II
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Arc II Chapter 11
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13th Anima Lunar VIII AAC 753
The girl's emotional state troubled Iris. Cute children were her weakness. Insidious fluffy creatures who stabbed her with their cuteness.
With her bad conscience forcing her hand, Iris resorted to a lie to comfort a little, sad girl. Bending the truth a little bit wouldn't hurt anyone. It was for a good purpose. “Don't be sad, nothing is lost yet, little one.”
“What do you mean by that?” Aurora recovered from her depression. Once again, her purple eyes sparkled full of hope.
Iris poked the girl's nose. Her ploy had succeeded. “Listen, it might be possible that you are in possession of hidden magic potential. Only the gods truly know. The powers of magic might very well slumber deep inside you, hidden and without your knowledge.”
Aurora tilted her head in confusion. She didn't understand. “I can't follow ...”
Iris poked her nose once again, her cute little nose.“With a bit of luck, you might become a little mage. We are living in a world full of aether. Aether surrounds us. Aether is a force always present. You might not sense its presence, but the land, the water, the air, are breathing aether day and night. As such, traces of aether, traces of magic, reside in all of us, in all living creatures. What makes us mages special is our gift. Unlike the vast majority, our powers allow us to wield the elements. Our souls are capable of harnessing the power of aether, of turning aether to mana, and mana to magic. So don't give up yet.
Magic is an elusive power. Aside from nobility and the strongest practitioners, magic manifests rather late among commoners, usually during early or late puberty. You are as much of a mage as was I when I was younger. I only discovered my talents after turning fourteen. The church recognised my latent potential and recruited me into their ranks. Without their assistance, a simple village girl like me wouldn't stand before you today.”
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“...” Aurora and her doll were listening carefully. Aether ... Nature ... Mana ... Magic ... Nobility ... Puberty ... Church ... Much crucial information to process ... “So you are saying I might be capable of using magic?”
Iris nodded. “It's not impossible ...” Just extremely unlikely. “Tell me, did you ever undergo an examination? Or did you perchance ever receive a blessing?”
“Examination? A blessing?” Aurora tilted her head in childish ignorance, not having the faintest idea. She and her doll shook their heads in unison. “I don't think so~.”
“Thought so.” Iris ruffled the girl's fluffy hair. Her black hair was very much as supremely fluffy as it looked. “Nothing surprising, though, considering your circumstances. You know what a blessing is, right?”
“I do!” Aurora nodded. She was a motivated little Aurora. She was a confident little Aurora. “A blessing is when a priest is blessing a person, right?”
...
...
...
“More or less ...” Iris chose to ignore the girl and her rather lacklustre explanation. “Blessings are an ancient type of spells, often administered by the church to adolescent boys and girls on special occasions, mostly for customary and traditional reasons, but otherwise without much practical use. They serve to bestow a form of magic or spiritual protection upon the destinatary by allowing the caster to infuse their mana into a person. As such, blessings tend to react, due to their nature, to the latent magic potential of the receiver, effectively thus serving as an indicator for your magic aptitude and your elemental affinity.”
Aurora tilted her head. “And that means?”
Iris raised her index finger. “That means that if you have never received a blessing, your magic potential was never properly investigated, which means that you might easily possess hidden powers you have never known about.”
“Ah!” Aurora stared in awe. That sounded like a logical deduction.
Iris beamed. “If you are interested, I can help you to determine your magic aptitude after we return to Freyburg. Blessings are not my forte, but my proficiency should suffice to perform a simple blessing. And if you show the necessary aptitude, then I might even consider to teach you a little of magic.”
Aurora squealed. Her eyes sparkled. “You would really do that for me? Promised?”
Iris nodded. “Of course, Sister Iris has a heart for cute little girls.”
Aurora tackled Iris with a hug. Her attack produced little effect, as her weak arms were unable to muster much strength. “Thank you very much, Sister Iris! You are the best!”
“Did you hear, Dolly? We are going to learn magic~.” Aurora hugged her doll and bounced along the trail in high spirits. Nothing would ruin her impeccable mood. “We are going to learn magic~. We are going to learn magic~. We are going to learn magic~.”
Amused by the girl's unconventional antics, Iris was forced to chuckle. The girl and her enthusiastic nature left quite an impression, not only on her. Lambert smiled. Rudolf smiled. Michael smiled. Arwing smiled. The girl lifted everyone's spirit to the point that even the most stubborn and stone hearted elf mustered what appeared to be a weak, barely noticeable smile. And yet it was there, Nelaeryn smiled. Her happiness elicited a smile even from him, a smile that he detested from the depth of his heart. Pesky emotions.
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