- 3rd Person POV
Upon the completion of the ring surrounding that mark. And what is currently happening, Cecilia quickly begins to recollect herself to what’s going on & analyse this scenario in front of her.
(“What......?”)
She remembered her husband Francis, tried to dispel the curse mark with dispelling magic a year ago. The recoil from it almost causes her husband to turn mute if not for her words of disruption.
She cannot believe what’s happening right in front of her eyes after realizing this.
Right in front of her, an incredibly powerful dispelling magic being casted on Black. Her eyes immediately focused into the mark.
She can see it! The mark slowly fading away as if washed away by water.
Astra keeps on extending his left arm before he wobbles and fall gently to the makeshift bed. His long-braided hair untangles and lay messily at the bed side.
Upon the complete disperse of that mark, the dull pupils of Black eyes suddenly glint with light. As if He is brought alive, a spark of emotion can now be seen by Cecilia. His brows furrowed and lips tightened. She realized it that Black after a year being taken care in Vogun finally showed an emotion.
Fear.
That’s the emotion that is etched on Black’s normally emotionless figure. His forehead begun to bead sweat and eyes frantically looking around the area as if everything is closing into him. His breathing pattern began to quickened.
As memories surges within his head, long before his arrival in Vogun. He can vividly smell the pungent scent of smoke, the stinging heat of fires, the sounds of crumbling building and multitude of voices courses through his head. Including a loud inhuman roar that reverberate in his brain so much so that it hurts.
{“RUN!! RUN!!!!”}
{“QUICKLY! YOUNG MASTER THIS WAY”}
{“GAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! IT BURNSSS”}
{“GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”}
Black quickly held his own head as he closes his eyes on that loud roar again, completely overwhelms any other voice including from Cecilia.
Cecilia who quickly turn her head towards her patient, confirmed that Astra has fallen unconscious. Immediately, move towards Black as he crouches on the ground while still holding his head.
A stinging headache that feels like a hot knife plunging into his head, made Black clutches tightly on his head as he screamed.
“AAAAAAAAAAA!”
As quick as she can without any hesitation, Cecilia began to utter several words in quick succession.
Although her usual gentle tone remains, her voice is louder and resounding when she uttered those words into several sentences.
[“Gentle like the spring breeze carrying dandelions. Calming like the ocean waves crashing into the white shores. Fall into a deep slumber.”]
Those words affected the clutching man in front of her as his train of thoughts slowly become sluggish. As if he’s in a warm embrace, the feeling of comfort engulfs him, and with that Black closes his heavy eyes and have fallen asleep due to the spell that Cecilia have casted.
Staring into the events that’s has been unfolded in front of her. Cecilia heaves out a sigh as she can hear several footsteps from far away running towards the healer’s hut.
“WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?!”
In there several watchers’ males and females alike have gathered. Occupying the healer’s hut, greeted by an exasperated Cecilia who’s looking quite tired and a figure that lay on the ground seemingly have fallen asleep.
They recognize the figure that lays on the ground sleeping and seeing that there’s no altercation or remnant of fights. One of the watchers moves forth and asked Cecilia in a calmer tone.
“What’s just happened?”
Cecilia seems to collect herself by heaving a sigh and opened a waterskin as she gulped down hefty amount of water.
After drinking that water, she asked the watchers.
“Can you please call my hubby here?”
Her tone is sharp and serious far from the usual kind & gentle Cecilia that the watchers used to hear whenever they got injured. This quieted them enough with the leader of the watcher nods and turn back dismissing the commotion.
--
*GASP* *GASP*
A humanoid figure wearing elaborate embroidered blue robe currently dashing towards the green coloured hut.
His wrinkled face and whitening hair flowed through the wind as he quickly move to the healer’s hut. While being escorted by a familiar figure of the watcher’s leader.
Francis’ face seemed to be in panic, as he remembered the news given to him. Upon arrival, he swiped away the tent flaps as he entered the hut.
“Hubby!!”
The soft & relieved tone from that familiar voice, reduces the anxiety that’s building up in Francis as he can see his wife Cecilia is looking unharmed. Just slightly tired no doubt from using magic.
“Are you alright?”
Although just from the looks Cecilia seems fine, he asked again to be sure that his wife is well.
But Francis’ voice is incredibly faint but undoubtedly be heard by Cecilia. It seems that he has suffered several side-effects from the recoil when he tried to dispel Black’s powerful curse even after a year it had happened.
Cecilia nods and tell him what has just happened in the hut. Making her husband thinks in deep contemplation.
He believed his wife accounts but it’s quite strange. An unknown figure suddenly come to Vogun through the back entrance where wild beasts roam.
Currently, in Airun the amount of mana circulating in the air is enough to cast simple spells yet this figure that’s sleeping is able to cast powerful spell in a single word no less.
Francis turns his gaze towards Black, as he lies in deep slumber on the bed right next to the figure in question. Squinting his eyes, he notices something different on the surface of his skin and the sides of his neck. At first, he thought it was dry looking skin but in closer look it is clearly different.
(“Scales?”)
Right on Black’s skin there are diamond-shaped scales. It has strange colours, almost flashy in a way whenever the light coming from the gaps of the tent flaps hit his skin. Francis can only describe it as ‘Platinum’ coloured as a big realization dawned on him.
Francis turns into Cecilia with her noticing it as well with the very same realization dawned on her.
“Draconia!!”
“Draconia!!”
Both exclaimed at each other with Cecilia voice much louder from Francis.
Based on their history and geography studies, the pair know that Draconia is a country and simultaneously the name of a continent.
They are located in the far north, moving through ‘Temrich Archipelago’
Not much is known about Draconia such as their lifestyle and cultures knowing that they are isolated from anywhere else similar to Airun and Vogun’s inhabitants.
Although the books have told them, that it is a place filled with half-dragons. A race of humanoids that bear resemblance to mythical creature known as dragons.
Most common characteristic is scales on the surface of their skin. Though some have seen with horns, tails, and/or wings. It appears Black here have only scales as the pair look around meticulously.
Both have a question in mind
(“Why would a Draconian be here?”)
It is common knowledge that they aren’t keen on moving out from the continent or travel outside the continent. Preferring to keep everything to themselves, resulting in not much information on them. So, a draconian out from their continent is already something strange as Francis thought.
(“Mayhap that there are some kinds of events going on in the continent?”)
That is what he assumes to be, but he couldn’t be sure knowing how obscure it is regarding Draconia.
The books that they have read regarding Draconia was written by an adventurous scholar that decided to travel to that place wanting to discover more and left her adventuring diary in Etude after that the person fade into obscurity.
Now that Black’s issue has been discovered, the pair look at the other figure sleeping on the bed. His features do resemble Eastanians with Cecilia talking about it and Francis making the connection.
Although he is smaller compared to Eastanian’s built when Cecilia told him that this man is 26 years old. After hearing Cecilia accounts regarding the usage of magic that this person used, Francis’ curiosity piqued.
“Can we check his mana?”
His tiny voice comes like the whispers of the wind, but Cecilia is able to hear it well enough. She agrees with what her husband have concluded.
Every living being from this world contain some amount of mana, the ubiquitous & mysterious energy that flows in this world whether the amount is miniscule or gigantic Mana will always be there. That is a well-known & irrefutable fact. The ability to control the mana in them and their surrounding is what a mage does & that’s the basic of basics in the Etude’s Academy.
She nods and approaching the sleeping figure as she hovers her right-hand above the sleeping Astra.
[“Perceive the unperceivable. Touch the intangible. Taste the tasteless. Let me be your eyes and ears”]
Upon finishing those words, Cecilia can feel her skin tingle and the hairs on her skin standing up. Right this instant, she felt the flow of mana in the healer’s tent and even some distance away from her.
She can feel Francis’ mana, the watchers, and villagers who’s walking around doing their day-to-day activities. She too feels the mana inside the unconscious ‘Black’.
The difference between a Mage and other people is the amount of mana they have. The bigger the mana flowing in them, the easier they be to become a mage. That’s how Etude’s Academy chose their mages. She quickly discerns that Black has enough mana to become a mage.
Until she reaches the sleeping Astra, quirking her eyebrows she noticed something that doesn’t add up to the theory she has learnt in the Academy.
Astra doesn’t have any mana.
The spell that she used allows Cecilia to detect even the tiniest amount of mana within her surroundings. As such, miniscule amount of mana no matter how small would have been noticed by her yet no matter how much she focuses on Astra.
There nothing in there… incredibly similar to an inanimate object that’s what her senses are telling. But she knew very well, this boy speaks and breathe.
(“What’s this??”)
Upon realizing that Astra doesn’t have any mana in him. Cecilia immediately tries to do something else, she focuses deeper to that sleeping figure.
“Cil??”
Francis asked seeing his wife scrunching her eyebrows seemingly in deep focus. He was worried if she experienced some sort of recoil. Knowing what has happened to him, magic is still a mystery even though it has been existing in this world at the beginning of time.
It’s strange… As Cecilia continues to focus to the emptiness of mana in Astra & mana surrounding him.
For good few seconds with no result, She felt something fleeting, like a silken cloth just momentarily brushed against her skin before it disappears unable to be grasped again by Cecilia.
This continues on and on, as if enticing her to prolong the spell longer and longer…
