18 - Real Talk

I took Juliana's pile of ropes and added them to a pile just inside the Temple, but deep enough to avoid even the most slanted rain.

As I came back out, Juliana addressed me again.

"You got lucky again."

I sat next to her, taking some unwoven strands to make into rope. "I know."

"Katie went through a lot of pain patching you up.." my gut clenched as she said it.

"I'm sure she did. She's less familiar with mana than I am."

"Don't you feel bad about that?"

"Is that what it looks like to you?" Because it certainly wasn't how it felt. Just a light smack with the hammer of guilt.

My question apparently made her pause. We both just wove rope.

Eventually, she asked, "You obviously can't fight. Why do you keep trying?"

I gave her a wry smile, finally looking away from the rope I was making. "Do you know how long ago our world ended? It was a moment for you, but I had to keep trying for years. Decades. I had to find a place, or you and everyone else would never wake up."

She seemed to be trying to find a response.

"I never gave up for millions of people I never knew. Why should I stop trying for the handful of people I do know?"

"... I guess you can't."

My smile turned genuine. "No. I can't." I returned my focus to weaving rope. "But I will say that after years of worrying about the fate of an entire world, it's nice to just worry about a few people."

We both worked in relative silence, only really conversing when she corrected me on my technique. Katie woke up an hour or so later, joining us on wobbly legs. I offered my hand to help her sit down, and let her work with Juliana on rope. Sitting and working with my fingers had given my own headache a chance to subside, so I was able to get up and work on the logs. Three more tents still needed wood frames shaped out.

The corpse of the beast I had killed - with dappled grey-brown oily skin - lay where I had left it last night, but Juliana and maybe Katie had taken some of the cooked giant chicken. I wasn't hungry, so I didn't take any myself.

A raindrop landed in my hair. I looked up to see a grey sky, with hundreds of falling droplets. Rain was here.

I grabbed the bag of food, and brought it into the Temple.

Katie and Juliana joined me inside, both carrying bundles of leafberry strands.

"I hope the others are okay." Katie said, looking out at the rain.

"They're probably fine. I bet they arrived at camp by now." I replied.

"I hope the did. They could catch a cold if they were still going when the rain hit them."

"Knowing Silence, they might have been on their way back when the rain hit them." I joked.

"As long as they hunker down."

We wove rope as the rain intensified.

*Ancient,* I suddenly wondered, *How do we train our mana? It won't be good to pass out after two barriers every time.*

*Experience and practice will be necessary.*

*Like this?* I asked, tugging at my mana like I had last night. I didn't shape it, instead letting it circulate in my veins. Where I pulled it from was hard to explain. It was in me, but not.

*You have a surprising level of energy control when compared to your companions.* The Ancient noted.

*I learned a thing or two on my journey here.*

"Katie, Juliana," I said, causing them to look away from their in-progress ropes, "While we're chilling inside, it would be a good idea to learn how to circulate mana."

"Mana? What's that?" Juliana asked.

"What do you mean, 'circulate mana'. That's a fantasy thing." Katie asked.

I took a deep breath, while organizing how to explain it. "Your mana is the pool of energy you felt as you picked up your swords. We never had it on our world, but it's present here. That's how you can conjure flames, Juliana, and how you were able to heal this, Katie." I gestured to my side.

I continued, "The better you can control your mana, the better you will be at those powers. Try reaching for that energy - that mana - and pulling some of it away."

Juliana took the Sorceress in hand, closed her eyes, and concentrated. Katie, seeing Juliana do it, mirrored her.

"Your mana is not in the sword. For some, it's closer to the heart. In my case, I pull from around my stomach, but it's not exactly there."

Wisps of flame popped into existence around Juliana. Katie seemed to be struggling.

"Now, Juliana, take that energy, and don't assign it to anything. Imagine it flowing into your body."

The wisps floated into her skin, disappearing without a trace. Once I was sure she had it, I focused my attention on Katie. She was trying, that much was obvious.

"You've done it before," I told her, "last night. You can do it."

She opened her blue eyes, looking straight at me. "Angel did, not me. I let her possess me to heal you."

I didn't know what to say. I had thought the Ancient had meant that... but no, he had said the Angel healed me, not her carrier.

"I- I don't think I can." She set down the Angel, and picked up her half-braided rope.

I wanted to say more, but Juliana silenced me with a look. I instead wove a new rope as I circulated mana in my veins.