Concordia stood with her parents once more. Over the past week, she'd been practicing her Zone Perception.
"Today, we'll train your ability to utilize the type of Extra-Sensory Ability associated with Water. You'll be attempting to master Depth Perception" Victoria said.
"What is Depth Perception?" Concordia wondered.
"It is a form of perception that begins to manifest when one is exposed to the same or similar information repeatedly over a prolonged period. When such a phenomenon occurs, there are two likely reactions from the observer. The first likely reaction is boredom. One may become bored with the contents of the info and begin to take the info for granted. This creates a kind of mental barrier that prevents one from perceiving anything past their boredom" Victoria explained.
"I see. In a sense it seems to be the reason for the ancient saying 'what better way to conceal a secret from an adversary than to hide it in his home?' It echoes the proverbial 'hidden in plain sight' mentality associated with taking common things for granted" Concordia realized.
"Exactly, but there is a second likely reaction manifested mostly through curiousity or fascination with the contents of the information. When this fascination exists, one does not mind being repeatedly exposed to the same content and as time passes, the contents of the information gradually begins to unravel itself to reveal manifold depths of knowledge. In other words, one always spots some new detail when exposed to the information in question. That is generally how Depth Perception works" Victoria explained.
"How do I hone Depth Perception?" Concordia asked.
"I'll leave it to your Dad to explain" Victoria said.
"Follow me Concordia" Face said.
Concordia followed her father to a very vast Lake. The Lake was also very deep.
"I have placed something very precious at the bottom of the Lake. I want you to find it without diving into the Lake. You are allowed to place your hands into the Lake though" Face said.
"How do I find what you've placed at the bottom of the Lake without diving into the Lake?" Concordia was beginning to get irritated.
"You must find a way" Face said with a laugh.
Concordia walked to the edge of the Lake and stared into the Lake. The Lake was deep. The Water was clear but she couldn't see very far into the Lake. She immediately realized that she couldn't use Kraken Andromeda's Dust Form in this situation since the Water would dissolve the Dust. The Dust was also most likely to remain at the surface of the Lake and would only settle at the bottom over a prolonged period.
"You're not allowed to utilize your Sigil as well. The point of this exercise is to hone your raw elemental affinity and not necessarily your Sigil" Face said.
"Talk about overwhelming odds and unreasonable demands" Concordia sighed in irritation.
Days passed with Concordia trying to think up a way to Scout the bottom of the Lake without diving into it or utilizing her Sigil.
"This is unreasonable! There's no way anyone could pass this test!" Concordia snapped one day.
"The solution surprisingly is right before your eyes" Face said mysteriously.
"Whatever it is, I can't see it!" Concordia complained.
"The reason you can't see it is because you've already made up your mind that you know the solution to your problem" Face said.
"That doesn't make sense!" Concordia snapped.
"Pay attention to your surroundings Concordia and try to find the new within the old" Face said.
"Find the new within the old?" Concordia wondered.
"Change your perspective and you might arrive at a surprising answer" Face said.
"That's not a clue!" Concordia snapped.
"Here's another one for you, try to think like a fish" Face said.
"In case you haven't noticed, I'm human" Concordia growled angrily.
"Concordia, Concordia, this Lake you see as a rather small thing is the entire universe to a fish. You view it simply as an observer but it is just as real to a fish as air is to you" Face said.
"Now you're just trying to be an irritation. I wish Mom were here. Her lessons are way easier to understand" Concordia said.
Then suddenly, a fish was washed ashore. Concordia watched it as it flapped its fins about struggling to get back into the Water. She noticed that it had difficulty breathing. She walked to it and picked it up. Then she noticed its gills.
"Think like a fish!" she gasped in realization and placed the fish back into the Water.
The fish swam away effortlessly. Face smirked.
"Looks like you have a few ideas" Face said.
"Water is composed of Hydrogen and Oxygen Gases meaning there's air within the Water!" Concordia realized and placed her hands into the Water. "Or rather…the Air is the Water!" Concordia synced her Wavelength to that of the gases within the Water and suddenly her mind filled with an image of the Lake's entire expanse.
At the bottom of the Lake she found a Box.
"Those were all clues. Dad wasn't joking around!" Concordia realized in excitement.
"Now you can utilize your sigil" Face said.
Concordia directed some arrows into the Lake and got them to retrieve the Box. She opened it. Within the Box was a Pearl.
"A gift to you for completing this part of your training. It's from your Mom and I" Face said.
"You were right. When I decided that the only way to retrieve what was at the bottom of the Lake was to either swim in it or utilize my sigil, I was blinded to the fact that Water is actually made up of gases. It was always within my capabilities to retrieve the Pearl…but I just couldn't see it" Concordia realized.
"The common isn't always what you think it is" Face said with a smile. "I hope you've learnt your lesson" he said.
"I have. Thanks Dad" Concordia said gratefully.