The Spire’s light didn’t reach this side of the High Tower. The gigantic tower blocked the rays of life-giving light, casting a great, dark shadow upon the world. Even though the inner walls around the High Tower prevented him from seeing the entirety of the shadow it cast, Ash knew it was vast.

A monument to greed and pride, he thought as they followed Professor Maple. They hugged their cloaks as it was so cold in the shadow of the tower. It had probably been many centuries since the light of the Spire touched these gardens surrounding the High Tower.

Yet as they walked among these fields of exotic flowers, it was clear that they survived, thrived even. The flowers were blooming, and Ash saw mana everywhere – some flowers were filled with it, while around other plants it simply seeped into the earth.

They paused under a large tree, which had pink and white flowers blooming instead of leaves. It’s reddish-brown trunk was wide, and the tree was quite tall, almost as tall as some of the oak trees near Serna.

“Beautiful…” he whispered as he watched pure white mana swirl around the blooming flowers. His eyes widened. White mana – the same thing he was told to let Professor Jerhia know.

“Quite so.” Professor Maple smiled. “And I assume you can see the mana around it?”

Ash flinched. “Well… I think it’s white?” He muttered in an attempt to downplay his sight.

Professor Maple nodded. “Yes, it’s one of the only places you can find white mana in the empire. It’s a unique tree that’s several millennia old.” He chuckled, not noticing Ash’s scowl. “Anyways, I want all of you to find places around here that are suitable to your own mana – most of you will be able to sense it, and Ash can just outright see it. Find those places, then go ahead and begin absorbing it.”

“Won’t you guide us, Professor?” Leon asked, confused. Maple shrugged. “Guide you how? You’ll know a suitable mana font when you find it. Just follow your instincts.” He pointed west, where a small batch of golden flowers were blooming. “I’ll be there, so if you have any questions don’t hesitate to come and ask.” With that, he walked away, leaving the small group to their own devices.

Leon dashed after the professor without hesitation. “But professor!” They heard him protest. “I don’t even know what to look for…”

Damien let out a sigh. “For someone with so much talent, he certainly lacks some confidence in the matter.” The two noble girls nodded, while Ash couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’ll try to help him, you three can handle this on your own, right?” Damien asked, glancing at each of them before his gaze settled on Ash.

“Sure!” Fionna piped up before Ash could speak. “We’ve got this, don’t worry!” She practically shooed Damien towards Leon and the rather annoyed Professor Maple. Once he was out of earshot, her cheerful smile slowly vanished, and she turned to Maya.

“Well?” She asked. “Ash will help you, right?”

The other noble girl nodded, her lips a thin line. “Yes. He accepted to help me.” She spoke rather formally, and stiffly turned away from them. Fionna smiled bitterly, “Alright then, let’s go.”

They walked away from the flowery tree brimming with white mana, further into gardens. “My mana is golden,” Fionna explained as she raised her palm, focusing her mana into a disc over it. “That means I’m looking for a similar colour of mana around.”

Ash raised his eyebrows. “Does that mean you can see mana colours too?”

The cheerful noble nodded. “Yes, but faintly. Golden and yellow seem the same to me. From what I understand, you can see it much clearer, and much more vibrantly.”

Ash hesitated. “I suppose so,” They didn’t really have much of a way to compare it. “So, I’m looking for golden colour for you, and…” he hesitated. “Crimson for Maya?”

Fionna nodded, while Maya averted her gaze. She looked away, her hair falling before her face, hiding her expression. She hugged her cloak, her hands clenching the cloth so tightly her knuckles went white. “Let’s hurry.” She muttered quietly.

Ash took a few steps ahead, then narrowed his eyes as he looked around. Mana was everywhere, surely they would find a suitable place soon. His steps carried them through the narrow pathways between the beautiful gardens as he sought the proper colours.

Some plants had auras of mana, while others seemed to grow where mana naturally existed. None of the plants here had auras as large or vibrant as Serenpetals though. His smile turned bitter – he had never expected to miss the air brimming with magic back at the fields.

As they walked through a patch of what Fionna called bamboo, Ash spotted a glimpse of a crimson aura ahead of them. “There, I think!” he exclaimed, and ran ahead, with both nobles in tow. As soon as they left the patch of bamboo plants behind, Ash stopped in his tracks, and Fionna drew a sharp breath.

“Oh.” Maya raised her eyebrows. “It’s the Ashburn flowers then.” Her gaze was also focused on the plant with the crimson aura.

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A writhing mass of ash-coloured leaves hung from a thick, reddish-brown stem. The plant itself was as large as a medium sized tree, and the leaves were about as large as a human’s torso. “Yeah, no.” Fionna shook her head. “Let’s look for something else.” She grabbed Maya’s arm in an attempt to pull her away from the flower, but the crimson haired noble didn’t budge. “Is it the exact same colour?” She asked, raising her hand to summon an orb of her mana. The crimson glow around her was nearly a perfect match to the flower.

“No. Tell her it’s not!” Fionna hissed, but Ash nodded. “It’s almost identical.” He glanced at the flower. “Is it safe though?” It was moving after all, almost as if it was a bunch of snakes disguising themselves as a plant.

Maya smirked and shook off Fionna’s grasp. “The Professor isn’t far away, and he did say the method was safe.” She walked up to the plant, immediately swatting away one of the leaves waving towards her. “I’ll just need a bath afterwards…” She muttered as a handful of ash dropped on her shoulders from the plant’s higher leaves.

Fionna watched her friend with a worried expression. Maya sat cross legged on the ground, then pressed her palms together. A crimson net spread from her hands, creating a thin membrane around her body. “I’m fine – you two should hurry to find suitable places too.” She smiled, then closed her eyes.

Fionna let out a sigh. “Well… that plant seems a lot tamer than the wild versions…” She scowled. “Maybe that’s why the professor was so sure its safe here.” She shot Ash a glance. “Did you see any golden mana around?”

Ash nodded. “The bamboo – it’s pretty much filled with it.” He scowled. “Didn’t you say you could see it too?”

Fionna chuckled. “I wasn’t sure if it was yellow or golden.” She shrugged. “And what about grey?” She then asked, pointing at him. His shoulders dropped. “None, I’ll probably just give another colour a try.”

He hadn’t seen grey mana anywhere, his entire life. And he knew why – the professor had made him read a book on that specific subject after all. All natural mana had an attribute – be it the blue of water, the crimson of fire, or the golden of light. Grey mana simply didn’t form naturally, so he had to make do with a different colour – any colour.

“Alright, good luck then.” She glanced at Maya, then turned around and went back the way they came, to find a suitable place in the patch of bamboo plants. Ash turned his gaze back at Maya.

She sat cross legged, her hands resting on her knees, her back straight, and her chin looking slightly up. Her eyes were closed as she meditated with a peaceful expression. Already ash had begun to pile on her head, shoulders, and legs, though she didn’t seem to care.

Her mana, however, seemed the opposite of peaceful and calm – it was like a vortex, drawing the crimson aura of the Ashburn flower towards where her mana heart was supposed to form. The dark void at the centre of the crimson and red vortex looked a lot like what Ash felt like when he ate the Serenpetal flowers back at home.

With a sigh, he pried his eyes off of Maya’s vibrant mana, and looked around. Not far from the Ashburn flower, he spotted a bright blue aura. Since he could never find natural grey mana, he decided to settle with the largest, most vibrant aura he could see.

The bright blue aura belonged to a large patch of tulip-like flowers. He hesitated as he watched it slowly writhe around the plants. It was a lot of mana, and it was quite a vibrant colour as well, but he couldn’t help but think back at the millennia-old tree the professor had shown them.

The white mana there was the most vibrant he had seen since leaving the Serenpetal fields. It was bright, vast, and it seemed just so soothing. “Any colour works, doesn’t it…?” He whispered to himself as he made his way back to the large, beautiful tree. It wasn’t far away, and the professor hadn’t said anything about not using its mana to further his own.

As he emerged from a rather unruly patch of Starvines across the narrow path passing by the millennia-old tree, an unfamiliar voice reached his ears. He hesitantly stepped onto the path and shook of the rather touchy stems of the Starvines before taking a few steps towards the sound.

“… no. This is not safe, why would you ever think this is a good idea, Professor?!” A man’s rather stressed voice reached his ears. “And without supervision! What if-“

The lower and much calmer voice of Professor Maple spoke up, interrupting the other man. Ash held his breath in an attempt to listen in, but the professor was speaking with too low a voice. He couldn’t even hear a single word.

He heard the disapproving click of a tongue right behind him, and quickly turned around.

A woman stood there, clad in awfully tight clothes. Her chin-length raven black hair was flat, and her similarly black eyes seemed to peer into Ash’s soul. “Eavesdropping, huh?” She asked, pursing her lips. Her hand rested on a sheathed dagger hanging from her belt. She narrowed her eyes as she glared at Ash.

He pointed at the millennia-old tree over his shoulder. “Actually, I was looking for this.” He took a step back, moving away from her and closer to the tree. “The Professor told us to find places with suitable mana.” He added, taking another step back.

The woman raised a single eyebrow. “You are a bad liar, young man. You have no pure mana, nobody does.” She raised her chin. She looked at him with a falcon’s glare.

Ash raised his hands with a defeated expression. “No, I have grey mana. I don’t-“

His voice died as the woman’s expression turned into pity almost instantly. “Oh.” She stated, pulling her hand away from her dagger. She glanced at the tree, then back at him. She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but then quickly raised her chin, her expression growing cold and distant.

“Inquisitor!” She stated, bowing her head. Ash’s eyes widened as a tall man approached from behind the tree. His onyx hair was tied on his back loosely, and his hawk-like gaze didn’t even linger on Ash as he walked past him. “We are leaving.” He stated in a harsh voice. The woman followed him along the dirt path leading to the plaza in front of the High Tower’s entrance. She had to almost run to keep up with his long stride.

“Inquisitor?” Ash whispered as they disappeared behind tall plants. What was an inquisitor doing here, during their class? Was the professor in trouble?

He considered going over to where the professor was meditating, but ultimately decided not to. The woman was right – he was eavesdropping. The unfamiliar voice had piqued his curiosity, and he hadn’t even thought about it before he tried to listen in. Even if he did go to the professor, all he would receive would be a tirade about how eavesdropping was wrong.

Instead, he sat between the roots of the millennia-old tree and closed his eyes. Mana lingered in the air around him. As he took deep, slow breaths, he felt his senses sharpen. He slowly regained awareness of his mana.

His heart raced as he began to cycle his mana – focusing it into the void he felt where his mana heart was going to be. Streaks of white soon began to mix in with the grey, revitalising him.

His meditation came to an abrupt end several hours later, when a shout echoed in the fields of flowers.