Prologue:

The Kingdom of Aravia has been prospering for six hundred years due to their strong alliance with their neighbor, the Vrasta Empire. Their societies are vastly different, the Kingdom of Aravia is a matriarchal society in which magic power is near synonymous with political power and, though races other than the colubria aren't turned away, they are discriminated against. The Vrasta Empire, however, is ruled through military power and no matter gender or race, all are considered equal. Even with these differences the two countries still have peace and are in an era of discovery...

In the Kingdom of Aravia, the port city of Lienevrion, governed by the Lethera clan, a child is coming into the world...

After a long work day I was called in again. Nathalia, one of our clan's branch members, was finally going to give birth. I was to deliver her daughter and it was supposed to be a true blessing, a powerful child which may even be able to take over the Lethera clan. Though Nathalia was just a branch member, everyone had been trying to make connections with her once the news had spread. This child would cause her political power to grow greatly - the mother of our future matriarch would obviously have a great amount of pull in the clan.

I glance down to the screaming child I'm holding. Even I know that my smile is brittle as I hand the child to Nathalia, "A healthy baby boy".

Surprisingly, Nathalia isn't bothered in the slightest, her smile is perfectly warm and loving when accepting the baby, who begins to calm in the embrace of his mother. Everyone thought it would be a daughter because of the strength of the child's aura. Though there are several males per generation with the potential for magic, none have ever had an aura that would compare to a strong female child - much less at the level expected of a future matriarch.

This is more than just a disappointment, it's practically a disaster. The matriarch had already been sent for, to give the child her blessing and a name, a tradition for those who were candidates to take over the clan. An orderly had been sent to notify her the moment I had arrived so she would likely be here any moment.

Nathalia seemed completely oblivious to the consequences and lay propped up happily cooing to her child. The trademark green hair of the Lethera clan flowed from where it had been pulled behind her ear and hung like a silk curtain backdrop for the scene of her kissing her son's cheek. It was a beautiful image - and an opportunity for me to attempt to leave, maybe I could get away before the matriarch arrived. I didn't want to be around when she discovered the child to be male.

As my luck tends to go, the moment I turned to escape, the door swung open to reveal the noble appearance of our matriarch. A tall beauty, the signs of her age simply added to her noble and refined visage. She wore her bright emerald green hair loose and it flowed like liquid gemstone down to her waist. She was dressed in a white gown and had the appearance of attending a ball rather than being woken in the middle of the night. Her eyes were piercing, a patterned grey with a vertical slit pupil and thin yellow line around it. Due to her age, faint scales could be seen along her cheekbones as a reminder of our serpent heritage.

My brittle smile was on the verge of shattering and I began to sweat as I bowed to the powerful woman. I howled to myself internally, I just want to go home and have my husband spoil me. Today started with Vopheia and her brood injured from an accidentally discharged spell and after spending all day treating their injuries I had just gotten home when I had to return for THIS disaster.

My depression hung over me as the matriarch passed by, her face set into a proper smile for the occasion. That wasn't going to last long. I figure I'm probably going to somehow be blamed for the child deciding he needed to grow the bits proving he was male. At this point it would just be par for the course.

I rise and turn just in time to see Nathalia happily showing off her son to the matriarch. Suddenly the matriarch freezes, I guess she noticed the issue with the child's gender. Nathalia now seems a little hesitant to release her child into the matriarch's waiting arms, but she regains her confidence when the matriarch speaks with a voice like honey.

"Nathalia dear, I promised I would bless your child with a name. I take my promises seriously."

I can practically hear the comforting smile in her words. Maybe things wouldn't be as bad as I thought.

Nathalia grins and the pure love only a mother can display radiates from her as she peers down into her son's calm face. "Of course Matriarch." The exhaustion from childbirth is evident in her voice as she hands him to the matriarch to receive his name.

When the matriarch receives the child, she grips him gently lying in her arms and raises him to her eye level. He's cute in the way only babies can be. I watch from the matriarch's side and feel a slight shudder go down my spine at the icy calculating look in her eyes. She seems to make up her mind after a few moments, and I think I see her left hand twitch... My eyes widen when I see a bit of blood close to where her thumbnail was resting on his chest.

She lowers him and turns to smile softly to Nathalia, "His name will be Sidel, after the fourth queen of Aravia who united us. He has a great future ahead of him and a powerful name to live up to."

I'm hesitating to say anything, I'm not exactly sure what I just saw, perhaps I'm just seeing things. It has been a rather stressful day after all and there is no way the matriarch would harm a newborn.

Suddenly the child begins to wail and Nathalia jerks a little, apparently holding herself back from snatching her son from the matriarch's arms. She always was rather impulsive, I'm actually surprised she managed to restrain herself. Spurred by the screaming child, what I saw before flashes in my mind and a feeling of dread starts to settle. It can't be...

The matriarch looks concerned about Sidel's sudden tantrum and holds him up again for inspection before she frowns... and I notice it now. His skin is turning red in a patch over his chest and flaking. The small puncture from before was gone, but my eyes widened in horror as I realize what our matriarch had done. I shove my reaction down behind a mask, convincing myself I'm overreacting, instead I sift through all my medical knowledge to try to determine any other possibilities.

The matriarch quickly turns and sets the child into my surprised arms, her voice rose, seemingly in fear of losing the child, though her eyes remained hard, even glaring at me now that her back was to Nathalia - daring me to contradict her.

"He must be treated immediately! I don't know how you didn't catch it, but the stress to his body during birth has caused his mana core to fracture. Do everything you can to save this child's life and make up for your incompetence!"

I just stood there in shock. I was right when I saw the symptoms. Mana poisoning. Normally it would only occur in people who underwent healing magic to an excessive degree due to the requirement of infusing large amounts of mana into the body. Too much mana being infused over a long period of time would poison the body. Adults, however, had time to develop a resistance to the effects of mana in the body. Children had no protection at all, which is why magical healing is strictly forbidden until a child reaches two years old - or it is a life threatening emergency.

Nathalia seemed confused, but fearful because of the matriarch's sudden change, though she didn't physically react beyond giving me a questioning glance and tensing. It's understandable. Losing a child in an easy birth is practically unheard of. Nathalia doesn't understand what it means for a child this powerful to have a fractured mana core this young.

The core gathers and safely stores any mana in the body from when it first develops in the womb and continues doing so until the child's body adapts to the energy at around one to two years old. A fracture in the mana core results in all the mana gathered while in the womb leaking out and poisoning the child. Though it's rare for this to happen, normally it's not lethal. The child would just be weak and become easily sick until the core healed or the body adapted.

Sidel, however, is not a normal child. He unconsciously draws in more mana than a normal child. The amount of mana his core has stored has been leaking for under a minute and he's already suffering from symptoms of mana poisoning.

I look down into Sidel's innocent face and for a moment I debate what I can do, but I have no time. I can't accuse the matriarch and I have to do what I can to save the newborn.

My voice is thick and shakes a little as I answer, "Of course Matriarch. I will do all in my power to redeem myself."

I turn and dash out the door with the wailing bundle in my arms. Tears had begun to gather in my own eyes. I'll never be able to look Nathalia in the face again. Shame fills me as I run down the stone hallway, past a couple of surprised nurses who I order to follow me, then to the room prepared for emergency surgeries. The poor child's core would have to be removed before too much mana infused his body.

I cringe inwardly as I realize there's no time for any preparations I would normally set up for a surgery, such as anesthesia. I wouldn't even be able to use magic for this for fear of making the poisoning worse!

I lay the child down and have the nurses hold him down to keep him from moving too much. The nurses are confused and worried, but they're well trained and do as they're told. When I grab my tools and prepare to start I see the rash has already spread outward and covered most of his chest and his right shoulder. His veins in the affected area stood up from the skin and looked like black roots digging through his body. I didn't dare speak out loud or I would curse the evil woman who did this to him.

The surgery was simple in theory, but needed to be performed as fast as possible before the poison spread to his heart. At my first incision the nurse to my left gasps as the child screams and I can hardly blame her. Black blood began to flow from the infected area as I open the skin on his chest to reveal a shock of white ribs among the black veins, and pink tissues. I set my rib spreaders in place and apply the necessary pressure by hand, opening just enough space between his ribs to work. Luckily the bones are flexible due to his age and heritage or I'd have to cut one out just to be able to reach his mana core.

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I manage to tune out the constant screaming of the newborn as I start digging into the tissue and do my best to avoid damaging any important organs. It doesn't take long to find the bright blue glowing crystalline structure that is gradually dimming. A slight crack is in the left side... coming from a tiny, near invisible, circular puncture. I shove down my disgust and rage at the matriarch and focus on my work. A set of tongs and a scalpel let me start to cut away the muscle holding the gem. As I'm working I hear the more squeamish nurse give a soft cry, and that's when I realize the child has stopped screaming. A quick look and I realize he's not breathing, but he's not lost yet. His heart is still beating.

I yell to the nurses without stopping or looking up. I don't care which one follows the order, "Assist his breathing!"

I have to get him closed up or he may not be able to breathe on his own. Hopefully the residual mana in his system will help his body heal quickly or he would likely die even if the surgery was successful. I'm worried I punctured something, but if the damage is small enough then he may still live.

I slip the mana core out of his chest and unceremoniously drop it on the table so I can immediately start loosening the rib spreaders. Once they're removed I immediately move the tissue of his chest into place and use an alchemic concoction to seal the wound. It acts like false skin and although it's infused with mana it doesn't push any into the body like a healing spell would.

I step back as the nurse on the right was still assisting the child with breathing, but he had started to make noise again. It's a good sign. The left-hand nurse is moving her gaze between the child, me and the removed mana core. I wipe the unnatural black blood from the mana core and raise it up to show her. The small fracture is glowing bright blue and a slight glowing mist is rising from it, a phenomenon that happens with intense concentrations of mana.

When she sees the core and begins to understand, she turns her attention back to Sidel.

"Thank you. The two of you helped save this child's life. Just another few minutes and the concentration of mana in his body would have been lethal."

By now Sidel has started to breathe on his own and the nurse that was breathing for him begins to wipe the blood from him. The other one is still looking a little green. I don't blame her. If I let myself think about what we just did and why, it makes me sick.

Once the child is cleaned up I wrap him in a clean blanket.

"Good job, both of you. I'm going to deliver him to his mother. I'm sure she's worried."

Both nurses agree and start cleaning up the surgery room. It needs to be prepared in case another emergency occurs.

Sidel's immediate life threatening problem having been taken care of gives me time to think. This is the first time anyone has had to deal with this situation. Children as powerful as Sidel are rare, as are mana cores being fractured during birth. It simply hasn't naturally happened before. Now that the stress has lessened I realize the removal of the core alone isn't going to be enough. He unconsciously draws in too much mana and without a mana core all of that will simply settle in his body, further poisoning him, though at a slower rate, but still too fast for his body to handle it for now. It would likely be enough to be lethal in a few days... maybe less.

I hold up the small mana core and glare at the small puncture mark. If I hadn't known to look for it I'd have likely missed it entirely. The leaking mana is harmless since it's not inside Sidels body, so I slip the little gem into the blanket, Nathalia will find it later, I just hope the matriarch doesn't bother asking about it. Next I try to calm the child's screaming, I hold him gently and rock him while cooing softly, mimicking his mother from earlier. It doesn't work, but I didn't honestly expect it to, he's probably still in severe pain. I hope the mana keeps him from scarring, he doesn't deserve any sort of reminder about this. Gods, he doesn't deserve any of this.

I tense my jaw and prepare myself to face the righteous fury of Sidel's mother before turning to the door. As I leave the surgery room, I find the matriarch with an almost angry expression and a few rapidly healing bruises on her face, holding a binding spell on a frantic Nathalia, keeping her from rushing into the emergency surgery room. The doctor in me notes she really shouldn't be out of her bed and exerting herself, but, though I have no children of my own yet, I understand. I hand the upset woman her child just as the binding spell dissipates, and she grips him as if he may turn to smoke and float away any moment. Sidel was still screaming but he slowly starts to calm now that he's with his mother.

I turn to the matriarch to explain the situation, "I'm not sure what I can do to keep Sidel alive for more than a few more days. He's fine for the moment, but he has severe mana poisoning and it's only going to get worse. He unconsciously draws too much mana." I throw my hands up in frustration, "He needs an area free of any mana for a year minimum just to stay alive!" At the end I realize my voice has changed from professional doctor with a diagnosis, to a woman frustrated at the cruelty of the world and practically begging the matriarch for an answer. She wanted me to save the child's life, even if the situation was her fault... maybe she'll be willing to find a solution to keep him alive.

I see a slight glint in her eyes. I just hope it means there is something she can do. Before she can say anything, Nathalia's angry glare is all I can see. She had instantly gotten in my face, her pupils have narrowed and she almost looks ready to murder me where I stand.

She yells, "He will live! I'm not going to let him die!"

I have to step back under the pressure of righteous fire in her gaze, She obviously blames me for the 'mistake'... I wonder what the matriarch told her? I guess it doesn't really matter. Even if I tried to exonerate myself, it would just be my word against the matriarch's.

I see a small smile on the matriarch's face before her honeyed voice states, "Hm... It will take a great amount of resources but there is a room where we can create a mana void..."

She trails off almost as if debating if the child would be worth the trouble. I barely manage to keep myself from gaping at the audacity of the evil woman using the situation she caused for blackmail and political maneuvering!

Nathalia's eyes flash with hope as she turns immediately to the matriarch, "Anything! I'll pay for whatever resources it takes!"

The bundle in her arms has finally gone silent, but her outburst makes him move, though it seems the stress and exhaustion of the day has caught up with Sidel and he remains sleeping. I comfort myself with the knowledge that I'll be able to do the same thing soon.

The matriarch nods, "There is a mana-void array built into a prison cell within my second daughter's villa. It was constructed over eight hundred years ago, commissioned by the matriarch at the time. The runic array has to be charged regularly and likely requires maintenance, but it keeps any mana from entering the array."

Nathalia drops to her knees and bows low, sobbing from the intense fluctuations of emotion and still holding her son tightly to her, "Thank you Matriarch! I'll never forget this!"

I glance at the matriarch, catching a satisfied expression. Not happy, just satisfied with the outcome. I still don't fully understand why she did this. Did she think Sidel would try to take over the clan if he got her blessing? No clan has ever had a patriarch, the clan wouldn't stand for it! Maybe she was worried the men would rally behind him? Then she just had to swallow her words and not give him her blessing! Without her blessing a little political maneuvering would have eliminated that possibility, instead she chose to cripple a child in a way that he may STILL die even after all I've done. And she even set the blame on me for it!

I sigh and wave to grab the attention of a passing orderly. I explain the basic situation to him, Nathalia isn't going to let go of her son, so the orderly needs to help her gather everything necessary from her room. Her family will have to help her move to the villa.

I want to wash my hands of this whole situation. Maybe I can be transferred as a doctor for one of the other clans. I'm pretty sure the Eara clan is lacking in medical personnel. Maybe I'll be able to forget this ever happened.

When Nathalia finally stands up she still looks incredibly angry with me but it's being tempered by Sidel. She eventually decides attempting to kill me with her eyes isn't as important as getting her son to the mana-void prison.

When Nathalia leaves, my attention is grabbed by the matriarch clearing her throat. I bow and keep myself from exploding at the evil woman.

Her voice has a touch of amusement, as if she is pleasantly surprised that I managed to save the baby she tried to kill, "You did well Sinnera. Such skill and devotion to your trade and clan even after such a mistake should be rewarded."

My shoulders slump in defeat. "Thank you Matriarch. All to strengthen the clan." My rage at the horror she performed slipped away leaving only sadness and pity for Sidel, which I promptly shove out of my mind. Better to forget him, and with him my shame. I just want to go home, go to sleep and forget today even happened.

The matriarch continues, "Perhaps a promotion is in order. We will speak later. For now you are dismissed."

She turns and walks down the hallway, likely returning to her mansion in the center of the city. Once she's out of sight I go change into my normal clothes and put up my tools.

"I need to pick up some alcohol on the way home."