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[ 4 ] Mana Control
🕑 Added 2024-11-09 19:30:11 +0000 UTCMoonlight pierced through a part in Kal’s window blinds, reflecting off Daedrik’s glasses—who stood in the doorway, partially shrouded by night.
“Kal.”
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??? Mana Core
Mana ???
Mana Potential 424
Stage 4
Strength: ???
Agility: ???
Dexterity: ???
Charisma: ???
Wisdom: ???
Intelligence: ???
Endurance: ???
Toughness: ???
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“Dad?” Kal replied, scooting to sit up against his bedhead. He was still getting used to being able to sense cores, but even if he hadn’t recognized his father’s voice, his core’s hidden states would have given it away.
“So, you awoke your mana core.”
“You knew?”
“I’m a mage adept; of course, I knew. Now tell me, what are you, Kal?
“What do you mean? I'm your son.”
“You know what I mean. What are you really?”
Does he know about my core, or has he noticed I'm not a baby?
“Like I said–”
“Don't play dumb with me,” Daedrik interrupted. “Tell me the truth. Are you an Aeon?”
Aeon? What the heck is that?
“No–”
“Even with every other suspicious thing about you, there's no such thing as a human awakening their core at your age. Not even the greatest Archmages to ever live. The current record is age four, and that man laid the foundation for much of what we think of as modern magery within Lyssia today. So please, tell me the truth.”
“The truth is I don't know,” Kal looked down at his hands. “I know I'm not normal. But I'm not an Aeon, or at least I don't think I am. But to be honest, I don't even know what an Aeon is.”
Hopefully, that's close enough to the truth to get him off my back. Daedrik, knowing I'm from another world, is probably better than him thinking I'm a demon, but I'll keep that to myself if I can.
“Hmm,” Daedrik grunted. “I'm not sure I believe you. But—I’ll choose to, for now at least. For your mother's sake. Don't make me regret this, Kal.”
“I'll try not to,” Kal said softly as Daedrik gently closed the door.
Damn, if that wasn’t creepy.
Kal closed his eyes and settled back into bed, but he wasn’t getting any sleep tonight.
***
Following the nighttime confrontation, Daedrik left Kal to himself during the days that Yandi left him to care for their child. This did not change the way he acted when his mother was around. The man still smiled and ruffled his hair as if nothing had happened, but Kal knew better.
However, despite the creepy confrontation, Kal didn’t have much to complain about. He was learning just about as quickly on his own as he had been with his father, and as long as he wasn’t denied access to the library, he was confident that would continue. Besides, he had already lived and been raised by loving parents, so Kal wasn’t too bothered by his father’s abandonment as long as it didn’t escalate.
Months later…
Hiding one's mana core was, in a sense, an extension of awakening it and revolved around the same principles. Just as awakening a mana core required sensing your mana and finding its source, hiding it was the first step to learning how to control mana.
Concentrating on his mana core, Kal could sense the errant energy flowing freely from it. These free-flowing streams of energy were what uninvited eyes could eavesdrop on, as well as the embodiment of mana potential. By taking control of this energy, a mage could hide their core—or at least stop it from broadcasting its details. However, mages could still detect the general strength of a mana core. Mana potential didn’t mean a whole lot without the core’s other details, but it did allow onlookers to grasp an estimate of the mage’s power.
But the more Kal tried to focus on the magical energy, the more elusive it became. It was as if his mana was fleeing from his inner form, the tiny motes of mana flying away like mischievous fairies.
This game of cat and mouse with his own mana continued every day, but it didn’t discourage Kal from training to control it every chance he got.
Gradually, as he familiarized himself with it, the elusive mana seemed to slow. Kal lunged forward in his mind’s eye, grasping hold of a stream of energy as it snaked away. Looking down at his hands, his eyes widened, realizing he had finally caught it.
But the journey was far from over. Taking hold of a single mana stream was one thing, but it was only the first step to controlling it.
Like a metaphorical eel, he wrestled with his slippery mana for several more days, losing hold of one strand as he tried to grab hold of another. But each day, his control improved, allowing Kal to take hold of more and more mana.
***
Kal meditated under the warm, waning afternoon sun, casting crimson ribbons of light across his face. He could feel his control strengthening over his mana and decided to challenge himself.
With his focus at a heightened level, Kal attempted to force down all the streams of escaping mana by casting his control over his mana core like a net. The experience was like trying to maintain focus on the ball beneath a magician's moving cup—except with thousands of cups and hundreds of balls all moving at once.
The focus required to control all of one's mana would seem impossible to a beginner. However, mana control became extremely personal and intimate as it was trained, with mages developing an intrinsic sense binding them to all the mana strings connected to their core.
Kal's eyes flung open as he felt himself wrestle control of his mana. He didn't need anybody to test it. He already knew his mana was hidden from onlookers—the control he had gained over it was unmistakable.
Bloodline Trait Unlocked: Core Control +2 Intelligence | +2 Wisdom | +5 Mana
Plus five mana? Kal’s jaw slackened as he watched the test fade away. He still wasn’t too sure how to evaluate the stat bonuses, but gaining mana from Bloodline Traits had proven rare.
“There you are, my Little Beetle,” Yandi said, charging toward Kal with her arms extended. “In the library pretending to be a mage like your father again, are you?” She added as she picked Kal up and hugged him tightly.
“M-mom–” Kal squealed as Yandi Squeezed the breath out of him.
“I don’t want to hear it. It’s time for you to eat. You want to get big and strong like your daddy, don’t you?”
“I guess,” Kal said through gritted teeth.
***
“So, how do you like it?”
“It’s okay, I guess,” Kal said, shoveling a spoonful of the stew into his mouth as they sat at the table.
“You could be more grateful. Still, it looks like it’s doing its job,” Yandi said, eyeing Kal’s forearms. “You’re not even two yet… I mean, all the other toddlers just look flabby.
Kal glanced down at his arm. He was no athlete, but subtle lines marking his muscles could be seen. I guess that’s strange for a child my age, huh? It must be the stats I’m getting from the Bloodline Traits.
“I suppose,” Kal shrugged, trying to remain nonchalant.
“At this rate, the knights will come to drag you away before you can join one of the mage academies,” Yandi giggled. “I can just imagine the look on your father’s face.”
Yeah, right. If only she knew. Damn it, I hate pretending everything is alright to cover for that poser. Then again, he hasn’t done anything about it, and he clearly knows something is up. I should probably count myself lucky.
“Yeah, I can imagine,” Kal said.
“Something wrong, Beetle?” Yandi crooked her head. “You sound a little distant.”
“No, it’s nothing.”
“I hope so because you’re far too young to be having concerns. Most of the toddlers I know can barely string a few words together. Speaking of which, do you want to go on another play date with the Drapers?”
Please no. Can’t you tell I’m a little too advanced to be hanging out with freaking babies?
“I ah–”
“Kal, I know you might be a little ahead of them, but socializing is healthy. You need to talk to people—I mean, kids, other than your parents.”
“I suppose,” Kal slumped.
“Don’t look so glum about it. You’re supposed to be excited to play with other kids at your age—and for many years to come.”
“Oh, I am,” Kal lied. “Sounds good, Mom.”
“That’s a relief,” Yandi exhaled. “You worry me a little sometimes, but you’ll always be my Little Beetle. Don’t forget that.”
“I won't,” Kal said, his gaze drifting over to the dining room window and out across the hedge that hid their family’s rather large cottage home from the outside world.
***
It wasn’t as if Kal hated spending time with his mother or anything. He actually quite liked the woman. She was generally pleasant and upbeat, and her love for him was unquestionable. But none of that made sitting around on a playmat with several other toddlers in her friend Tammy’s backyard while they sipped tea and gossiped any better.
“Ellie,” said a toddler about Kal’s size. She had short, rosy blonde hair and was a month older than him, leading their mothers to plan shared birthdays for the two.
“Yes, your name is Ellie, I’m aware,” Kal rolled his eyes. “He had our first birthdays together, but I’m guessing you don’t remember that.”
“Mommy,” she pointed at Tammy, who waved as she bit into a biscuit.
“And she’s your mom. I know,” Kal let out an exasperated sigh. When will this torture end? I could be learning to use my mana with this time.
“Kal,” she pointed at him.
“Me?” Kal crooked his head. “You finally remember who I am?”
Ellie nodded.
“I guess that’s kind of cool. Good job.”
The last time we met, she just said “papa” and “mama”—oh, and the crying. That was painful.
“Play?”
“You want to play with me? Sure, why not, I guess. Can’t be any more boring than sitting here waiting for my mom to get tired.”
“There,” Ellie pointed and led Kal over to some sticks beneath one of the trees in their yard.
“Sticks? Cool,” Kal said sarcastically, but he followed regardless.
When Ellie got to the sticks, she started to arrange them and stack them into piles.
“Look,” she said.
“Yeah, yeah, I get it. We’re making little piles.”
Kal sat down beside her and started to do the same. It wasn’t exactly his choice of pastimes, but he wasn’t any worse than sitting and doing nothing.
Once they had built a few little piles of sticks, Ellie began brushing some of the dirt away, making little lanes between them.
“Are you making little streets? Are they meant to be houses?” Kal said, pointing at the piles
Ellie nodded.
“That’s actually kinda cool.” Maybe she’s smarter than she looks. Then again, she only seems to know a few words. “Alright, I guess we’re sweeping now,” he added and began to help.
Wait, maybe I should try something.
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??? Mana Core
Mana 0/0
Mana Potential 35
Stage 0
Strength: 0
Agility: 0
Dexterity: 0
Charisma: 0
Wisdom: 0
Intelligence: 0
Endurance: 0
Toughness: 0
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Huh, come again? Kal eyed the core. He had tested his new ability on Yandi, Tammy, and several other people as they passed through the streets, and even though they weren’t mages, mana potential generally increased with age.
This is the first unawoken core I’ve seen with more than 20 Mana Potential. Is this little girl gifted?
“Do you really like this sweeping stuff?” Kal probed, but Ellie just kept brushing dirt away. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself. She’s still just a toddler. I can revisit this in a few years, maybe. Ah, well. At least this is kind of relaxing.
Falling into an almost trance-like state as he mindlessly cleared the ground, Kal didn’t even notice the mana he was building up in his hand until the dirt blew away an inch before his hand touched it.
Blinking, Kal crooked his head. Ah, what? Am I going crazy? He brushed his hand through the air again, but nothing happened this time.
Huh? Maybe I was seeing things. He shook his head and continued.
A few minutes later, as he was about to brush the dirt, it blew away again, causing his eyes to widen as he jerked back.
Nah, no way. It totally blew away from my hand. Kal curiously inspected his hand. It was barely noticeable, but when he focused on his hand, he could swear that he sensed a faint hum of mana in it.
Maybe if I… Kal focused on his mana core, directed the mana into his hand, and then swept over the dirt, keeping about an inch or so distance from it.
His jaw dropped as the dirt blew away as if hit by a small gust. Not only had it worked, but it was about ten times as powerful as before.
“Ah,” Ellie spat and patted at her tongue. “Mommy!” She shook and then rubbed at her eyes. “Mommmmmy!” she screamed and then broke out in tears, kicking at the ground.
“Oh, sorry,” Kal grimaced.
“Honey, what’s wrong?” Tammy came running. “You got dirt in your eyes?” She said, leaning down to inspect her.
Slowly, Kal put his hands behind his back.
Yeah, my bad.
