Breath of Aena

The Class of '51 was still a ruckus as Mrs. Maiven was preparing to start their first class.

[ Mrs. Maiven ]

"Now, before we begin…"

She reached into a small container at her side — a box of smooth bark stitched with vine-thread — and retrieved a dull, lumpy stone. It shimmered faintly beneath her touch, as though a sleepy light inside it stirred just from her warmth.

She held it up with two fingers, letting the faint glow catch the soft morning light that filtered through the ceiling.

The room quieted at once. Seven-year-olds weren't always quiet, but some things held their attention instinctively — like fire, or stars, or the unknown.

"Can anyone tell me what this is?"

Her words seemed to settle on the class like mist — half-whispered, half-remembered. Some of them had heard it all their lives. Some had never truly listened.

She let the question hang.

"Yes… Nari."

She glanced at her roster.

"Nari Aeolian, is it?"

A student from the Skyward Arcanum rose from her seat with practiced grace.

[ Nari ]

"Yes, Mrs. Maiven."

"That is a raw æsther ore."

[ Mrs. Maiven ]

"Very good, Nari."

"You may sit."

She nodded with a smile, then looked across the room.

[ Mrs. Maiven ]

"Now… who can tell me what æsther is?"

A long silence followed.

Some eyes dropped to their laps. Others darted sideways, uncertain.

From the back of the room, a hand shot up — followed by a grin, barely contained.

[ Rio ]

"Magic power!"

The room exploded into laughter — peals of giggles and even a snort from Nerim, who quickly tried to hide behind his desk.

Mrs. Maiven didn't scold them.

She waited, calm and smiling.

[ Mrs. Maiven ]

"Well…"

She checked her roster again.

"Mr. Brentt… you are right."

The laughter died instantly.

"…and you are wrong."

"Both."

Rio blinked.

[ Rio ]

"...What?"

[ Mrs. Maiven ]

"It can be magic power, yes…"

"But æsther is not a spell or a wand or a puff of sparkles."

"It's not just something you use."

"And it's not just fire, or wind, or earth, or water…"

"Though it dances through them all."

She paused and placed the ore on her desk, gently tapping it with her fingertip.

The ore responded — glowing softly, like an ember beneath the skin of the stone.

"Æsther is the breath of Aena herself."

Even the kids who had been fidgeting stopped. Kaiden's eyes widened. Irna leaned forward just a little. Peggy tilted her head in a rare moment of open curiosity.

[ Mrs. Maiven ]

"It moves through everything."

"Not just people. Not just mages."

"But trees, rivers — even dust..."

"Everything."

"The mountain speaks it."

"The wind carries it."

"The stars remember it."

She slowly walked between the desks, holding the glowing ore so they could all see.

"Some call it spirit."

"Some call it mana."

"Wizards say it sings."

"Druids say it listens."

She paused beside Kaiden, placing the ore in his palm. He almost flinched — it was warm. Not hot, but alive.

[ Mrs. Maiven ]

"But the truth is…"

"It's the thread that binds all life to the world."

[ * Kaiden (internally) * ]

"It's warm…"

"…like something breathing."

Mrs. Maiven nodded, as if she'd heard the thought.

She returned to the front of the room and faced them again.

[ Mrs. Maiven ]

"And now that your HEART has opened…"

"You can feel it too."

"For some, it's loud."

"For others, only a whisper."

"But it is there."

She reached toward the ore, and the light inside it pulsed again — this time in rhythm, like a gentle heartbeat.

"And once you learn to listen to it…"

"You can begin to shape it."

[ Rio (softly) ]

"...Like music?"

Mrs. Maiven smiled widely, genuinely pleased.

[ Mrs. Maiven ]

"Yes, Rio."

"Like music you don't play with your hands…"

"But with your heart."

The æsther ore dimmed as she placed it back in the container, carefully wrapping it in cloth.

Then she looked up at the class.

"And that…"

"Is what we shall learn today."

She made her way to a basin of æstherwater at the center of the classroom. It shimmered softly, sending gentle ripples of light dancing across the mosswood floor.

Mrs. Maiven knelt beside it and tapped the surface once. A faint pulse stirred in the air.

"Before we talk about how to use æsther, my children…"

"We must first understand what it is."

"And to do that…"

"I need to tell you an old story."

Rio perked up. Nerim leaned in. Even Peggy sat straighter. Kaiden blinked, sensing something important was coming.

Mrs. Maiven closed her eyes for a breath, then opened them slowly — voice calm, steady, yet brimming with something that felt very old.

"In the beginning, before the world had shape, there was Aena."

'Not just a goddess, no…"

"But the first purpose."

"The one who was sent to balance everything."

She raised a hand, slowly spreading her fingers. Light trailed from them in thin ribbons that arced above the basin.

"Aena didn't create with power."

"She created with care."

"She raised the mountains with perseverance."

"Smoothed the plains with tenderness."

"She gave her breath to form the sky…"

"And scattered seeds of joy to birth the isles."

"And then…"

"She did something unthinkable."

Mrs. Maiven's voice softened, almost to a whisper.

"Willingly, lovingly, she tore her own soul apart…"

"Thread by thread."

"She gave it to the world — so it would live."

"Not just survive — but remember her heart."

"And those threads?"

"That's what we call æsther."

The ribbons of light shimmered, taking the shapes of trees, rivers, stars, flame, and wind.

"Like I said…"

"Æsther isn't magic like in the old tales."

"It's not a tool. Not a spell."

"Not something you force."

"It's… the breath of the world."

"Aena's breath."

"Her soul."

"Her memory."

"Her hope that we can make choices with care, like she did."

Kaiden's eyes widened.

Peggy's lips parted, thoughtful.

Even Rio — wiggly and half-tilted in his seat — fell still.

Mrs. Maiven let the silence breathe for a moment. Then she dipped her hand into the basin again. A ripple spread out. A rune formed in the air — shimmering, slow, pulsing.

"Æsther is everywhere."

"In the air, in the trees, in you."

"Truth doesn't mean facts."

"It means real."

A slight pause to garner the children's attention.

"What matters?"

"Who you really are."

"That's why it's not about strength."

"It's about…"

"Balance."

"And balance is the hardest thing in the world."

She stood slowly and turned in a circle to meet every gaze.

"You'll learn to shape it, in time…"

"But first, you must feel it."

"Listen to it."

"Because æsther is not your servant."

"It's your reflection."

Kaiden sat very still, his fingers curling softly around the edge of his seat. Somehow, it made sense.

Somehow, he understood.

All of it.

The basin pulsed once more. The light faded.

"And that is why we begin not with power…"

"But with patience."

The classroom was silent again.

"Now… who wants to hear about the first time æsther wept?"

Hands shot up.

Class had truly begun.