Chapter II

“...therefore, the material of the conductor not only impacts the strength of the infusion or charm but also adds or removes qualities of the magic used. Copper, for example, is very good at transferring mana, so the power of the infusion increases, but it depletes more quickly. Not only that, but copper has a natural fire alignment, so it will increase the power of fire charms or even add some quality for the other spells. If infused with a protection spell, copper shields not only become more protective against physical blows but also increase their resistance to cold.”

Professor Ashtorne rocked her usual long gray ponytail as she described the arcana of her specialty: Magical Items and Implements. I was lucky enough to barely make it on time. If this were any other teacher's class, I wouldn’t have minded skipping it, but Professor Ashtorne was very strict for lazy students like me. Every time I was late or didn't appear in her class at the beginning, she gave me a written assignment. This is the main reason a below-average student like me manages to excel in her classes. That is why I chose Magical Items and Implements as my major for my final two years at the Royal Academy.

As I finished making notes from today's lecture, Robert came to my place and sat vis-à-vis me at the pews. “Are you going?” he asked, ruffling his blond hair with his hand.

“What? To the moon festival? How can I miss it!” I say, putting my notes in my bag. “That's the best time to meet all the new first-year female students!” I laugh at the thought. Last year, I ended up with Robert’s niece—she’s only three years younger than us, since he’s the youngest of eighteen brothers and she’s the daughter of the eldest. That was my biggest accomplishment, if I had to choose. Not that she is the most beautiful girl out there, but if you've tried wooing noblewomen long enough, you know that the higher their position, the more they are interested in status and not looks or charm. Moreover, it also decreases the chances of them sleeping around. Elizabeth was like that at first, but not only was I able to make her mine, we still occasionally maintain our conjugal relationship. And she is no mere noblewoman but the first daughter of the heir to the Duchy of Cravl. Her hand is worth a military alliance, but she risked it all to sleep with me, the lowly third son of a mere count. “I can't miss it.”

“Good, I am sure that Eli would like to come with us.” I was worried he would say that. You shouldn’t take sand to the beach, right? “Isn’t she scared people will see us together?” I asked. “She didn’t mind it last year…” replied Robert. “Incidentally, my father wants to talk with you.” His father? What interests could Duke of Cravl have with me? “He’ll be in the capital in two months and wants to invite you to a meal.”

*****

Two and a half weeks later, I was walking through the Royal Gardens with my best friend and Elizabeth clinging to my left arm. I wasn’t able to shoo her away in the end, but her presence will not stop me from making connections with new female students and it will guarantee me a pleasant ending to the festivities.

From the time Argelune family took the Throne of Caldrith, every year, during the last summer full moon, there is a festival and ritual in the name of goddess Selunea, Lady of the Moon, Light of the Lost, Patron of Beauty and Romance. She was their personal patron, but in recent times, she has been treated on the same level as the official Caldrith patron god, Ventheris. The fact that the god of travel was a patron of the most successful expansionist kingdom in recent history, while the realms that were guided by the gods of war and magic were crushed under its might is the prime evidence of the importance of logistics in today’s warfare. Ventheris together with the previous royal family helped us greatly during wartime, but during peacetime, the royal family fell from grace and were replaced by Argelune, the mightiest ducal family at the time, and their goddess became our co-patron.

The priestesses of Selunea will soon grace the central plaza, so we slowly make our way there. The best part of the Selunea festivities is the wine. I already filled my cup seven times, so I am swaying my way towards the place of the ritual. Elizabeth’s body pulling on my left side does not make it any easier.

The commotion slowly dies down as the clerics start to arrive at the scene. In Selunea’s temple only women were permitted to become clerics, the faith promoted matriarchy and so did the Argelune family. However since time immemorial, our country followed absolute cognatic primogeniture—that’s how the previous royal family fell: a lack of male heirs. Power struggles between the king and the Argelune matron were noble gossip-fodder, but tonight, politics took a backseat to the show. During the full moon ritual the oldest priestesses came first, the ones whose youthfulness faded, they are called Pathfinders, they represent the care for the lost. Their role during the ritual is to prepare the stage for the younger, more beautiful priestesses, to guide them in faith and guide us, the faithful to them. It’s not that I am very interested in faith, but the knowledge of the two main temples in Caldrith are a required class in the Royal Academy - it wasn’t my own decision to learn all that to be honest.

We sat at the nearby wall when Pathfinders were finishing fumigating the plaza. The incense was made out of different summer flowers and this year the most prevalent scent was very familiar.

“Lavender, huh?” Robert said. “The last time it was used was our first year at the academy” This scent ment only one thing - they were going to present a new Moon Meiden. Pathfinders slowly left the plaza while gesturing at other clerics. Next group - Choir, represented romantic love. After being drugged with psychedelics, they came into the plaza forming a circle. As soon as they were ready, a beautiful song about love started to seep through their lips. They didn’t need any instruments, the holy psychedelics inbuded their voice with powerful magic that tugged at the heartstrings of everyone who was listening. Elizabeth seized the occasion and she kissed me deeply putting her hand under my blouse. I felt hot really fast. Was it due to the magic song or because of Eli’s lips on my skin?

“Eli, stop. People are looking” Robert tugged at her sleeve. Thank you my dear friend! You know I wouldn’t be able to stop if you didn’t interfere… As I took my eyes of her pretty face and look back at the performance, the third group representing beauty came in - Moonveils. They are the most beautiful from the priesthood, the dancers of the moonlight. It’s hard to look away from their forms,dancing there in flowing dresses made from almost non-existent material, so thin and ethereal, making your imagination go wild, what is hidden beneath it. As the Moonveils danced, the Choir girls started to shift and break up revealing one more dancer hiding in their midst. It was a new Moon Maiden - a person that during those rituals represented Moon Lady herself. She is a part of all three groups and during the ritual she dances, sings and at the end of the ritual guides the other girls out of stage. The Moon Maidens are always enchanting—that’s why the plaza is packed during their ritual—but this year's dance felt special, especially for me.

The evening was unusually cloudy today, but as the singing priestesses started to part, revealing the hidden Meiden, the moonlight shot right through a cloud, illuminating only her. It was almost as Selunea herself wanted to say to me “Look at her”. The first thing I noticed was her hand—small and delicate, not childlike, but exuding the innocence of a woman untouched by hardship. Her skin, white as a snow, shimmered in the prophetic moonlight, the subtle dance hypnotising. Slowly the Choir was singing quieter and quieter, while her voice became more distinct. Moon Maidens didn't take any psychedelics, but by the reaction of the crowd, her natural voice had more impact on them than the magically imbued song of the Choir. Then turn. The strands of her black hair swung into the night like a flock of majestic ravens. The scent of lavender intensified.

“...From the heart of a man, the passions start flow, in the eyes of a meiden you see lovely glow, as this tale is coming to sudden end, the roses decided to give them their scent…” Her song filled the Royal Garden as she leaped, turning toward me. Her dark blue eyes, glowing in the divine moonlight pierced me like a deadly curse. My heart felt weightless, my legs like woolen pillars made for Weylanth during the spring. My eyes glued to her form as she danced at the centre of the plaza.

Bend. Her gentle curves. Turn. Her swaying hips. Swirl. Her gracious moves. Leap. Her gentle voice. Before I noticed, she was leading the other clerics out of the stage. I didn't blink once during her dance.