Chapter 13: 13- Mana

Early morning the next day, two boys sat on the field with one elderly man standing in front of them. Rowan was excited to learn what Grandpa Rodan had in mind for them, especially after he learned that his grandpa was considered one of the most powerful men in the Kingdom. The anticipation of this knowledge kept his mind awake for most of the night.

Not even a beating from the arrogant rooster could soothe his excitement.

Aaron Helmstrum on the other hand, was much more calm than fellow roommate. The young noble had expressed his initial displeasure at sitting on the dirt, but afterwards remained quiet as he was also curious about what would be taught on this day.

Grandpa Rodan looked at the two eager boys and began. “What do you know about blessings?”

Rowan answered the question eagerly. “That's what the gods gave us to improve ourselves.”

“Yes that is the answer that everyone knows. Lets ask our in-house noble, ” Grandpa Rodan paused and then corrected himself. “..our on-field noble for a more in-depth answer shall we?”

Aaron scoffed at the comment, but still explained what he knew. “ Blessings are gifts granted by gods to improve humanity. Blessings are diverse and unpredictable. They determine the future a person may have. Like how human beings are all not born equal, blessings are the same.”

Rowan thought Aaron had mellowed out the last few days, but he still had some sharp edges left. The answer he gave sounded smug, an attitude only a noble would have even when sitting on a dirt field.

“Yes, not the answer I had in mind, but it is good enough. Blessings do have influence on a person’s future, but it doesn’t completely set it in stone. What are your blessing boys?”

“Fire” Aaron said proudly.

“...plant growth,” Rowan answered with some reluctance. Aaron already knew and there was no one else he could tell out here.

“Both fine blessings. I have never heard of plant growth, but I certainly heard of fire as a powerful blessing,” Grandpa Rodan commented.

The young Helmstrum lord looked even more proud.

 “Let me ask you a question Aaron. Does fire have anything to do with ruling a territory? Can it help your citizens grow crops? Can it help the economy of your territory prosper?” Grandpa Rodan asked.

The questions caused Aaron's smile to freeze.

“...N-no,” the young noble forced out an answer.

“Exactly! The fire blessing may be powerful, but only in combat. Each blessing can only be useful in certain situations. It can influence a person’s future but that is not an absolute rule. That is a common misperception in this kingdom these days. Let’s move on to the next topic, how does one improve themselves with their blessing?”

Both boys sat there in silence.

“By using the skill related to our blessing as much as possible” Aaron stated after a moment of thought.

“Yes, but for a noble like you whose future is ruling a territory, isn’t a combative blessing pointless?”

Aaron's answer was once again struck down. 

“Have you boys ever wondered why gods gave humans certain blessings?”

The boys shook their heads. Rowan had just took it as a given fact of life.

“I’m not surprised. It is one of the questions people think about when they get older. There is a lot of debate over this question. Some say that gods randomly assign a blessing to a person on a whim. Others say the gods took pity on the races for being less powerful than them so they gave them blessings. Some say blessings are determined from birth. This is the line of thought for nobles. Others says that the blessings are granted to draw out the latent potential of a person.”

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“What do you think Grandpa?” Rowan asked curiously.

“ I like to think that blessings draw out the latent potential of a person.  If there are any other reasons, I'll leave it to the people who are smarter than me, such as scholars and mages to figure it out. Gods gave us gifts, it’s up to us to decide what to do with it. Have you boys ever heard of the speaker blessing?”

Both of them nodded their heads.

“And do you know what jobs people with the speaker blessing have?”

Aaron answered “ Public speakers. “

“Yes, public speakers tend to have this blessing. But did you know merchants, ambassadors and negotiators also have this blessing? The speaker blessing helps a person converse easily with whomever they wish. For a merchant, this blessing can help them with their sales. For an ambassador, give their country more favorable conditions. For a negotiator, soothe both parties without conflict. As I was saying, blessings are important, but it’s up to the person to decide how they want to use it.”

“Yes, but plant growth is a dud if I ever saw one for a knight,” Aaron said with a snicker.

Dud, a defamatory term for people who received a useless blessing. It is generally frowned upon in public to use this term, but it still didn't stop certain people from using it.

Bang!

Rowan’s mouth drop open as Aaron crouched down holding his head in pain.

“ What do you know? I may not have heard of the blessing before, but I can think of several uses for it already. Its much more useful than your fire if it can do what I think it does. No blessing are pointless, only pointless people.  Especially when they are pointlessly stuck in archaic ways.” Grandpa Rodan scolded Aaron after smacking his head. Rowan was impressed as he was unable to follow his grandpa’s movement. All he saw was a blur and then Aaron was in pain.

“ Anyways as important as blessings are, there is something more important. Can you boys guess what it is?”

“..the ability to use it.” Aaron muttered out despite the pain.

“Yes! Blessing are powered by our skills and inherent talents. And what do we need to empower those skills?” Grandpa Rodan continued asking.

This time Rowan knew the answer. “ Mana!”

“Bingo, unfortunately i don't have a prize for you. Mana is the energy of the world. Once you learn to use mana it can help you get use to your blessing so much faster. Do note, it's not necessary for someone to know how to control mana to use their blessing, but it makes their life a lot easier. Most people learn through meditation to awaken and control mana. As you grow more experienced in feeling your mana, meditation becomes less useful. However it is still a very useful skill no matter how old you are. Since you just got your blessing Rowan, then it's a good time to awaken your body to mana. We’ll do so right here right now. Aaron I’m sure you have already awakened your mana right?”

Aaron nodded his head in confirmation.

“You can stay and watch or meditate and practice on your own. Your family probably has its own exercise and control techniques that you want to keep secret. You can practice in the house or further away. I’m going doing the basics, so nothing that you haven't experienced.”  Grandpa Rodan raised a hand with his palm facing the sky. “ Rowan do you see something in my hand?”

Rowan nodded his head “ Yes.” He had to squint his eyes, but he could see something…blurry in the palm of his grandpa’s hand. 

“Good. This is my mana and it mean you're ready to receive it. If we have done this before you receive your blessing then it may damage your body in some form. That's the reason why people tend to awaken the mana after the blessing ceremony. Now I'm going to interject it into your body, so don't reject it. Im saying this as a precaution, but if anyone else ever tries to do the same in the future, refuse them right away unless they have a good reason. Even then be extra careful if they do have a good excuse.”

Grandpa Rodan hand flipped over and slowly pushed toward Rowan. He saw whatever was causing his vision to go blurry, slowly entering his chest and disappeared.

Rowan could feel alien energy entering his body, his heart pulsing every moment. It was as if his body was a starving beast in a desert and the mana was the rain. HIs body never knew it needed mana, until now. It accepted the foreign energy with gusto. 

Rowan felt something changing in his body and then everything changed.

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