A month later Ranvir found himself running onto the lawns surrounding Elpir’s orphanage, where Kasos waited for him. Ranvir nodded a greeting as he took in deep breaths to recover from the exertion. Before his injury, this kind of exercise would’ve hardly winded him, but he wouldn’t have been able to run like this at the beginning of the academy either.

In the day to day, Ranvir felt like he was recovering at a snail’s pace, but in moments like these he remembered that three months ago he couldn’t have left the bed under his own strength. His Fundament was growing sturdier and stronger by the day. Both he and Kasos agreed he could soon recreate his tether-space.

Which would come with new challenges, as that would also open up Amanaris for element and picking his first Abilities and stats. As such, he’d prepared a few questions for just such a moment.

“You’ve recovered much, just in the time since I left,” Kasos said. He’d gone on a brief stint to Legea due to some business back in Cleseira where he was currently employed. Something about a student and private lessons.

Ranvir nodded his thanks, still catching his breath as he wiped brow and neck with the towel the old teacher handed to him. “I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Ranvir broached the subject as he straightened, forcing himself to inhale deeply. “Regarding Amanaris and stat selection. I’ve read a few books on the subject, but I’m honestly not sure what or how to choose, and I was hoping you could help me out.”

Kasos nodded, “Certainly, I’ve done so before. But I’m not a specialist, Ranvir. This isn’t exactly my field of study, though I have a fair few friends within the business, as well as my own experience.”

Ranvir nodded. “I get that. I’m definitely going the mana route and picking up a Source stat.”

“And you’re thinking of picking Draw, right? It’s the most similar to your tether system, is it not?”

Ranvir nodded.

“You’ve been talking a lot about Synergy. Can I assume one of your goals in training Amanaris is to attain Full Synergy through three Abilities?”

“Yes.”

Kasos pursed his lips, “Then Produce or Harvest might be better Sources for you.”

“Yeah, I’ve read that, but they don’t explain why.”

“Many of the books available work under the assumption that you’ve already been taught the basics by your parents,” Kasos said by way of explanation. “Those come with a manapool that fills up over time rather than reaching out and directly grabbing the energy you require. This gives you more time to prepare your Ability, granting more finesse at the cost of staying power. As I’m sure you’re already aware, Draw has a very long endurance, and it only grows as you get stronger.”

“But Draw is harder to control,” Ranvir furrowed his brow as he thought, “Due to it being a constant flow?”

Kasos nodded, “Most braced who pick Draw do so to help refill their manapools or because they want the constant power, they also supplement it with the Mana: Control stat to assist them with their Abilities.”

Ranvir nodded, furrowing his brow further. “I’ve read about that, a 3:1 ratio, right?”

“Sometimes,” Kasos affirmed.

The recovering father brooded for a while as he fully regained his breath and thought over the options. “And there isn’t some secret cabal out there hoarding a secret fourth Source stat?”

Kasos shook his head. “Not to my expansive knowledge.”

“But Producers and Harvesters don’t pick up Mana: Control, so it’s not actually required.”

“You think you can manage your Draw without?”

“I’m considering it. I don’t like the idea of someone surprising me at the end of training and leaving me defenseless against them. Or fighting for too long and running out. How long does it take them to recover, usually?”

“Depends… If the environment is right shorter, but that can also sway in the opposite direction. A Kistios can restore their pool three or four times a day, with the frequency decreasing as they grow stronger.”

Ranvir brooded for a while longer. “I assume they have a companion stat like Mana: Control?”

“Mana: Harvest Reach and Mana: Produce Excess, both increase the amount of mana you can recover at a time, as well as Mana: Conversion.”

Ranvir had tried to read up on all the stats Amanaris offered to its braced, but it had simply been too many, with too similar words. Most of it just blended into the mess.

Ranvir flicked the symbols on his bracelet as he thought out loud, “All of them make compromises to enhance their desired effect. Draw loses immediate power and control for extended endurance. Produce and Harvest sacrifice longevity for bigger punches. But the Draw to Control ratio, three-to-one,” he flicked his symbols more rapidly, causing them to hit each other and clink together. “If I have thirty points in Draw, that would require ten in Control, but if I have three-hundred in Draw I would need one-hundred Control,” he looked to Kasos, “In one scenario, the Control closes a twenty point gap, in the other a two-hundred point, how?”

The old man hesitated and scratched at his forehead. “Uh,” then he seemed to reconsider and shrugged. “That’s a question for the experts, but the most logical answer is that a more skilled braced can use more Draw with less Control. You’re really considering not picking up any Mana: Control, aren’t you?”

Ranvir narrowed his eyes. “It depends. I feel a caveat coming to the stat composition.”

“Defense is the most important stat and I would definitely recommend picking up at least one point in one of the defensive Physique stats.”

“Toughness, Endurance, Recovery, and Speed,” Ranvir recalled.

“Not Speed. You would need to invest too many points,” Kasos quickly said. “Recovery is a trap as well, especially if you’re not a front-line fighter. Physique: Endurance and Physique: Toughness are the ones you’ll want. Makes you able to either take harder hits or take more hits.”

“And you recommend a 3:1:1 ratio?”

Kasos rubbed his chin. “Personally, I’d recommend a two points in Draw, two in defense, and one in Control.”

Ranvir shook his head and continued pacing as he rubbed the towel over his face. He was not sacrificing that much power. He’d need every bit he could scrape together, as fast as he could. If he was g— When he was going back to Vednar, he would not let Saleema throw him around again. He was done being tossed around like some dog’s favored toy.

Frija deserved a better childhood and to know her grandparents and all his friends. So did he, for that matter. They both deserved so much more. He needed the power, and he suspected that his experience with his tether gave him an edge when it came to Draw. If he could lever that properly, who knows how quickly he could grow with Amanaris to supplement his power set?

“I’m going to try,” Ranvir said. “I’ll give it a fair squeeze. It is possible. It has to be.”

“What about your defensive stat?” Kasos asked.

Ranvir grinned. “I think I might have a plan for that as well. It depends on how it goes tomorrow, I think.”

“So you’re set on reawakening your old powers tomorrow?”

“I am.”

“Have you given any thought to the construction of the space? I am to understand that this tether-system doesn’t lend help too much with that sort of stuff.”

Ranvir snorted a laugh. “What do you think?” Kasos nodded in at the rebuttal. They both knew the young man had spent a frankly unproductive amount of time going over the space he would create. Way too much, considering he likely lacked the skills to make anything complicated.

But Ranvir’d spent the time, anyway. And he’d enjoyed it, too. He wouldn’t let this one rip apart like the last one, though Kasos thought that might not happen. The presence of two functioning powers within him might strain Ranvir’s soul, eventually. If each of them kept growing as he became stronger, his spirit would fill up.

Though that idea didn’t seem to disturb Kasos as much as it did Ranvir. Perhaps it was just so far off that the braced didn’t consider it to be an issue.

“There she comes,” Kasos said, interrupting Ranvir’s thought process. Following his gnarled finger, Ranvir looked down the driveway to find Ione walked at her own pace towards the orphanage. The grandmother had one of the most annoying walks Ranvir’d ever discovered.

She somehow managed just enough speed that overtaking her was a longer process, unless she’d stop to smell or look at something, but she also walked slowly enough that jogging was a step too fast. Like a slippery egg, you had to take care around it, but it was damn annoying, often slipping between your fingers but never fully getting away.

“I’m off then,” Ranvir said, tapping his jaw in the Korfyi style.

Kasos smiled in return. “Don’t let her talk you into too much.”

“She’s taking me to look at an old woodcutter’s shack,” Ranvir replied, “I’m not buying a house, or even ground,” he just needed a place that he could afford on a worker’s wage, once he started earning that, as well as with enough space to take care of Frija for a few months more, though Ranvir hoped it wouldn’t be a full year as he ran to meet the old woman.