Alex was kneeling on the lawn of a picturesque garden, in front of a raised wooden platform, where he’d been told to kneel and wait. The guards escorted him here directly after his encounter with Master Syllen.

After thirty minutes a tall statuesque Elven woman walks quietly through the garden towards Alex, with Candy following her gaze fixed on the ground. The woman was taller than Candy with black hair and dusky skin wearing a simple yet elegant red robe. She wore her hair in a tight braid, coiled high and held in place with long silver pins.

Alex realizes that the tall guard has made his face shield transparent as the woman approaches. He also notices that the guard is tan-skinned with black hair.

“You’re more beautiful than ever Mistress Lyrei,” The tall guard says as he bows to the woman.

“Thank you, Master Ardreth. Still, I do wish that were true.” Mistress Lyrei replies, smiling. She steps onto the wooden platform and kneels on a cushion, unconsciously arranging her robe around her. She then pointedly gazes at Candy, who hastily moves to the front of the platform and kneels next to Alex.

Candy whispers, “Facedown, and just listen.” They both lower their heads to the ground and wait. “I’ve been taken off most of my other duties. I’m now to attend Mistress Lyrei who will be training me in the use of prana and how to be a ladies maid. I now sleep in a cupboard next to her rooms and there is always a guard outside the door. However, I may now be able to gain access to the room they use for transportation, so I’ll let you know how it goes.”

Master Ardreth moves towards the platform and again bows to Mistress Lyrei.“Your splendor is undeniable, you are a rare flower that none in this garden can compare to.”

“You are too kind. Although, you must excuse me, as I am to instruct this merchandise at the behest of Baroness Yegella.”

“Of course, Mistress Lyrei. I will be at your disposal whilst you undertake this arduous task, anything you require, you but have to ask.”

“I don’t require assistance in controlling such as this.”

“I know you don’t, Mistress Lyrei. Nonetheless, Baroness Yegella would be most displeased if you were to suffer any distress. To ensure everything goes well, I and my men will remain at the edge of the garden.”

“Do as you must, Master Ardreth.” Mistress Lyrei replies resignedly. He bows and moves to the other guard and whispers something. The guard then moves to a position on the other side of the platform.

Mistress Lyrei sits quietly and considers Alex and Candy whilst the guards adopt their positions. After a few minutes, she says, “You were tardy in assuming the correct position; do not let that happen again. I have been asked to provide you instruction in both the cultivation of prana and the use of defensive runes. Girl, what instruction have you received about prana and runes?”

Without raising her head Candy replies, “I can control the flow of prana to my core and from there to my arms and hands. I have not received any instruction on defensive runes, Mistress.”

“And you, boy?”

There’s a brief pause before Alex responds, “I have not received any instruction on either matter, Mistress.”

“Boy, I understand that you have just been assessed. What core capacity do you have?”

“Ninety-two, Mistress.”

“Girl, what is your core capacity?”

“Eighty-seven, Mistress”

"Well then, it appears I will have to start at the beginning. Boy, when you used prana whilst in the chair, what did you feel?”

“I felt a tingling in my arms at first, and then I sensed something that flowed down my arms as some form of energy. It felt euphoric and I didn’t want it to stop.”

“Good. Your ability to experience the ‘emotion’ and ‘form’ is a direct result of sensing the prana flowing within your body. This is the first step on the path to fully controlling your prana. The second is to train your body to enhance the flow, which in turn will train your mind and allow the use of prana. What experience do you have at meditation?”

“I’ve used meditation before I was brought here, Mistress.”

“Then tell me what the purpose of meditation is?”

“I was taught to use meditation to find my center, change negative thought patterns, maintain and improve my health, and as a way to relax.”

“That’s a simple and limited use of the technique. I will teach you how to use meditation to focus and control the prana within your body. The first step will be ensuring that you have the correct body posture and breathing exercises to cleanse the prana and regulate its flow. To achieve this you will be taught to focus your attention and awareness on your internal prana core, this will assist you in bringing its processes under greater voluntary control. Now boy, what progress have you made in your sword skills?”

“Mistress, I have learned simple strikes, thrusts, parries, and counters.”

“That does not tell me anything.” Mistress Lyrei declares displeased before calling out. “Master Ardreth, can you please advise of the boy’s progress?”

Master Ardreth, gives a small bow. “Of course, Mistress Lyrei. He has completed the red stage of his physical conditioning. He has rudimentary skills with the sword covering, preparation, opening, first guard, first parry, first thrust, all five basic strikes, and binding parries.”

“How’s his performance?”

“He has picked up most of the forms quickly, and he does show some limited promise, but he still has a long way to go in the rituals.”

“And the girl?”

“She has completed the physical conditioning and all thirteen foundation sword rituals. She has reached the block and sweep of the transitional stage. Her performance is worthy for a human female, we will be training her with daggers soon.”

“Thank you, Master Ardreth.” Mistress Lyrei says with a small bow in his direction. She then focuses on Alex and Candy. “You have commenced learning the Elven sword rituals. We will be using these sword rituals in a slow choreographed flow. They will build your strength, endurance, flexibility, and balance. Using the rituals is not just about following the movements but understand the position of your feet, body, and head. It‘s also used for learning when and how to breathe and use prana. You will of course be awkward at the start, needing to think about every step, breath, and move.

“After a few tendays of practice and repetition, your body will learn what the correct ritual is, and it will remember. Not all at once, but bit by bit, as you continually repeat the rituals until you can do them without conscious thought. They will become instinct, when that happens, you can incorporate prana into them, and the movements will become more powerful and less draining. After further practice, the use of prana becomes part of the flow, and everything, your body, the movement, and the prana, all combine. That insight allows you to improve the control of your body and mind, letting you think more clearly and act more rapidly, improving your fighting and overall awareness.

“Now, your body generates prana as a natural consequence of living. Prana is spread throughout the body, so the first thing you will learn is how to gather it inside you. Once you have mastered the control of your prana you can gather it. The place that it most easily gathers is the core. Your heart and brain also contain lots of prana but it's a bad place to allow it to gather. Too much prana in either of these can cause problems. Your heart can miss beats or even stop. Your brain can swell, causing headaches or hemorrhage. So you must control your prana flow to ensure it goes to your core. For those who develop a core in puberty, this is second nature, but for you, it must be something you consciously learn.”

Alex glances at Mistress Lyrei in concern. This sounds like he could suffer serious injury if he doesn’t control the flow of prana correctly.

“Once you have mastered the gathering of prana you will progress onto expressing it with runes. Runes manipulate prana using a pattern, which follows four phases, transformation, building, expulsion, and trigger, which collectively is called a spell.

"The first phase is transformation, where you convert prana into something else. For the element fire, prana converts into fuel, oxygen, and heat. This is held in an inert version of the components required for the spell. The building phase is when you ‘organize’ the components in a way that makes them ready for use. With the spell Fireball, the mixing of the ingredients is what defines your flame, the building phase is where you fine-tune the strictures of the spell such as its temperature, duration, and size. This is also the most prana intensive and complex area with multiple factors that need to be controlled. The expulsion phase is where you focus on the spell and you construct and maintain the method of delivery. Fireball requires that you form a flame on your hand, and this is important because it’s how you directly influence the world. Then comes the trigger, where you add the last stabilizers, finish conditions, and release the spell. Again with Fireball, this is where you add the propulsion that will launch the spell. All of these phases operate through runes to form the pattern that gives your desired result.”

Alex’s mind was in turmoil. She had just said that they could use magic. By using a few runes you could cast a spell, or by using prana you could grow stronger. This opens a world of opportunities, recognizing that it would certainly be dangerous, it also provided limitless possibilities. Is that how they transported him to this world? Could he use it to get back home?

“You will be trained primarily in defensive spells. We will be concentrating on Shield, Push, and Clear. Additional spells will be taught once I gain an understanding of your aptitude and strengths. So you are now going to work towards becoming proficient at gathering prana, while I watch to assess your current competencies. You are permitted to utilize any methods you deem necessary to demonstrate the gathering of prana. You may now begin.”

Candy immediately gets into a lotus position, closes her eyes, and begins to calm her breathing. Alex sits back into a kneeling position, also trying to calm his breathing, whilst wiping his hands on his tunic. After a few minutes, he changes position and crosses his legs, resting his hands on his knees, straightening his back, and closing his eyes. He begins the breathing exercises he was taught as part of his martial art. However, he finds it very difficult to calm down enough to just sit still, let alone begin meditating.

Mistress Lyrei watches Alex struggle. “Not everyone is strong enough to control their prana. They discover that they are weak, and the weak must serve the strong, as the strong will protect the weak. That is why you are weak and merchandise. Merchandise serves the strong. Remember, there is little clemency for merchandise that don’t serve.”

Listening to her was confusing Alex and it does not help him calm down. He opens his eyes to quickly glance at Candy and perceives that she appears to be successfully meditating. He closes his eyes again resolute to work harder and figure out how to control his prana. But first, he has to calm his mind so he slowly breathes in and then out. He tries to focus on nothing; seek nothing; find nothing, but the flow of prana. But, he’s still confused, how is he supposed to find prana? How are breathing exercises going to help him? He’s just floundering around trying to find the key to progress. Regrettably, meditation appears to be a requirement for using prana, he will just have to persist if he wants to use magic.