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The Fae are Spirits. The Spirits are not Fae.

Be wary of the Fae. Calling them will always Fulfill Your Contract, and they will Take whatever they believe they are Owed.

-An excerpt in Fool’s Guide to Spells, Written by popular author Cardinal Sandrice Tonbron.

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“…na! Anna!”

Anna shot up, smacking her head against Emily’s. She felt her friend’s tears fly onto her face as they both recoiled from the accidental headbutt.

”Ow! You know that hurts me way more than you. Anna, you’re okay!” Emily complained, before giving Anna a warm hug. Anna blearily thought about how her friend seemed to handle the hit way better than she did as her brain continued bouncing around within her skull.

“Yeah, I’m fine. You’re fine too? The toxin wasn’t too bad then?”

”I was able to move the moment I woke up. Are you sure you’re fine? You were covered in cuts and bruises and surrounded by blood, I thought you were done for!”

The fog from Anna’s mind cleared up a bit more as she remembered the fight.

”Yeah. The blood was probably mostly the other dude’s and not mine. I got him pretty good before I passed out.” Anna looked over at Emily, seeing more tears welling up in her eyes.

”You had to kill a man, again?”

Anna felt her blood run a bit cold at the question. It was the second life she had ever taken. The second life that she cut short while defending Emily, again.

“It’s not your fault Em. If I ran immediately, you wouldn’t have been hit by those arrows.”

“That’s not what my problem is! I owe you my life twice now. One lifetime is already hard enough to repay, and now you’ve gone and doubled it.” Emily took a breath to regain her composure and smiled, taking Anna’s hand in an act of reassurance. “Don’t worry about the killing part. We’re not kids anymore.”

“Anna!”

The pavilion flaps flew open as Marcus entered in a hurry. Anna caught a glimpse of torchlight as the fabric billowed — she must have slept the rest of the day away. He crossed quickly and Anna got another hug.

“I’m sorry you had to deal with that man all alone. I’m glad you’re okay. Our connection with the Pzekian Army paid off, but it took more time than I liked and we lost some people. I’m glad we didn’t lose you.” Her father’s eyed steeled a bit as Victor ducked into the room as well, a smile of relief on his face as he looked up, and Anna knew it was business time. “We couldn’t identify the body. Can you debrief us?”

Anna went through what she could remember, leaving out the gore and her delusions at the end but including the discoveries she made about being Mana Blessed. There were only friends and family in the pavilion, so she felt comfortable sharing everything. Marcus sighed, and Victor patted him on the back.

”What’s up, Pa? Was there a major issue?” Anna peeked at her father. Emily looked over with her, just as confused.

”We’ll need to send you to the City of the Creators as soon as possible. If the Pzekian military finds out you’ve developed this far as a Naturally Blessed, they’re going to forcibly conscript you. I’ve been saving funds for this day for years now, so the money won’t be an issue. But we’ll need to figure out transportation in this apparently active war zone.” Marcus suddenly frowned deeply and cursed. “That bastard commander. He lied to me on purpose to force a scenario like this. There’s no way he wouldn’t have known there were active Dominion patrols roaming this stretch of Disaster Districts. Those damn village gossips must have reached his ears.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Victor chimed in. “Then we must move as soon as possible. If Old Commander Zoltiik still has his proper edge from our active service time, he may have already organized a medical squad to ‘provide aid’ as soon as daybreak in a few hours. We can provide the plausible excuse that we want to send Emily to university ASAP, and we decided that the girls should stay together. I doubt the gossips ever said Anna’s name outright. If she’s long gone from the camp, their only lead could be any proper youth from the village.”

“Hold on. What if I wanted to be conscripted? I can stop more senseless violence if I’m there on the frontline, can’t I?” There were too many plans being laid out without Anna’s input. She could understand the reasons behind them, but the sudden loss of control over her immediate future irked her. “If the fights end more quickly because I’m there, then I should be out there.”

“My dearest daughter, I understand your frustration, but you will only do more good if you can properly and safely develop your abilities. The Mana Blessed are as ancient as time. There are an immeasurable number of methods to deal with unprepared Blessed Ones, as there are trees in this forest. They are not perfect weapons, as you have found out yourself today.” Marcus ruffled around his belt, sifting through the many tiny scrolls of paper within the pockets. “Take this. It’s a note from an old acquaintance of mine in the city that will guarantee you an entrance exam at the most prestigious academy for the Mana Blessed. The academy should be called the Sky and Ocean Academy. My acquaintance will be Captain Crandall — or was it Cardinal Crandall now? I can’t keep up with his titles these days.”

Anna numbly took the scroll, a yellowing item that was sealed with a wax oval. The image imprinted on it was an overlapped star and circle, an insignia that Anna remembered seeing on many letters littering her home.

Her old home now.

”I’ll grab your stuff and resupply your belt with your usual preferences. It looks like the Spirits took everything but the mirror.” Emily stood up, readjusting the blankets on Anna’s bed. “You’ll need all the rest you can get before you carry all of our stuff to the caravans.”

“I’ll prepare some letters to get you proper access to the proper shops in the city. I won’t be able to maintain your dagger for you, but there should be a spry blacksmith who should be better than me by now.” Victor turned to leave as well. “I’ll include the list of shops that should have everything you need to keep proper maintenance as well.”

“Pa. I won’t even be able to give a goodbye to the nice grandmas and grandpas in the village. Me and Em won’t even be able to pay our respects at her Ma and Pa’s graves.”

Her father’s comforting hand ruffled her hair for what could be the last time in a long time. “I’ll make it home and bring enough to cover all three of us.”

Within the hour, all of the belongings she had brought with her were neatly packed in a hefty backpack and loaded into the back of a carriage. A pang of longing hit her, as she thought about the ferret doll that was lying on her bed back at the village.

At least my belt feels appropriately heavy again.

Anna anxiously fidgeted with the sheath that held her dagger as she paced the clearing that the caravans were idling in. Emily was busy haggling with the head merchant to get more comfortable seating. Her father and Victor had been roped into the earliest possible meeting to discuss the status of the rescue operation, so their final goodbyes had been brutally cut short. She barely managed to get one final hug from the both of them before they were forcibly whisked away by the council. They managed to hand her yet another set of papers to review and memorize during the trip.

The merchant caravan was to deliver them to the first merchant town along their trail. From there, the girls would find another caravan to take them south towards the City of the Creators. They would be fine as long as they made it to their destination within two months, but Victor had estimated that they would make it there within the month. The two schools that they were attending would be within the same Education District, but both forced the first year students to live in a dorm with specifically assigned roommates.

“Send letters often. Even if we can’t see each other easily, the Posil Birds can. You’ll do great. Take care of Emily and don’t be afraid to find a new dream.”

The last line of her father’s farewell rang in her ears. Anna had never known a dream where she wouldn’t take her father’s place, leading disaster relief operations and saving lives, just as he had done for her. But her new power opened new opportunities, and she understood that. The strength of the Mana Blessed, much less the Naturally Blessed, became apparent in her last fight. The fact that her father brought up the need for the Unblessed to develop countermeasures to those like her, proved that she could do more.

Anna looked up towards the umbra canvas. The moon was hiding tonight, yet there were no clouds in the sky. The sun had yet to begin its lazy crawl, and the glittering sparkle of the stars danced as their most prominent minutes began to pass. When the first streaks of blue indicated the morning twilight, a new phase of life would be forced upon her and her friend.

“The Creator of the Sky… Our Creator who gave us the gift of dreams, our creator who gave us the gift of thought, please guide us — no, me in my time of unknowing. Please guide me in the path that brings me closer to You. Please give me the strength to become who I need, to achieve my ideals at the end of this journey.”

As the rare prayer escaped her lips, a white streak of light shot through the sky, as if the Sky was acknowledging her. Anna reminded herself that at any given moment, there were dozens, if not hundreds of prayers reaching the ears of the Creators. That didn’t stop the young adult from selfishly hoping that her prayer was the loudest one.