Part 1
The warm breeze brushed against my ears, but my focus remained sharp. "I will begin," Mother's voice said.
Then it hit me. A sensation like a push against my back, my spine, in fact. Mother remained silent. Was she using voiceless casting so I wouldn't know the spells? I wonder if she did the same for Astraya.
"You should be feeling a burning sensation," she said. "Wherever you feel it is where your core resides." She was right. I could feel my core, located in my upper abdomen, just above my belly button where the first two abs used to be. I explained the location to Mother, and she followed up with a deeper palm press on that spot.
She then cast spells for each mana type. First was water, a cool, fluid-like sensation entering my body and settling in my core. Next was air, a lighter, more fluid feeling. Finally, fire, the hottest of the three, caused my face to contort. This repeated for about two minutes.
"You see, Astraga, if you had gotten the Earth-type mana, you would start feeling your body automatically pull in energy at a certain rate. That would mean your core has been fully awakened," she explained. "But unfortunately, your core is only partially awakened. You are already absorbing mana, but your core is not yet complete. This process is not harmful to you, and you won't even be able to cast spells."
Her hands still rested on my back, allowing me to fully experience the energy moving within me, especially in my core, which didn't feel foreign at all. "So this is what it feels like to have a core," I said.
Astraya, excited, giggled. "Yes, brother! It's a nice feeling. It's kind of like different types of water inside you, moving around your core."
She was kind of right. They all felt different in their own way, but they behaved more or less the same as they moved in my body. Mother added, "Mana is all about balance, especially once you have a core that can absorb different types. They are all the same energy."
Wait a minute, this is giving me an idea.
"Alright, Astraga, how does it feel? How was your incomplete awakening? Do you now understand how mana feels in the body, especially in the core?" Mother asked.
"Yeah, it feels good, Mother," I replied.
"You must keep it this way," she warned. "You can't try to awaken it fully, as your core will immediately start producing null mana, which is dangerous to your body, son."
I have my own plans, I thought, but openly agreed with her. "Yes, Mother."
"Besides, your father will be leaving for Manyblood soon to get you a surprise."
A bodyguard, huh? I internally scoffed. I want to protect myself. Why should I rely on someone else to do that for me?This was exactly why I had to do my own research on awakening in secret. I knew Mother wouldn't even allow Father to teach me swordplay. She had also said that Father's swordplay wasn't up to Manyblood's standards, even though they were the weakest of the five kingdoms.
Part 2
"Mother," I asked, a thought occurring to me. "Is it possible for an ancestral authority to be accessible only to a particular bloodline?" I was thinking about the Ashborns and how Mother's language was different from Astraya's, and how the seals they used were also unique. I wondered if you could create an ancestral authority without the usual Based on what I've learned, spells seem to function on four core principles:
First is Mana, the living energy of the world. It's a gift, a form of radiation from the "Rainbow Sun," existing in four elemental manifestations that only humans can directly shape.
Second is Control, the art of shaping mana through will, intent, and imagination. Over time, it seems mana itself evolved to understand and respond to specific words or phrases, making the projection and manipulation of it more efficient. A mage's will gives mana form, and their chosen words bind it into action.
Third is Universal Resonance. This principle, which probably dates back to the king blessed by the Rainbow Sun, is like a general accumulation of mana flow and usage. It's the connection that links all spells together. When the Rainbow Sun gave humans the power to shape mana, that gift spread and became a law of the world. Every spell ever spoken left a pathway behind, and these pathways connected across generations, strengthening certain words and forms until the world itself recognized them as law.
And so, the fourth principle, Ancestral Authority, comes into play. A word-turned-spell, spoken by countless mages over centuries, grows heavy with ancestral weight, deepening its authority over mana. The Ashborns being specialists in seals and barriers leads me to a conclusion: there must be other ways to make mana manipulation stronger without relying solely on Universal Resonance. Perhaps a bloodline-specific Ancestral Authority is at play here, and I have to wonder how powerful it could be. The Ashborn founder must have had some kind of secret knowledge, or perhaps the family was blessed with a lineage of powerful mages, and the quality of their "ancestral weight" plays a significant role.
It was time to test my theory. "Mother, can you show me how an Ashborn does a seal?"
Mother looked surprised by my question, clearly trying to redirect the conversation. The mana lesson was over for the day, and she was focused on preparing dinner for the family.
"Well, Astraga, why are you asking me that now?" she said, looking like she was about to dash into the kitchen.
I wasn't about to wait another day for answers. It was time for me to see the power of the Ashborns. "It's nothing, Mother," I replied. "It's just that on patrol with Father, he had notes with languages he couldn't read or understand." Yh those are ashborn words that barrier caught your interest huh astraga?
Astraya, still unaware of the massive barrier that concealed us, looked at Mother. "A barrier? What does that mean? Could I also make barriers?" As she looked around, it finally made sense to her why there were no other kids to play with.
This was my time to act and play my cards right. "Yes, Astraya, and they are incredible! There are four rocks that hold the inscriptions that made the magic."
Astraya looked at Mother in admiration. "Wow, Mother, how did you do that? I can't see any barrier, though. Why?"
"You wouldn't believe it, Astraya. Mother created them," I said, putting my flattery plan in motion.