Fantasy Early Bloomer's Guide to a Healthy Mana Garden

[CeruleanStars]

Education was a luxury few in his town could afford. If you were lucky to receive an education, then it didn't take long for people to move out of the small, urban farming town where your closest neighbor was tens of acres away. Rai was just one of those few uneducated kids growing up in the area, along with his brothers, who were "homeschooled," not receiving any sort of formal education, but enough to read and write basic things, know how to tend to the crops his family grew, and create change for anyone purchasing any of their crops.

It started off small at first, none of the seeds Rai planted had yielded any food or even the smallest sprout, even during the height of the season for whichever crop chosen to be grown that time of year. Then, any plant he harvested died or rotted away within a few days or, now, even hours. After a day with his brother, going into town to sell what they had for profit, his brother had mysteriously grown ill, enough to be bedridden for a number of days. Rai wasn't sure what was happening. His family didn't know what was happening. With their cash crops thinning down to three-fourths of what they had the previous season, his family elected to keep Rai away from the farmland and perform other tasks to still help with the farm.

During an exchange with a neighbor a number of acres away, Rai's father had learned that it could be the result of magic. Magic? In this family? They hadn't known anyone who could do such a thing in any of the generations they had records of. He went about asking extended family; anything from his late wife's side of the family, anything from his own, but no one knew of any magic users or even how to use magic themselves to truly be even the smallest source of his child's magic. There were comments thrown in by those whom he asked outside of family as well; how it was odd for such a young kid to be able to use magic, especially without meaning to do so. From those same inexperienced folks asked, they advised his father to keep him isolated, not to allow him to interact with other kids, crops, anything until he was able to control his magic.

But how do you control something you have no idea how to use in the first place? Rai tried various things; wearing gloves, not thinking about it, meditating, anything and everything to try to have the smallest of semblance of control to no avail. So thus was his affliction for the rest of his childhood. Luckily for him, his spilling magic was able to shrivel leftover reeds from their crops so he was able to make baskets from them.

Once he was older and starting to accept the fact that this could very well be the rest of his life, a traveler from a far off land had mentioned something about some type of magic ceremony to Rai's father. This was it! The answer they were all looking for! In Rai's stead, his father spoke to a number of other people in his visits to towns nearby and, eventually, was able to earn enough cash to send his son to the big city. If anyone would know how to help his son, it would be the people in the city whom he heard were all incredible magic users.

It scared Rai to leave everything he's ever known to enter a world he's never even dreamed of before, especially alone. As he traveled, he made it a point to stay away from as many people as possible to cause them less harm, but it was a little hard when he had to figure out where to go, so he had no choice but to follow the crowds. As other magic users stood in the large open area of the city waiting for...something, he was sure, he could feel eyes on him from nearly everywhere. He didn't belong here and he could feel that just from the judgement of the other magic users around him.

"Hey, quit the spells," came someone from behind him as he was shoved forward. The shove nearly knocked him off his feet, but it was the second shove from someone in front of him that knocked him down to the pavement. "You're not special for seeming badass with your magic or anything," chided the same voice from before.

He looked up to see three other people, probably around his own age, encircling him. They were all much taller than him and, much like everyone else in the square, definitely came from more money than he did. Rai could feel more of his magic spilling from his hands, unable to control its cold flow cascading over the feet of others around him. What was he supposed to do in this moment? Before he could even speak up for himself, another one spoke over him.

"Did ya not hear him? He said 'quit it,' dumbass," followed by a swift kick to his side.

 

[Elffri3nd]

Dylan had a very hectic unpleasant morning. It was time for the yearly mana ceremony. His entire family was a stir of motion. His aunts and uncles were wrangling their kids getting the ones old enough for the ceremony ready. Really, it was all too much. Only the 18 year olds would be going but it was like this every year. People overthink things and stress over the smallest detail. The adults didn't have any trust in them. Hey acted like the younger generation didn't even know how to dress themselves. Dylan thanked his lucky star that his parents were out today so that he didn't have to suffer the same indecency.

Instead, he heard the footsteps of two other monsters. "Crap," he groaned. Those two were even worse. He eyed his bed. It was extremely childish what he was about to do. He dropped down and crawled under it as he heard the door knob to his room turn. He was already ready. He didn't need those two to get on his case about this or that. It wasn't some fancy party that you needed to be dressed to the nines for. All that happened at the ceremony was a bunch of older people casting a few spells to determine mana type and legacy. Some legal paperwork would be filled out and then they would be on their way.

The footsteps circled around the room. Then it sounded like they were heading to the door. He let out a breath of relief just before a hand grabbed him by the ankle and grabbed him out from beneath his bed. "There you are Dylan," Cynthia said in an overly happy voice. "What were you doing down there?" She had one eyebrow raised as she asked her question with an amused smile.

“I was hiding from you,” he said bluntly. “Now can you put me down?” Dylan could see his brother, Lindon, behind Cynthia covering his mouth with one hand trying not to laugh. To his relief Cynthia obliged Dylan and dropped him gently on his bed.

“We were just making sure you were ready.” She eyed his clothes, clicking her tongue in disapproval but not saying anything about it. “It is almost time to go. If you don't leave now, you're going to be late.” Dylan checked the clock and his eyes shot open. He didn't realize it was that time already. He might have spent a bit too long watching the chaos of his family through the window.

Lindon cast a few spells on Dylan that seemed to iron his clothes and make them more presentable. “Did you need us to come with you? We could walk you there.” Dylan gagged at that. Really, they babied him too much. It wasn't like he was about to be attacked on his way to the Town Hall.

“I'll be fine. I can walk on my own.” Dylan quickly grabbed his wallet and keys before rushing out the door, escaping the overbearing siblings. It wasn't long into his walk that he started to feel an uncomfortable sensation. “Who's letting out death mana like this?” He wondered to himself. It didn't feel directed but it could cause problems if he was exposed to it long enough. Then he saw a group of people beating up a boy curled up into a ball on the ground. “Shit.”

Dylan grabbed one of the three by the shoulder. “That's enough. Why are all of you ganging up on him?” He clutched his free hand into a fist, ready to fight if these three thugs didn't stop.

 

[CeruleanStars]

At the second kick, Rai groaned and curled into a ball, holding his abdomen. Before he could even think of moving, the third stepped on his ponytail with a sandaled foot. As Rai winced when his hair was tugged, he instinctively went to grab on his assailant's foot to stop him from pulling anymore, but that was, what he quickly learned, the wrong move.

The third person yelled out like he had stepped on coals as he pulled his foot back and away from the boy's hands. The flesh where he had grabbed him was grey and almost looked like it had melted in the few seconds of contact Rai had with it. "You fucking freak!" the guy shouted, followed by a moan of pain. The other two looked on to their friend's injury in mild horror and shock that this puny piece of shit "willingly" caused this damage to the other.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Fucking fix it!" one of them shouted as they gave Rai a swift kick in the shoulder. But Rai was looking at the injured one with the same horror the other two tried to hide in their own faces. "Hey! Did you fucking hear me? Reverse whatever the fuck you just did!"

Before another blow could come to the boy, another stranger stepped in, seeming to stop the rest of them from continuing their bullying. Rai just shrunk away from the rest of them on the ground, moving to the very edge of the makeshift ring that was created around them by the bystanders nearby. Even then though, it seemed the bystanders didn't want to be anywhere near Rai either, giving the kid a wide birth. As he scooted himself away across the ground of the plaza, any weeds that were sticking through stone or dirt on the ground withered and died by only being mere inches from his hands, but he didn't seem to notice he was doing so.

Maybe coming to the big city was a bad idea. Maybe he should've just stayed home and stayed locked away from everyone else. He didn't want to hurt anyone and, not even a day into coming here did he manage to hurt someone. This was a horrible idea. He shouldn't be here right now.

As the swirling anxiety ran through his expression, fear running across his face, the cold graces of death seemed to chill further. The ground around him started to feel like ice as the leaking magic threatened to activate a spell, like a smoker unknowingly walking into an undiscovered oil mine. It was obvious though that this kid didn't know what he was doing, if he knew what he was doing at all.

"This fucking freak thinks he's hot shit or something for casting this shit on us!" the first exclaimed to the stranger, gesturing to the injury his friend had sustained just from being in contact with Rai. "We're not ganging up on shit."

He should run. He should run. He should run. He's just going to be attacked again. He should run.

 

[Elffri3nd]

Dylan frowned at the three. He also winced at the smell of rotting meat. It smelled like he had walked into a butcher shop where the meat had been left hanging for a month. It was not pleasant. Still, from his point of view, it was self defense. “Really? You three are over here kicking the shit out of him and get injured and you think it's his fault? You're lucky he doesn't look like he actually knows how to cast a spell.”

He was probably more annoyed with the three kids than he should have been but if it had been one of his siblings that these kids had attacked, they would be lucky if they could walk away at all. Sure, the death mana in the air was unpleasant. He could understand that, but that really wasn't an excuse to gang up on the boy. There could be a number of reasons why that was happening. “Honestly, for all you know, that boy could be cursed and that is why he is releasing all of this mana. Maybe, the curse rubbed off on you.”

If the boy was cursed, it could explain why he was constantly releasing all of the death mana. However, it was really unlikely that it would spread, Dylan was really just saying that to scare the boys. Most people, even those born in the big cities, still didn't know all that much about magic unless they came from a family that practiced it. With a little more annoyance, Dylan pulled some cash out of his wallet and stuffed it in the injured man's hand. “I don't know if you are going to get your mana inspected but here, buy a potion or something. Now scram before I have to get the authorities involved.”

With the three kids hopefully dealt with, Dylan turned his full attention to the unfortunate boy they had ganged up on. He almost reached his hand out to help the boy before he pulled it back thinking better of it. “Are you okay? Do you need any help?” He eyed the places where the kid had gotten hit trying to get a quick measure of how hurt he was. “Do you want to see a healer?”

If the kid needed to see a healer, Dylan could help find him one on the way to the town hall. With some luck, it wouldn't take too long. Dylan really didn't want to miss getting his mana identified. He already had an idea what it would be. Most of his family had the same legacy or some variant of it that ensured most of his family at least had life mana. It still wasn't guaranteed that he would have the same one. If he did miss getting his mana identified, it wouldn't be the end of the world. He would never hear the end of it from his family but they would hire someone to identify it for him. He really didn't want to do that. He hated having to rely on his family like that. Finding out what his mana was would let him get out from under their shadow. He wanted to be his own person, not just another “Afon.”

 

[CeruleanStars]

Curse? Is that what was wrong with him? He had a curse? Is that why he couldn't stop killing things? Can he get the curse removed here? How much would it cost? Was it expensive? Could they just get rid of it and he'd live a normal life now? His mind filled with questions and thoughts of hope at the fact that this could be cured like a common cold. It had to be something like the snap of a finger and he'd be normal again, right?

As hope swirled in his head, the other three aggressors in the situation didn't seem to forget the boy so easily. Before one of them could even retort an argument at the stranger who approached them, the money was passed off and they all exchanged a quick glance between each other.

"You get off this one time, you freak sympathizer," the injured one said, then went off with the other two to find a healer before he lost any part of his foot.

Rai only snapped out of his thoughts when he saw the hand extended toward him. It was almost unconscious how he reached back for the hand, the sign of someone kind to him and, for once, not scared of him. He'd nearly forgotten what that was like. But, seemingly at the same time, he also pulled back his hand, realizing what he had nearly done. Snatching his hand back, he scooted back from the stranger before him, as if being too close to him could cause the other harm, which wasn't a far shot for him and his uncontrolled magic, quite frankly. Now that he wasn't in immediate danger, the mana "leaking" from him seemed to stem a bit, but not completely, as it now chose to undulate from him like a heartbeat instead. He still didn't seem completely in control of it, but he was at least aware of it and the harm it could do.

Looking over him, he had no visible injuries yet; a couple superficial scrapes on his hands, the inklings of a developing bruise on his arm, but that was about all his baggy clothing would reveal as far as injuries went. "I-I'm fine," he managed to finally speak up. "Sorry, I... That was my fault. I didn't mean to, I was... I just...uh..." As he stammered, he glanced around him as he slowly started to make his way to his feet, consciously aware of all the eyes staring at him for...for what? Because he was a freak for his magic? Because he really hurt someone without meaning to? Because he couldn't stop...whatever this was? He wiped his hands on his shirt, ridding it of any dust he'd collected getting up from the ground, but also with just maybe the slimmest attempt at getting the magic to stop emanating from him, like he could just wipe it off of him like moisture, but of course, it didn't do anything.

"Uh...I...shouldn't be here," he half mumbled to himself. And in his eyes, he was right. He shouldn't be around this many people. Who knows how many more he could hurt just by being here or waiting in line to have his mana seen or whatever it was called? This was a bad idea; he should just find a way to get back to his dad and just accept his life of isolation. Would they even help him if he was so harmful to everyone and every thing around him? Maybe they'd just put him down like a lame farm dog... Maybe that was the only solution...

He started looking around for a way through the crowd to get to somewhere at least not as crowded, less people to hurt, but the circle that was created from the fight with the three others was quickly starting to close as people continued to migrate around them. Only those who were closer to Rai seemed to give him space, the air of death reaping around him warning people to back off or risk getting hurt, even though at the center of all that was just a scared, rural kid who wanted to stop hurting people.

 

[Elffri3nd]

Dylan scowled as he heard what the three said as they walked off. He had half a mind to flip them off. The only reason why he hadn't was because he was more concerned with helping the obviously scared boy in front of him. The boy who was most likely only a few months younger than him. It was heart wrenching to see the pain in the boy’s eyes. How the others missed it was beyond him.

Pulling back his hand might have been a mistake. Perhaps, Dylan should have let the other boy shake it. He should have pushed through whatever pain or injury he would have gotten. Perhaps, he wouldn't have even been injured. Even now he could feel the difference in the mana coming off of the boy. It was less intense. If the other boy’s mood affected it, trusting the boy might have been enough to momentarily halt the flow. He didn't know. A small injury also wouldn't have been the end of the world for him. It would have been annoying but what was a family of life mages good for if not healing an injury?

It came as a relief that the other boy wasn't injured. That would mean that he could still get his mana identified. “That wasn't your fault. They could have minded their own business instead of ganging up on you. From what I have seen, no one else has been injured. They were only hurt when they attacked you.” Dylan tried to ease the other boy's worries. He doubted that it would help. It seemed like the other boy had been fighting his demons for a while now. A few comforting words from a stranger were hardly going to help.

“What do you mean you shouldn't be here?” Dylan cocked an eyebrow. “You don't belong here any less than anyone else does.” Dylan watched how the other boy watched the movement of people around them. He could see the panic. He could see the fear in the other boy's eyes, like he would somehow hurt them. “I take it you are here to get your mana identified? Come on, let's go. I was on the way there myself. I don't know what you are going through, but I think the first step to figuring it out is by finding out what your mana and legacy are.”

Dylan's eyes flickered to the boy’s hand again, so brief that it would go unnoticed if someone wasn't paying attention. The thought of how pulling his hand back had hurt the boy played through his head again. He took a calculated risk. If he was honest with himself, he was still afraid that the death mana might hurt him. At least it seemed like direct skin contact could. He was no masochist. Dylan didn't like pain. So, he avoided direct skin contact. Instead he locked his arm around the boy's, using his shirt as a buffer. At the same time he asked a question. “What's your name? Mine’s
Dylan.”

 

[CeruleanStars]

Rai almost didn't seem to believe the other when the other three were mentioned, knowing that what he was saying was probably just baseless reassurances. He wouldn't have been pushed if he didn't reek of magic and he knew that. If he knew how to control his magic, none of this would've happened in the first place and he would just be at home, helping his family, and being a kid when he could. This magic really is a curse, huh?

At the invitation to continue onward with him, the boy had stopped watching those around him and looked to the stranger, the concern and fear melting from his face into one of confusion, like the offer was an impossible one not to be believed. He was willing to stay around him? But he was going to get hurt, he was going to fall ill, he was going to grow weaker, something was going to happen, and Rai knew it, so why would he choose to stick around?

"'Legacy'?" he repeated, unsure what the other was talking about, but before he could get an answer, he felt his arm interlocked with the other's. There was a larger pulse of his magic that he emitted along with his own jump of surprise, causing a couple heads to turn, but the match of magic wasn't struck, merely more fuel leaking to his surroundings. He tried to pull back a bit, not wanting to hurt him, but when he saw no hesitation in the other's expression, he didn't try to snake away from his hold. He really didn't want to hurt him, he didn't want to hurt him, he didn't want to hurt him...

As the concern flooded his face once more, the question of his name seemed to pull him out of his own mind of worrying about everyone else around him. "Rai," he responded simply, his eyes soon drifting to their arms. "I-I don't want to hurt you... Are you sure?" Sure of what? Staying around him? Keeping physical contact with him? Talking to him? He wasn't too sure himself, but thought the other could at least tell what he was getting himself into staying so close to someone like him. If those other three people knew, he was sure Dylan would know, right?

As their arms remained interlocked, the magic coming off of Rai still seemed prevalent, but not to the degree it was when he was getting bullies by the other people. Luckily the fabric between their skin staved off anything immediate, but an ever-so-slight vibration of energy could still be felt. It wasn't enough to have any effect to it, but it was evident that, like a small ember, the longer there was contact, the more pain the contact would bring.

 

[Elffri3nd]

Dylan winced as he felt the death mana penetrating his shirt. It was good that his theory was correct that it wouldn’t instantly injure him through his shirt but given enough time he knew that it still could. He would have to get Rai to the town hall fast. It was too bad that he hadn’t had his mana identified yet and opened his first gate. He couldn’t be sure but given the fact that most of his family were life mages, it was just so likely that he would have life mana as well. If he did and had his life gate open, Dylan felt like would have been able to resist the undirected death mana better. At least he could cast a weak healing spell.

“Legacies are kind of like the power you are born with on top of your mana types. They can be all sorts of things. Most of my family has one that gives us deep life mana reserves. You usually inherit them from your parents. You might just inherit one or a blending of both of your parents. Or you might get a completely unique legacy that hasn’t been seen before but that is rarer,” Dylan answered the other boy’s question as he hastened them towards the town hall. It wasn’t really that far away from them and the quicker they got there, the better.

Another bolt of pain shot through Dylan’s arm as they walked. He gritted his teeth trying his hardest not to reveal the extent of the pain that he felt. “I am sure.” He replied. “I am not going to lie, the death mana is unpleasant but I think it has lessened. It feels like the amount of death mana you are releasing has lessened. Whatever you are doing is working.” Another few steps and the town hall came into view. “If you need any help after your mana is identified, come find me. We will be separated when we go inside. We can already assume that you’ll have death mana. My family might be focused on life mana but I should be able to help you learn some spells. Also, we can probably give you something to help suppress the death mana you release while you are learning to control it.”

As he finished speaking, he led them inside where there were a lot of other kids around their age waiting for their turn. He felt bad about what he was about to do but Rai really needed to get their mana and legacy identified fast. Dylan didn’t feel comfortable about leaving Rai alone in a crowded room. Not because he was afraid that Rai would hurt but because he was worried that being around so many people would overwhelm the younger boy. He tore his arm free and placed his hands on Rai’s shoulders. “Wait here for a moment. Your name will be called in a minute or two, then they’ll guide you to a room to have your mana identified. They’ll cast a few spells to do it. Just follow their lead. You’ll be alright.”

After that, Dylan left the boy alone at the edge of the room. With a confident stride, Dylan approached the reception desk. The man working at the counter looked up at him from a stack of papers. He eyed Dylan and then cast a glance at the line that Dylan had just walked past. The kids in the line were giving Dylan a nasty glare. Dylan just ignored it. They didn’t matter right now. He normally didn’t like to use his family’s influence like this but sometimes it just couldn’t be helped. “Hi, I am Dylan Afon. My friend Rai and I are in a bit of a rush. You wouldn’t mind getting us in quickly would you?”

The receptionist stiffened at the name “Afon.” It was clear that it wasn’t out of fear but out of surprise. “I didn’t know that they had another kid getting their mana identified,” the man muttered before speaking louder. “Certainly sir, we can get you and your friend in next.”

 

[CeruleanStars]

Every explanation the other gave went in one ear and out the other with Rai. That was certainly a lot of words Dylan had just said to him, barely 25% making sense to him in total though. He knew nothing about what the other was saying, but he could tell the other was hurried to get to...wherever everyone was going, so he didn't question it for now and just nodded along with whatever he was saying. He wasn't sure how important it was to listen now, but maybe when he wasn't as dangerous to be around, maybe he'd be able to get a toddler's translation of whatever was just explained to him.

At the mention of his mana lessening, Rai was a little surprised and tried to focus on what he was doing that wasn't making it so bad right now. He was running, having a conversation, panicky? Was it because he was stressed about hurting Dylan the longer they were touching? Is panicky good? As he tried to focus in on it and maybe get a better handle on his mana for the first time in his life, the death that seeped from him seemed to have different ideas. The aura that was ever-present around him started to jump, strengthen, weaken, scatter far, dribble down, all at random, like a cornered animal desperately swiping and lunging at anything that came close to keep it from being captured. The chaotic bursts of energy soon stopped when Dylan tore his arm away from his own.

He looked at the other as he spoke, taking in the simple instructions with a small nod, then watched as he strode away like he had done this a thousand times before. There were so many people here, was it really alright that he be in a space so crowded? Just like before though, it seemed his hideous aura that emanated lawlessly out from him kept most away from him, creating a pseudo border around him as others didn't want to be bathed in death's cold embrace. Rai hugged his arms as he unconsciously started to drift to the wall of the hall as people started to get closer to him just to get by others. If he just stayed quiet and kept to himself, he wouldn't hurt anyone.

Soon, he'd backed up to the wall without even realizing it, pressing his back so much against it that he could've become part of it if he could just try a bit harder. Your name will be called, your name will be called, your name will be called. He just had to listen for his name, that's all he had to do right now. Everything was going to be alright, he just had to wait for his name and follow...someone's lead; whoever "they" were. As he waited, he bit the inside of his cheek as he tried to breathe as little as possible.

Listen for your name, listen for your name, listen for your name.

 

[Elffri3nd]

Almost instantly, Dylan was led away. The people in charge seemed ill inclined to keep anyone in his family waiting. He knew that his grandparents weren't ones to abuse their authority or standing but his aunts and uncles were another story. They had been born into wealth and status. They had always known privilege which meant they tended to look down on others. It was lucky Dylan hadn't been spoiled like them. As it was he felt guilty about getting to cut ahead of the line.

Soon, he was directed to a small room where a series of crystals floated in the air. There was one big crystal surrounded by nine smaller crystals about the size of a fingernail in a semicircle. Behind the crystals was a man in his mid thirties that lacked any smile lines. It looked like he wore a perpetual frown. “My name is Daryl Taylor, knowledge spell binder. I'll be conducting your mana check today and getting your identification sorted out.” The man's tone was flat. Dylan could feel it zapping the joy from him like some sort of vampire. “Place your hand on the large crystal and we can begin.”

Dylan did as he was instructed. As he expected, he could feel it draw a small amount of his ungated mana. While he waited for Dyral to continue, he hoped that Rai was having a better time than he was. The other boy should have been pulled back for his own mana check by now. Hopefully, he didn't get stuck with such a downer like Daryl. The mana barely acknowledged Dylan as he put his hand on the crystal. Instead, the man had his eyes glued to something hidden from Dylan's sight and it sounded like the man was reading from some script as he spoke again. “Please state your name. If you are happy with your birth name then you may use it or if you wish to change your name, state that one instead.”

“Dylan Coy Afon,” he stated clearly. He was tempted to change his name but he was pretty sure that if he did, he would be kicked out of his family. At least he would be if he didn't at least keep his last name. He wasn't ready for that yet. Besides, despite all of his problems with his family, he still loved them. They treated him well. They were just overbearing when it came to him.

“Okay. We will now test your mana type and determine your legacy.” The man sent a pulse of mana through the crystal and two of the small crystals lit up. One was an emerald green and the other was a dirty brown. With no inflection to his voice the man identified them. “Life and Earth mana.” The man then cast another spell that Dylan could feel wash over him as he scanned him. The man was now clearly reading something as he held up his clipboard to read the name of Dylan's legacy to him. “Breath of Life, Heart of wood. It appears to be a new legacy as we don't have any records of it but not completely knew. It is most likely a blended legacy. Would you like me to read the details to you?” Dylan just nodded his head in confirmation. “Your legacy gives you a deeper life mana reserve. It also makes healing and plant magic far more efficient.”

That did sound like a blend of his parents' legacies. His dad's side’s legacy increased their life mana reserves. His mom's legacy increased the efficiency of healing magic. He was really happy that his legacy also included plant magic. He was more interested in plant magic than healing magic. He would still learn a few healing spells just to be safe but now he could focus more on plant magic. He could even use his earth magic to bolster his plant magic. He knew one spell he could learn right off the bat that helped plant growth, “enhance nutrients.”

Daryl cast a few more spells creating a new id for Dylan containing all of his relevant information, including his mana types. With that done, Dylan fled the room to get away from the dour man. He made his way back to the waiting room of the Town Hall while he waited for Rai.

 

[CeruleanStars]

Soon, he heard his name called. Swallowing hard, he made his way through the crowd of people that seemed to have no issue parting like the Red Sea for the boy who's aura of death only got worse the closer he got to the front. When led out of the room, he was able to calm down a little bit with the lack of people, but it was only reignited again when he was lead to a small room with only one other person and a bunch of floating crystals.

Rai was barely able to pay attention to what the woman was saying. She, of course, introduced herself and said a bunch of words that meant very little to him afterward, but he was really only focused on trying to keep his own plague under control (or as best as he could) and look at the crystals that floated in front of him. He probably would've been a little comfier if she were just a little farther away from him; he was scared he was going to hurt her if he remained this close for too long, it always happened. Luckily with Dylan, it was only really brief, but was this going to take long? Maybe he should tell her that he's dangerous? Is he dangerous? But-

"Rai." Her voice snapped him out of his own head as he finally looked past the crystals to her anticipating expression. "Place your hand on the large crystal so we can start." This definitely wasn't the first time she had to repeat herself doing this job, but she seemed to have enough patience to deal with Rai's anxieties in the least.

The boy put his hand on the crystal, hesitantly, but took a breath before he committed. For a moment, he thought he saw the crystal dye an inky black under his fingers for just a moment, but he wasn't sure if it was just something his mind made up. The feeling of having his energy drawn, even in the slightest like now, almost felt like a relief, like for once, five pounds had been lifted from the three thousand that weighed down his shoulders from his magic. However, like a fissure in a dam, his mana lunged for the easy escape and broke the pathway open.

This time, he definitely saw the inky black flood from his hand into the crystal, rushing toward the woman's hand. They both pulled their hands away from the crystal at the same time, but not without Rai's mana giving the woman a small shock on one of her fingers. A high pitched chk! could be heard echoing in the room, almost sounding like it was coming from the crystal, but there were no evident cracks on its surface that could be seen. They were both shocked by what happened, but Rai was definitely more afraid of what he had just done. This was a bad idea. He should leave now, he was only going to hurt her more-

"...Maybe just a finger," the woman suggested once she had recomposed herself. This time, she waited a little longer once Rai had made contact with the crystal before she returned her hand as well.

A single finger seemed to work with what she needed to do. The woman resumed going through the motions of identifying his mana and legacy. When it came to identifying his mana, there was almost a shock to all the crystals, sparking them for just a flash, before it settled on a black crystal. Another one just barely flickered a mustard yellow, but his mana was at least strongly death, unsurprising to no one. "But there may be a hint of Desolation mana in there as well," she commented before moving to his legacy.

The wave of energy he felt wash over him again wasn't very welcomed by his mana, seeming to flare once again like a caged animal defending itself. This time, the area nearest him only got colder, the mana not seeming to have enough focus to jump through the crystal with sheer brute force again. He wavered his finger just in case, hesitant to remove it once more, but luckily, the results for the legacy were quick to come back.

"New legacy. It didn't get the best read as..." she gestured to his singular finger on the crystal, "...but it's enough for me to tell you that you have deeper mana reserves for your mana type-"

"B-But I don't want it," Rai interrupted, concern rising to his face. "Can't you just, I don't know, turn it off?"

"...Turn it-?"

"I don't want magic. I don't want any of this. I just want to be normal again. Isn't there a way to just get rid of all of-" he gestured to all of him, "-this? A spell or magic antyhing that just...gets rid of it...all...?" As he neared the end of his questions, the woman's expression turned softer, already giving him the answer he didn't want to accept. There was another moment of silence shared between the two of them as the silent answer hung in the air between them.

Instead of saying much more, the woman finished up what she needed to create Rai's new ID. Once she finished, she simply wished Rai a nice day in a smaller voice, then he took his leave from the room. Looking at the ground on his way out only got him lost in the halls, which required him to be led out to the waiting area by security. Once out in the waiting area, he was glad it wasn't as crowded, but he still danced around celebrating families and stragglers alike to find an area not as crowded. Where was Dylan?

 

[Elffri3nd]

Dylan waited patiently in the waiting room for Rai. He hoped that everything was going well for the other boy. He seemed so scared when Dylan had to leave him. He could relax slightly knowing that Rai was somewhere less crowded. The other boy didn’t need the stress of being around so many other people. He couldn’t even imagine how bad that must have been. Dylan didn’t have too many problems being around so many people but it could still get on his nerves after a while. Seeing how skittish Rai had been, Dylan felt shivers go down his spine trying to imagine what it was like.

A few minutes passed with the crowd of people thinning out more and more. There was a job fair in one of the convention halls nearby. The various guilds were always looking for new talent. Perhaps, Rai would like working for the spirit wardens. They didn’t tend to work in large groups and it required death mana. They mostly dealt with ghosts and things of that nature, helping to put them back to rest. He definitely wouldn’t want to work with the town guards. They would take anyone but you were always around others, often in a large crowd. Personally, Dylan would have tried to join the foresters. You needed to have life mana to join because they dealt with plants and wild creatures. Dylan had always wanted to be a plant mage. Even knowing that he had earth magic, he was trying to think of ways to use it to enhance his plant magic. He hadn’t studied it much, not knowing he would need to. He knew two helpful spells but that was it. With some luck, he might be able to find some spells that used both life and earth magic.

There was movement in the crowd as people moved away from the hallway. Some had a look of disgust on their face while others didn’t even seem to notice. Dylan immediately began to move in the direction of the disturbance as he saw Rai walk into the waiting room. “How did it go?” he asked, a tinge of excitement in his voice. He was doing his best to sound cheerful to ease the other boy’s nerves. Once again, he looped his arm around Rai’s and began to lead the boy out of the building towards the direction of his house. “Also we definitely need to check out your mana garden. It sounds like you haven’t used any non gated spells before so we need to see what we are working with. With how your death mana is leaking, I think your first death gate should already be exposed so we can work on getting it fully open. You have to learn ‘analyze death’ first. When you cast it, you’ll be able to see the flow of death mana. It’ll also give you a way to burn up your death mana so that you aren’t always leaking it.”

Dylan had to take a moment to take a breath. He might have actually gotten a little too excited. “That does also come with a backside to though. Normally it isn’t a problem but as you use mana, your mana garden will expand until you can open the next gate which means you’ll slowly get more mana. But it will give us more time to find other solutions. It might just be a matter of needing to refine your mana control. I don’t know though. I will be working on ‘analyze life.’ When we get to my place, I can show you what it looks like to open your first gate and after we look at your mana garden you can look at mine.”

 

[CeruleanStars]

When the familiar figure of Dylan began to approach him, Rai felt a wave of relief wash over him. He actually stuck around. He didn't leave... Why? He was probably in there longer because of the mishap with his magic, but why was Dylan sticking by him even though everyone else was always scared away?

Before he could even answer the question asked, he felt the same arm hook his, then the pull of guidance from the city walker. The boy was still tense when he was touched, still scared he would accidentally hurt him, but he would just keep an eye on him. If he so much as suspected he was hurting him, he would rip his hand away as best he could and get away from him. The nagging fear in his mind still bit his reassuring thoughts hard though; When your brother didn't even touch you, he still got violently ill from you. The thought made him shudder a bit.

More words he didn't understand were thrown at him in rapid succession. Was all of this something everyone else knew about? Was this something taught in all schools and everyone just goes along with? Are there classes on this stuff? How does Dylan know all of this, but Rai can barely comprehend what "mana" even was when they're the same age? Sure, Rai had enough education to make it as a farmer, but that was about it. He was sure Dylan had the chance to stay in school when he could...

At the mention of casting spells and gaining more mana, the putrid magic that spilled from him seemed to get thicker and heavier. The sting that came every now and then on the other's arm, dancing through the weaves of fabric, started to sting deeper. The arcs of energy didn't seem to go through the fabric as often, but when they did, they were more than just pins and needles now on the skin. Fear slowly started to rise its way to his eyes and, even though he tried to hide it in his face, it wasn't long before its edges became known in his expression. He started to pull back slightly on his arm. If leading him to his place meant he was going to expose more of this magic to the world, out of his control, he didn't want it. He didn't want any of this. If he were to go back to Dylan's place, he was going to get even more magic he didn't want, become an even bigger risk to people, hurt more people, hurt Dylan's family, become out of control, scare him away, get arrested for killing people he didn't mean to-

"I-I don't..." he managed to squeak out past a crack in his voice. He was scared. "No...no, no, I'm... I can't... I don't want this..." He finally managed to free his arm as the death surrounding him started to lurch and shrink, pull and push, reach and retreat. It quivered, it grew in volume and shrunk again, but despite it all, it was less than previously when it did the same thing; it was much slower now, like sludge moving. He was starting to drain...and he could feel his exhaustion like a ghost following him, waiting in the wings. It wasn't even that late yet, but emotions always get more people hurt around him and today was nothing but emotions. Rai hugged himself and dropped his eyes to the ground as he shuffled away from Dylan, like it was practiced, like he knew how much distance he needed to keep him out of his toxic aura.

 

[Elffri3nd]

Dylan made a mental note to himself. The next time that he locked his arms with Rai he would use his other arm. He wasn’t sure how much more his current arm could take but he pushed the pain to the back of his head. As they walked, he anticipated an answer from Rai. He was hoping that the other boy would feel better and be a little excited about being able to learn magic. He was not expecting the other boy to break down and felt bad about being the cause of it.

Pain shot through Dylan’s arm as Rai pulled away. It was definitely hurt by the death mana. He would have to get one of his siblings to cast some spells on it, preferably when Rai couldn’t see it. Dylan took a quick breath to steady himself, gathering his thoughts and not freaking out before speaking. “Look, I can't say I know what you're going through. I can't imagine what it has been like having to live like you have. I can't promise I have the answers but if you asked me, I think that you can't get past this by ignoring it. Magic is a part of you just as much as it is anyone else. You can't let it control you. You need to learn how to control it instead, to live in harmony with it.”

He gestured for Rai to follow him doing his best to hide his wince whenever his shirt brushed against his arm. “Also, death mana isn't a curse. It doesn't just hurt people. If you follow me, I can show you. I don’t know if I told you but my family mostly has life mages. We have tons of gardens. They are one of the best places to go to see how life and death mana work in harmony.” Dylan glanced back to see if Rai was following him as he kept talking. “For instance, things with death mana in the soil break things down into nutrients that allow things with life mana to grow. They eventually die and feed things with death mana. There are also tons of plants that have death mana.”

 

[CeruleanStars]

As he listened to the other speak, his eyes slowly started to rise from the ground, not completely meeting Dylan's but enough so to indicate that he was listening to what he had to say. Conflicting thoughts and ideas rose in his chest, fighting over what he should do. On one hand, he wanted to believe the other, he knew he had a point and maybe controlling this would actually be good for him; he'd be able to go back to working with his family, he wouldn't hurt anyone again, even if it came with come caveats, maybe he could live a somewhat normal life again. On the other hand, the primal urge to run away was so strong; to go back to the station, to run home, to go back to the isolation that was his home out in rural nowhere, hiding away from the world for the sake of not hurting people, but he would have his family, he would just go back to how things were. His goal here was just to see if this ceremony thing would help him; he got the answers he needed and now it was time to go home. He just wanted to go home.

When he saw the gesture, he hesitated, watching the other start to walk away, but there was a pull he felt toward Dylan. If...and just maybe if, his family was full of life mages, whatever that meant, Rai wouldn't hurt them as badly... That was how that worked, right? Like water on a fire? They'd just be able to douse whatever his magic threw at them? Well...if Dylan was still adamant about the boy joining him...maybe it was worth a shot.

But if something happened, he would just run right back to the station and go home. No hesitation.

Rai started to follow him, still keeping the same distance between them so he wouldn't hurt Dylan, but still followed. Listening to the other explain death and life working together started to reassure him slightly. While it was difficult to change how one thought about something after so long of seeing it one way, it soothed him a bit to know that...maybe there was some good he could bring from this curse he found himself with. His thoughts immediately went to the barren fields of their farm, how everything he didn't touch flourished and bloomed, but every seed, pathway, even tree, shriveled and died, not even a bud seen for acres... Maybe he didn't have the right type of mana...

Luckily, and slowly, the magic he leaked seemed to start calming down. It no longer lurched or swayed chaotically and slowed until it was just how it was before they met; a leaking valve of magic that encased him like a cocoon. This time, it was a little weaker than before, which in some regards, was probably good. His dad always said how he was able to give him a hug only after he passed out or fell asleep, so Rai at least knew he wouldn't hurt anyone in Dylan's home when he was unconscious.

 

[Elffri3nd]

The walk was an awkward silence as Dylan led Rai to his house. Personally, Dylan was starting to feel tired after all of the excitement of the day. As much as he wanted to help Rai, he couldn't remember the last time he had spent talking to another person. It was draining. He had been so excited to open his gates at the start of the day but now, Dylan kind of just wanted to take a nice long nap. A jolt of pain in his arm also reminded him that he would need to get one of his siblings to heal his injury. He vowed that one day he would learn some healing spells of his own, even if he didn't become a dedicated healer

Eventually, they approached the Afon Family Manson. The entire estate was surrounded by a seemingly harmless hedge but if someone tried to cross it they would soon find out that it was filled with thorns and their branches were strong enough that a normal person couldn't break them. The gate was a collection of vines that interlocked with each other. Just like the hedge, they were incredibly strong and covered in thorns. The moment that Dylan approached, the vines began to move out of the way. “Normally, the vines will always move out of the way of someone from my family,” Dylan said. “For everyone else, they'll move during visiting hours or if you're trying to leave.”

After they passed the gate, the view was completely different from one that someone would expect from a typical rich family estate. There were no manicured lawns. There was a dirt path that meandered its way towards the mansion through what looked like an overgrown yard. For those who didn't know better, it was easy to think that it was uncared for or that there was little thought out into it. “Don't step off the path,” Dylan warned. “If some of the plants don't kill you, one of my aunts or uncles might. They are very protective of their gardens. And even with your death mana, these plants are very strong. You would have to be at least second gate before it started to hurt them.”

The mansion itself was more of what someone would expect. It was a large building with two wings that formed a nice little courtyard before the main gates. It was where Dylan had seen the rest of his family freaking out in the morning. The dirty path disappeared into the courtyard. Around the building were a lot of other little paths. Dylan stood still for a moment as he looked both left and right trying to decide where to go. “I am going to take you to my father's garden. I think my brother and sister would kill me if I took you to theirs. My father's plants are a lot more resilient than theirs.” With that plant in mind, Dylan took the path leading to the right from the courtyard.

It was several more minutes of walking before they made it to what Dylan called his father's garden. For other people, they wouldn't know where one garden started and another one ended. There were no signs or fences to mark out the different gardens. “Not everyone in my family is a plant mage but everyone has a garden. Plants are a good source of mana for life mages to train with. Now stay close to me.” He walked through the garden towards a small patch of mushrooms, a big grin was on Dylan's face. He picked one and handed it to Rai. “This is one of the best plants to show the harmony of life and death mana. Mushrooms, and mycelia are important to forests. They are filled to the brim with death mana and will break down plants and animals alike into nutrients. However, they also help plants build up nutrients and water. Plants also feed off of the life mana that is produced as a byproduct.”

 

[CeruleanStars]

Oh god, this guy had a mansion, was the only thought that passed through his mind when they eventually got to the "gates" of the estate. That meant this person, who for some reason, is so dedicated to sticking by Rai, had money; probably way more money than he had seen in his entire life. That was...intimidating. He looked down at his own attire, which barely passed for a place so established. His shirt was old and fraying at some of the edges, definitely a hand-me-down from his brother, whom were much taller than him. His pants had some permanent stains of mud near the cuffs, held up by a simple draw string, also too big, also from his older brother. But this was the nicest outfit he had. At least his sandals were relatively new; he just had to get them two years ago because is old ones broke. Looking over Dylan's outfit for comparison and how put together he was, Rai felt...out of place. But what else was new.

The boy gazed at the large hedges before them as he continued from a safe distance behind Dylan. As vines moved to let them through, he watched them open then close as they passed the threshold with awe, having never seen anything like it before in his life. It was incredible.

Not as incredible as the rest of the estate though. Even though everything seemed overgrown, there was so much plant-life around that it still was surprising to Rai, who had never seen so much all at once. Sure, he worked on his father's farm and they always had something growing, but they always came in cycles; there were times where there was nothing but the dirt they tilled or there were stalks or vines of produce ready to be plucked from the earth. This. This was just magical.

While he didn't understand the warning of his aunts and uncles, he made sure to look down and stay on the path, as the other had said. He remained as centered on the path as possible to make sure he didn't stray too close and accidentally trigger something with his own mana. Death by rich person's plant didn't seem like a fun end to life. Once the mansion itself was in view, Rai once again was gazing upon it. It was so fancy and large with so many windows and pillars and things. What did you do with all that space? Surely it was massive on the inside too. What do you put in all that space to make it feel home-y? Well, he glanced behind him to the overgrown flora they'd just passed. Plants, probably. Did they consider plants home-y?

At the mention of his father's garden, he looked back to Dylan just in time to see him walking away. He quickly caught up, but still kept the distance between them just in case. Rai had thought this "garden" he kept bringing up was some sort of metaphor; he didn't think there was an actual garden for magic and things of that nature. Did that mean Dylan had a garden somewhere on this property too? ...Was it okay for him to even go into the garden? He was practically the complete opposite of him and, seemingly, everyone else in his family. Wouldn't it be dangerous for either one of them?

As they approached what Rai could only assume was gardens, he started to hesitate in his steps, afraid of getting too close. Would the gardens also lash out at him like his aunts' or his uncles' plants? He didn't want to kill anything on accident, thinking back to everything he had killed when he was still at home with no idea what was happening. Eventually, he pressed his lips together and started to slow to a near stop, his steps merely becoming shuffles as he tried to avoid getting close to anything that lived.

When given the instruction to stay close, he hesitated once again before catching up with Dylan. He kept closer than the distance he had kept their entire way there, the death mana still spilling from him like a waterfall and gracing their steps with the chill of death, but If he had to stay close to him for the sake of not getting hurt or hurting someone as important in his family as his father, so be it...as long as he was okay with it. However, before his thoughts could carry on much more, the surprise of the mushroom was dropped into his hands. He listened to the explanation as his lose mana poked and prodded the fungus. He was expecting his mana to shrivel the thing up, decay it rapidly, cause it to mold or die or something similar at his touch like everything else did, but all it did was roll a bit from the creases in his hands naturally, innocently. His shoulders relaxed a bit.

It was...refreshing. He was holding something, close to something, interacting with something that was alive, but he wasn't killing it, he wasn't harming it, like holding ice on hot skin. They're important. They're filled with death mana, but they're important. Rai couldn't help a small smile coming to his lips; a ray of sunshine through cloud cover. It was the first time today and probably a while, where he didn't have an expression of anxiety or stress or fear plastered across his face. His mana seemed to calm as well, shrinking from its usual size to focus around the mushroom and closer to his body than it's ever been since meeting Dylan. He still gave off the disgust of death, but it was...tolerable now.

"Are they only found in forests?" he asked as he finally tore his eyes away from the fungus in his hands. Rai's mind started to work like it did when he was younger watching his father growing up. Watching, observing, learning about crops, plants they could farm, how to handle disease, the simple act of just seeing something grow to learn how it grew, where it grew best, what animals might try to eat it. It was the first time he'd even considered doing that since he started killing things unintentionally. His eyes wandered to where Dylan had plucked the mushroom from to take note in his head how it grew and what the soil looked like, curiously.

 

[Elffri3nd]

Dylan smiled as he saw the relieved expression on Rai’s face. It looked like a weight was taken off of the other boy’s shoulders. “Mushrooms can grow virtually anywhere. I can't say if they'll all act similarly as these ones do. It is also more common to find them in dark, shady places with some moisture which is why you can find so many in forests. There are some that can grow in full sun. These ones are also not very magical but they are good to have around. There are other far magical plants around the estate, some with death mana in them.”

He stood still for a moment as he tried to gauge the mana flows from his father's garden. It would be easier after he got some analysis spells but for now he tried to focus on plants giving off death mana. Dylan tilted his head to the side, finding something. He quickly moved to a crimson flower. “This is a good example. This flower is a first gate plant called the blood lotus. It can grow stronger but it has an affinity to both life and death mana. One of the best ways to grow it is actually by feeding it a little blood, at least when you first plant it. I think my dad was cultivating it for someone.. They're mostly useful for people who have both life and death mana, though that is rare.”

Dylan turned away from the flower and back at Rai. “So… Do you want to see a mana garden? They are harder to see. As a death mage you could learn a spell to look at someone's mana garden but we have some potions that will let us see each other's mana garden. It'll at least let you see things more clearly. I could even open my life gate so that you can see what it looks like before you make any decisions about doing it yourself.”

 

[CeruleanStars]

Blood lotus. He bookmarked the plant in his mind for later as he knelt down to look at it closer. The color was so vibrant and striking. He did as he did with the mushrooms and looked to the soil, what surrounded it, and things of the like. If there was a further use for them out in the rural areas, he'd consider cultivating them, but for now, they were nice flowers to look at at least.

Rai looked up to the other when asked about seeing a mana garden. Was this...not a mana garden? Was a mana garden actually just a figure of speech after all and these were just personal gardens? But what about when... He was so confused right now. He understood maybe half the words the other said, but if opening his own gate either gave him more of this death aura leaking out or allowed him to control it, he should at least try it...right? See what the other was talking about? Learning what he was never taught because it was never relevant to him?

He stood up as he chewed the inside of his bottom lip a little. "I won't hurt you looking at your mana garden, would I?" he asked, concern growing once again on his face as his rays of sun dipped back behind cloud cover. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt or infect or destroy something of the other's when he's done nothing but be kind to him.

 

[Elffri3nd]

“No it wouldn't hurt me,” Dylan instantly replied. He then went quiet and looked thoughtful. He looked past Rai for a few seconds and he tried to find the right words to explain what a mana garden was and what they would be doing. “So… A mana garden is the… metaphysical representation of your magic. It is as real as you believe it to be. It is a part of your soul. What we'll be doing is drinking a potion that lets you enter my mana garden. You won't physically be there. It is kind of like a cross between an illusion and spirit walking. So while you are ‘in’ my mana garden you are actually. Nothing you did there could hurt me and I could kick you out whenever I wanted.”

Dylan made to leave his father's garden, leading Rai back to the house while he waited for an answer. As they left, Dylan noticed one of his aunts off in the distance tending to her garden. Most of her plants were water and life aligned. In the middle of her garden was a little pond with lily pads and lotuses. She noticed them and waved towards Dylan before she looked surprised by seeing Rai. Dylan just smiled sheepishly hurrying his pace. He didn't need her to make assumptions. That would be awkward to deal with.

“Did you want to meet my siblings? Or my dad? They know a lot more than me and are a lot stronger than me, my dad especially. They might be able to give you another way to suppress your magic.” He almost didn't want to suggest it but he felt that Rai should also have that option. “I don't know much about it but it might just be like putting a bandaid on a gash. I am not sure.”

 

[CeruleanStars]

Rai listened closely to Dylan's explanation of a mana garden, nodding along once he understood it. As he looked around the garden they were in now, he guessed it made a little more sense. Why would someone with his type of magic have a garden anyway? Dylan said his family was mostly life magic users, so it made more sense that they would have physical representations of that because you could culture life, you couldn't culture death like this garden.

"...If I wouldn't hurt you and you're okay with inviting me..." he shrugged with a small nod, curious to know what one would look like, but not wanting to make Dylan do anything he didn't want to, especially in regards to him. If he didn't want to have the walking plague enter his garden, he would totally understand.

As they left, Rai stayed close to the other until they were out of the garden, or at least what Rai thought was out of the garden. There were so many plants here, it was a little hard to tell. He started to resume their previous distance to keep his mana from hurting Dylan even more, but noticed his quickened pace, so he tried to keep up. There was a woman in another garden they passed, but the other didn't seem to stop, so he tried not to make eye contact with her. Could she feel the wreaking death mana pool off of him from where she was? Was she one of the aunts that would unleash her magic on him? Would she kill him because he couldn't stop his mana from leaking? These were all questions he tried not to dwell on as the sound of Dylan's voice interrupted his thoughts.

Meeting someone in his family that was stronger? He felt a pit in his stomach as his previous thoughts pooled to the surface, his mana returning to its usual size and strength, like it was in town before the two of them came across each other. However, at the mention of suppressing his magic, it peaked his interest enough for him to raise his head slightly, his anxious thoughts clearing for a moment. It might be like putting a bandaid on it, but it could also be a more permanent solution. Even if it was something he had to get recast or redone every so often, he would try to earn enough money in between just so he could live a life again.

He held the mushroom in his hand a little tighter, but dare not crush it. "They can do that? Stop my magic?" he questioned, the smallest bit of hope eking out in his voice. "And I won't hurt people anymore?"

 

[Elffri3nd]

“I honestly don't know if they can stop your magic. I have heard of other people needing seals, not from my family, but from what I know they aren't permanent. They tend to deteriorate and often need more and more powerful resources to maintain. Again, I don't know much about them so I can't make any promises.” Dylan carefully guided Rai into the mansion as they spoke. He kept any ear out for any servants or relatives. He wasn't doing anything wrong, he just didn't want to deal with them.

The entrance of the mansion was a big room, big enough to hold a party, with grand stairs. It had large windows to let in sunlight with decorative chandeliers to light the room at night. There was a large rug that covered a lot of the hardwood floor with detailed forest scenes. Along the walls were a mixture of plants and places for guests to sit by the windows. Dylan guided Rai to the left through a hallway on the ground floor. At one point, Dylan had Rai wait outside a room while Dylan grabbed a few potions. Both of them were small vials compared to the large bottles that were often displayed in the media. Afterwards, he continued to lead Rai to Dylan's bedroom.

Dylan's room was near the end of the West Wing hallway. Most of the rooms near him remained empty to his great pleasure. The only people who had a room near him were his brother and sister as well as a few servants. If they had guests stay, they were often put in one of the rooms next to him. Inside of his room, it was much larger than regular people could enjoy. He had a standard sized four poster bed. There was a trunk at the end for blankets, an armoire to the right of the bed and a writing desk to the right. Next to the writing desk were several book shelves. Then there were several pots with small little plants growing in them by the window. Across from the bed there were two doors, one for a walk-in closet and another for an in suite bathroom.

Dylan grabbed the chair from his desk and placed it across from his bed purposefully putting it as far away from his plants as he could. “Go ahead and take a seat,” he said as he put the chair down. “I’ll be right back.” He placed one of the vials on his bed before he dug through his armoire. He did his best to conceal the bandages he pulled out before he slipped into his bathroom.

In his bathroom, he placed the bandages in his sink and poured the vial over them. He then rolled his sleeve up enough to expose the wound on his arm. It almost looked like a nasty burn that was developing an infection. He winced at the pain that shot through him as his injury was irritated by the movement of his shirt. With clumsy hands, unfamiliar with wrapping bandages, he wrapped the potion soaked bandages around his wound muttering a curse under his breath all the while. He would still have someone look at it later but this would keep it from getting worse as well as starting the healing process for now.

Dylan took in a deep breath and pulled his shirt sleeve back down before rejoining Rai in his bedroom. “Alright. I am going to open my life gate now. The first gate isn't really all that hard to open. The hardest part is using ungated mana enough to find the first gate.” He walked up to his bookshelf grabbing a well used book before he sat on the bed. He opened it to a certain page and set it down so that both Rai and him would be able to see it. He had it memorized but having it for reference would still help. “To open the first gate, you try to cast a spell that needs first gate using ungated mana. The demand for first gate mana will ultimately cause it to break through the gate. The process to open the other gates is different.”

He looked at the complex spell in the book as he began to sketch it in the air with his ungated mana. It was necessary to cast a spell in this way until one reached mastery. Unless you were in a fight, it didn't usually cause problems but if you were in one it could easily give away the spell you were casting if the other person was familiar with it. After ten minutes of intense focus, Dylan had managed to sketch the spell in the air and held it. “It doesn't always take this long to draw a spell,” he told Rai. “Once you master a spell you can cast it instantly. This one is also more complex than a lot of other spells.” With that said, he cast the spell. He could feel the life mana push through his life gate until it was free. For a single moment he could see the flow of life mana as ‘analyze life’ allowed him to perceive it. Since he was unused to using the spell nor supplying it a continuous supply of life mana, the spell flickered out.

 

[CeruleanStars]

As they walked into the entrance of the mansion, Rai had his head up looking at everything they passed. Looking up at how tall the ceiling was, all the support and decorative pillars, all the plants, the pristine floors, the chandelier, everything. There was so much to take in that merely walking through this area definitely wasn't enough to capture how truly magnificent this place was compared to houses closer to where Rai lived. It was only when he noticed that he was starting to fall behind did he actually tear his eyes away from the beauty of it all and catch up to Dylan.

Still, he looked around to take in everything they passed as they made their way to Dylan's room, obviously not paying enough attention to where they were walking when he almost ran into the other at the first stop. Luckily, he had noticed quickly enough to keep from touching Dylan.

Once in the room and his friend (friend?) had excused himself, Rai took the liberty to look around from where he stood at the doorway. The first thing he noticed was the plants as a tug of concern pulled at his chest. He had a lot of them and he was scared he was going to kill one on accident the longer he was in here for. Why was he trusting him so much not to cause damage to anything he came across? This house was probably one of the worst places for him to be in and yet, Dylan brought him anyway, willing his mana not to cause havoc on his own home full of just the thing he was good at accidentally killing. With a hard swallow, he finally moved to the chair he had been directed to sit in, subconsciously leaning away from the multitudes of plants that accented the room.

Dylan's voice caught him a little off guard, but he listened and tried to follow to the best of his ability what he was talking about. He watched as he wrote out something from the book he had pulled until it was cast. Rai wasn't sure what he was expecting, but a small part of him was sort of hoping he'd see or feel some sort of "life magic", whatever that felt or looked like, spill over from the other so maybe Rai wasn't all that much of a freak for not being able to control his own mana, but just as he thought, he didn't see or feel any of that. A bit of him was disappointed, but he knew nothing would've happened in the first place. Dylan grew up with this sort of stuff, Rai didn't. Of course Dylan would know how to cast spells and control his mana and all that stuff. He was in control.

"Is it open now?" he questioned, wondering if the attempt to open his gate was successful. There wasn't really a bold neon sign that said "your gate has been opened" or anything to really let someone know.

 

[Elffri3nd]

Dylan nodded in response to Rai's question. “Yeah it's open now. I could cast that spell again but you wouldn't get to see much. The only difference is that this time I would use life mana. Instead I'll push some mana out so that you can feel it.” Dylan then focused on his newly opened first gate. It felt like a well spring of power. It made him feel like he was on the top of the world. It was a deceptive feeling. Dylan knew that he still had a long way to go. As it was, he could barely be considered a mage.

With an amount of effort, Dylan managed to push about a quarter of his current life mana pool into the air. Even someone who was untrained in magic would be able to feel it even if they didn't know what they were feeling. “That's life mana,” Dylan said a little out of breath. “That feeling of mana is also what we feel from you, your mana is just the death equivalent.”

He let that sink for a moment before he grabbed the second vial he had brought. “This potion will let us enter my mana garden. I'll drink the first half and you drink the second half. The order is important since it'll send us to the first person who drinks it.” Dylan undid the cap on the potion and drank half of it before holding it out towards Rai. Moments later, he was in his mana garden.

The ungated section of Dylan's mana garden looked like it was just as big as the entrance to the Afon mansion. It was a bit on the larger side though still smaller than most of his relatives. It would only get bigger as time went on. The garden itself looks like a grassy field with four little shrubs. The appearance was different from person to person but Dylan's mana garden revolved around plants. One of the plants looked like a cotton plant. He could immediately tell that it was his mend cloth spell.

Towards what Dylan considered the north side of his mana garden was an arch of vines that led into his life gate. On the southside was a stone archway covered in moss that was sealed shut by a large boulder. That was the pathway into his earth gate and he had purposely left it shut so that he could show Rai the difference between and open and closed gate.

 

[CeruleanStars]

Rai noticed how just exuding this much mana for the other was...challenging for him; he was already out of breath and, at least for Rai, it didn't feel like a lot. But oh, how warm it felt, how welcoming, how pleasant. Even if it was just for a small moment, he felt like this small little bubble of life amidst his fire of death ever-surrounding him was so powerful, yet so gentle. It only saddened him a bit when the feeling was gone, cold replacing its wake. It felt almost hollowing, like coming up for air for the first time in years, only to be plunged back into icy water once more... Everyone else's mana must've felt so much nicer than his own that he plagued the world with.

His mind snapped back to the present as Dylan explained the potion and, soon, followed his example. The boy made sure he didn't touch the other and stayed close only as long as he needed to, quickly scurrying back to his seat once he received the later half of the potion.

It felt like a blink. One moment, he was in a large, fancy bedroom with plants at every corner, and the next, he was standing in a large garden with several plants. Rai immediately started looking around to see all there was to see; the plants, beyond the garden, the arches, anything. He felt so...light...and warm and awake. It even took him a moment to realize he was too close to plants and started to instinctively move away, but nothing he accidentally touched had wilted yet. It all stayed exactly as it was, merely rustling at his intrusion. A mixed pail of relief, excitement, curiosity, all stirred within his chest and, soon, he managed to tear his eyes away from the plants around him to look at the arches once more.

"What does the boulder mean?" he asked as he finally looked at Dylan to learn more about what exactly was happening.