Kitsune in the Shadows

Chapter 94 – A World of Mana

The rain didn’t let up until morning, but once it finally did, a fresh smell began to drift in through our window.

I didn’t dream that last night, but that might have been for the better, especially if my dream really was what disturbed the dream spirits.

…

I was already starting to regret my decision to agree to Cattleya’s magic lesson, yet at the same time, there was an unfamiliar excitement sitting right alongside it. Ava had helped me with her healing magic many times… and I didn’t know what I would have done if I had never received my shadow from Ovia. Magic was something that had always been around me, yet I never really understood it in any way; it was just something that I accepted.

Ava seemed to have woken up before me, as by the time I had gotten myself dressed and ready for the day, she already had a basket ready which she handed off to Umbra.

“Let’s go grab a quick bite for breakfast, and then we’ll be on our way, alright?” Ava said as she threw her cloak on.

“Mhm,” I replied, doing the same with my own cloak before heading down the stairs.

Breakfast was just as good as before, vanishing in no more than a few moments, although I did have to admit that I was starting to miss Ava’s cooking. Even though it was still very good, there was just something different when she did it.

Once the two of us were satisfied, we made our way to the door, opening it only to be hit with an even stronger smell, one with much more nuance and a slight saltiness to it. After the rain, the town itself looked surprisingly different; everything had a slight shine to it, making everything feel just a little brighter. Not that it changed anything about the crowds going by. With the wet cobblestones, I would have expected them to slow down a little, but it seemed that I was mistaken.

“Good Morning Ava, Kierra,” Cattleya said, standing just to the side of the door, once again wearing her coat, complete with all its gold trimmings.

“Hello Cattleya,” Ava responded, “Yester-”

“Here,” Before Ava could finish what she was saying, Cattleya pulled out a neatly folded cloak from behind her, “I made sure to have it washed before returning it… I am sorry for any inconvenience…”

Ava just stood there speechless as if she had been completely caught off guard, yet, despite that, she still took the cloak.

“Now, the two of you will be surprised at what I have prepared for today,” She said as she spun around on her heel, “But this is no place to get started. I already have the perfect place in mind, so if you would just follow me now.”

“Wait just a moment,” Ava held the cloak out in front of her, “Can you put this on again? I’d still rather not be attracting attention wherever we go.”

“Hmm? Not today.”

“Wh-”

“I am the one in charge today,” Cattleya interrupted, “And anyway, I will not need it where we are going, so it would be better to keep it clean rather than dirtying it for no good reason.”

With that line, Cattleya simply marched forward, followed shortly by Ava, letting out a sigh. She then just handed the cloak over to me, and I quickly slipped it inside my own cloak for Umbra to take before both of us followed behind Cattleya.

She took us all the way to the wall surrounding the village before casually jumping up on top of it. It took me a moment to process what had happened. The wall was just over twice my height, yet she was able to get on top of it effortlessly.

“This is much easier than using the gate,” Cattleya said, “The people standing there will readily let you outside but will stop you from coming back in,” With that, I heard her jump down on the other side before shouting back over, “Come on now!”

“… How?” I muttered as I placed a hand on the wall, hopelessly trying to find something to grab onto, no matter how small.

Behind me, Ava sighed once again before unfastening her cloak and draping it over my shoulders, “There isn’t anyone around here at the moment, so it should be fine to do this.”

As I turned around, I saw Ava stretching her wings out. It felt like it had been an eternity since I had appreciated just how large her wings really were; even when she had her cloak off inside the inn, there just wasn’t enough space for them. It was honestly a shame that they were always covered with just how mesmerising they were.

“Alright, hold on tight now,” She said as she wrapped her arms around my waist, “Oh, and please make sure to clench your jaw so you don’t accidentally bite your tongue.”

I did exactly as I was asked, and with a single flap of her wings, my feet left the ground. The sensation was strange, not too dissimilar to jumping, just without the falling back down part that my body was anticipating. Like that, Ava easily carried me over the wall and landed just next to where Cattleya was standing, her mouth agape.

“Are you planning on catching some bugs while we’re out here?” Ava asked as she set me down.

“N-No!” Cattleya spun around again, pointing forward, deeper into the forest, “There is a clearing over this way that would be the ideal place for this. I made sure of it.”

She started walking before either of us had a chance to say anything in response.

“Ava, do you want your cloak back?” I asked as I reached into my own cloak, ready to take it from Umbra.

“No, it’s okay. There won’t be anyone wandering around out here, so I might as well take the chance to give them a proper stretch, y’know?” She replied, “Now, let’s go make sure Cattleya doesn’t get herself into any trouble.”

With that, the two of us began to jog to catch up with Cattleya, and we followed her until we reached the clearing that she had mentioned. From appearances alone, it was nothing special, but something about it did seem just a little unusual. It was just a little too quiet, especially for somewhere out in the middle of a forest. I would have expected to at least hear some light scurrying, maybe even some birds up in the canopy, yet there was nothing of the sort.

“Okay,” Cattleya said as she puffed out her chest, not waiting for either me or Ava to get settled in any way, “From now on, I am going to assume that you know nothing about magic. So the ideal first place to start would be one of description.”

“Kierra, can you give me the basket I gave Umbra?” Ava whispered.

I quickly took it out while Cattleya had her back turned to us and handed it over to Ava, who then pulled out a blanket from it and laid it out on the ground to sit on.

“Magic is all about balance,” Thankfully, Cattleya didn’t seem to notice Umbra handing the basket to me, “Or more accurately, imbalance, which makes it all the more important to understand. Now, The basic building block of magic is mana; other groups of people call it by different names based on their own understanding, for example, the concept humans have of aura; however, as you are learning from me, it is called mana, and that will not change.”

Aura? I’ve never heard of Aura.

“Mana can, in very simple terms, be explained as an energy that exists in all things, be that a living being or even something as simple as a stone,” She continued to explain, “We understand this mana as being separated into distinct types, even if that is not entirely correct; however much of our understanding of mana, particularly how it supposedly exists on a multi-dimensional spectrum was lost during what has been titled the magic dark age. It has been given other names as well, which you might have heard of, such as the Age of War, but for now, that is not important. At this moment in time, it is enough to understand mana as having different types. Each type of mana behaves differently, and not just in their usage. The very way they exist and interact with the world is different, and that is how we started to categorise them. For example, fire mana is warm to the touch, whereas ice mana is cold, but it is not just that. Fire mana is inherently volatile and hard to control, whereas ice mana is slow and requires additional effort to manipulate in any meaningful way.”

By that point, I was already sitting on the blanket with Ava, listening intently to every word that left Cattleya’s mouth. It was certainly a lot, but I couldn’t deny just how interesting it was to finally be learning something like this.

“Sometimes, an object will absorb more of a certain type of mana than it normally would. When considering something simple such as a stone, an example would be a stone that had been formed at the base of a volcano. The air would be rich in fire mana, and over time, the stone would gradually absorb more and more of it. This stone would grow warm to the touch because of this, but what is of note is that even if this stone is moved from the volcano, it will stay warm for many months,” She then placed the rock she was holding back down, “The idea of a living being using magic is not too dissimilar to this concept. In a perfect world, each and every living being would house many different types of mana within them, but they would be in complete balance with each other, rendering their respective properties inert. The art of magic is born from the imbalance of mana inside a living being, much like the example of a stone having too much fire mana within. Where the imbalance comes from is complicated; it could come from a species living in an extreme environment for many generations, it could just be luck to be born a little different, or it could be inherited from parents, even if it rarely happens under normal circumstances. Or it could be something inherent to a species; a good example of this are species that are related to spirits in some way, such as me or you, which naturally have a great imbalance due to their origins,” She pointed directly at me.

I already knew that kitsune were related to spirits from the story Elenia told me, but apparently vampires are too? I was almost tempted to ask her about it but held myself back.

“In living beings, this imbalance means that they may absorb more of a certain type of mana than others, but in exchange, they naturally absorb less of another, be that one in perfect contradiction or many types of mana in a lesser contradictory relationship. These imbalances can affect more than just magic when they are particularly great. For example, it can be something very obvious, changing hair or eye colour into something unnatural, or sometimes it’s more subtle, like a shift in personality. In a similar way, someone using too much mana in a short time may experience a side effect. For me personally, I lose control of my hunger, but in most cases, it is not possible to reach that stage as the body will naturally try and prevent itself from going too far,” She then took off her jacket and threw it over onto an empty spot on top of the blanket, “That covers the basics when it comes to the theory, but, just as mana exists in a balancing act you also need to balance your knowledge and your instinct. So, right now, I need you to remove your cloak and come sit in front of me.”

Wait. My cloak?

“… Why?” I asked.

“Because it will make this next part much easier.”

But I…

I grabbed onto my hood out of instinct.

What if she sees, what would she-

I shook my head in an attempt to stop my thoughts for a moment.

Kierra, you agreed to do this.

You are the one who said yes.

…

Just… make sure your shadow covers your hair.

She saw you before, at the docks. She already knows you’re a kitsune, so this much should be fine…

Right?

…

Despite my reluctance, I slowly unfastened my cloak and handed it to Ava.