Machiko gazes briefly onto the astral, the plane of power, where all life reveals its truths, and mana ebbs and flows like the waters of a vast primordial sea. How easy it is to forget the mana, until now, a moment like this, when mana becomes all-important. That is because, like Sukayo, like all the elves of the Guard, she uses mana as she would use a sword, without thought, without design. They are all mages in this sense, wielding a brand of magic with unique application to the world of the physical. This is how she was able to thrust an old man toward the ground before a bomb could be detonated. How she could heal herself in one small part of a morning. How she could deflect the assault of a killer using only a slim strip of pliable steel.