Talia stood on the sun-warmed sand, her bare feet sinking slightly with each shift of her weight.

In the background, there was a constant backdrop of shouts and splashes of her classmates as they practiced summoning their Mana Boards.

It was a rather festive atmosphere now that everyone got to practice their [Mana Board] Skill.

All the splashing around and laughter reminded Talia of the time during the summer festival that the island would hold for the harvests when Riala and her were still children.

Kids of all ages would gather along the shore and play, get drenched, get scolded by their parents, and be dragged out of the chilly water only to dive in again when no one was looking.

Riala and her never had anyone scold them other than the people who took care of getting them fed—which was pretty much whoever felt like it.

They had been raised, sure, but no one seemed comfortable with educating them.

For Riala, that hadn’t been a problem.

From a very young age, the white-haired girl had displayed laudable self-restraint.

Everyone knew how mature, how unselfish, and, most importantly, how reliable Riala was.

She was conversing with adults already at five years old.

Talia, on the other hand, had ended up being the total opposite.

Often, not even the kids Talia’s age would play with her, wrist marks or not.

She had been so full of energy, so hyperactive, that it had always been hard to stay by her side for any meaningful amount of time.

That was one of the main reasons Riala and her had never really had a strong bond.

However, on those festival nights, when every parent was worried sick that their kids would drown if they didn’t yank them out of the water, the two of them stayed close, watching all the kids get pulled in and out of the water, while no one bothered to tell the sisters to come ashore.

That’s why they had come up with a game.

Taking turns, Talia would try to drag Riala out and vice-versa.

They would fight, splash around, and try to pull the other as strongly as possible onto the sandy beach.

Of course, Riala had to let her win on purpose since she was older than her.

But still, it was one of Talia’s fondest memories – one of the few meaningful things she had ever shared with Riala and perhaps with anyone.

Now, hearing similar sounds around her, the mirth, the joy of those who thought they might walk away from the shore with the Skill that defined every Water Rider, she felt how she used to feel whenever Riala started to show up late for the festival, and later, not at all.

When Riala was too old to play with her and too busy with training for her Initiation, Talia would just float in the water alone and sometimes dive, just to kill time. But she’d mostly float.

And she would float there, in the cold water, and just watch the others, while no one ever approached her or invited her to play, not even Takai since he was such a terrible swimmer which meant his mother had barred him from getting in the water altogether.

Floating by herself, Talia had felt like the dark waters of the evening would swallow her any minute.

And on the days when she had felt really down, she had really wished they did.

Right now, she felt like she was reliving those exact moments.

A light breeze touched her back, and she stared at the water in front of her, putting a hand through her hair and ruffling it.

“Ok, come on,” she muttered, gathering herself.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart.

Mom was the Hākai Pō, she told herself. I’ll figure this out. Let’s try a few more times before I need to change my approach.

This was her chance to prove herself and show Professor Iakopo and everyone else that she belonged here at the Academy.

No matter what it took to summon a Mana Board, she’d do it.

Talia closed her eyes, focusing inward as she had done countless times before.

She was good at Mana Control – exceptional, even.

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This should be an easy task for her, even with a weak Primary Mana Channel.

Reaching for her Mana, Talia attempted to shape it into the form of a small board beneath her feet.

She visualized the energy flowing down her legs and coalescing into a solid platform that would allow her to glide across the waves.

But as the seconds ticked by, nothing happened.

The sand remained stubbornly present between her toes, while no shimmering board materialized to lift her above it and onto the water's surface.

Frowning, Talia opened her eyes and looked down.

Not even a flicker of Mana was visible.

She glanced around at her classmates, many of whom were already standing on their translucent, glowing boards.

Lilo gracefully maneuvered her Mana Board through a series of turns while Fiora maintained a stable hover above the water.

Frustration bubbled up in Talia's chest.

Why isn’t this working?

She was supposed to be good at this sort of thing. Taking another deep breath, she decided to try a different approach.

Perhaps she needed to start with something simpler.

Talia held out her hand, palm up, and focused on summoning a small blade of water.

She had done it countless times with her blood—this couldn’t be that much harder.

But nothing appeared.

Talia's brain gears spurred into motion.

Did the Professor do something?

Why can’t I—let me try something else.

She tried to simply summon some Mana through her Primary Mana Channel. This was something she had not needed to do so far and, therefore, had actually never done before.

But still, nothing happened.

She couldn’t even generate a globe of water.

Her inability to summon a Mana Board could mean the end of her time at the Academy before it had truly begun.

Panic started to loom over her heart.

While she tried really hard to reach for her Primary Mana Channel, she was met with... nothing.

No response, no flow of energy, not even the slightest ripple in the air above her palm.

This already happened when Tulo tried to test me…

What does this mean?

A chill ran down Talia's spine, completely at odds with the warm sun beating down on her.

She couldn't feel her Primary Mana Channel at all.

It was as if that part of her magic simply didn't exist.

"Having trouble?" Professor Iakopo's voice startled her out of her panicked thoughts.

He stood a few feet away with his arms crossed over his chest.

Talia swallowed hard, her mouth suddenly dry.

She balled her fists, staring down at the man.

"I... I can't seem to access my Primary Mana Channel," she admitted, the words tasting bitter on her tongue.

Iakopo's eyes narrowed, and something that might have curiosity flickered across his face.

"Have you ever had any control over it?" he asked, his voice low enough that only Talia could hear.

Is that even possible? Talia wondered.

She opened her mouth to protest, but no words came out.

The truth was, she didn't know.

She had never actually tried to use her Primary Mana Channel before and always relied on her Blood Magic instead.

Professor Iakopo studied her for a long moment.

“Perhaps you shouldn’t have taken this Class,” the man said complacently.

***

Talia was on a small boat she had picked from an assortment that was available to all the students in Elder Krakatoa’s School.

This time, she had asked Nami and Lilo for some time alone after Professor Iakopo’s Mana Control class.

"In the old East Wing – that’s the name of a building, not an actual wing – of the second island before the Market," Mano had said. "It’s all abandoned, so there shouldn’t be anyone sniffing around. Third floor, behind the painting of the Kraken. This is the key. But be careful, girl. It's not a place to be taken lightly."

Talia navigated the small boat through the winding canals of the Academy.

The wooden vessel creaked softly as she guided it past other buildings and structures.

She kept her eyes peeled for landmarks, trying to match them to the directions Mano had given her.

After about twenty minutes of sailing, Talia spotted the Market in the distance.

She turned left, heading towards the second island that came before it.

The East Wing wasn't hard to find based on Mano’s description – it was an old, slightly run-down building that stood out among the rest of the abandoned structures around it.

Talia tied up her boat at a small dock near the building.

She climbed out, her feet hitting the worn wooden planks with a soft thud.

Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, Talia quietly slipped away from the beach.

Her shoes left damp prints on the sunbaked cobblestones as she hurried through the winding streets of the Academy.

Talia huffed and pushed open the heavy wooden door of the building with both hands, wincing at the loud creak that echoed through the empty hallway beyond.

She entered, finding herself in a dusty lobby.

Cobwebs clung to every corner and even formed nets between the walls.

Talia located the staircase and began to climb, her footsteps echoing through the empty space.

Dust motes danced in the shafts of sunlight that filtered through the cracks in the boarded windows.

On the third floor, Talia walked down a long hallway.

Her eyes scanned the walls, looking for the painting Mano had mentioned.

Near the end of the hall, she spotted it – a large, faded artwork depicting the Kraken rising from the stormy seas.

The creature's eyes seemed to follow Talia as she approached. Taking a deep breath, Talia reached out and touched the painting’s frame.

To her surprise, it swung outward like a door, revealing an intricate symbol over the wall.

She fetched the inscribed stone that Mano had given her and raised it in front of the symbol.

Both flashed for an instant, and a dark passage appeared in place of the musty wall.

The air that wafted out was cool and damp.

Talia hesitated for just a moment before stepping into the darkness. The passage was short, opening into a circular room.

And there, dominating the center of the space, was the Darkstorm Sphere.

It was massive – at least fifteen feet in diameter.

Within its transparent walls, a storm was raging.

Dark clouds roiled and churned, and flashes of lightning illuminated their depths.

Rain lashed at the inside of the sphere, creating a constant patter that filled the room.

The whole thing pulsed with an otherworldly energy that made the hair on Talia's arms stand on end.

For several long moments, Talia simply stared at it.

Mano had told her that this was the very place where her father had been training.

After the debacle in the morning, Talia realized that she needed to do something to avoid failing Professor Iakopo’s class.

Mano had mentioned that this place was very important to her father and that he had developed his control over Dark Water here.

Now, Talia didn’t know whether training her Dark Water would somehow allow her to form a Mana Board since only the latter was conjured through one’s Primary Mana Channel. But this was the only thing that had come to her mind, not knowing what else to do.

She had swung by Elder Krakatoa’s study, but even the fiery man had been at a loss when she mentioned her problem.

So, this was it.

This was where Talia hoped to find some answers.