The Arcane Tides

-What's so funny about it?- Kael asked, slightly miffed at the statement that he was processing Aether incorrectly. He was an archmage, if anything he was one of the best at it.

Still, he knew this King of beasts knew vastly more than anyone he had heard of so...best to listen up. Especially after what he saw with his daughter.

"Well okay, not quite so funny as dependent on what you're trying to do..."

-I'm trying to feed this body. It's small, and weak. I need to force open the pathways I use to-

"Let me stop you right there. See, those Aetheric pathways- the things you think of as 'veins' or whatever....they don't really exist. You're not actually pulling anything into your body through something quite so literal. It probably just feels that way because that's how you were taught and how you always imagined it so the Aether follows suit. But your body is fully capable of handling magic as it sits. It's the muscles in the mind that need the work out and that will come with time not breathing heavily."

Kaels cheeks pinked a little, and he could sort of feel Malakar waving off the topic.

"None of that really matters though. You should be focusing on storing energy, not channeling it like some monk."

Kael frowned.

-Isn't that something only demons can do?-

Malakar laughed.

"Ahaha- what? No. Our internal physiology is nearly identical to yours- at least the bipedal demons are. We're just taught differently and that's why the other races can never catch up. Do it like this."

Kael sat up straight as he felt the energy around him moving.

-H-how are you doing this?-

"I'm using the energy in the stone. Don't worry, it's about the only thing it lets me do outside talking to you. You'll be able to do much, much more with it."

Kael watched as the Aether formed small beads of light around him, dancing in a circle around his sitting form. Lifting his right hand at the unspoken urging of his mortal enemies mind, the beads of light began to come together, forming a glowing ball of Aether above his palm. As more of it danced in, it began to wiggle and change, shifting form into that of a person.

"Every time you change the Aether into a particular form- fire, water, etcetera- you are transforming the energy in the air into something more malleable, but also not something it was meant to be- that's why the action drains you so much. You're doing several things at one time while trying to fight. Once its changed, you hold it over your hand or throw it and do whatever you wanted with it because in this form- the form of energy, or Aether- it's constantly in flux between all states and thus is easy to change from this to something more useful. But just because you turned it into fire or water doesn't mean it's not Aether. Yes, it exists in the air around us but it also exists in all things. You yourself are made of Aether. As such-"

The little person made of light began to strike a pose, to dance on his hand by twirling in a circle.

"Storing it should be easy, since your body is already doing it by giving you form. You use it, every time you stand or blink- its the energy that drives you forward, wakes you in the morning, lets you move your hands and feet and mouth. You can house, carry and utilize Aether at will if you only know how to access the Aether already in that skinsuit you got."

Kael frowned. What he said made sense.

-Wouldn't I have to focus every second of every day to keep it there?-

"Sure, at first. The body is quite adaptable, though. When we first emerge from the womb, most babies don't even know what breathing is yet their body kicks it in once it realizes it has no choice. Similarly, your body will begin to hold more of that energy than what it naturally does once you force it to. Think of it like a balloon in a resting state- if you fill it with water, it'll fill up then pour out through the neck. But if you create a seal around the end of the neck, the water will force the balloon to expand. Now, your body won't blow up like that but the same force used to retain Aether will- which is how some people have a constant glow around them. Like me, or Ilyana."

Kael was speechless. This pleased Malakar, so he continued.

"Constantly pushing it to expand its capacity will make it so you can house greater and greater amounts of Aether...then you can do much, much more with it than before because it will already be in a state that's prepared for use. You won't have to channel and change it as you go. It'll be there already, waiting for you to cast it. On top of that, there's only a certain amount of it that the muscle is going to allow you to pull in and use in a given time frame as it takes a lot of work to force change the Aether in the air to something you can manipulate and use. This eliminates that process, sidelining it for emergencies only."

That would be...different. Malakar was right, of course. The process for magic was one of transformation. All energy had a base state, and by manipulating that state you could change it into different things. But you had to bring it to the base form first and that's what took your own work and energy to do. It meant an extra second or two to cast spells, attack, defend or heal. If you had a well of that stuff ready to go in any given moment....

-Okay, I'll admit that's...quite brilliant. How do I do it?-

"Well, first you-"

"Kael, could you come here a moment?"

Stuffing down the indignant demon king, Kael stood and went after his mothers call, coming in through the back door to find her standing at the front. There stood Andre and Youichi- two childhood friends he'd forgotten about ages ago. His mouth parted a little in shock- what had happened to them? He remembered they'd had a falling out...knitting his brow together he moved toward the waving boy and the grinning girl. Her auburn hair was long and pulled back into a braid, flecked with the golden laces of an even younger time. Andre was about twice his size and shy, mild mannered with a darker complexion and black hair and eyes to match. Mild of nature when around other people, he was quite light of heart with just the three of them. They'd been his friends for as long as he could remember (which wasn't long, he was only ten after all)....his mother used to tell him they had been born during the same season, when the summer heat began to bleed off into fall and had taken to playing together even before they could walk.

"Andre...Youichi....Wow, I-" 

His mother interrupted.

"You can head out, for a while. I want to get a nap in and it would do you some good to get fresh air in your lungs."

He glanced at his mother.

As a child, he would give anything to go out with these two. But now...now he was forty years old, trapped in a ten year old body. He felt it might be just a wee bit strange to play with children again. Still, his mother gesturing left him without a suitable reason to argue and so he put on his best grin and headed out the door.

"So not only do I have to be in the head of a ten year old boy, I also have to sit here while he does to play? What, we're done with practicing magic or...?"

-Just for now, King. We'll pick this up tonight, after dinner. As for sitting there with a bunch of kids, welcome to my world. I'm the one who actually has to partake in the activities.-

"Ha! That's true. Good luck with that."

Rolling his eyes as they walked down the hill, he brought his attention back to his friends. They were talking just ahead of him, and he remembered then why they had stopped being friends. He was ten, and as boys do, he began to see his friends in a different light. A strong crush had formed for Youichi when he was twelve, and when he'd told Andre he'd found out that the two of them were already dating, and had been for almost a month. He'd felt betrayed, and jealous. To him, they'd kept the secret and he ended up being the one looking like a fool.

Now, a small smile formed on his face as he walked behind them. He could see it clear as day. They liked each other. They were both a year older, and spent far more time together than with him. Not to mention, being interested in anyone that age was way, way, WAY outside his wheelhouse of interest. Instead, he caught up and moved between them, putting his arms around their shoulders.

"Heh- I'm happy for you guys."

Andre, who had grunted as he was pulled down, looked up with a scowl.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, rather indignant. Even Youichi seemed confused. He chuckled. "You'll get it, someday." He changed the subject, removing his arms from their neck. "So where we headed?"

Andre shrugged at the subject change, letting it lie as he scratched his head.

"I dunno. I was thinkin' we might head down to the sea, maybe try to find that cave again."

Youichi groaned. "You're so obsessed with finding something we're unsure exists! Last time we went we stayed way to late an almost got swept out by the tide...." She looked at Kael, expecting him to talk some sense into Andre. Instead, after a moments thought, Kael grinned.

"Yeah...actually, I'm down!"

Andre grinned while Youichi just sighed and shook her head but was clearly on board to come along. Andre brought a fist up and pumped it, with a "Yus!" of excitement. They turned right at the road, heading back the way he'd come a week ago except they turned further into the village toward the goat path, which they started down promptly. Kael heard a dull voice in his head chime in, the flat monotony reflective of a true lack of excitement for the excursion.

"Yipeee."

He gave a little smirk himself as he moved behind Andre, with Youichi bringing up the rear.

"We're looking for a cave that was supposedly the home of a great wizard many, many years ago. Before the Aumber Vale was even founded. So cheer up, your highness. You're gonna help."

The King went silent for a moment as he felt the mood in the ring shift a little.

"Well now...if that's the case, this just got a lot more interesting."