"What do you mean people can't do that?..." Sirius asked again.

"The astral body is too weak without organs. One can not hold tools without hand or with baby's arm. There is not enough power to manipulate mana."

"But I can..."

"Usually, first training goes towards just feeling its existence, but you are already skilled in that. Only after that can a person learn to shift mana around, without deeper manipulation like you did before."

"Really?.." Sirius could not believe he was that special.

"Since when are you with Seth?"

"I dunno... Since forever? Why are you asking?"

"The manasnake must see you as a fellow, a member of a pack. And since you was with Seth since you were a kid... It might mean that your talent is innate."

"Like, from birth?"

"Yes, from birth. Let's do an experiment. Stand up in the middle of the room, close your eyes and guess what I am casting."

Sirius did as he was told. He felt mana move and condense into a rapidly spinning ball. He pointed in the direction of the spell.

"There! It is... mana is fast and cold. Maybe freezing projectile?"

"And now?"

Sirius felt and extremely weak movement above.

"Above me, something weak, I can't sense more."

"What about now?"

Sirius now felt that the place where Father Gregor just was became empty. He wanted to open his eyes, but heard Gregor's voice.

"Don't open your eyes. Try to point in my direction."

The voice sounded ethereal, as if coming from every direction at once. There was no sound of footsteps and Sirius felt no movement, but there was some inkling in the back of his mind he could barely fathom.

"Are you behind, Father?"

"Dear gods..." Came a voice from behind, and Father Gregor appeared again.

"Is everything fine?"

"You may open your eyes, dear. Oh Verden, just who did you find..."

"What did Uncle do?"

The expression of Gregor was replaced by fear as he held his mouth.

"What did Uncle do?" Sirius repeated his question, now slowly saying word after word. Whatever Gregor did not want him to hear was now out of the box.

"My tongue is my enemy. I am sorry for that, I wanted to keep it a secret for a bit longer. but now it's too late, isn't it?"

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"What secret?" Sirius was feeling uneasy, a tension hung in the room.

"How to put it lightly... When I and Verden achieved a dignity of Deacon, I gave him an advice to find an apprentice. His skills as a healer were invaluable here and if it could give Kingdom an edge in case of a war or a plague. We searched far and wide, but none was skilled enough to inherit his work. One day when we were visiting a church in Ravenloft we stumbled upon a church's orphanage."

"No..."

"In desperation we went in. Just as Verden crossed the porch, he instantly made a decision. He adopted an infant, still in a crib. He did not tell me why, but he said he was sure that an apprentice will be capable of inheriting his craft."

"So he is not?..."

"As far as blood relations go, Verden and you are not related."

"I don't believe you..."

Words stung. Sirius wanted to run away, to wake up, or to fall through the ground right then and there. But he couldn't. In his mind, pieces of a puzzle that were his life shattered and rearranged. In silence he stood in the middle of the room while Gregor was trying to tell him something he could not hear. Internal turmoil was so great, the world around him began shaking and moving, reflecting the intense feelings of the boy. Sirius was suddenly shaken by the shoulders.

"Listen here, Sirius!" Words finally entered boy's mind and made him focus. "Whatever you are thinking now, throw that away. Now answer me without thinking. Did Verden raise you?"

"Yes..." Images of Uncle making his favorite rabbit stew appeared in his mind, pleasant fragrance of vegetables and filling meal making Sirius salivate.

"Did he care about you?"

"Yes..." The robe Sirius wore was made by his Uncle's hands.

"Did he teach you?"

"Yes..." Sirius could read and write thanks to his Uncle's self-made books.

"So tell me. Does it matter that much that you are not blood related?"

"It does not..."

"Correct, my dear." Gregor hugged Sirius, now that the boy wasn't tense like a rock. "I could call Verden my brother. I also mourn his death, like you do. Let's not disappoint him, and remember him for who he was, not who he wasn't."

"Yes, you are right." Said Sirius, hugging Gregor in return and shedding tears on his shoulder. "He will forever be my uncle."