Kael was surprised to see Lucanis already there and made no effort to hide it.

  “What are you doing here already?”

  Lucanis, who had already stood up, was facing him. The waterfall was cascading down behind him.

  “Lady Velara brought me here a few minutes ago.”

  Lucanis stood straight, wearing nothing but his undergarments. Taken aback, Kael asked:

  “And can you explain why you’re naked, please?”

  “That? Also Lady Velara’s doing. I wasn’t given any further explanation.”

  Kael turned his head toward Velara, both curious and uneasy. Althéa then addressed her:

  “What did you do?”

  Her gaze was heavy with implication and accusation.

  Velara raised both hands, as if proclaiming her innocence.

  “I did nothing, Princess.”

  She paused, then added with a small smile:

  “Or at least, not yet.”

  “Now then, young people, please remove your clothes and join your companion by the pool.”

  Kael looked around, as if searching for some sign that this was all a joke, then simply asked:

  “Seriously? And why exactly?”

  Velara clapped her hands twice, visibly impatient.

  “No discussion. Everyone in their undergarments. Quickly.”

  Kael complied without further protest. He removed his clothes, keeping only his undergarments, and tossed his uniform aside carelessly.

  Althéa, however, hadn’t removed a single piece of clothing yet. She said in an icy tone:

  “Is this truly necessary? I have no intention of lowering myself to something so inappropriate, especially in the presence of two young males who are likely in the throes of puberty.”

  Her tone was firm, imbued with unshakable resolve. But something caught her attention: Kael’s half-bare body as he walked toward the pool. His back was crisscrossed with scars, and the torchlight fixed to the cavern walls highlighted the definition of his muscles. She swallowed.

  Velara stepped closer to the princess, who still hadn’t moved. When she reached her, she snapped her fingers in front of Althéa’s face.

  “Come now, Princess, wake up. You won’t be spared today.”

  Althéa shook her head, as if she’d just been pulled out of a dream, and replied, still a little dazed:

  “Alright… fine. But only because it’s a bit hot.”

  She removed her clothes reluctantly and joined the others.

  Lucanis had politely turned away so as not to watch Althéa undress. Kael, on the other hand, didn’t restrain himself in the slightest and watched the scene with keen interest.

  Velara shot him a dark look.

  “Would you like me to help you?”

  He turned away immediately, a bead of sweat sliding down his back.

  Althéa joined them near the pool and positioned herself beside Kael, who now stood between the two of them. Velara spoke:

  “Alright, my dear little students. First of all, I want you to address me as ‘Master.’ And that is non-negotiable.”

  The three of them exchanged glances, somewhat taken aback by Velara’s suddenly formal tone.

  “Secondly, this lesson will focus on attunement to Elan.”

  “Before we begin, which one of you can tell me what Elan is?”

  Lucanis raised his hand.

  “Elan is the breath of all life. Every living being and every inanimate object possesses it.”

  “Wrong!” Velara shot him down without hesitation.

  “Anyone else care to explain what Elan is?”

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Lucanis frowned, surprised. The information he’d given had seemed factual to him.

  This time, Althéa raised her hand.

  “It is the original translation of reality.”

  “Eeeeh… wrong again.” Velara emphasized her point by crossing her fingers into an exaggerated X.

  She circled around her students, observing them one by one.

  “No one can tell me what Elan is? Really?”

  Althéa and Lucanis both seemed to be searching for a formulation that might satisfy her. Then Kael raised his hand.

  “So, clever boy,” she said, leaning toward him, her gaze inquisitive, “do you have any idea what it might be?”

  Kael swallowed, then replied:

  “I don’t know much about Elan and all that crap, but from what everyone says, it sounds like some kind of energy… or something like that.”

  Velara clapped her hands several times, all smiles. A childlike expression had settled on her face.

  “Correct! Elan, in truth, is nothing more than an energy that flows through all things. I must admit, I’m surprised that the only one who got it right is the one who knows the least about it. A point for Kael!”

  She gave him a shove in the back that nearly sent him off the ground.

  Lucanis, still annoyed that his answer hadn’t been accepted, spoke in a calm tone:

  “That’s more or less what the princess and I said, isn’t it?”

  She looked at him, tired.

  “Not really. You’re just mindlessly repeating what the Institute and old sages in their bathrobes keep saying. Without actually understanding it.”

  “Elan is nothing more than a manipulable energy. That’s what you need to internalize. If you start drifting into stories about divine breath and mystical nonsense, you’ll never make progress. You’ll end up feeling incapable of sensing anything at all.”

  Velara then supported her point:

  “For example: what do you see when lightning strikes? The wrath of some deity? Or an electrical discharge triggered to rebalance an imbalance of charges between two zones?”

  “Which of those two explanations seems out of reach to you, beyond all human understanding?”

  Althéa spoke up:

  “The first one, without a doubt.”

  “But one doesn’t exclude the other, does it?”

  “I tend to agree with the princess,” Lucanis added.

  Velara raised a finger.

  “And you’re absolutely right. But what happens when a phenomenon—or a thing—is mystified or sacralized?”

  She continued without waiting for an answer:

  “We stop looking for its origin. We establish it as an absolute truth, without ever questioning it. It then loses all deeper meaning, all potential.”

  She paused.

  “Do you understand?”

  Kael, who had remained silent until then, finally spoke:

  “Hmm… yeah. As long as we perceive a phenomenon through a mystical filter, we can’t grasp its structure—whether potential or simply rational. It kind of blocks creativity.”

  Velara clasped her hands as if in prayer, stepped closer to Kael, placed her hands on his cheeks, and squeezed them with enthusiasm.

  “Oh, you—I already like you! You’re my favorite student!”

  Kael, red as an overripe fruit about to burst, tried to respond through his crushed cheeks—unsuccessfully.

  Lucanis turned his head slightly, a hint of jealousy crossing his features. Kael noticed it, surprised that Lucanis could even feel such an emotion.

  As for Althéa, she was staring at Velara with open hostility.

  “I remind you that yesterday, you nearly killed him.”

  Velara deliberately ignored the remark and declared:

  “Very well. Sit down and try.”

  Kael sat without arguing. Lucanis followed. Althéa settled just behind the two boys.

  Velara briefly tilted her head and caught sight of Althéa, her eyes fixed on Kael’s back, scrutinizing every visible line of his body. She sighed, then moved Althéa to Kael’s place instead. The princess seemed irritated by the decision.

  “I know you’re wondering why you’re naked, sitting on the ground. I’m going to explain.”

  “I want you to focus on what surrounds you. Close your eyes.”

  They obeyed.

  “What do you feel?”

  “Nothing at all,” Kael answered confidently.

  “Wrong!”

  Kael grumbled under his breath. Lucanis took over:

  “I feel the cold and the damp.”

  “Correct! And that’s precisely why I asked you to undress. I want you to fully feel what surrounds you.”

  Althéa interjected:

  “And for what purpose, exactly?”

  “So that you can recognize Elan when it’s there,” Velara replied, her tone suddenly very serious.

  She began circling her students again.

  “What do you feel now?”

  They took a moment to think.

  They perceived the wind rushing into the cavern, the tiny droplets of water falling onto their skin, the diffuse warmth of the distant fire… Then suddenly, they felt something like a blade resting against the back of their necks.

  They sprang to their feet.

  “Well then, I have my answer,” Velara said casually.

  Althéa, still breathing hard, asked:

  “What was that?”

  Velara flashed a mischievous smile.

  “That, my dear… was Elan.”

  “That’s it? That’s Elan?” Kael asked, incredulous.

  Velara gestured for them to sit back down and replied calmly:

  “No. Elan isn’t just that. But at your level, being able to feel it at all is already very good. For you, all of this is still perceived as an anomaly.”

  She raised her hand, palm facing upward, and asked:

  “So? What do you see in my hand?”

  They stepped closer carefully. Almost immediately, they began to feel heavier. A fine sheen of sweat formed on their foreheads.

  Lucanis said, his gaze tense:

  “I don’t see anything.”

  Althéa added, her voice tight:

  “I feel heavy… like the air itself is denser.”

  Kael wiped his forehead, clearly uncomfortable. His voice trembled slightly:

  “Y-you… what do you have in your hand?”

  Velara smiled.

  “To your eyes, I have nothing. But believe me, I do have something. It is simply pure Elan, gathered in the hollow of my palm.”

  She went on:

  “I believe that if you can feel Elan this clearly, it’s because you are already Trame Bearers. Your Elan naturally resonates with the world.”

  She observed her own hand for a moment, still held aloft.

  “I’m going to maintain this manifestation of Elan in my palm, so you can familiarize yourselves with it.”

  They nodded silently.

  Velara then turned her gaze toward Kael, a satisfied look on her face.

  “I see you still haven’t let go of your Needle-Blade, despite the princess’s order. Very good.”

  Kael, who hadn’t even realized he was still holding it, looked down, surprised. He replied with an ironic tone:

  “I’m making an effort… I’m tired of getting slapped.”

  Althéa shot back immediately:

  “I can always slap you for other reasons.”

  Velara burst out laughing and, clapping her hands together, said cheerfully:

  “Alright! Now, ask your questions. I’m sure you have plenty.”

  Kael didn’t hesitate.

  “Finally! I’ve got tons of questions!”

  Impatient, he continued right away:

  “Elan and all that is great and everything… but after the Trial, what are we actually supposed to do? What are the prospects afterward?”

  Velara smiled knowingly, as if the real lesson was only just beginning.