“Come with me.” Yir motioned for Jake to follow her but then paused. “You both as well.” She looked over her shoulder, glaring at the other two fairies. They both stiffened and fell in line as Yir guided the three of them up to a higher level in the Library. Jake swirled around and around the staircases, his stomach lurching the higher he went. He didn’t dare peer over the railing.

“Alba,” Yir called out. The red fairy jolted.

“Y-Yes!” She spat, her voice almost cracking from fright.

“What have you told him already about mana affinity?” Yir reached their destined floor and peeled away from the steps. Jake breathed a sigh of relief, happy to not have to climb any higher both from the fear of falling and his legs were getting super tired.

“U-Uh-” Alba stumbled, fumbling over her memory. “Oh! I told him that his affinity for one element might not be as strong as the other and also gave him the three different ways he could better that affinity.”

“And that is all?” Yir stopped, turning to stare at the fairy. Alba hesitated.

“N-No… I also told him of the mana transfusion process.” The fairy folded her hands behind her back, her head lowering a bit as if expecting to be scolded for her decision. Yir squinted at her briefly before turning her eyes to Jake.

“That process is forbidden. You will never use it. Understand?” She ordered.

“Yes, Miss Yir.” Jake wasn’t quite sure why they were so against it but if he had to guess it was the risk factor. Too many casualties and a low chance of success meant it was too dangerous to be attempted.

Yir guided the three into the center of the upper floor. A large bookshelf was curved around a table and a set of large corkboards. She motioned for the three to wait for her near one of the boards as she fluttered over to the curved shelf. She moved from book to book, flying slowly to the left before jolting up a few shelves and further. She finally found what she wanted and pulled a large, thick rolled-up piece of parchment from the shelf. Using magic, she brought it to the large board and then attached the top right and lower right corners to the board. With a wave of her hand, the scroll unrolled to show a map of the Overworld.

A map that was void of a plethora of details. From what Jake could see, the map had the main continent and the waterways marked but nothing else. No mountains. No country lines. No city names. However, what was marked on the map were numerous small circles, each with a number beside it. A swath of the circles also had stamps beside their numbers. Each stamp looked to be something like a coat of arms or a symbol. Among the rest, a few had a second larger colored circle around the outside. There was one black, three yellow, and four purple.

Yir’s nose wiggled as she looked at one of the purple circles. After a brief pause, she used magic to erase the outer circle, leaving the original black circle and number behind.

Along with the circles, several lines ran across the map, connecting them all in a large web. Not all of the circles were connected, but a path could be traced that inevitably included them all. Whenever two lines crossed, a small circle seemed to be located. It was a perfect layout. Too perfect.

“Yir, is this…?” Fena moved closer to the large map, her fingers tracing over the lines and her eyes moving between the circles. She seemed familiar with one of them towards the northwest.

“It is,” Yir affirmed. Both Jake and Alba stared, confused and uncertain of what they were looking at. “A map of the Dragon Veins.”

Fena placed a firm hand on top of one of the circles. “So this is what he went looking for…”

“He found many of them, but he, unfortunately, passed before his research was completed.” Yir sat down on top of a nearby table, making herself comfortable.

“Miss Yir, what is this?” Jake asked.

“It is a map of the Dragon Veins and ley lines that connect them. Along the ley lines, the Overworld’s natural mana tends to flow.” Fena answered for Yir as she pulled away from the map. “Professor Salvatore was researching them when he visited the Fae Islands.”

“That was why that old geezer came to our island?” Alba raised an eyebrow as she stared at the map. Fena’s wings glittered blue and yellow, electricity crackling around her fingers.

“Do not disrespect the Professor!” Fena snapped, her eyes glowing as she glared at Alba. Yir snapped her fingers, getting the angered fairy’s attention. Fena calmed down, letting the mana slip from her fingers as she relaxed. Alba held up her hands.

“Sorry,” Alba apologized.

“What are Dragon Veins?” Quickly trying to get rid of the awkward air in the room, Jake continued to ask his questions. There was a reason Yir had brought them up here and he had a feeling it would be the answer to his troubles.

“Go ahead, Fena.” Yir passed the baton. Now that Fena was aware of what Yir likely was trying to do, the Fairy nodded and took over the role of teaching. Yir remained quiet, watching from off to the side.

“One second!” Fena’s wings sparked with magic as she darted off into the shelves, vanishing like a lightning bolt. Jake and Alba both blinked, the electricity in the air causing their hair to stand on end. Jake scratched at the back of his head, looking over towards Yir. The Head Librarian only smiled at him, remaining patient.

Fena returned only seconds later, zipping through the shelves with a new book in tow. She zipped up to the table behind Jake and Alba and dropped the book onto it. It was titled, ‘The Ethereal Flow- Mana Essence and the Dragon Veins’. Without waiting, she flipped open the cover and whipped the pages, uncovering the image of a massive rock. It was covered in runes and had a large liquid pool around it. It was the representation of a Dragon Vein.

“Dragon Veins. They are naturally occurring objects in the Overworld where raw mana is created from the conversion of something we’ve come to call ‘Life Essence’. Life Essence is the one ingredient that has allowed life to grow and survive on our planet. It is an invisible fuel that leaks from the core of the planet and when mixed with the energy of the sun, it helps give the building blocks for all life to exist.” Fena returned to the map and placed her hand down beside one of the circles.

“It is thought that Dragon Veins were also around from the creation of the planet itself, but it was found that they are artificial in creation. We think the God’s made them-”

“Fena.” Just before Fena went off on her tangent, Yir reeled her in.

Fena cleared her throat. “Sorry. Dragon Veins are large spires or rock structures that naturally convert the leaking Life Essence to raw mana. Due to the density of mana created, large pools of it have been found surrounding the Veins and the air itself is thick with it.”

Seeing that Jake wasn’t quite understanding what was happening, Fena looked around, quickly finding a large drawing board. She snatched a piece of chalk and began to draw a diagram. A simple one that she could use to help visualize the process. There were three levels- the core of the planet, the location of the Dragon Vein, and then the surface of the Overworld.

“See, here.” She put down the chalk and began to explain, excitedly to say the least. “From the core of the Overworld, the Life Essence flows outwards. When it reacts with the Dragon Vein, it becomes Raw Mana or ‘Rana’ as the Professor blandly called it. This ‘Rana’ then leaks up to the surface where, when hit by the sun, mixes with Life Essence and becomes the much more safe ‘mana’ that living creatures on the surface can use for magic.” Fena added some wavy lines and arrows with descriptors as she spoke, adding to her picture to try and make it easier to understand. Alba was practically drooling already, lost. Jake, however, was understanding the basics.

“So Life Essence is the foundation of Mana?” He asked, wanting to put the pieces together one step at a time.

“Correct.” Fena nodded.

“And the Dragon Veins make… Rana?”

“Correct.”

“And then when sunlight touches Rana, it makes mana?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” Jake raised an eyebrow, confused as to why the Veins wouldn’t just make Mana right off the rip. What was missing from that process that the Sun was needed?

“Now that’s the fun!” Fena’s eyes glowed as she raised a finger.

“Save it for later,” Yir called out from behind, cutting that tangent short before it even began. Fena deflated slightly. Yir’s voice snapped Alba from her droning and the fairy jolted to life.

“Okay, so why is this important?” Jake turned over his shoulder to look at Yir, wanting them to get to the point. The fairy quietly pointed at Fena, redirecting his attention.

“Rana does not have an elemental affinity. Cultivating near the Vein should help strengthen your cultivation and assist you with your casting if you practice around it.” Fena drew a large set of circles and wrote down the various elements into each, Mana in the center branching out to them, and then Rana on its own connecting up into Mana. “Instead of transfusing someone else’s mana into your mana flow, using Rana instead should help your mana lose its elemental preference. That way it won’t matter what element you use! The cost should be the same!”

“But?” Yir called out.

“But?” Jake raised his eyebrows, not sure why she had said it.

“But…” Fena sighed. “It’s dangerous.”

“Another, ‘it could blow up’ situation?” Jake groaned, rolling his eyes. Yir took this moment to finally lift off her table.

“No. It’ll poison you, and you’ll die a slow, cold, suffocating death as it tears apart your mana flow from the inside out.” Yir described the potential result of fiddling with Rana with just enough detail to make Jake’s jaw tense up. His teeth squeezed together and he stared at the Dragon Vein.

“As Miss Yir said, cultivating with too much Rana or if your mana reacts negatively to it, you could die. And there’s no helping you if it happens.” Fena folded her hands neatly in front of herself. “The dangers of mana transfusion are similar, but we can help with such problems. Should you fail at handling Rana, death is the only outcome.”

“Well that’s stupid,” Alba blurted out. Yir whapped her on the back of the head.

“Quiet,” Yir snipped. “Your mana is stronger than the typical, Jake. Due to Lady Ferynith’s blessing, your mana is not typical and I believe you will find that cultivating with Rana will benefit you greatly. The challenge is still there, as is the threat of death. Understand that if you go to one of these locations, you may not come back both because of the risk of cultivating and because of what lurks near these locations.”

Before Jake could even ask, Fena glanced at Yir. “Maedra…” The word came out in barely a whisper, and Jake didn’t like the sound of it.

“Maedra. They are failed attempts at life that form around dense areas of raw mana. They tend to form in large numbers and can appear seemingly out of nowhere. They are highly dangerous and ruthless beasts. Fighting them is as dangerous if not more so than cultivating with the Rana that they like to feed off.” Yir crossed her arms, her wings lowering her down to be eye level with Jake. “If you wish to be a better mage, however, going to a Dragon Vein will prove to be useful for your growth.”

Jake could feel the tension thicken as Yir stared into his eyes. The boy swallowed a lump in his throat, his fingers curling as his breath caught in his throat.

So far, things had gone smoothly. He had learned how to cultivate, had learned a few spells, and he was becoming comfortable with using those spells in combat. They were all culminating baby steps, helping him along as he sharpened the foundations of his magic abilities. None of it was too strenuous just yet and even when he was fighting Dunebeasts, the danger was minimal due to the presence of Chul, who was quick to step in whenever the boy was in danger. But, roadblocks had started to appear.

His early wind magic spells were strong but too simple. They were rudimentary in construction and linear in use. Though his efficiency had become better, he had stalled in terms of growth with them. Now that he wanted to step into Fire Magic, he had hit a wall where he couldn’t exactly get better unless he either learned sigil magic, which would take forever or he would have to cultivate for a long time again. How long, he had no idea.

Yir had provided him with a solution, one that would likely alleviate his Elemental problems going forward. It would be troublesome but should he succeed, the boy would find magic to be even easier than before as he wouldn’t have to deal with the hassle of mana affinity. How much of a benefit it would be, though, he wasn’t quite sure. Yir and Fena had only said it would help but they hadn’t said how much help it would be. He assumed it would be very beneficial if they had taken so much time to explain it. Yir wouldn’t waste her time on something that she wasn’t sure of.

But, he feared the risk. The risk of dying at the hands of some invisible poison with no antidote. He also feared those creatures, the Maedra. They sounded like trouble. It would be the first time Jake would face anything unfamiliar. On top of that- they were fueled by that Rana stuff. If Rana was going to make him a better mage, he figured that meant it was better or stronger than Mana in some way. How, again, he had no idea.

Blind. He was going into this blind.

Jake let out a heavy sigh and turned to face the map. He stepped up to it, running his fingers over the aged paper as he looked at the various ley lines, circles, and markings.

“What do the colors mean, Yir?” Jake asked, his fingers brushing over the yellow, purple, and black large circles.

Yir remained where she was when she answered. Fena remained quiet. “The yellow circles are Dragon Veins which have protective barriers placed by the Gods around them. Purple circles are Veins with Guardians assigned to protect them. The black circle is a Dragon Vein which has been taken control over by a force known as the Black Hand.” Yir explained. Jake then turned his attention to the one Dragon Vein mark which Yir had removed the purple circle from.

“Why did you remove the circle from this one?” There was a large black line running through the center of the circle. It was oddly familiar.

“The Guardian assigned to that Dragon Vein was given a new mission. Said Guardian, I think, is very familiar to you…”

“...Chul,” Jake muttered. “There’s a Dragon Vein in the Ravine? I thought Chul was there to protect the Circle and the Gate?” Jake turned to look at Yir, who shook her head.

“Chul E’tana, the forsaken Arachkin, was placed within the Ravine by Lady Rastua to act as a regulator within the Ravine. He handled several tasks from protecting the Gate to the Gods, monitoring the Dragon Vein, and handling the potentially dangerous population of Maedra lurking within the Ravine. When the Ravine was found to be more dangerous of a place than originally thought, the Ravine was sealed with him in it.”

“The God’s locked him in the Ravine?!” Suddenly, Jake felt his face rush with heat. Anger boiled behind his eyes as he glared at Yir. The Fairy didn’t flinch.

“Chul E’tana was informed of the decision and chose to stay. He carried out his duty without hesitation and with great courage. Because of his efforts, the Maedra were nearly exterminated from the Ravine and the Dragon Vein’s Rana output stabilized.” Yir fluttered over to Jake and jammed a finger in his face. “Do not think such a decision was made lightly, Child. Lady Rastua was deeply hurt by it, as were a number of the other Gods.”

Jake felt the lava in his blood cool as Yir withheld her own emotion. The boy bit down on his cheek and nodded quietly.

“The Veins with symbols beside them have been claimed by the various countries near them. Several Magical Academies were built near them as the excess mana was beneficial to the growth of fledgling mages. The rest remain unclaimed, or too difficult to reach by normal means and have been left alone.” Yir moved over to the map and turned to face Jake as she placed a hand on top of the Vein marked in the Ravine.

“I would not recommend this place if I did not believe you could make use of it. I trust in Lady Ferynith’s gift to you. She entrusted us with your growth and I will see it through.” Yir’s fingers gripped the map, her gaze hardening as she looked at him. “Swallow your fear. Go to the Ravine. Your Guardian will aid you in your travel. And come back a better mage. Understood?”

Jake felt his heart thump in his chest. His hands curled into fists again and he could feel the adrenaline race through him as he listened to the fairy. A chill ran through his spine as she spoke to him. He took in a slow breath and nodded.

“Yes ma’am.”