As Pa spoke, Karl made his entrance with a tray in each hand, deftly balancing them as he moved towards the large oak table. With practised ease, he smoothly placed the breakfast items on the table, his skill making him appear ambidextrous.

“Thank you, Karl,” Greg said when he was done. “We’ll take the tray back to the galley ourselves. How’s the head been?”

“Feeling pretty good, captain,” Karl said. “I just needed to sleep it off. The doc says I'm perfectly fine too.”

"Good," he said, nodding in approval. "I'm glad to hear that, Karl. If you wouldn' mind closing the door on your way out."

"Of course, Sir," the boatswain replied, before departing with haste.

Delia's attention shifted to the table, where she took in the spread of pancakes, oat porridge, and tea. The aroma of the freshly brewed tea and warm pancakes filled the air, making her mouth water. It had been quite some time since she had eaten, or even slept, for that matter.

"We should eat while it's still warm," Greg suggested, noticing her gaze

Delia smiled, grateful for the suggestion. "It's fine. We can listen and eat," she said, reaching for a plate and handing it to Jonah before passing another to Jeremy.

“Fine, but let me enjoy the pancakes first,” he replied, dousing the stack on his plate with honey. “I didn’t invest in a fresh chicken coop to not enjoy my pancakes.”

Delia rolled her eyes playfully. She had been sceptical of the idea of raising chickens at sea when her Pa had first proposed it, but it worked, and she had to admit that the payoff was worth the effort. All it needed was sacrificing a room for the creatures and investing an untold figure in creating a balancing platform that counteracted the lurching of the sea. But it was her Pa’s funds, not hers. And she wasn’t the one responsible for cleaning the coop either.

“Nothing beats pancakes in the morning,” her Pa declared, eliciting a grunt of approval from Jeremy as he hungrily devoured his own plate. Delia, on the other hand, savoured each bite of her pancake with a more measured pace, allowing her thoughts to drift back to their earlier conversation as she ate.

The topic of soul-binding magic they had discussed still lingered in her mind — he only mentioned it in passing, but it was enough to stir up a sense of unease within her. The thought of being bound to someone or something with real consequences was terrifying.

“Bind our souls, keep us strong,” she silently recited.

She couldn't help but wonder about its terms and consequences. Did it grant the person literal strength? And her Pa mentioned privileges; what were they, and did these certain privileges become lost upon breaking the truce? What were the terms of the truce? And most importantly, why had her Pa chosen to take it?

Delia couldn't shake off the feeling of discomfort as she mulled over the questions. There were also other things that intrigued her, such as the wariness of the men of House El towards her Pa and their sudden calm upon hearing the oath. She made a mental note to ask her Pa about it later.

"Right," Greg said, downing the last of his tea with a satisfied sigh. “Ranks and awakenin’. And why is Jonah a high red?”

Delia’s hand instinctively reached out for the pencil and paper strewn beside her plate.

“Don’t need to write this,” her Pa said. “Jonah’s already a high red, so him reading this won’ be of benefit to him.”

She paused, considering, before reluctantly nodding and picking up her silverware again. She doubted her Pa would continue telling her anything if she didn’t listen, and she could remember it without writing.

“I know what you’re thinkin’ Del,” her Pa said, carefully watching her. “Feel free to memorise this, but don’t go writin’ it after you get back into your room. It’s for your own good.”

She nodded seriously.

“Jonah’s a red because of the shipwright,” her Pa began. “Instead of being nabbed by the Royal Guard, he got nabbed by the shipwright instead.” He shrugged lightly. “Though Jonah was the one to approach the Shipwright. Doesn’ matter anyway. The shipwright then trained Jonah to improve his mana capacity, unbeknownst to him. The shipwright has his own artifacts, you see,” Greg explained. “Ordinarily, like I said before, you need to train beyond the point of exhaustion. Have you ever seen them human muscle diagrams?”

Delia and Jeremy nodded, following along.

“Imagine that, but instead of muscle, think of it all as Mana. And instead of thinking of the figure as muscular, think of the body's muscles as atrophied. That’s what a grey is. Muscle not usable. Now think about someone who runs. What happens to their calves, and their quads if they always run?”

“It grows in size?” Jeremy answered, unsure.

“Exactly,” Greg said, pointing the silver spoon towards Jeremy. “It grows. But now think of this. You’re runnin’ beyond the point of exhaustion. Your muscle uses all the energy it has. To keep movin’, it then relies on its mana stores. Or the mana muscle, in this case. That gets used…” he trailed off.

“until it gets strained," Delia said, understanding her Pa's analogy. "And through repeated use and strain, it will grow your capacity. Like growing muscle.”

“Yes,” he hummed, spoon in mouth. “So, that increases your mana capacity. But where does your mana capacity increase?”

“Your legs,” Jeremy answered.

Greg nodded affirmatively. “Just your legs. You can become a red, just by running. You can become any ranked colour, in theory, just by running.”

“And that’ll just affect leg strength, then?” Delia asked.

“There are minor effects on the rest of you, but yes. It’ll primarily increase your speed and jumping strength of your legs. It’ll also let you throw a mean punch,” Greg answered.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“And you can increase the mana mass anywhere in your body?” Delia asked.

“Exactly. The reason Jonah can be considered talented is that he’s red all over.”

“And that’s uncommon?” Jeremy asked.

“As common as a polyglot,” her Pa answered. “Which I imagine isn’t very.”

“If there’s a benefit in increasing your mana mass all over your body, why doesn’t everyone?”

Greg leaned back in his chair as he finished the last of his porridge. "More trouble than it's worth," he said, with a shake of his head. "Generally speaking, your rank is your highest colour. Conventional thinking is that it's better to be orange in one place than red all over. Want to take a guess why?"

His words hung in the air for a moment, allowing the others to ponder his question. After a moment of silence, Greg leaned forward and continued, “Artifacts. If you want to use an artifact more effectively, you have to be a higher rank.”

“And that's why Jonah’s air slash is stronger than mine?” Jeremy asked.

He nodded in agreement, his expression serious as he continued, "It's the primary reason why fools are always eager to jump up the ranks. They think it'll give them more power to use higher powered scripts and runes, use better artifacts, or make the most out of the ones they already have."

Delia couldn't help but sense an implication in his words, though she wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Her curiosity piqued, she searched for the right words to ask, “What’s the non-foolish reason to jump ranks?”

“To make the most out of your body. Master yourself before masterin’ a weapon. Some non-conventional wisdom for you both. Almost everyone over-relies on these artifacts.”

“Is it better to be… red all over than yellow in one place?” Jeremy asked, struggling to find the words.

“Yes, and no. It’ll matter less in the lower ranks, more in the higher ranks.”

"Can't you retroactively train the rest of your body?" Delia asked.

"No, it's not possible," Pa replied, shaking his head. "Your mana isn't a static thing. It concentrates in one place and suffuses with your muscles. However, it does flow through the rest of your body as well."

Delia furrowed her brows, trying to understand.

“Artifacts need power. They take that power from you when you use them. Which means the power, or mana rather, flows out of you, into the item,” Greg explained.

Though she didn't grasp the concept fully, she didn’t press forward. It was clear that this was an issue that went beyond their current level of advancement, so she refocused on their original question. “So the shipwright trained Jonah to be a high red?”

“No, the shipwright helped Jonah become a red,” he answered. “Jonah only became a high red after the fight with the Kraken.”

As she listened to the captain's words, the silverware in Delia's hand froze. Her stomach churned and the remnants of breakfast threatened to revolt, the thought of Jonah being put in harm's way for the sake of his rank causing her to feel sick." You put him in danger to increase his rank?!" she exclaimed, her voice laced with horror.

Greg’s expression softened, and he reached out to place a comforting hand on her own, though she jerked it away.

"It wasn' my intention to put him in harm's way, Del," he explained with a heavy sigh. "I get that it's difficult for you to hear, but sometimes, in order to grow stronger, we have to face challenges that push us past our limits."

Delia's frustration grew as she listened to her Pa’s words. "That doesn't make it any better!" she exclaimed, standing up from her seat. "You could have gotten him killed! He almost died! And for what? Some stupid rank?"

Greg's expression softened, and he stood up to face her. "I know you're angry, and you have every right to be," he said, his voice calm and measured. "But you have to understand that Jonah made the decision to face the Kraken on his own. He knew the risks, and he chose to take them."

“He’s right Del. No need to be hung up over it,” Jeremy said.

Delia turned to him in shock. “Really? Are you–”

“Delia,” Greg said sharply. “We needed to kill that thing anyway. Jonah is safe, and Jonah was safe. He is not a child, and if you don’t want me to treat you like one, then sit down.”

She turned back to him and paused. She knew that he was right. "I just want him to be safe," she said, her voice softening. "I’m sorry."

Her father nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Sit down Del. After we’re done, go get some rest. You’ve been through a lot the last day."

“You’re just calling me emotional,” she said under her breath.

“It’s okay to be emotional,” Greg said. “Just don’t let them dictate your actions. You just need to reign them in a little.”

Delia understood what her Pa was trying to say, but the idea of putting someone she cared about in danger for the sake of some obscure gain still left her feeling uneasy. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart.

After a brief pause, she settled back into her seat. "Pa,” Delia said in a hushed tone, trying to organise her thoughts. Jonah is a red. If Krakens are supposed to be green, why did you let him fight it? He was clearly overmatched."

“Because the Kraken was dying,” Her Pa answered.

“You knew?”

“You could tell?!”

Jeremy and Delia exclaimed at the same time.

Greg gave out another sigh, sinking into his chair. “Yes, I knew. I wasn’ going to let him fight a Kraken if there wasn’t a winning chance.” He turned to Jeremy apologetically. “I didn’ and don’t know what caused it damage, but I could see it was dyin’.”

“And how’s that?” Delia interrupted.

“The same way Khaleel knew you’re all grey, and Jonah is a red,” he explained. “Ranks are visual things. There’s a sort of aura that comes off you, that tinged in that colour.”

“And we’d be able to see it if we awaken?” Jeremy asked.

"No, you'd need an artifact," Greg said, pausing briefly to remove a contact lens from his eye. "Something like this," he continued, holding up the small lens between his thumb and forefinger to emphasise his point. “This little thing helps you see mana. Through this, I could tell the Kraken was a green. I could also tell it was dying”

"So, you can see a things life force?" Jeremy asked, sounding confused.

"Not exactly," Greg clarified. "Krakens, along with other mythological creatures, possess a high… density isn’t the right word.”

“Quantity?” Delia supplied.

He nodded gratefully. “They have a high volume of mana. Mana is essential for their survival. If their mana reserves are depleted, they die. In this case, I could see that the Kraken's mana was gradually decreasing," he explained. "It was expending more mana trying to heal its wounds than it was absorbing and replenishing its reserves."

“And it doesn’t apply to humans?” Jeremy asked.

“No. Not unless you rely purely on mana for existence, which isn’t true for humans.”

Was that true for violets then? Delia withheld the question, letting her Pa continue his explanation.

“I spoke about inherent mana. There’s also ambient mana. Creatures rely on this. We do not.”

“Can we use ambient mana?”

“That’s a complicated question. And it’s a separate discussion in its entirety. The short answer is no, so you don’t need to be worried about it,” Greg said. “Alright, last question for today. You have a lot to think about already, and It’s not like I’m going anywhere. We can pick this up later.”

“I got one,” Delia said quickly. “What rank are you?”