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It took Ythri a long time. She closed her eyes and listened to herself breathe in and out, feeling the rising and falling of the air inside her lungs. For a long time, nothing happened, but she persisted, and tried to block all thoughts from her mind, to make herself a blank page.
Then, a series of pink circles seemed to appear. She didn't see them, not exactly, but she could sense them in the room. She knew without having to ask that this was the ara that Master Montago had been talking about -- and that this state was clara.
Somewhere, down a long, dark tunnel, Master Montago was still talking. "You should recognize the plane of music, and you'll want to pull some of the Essence to yourself. It's called Focusing. If you then move the energy to the material plane, it's called Channeling, and you'll notice that the energy becomes something you could cast a spell with -- mana -- because it's been interwoven with your own vis. If you were, for example, to sing the Anthem of Aelyria, which was part of your imparting, you'd be able to make it work. Maybe. If you're a good enough student."
Ythri ignored the jab -- to focus on it would mean losing clara -- and instead started singing. Her voice was strong and clear, and contoured to the cadences of the music. As she sang, she could feel herself growing stronger in some strange way, as if she could run for a million miles and not get tired. Nothing so extreme was the case, of course, but it was clear that both her motivation and her energy had been increased.
The song ended, and Ythri opened her eyes. As she did so, her hold on clara was gone, and she was once again her normal self, sitting in a room in the Conservatorio with her instructor. He nodded carefully. "Ah, well I've heard it done better, but for a first attempt it's not bad. The spell worked, at any rate, which is more than I can say for a lot of my students the first time they try it. You'll note that you probably feel a little weary. As an initiate you can only cast three times in any one brightening. After that, your vis is entirely expended. Try casting again, and you'll wind up dead."
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