Davina
"From what Aspen told me, you will align your soul and body before you are completely cured of the sickness. With the alignment in place, it will be easier for you to heal the emotional and mental damage." I let her sit with this for a moment longer before bringing us back into the lesson.
I notice the subtle signs of her fatigue and consider ending the lesson early just so she can take a nap before her last lesson of the day with Ny. After a brief consideration, I decide to continue the lesson but will still end it early after an introduction to essence stones.
I draw the sigil for Callesh (invoke), to summon strings of essence to pick up and bring over seven stones from the tray next to me: Neutral Essence Crystal, Seed Core, Ember Stone, Titan Fragment, Radiance Gem, Obsidian Shard, Mythos Heart. They floated around us, each pulsing with muted light. "We can talk more about your condition later, little one. For now, let us dive back into the lesson. Tier ascension requires three components for all six races: essence cultivation, path mastery, and essence stones to power the ascent."
"These are the seven types of essence stones we use: Neutral Essence Crystals for general use, Seed Cores for cultivation awakening, Ember Stones for affinity refinement, Titan Fragments for the path of body cultivation, Radiance Gems for the path of spirit cultivation, Obsidian Shards for essence capacity expansion, and Mythos Hearts are currently only used for elite essencecrafting. No one has reached Mythos tier in centuries, so they currently aren't used for personal cultivation." My cadence stayed measured, and my emotions tucked away.
She tries to hide it, but I can feel my cold attitude is bothering her. How could I expect her to understand that I'm suppressing my emotions so that I don't affect her fragile essence network? She can't feel it yet, but I can feel the tharym bond between us re-establishing itself. With it, we can sense each other's location and emotional state.
While the others can just simply set up a barrier to suppress their bonds with her, the bond between mother and daughter is not so easily suppressed. Especially now when she is in need of protection.
My instincts push me to suppress myself during these moments of high emotions, or else I will cause her pain with the feedback from me. I don't know if I should just explain the situation to her or wait until she asks me about it. Maybe I'll ask Aspen to explain it. I feel so silly for being worried she won't understand my reason. We just have to endure this until she is more stable.
I motioned with my hand, and the round stones drifted into Nyx's hands. I could hear the faint hum of them as they made her skin prickle. She put them down in front of her, then picked each one up to examine. When she closed her fingers around the Ember stone again, her words caused longing to flicker within me. "It feels alive." My voice softened with warmth, remembering how she said the same thing when we did this lesson when she was younger.
"Yes, it is. Essence stones are essence condensed by the planet itself. They are not dead. When you hold an essence stone, you hold the life blood of the planet in your palm. Asari is alive and it wants the best for us and itself. If we are strong and capable then we can care for her better. It is a symbiotic cycle between us and her. She gives to us so that we can give back to her."
The Ember pulsed once in Nyx's palm, as though agreeing. She looked up at me with amazement that made me chuckle before she placed all the stones back onto the tray. "Remember this when using essence stones to cultivate. These are tools, not shortcuts," I informed. "To rely on them without discipline, without solid cultivation, is to build a weak foundation that will break when attempting to ascend. You do not want to experience that. Your soul and essence network will shatter. This would lead to your slow death."
I looked deep into her eyes, waiting until she nodded in understanding. Feeling assured for the moment, I continued. "Now watch and feel what you can." With a sigh, I eased my hold on my aura. It rolled through the space like veils of moonlight over deep water—pearlescent white layered atop indigo currents that whispered glyphs before dissolving.
I am curious how my little one perceives my aura. I have been told it feels heavy. Like I'm pressing not just with comfort but with command, a sanctuary that judged as much as it shielded.
"This is my aura," my voice warming at the continued awe I saw upon her face at my display. "It is the echo of your essence. It speaks before you do. Your essence tier, strength, and your state of being—all can be judged by it." Then just as easily as I eased my hold, I tucked my aura away.
"Control it, and you can influence a crowd. Flare it, and you can send enemies running. Fail to control it, and you will be considered lesser by those who seek to stand above you." My child's neutral expression made me feel a bit worried. I could not read her thoughts or feelings about the lesson.
I wonder if this is what I look like when I'm absorbing information. No wonder people get nervous and fill the silence when I'm honestly just thinking. Nyx stayed silent for a moment longer before she broke the quiet. "So it's like… getting a read on someone without having to speak to them." My lips curved faintly. "In a way. And like any skill, it can be learned."
Nyx drew a steadying breath, looking up into the darkening sky with a thoughtful expression. "So if aura is a skill… then I should be able to—"Before I could guess what she would do, her essence flooded the space. Her body convulsed in a silent scream, aura flaring like an engine trying to start. Each flare must feel like needles stabbing her all over.
I pulled her into my lap, wrapping my aura around her to still the turbulence. Manipulating my aura, I push her aura back into her body until she was cocooned by mine. All the while she screamed and convulsed, not stopping until she was surrounded. "Rest, little one." My voice sounded calm, though my heart lurched and my frightened tears dripped into her hair. "Do not force your body to do something it is not yet ready to do. We just talked about your condition; then you go and do this. Are you trying to end up back in the clinic today?"
I rocked her, trying to calm down as well. This child is going to drive me to silver before my mother gets her first strand at this rate. I placed a few kisses on her head, then eased my hold when she shook her head. When she leaned back, I could see the frustration burning in her eyes. "But I have already been doing minor essencecraft today. I created barriers, so why can't I—"
"You just almost ruined all the progress you have made! Trying to flare your aura when your essence network is so badly damaged is one of the worst things you could do." I shook her a little, hoping my words would scare her into not doing this again anytime soon.
"You just basically tried to push your essence through all those knots simultaneously. This is why your body was convulsing. It couldn't take the strain. Hold on, let me administer a healing spell to accelerate any internal injuries you just caused." My expression was sharp, but it softened when I saw her expression falter.
Ilya'reen, thorin kaii nalor'eth
Enkai'vel shaaren, soothar karen'th.
Zerith na'thorin, sha'nar en calen,
(Let silence flow where pain has been)
As I spoke the spell to strengthen it, I drew shimmering pearlescent spiraling downward loops, then a crescent arc above. They came together like a cradle over her body. The sigil represented holding the body in safety as the spirit is rebalanced. With the spell and sigil working in tandem, little one exhaled deeply, then snuggled into my embrace.
I kissed her on the forehead, enjoying this moment with my snuggle bug."Know this, little one, even if you were not ready for this attempt, this was not failure. It is proof that despite the damage done, your strength is still there, even if you cannot reach it right now."
Her breathing, which had been ragged, was now smoothing out. When I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, I let my thumb brush across her pulse. It was still fast but was steadily slowing down as we sat here. "Patience is a discipline no one wants to learn. But it is the first lesson of essencecraft. And today, you've learned it."
For a long moment, we sat there silent, staring at the faint ripples still moving across the pool's surface from her aura flares. When she gave a small nod, the tension broke, and I let myself relax. Feeling her pulse had finally calmed enough, I withdrew my aura from around her. "I believe this will be enough for today."
In my arms she looked smaller in that instant, wrapped in her shawl, but there was no defeat in her gaze. Only fire banked under ash. Good. There is still a long road ahead of us. She can only keep moving forward now. She will rise from the ashes like a phoenix. She will burn bright. Of that I have no doubt.