“Hmm…” She threw furtive glances his way while tapping her chin. A classic Maiya quirk. “Well, if you figured those Talents out by understanding prana as you said, then… then maybe there’s a chance? Thought you said your magic worked differently?”
“Maybe? I’m not really sure, so let’s find out!”
Vir activated Prana Vision as she crossed her legs and closed her eyes. He saw the Wind and Ice prana circulate through her body, its course slightly altered thanks to the weird breathing exercise she did. Same as before.
Maiya was right, whatever she was doing truly wasn’t working. No prana entered her body… and in fact, not much of anything happened at all.
“Alright, walk me through the steps again, will you?” Vir said, hoping for some inspiration. “First, you detect prana, right? What then?”
“Then you have to ‘prove your faith to the gods by offering up your limb,’ or something.”
Vir groaned. This was beyond terrible. Nothing he had seen about prana had even once hinted at faith. It was almost like mejai were purposefully trying to hobble their students. Either that, or they truly had no clue how prana worked. He’d initially thought Tanya was trying to dumb things down for Maiya, to simplify the process for a newcomer. Now? He wasn’t so sure anymore.
Closing his eyes, he puzzled through how all of this might work. He spoke his thoughts out loud for Maiya’s benefit.
“Okay, so, I’ve found that Talents use prana. Earth Affinity and Shadow Affinity prana.”
“Neither of which anyone’s ever heard of…” Maiya said, contemplating.
“Right. I fully admit that’s bizarre, but let’s just assume I’m right for now. The way I make Talents work is by seizing control of the prana inside my body.”
“Hmm. Tanya keeps telling me how the prana in our bodies is useless for anything.”
“Yeah, I don’t use my prana to power Talents. There isn’t nearly enough. I just… yank on it. Except, prana’s bound to blood, so that can cause some issues. I haven’t found a way to break that bond yet. Whenever I move the prana inside me, my blood moves as well.”
“Huh. Interesting… Wait,” said Maiya, “You think that’s why Tanya says magic hurts? Because mejai yank on their blood?”
Vir’s eyes widened. “You might be onto something there. I’ve been assuming that orbs work differently from Talents since orbs remain charged until they’re used. Talents have to be activated right away… But what if they’re the same? What if orbs just store the prana you pull in?”
What if mejai did exactly what he was doing with Talents, but instead of consuming the ambient prana inside their own body, they funneled it into the orb instead? Of course, in Maiya’s case, she’d be pulling prana from the air and not the ground, but the principle was the same.
It irked Vir that even with Tanya’s newfound respect for him, she still refused to demonstrate her magic in front of him. If he could see her using magic, things would’ve been much easier.
Vir had even considered hurting himself just to have Riyan heal him, but these days, the man refused to intervene unless he hurt himself badly. Something about not ‘coddling’ him anymore.
No matter how much he wanted to improve, he wasn’t about to kill himself half to death just to see Life magic up close.
“Okay,” Vir said. “Let’s just pretend that the prana in your body is important for a minute. I know that goes against your mejai teachings, but play along for now, will you?”
“Sure. What do you want me to do?”
“Right, so don’t even bother trying to detect prana outside of you. I think we can skip that step entirely.”
“Uh, alright? I’ll try anything at this point, to be honest,” she replied hesitantly. She wasn’t convinced, but it wasn’t like his method required her faith.
“Try, um,” Vir searched for the right words. He was stumbling around, discovering things on his own. And now he was trying to teach someone? He felt so out of his depth. “Try to imagine prana flowing inside your body. Y’know, like your blood. It flows everywhere through your legs and arms, right?”
“Uh, huh…”
“Alright, so now think about slowing down that flow. Like you’re damming a river. But just inside your arm.”
Maiya scrunched up her face in concentration, to the point where sweat beaded up on her brow.
“Nothing’s happening,” she said.
That was wrong. Nothing visible had happened. Not to her, at least, but Prana Vision revealed the facts for what they were. The blood in her arm had slowed, though only by an imperceptible amount.
“Maiya, do you have an Ice Affinity orb handy?” he asked, his excitement growing.
“Uh, not on me. But I could grab one from Tanya? Probably…”
“Do it. And meet me at Bumpy.”
“Now? It’s about to get dark.”
“Trust me,” he said. “If I’m right about this, it’ll be well worth your time.”
It took a full fifteen minutes for Maiya to return, C Grade Ice Affinity orb in hand.
“You won’t believe the trouble that witch gave me,” she complained. “‘Why do you need it,’ ‘What are you planning,’ ‘Walk before you run, you talentless lout!’ Ugh. That woman drives me up the wall!”
“Yeah, well, if this works, you’ll have the last laugh. C’mon, get on. I’ve already checked out on Riyan’s roster. We’re good to go.”
Maiya mounted Bumpy behind him, and they rode for the plains that stretched south of Riyan’s abode.
The half hour ride passed in silence, with Vir refusing to tell Maiya anything until they’d arrived. The last thing he needed now was to confuse her with more unnecessary jargon and prana specifics.
“Just trust me,” he’d said.
“I do,” Maiya had replied, resting her head gently upon his back while they rode.
Vir soon located a small brook. Not the most ideal setting, but with night having just fallen, the temperature had also steadily dropped.
That was important, because the amount of ice prana in the air had noticeably gone up. Still only trace amounts, but more traces than before. The water body helped as well, acting like a magnet for Water and Ice Affinities.
“Alright, now do what you did back home,” Vir said, motioning for Maiya to sit beside the river. “Exactly like last time. And close your eyes.”
Grasping the orb in her left hand, she concentrated.
Vir stared into her body with Prana Vision and saw the blood to her arm slow just a hair. It was nowhere even close to the level of power he had over his own body… but it was there.
“Not working, Vir,” Maiya said.
“Just keep it up,” he said, his gaze fixed on her arm. Slowly but surely, the prana inside her arm was being depleted—dissolved by her muscles.
A minute passed. Then five. Maiya kept complaining, but stuck through it regardless, her eyes shut in concentration the whole time.
At the ten-minute mark, something changed.
“Vir… I think I feel something. My arm feels weird. All tingly, and it hurts a little.”
“That’s great! Keep it going!”
Maiya’s tingling sensation gave way to pain… and finally to numbness.
Only at that point did Vir tell her to open her eyes.
Her jaw hit the floor. “T-t-t–t-the!”
“Haha, yep,” Vir replied, gazing at the dimly lit Ice orb, partially charged. If a mejai saw it, they’d say it was barely a quarter full. Even then, the clear light that illuminated Maiya’s palm told it true.
“I… did magic?” Maiya said, staring blankly at the orb. “I… did magic… Chala’s knees! Vir! Vir! I DID MAGIC!” she screamed, nearly deafening him.
“You sure did,” he replied warmly, sharing his friend’s jubilee.
“Viiiiir!” She tossed the orb aside and tackled him, sending them both to the ground. Maiya continued to cling to him, refusing to let go. “Vir, how?”