The world finally snapped back into place. The last few minutes had been a wild ride. Which goes to show that sometimes when you have two problems, you also have a solution. The first problem was that he had been caught off guard and partly forced into his Soulscape, the other was that he was venting mana.

His master had conveniently forgotten to tell him that his power was just picking up stakes and walking away, BUT NNNOOO! They just acted as if he should have already known. He asked his master how to stop his mana from escaping.

That is just the nature of the Hearth, it shares warmth and light with all in it’s proximity. If I were to stop the sparks from exiting your Soulscape, it would cause negative feedback and damage both your vessel and your soul.

Not helpful. The orange tints at the edges of the Fire had turned back to crimson and fallen quite a bit. So he threw half a dozen logs into the fire to stoke it. They didn’t fall into the optimal position, most of the energy just escaped before being fully processed. He needed a fire poker. Something to help him adjust the logs into perfect position. Next order of business was getting out into reality.

His master had shown him how he had gotten stuck. It felt like he had flipped his awareness inside out. Then when he asked how to leave all they said was.

Follow the Embers of Fire that are coming from the Hearth. If you master this, then you will be able to reach your Soulscape whenever you desire.

Calm thoughts! Calm thoughts! He repeated in his mind, before realizing that he had just telecasted his cooldown session. He watched the outer edge of his soul, stretching his newfound sense of awareness to encompass that area. He shaped it into a thin layer. Several Embers escaped in various directions till one of them got snared in his trap.

That’s when the roller coaster ride began. The rampaging Ember didn’t want to be caught. It bucked and pressed forward, dragging him along for the ride. Then he was back in reality. He was sitting on the crafting table with Virtus peering at him with eyes made of molten gold. It would have been impressive if the large guardsmen hadn’t been clucking over him like a mother hen.

“I’m fine.” Jack insisted vigorously. He gingerly stepped down from the table and realized that he could tell where the floor was before he touched it. A new wave of disorientation threatened to overwhelm him as he came to terms with this new sensation. It felt like he was in multiple places at once, he just knew what was going on.

He moved his arm away less than a second before Virtus could grab it in some attempt to stabilize him. That was all it took to break the trance. His awareness retreated beneath his skin till it was almost imperceptible, almost. it was still faintly there in the back of his mind, waiting to be called upon. I am definitely going to play with this later.

Delighted at having yet another magical toy to mess around with, Jack turned back to his guard and gave him a reassuring smile. “Thank you for taking care of me and not letting me fall on my face.” He intoned seriously.

“I was only fulfilling my duty. Your continued well-being is my top priority.”

Jack was a bit disappointed that his closest companion in this world was so quick to remind him that he had basically been ordered to spend time with him. He got over it quickly, that wasn’t anything he didn’t already know. His attention casually drifted to encompass the room. Most of the other students were surreptitiously eavesdropping while pretending to carve another rune set on the backside of their puck. Professor Esotericus was openly staring withovert nervousness. “I don’t think I can use the focusing lens professor,” Jack informed the nervous man loudly. “Can you show me the old-fashioned method of enchanting that you mentioned earlier?”

The anxious man flushed in embarrassment before approaching. “I can certainly show you, but why can’t you use the tools provided. They have all been safety rated this year-” He finally caught sight of the table Jack had been working at. His eyes flashed between the tools and Virtus. A trace of avarice had crept into his features. “These tools are some of the best in the entire Empire. I fail to see the problem.”

Jack shrugged. “I don’t want Virtus’ fancy toys to explode in my hands… They look expensive.”

“EXPLODE! Why would they explode?” Esotericus began to back away from the perceived hazard

Jack waved off his concern. “Calm down professor. This is simply a side effect of my condition. I am incompatible with all mana machines and most active runic enchantments. That is why I need to learn how to enchant manually. Otherwise, most magic items will simply be out of my reach.” He held up his hands to demonstrate his helplessness.

Seconds passed as he digested this news. Eventually, he looked back at Jack and nodded before directing him to gather his puck and crystals. “Focus on the mana in the crystals. Once you can feel inside the crystals you need to imagine a connection between them and the runes on the puck. It doesn’t matter what kind of connection, so long as it can be used to transfer something.” He waited for Jack to nod before continuing.

“Now imagine the mana inside, going into the runes at a steady rate. It is very important to only transfer the power evenly. Some choose to imagine the mana going from solid to liquid going down a straw, others see it as light. Again, use whatever mental image feels most comfortable.”

Jack had chosen the simple approach of invoking the Fire inside the crystal and seized control over it. After that, it was a simple matter to move it into the runes on the puck. Why doesn’t everyone do it this way? Seems simple enough to use.

That is because of your nature apprentice. The Magi are unable to master any mana that is not inside of their bonded sigils.

The voice of his master vibrated out of the place where his enhanced awareness had retreated to. Master, how are you speaking to me?

You opened the door to your Soulscape. Such actions are both permanent and cause for much change. One example is that I can now stretch my awareness to reach you, dear. Now, I believe you still have four more crystals to infuse, carry on.