Olive’s Perspective

Olive never once considered she would get used to being punched in the face.

She heard her mother's voice in her head, 'Some moons are just full of surprises.'

Thinking back on all of the 'surprises,' she finally understood the old curse about living in interesting times.

She had just wanted to sneak out of the palace to play with her cousin Cameron. It had been easy to convince her safety double to take her place for the day. That is why her parents paid the girl's family after all.

Ducking out in servant's garb had been simple. Now that they were both Tier two, picking up the huge delivery crates was easy. The large boxes rose above their heads, forming a perfect disguise. Then all they needed to do was walk across the servant's bridge and they were finally free.

Dommell had run into them after that, pushing himself into the fun, as usual. Olive didn't mind. He was always nice to her even if he could be a bore when anyone else tried to talk to her.

They had decided to visit the old mausoleum. The ancient statues above the grave sites were so fascinating. Giant stone warriors and beautiful depictions of goddesses. The pristine marble that never decayed even after thousands of years.

Olive could have happily spent her whole day lost in daydreams of their adventures.

Her fantasies were cut short by the sounds of yelling and stomping feet. At first, she had thought it was just the royal guards coming to collect her, until she saw Michael being stabbed over and over, surrounded by several men in clothes so dark they looked like shadows come to life.

Her father's most trusted guard and her lifelong friend, dead, just like that. She stared in shock, unable to move as tears flowed down her cheeks, until Cameron grabbed her and tossed her over his shoulder.

She barely remembered what followed. She knew Cameron had used his talisman to teleport them away. The shadows still found them. Cameron used her talisman after that, teleporting them once more.

Instead of waiting to be found again, they had chopped off all of her beautiful hair, then bruised her face and covered her with dirt, hoping the attackers wouldn't realize who she was.

A distant hope, but years of training and drills from their protectors had taught them what to do. Cameron had truly done his family proud. As her sworn guard since birth, neither of them truly understood what that meant before that day.

Cameron had taken charge, holding her hand and pulling her through the woods. The three of them madly dashed toward the Sintith River in hopes of losing their pursuers in the raging waters.

They didn't get close enough to hear the sound of the water. The shadows found them and darkness became her world.

She woke up in this awful cage completely devoid of Density. Only when the Densoon waves overcame the cage's sealing wards could she gather even a scrap of mana. At first the life-giving energy was instantly used by her body to heal. Once the worst injuries had recovered, the cage's nefarious capabilities were revealed.

They had been stuck in a constant cycle of despair. Watching in horror as the cage ripped mana right out of their bodies as soon as it was converted.

Olive had never spent a minute of her life drained of mana. Now after half a moon of the feeling, she was beginning to lose hope. Why hadn't they found her? If Michael had been secretly following, why hadn't he stopped her? Then he could still be alive. They could all be safely at home with their families.

Their captors never questioned them and never touched them. At least they were fed, just one small bowl of nasty gruel each day. They had all grown weak, tired, and afraid.

Then that boy arrived, and her entire world was flipped upside down once more.

He reminded her of Michael with his straight backed posture, just like the old soldiers who always surrounded her father. His eyes glowed green like the clouds when only Second Father and First Mother danced in the sky.

After being tossed into their cage like a sack of garbage, he never truly lost his balance, flowing like a dancer with the force of the push.

Olive could see his mana, or what remained of it.

Two seasons ago she had unlocked the Tier seven skill, Mana Sight. Praise had been heaped upon her constantly for the achievement. A once-in-a-generation talent, they called her.

The false hope that praise had given her was now just another brick on her shoulders, pressing her pride into the mud.

What good was unlocking Mana Sight five tiers early if it didn't help her escape this thrice-cursed cage?

Olive's jaw had nearly fallen into that mud when she saw what the boy did next.

As he sat ramrod straight in the corner, his skin came alive like a writhing beast. Every centimeter was covered in mana. It Undulated and fluctuated in different directions all at once.

Like a feeding frenzy of sharks, his mana gobbled up chaotic Density from the air. Not a single one of her tutors could match this boy's control, and he was doing it while inside a cage that should have been absorbing his mana. The sight was Impossible, absurd, and happening right in front of her.

Before she realized what she was doing, her face was inches from his writhing skin. She watched intently as his mana reached out and dined on the chaotic energies of the Densoon. Never in any book or story had she heard of something so magical.

"How are you doing that?" The words escaped her mouth in a whisper.

As if she had screamed in his face, the boy's eyes opened wide. Green lanterns shone brilliantly for an instant before stars exploded in her vision.

Dommell ran at the boy before she could tell him to stop. He was screaming and punching like a starving sthork.

Olive couldn't believe how fast the boy moved in response. His visage flickered, she would have missed it if she blinked, then suddenly she was struggling to breathe as Cameron and Dommell flailed about on top of her.

One of them had hit her hard in the chest, knocking the wind from her lungs. She wanted to yell at the two goons but she couldn't even breathe.

She heard laughter and yelling but Olive couldn't understand what was happening. When she finally got herself under control, Cameron was stepping forward with a strange look on his face.

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Knowing she was the cause of this entire scene, Olive used the calming voice her mother had taught her.

"I'm sorry for interrupting you, I was just curious. I didn't mean to startle you."

But the boy didn't even look at her. He stared at Cameron with an emotionless face. Then called him pretty. Her mind blanked for several seconds, unable to comprehend what was happening. The pride her family constantly hammered into her began to crack.

Am I being ignored?

He finally spoke again, breaking the spell of shock that had stuffed her brain full of wool.

"You three haven't even introduced yourselves. If you haven't the decency to start a conversation off right, then please leave me be."

How had she screwed this up so completely? Her mother would be furious with her. Agony rose from her belly and tightly gripped her chest. Threads of fire sprouted through her neck to blossom on her cheeks.

Could she live ten lives and ever feel so embarrassed again?

Unlikely.

Then Dommell opened his big mouth and made everything worse.

Who knew being embarrassed had so many layers? How useless was a noble’s pride if losing it caused her tongue to freeze. Or worse yet, lash out foolishly as Dommell was.

Olive was frazzled, she had no idea what to do. Her head was so hot with shame that her thoughts slogged along at a snail's pace. The three boys said a few more words that she didn't catch before Jiran sat down again.

His name, at least she learned his name.

That thought brought her out of the clouds. Just in time to catch Dommell as he threatened the boy's life.

Olive was horrified, how dare he threaten to snuff out this remarkable boy.

Her emotions exploded from her as the memory of Michael being stabbed to death flashed through her mind.

Olive shivered.

She would never let that happen in front of her again.

Swept away on an emotional wave, she still had the presence of mind to remember one of her mother's favorite sayings. 'Before negotiations fail, curtail with a hail.'

With a silent prayer of thanks for her mother's wisdom, Olive created the hail. "Dommell you will do no such thing. If you even think about it, I'll never speak to you again!"

Then the curtail, "I'm terribly sorry about all this, we shan't bother you any longer."

The look of shock on Dommell's face was surprisingly enjoyable, but not nearly enough to ease the deep pit of shame in her stomach.

Retreating quickly to their corner, Olive was about to sit when she noticed Dommell standing over Jiran with a look of intense rage on his features.

Her fury bubbled up and in a most unladylike manner, she stormed over, grabbed Dommell's ear and yanked him back to their corner. Doing her best to emulate her mother, she glared at Dommell and pointed to a spot on the ground.

Several emotions played across his face until they finally settled on a pout. He sat down heavily, for once not saying anything.

Olive pondered how she could possibly rectify her blunders. She did her best not to watch Jiran, but whenever the Densoon waves came, her eyes would invariably be drawn to him.

The sight of mana dancing across his skin was mesmerizing.

Not long after she had come up with a plan for how to talk to him again, he did the next impossible thing.

He actually formed a complete shaping inside the mana cage. Not only did the cage drain mana passively, but any sort of shaping should be instantly destabilized.

Yet there he was, drinking water he created from shapings again and again with a satisfied look on his face.

Olive shared a look of bafflement with Cameron.

She paid closer attention to his mana after that. New emotions roiled inside her at what she saw.

His mana wasn't being drained at all. It was instead growing with each Densoon wave. Between waves, he would move his mana around in the most complex patterns she had ever seen.

Using only basic Tier one moldings, he formed patterns far beyond her understanding.

Just who had taught this boy mana control?

His tutors must be leagues above her own. Yet she was taught by the empire's finest.

When the meals came, she had to reprimand Dommell again. She would be having a pointed conversation with him if they ever made it out of this mess.

Jiran finally spoke. She knew this was her chance to begin mending the sour first impression between them. Using her most calming and soothing voice, she answered his question.

Only for him to scowl at her like she had kicked his favorite pet. Jiran looked like he had swallowed something disgusting as he asked a follow-up question. Olive was stunned by his reaction to her.

What had she done?

She couldn't understand why he was so angry with her. Had she not apologized and given him space?

Thankfully Cameron spoke up before Dommell could speak.

All three of them watched as Jiran walked over to the injured bandits. Dommell snickered and made some comment about Jiran thinking he could do anything for them. Olive ignored him, far more interested in what the strange boy had in mind.

She watched as he sent mana into the felled man who'd protected them the day before. Surprisingly Jiran’s mana dissipated exactly as it was supposed to while inside the cage.

Olive was surprised when Jiran tried again instead of giving up. He adjusted his mana instantly, something even her tutors struggled with, and sent it back inside the man.

She could see Jiran’s mana flow through the man, healing his injuries. Somehow his healing shapings were not being absorbed by the cage. Olive desperately wanted to ask him how he did such a thing.

After Jiran was done with the adults and was sitting back in his corner, Olive was beset by complex emotions as she thought about the last several minutes.

An unknown emotion welled up inside Olive as she recalled the way he had smiled at Cameron. She was frustrated that her plan failed. Embarrassed that she had felt so clever thinking she could make Jiran a friend with only a few nice words.

Olive sat in silence pondering what to do as Cameron and Dommell argued silently beside her.

Suddenly a new smile blossomed on Jiran’s face. This time she was infinitely glad it was not directed at her. Shivers ran down her spine looking at the boy who must be contemplating something truly evil. Olive sighed in relief when his face returned to normal.

She sent a prayer to First Mother, begging that terrible smile was never directed at her.

She tried to watch the strange boy as he practiced. However, it wasn't long before exhaustion, born from slow starvation, overwhelmed her and she fell into an uneasy slumber.

A strange feeling woke Olive from her sleep. Something had changed in the air around her. Being highly sensitive to mana, there was no way she could have slept through what was happening.

Through her mana sight, she was blinded by the brilliant light that surrounded Jiran in a serene bubble.

He unlocked his Mana Body early!?

The light given off by Jiran was much brighter and more viscous than the normal mana body’s glow.

Everyone knew unlocking a skill early always gave one a more powerful version. Which was exactly why every noble pushed their children with the most extreme training in an attempt to do so.

Even still, unlocking a higher-tier skill early was nearly impossible. Only a few in each generation, in the entire empire, managed to do so.

He had even done it while locked in a mana depleting cage.

She had been guided for as long as she could remember, lesson after lesson crammed into her head. Then, only with the help of multiple higher-tier tutors and priceless talismans had she succeeded.

The difference between them was so vast, Olive felt ashamed of ever being proud of her achievement.

Jiran must have sat silently day in and day out, practicing, pushing, and developing his techniques. While she took every opportunity to run and play.

She continued to compare herself to the boy in front of her, as he brought his new mana body under control.

By the time Jiran opened his eyes, Olive had formed her resolve. She would never again take her lessons for granted or ignore the words of her tutors. She would emulate this prodigy. She would catch up to him, surpass him, then force him to become her friend.

She swore it upon her name. Oliviala Le'cruex Dominus, first daughter of Emperor Dominus the Devourer.