Training, as was often the case for Saga, meant a test of patience. They were nothing if not incredibly impulsive. And practice meant repetition and focus. Two areas they did not exactly excel within. For the next two hours, Saga was made to simply sit and soak in the magic that Indrada channeled into them, sorting the foreign fire magic from the Rebirth magic before channeling the former back to Indrada.

They found the fire magic hard to control as they had no affinity to it and just pushing a minuscule amount through their soul was like lifting a scolding hot cauldron with bare hands. But they gritted their teeth, tried to relax, and continued to circle it out. Their breath grew steady, and their focus sharpened as the time passed slowly. It was a strange feeling, looking inwards and becoming more keenly aware of the strange otherworldly power that flowed through them. They could feel the death energy as it coiled about their soul, dim and cold but strangely soothing, while the rebirth energy was more chaotic and bright.

They focused on the chaotic bundle of energy as they slowly, painstakingly separated the flame from it. It was like they had a pair of phantom limbs, reaching into their insides and at the magical manifestation of fire. Saga focused on making the firey, reactive magic of the fire element untether and peel away, noticing that as it did so, it pulled with its strands of rebirth and death magic alike, changing the nature of the magical energy ins subtle ways Saga failed to grasp. It was like watching an artist at work, you could follow the strokes of a pen or a brush, but you would miss the angle, pressure, all the minute things that turned that stroke into just the line or the splotch of color needed for that particular part of the larger picture. Indrada was simply lightyears ahead of Saga when it came to all things magic.

As the magic flowed back into Indrada, the older woman seemed to effortlessly incorporate the changed mana and Saga could see how the new fire magic wrapped around her rebirth energies, changing that as well. Saga couldn't help to think such a talent was incredibly useful to have as they looked at the older woman, who still sat with her eyes closed. There were so many levels to this world, so many fascinating aspects to it. Nothing was ever as it seemed and it drove Saga's curiosity on as they asked the master mage before them.

“How do you do that?" They asked, trying to move to the older woman and the energies within her.

“Turning magic not my own into something beneficial?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s something mages tend to learn at higher levels. It’s A skill called mana weaving.” She said, eyes still closed as the magic continued to cycle between the two. Saga pondered this and focused on the observations they were making about mana. It was clear the skill allowed Indiana to utilize Saga's blend of rebirth and death and strengthen herself with it, where Saga could barely handle the fire mana for more than a few minutes at a time.

“Let's kick it up a level,” She said as she grabbed Saga by the wrists. Before the berserker could properly figure out what was going on, Indrada's thumbs pressed down on their wrists as she poured large amounts of fire and rebirth mana into Saga. Saga gritted their teeth, eyes suddenly ablaze with the magic. Indradas eyes were calm, the fluctuation of magic barely noticeable behind her eyes while Saga felt like they were about to burn up from the inside.

“What… are you doing… you're crazy..”

“Endure” She spoke the words with such a clear and commanding voice it cut through the pain. Saga grit their teeth, shuddering.

“Yes. Mam” They grunted as the pain grew. It was similar to when they cracked the stone before during their very first test in magic. Similar, but different. There were no two starts, sucking out the magic from within them. Instead, the stars were inside them this time, being fed flames of rebirth energy. They focused on that feeling, breathing hard, then tried to use the same principle, to feed the two the energies that were now burning them up from the inside.

Indrada's eyes grew wider as they felt the Berserker try, clumsily, to convert the energy. There was no way they could, but for them to reach for such a solution was most unexpected. She smiled as kept pouring magic into Saga. Perhaps she could teach them a different technique then the one she had originally intended for them to learn.

“Endure,” She said again, and it made Saga flinch but they redoubled their efforts. They could feel death, cold and embracing, trying to wrap about the fires. Draw them into its core.

Saga could see a status message pop up as the firey mana coursed through their veins, setting all their senses ablaze. IT was as if the world around them came into a kind of hyper-focused version of itself. All the colors were almost painfully sharp and bright if you stared at them directly but if you closed your eyes you could still see the world, only now it was broken up and fractured just elemental components. Saga gritted their teeth, sweat running down their face, soaking the thick linen shirt around the collar.

The smells around them went from a blend of sweat, burned ozone, and incense, to a myriad of chaotic scents that all seemed to be smaller, sharper variants of the ones Saga could pick up normally. The sensory overload only grew from there. Sounds were suddenly painfully sharp, Saga able to hear a river around the submerged chamber could hear every vibration as the current broke and redirected around the meditation chamber. Saga could hear the sluggish, half-hibernated fish stir the bottom up to feed.

[Warning. Critical Mana level. Mana Overload imminent.]

Unlike the sharpness of their surroundings, the text was fuzzy and impossible to focus on. They felt as if the mana had begun to seep out through their pores, making their skin feel like fire. They changed a glance and saw the vague outline of flames across their arms. Cold sweat rand down their back as they clenched their teeth, trying to speak through the pain.

"Can't. To much. Please." Their words came out as pained grunts, but as soon as they left their mouth, the man left them, drawn back into Indrada who sucked in a deep breath. When she breathed out again, violet and green flames lit all across their frame. Saga noted that like before when they had their first lesson, some of the blight on her skin seemed to burn away.

"You did well," Indrada said, voice calm and soothing, cutting Saga off before they could ask what the hell she just did to them. "That was a sort of a stress test, to see how much you could hold before bursting.

"A warning would be nice next time."

"Ah, but the first time should be sudden. So you can feel what it's like to be caught by a mana surge while still unaware. In the future, however, we will practice how to handle it, and as such I will let you know ahead of time." Indrada spoke, her voice calm and steady, like a teacher holding a lesson before an unruly class.

"Ok." Saga grunted, not buying it all. "So. What's next. Gonna throw me into an actual fire?"

Indrada just smiled.

***

"This is somehow worse" Saga spoke through clattering teeth, as they took a step into the cold river. "What does this have to do with magic?"

"I admit, it might seem a bit extreme. But your magic is death attuned, and I found that the most reliable to bring a person into a state of death without risking them dying, is by slowing their heart with the cold."

"Wait. What? I am supposed to be resting!" Saga said, eyes wide. Suddenly, this woman had turned from a harsh teacher to some sort of nightmare. They were about to outright dash from the water but Indrada held up a hand to halt them.

"I'm joking." She said, eyes twinkling with mirth. "We are not going to induce a deathlike state. If we want you to work on your death-attuned mana, you just have to visit the spirit garden. You're a Deathsworn after all."

"Wait. You make Jokes?" Saga blurted out before they could stop themselves. The comment didn't seem to bother Indrada however who simply smirked and continued as if she hadn't heard a thing.

"Rivers are some of the most powerful conduits of water magic. Where a lake is still and placid, and the ocean is diluted and vast. Rivers are motion, it's a constant flow, much like magic itself. "She explained, sitting at the edge of a small pier. Saga stared up at her through clattering teeth.

"So what do I do?" Saga inquired, eager to get the terrible exercise over with. As soon as they asked, Indrada tossed them a flask. It was filled to brim with a pale blue liquid that seemed to slowly turn into a fine mist when exposed to the air around them. Looking at it, Saga could tell it was a death-attuned mana potion.

"You drink that. It's a high-level potion. Far too high for you to use normally." She explained as Saga uncorked it. "It will feel similar to that of the fire, in that you will be overcharged with magic. But since it's the kind of magic you were made for, it should be easier for you to hold and disperse safely.

"So why am I in the river" Saga inquired.

"Because a river is a good place to be if your magic goes haywire. The natural, powerful current of magic in a river should be able to carry access magic downstream while diluting it. And because if any dead fish start appearing around you, I know you failed the exercise. Now drink."

Saga gave her a questioning and skeptical look, she shrugged and swept the liquid. It had a very strange taste. It wasn't wholly unpleasant, but it was almost overwhelming. It seemed to just evaporate down their throat, leaving a faint, metallic aftertaste. But after a while, that taste became that of blood, and their guts suddenly churned as the mana spread throughout their system. Saga gasped, trembling as they uncorked the other potion, downing the familiar green liquid as rebirth mana surged through them soon after.

"Focus on the rebirth mana, wrap it about yourself, weave it around the death energies. You must achieve balance again, or your pairing might become discordant." Indrada instructed as Saga felt their muscles cramp and contract painfully, the two energies fighting for dominance, pushing through their veins like electric currents. Saga growled as pain flashed through them but focused on the task. They used Rebirth's wild, chaotic flow and grasped it within their mind, like grabbing a snake at the back of its head. They then tried to wrap it around the death energies that seemed to do everything in their power to avoid the entanglement.

This went on for almost an hour until finally, both energies had dissipated. Saga looked down at the river around them noticing a single dead fish bobbing on the surface. Indrada smiled and shook her head as Saga stared at the fish.

"We got a lot of work ahead of us."