The trip out of town was relatively easy with the weather being comfortable and few travelers Keith and Leo made swift progress arriving at the lake in only an hour from town.
The pair settled in a clearing and Keith cast his line, Leo decided to meditate with his eyes closed to make it look like he was asleep. that's when he began to recognize the sensation that he got when he meditated but it was accompanied by a flow of energy.
This must be mana or something I wish I was into fantasy more, I don't know what else I could call it, but this feels good. This feeling like it's a intimate attraction, only that it doesn't end this experience won't stop. I should control this, I need to see if I can trigger the pooling effect Lilla created with the energy.
Keith is talking about war, be it earth or whatever you call this world it means life will change. Leo resumed analyzing the energy flow remembering the pooling of the mana Lilla caused with her spell Leo attempted to dam the flow. Trying to imagine a modern dam shutting down on the flow Leo began to feel as heat rise in him. Leo cursing his infant body inwardly, if any danger should arise he would be useless at best.
Realizing that he was close to a breaking point Leo put all his efforts into closing this dam, the heat rose to a flame and the flame to a fire it formed into a sphere below the heart underneath his ribcage.
Containing the discomfort Leo trying to expand his new core to no avail he couldn't release this pool nor expand it leaving him baffled but he was left dumbfounded, thinking to himself Leo thought ok great I have a core and I have no idea what to do with it I can't get crazy about it with Keith here I be labeled as a demon.
Towards the end Leo spent the rest of the day probing his latest edition paying only half a mind to Keith well he spoke on. Keith entered a tangent speech about his heyday in the Alairian Royal Guard, a Division of the elite units of the Alairian Legion which reported directly to the crown to counter the Alairian Army which was controlled by both the crown and the Nobles structure.
The Legion was used as the direct hand of the crown usually as an offensive force and the Army was a Defensive force hence it was given to the Nobles to defend their assets and towns, Keith talked about being a kid working his way through the Legion were he made the Royal Guard but he stopped when nearing the topic of a battle that he didn't name but simply look down on Leo.
"Leo my lion, I was hopeful that you would be free from the horrors I was made to endure, I will train you and you will learn." "you will learn or you will suffer for it my son." the pair returned home with Keith having believed he had escaped to the river and back unnoticed.
Yet in the doorway stood a little fury that Leo knew he was thankfully not having provoked, the following week while Leo probed his core Keith was cuddling the dog in the den. Leo made a note that his mother had a temper and to try and be a good boy unlike his father's example.
In the following years to Leo's fourth birthday he made yet another breakthrough, the mana what Leo dubbed the void energy would not enter his being of its own nor could Leo draw it in or so he thought. Remembering how much pull a vacuum has Leo thought up a strange idea but might also kill him because if his body is unable to hold this vacuum then his internals will be crushed in turn.
After Leo thought about the various methods of creating vacuums including gravity's and vortex like ways he boiled down to one. My core is too weak to create a density of enough magnitude and creating a cyclone in my body doesn't make a lot of sense but creating a sense of absence could draw in more void energy.
I need to do something next year Im going to be sent to school and my free time will be cut in two so it's now or never. Leo began to push his internal mana through his body following the pattern of arteries and veins throughout his body so as to imitate a second circulatory system.
In the first half hour all Leo could do was throw it out in his body and draw it back to the core slowly. Leo however determined to make progress the more he pushed himself the more it seemed like his body was remembering the channels he was creating.