An Application of Prana

Upon hearing the commotion outside, the imp named Enki furrowed his brow worriedly. I half-turned to look towards the window, musing, “Sounds like it’s getting pretty lively out there. Should we…?” I trailed off as I turned back to see the door to the room hanging wide open, the imp nowhere in sight. I sighed, and rose to follow, curious to see what all the fuss was about.

The room itself had been somewhat small, but the stairs were absolutely cramped, and I found that I had to nearly double over to get down them, nearly tripping as I struggled to maintain my footing on the tiny steps. At the bottom, I emerged from the doorway into open space, and stretched, thankful to finally able to stand up straight once more. I stood beside Enki, who had managed to grab a spear on his way, and was holding it like he knew how to use it.

The cause of the disturbance lay directly ahead of us, near the edge of the village, where half a dozen imp warriors wielding flimsy-looking spears like the one Enki held faced down a massive boar-like creature with spiky black fur and long, ivory tusks. As we watched, it swept the line of defenders aside with one powerful motion, scattering the imps into the air. Several more came to the defense, but it was clear that they were no match for the beast, which loomed over them.

Suddenly, it focused its gaze on the imp at my side and snorted angrily, eyes narrowing as if in recognition. The remaining warriors brandished their weapons at it, trying to force it back into the forest, as I noted to Enki, “Looks like it knows you.”

He nodded, staring attentively at the beast, his formerly apprehensive demeanor having entirely evaporated with its arrival. “Yeah,” he replied grimly, “See that patch of white fur along the side of its neck? That is very likely the result of a scar I gave it a while back, when it was still a normal boar. I was alone when it attacked me, and I fought to defend myself. I chose not to pursue it when it fled, thankful that I was able to escape with my life. I never thought it’d go and evolve, let alone come back for revenge.”

I studied the imp, impressed that he had managed to fend off even a normal-sized boar, despite his diminutive stature. Thinking back to my life on Earth, even most fully-grown humans would not have faired very well in his place. I was about to comment on it, when the beast let out a wild shriek, rearing back and aiming a straightforward charge at Enki and I.

I had mere moments to react, my heart beating frantically in my chest as I suddenly realized that, right now, I was very much a human being. I was not even sure I could take on a regular boar, let alone a Giant Boar! Enki and I leapt aside in opposite directions, just before we would have been demolished by the monster, and it ran past, crashing through the structure behind us with the sound of snapping timber.

I landed awkwardly, skidding to a stop as my hasty maneuver took me further than I had expected. Much further. Looking back, I had jumped nearly fifteen feet, without even really trying. I stared at my hands in wonder. My wounds might have been healed, but I was still not fully recovered from my flight away from the dragonslayer. Plus, I was weak from hunger. I could tell I was definitely not at full strength, but despite that, I felt strangely powerful. I could not quite explain it, as nothing seemed different about my body physically, no bulging biceps or perfect abs.

Wait, I thought, a sudden idea coming to mind. I turned my attention inward, towards my core. Sure enough, a surge of mana responded, eager to be molded into form. If I can still access mana, then…

I focused on the feeling of strength within me, the force which suffused every fiber of my being; my prana. The sensation was somewhat like a garden hose under pressure. Andras had never really explained much about it beyond the necessity to shape mana, but could it have other uses as well? Even though I look like a human, I’m still a dragon on the inside. I might be a bit weaker because I’m physically smaller, but even so, if my prana is the same, I should be pretty strong. I think.

I looked back up to see the boar extricating itself from the rubble of the destroyed shack, lumber cracking as it slowly reemerged. If I’m right, that dragonslayer must’ve had crazy strong prana, if she was able to keep up with me in dragon form. So, it should be possible…Well, I guess there’s only one way to know for sure.

I stepped forward, my stomach once again rumbling, reminding me that I still had not eaten. I grinned, heart fluttering with excitement, anticipation, and a fair amount of anxiety. But I had to admit; grilled pork sounded really good right now.

Walking up to stand in front of the beast, I faced it with the full confidence that came with over a century of being a dragon, and called out, “Think you’re pretty tough, picking on some weak little imps?” The monster’s beady eyes stopped searching the scenery – most likely looking for Enki, its prey – and instead swiveled to focus on me. It studied me, a surprising intelligence hidden behind its rage-fueled gaze, trying to assess whether or not I was a threat. My aura alone seemed to not be enough to scare it away, but it was definitely wary, not sure exactly what to make of me.

“Oh?” I taunted, as it lowered its head and pawed the dirt, apparently making up its mind. “Pretty confident for some overgrown pig, aren’t you? Unless you want to end up in my stomach, you should run while you have the chance.”

I hope I’m right about this, I briefly thought, as the boar squealed loudly and charged. I bent my knees and dropped into a low stance, holding out a hand and bracing myself for impact.

An instant later, its head slammed into my open palm, pushing me backwards across the ground. I was smaller and lighter, and I struggled to hold it back, digging my heels into the dirt to stop its advance. Yet, other than the sensation of my arm going numb, it did not really hurt at all. I grabbed it by one of its tusks, groaning as I strained with all my might to wrestle it over onto its side with a heavy thud.

Taking a few steps back, I worked my fist to make sure that I truly was unharmed, sighing with relief. My prana might be augmenting my physical strength, but I’m still a lot weaker than I would be as a dragon. Without a weapon of some kind, there really isn’t much I can do other than rely on magic...

As the monster regained its footing, it circled around me, watching with caution now that I had displayed a strength equal to its own. I stared it down, lost in my own thoughts. But if I’ve retained the traits of my dragon form, there must be some way to turn back. But how? Maybe playing with the boar for a bit longer will give me some inspiration.

As if prompted by the idea, the boar charged again, and again I dodged, managing to evade it with ease. I’m quite a lot nimbler, now that I’m smaller, I realized, thinking back to my fight against the dragonslayer. I had barely been able to keep up with her movements when I was a big, clumsy dragon, and now I saw why.

I returned my focus to my core, sitting beside my heart, this time allowing the mana to flood into my body. I concentrated on the image of my dragon form in my mind’s eye, trying to mold the manaples inside me into that shape. But, no matter what I tried, the mana did not respond, as if it did not understand what I wanted.

I continued to dance around my opponent’s increasingly more reckless attacks, paying them little mind as I worked over the issue in my head. So then, if my change of body was not a function of mana…could it be it was an application of prana?

This was uncharted territory for me, an idea which I was not even sure was possible. Prana was almost synonymous with willpower, not quite an energy, but more of a feeling within the body, or rather, the feeling of the body. Could something so abstract really be molded into another shape? I took a deep breath, honing in on that invisible force that filled me from head to toe. From here onward, I would have to work on instinct alone. I once again conjured up the image of my dragon body, picturing it as clearly as I could.

However, I was a bit distracted by the boar, which was still rampaging around, hell-bent upon killing me. How annoying, I thought irritably, as I reeled back and drove my fist into its jaw with a loud smack. It stumbled away, shaking its head. In the few seconds’ reprieve that followed, I ignored it and turned inward once more, determined to figure out the real issue at hand.

No, just picturing it isn’t enough, I realized, It’s like mana, but different. I need to focus on the feeling of it. I recalled what it felt like to be a dragon, the feel of my scales, my wings, my tail. Closing my eyes, I imagined the prana within me expanding to fill that form like air into a balloon. The sensation I could only describe being like the opposite of an out-of-body experience, one where you suddenly become hyperaware of your physical body.

Then, something clicked. I gasped as my entire body began to tingle, opening my eyes to see the world rushing away from me, my frame twisting and turning as it elongated, growing scales, claws, and wings. My woven grass clothing blew apart in the process, scattering in the breeze. Within mere moments, I was once again returned to my original, majestic form!

It worked! I thought triumphantly, craning my neck to get a proper look at myself. It seemed everything was as I remembered.

The boar’s eyes went wide upon seeing my transformation, and it balked, turning tail to flee while I was distracted. But I was now equipped with the weapons I needed to fight it properly, and the strength to overwhelm it. Before it could take more than a step, I pounced, my jaws closing down upon its neck, bones and sinew crunching as I ripped and tore it apart. It tried to fight back, but it was no longer any match for me, and I held it pinned until, at long last, it stopped moving.

I reared back and let mana cascade upward through my esophagus, letting loose a torrent of fire to cook it with my breath. Only once I was sure it was done enough to be edible did I slice into it with my razor-sharp talons. Soon enough, I had a properly cooked and cleaned roast boar sitting upon the dirt.

Happy with my work, I sought about reverting to my human form. I reasoned that I should be able to, after all, and it was more convenient, especially in this tiny imp village. Focus on the prana…what it felt like to be human. Then, compress it down…

I opened my eyes and blinked, looking down to see human hands…and bare skin. I was suddenly reminded that my gifted clothing had torn apart along with my transformation, and struggled to play it off as calmly as I could manage. A bit awkwardly, I cleared my throat and ordered, “Someone, bring me something to wear!”