Chapter 1
*Athanasia*
Oh, I was so nervous. Nervous, nervous, nervous!
I’d received a summons from the palace requesting my presence, and I had no idea what was about to happen. My only inkling was that it was related to the Alugahl trafficking incident that had occurred—oh souls, was that over a week ago already?
I gathered a deep breath and took in my surroundings toward my destination. The capital of Bydafon, Lachienan, was as beautiful as always, but you could tell there was a cloud hanging over the town despite the clear sky. There were white and blue banners everywhere in remembrance of the prior King Llyran and Queen Muirgel of Bydafon. They had sadly been assassinated, which forced the late king’s brother, King Altan, to take up the burden of the crown.
We were all happy with Llyran’s successor, though. King Altan had done his own part in contributing to positive changes with his brother. The country was just deeply saddened. King Llyran and Queen Muirgel had been easy to love.
There were still pockets of happy folk celebrating the good news; Crown Prince Curan Seacoal had finally found a bride. I had saved that bride’s life, and thinking about what may have happened had I not accidentally been trafficked with the summoners… it gave me the shivers. It’s very possible that a summoner healer was among those rescued, but the time spent looking might have resulted in being too late to save her.
I approached the guard checkpoint and waited in line to be interviewed. The castle stood impossibly tall and bright, reflecting sunlight off of marble and sandstone. The design was strong, firm, but proudly displayed whirling elements and arches that resembled ocean currents. The decorative windows were said to be made of various pieces of sea glass that had somehow been reworked into stained glass windows. Large balconies on either side had water fountains that glittered like diamonds under the sunlight. The overall sight was simply breathtaking.
“Please state your business, my lady,” one of the guards said, leaning on his spear by the gate. My face flushed at being called a lady, but I grinned at him, handing him the summons I got from the castle. The guard reviewed the letter, tapped the uncorrupted seal and waved me through, giving me a little flirty wink.
My face heated, and I held back a nervous, flattered giggle. Not a bad way to start my day! I do like a man in a uniform...
A servant met me at the entrance and led me down the grand entrance hall to the audience chamber. There was one person ahead of me in line, so I took the chance to look around at the delightfully distracting hall. Armor, artwork and ancient relics were displayed proudly. As per usual, I could not keep my eyes on one thing for more than several seconds. How fun it would be to learn blacksmithing to create these suits… or paint! I sighed dreamily, wishing there were more hours in the day than there were.
I felt someone poke my shoulder, and I whirled, realizing that one of the royal guards had been trying to get my attention. Oh! It was my turn now.
“Introducing Athanasia Lytrotes, responding to a summons from the royal family,” a herald announced, tucking a scroll under his arm and gesturing me forward. I strolled in humbly, hoping that I would be able to hear everyone talk over the thumping of my heart that had somehow migrated into my head.
Pay attention, Athanasia! Great souls...
I was a little overwhelmed at the sight of four occupied chairs instead of two. King Altan and Queen Muirenn were seated in the middle with the crown prince and princess on either side. I was dumbfounded for a second but found my bearing and swooped into a curtsy.
“Rise, Kideamancer Athanasia,” the king said, and I straightened, waiting nervously. “We’ve invited you here to formally thank you for helping save Princess Netty’s life during the summoner trafficking incident.” I relaxed a little, relieved that I wasn’t somehow in trouble. The king gestured to the princess and gave her an encouraging look. I was pleasantly surprised by how kindly the king looked upon his daughter-in-law. It was sweet...
The princess’ face looked nervous for a heartbeat, but it smoothed over as she sat up straight and cleared her throat. “Athanasia, from the depths of the All Soul, I thank you for saving my life. As you are a practicing Kideamancer, it is surprising and fortunate that you were at the right place at the right time with knowledge of healing magic. I doubt I would have survived had you not provided me with emergency care.
“We would like to reward you for your actions. Before we go into that, I’m curious to know what other disciplines you’ve studied,” Princess Netty inquired, tilting her head ever so slightly.
I balked and forgot absolutely everything I’ve ever done in my entire life. Panic rose within me, and I placed a hand subtly on my stomach to keep myself from spiraling. Oh souls, how do I recover from this?
“It’s ok Athanasia, just breathe,” Prince Curan said, tilting his head more than his wife had. The only new thought that popped into my head was that the head tilting must be a learned trait in their marriage. This family was too sweet. “I recall you’ve studied Kideamancy and healing, what else?” the prince prompted, which helped jog my memory.
“Ah, yes! Kideamancy and a very small amount of Somamancy, just enough for first aid really. I’ve studied some Necromancy, general Stoicheiomancy, Theomancy, Bardomancy, Alussomancy, Goe... te... mancy…” I fumbled through my list and my answer trickled to a stop, fearing the list was too long and that the formal, outdated academic names were boring them. I should have just said healing, elemental, divination, bard, illusion and enchantment. There wasn’t really an alternate name for Kideamancy, and everyone knew what Necromancy was.
Curse my love for long obscure words... My cheeks burned with embarrassment.
I added one more relevant discipline to give context to how I’d been trafficked with the others. “And… I was captured with the summoners because I was staying with a mentor at the time. He was teaching me Kalomanc—uh, summoning. My father encouraged me to round out my education by studying other forms, but he’s starting to think I’m spreading myself out too thin…” I laughed nervously.
I’m babbling. Great souls, I’m babbling hard!
“I’d say it shows a great deal of initiative, intelligence and passion,” Queen Muirenn murmured thoughtfully. “You can feed someone with a fish, but if you throw the rest out in ignorance, you’ll lose skin for healing and bones for sewing. Spreading yourself out thin may just save your life someday as it did for our princess.”
I nodded thoughtfully, making an effort to not blurt out all my insecurities on the topic. The princess shifted in her seat and cleared her throat to speak again. “If you’re interested, you are welcome to stay and study here at the castle. We have the best mages in the region you could learn from, and I think we would benefit from having…” she trailed off and looked over at the king and queen with uncertainty, “... the first generalist I’ve ever heard of? To this extent?”
The king nodded, leaning on an armrest and studying me. My heart thumped almost painfully against my sternum, and I knew I was standing on a looping road with one glorious exit. My life was about to change, and my insides writhed with adrenaline, fear and excitement. “You won’t need to worry about living expenses, and you’ll have an allowance while working and studying here,” the king proposed.
“I’d also be happy to help you with learning Bard magic should you wish to,” Princess Netty added, and my mouth dropped open at the offer. I snapped it shut immediately but I was shocked. The princess herself would tutor me? I almost wanted to decline because I was terrified of making a fool of myself in front of her. However, my father would wonder if I was possessed if I turned down an eager instructor.
I was overwhelmed, and all sorts of ideas avalanched into my mind. Not only could I learn from experts, they’d be as easy to access as the library! It would maybe, just maybe, give me the time and the excuse to experiment with my own theories. Would I be able to focus, though? Souls knew that all these resources would become an overwhelming distraction.
“Yes!” I blurted out, titillated. “I... Wow! This is an incredible offer. Thank you! W-What do I need to do?” I realized I was shifting my weight from foot to foot in excitement and stopped, trying to suspend my need to expel energy. Great souls, my father was going to be thrilled! I couldn’t wait to tell him!
“If you want to get settled, we can send for your belongings if you provide an address and a list. You’re certainly welcome to take a wagon back, but you did just get here. Wisshed is not very far from us, but it’s your choice,” the king suggested, shifting in his seat to cross his ankle over a knee. I bet he’d been in that chair all morning. I didn’t know if I could do that, I’d go mad with restlessness.
“I’d love to get settled! I can send a letter to my father if I’m allowed to use… the aviary?” I asked and the king nodded. “He can set what I need aside for your people to pick up.”
“Perfect,” King Altan said, smacking a hand down on his armrest like a gavel. He looked over at a servant and nodded. The man whisked off to attend to something, probably preparing the transport.
Princess Netty removed herself from the small throne and walked up to me with arms extended. I eyed her warily but stood my ground. What was she doing? What did I do?
She hugged me, and I blew out a puff of relief. “I’ll show her to her quarters,” Princess Netty said over her shoulder to her husband and in-laws. It was rather informal, and I felt like a fish in a tree: discombobulated, short of breath and a bit puckered.
I followed the princess out of the audience chamber, and she immediately wrapped an arm around mine, grinning. I raised an eyebrow and looked down at the shorter woman. She was so… youthful and genuine, which I wasn’t expecting at all.
“How are you feeling, my lady?” I asked, too nervous to think of anything else to say.
“Oh, I’m great. I’ve never been happier! I’m so relieved I was able to offer you something as a rewar- Goodness, I never even thought to ask if you’d like anything else! Would you have preferred a financial reward instead? I didn’t think it through…” the princess frowned. A jerk of her head and a bite of her lips made it look like she was mentally kicking herself. I knew that look all too well...
“No! No, no, no!” I waved my free hand to placate her. “You’ve made a dream come true that I never knew I had! This opportunity is worth more than all the gold in the world.”
She looked mollified and nodded her head. “Oh good… I can be a bit impulsive. I’m working on it.”
“Me too!” I exclaimed enthusiastically, happy to be able to relate to another woman. “I have so many thoughts scattering around that exciting ideas sometimes jerk me into some questionable decisions!” I laughed but then grimaced. That made me sound very irresponsible.
Get it together!
She patted my arm, as though reading my mind. “Me too,” she whispered. “Don’t tell anyone though,” she giggled. “We’re just doing the best we can. Just remember that we’re never done learning and growing. That’s what Queen Muirenn told me once...” Her face adopted a nostalgic expression. Yes, she seemed happy indeed.
