/ GREAT PLAINS OF FAEILAN /

Afternoons in the plains are wonderful with its beautiful sunsets, herds of gazelles,zebras and even water buffaloes running in the vast plains. Overlooking this in a small hill, Alke yawned as he rests from running with his newborn sister Vinna.

" Brother, let's run again!!" The energetic cub roared cutely encouraging her brother who only liked to nap during a sunny day.

In Alke's defense, his growth spurts made him always sleepy and he can only learn how to hunt when his growth stabled according to his father.

" I already ran with you Vinna, let your brother sleep."

" No! You only ran with Vinna for short time! Besides Vinna is still not sleepy, Mama always force Vinna to sleep even though Vinna is not sleepy!"

' Vinna always refer to herself as 'Vinna', she won't even use 'i' or 'me'. Don't tell me she is supposed to be this lovable little sister with cute quirks in some animated series popular on eastern countries.'

As the two cubs continue to banter against eachother, Maja ordered them to help in the preparation for their temporary camp.

" Come here Alke and bring your sister. As a growing lioness, she should learn to be a respectable and capable mate for her future husband." Maja said strictly.

" No! Vinna wants to be the fastest runner ever!" No matter how childish Vinna's dream are, having this dreams is amazing knowing she only opened her eyes four days ago.

" No Vinna, i never said to give up your dreams. I want you to be an independent lady who can take care of your future pride as this is a role you need to prepare for." Maja said wisely, it baffled Alke to know that a lion from another world is more open minded than a civilized parent back on earth.

" I am shaman renowned for my magic spells and i can confidently say that i'm also a good mate who can provide and serve the pride greatly."

Vinna listened to his mother, can she really be as good as her mother? " Can i really be good like you mama?"

" Of course my baby girl, you just need to have the dedication to work hard." Vinna listened with glittering eyes but the moment she heard 'hard work', her enthusiasm dwindled.

" I don't like hard work mama, i just want to run and be fast like go zoom and swish like really fast!" Vinna said childishly while she run around her brother.

" Mama, go easy with Vinna. She just opened her eyes for days, no need to be hasty." Alke said as she hold Vinna by the scruff.

" Yes son, i just forgot with how fast you all grow. You especially is quite matured even though you're a week old." Maja said as she look at Alke with pride and a bit of confusion.

Alke sweats internally as his maturity is outright ridiculous for a newborn. As he tried to give an explanation to his wisdom, Maja blurted her thoughts.

" But still you call me 'mama' even though you think maturely, i guess you still need your mama to tuck you in bed. Fufu." Alke blushed as his mother bluntly declared him as a mama's boy.

As he thought of what his mother said, he naturally calls Maja as his 'mama' without noticing it. Back at earth, he called his mother formally.

He must be influenced by this cubs body without him noticing this, he can also recall his father killing an aggressive herd of zebra. As he watch his father kill a defenseless zebra, he didn't have any qualms about the killings his parents did.

' Maybe this is a good thing, i'm no longer an office worker but a cub in this dangerous plains.' He solemnly accepted this change even if this means he needs to forget his past life. Change is bound to happen and he must be prepared for this, he must adopt to this world if he wish to survive.

" Alke meet me later as i will teach you about mana cores, it is time for you to know the dangers of mana." His deep thoughts are interrupted by his father, his mood lightened abruptly as he is excited about the prospect of learning mana.

" Vinna wants to learn mana too! You use that to run faster, right father?" Vinna excitedly squel.

" No Vinna, it's not the right time for you to learn mana. Once you grow old, your brother will teach you and your siblings what he learned from me." Vinna pouted but didn't push the matter, she just laid besides her mother and drinks her mother's breast milk.

" Yes father, i am excited to learn mana!" Alke said. Luka smiled as he heard the enthusiasm in his voice to learn mana, he might just become the youngest warrior of the plains.

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That night, Alke followed his father in a stone platform where they can see the moon in its full glory. They laid as his father introduced mana for the first time in his lion life.

" Mana as we call it is the soul of this very planet, we borrow mana from the planet and it will collect its due when we pass and return to the plains as dirt and dust."

" Huh? So the world is a living being?"

" Yes son, but if you ask if its alive we don't know. There are so called divine will where we can hear the world's intentions like condemning certain race because of their dangerous acts or praising an individual for its great accomplishment but its been hundreds of years since the last divine will is heard. We don't know what is that last divine will or why it stopped, all we know is the worlds alive but unresponsive."

Alke listened carefully and is amazed by the secrets and power this world holds.

" About mana, mana's existence is tied to the world and vice versa. It is recorded on some books and tales that mana weakened on certain periods, mana also peaked for some periods. History shows that mana density of this world changes randomly."

" Mana is chaotic as the world is also chaotic, it embodies the world's health and its mood. Mana is everything, without mana we are nothing but simple and fragile meat bags."

" There are more regarding history of mana but we will discuss it next time, for now i will teach you about mana cores and its uses."

Straightening his back, Alke waited for his father to teach him the power of mana.

" Producing mana cores is one of the many techniques on using mana, but as a Great Lion with outstanding physique it is in our best interest to make mana cores and be physically strong as possible."

" There are also shamans and conjurers in Tituan but they are rare as only those who is really talented are nurtured. Raising a shaman or conjurer is expensive and required rare mana stones for their training." Alke crossed out the shaman and conjurer for the time being, maybe when he is in Tituan where his parents originated can he use the resources needed for training.

" Now don't be disappointed, i know you have a keen sense for mana. We can wait for the pride to be created if you want to be a shaman or conjurer, no need to rush this decision."

" As for those who posses mana cores, there are two popular ways of its uses. I, who use mana cores for muscle strengthening and those who uses mind strengthening."

" Those who favor muscle over the mind are powerful and known for the strength of their paws and bites. They soak their muscles and bones with mana to strengthen it and be resistant to mana when attacked using spells or mana techniques"

" They are warriors to the truest sense, they lead charges and block spells using their body. They slam their bodies against each other as they kill those in their path, bathing in blood whenever there's skirmishes or wars among tribes or prides. Although they tend to be emotional and quite clumsy at delicate jobs."

Muscle strengthening is a method of raising the overall health and toughness which results in powerful muscles and hardy bones. Basically, a warrior with lots of health and strength without the consideration for dexterity.

" Meanwhile mind strengthening is used by those who favor the fast and intelligent, it enhances thought process while also giving a flexible and fast body. Those who practice sophisticated claw arts are mind strengthener, they also command warbands and the likes."

" Enlarging the nerves while strengthening the tendons and ligaments are the fundamentals of mind strengthening, they posses light bodies with astounding dexterity. Even their reflexes are improved due to the enhanced though process, they cut foes and monsters while evading attacks with grace. Unfortunately, their body is susceptible to spells and mana techniques unlike the hardy warriors using muscle strengthening."

As Alke digested the knowledge, a question pops in his mind. " Why can't we both take the good traits of these two practices and create a powerful technique?"

" Maybe in the past where the lions reign over a third of this plains, those techniques require different mana cores with different process which haven't been rediscovered even now. There are ways to use mind and muscle strengthening together from other tribes, it requires double the amount of effort but it will result in an average warrior with no redeeming qualities."

Alke surmised that a half baked warrior in this plains are bound to die a horrible death, by only having enough strength can one protect themselves and their loved ones.

"Do you follow me Alke?" The cub nodded as he anticipated the next topic.

" Now let's talk about conjurers and shamans, they are rare and valuable therefore information about them is treasured. I am a Great Warrior so i can provide knowledge about them, but if you have specific questions ask your mother about it."

" Now mana conjurers or conjurers as they call it are powerful mages capable of moving hills, flinging a huge fire of ball or even calling a tornado if they want. Unlike mana core users who solidify mana, conjurers use the surrounding mana to create spells. They don't absorb mana but instead collect them in their body and release it as spells."

" One defining advantages of conjurers is the power of their spells, a conjurer's spell is much more powerful than a shaman. A conjurer can only use one element as their main element and another as sub element, they lack in versatility and needs protection from a warrior if they are countered using their opposing element."

Conjurers can be described as glass canons in Alke's past life, their fragility is amended by the power they hold which is capable enough to wipe out an entire pride with enough practice.

" A shaman on the other hands are versatile mages capable of healing wounds, controlling weather, and even beast taming on rare occasions. They also double as agents of gods, helping the tribe with matters pertaining to religions and rituals. "

" Shaman's power stems from their ability to wield all of mana types and even borrowing the power of gods if they are devoted enough. They are respected whole throughout the plains as pillars of tribes and religious leaders, what they lack in power is amended by their importance in tribes and prides."

Shaman's importance is known throughout the plains, a tribe without shaman will die and perish. That's how important their versatile powers are, they are always prioritized over conjurers and other mage types.

The cub pondered the topics and mentally prepared his questions.

" So father what's the difference between the mana core users and mages? You haven't told their advantages also."

Luka approved of this hunger for knowledge Alke is displaying, as his godfather always say to him 'Knowledge is power, those who wield great knowledge holds the greatest power'.

" Hmm,how do i start with this? Right, mages trained their bodies to be a vessel for mana and mana types so they can use mana in the air freely. The more experienced a mage is, the more numbers of spell he can cast without getting exhausted. In conclusion, they are powerful at controlling elements and is solely trained to be a walking disaster but very vulnerable to physical attacks and mana techniques."

" Mana core practitioners are more hardy and resistant to physical attacks and spells. They cut deep and run fast, they punch heavy and possesses body made of rock. They accumulate mana in their body as a way to strengthen it but limited to what their body can handle unlike the mages who can store mana in their body ten times the usual warrior can hold. They are made to be tough and strong but don't have the stamina to outlast a mage in a fight."

Alke nodded in understanding. Seeing his son understood his lectures, Luka is proud for his only week old cub to already study mana techniques.

" Now my son, what path will you choose?"