Brother Suk-Chan shook his head as he watched his nephew trying to get ink off. He chuckled as he patted the boy on the back and had him follow along to the potting shed where there was a bit of lamp-oil set aside.

"It won't feel great but this usually works," he said handing over a small cloth soaked in the strong-smelling liquid. In-Yeon wrinkled his nose and went to work, stopping only when the side of his face started to sting.

"You should rinse that off now. Be sure to rinse your collar as well if you don't want the smell following you the rest of day."

In-Yeon's ears turned red at this oblique mention of laundry. He tried to start his explanation but stuttered and had to stop. He took a deep breath and tried again. "I think I am in trouble with the Masters, or at least the Head Librarian and maybe the Dorm-master. The Temple-master seemed to be okay but I don't know. He seemed amused by my mistake. But now I don't know who will sign my competition entry. It's this week and," In-Yeon stopped when his uncle put up a hand.

"Woah. Take a breath. Why don't you start by telling me about your afternoon in the city?"

In-Yeon grinned, took the breath as directed, and said, "Scary awesome. I had no idea Hae-sung and Junseo trained with Knight-Master Lie. Even though I'm just a junior the whole team couldn't have been nicer. Once Manager Doak kitted me up the team went through different levels with weapons and then ended up riding in the Royal Park. Hae-sung reviewed some of my homework with me and on the way back Junseo helped me with better anchor my stones."

"So, no reason for the masters to be interested?"

"No. Not at all. That was my fault for trying something I shouldn't have and then loosing my temper a bit." In-Yeon then explained his little bit of work and its aftermath before admitting he still felt a little bit like a wet noodle.

"Let me get this straight. The Temple-master found you drying your clothes with a warmed-up breeze to and all he did was help you put your laundry away?" His uncle tried to keep a straight face but started to chuckle when he said, "I bet our Librarian was just beside himself." He sobered enough to ask about In-Yeon losing his temper.

"You know how it is when the boys feel like they have permission to bully. So, I pretty much told the Dorm-master he needs to get better control over his pets. Then I put one on notice for touching me. Maybe if I wasn't as tired, I could have handled it better but they pissed over everything I own." In-Yeon stuck out his chin but also had to wipe away a tear with the back of his hand. "It's not like I couldn't take any one of them in a fair fight. I just don't because that is not what Grampa would want, it's not how he taught me."

"Right. The whole, the bigger man walks away, line. I remember it well. The problem is it doesn't cover the mean ones trying to trip you over, and over again, and how that can chip away at you."

In-Yeon straightened his shoulders and sheer relief rushed across his face as he nodded but then he started to worry. "I can't take them all at once. We know how vicious they are."

"Especially, when they can sneak around thinking they can get away with their nasty tricks. It should be different if you can call them out directly like you did in the dining hall. Still, you need to be cautious, keep your back to the wall when you can." His uncle scratched his beard and looked In-Yeon up and down. "First, let's re-charge your anchors," he said handing over the jade jars. Then he led In-Yeon through the full set of wind and water mantras. He started with the common version and then more slowly with the Sun Temple adaptations. With each cycle In-Yeon could feel more energy gathering around them.

"You could have become a wind singer." In-Yeon whispered when they were through.

"Yes, it was a temptation," a flash of grief passed across his uncle's face. He cleared his throat and went on, "But I found a better path and I trust so will you. Now about your entry forms. Try to stay out of trouble and I will ask the Temple-master about serving as your guardian at the tournament."

In-Yeon offered his thanks and retrieved his stones. The topaz pendant blazed in the sun before he got it tucked out of sight.

"Anchors, boy. Always anchor," his uncle urged. In-Yeon nodded and quietly hummed a piece and the rising breezes settled down.

He was a little out of breath by the time he made it to forms class with the master he had dubbed Professor Crane. The boys who had arrived earlier contrived to leave only the center front open and were sniggered when In-Yeon settled into what he thought of as the hot spot. Sure enough, not two minutes into the class and the pointer darted in his direction. In-Yeon did not hesitate in reciting the correct hour with a perfect temple cadence. The professor did a double take then stalked halfway down the row for his next victim. Then he started mixing up the order of the hours he called for. When he hit on the front center again, In-Yeon did a quick count on his knuckles and flawlessly recited the part.

"It seems you, unlike your classmates, did not completely waste your half-day," the man then pointed at couple of the boys lazing in the back row. They stumbled through their assigned verse only to be further embarrassed by the instructor calling on In-Yeon for the correct pronunciation.

"I suppose it would be entirely too much to expect that this class can get through the songs of the elements. Let's see if we can get through the full cycle, back row in unison, anchor us with the earth mantras please."

In-Yeon let the sounds wash over him and leaned in so as to better tie his own anchors. Now more attuned, he could hear how the temple versions linked back to the song cycle for summer solstice. He hummed the high harmony under his breath and could feel his stones growing alignment. His new-found comfort with the temple forms for the next two elements was a bit distracting but at least he remembered to hold onto the stone anchors when the breezes started to rise and he could feel the waves running across the nearby pond.

The trouble started with a couple of the boys in the front row stumbled with the fire mantra. In-Yeon had been working out a way to let the common form run in a counter-point to the temple melody but now they were all of synch he found he was pulling in more and more energy. He tried to throw the extra energy into the stone anchors but they felt too fluid to hold. The heat just kept building but then he heard the tune change from the sunset call to the one for gentle night. He leaned into the harmony to merge back with the regular chant in the common form. This time went he touched on his anchoring stones they felt solid and could let the extra energy run away.

He then took the precaution of doing an extra closing ritual. In-Yeon let out a sigh and slowly opened his eyes. He immediately blinked and had to squint through the bright light shining from his pendant. "Oh dear," he said as he looked at the shocked faces around him.

A familiar sounding dry chuckle came from beside the raised platform the students were sitting on. "If any of you were wondering why we are very strict about the mantras and especially careful about harmonic variations, I think you now have the answer. Any less control or affinity and Pange In-Yeon could have easily burned down the temple." The Temple-master then came over to check the boy was alright.

The Chief Librarian and Professor Crane converged beside him. Neither looked happy to see the Temple-master gently helping In-Yeon stand while the boy struggled to cover up the glowing pendant.

"I warned this boy about energy work just this morning." The Chief Librarian gathered his robes tightly back away from where In-Yeon swayed.

"It was just a harmless practice. There should have been no power in it. Especially, when they mixed up the phrases. Nothing should have happened." The instructor looked for confirmation from his superiors but none came.

"Misplaced phrases aren't harmless," In-Yeon's voice came out with more force than he meant. He immediately started to apologize but the instructor signaled he wanted to hear more.

"My grandfather always said you don't know what anyone's energy potential might be or what might trigger it. Stones help with focus but don't determine the strength of anyone's connection to the elements. How else would we ever have rain-makers or wind-singers? They don't dance with stones."

In-Yeon's plea for understanding seemed to strike a chord, and not just with the nodding Temple-master. A couple of his classmates looked very uneasy as they turned and looked toward the backrow.

"Ah. Yes. The other matter that needs to be settled," The Temple-master frowned at his colleagues. Then he squinted up at the sky. "I don't think it too early for trice. Let's make that the closing for this session." He gestured for the boys to all stand and then sang through the hour with the most resonant voice In-Yeon had every heard.