Expired 8
Kanyo and Nicole Warren silently hiked through the secluded forest trail until they got to a small cliff in front of them. Nicole looked at Kanyo, expecting her to say something or give out some instructions, but she didn't. The Queen appeared to be concentrating on something, and Nicole didn't want to interrupt her. Nicole looked Kanyo up and down to see what she was doing, and then she noticed something strange.
Kanyo wasn't touching the ground. Nicole's eyes widened and she struggled to stay quiet as the Queen began to float in the air. As her body levitated over the ground, Kanyo brought her legs up in a fold and she slowly rotated to look at Nicole.
"You'll have to climb here." Kanyo instructed, and she continued to rise in the air until she was at the top of the hill. She then unfolded her legs and gently stepped onto the elevated ground, looking down at Nicole.
Nicole was a bit confused. Was this some sort of warmup? Was this her standard routine? Or was she doing just to alienate her? Whatever the case, Nicole knew she had to get going quickly, so she hopped up onto the first large rock and began clambering up the surface of the little cliffside. It didn't take much more than a minute, but it felt much longer with Kanyo's gaze seeming to burn into her as she climbed.
When she finally reached the top and came level with Kanyo, the Queen sat down, and motioned for Nicole to do the same. The top of the hill was just tall enough to peep over the trees surrounding it, so they had a clear view of the forest all around them. Kanyo was right when she said there was no artificial influence - there was nothing but untamed natural beauty as far as the eye could see.
"Meditation is done in many religions and belief systems." Kanyo started suddenly, in a more soothing voice. "Even those who somehow don't believe in a higher power, even those who don't have arcane abilities within themselves, can find use from meditation. Its purpose for the average person is to clear the mind and, in turn, the body and spirit. For you, the ability to use magic is locked deep, deep inside you. If it weren't for your desire to undertake this reckless Quest, you likely would've gone your entire life without even knowing.
"Your ability is like a pocket of water far underground. It's so deep, and small, that it's nearly impossible to tap into. You must have the utmost concentration and knowledge of its existence to be able to draw water from it. You can use meditation to help calm your mind and concentrate on honing into your skills. I use meditation because it allows me to look within myself. I have a hundred lifetime's worth of arcane knowledge and abilities. Meditation helps me sort through them, discover things I didn't previously know, and connect with this part of my identity.
"Right now, do not think about yourself. There is a time and a place to use meditation for self-reflection and introspection, but now is not that time. Let the thoughts about your life leave your mind, for a time. Let go of your worries about your lover, let go of the stresses of your career, let go of your misgivings about me. Now is the time for you to concentrate on nothing but the world around you. Close your eyes, let go of your sight. Our species relies too much on what we can see and not what we can feel, yet all these other feelings are so potent, they mean so much.
"Your ability stems from your aura, your spirit, your energy. This is your anchor. If you can manage to cultivate and draw power from it, then your abilities will stem from this energy. Those who can warp and play with the elements are connected directly to the physical world. Their bodies are their anchor. Those whose power can affect life, death, and the psyche are connected by the thing that connects all true beings. Their minds are their anchor. Those who do things that seem to defy the natural order do so with the energy which connects mind and body. The aura is a unique thing that us as sapient beings possess. Your energy stems from it, it is your anchor.
"Now I want you to let go of your body. You can feel the wind lightly brushing you, the nip of the breeze, the ground underneath you. Let go of those things. Think of the sun, don't open your eyes, but picture it. Just now it's breaching the horizon, but the forest around you won't be warm for another hour. But can you feel the warmth, still? Can you feel it surrounding your body? The sun brings life. The sun brings nourishment and energy to the billions of trees surrounding you. It is the embodiment of energy. You, yourself, are like the sun. You exude energy, and the people around you can feel it. Your excitement, your infatuation, your anxiety, your disappointment, it can all be felt. But don't think of them in context. Don't picture them as reactions to your life's events. Feel them. Feel them as the energy you give. Let your mind empty and simply feel your spirit."
Kanyo paused for a moment, but Nicole didn't notice. She almost felt like she was in a trance, but she wasn't thinking about it. She had gotten lost in Kanyo's words, hearing them, but not listening to them. And yet, she understood their meaning. She could feel what she meant. The energy of the sun, still barely peeking over the horizon, surrounded her. She couldn't feel the breeze anymore, but she could feel something else. It felt like she was glowing from her skin.
"Good, good. Capture this feeling. Memorize it. This is how it feels to have a hold of your energy. This is how it feels to draw from your anchor."
A few more moments passed, with Nicole still feeling in a trance. Now it almost felt like she was encased in a field of warmth, simultaneously silky and smooth while also brimming with potential.
"Open your eyes, Nicole." Kanyo instructed, and after a second Nicole obliged. She was shocked to see translucent green waves peeling off of her body like steam. It was really similar to what had happened the day before when Kanyo "found" her magic ability.
"Is- is this my aura?" Nicole found it difficult to speak.
"Yes. It's not very opaque, and there's not a lot of force to it. That's why you've never been aware of your magic abilities. But it will be enough for what you need it for."
"What do I do now?" Nicole asked, noticing the waves were starting to thin out.
"Close your eyes again, and continue focusing like this. I usually meditate from right before sunrise to the time the sun is completely over the horizon. You will do this with me as part of your training. You need more practice drawing from your well. You've managed to poke a little straw into it, and now it's time for you to start digging to create a true well. Simply sit in silence and feel your energy flow."
"Okay." Nicole breathed, closed her eyes again, and did as she was told.
The rest of the day, once the sun had risen and the meditation was over, was a little less exciting. Kanyo brought Nicole to the cottage, and began giving her crash courses in magic history and theory. Nicole hadn't done real bookwork since college and that was ages ago, but thankfully she'd gotten adept at jotting down notes since she started preparing for the Quest.
"These are subjects that students would study for years in one of the mage colleges," Kanyo had said, "but these are the big essentials. If you wanted to be a true pupil of the arcane arts I would go slower and more in-depth, but for both of our sakes I'm speeding through all of this."
As the day waned and it neared sundown, Kanyo halted the book lessons and brought Nicole back outside for another meditation session at the same place.
"Is there a specific reason to do this at sundown and sunrise?" Nicole asked as she clambered up the cliff face.
"It's a liminal period," Kanyo answered, already on top of the hill. "Liminal spaces are the boundaries between two things, two opposites even. There is much potential power in these time periods. Have you heard of the witching hour? It's in the dead of night, as one day switches to the next. Magic power is increased at this time for some individuals. It goes beyond just the arcane ideals, though. Picture the coastline, where the land meets the sea. People gather there, it's powerful for commerce, tourism, defense.
"For novices such as yourself, the liminal period of sunrise and sunset makes it marginally easier for you to tap into your anchor. Also, it's a good way to start and end your day, in my opinion. Just like you do your stretching and exercise routines, this is the same concept."
As they had in the morning, Kanyo and Nicole sat on top of the hill and the Queen talked Nicole through meditation again. This time, it was quicker, and Nicole fell into the nearly trance-like state in just a couple minutes. With less time needed to be coached through the process, more time was spent with Nicole merely sitting and trying to solidify the feeling. Kanyo entered meditation of her own once she determined Nicole was well enough to go on her own.
Soon enough, the sun went down, and the session ended. They walked back to the cottage together, Nicole was directed to a small bedroom, and she fell asleep.
The next day, the sunrise routine was repeated, though this time they were already at the cottage grounds so no portal magic was necessary. Once again, Nicole clambered up the cliff face, though by now she knew the climbing route better so it took half as long. This time, Kanyo said nothing, and simply began meditating on her own. Nicole watched as the Queen slowly began to float a foot or so above the ground in her sitting position, and she wondered if that was something everybody could do with practice or if it was just something Kanyo picked up over her many, many years of magic study.
Nicole shook her head, knowing she had to concentrate and do it herself this time. It was a little more difficult, without Kanyo's somewhat soothing voice to guide her, but she knew this was one of her first tests. Actually, she was convinced she'd already been secretly tested a dozen times by now, but this was probably a big one. Kanyo wouldn't be there on the Quest to help Nicole when she would need it, so she needed to do it herself.
Getting into the meditative mode took longer this time, but Nicole eventually managed it. She stopped paying attention to her physical surroundings and instead focused on what she could feel outside of herself. She pictured the sun and its energy flooding the forest, the cycle of life perpetuated by that which cannot be touched or moved. She pictured her own energy exuding from herself, her own being outside of her mere physical form. That was doing the trick. Before long, she got the feeling which was becoming familiar. Nicole didn't dare open her eyes, but if she did she knew she'd see her aura visually radiating from her.
Once the sun had risen and Nicole started to feel the actual warmth of the sun on her skin, Nicole opened her eyes and shivered a bit. Goosebumps ran down her body and she slowly sat up. When she looked to her left she nearly had a start, as Kanyo was staring straight at her.
"Is something wrong?" Nicole asked, standing up.
"You're showing excellent proficiency at this so far. I assume this is due to your discipline and diligence that no doubt played a factor in your abilities as an athlete. Perhaps in another life you could've been a great mage."
"Thank you, I guess." Nicole replied, wondering if she should take it as a compliment. "What's next? More bookwork?"
Kanyo sighed, "No. You are ready for the next phase."
Nicole didn't know what to expect going into this "next phase," but once she started, she didn't like it. Kanyo had brought her down from the hill and to the small clearing out in front of the cottage. Kanyo instructed Nicole to attempt bringing out her aura while outside of meditation.
"It may not seem like it, but it's a reflex you can control like anything else. Just like you do a ... kick, or whatever you do in that sport you play."
"Like, a tackle?" Nicole tried to help Kanyo with the analogy. She was still a bit miffed that Kanyo hadn't bothered learning a lot about her.
"I thought that was the other kind of football?" Kanyo seemed genuinely confused.
"Well technically - you know what, never mind" Nicole decided it wasn't worth the trouble.
"Fine. Now as I was saying, being able to connect to your anchor outside of meditation is like a reflex. If you do it enough, it becomes like muscle memory. I don't have a lot of time with you, so we'll have to expedite that process a little bit. After all, in the maze, you may have fractions of a second to protect yourself. If this reflex isn't built into your muscle memory, you may be an instant too late and your life is over."
"I understand," Nicole said quietly.
"Now I want you to try and replicate the feeling you get from meditation. By now you're clearly familiar with the feeling of tapping your aura, so it shouldn't be too difficult. Simply imagine yourself priming your aura and flaring it out from yourself. Just like you'd mentally imagine yourself doing a 'tackle' or whatever else. This will take awhile, but once you do it, just let it go and start back from the beginning. Practice flaring out, then backing off and doing it again."
Nicole did as she was told. As Kanyo had said, it took a few minutes the first time, it was nearly 15 minutes before she finally got something to show up. Without the calm and serene environment of meditation, with more ability to get distracted, it was tough for Nicole to get it going. But she did, and the faint green waves floated off her skin again.
"Good. Now like I said, let go of it. Go back to your normal state, then work towards this again. It should be a little quicker this time. Once you're done, do it again, and again. I will let you know when the drill is over."
"Understood," Nicole said simply, and she got to work. She was no stranger to doing the same thing over and over again. She'd been practicing for soccer since grade school, she understood the concept of plugging away at the exact same drill for hours at a time.
However, she wasn't prepared to be doing it all day. Once Nicole got to work from Kanyo's instruction, the Queen wandered off and seemed to disappear. Nicole was concentrating on her "drill" most of the time, but she swore that she didn't see Kanyo once for the rest of the day until the sky started to redden. The work of concentrating, flexing something that wasn't really a muscle, and having to start from nothing again was tiring, like doing wind sprints or suicides at practice. Those drills never lasted more than a small session. This was a majority of the day, and Nicole was becoming exhausted.
Nicole was agitated, both mentally from the grind and physically from the effort, and Kanyo still had yet to be seen. She knew that she couldn't stop though, because that would show weakness. Plus, as Kanyo had said, she needed to establish muscle memory that took weeks or months to master in just a few days. So, Nicole worked, forcing her aura out and letting it dissipate again. By the time the sun was sinking in the sky, she had started to get better at it, taking less than a minute to make it happen. When it did form, Nicole would try moving or shaping it, which had mixed results. She needed something to break up the monotony, after all.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Kanyo walked out from the treeline and observed Nicole. Nicole did her best to avoid looking at the Queen, to try and prove that she wasn't backing down from the challenge. Another eternity seemed to pass as Kanyo evaluated her from afar, before she finally spoke up.
"Your drill is complete for now." Kanyo called out from the edge of the clearing. "Dinner is ready in the cottage for you."
"May I ask a question?" Nicole said, finally relaxing her body and slumping a bit in the process.
Kanyo said nothing but inclined her head to Nicole to indicate she could continue.
"Was this entirely necessary?" Nicole asked, with a slight bit of annoyance evident in her voice. "I am a professional athlete. I am no stranger to the grind of practice, to doing drills for hours at a time, but this is ridiculous. It's important to gain muscle memory, but overtraining is a real thing. There is a time that it starts to become detrimental. I don't mean to undermine your tutelage, but I would at least like to know some reason why I stood here for over half the actual day doing this over and over again."
Kanyo's face hardened. Nicole could feel that she probably should've shut the fuck up instead, but it was too late.
"The reasoning for this practice is threefold. The first reason you know. It's important to establish muscle memory so you can call upon your aura when you need it most, without faltering. You are trying to cram months of learning into a single week, so you must accept the fact that you are having to do a week's worth of practice in a single day.
"The second reason is that, like it or not, I am the only one who can instruct you in the arcane abilities that you need for your foolish quest. If you could manage to find another tutor in the magic arts, even one that was willing to take you in as a novice student with no interest in pursuing magic as a career path, they would not know exactly what to teach you that would actually do you any good in the Quest. You are stuck with me, and I with you. If you don't like how I train you, then you can leave now and accept the fact that your death is virtually guaranteed. Not that it isn't already virtually guaranteed, but I digress.
"The third reason is the most important. If, by some miracle, you succeed, you will be in a new plane of existence. My life is something that your mind cannot possibly comprehend right now. Do you think this is enjoyable? You may think that your labor of love is worth it right now, because right now you don't understand what this life truly is. One can argue that death is what gives value to life. Without death, what value does your life truly have? The mental exertion you've experienced today is the same you will experience as an immortal. Do you know how many times I've woken up, how many times I have had to go through the daily routine of eating, grooming, and sleeping? I have brushed my teeth an uncountable amount of times, and I was born centuries before toothbrushes were invented. There is no stopping the march of time, but instead of time gnawing and eating at your body, it will eat and gnaw at your soul. You may have a lover with you, but he won't change the fact that you will be trapped in a never-ending cycle of monotony. This is what you clearly have not considered. If you can't handle a day of this grind, you will drive yourself insane after a mere century of living as an immortal. This is something you must understand, if you are to continue."
Nicole's heart sank as Kanyo continued to speak, especially because she knew she was right. She hadn't thought about that daily grind of immortal life, she'd been focusing on what her mortal life would be if she had to move on from Mike. No matter. She would figure it out later.
"I understand." Nicole said slowly, after a bit of introspection. "In my life, I've never backed down from a challenge, even when it meant causing myself pain as a means to an end. I will do whatever it takes."
Kanyo's gaze only seemed to harden.
"Fine. Go eat your meal, then meet me on the hill."
