passed, a breath of respite after their long and rewarding conversation. Avaln blinked a few times, then asked, “Can they be distinguished by one’s seventh sense?”

Grandma Mira nodded. “Once an adventurer reaches the Tempered Essence realm, their seventh sense becomes strong enough for them to feel the difference, as long as they know what they are looking for… yet Disciples of the Domain of War don’t usually know about it because their focus, at first, is the learning of martial arts. A spellcaster though… a spellcaster doesn’t have such luxury.”

Avaln opened his eyes in realization. “Because they must be careful to use their mana instead of their lifeforce.”

Mira smiled approvingly. “Exactly. As long as there is lifeforce, one’s mana will be replenished in due time, much like a flame always produces heat. However, if the flame were to be extinguished… “

“The Unlinking.” He recalled the strange rapid decay the demon boar corpses underwent in front of him, after refining their Essence. The image of their flesh turning grey, then becoming a pile of ashes had been an experience in itself.

“I see you do know a bit of common knowledge at least.” She held back a smile. “I wouldn’t worry too much though. Tapping into one’s lifeforce usually comes with some consequences visible to the naked eye, such as rapid aging. I think that despite not knowing about it, you’ve instinctively used only your mana to cast spells until now.”

Something that speaks volumes of your attitude towards spellcasting. She thought.

“Thanks to Diana’s ever moving moon.” Muttered Rei, relieved. Mira threw her a glance, so quick Avaln never noticed, yet it carried a strength with obvious purpose, a purpose Rei understood immediately.

The purpose was a warning, and an advice. Advice to be silent.

“Why would someone ever intentionally tap into their lifeforce?” He asked, oblivious to it.

“Because lifeforce is the flame itself. Just a bit of it can do what one’s whole mana reserves can’t. Some extremely powerful spells can only be cast if done so, and during a fight, to decisively sacrifice a part of one’s lifeforce can mark the difference between life and death.” Grandma Mira answered, then her expression grimaced when she found the tea Rei had poured for her was cold.

“Can it be recovered?” He inquired then.

“It can, but there aren’t many methods. One, the most common, is to break through to the next realm. I’m sure you’ve felt it, that rush. Like being reborn. Of course, depending on the amount of lifeforce you’ve lost, you may need to experience more than just one break through, and sometimes the loss itself can prevent you from ever reaching a higher refinement level.” She said, then thanked Rei for pouring some more hot tea in her cup. “But the rest aren’t reliable. Some are myths; others, real but incredibly hard to find, and those usually require the help of an incredibly good alchemist. And well… “

She seemed hesitant for some reason, yet Avaln felt insisting would only do more harm than good. After a few breaths, she looked him in the eye, and added, “There are some ill-regarded arts, with fatal drawbacks, through which a practitioner can absorb someone else’s lifeforce to replenish their own.“

Avaln rested his chin on one of his hands at this, quickly recalling what little he knew about Essence and how it behaved, then as his mind locked onto a question made of past and recent information, he voiced, “Do those fatal drawbacks have anything to do with the very use of one’s lifeforce? Everyone’s Essence has a different attribute, and I can’t imagine it being worthwhile to spend it to absorb someone else’s, when their element is opposed to one’s own.”

Mira shook her head in sudden disbelief. “How can you know that much, yet have no idea about mana?” Before Avaln could say anything, she waved her hand to interrupt him. “No, no. Don’t waste your breath with an excuse, I don’t need to know, I don’t want to know. It was a rhetorical question. You’ve got your secrets, and I respect them.” She sighed, regaining her inner calm. “Yes, you are right. That’s one of the drawbacks I had in mind. I’m not well-versed in such arts, and I don’t think you should be either, so let’s just drop it.”

Avaln nodded, understanding, and fell into thought for a few breaths, taking it all in. During that silence, Rei pondered out loud, “Still, even if Master Avaln never used his lifeforce to begin with… how was he able to recharge so many traps in one day?”

Maybe because of the past trance, Avaln’s mind wasn’t as conscious as usual, so his tongue held the answer even before his mind could censor it, “That’s because I don’t really need to recharge the entire trap if it hasn’t been triggered, but only what little Essence has left the spell after a few days.”

“A few days?” inquired Rei then.

“Yes, I took the custom of recharging them every three days.”

Grandma Mira stared at him intently for a moment, her brow slightly furrowed, her features stern. “Repeat that!”

“Uh?”

“Repeat that last thing you said!”