Sirius described what he heard in the tavern, relaying his suspicions that there are indeed people from the Church in the city. Their goals can vary from indoctrinating more people into their faith, up to finding Sirius.

Daughter of Whisper listened carefully, but couldn't resist and ask, "But it has nothing to do with me, no?"

"Well, if I am caught, I won't be able to heal you."

"Makes sense. And... that's all?"

"What do you mean?" asked Sirius in confusion.

"You can just tell your suspicions to Elders, they will find a way to help you, no?"

Sirius sighed, "You see, not all Elders are happy with me being here. Calmness of Storm was friendly for sure, but not everyone. It will be easier for them to just sell me out."

"Huh... I never thought that someone will not trust in Elder's authority."

"Authority exists for their people. I am an outsider."

"Outsider, you say? Can't we make you into druid, no?"

"I don't know," Sirius shrugged, "Never heard about it."

"I will ask my father how to make you a druid!" Daughter of Whisper stood up, and ran towards the exit.

"NO!" Sirius shouted and fell from his chair.

Daughter of Whisper stopped in her tracks and looked back at Sirius sprawling on the floor. She slowly asked, "Why not?"

"There are... more things I wanted to tell you," Sirius clutched his leg, he overstrained while running. He carefully got up and plunged back on the chair. With a sigh he clenched his hands and put before his mouth, while gathering courage. "Your father wanted to exile me. Or worse."

"Why would you say so?" she asked with a spite.

"I was at Elders' hall a week ago. Calmness of Storm allowed me to build a home in here, since there was no one else at that time."

"What it has to do with my father!?" She slammed the table with a deep rage.

Sirius blankly stared at her for a second and began describing the events in the Elders' hall. At first Daughter of Whisper patiently listened, while barely containing her anger, but the moment Sirius began describing her father's appearance in the hall, she slumped onto the chair. When Sirius finished, they both sat in silence, digesting the situation.

"And... That's all. After that Calmness of Storm told me your common knowledge, but that is not important."

"How do I believe you?" asked Daughter of Whisper in a daze.

"You can ask your father," Sirius mocked her. "Or we can ask Calmness of Storm himself, but I don't know if we can find him alone once again."

"No, I trust you. I think..."

"Correct mindset. Avoid mentioning this information to your father. He seemed very vigorous about the tradition thing."

"He really is... He will kill me if I consolidate Manapool next, yes."

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Figuratively?"

"No..."

"Oh..." Sirius was stumped, "Were there... precedents?"

"Not in my family. Several years ago one poor boy decided to redirect mana for formation to condense the Mind instead of the Eyes. He disappeared the next day," she said, while looking at the floor.

"Gods... Well, I got through that. They can't punish me for not having an Eye. Your problem is worse though. Have you avoided magic all this time?"

"I have. My lungs were clear all this time."

"That is good. Your procedures cleared the crystals, but magic fuelled their growth, that is now confirmed." Sirius stood up and began rummaging through his stuff.

"Oh no. The procedures were not clearing them. They drained my body of mana, leaving the thin strand, enough to keep my Spirit alive..." she shuddered.

Sirius did not know what to say. The idea of having mana sucked out of his body was terrifying. He could not imagine his Astral Body devoid of mana. And since he knew that the bones contained crystal-like structures, it could damage them.

"Did you feel the pain in your bones after the procedures?" he asked carefully.

"Very, yes. Why are you asking?"

"Can I inspect them? Spine is enough. I need to probe them with mana a little."

"If it's like that..." Daughter of Whisper said with confusion.

"Please stay still." Sirius put his hand above her spine and began pulsing some mana. He carefully moved his hand around and probed his own bones from time to time.

"What are you seeing?"

"Your bones have more mana than mine. I don't know the normal amount, but yours is almost scary. They aggressively resist the pulsing, as they should, but for that amount of mana they must replace all your bones at some point. Maybe there are some inclusions of accumulative permutation, but..."

"You lost me."

"Sorry. I will keep it short. Condensing Spirit Mind will kill you. Right away."

"How..."

Sirius took the crystals he saved from exchanging with traders and put them on a table, "Look. I will push some mana around. Tell me what you notice."

"The left crystal stays still, the middle one moves a little, and the right dances around."

"That is because the left is made to me in moving mana, so called conductance. Middle accumulated some inside, hence accumulation, it is pushed by the flow. The right is actively resisting the flow, called resistance type for this reason. Your bones should be only right type, but up to some concentration."

"And they are not?"

"They are almost fully made of the resistant crystals, with some accumulation formation. I think that constant procedures destroyed those crystals in your bones, and your body fixed those holes with more crystals than necessary. And then your training filled your body with mana, which condensed in accumulation crystals."

"And what happens if I condense the Spirit Mind?"

"It will form a strong current of mana inside your body. Accumulation crystals may explode, while resistant crystals - torn away. From every bone in your body."

Daughter of Whisper shuddered. "Why me? The others were fine, no?"

"Your illness caused more crystals to form. Others have much less, and their bodies can adapt to a new organ. If you condensed the Mind earlier, you would be fine, but now - Manapool is the only path you have."

"And... No other way?"

"I mean... There can be ways around, but they all involve draining your body of mana just before the condensation."

"I can't do that, no. I won't find enough mana to condense them."

"I thought so. I mean, I never condensed anything myself, so I can't tell."

"I envy you." Daughter of whisper muttered.

"Please don't. You would be stuck like the Deepest Lake. She was forced to condense too early, as per tradition. It was only after she caused mayhem and left did others stepped away a little from the beaten path."

"She did cause a shake up, that is true... Some even disowned their families to pursue their own dreams."

"What did you say?..." Sirius' face lit up a little.

"Some disowned their families..."

"No-no, not that. A shake up you say?"

"A shake up, yes," Daughter of Whisper repeated slowly.

"Can we do just that?"

"But how, we are but a couple of teens, no?"

"Not just a couple of teens. I am good at magic, and you can sing like no one I ever heard," Sirius said with a smirk.

Daughter of Whisper blushed a little and lowered her gaze, "You don't say, no..."

"I mean it. Your singing in hospital was magical. I think that you involuntarily infused your dreams in mana, that vibrated along with crystals in your body. If we improve it a little, we can show a new branch of magic to people."

"But it's not how magic is done, no."

"Telling from your father's title your family deals with nature. If you prove that you can do more than just follow in their steps, they will allow you to carve your own Path. But to do that you need to achieve some extraordinary feat. And your illness will help you with that."

"You are a madman, yes," she shook her head with a smile.

"And you are yet to decline. So, what do you say?"

"I'm in."