After I dressed Jessie, she dragged me downstairs for food and water. Lots of water. As she rehydrated, it literally looked like a corpse came back to life. Her hair seemed to straighten out, the bags under her eyes disappeared, and the smell of sweaty flesh and fluids went away.

  Okay, I was exaggerating, but still…

  I crammed a bunch of eggs into my mouth. All the while, Jessie kept complaining that I tightened her robes too much in the back. I ignored her until she threatened to strip in the inn and refit her clothes herself if I didn’t help her. It was probably a fake threat, but it moved me regardless.

  We then left the inn, walked silently for thirty minutes until Jessie yawned, found a fence post on a mostly deserted part of town, and sat beside it. She leaned her head against the wood while staring at me groggily.

  You respect her, you respect her, you respect her…

  “There are four elements: earth, wind, water, and fire. Each one learned brands a finger, and the depth of a person’s knowledge of that element adds another ring to that same finger.” Her tone and personality switched in an instant. She flashed her hand, flexing her pinkie in particular. “I only have one extra for wind, and I’ve been doing this since I was a child, so you can imagine how hard it is to go beyond the first ring of any element.” She paused. “Do you know which element each finger signifies?”

  “Pinkie for air, ring finger for fire, the middle is water, and the pointer finger earth,” I replied.

  Jessie. “Good. You read the book.”

  I already knew all that, but sure.

  “If you have all your bands, you’re considered a Weaver. Anything below four doesn’t get a title. As a Weaver, you’ll be able to control all elements at will, both internally and externally, at a basic level. The title for rings has nothing to do with if you use them externally or internally, and the degree to which you can depends on your mana capacity,” explained Jessie. “You earn an extra band on any finger, and you get to be a Tethered like me. If you get two bands on every finger, you’re an Elementalist. Earn a third band on any finger, even if you don’t make it to Elementalist, you skip right to Worldweaver. The difference is that substantial.”

  “And if I have all three on all fingers—”

  “You’d earn the title Prime Arcana and become one of the most powerful people in history. Very few have reached such highs.” She pointed at her pinkie finger with the extra band. “The first lets me control the element. The second lets me alter its form.”

  “How?” I asked, encouraged.

  Jessie paused. “Sorry. I was excited and started getting ahead of myself. That doesn’t matter right now, and it’ll only confuse you. I just wanted to introduce you to the basics.”

  “Oh. Okay.”

  “So why are we talking about this? Well, all mana needs to connect with an element to produce an effect,” she continued. “Why do you think mana is empowered by fire, wind, water, and air?” she asked after a moment. Her gaze shifted as she snapped from drunken slob to teacher. “Why not lightning or grass or ice?”

  “Because those four elements are the building blocks for life,” I explained, briefly paraphrasing what I read in the book Jessie gave me.

  “Why?”

  “The book didn’t really say why, but that’s what it said,” I admitted. “There was a collection of philosophical arguments to try and explain the logic behind it. Some argued that they were all necessary for life to thrive. Others theorized it was because they’re the base elements the Gods used to create the world. Others argued that there was no reason and that it was just how things worked. There was really no consensus.”

  “Very smart and does what I say. Good.” Jessie relaxed a bit into the post. “Makes my job easier. I’m so happy I get to indoctrinate you how I like. If you’d read about mana from some cheap, shit literature passed out by the Pantheon’s quacks, you’d probably just say ‘because it is’ without really thinking about it. That’s only one perspective, after all,” complained Jessie. She scrunched her nose like a cow shat near her. “Blindly trusting anything makes you stupid. Being critical of everything makes you depressed. Try to find a happy medium.”

  Even with my explanations and understanding of mana and the elements, I knew there were gaps. What I read and what I “remembered” kept conflicting.

  There’s logic to everything. I noted. I just don’t know the logic behind mana yet, and I bet only a few people do, if any. I’d bet anything earning more bands comes with a broader understanding of how mana works on a fundamental level. That means the answers are out there. I only need to find them.

  “So, which element do you want to learn first?” asked Jessie as her words interrupted my thoughts. She materialized her codex in her hands and flipped a page. “You’ll learn them all, but if you’ve got a preference, this’ll go faster. Hopefully.”

  I was tied between water and wind. Fire and earth didn’t interest me nearly as much.

  On the one hand, being able to freely move my body and push people with air was appealing. However, I felt like water was the best pick for me. It could be used defensively to block projectiles, skew attacks, and disorient. It had offensive capabilities, depending on the pressure applied. Plus, in a survival situation, I’d always have access to clean drinking water when needed. It was also the element associated with the Heavenly style, the fighting techniques Quintin knew and used most frequently.

  “Water,” I said after a moment.

  “Here you go.” Jessie snatched a page from her codex, reached inside it, and yanked out a crude, misshapen, cloudy, hand-sized crystal. She tossed it to me, and I caught it after only fumbling it three times. “Bring the crystal close to me. Hold out your hand.”

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  I did as I was told.

  For the first time up close, I watched someone manipulate mana beyond generating a codex. Her eyes and marks glowed a brilliant violet color as power surged through her.

  In her right hand, the one farthest from me, water blossomed in Jessie’s palm. It bubbled between her fingers like it was fighting to escape from a bottle. It morphed around the hand like a raindrop on a table. She twisted her wrist and eventually released the water. It dropped with a splash into the dirt beside her.

  “That’s what it looks like to use mana to create elements,” said Jessie. She then placed her hand on the mana crystal I held. “I’m going to flow that same energy through this crystal. Try to connect to it with your mana. When you feel that connection, allow it to flow freely within you. Visualize your blood moving at your whim and connecting this crystal to your core. That is the key. All the power stems from your stomach. Store it there, and you’ll be able to match me, okay?”

  “Very preachy,” I joked.

  “Just do it. It helps, or I wouldn’t phrase it so stupidly. It’s not like I can draw it for you. It is an internal feeling. You’re used to it. You’ve channeled your mana. You can open your codex. Just think about that same feeling moving in your veins,” explained Jessie. “It’s good you picked water first. I would have suggested that. Mana moves like a liquid in your skin, so it’s usually the most intuitive for people to learn.”

  “Ah. Well, good.”

  I did as I was told. At the same time, Jessie began funneling mana into the crystal. Instantly, it felt like some intangible chain connected us through it. My veins overflowed with power like they were channels for energy rather than blood. Then, that feeling shifted. My body suddenly felt cool, and my veins felt like rivers. It was as if my insides turned into pure water at a whim.

  Then, the feeling stopped.

  “Easy to understand, no?” questioned Jessie as she took back the crystal and stared at me. “What did it feel like?”

  “My entire body was flowing with powerful water, ready to bend at my whim,” I replied.

  “Perfect. Now, since you’re learning from me, we’re going to use external mana to earn you your first band. Here’s how I visualize it,” began Jessie. She held up her hand. “Imagine there are little holes punctured throughout your body. The mana is rippling internally, looking for somewhere to escape. However, you’ll need to change your mana’s affinity to water first. You already know this, but the power starts in your core.” She patted her stomach. “Surge your mana, change its feeling, and water will form. Then, you need to give it an exit or connecting point, guide it, and direct it where you desire. That’s how it works for mages. I’m sure Barcus will have a different way of phrasing it for his internal mana lessons, but ignore that for now. External mana is always looking to leave your body or connect with similar energies outside yourself—in this scenario, a lake, river, ponder, or something similar.”

  As Jessie spoke, water bubbled in her hand again. She released it, letting it flop to the ground like she did before.

  “This is just the first step. There’s more, but try this for now,” my teacher ordered. “Getting the feeling is the most important part of the process. The rest comes with time and practice.”

  Nodding, I raised my right arm out in front of me and rested my left hand in the crook of its elbow. Mana circulated within me. It felt like power in my veins. I tried to recreate the sensation I felt earlier. The feeling flickered but wouldn’t hold.

  “Remember the feeling. Ask your mana to take that form; don’t force it. Your body remembers. Follow through. Slowly. Patiently. Become water. Feel it take over your body again.”

  I grimaced. My mana circulated inside me, but the feeling of water was…oh?

  Suddenly, the coolness I felt when touching the crystal manifested in my belly. It circulated within me, looking for somewhere to escape.

  I visualized the holes Jessie was talking about and centered them in my palm. As soon as I had the thought, the water within me rushed for the exit I created.

  Liquid bubbled around my fingers. I could feel the water, but it wasn’t making me wet. The amount grew larger and larger until it covered my entire hand like a giant transparent glove with rippling lumps.

  “Now let it go,” ordered Jessie. “Cut off the stream.”

  I did as I was told. The internal feeling of water stopped like someone had dropped a dead tree in front of a river. The water stayed in my hand for a few seconds, then plummeted to the ground, just like Jessie’s had.

  Puzzled, I focused on the puddle on the ground.

  “How is that helpful for self-defense, right?” interjected Jessie like she could read my mind. “That doesn’t seem like it’d hurt a person, let alone a monster or a demon.”

  “Pretty much,” I agreed.

  “There are essentially three steps in external magic: creation, manipulation, and power. The first step, which you’ve already completed, is to create the element you intend to use. You did it by making water in your hand. But it was unrefined, bubbling, formless, and powerless, yes?”

  I nodded.

  “It was enough, though. Look at your hands.”

  Glancing at them, I saw that black bands had etched themselves into the skin around my middle fingers like rings. They sat right above the knuckle.

  “Just being able to create water at that level was enough to give me a mark?” I questioned, dumbfounded. “But it can’t do anything.”

  “Changing your mana to the element was the only requirement,” said Jessie. “Regardless, don’t denigrate the accomplishment. Think about what you just did. You created water using the internal energy within you. It’s a magnificent achievement.”

  I suppose that’s true.

  “Decades ago, if you wanted to learn water mana, you’d have had to spend hours a day meditating in water. Does that sound like fun? Be more grateful.”

  “I am.” I paused. “So…how do we fight with this?”

  “If you want to be able to manipulate an element as you see fit, you’ll need to use your mana. Not the mana you change into water, but your raw mana in combination with the elemental mana you create.”

  My face twisted in confusion. “Why?”

  “The act of changing raw mana to water develops the element but doesn’t create power or form. The mana does that,” said Jessie. “Once a mage has generated the water, they fuel mana into it to contain and shape it. Think of it like a wooden block. Leave it on the ground, and it won’t move without an external force. However, if you carve it into a wheel and push it, it’ll move. The elemental mana creates the block, and raw mana carves the block to the desired shape and pushes it,” she explained. “Basically, there are three steps: creation, manipulation, and power."

  Jessie materialized water into her hand again. This time, it emerged in a perfect sphere that floated right into her palm without actually touching her skin. She then dropped it, and its form broke as it splattered into the dirt. “That’s step one and two. Copy me.”

  I tried to recreate her ball without prompting as soon as she created hers. Forming the water was easy. Now that I had my band, turning my mana into water felt second nature, as if it were baffling that I couldn’t do it my entire life until this point.

  Water bubbled around my fingers like it did before.

  I tried to visualize pushing raw mana into it, but that caused the water to burst, showering Jessie and me.

  “Step one and step three, but no step two. Don’t fret. That’s usually how it goes,” acknowledged Jessie. “You panicked as soon as you created the water and forced raw mana into it, right?”

  I nodded shamefully.

  “It happens.” Jessie shrugged. She licked her lip as a droplet of water escaped down her forehead. “Manipulation is the hardest but most important part of forming tangible ranged mana. You’re pushing it in. Instead, think of wrapping your mana around the element. It’ll take a bit of time, so be patient. Keep practicing. I’ll help out where I can.”