Disclaimer: I don't own Magic: The Gathering

"Mana," Arrathir explained "Is the energy of life. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the Multiverse together. When drawing on mana, you are drawing on the power of lands, but you know that from playing Magic. The first step to summoning is tapping into the power of the land. This isn't easy so we'll start slowly. Do you know anything about meditation?"

"Not much," Eva admitted.

"OK," said Arrathir "Meditation is a way of clearing your mind, which is very important for mana summoning. We'll start with a few simple exercises. First, get into the Lotus position." He demonstrated by crossing his legs and placing his feet on his thighs. Eva imitated him.

"Next," said Arrathir "Form the Om sign by touching your middle and thumb fingers together on both hands to form a circle. Now, place your hands on your knees, palms up and keep your back straight, that's important. Here's the hard part: close your eyes and focus on your breathing. That's all. Feel the air coming in…and out…in…out. You can count when you exhale if you want. Start at one and when you reach ten, start over. Don't worry if thoughts creep into your mind. That's the mind's purpose. Just return to concentrating on the breathing if your mind wanders. With time, you'll be able to clear your mind for longer periods of time."

Eva took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Arrathir couldn't help but notice how much she reminded him of himself when he'd first started learning mana summoning, not a year ago. He had been eager to learn how to summon creatures. He still remembered the first creature he'd ever summoned: Myr Mindservant. He chucked as he remembered how the artifact creature had led him on a merry chase through Yugi's kitchen. Then it had been the start of the Battle City Tournament where all his dueling skills had been pushed to the limit. Finally, it had culminated with the awakening of the Keeper of Black Mana.

Arrathir suddenly felt remorseful for the way he'd treated the spirit the night before. He'd been angry at his mother's death and had taken it out on the spirit. He tried contacting him to tell him he was sorry, but the spirit was blocking out his thought-speech.

Arrathir closed his eyes and settled back for a bout of meditation. Sinking back into the recesses of his mind, he lost track of time until Eva threw a pinecone at him, hitting him in the nose.

"Hey!" she said "It's almost night! You gonna sit there all day?"

Arrathir looked around to see the shadows of the trees around them had grown longer as the sun was now setting. They went back to the house and had a quick dinner of ramen noodles.

"So, how did you manage?" asked Arrathir.

"It wasn't easy at first," said Eva "But I think I made progress. When can I start tapping mana?"

"Patience," said Arrathir "Until you can instantly clear your mind without having to meditate, then you can start tapping mana. You don't imagine if you were under attack you could just meditate and your enemy would wait until you were done? Anyways, let's turn it. You can pick any room, I'll just sleep in the downstairs bed."

Eva went up the stairs to the second story to find a bedroom. Arrathir went his bedroom and collapsed on his bed, exhausted. He was soon fast asleep. When he awoke it was morning. Sunlight was filtering through the curtains, leaving a strip of light on the bed. Arrathir felt very rested. He'd forgotten how much a good night's sleep could do. Suddenly, he realized something warm was on him and there was an arm around him. He looked over to see Eva next to him, her head lying on his chest. Blushing furiously, he tried to move away from her, but she was partially pinning him down with her body.

Don't panic! Don't make any assumptions! Don't even think about it!

…

…

Damn!

(A/N: Yes, Khell, I did take those lines from your post, hope you don't mind.)

"Eva?" he whispered "Eva?"

Eva mumbled in her sleep. Arrathir couldn't help to notice how pretty she looked with her hair falling in her face.

Damnit, Arrathir! This isn't the time to be admiring this girl! I need to find out how to get out of here before she wakes me up. She already sees me as a pervert as it is. Wait! I'm talking to myself again!

Eva mumbled again and moved up, kissing Arrathir squarely on the lips.

Brain…melting…

Arrathir's eyes rolled back and he fainted. Despite his superior dueling skills, Arrathir was a noob when it came to dealing with the opposite sex. The next thing he knew, Eva had pushed him off the bed and was attacking him with a pillow.

"PERVERT!" she screamed.

"Hey, I had nothing to do with it!" Arrathir defended himself as he tried to dodge the blows. "How'd you end up in my bed anyways?"

Eva stopped, looking a bit embarrassed. "Well, I was kind of uncomfortable staying alone in a strange place," she said "So I thought I'd sleep in your room. You were asleep when I came in so I decided to sleep on your bed, but I fell asleep on the covers, not under them!"

"Let us never speak of this again," said Arrathir "So, how about some breakfast?"

"You can cook?" asked Eva, mockingly.

Hanging around in the kitchens of a restaurant, Arrathir had picked up some cooking experience. He surprised Eva by making a delicious cheese omelet. Afterwards, they went back to the forest to train. While Eva was meditating, Arrathir retreated to his soul corridor. He was worried about the spirit and wanted to see what was going on. He was surprised to find the door to his other self's soul room unlocked. He stepped inside and began searching for the spirit.

"Oh, it's you. What do you want?" said the other Arrathir when he found him.

"Listen," said Arrathir "I'm really sorry about the other night. I was shocked and angry so I wasn't thinking straight. I regret what I said."

"No," said the other Arrathir "You were. What did you say again? Something like 'I hate you' and 'I never want to see you again'? Well, I know when I'm not wanted."

"I don't hate you," said Arrathir "I need you."

"For what? So I can win more duels for you? I'm nobody's tool."

"No, I need you to help me awaken the keepers of mana," said Arrathir.

"Those idiots can go fuck themselves."

"What is your problem?" said Arrathir "Why are you always felling sorry for yourself?"

"You think I'm like this because I want to?" yelled the other Arrathir "You have no idea. My life was one big mess. Death was a welcome escape for me until you awakened me! You know what, you were right! I wish we'd never met!"

Before Arrathir knew what was going on, his other self had kicked him out of his soul room and locked himself in. Arrathir found himself back in the real world. Eva was waving her hand in his face.

"Hey, you ok?" she asked "You kind of blanked out there for a sec."

"Sorry," said Arrathir "I was talking to my other self. How's the meditation coming?"

"Great," said Eva "I've got the hang of it now."

"All right, then we'll try something a bit harder," said Arrathir "Summoning requires mental focus. For this next exercise, do the same thing you've been doing, with the breathing and all, except visualize and object in your mind, something simple. Concentrate all your mental focus on this object. Rotate it in your mind as if it was real. Imagine it from different angles and in different sizes. The object should seem so real that you believe you could reach out a touch it."

Eva sank back into meditation and Arrathir pulled out his deck, the one the Keeper had made for him. Though he missed his zombies, he had to admit this deck was good too. The deck was still new to him, but he'd learned long ago to trust the Heart of the Cards, so he knew this deck would serve him well. He remembered what Yugi had told him once: If the Duel Disk was the shield, then the deck was the sword. Yes, that was it. He was a warrior now, fighting against an unknown enemy and his deck was his only weapon.

I swear, upon the power of my deck, I will defeat the Sliver summoner and awaken the keepers of mana…

"So, what happens when you awaken all the Keepers?" asked Eva. The two were back at the cottage after finishing up their training session.

"I don't know," said Arrathir "Since the flow of mana through the Multiverse would be regulated once again, I suppose order and peace would return."

"So can you cast any spell you want since you are a summoner?" asked Eva.

"Not quite," said Arrathir "See, every summoner is born with a predetermined mana type, their g'imu. A summoner will generally stick to spells of the color of their g'imu, though they can still cast a few other spells from other colors. For example, I can cast a few green spells, but nothing too advanced. Even within black spells, I am limited. I think Hypnox must be the most powerful spell I can cast. My other self is much more powerful, or course, and he can cast more powerful spells. I think that only a keeper or very powerful Planeswalker could cat a P9 spell."

"Wouldn't it be nice to cast Black Lotus," said Eva "What is your favorite card?"

"My absolute favorite card is Soulless One," said Arrathir "But among the cards in my deck, I'd have to say havoc Demon, mostly because he's great at clearing the playing field."

"Why do you call it 'he'?" asked Eva "It's juts a card."

"That's where you are wrong," said Arrathir "It's time I taught you about the Heart of the Cards."

"The what?"

"You ever wonder why when we dueled and it seemed like I was toast that I would always seem to draw the perfect card to save me?"

"You got lucky," said Eva.

"You can see it that way," said Arrathir "But I prefer to believe it was the Heart of the Cards. You see, if you treasure something with all your heart, like your cards for example, it develops something like a soul of its own. To me, my cards are more then just cards. They are living creatures. Because of this, my cards trust me and serve me well."

"What?" said Eva "You mean you can draw whatever card you want?"

"No," said Arrathir "That would be cheating, but my deck gives me cards that help me in battle. For example, if I'm mana-screwed, my deck might give me Night's whisper do I can draw more cards, or Vampiric Tutor so I can bring mana to the top of my deck. Duellists who don't respect their cards are less likely to be victorious in a duel. After all, it's not about power, it's about how you play."

"I call it luck," said Eva.

"Believe whatever you want," said Arrathir "Well, it's getting late, so I'm going to turn in. Are you going to be OK, or am I going to find you in my bed again?"

I still think she overreacted.

Arrathir sneezed. It was a cold night and the blanket he'd managed to grab before Eva had kicked him out of the house amidst a great deal of profanity wasn't exactly warm. He rolled over, trying to get to sleep.

Well, at least it can't get worse.

The thunderstorm that night proved him wrong.

To be continued…

Author's note: Poor Arrathir…

Colonel and Iris: You'll see…

Magnificent The Destroyer Lord: Don't make assumptions. Arrathir is training Eva in summoning, but this doesn't mean she's the Keeper of Red Mana.

Kitsu: Don't worry; the Slivers are going to be around for a while.

Yawgmoth's Messenger: Well, you got your wish, but it was not fanservice. I'd written that part before getting your review.

ACS Dude: The power of the Keeper is not hereditary, but Arrathir's father was a summoner. I also replied to your e-mail.

John: See note to Colonel and Iris.