The 61st day of Spring, 256 (Niomerday) 

Ten days soon passed, and because of the potion, Zan's injury quickly healed. Right now, he was sitting in the lotus position under the peach tree in their backyard. His knees were bent, his legs were crossing each other at his ankles, and his back was straight. At least that was the sitting posture he tried to imitate, which Arilia thaught him. However, he could barely hold this posture for too long as his lower back was aching, and his legs started to go numb. But despite all of the suffering, he continued to sit still in this position because he couldn't stay awake while lying on his back. Every time he drank the potion and was lying in his bed, he always fell asleep quickly. So to keep himself from dozing off, he decided to feel the brew's healing power while sitting in the lotus position under the tree.

When Zan no longer felt his body tingling, he opened his eyes and went into the kitchen to relieve his thirst.

"How do you feel?" Arilia asked as she was cooking their lunch.

"I feel great, better than ever before," he beamed.

She smiled slightly and soon grabbed her son's hand and gently pressed her two fingers to his wrist to feel his pulse.

"I always wanted to ask, why do you hold your patients' wrists when you are healing?"

"A healer can not only feel the heartbeat of a person from his or her wrist but can also sense the mana flow in his or her body," she explained.

"Then, the mana is in our blood?"

"Yes, but not only in our blood. Our heart produces our mana, and while flowing through our blood vessels, it spreads throughout our entire body. That means that our mana is in our bones, organs, muscles, and skin as well. The reason I am holding your wrist is to insert a small amount of my mana into your blood vessels so that I could search for wounds and illnesses in your body."

"And how do you know if there is something wrong?"

"It is simple. At the unhealthy body parts, you can feel less mana than at the rest of the body. If the healer is a master of her or his craft, she or he can balance this mana difference with potions, teas, and medicines," Arilia explained, then released her son's arm and went to the stove to taste the supper. "As you already know, everyone posses mana, but only one out of fifty people is actually able to use it at will. We call these people awakened ones, and the rest, who could not control their mana, are just regular people. Nevertheless, these average men and women still use their mana only on a much smaller scale and unconsciously. For example, when you cut yourself, it is your mana that starts your body's healing function, and as it solidifies your blood, it stops your bleeding... You also need to know that this great power is not only found in us humans but in the beasts and the plants as well."

"In every one of them?" Zan was surprised.

"Yes, in every one of them. However, beasts use their mana differently than us. They usually use it to make their bodies stronger and bigger. But there is no need to be afraid of the beasts that are in the village because they are harmless, and just like normal humans, they cannot really use their mana for anything else than healing." Arilia explained as she seasoned the soup with some spices. "Plants, on the other hand, could only use their mana for their growth, and most of them possess only a small amount of mana." She then once again tasted the soup. "Well, the truth is that mana could be found everywhere in this world, since Imana, our planet, is the one that emits it. The mana that is in our bodies is the same wonderful power that our planet has. The only differences are that both in quantity and quality, we pale in comparison to Imana's strength."

"What is a planet?"

"Well, to put it simply, it is this giant land that we are living on, but I will explain it to you in more detail, another time."

"Who is Imana again?"

"People used to believe that a goddess named Imana created us and that by sacrificing her own body, she created a place for us to live, in other words, our planet. The mana word came from her name as well. Our ancestors believed that she had unlimited power, and for that reason, the goddess called herself Imana, which they interpreted as I-mana, meaning I am power."

"But how do we have the same power as the planet?"

"Have you ever heard the following phrase: for dust you are and to dust you will return?"

"Yes, but I never understood."

"This saying comes from long ago when people believed that Imana has created us from her own body, which later became our planet, and shaped us to her own image. So they believed that we are her children." Arilia said, then put some salt into the supper. "How true this is, I do not know. Some of our ancestors have written that Imana has already died, but some still believe that she lives, and if we pray to her, she will help us."

For a short time, the following questions circled in Zan's mind: What was Imana like? How did she look like? How did she die? However, soon, he gave up on these thoughts because he was more interested in mana. "How can I increase my mana?"

"There are three ways to increase your mana. The first way is to train your body, the second is by eating, and the third..."

"With eating?" Zan cut into her words. "Then I will eat without any reserve."

Barely did he finish his sentence when Arilia smacked him in the head with a quick blow. "Do not interrupt me," she said with a little anger in her voice. "But, yes, you can increase your strength by eating, but it does matter what you consume. Your power will increase only a little from the meat that you can find here in the village. But to continue where I left off, the third way to progress is to absorb mana out of nature. "

"Out of nature?"

"Yes, I have already told you that not only humans have mana, but everything has it on this planet. It is in the air, the water, the fire, the ground, and every other element or material in this world. However, it does not have the same quantity everywhere. At the forests, mountains, and riversides exceedingly more mana can be found than at the villages, towns, or cities," she explained while stirring the soup.