They teach you the theory of soul resonance before you ever try it. Every soul, you learn, has a resonance, like light or sound, and this resonance can be altered slightly. Meister-weapon partners can adjust their souls' resonance to complementary wavelengths. The meister's wavelength is amplified by the weapon's, and the resonance goes back and forth, giving the duo greater power than either could achieve alone.

"First, think about your partner. Who are they? What makes them unique?"

Anna holds the staff that is Jack the way she's been taught, grip firm and stance ready. Jack's weapon form is wood, almost a branch really. The colour suggests that if it were a branch, it was one cut in the middle of winter. Practice staffs warms under her hands, but Jack's weapon form is always cool to the touch. Even if she had never seen the staff before, she would know it was a human weapon- somehow you never can mistake human weapons for inert ones. You can feel that they have a will of their own. Jack is himself in either form, with all his mischief, charm and hints of sadness.

"Next, find the resonance of your own soul. Match it to your partner's."

This part is trickier, because how can you know the resonance of a soul? Some students have a gift for it, but Anna isn't one of them. She finds that it helps to dance- only a few steps to find the rhythm that moves her. Once she has it, she focuses on Jack's, which is easier. He's right there, under her hands, reaching out just as she is.

"Let the resonance go."

Anna never understood that advice until she felt it. She tried to explain it to her parents, and it came out almost right: "You know how some people look at each other, and you can see that they're having a conversation without words? It's like that, except you can feel it too."

It's that, but it's more. It's knowing the best in your partner and bringing it out a hundredfold. It's power spinning between the both of you like lightning, and you don't need to think or coordinate, because both of you are so focused on the same thing that it's become a single, seamless purpose.

It's after her first soul resonance that Anna knows in her soul, not just her mind, that she wants to be a meister.