"Why are you giving this to me?" Mane was excited to hear her words. He became a wielder because he needed the strength to protect his family. But like every other being blessed with intelligence that was above average, Mane sought to study everything the world had to offer. From the very first day he had learned about scholars, Mane had set it as his goal to become one. Yet he didn't have the material to embark upon this unique path. Now he did.
"Don't worry. I am not going to ask you to take me as your master. You can consider it a gift- a first meeting gift." Ananse's pleasant voice assured Mane that she didn't want anything from him. She knew what the boy was weary of. He was smart- people didn't give anything for free. He needed reassurance that she wouldn't ask anything of him after giving him the manual.
"Besides, if I hadn't given it to you, you would have still gotten your hands on something similar." Ananse continued. Her words stunned Mane. Where on Zandor was he going to get something so valuable?
"What do you mean?" he questioned the goddess that stood before him, still ignoring the hovering ball of light that contained the very thing he had sought for so long.
"You never informed your parents of your wish to become a scholar, did you?" Ananse smiled slightly. Mane wasn't surprised that she knew his ambitions. From the very moment she informed him that the ball of light was a scholar wielding manual, he knew that she was aware of his dream. He didn't know how she knew though. After all, the only people who knew about this were his masters, and even his parents were left in the dark. Mane wondered if it was because of her power as a Sensor that she was able to see through so many of his secrets. He wondered if she knew about his masters. After all, she seemed to know everything.
"You mean my parents would have gotten me a manual?" Mane enquired. Yet he already knew the answer to his question. The path of scholars was rare. Even his parents would have difficulty procuring a manual of such rarity for him. And knowing them, they would want the best for their son. Mane didn't want to put them in that position- a position where they would go to the extreme just to get what he wanted.
"Indeed. Your father is a spiritualist and an energy wielder. Have you never wondered if your mother was a dual wielder as well?" Ananse smiled mysteriously as she questioned. Her words startled Mane. He realised what she was implying. "Are you saying-?"
"Yes. You guessed right. Your mother is a scholar." Ananse interjected, confirming Mane's thoughts. Mane was stunned by the revelation. To think his mother had the skills of a group even rarer than spiritualists. He shook his head wryly realizing that he had been thinking a bit too much when he decided to keep his ambitions of wanting to be a scholar to himself. If he had just told them, his mother would have provided him with her manual. And she would also be present to give him tips whenever he experienced any difficulties. Mane was confused about something though. His masters could see that his senses were better than the average man. In fact, they had lamented that Mane didn't have the means to become a scholar, and they believed he would do really well if he was to embark on that path as well. His mother was a brilliant woman. Surely her observation skills were far greater than his masters'.
Although she had been back for just a month, it was enough to learn a lot about someone. Especially since she had witnessed every single duel with his father. There was no way she didn't realize that he had good reflexes and pristine senses. And now he knew that she was even a scholar, meaning her senses were far above any other person in his life (he had no idea about Butler Fin's abilities). Surely she must have seen his talent for the scholar path. So why didn't she bring it up? Why didn't she opt to teach him? It was one thing he couldn't understand. He wished he could ask her about it, but Ananse had asked him to keep their meeting a secret. There was no way he could ask about his mother about sensory wielding of scholars without revealing how he found out she was a scholar. 'It's a pity that my spirit scan cannot see through her' Mane thought ruefully.
"Still, I would like to thank you for your gift" Mane conveyed his thanks. He cast aside the doubts he had and reached for the incandescent orb. Once he held on to the orb, his mind went blank. Lots of information flooded in and threatened to submerge his brain and overwhelm it. Yet even under such circumstances, Mane didn't panic. He tried his best to receive everything that was coming in. As he did, he couldn't help but wonder, 'Is it supposed to hurt this much?' He tried to get the resisting orb to capitulate.
"Why didn't you stop him" Indra asked Ananse. He looked at the boy who stood before him. Mane's expression was twisted in pain, yet the boy didn't even let out a groan. While he admired Mane's tenacity, he questioned Ananse's motives.
"I want to see how much his brain can handle at this stage" Ananse replied.
"What you are doing is dangerous. What if something happens to him?" Indra asked worryingly.
"He'd be fine. He's a Supreme. His destiny isn't to fall here. Besides, I need to confirm something." Ananse didn't seem worried at all. It was almost as if she didn't care about Mane's fate.
What Mane didn't know was that the information in the orb could be received in bits. The orb wasn't entirely formless like Mane thought. It was an actual orb that stored information. But who could blame Mane for not knowing about this. When his masters introduced him to wielding, they presented several wielding manuals before him. In the end, Mane chose a manual that was destined to be his foundation- a manual for Supremes. When he did pick that manual, it rushed into his body and transmitted information directly to his brain. Mane had assumed that all manuals were like that- he was wrong.
The manual that Supremes used was different from the average wielding books. Even high grade wielding manuals weren't capable of lodging themselves directly into one's brain. The manual for the Supremes was able to do this since there was never an instance of multiple Supremes being born in the same era. So it was made to be used by just one person at a time. This wasn't so for other manuals. In the case of Academies and rich families, manuals weren't kept by just one person, they were used by a populace. The paucity of manuals made it impossible for all to have one to themselves. So it was either you borrowed the manual to read and return it after, or used a storage orb to store the information in the manual.
The storage orb was what Ananse had given Mane. As long as one sent their minds into the orb, they would be able to leaf through it like it was a book. They would then read what they wanted, and get out. They would keep doing this until they had successfully learnt all that they wanted to know. Then they could delete the information and store something else of value.
Unfortunately, Mane didn't know this. So he took the option that many were eager to avoid. It was an option that was ill advised, and no one in their right senses would ever choose it. He allowed the orb to enter his mind, instead of leafing through it with his. This was a very dangerous thing to do. Storage orbs were capable of containing massive amounts of information. In fact, they were able to hold all the information that a manual contained. And manuals weren't small books. It was due to the fact that manuals were antediluvian, that storage orbs were made. No one wanted their manuals destroyed so orbs were used to keep that information.
So to allow such massive information to take root in your brain all at once was akin to suicide. The only people who used this method were scholars. Due to the wealth of intelligence that scholars possessed, they were able to handle the pressure from storage orbs. Ananse hadn't said anything to Mane when he allowed the orb the permission to enter his mind. She was certain that although he wasn't a scholar yet, he should have the capacity to accommodate the storage orb. Besides, it would be better for him to have all the information stored safely in his head, than for him to keep it with him. After all, she didn't want even his masters to know that the orb came from her.