Three hours of candle lit study passed, with Maya frantically making notes on the paper kindly provided by Annabelle, before Piv mustered the courage to ask for a break. They had covered the first two principles; Intent and Precision. Still left were five more; Responsibility, Clarity, Warding, Phasing, and Symbolism. Repeatedly throughout their study, Spanner had implored the pair to drink and kept their cups topped up with water. The more they read of the principles, the more it became clear that these were ideologies rather than clear rules or instructions, and Maya struggled to hide her frustration at not getting to anything of practical use. Piv however, was adamant that hazemaking should not be undertaken lightly and that if hazemakers of the past saw fit to write these words, then they should be read by hazemakers of the future. After a short break, and some lovingly prepared pastries from Annabelle, they got back to it.
It took three days of stop-start study, interrupted only by comfort breaks, sleep and the odd snack for them to reach the end of the principles. Maya had struggled initially, with the more philosophical nature of them, until they reached the final principle; Symbolism. The pages on this particular principle discussed the language of a hazemaker and the importance of precision in not only the preparation of the hazes, but in the iconography associated with them. Piv speculated that this may be more about the masters endeavours in helping their students, but either way it would make things easier to have it standardised. A point that was already proving to be true, as it very quickly allowed Maya to classify the hazes she had stored in her Grandpa’s bag. Though their nature had already been revealed, Maya was able to classify the blue hazeports under ‘Spatial’ hazes, by the symbols on their caps. With that cleared up and backed by experience, Maya gained confidence in defining the others.
“The red one has the patterns for ‘Augmentation’, and you said you thought they were healing ones. That would count as augmenting, wouldn’t it?”
“I suppose it would, what about the others?”
“The light green has the bit for ‘Cognitive’ in it, which matches the translator charm one from the other book, sort of. The dark green has ‘Augmentation’ in it as well, which definitely matches what you said about making people stronger. The yellow has ‘Prismatic’ in it, which is perfect for what we got from that other page saying about refraction and light. The orange one is interesting, it sort of has ‘Augmentation’ and ‘Cognitive’ in it, I’m not sure if that’s significant.”
Piv shrugged, “I get the impression this is not as simple as one haze does this, one haze does that. It seems a little more flexible. I’d advise not using the hazes until we can translate the caps completely.”
“I know, I know, but at least we are getting somewhere. The bit on making bases is next, maybe we can work out what equipment we’ll need?”
“I was thinking the same.”
On hearing their discussion, Spanner put down her book and approached the pair. “Mikus said about equipment. If you can get a list together, we can ask him about it. He’ll be happy that you’re making progress already.”
Maya grinned, and nodded. “Shall we get some fresh air, and then get started?”
Piv, Maya, and Spanner emerged from their basement dwellings into the hall, and made their way outside. Gentle rain fell on the patio forming a dark circle around the tree, that lightened the closer it got to the trunk. The three assumed their usual positions in the courtyard, with Piv climbing the tree, Spanner perching on a bench, and Maya pacing around the circle chatting away.
“It might be worth us looking ahead a little to find out what sort of ingredients we need, as well as the equipment. Do you think that Mikus will get all that for us too?”
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Spanner waved a hand, dismissively, “Mikus is a resourceful gentleman, should be no problem, unless there’s something weird.”
Piv poked his head out of the branches, “I’d be surprised if there wasn’t some odd ingredients, things that are hard to get hold of. Otherwise everyone would be doing it, surely? Either way we’ll work it out. Even if Mikus can’t get hold of something, we’ll find a way.”
Maya beamed at Piv’s positivity, “Yes, we will! And anyway, we’ll have hazes at our disposal. Fylguard can’t do nothing if they can’t see us!”
Spanner chuckled, “That’s the spirit kid! They won’t know what’s hit em if they mess with us now!”
Before long, Maya became even more restless due to the lack of study and annoyed the others into returning to the basement. “Just think, I could get you home Piv, but we could still visit each other all the time. If we can make one haze, we can make more!” Piv smiled at the thought and led the way into the basement. He picked up the book, and nodded, “Let’s get started then.”
Maya, already with notes in hand, dropped herself onto the cushions next to Piv and made a show of being ready to write.
“Chapter eight: The Universal Base. As you are likely aware, hazemaking is not an endeavour open to all. It is the role and responsibility of the hazemaker to breathe life into their hazes, and only certain persons possess the required breath, hereafter referred to as the Universal Base. For this reason, along with the principle of Intent, hazemaking has been a uniquely exclusive practice. Only a hazemaker produces the Universal Base, and only when they intend to do so. This chapter will discuss the various methods of capture and preparation of the Universal Base, the equipment most commonly used, and its applications.”
“So, I have magic breath?”
“It would seem that way. I had always assumed blood or something, but breath makes just as much, or as little, sense to me.”
“So I just- need to breathe into a bottle or something?”
Piv scoffed and pointed at a diagram of winding glass tubes on the next page, “I think there might be a little bit more too it than that!”
“Keep going.”
The pair continued, marvelling over the plethora of weird and wonderful contraptions designed to capture and manipulate the breath of a hazemaker. As they read, Spanner attempted to write descriptions and trace pictures of the various equipment they would need Mikus to source. It became obvious, fairly quickly however, that this would be no small undertaking, and that the equipment would take up a lot more space than just one desk in a basement hideout. On the next break, Spanner took her list and diagrams off to find Annabelle, leaving Piv and Maya in the basement.
Maya sat, pensive, staring at her notes until Piv broke the silence. “You’re deep in thought young one, everything okay? I know there’s a lot to learn, but I believe in you, and you’ve got us.”
She smiled, gentle and honest, “Yeah. I was thinking about my Mum. It feels like I might actually get home now.” Piv returned the smile, “We’ll get you back to her.”
“And you, Piv. We’re getting you home too. I’m not finished till we can both go home.” Maya paused, making sure she had eye contact, “I promise.”
Piv’s smile deepened, “Thank you.” The pair sat for a moment longer, before the sound of Spanner’s feet came thumping down the stairs. “Anna reckons Mikus will get the list tonight. Although I don’t know how long it’ll take him to- Am I interrupting something?”
“No, Maya was just eager to carry on.”
“Well you didn’t have to wait for me! I haven’t understood half of what you’ve read so far anyway!”
Maya piped in, giggling, “Me neither!”
“Well that’s encouraging. Anyways have you two had anything to drink? You’ve got to stay hydrated!” Spanner grabbed the water jug from the desk and proceeded to fill the pair’s cups. “Worth another breath of fresh air? Clear your heads before you carry on?”
Piv and Maya exchanged glances and nods, and rose to their feet. By this point the rain had almost stopped and clouds had begun to part. As they entered the courtyard and took up positions, the sounds of birdsong filled their ears. Piv called from within the tree. “Maya, here take these, look up!”
Out of the leaves, Maya saw Piv’s hand reach down with his goggles dangling for her to grab. Realising there might be something magical, she quickly donned the goggles and stepped out from under the trees shade. Turning her eyes to the sky, Maya was forced to squint slightly as an arch of colour stretch over them dazzling her vision. A rainbow by anyone’s standards was magical, but this sparkled with a majesty Maya had never seen before. It glowed in all colours, and stretched past red and violet, into colours Maya could neither describe nor understand. Piv’s voice cut through, “Pretty, isn’t it.”
“It’s incredible.”