A Power of Nations

Threat or portents aside, breakfast concluded far smoother and faster than Sophia expected. She could still feel knots in her stomach and she repeated the numbers in her head as a stop gap. But the uncontrollable shaking had stopped, mostly. Enough that she no longer noticed it, in every second of her life. Small achievements she could strive for today.

But she would be getting another chance for new achievements in the form of her lessons. It still surprised her that the First Prince of all people was going to be teaching her. They had said someone from Herst’s time was still in the employ of the castle. She thought they would be doing all of her training. At least from the magic side. And Prince Henri provided no additional details before they left.

Her eyes tried to track the castle halls and rooms, but just as before nothing stood out as unique. It was going to be challenging to learn to navigate it. She almost wished that the Saint had some place outside of the castle. Then the large structure could be her guidepost.

‘Cathie would never believe this. I miss her. Can I see her soon? After it’s not a secret anymore?’ The First Prince took her outside as the knights followed three steps behind. With them out of sight, it strangely felt like it was just the two of them. Two strangers with no connections or relations of completely different social status and importance walking together. A completely impossible situation that no one would believe.

It took her remembering that not all Saints were nobility. In fact, only the earliest Saints were and the others came from many parts of society. But it all still didn’t feel real to her. Seeing the prismatic holy raiment around her gave her reminder enough. No other mages lived in the kingdom, so she didn’t have a comparison. But they said other mages didn’t have their magic visible around them. Though could she even call herself a mage if all she was was blessed by the Goddess able to create barriers and heal. Being something missing from Eulire, she never focused on it in her reading.

When Prince Henri finally stopped she realized she didn’t know how she got here or where it was. Left to her own thoughts, she didn’t watch anything. Tolen and Noan would be kind enough to escort her, but always relying on them seemed ill fitting for her. She needed to learn.

Being on the castle grounds, she expected to see gardens or ponds. Something showing of luxury and wealth, but it was just a large empty field. A long stretch of dirt that had a lot of foot prints and tracks through it. Far from her were the walls that surrounded the stone structure before rolling down into the capital itself. “Where are we?”

“The training grounds for the knights. It’s the only place suitable.”

It was empty, however, she looked around and saw it had zero privacy. “Isn’t this supposed to be a secret?”

“Anyone on the grounds of the castle knows everyone. Anyone new is immediately going to be recognized. Unless you want to be hiding in your room until it’s announced.”

“But I’ll run out of books to read! Though I could re-read them. The historic one was a fun read.”

“I believe that is a ‘no’ then?” She gave him a short nod. “While I appreciate your concern for secrecy. It’s going to largely be unavoidable.”

“Very well. What should I do?”

“I’m unable to use magic like anyone else. However, we try to keep a practitioner within our employ for whenever a Saint appears. But we always prepare if no such person is available. So I have a basic understanding. Enough to provide Mage Jolsi an idea of how to structure the lessons.”

The First Prince took a couple steps back from her. “The first and most important question to answer is how strong the blessing is within you. The Goddess does not choose equally. Some Saints are only strong enough to heal and protect the capital, while others could support the entire kingdom and share the frontlines. We won’t ask more of you than you can achieve, but without testing you we won’t know.”

She glanced around at her body again. The divine Veil around her was only a sign, but not a measurement of her strength. If only it were so simple. “What is the test? Do you have a device or means to measure?”

“Unfortunately no. Perhaps if we had a relic of Solis, but we have to rely on less sophisticated means. It’s not a perfect answer, but it’ll be a starting point.”

Sophia leaned back ready to retreat, only to see Mr. Tolen and Noan. They weren’t stopping her, but it felt like a wall all the same. She had to face it all. Having magic, even divinely granted magic felt unknowing and strange. There was something dangerous about it. ‘Why is the Prince stepping back? Is there something I should know about this test? I thought it was all supporting spells, that can’t hurt, right? Ust. Hui. Why did I have to be the one?’

She squeezed her hands into fists to prepare herself. “What is the test?” Different thoughts came to her, but without knowing how to use it she felt ill equipped to make good judgments. Her mind conjured something flashy like creating a barrier, but that required her to know how to do such a thing. She didn’t even know what magic felt like. The only part of that she could see was the Veil and it never felt like anything more than air. Like her power had a will of its own.

“You will project your magical power away from your body.”

“Project? Nothing more?” It felt almost embarrassingly simple. That did mean it was more reasonable for her to achieve. But the problem still remained for her.

“Anything more would be too much to ask of you as a novice. Successfully projecting your power will create a wind, the divine wave upon which the Goddess’ power flows. How far you reach will tell me your strength.”

“I understand. How do I do that?” She gestured with her hands in motions that she had seen in illustrations of the Saints of the past, but as expected it achieved nothing. Throwing her hands out in front of her just stretched her limbs, hardly a divine act.

Prince Henri’s eyes shifted away from her as he seemed to be thinking or maybe recalling. “The magic exists within you. According to the records, mages focused on the energy stored within and channel it through them. They describe the act as creating a circle within themselves that they can picture. It becomes a focus and reinforces the strength of the fuel to cast their spells.”

“And it is the same for the Saints?”

“This is how the kingdom has taught Saints in the past. A divinely selected mage beyond the realm is rare or unheard of. Magic practitioners are our only sources for experience.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” In the end, she could only trust his words. There wasn’t a Saint to ask and history showed the statement accurately. Unfortunately, the answer came in an abstract manner that she didn’t really fully understand. Magic was foreign to them. The thought of creating something from nothing seemed impossible and the subject of divinity. Yet she knew beyond their Forsaken Wastes, that it thrived and didn’t hold such awe. It was mundane.

A difficult to understand answer felt appropriate almost. And she knew that the First Prince wouldn’t be able to improve much more on the details. The mage he mentioned might have, but she didn’t have them as aid. She had to rely on Prince Henri and herself.

The concept of feeling or channeling an invisible power in her didn’t make sense. However, picturing a circle was something to grasp. She didn’t know if it would help, but it was her starting point. A circle, rounded and clear, perfectly looped around. It connected from beginning to end and repeated on a loop. The loop spun as she drew it again and again making it bolder in her mind. She strengthened it until she could almost see it. It became a real thing that she could project and grasp. Round and round, faster and faster each cycle she drew it became larger and thicker.

“Miss Sophia! Stop!” She snapped to, noticing her eyes had been closed as she focused on the circle. The world restored erased her mental image. ‘The Prince? Is there something wrong? Did I make a mistake?’ His voice was loud and distant, difficult to hear.

Dirt hung in the air like a layer of a veil drawn over her eyes, each thicker and more opaque than the last. Around her a spiral dug into the earth of the training ground where footprints had been. All erased as if a ripple of water froze in time.

The First Prince was on his knee and bracing himself to the ground staining his perfectly washed attire. He was further away than she remembered. A line from his boots drew towards her, developed a picture of what happened. Unlike any of her times that she had seen him before, his well-maintained stoic presentation was shattered. There was sweat on his face and he looked shaken by what he saw. It wasn’t fear at least, but a man that seemed to have his entire world constructed to his wishes, this denied his pattern. She could see it in his eyes. The unexpected happened.

Sophia broke from her surprise and rushed over to check on him. “What have I done? I hurt the Prince! I’m going to be killed for sure! Your Highness, are you hurt?”

He didn’t respond to her immediately. His focus went to regaining control. Quickly, the pieces that cracked and fractured to his presentation began to be picked up. In swift seconds, he mended the seemingly durable image back into that which was normal. Prince Henri stood up as the last piece with his composure back, but the evidence was still on his clothes. “I am fine. Your fears are unwarranted.”

“If you’re certain, Your Highness.” She stood up after him looking over to the knights. They were nearly pinned to the ground still recovering. She started to shrink. “This is all my fault. I made a mistake.”

“The opposite in fact.” The carefully managed man returned. There wasn’t even a hint of the shaking or shouting before. All emotion was completely stripped down to clean facts. “Your demonstration proved beyond a doubt the strength of your blessing.”

“But I hurt people! The Saint isn’t supposed to be that.”

“Bruised ego at best, Miss Sophia. We knew you had the blessing, but our expectations didn’t have you this strong. I have no records to claim otherwise, but you may have one of the strongest blessings the Goddess has ever granted. It is the strength to shape nations, Miss Sophia.”