Chapter 6

There is no percentage in worrying about what might happen

Grey was awakened by the drumming sound of rain falling; someone had completely covered him with a canvas sheet and his head rested on a cloth bundle. He was laid out on the center deck along side the mast where he had collapsed. He pulled the canvas down from over his head; the rain that fell on him was cold, and tasted of ash, leaving a rather nasty taste in his mouth.

He looked around and saw that Darion was still sitting on a over turned water barrel at the steering oar and Marella was with one of the woman under an awning toward the bow, trying to start a fire in the ships brazier to prepare some hot food, and drink. He reached out with his aura and infused enough Mana into the raw cotton tinder that the faint heat of the sparks thrown off the flint immediately caused it to burst into flame.

"I suppose that I could have just ignited the coals, but I am still too weak from the effort it took to get us this far," he half said to himself as he took stock of his surroundings.

He sat up, stretched the aches and pains from my joints and muscles and hauled himself to his feet. He gathered enough Mana into his Aura to heal the minor inflammation in his muscles and joints. Then he walked over Lady Marella and the woman and with his number two friendly smile he asked, "Do you still want to learn how I worked magic, lady Marella"?

"Oh yes, very much," she replied.

"Good," sitting down on a nearby crate, he continued, "The first thing then is that I will have to temper your Aura so that it becomes sensitive to the Mana field. I will be doing that by infusing raw Mana into your Aura's outer bands. Then I can proceed to teach you to see the Mana Field. Once you can easily sense the Mana, I will begin your instruction in its manipulation. Now to begin, allow your eyes to refocus as you would when preparing to perceive your Aura, once you can perceive it, so a complete survey of your entire aura and make sure that there are not lingering charged Arcane Glyphs, or Runes anywhere, if there are we will have to discharge or remove them. Make absolutely sure that there are no traces of any charged Arcane Symbols at all. I you bring Mana into contact with Essence within an Aura, they will react violently with each other and you, disrupting your entire nervous system or more likely kill you. Once you're sure there is no lingering Essence withinyour Aura, shift your focus to the upper bands."

"I can see the upper bands now, the outer most bank is wavering slightly as if it were reacting to the wind," she replied with an excited voice, caused by her early success.

"That wavering is your Aura's reaction to the other living Aura's in the air, as they are buffeted about by the wind," he explained.

"You are doing very well Marella, now continue to focus on the wavering, let me know when that wavering changes," Grey instructed.

Gathering his will, he focused on the surrounding Mana Field, and began to slowly infuse large amounts of Mana into the outer boundary of Marella's Aura. Almost at once Marella called out, "The outer band has developed sparkles, and tiny pointsofbluish light. Are you doing that?"

"Yes, I am infusing your outer most band with Mana. Now as the band becomes brighter, you will start to see something like silvery mists beyond your Aura. When you do, don't say anything. Here take my hand and squeeze it when you do," he said offering her his hand.

Taking his right hand, she closed her eyes again and nodded. He continued to apply Mana to her Aura's outer band, and then he began to increase the amounts. After about two or three Minis, she squeezed his hand.

"Now," he said, "look beyond the Aura's outer boundary, and into the mists, when you can clearly see the swirling particles of Mana that make up the mists open your eyes."

After just a moment or two, she opened her eyes and said, "Has this always been there? The swirling mists I mean, it's like I am seeing the world for the first time. It's amazing, the way the particles dance around everyone's aura, and the birds'too, and yet they go through the ship as if it were not there. What are those sparkles in the air?"

"I have been told that they are very small life forms, too small for the eye to see; that sparkle is the Mana Field'sinteraction with their individual Auras."

"This is fantastic; what do I do now?" she asked in an excited voice.

"Refocus your eyes, so that your vision returns to normal, like you would when you are finished perceiving the Essence Flows."

He watched her eyes loose the inner glow of Mana Sight, as her eyes returned to normal.

"Good, now practice perceiving the Mana field and returning to normal sight. You remember the old drills for Essence perception; it's the same thing. When you can slip in and out with ease, I will go on to the next step. You can start in a few minutes we have something to discuss. Come with me to the stern so I can brief Karl at the same time."

Turning, he walked to the stern checking the rigging and ship as he went, the woman going about their activities appeared to be much healthier this morning, less bruised and batter, and less withdrawn. He grabbed the chest from the deck as he passed it, and continued toward Darion at the steering oar.

"Thank you for grabbing this, in all the confusion Darion," slightly lifting the chest, "I truly appreciate the effort it must had taken."

Darion nodded his head, his usual response to praise, suppressing a yawn in the process.

"Give me a few minutes, then you can get some sleep. I have something to go over before you do though."

"Can you take it for a minute," indicating the steering oar, "while I relieve myself Bastion, I think my bladder is about to burst," he said with a laugh.

"Sure," he replied, "The slop bucket is under the fore deck."

Getting up from the barrel, Darion held the steering oar wait for Bastion to take it. Moving the barrel out of the way he took the oarfrom Darion, then watched him as he walked forward, as he passed Marella, he watched as they nodded to one another, then watched as she started to walk toward him, carrying a covered bowl and cup of a dark hot liquid, she had been handed by the woman who had been with her earlier.

"Ah, the earth scented aroma of roasted bean, just what a person needs first thing in the morning," said Grey as Marella hand him the wooden cup and bowl.

Looking up from his cup after he took a long sip, he smiled up at Marella.

"Thank you from the bottom of my very being. I am sure that all the 'Powers That Be' will reward you for your generosity and effort this day," he said with his best-polished number two smile and his number one most sincere look in his eyes.

"You sir are a rogue, of the worst sort," she said, patting here self down with exaggerated motions, "I should make sure that my coin purse is still in place after a look like that," she continued with a smile.

Pointing toward the covered bowl that Grey had put down on top of the barrel he moved near the steering oar, "The bowl contains gruel and cubes of roasted bacon," she said as she continued to smile.