The next morning, she went downstairs and left before breakfast. She decided that she needed a cupcake first thing. The bakers got up early, and they would always make her one when she asked. It was early enough that the streets were mostly empty. The sun had just risen over the water by the time she reached the baker’s house and got a wonderful cupcake with the berry frosting she loved.

It didn’t make it all the way back to the inn, but after all the ale the night before, the treat was just what she needed to get that bitter taste out of her mouth. She spent that day doing chores around the Inn and chatting with Beth who had missed all the excitement the day before. It was quiet at the inn for the next few days. Beth was still working on something with Elizabeth and didn’t have time to explore.

Anna didn’t bother going out without her. It just wasn’t the same without the girl. She was sitting in the common room not doing much of anything because she had finished with the chores early. When a strange figure came into the Inn, it was still fairly early, so she was surprised to see anyone. This person was tall and lean and walked with a light step. She couldn’t make out any features. Whoever it was, they walked right up to the bar, asked if there were four rooms available, and then pulled out a gold coin and tossed it on the bar.

Anna and Ted looked at the coin for a moment, then Ted scooped it up and put it in a box under the counter. “Yes sir. We have four rooms available. How long will you need them for?” Ted asked. “A few weeks at most. We are investigating some ruins to the west,” the man said. Ted seemed shocked at first. Then he calmed down. “Adventures?” he asked. “Yes,” the man replied. He pulled his hood down and Anna saw his face. It was lean with delicate features, and his ears were even longer than Soulstram’s. He seemed to notice her staring and turned to glare, but when he saw her face, he seemed shocked.

He looked away quickly and whispered something to Ted. Ted looked in her direction and shrugged. The man pulled his hood back and left. “Anna, go get the rooms ready,” he said. She grabbed the cleaning supplies from the storeroom and went upstairs to work. She was excited about the man with the pointed ears, but he didn’t come back during the day. She started her shift that evening. It was a busy night at the Inn, and she was doing well for tips.

She heard that another ship had pulled in. “Must be where that man came from,” she thought. After she had rescued the men on the docks, the dockworkers seemed to keep the sailors from getting handsy, and they tipped better as well. “I can buy so many candies,” she thought looking at the mug Ted kept for her. A few hours later, the man and three others came into the inn and took a seat at the table near the fireplace. Along with the tall man, there was a short wide man with a beard so long that he had tucked it into his belt.

There were also two women as well. One of them was tall, almost as tall as most of the men in the village, but not as tall as the tall man. She had pointed ears as well. The other woman was about average height for a woman, which meant a few inches taller than Anna, and she was completely bald. Anna had never seen a bald woman before. It was quite the sight. She was also the darkest person that she had ever seen.

They waved her over and she filled a tray with mugs and some bowls of the stew to bring them. When she got to the table, she noticed that the tall woman had sparks around a stone that was embedded on a thick leather glove on her left hand. She started to pass out the mugs and bowls. When she got near the stone, it lit up glowing brightly. Everyone at the table stopped and looked at her. They took her arm and pulled her into a seat at the table. “Who are you?” the tall woman asked “Anna.” she replied. The woman began to say something else when the bald woman interrupted.

“Do you come from a mage bloodline?” she asked. “I don’t know what a mage is,” Anna replied. “How old are you lass?” the short man asked. “Eighteen, I think. I don’t know my birthday,” She replied. She wasn’t that old, but it felt right after looking through the memories. “Eighteen with so much power. Goddess, how did no one ever notice?” the bald woman asked. Anna shrugged. “I saw the gem and it was surrounded by sparks. What are the sparks, and why did it glow?” Anna asked

“Sparks! You have mage sight?” the tall woman exclaimed. “Soulstram said something about that, but he ran away before he could explain,” Anna replied. “Who in the abyss is Soulstram?” asked the tale man. “He was a bard. He tried to charm me, but it didn’t work. He ran away, but I found him trying to charm another woman. He ran away again. He had pointy ears like you two do,” she said excitedly.

The tall man and woman turned red when the bald women gestured for them to be calm. “Anna, these two are Elves. It’s very rude to call an elf pointy ear,” she said. “Oh, I’m sorry. What is an elf anyway? I’ve never heard of them,” Anna replied. She looked through the memories again quickly, and none of them had elves in them.

The tall man and woman looked thoroughly scandalized by this turn in the conversation. The bald woman had a thoughtful look, and the short man was laughing so hard it looked like he may pass out at any moment. “Let's see, I’ve heard of trolls. They are big, hairy, and strong, and they eat people sometimes. I’ve also heard of Dwarves. They are short and hairy and strong, and they like to drink too much and swear a lot,” Anna said. The short man fell off his chair laughing, and when he caught his breath, he stood up. “Lass, that’s the best description of my people I’ve ever heard. I owe you a drink for that,” he said.

“Oh, you’re a dwarf. Do you have any dwarven black ale? It’s my favorite, but there isn’t any left in town,” she said. All four adventurers stared at her. The dwarf grabbed a mug, downed the contents, and then pulled a flask from his belt. He opened the flask and began to pour the contents into the mug. The flask sparkled strangely. It never seemed to run out. The mug was full to the rim, and he slid it over to her. “Here you go lass. Drink up. That’s the finest black ale you'll ever drink,” he said. She took the mug before anyone could say anything and downed the whole thing in a single pull. Slamming the mug down, the table shook, and she let out a belch that echoed throughout the room.

Men around the inn cheered. “Lass, are you sure you’re not half dwarf?” he asked. “Not with hair like that,”tThe elf man said. “Or with a rack that big,” the elf women said. They all looked down at her chest. Anna sighed. “I get that a lot,” she said. “I’d like to test something, if you’re willing,” the elf woman asked pulling a small clear bead from her bag. “Yes. What’s that?” Anna asked, answering the question and pointing at the bead. “It checks for the amount of mana a person has. It will show how much you have and what color it is, not that the color matters that much,” she said, holding the bead out. Anna took the bead. “Put it in your palm and just look at it. It will do the rest,” she said.

Anna put the bead in her palm, and when she did, it began to shine a bright purple. It got brighter and brighter before it popped and made a sizzling sound. She dropped it immediately and looked up. All four adventures were staring at her with their mouths hanging open. “I guess it’s not supposed to do that,” she said. “No, no it isn’t,” the elf woman said. “We have a lot to talk about,” the elf man said standing up.

The elf man walked over to Ted. They spoke for a moment before the elf man handed him a few coins. Ted nodded at him, and he walked back to the table. “You don’t have to worry about working for the rest of the night. I covered it. Let's head upstairs,” he said. The adventures grabbed their drinks and downed them, except for the elf woman. The dwarf drank her mug. They grabbed the bowls of stew and headed upstairs. Anna followed them.

They gathered in the elf woman’s room. She was a mage it turned out, so she had all kinds of sparkly things to show Anna. She had a pouch filled with gems. They all sparkled except for one round one. It didn't sparkle. It glowed with a soft green light. They all took seats in the room. The three women on the bed, the dwarf sat at the writing table, and the elf man leaned against the door. “I’m Voekeer. That’s Lyreen, Barika, and that hairy bastard is Thokri,” Voekeer said. Lyreen was the elf woman, Barika the bald woman, and the dwarf Thokri. “He is really hairy,” Anna thought. “Anna, you have the most raw mana I’ve ever seen,” Lyreen said. “I’ve never seen anyone break one of those. Even the archmage at the guild doesn’t have that much mana,” she continued.

She sighed and took a breath. “Anna, would you like to learn magic?” She asked. “Oh yes. Yes, yes, yes,” Anna replied excitedly. She seemed more like a child than a grown woman at that moment, and the adventures could only smile while watching her. “This is a spell focus,” Lyreen said, pulling a small gem out of her bag. “This is a good starter one. You won’t be able to cast complex spells or use all that much power, but it’s forgiving and won’t fizzle out if you lose concentration. I keep a few of these around to practice with, so you can keep this one,” she said handing Anna the crystal.

Anna took the gem and it began to glow. “Alright the first thing you need to know is how to feel your own mana, by the way can you see your own mana?” she asked “No the first time I saw anything was when I met Soulstram, he was the only person I’ve ever seen use magic, except for you that is.” She replied. The Lyreen collected her thoughts for a moment, while Anna stared at the gem in her hand.

“Now close your eyes. Inside your chest, near your heart, you should feel a warm spot that tingles when you pay attention to it. That’s your mana core. It’s where all your mana comes from. Once you get a feel for it, you will notice that there are pathways that lead all around your body both to and from the core. These are called mana channels. They carry the mana all around your body and release it into the air. Some of them even draw mana into your core from your surroundings. What I want you to try is to pull the mana from the pathways leading out into your core and stop the mana from the pathways leading in. This will stabilize the mana you have in your body, and it’s the first step in casting spells. We call this technique mana control,” Lyreen said.

Anna closed her eyes and started to feel inside her chest. She felt the core. It was hot and pulsing, not warm and tingly. It felt like a fire that had oil dripping on it, just waiting to explode. That wasn’t all she felt. There was something else in her chest on the opposite side, black and cold like the night sky. When she focused on it, she felt like she was in one of her dreams again. Pulling herself away from the black core, she focused on her mana core again. She could feel the channels pulsing all over her body. All of them seemed to exit or circulate in her. It seemed like she didn’t have any that drew mana in.

Putting aside that revelation for the moment, she started to draw the power into her core. She could feel the channels emptying, and her core got hotter and hotter. “Open your eyes, Anna,” Lyreen said. Anna opened her eyes and looked at the woman next to her. “Now look at your focus,” Lyreen said, pointing at Anna’s hand. Anna looked down at the crystal. The light had almost gone out completely. “I did it!” she shouted excitedly. Just then, the crystal started glowing brightly again, and Anna’s face fell. “Oh no,” she said. Barika patted her leg. “It’s alright child. Just keep practicing,” she said.

“She’s right. Now, we will be gone for a week or two at the most exploring those ruins.While we are gone, I want you to practice this every day until you can keep the crystal unlit while looking at it. Once you do that, I will teach you the next step,” Lyreen said. Anna nodded. “Okay, then go practice in your room. We need to get ready for our expedition tomorrow." Anna got up and left the room. She immediately when to her own room and locked the door behind her.

She put the crystal on the other side of the room to make sure it was safe and then closed her eyes. Instead of focusing on her mana core, she focused on the black core. Instead of having channels, this core seemed to pull her in the more she focused on it. She went deep into the core, and it reminded her of her dreams. After spending some time there, she decided not to use it until she had a better understanding of magic. She didn’t want to break something again. She laid in the bed and fell asleep quickly. That night, in the dreams, the eyes seemed more numerous than any dream she had before.