"WHAT!?" Daughter of Whisper was startled out of her meditation and fell backwards from the log.

"What are you doing with mana!?" Sirius walked with urgency towards her and gave her a hand at getting up.

"Training! Like you suggested!" she snarled back and got up.

"What exactly are you training?"

"I'm building up my Spirit! To grow it needs nourishing with mana!"

"How long have you been doing this training?" Sirius inquired.

"Hey, why don't I tell you all my life from beginning, huh!? Maybe you want to know all my family's techniques?"

"I don't need to know all that! And your training is just about filling your Astral Body with mana through breathing, I did so as well! It is something told by church in Kingdom. But you know what everyone in Kingdom also has? A Mana Pool! They fill their Mana Pool with mana, not their body!"

"What... are you trying to say?..." she said, a bit taken aback by Sirius' direction of thought.

"What I want to say is you only have Eyes, right?"

"I am working on getting the Spirit Mind next, yes..." she began telling, but Sirius cut her short.

"Don't you feel the crystals getting bigger as you breathe in dense mana?"

"I... what?..."

"I went there and back, and what I feel is your body contains more mana than before. How could that possibly be? Unless?..."

"No..." she whispered with wide eyes. In distress she began walking in circles, "OH, NO-NO-NO-NO! That is what Eyes of the Forest meant! How could I be so stupid! Cough! Cough-cough!" she stopped and bent in a coughing fit.

"Hey..." said Sirius quietly as he put his hand on her back, but Daughter of Whisper slapped him away.

"Cough... Don't touch me... Cough-cough!" she hissed in between coughs and sat on a log. Eventually she coughed up a small shiny rock along with some blood, finally stopping the coughs. She sighed, "Ugh... I don't want another procedure..."

"I... Can I help?"

"You, yes? What can an outsider do that Eyes couldn't?"

"What can I do?..." Sirius didn't really know. He only had some basic medical knowledge on him right now, and even if he had the World Tree leaves, they would only suffocate her. Moreover, the fix would be temporary at best.

"So I thought..." she mumbled with her head in between her hands.

"Can I take a look at the crystal?" asked Sirius while kneeling beside the blood-covered rock.

"Huh? Gross..."

"I learned to be a healer. Nothing gross about the illness. So, can I?"

"You? A healer?" she asked smugly. Then, her face sunk again, "Sure, take that. I've got lots of them on my person..."

"Thanks." said Sirius while picking up the cylindrical piece of mana crystal and wiping it with a cloth, "I will try to research it and come up with solution. For the time being avoid training with that method. Better come up with a new one..."

"I can't, no... It is passed down in our family, I can't change it up like that."

"Then... Why not condense Mana Pool?"

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"Why not Mana Pool? I never thought about that, to be honest. I focused on Spirit Mind to find a solution for my illness, but between getting procedures in hospital and helping my family I never got the chance. I thought it is what will help me. Did you know powerful mages can continue research in their dreams?"

"Really? Like, wandering around with their Astral Bodies while their real ones get some rest?"

"I don't know the details, but I saw books flying in my dad's room while he was asleep."

"Maybe it is the case..." said Sirius, ending this topic. The uncomfortable silence hung in the field, unnerving them both. "So, umm..."

"Yes?..."

"I think you should go to hospital for a check up."

"Eyes won't let me hear the end of it..."

"Is dying in the field better?"

"I know, I know..." she grumbled, "Let's go."

"I will finish the work here first. Two or three more passes and it'll be done."

"Well, fine..." she said unsurely, "And..."

"Hmm?"

"Sorry for being angry at you. You just wanted to help..."

"No need to worry. I am sorry as well, I should have phrased myself better."

"Bye..."

"Take care!" said Sirius with a smile, as Daughter of Whisper turned around and left towards the city.

Sirius' smile faded and he sighed. Involuntarily he remembered his friends back at Rivervale. They trusted him, even if were a little wary of his achievements and ambitions, especially considering the watchful eye of Inquisitor. While Sirius got used to being observed, they distanced themselves from him. And then he left the village entirely... Mindlessly he continued to plough, reminiscing of the past, trying to busy himself with work. A couple of times sadness spilled out of him, tainting the air with grey and lifeless cloud, but Sirius waved it away. Eventually his train of thought led to his relationship with people of Plain Veins. He didn't know anyone apart from Daughter of Whisper and Eyes of the Forest, and even then his understanding of them was shallow at best.

In his thoughts Sirius finished two more rows and turned around for a last pass, when he felt a pull of mana from behind. He twisted to the side, but a pain in his thigh brought him to the knees, his legs immediately sinking in the softened soil. Just as his feet were submerged, a stone grip shackled him in place. He could not turn back, nor could he do anything, as he felt foreign mana all around him, ready to strike at any moment. With nothing else to do, he let go of his staff and opened his Mind's Eye. As his eyes began shining with dim golden light, he could perceive the space around him in Astral World. He saw a faint shadow of the Material World around him, the tilled field, crops tot eh sides and some remnant emotion clouds he left behind. Around him was a bright veil of green mana along with tight streams around his legs. Straining his senses, Sirius looked back at the person who ambushed him. He saw a strange looking person with pale green skin and a cloak that was seemingly made out of leaves. Long brown fingers, like a branches of a dead tree, were extended in Sirius' direction, holding onto the fabric of mana. They looked at each other in silence.

Suddenly, man's long and pointy ear twitched in annoyance, and he spoke "Are you going to explain what you are doing here, or have you already gave up?"

"I came here looking for a person who led me into the village when I came here a week ago."

"Then what are you doing in my field?"

"I met a friend I made at a hospital. She was ploughing it, but her condition got worse and she went to have a check up with Eyes of the Forest. I suggested to help her."

"Does your friend have a title to go by?" man said, visibly stiff.

"She goes by Daughter of Whisper. I believe she doesn't have an official title yet."

"Do you know the full name of her parent?"

"I believe it was the Whisper of Nature..." said Sirius and immediately felt the restraints vanish.

"Ugh, I knew she should have stayed home..." he grumbled, and walked towards Sirius, "So, what is your... IT'S YOU!"

"Oh, hi... I mean... The World blesses your Path, Whisper of Nature!" Sirius greeted him. Only now could he take a good look at his appearance: tall, wide shoulders, bare arms peeking from under the intricately layered brown robe. From between the layers Sirius noticed flowers and leaves embroidered in green.

"As your Path is blessed. I didn't recognise you... You look much better than before," said Whisper of Nature and helped Sirius to get up, "Not covered in gore at least..."

"Please, don't remind me, I was literally ripped out of those clothes. Anyways, I wanted to thank you," Sirius bowed deeply, "If you chased me away that day, I would end up dying in the wild. I am in deep debt for this."

"Don't sweat it. Elders are already planning on how to put you to work."

"If you need anything from me, I am at your service. Can I finish the ploughing then?"

"Sure, why not?" said Whisper of Nature carelessly. His eyes flashed with green mana and he asked, "How is your leg? Must have been quite a wound to leave a mark on your Visage."

Sirius glanced at his leg, noticing the spiderweb of golden lines on smooth black surface of his thigh, "It is healing well, might leave a scar. Faster than I thought for such an injury."

"Increased healing rate is expected from solid Spirit, at a price of some more mana and an unbearable itch around the bone. You'll get used to it. I'll leave you here to finish your task now, I have more matters to attend in the fields. If anything happens, you can find me here."

"Sure thing," said Sirius and waved goodbye to a man. Something was off about him, or it was just his paranoia...