“What made it click?” Sparrow asked Theo. They were sitting cross-legged across from each other, and his breathing was steady.

“It was the chaos of it all. I never felt comfortable in the stillness, so it was more my element. And what you said about being in the present moment made sense as soon as I walked through the doors.” After yesterday’s revelation, he felt much more comfortable with Meditation.

“Wonderful! Well then, let’s get started on actually utilising it, shall we?” Sparrow asked rhetorically, lips already curled into that amused smirk. “Close your eyes, and nod when you feel comfortable.”

Theo closed his eyes as instructed, and took in a deep breath. Slowly exhaling out, he let his background thoughts fade away. Last night, after his realisation, he had sat on his bed and tried to meditate and found that it was much easier to sink into it. Understanding that flow and how it felt to be in that present moment meant that even when he was out of the living chaos of The Pub, he could still properly meditate. Last night, he had even found it very soothing, and lovely. Drawing his thoughts back from musing on how he got here, he remembered to nod.

“Good, now listen to the sound of my voice. You could focus on a lot of things, but right now I want you to ignore the rest of your body.” And with a thought, Theo’s world was nothingness, and Sparrow’s voice.

“You have seen mana. You’ve felt mana, you’ve used mana, you’ve manipulated it. Mana is something you know, and even with your eyes closed, it is something that you can sense, if you know how.” Sparrow paused, taking in a deep breath, and continued. “Mana is ethereal, but glowing. It is a mist that comes off of things, and a little twinkle found everywhere. You are not seeing mana with your eyes when you understand that, you are sensing it. So, even now with your eyes closed, if you focus, you will be able to see the mana around you, and even inside you. Sense the mana around you. You’ve sensed it before, now all you have to do is focus on sensing it when you want.”

Theo took that in, and thought back to every time he’d seen mana. Its sparkle. The, well, magical nature of its appearance. It was like he had stars in his breath. He mulled on that for a while, losing track of time.

And then, with a single spark, his mind exploded into a galaxy of light. His throat and muscles were filled with pinprick constellations, and there was a celestial river flowing through his body. Mana was slowly leaking out from inside and sticking to his skin. Clouds floated in his lungs, and more light came and went as he breathed. It was beautiful.

So much so that he opened his eyes in shock, sucked in a breath, and looked around as it disappeared. He looked down at his chest, and there was nothing, just the same body he always had. Well, a little more toned than it used to be, and his shirt hung a little more loosely, but it wasn’t magical at least. He looked at Sparrow, and saw a knowing smile on their face.

“It’s fascinating, isn’t it? How there’s this other world, that you sometimes just can’t see.” Theo nodded, not really paying too much attention, mind drawn back to the way his world grew in those few instants. If this was what it felt to properly meditate, then he completely understood how people could do it for hours on end. Who wouldn’t want to fly through space?

He was startled when he heard clicking fingers next to his ears, and jumped to find Sparrow had moved next to him while he had zoned out.

“Yeah, the first few times are like that. Don’t worry, from here on out, it’s not going to be torture. If anything, I’ll have to make sure you’re not just meditating for days on end.” Sparrow chuckled to themselves, before clapping and sitting back down across from Theo.

“Now, you were able to sense the mana inside you, but to really make use of this, you’ll need to be able to sense the mana around you. So close your eyes again, meditate again, and this time push your awareness outwards.” Theo gladly closed his eyes, trying to return to that lovely feeling.

It took him less time than before to get there, and this time he forced himself to stay focus and not marvel slack-jawed again. He could feel every speck of mana inside him. After a few deep breaths, he felt comfortable with the night sky of fireflies that resided within, and decided to try pushing his senses out. As soon as he focused on going past his skin, the light broke, and he opened his eyes again, as the world dimmed. He saw that Sparrow was watching him.

“Ah yes, that’ll happen. But don’t feel discou…“ Sparrow didn’t finish their thought, as Theo closed his eyes again and went straight back into focusing. They lapsed into silence.

He approached that barrier time and time again, and it broke every time he tried to go past his body. He lost track of time, focused on remaining in that world of mana, and felt that barrier. Gradually, he understood its boundaries, and it became less like a thin sheet of ice and more a young sapling – still fragile, but more elastic. He began to prod and poke, and every time he broke his sight he would take a deep breath and dive in again.

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And eventually, when he poked and prodded the barrier, his attention slipped through. And it felt like moving through tar, but his awareness slowly grew, until he could see the blinding dynamo of Sparrow, sitting in front of him, mana rushing through their body in solid lines, unlike his sparse moving constellations.

“Wow.” Theo murmured. He wondered how much mana Sparrow had and how much internal magic they knew.

“Done looking?” Sparrow asked, and even with his eyes shut and their shape being a solid blob of white, Theo knew they were smiling. “Stay in that state, if you can. I want you to see if you can grab any of the mana floating around you. Manipulate it like you did with Endless Song, and see if you can pull it in.”

He concentrated, and drew his sight back from Sparrow, until it was just past his skin barrier. He focus, and found bits of mana floating around. Reminding himself that he’d already done something similar to this already, he grabbed, and tried to pull it in. And for once, unlike every other exercise he’d done with Sparrow, he understood this almost immediately. The mana entered his system, and he felt invigorated as the mana he’d pushed onto his skin was replenished, and he felt it enter his internal river of stars.

Theo wondered, and with a thought, the barrier at his skin thickened, before thinning, and disappearing entirely as he absorbed it. He put it back, and played around with the sensation of pushing mana to the surface of his skin and then pulling it back. And with that, his sense of the mana outside flickered with it. It became harder to feel external mana the thicker it was, and it was easier to feel (and absorb) the external mana when it was thin or non-existent.

“Ah yes, the mana barrier trick. It’s good that you’re learning how to take advantage of every aspect of what is available to you. That barrier pops up when you meditate, and learning how to open it up is how you move from the first step to the second. I’m honestly surprised you figured it out so soon. And yes, thinning it allows you to absorb mana easier, but also opens yourself up to attacks.” Sparrow explained what Theo had started doing, almost instinctively. He listened as he kept playing with it. “Honestly, I shouldn’t be too surprised. You’ve shown incredible mana control and capacity, so this should come naturally.” Sparrow’s voice felt like it came a bit closer, and Theo thinned his barrier to see that they were now sitting next to them.

“I want you to absorb external mana now, as much as you can until either you feel full or I tell you to stop.” Sparrow commanded.

Theo focused, willed the barrier down, and started to grab as much external mana as he could muster. It started off slow, but soon momentum grabbed more and more, until he was a vacuum and more and more mana rushed in. He absentmindedly noted that Sparrow had moved away from being in such close proximity to him. He kept absorbing, expanding his range as far as he could manage until it felt like there was no more mana to absorb. He finally let go of his Meditation, and felt exhaustion wind him. He quickly cycled Endless Song to get his breathing back under control, and then stopped, falling over onto his back.

For the first time in an hour, Theo opened his eyes, and realised that he was drenched in sweat. And just outside dome three strides or so wide that he had been able to absorb mana from, stood Sparrow, pale and equally sweaty. Well, they were standing. As Theo watched, they dropped to their knees, and their body sunk into the grass with their weight. They looked like they’d seen a monster.

“I should have expected it with your talents, but that is too much. If you’re not careful, you’ll suck dry everyone around you.” Sparrow warned. There was an edge in his voice that Theo had never heard in it before. It was a sound he was familiar with, and it laced many voices in the Outskirts. Fear.

“What you can do is dangerous. People have died from having the mana drained from them, and it’s hardly pleasant even if they don’t. Your meditation is now a weapon, and I want you to treat it as responsibly as any sword or fireball. If you feel uncomfortably full, stop. That is a sign, and if you ignore that sign, you are going to be a mana-filled firework.” Sparrow took a moment to gather their thoughts, and looked around pensively, before returning their full attention to Theo.

“I was intending to simply tease the second step, and come back to it later, but congratulations, you’ve managed to not only figure out both the first and second steps of Meditation, but also a secret. The first step is awareness of mana inside and creating the mana barrier. The second step is opening up your barrier and being able to draw external mana into your body.” Sparrow paused to lick their lips.

“Every magic has its secrets, and you have discovered one. Meditation can be used to completely deplete the mana from an area. It can be used to remove mana from an enemy, and even unravel a spell before it reaches you.” Sparrow took a moment to breath, and started to chuckle. Which turned into a full-belly laugh. Which turned into them doubled over, tears streaming down their face as they laughed hysterically.

In the back of his mind, Theo registered that some of the others in the park near enough to their location started to notice the sound.

“Do you know why I chose you?” Theo wasn’t sure if that was rhetorical (and his mind was currently reeling from the whiplash and trying to put his train of thought back in place), but Sparrow continued regardless. “I saw a kid who was either brave or an idiot, and thought, ‘it’d be fun to see if they have what it takes’. And instead of a simple kid who I’d encourage and help along, I find myself with an anomaly. A gifted individual who could shape the nature of our world. Someone who-” Sparrow cut off their sentence with a choked silence. Theo found that they had stopped laughing at this point, but tears were still flowing out, and their voice turned slightly nasal as snot started to drip out of their nose. He wasn’t sure what was more uncomfortable to see, Sparrow in this state, or the knowledge that he’d never seen Sparrow like this before.

“Be careful. Secrets are called secrets for a reason. This stays between us. Nobody else, NOBODY is to know what you are capable of. Unless you are certain you are going to die, you are not to even consider revealing this. Not now. Not while you’re still so weak.” Sparrow lowered their voice, as they slumped more, looking truly vulnerable for the first time in front of Theo. They wiped their face with the back of their hand, and spat the phlegm out onto the grass.

Theo saw their eyes, bloodshot, as they stared into his soul.

“I was planning on letting you go before classes started, but clearly Gilth had other designs. You will be my formal apprentice. You are not allowed to decline. I will protect you until you are strong enough to do so yourself, and you will hide any secrets you discover.” An uncomfortable silence fell over the park, and Theo swore that for a moment, it felt like light was fleeing the area.

“Go.” Sparrow whispered. Theo took a moment, before awkwardly getting to his feet, and slowly walked away while occasionally looking over his shoulder. Sparrow didn’t move from where they sat, tears still rolling down their cheeks and falling on the grass.

Theo saw the mana as it sparkled on the way down, and forced his eyes to the ground.