'That's it, my little water baby. One step at a time.' Aila whispered within her mind. Ava pouted.

'Why do you call me that?' She mind whispered back.

'You have an affinity for the water element. Right now, your affinity is weak, like a baby's. Soon, you will be much stronger, both physically, and with your affinity.' Aila's voice inside her mind was so soothing, she couldn't help but murmur while she heard it. She sat down after a few steps, completely winded.

'Will you stay for a while?' Ava asked quietly. Aila's hand rested on her belly, and she sighed as the green life energy flooded her middle.

'As much as I want to, I have much to do. The kingdom is unstable, and may go into a civil war soon. If I don't have a place for people like you to go, things may happen that I don't want to happen.' Aila touched her cheek.

"And if you get hurt, there is no telling how angry I will become." Though her voice soothed her spirit, it was also her intensity that frightened her a bit. She felt Aila's fingers within her mind again, probing a bit deeper, and making a connection between them where she could feel Aila's affection.

"I am protective, little one." Aila said softly, and pushed deeper. Her eyes drilled into her, as her mind drilled even deeper. Ava gasped when she burst into her space again, this time, the entrance was widened.

"What did you do?" Ava whispered.

'I made it possible for you to absorb the elements, my little Ava. Your spiritual sea was withered, and the door closed by the poison. Now, you are free to grow strong, and work harder then you think you can.' Aila lifted her hand.

'A water core?'

'You do know what it is. Swallow it.' Aila said gently. Ava looked at her for a minute, and after some deep thought, she put her mouth over the core and swallowed it into her belly.

'Good girl. Here is your gift.' Ava sucked in her breath as Aila put the core into her space, and a simple altar, made of stone pillars and a platform, formed in that place. Like her girls, Ava's altar was embedded with the core.

"Oh wow." Ava whispered as she felt the surge of power within her own body.

* * *

"Why are we out here?" Ava asked as Aila carried her outside, and sat her on a bench.

"I'm going to teach you how to absorb the elements the way I do." She placed a basin in front of her, and waved her hand. Alara poured a bottle of water into the basin.

"This is water from an ancient spring, with extremely pure water elements born from really old water sources." Aila pursed her lips. "I didn't realize it was that pure and used to use it for washing my pans." Ava giggled.

'Thank you, Alara.' She heard the familiar chirp. 'I'll have something for you and your sister later. Do you still channel, yes, I like that word, channel the way I taught you?'

'Of course, Master.'

'Then drain the light elements from the area. Ivadra, make sure there are no dark elements gathered in the shade.' Again a familiar chirp.

'Okay, Master.'

"Now, close your eyes, Ava." Ava's eyes narrowed a bit, as the verbal use of her name by Aila sent a flood of warmth deep inside her. "Come on, close those eyes of yours." Ava closed her eyes. She listened to Aila's voice describe how elements worked, and how she could see them. Several minutes later, she straightened up.

"I can see them!" She said excitedly.

'Alara, tell Ava how quickly new channelers would take to recognize the elements without the teachings I gave to you.'  Aila whispered in the Seer's mind.

"Ava, you see the elements really quickly. Without Master's way, it would take you weeks to sense the elements. Now, she'll teach you a way to channel that most do not even know." Alara smiled at the girl's excitement.

"I'll teach the way I taught Alara and Ivadra. Keep your eyes closed. Have you ever seen water flow? Watched it run out of a jug when poured, or out of a bucket through a hole?" Ava nodded. "Within your mind, not using your hands, but using the image of your hands, make a cup, something to hold a little water in. With that image, use your mind to fill the cup with the elements you see, and pull it towards you. Within your wrists are your Xillan, ah, you might know them as meridians. These are the channels suck up that element."

"Like a straw?"

"Yes, a straw. Suck up that element....excellent, little one. You did really well for your first time. Regular water only has a little in it to bind it together. Water from the sky will have a lot, as it's closer to the void, and closer to where really old water is stored."  Aila lifted her face to the sky and her eyes turned deep blue.  "Up really high, where the wind is strong, water is held in vast oceans. Because the drops are far apart, it doesn't look like there is that much up there, but there is a lot. There is actually more up there then there is on land."

"Oh. So how do we get to it?" Ava asked.

"When it rains, some comes down. When the sun comes out, the water down here dries up, and rises again. One big cycle. The thing to remember is that you can't use up the water. Once you absorb it into your space, should you ever die, that water is released, and goes back to where it belongs. So don't worry. You can't take too much." Ava let out a sigh.

"You could read me that well?"

"Of course I can. I am up here, aren't I?" Aila lightly touched Ava's temple and watched her lean into her hand. She lightly rubbed the side of her face, then her cheek.

* * *

"How chaotic do you think it will get, Master?" Alara asked.

"War. All out war. It may even drag another kingdom or two into the mix." Aila sighed. "Greedy people, the lot of them!" She spat.

"What will we do? We can protect ourselves within Underground Black, but the families that look to us for protection, the soldiers and guards, and even Ava, will all suffer because of this lust for power." Ivadra said firmly.

"I'll continue to rebuild, and expand the manor. When it comes time, the manor will become a haven." Aila tilted her head. "Yes. A haven, not heaven." She heard the intake of breath, and brushed through their minds. She now understood how favorable that option was to these girls.

"Now, it's time to eat." Aila held out both her hands, palms up, and watched their eyes widen. On the left, in front of Ivadra, was a dark core from a rank four dark panther. On her right, in front of Alara, was a rank two bloody Harpy light core.

'Master.'

* * *

"Father." The Silver King, Kohl, entered his chambers, a much subdued and quiet eunuch Pall alongside him. His father turned and saw his face.

"So, you finally figured it out." Brer, his father said. Kohl stopped dead.

"You set it up?"

"No, but I allowed the circumstances to occur. I didn't stop you from marrying that slut, Rhas, did I?" He snorted. "You had to know that marrying someone who was from a political family would cause them to think more highly of themselves. Not to mention her behavior towards her own daughter. Dead giveaways." His eyes narrowed. "Who helped you to see the truth?"

"The 'Master' of the Black One and the Seer." Kohl said through grit teeth.

"So, there are some people who aren't complete fools. Good. Little Ava will need someone to protect her. Her father will be far too busy killing rebels, including her mother, the Prime Minister, and all the guards. That also means all the doctors who looked at her. Do you have the means?" Kohl took out a single slave collar. "Ho ho. That isn't a normal one."

"A gift from the Black One. Made of black iron, imbued with dark elements. So far, Eunuch Pall is the only trustworthy one of my court. The message was passed through the Magistrate as well." His father nodded.

"That means you have two Core realm cultivators on your side, but he has hundreds of Foundation realm. Where will you start?" Kohl looked around, and his father nodded. "Good. If they are still loyal, you can begin clearing the court. Might I suggest something?"

"What, father?"

"Send a pigeon to Underground Black. Entrust Ava to them. Things will get bloody before they get better."  Brer knew this to be an understatement.