Mana Storage

[Present; Unknown Location]

Except for the wind, silence reined over the Lands of Red Snow.

Mountains towered around on all sides, shielding the valley from the sun's burning rays. The snow that lay in powdery heaps seemed to be stained a slightly rosy color.

A pale figure sat in meditation at the center of the valley. Inky smoke clung like a robe, flowing from its shoulders to its feet.

The figure stirred, its bones and tendons cracking as if they hadn't moved in centuries.

From under the robe, the sallow body of a young man stretched, yawning heavily. It opened its eyes, revealing two bottomless pits.

It looked to the west, beyond the mountains. Beyond the plains, beyond the cratered ruins and blood-stained battlefields. It stared at Redvale and one man in particular.

The corners of its colorless lips quirked into a slight smile.

"How peculiar," It whispered.

...

[Present; Redvale]

Goleil shivered as he felt a set of eyes on him, but quickly, the feeling subsided. He was still gasping for breath, and although he could feel the mana flowing through his soul to his mana core or heart, it was excruciatingly slow.

Goleil shook his head as he tried to clear his foggy head. "What did you mean about being able to see your memories? I have no such ability," he said before remembering that Ty'Bral was in his head.

He glanced towards the growing crowd of spectators, but it didn't appear as if anyone had heard his ramblings. They were far too excited for the next match for that.

Ty'Bral raised a tentacle brow. "You can't? Then it must be unique to me, as I can recall the events that occurred to you throughout the day when you sleep."

'I'm not sure how I feel about that,' Goleil thought.

"Let's not get into it. It's not as if I actually want your memories, and I'm with you most of the day anyway."

Goleil could feel mana trickling in from the Perennial Band into his soul before being deposited into his mana core. He had only replenished a tiny portion in all this time.

He sighed. 'How long is this going to take? Is there any way to speed up this process?'

Ty'Bral chuckled as he looked out at the Lords and Ladies who had finally begun catching on to the events down at the ring.

"Of course, but not for you, not yet. You'd need to construct your Vessel."

'Vessel?'

Ty'Bral glanced back at Goleil as if he were an idiot. "Of course, Vessel. The mana core is a mana producer, but it doesn't change its shape or size no matter how much you want it to. You gained sen and Adthun from my blood, but you were limited to how much it could store because your heart was far smaller than mine."

The four-armed demon sat beside Goleil like a cruel mirror image. "A Vessel changes that. It is usually constructed early in a mage's career, as it can get bigger to store more sen. Not only that, but it also grants you a bit of control over your soul that you currently lack. I am aware of a few Soul Techniques that speed up recovery and increase the size of your Vessel."

Goleil felt his heart rate increase. Why hadn't anyone told him this?!

"It would be far too dangerous to construct your Vessel now," Ty'Bral said as he began picking out familiar faces in the crowd of nobles. They had been present when Goleil commanded them to kneel. "You have enough power to Command this entire city if you wanted to, and we have yet to see the true extents of your magic. You'd be a walking disaster."

Goleil nodded. 'That makes sense, so I suppose I should construct it after our trip to the Graven Mountains?'

"Precisely."

Goleil thought about his situation. 'What you say makes sense. The only reason I've grown in strength the past week is that my soul became more powerful, not because I gained more mana. The Perennial Band was also a lucky break.'

"That artifact will become useless very soon. I suspect it isn't operating at its true potential because artifacts are grossly overpriced otherwise."

Goleil chuckled. 'I am inclined to agree,' He thought, but his eyes narrowed as he thought of something.

'You once told me a man can only be a mage if he has enough mana to project it outside his body; otherwise, they can only follow a martial path. What sets them apart? If only a mage can create a Vessel, how is manaforging possible?'

Ty'Bral grinned, the crack in his facsimile mask going from ear to ear. "Excellent question, my pupil."

"Don't-" Goleil almost blurted out. 'Don't call me that," He thought.

The eldritch chuckled and cleared its throat. "Unlike mages, martial warriors don't increase the amount of mana they have in their lifetime. According to my father, they simply get better at using it. This means their amount of mana will determine how far they can go in their martial path."

Ty'Bral looked out across the crowd of people as if reminiscing. "I can only assume that Manaforging takes it a step up. It is a secret art, so it'll be up to you to figure it out."

"Are we just going to skip the fact that you brought up a parental figure?"

"Yes. Anyway, you are very similar in that respect. You have gained strength not by increasing your mana supply but by getting more efficient with your mana by increasing the size of your soul. I wonder if your soul will ever get too big," Ty'Bral said as an inventive light crept into his eyes.

Goleil looked at Ty'Bral in disappointment. How was it possible that Ty'Bral could remember his father, but Goleil couldn't? When they had first met, Ty'Bral had said his memories were fragmented, but they must have gotten better.

He thought about how the locraf he had drank and how no new memories had come to him like they had the last time. Perhaps Ty'Bral had remembered something?

Goleil sighed as he felt that his mana stores were only a quarter way full.

'Ty'Bral, if a man had enough mana to become a mage, and the amount of mana a martial warrior has dictated how far he can go in the path, couldn't he easily become a Mage Knight?'

Ty'Bral looked at Goleil strangely. "You surprise me with your intelligence; however, you assume that just because he has enough mana to project, he also has the talent for battle. Assuming he does, judging by the privileged position of Dr. Favar and Mage Murdoc, mages must have much more status than a mere knight in your society. Not to mention, there are very few of them."

He waved his hand at the crowd to make his point.

"Not only that but being a knight requires undertaking far more danger than becoming a mage. The way of the warlock is a path plagued by pages and papers, not blades and battles. Ignoring all that, to undergo both is not as simple as you seem to believe," Ty'Bral said as he gestured to the Sun Knights cloak.

"You have spent ten years and an unknown amount of battles honing your battle instinct. Not only do we not know how old you are, but we also don't know how long you have left. But as you accumulate mana in your body, your lifespan grows, so I'm not too worried about that." The eldritch said as he lay on his back.

Goleil sighed as he thought once more that he felt like a tool to be used and disposed of. Why couldn't he remember even his family?

He shook his head and stood up as he got ready for combat. He had enough sitting around. It was time for action.

Ty'Bral scoffed. "You've barely replenished half your mana core. Sit down."

Goleil groaned as his eyes caught Sir Khalid's, who had been staring at him.

"Guardsman, thy next enemy is strong but not nearly as strong as your last. That creature you faced was not the same one I faced. Beware its embrace."

Goleil's brows furrowed as he nodded. 'Why is he helping me? I thought he hated me. I certainly don't like him.'

"I imagine he respects you for your strength. Is that not a common character trait for knights?"

Goleil shrugged. 'You heard him anyways. The next one shouldn't be too hard. I'm going to fight him.'

A ripple went through the Colosseo as a portal began to coalesce.

"He said to beware its embrace. I wonder what that meant," Ty'Bral said as he retreated to the energy curtain.

'I'll figure it out. I just hope it's not sentient like the last one.'