After learning to feel for his own mana, figuring out how to detect the mana in the air around him wasn’t nearly as hard for Lucas. Feeling the mana around him only took a half hour to achieve but actually learning how to pull that mana into himself was a lot harder to do.

  “It’ll be easier for you to do this once you’ve used up some of your own mana. Right now, you’re pretty much full so it’s a bit harder to absorb more mana when you’ve got a full tank. Once you use up some of your mana, you’ll be able to feel the difference.”

  Fay’s explanation made sense, though it also made him ask how he could expend his mana. The trip to visit Granny Wren was actually meant to help with that, as Fay explained that the best way to drain his mana was to use it practicing his magic. Much like calories, his body would passively use mana throughout the day to help his magic infused body continue to function at peak performance. But Fay explained that the drain from that was so small usually that it was barely noticeable.

  Fay tried to help Lucas with his affinities, explaining how she had trained with her Wind and Speed affinities. He appreciated the advice and Fay’s attempts to help, but they were entirely different types of magics compared to something like Illusions or Darkness.

  Without a good way to use his mana, Lucas took Fay’s advice and focused on feeling out his own mana and improving his speed. While he could do so already, it took a few seconds for him to find that warmth inside of him. Finding out that controlling and directing his mana was the first step towards using any sort of magic made it clear that Lucas needed to work on how fast he could find and grasp his mana.

  Thus, most of Lucas’ morning was spent working towards that goal. With a few hours of work, he managed to make good progress, cutting down the time it took him to find that deep well of mana within him to only a second or two. It still wouldn’t be good enough for any sort of fight, but Fay had been quick to comfort Lucas by reminding him that he still had almost an entire month to get better. By the end of the month, she promised that he would be able to do it instinctually.

  Fay wasn’t exactly the best teacher, that claim went to Magnus so far. But working with the cheerful blonde made the training feel a bit more fun for Lucas. It took some of the pressure and worries off of his shoulders and made what should have been serious training feel more like fun between friends. He’d never been one to make friends easily, but Fay was just someone who it was hard not to be friends with.

  The last hour of training had been spent having Lucas try to feel out and grasp his magic while moving around and exercising rather than sitting or standing still. It was a lot harder for him, but he still felt like he was making progress. By the time that lunch rolled around and Lissa called the two in to eat, Lucas had already worked up an appetite.

  Lunch itself was a simple spread of sandwiches that Lissa had whipped up for the trio. Lucas had asked about Magnus, but Lissa just mentioned that she’d already taken his lunch to him over in the shop. Stellar Wares wasn’t the most popular shop in Helstrum, but apparently Fay’s family did plenty well. It helped that Magnus was very good at his craft and made some very high-quality gear.

  Once lunch was winding down, though, Lissa turned her attention towards the two teens. She and Lucas had plans, but he wasn’t sure if Fay would be joining them.

  “Fay, you might want to check in with Thomas and Jessica. I heard that Sasha is due back from her latest job today.”

  He didn’t recognize the names that Lissa had listed, but Fay clearly did. Lucas watched her eyes widen and he could see her body tense like she was ready to run off.

  “That’s today?! I’ve been so distracted that I completely forgot!”

  There was a blur of motion as Fay dashed out of the room. Lucas looked towards his friend’s mother for an explanation, only for Fay to blur back into the room with a sheepish expression.

  “Sorry! I’ll see you later, Lucas! And make sure to tell Granny Wren I said hi, mom!”

  Then, Fay was off again, leaving her mother and Lucas alone in the room. Lucas was confused, but Lissa was just giggling, clearly amused by her daughter’s actions.

  “What was that about?” Lucas asked.

  “Fay’s best friend, Sasha, works with the Trade Guild to earn some extra money. She’s been out doing a job for the last few days, but she’s due to return today if she hasn’t already. I’m sure you’ll meet her at some point soon,” Lissa explained.

  “I think that she mentioned someone named Sasha before. Though she didn’t really tell me much other than the fact that Sasha uses Space magic.” Lucas asked.

  “Well, Fay has been busy,” Lissa replied. “She’s put a lot of focus into helping you, Lucas. She cares about helping you a lot, and she’s clearly trying hard to do so. Sasha likely didn’t come up much because you probably never asked.”

  He realized that the mother was right, and Lucas felt a bit guilty. He’d been so focused on his own issues that the only real questions that he’d been asking Fay were about magic and things that he could learn. He didn’t even know what Fay did for fun, and most of what he did know had come up in passing during the last few days.

  Lissa clearly noticed the way Lucas’ mood shifted and she surprised him by pulling him into a quick hug. “You’ve been busy too, even more than Fay. But just try to have a bit of fun while you can as well. You still have most of a month to learn and practice, but you don’t need to spend every day and every hour working. I’m sure Fay will be happy to show you some fun places in town.”

  It was sound advice, and the hug was a level of comfort that Lucas didn’t know how badly he’d needed. He just nodded and accepted the hug, enjoying the comfort from Lissa until the woman pulled away.

  “Now, let’s go. If Granny Wren is in her shop, we should be able to get her to have a chat with you.”

  “I hope she can help,” Lucas mumbled as he followed the older woman out the door.

  “Don’t worry,” Lissa replied. “Granny Wren can be a bit tough, but she’s a good person. I don’t think she’ll turn down helping you with this.”

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  It turned out that Granny Wren’s shop was in the second ring, which meant a bit of a walk for Lucas and Lissa as they moved through the third ring.

  Now that it was later in the day, he could see people out and about. It was the first time he’d really been out walking through Helstrum during the middle of the day. In the early morning, things were rather quiet, but once everyone had woken up, the town seemed quite lively. He could see people of all sorts of ages walking around and talking. He could even see groups of kids running around laughing as they played some sort of game together.

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  Lucas spotted a few people putting on little shows with small displays of magic, like a man juggling little balls of fire in front of a different group of kids. The town just felt alive as he walked through it. And along with plenty of people, Lucas could also see all sorts of animals as well, likely familiars. Dogs, cats, birds, and even things like deer, lizards, snakes, and more all roamed around with their companions.

  It made Lucas’ thoughts drift towards his own familiar. The lazy little fox had been left back at the house, since Dusk had chosen to pass out after eating two whole sandwiches that Lissa had prepared.

  “Helstrum really is a lovely place.”

  Lissa’s voice pulled Lucas’ attention away from the fireball juggling man and towards the blonde woman. He chose to give her statement the most intelligent of replies that he could think of.

  “Huh?”

  Lissa giggled and gestured around her. “I’ve lived in Helstrum all my life. The place has always been a hub of energy. The community here helps one another, and it really shows. I don’t think you could have found a better place to end up for your first trip through the Mirrors.”

  The more that he looked around, the more Lucas had to agree with Lissa. He’d stumbled through the portal by accident, but as the days passed, he was forced to admit that he didn’t regret it. He would have left a letter or told his parents if he’d known ahead of time, but he still would have travelled through the portal.

  “It really is a nice place,” He agreed.

  As the two walked into the second ring, once again Lucas noticed the shift in buildings. Less homes and more shops of all kinds began to pop up. And it made Lucas think of a question that had been bugging him since he’d learned how the city was laid out.

  “Why do you have your shop in the third ring instead of the second ring. This is where all the shops are, wouldn’t you get more business here?”

  Lissa actually looked a bit surprised by Lucas’ question. But after a second, she smiled and shrugged.

  “We could have set the shop up here, but we wanted our shop to be closer to home so that we could be closer to Fay and around her more. The house was more than big enough to turn part of it into a shop, so it wasn’t an issue. And Magnus is good enough to draw in a steady flow of customers. He won’t brag about it, but he’s incredibly skilled.”

  Finishing up at work and just walking through a single door to get home did sound like a really nice way to live.

  “This should be it,” Lissa suddenly spoke up, drawing Lucas’ attention towards a small building the woman was walking towards.

  It was a small red brick building, with a window display showing off multiple vials of differently colored liquids. A solid oak door with an elaborate pattern strewn across it marked the entrance to the shop and a bright green sign hung over the door with golden lettering giving the name of the shop.

  ‘Poisons and Potions’

  “This is the place?” Lucas asked.

  “It is. Come on, let’s go see if Granny Wren is around.”

  With that, Lissa made her way to the shop, opening the door and slipping inside. Lucas scrambled to follow after her, stepping inside and getting his first view of a real potion shop.

  The interior of the shop was well lit by many small crystal lights. Shelves and displays hung across the walls displaying a wide variety of potions held in different sized vials and bottles. There were dozens of different shades and colors, and each potion had a label beneath it to explain what each vial contained. Tables in the center of the shop had even more potions as well as a variety of herbs, plants, and powders.

  “Hello there, welcome to Poisons and Potions. Is there anything I can do for you?” A male voice across the store called out.

  Looking towards the source, Lucas could see a man around his twenties standing behind a counter. Behind him were a few more types of potions, though they looked to be different than many of the others on the walls.

  The man looked disheveled, the apron he wore looking messy and stained while his shocking purple hair was left messy and partially covering his eyes.

  “James, it’s nice to see you again,” Lissa said as she approached the counter. When the man noticed her, his eyes lit up and he smiled.

  “Miss Stella, oh it’s great to see you again. What did you need today?” The now named James asked.

  “We’re actually here to see your grandmother,” Lissa replied. “I was hoping to get her help with something. Is she here today?”

  James nodded and looked towards the back of the shop, where Lucas spotted a door that led further back into a back room.

  “Yeah, grandma should be around. I’ll go and check.”

  The man slipped away into the back, leaving Lissa and Lucas alone in the shop.

  “So, is he actually…”

  “Yes, James is actually Granny Wren’s grandson. Or rather, he’s her great-great-grandson.”

  “Oh…”

  And that was certainly a wild thought. It took a moment for Lucas to remember that Granny Wren was almost two hundred years old, and having a great-great-grandchild wasn’t too absurd at such an age.

  The door to the backroom opened again, but rather than James, the person that came back was an old woman. She was short, just over five feet tall if Lucas had to guess. The wrinkles and lines across her face gave away her age pretty clearly, along with the long, snow-white hair she had braided down her back. She was the oldest looking person that Lucas had seen since coming to the magical world, and it made sense given her age.

  The old woman looked around and quickly spotted the two guests. When her eyes landed on Lissa, her expression brightened and she walked around the counter with surprising speed for someone so old.

  “Little Lissa, it’s been a while,” She said as she pulled Lissa into a hug.

  “It’s good to see you again, Granny Wren,” The blonde replied.

  Watching the short, old woman hugging the much taller Lissa was a bit amusing for Lucas, though he froze up when the woman turned her attention to him. Her gaze was sharp, her eyes looking at him like he was a puzzle to solve.

  “Now, I know that little Fay was certainly not a boy last time I saw her, and while it’s been a while since I’ve seen you, this one looks a bit old for you to have popped out since I last saw you. So, who’s this young man?” Wren asked.

  Rather than letting Lissa speak for him, Lucas spoke up as he stepped forward and offered his hand towards the ancient woman.

  “I’m Lucas. Fay and her family have been helping me lately.”

  “Oh? Got some spirit to you, don’t you,” The woman laughed. But she still reached out and shook Lucas’ hand.

  “So, what brings you to my humble little shop? I know Fay got some of James’ test batch not too long ago. Did she already use them all up?”

  “We actually needed your help with something not related to alchemy,” Lissa replied. “Lucas here just found out his affinities the other day and he has an affinity for Illusions. We asked around, and you’re the only person in town who seems to have the same affinity that we could find.”

  “Is there any chance you could teach me?” Lucas asked.

  The old woman blinked a few times, as if she was surprised by the question. And then she laughed. It wasn’t normal laughter but a full-on cackling laugh.

  “That’s not what I was expecting,” She cackled. “Barely anybody remembers that I can use illusions. Everyone just thinks of the potions I make.”

  Lucas was nervous, but he was eager and determined as well. “Will you teach me?” He asked.

  The laughter stopped and the old woman looked at him with a gaze that held over a century of experience and knowledge. She eyed the young man and slowly circled around him like a beast stalking its next meal.

  “Illusions aren’t a joke, boy,” She said, her tone far more serious than before. “They can do horrible things in the wrong hands. So, you and I are going to have a chat. If you meet my standards, I’ll teach you. And if not, you’ll leave and not bother me about this again.”

  Lissa looked like she wanted to protest, but Granny Wren held a hand up towards the woman and stopped her.

  Despite how old she was and how small the woman was, something deep down told Lucas that Granny Wren was still incredibly dangerous.

  “Sure.”

  The single word made the old woman grin, and she gestured for Lucas to follow her as she headed towards the backroom of the shop.

  “Then come, Lucas. Let’s have a chat…”

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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