“First, you need to draw the magnolic power from the magnolium into your cardiothaumic system.” Miss Hartwright gestured to the vial in Alicia’s left hand containing the viscous liquid. “This can be done by ingestion, although not all magnolium oils are designed for that purpose. The vial you have there uses olive oil which is completely edible. Others will use colza oil, which is cheaper but also extracted from the rapasseed plant and quite toxic, and most magnolium designed for circuitry uses kerosene, since it can’t spoil and as an inorganic material can hold far more magnolic power without risk of absorption. As a result, it is best to learn how to do a remote draw as well.”

“Is a remote draw what I did when I Bloomed?” Alicia asked.

“It is quite similar, my lady,” Miss Hartwright replied. “However, at that time, your cardiothaumic system was empty of any magnolic power, and as such it formed a magnolic vacuum that allowed for a very easy draw. Once you’ve Bloomed, your cardiothaumic system will always contain some magnolic power; the art of remote drawing involves manipulating that power to create a temporary vacuum, allowing you to draw in magnolic power from your surroundings. It is a useful technique but it can cause damage if done incorrectly, so I ask that you not try it without my guidance.”

“I won’t, then” Alicia replied. She was already concerned about her cardiothaumic system after her collapse--there was no reason to risk damaging it further. Still, she felt like she had a better understanding of magnolic power; from the way Miss Hartwright was talking, it seemed to behave almost like a liquid of a gas. She wondered if the ideal gas law would be applicable, and if ideas like ‘volume’, ‘pressure’, or ‘molarity’ even had an analogue with the substance. Still, those were questions for another time.

“So for now, I should just drink the magnolium?” Alicia asked, eying the oil somewhat suspiciously. It certainly didn’t seem very appealing, although partly that was just a disposition against drinking anything that glowed. From Christine’s experience came a memory of a kid who drank a glow stick at a birthday party, and then he had thrown up and had to be taken to the hospital. It had been an unpleasant memory that stuck with the woman, and it made Alicia quite reluctant to follow in those footsteps.

“I understand your reluctance, my lady,” Miss Hartwright said, her voice surprisingly kind. “I know that your Blooming was traumatic, but it is very important that a woman of your status be able to channel. I assure you, the oil has been quite diluted, and the magnolic power ought to be quite harmless.”

Alicia opened her mouth to correct the woman, then decided against it. Instead, she squared her shoulder, pulled the plug off the vial, and downed it in one gulp. As she’d expected, it tasted just like olive oil, although there was also a strange grassy flavor. More surprisingly was the strange sensation as the magnolium hit her tongue; it fizzled inside her mouth in a way that brought to mind licking a nine-volt battery, although it was not altogether unpleasant. She could feel the magnolic power gathered in her stomach, but quickly it began to spread out and diffuse toward her limbs, that same fizzling sensation spreading out through her whole body.

Miss Hartwright returned to her lecturing mode. “Now that you’ve consumed the magnolium, your body will naturally equalize the concentrations of magnolic power. This process is slower and less efficient than a remote draw, but it is also safe and harder to detect.”

“Harder to detect?” Alicia asked. That seemed like a strange concern to her.

“Not all channeling techniques are as obvious as germination, my lady. Once one has Bloomed, their cardiothaumic system will allow them to sense the presence of magnolic power; this is often interpreted as a glow or a sound, although some recognize it through scent or touch, or some combination. Regardless, while some techniques are quite ‘noisy’, there are more subtle uses of thaumaturgy designed to escape notice. You can imagine how useful it might be for an Animist to perform a soulsearch without the other party’s knowledge. Later, I will work with you to ensure that you are able to recognize even subtle techniques.”

Alicia remembered how Prince Alsander had done just that. The idea that he could have done so without her noticing was terrifying. “Or in combat, to know if your opponent is about to move faster than they ought to be,” she said.

“Indeed, silent channeling is of great use in duels as well, although you will not need to concern yourself with that application, my lady,” Miss Hartwright replied. “As I said, though, that is a matter for another time. For now, it would be enough for you to merely be able to channel. By now, the magnolic power ought to have dispersed throughout your cardiothaumic system. The next step is to gather the power and concentrate it in one location.” She reached out and lifted Alicia’s right hand. “Close your eyes and focus on channeling your power up through your chest and down your right arm.”

Alicia did as instructed. Even with her eyes shut, she could still see the shape of her body, the dim glow thrown off by the magnolic power seemingly unaffected by her shut eyelids. The magnolic power was spread diffusely, although more of it was concentrated at her core than her extremities. She realized that she didn’t know how exactly she was meant to concentrate the power. She tightened the muscles in her arm, trying to force the magnolic power out, but the magnolic power was unaffected. She asked it to move in her mind and it stubbornly stayed in place, motionless.

She flushed with embarrassment. Ever since she had received Christine’s memories, everything had become easier, and although she knew she wasn’t perfect at art or arithmetic, at least her failings were minor. This was different, however; Christine’s memories were no help at all. If she couldn’t manage this much, then she had no chance with any kind of advanced channeling. A familiar urge to stop trying and spare herself the humiliation of failure began to well up inside her, and it was only her fragile pride that kept her from giving up.

The minutes ticked on as Alicia stood there, eyes screwed shut, angrily trying to force the magnolic power to move. Tears of frustration formed at the corners of her eyes and she angrily wiped them away before Miss Hartwright could see them. This was just impossible--it was like asking her to cause a breeze with her thoughts. The magnolic power was like air, filling her body, and there was no way that she could just will it to move. Still, it couldn’t be impossible; she had done it before, when she had Bloomed, and so she must be able to do it again. She must.

Thinking about the magnolic power as a type of gas gave her an idea, though. Air might seem continuous and motionless, but she knew from Christine’s memories that it was in fact composed of countless particles, all bouncing off each other in a chaotic spread. Perhaps she didn’t need to force the motes of magnolic power to move toward her arm, but rather stop it from moving away. She remembered how it felt to first Bloom, the feeling of Energy and Motion surging through her body, the feeling of using the Fate. It had felt almost like using a limb that she had never known existed, and at the time it was just instinct that let her channel. She could remember now what it had felt like, however.

She reached down with that metaphorical limb and tried to stop the power that had been moving away from her right hand. It felt indescribably strange and incredibly clumsy, and she could tell from looking at her body that most of the motes had been unaffected by her action. It was as if she had tried to scoop up water with numb hands and almost all of it had spilled out. However, even numb hands would retain some water, and she could tell that the right side of her body was glowing slightly brighter than the left. The imbalance felt strange, almost unpleasant, and it was only with a dedicated flex of the cardiothaumic 'limb' that she could maintain it.

“Enough,” Miss Hartwright said suddenly, making Alicia jump slightly. “That’s very good, my lady.”

Alicia lost her focus and the magnolic power dispersed again throughout her body. She opened her eyes and winced at the brightness of the day. Her arm hurt quite a bit and was shaking from the effort of keeping it extended, so she let it drop. Her head was pounding, making it hard to think. “I didn’t do it, though,” she said. “I haven’t gathered it yet.”

“That you were able to move the magnolic power at all is enough. It is not uncommon for that in itself to take several weeks,” Miss Hartwright replied gently. “There’s no way to properly explain how to channel--each person must find it for themselves. What you have accomplished today is no mean feat. It will take time for you to build up your strength, though; I can see you are exhausted, and there is no use in pushing you to channel in this state.”

The headache had gotten worse, and Alicia squinted to shut out some of the bright light of the sun. She tried to parse what Miss Hartwright had said. “I did well, then?”

“Quite well, my lady.” She felt Miss Hartwright take her hand, guiding her forward. “You ought to take the rest of the day off to recover. We will practice again tomorrow.”