Gravin was watching him.

Poking at his food, Dahlan could see the salamander looking at him out of his peripheral. Dahlan was definitely hungry - his stomach was screaming at him to eat the delicious-smelling crab meat, but he was so drained he could barely lift his arms to the plate, much less his mouth.

He'd been up until he physically couldn't cast anymore, and he'd somehow dragged himself back to bed after that. He hadn't been able to go back to sleep and ended up staring at the ceiling of his room, waiting for the inevitability of day to arrive. He'd realized what a terrible idea it'd been to try and do the dragonfly spell Gravin had used. He had no practice, an infinitesimal mana pool, and almost no control over his mana. He could get it to the caryva, he could make it spin, and that was it. His first attempt had been by far his closest, and all the following ones had failed worse and worse with every further try.

"...Dahlan? Are you listening?"

He started as he realized Gravin had been speaking and blinked the dryness out of his eyes. "Sorry, what?"

Gravin didn't look angry. He didn't even look annoyed. In fact, he appeared to be worried. "Dahlan, you should really eat your food. It should help regenerate your pool. I thought the potion would have been enough, but..."

Dahlan contrived to sit a little straighter, putting a smile on his face. "No, I'm fine! Can you teach me how to do more magic?"

He could tell the moment he asked that it had been a mistake. Gravin's eyes narrowed slightly. Avoiding his gaze, Dahlan looked down and tried to take a bite of crab. His arm jerked up to the table's height and flopped uselessly on its surface. They both sat there for a moment, staring at the limp limb.

Gravin took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. Dahlan shrank in his chair, preparing for the verbal onslaught. He barely noticed his arm drag off of the table and fall back to his side.

Scooting his chair back, Gravin stood and walked around to Dahlan. Raising a hand, he placed it on his head and paused. After a moment, he returned to his seat and steepled his fingers, leaning forward. "Would you care to explain why your pool is as barren as the Kaido desert? Or should I chance a few guesses of my own?"

Dahlan tried for a smile. "I'm... getting my mana back slower?"

It didn't work. Gravin stared at him for a long moment. Dahlan stared back. Putting a finger to the bridge of his nose, Gravin said, "Dahlan, were you perhaps practicing magic last night while I was asleep?"

Dahlan promptly shook his head. "Nope!"

Gravin raised an eyebrow. "Truly? Then would you mind explaining how your mana pool is almost entirely drained? It was recovering quite well yesterday. In fact, it was higher than it is today. Of course, you could be leaking mana."

That sounded terrifying. Dahlan's forehead creased. "...Leaking mana?"

Nodding seriously, Gravin added, "Mana leakage is nothing to be taken lightly. It sometimes occurs when a mage attempts to cast magic without enough mana to fuel it. The mage ends up being unable to use magic ever again, and eventually, the mana drainage affects his health as well. I've heard it can happen as early as six or seven years old."

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Some quick math led Dahlan to the conclusion that he was well within the required parameters, and his eyes widened. "It goes away, right?"

Gravin sighed loudly. "I'm afraid not. Anyone who gets leaky mana has it for the rest of their life... unless of course they do something very simple."

Dahlan tried to act uninterested, leaning an elbow on the table. "Oh, what is it?"

Gravin smiled. "Well, they just have to tell their father about their secret nighttime magic practice, in which case their father usually tells them that they should be a lot more careful with how they treat themselves."

Filing it away, Dahlan paused as he realized the trap he'd been caught in and slumped. "Oh."

Nodding, Gravin said, "I'm overjoyed that you want to learn magic so enthusiastically, but attempting magic while your mana pool is drained is rarely a good idea. While mana leakage is assuredly not a real thing, it is entirely possible to injure yourself. Magic is a finicky thing, and when it fails to find mana to fuel it, it often uses your own life. It doesn't kill you instantly," he immediately clarified as Dahlan visibly started panicking, and the young boy calmed down. "but it will steal your stamina bit by bit. You may not even notice the first time it happens, unless of course the spell you're attempting is a major one, but over time you will find your limbs slowing, day by day, until they refuse to move at all."

Dahlan shivered. "That sounds horrible."

Gravin nodded seriously. "It is. I knew a man once who was unable to cast magic. He had no mana pool, you see. So he used healing potions to bolster himself, thinking it would help him, but it did not. He died with the first spell he cast."

Staring at his food, Dahlan found his appetite all but gone. Gravin leaned over the table and patted his shoulder. "My apologies. I hadn't meant to bring the mood down quite so effectively. My point was that it's dangerous to perform magic when you don't have the mana available for it. I'm glad you want to practice, but I want you to practice in moderation. I'm sure we can come up with some sort of schedule if you so desire."

Dahlan stared at his food, and Gravin frowned. "Is something wrong?"

Looking off to the side, Dahlan muttered, "I wanted to surprise you..."

A flash of understanding came across Gravin's face, and almost immediately devolved into regret. "Oh."

Standing up, he made his way around the table, kneeling next to Dahlan. "Dahlan... were you practicing because of what I said to you when Pahrdyn brought you over?" Dahlan nodded wordlessly, and Gravin stared up at the ceiling, mouthing words to himself. Finally, he looked back down. "You haven't done anything wrong, Dahlan. Well," he amended, "You did try to steal Urph's bread. But I assume you won't be doing that anymore. My point is, you don't have to try so hard just to impress me. The fact you're trying is more than enough proof to me that you want to get better, so don't hurt yourself on an unnecessary journey."

Wiping his eyes, Dahlan slid out of his chair and gave Gravin a hug. Surprised, the salamander hugged him back and gave him a final squeeze. "Now, when I tell you to get some rest, you'd best understand that I want you to get rest."

Dahlan tugged on him as he tried to stand up, looking eager. "How do I get my mana back faster?"

Gravin tossed his hands in the air exaggeratedly. "I give you a whole speech on being careful and the first thing you do is ask how to get right back to it?" Dahlan nodded, and Gravin shook his head in mirth. "Very well. I don't want to give you all the answers. Questions answered on one's own are often better remembered, so here's what I want you to do; go watch Gentler Than Most for a bit."

Dahlan blinked. "Watch... Gent?"

"Yes, Gent." Gravin indicated Dahlan's room. "I'll give you one final hint. Drakes are better at gaining mana relative to their size than almost any other creature in the world."

Dahlan's eyes went round, and he ran into his room. Gent was sprawled on Dahlan's bed, tongue lying out of the side of his mouth as his claws twitched. Dahlan frowned. How could Gent teach him how to become the best wizard of all time if he was asleep!?

It was time to make a plan.