“Progression for a naturalist isn’t always linear. Sometimes a catalyst, big or small, will cause a naturalist to leap far beyond their current ability. Sometimes it’s a special training method, sometimes it’s study, sometimes it’s epiphany. My point is, if you put these students in a box, you’re putting a lid on their potential.”

~ Professor Ligaiya 

Daimyon

We hurry to the Grand Council’s chambers to report. The sooner we can hand the relic over to them, the better. That way we can finally start training! That whole situation is worrying for sure but the excitement of training is definitely overwhelming. Doesn’t seem like Bones is feeling that excited but I think he’s ready too. He’s still a mystery to me. He looks back at me as we climb up the stairs.

“Remember, everything went fine. We went to the location, grabbed the relic, and came back. Don’t mention anything else unless I tell you to.” The way he said that tells me that following his instructions will probably be the best thing for both of us so I nod. This reporting thing is obviously more serious than I’d prefer. Professor Ligaiya is standing outside of the chamber as we approach.

“Professor!” I exclaim. She smiles at me with a beautiful grin, that made me feel hopelessly full of joy from seeing her. Unfortunately, that smile turns very serious as her and Bones make eye contact.

“Ligaiya. Will you be present for the report?” His voice doesn’t move up or down, it's completely monotone. There’s definitely some tension. 

“Obviously.” She rolls her eyes at his question then turns to enter the chamber. “Don’t keep the lady waiting again please.” He lowers his head at her jab. So far Bones seemed like a pretty on-time person, but Ligaiya knows him better than I do. He signals to me.

“Let’s go.” We enter the chamber one at a time to face the Grand Council. The woman in the highest chair stands up. I assume she’s the Grand Councilwoman, even though I’ve never actually seen her before. She has a powerful no-nonsense aura about her, as if she could drop the moon on our heads at any time if we were out of line. Her tone is irritated as she addresses Bones.

“Please don’t tell me you took this student along with you?” He responds with a subtle nod that makes her roll her eyes with rage. “Why do I even give you choices? Without any knowledge of the level of threat we faced, you willingly took a first-year out of the academy to accompany you? What if a battle ensued? How capable even is this child?” She went off so quickly that my head is spinning from all of the questions. Good thing she’s not yelling at me like this, I don’t think I can take it. Even as a bystander, her presence is so intimidating that I feel like I’m going to crack. 

“I assure you, mother, Daimyon was instrumental in the success of this operation.” He responds, causing her to raise an eyebrow. “I knew that he would be an excellent lookout and follow all of my instructions to the letter. As a result, we were able to quickly get in and out without drawing too much attention. We even brought something very interesting back with us.” 

He reaches into his jacket to pull out the relic. It emits a faint glow. 

“This is what the Shadow Walkers appear to be after.” The relic seems to draw the attention of each of the council members, the Grand Councilwoman especially.

“And this is all that happened, Bones?” He nods, which prompts her to look my way. “Your name is Daimyon? What do you recall of your trip?” She gazes upon me with a stare that would make any liar confess his darkest truths. I look at Bones, who never once takes his eyes off of her but I can see clearly into his eyes from the side, even past his glasses. They were telling me to go along with the story...or else. I turn back to the Grand Councilwoman to give my testament.

“It’s just as Bones said, ma’am. We arrived at the location and found this relic. He picked it up, and we left.” I do my best to be convincing, and since I wasn’t telling her anything that didn’t happen, I felt relaxed. It’s not as though those things didn’t happen, even if perhaps a few other things happened too. She rolls her eyes at me as if she doesn’t believe me but can’t prove that I’m not telling the whole story.

“Fine. Give Orion the relic so that we can study it and then you’re free to go.” Bones hands over the relic to the council member wearing the mask. 

“Training field, tomorrow after class.” He says to me in a short breath as we leave the chamber. That’s the most exciting thing said in that entire boring meeting. I gleefully head back to my dorm to get a good night’s sleep. It was going to be a big day of training tomorrow. 

The next day flew by as all I could think of was getting out of class and heading to the field. Darting out the door and racing down the stairs I find our designated meetup spot empty.

“Maybe I’m just early. It’s not like he gave me a specific time.” I sit down with my legs crossed to rest. Daigo appears in front of me in spirit form. 

“What do you think Bones intends to teach you?” I shrug, not really knowing what to say.

“Even if he just helps me with my basics, that would be a big deal for me. I’m still struggling with drawing and releasing.” Shaking his head.

“I think he has a lot more planned for you than just the basics. He seems very interested in you, after all. I just can’t put my finger on why.”

“This really seems to be eating away at you, huh?” I respond, concerned with his obsession for logic.

“It just doesn’t add up to me. There’s nothing particularly special about you, and you had only just met before he mentioned this to you. I don’t know, there are still too many pieces missing from this puzzle.” As he continues to ponder, I stand up to stretch. He definitely has a point that it was pretty unexpected but as I said before, the reason doesn’t really matter to me. If he wants to teach me, I’m ready to learn. After getting in a good stretch, I begin practicing my draw, closing my eyes to focus. 

“You’re trying too hard.” Just as I was ready to start, Bones appears in front of me in a flash of wind. “Your draw feels unnatural, like you’re trying to force the arcana into your spirit.” He looks up to the sky. “Drawing arcana should be as simple as breathing. You just need to practice your breathing technique.” Tilting my head in confusion.

“But how? I’ve never had to learn how to breathe. At least, I don’t think so.” I understand the purpose of the comparison, and it definitely feels bad to know that it’s supposed to be that easy. Even still, I don’t know what to do differently. Bones sighs as he reaches into his jacket and pulls out the box that he got from Harold. Inside there were four bands made of some kind of metal I don’t recognize.

“These bands are made of corenthium. It’s a special metal that absorbs arcana.” With the waving of his hand, the bands floated out of the box, unlocked themselves, and flew onto my wrists and ankles. “Now that they are attached to your limbs, any arcana you draw will be pulled into the bands instead of into your spirit. You will keep drawing until they change color and unlock.”

“That’s all? That seems easy enough.” I say confidently. He raises his finger into the air, indicating one more thing.

“One thing you should know: these bands have already been charged with my fire arcana. If you don’t get them off in time, they will explode.” He looks up at the sky. “The way I see it, you have until nightfall, give or take. I’m not exactly sure, but hey. I have faith that you’ll figure it out before it matters.” Immediately panic sets in. What type of training is this? I clearly said I had no idea how to draw any faster than I already do and now these things are going to explode if I don’t figure it out!

“Give me a hint or something! Please, I don’t know any more than I did before you showed up!” 

“Think of drawing like breathing. When your mind is calm and your body is at rest, you can focus your breathing more effectively. Relax yourself, and feel the arcana around you. Pull it into you.” He inhales deeply as waves of wind whip around him sharply, dispelling as he exhales. “Hurry up. We don’t have time to waste on something this basic.” I close my eyes and sit with my legs crossed. Bones is right. This is the most basic of all arcana techniques. I don’t have time to be stuck here. Time passes as I begin a deep meditation in hopes of attuning my senses to the arcana in my surrounding area.

~Part 1 of 2