Jane was a bit annoyed.
She was annoyed at looking at herself in front of the mirror.
Jane hated mirrors, which was strange considering how beautiful she is.
"Okay, what am I supposed to see?" Jane inquired after an hour of looking at herself in front of the mirror.
"Your color." Ash answered calmly.
"My color?" Jane asked with a raise brow.
"Yes, your color." Ash confirmed as he circled Jane. "Every single being with a soul has a unique Aura. No same beings have the same Aura. Siblings can have Auras that resemble each other, but it will not, it could not be identical." Ash explained as he stood behind the mirror.
"You now have the ability to see the Auras of Aura Guardians because they have powerful Aura, but you still could not see the Aura of those who cannot harness Aura, and to an extent, you cannot see your very own Aura. This training is design for you to be able to see the Auras of those who cannot harness Aura. This is helpful because reading Aura can help you determine whether someone is lying or evil, or if someone is stronger than you." Ash further elaborated.
"I can do that even without that power." Jane grumbled under her breath.
"Just meditate." Ash ordered with a sigh. "I want you to know what color you are after the night is done."
Jane spared Ash an irritated glance. "If you already know my 'color', shouldn't we go to the next step?"
"Yes, I can see your 'color', but the problem is, you can't." Ash pointed out, much to Jane's annoyance.
With a groan, Jane glared at the mirror in front of her, which caused her to glare at herself and Ash.
Seeing this, Ash chuckle. "You know, you are so much like Elena. You guys both dislike looking at yourself in front of mirrors." Ash said humorously. "Which is strange. Both of you are incredibly beautiful."
"We are not narcissistic." Jane replied dryly, though there was red marring her face.
A moment of silence passed among the two before Jane shifted her gaze on Ash.
"Can I ask something, brat?"
"As long as that question does not involve my relationship with Elena, shoot."
"How did you become an Aura Prince?" Jane asked curiously.
Ash paused for a second as he glanced at Jane. "Long version or short?"
"Long version, please." Jane had looked at her reflection for almost an hour and she needed a good distraction.
"The reason why I became an Aura Prince is because I have an obsession."
"What?" Jane looked confused at Ash's answer.
"You see, Aura is the Force that gives everything life and power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds and connects everything together. Aura is a metaphysical, spiritual, binding, omnipotent and ubiquitous power that held enormous importance for both Human beings and Pokémons." Again, Jane marveled at the fact that Ash somewhat look wise beyond his age as he speaks about Aura.
"Aura, in the eyes of our ancestors as well as I, is what holds the world in balance. Aura Guardians were created for the single purpose of maintaining the balance of the world so that Aura can thrive and maintain life. Aura Knights and Aura Sages are the evolution of Aura Guardians, there job is to protect the balance from all forces who wishes to bring chaos to the balance given by Aura."
"At first, there is no such thing as an Aura Prince, just Knights and Sages. In the Ancient Days, Knights and Sages are the ones who protect the balance of Aura. For several millenniums, that was enough, until the day those Knights and Sages became to arrogant with their power."
"Knights and Sages became stiff. They created laws for themselves that alienated them from the world that Aura thrives on. Some of their laws include the prohibition of taking Pokémons to be their partner, the prohibition of interacting with people that are incapable of using Aura, and the kicker is the prohibition of feeling strong emotions."
"The Knights and Sages in Ancient Times, frown upon strong emotions, whether they be positive or negative. Passion was considered dangerous, as it could lead to strong emotions that could lead to unbalance, something that is sacrilegious for the Knights and Sages of the Ancient times. Love, curiously enough, was regarded by the Knights and Sages as something to be avoided. They consider love as a sin."
"That's load of bullshit." Jane commented.
"Yes, it is." Ash agreed with a nod. "Now, because of those laws, Knights and Sages often times take children who shows great aptitude for Aura. This is done so they can be conditioned to became the ideal Knights and Sages in Ancient times."
"I think you are smart enough to know where this will lead."
"Those Knights and Sages would be considered as threats." Jane said knowingly.
"Correct." Ash confirmed her answer. "Powerful beings who alienate themselves, who refuse human contact, who refused to interact with society would be viewed cautiously, and sometimes as a threat. Because of the Ancient Aurarians, that by the way is a tern use by our ancestors to refer to those who are capable harnessing Aura, refusal to interact with other non-Aurarian beings, war broke out."
"Now, as you may know, Aurarians are capable of using Aura. They have powers beyond the comprehension of those in capable of using it. That being said, regardless of how powerful they are, they are still human beings, regardless of how much they abandon there humanity. Human beings, regardless of how strong, can be killed. Add to the fact that only 1 out of a million has the capacity to learn to harness Aura practically gave the Aurarians and non-Aurarians a level playing field in the war."
"As you may know, tragedy and destruction comes hand-in-hand with war. Cultures were destroyed, Pokémons species and types became instincts, and trillions of people died. Even legendary Pokémons were killed during the war. The war lasted for a millennium and during that millennium, the world became unbalance."
"Because of that unbalance, two figures appeared to return the world to balance. The first figure is Arceus, the Original One, the mother of the known universe. The second figure is the Aura Prince."
"Those two beings are the pinnacle creations of Aura."
"Arceus, the Original One, the creator of the universe, lay slumber after she created the world, awoke during the Ancient War, awaken by Aura."
"The Aura Prince, the pinnacle of Aura, the strongest human being, created to equal Arceus herself."
"Together, they formed a duo. Before the Ancient Aurarians became too arrogant, Aura Guardians, Knights, and Sages are required to have a partner Pokémon. That is to show the world the meaning of the world's balance. Humans and Pokémons, hand in hand, living and protecting the world."
"I won't go to details about the Ancient War, but when Arceus and the first Aura Prince entered the war, the Millennium Long War ended in a decade and everything returned to normal."
"That is something that Elena would love to hear ("She already heard it"), but that doesn't answer my question. How did you became an Aura Prince?" Jane reiterated though she put the tale that Ash shared with her to the back of her mind. The story was a tale worth remembering.
"The same way every Aura Knight and Sage became a prince." Ash answered as he showed his wings to Jane. "There are two things that a Knight and a Sage must have to qualify to become a Prince."
"First, the complete understanding of Aura. You see, everyone who can harness Aura can become an Aura Guardian, but an Aura Guardian cannot be an Aura Knight and an Aura Sage at the same time, only a Prince can be a Knight and a Sage at the same time. An Aura Guardian cannot train to be a Knight or to be a Sage. An Aura Guardian would be a Knight or a Sage, depending on his Aura."
"Before I was an Aura Prince, I was an Aura Sage."
"The second and the most important thing for a Knight and a Sage to have to become a prince is Obsession."
Jane was taken aback after hearing that. "Obsession?" Jane inquired with a confused look.
"Yes, obsession." Ash clarified positively. "The downfall of the Ancient Aurarians is the fact that they lost their humanity. They lost touch of being human and started viewing themselves as beings higher than anyone that walks this earth. That was their downfall."
"An Aura Prince that has the powers and the abilities of a Knight and Sage must never lose touch of his/her humanity. So for the Aura Prince to remain grounded, they must have an Obsession, an obsession so severe that it can ground them to their humanity."
Ash took a deep breath before starring Jane right on the eye. "The day I became a Prince is the day I realize that this world can burn in the fires of hell as long as Elena is happy and safe." Ash stated with a bright, somewhat craze smile. "For an Aura Prince, their obsession is their God, their reason for living, and their reason for protecting this world."
"For an Aura Prince, before and after me, our obsession is both our strength and our weakness, our anchor in humanity and our gateway to insanity. Obsession is the Hubris of every Prince, before and after me."
With that piece said, Ash instructed Jane to continue her training.
No more words were exchange between the two for the entire night.