“There. Now move your shoulder around.” Maisie moved her shoulder, sighing in relief when not a hint of pain coursed through it.
“Thank you….?"
“Doctor Jadie.” The pale old lady replied. She was a stubby woman who reached the elf’s hip. Her grey hair was pulled into a bun, and she wore a white lab coat over a black dress. Maisie thanked the woman and stood up.
“Don’t go straining yourself now, young lady.” The doctor warned.
“I won’t.” The white-haired elf replied before walking out of the infirmary and into the hallway. Scarlet stood there, leaning against the wall as she puffed on a cigarette. Her purple eyes then looked up from the floor and landed on Maisie.
“Are you ready for your next lesson?” The elf nodded, and the two walked into the bar and out of the tavern. Maisie had no idea where she was being taken next. All Scarlet had told her was that they wouldn’t be going back to the field. The two women walked side by side down the empty street. It was around midnight, and most of the town’s daily bustling activities had died down, with the exception of a few bars being open. However, the silence was short-lived.
“Weee!” A drunken Kalthona bursts through the opposite bar’s doors and lands face-first on the stoned ground. Scarlet and Maisie looked at themselves, then at the girl. They then rushed towards her, worried for her face.
“Are you okay?” Maisie spoke up, poking the young girl’s cheek. Kalthona groaned from the pain coursing through her face, then sat up. The axe-wielder then crossed her leg and began sulking. After a while, tears began streaming down her face. The girl then started to complain incoherently, and all Maisie could do was sit there in panic, wondering what she could do to help Kalthona.
“I wanna go home!” The girl cried even more, and Scarlet had had enough. She lifted the tanned girl and sped towards the tavern. She opened the guild’s doors and threw Kalthona to the ground. Her eyes then zoomed over the group settled in the corner booth, playing cards.
“Jose, Mike, Leah, and Corey!” They turned their attention towards the blonde woman, then to Kalthona.
“Got it!” They exclaimed simultaneously. Satisfied, Scarlet sped off back to Maisie, who was awkwardly standing there, swinging back and forth on her feet.
“Sorry about that. She’s usually much better at handling her liquor.” The woman explained.
“It was a terrifying sight to behold.” Maisie remarked. “I’m just glad she’s safe now.” The elf added. Scarlet looked at the elf with soft eyes.
"Well, then, shall we go?” Maisie nodded.
******
Maisie’s eyes widened when they stopped in front of a beautiful, gothic cathedral. A massive marble statue of the veiled woman that was engraved in Lloyd’s necklace stood tall before them. The cathedral was situated in the north of the kingdom and was surrounded by small cottage homes and market stands. Scarlet pointed at the building with her arms as a large grin sprawled across her face.
“I present St. Maribel Cathedral. Also known as the Mana Spring Cathedral." Maisie looked over at Scarlet, confused.
“Mana spring?” Scarlet nodded before leading the young girl towards the cathedral doors. The blonde woman then pushed the door open. Maisie covered her face as a gust of steam hit her. The elf then slowly removed her hands from her face, and she stood there in shock. This was peculiar. The cathedral was a massive, overly decorated bath house.
“What the fuck?” Scarlet was taken aback by Maisie’s reaction.
"I didn't think you were vulgar.” The woman jokes, patting Maisie on the back. “But your confusion is warranted. This was all the king’s idea.” She explained. Maisie began walking forward, examining the large hall filled with miniature hot springs.
Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!
“Does this help with mana restoration?” The elf asked.
“Bingo. Once all the religious folks moved out of the kingdom to the Holy Capital, the king seized the cathedral and turned it into this.” Maisie didn’t focus on the last part of the explanation but rather on the first part.
“Moved out or expelled?” The aura around Maisie changed, and tensions arose.
“Huh?” Scarlet replied, confused.
“Were the religious folks expelled or did they move out?” The elf pushed. Scarlet didn’t know where this sort of probing was coming from. With furrowed eyebrows and an annoyed expression, Scarlet answered.
“They moved out.”. Maisie decided to drop the topic, sensing Scarlet wasn’t liking her tone.
“I’m sorry. I started to think another group of people were being subjugated to unfair treatment. The blonde woman’s eyes widened in realisation.
‘Forgot she was a Fairwood elf.’ She thought. The two decided to leave the conversation behind them and continued walking down the hall. They turned right and into a dark hallway, then stopped in front of a black door. Scarlet opened the door, which then led to a spiral stairwell. The dark-skinned woman created a torch and led them down the dark stairwell, as she looked back once in a while to make sure Maisie didn’t fall down.
“Where are we going?” The elf asked softly. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep herself warm.
“You’ll see.” Scarlet replied, offering the girl a soft smile. The duo finally arrived at their destination.
“Woah!” Maisie exclaimed with wide eyes and her mouth agape. They had arrived in a massive dark atrium with large black pillars and gold dragon insignia painted on the black ground. She could feel the mana in the air. She ran up and down, laughter escaping her mouth. Scarlet stood there and watched with a grin. She created a bottle of liquor and began downing the drink.
“Alright, alright, we need to begin your mana control lessons!” Scarlet yelled, swinging back more of the liquor. Maisie ran back to her and pumped her fists up, determination running through her veins.
“I’m ready."
“Okay, go step on one of the insignias.” Maisie nodded and walked over to Insignia. The mana around her began to shift. “Now begin casting your spells without using too much mana.” Maisie followed the instructions given to her. In Zaegon, mana wasn't something she needed to control. Magic has always come in the form of tools. The better you were at handling those tools, the better mage you were, thus becoming the perfect candidate for war. Even if you did not want to become a soldier, The elf snapped out of her thoughts, focusing on the task at hand. Zaegon was in the past, whether she liked it or not. Eldoria was her home, and she needed to get to know it. For her own sake.
She created a water wall; however, her mana was out of control. As expected. Scarlet watched on with a critical eye, her pupils following Maisie's every move. The spell became unstable and eventually fell apart. Maisie cast the spell again; however, the results were the same. This went on for about six hours before Maisie was done. Mastering mana should not have been this difficult, but here she was.
“Ahhh!” She screamed in frustration. “Why can’t I do this?!” The elf kicked the pebble in front of her. Scarlet, watching this tantrum, hummed to herself as she thought of what to do.
“How about you try and block anything that might be a distraction?" Maisie stopped fussing around and took the woman’s advice. She closed her eyes, and the horrible memories of war began flooding her mind. The death and destruction of it all were still so fresh and present that Maisie felt like she was there again. She was on the field, aimlessly shooting and destroying the enemy convoy. Scarlet noticed the elf’s mana becoming erratic as it clashed with the harmonic mana that filled the air.
“Focus Maisie! Focus!” The blonde woman exclaimed. Maisie hunted for any peaceful memory, and she found one. It was a memory of her mother and father dancing in the vast meadows, filled with lavender, as she and her little sister watched on with grins. She remembered the laughter that carried on all the way into the night, where the four of them stargazed. Maisie’s mana began calming down, swirling around her like ribbons. The elf opened her ocean blue eyes and placed both her hands out. A large, glowing ring encircled around her, and a light blue cyclone appeared. Maisie morphed the shape of the cyclone into a wall, then turned it into ice. She then turned it back to water and began moving the water around like ribbons. Scarlet watched on with awe, clapping here and there. Maise then created a whirlpool over her head, frozen it, and snapped her finger, watching as it shattered and shards of ice fell down on her like gems.
‘Isaiah wasn’t wrong. She is a fast learner,’ Scarlet thought to herself.
“Well done. You’ve officially passed your mana control lesson.” Scarlet said. “You’re officially a fully fledged B-class mage."
A grin broke out on the white-haired girl’s face.
Maybe this life wasn’t too bad after all.