A unique mana

The concept was easy to understand.

Life couldn't be created solely out of one element. 

That was a widely learned fact yet at the same time a secret only a few knew about. 

All life, everything on the earth, and the whole universe were all made from a mixture of all the elements, each in a different way. No one could say for sure what those exact elements were or how they were mixed to form diverse substances and different life forms, but there were various theories presented to people by scientists, churches, and heads of different religions. 

Far ago, in the age when Magic and Mana were widely forbidden, Mana was deemed as a source of evil. The followers of Light claimed all life to be born out of Light, out of the element they named Aether. Aether, an essence named after purity, is something that could only cleanse, heal, and glow, contrary to the destructive and ominous nature of Mana. Thus Mana was deemed a sin and the mages were all punished for being evildoers. 

It took so many years and countless sacrifices for this massacre to stop and for the newly established Church of The Sun to change the beliefs of the followers of Light, to teach them how Life was born and that Mana was also a part of it. 

But then again, there were few people who could understand the literal meaning of those phrases and religious teachings. 

A physical body couldn't be formed solely out of one element. Aether can't and could never be the origin of all since the energy, the power, couldn't even form a physical body. In order for a lifeform to be shaped, the intervention of mana as well as other elements was needed. 

"So in order for this child to attain a physical body, mana needs to be added to its existence."

Since Lior was all Aether and nothing else. 

"But not any ordinary mana. I, or any other mage, cannot do it. It takes a very special kind of mana to grant a body to the living, a mana which is the closest to the origin."

Having explained all of that, Zal pointed at Alaric and then at the mass of Aether wiggling inside Ian's palms. 

"Why me? Do you mean my mana is special?"

"It is. You can see that creature, right? See, touch, and interact with. Logically speaking, it shouldn't be possible for anyone, not even for that bluehead, but he can, and you can as well. It only means both of your blessings are unique on their own.

"I say yours is closer to the origin since it resembles a person I've seen before. The author of that notebook, I mean. Hers was the purest Mana I've ever seen, and yours... It's not like hers but closer than anyone else I've seen so far."

He'd also said before that The Bird took notice of Alaric's mana and sent him to investigate, so Ian wasn't too surprised. Rather than Alaric's uniqueness, he had other things to worry about.

"Won't it harm the child if we forcefully enter mana into his existence?"

"Of course, it might hurt if we attempt it with any ordinary Mana, but I don't think there will be any danger since we're using a rather pure form of it."

So there might be some danger after all...

He wasn't allowing it if there was the slightest threat. No way Ian would let them do some sort of uncertain experiment on his kid. If things didn't seem right, he'd pick up Lior and run. 

"And it's not forcing Mana into his existence, rather, it's entering Mana into the already massive pool of Aether and allowing it to circulate alongside the energy. No 'Real' physical body will be created this way, but rather, it'll only use the mana's unique nature to allow the other to 'Perceive' a physical body. It's somewhat hard to explain, and I too, don't know the exact thing that will happen afterward. The whole thing might even fail and have no effects after all."

He said it might fail. That he didn't know full well... Why did he bring up a problem if he wasn't sure of its cure? 

'I swear to god I won't let this man go if he can't fulfill his promise.'

Fail? After giving Lior so much hope? No. Not accepted, and not forgiven.

"But doesn't Lior already have a body? I can touch it, right? Though I couldn't touch it at first..."

"It has a body, yes, a body of Ather. It's the same as a physical body with every part and organ, but they're all made out of Aether instead of other substances, and the organs don't really function the way they should. That child probably has the basic abilities a living being shall have, but they're not really improved, right? Does it have a heartbeat? The body doesn't need the heart to live on, so why would his heart, beat? Can it speak through its mouth? It's probably using Aether to convey its words and also uses the natural Aether to hear sounds, rather than how humans hear voices through the vibration in the air. There must be also some abilities he seriously lacks, like tasting, since he can only get to taste the Aether found in any substance rather than the whole food, and that Aether contains a small portion of what we call the taste of the food, or maybe feeling the touch of the others, some might be able to graze it, but they won't understand what they just touched, and some people with very low Ather might just pass through it, and the child won't even feel anything."

"....."

"Am I wrong?"

"No..."

Everything he said matched perfectly with how Lior was, leaving Ian baffled at the man's depth of knowledge. Despite also having lived a long life, Ian had... wasted his time playing around most of the time. He was somewhat envious and ashamed.

'In my defense, I lived a different life from his.'

Zal wasn't stuck in three years of his life and forced to repeat it over and over like Ian did, not to mention that he couldn't see those three years to the end most of the time. The man in front of him was a free, powerful individual who's lived since ancient times, while Ian was basically 21 years old despite having lived more than that.

He'd lived for a long time, but not 'grown' old.

"Uh..." Alaric shifted his gaze to Ian. Seeing him nod, he looked back at Zal, "So, are we giving him a real body now?"

"We can't do such a thing. We're barely adding some mana to the body that's already made out of Ather. This way, instead of sensing and interacting with the world solely using Aether, it can depend on mana too. When tasting food, on top of receiving the information regarding the taste of the substance through Ather, it can also receive the same information through the mana stored inside the food, allowing it to understand more of the taste. And when being touched, it can now be felt by other people who have low Ather as well. Some might still find it hard to notice him, but he'll be seen by many people."

Listening to all the explanations, Lior kept sending confused looks at Ian and at Zal, his body curled up into a tiny furball inside his master's palm, continuously being stroked by a gentle finger. 

"I'll teach you the method. It's simple, just the basics of mana circulating."

"...Alright."

For the next couple of minutes, Zal was busy teaching them how to circulate mana, how to extract it from their body, and how to accept it in the least harmless way. Fortunately, Alaric was already accustomed to circulating mana, and Lior, as someone who's lived for many, many years and was a master in controlling Aether, used the simpler method of circulating mana as well. 

'It... Doesn't appear harmful.'

Meanwhile, Ian was busy examining and studying the technique. He tried it a few times with Zal, both to see if it could pose any danger and also to show the two how to follow Zal's instructions. And he deduced, after a couple of tries, that the process couldn't harm Lior.

Such a relief. 

"So are we ready?"

-Don't do it, if you find it hard. Stop it if it hurts, okay?

Still, he had to brief the child.

-I won't. I'm not you.

-Pardon?

Lior jumped out of Ian's embrace to the table. On the other side, after sipping the last droplets of his tea, Alaric also sat at the table, facing the kid. The two took a few seconds to prepare before each reached out, placing one palm and one hand against each other. 

"Alright now, just do as I said."

A flow of smooth, thin mana began circulating around them both.