Minglings - Book 3 chapter 19: Learning

Jake lay stretched out on the sand, gritting his teeth. It had been days since he'd started being tutored by Calips, and he still had a hard time understanding even the basics.

"So, let's discuss what you did this time," Calips said as he began scratching things on a large turquoise sheet.

He reminded Jake of an old professor writing on a blackboard, even if the board wasn't black and the chalk was some sort of odd crimson rock that left nearly black lines instead of white.

"Instead of pulling in the mana-lits, waiting for them to consolidate, then moving the water in a single, deft sweep, you drew in half the mana-lits in a large area, then brute forced the water to do your bidding. Perhaps it will help if I reiterate how this is supposed to work," Calips said, seemingly more to himself than to Jake.

Ugh… not again!

"Mana-lits are drawn into your Cantrum, where they create a force that allows you to manipulate elements that are aligned with the same type of mana. Depending on the way these elements behave, the way you must wield your mana force differs!"

Jake saw that Calips began getting lost in his enthusiasm. Again.

"So, the simplest way to wield the water is to remember its properties. Remember how it behaves! Water is compact, constantly moving, and able to go nearly anywhere. If there is room for the water to go, it will flow. You just have to give it this room. The way you try to use your mana, however, is to force the water mana as if it is a rigid shape. This won't work, which is why it costs you such an absurd amount of mana-lits to even attempt it. If anyone else, even if they are an elder, would do it this way, they would likely fall unconscious from the sheer effort. Perhaps it's because of how your ice magic works, but you need to let that go if you are to learn to wield water!"

Yes… which is why I have been trying to move them as you say, Jake thought as he put his head on his front claws and sighed in annoyance.

As Calips continued explaining the same thing he'd already done a dozen times, Jake's gaze drifted off to the area beyond his teacher.

Two pale blue dragons with dark stripes were carrying large chests toward the school building. As he saw them continue to the entrance, Jake wondered how Emma was doing. He'd barely seen her, as Calips had had him show up each day at first light.

As he thought about telling Callips he would be taking the next day off and feeling damn good about it, he blinked as he heard the kobold say something he'd not heard him talk about before.

"What? Say that again?"

"- can be as easy as falling asleep- and.. .what? What?" Calips muttered as he stumbled over his word and blinked in surprise.

Jake wondered if Calips had even noticed that he hadn't been paying attention or had just been prattling on. "Could you repeat that part you just said about mindset and the different manafields?" he asked.

"What? Yes… well, of course I can," Calips said as he frowned, his scaly brows dipping dangerously low. "My research shows that there are a great number of elements, and they all create auras around themselves. What we do when we manipulate them is use mana that can interact with these auras."

A bit like magnetic fields? Jake thought as he focused fully on the kobold.

"To manipulate a specific one, someone needs to move their mana in patterns. The simplest pattern should be innate and will allow you to move the elements that you can draw mana lits from. Like you, I am aligned to the blue mana-lits of water, and they require long, slow, and circular patterns and-"

"Yes, but you said something about using it to do things with water nearby versus the water in your own body?"

Calips blinked before nodding. "Yes, yes. Young children who have a hard time drawing in mana-lits start off by using the mana-lits close to them. The most talented begin as children and draw water to their skin and hold it there, usually in a form of play. As they become older, even the weakest or our kind become powerful enough to pull in mana-lits from at least a few feet or more and use it in the same range. But that's just for-"

Jake saw that Calips was about to go off on a tangent again and quickly got up, turning to the small pond behind them.

Calips fell quiet, probably realizing what he was thinking about.

"Jake, that's for children… it's not any easier to control mana near you then-"

Jake tuned Calips out as he walked to the pond and lowered himself into the water. It had only been a few days since he'd been in the water, but it felt much longer.

You people have all been moving and manipulating mana when you had little of it, Jake thought as he breathed in the water, feeling his mind turn as tranquil as a pond.

The comfort spread around him like a warm blanket, and he closed his eyes as he focused on the mana-lits around him. His senses instantly spread hundreds of feet around, him locating massive amounts of mana-lits. What would they call this anyway? Mana senses? He ignored his sudden bout of curiosity, focusing on what he was doing.

He could draw them all toward him, but he resisted the urge. Instead, he began to narrow his focus to the area directly around him. It took him more effort than he had expected to shrink his mana-senses to only see the mana-lits in the tiny pond and even more to pull them in slowly. It felt like taking a tiny sip when you were thirsty while holding a massive mug of water.

As soon as he had pulled in the tiny amount of mana-lits around him, he stopped. Then he focused on the water that sat directly against his scales. Using as little mana as he could, he tried to think of himself as a magnet, pulling a thin film of water against his skin.

The water kept resisting, and he kept almost instinctively reaching for more mana-lits, only barely managing to stop himself. He knew that he could easily accomplish what he wanted if he drew in a but load of them, but then he would be doing what Calips had said, brute forcing it.

Finally, after a long time, he managed to hold a thin film of water near himself, and he climbed back out of the water. Opening his eyes, he stared down at his arm.

A glistening film covered his scales, and looking across his body, he saw that it clung around his entire body.

"Interesting…" Calips whispered. He was standing in front of Jake, holding a tiny notebook and scribbling fervently, almost without looking at what he was doing, instead with his full attention on Jake.

"You are still using ten times the mana-lits that you should, but it's far, far better!"

Ten times? Jake thought.

He had imagined he was doing really well, and the idea that what he thought was still not good enough shattered his focus. The water dripped down from his body, creating a puddle on the ground.

"Ah, about ten seconds. Good, good! Go back down and try it again. See if you can use even less mana and hold it for longer," Calips ordered.

Jake saw the curious glint in the kobold's eyes, and with a weary grin, he turned back into the pond. Somehow he had the feeling Calips was more a scientist or scholar than a teacher.

They continued practicing for the rest of the day, with Calips giving him tips and pointers on how to focus on individual mana-lits. By the end of the day, he could pull in a film and hold it for a few minutes while using what Calips said was roughly six times too many mana-lits.

Finally feeling like he was making some progress, even if it was not at the level he had hoped, Jake thanked his teacher and left.

When he arrived back at his apartment, it was dark, and Emma was already asleep. As he lay down, she instantly rolled over and snuggled against him, almost purring like a cat before falling back asleep.

Lying down, Jake stared outside into the darkness, something he'd been doing every evening since he came here.

So… the little dots are mana-lits, which I draw into that muscle they call a Cantrum, Jake thought as he tried to make sense of the things he'd learned today by rehashing everything he knew.

Depending on how strong someone's Canturm was, they could draw mana-lits from further away. This, however, wasn't what determined control, which appeared to be something one had to learn. Some learned faster than others, and if he didn't learn how to balance force and control, he was probably going to be unable to do more powerful magic without falling unconscious.

He wondered if that was what had happened when he'd slept in the ice, back on the island when he'd awakened his ice magics. Had he overdrawn his mana?

I definitely did that when I created that storm, he thought as he recalled the moment. It had left a deep impression on him, and even now, he sensed the pain of the moment. He let it linger for a bit before gently pushing it back down.

Taking a deep breath, he wondered if he could apply what he had learned for water with his ice magic. Looking around, he pulled in a small cluster of nearby blue mana-lits, and as he did, he wondered why there weren't ice-lits. Perhaps they were there, but it wasn't cold enough here?

No, wait… he thought as he recalled the first time he'd drawn in ice. Hadn't there been blue particles with a silvery sheen? He tried to recall, but he couldn't remember completely.

With little effort, he forced the blue mana-lits to turn into ice mana, and instantly his jumbled thoughts turned crisp. Tiny worries, lingering pain, and even his weariness dissipated.

With the clarity came a weary realization. There was no water nearby to shape into ice. He knew he could probably attempt to take it out of the air, but what if he lost control as he did with the water? If he'd learned anything over the last few days was that he needed to learn more control. No, he would need to draw the water together first before changing it to ice, lest he'd change every water particle around into ice and kill someone—potentially himself or Emma.

Wondering if he could even manipulate the water while he was attuned to ice, he focused on another cluster of mana-lits. Slightly surprised, he saw that they reacted exactly the same. Even absorbing them worked fine. Very carefully, he focused on the air above his hand, trying to shrink his perception smaller and smaller. He wasn't searching for mana-lits, but instead trying to locate the tiny water particles that should be drifting in the air. It took a long time, but with his icy calm helping him keep his focus, he finally shrunk his senses so far that he detected vague trace amounts of water. With a little bit of will, he began moving it together, and within moments a tiny water drop appeared before him.

As his head slowly throbbed, he continued drawing in the spread-out water particles until he had a fist-sized shimmering orb. By then, his head felt like it was splitting apart, but he knew he'd found a great practice method.

I'll do this every night from now on until I can do it fast and easy, Jake decided.

Then he focused on the water. He could just change it all to ice, but that felt like the same problem as he had with water. After some hesitation, he withdrew a tiny drop of water. As soon as it was a bit too far away from the rest, he almost lost control as it felt like someone had struck his head with an ax. The only thing holding him back from grunting in pain was the icy calm, and he quickly moved the tiny bit of water closer to the rest. As soon as it was within a few inches, his pain lessened back to the throbbing it had been before.

Interesting! Is this that aura he was talking about?

He moved the drop away again, and the splitting headache returned instantly. After a few moments, he shoved it back to the rest. If he tried to turn it to ice now, he might go knockout.

Fine, one try, then sleep.

Taking a deep breath, he focused on the water and tried to change only the thinnest outer area to ice. His headache increased again, though not as much as with two bits of water, but he didn't care. Even his frozen mind couldn't stave off the content feeling he got when he gazed at the tiny ball of crystal-clear ice with the water inside. After thinking for a bit, he began ever so slowly thickening the ice towards the center, and as he did, he noticed that instead of increasing, his headache began diminishing. There was a tiny flareup just before he changed the final bit of water to ice, but as soon as there was no more water, his headache was suddenly bearable.

So… I'm better with ice than water, Jake thought as he let the ball of ice hover towards his hand.

He continued playing with it for a short while longer before putting it beside the bed slab and falling asleep with a content smile.

–

Mason woke with a start, surging up and looking around. As he did, a few dragons moved back, staring at him in awe. One of them turned and ran away.

"I'll get Clankrin!"

Watching him fly off, Mason focused on one of the closest dragon, who was different shades of orange with patches of bright red on his flanks.

"What's going on? Why are you in my cave?"

The dragon fidgeted, seeming highly uncomfortable.

A much smaller one jumped closer, an enthusiastic grin on his face.

"You didn't wake for days! Days! It was incredible… all the red things went like woooooosh, and then here and then boom," the small red and yellow dragon spread his arms as he mimicked an explosion.

Mason gazed at the hyperactive dragon before focusing on what he had said.

I was unconscious? he thought, feeling confused. It didn't feel like that at all. He wasn't even that hungry!

After a few moments, he remembered he wasn't alone, and he focused on the other dragons, noticing something else. Why did they all look so… small?

Loud wingbeats came towards them, and a moment later, Clankrin shot inside the cave with folded wings.

"By the Hound, you know how to scare someone!" he shouted as he moved towards Mason with a wide grin.

Passing the others, Mason instantly knew that if he had grown, then so had Clankrin. The bullish red dragon towered over the others, who barely reached his shoulders.

"So, how did your first red crystal feel? A bit of a shock, right?" Clankrin said as he stopped before Mason.

"You could have warned me," Mason said, while looking the other up and down. "You grew."

"Well, you didn't give me much choice," Clankrin said before roaring with laughter. "You didn't think I'd just let you take over here, right? After how hard I've fought to get even this little bit!"

Mason was surprised at how clear and open the other seemed about his reasons. Seeing the other's glittering eyes, he began to understand why Sandra was having so much trouble with the lout. He wasn't dumb, but he did act… odd.

"And why should I have warned you?" Clankrin said, grinning nastily. "It was way too much fun hearing your surprised and strangled cry!"

"I didn't cry!" Mason snorted, trying to recall if he had.

"Sure you did! But don't worry. That only happens the first time," Clankrin said. "After that, you don't really get much size from eating that gem thing, just from eating the rest of them."

"Do you know what those things are?" Mason asked.

"No idea. Sandra, or that big one… Glarissu? They might know," Clankrin said before turning around.

"Right! He's awake, get the others and wait for us at the top!"

The dragons scattered, though the red and yellow one let out a burst of slightly insane laughter as he did.

"That one's… special?" Mason said.

"Gleamball," Clankrin said with a nod. "Yeah… sad story, that. He got caught by his family after his curse manifested. They had prepared dragon-blooded things all around, locked and all. Apparently, his family has a history of people changing. Well, anyway. They used poor Gleamball as a slave for a few years before I found him."

Clankrin spoke quietly and carefree, but Mason saw a dangerous gleam in his eyes.

"What happened when you found him?" Mason asked, having a reasonable idea.

"Let's just say that his family is going to have a lot less people changing to worry about," Clankrin said with a joyful grin before moving to the exit. "Right, enough about that! Let's head up!"

Mason quickly followed him, and as they flew up along the black pillar of volcanic rock, he wasn't surprised to see dozens of dragons standing around on the top. Many more were flying in from the sides while Clankrin moved to the far side, which was empty.

Sooo, the dominance is strong here, Mason thought.

Without hesitating, he moved to stand beside Clankrin, who grimaced before shrugging.

They waited for a while longer until there wasn't a dragon to be seen flying toward them. Mason was surprised to find that most were male, with only a dozen females standing in between what he guessed were at least a hundred dragons.

That's way more than Sandra said there would be, he thought.

Clankrin stepped forward with a wide grin.

"So, you bunch of overeating red scales! You've all either seen or heard that we've got another brother here! And for a change, he actually isn't a pushover!"

Mason stared at Clankrin in disbelief. Wasn't he afraid that the others would band up and attack him together for his annoyance? A quick look around saw that most of the dragons just nodded, staring at him. Many had dull looks in their eyes, while a few, like Gleamball, seemed crazed. Only a couple looked at Clankrin with anything remotely close to annoyance.

"Anyway, you all know he managed to equal me, so that means from now on, it's the two of us you have to listen to! Anyone who feels like that's unfair, step up now!"

There were a few snorts, and a dozen or so dragons actually stepped back, shaking their heads.

Mason had been keeping a good eye on Clankrin in case the other jumped him again, and he noticed a tiny look of dissatisfaction and sadness in the burly dragon's eyes.

Does he want them to talk back?

"No? Well, suit yourself! Same groups as yesterday. Head out and stay close together. If anything comes close or you see that big white monster, flee and head back here or to those lightning towers."

That's it? Mason thought as he watched in stupefied wonder as the nearly one hundred dragons turned and flew away.

When the last one was up and away, Clankrin gnashed his teeth and suddenly spewed a breath of fire at a nearby stone.

"They have NO spine," he growled. "How are we ever going to create our own free kingdom if they are like this!"

Letting out a deep, weary sigh, the burly red dragon turned to Jake, a look of resignation on his scaly face.

"You've gotta tell me… do you know how to get these fools acting like dragons instead of rindrals?"