SkyEarth (Reborn) Book 1: Stratos Rising

Chapter 15: The Art of Aura

Learning the basics had proven to be tougher than Shaun had expected to be.

Apparently, basic training didn't even involve any aura at all. Instead, Amsel made Shaun sit on the floor of Amsel's attic, hold a lit candle and told him to focus on the fire until there's nothing but melted wax on the candle holder. When Shaun first heard that he would be doing just that for two hours, he stared at Amsel blankly.

"You must be joking." Shaun asked, looking up at Amsel. But he saw no humor in the man's eyes. He was serious.

"I have to focus on the candle fire for an hour? Why not just blind me and get it over with."

Amsel's brows furrowed. "This is what you signed up for." he said sternly. "You will stare at the candle's flame until it reaches the end of its wick."

"In complete darkness." Shaun muttered. "And this trains me how?"

"It helps you visualize your aura's form in your mind." Amsel answered. "You'll learn all about the different textures of aura and their defining characteristics during your lessons, but for the purpose of this exercise is to help you control your aura. Aura is like fire, and the human body a lamp. The key word is moderation. Too weak, and your power would be weak and you'll be susceptible to any external forces. Too strong, and you might cause a house or forest fire and overwhelm you."

Shaun thought about this and nodded. It made kind of sense. "How long will I have to do this candle-gazing routine?"

"Until I believe that you are ready for the next step." Amsel answered. "And you have to do it three times a day starting tonight."

"Seriously?" Out the attic window it was night out.

"As early as four in the morning, after lunch, and right before bed." Amsel instructed before checking his watch. "And if there are no complaints, I'll leave you to it." And without waiting for a rebuttal, Amsel left the attic through the wooden door on the floor.

And Shaun was left in darkness with only a candle as his source of light. He felt annoyed at Amsel for just leaving him here with this task but there's he could do. So Shaun resigned himself to gaze on the candle's warm flame. Sure enough, he started seeing colors over his vision but he persisted. It was long and boring, but finally the hour ended by the arrival of Amsel, telling him that he can go to bed. Exhausted, Shaun didn't argue and went pto his room and collapsed on his bed. He hadn't bothered changing into his pajamas.

In-between the candle-gazings, Amsel devised a lesson plan for Shaun's education. From this day on Shaun is home-schooled, with Amsel acting as his teacher, both in Shaun's normal and Auraeon education. In the hours between morning and noon, Amsel taught Shaun his normal subjects, while after that he taught him lessons about Auraeon basics. This involved little to no aura, and it's just about reading people's emotions by sensing their auras.

"Sensing other people's emotions by their auras gives us a strategic advantage in any kind of situation they're in. When reading their emotions, an Auraeon will precisely know what needs to be done. These range from healing injuries, predicting a person's movements, checking on their vitals, reading people's thoughts. Aura Reading is an important asset." said Amsel. Aura Reading, that's the official Auraeon term for sensing emotions. Shaun had jokingly asked if all the terminologies would with the word 'aura'. Amsel's answer was another silent stern look, and from that moment on Shaun never humoured Amsel again.

Since he was not allowed to leave the Raven House, Shaun had to practice Aura Reading through Beatriz, who frequently visit to check up on Shaun's health, although Shaun thought to himself that the real reason was because the nurse and Amsel might have a thing together, and Amsel's two cats named Sir Pompous, an aptly named black-furred cat, and Lady Blanca, a demure fluffy white. This continued on for about a month