Ananiel

The next few days were rather uneventful. The two of them helped me hone my control over magic. Resulting in my soul flame becoming more stable. We also enjoyed our times around the campfire, and spent most of the time on lectures.

“Magic is about imparting your will onto nature”

Lily taps on her notebook and draws a fancy pattern in the air. The glint of admiration twinkles in my eyes as I mimic her movements, but to no avail. Only faint sparks popped in the air. Lily pushes up her glasses and smirks,

“You have to feel the mana flowing out of the tip of your finger. Don’t force your will upon it.”

She draws another fancy, but more simplistic pattern in front of me,

“Now you try.”

I close my eyes as warmth flows through my limbs. Suggesting its flow, the comforting warmth balls up onto the tip of my finger.

“There you go. It’s not that hard, isn’t it?”

I nod and start drawing lines. Without any clear shape, an odd and childish looking picture floats in front of me. She lets out a playful giggle and flips a page on her notebook.

“Let’s see here… How about this spell?”

She holds her hand out the carriage window. The flowing wind ruffles her sleeve. Her breathing slows down, as an unknown force starts tugging on the surrounding snow. Thin lines of silver become pale blue, and gather in her palm.

“This is my master’s spell. It essentially commands the material world, and turns it into essence.”

Lily gives a tearful look at the teal orb. Brushing aside her lustrous hair, she closes her notebook and sighs.

“He couldn’t finish the spell. The other Archmages saw it as a spell of destruction. But…”

She spins the teal orb and it becomes an ice sculpture.

“It’s a spell with good intentions.”

Placing the cold sculpture onto my hand. Suddenly, the sculpture turns into a fleeting mound of snow, melting away on my pale hands. Her cold eyes gaze off, as disappointment and sadness saps the light out of her eyes. She leans back hopelessly and stares off at the ground. Taking a deep breath, she raises her eyes towards me and gazes at me soullessly.

“Do you want to learn it?”

Her melancholic appearance subsides. Despite the heaviness in her voice, a curiosity welled up in my heart. Giving a gentle nod, a faint light sparkles from her hazy emerald eyes,

“Alright…”

With that, we spent the next day focusing on traveling. A dark cloud seemingly hovers above Lily as she gazes off at the treeline. Caught in her own thoughts, I awkwardly twiddle my fingers and swing my legs.

“U-uh…”

The sound barely escapes my throat. Waiting for a response, I quietly withdraw and boredly gaze off at the scenery outside.

“Idosa, the city of innovation. What kind of city would that be?”

I tap on my thigh as an odd, but familiar city flashes before my eyes.

Beyond the fool’s dreams.

…

I shake my head as a chill runs down my veins. Rubbing my aching arms, I reached for concept of mana and soul in my bag and stared off at the jumbled words. Frowning, I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Each word floats up into the air and shuffles around. Noticing this, Lily points her finger at the floating words and latches each sentence together.

“Here. It’s not the first time I have encountered such magic.”

She lifts the words into the air as they start branching like a snake. Swirling it around, she points the sentences downward and the book fixes itself.

“The spell only works with books I have read. Luckily, Concepts of mana and soul is rather unforgetful.”

A faint sigh slips out her mouth, containing a mixture of coldness and longing, before daydreaming out the carriage once more. Shaking the opened book upside down, the letters felt secured and I start reading,

The soul is inherently in everyone. It is the figure that houses and controls phantasms, or the illusions of the mind. However, mana is different. Mana is the concept that energy is within everything, and through the soul, we are allowed to manifest miracles. But why then, does the material world limit our capacity to create?

What is the origin of the soul? Is it not directly related to mana? Like attracts like, and the soul’s likeness, and desire is mana, which in essence is the world itself. Like a mountain, everything wants to build upon itself with itself. The material body consumes life to keep living. So it must be that the soul consumes mana to keep existing. Therefore, the soul must exist within us because we can access mana.

However, why are we granted the ability to manipulate mana? Why not other creatures or plants? What distinguishes us from being animals? I cannot say. With the existence of spirits, who are both communicateable, and have some influence on the world, I believe humans shouldn’t be the only beings who can manipulate mana. Maybe, just maybe, our soul itself is a conscious being. And it allows itself to be interacted with.

What is the will to the soul then? Phantasms are a reflection of the world, and the building blocks of the soul. So why can we impose our will on these phantasms if the soul isn’t conscious? But what even is the soul? Besides being a derivative of a higher being, what is its purpose? If we take spirits as reference, the soul is an incorporeal and intangible thing that houses the body. Even without knowing the soul’s existence, humans are still able to manipulate mana, as if an innate gift from the unknown. But there is no way to measure the soul, only to call upon the lingering mana that holds a fading remembrance of the dead. We can’t define that as a soul, because the lingering mana cannot learn.

I let out a yawn and rub my eyes.

“This is a lot to take in… Everything is mana, but why can we manipulate it?”

Glancing out the window, I admire the winter scenery outside. However, the repetitive landscape and ambience slowly lulled me to sleep. Soon, the seemingly endless forest became flat land. The afternoon sun was starting to set when the Coachman exclaims joyfully,

“Just up ahead now. You can see the city from here!”

We both lean on the windows as the complex scent of Idosa breezes past us.

The monotonous noise of the wheels came to a halt as they crossed the city entrance. Tying the horses to the side, the coachman opens the carriage doors,

“Welcome, to the Idosa! Come, see it for yourself”

I step off the carriage as my attention is immediately drawn towards the beautiful city. A big gear sat in the center as the sounds of shifting gears sang throughout Idosa. Many dazzling stars lined up along the road. Beyond these lights, joyful sounds echoed within the many overflowing restaurants.

“So, how do you like it?”

“It's… overbearing…”

I smile back at the Coachman as he lets out a laugh and pats me on the back,

“Indeed. But also rather exciting, no?”

A medley of fantastical scents mixed and merged as the Coachman points towards a tavern

“Come on, let’s rest up. It’s going to be a good day tomorrow.”

He shuffles something in a satchel as we make our way towards a tavern. Soft, orange light illuminated the restless, rowdy tavern. The smell of hearty stew and ale stirred within the clanking of glass cups. With the addition of chatter and laughter, a warm, but lively scene echoed into the night. Pushing through the overbearing noise, we make our way at the tavern counter.

“Hello! Welcome to the Four Winds Tavern. How can I help y’all?”

A roughened young man wipes a glass and pushes it to the side. The Coachman rests his arm on the counter and raises 3 fingers,

“Three rooms, One for me, him and one for her.”

“Names?”

“Alderson”

He looks back at the two of us as Lily steps forward,

“Lily, and Clover.”

The young man twirls a key ring filled with keys and pulls out 3 room keys.

“1 copper and 5 tin coins a night.”

We look at each other and we all reach in our coin pouches. Sliding the coins forwards, he slides us 3 room keys and tosses the coins up in the air. Letting out a soft whistle, he catches all of them in one swipe and starts wiping the counter. Alderson goes up the creaky wooden stairs and waves towards us,

“Alright, this is where we part ways. It was good travelling with you both.”

“Indeed, wish you good luck!”

Smiling, I wave a farewell as he walks down a hallway.

“I will wait for you at that table tomorrow, Clover”

Lily pokes on my shoulder and starts walking ahead,

“What if I wake up first?”

“Then wait for me.”

She lets out a yawn and walks up the stairs. I shrug and follow along up to my inn room.