Himaris day continues

Himari and Duncan were setting across from each other in Duncan’s study making plans to ensure the people of his country had food and to boost the economy. They needed funds to buy goods from other countries to supplement what they could get from Imponini and the ocean. They also needed funds to help pay for the damages the storm caused the cities so they could thrive again. Their plans would also mean hiring more of his people which would help the Demon Lords people even more. Enjoyment was buzzing through Himari and Duncan’s shared connection. They both wanted the best for the people of Imponini. Duncan loved Himari’s fresh perspective and her ideas and loved having someone who cared as much as he did to bounce ideas off of. Their connection seemed to help them even more. They could tell each other’s true feelings on something and so had no choice but to be honest. It also seemed to sync them on ideas and made sharing an idea quicker. Maybe it was the connection but they seemed to understand each other’s minds. They were in deep discussion when the doors to the study flew open. A tall man with blond hair and purple eyes strolled in. he had elven features and wore a crushed velvet cape that matched the color of his eyes. He wore a silk shirt with pearl buttons with matching boots and britches. He turned to Himari and bowed with a flourish. He introduced himself with a flirtatious smile as Cedric Merlin Duncan’s best friend. Duncan introduced Himari to Cedric. Cedric said “I know you called me here for a reason, so why don’t you go get us a beverage and a snack. You can tell me all about it while we sip our tea or punche. You know me I don’t have preferences. And while you are getting that around I will get to know your breathtaking guest.” With that Cedric turned to face Himari and winked at her. Duncan’s jealousy and possessiveness was rushing through her and had her feeling as off kilter as a roller coaster. A part of her was angry at his possessiveness and jealousy another part elated and confused. Duncan said “The only reason I am willing to leave her alone in a room with you is because I know she immune to your charms.” Cedric laughed jovially and said “No one is immune to my charms. I am too good of a catch for any woman to not want me.” Himari couldn’t help but chuckle. Duncan looked at Himari and said “If he gets to being too annoying tell him to quit. He really isn’t a bad guy when he isn’t attempting to flirt.” With that Duncan got up and headed into the kitchen to get the drinks and snacks. He returned shortly and found them discussing Himari’s world. She was telling Cedric about the book and what she remembered of getting here and her and Duncan’s connection, as Duncan fixed their tea and served them. Cedric was thoughtful before he said “I have never heard of a mage bringing someone from another world. It might be possible. That sounds more like the work of our goddesses. They may have brought you here to help Duncan’s country or even a bigger reason we are unaware of. I will look into seeing if magic can send you home. Honestly, you may be stuck here until whatever the goddesses brought you here to do or they may have brought you here forever especially since you have a connection to Duncan. I can’t say for sure though. A connection like the one you two have. I have only heard about in fairytales and it has been so long I don’t remember how the stories would go. I will reread the stories and see if I find any helpful information.” Cedric paused and took a long drink of his tea and said “You mentioned that in your world no one uses magic. Does that mean you needed you mana and skills checked? I can check your current mana level and the highest it will reach. I can also check your skills or what areas of magic you will have, like earth, wind, fire, etc. I can also see what will be the highest levels in those skills you will be able to reach. I can do this if you both would like?” Himari and Duncan glanced at each other before Himari said “We would both appreciate that. I also have some questions I would like to ask before we got started, if you don’t mind?” Cedric sat his tea cup down on the saucer and gave her his full attention and said “Ask away.” Himari took a moment trying to put her thoughts in order and said “I noticed when Duncan pointed out all the fields that the torrential rains fell that they didn’t follow a normal wind pattern and since there are no hurricanes on this side of the continent those rains do not make sense unless someone created them. Is that possible?” Duncan and Cedric looked at each other in shock and amazement. Cedric said “It is possible. I can’t believe you and I didn’t make the connection, since we’ve never experienced rains like that here.” Duncan interjected “We didn’t make the connection because it is against the law. Why would we think anyone would risk being stripped of their powers or a nation risking being cut off from the NFU?” They caught Himari’s questioning look and Duncan said “The NFU has rules that all mages and kingdoms must follow. One of those rules is that no mage is allowed to tamper with the weather unless under extreme circumstances. An example of a circumstance it is okay is that it’s a very dry summer and crops are failing and a nation might starve. But to knowingly kill an entire nations crop is considered treason and means any and all witches and wizards found guilty of such a crime will be stripped of their magical powers and face even more punishment. A kingdom found doing this to another kingdom will no longer be able to trade or travel through any of the other countries, forcing them to rely sole on what themselves. They also will not receive any aid in a time of crisis. Also the mages strong enough to pull something off losing their powers would be a huge loss to that kingdom. Having good mages ensures everything in the entire country runs smoothly. Without their most powerful mages the entire country will likely fail.” Himari said “That is pretty harsh.” Cedric nodded his head in agreement and said “It is but it is meant to prevent destruction of our world and starvation of our peoples. I wonder who would risk losing everything.” Himari said “Based on everything I have learned my best guess is Vitriolio. I do not know if it is the king and his advisors or some rich nobility wanting to get richer. I do know that Imponini is rich with resources. There is also a calm ocean to hunt in that is also safe for traveling. There is the Mithril mines and bisonalce too. Since a lot of humans view demons less than, I think they also want to enslave the demons. But that last part is just a hypothesis with no concrete evidence.” Himari took a drink of her tea letting what she said sink in before she said “I have another question.” Cedric nodded his head in agreement. Himari said “Is there a way to grow crop at least say to the growth the plants would be at if they hadn’t been washed away?” She then launched into her idea of seeding all the fields and making the ones grow that got washed away while letting the other fields have food they will harvest in the fall. She explained the type of crops she wanted to grow and why. She told them her ideas for cover crops and not tilling the soil so that the soil wasn’t easily washed away. She could feel Duncan’s astonishment and how proud he was of her. It filled her with warmth. She peaked at Cedric to try and get a read on his expression. He was thinking her idea over thoroughly and finally spoke “It is a great idea, but on making the fields grow I am not sure it is possible to do all the fields. That requires a lot of mana and using so much mana requires a couple days recovery. Even if we used all our top mages we’d likely only do maybe half or less of the fields.” Himari said “Do you think I might be able to help?” Cedric shook his head no and said “It usually takes someone a few years to get good at magic and we don’t even know what your magic is or your capabilities.” Himari tilted her chin up and said “I think even if we are able to do half the fields that is better than nothing, isn’t it? Having even just a few fields with crops that grow quickly and can be picked again and again will be extra beneficial. Plus if we are smart and plant crops that grow vertically on trellises with plants that grow on the ground we are using each field to its best optimization so we can get the most crop per field,” Duncan grinned and said “Himari you are a genius. I love the way your mind works.” Duncan looked at Cedric and said “You have to admit she has a point.” Cedric grinned and said “I can’t argue with such sound logic. You win Himari I will see what we can do about growing the plants in the fields. Now the fun part and the one I know we are all the most curious about. Let us go check your mana and skills.” Duncan said “For that we should head to the training grounds.” They all got up and headed to the training grounds, which was a dome shaped building that Cedric and Duncan had explained had protective barriers so people could practice their magic without damaging the surrounding area. It was empty do to everyone either fishing or preserving the salmon and whatever else they could catch today. They led Himari inside and stood a slight distance away from her. Himari found herself in a large room. Cedric stared at her in astonishment and looked at Duncan with an excited grin and said “She seems to possess all magic even magic that I have never heard of and her abilities and mana appear to be infinite. I can’t wait to see her skills.” Cedric then turned to Himari and said “We are going to start with having you practice visualizing the magic before we start teaching you incantations. You can’t use your magic properly if you cannot visualize it. I want you to try and visualize an orb of water floating above your hand. Close your eyes if it would be easier and concentrate on that, though you will have to learn to visualize with your eyes open.” Himari visualized an orb of water floating above her hand. She felt warmth spreading throughout her body into her hand. She told them what she felt and Cedric told her it was normal. Himari looked down at her hand and saw an orb of water floating above her hand and said “I thought you said I needed to do incantations for the magic to work.” Both Cedric and Duncan looked at the orb impressed before Duncan said “Usually you do. Only top magic wielders can do magic without incantation. I am one of six, well with you now seven.” Cedric kept having her try different magic spells and each one she was able to complete without using incantation. Himari even came up with her own ideas for spells that she tried. Finally as the sun was setting Duncan said “Enough! Her mana has to be getting low and it is getting late and Himari has to be starved. Let’s call it a night and we can resume once her mana is fully charged.” Cedric said “I just checked her mana and its levels have increased as well as her now being S rank on almost all of the different spell groups. I have only one more spell for her to try and then we should call it a night.” Cedric walked to Himari and placed a seed in her hand and said “I want you to imagine this growing.” Himari looked at the plant and visualized it growing. It took a lot of concentration but soon the seed was glowing and a tiny shoot shot from the plant along with roots at the bottom of the seed. The shoot then turned into a bush that had white buds on it. Himari heard Duncan whisper “Is that a Moon Rose Bush? Aren’t those things almost impossible to grow?” Himari sent Duncan and Cedric an inquisitive look before they both took turns explaining that only the strongest of mages and high elves and fairies can make one grow. She was now one of five mages who could make one grow and Cedric was another that could make them grow. They explained they are called moon roses because the light from the moon gives them the energy to grow like other plants relied on the sun. They explained all this and more as Duncan helped her plant it in a pot. She tried to give it to Cedric and he shook his head no and said “You made it grow. It chose you. It is your moon rose bush.” He then bid them a good night and left. Himari and Duncan walked side by side to his castle in companionable silence. Himari took her moon rose bush to her room and places it on the window seal before coming back down stairs to help Duncan fix dinner. They worked together in the kitchen to fix dinner as if they had done it a thousand times. Over dinner they talked, laughed and joked and they continued the same banter as they cleaned up. Again, Duncan walked her to her bedroom door kissing her hand and bidding her goodnight before leaving for his bedroom. Himari could still feel his lips on the back of her hand as she got ready for bed. She was exhausted after using her magic so much for the first time and quickly fell asleep.