The clack of Lady Cira’s staff as it broached the hall was unnerving to say the least. My men and I all shared a look of discomfort, but her expression brooked not even the slightest concern. If one of us expressed our discomfort, she would surely ignore and possibly even demean us.

“You’re, like, dying, right?” Jimbo asked. “Should probably stop drinkin’.”

“It’s dimnut tonic, you oaf.” Lady Cira pulled a flask from her pocket and took a light sip, “I’ll sleep when I’m soup.”

“Am I supposed to know what that means? You gotta last long enough to become soup.” Jimbo’s argument cut to the core of the matter. As someone who held no belief for the Final Sky, he was really the perfect man to pry. “If you die on us, a whole lotta people did a whole lot of work for nothin’.”

“What’s it matter if I am reborn regardless?” The Saint was one who ushered indomitable light upon the world, yet she feared not the darkness at the end of her path. “If we don’t finish my array I’ll die tomorrow anyway.”

Cira had slept for days. If it weren’t for the key Tawny ended up holding onto, we may never have been able to enter her room and wake her up. She had to meet with the dreaded Third Order tomorrow, and she didn’t look any better than when we returned from the tomb.

She showed us merely the surface of her true power while facing the necromancer, and regardless of the tough act she put on, it was plain as day that it took its toll on her. Before she was so full of energy, and dauntless courage. Now though, she was perpetually ready for bed and largely apathetic. Could she even make it through tomorrow?

My men and I made plans for what we would do to obtain the vestigial nectar if she never woke up, and the jury was still out on whether or not we would carry through.

If we asked, she would tell us to stay behind for certain. Even if I’m not a mage, I’m still a captain of her eternal armada. Nothing less than success would do, but how could I ever succeed if she made me stay home?

___

After finding out she had been asleep for so long, of course, Cira left in a hurry.

There were many artifacts to make still, but more importantly, her entire plan would fall apart if she didn’t set up her spatial array.

The waterfall went smoothly as the moon met its crest, and her cerulean blessing made enchantment a simple matter. The crew watched, but more with studious intent than with wonder as the other night. Of course they had a smaller part to play at her direction, but landforms were a bit above their level.

The sorcerer’s glyphs trailed up the river, focused on anywhere the water was obstructed and flowed from the grass above to the earth below. From this point in the river, there was no trace of Undina’s will. Beyond it, water followed a winding path before falling indiscriminately to the sky.

Time was short as days had passed, so they had no choice but to finish this tonight. After the waterfall, Cira landed on a third landmark from Jimbo’s map. This was a location anyone who ever visited Lost Cloud knew about—the Misty Steppes.

It seemed simpler to enchant than the waterfall, but Cira was already tuckered out. Each mage present poured mana into her relentlessly, and she never said a word. Her breath was heavy, and she swayed gently, leaning against her staff between glyphs. Despite all that, it was clear she really enjoyed the verdant moss-covered stone and whistling of the wind through the canyon.

___

I feel like death.

Before, the crumbling of my soul never meant much other than the fact that it would burn out someday unless I dealt with it.

It changed when that ‘one day’ became any moment, but that didn’t mean I had to keel over and let it happen.

I still had time to fix this, and all possible materials needed to pull it off.

If it weren’t for my students, I would be dead as a rock right now, or on my way to it. As it turned out though, fate could be crafted by not just my own effort, but by that of those around me. Whether that meant I would meet my death by the next time morning came was another story, but I just had to persevere until I at least had my chance.

“I meant to do this a week ago…” All the mages stood behind me as I spoke, staring at a door next to the forbidden archive. “But it’s time for your final lesson, for now at least. Worst case, I hope some of you find your way.”

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The creak of the door drowned out my tired words. As it opened, mana more fierce than that of immortal necromancer assailed my body. Were I not accustomed to the resonance of my Breeze Haven’s own mana, it would have been crippling in the pitiful state I’m in.

“Wh-what is this place?” Captain Shores looked up at me like the tide was trying to sweep him away. His eyes, half-opened and quivering.

“Where do you think Breeze Haven’s mana is stored?” I asked, my words interrupted by a cough, “Breeze Haven has its own mana well. If you possess even a little talent, you will find it here.”

Once inside the room, I turned around. Jimbo was asleep in the hall, as was Oliver. Skipper had evidently shown up at some point, also asleep next to Reverend Shores who didn’t last long.

I swear, the moment Dad took me in, he started half-assing everything in the name of a trial I shall overcome one day. Breeze Haven is due for some serious artificing once I hit the Dead Belt… Ahh, I can’t wait for some peace and quiet.

“W-what the hell is this place?” Tawny managed through clenched teeth as her hand gripped the door’s threshold.

“There are many ways to store mana, but given a fixed location, a mana well is best. Naturally, Dad built one.”

The crew was shocked, but they had only recently learned that mana wells existed in the first place. They had no real concept of them. Kuja, on the other hand, had lived with the Shadow Well for her entire life, “But… but how? I thought it was akin to natural phenomena, like this storm which never leaves.”

“Does nobody really know what mana wells are?” I thought at least one of them had a degree of formal education. Stolen books counted towards this depending on the recipient’s diligence. Regardless, their faces were blank. “You can consider it almost like a spring, but it’s sourced from the infinite network of leylines around us and outputs mana. Typically, a mana well filters out a specific element from the vast flow of aether—the result of a chip in the riverbed, as it were. Grown over a great deal of time, of course, a leak of dark mana has resulted in a mountain basin full of perpetually dense shadow.

“As an artificial mana well, it can only leech off the nearest leylines. Because of this, it can store significantly more mana than it draws. Any excess heals or strengthens the barrier. Of course, there are many gems hidden throughout Breeze Haven’s earth to contain even more surplus, but that’s not what I’m getting at.” As I improve upon this system, I will reach its limit eventually. this half-assedry will result in my overcoming the trial of the way the entirety of Breeze Haven collects, stores, distributes, and utilizes power. The trial I am least excited about. “A mana well is but a single outlet upon a leyline. Can anyone tell me about leylines?”

Nobody had entered yet, and Tawny looked half-ready to collapse, still hanging onto the door. My entire crew was pale in the face. Seemingly in disbelief that I expected them to enter the room. An unexpected face rose, dripping sweat, to answer my question.

Hardly even my student, James spoke up, “It’s like… rivers of mana in the sky? Right?”

“More or less. They exist on the aethereal plane, as rivers that run through all or anywhere. Be it sky, earth, or the sea below. Some say they extend even further into the sky beyond reach, but I’ve yet to check personally. In any case, if you want to be truly pedantic, you could call this room Breeze Haven’s aether well.” This room was comprised of a foyer, then a larger open space made to look similar to the training hall’s brick layout descending to the middle. Given this well was one without element, it was essentially imperceptible. There were so many spectrums which could not be perceived, unless I attacked someone with it directly or Breeze Haven needed to rapidly regenerate its barrier, it would be as clear as the air.

That was not to say it could not be felt, and a spot looked oddly blurry to all who tried to gaze upon it.

There were many seats next to me, and the crew eventually filed in with great struggle. I could discern their talents by who found a seat first. For one, Ike passed out on his way in, as well as James finally. Gil was last to fall as his hand still clutched the leg of a chair.

“Pick them up on your way out.” I instructed. “Consider the goblins. Being steeped in mana or even pure aether isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but those who can’t bear it shouldn’t stay for too long lest they turn into something strange. Anway, this is a continuation of the other day’s lesson. Visit this place daily and your aura will doubtlessly grow, and it will be easy to invoke sorcery here. At the same time, don’t let yourself be consumed by it. Start with just an hour or two. The feeling of limitless aether is quite nice, I agree, but you will crumble away as I am if you don’t relegate this to a brief period among your training.”

“Are we just supposed… to sit here?” Tawny asked. She looked no less exhausted than centuries-old Kuja and the remaining mages.

“Weren’t you going to give us a lesson as well?” Cedric asked.

Clever one… implying this isn’t the lesson.

“Well… how about wells? While we’re at the mana well.” I twisted Shadow Quill around to form a complex glyph and a small rock formed in the air before splintering out and expanding. Soon a menagerie of lights flashed, and it was larger than a melon, covered in grass on top with little rivers that fell off the side and turned to mist, condensing above. “Passive reservoirs. If you intend to do anything but die before a powerful caster’s might, you will need to have active mana accessible as easily as your fingertips.”

Like manipulating a marionette, I moved my fingers around and the miniature rivers rose up to form a ball of water above the bite-sized clouds. Air rippled as they broke apart and it all condensed together, shining brighter cerulean as I continued to trickle mana in.

“Wake me up a few hours before the meeting, and work on your passive reservoirs in the meantime. There is no better environment than this.” Everyone looked confused when I stood up, leaving the tiny island and ball of water levitating in the air. The only exception was Kuja’s grin. “Don’t you guys give me that disappointed look. I’ve met mages that spent decades in school and never once prepared mana outside their body, and I expect you all to do it by morning. That enough for you?”