The trip back to the Stella family’s home didn’t take too long, though Fay had stopped along the way to grab herself and Lucas a snack from one of the many street vendors in the first ring. The fresh donuts that Fay had bought for them had been delicious, better than any he’d ever had in the past. And once more, Lucas was forced to face the realization that the worst part of leaving the magical world would likely be going back to eating normal food.

  He wasn’t quite sure how it was done, but magic just seemed to make every bit of food he’d eaten on the magical side far better than any similar food from back home.

  The stop for snacks had also led to Lucas learning about the currency used by people on the magical side of things. With how normal so many things looked, he had expected to see dollar bills, but instead Fay had pulled out some small copper coins from a bag she carried.

  Money was a lot more simple, apparently. There were three types of coins used for payment, copper coins the size of pennies, silver coins the size of nickels, and gold coins the size of quarters. Thankfully, the values of each were easy enough to understand when Fay explained them. The copper coins were equivalent to a single dollar, a silver coin was equal to ten dollars, and a gold coin was a hundred dollars.

  Perhaps the most shocking part was that the coins were used around the world on the magical side, unlike in the non-magical side where each country had different currency. The lower population and the harsher environment seemed to make people more eager to take the easier route.

  While there were darker parts to the world that Lucas was steadily learning about, he still found himself amazed by how organized and efficient the magical side of the world seemed to be. Though, his only real example of that was just the town of Helstrum.

  Basic mana exercises, as it turned out, were a lot harder than they sounded. Or at least, that was the case for Lucas when Fay finally sat him down to get him started.

  “You’re doing it again.”

  Fay’s voice cut through Lucas’ thoughts like a knife, and he opened his eyes to see the blonde sitting across from him with a frown on her face.

  “You were making that face again. You need to stop thinking so much, Lucas. You’ll never be able to feel out your mana if you keep getting distracted like that,” Fay pointed out.

  Feeling his mana. It was the start of everything, and how he would be able to learn how to perform his own magic like Fay and her parents could. With mana at the center of everything in the magical world, getting a feel for his own magic was the big first step that Lucas needed to take. But it was easier said than done.

  Once they’d returned to the house, Fay had led Lucas around behind her family’s home. There, he found a large yard full of beautiful green grass, a small garden, and even a pond full of multicolored fish. Fay had made a point of warning Lucas not to mess with the fish or the garden, as they were her mother’s. Messing with them was a surefire way to get Lissa very mad at him.

  “Mana is everywhere, in the air, the ground, the trees, the animals, even us,” Fay had explained. “Our bodies naturally pull in mana from the air, so the first step to being able to use your magic is being able to sense the magic that already rests within you.”

  When he’d asked her how he was supposed to do that, Fay had told him that he would have to focus. Clearing his mind and looking deeply within himself would help, but he would have to find the mana within himself to be able to go any further with his magical training.

  Essentially, it was meditation with a different goal beyond just clearing his mind.

  Some parts of the process were a lot harder than others for Lucas. Sitting still for long periods of time wasn’t anything new to the teen. He and his father had camped out in bushes or trees for hours when they had gone out on hunting trips years back. But clearing his mind was proving to be much harder for Lucas to actually do.

  With so many new and awe-inspiring things surrounding him at all times, it was hard for Lucas to quiet the dozens of different thoughts bouncing around his head.

  “How long did this take you?” Lucas asked as he looked back at Fay.

  “It took me like a few days when my magic kicked in. Some people take longer and others can figure it out a bit quicker,” She explained.

  “But I can’t wait days just to start. I only have a month,” Lucas protested, some level of distress leaking into his voice.

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  “Lucas,” Fay was smiling softly as she reached out and rested a hand on Lucas’ arm. “You’ll do fine. You just need to clear your head, then it’ll be easy. Feeling out the mana in your body is pretty easy once you do that.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The mana that’s in our bodies is affected by our affinities. It can take on traits from our affinities, and it gives our mana a certain ‘feel’. It’s hard to really describe, and it’s different for everyone. When I finally found my mana, it felt like a breeze blowing around through my whole body. Dad described his as feeling like he’d stepped into a really hot, humid space. You just have to find yours.”

  The advice helped a bit, but it was also obvious that Fay wasn’t really much of a teacher.

  “I’ll try,” Lucas mumbled.

  “And it’s not all bad,” Fay chirped. “Even if you take a bit of time learning your magic, we can still work on your physical training, too. And that we don’t have to wait for.”

  “Physical training? What, like push-ups and exercises?”

  “Stuff like that, yeah. Your body just got a lot stronger and faster when your magic woke up. Now you have to get used to it. And we’ll have to figure out what sort of weapons you’re best with. Dad isn’t going to let you leave without having a weapon that you can defend yourself with.”

  It wasn’t what he’d originally thought of, but figuring out how to use a weapon did make a lot more sense when he thought about how many creatures and monsters there were to deal with in the magical world. Suddenly, making the trip back home unarmed seemed a lot more foolish.

  “Well, I did use a bow and arrow when my dad and I would go hunting when I was younger,” He offered. Though, he held back the fact that he also had been the captain of his school’s archery club.

  He wanted the chance to show off a bit when it came to something he was actually good at. And a chance to impress Fay would be nice as well.

  “That’s a good start! Though dad will probably want you to have some sort of weapon for close range, too.”

  “Maybe a knife like you?” He suggested. He’d used hunting knives in the past, but never for anything beyond skinning an animal.

  “Maybe,” Fay replied. “But that’s for later. Come on, let’s get back to work. We can do some physical practice later, but for now you need to keep trying to find your mana. No more distractions.”

  “Just look at Dusk. She’s doing a great job,” Fay joked.

  The blonde was glancing down to Lucas’ left and looked like she was barely holding back her laughter. When Lucas took a look for himself, he had to do the same. There on his left, the little black fox sat. She was sitting upright, her eyes closed and looking every bit as peaceful and meditative as Lucas was supposed to be. Though, the tail swishing around and the way she puffed up her chest at the compliment gave away the fact that Dusk’s thoughts weren’t quite so empty either.

  “Alright, fine. We’ll try again.” Lucas agreed.

  “We don’t have to rush, Lucas,” Fay said softly. “Getting annoyed will just make it harder. You’ll figure this out and we’ll still have plenty of time to teach you how to use your magic, I promise.”

  Fay was right, in the end. The more frustrated he got about his failures, the more he would end up failing. He just needed to relax, focus, and meditate.

  “It won’t work for you, but it might help you figure things out. I can give you one example of how mana feels,” Fay offered.

  “At this point I’ll take anything, Fay,” Lucas replied. “I feel like I’m getting nowhere.”

  The blonde reached out to him again, gently taking Lucas’ hands into her own. She gave him a reassuring smile before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. “Just focus on me, ok? Try to feel my mana. It won’t feel exactly the same as yours, but it might give you a clue about how to find your own,” She explained.

  After a moment, a faint greenish glow manifested around her hands and Lucas could feel a slight breeze against his skin.

  He did his best, closing his eyes and trying to focus on the source of the cool breeze tickling his hands. He could feel the effect of Fay’s magic, but trying to feel her actual mana instead of the wind it created was harder than he expected. But after a moment or two, he felt something, some spark of energy that sent a tingle down his spine all the way to his core. He couldn’t focus on it for long, but he felt something.

  “I think I felt it,” He said once he realized he couldn’t find that spark again.

  Fay’s eyes opened once more and he could see the excitement shining in those bright green orbs. “That’s great!” She cheered. “Like I said, it won’t feel exactly like that, but it might be something similar. You just have to be patient.”

  “Let me try again,” Lucas agreed.

  As he went to try once more, both teens realized that they were still holding hands. Fay’s cheeks got a bit rosy and she quickly pulled her hands away. Lucas fought down his own embarrassment and tried to focus on his meditation.

  He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he once more tried to clear his thoughts. He tried to push all of the intrusive little ideas, the questions still bouncing around his mind, and the worries that he felt out of his thoughts. But it was all easier said than done, and Lucas was clearly struggling.

  Despite his best efforts, Lucas wasn’t able to make any progress by the time that Magnus got back home. By then, it was time for dinner and Lucas was forced to stop by a very insistent Lissa. The woman was sweet, but she was also very firm on not allowing Lucas to skip a meal. While he sat with Fay and her family to eat, Lucas did his best to remember the feeling of that faint spark he’d felt when Fay had helped him.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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