“We are going to resume from last week. I hope you have all been practicing The Fisherman’s Song.” Finn looked bored at Eleanor’s instructions. She glanced in his direction, raising her eyebrow a fraction.

“For those who are more advanced or familiar, we will also go over Hymn of Healing today. But first, let us refresh The Fisherman’s Song.”

And with that, Eleanor whistled The Fisherman’s Song, while using it to pick up chalk and writing it out on the chalkboard.

Theo had activated Tome of Memories after he’d sat down, and was eagerly waiting to inscribe at least one song into his memory.

He found that he could review what he heard, as well as what was written on the board (even if he didn’t exactly know what any of that meant just yet – he could reverse-engineer it any time he wanted now). As he was internally celebrating, Eleanor continued.

“Now, knowing the song and imbuing it with mana and properly using it are different, so we will cover that again…”

---

Theo whistled the tune over and over. He wasn’t always right, but having that memory as a guide helped him to stick close to it.

Eleanor walked over. “I see you have been practicing indeed, Theo. You’re pretty close. Would you like to try with mana this time?”

Theo nodded, concentrating, letting mana fill his chest and mouth.

The fisherman’s song came out, but not The Fisherman’s Song.

He tried again, licking his lips, trying not to think about the fact Eleanor (and potentially the whole class) was watching him try.

This time, the mana budged (begrudgingly), but it did move (even if it was like molasses).

Theo focused on the pencil in front of him, and almost lost focus as it started to hover, if a bit tentatively. There was time to celebrate later (once he actually got it down). Then it started to fly, zipping around Theo as he made it spin around him. A grin crept on his face (that he wouldn’t have noticed in the moment, but Eleanor certainly did).

Halfway through The Fisherman’s Song, his brain started to wander. He knew it well enough that he didn’t have to focus entirely on getting the music right, and so thoughts about how this felt, how he was doing, lunch and everything else entered his head.

Once lunch was on his mind, the pencil faltered, flight path growing unsteady.

A second later, it fell to the table with a clatter, and a friend Theo hadn’t seen for a while punched the inside of his throat.

Backlash.

His head kicked back, propelled by the force of the explosion. Eleanor jumped back, reacting almost instantly and singing as a shield bubbled up around him. Theo’s eyes watered, as his throat ripped itself apart. Apparently all the infusions into Endless Song hadn’t made him invincible yet.

As his head continued its arc backwards, blood spraying from his lips, he detached from the current situation. All Theo could think about was what had gone wrong with The Fisherman’s Song?

That time he’d been performing it pretty well. And it was still weaker than when everyone else in the class had whistled it. All in all, more distracting thoughts that raced through his head as he tumbled slightly.

The bubble opened up as Eleanor rushed to check his state. Theo almost activated Rest, before stopping. Not out of any concern for revealing how fast he learned, but instead because he was sure that it would be slightly suspicious and there was a chance that Drew would recognise it.

(In other words, he didn’t want to explain how he learned a second-tier internal magic that his friend was very proud of managing after years of effort…in the span of a week or two.)

Eleanor carefully pried his mouth open with her fingers, quietly humming something and causing a light to appear near his face.

Theo tried to not flinch at the light very close to his Owl’s Eyes-enhanced vision, closing them tightly shut. His vision was still dyed pink.

He felt her fingers leave his mouth, and the pink became black once again.

Opening his eyes, he saw Eleanor, and the rest of his class, all looking at him, some with concern on their faces, others half-expecting it (which, given this was the second time this had happened to him specifically in the past few weeks, was fair enough).

Eleanor clapped her hands twice. “This is a perfect time to demonstrate the Hymn of Healing and its effects.” As she prepared to sing, Theo carefully circulated compressed mana past the injuries, and activated the third tier of Tome of Memories.

He wasn’t badly injured in the first place (Theo sent off a quiet prayer to both Gilth and internal magic), but as Eleanor’s song (and magic) washed over him, he felt like he’d just woken up from a very restful sleep.

Some (including Rowena, Drew, and Finn) still had worried looks on their faces, so Theo quickly gave them a thumbs up and a slightly-weak-but-still-strong-enough smile (like a cup of tea that was almost steeped for long enough).

Eleanor looked at him carefully, clicking her tongue as she examined him. Satisfied with what she apparently found, she nodded. “As you can see, Theo has recovered entirely. Hymn of Healing is a potent song for any bard to know, but it is still limited in its ability. If it is used to treat one more than mildly injured like Theo was, you would have to keep singing for some time to heal them properly.”

She stood up, properly addressing the class. “While it is less potent than many of the healing magic available to priests, it is still invaluable to know. This spell is partially what allows bards to go on missions by themselves, and truly fill a support role in many teams. However, as with so much action magic, there will be situations where stealth is needed and its use will need to be considered within context.” Eleanor gestured for Theo to get up and sit back down in his seat.

As he got up slowly, he played over the memory of Eleanor singing Hymn of Healing. That was two out of three songs he had to learn, but if his recent experiences were any indication then it wouldn’t matter. He sighed.

---

Theo stayed back during lunch, wanting to talk to Eleanor (and she had a good idea why).

“The Doomsday Siren, what did I do wrong?” She closed her eyes, nodding, lips drawn thin.

“You now know the actual tune, but as I said, there is a difference between knowing the tune and imbuing it with mana and using it properly.” Eleanor sighed, looking up at the ceiling, facing away from him. Theo shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

“Do you know what unifies all forms of magic? Beyond mana, it is intention. Focus magic requires the intention of a language, offer magic requires the intention to be sent to the gods, internal magic requires an intention of what the mana is supposed to do, and action magic is rather self-explanatory.” Eleanor lectured, in hushed tones (as if she was sharing a secret. Which, she might have been). She massaged her temples.

“The difference lies not only in the form of intention, but how it is used. Focus sets the intention before the magic is cast, offer sets the intention upon offering, internal layers the intention gradually over time, and action maintains the intention throughout the casting. Which I believe is the problem you’re having.” She turned back to face him.

“You have trouble focusing on keeping the same intention. Which is probably why you like improvisation – it keeps that intention fluid. I agree with Sparrow in that I think this is an opportunity to advance magic, and you should use your advantage, even if it means you cast weaker magic than most. But,” she emphasised that word, before pausing, thinking how to best phrase this.

“But, I still want you to do your best to learn the three basic songs at least. I promise, they will be useful, even if they take you the entire year to learn how to do consistently. You are smarter than you give yourself credit for, and you work hard. Keep it up.” And with a smile that was very much out of place on Eleanor’s face, she dismissed him.

---

The rest of week flew by, and before he knew it, it was Chenday. He’d spent a few days mulling over Alan’s words, and Eleanor’s, and found himself sitting up a little straighter. He looked down in his Motion class, and found his tall frame to be a lot less gangly than it once was. Beyond muscle, the way he held himself had changed. No longer was he hunched and trying to fill as little space as possible.

It felt good.

“I’m going to take on the responsibility. I-I’ll help change the world.” Theo said to Sparrow. It was just the two of them, and neither of them was breathing hard after an admittedly intense session on footwork.

Sparrow smiled, clapped him on his (sweaty) shoulder, as they headed towards the door. “Great! Well, come tomorrow, we’ll see how the coins react when they’re recharged.”

They paused before they exited, turning to address Theo. “You’re gonna do great. I know you will.”

Theo nodded, looking forward to exploring The Woods, and discovering more about the Coins of Unity, Union City, and its founders.