*** Kiara ***

  The candy in her mouth tasted sweet. Her Mana output was calm and stable. She kept the mixture at just below its boiling point. Sia added herb after herb, powders of different monster bones and organs. Her eyes were glowing from the uninterrupted skill use, and her hands never stood still.

  After hours and hours of preparing different ingredients and answering questions about different plants and how they were harvested and used. Sia deemed her ready for the next step, but there was a slight problem.

  “Kiara, you have been doing great work so far, and I am very happy with your work ethic and how fast you learn. Normally, I would now begin by letting you brew some easy potions on your own, but since you are not initiated and won’t be for a long time, you don’t sense Mana well enough to do so.” Sia had said in a downhearted tone.

  “You have to know, by integrating the crystal of a magical beast, your affinity for Magic of every kind is greatly increased, and nearly everyone gains the ability to sense Mana in one kind or the other. I once knew a young girl who was able to smell the usage of Mana even through a thick stone wall and could even tell you what kind of Mana, or at least the general affinity being used.”

  “You need to sense the Mana inside the potion, salve, or whatever you are brewing. It is of the utmost importance to get one’s timing right, and that is only possible if you can sense the Mana and what it is doing inside.”

  “So, what you are saying is that it will be impossible for me to brew any potions for the next seven years? No matter what I learn and how much I help?” Kiara asked, trying not to show her disappointment. Brewing was something she had come to enjoy. Her notebook was filled to the brim with notes about different substances, and she had enjoyed the steady progress she made. It was nice to learn something new and become good at it.

  The fact that she had reached the end of the rope, or at least the end for now, felt like a bitter setback.

  “There are ways to sense Mana without a dedicated skill or being initiated, but you would have to be able to feel the Mana at all times, taking intense concentration and on a more detailed level than just feeling it pass by your fingertips.”

  “There are specialized trainings one can complete to advance one’s sensing skills or to gain one if one of your skill slots is open, but they are quite costly to perform and I am not even 100% sure that you have any real chance to gain something out of it. If your grandmother hadn’t boasted about your great skills in handling Mana and I had seen it for myself, I wouldn’t even think about attempting it.”

  It didn’t sound like her grandmother. Boasting about her skills? She had always made her feel like she was not being good enough.

  Sia watched her closely. For once, her expression was stern and without her usual kind smile.

  “Your mother and brother are most likely away until tomorrow evening. They are gathering some herbs for me and are making a little camping trip and adventure out of the chore. If you want to attempt it, now is the perfect time. You will be through the worst of it by the time they return. But you will have to promise me to not only do your very best, but also to accept should we fail. There will be no second try, do you understand?”

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  Suddenly, she put a potted plant on the workbench. This little tree is not very useful under normal circumstances. Its branches are brittle and seldom straight. Its leaves cause vomiting because of their high Mana content. It is usable only in two applications: as fuel for a forge, when a high concentration of Mana in the fire becomes necessary, or as a training instrument for Mana sensing skills, and that’s what we will do today, if you decide to proceed.

  Let me warn you, the experience is not pleasant. What we can do is brew a potion, which will severely dull your senses while making you more sensitive to Mana and Mana fluctuations. Essentially, you will be near blind and deaf while feeling every skill, even passive ones, like standing next to a campfire and even the very heartbeat of the planet itself if you are unlucky.”

  During this time, you will have to find a way to sense Mana that works for you. To tune into it and generate a clear mental image out of the storm of different sensations.” Sia finished her speech.

  Kiara took a while to think it through, from all she had gathered so far, initiation was a ritual in which a child was given a magical crystal and integrated it into their body. There were different kinds, but that did not matter for now. The ritual was done at around age twelve. Afterwards apprentices started. You gained certain skills, which were the main factors in deciding which path you took later in life and for which apprenticeships you qualified. You had a limited number of skill slots, and it was possible to merge skills if they were compatible and had reached a high enough level.

  To initiate a child early was a capital crime. In the past, there had been cases of noble children bonding with powerful crystals and posing a risk to the general public. Bursting into flame when they were unable to control their young, often times wild emotions, and Mana.

  While she was not initiated, she would not be able to brew potions or complete weaves without external assistance in the form of Mana conductive ink, which was both expensive as well as cumbersome in its application. More complex weaves used visual indicators for planning according to her grandmother, but did not rely on them to guide the Mana itself.

  So, essentially, she was stuck. She could amass more and more theoretical knowledge, but as one could not learn to play the piano by reading or listening to classical music, she would be stuck if she did not take the potion Sia offered.

  “Ok, let’s do it! How can I help?”

  “Are you sure? It will be a few very unpleasant days for you.” Sia asked again just to be sure.

  “Yes, I am sure. Thank you for your help!” she said and nodded.

  “No worry, I will have you work it off by brewing so many potions with me, you wish you had never agreed,” Sia said with a chuckle. “Speaking of brewing potions, let’s get started! Here, take a candy and then start by getting the cauldron up to temperature. We will need to keep the mixture just below boiling for the first 45 minutes.”

  And then they cooked. Or at least Sia cooked, and Kiara managed the temperature and listened to the instructions she was given. A while in Sia got a small wooden box, no larger than a jewelry box, which was locked and shod with iron. She fumbled for a minute to find the right key and unlock it.

  Inside were several crystal shards and crystal powders. She picked up several small vials and added powder from them to the mixture. The reaction in the cauldron was quite violent. Smoke rose up, and an angry hissing sound could be heard, then suddenly several flashes of light before everything turned calm again as quickly as the ruckus had started.

  “Listen Kiara, crystal dust always keeps a lot of the intrinsic characteristics of the monster, beast, or plant it was harvested from. When added to a potion or generally when used, they often react violently. Larger portions, especially if conflicting attunements are mixed, can even lead to explosions or dangerous amounts of boiling steam. So always pay close attention when adding those.”

  They filtered the mixture, and Sia added Mana to the mixture for another 10 minutes. A procedure too delicate for her to let Kiara handle. Afterwards, they had a small vial of black liquid, which shimmered silver and seemed to be constantly in motion.