Board Thread:Episode Discussion/@comment-30530552-20171212170121/@comment-26397825-20171213003250

MetallicArcher wrote: Mindofthelion wrote:

Also, Archer, how could Vernal be faking it? I think it was originally suggested on the spoiler thread.

The Person pointed out that unlike Amber or Cinder, Vernal's eyes didn't glow while she used the Maiden power.

I think it was suggested Raven is the current Spring Maiden and she wears the mask to hide the eye glow when she uses the powers. I had a thought along these lines, but it was sort of the opposite effect.

The original Maiden's eyes didn't glow when they used their powers, and having big glowy which shout "BIG MAGICAL EFFECT HAPPENING" is sort of counterintuitive to the whole 'Keep maidens secret" thing they were trying to do.

Amber didn't have her powers for very long apparently, still being a pretty new girl at the whole Maiden business. Cinder also hasn't had her powers very long compared to Vernal, who's had them for over a decade now. My thought is "What if the glow is a sign of low control?".

So, similar to how Naruto used have visible chakra from putting too much power into his Bunshin when he was still an Academy student, Cinder and Amber don't know how to regulate the power properly and stop the leaking of Mana (lets call what fuels the Maiden powers Mana for now), which manifests as a big, flaring glow around the eyes.

Salem's not overly concerned because it's negligible compared to the pool of mana they have access to and she doesn't care about keeping the Maidens secret like Oz did, so she's not focusing on teaching Cinder to stop flaring. Vernal is concerned about it, and so were Lionheart and Raven (one because Maidens are supposed to be secret and the other because advertising you have the Maiden will just bring Salem and Ozpin down on her head faster than anything), so she got taught how to not leak mana when she used her Maiden power.

Basically it boils down to this: Cinder and Vernal both have a Mana Bar that has, say, 1000 points of Mana in it which is separate to their Life and Aura Bars. Vernal casts a fist sized fireball, it costs her 5 Mana point and there's no special effects. Cinder casts a fist sized fireball and it costs her 6 Mana points, and the extra point bleeds off to become a flare around her eyes. The difference is miniscule at first glance, but over time that extra point stacks up and Cinder can't technically cast as many fireballs as Vernal, even if they're the same strength as hers.

Cinder wastes a tiny bit of Mana every time her eyes flare like that, and Vernal has learnt to not waste Mana with silly cosmetic effects like that.