There is a huge responsibility for a crown prince. They have huge shoes to fill. Especially in a country like Trinis. Unlike other countries, usage of mana was restricted here. Only royals and nobles were taught how to use it. Trinis sold their subject's mana to other countries.

Thayne was a prince. His father had two children, he was the oldest and he would inherit the throne. Lilia, his younger sister was very good at using mana.

And then there was his cousin Noa, Thayne sighed as he rode back to the city. Noa was . . . well . . . Noa. Smart, hardworking and perfect in almost every way. Either way, Thayne, the first child was not talented. Well, his family believed he was talented but lacked discipline. The entire country however considered him almost worthless for the crown. His family had done everything in their power to put him on the right track but he, even at the age of seventeen, lacked in mana skills. As a result, they gave up. That was a good thing, as he could run away from his studies.

Tevaris was the capital city of Trinis. It was a big metropolis. He hated the way it was, even with the big buildings, exotic places and everything, the city was devoid of mana users. Cities of Haka, Xukes, or even in Timenna used mana in everything. Society functioned with mana in those places. That’s something I would like to see, he thought, looking at the tired construction workers who could have used mana to levitate materials.

He continued towards his palace. It was odd for him to use a horse as all his siblings could fly. He was useless. To someone, that word might have been offensive. But he didn’t care. He hates the palace, he had peace when he was outside. He smiled, walking into the city proper. He drew the inevitable stares.

Guards let him through the gate to the royal section of the city. When he reached the palace he went to the kitchen as he wanted to eat something. Lor, the kitchen mistress stopped singing as the door opened and then eyed him. “Your father is looking for you, child” Lor said as she sliced potatoes.

“I was expecting that” he took some snacks and went to report to his father. He reached his father’s room. “You can’t meet the King. He is in conference with General Deden”. The door opened and his uncle, Noa's father Roan came out. “Went out didn’t you? Skipped your tutorial class, I bet” he said Thayne smiled.

“Honestly, you should be beyond these things at your age. Your father will have words with you about avoiding your responsibilities.”

“Honestly, I don’t know what’s the point. No one except royals uses mana… so what’s the point of learning it”.

“We are different from ordinary people. And what kind of cheap question is this? Do you consider yourself as a peasant, boy?”

“I’m not a peasant, I just don’t see any point in all this”

“You want to give power to everyone? Might as well give up our power. And then let any common man rule like that Timennans.”

“Atleast they don’t have any rebellion there.”

He smiled, “ Are you afraid of that?”

“Well, rebels in other countries were successful, so why not?” Thayne said

“You don’t have to be afraid, we have our army” he said, “and they can use mana.”

“We can’t expect them to kill our own people. What if they start to take rebel side.”

“They won’t switch sides. Families of our troops live in the capital. They don’t want to let the rebels destroy the country and lose their special privileges.” He said “ You don’t have to worry”

"How does their family living in the family and other special privileges prevent them from switching to rebel side?" Thayne asked

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Iam tired of being in a conference for hours. I will explain this sometimes later"

Father’s conferences with Deden usually last hours, he thought. Not much point in waiting for him to get done. . . . When Roan left the hallways, Thayne bolted out the door on his way toward the royal stables. Minutes later, he galloped away from the palace, feeling an exhilarated thrill. A nice quick ride would be a good way to round out the day.

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Liden, king of Trinis, set the report down. It was about a recent rebellion. It was about how his army dealt with a rebel faction. There were few rebel groups who wanted to remove the restriction on manallurgy. They were more violent this year. He tried and failed to keep people from learning about the outside world. Now the rebel faction was small and concentrated on few areas but within few years, they could gain followers to destroy his kingdom. His army dealt with them and managed to get more people angered on his reign. Instead of looking at the incident as an example, they were using it as the reason for protesting against him. He had restricted travel and kept these people from infecting the mind of people on his capital.

He suspected that their neighbouring country Timenna influenced this. They have been secretly aiding rebel factions. They wouldn’t let Trinis have peace. Not when Trinis held one of the biggest ports in on the continent. And current Timenna politicians has claimed to sympathize with Trinis people.

It didn’t help that his eldest son had a serious lack of talent. He would never be able to command respect among troops. He would never want Thayne to inherit the throne. His daughter Lilia, would have been more suited for the role. In his mind’s eye he saw the queen she could become, stronger even than he. Someone who could guide them through the dark days ahead.

That was foolishness, the rest of the royals would never support that. Even if something were to happen to Thayne they would be more inclined for Noa for the throne. He looked at general Deden. The huge man stood waiting, hands clasped at his back. His brother Roan wasn’t fond of the general. Roan believed that Deden was too soft with his troops and wanted more harsh man to lead the army.

“Well old friend?” Liden asked “Do you think my son is giving a bad image to us?”

The general sighed. “Well kind of. But it’s not the biggest issue right now,Your majesty, the rebellion is.”

“I know. But people won’t leave our side if we have good image.”

“ We can keep the rebels in check. Our troops are stronger and they will stop. It will take time.”

“And it will be easier to keep them in peace if we have a queen like Lilia” Liden said

“Huh?”

“Do you think people would go against us if we are represented by her. We need to suppress the rebel forces but we also need to have the best image. People wouldn’t want to rebel if they love their rulers.”

“I think you have a point” Deden said, there was no point in arguing about this. He thought it didn’t matter who ruled. People were fed up with the rule. They were slowly realising how other countries worked and wanted to bring change.

“But Roan is the problem. If I pass the throne to her, he would manage to claim it for his son”

“Your majesty, even if Thayne inherited the throne, it would be a matter of time before he will lose it. It has happened in the past. Kings with lower power always had to give up their crown to the one with better talent.”

Deden hated how the king always made the meeting about his children. He couldn’t blame him. He wanted this problem to be solved so that the king can focus on greater issues.

He could see the window out of the corner of his eye. Just outside, people scattered in the courtyard as a figure galloped through the gates. Deden felt his rage and frustration growing. Only Thayne could make him lose control. Not only he was irresponsible but his behaviour was distracting the king. If there was a way….

“Your majesty, I have an idea for you to make Lilia the heir”

Liden looked up at him.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Forgive me if this sounds offensive, but I think this is the only way” Deden said.

Liden nodded.

“Prince Thayne has failed in learning the mana. He can do basics but he is unable to master more advanced forms. I think part of the problem is our environment. He couldn’t keep up learning with his peers. They are way ahead of him. So he is stuck learning with fifteen year olds now. I think this is depressing him and he has lost interest.”

“What are you suggesting,Deden?” Liden asked

“Send him to an academy in Timenna” he said

“What? Have you lost your mind?” Liden was shocked. How dare he suggest this to him.

“Consider this, my majesty, Timenna has large academies that can take care of droppers. They have more leniant teachers. It’s hard to change our teachers and we can’t bring one from Timenna.”

“Even if I allow it what will I say to others? The royalty will never accept this.”

“The rebels are inspired by Timenna ideology. If Thayne learns their ways, he could approach this problem in a new angle. We can tell the royals that. And till then, Lilia can be made the heir. And by the time he returns, we will solidify her position. So even if he don’t improve his skills or if he finds no good method to deal with the rebels, it wouldn’t matter. You will have your daughter inherit the throne”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Liden said. He had decided to send his son to the very country he hate.