Once the group finally quieted down, Dawn asked, “What can I expect from the sessions being held soon?”

Richard laughed before waving his hand in dismissal and replying, “I wouldn’t worry about the normal one, it is mostly just mana manipulation exercises that you can learn from us if you don’t already know them.  Too many people think they are pointless.”

Miana butted in, remarking, “They are wrong, of course.  There is a reason all the more skilled mages are well-practiced when it comes to mana manipulation.  How much you focus on the fundamentals acts to weed out those who are not serious enough about their development.”

Shaking his head, Richard smiled at Miana before replying, “It is as Miana explained: even if you have special permission to join us, you still have to have at least a minimum level of skill.  Seeing you produce orbiting fireballs is enough to know that you have more skill than most.”

Viera spoke up next, “I told you all she would be an interesting addition, did I not?  She even thought of the method of charging mana stones that Morris taught me on her own.  Anyways, to go through the basics really quickly…  Step one is to form a ball of mana above your hand and keep it stable.  Two is moving your hand and keeping it centered above.  Three is keeping it in the same relative position when tilting your hand.  Four is holding it below your hand.”

She then stopped to take a breath, holding up her hand as Thomas began to speak, then continuing her explanation, “Five is to rotate it around your hand while your hand is stationary; six is the opposite, moving your hand around a stationary orb.  Seven is where most fail, repeating the prior exercises without using your hands at all.  People often get into the habit of requiring the use of their hands rather than just making it easier to do quickly.  What you displayed in the sewers is well beyond this point, as you produced multiple spells at once without using your hands, had them orbiting you in different paths, and sent them off with accuracy one at a time.  I’m sure you can see how far beyond the basics you are from that.”

Somewhat surprised, Dawn nodded, unaware that what seemed so easy to her might be difficult for others.  She then remarked, “I can do that with fire and light, but I can’t even come close to that level of control with anything else, so I guess I still need more practice…”

Hearing this, Miana laughed before replying, “Why not?  Fire magic is mana moving rapidly.  Air magic is mana moving slower.  Force is mana held still.  It is all mana in the end, so all of it ought to be equal.  Don’t think of it as different types of magic, think of it as being a different application of the same mana.”

Dawn muttered under her breath for a moment before condensing a small orb of water ahead of herself, only for it to fall apart when she tried to move it.  “Well,” she said, “I can at least do it without hands, but I still need practice thinking of it as the same, I suppose.”

Richard stepped forward, raising his hand, which rapidly gained small spheres of fire, earth, and water orbiting it.  Withdrawing his hand to wave at them as they kept moving.  He then announced, “This is what you normally have to be able to do to join the group, so you are a bit behind overall, though I think you outclass us in your usage of fire.  What do you think, Miana?”

Instead of answering immediately, a number of balls of flame appeared before Miana, one or two at a time.  When she had twenty, several of them became unstable as the others compressed into much smaller spheres.  The twelve that were left floated into a number of different orbits, several of them colliding with one another.

Miana shook her head before remarking, “No, I can’t match that trick of hers.  I might be able to with enough practice, but it is just too much to focus on at once.  I wouldn’t feel confident with more than three of them at once; otherwise, I’d likely burn myself.”

Smiling, Thomas waved his hand toward Miana and said, “See, even our resident fire expert has trouble matching you.  So, it isn’t too out of hand for you to join us, just keep working on your control of other magic.”

“Thank you, that makes me feel better about being here.  I’ll certainly do my best!” exclaimed Dawn as she turned to look at Niphru.  She then asked, “What about Niphru?”

Viera joined in, replying, “Well, we’ve seen his wind magic is very rough right now, but those flames of his are quite interesting.  To be able to keep them going without spending mana…  Many of us would love to be able to do similar, so perhaps he can help us learn how he does it.  And just being able to be around an Awakened more is worth it.”

“Indeed, I’m really excited to be able to work with Niphru,” stated Richard before crouching down and addressing Niphru directly, “I do hope we haven’t made you uncomfortable by excluding you from the conversation; I realize you haven’t said much.”

Niphru shook his head before standing up from where he sat.  “I don’t mind at all.  Dawn and I are closely linked, and I can ask her things silently.  If she can’t answer, she can ask in my place.  I was mostly just listening and trying to make sure I learn from everyone,” he replied before quickly creating small orbs of fire and water, setting them spinning around each other.

“While I can manage this, I can’t do much more with water magic, and am not good with earth either.  I can mimic Dawn’s constellation of flame, however.  We both work to teach each other and improve, and our bond helps with that a great deal.  Don’t worry too much about me,” he continued, sitting back down.

“If no one has any questions, maybe we ought to go get some sleep,” Richard said, looking between everyone, getting nods all around.

After sharing farewells, everyone returned to their own rooms.  Since they had already bathed, Dawn went to make food in the kitchen while Niphru went out onto their balcony to practice his air magic over the edge, safely away from anything not secured in place.

Around half an hour later, Dawn called Niphru back into their home, where she had prepared a meal for them.  Following their dinner, Niphru asked about reading one of the more advanced books they had, so Dawn helped him read, turning the pages for him and discussing what they read.

Eventually, with much yawning, they put the book up and headed to bed, excited about the meetings in the following days, even if they had been told the first would not help much.