Maira's Lessons: Zahlers

Shaking her head, Maira prepared herself for yet another round of lessons for her intelligent son. Really, beyond teaching him how to fight on the field, she didn't even know what else she could teach him beyond her own knowledge regarding the Empire's inner workings and their prejudice. She didn't even know if her son had already inferred how the whole discrimination between Zahlers and Nenners worked or not. She could only assume that he was listening to her, and that she was actually teaching him things that would serve him well in the future.

"Alright, let's move on to Zahlers."

"That's what you are," he quickly quipped. "Right, Mother?"

"Indeed," she chuckled as she shook her head. "And while you might not be a Zahler, you might encounter them during your life, so you might as well know what they're capable of."

She cleared her throat as she began her lecture. "Again, as we've established, Zahlers wield Elementar Wesen which allows them to control one specific element that matches their affinity. In the same way that I can control fire, other Zahlers might control water or wind respectively."

"And that's just because they have a different Wesen type than me," her son pouted. "Is there really no way for me to control the elements?"

"Sadly, no," she sighed, a bit of guilt eating into her despite herself. "You're a Nenner. Your Wesen type is literally incompatible with the elements."

"How so?" he asked.

Taking a deep breath, Maira collected her thoughts before she replied, "For one, Zahlers wield a fundamentally different type of Wesen than Nenners like yourself. Elementar Wesen comes from the stomach, its overflowing power allowing life to control those around it."

"And Seigel Wesen?"

"Seigel Wesen comes from the chest. At least, that's how your father describes it," she explained. "You might be better off taking lessons from him about being a Nenner. I only know what I know, unfortunately."

"Alright," he nodded.

"To continue then... A Zahler controls their Elementar Wesen through their stomach," she recounted. "Like a well of energy, we Zahlers draw from it and channel said energies through our limbs. Of course, doing so would limit our power. And thus, we use our Seigel Weapons to help us channel our powers into the world."

"So that's why you always needed a weapon if you wanted to use your bigger moves then?"

"Correct," she nodded. "Only a ridiculously powerful Zahler is able to manifest their powers without the aid of a Seigel Weapon. That's why Nenners are important. They enable Zahlers to reach their full potential."

"And yet we still get discriminated against," her son pondered.

"That's just the truth of things, unfortunately," she sighed. "I assure you though, that not everyone thinks the same."

Or... at least she hoped so. It had been years since she was in the capital. She could only hope that things had improved while she was gone. And if not...

Then, that just meant that her decision to defect had been the right choice.