Instead of hurrying, Nua took her time. She needed to calm down because her hands were shaking. She didn't even understand why; after all, they discussed sorcery before. But this time, it was for real. And it meant her future was changing. Usually, Nua lived day-to-day and did not think much about the future. Even the doubts she voiced when speaking with Ursan rarely surfaced. Anki has already made her life more complicated.

"There. A tuber. We can start."

'You're definitely not a master of this technique."

"Does it matter?" Nua tightened her grip on the knife's handle. "You're neither. It's not like you cooked for yourself when you were alive."

"Well, I had entertained a sorcerous exercise for later. Most apprentices start in their area of expertise. Once you have ether, you can channel it, then work it into Concepts and Techniques. That is, you need an accurate and profound understanding of the rules of reality you need to bend."

"You are being... insufferable truffle again."

Anki sighed.

"It means that you base your sorcery on the things you're good at, and you understand them deeply. A mage-engineer imbues their inventions with ether and powers them with it. A swordsman enhances their sword art. To manipulate fire, you need to know how fire originates and what it does. Large workings contain many overlapping Concepts, that is why they are usually inscribed in symbols – each symbol contains a minor spell combined with each other."

Nua thought about it.

"I understand fire. Fire burns stuff. It's easy."

"No, it is not, and you don't. I can assure you that."

"What about the tubers?"

"If you understood peeling vegetables, you could make them peel themselves."

Nua straightened up, mouth agape.

"...really?"

"While the Concept of a tuber, its biological and physical properties, is too advanced for you, we could treat it as a martial arts Technique. If you acquire mastery of swift and precise peeling, you could work ether into it."

Swift and precise. Hala could do it. Perhaps Anki should choose Hala as his host, and together they would restore ancient sorcery to the world by running a tavern.

"...forget it. So, what do you want me to do now?"

"Right now? First, you need to learn channeling ether. Do you remember how I gave you a sample of my power back in my temple? How did it feel? Try to feel that again. I want you to reach for it, then hold it in. Like holding breath."

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Nua closed her eyes. She tried to recall the warmth, a peppery feeling concentrated in an orb somewhere inside her. Nothing was happening. She wasn't sure if she even remembered it correctly. It would not be the first time forgetting something she should already know.

"It's harder now," added Anki. "Because I am not helping. You need to focus."

There was resignation in her voice.

"Like with the tubers?"

"Like... what do you do when you collect scraps in the junkyard?"

I don't just collect them, thought Nua. I hunt them. I search for the shiny treasure in a huge pile of junk. They're easy to miss, but I know where to look. It's not boring, like with the tubers. I don't just sit around, staring. I seek them out.

Suddenly she knew what she was doing. Her mind coalesced into a needle-like focus, looking for that tiny spark in the vast scrapyard of both souls. And there it was, a sliver of warmth, a small sphere of ether. Now that Nua could have a good look at it, she perceived it as a tiny sun. She suspected very much that it was, in fact, much stronger, brighter, and deeper than it seemed. Just like the suns were small because they were far away.

"I can see it."

"Good. Pull the energy in your body. As much as you can."

"Eh, Anki? I don't exactly have hands inside me."

His voice seemed to reach her from afar.

"It's like drinking... breathing in... no, you will tell me that you lack mouth on the inside. It should pour in, like the water from the pump. Like water into the dry earth."

Nua decided she could work with this image. She took a deep breath and let the power pour in.

At once, she was burning. Instead of traces of warmth, there was a liquid fire in her veins. It filled her arms and legs. It was scorching her insides and making her blood congeal. Her skin felt raw. She whimpered and fell off the stool, peeled tubers rolling out from the bowl.

On instinct, she spread her palms on the earthen floor and breathed out. Power left her instantly, flowing into the ground. It brought about an intense cold, if only for a second. Stunned, she opened her eyes. She wasn't feeling pain; she wasn't even sore. The liquid fire disappeared without a trace like it was never there.

"Anki? What happened? What did I do?"

"You grounded excess ether. It's wasted, but don't worry..."

"Nua?! Everything all right?"

It was Ursan's voice. Nua heard the tapping of bare feet, and two kids ran into the kitchen, a ten-year-old Aquila and little Temen.

"Nua fell off the stool!" Aquila shouted.

"Cause Nua fidget. Hala says no fidget." Temen added with a solemn face. Tension dissipated, and Nua burst into laughter.

"Hala's right. No fidget, Temen."

"Nua has tubers!"

"There is an evening meal today," Aquila said. "Nua brought treasure, and we will have more food."

"Temen want." The boy picked up a bulb.

"It's raw," Nua said. "You need to cook it first."

"Cook it!"

"I need to peel it first."

"Temen help," the boy stated, and all three started picking the scattered vegetables and putting them back into their respective containers. Soon after, Ursan limped into the kitchen. They ended up peeling tubers in turns until Hala returned with a sack of lentils, and then, the area filled up with all the siblings waiting like cats for the meal. There was no opportunity to even think about sorcery until late evening, when Nua curled in her corner wrapped in a blanket, with her stomach full and warm.

"Anki? I think I am crap at sorcery."

"On the contrary. You're doing well."

"You for real? That was a disaster."

"The fault is all mine. You handled the overload on your own, which shows good intuition. Next time, pull about a third of what you can. You should be fine. Save for the unpleasant feeling, you weren't harmed. We'll try again tomorrow."

"I don't want to."

"You need to, or you'll become too frightened to practice. We need to erase that impression. But first time in the morning, didn't we have somewhere to go?"

"Oh." Nua smiled. "Food for brain. Fish market. I'll show you. It's the most awesome thing in the world. Except for your temple, of course."

"Of course. I cannot wait to see it."