I read and read sucking up the information like a vacuum. I was astonished, it seemed to answer all my questions and more. The explanation my mother gave my sister seven months ago was just a simplified version. A piece of the whole pie.

Magic has seven natural elements.

Wind, Water, Fire, Earth, Lightning, Light, and Dark.

70% of mages once they awaken, have an affinity to two of these natural elements, the other 30% only have one element, But just because a mage only has one element doesn't mean there are weaker than a mage with two, It all depends on the mages creativity, and combat prowess.

The mana core process my mother talked about was vague, but correct. The awakening age is normally 9 but It can happen early, or late depending on the person. From birth, your body slowly gathers mana particles. These mana particles slowly make their way through your body to the solar plexus, slowly gathering and condensing a mana core. Once this mana core is formed it triggers an awakening, when this awakening happens your body will dispel its impurities and open up mana pathways called mana veins. These pathways let you absorb mana in the atmosphere, allowing you to cultivate your core through deep meditation.

You will be able to tell where you stand in strength through the color of your mana core. It starts off at dark red due to the blood the mana particles gather on the journey to form a core. After is mid red, then light red.

The mana core stages from weakest to strongest are as follows,

Red - (Dark) (Mid) (Light)

Purple -(Dark) (Mid) (Light)

Blue - (Dark) (Mid) (Light)

Cyan - (Dark) (Mid) (Light)

White - (Initial) (Mid) (High)

The lighter the core, the more power the mage has access to.

Absorbing all this information left me with a feeling of enlightenment.

How you had to cultivate your mana core through deep meditation allowing you to reach new heights, reminded me of my old training.

In my past life, the training I endured was rigorous and harsh, my teacher forced me to learn stuff he could never learn, or do himself. He taught me how to close off my emotions to fight with maximum efficiency, no mercy or sympathy for my enemies. To do this training, one had to cultivate the mind. Cultivating the mind was similar to what this book said you had to do with the mana core, go into deep meditation. There was really no difference at all, besides how cultivating my mind would make my skin tougher and keep a cool head, I'm sure refining the mana core could achieve the same result.

Should I try meditation?

I could probably awaken early if I make my mana core manually, rather than wait 9 years.

I closed the book and put my theory to the test. When I began the meditation I started looking for the mana particles the book mentioned. It didn't take long to find them. They were little black specs with a glowing white outline. I could sense them scattered all in my body. The book said they move slowly but that would be an understatement. They didn't look like they were moving at all. I focused on one spec in particular; it was slightly bigger than all the others, when I tried to force it toward my solar plexus I sensed it move, but it still seemed motionless.

This is gonna take a while…

MELVIN ELWAY'S P.O.V

My son!

I was so happy we had a boy. Back before Falyn was born Faliya and I made a deal with each other that if we had a boy I would get to train him.

During my adventurer days, believe it or not, me and Faliya had a constant rivalry between us. I didn't know it at the time, but now that I look back, I was hopelessly in love with her.

The way she danced on the battlefield like a leaf in the wind, was something I could only describe as true beauty. She was only a Bronze-rank at the time, but her swordsmanship was on par with Silver-rank, and maybe even Gold-rank adventurers, magic aside.

We were in the same party back then and even though I was silver rank, a rank above her, she could keep up with me.

I didn't wield any weapons, my hand to hand combat style along with my water, earth, and mud magic was all I ever needed.

Faliya would never admit it, but I know the day I saved her from that flame behemoth she fell head over heels for me. I mean what woman wouldn't fall in love with their hero?

I still remember the celebration the crew had after that. The flame behemoth was only a Silver-rank beast but we made ten gold coins selling the corpse.

A couple of years after that we got married and came to the countryside to settle down. We had my daughter, Myla, then four years later my son, Falyn.

When I told little Falyn about my old adventurer days he always seemed so happy, so I kept telling him stories.

Eventually, it became a habit.

On Myla's birthday, when he said his first word "sissy" It was once again, a loss for me. When Myla was born her first word was "mama" so I lost to Faliya, but It didn't matter I was happy. With my family living free with no worries, I know my children will grow up to be great mages.

Today I was watching Falyn while Faliya and Myla were outside. Faliya was teaching our daughter the basics of her sword style. I had assumed Myla would get tired after a couple of hours, but she and Faliya are truly alike. They would rather pass out on the ground than quit. The sword Falyia got Myla for her birthday was a simple sword, something to train with until she awakens. The present I got her though, was something more valuable. I told Myla it was silver, but I and Faliya knew it wasn't that simple.

The necklace was made out of Sky Silver, a mineral only found in the Lunar mountains. The way it danced in the sun and moonlight it should be obvious to anyone that the necklace wasn't just any silver. The necklace surrounds the wearer in mana to protect them from minor physical and magical attacks.

Only the best for my children.

….Speaking of children, where's Falyn? I dropped what I was doing and started looking around the house.

First, I looked under the dining table. He wasn't there.

"Falyn son, where are you?" I called quietly so Falyia wouldn't hear me. If she found out I wasn't keeping an eye on him like she said, she'd kill me.

A cold shiver ran down my spine as I recalled my wife's angry face.

Then from the corner of my eye, I saw Falyn crawling out of the study room with a baby smile on his face.

FALYN ELWAY'S P.O.V

After I put the books back on their respective shelves, I made my way out of the study room. I finally had most of my questions answered and I could finally start forming my mana core. I couldn't help but smile. This world had many things to be explored, and many things I could achieve.

"Falyn son, where are you?"

I crawled out of the study room towards the familiar voice.

My father picked me up and seated me in my baby chair. "I'm glad I found you bud. If I didn't, I'm afraid your mother would've killed me."

"I would've killed you for what dear?" My mother asked, walking in from outside.

I could see a cold sweat appear on my father's face, "Oh, you and Myla are done training? You guys should go ahead and get washed up, dinner's almost ready." My father replied, dodging the question.

My mother and sister washed up and we had dinner. It was nice aside from the baby food. My mother and sister told my father all about their training today and even though I couldn't speak just yet, I felt, well, part of the family.

When it was time to go to bed, my mother put me in my crib, as I layed there I stared at the ceiling and started to ponder about everything I read in the "Basics of Mana and Magic" book.

I thought about the seven natural elements. Wind, Water, Fire, Earth, Lightning, Light, and Dark. Most mages have two, but I've only seen my father and mother use one. Does that mean I'll only have one? Or will I inherit both of their elements and have two?

Either way, it doesn't matter, with my skills and knowledge from my past life and the early start I'll have in this one. I'll be a great mage no matter what element or elements I end up with.