B.R. Quinn

Expand to see the inspiration for this writing piece

Free Writing: This is a passage I intend to use in my story, Simon the Mage. The idea came about initially as I learned more about meditation and breathwork. I was finding it difficult to find my “center,” and I was also finding it difficult to release tension within my body. I came up with a way of breathing, which I call “mana breathing,” where I pretend to move magical energy throughout my entire body, eventually releasing it. Through the mix of breathwork and energy, I found my own way to release the tension that stress and anxiety caused. I created my unique mana breathing method to release tension while I worked, and I envisioned a story with it, which I am now trying to turn into a book.

“Why don’t you try again, Simon?”

Simon clenched his fists in frustration. How long would it take him to control his mana pathway? According to his new mentor, Marlowe, he was a sorcerer, which meant his mana pathway was already developed. However, since he hadn’t been using magic, it had become kinked. Much like how a kinked hose builds pressure, eventually forcing water to flow inward or outward with excessive force, so too would his mana.

If he couldn’t learn to move the mana—magical energy—through his pathway, he risked either imploding and destroying his body or exploding and unleashing an uncontrollable surge of magic, causing devastating effects. Despite knowing these dire consequences, Simon still couldn’t find his pathway. But as Marlowe instructed, he closed his eyes and tried again.

He searched deep within himself, starting by taking deep breaths. It had taken time to find the breathing pattern that helped, but he now knew the counts: 4 counts to inhale, 7 to hold, 8 to exhale, and 2 to hold again. Getting himself as relaxed as possible, Simon began the breathing exercise. Inhale for 4. Hold for 7. Exhale for 8. Hold for 2.

He repeated the breathwork until his shoulders sagged, relaxing into the deep calm it provided. Unfortunately, now that he knew his breathing rhythm, that was the easiest step.

Next, Simon searched for his center. He had tried many different approaches but found that imagery worked best. Thanks to the calming breathwork, he imagined the scene of a calm, peaceful lake. Inhale for 4. Hold for 7. Exhale for 8. Hold for 2.

He pictured his essence as a stone flake—something that would eventually sink to the lake’s bottom but would drift downward slowly. Inhale for 4. Hold for 7. Exhale for 8. Hold for 2.

The stone flake swayed gently with the water’s motion. Inhale for 4. Hold for 7. Exhale for 8. Hold for 2. Soon, it neared the lakebed. The water above felt heavy but not unpleasant. The flake continued its descent, deeper and deeper, until it finally touched the bottom. Inhale for 4. Hold for 7. Exhale for 8. Hold for 2.

Simon focused on the sensation of settling at the bottom, just like the stone flake. The lakebed provided a gentle upward push, halting the flake’s movement. Inhale for 4. Hold for 7. Exhale for 8. Hold for 2.

Now, Simon turned his attention to his body, trying to locate where the gentle upward push manifested. Inhale for 4. Hold for 7. Exhale for 8. Hold for 2. He could feel the sensation near his abdomen but needed to pinpoint it further. He focused on the flake resting on the lakebed, remembering the gentle push that kept it from sinking endlessly.

At the valley of his next exhale, Simon felt the sensation settle just a few inches above his belly button, close to his diaphragm. Inhale for 4. Hold for 7. Exhale for 8. Hold for 2. He continued a few more rounds of breathwork to ensure he had found the right spot, although his mana core often resided near his diaphragm, so he wasn’t surprised it was there.

With a clear sense of his mana core’s location, Simon attempted to pull the stored mana from it. Frustratingly, the core swirled with mana but refused to release anything. He continued his breathwork. Inhale for 4. Hold for 7. Exhale for 8. Hold for 2.

Although frustrated, Simon knew the issue lay with his kinked mana pathways. He shifted his focus outward, trying to sense each pathway. Mana pathways often ran alongside the veins, arteries, or nerves within his body. However, the mana pathways felt like a tangled mess within his body.

This time, instead of getting upset, Simon maintained his breathwork. Inhale for 4. Hold for 7. Exhale for 8. Hold for 2. There had to be another way to trace the pathways. Simon refocused on his mana core and slowly worked his awareness through the aches and pains in his body—symptoms of the kinked pathways.

He began by focusing on his right shoulder, which had been aching for some time. Inhale for 4. Hold for 7. Exhale for 8. Hold for 2. As he continued, he noticed that the pain lessened, bit by bit, with each exhale. Concentrating on the exhale, Simon attempted to move the mana from the kinked pathway in his shoulder through his arm and into his hands, where he was casting a spell to create water through elemental magic.

There was a slight shift, but the mana remained stubbornly stuck, swirling about his shoulder. The spell failed due to his inability to release the mana. Refusing to get distressed, Simon kept breathing. Inhale for 4. Hold for 7. Exhale for 8. Hold for 2. On the next inhale, he realized some of the mana was moving from his pathway into his core, then releasing outward with the exhale. Armed with this new understanding, Simon had an idea.

Even though he didn’t need more stockpiled mana, Simon decided that it may be easier to track new mana compared to the already stockpiled and stagnant mana within his body. If he brought mana from the atmosphere in through the pathway in his left hand, passed it through his mana core, and then forced it out through the kinked shoulder and right arm, he may be able to unleash the small burst of water. Simon considered telling Marlowe about his new plan, but he knew she preferred it when he found his own solutions. She always told him that each person’s journey to unleash magic was their own to discover. He decided to stick with his breathwork and press on.

Calmly, as he inhaled, Simon drew small amounts of ambient mana from the atmosphere through his left hand, letting it travel up his arm, across his chest, and into his mana core near his diaphragm. As he held his breath for a count of seven, he felt the mana swirl within his core. More energy was swirling now, making tracking the flow easier. Then, as he exhaled slowly to a count of eight, Simon pushed the mana through his kinked right shoulder, loosening the pathway slightly, until a short burst of water shot out of his right hand.

Marlowe jumped back, startled by the sudden spurt of water, but she smiled. She could sense Simon’s mana pathways starting to align, and her excitement grew.

“How did that exercise feel different this time, Simon?” Marlowe asked.

Simon recalled the experience. He concentrated on the feeling of tracing the mana through his mana pathway from his left hand, through his mana core, and out his right.

“My shoulder doesn’t hurt as much,” Simon noted. “And I was able to unleash the spell I had planned. But the pathway is still kinked.”

“Ah, but you used it, didn’t you? You felt the energy, moved it through your core, and produced a spell at the other end.”

“Yes…” Simon hesitated. “But I haven’t released all the mana stored in my body. If I keep adding more, won’t the pressure just build up again?”

Marlowe smiled. “You’re not attuned enough to notice yet, but you released more mana than you absorbed. The stiffness in your shoulder didn’t just lessen because you moved mana through it—it’s because you expelled a little of the stored mana as well.”

Simon blinked at his hands, one wet, the other dry. “How can you tell?”

“As a teacher of sorcerers, I’ve learned to sense the flow of mana in the world itself,” Marlowe replied. “While you meditated, I focused on your mana flow. Most of your pathways are still tangled, but I could feel you drawing in mana. I thought it was an unusual approach, but it worked for you. Through trial and error, you’ve found a way to move mana through your pathways, even if only in small amounts.”

Simon clenched his fists. “I think… I think I can refine it. If I keep releasing mana bit by bit, I’ll eventually learn all my pathways. Then I’ll understand how mana flows within me.”

He looked up at Marlowe, determination burning in his eyes. “I will become stronger, and I will rescue Kiera with the power inside me.”

Marlowe gazed at the fire in Simon’s eyes. He didn’t know it yet, but he had more mana than most his age could handle without imploding. His fierce resolve told her everything—he would grow stronger, and maybe, just maybe, he would help her defeat the reign of the Dark Mage.