Fire and Tide

Ayrah

Present day | Veymora Castle

“If one is no longer affected by the thought that a grave danger is about to wreak havoc on their world….is it a good thing or bad?”

“Something terrible is about to happen in Veymora. I saw a dangerous attack coming for all of us. It will destroy us.” said Adelain, the queen of the magical kingdom, Veymora and my mother.

Why was I hearing about this for the very first time? I was too busy noting the council members mirror my reaction of confused brows and mouths ajar, that I almost forgot to do my job, which was to take notes. I had been a record-keeper of the council meetings ever since I was ten and had learned to write. Record-keeping was the solution my father, King Eldrik, had come up with to entertain my request to attend council meetings while, at the same time, keep my identity a secret.

Never tell anyone who you are. You always must remain a secret to protect the family.

These lines might as well have been the first words uttered to me and will likely be the last. My parents, the king and queen, have been telling me this every single day. They have been addressing the rumours concerning the fall of magical powers in Veymora for a very long time. Naturally, it became a cause of concern when the strength of those magical powers reduced and more and more children were born without magic.

My elder siblings, Rowan and Solenne, were luckily blessed with the powers of speed and healing. The whole kingdom had been beyond ecstatic to see the royal bloodline flourish with magic. Hence, when I was born without an iota of magic and with dysfunctional health, they had to protect me and make me the royal family secret. Nobody knew who I was except for a handful of people. I told myself that was what made me special.

“I don’t mean to intend any disrespect, my queen. We are just surprised to witness your attendance at the council meeting, let alone hear that your powers of vision have come back after decades” commented the Grand Maester, followed by a series of acknowledging grunts and silent nods across the council.

The Grand Maester was considered a human form of a library in Veymora. He was known to have more knowledge of the Veymora’s history and magical powers than one could find in the scriptures.

Honestly, I wasn’t surprised to hear that the court was more concerned about the accuracy of my mother’s prediction than the imminent threat to the realm. While my mother apparently had the power to see visions about the future, I had never seen her speak of any visions to anyone. Until now. And that too, to the council.

It may have been a long time, but I could recognise my father’s agitated expression from across the room at the Grand Maester’s comment. My father slightly thumped the table with both hands and said “Maester, my wife is the queen and rules Veymora along with me. While she may have chosen to skip the council meetings or not to declare her visions, that doesn’t mean she lost her powers or that we ignore the implications of the visions she chooses to announce.”

I could see the same worried expression on both my parents’ faces. I wondered how bad the threat could be if it actually worried them and necessitated this discussion at the council.

“Agreed, Your grace. I am an old man. I have been a master and an advisor to the kingdom long before you both were crowned. If you may, I would just like to make a point.” The Grand Maester swallowed but continued with an neutral expression. “It may be a couple of decades old, but if we recollect the incident of the previous prediction made by Queen Adelain, it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to validate the prediction before we launch our armies and worry our people, who are already troubled with the winters.”

Incident of previous prediction? What in the world did that mean? I shot a glance at my brother Rowan, hoping for some explanation or reaction, but he maintained his serious expression throughout the conversation, as expected of an army leader. He maybe a decade older than me, but I did not expect that he would know what it meant anyways. He probably only educated himself on weapons, wars and warriors.

God knew when my parents would have the time for a next conversation with me about this. I made a mental note to figure out what this incident of previous prediction could mean later.

The point made by the Grand master seemed to have unsettled most of the old council members. They all eagerly glanced back at my father awaiting his response. However, it was my mother who cleared her throat and quickly added, “Very well, I see no harm in us validating my vision first. If there is indeed a looming threat to our kingdom, I am sure our council will take the right steps to protect us. Looks like I have served my intended purpose in bringing up my vision” she remarked.

Was she nervous? I wondered why, because I had always heard about her being a confident and loving queen in the court and on public tours. Why would she allow herself to be second-guessed at the council?

Father placed his hand on my mother’s and gave her a comforting nod. A visible measure of support, perhaps. He then turned towards the other members and dictated, “Thank you Adelain, for letting your magic help Veymora. Rowan, I instruct that you put together a group from the army who will enquire about any imminent attacks being planned around our borders. Let us discuss this next week.” I hastily jotted down the discussion.

The council then moved on to the next agenda of the struggles of the commonfolk with the cold winters. Veymora was stuck with cold winter year after year. I had read about how our kingdom had once flourished with spring seasons hundreds of years ago, when the magic was strong and prominent. Back then, the royal family had strong earthly powers, with the ability to even control the weather and forces of nature. Today, only a handful of people in Veymora had magical powers. A prime example being me, a royal bloodline cripple living as a tightly bound secret.

With generations, magic had evaded the people of Veymora and the cold ensued. There were many theories on why magic had been depleting. Some believed it was due to pure magical bloodlines merging with commoners, whereas others believed it was because of the misuse of earthly powers by royals. Although nobody appeared to know the truth.

I took notes as the same old plans were discussed. The Grand Maester was asked to train the healers to treat cold injuries better and curate stronger potions to withstand the weather. The ministers were asked to summon the few agrokines (those with power to control vegetation) to increase food production. Lastly, the army was asked to clear as much snow as possible from the public routes and scout for any new magical births.

I wondered how long our kingdom could sustain with these measures. We were, after all, surrounded by ice mountains, covered by cold winters, and faced with depleting magic.

When the meeting ended, the entire council vacated the chamber with a concerned expression. Naira, my maid, then entered the chambers to escort me out in my wheelchair. Apart from my family and their personal guards,Naira was the only person who knew about me. I closed my notes and left the chambers with a determination to find more details about the previous incident.

As Naira pushed my wheelchair across, I thought about how I had lived my entire life within it, specifically in only four places within the castle which was my room in the secluded corner castle tower, the council chambers were I worked, the castle library where I passed my time, and the small patch of garden outside my room where I spent time with my family.

Once I reached my room, I settled back at my desk with the help of Naira and awaited my sister Solenne, who would join me for our supper and gossip session. Solenne visited me at dinner every single day. Perhaps that’s why, to the outsiders, I was a crippled childhood friend of Solenne who lived in the palace with her and had been generously given a record-keeper’s job.

As soon as Solenne entered, she began hogging the food like a starved kid and pestered “So, on with you. Spill the details miss”. The council meeting was perhaps the only piece of gossip I had from my end to share with her whereas she told me everything else about the world outside the castle. So, I was always excited to spill every minor detail of my share of the gossip.

After I told her about our mother’s prediction, I realised that she knew just as much as me about this. I asked, “What do you think the previous incident could mean? It sounded somewhat like a question or insult on mother’s powers!”. Solenne shrugged.

“Mother has never talked to me about her powers. I had assumed that she may be embarrassed about her depleting magic and lack of visions, so I stopped pushing.“ Which was true because I had a similar assumption. Mother rarely spoke about magic to me. Everything always led to a reminder - Never tell anyone who you are. You always must remain a secret to protect the family.

After we finished dinner, Solenne helped me get to bed and started her healing treatment by moving her palms above my limbs. I believe her healing process every day was the only reason I was able to stand up a few times a day, breathe with ease, and move my hands as needed. I did love Rowan because he was my brother, but with Solenne, she was much more than just my sibling. She was my human journal, my entertainment, my motivator, and my healer.

“Anyways, I will try to pull out more details from Rowan about the threats.” Solenne’s remarks pulled me out of my thoughts. “Mother must have seen more than a dangerous attack, if she decided to bring it up at the council. I am worried if our lives would be disrupted,” she added.

“Your life, yes. I am not sure how much more worse it could get for me,” I responded. Solenne’s entire face saddened, and she looked at me with an expression that I was beginning to resent…pity. I was okay with people disregarding me, avoiding me, or even joking about me, but I hated it when somebody pitied me. “I was joking. Relax.” I reflexively dismissed with my hand to avoid another motivational speech from Solenne.

I did mean it though. While I know that I should be grateful for having warm food, a roof over my head, a maid to tend to my needs, and a family that did love me, I could not help but wonder if I would be happier as a poor labourer struggling through life without any disabilities than as a royal crippled secret who struggled to merely exist. “Thank you, Sol,” I managed to say as the pain slowly faded away from my brittle bones and I drifted off to sleep.

It was the next morning when I was summarising my notes from the council meeting when the idea hit me. I need not ask anyone about the previous incident, I could find out about it all on my own. If the previous record-keepers were as vigilant as me, their records would give me the answers that I sought.

“Can we stop by the library before lunch?” I asked Naira. As soon as she took me to the library, the scent of old books and dried ink instantly brought a comforting feeling to my mind. While I asked Naira to file my meeting notes, I began to wonder which records would give me the details on the previous incident.

“Would you know when was the last time my mother attended council meetings?” I questioned Naira. “She did attend council meetings even when she was pregnant with you. That’s when I was hired. I have been tending to you even before your birth.” She smiled. I smiled back, happy about getting what I wanted.

I fetched the seventeen-year-old record of my birth year and began reading the meeting notes from the week before my birth.

Only to be forever scarred.

Council Meeting Notes

20 June XXXX

Announcement:

The queen, pregnant with the third royal child, has joined the council today to make an announcement about her magical vision.

Queen Adelain’s declaration:

My children, Rowan and Solenne, as you all know, are blessed with the powers of speed and healing. While we all celebrate the magical powers running through the royal bloodline, I am here to announce that my third child, Aryenne Adelain Aeverath, will be the saviour of our magic.

My vision showed me that a strong power wielder, holder of an earthly magic, and the heir to the Veymora throne will be born. She will bring back the powerful magic, the beautiful spring, and charm of Veymora. Aryenne, hereinafter to be known as the saviour of the Veymora, is coming.

King Eldrik’s statement:

Let the public know that their future saviour is coming. Let a festival commence on the day of her birth and last an entire month. We will make an announcement of her powers and crown her with the title of ‘Saviour of Veymora’ at the end of this festival.

Grand Maester:

May the saviour of Veymora be blessed with powerful magic. May the queen continue to be blessed with the vision of the future. May all of Veymora be forever blessed with magic. All hail the king, the queen, and our future saviour!

My hands shivered as I closed the record. How in the world could I be saviour of the throne? Not just the lack of magic, I was much beneath even a normal human. I had trouble walking, standing, and even breathing. To the public, I died at the time of my birth, and only a handful knew how grossly incorrect my mother’s vision had turned out to be.

This must have been the last vision that she publicly announced. So, I was the mistake, the previous incident, that led to her abandoning her powers and the death of any last hope about the revival of magic in Veymora.

Little did I know that this answer would hurt me more than being unknown. I now truly understood the weight behind - Never tell anyone who you are. You always must remain a secret to protect the family.