Massive ships traveled through space. Beautiful, solid hulls glowing as they basked in the outer corona sphere of a nearby sun. Their strong and unyielding forms belying the exhaustion of the crew held within or the desperation in soaking up as much energy as they could.

Days ago, when they first departed from Earth, Kohn and the others had been strapped to beds and injected with the magic essence or mana. It had been the single most painful thing he had ever experienced and every time it was done he had been forced to endure that feeling for a full twenty-four hours.

‘Prior to this the most painful that I’ve ever felt had to be that time that I broke my neck when I landed on my head after missing that jump…’

A mage had explained it as a test. “To begin training you in the ways of magic and the Winged Order, first you must be able to control mana. We are sharing our mana with you for you to learn control. This process would normally be much easier but since you have not learned yet how to share mana we have to force it into your body which is causing discomfort.”

“Shouldn’t mana be all around us? Why do you need to share it with us? Why can’t we just absorb it?”

“Mana cannot be found naturally in the Deep Dark. Mana is only generated by living entities of a sufficient size.”

Each day, after a mage would recharge their bracelet, they would be strapped to a bed and a mage would lay their hand across someone’s chest before it would glow with power and they’d feel the pain.

Their veins would swell all over their bodies in a disgusting display. Sweat would instantly soak their clothes so they wore only their underwear and a bed sheet. Faces would contort in agony and nearly everyone grunted in pain. Arms and legs would pull at restraints as their back arched in an attempt to escape the bed they had come to associate with pain. Those who were able to endure without a sound were generally found unconscious.

Kohn felt the boiling fire racing through his veins and he tried his hardest to follow the teachings of the mages. To picture the feeling of power and circulate it throughout your body, but Kohn wasn’t really good at that. Usually he ended the day like everyone else. Exhausted, sweaty and relieved that it was over.

Some of those from Earth had begun quiet whispers amongst themselves.

“They’re torturing us.”

“They’re not trying to teach us magic, they’re trying to kill us.”

“I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”

“One of these days I’m going to die on that bed.”

“We should kill them, before they kill us.”

Naturally there would be dissidents. Dragged from home, sent into space to fight an unknown, never before seen enemy and all they do is spend an entire day tied down and tortured.

Kohn tried his best to encourage them that what they were doing would protect Earth and their families, but for the most part no one tried to do anything bad because they were simply too exhausted. After a full twenty-four hours of pain they would normally sleep heavily for at least 12-16 hours.

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One day Kohn forced himself to stay awake and talked with a couple mages. He knew that his own progress was too slow and in the session before he had accidently ripped off one of his fingernails.

“What is it like to control mana?”

“It is like the sensation of cool water running through your body.”

“Why is it that I feel boiling fire?”

“You aren’t properly controlling the mana and it is running wild within your body.”

“How can I control mana?”

“As we tell you all every day, mana control is the ability to concentrate and move mana as if it was a part of your body. To make the energy your own. Think of mana like your own blood and then think about how it needs to be circulated everywhere.”

“So if I could control my own blood I can control mana?”

“Yes.”

“How can I control my own blood?”

To which they would always answer his question with another question.

“How do you move your own body?”

After starring at them as they left him to think about it Kohn collapsed onto the bed without an answer. He moved his body by just moving his body. The concept behind how the human body functions was something that Kohn had learned in school, but when he thought about how his body actually moved he couldn’t come up with an answer.

‘My body moves because I want it to move in a certain way. It’s not necessarily because I thought that my body should, would or could move that way but just that I wanted it to move that way. I wanted my body to move. Want. Need. Wish. Will? Could that be the answer?’

***

Leete once more watched the Earthlings down below in the Bay.

Before they had been brought on the ships it was determined that there weren’t enough quarters for all of the Humans that the Prince had demanded of their governments. So they were forced to recycle components on the ships to create make-shift beds and other necessary supplies.

It would have been easier if they had allowed the Humans to bring their own necessities but that idea was quickly eliminated due to the inherent control risks.

Down below him they were sitting at make-shift tables and chairs, piles of food were vanishing off strips of hull plating that the humans had deemed to call ‘plates’. Every day he was amazed at the sheer amount of food that they consumed. They reminded Leete of the Nanrogno, a race that could eat six grown men worth of food in a single sitting and still ask for more.

However, unlike the large size of the Nanrogno and their ferocity on the battlefield, these Humans seemed to have zero talent. None of them had been able to grasp the ability to manipulate mana and pretty soon Leete would be forced to send them to either the Order of the Falling Fist or the Order of the Whispers for training. They simply couldn’t afford to keep using their Mana reserves this much especially if the fleet had to enter combat.

He had spoken with the fleet High Mages and found that they all shared a different opinion from him. While Leete hoped they would be able to find at least a few prospecting mages, the High Mages all thought this was a giant waste.

Even with the energy they absorbed from the suns they passed by, the vessels were beginning to hit the critical level for reserves. Once the ships were empty the mages would be unable to refill their mana and the fleet would be left to drift along through the Deep Dark.

With dwindling hope Leete noticed someone acting differently that day. The male that discovered Leete could actually speak perfect English, was sitting at the same spot he had sat at every day but instead of eating his food like everyone else he was starring without seeing those in front of him.

One of the Commanders of the Winged Order noticed Leete’s gaze. “It seems like another Earthling has broken.”

“I do not think such is the case. He does not freeze in place or is not catatonic as they say.”

“He doesn’t eat. A strong sign that he will be like the others that have started to appear.”

Reports from several ships mention Humans that no longer function as an Upper Being. Some retreat within their own minds and have become useless which only added to the belief of the other High Mages that these Humans are a waste of time.

“I do not believe he is such as them. I have spoken to him and he shows a strong desire for magic. He is one of those that I keep in my own thoughts.”

The other mage went silent, not daring to say anything further. Gaining the attention of a High Mage difficult for anyone. A High Mage keeping anyone in their thoughts was the equivalent to them calling that person their equal.