Alex woke the next day expecting to resume the customary daily schedule. The guards came for him at the usual time, but they tossed him a jar of cream and ordered. “Strip and rub this on your body. The nanobots ensured that you grew no hair, but now you will have to use this each day instead.” Alex opens the jar and rubs the cream on his body and head; he feels a mild itching wherever he applies the cream.

Once he had finished he follows the guards to the usual training location and starts his day with the assault course. He then moves on to sparring with the sword. Afterwards, he’s led to the garden of Mistress Lyrei to continue his instruction on prana and meditation. This repeats for the next three days and in that time he succeeds in sensing prana exactly zero times, which infuriates him.

He now finds himself yet again sitting in front of the platform trying to meditate and sense his prana but failing horribly. Mistress Lyrei is reclining on the wooden platform as she drinks some tea and nibbles on a delicacy. She is watching Candy, who’s practicing the control of prana, and then smiling lies back relaxing her posture. After a while, she turns to look at Alex. "She has some talent and is on the right path. In a few days, she will be able to start charging external prana cores. It won’t be long before she can manipulate the building phase with confidence. You boy, however, have shown a distinct lack of any ability. I will give you another five days to demonstrate you can use prana, otherwise, I will have to advise Master Syllen that he will need to look for replacement merchandise.”

Alex flinches at the threat. He thinks anxiously about how to best wake up his prana sense to remedy his problem. If he can’t wake it up with meditation, maybe he can use something else. “Mistress, may I try to calm my mind by another means other than meditation?”

“Boy, meditation is the best way to learn to control your prana. But, if you know of a different way then please do tell me.”

“Mistress, I only have experience of using meditation as part of focusing on perfecting forms for a combat skill. I would like to go through some of those forms and then try to meditate.”

“I will allow you to try anything that you feel will help you progress. Just remember that your time is limited to complete this task.”

Alex bows, then standing, moves back from the platform to a roughly level area. He positions himself with his heels together, his feet open, arms alongside his body, and his back and neck straight. He remains motionless as he focuses on the moment, turning his attention inward, and blocking out all distractions. Alex prepares to commence the pattern of a kata that is second nature to him and that he can do with little conscious attention.

He inhales fully for maximum lung capacity, then adjusting his rate of breathing, timing it to match his movements. He commences combining individual moves into a familiar pattern, flowing through the steps, as his body and muscles transition from one movement to the next. He concentrates on his posture, balance, and stability. His skill allows his movements to be effective and efficient as he speeds up, building to a powerful finish.

Alex projects confidence and maintains an even speed as his body habitually flows through the motions of the kata. Visualizing how he felt when the prana flowed into his arms. And then he experiences a strong flashback to the first time in the chair. Remembering the tingling sensation when the prana flows, just before the excruciating pain. Envisioning using the prana flow to enhance the power and penetration of his finishing punch. He imagines the face of the elf as he taps the device controlling the chair. Stepping forward quickly he explosively punches with his short shouted Kiai. He then returns to his starting position whilst taking slow deep breaths.

“Do that again.” Mistress Lyrei announces.

Alex looks towards the platform. “Mistress Lyrei, do you wish to see more forms?”

“No. I want to see you do the same one again.”

Alex assumes the starting position and begins the kata. He again flows through from start to finish, culminating in a Kiai. He looks over to the pavilion and notices Mistress Lyrei watching him intently.

“No, you did it differently the second time.”

Alex frowns in confusion. “Mistress, I did the form the same way.”

“No. You didn’t. What were you thinking when you did the form the second time?”

“I was trying to ensure that I did the form perfectly.”

“And the first time?”

Alex pauses before replying. “I was focusing on trying to put as much power into the final punch as I could.”

“Then do it again, focusing on the power of your punch, and remember how it felt the first time.”

Alex again assumes the starting position and repeats the kata. As he nears the end he emphasizes the powering of his punch with prana and all his will. He again recollects the first time in the chair and focuses on the feelings within his arms and hands. He imagines squeezing the power of his whole body into his arm and fist. As he does, he senses a very small blue flow of prana, as it rapidly moves from his chest into his arm and culminates in his fist. Paying close attention to the flow he realizes it's not moving, but rather it is changing positions so rapidly that it appears as if it’s continually flowing. His head clears and he suddenly feels extremely weak, almost as if he had been working out continuously for hours.

“Well done. You just controlled the flow of prana into your punch in a most ferocious way. The prana was plainly visible on your fist. This can only be accomplished by forcing large amounts of prana rapidly from your core.” Mistress Lyrei says looking solemn. “However, this explosion of prana does not necessarily help in using runes. You must learn how to control the rate of flow. Rest now and when you stop feeling so drained begin meditating.”

Alex feels exhausted and he jarringly falls into a kneeling position with a soft grunt. He reflects on what just happened. He slowly comprehends that replicating the feeling of the prana is essentially imagining it being there, imagining it so clearly it becomes reality. Alex considers the three steps he took in controlling the prana. First the image, then the compression, and finally the desired result. This is the way he can use prana, the more comprehensive he can imagine things, the better his use of prana would be. Disappointingly, it did appear that he has an all or nothing capability when using his prana.

After a short period, Alex feels well enough to begin meditating. He clears his mind and then imagines his prana moving to his hand. After a while he feels a slight discomfort as the prana collects there and he tries to move it back into his arm. He attempts to slow down and reduce the strength of the gathering prana, to lessen the growing discomfort. He snaps out of his meditation when he feels a sharp pain in his hand and he frowns in concern.

“Mistress, may I ask for guidance?”

“Of course.”

“Is that right that the flow of prana shouldn't cause pain unless you’re doing it wrong?”

“There is only one way to cause pain and that is when too much prana is forced through your channels, as was done to you when you were first assessed. However, forcing too much prana through the channels also risks damaging your core. It was fortunate that you did not have a core at the time or you would now be in constant agony. This has been known to be used as a form of punishment, as it takes a long time for the core to heal from such damage.”

He considers what could have caused the sharp pain, but cannot deduce any obvious reasons it happened. He begins to meditate again and to draw prana from his core, which he can now sense clearly. His core currently feels like there’s liquid sloshing around in a half-filled cup. He notices that when he has only a small amount of prana in his core it flows into his body quickly, but it slows down if he has a lot. He has also found that his body appears to absorb a small quantity of the prana in particular areas. He’s not sure why this is happening but based on how it feels it could either be strengthening his body or fixing injuries.

Alex spends the next hour trying to move the prana to different parts of his body. He manages to achieve this for both hands and feet, but each time it results in a sharp pain breaking him from his meditation. For that reason, he is reticent to try and move prana to his head or chest, just in case. Closing his eyes again, he searches for his prana, it is quicker and easier to find than before. He then starts to try to move it to both of his arms and legs simultaneously. This time he does not feel the sharp pain and he manages to move the prana around his body with increasing aptitude.

He still senses that the prana is leaking into his body, but at a reduced rate, and that the areas it affects are changing. He observes his body and notices that the absorption of prana by his body increased the time it takes to build-up in his core. Once his core is full he seems to lose control of the excess prana, although the area around the core absorbs some of it, the rest seems to leave his body.

“That’s enough for today. We will continue tomorrow, you are both dismissed. Master Ardreth please take them away.” Mistress Lyrei called out. After everyone had left the garden Mistress Lyrei touched a small stone next to her cushion and then gazed around the garden.

Not long after Master Syllen enters and walks slowly over. “Mistress Lyrei, I hope you are well.”

“Master Syllen, I’m fine, thank you for asking. I trust you are also in good health?”

“I am well, thank you. I am enjoying the relaxing break from needing to attend the House tenday meetings. How is everything going?”

“Well, thank you. The girl is making adequate progress now that I have focused my attention on her deficiencies. I do have some recommendations regarding how the House trainers here are enhancing the merchandise. I have noticed that they are not identifying the most appropriate methods for achieving the best results.”

“It will be a pleasure to hear what you have to say on the matter. I’m sure that you will have some excellent ideas on how we can improve. And what about the boy?”

“He had a breakthrough today. He can now trace his prana and move it around his body, however, he seems to be doing this rather aggressively and injuring himself in the process. His approach is unusual, I will need to work with him to encourage better control so that he can use runes efficiently.”

“Do you foresee any problems with having them both ready for Lady Vaeri’s society ball?”

“The girl will be ready. The boy on the other hand may not, we will have to see how he does over the next tenday.”

“Regrettably, the girl is not enough on her own. The boy is the key to ensuring that the gift is well received. A matched pair of retainers from Terra will cause quite the stir and will win favor with Lady Vaeri. I’m sure that you will make the utmost effort to make certain that he will be ready in time.”

“I will endeavor to ensure that they are both ready, Master Syllen.”

“Regrettably, I will be unavailable to offer support for the next tenday as I have House business to attend to. I will be guided by your expertise in all matters relating to the preparation of the merchandise, Mistress Lyrei. I have the utmost confidence that you will succeed well beyond my greatest expectations.”

“Thank you for your confidence in my talents. I’m looking forward to joining you at the ball so we can both glory in their presentation. I feel that I’m wasted here in this backwater and long to see the sights of Lady Vaeri’s residence.”

“If I succeed in becoming one of Lady Vaeri’s consorts, I will be only too glad to demonstrate my appreciation of your support in this undertaking.”

“I look forward to both of us gaining favor with Lady Vaeri and improving our standing in House Quinala, Master Syllen.”