~ 11 Months Later ~

‘Silence within…’

 

‘The sounds of the forest without…’

 

‘The darkness of the canopy…’

 

‘The light of the sun rays shine through…’

 

Life was all around her.

 

The forest was teeming with it.

 

Mycelium, bacteria, mold, insects, worms, rodents, birds, flowers, bushes, trees.

 

‘I can sense them…’

 

‘I can sense it all…’

 

‘The water…’

 

‘The trees…’

 

‘The birds…’ 

 

‘The forest…’

 

Teia took a deep breath and opened her eyes.

 

She gave herself a moment to adjust to the sensory input before rising from her seat at the base of an old tree whose branches hung over the pond.

 

‘Time to train.’ She instructed herself as she stretched and warmed her body from hours of sitting in the chilly mountain forest. ‘It’s probably going to snow again before long.’

 

She walked over to a nearby rock and held it in her hand.

‘I was taught, there are “threads of aetheria weaving through all life…” She reasoned.

 

‘According to my memories of the selection screen, my aetheric sense should be quite high.’

‘I assume that has something to do with my ability to sense the shape of things outside of myself during meditation.

 

‘If that is the case, I should be able to sense the aetheric ‘threads’ within other life forms as well.’

 

‘I have no idea how to become a mage, all I can do for now is improve the areas where I am naturally gifted.’

 

‘I’m sure having a high aetheric sense will definitely come in handy.’

 

Teia focused on the rock.

 

‘Clear your mind…’

 

‘Try to sense something beyond the physical form of the rock…’ 

 

She thought of that first moment when she saw her mother threadspinning at the wheel.

 

‘That dazzling light…’

 

‘What did that feel like?’ 

 

She tried to recall.

 

She held the stone.

 

It was cold.

 

Heavy.

 

Finally she set the stone down and picked up a small stick instead.

 

‘If aetheria runs through everything, it should definitely be in rocks, but it should be in sticks as well. Learning to sense the aetheria of different lifeforms should help in the long term…’

 

‘My progress might be slow, but I’m sure if I keep training, I’ll eventually make a breakthrough.’

 

She held the stick in her hand and tried to sense the aetheria.

 

Eventually, she put the stick down and picked up a fallen leaf.

 

She put her hand on the surface of the pond and tried to sense the aetheria of the pond.

 

She spent two hours moving from one object to the next before stopping to stretch.

 

After stretching, she went back to her tree to meditate.

 

‘I have no idea what I’m doing, but my intuition is maxed out, so I might as well just rely on feelings and hope it all works out.’ She thought to herself, as she sat back down and closed her eyes.

Another hour passed before she opened her eyes and started stretching.

 

‘Back to training.’ She ordered herself.

 

This time, she crouched down over the pond and stuck her hand out until it was just above the surface of the water.

 

‘Now to train my aetheric force...’ She thought to herself as she held out her hand.

‘I don’t know how to do that, but I’m guessing it probably works on the same principle as weight lifting…’

 

‘Which means, the more I use it, the stronger it will be.’.

 

She held her hand over the water and ‘pushed’ with her will.

 

Nothing happened at first.

 

Then, the water began to ripple.

 

She smiled with satisfaction.

 

The ripples were definitely slightly bigger than when she had first started.

 

“For some reason, this is easier than training my aetheric sense.’ She admitted to herself as she continued to ‘push’ at the water with her aetheria.

 

After thirty seconds, she began to feel tired.

 

‘Keep going.’ She commanded herself.

 

Her arms and stomach were beginning to burn and she could feel herself beginning to sweat.

 

‘Push through.’ She told herself.

She pushed with her aetheria as hard as she could.

 

‘All the way through to aetheric failure!’ She insisted to herself as her whole body started to burn.

 

She was finding it difficult to breathe.

 

She kept going.

 

Her legs wobbled under her feet.

 

She kept going.

 

It hurt.

 

She kept going.

 

The ripples began to shrink away

 

She screamed, forcing herself to keep pushing.

 

Finally, she hit her limit.

 

The last of the ripples disappeared and she allowed herself to fall to her knees.

 

She took long, deep breaths and waited for her vision to clear and her body to stabilize.

 

‘Finish the set.’ She commanded herself once her body felt functional again.

 

She could feel the warm cords of activated aetheria all over her body.

 

She smiled with savage determination and took up her previous position and placed her opposite hand over the water.

 

‘Push!’

 

Once again, she pushed with her aetheria until she no longer could.

 

‘I’ll do five sets today.’ Teia insisted to herself.

 

The warm cords in her body felt like they were burning.

 

She felt like she was on fire.

 

‘It feels so good.’ She wore a manic expression as she went through her sets, pushing until she could no longer push with each arm.

 

She screamed her way all the way through her final set.

 

The burning pain coursed through every point in her body.

 

‘I can feel it in my organs…’ 

 

She thought with glee.

 

‘Even my brain feels like it’s on fire!’

 

Finally she was done with her last set and she allowed herself to relax.

 

Her entire body was soaked in sweat and every breath felt like it might kill her.

 

She smiled, the pain and euphoric bliss caused by the rush of endorphins slowly subsided leaving her feeling relaxed and exhausted.

 

Her body was still shaking when she lifted herself up and returned to her meditation place, still breathing a bit heavy.

 

‘Clear your mind.’ Teia told herself.

 

She kept meditating for another hour.

 

Her body could barely move once she opened her eyes but she forced herself to stand up.

 

Her legs were shaking.

 

‘Time to train...’ 

 

She picked up a stone.

 

‘Clear your mind…’ She told herself.

 

‘Try to sense something beyond the physical form of the rock…’

 

She held the stone in her hand and closed her eyes.

 

‘I feel something…’ She noticed.

 

‘There is something there.’

She held the stone in her hand for twenty minutes before moving on to a stick, a different one this time.

 

She picked up the stick and once again felt ‘something’ but it was hard to place what she was feeling.

 

She placed her palm on the edge of the water and once again she felt something, but could not conceptualize what she was feeling.

 

She kept up this training for another two hours before finishing with a series of stretches and sitting back down at her usual place, to meditate.

 

Teia slipped easily into her meditative state, she allowed herself to feel everything around her.

 

She could sense the presence of the tree above her, the water below her, the birds in the trees and the insects crawling through the ground.

 

Her right ear flicked at the feeling of a new presence.

 

Fe approached from her usual direction and Teia rose from her seat and went to greet her.

 

As always, she raced to the shed and prepared their board for a game of qashi.

 

Once again, Teia lost.

 

Her right ear flicked in annoyance as she acknowledged her three hundred and fifty ninth loss.

 

Fe smiled and joked as she put away the board, they sat down to watch the sunset together.

 

“Reia and Tuni are heading down the mountain tomorrow...” Fe began to say, in the tone of someone delivering news that might not be taken well.

 

Teia raised her eyebrows and turned to look at her friend.

 

“I’ve decided to go with them.” She finished, turning her own head to meet Teia’s gaze.

 

‘I figured as much…’  She thought to herself as she and Fe regarded each other for a few silent moments before looking out at the sunset sky.

 

‘Fe is years older than me, more than twice my age…

 

‘She was always going to have to leave first…’ Teia reminded herself.

 

 Tears began to cloud her vision and she felt the wetness of them sliding down her cheeks.

 

Mucus welled in her sinuses and she raised her hands to cover her face before it started to pour from her nose.

 

“I’ll miss you, Fe.” She managed to say, without choking up.

 

Fe looked at her from the corner of her eye, her right ear fluttering slightly as she took in Teia’s appearance before she looked back at the sky looking slightly perturbed.

 

Fe’s eyes welled with tears but none fell from her face.

 

She coughed to clear her throat and looked out at the sunset with a peaceful expression.

 

“We’ll see each other again, you know.” Fe said evenly.

 

Teia blinked through her tears and wiped at her face with her hands. “Maybe.” She said, trying not to sound sullen.

 

“Definitely.” Fe insisted, sounding stern.

 

“There is a city at the foot of the mountain,” she reminded Teia, “I’ll wait for you there.”

 

“You told me that the city is run by humans.” Teia pointed out, her voice came out choked and nasally, thanks to her constricted throat and running nose. “They might not even let you inside.”

 

Fe glanced at Teia and considered her for a moment before shrugging and looking out at the sky once again. “I’ll have good company.” She said evenly. “Reia and Tuni are good leaders, and our whole group is skilled. It might take some time, but there are adults who travel to and from the outside world. I’ll get a message to you if I have to set myself up elsewhere.”

 

“You make it sound so simple.” Teia said with a smile, still wiping her face.

 

“It is simple.” Fe replied, turning to smile at her younger friend.

 

Teia looked away for a moment before opening her arms up toward the older girl.

 

Fe smiled and returned the gesture.

 

They embraced quickly and tightly, Teia squeezed her friend with all her might and Fe hugged her back.

 

“Thanks for teaching me, qashi, Fe…” Teia said into her shoulder.

 

“...I had fun.”