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[ he doesn't protest because now he's focused on the task at hand, and trying to concentrate on the way he felt so he won't lose sight of that. He casts it again, and though his control still leaves something to be desired, it's already improving, making it clear he's trying to adjust himself ]

[He's not concerned with finesse yet, this is already good. Excellent even.]

Again. Do not stop until I give you leave.

[He won't make Five exhaust himself. But he won't say "stop" until Five is either obviously comfortable with using aether for the spell or the man looks too tired to keep casting.]

[ That works just as well for him, really, so he's going to keep trying. Compared to using his own powers, it's slightly less tiring - though not so much he could go indefinitely.

Which each time he's casting, his control gets better and the time necessary for a new one reduces as well. It does take him a few tries, but eventually, he manages properly ]

- That should be it.

Mm. That is... Basic. But yes. A passable start.

Now tell me, how does it feel?

Thought I wouldn't need to go over the description process once I managed.

Our goal is conjury. Your sensitivity is certainly not going to be neglected.

[ he hates this!!! but also, he doesn't want to NOT be good at something, so he sighs ]

For the record. I feel ridiculous.

As I said, it feels alive. Tapping into my own energy simply feels like taking any other physical action, but this feels like a conversation. Negotiating with the environment around me so that I can manifest what I want.

Does that suffice?

Why do you feel ridiculous? You are learning something new.

That is certainly a good start. A conversation. Hm. Not a bad way to view it. Keep honing your negotiating skills.

I will watch, you may continue with each spell to your satisfaction.

[At this point he won't add more until Five feels he's ready to present his progress or has a question.]

"Feeling" is not something I focus on, generally, and describing the process certainly isn't something I'm used to either.

[ SIGHS!! ]

But I can see the usefulness of it, and I won't complain too much.

[ He's going to move on physic — this time, it only takes him a couple attempts to get it right, since he's gotten a much better grasp on how to use aether rather than his own reserves. By the time he's on the third spell, he does it properly on the first attempt ]

"Feeling" will have to become a focus of yours to master the elements.

[He leans against the wall of the pit, watching impassively.]

You're getting the hang of it.

I'm only going through with it because it's a necessity to actually figure out how to combine our powers. Far as I'm aware none of this will ever work in my world.

[ Not that the slight chance is not still worth trying for, but look, he has to complain ]

I believe next topic on your lesson was summoning.

It may not. But it is a good thing to learn to attune yourself to, it might be there are untapped powers available to you.

As to summoning, you grasp the complex formula, yes? This will be the same as casting any other spell, yet... sustained. And your will will move it, to an extent. It is not sentient, but it can react, and take orders.

I suppose that's true enough. The circumstances behind my sibling's and I's birth are odd enough that there must be something out there, if nothing else.

Hopefully the memory of Auracite turning into a Carbuncle won't actually make it any more difficult.

[ There's a pause, and he has to concentrate and focus again - in part because he's running the same calculations in his mind as well. But sure enough, he manages to summon an emerald one ]

Hm. So how does this feel? The connection should be solidly tied to you without pulling on your aether.

Weird, to start with.

[ He's actually kneeling down to check the Carbuncle, like he's trying to examine it because holy shit that's basically math given form ]

There's a connection, but I don't feel like it's depleting my own energies any stronger than usual.

[ a pause ]

I wonder if I could make it teleport for me.

What were you thinking?

The creature can follow commands. Provided I could summon it in my world, having it teleport away would open quite a lot of possibilities to me.

Would the connection hold at a distance?

There's a certain inherent distance in the construct before it will dissipate. However that is not a limitation of aether, but the formula. I anticipate there will be a lot of ways you will want to tweak the spells as you master the concepts.

[ Well now he's certainly thinking of the possibilities there, and how he could tweak the formula to adjust for that. ]

Something to work on another time, then. I'll keep on working on the basics first. Speaking of which.

Should I cast the spells with him now?

Indeed. I'd like to see you cast properly with this small toolkit.

[ He goes quiet as he focuses once again on what he can feel and sense, and then over the formula itself. He might not need it when it's already in the book, but it helps him get a better grasp on it, and it seems to work well enough — he's able to cast again another, though the spells themselves are growing weaker with each new attempt ]

Am I supposed to actually get tired from doing this? I thought using a different energy source would prevent that.

Yes. You are a mortal, your energy is limited. You are channeling aether through yourself to cast these. Even masters of the art require the knowledge of how to recharge their energies else they deplete them.

We will get to that. But there is no way to expend effort without expending energy. You are not a simple conduit, you work even when you are taking the energy from other sources.

Take a rest. You may find you will feel refreshed faster than normal, if you pause. The carbuncle can stay, you shouldn't need to dismiss it.

Well. That's unfortunate. But I suppose it does make sense, after all.

As our dear Emecchi likes to point out, we are not machines. Even one such as I will grow tired. But there are skills to replenish mana that you can learn, to prolong your time without rest.

—Hearing you call him Emecchi is gross, don't do that.

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