Syndra had just finished kitchen-duty, boring as always, she had simply cut and had a handful of hours to herself before she would oversee the teachings of youngsters. She moved to a bare part of the temple grounds, as to not wither the garden. She took deep breaths readying herself, staring at the cup she had taken from the mess hall. All that was left was to wait for her teacher.

She stared across the narrow straight, the visibility was clear and she could see far across Navorri. Many villages and towns were scattered across the lands, but if you did not know where they were and what to look for, they would disappear in the landscape.

She heard steps approaching and turned to face Tenko. His gait slowing as he approached the young woman by the river, and the half-empty reservoir. He looked nervous.

The gaunt young man looked at her, with an expression betraying discomfort. “Hi Syndra”.

“Hi Tenko” Syndra answered immediately. The two stood in awkward silence for a few moments. He looked past her to what used to be the pond and further to the lands beyond the temple.

Her cleared his throat and before asking: “Did you bring an implement?”

She produced the small clay mug, borrowed from the kitchen. Tenko narrowed his eyes.

“I suppose that will have to do”

He straightened himself. Syndra was tall among her peers, but Tenko had outgrown her significantly. Still, he had always been weak. It pained her some to ask for help, but she had to admit that no other student was better at molding their magic than he. But nothing is free and the price of course, was to teach in his place. The lessons learnt she would then carry on to the younger students.

“Flow manipulation is delicate. The more power drawn, the more difficult to control and stabilize. Try to manifest as little as possible, while still creating something physical”

Syndra breathed and held her hand palm up. In which was a small shiny orb. Larger than a fist, but small than a plate.

“Hmm. Can you make it smaller?”

Syndra looked at her creation for a moment. She closed her fist around the orb, dissipating it. Upon opening her hand once more, a new sphere had taken its place. It was about the same size.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Alright… Work on that”

“It’s not small enough?”

Tenko looked at her, somewhat apologetically. He knew that this was a foreign concept to her. He shook his head.

“Alright, let’s try something different. Create as small a sphere as possible, inside the cup”

She obliged. The cup rattled, with the sound of a metal ball in a glass bucket.

“Now close it up”

She moved to place her hand over the brim. The small wild thing inside shook her hands, as she tried keeping its prison still.

“The magical object inside the cup should be calmer. Relax the energy if possible”

The shaking slowly halted, bringing the cup to rest. Tenko gathered his palms, in a makeshift bowl, and created a small pool of shimmering liquid. He took three deep breaths, and every time he breathed out, the pool expanded slightly.

“Now try to fill the cup. Slow and steady. Just like this”

Syndra mimicked, breathing deep, holding her breath and opening a font within her. Pushing into the cup. It shattered completely, and the small object, slipped out and floated erratically towards the ground. Once colliding, it dissipated into the grass, creating a yellow patch where it evaporated. Syndra’s eyes were wide with surprise, but she quickly recovered. Her frustration was obvious.

“I don’t understand. What am I doing wrong?” She asked, mostly to herself.

“Just relax” Tenko said as pulled out a wooden bowl, he had brought. “It requires training and calm to achieve balance. When you can fill the bowl without destroying it, the next lesson can begin.”

Syndra took the bowl and thanked him. He stayed with her until he was certain she understood the basics. He had only brought the one bowl, after all.

“You just keep that up, and we can work on shaping in a few weeks, once it is stable… Anyway I gotta get going.”

The tall boy scurried off. Exactly what he’d planned on spending his time, Syndra didn’t care enough to ask. She was just thankful that he’d be willing to teach in exchange for her taking care of the younger students for a few hours.