Despite many personal resolutions, Theo was getting tired of just breathing. He had made some progress in intuiting the ways in which his breathing and body focus influenced the aether moving through his system, and he had become quite adept at attuning his focus. He had not, however, been able to consciously influence the way in which the aether flowed.

  “Feel the movement of aether within your body. Let the flow happen naturally, don’t fixate with your mind. Notice the ways in which it moves as part of a dynamic whole.” Jo’s soothing voice complemented the rhythm of breathing that Theo had settled into. By now most of his class had ceased to attend, having resolved whatever block had been impacting them.

  “Aether is a part of who you are. Feel the way it increases in density with your inhale and picks up speed with the exhale.”

  For a moment, Theo felt a connection to the world at large. He breathed in and an inrush of energy cycled through his chest and out to his limbs. He pushed down on his excitement, letting the flow happen in accordance with his breath. As he relaxed, a sense of power and control permeated through his body, and he slowly pushed the circulating energy outwards towards his skin. With each breath, energy infused through the layers, creating a luminescent barrier around him that slowly disappeared as the energy was absorbed. He felt his body pulse.

  Theo opened his eyes briefly to celebrate, however Jo had already stood and made her way towards a cupboard at the front of the room. She took a small wooden box from within before returning to Theo.

  “Well done, Theo! You now know how it feels to take control of the aetheric flow. This is excellent progress.”

  “I recognise the feeling,” he said. “Well at least part of it. I’ve gotten into flow states in the past when running, or when in a study session, and the feeling was very similar. I just had to let it happen rather than trying to force it to do what I wanted.”

  “Exactly! As we become more in harmony with the flow of aether, letting go of our conscious need to control, the more direct control over it we have. Paradoxical I know, but it needs to be felt rather than explained. The body stage is about building the foundation and increasing your attunement. The next step is to introduce your specific resonances. How that presents will vary for each person and becomes much more specific as you progress in your cultivation. Most people start to notice specific colours within the aether. The stronger your resonance, the easier it is to see, and the more vibrant that colour is.”

  Theo nodded as he slowly stretched out his legs. He had heard many of his peers talking about it in his other classes. It had been starting to get to him, but this was the breakthrough he had been waiting for. He let the bubbling excitement inside him rise. Finally, he was not going to have to just stand there like a stunned mullet in his resonance classes!

  “Here Theo, I have something for you.” Jo passed him the small wooden box. “This is a gift to help nudge your progress. We wouldn’t normally give students these sorts of gifts as they are usually held as rewards for training comps or for completing missions. Given you started a bit later than your colleagues and have a resource disadvantage because of your background, I thought this may help pull back some of the disparity.”

  Theo opened the box. Inside was a small bunch of strange looking berries. There were four attached to small branch with silver green leaves. The fruit themselves were small, and oblong shaped. They were a vibrant yellow in colour, with tints of purple, and had a furry texture like a peach. They radiated an intense energy that caused Theo’s body to thrum in response.

  “These are a native appleberry, or Karrawang fruit. This plant was found growing within the range of an aetheric anomaly, so it has an incredible density of aether within it. The plant itself had begun to evolve, though the anomaly had to be closed before the process could complete. If eaten, it will force much more aether into your system than you would generally be able to absorb through meditation alone. Only use these when you have some free time dedicated to practicing and pushing forward your cultivation, otherwise most of the energy will be lost.”

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Thank you, Jo.” Theo stood up from the mat as he continued to analyse the fruits. He felt something resonate within.

  “Alright then. You know the feeling you are looking for now. The rest is just practice, practice, practice! With time it will become second nature.” Jo smiled, waving him off as he gave thanks again.

  * * *

  Patrick sat at his desk on one of the upper administrative levels and read through reports. His office was decorated in a tasteful but bland style, lacking the stamp of personality that may have been obvious from someone that spent more time at their desk.

  The current report was from the field team that had been investigating the evidence from his group’s showdown with the blood witch. The few survivors were still rehabilitating, though many had limited memory from the teams’ early conversations with them.

  He could feel the itch to get back out into the field.

  Patrick’s fingers stilled their tapping against the table as a quick knock at the door preceded its opening, and he looked up to see Jo enter the room.

  “How’s he doing?” Patrick asked.

  “What, no hello?” she teased. “He’s a smart kid. What’s it been, four weeks? He’s picked up the basics quicker than I would have expected given how new everything is for him.”

  “That’s good. He has an ideal background to help him adjust, though it’s not his intellectual ability that I am worried about.” Patrick sighed as he put down the report.

  “He’s found himself a home amongst the first years, they’re a small but tight knit group. They’ll help buffer him through the shocks.” Despite Jo’s reassurance, he couldn’t shake the frown holding stubbornly to his brow. “Stop being such a worrywart, you’ll give yourself wrinkles.”

  “Ha, that’ll take another hundred or so years!” He laughed softly, letting Jo’s influence seep through. “I’m not sure how much more time we have to coddle the students. Management have started sending out final years from the various Institutes to help contain the Tagma’s encroachment on metro spots. There are hints of another Arkaen incursion brewing, and the ley lines seem to be shifting, which has meant that there has been a recent upsurge in anomalies. We haven’t seen outbreaks like this since 2011/12. Things seem to be speeding up.”

  “You always find something to panic yourself about. Just calm down, things will work themselves out.” Jo paused. “So, are you going to spill what’s really got you on edge?”

  “You’re too insightful for your good.” Patrick said. “Honestly, I don’t know. I just have a feeling something is brewing, and I don’t feel ready. I hate sitting around waiting for something to happen.”

  “Then do something! Forget about the bigger picture and get back out there. I presume you have already consolidated your gains from the last outing?” Jo looked around the office as he nodded. “Do you have anything to drink in here? Your stress is infectious.”

  Patrick laughed as he made his way to a cabinet behind his desk.

  “Sorry, Jo. Does whiskey suit you? It’s Tasmanian.”

  “Anything warm will do.” Patrick poured a generous nip into two crystal glasses, hearing the creak behind him as Jo took a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. “You seem to be showing a bit more interest in Theo than you have in any of the other students in the past.”

  “Well, I was the one at the raid when he was found, not to mention helping him through the induction. And he’s an outlier as well,” he said. “Besides, there is something about him, I just can’t put my finger on it.”

  “I’m sure you would like to though,” Jo said quietly to herself. Patrick turned with a frown, to which she just smiled. “Drink?” she asked, hand out.

  He snorted softly and passed it to her.

  “You do know Simson is still suspicious?” she stated, which Patrick just ignored. “So? What are you going to do?”

  “Probably take your advice as usual.” He looked at Jo with some affection, nursing his own drink as he did so. “I can still remember when you helped me through Basics, what was that, thirteen years ago?”

  “And you were a much more difficult student! Took you weeks to get over the fact that you couldn’t just charm answers out of me and had to put in some work.” She laughed at the memory.

  “Well, I came good in the end,” he said.

  “Just as you will now. Go. Pull your finger out. You may have enough seniority now to pick and choose as you please, but I am sure there are any number of things the bigwigs have been pressuring you to do.”

  “You’re not wrong. There have been aetheric readings showing a significant surge out near Yellingbo reserve, which is strange, as it is not along one of the usual ley line routes. I’ll probably grab the team in a few days to check it out. Thankfully, it’s an area of low population density, so the chances of a spill out are minimal.”

  “Bah, I don’t need to know the details, I’m just an old teacher.”

  Patrick scoffed. “Hardly. Fancy a trip out to the field?”

  “You know my skills don’t run that way, though if you should find any interesting specimens, I am more than happy to take them off your hands.” She waved her now empty glass, which he grabbed, making his way back to the cabinet.

  “Lush!” he said. “Consider it done.”