Sigora knelt by the pool and poured the glowing blue water into it. The liquid spread outward, seeming to multiply until the entire pool glowed with the same soothing blue light. Steam rose from the surface, though Jorghan knew from experience that the water would feel pleasantly warm, not hot.
"Remove your clothes and enter the pool," Sigora instructed, turning to a shelf where jars of various oils and powders were stored.
Jorghan undressed and slipped into the glowing water. Despite his small size compared to the pool, he felt comfortable rather than overwhelmed. The water reached just below his chest as he sat on the stone bench that circled the inner edge.
The effect of the nymoriel leaves was immediate. Where the blue water touched his skin, a tingling sensation spread through his body. Jorghan closed his eyes, feeling his muscles relax one by one. The constant hum of mana that he always felt—sometimes as a comfort, sometimes as a burden—seemed to organise itself, flowing through his body in more orderly patterns.
The negative energy around him was also gone now.
Sigora returned to the pool’s edge, now holding a smaller bowl containing a paste made from the remaining nymoriel leaves mixed with some kind of white powder.
"Lean your head back," she instructed.
Jorghan did as he was told, tilting his head toward the stars visible through the ceiling opening. Sigora’s strong, gentle hands scooped water over his hair, wetting it thoroughly. Then she began to work the blue paste into his scalp with circular motions.
"Your mana pathways are still developing," she explained as she worked. "The nymoriel helps calm the wild energies and teaches them to flow in harmony. This is especially important for you."
She resumed massaging his scalp, then moved to his shoulders, working the blue paste into the skin around his neck, paying special attention to the red tattoo on his neck.
"The sol’vur believed that bloodline powers should strengthen the self before it could be used to affect the world outside," she continued.
Jorghan opened his eyes, watching the stars through the ceiling opening. "Can you tell me about my mother?"
Sigora sighed, her hands moving to work the paste into his arms and chest. "What’s the sudden interest, little one?"
"Just I wanted to talk about her."
She stared at the boy for a few seconds and then told him what she knew about his mother. She had only met her a couple of times, so she didn’t speak much. But they talked about his father and how he was during his prime.
She guided him to submerse himself completely in the blue water, washing away the paste. When he resurfaced, his skin tingled all over, and the water around him had changed from blue to a faint purple.
"There," Sigora said with satisfaction. "The nymoriel has drawn out the impurities and calmed your mana flow. Can you feel the difference?"
Jorghan nodded, extending his hand and focusing. A small ball of light formed above his palm—steadier and brighter than he had managed before.
"It’s more... controlled," he said with wonder.
Sigora nodded. "The nymoriel bath is not merely for cleansing the body but for aligning the spirit with the body’s mana channels." She pointed to the purple tint in the water. "The colour change shows that your mana was indeed becoming turbulent. The leaves have balanced it."
She handed him a soft cloth to dry himself as he stepped from the pool. The water began to drain away through small holes at the bottom of the basin.
"I’m sure you miss your mother, and I can’t replace her. But I want you to know that I will always be here for you and do anything you want and protect you all the time."
Jorghan looked at her and nodded.
Jorghan dried himself and slipped into the clean clothes Sigora had brought for him—soft fabric in the deep green colour worn by the patriarch’s family.
"Will I need these baths again when I start the new training?" he asked.
Sigora’s expression grew serious. "Yes. The training in that box will awaken parts of your heritage that have lain dormant. The nymoriel will help keep those energies in balance as you learn."
"All right, let’s go have dinner."
Then they both got out of the warehouse and walked to the main house.
Inside, all of her children, her husband and a woman beside him, were already present in the hall, seemingly waiting for her.
Sigora looked at her husband and the woman beside him. Her expression was unreadable, but she turned her head to Jorghan and told him to sit at the table.
Jorghan went and sat between Swana and Sik’ra.
"Where were you?" Sik’ra whispered.
"I had a bath."
The woman beside her husband was his new wife, who he married recently and ever since then, Sigora and her husband weren’t talking.