Coronation

Grecian style, I thought, that’s what this would have been called back home.

I reminded myself that this was my home now, and focused on my reflection in the tall mirror in front of me.

Sigrid and Eva were taking me clothes shopping. Alexandros and Asa were somewhere in the store, throwing increasingly ridiculous outfits at Orion. I heard him laugh. We had only been here a couple days and already he seemed part of the group. Did that mean I was already one of them too?

“So, what do you think Wish?” Sigrid asked.

I was wearing a chiton style dress, mid-calf length. White was maybe impractical since it would stain easily. Or maybe they had spells in this world that were as effective but less destructive than bleach.

“I like it.” I liked how different I looked. Pale blue eyes of a million hues, slate blue hair that came down to my chin in carefree wavy locks, and now a dress fit for a palace. Well, in my eyes at least. I wasn’t sure what royalty wore here.

Eva bounced excitedly and clapped, then frowned.

“I feel like there’s something missing.”

As she examined me with intense focus, the guys came over. Orion’s threadbare and nondescript tunic and trousers were replaced with much better tailored black shirt and pants. The color made sense for hiding Sirius’s fur, although I wondered if it would be too hot in the sun. I also wondered if Sirius himself wasn’t too hot waiting outside the store, but the last time I looked out the window, he was sunbathing, so I figured he was fine.

Sigrid nodded approvingly. “Not what I was expecting, but that works nicely.”

Since we were all thinking about clothes, I mustered the courage to ask something I had been wondering.

“Asa, why don’t you wear shoes?”

He smiled. “Eva doesn’t wear shoes either, but that’s because she’s uncivilized.”

She whirled to face him. “Oh come on, you know I do it to read the soil as I walk!”

“Read the soil…?” I was lost. I hadn’t registered her bare feet beneath her voluminous green dress. She turned back to me.

“Yeah, to feel how damp it is, how loose, whether it’s sandy or rocky or clay. Stuff like that helps me know whether certain plants I’m looking for might be nearby.”

She pointed at Asa. “He doesn’t wear shoes so he can ‘have more points of contact with magic’ or whatever. I think he just hates how most shoes pinch his toes.”

He laughed at that. “Well, it’s both if I’m being honest. But it really does give me more options for channeling magic in different directions.”

I must have looked confused, because he went into professor mode.

“See, everyone has only so much mana storage capacity, and so much mana regeneration. If I want to cast a powerful spell but don’t have enough mana, I have to channel it from something else, usually the environment around me. The safest and most efficient way to do that is through touch. Sometimes the air itself has a lot of magic, but sometimes the earth has more concentrated amounts. In those cases, bending over to touch the ground with my bare hands can get annoying, so channeling through my feet makes more sense then.”

Eva had clearly tuned him out and was examining me again. She suddenly shouted, “I’ve got it! Everyone, meet me at the ruins at sunset. Asa, come on, we’re going to need your wand.”

She charged out of the store, dragging Asa behind her as he continued to ramble about magic.

“Oh speaking of wands, they help focus magic for more precise spells, and also help you avoid putting too much mana into a spell-“ and then they were gone.

Alexandros and Sigrid looked at each other, then at Orion and I. Alexandros spoke first.

“Speaking of magic, maybe we should ask Master Finnigan if he’s figured out what you are. You must be some kind of magic spirit, but you don’t look like any I’ve heard of.”

Wait, I wasn’t even human? I really was different now. The thought sang in my mind like a heavenly choir.

Orion looked at me thoughtfully. “I’ve seen a few spirits. They didn’t look very friendly, but I think that’s because they were passing through towns that didn’t get many spirits, so both they and the townspeople were wary of each other.”

“What’s the difference between humans and spirits?” I asked.

Alexandros replied, “Mana. It’s possible to make solid objects from mana, and that’s what their bodies are made of. But such objects require constant upkeep to keep them stable, so their heart doesn’t pump blood, it pumps mana to keep refreshing their body.”

“Do they fall from the sky like I did?”

“Yes and no. It seems every spirit has its own unique story of how it came to be. We don’t understand spirits very much, not many are willing to be studied. Can’t say I blame them. But they do each have a specific type of magic that they are made of and channel best.”

“Master Finnigan said something about celestial magic when he examined me.”

“Not fire? Well then Eva is right; you are something like a star.”

                                        ~~~~~~~<><><>*<><><>~~~~~~~

We approached the ruins a little before sunset. Asa was leaning against a wall, looking very tired, but he smiled as we approached.

“She’s been having me move rubble all day. I’m gonna be sore tomorrow, but it looks good in there.”

Eva yelled from inside, “Oh, don’t come in yet! Well, Alexandros and Sigrid, you can come in, but Wish and Orion don’t you dare peek!”

As they went in, followed by Asa, I whispered to Orion.

“Do you have any idea what this is about?”

He shook his head and gave Sirius a pat. I did too. It was a serene view, watching the sun set over the distant mountains with untamed flowers all around us. Finally, Eva called out again.

“Okay, you can both come in now!”

We went around the wall to the opening.

Asa was right; it did look good in there.

The scorch marks on the ground were gone, covered by what looked like transplanted flowers from the garden outside the walls. I hadn’t gotten a good look of the area when I first arrived, but I could tell a lot of rubble had been moved to make half a dozen cairns in two rows down the length of the…well, not a room anymore, not for a long time. Perhaps courtyard was the best description for it now.

Beyond the cairns was a particularly large and flat stone, like a table, and beyond that was the fallen remains of the wall, but it looked somehow tidied, almost arranged like a scattered, giant staircase. Eva and Asa were behind the stone table, with Alexandros and Sigrid flanking it. Eva was holding a flower crown. The other three seemed to be holding very small metal tablets.

After taking in the sight, Orion and I approached. We split to walk around my crater, which I noticed was now full of clear water. Down the center of the courtyard, past the six cairns, and then to the front of the large stone. Eva, clearly enjoying herself, spoke as if addressing an audience.

“We are here today in the Forgotten Ruins of Vita Woods, to officially welcome Wish and Orion as residents of our town, Haven.”

Alexandros and Sigrid handed Orion and I the tiny metal tablets they were holding. Mine had my name, Wish, the name of the town, and other such things. Ah, the identification that Captain Prichard had arranged for us. 

Eva continued. “These are official proof that you belong here for as long as you want to call this place home. But as for who you are to us-“ she nudged Asa, who silently presented a second metal tablet to Orion with a smile.

“Orion, you may chose to become whatever you want later, but for now we welcome you as a hunter, with license to hunt in Vita woods according to the seasons and population shifts of the animals therein.”

She turned to me, and lifted the flower crown. It was beautiful, made of flowers from the garden. The central flower was especially exquisite. 

“Wish, you came to us in flames in the night, a spirit of stars. To us, like the flower that blooms at the forefront of this crown, you are a Queen of the Night.”

I leaned forward and lowered my head as she reached over the table to place the crown on me. She paused before letting go and whispered to me, “This is what was missing.”

I blinked back tears as I straightened. This is what was missing indeed, not so much the crown, but everything else in a way that I couldn’t put into words.

Perhaps now I was who I was meant to be.