'Awooooo!!!'
The sudden howl woke Cass from his slumber. Before he even had time to think, he had already jumped out of bed and sprinted down the hallway. Inwardly, Cass was terrified by the sound, thinking, 'Why would she howl now? Did something happen? I must protect her'
The light of the full moon was illuminating the upper hallway through the windows as Cass forced open the door to Luna's bedroom.
Breathless, he called out. 'Luna! Is everything ok? What happened?'
Luna was standing by her open window. Her grey silk nightdress that she had received as a gift from Cass not long ago was fluttering in the wind as she turned and looked at him. Cass walked over to her and placed his hand on her cheek, all the while checking her for signs of something out of place.
Luna placed her hand over Cass's, nuzzled her cheek against is and gave an embarrassed smile. 'I am sorry, master. I didn't intend to howl. I couldn't stop myself from doing it as soon as I woke up. It was as if I needed to do it the same way I need to breathe.'
'You've awoken your system, haven't you, Luna?' Elizabeth was standing in the doorway along with Adeline, Lucius, Marcus, and Beatrice. All except for Beatrice, who was already awake to start preparing for the day, were in their nightwear. Cass quickly moved his hand away from Luna's cheek, and everyone present pretended they saw nothing.
'I did, mistress, yes. I am deeply sorry for waking you! Please forgive me.'
Adeline stepped forward. 'There is nothing to forgive. I don't like being woken up abruptly like that, but I was prepared for this. It's a beastkin quirk, almost like an instinct. Some roar, others meow or moo, but I guess in your case you howl at the moon.'
'It would seem so, yes, mistress'
Elizabeth walked over to Luna and took her by the hand. 'Happy 18th birthday, Luna! Take today off. Become familiar with your system. Try to understand it. When you are finished, come talk to me and we can discuss tempering. Now then, everybody out. Luna has work to do.'
Everyone filed out, and with a smile, Cass closed the door behind him.
After returning to bed, sleeping more, and then waking up, Cass came down for breakfast. He did not see Luna in the kitchen like she normally would be preparing his breakfast, and when he sat down, his mother placed a bowl of wheat gruel in front of him.
'Luna is still in her room. It will take her some time to understand her system. Let's eat breakfast.'
She sat down at the table opposite Cass and gave him a loving smile. Something she had mentioned in Luna's room came to mind, and he decided to ask her. 'Mother, you mentioned tempering in Luna's room. What were you talking about?'
'It's something I have been meaning to talk to you about as soon as possible, actually. Tempering is something separate from the system, but just as important. Cass, you know what mana is, right?'
'Sure, it's the energy we use when we use our system skills'
'Correct. We all produce mana, and when we use it for skills, we need to replenish it. Our bodies do this naturally, but we can absorb external mana into our bodies and use it to grow stronger.
We can increase our mana pool, use it to strengthen the body, fight off diseases, maintain a youthful appearance, and once you get to a certain level, you can increase your lifespan.
Every time you have seen someone sitting down cross-legged, they are tempering, absorbing the natural mana in the air around us, and making it a part of their body.'
Cass had heard similar things about mana from members of his family before, but the term tempering was something he had only heard for the first time early that morning. 'So basically, tempering is the technique of absorbing that mana and making it a part of your being?'
'Exactly, and since I have the highest tempering level in the family, I will teach her how to do it, and when you awaken your system, I will teach you too.'
'How strong is your tempering mother?'
'I am a peak chanter'
'What does that actually mean, though?' Cass once again heard a term he had never encountered before.
'Ah, I see, you don't understand the rankings. First off, there are 10 ranks of tempering. From mortal, you, at the bottom, to prime at the top. As she just awakened her system today, Luna is classed as a neophyte, a bottom-rank mage. I am at the 4th level, so I am a chanter. The order is: Neophyte, Adept, Chanter, Warden, Binder, Seer, Shaper, Arcanist, and finally Prime. Anyone who uses mana is known as a mage.'
'And what does peak mean?'
'Peak is my level inside the rank. All ranks above mortal have 4 levels inside the rank. Low, mid, high, and peak. In my case, Peak means I am almost ready to move to the rank, Warden.'
As Elizabeth was finishing her explanation, Luna walked in and bowed towards the two eating breakfast. 'I now understand my system mistress, thank you for giving me the day to understand it.'
'Don't worry, Luna, you are family at this point. So, of course, we will help. Later today, I will start instructing you on how to temper using mana. Do you feel comfortable sharing a little bit about your system? You don't have to if you aren't comfortable.'
'No, I trust everyone in this house completely, I have no problem revealing some details about my system.' Cass had previously learned that it was a taboo to ask for details about the system of someone you are not very close with.
'My system is called, moonshade disciple. It is a hybrid system, and so far most of the skills are related to close combat with my body, and taming low level wolf type beasts.
'The close combat I expected, but taming beats is a pretty rare talent to have, Congratulations Luna! Now, come and sit and eat with us, after breakfast we will start our instruction in tempering, and then tonight we will be celebrating your birthday!'