Looking around the square, John found that Grandma Loren had wandered out at some point and taken up her usual post. Wandering over the to the bench he sat down next to her.

“Ah, John, good to see you. How’s your training coming?” She asked genially.

“Good! I’ve reached Apprentice rank in Mana Sight, Mana Manipulation, Meditation, Measuring, and Move Earth.”

“Excellent! Then you’re ready for a few new skills, and maybe a spell or two, if you can see the weaves well enough,” Loren said with a satisfied nod.

“About that, I was wondering about Mana Drawing? I’m having trouble getting enough mana for all the work I’m doing, and stones are turning out to be expensive,” John explained.

The old woman thought about it for a moment. “Yes, I can see how that’d be useful to you. That and Mana Imprint would be good starters, I think. Both of those require working with your mana, though at apprentice rank you should be able to manage them to a degree. And then maybe a spell…”

“Anything that’ll help with my rabbit problem?” John inquired.

“Rabbits? Hmm a Fire spell, maybe Evoke Flame, could be very useful, and if you know Move Earth you can probably figure out Control Flame pretty easily. You won’t be able to dual cast until at least Journeyman rank of Mana Manipulation though,” she mused.

“Is fire safe out here? It seems like it’d be really easy to set the plains on fire.”

“Safe enough if you’re careful, but perhaps a more basic spell would do you. Earth Spike for instance, does what it says on the tin. Of course, you could always learn Create Earth and just build a wall.”

“Don’t have enough mana,” John said with a grimace.

“Hmmm Mana Drawing and Imprinting should alleviate that some, wouldn’t need to be a very high wall either, maybe four to five feet,” she pointed out.

John thought about it and then nodded his head. “Yeah, alright, that should work.”

“Well then, you’d best get to it. I believe you mentioned you already have Move Earth, do you have any other spells?” Loren inquired.

“Just Create Water.”

“Good, then I will teach you Evoke Flame and Control Flame from there you should be able to distinguish the weaves for Movement and Creation. That’ll be part of your new homework. But first, Mana Drawing and Mana Imprinting,” she began. “Now listen carefully, Aspected mana is all about perception, specifically you need to dye your mana with your perception of the thing you want it to act like. For instance, water is wet, that’s the most basic perception of water. Once you have a basic perception start adding in new things. Water is fluid, water can be vapor or solid, water envelops, water buoys. Think of its taste, smell, and texture, imprint those things on the mana as you draw it.”

As he listened John worked to block out the extraneous noises around them and tried to find his center once more. Grandma Loren chattered on quietly, extolling the virtues of water, the various states it could be found in, how it tasted. Anything she could identify about water was discussed. Slowly he sank from awareness into that place his mana lived. Once there he grasped it with firm mental fingers and drew out a strand. It was still a bit of a struggle, but he managed to keep his hold.

His strand of mana caught; he pushed his will against it, bringing to mind what he knew about water. He began with something many people of his era knew. Water is composed of two things, Hydrogen and Oxygen in a two to one ratio. Pure water is clear and, at least to the human mind, tasteless. Pure water does not conduct electricity, though water heavy with particulates can be an excellent conductor.

On and on his thoughts went as he pressed his will against the single strand of mana, and slowly it began to turn the deep blue he associated with water mana. Swiftly he let his consciousness rise and found himself in the square once more, though clearly some time had passed. There were far more players and stalls than there had been earlier, and Grandma Loren was reading a book. Opening his hand palm up John let his mana unfurl within it. The deep blue mana sat on his palm like a placid pool and with a smile he released it.

[Skill Gained: Mana Imprint]

John’s smile widened as the system informed him of his success. “Got it!” he said happily.

“Good, it’ll get easier, and faster, with rank,” Loren informed him.

“How long was I working on it?” he asked, looking up at the sky.

“About an hour and a half,” she said as the now closed book disappeared from her hand. “Are you ready for your next lesson? This one is going to be far more difficult.”

John nodded. “Ready.”

“Good, now Mana Drawing requires that you circulate mana through your body in specific patterns, which is why you needed Mana Manipulation at apprentice rank, it’s the first rank at which you could conceivably do this,” Loren explained. “Now, activate your Mana Sight and watch the way I push mana through my body, I’ll be using the simplest technique. Ready? Good.”

John did as instructed and the world became swirling masses of colors once more. Ignoring the free-floating mana around them, John focused on Grandma Loren. For a moment he couldn’t see anything, and then in the center of her chest was a flare of mana, shining like a miniature sun. As he watched a tendril of mana slowly and smoothly moved out of her core, did a loop down into her stomach, and then connected back to the core on the opposite side. As he watched he could see the free-floating mana around them agitating, being drawn toward her.

“The simplest form is just a loop,” she explained. “It doesn’t have to be fancy, simple works just as well as complex knots and swirls. With each rank of Mana Drawing you’ll find you can create another loop.” as she spoke a second string of mana spooled out, found its way down her left arm, and then looped back on itself to return to the core. “Each loop should occupy a separate limb or body space; you gain no benefit from having two loops in the same area. Thus, one for each limb, the head, and your abdomen for a total of six loops.”

John watched for a moment more until the lines of mana began to fade from sight. “Okay, so I grab a strand of mana and make a circuit through my stomach? Why does that work to draw in more mana?” he wondered aloud.

“Because you’re using more of your body to attract ambient mana. Your mana regeneration is limited because you currently only draw in mana from where your core is located, your chest. Wherever mana saturates will also draw in mana, the reason to return the loop to your core is because it then carries that gathered mana back,” she explained. “Now it’s your turn.” The book reappeared in her hand and she opened it. “Take as long as you need.”

John nodded to signify his understanding, then got comfortable against the rock. Once more he closed his eyes and worked to block out the sounds of the market. It took about as long this time as it had the last, but soon he was floating in that meditative space that made it possible to work with his core. Once he was certain he could feel it he grabbed at the mana once more, pinching a large strand and wrestling against it.

Unlike Grandma Loren’s smooth demonstration, his movements were jerky and unrefined. Instead of a smooth flow of mana he had to wrestle it into submission inch by inch as he pulled it out and down. By the time he reached his navel he was feeling mentally taxed and was dreading the return trip to his core. However, to his pleasant surprise, the mana was more accommodating on the upstroke, flowing almost smoothly in his grasp, as if eager to return from whence it came.

The moment the circuit made the connection he felt the change, the line smoothed out and became regular, creating a circuit through which he could feel energy flowing. Opening his eyes, he looked around. For a moment he was confused, there was no flow of mana toward him, and then he realized his mana was full, which meant there wouldn’t be.

[Skill Gained: Mana Drawing]

“I’ll be honest, for a moment there I thought you were going to lose it,” Loren commented as she put her book away. “Good job, don’t worry, it’ll become easier with better mana control. If you haven’t figured it out yet, Mana Manipulation is an essential skill. Don’t be afraid to spend points on it when you’ve got some to spare.”

“I hope so, that was pretty taxing,” John admitted.

“Well, these next lessons aren’t going to be much easier, not with your Mana Sight at only apprentice rank. I’m going to show you Evoke Flame, the weave is going to look fuzzy to you but I’ve faith you can figure it out. And no, squinting doesn’t help.” With that, Loren held up a hand and a small flame appeared in it, hovering just above her palm.

John focused on the fire. At first he couldn’t see anything, until he focused on the core of the flame, where he could see a hazy repeating pattern of mana. “How am I supposed to copy that, I have to meditate just to use Mana Manipulation,” he complained.

Loren snorted. “Silly child, who told you that? Have you tried using it without meditation? What good is a skill if it requires another to function.”

John blinked at her. “Wait… then why did you let me sit here and meditate for… what? Four hours?”

“Do you think you could have learned either of those skills without the extra concentration it imparted?” Loren questioned.

John thought about it for a moment, and then shook his head. “No, you’re probably right.”

She nodded in satisfaction. “Now, focus on the flame and replicate it.”

Looking at the fire once more, John imagined grabbing his mana and moving it about. To his surprise it worked, though it felt slightly more sluggish than when he meditated. Concentrating he held up his own hand and, remembering the trouble he had previously with the mana, tried to imprint the pattern all at once upon it.

The mana writhed and bucked in his grasp, and he pushed it against the mental image of the pattern that he held, until slowly it started to take form. Finally with a popping sensation the mana flowed into the pattern and a small, guttering flame appeared over his own palm.

[Spell Gained: Evoke Flame]

He smiled and looked up at Loren, who was frowning. After a moment her frown turned into a look of enlightenment.

“I forgot for a moment that you’re only Apprenticed ranked. You can’t move individual strands of mana yet,” she explained at his questioning look.

“Wait, what does that mean?” he asked.

“It means that at Journeyman and above you’ll be able to hold multiple strands of mana and weave an actual pattern, instead of just pushing the entire thing into place. Don’t worry, Control Flame is next, and it’s actually a simpler weave.” She held up her other hand, and he could see a new pattern appear in it, fire swirled out of her right hand and into her left as she manipulated it.

John looked at the new pattern and once more started forcing his own mana to replicate it. It didn’t take any less effort this time, and a small headache had started up by the time he managed it.

[Spell Gained: Control Flame]

“Got it,” He said, exhausted.

“Good. Now, your next assignment is to make Create Earth and Control Water, and then rank Mana Drawing and Mana Imprinting up to Apprentice rank.” She took out a couple of candies, offering one to John and popping the other into her mouth.

John took the candy, unwrapped it, and tucked it into his cheek. “So,” he said, voice slightly distorted by the sweet. “I don’t suppose there’s anyone who can build me a mana well?”

Loren immediately shook her head. “No, you need at least Apprentice rank enchanting, and even then you’d need a blueprint to follow, only Journeymen and above can build a Mana Well with just system knowledge.”

“So everyone gains knowledge from the system?” John asked curiously.

“It depends. If you rank up your skill by effort or points the system will give you knowledge commensurate with your rank, but it’s generalized knowledge, things that are easy to learn or common. However, if you were to actually study enchanting the system will give you a rank commensurate with your knowledge. In addition you’d know all the little quirks and foibles, you’d understand the whys and hows, and you’d have an easier time creating your own enchantments. It’s the same for most knowledge based skills,” she explained.

“I take it you don’t know enchanting?” John asked.

“I considered it, but I never found a compelling need to know it,” she responded. “Still, if you can find the points nothing is stopping you from buying it.”

“That’s true I guess,” John said as he looked at the sky. “Alright… I think I have to get back to the farm. I’ve got to log out for a bit, and then I have to build a wall.”

“Good luck with your rabbit situation, do come and visit me again,” Loren said as she waved him off.

“I’ll be sure to, and… thanks for your help, I really appreciate it.”

“To be honest, it’s been nice to teach again. Maybe I’ll start teaching some of these other players… if they show the same respect…” She eyed the other players in the vicinity, who had been watching with rapt interest. “Best get going though, as you said, you’ve a wall to finish.”

John nodded with a smile, stood, and headed toward the edge of town.