Christopher stood next to Atyat, excited to start his study of Soul Current. The Sun had evaporated the puddles from the previous day and the metal partitions that stood all over the training yard gleamed under the light.

Christopher was curious for the teacher’s demonstration, what did a fully mastered Soul Current look like? Would Soul Current really be suitable for use in a direct fight? Christopher would gladly increase the tools that he had at his disposal regardless.

Atyat started lecturing. “Let me first elaborate on Soul Current before we start practicing the Art. Many are surprised that Soul Current is one of the more calamitous Soul Arts, this is due to the danger it poses when not used in moderation. It is a Soul Art that sometimes needs to be regulated in its use in order to not negatively impact a region's livability. Soul Current allows you to extract and control water from the air and also from objects by properly channeling the Art.”

“Why is that considered calamitous?”

“Venaria is a kingdom with plenty of water and greenery making the use of Soul Current less needed in daily life. This also means that people here consider it a lower priority to learn the effect, which is not quite the case for all Kingdoms on this continent and beyond.”

Atyat seemed to consider how to continue before speaking again.

“In the distant Kingdom of Holo, the Soul Current Art has made the already sparse kingdom into a lifeless desert. The thirsting people extracted water from any source they could find, slowly killing the vegetation and leaving only dry dirt and sand in its wake. The government tried to crack down on Soul Current use, but that was only moderately effective with a parched population.

Soul Current is far from the only cause, but now the Blight rules in the Kingdom of Holo, only a few safe havens remaining. There are even some people that claim that the blessing bestowed upon us by Avalla is more of a curse, which I would say is preposterous since it is only our own folly that led to any negative effects. Our goddess gives us the tools and it is for us to use them responsibly.”Atyat gave him some time to consider.

It seemed as if Soul Current had caused something like desertification on certain parts of this world. The destruction of greenery on Earth had caused the same issue on Earth numerous times. Christopher thought it interesting that one of the magic tools of creation had been abused to cause such detrimental effects in the past, he had not even known that was possible.

It certainly made him consider the Soul Arts in a new light, and how they connected to the world at large. After all that he had seen and experienced so far, he would not have been surprised if the water was just summoned from some different reality. He might need to think about what that meant for some of the other Soul Arts. He already knew how Soul Heat and Frost functioned; those were relatively easy to understand. But how did this work with some of the other Soul Arts. Christopher would need to ponder on this to improve his mental constructs.

Atyat continued with the lecture. “Research has shown that the effectiveness with which Soul Current extracts the water from the air can vary wildly with the climate of the region. It was quickly discovered that extracting water is more difficult with lower temperatures while much easier with warmer weather. The current warming season is well suited for channeling Soul Current. The effectiveness, therefore, varies all over the world. Still, that rule does not hold everywhere showing that our understanding is limited.”

It all added up with how he understood the science behind weather from back home. Warm humid air collected more water from the environment. And the air in the desert had simply almost no water to collect, despite the heat. And Christopher was once again reminded that this world was really big. What he did here in Lumen was only a small part of a much larger whole. He wondered what kind of challenges other summoned faced in different parts of the world.

“Why don’t you give Soul Current a try, we can work onwards from there.”

Atyat threw him a metal rod before sitting down on a large stone at the edge of the training field, looking on with a tranquil expression.

Christopher looked at the rod, which was just a simple cylindrical hunk of what appeared to be iron. He thought about what he was trying to do, thinking of a way to convert his scientific knowledge into a good mental image for Soul Current.

Christopher knew that warm air was capable of holding more water, and it therefore absorbed moisture as a result. Cold air instead forced water out resulting in condensation. He would imagine the metal rod as the central point, it drawing in the moisture from the air. He would imagine it building up to a high pressure before sending it out with as much force as he was able to.

Feeling good about that mental image, he decided to give it a go. Christopher’s Soul Force reserves had taken a hit after the demonstrations, but it should do for at least an attempt.

His training with [Soul Sense] to improve his Soul Force control should help him with preventing leakage. For the mental construct, he pictured the surrounding H2O particles racing towards the metal rod, before shooting out in the direction in which he pointed the rod, which was at a metal partition. He applied his full concentration to the process.

It happened almost instantly. A thin arch of water blasted out of the rod, showing a decent amount of propulsion. It travelled halfway to the partition about ten meters ahead, before arching down, splashing onto the ground. The stream kept going while his Soul Force reserve steadily declined. ‘Not bad at all for a first attempt’ Christopher beamed. He did not see how this would hurt a creature of the Blight, but maybe the water was damaging to them somehow. He looked at Atyat, curious how he had done. She stood with a contemplative expression.

“Not that bad I suppose. Let me show you what it can do at mastery.” She held out her hand, and Christopher quickly gave back the iron rod.

Atyat walked her way to a large boulder some distance from her home. She stopped about ten meters in front of the stone. The boulder was the color of charcoal and sat heavy on the earth.

“I will use my Soul Current on this boulder, be sure to pay close attention.”

Christopher looked on as the muscular and stocky Atyat gripped the rod with her left hand, pointing it at the boulder. After only a second, a thin and insanely powerful jet of water raced towards the charcoal-colored boulder, clearly hitting with tremendous power. Cristopher could not help but gape at the insane power behind the beam of water. The water sprayed to the sides in all directions. Atyat only kept it up for only two seconds before she ended her Soul Current.

The effect on the boulder was clear, there was a visible denture on the surface of the boulder, polished out by the jet of water in only that short time. Now that was a weapon alright! Christopher could only imagine the effect when pointed at the creatures of the Blight, and it was all done with only the use of a basic Soul Art. He smiled at his teacher.

“That was amazing, this is exactly what I need. Can I learn how to do this as well?”

Atyat faced him. “I don’t know”

Christopher’s smile turned into a pained smirk”

“You need to complete three straight-forward, but difficult steps. It will probably take a lot of time and dedication to learn this, it honestly took me many years. Not many people care to take Soul Current to this level, preferring to spent their time on more advanced techniques. Your fist attempt was not that bad though. It will be up to you.”

“Sound good to me, please teach me.”

Atyat nodded. “Let's do it then, might as well get started with the first step.”

Christopher was all ears. Atyat carefully explained the first technique that he needed to perfect.

“The first step is all about creating volume. You will have to keep up a continuous stream of water with considerable volume for some time. I will demonstrate what I expect you to achieve before you can move to the second step.”

She first led him to a stone basin with a drainage system where he would be able to practice without turning her home in a muddy wasteland.

This second demonstration was nothing like the thin beam of cutting water. Atyat send down a small waterfall from the rod that seemed unending. It cascaded down for a good minute before Atyat stopped.

“This is what you have to achieve before you can move on to the second step.”

That was easier said than done. His paltry stream that he had held for only ten seconds seemed pitiful now. Christopher was a little dejected, but figured that he would surely make strides eventually. It was good practice for mastering Soul Current, whether he succeeded or not.

Christopher made a second attempt and was surprised when a notification alerted him to another point of progress.

[Congratulations, you have increased your Soul Force attribute by one point.]

He would gladly take the increase. He checked over his attributes, having gained several points over the last week.

Vitality 18 (+2) Endurance 18 (+1) Strength 16 (+1) Agility 19 (+1) Soul force 16 (+2)

The overall numbers were not that impressive to him, but the numbers still added up. The occasional increase was also a great motivator to keep up his hard work.

They decided to finish the lesson there, Christopher being completely out of Soul Force. He would clearly need some practice to get this first step right, but he had some time now that he had succeeded with his Soul Light. He thanked Atyat for her lesson, promising to return for the next class. Christopher left with a satisfied smile.

He had been quite impressed with his new teacher. She seemed well versed in all of the basic Soul Effects and had quickly signaled out the issues with both his Soul Light and Soul Current. She even seemed well versed on the theory behind both basic and advanced techniques. It was quite clear that she was very skilled. It was a bit early to tell, but Christopher felt as if he had succeeded with his search for a personal tutor.

He was definitely coming back for the second lesson.