Chapter 34: Awakening
THE MONTH OF NOEL DAY 10, YEAR 681 OF THE SECOND HOLY CALENDAR
After dinner, rather than going to the library and reading whatever books he could get his hands on, as was Dominic's custom, he was dragged into his room to get changed. He was dressed in one of the outfits they had just acquired, and his hair was carefully styled with wax. He felt like an elaborate doll dressed up by a couple of teenage girls, which wasn't far from the truth. Their excuse this time was that he would meet Queen Veronica, and even if she was his grandmother, he couldn't take such a meeting lightly and had to get dressed up for it.
After that, Luce took him to the detached palace shrine. The detached Palace had been constructed so that Veronica and her mother, who is an Antlatur, the mortal enemy of the Kingdom of Black, would be isolated from the rest of the Kingdom, who might ostracize or even attack them due to her mother's birth. The shrine had been initially built to worship Antlatur's patron god, Helios. After Valerius, Dominic's biological father in this life, moved into the detached Palace due to their own complicated political circumstances, the shrine was converted into a shrine to Noel.
Dominic had been there only a handful of times in his entire life, primarily so that one of his teachers could teach him the basics of this world's religion. This world he inhabited had many deities religiously prayed to by its inhabitants. He'd been agnostic in his previous life; however, he couldn't deny the existence of deities in this one. After all, his being here and the existence of magic were outside of the realm of science.
Sia was the main deity of all humans in the world, although the influence of both her temple and the deities has declined in recent years. Even the Temple of Sia acknowledged that other deities didn't stop religious wars from occasionally breaking out. Countries would have what was known as a patron deity that would protect them and be enshrined as Chief God. Individuals would also choose a patron deity to worship throughout their lives, although many have just selected the chief deity of their religion. Every house, both noble and physical, had an enshrined deity to protect it and ensure its prosperity.
The shrine was a small rectangular room with one door and a slanted roof. The building was made of primarily black stone, which is used in most construction projects in the Kingdom, while the corners and side pillars were made of marble. Every household had a shrine worshiping the family's Patron deity and the patron deity of the Kingdom, along with other deities. At the back of the hall was a statue of Noel, the patron deity of the Kingdom of Black and the patron deity of the Black family. Along the walls were several smaller statues of other deities, which coincided with the deities that affect the day-to-day life of the household: the goddess of marriage and childbirth and the protector of the home, Suera.
But most important to this shrine visit was the goddess Hebe, the Goddess of Youth and protector of children. She was also the patron deity of all children from when they were baptized until they came of age. Her statue was made of a white material similar to ivory. She wore a sundress and had a crown of flowers on her head. She had an inviting smile and made a gesture as if inviting the onlooker to play with her.
Luce led Dominic to kneel before the statue. She then set up two candles in front of it: red and white. Dominic didn't know the religious significance of the colors, but they seemed important, as Luce took some time to find them in the candlebox at the room's entrance. She took a candle lighter, lit the tip before lighting the red candle, and placed it in front of the statue. She then silently offered the lighter to Dominic, who lit the white one.
“Pray with me,” she told him before placing both her knees on the floor and clasping her hands in front of her chest while closing her eyes. Dominic adopted the same stance. “Oh Hebe, Protector of Children, please protect Dominic as he faces his Awakening. Please guide him through the trials he must endure and ensure his safety in the coming weeks. Allow him to grow up healthy and strong enough to stand on his own feet, allow him to become wise and knowledgeable to be guided by his elders to hear the counsel of his advisors and teachers so that one day he may serve the kingdom of his birth.”
Luce finished her prayer, and the two remained kneeling on the floor for a second before she finally stood up, and he followed suit. As they headed for the door, he couldn't help but look at the large statue of Noel at the back of the hall. Her statue reminded him of the Statue of Athena at the Parthenon. Although it was a lot smaller and had no gold leaf or weapons, the goddesses had the same air about them. They looked strong and confident. He couldn't help but notice the similarities, which meant the statue and Nora were almost like an older likeness of Nora, someone she would grow into. This led him to wonder if it was true that the Black family descended from Noel or was the statue was intentionally modeled after their genetics.
Once they reach the door, Luce puts away the candlelighter before looking at Dominic. “Following your Awakening, you'll stay with a different family for a few days, as I'm sure you know. I gave Nora a list of warnings and rules for that time, but I won't for you as I'm sure you'll be fine. Your baptismal mother will lead you to pray in front of Hebe’s statue again, and I hope you can treat her like you would me.”
Both the biological mother and father played an important role in baptismal ceremonies. If one of them were dead, they would be replaced with what was known as a baptismal parent.
This didn't quite mean adoption, as they just served as a stand-in. Although no one had told Dominic why, he had never seen his biological mother before, and she wasn't attending his baptism, so there needed to be a baptismal mother. For some reason, Luce couldn't be the baptismal mother, although once again, no one had told him. He guessed it had something to do with her status. She was the daughter of a registered Noble. From his understanding of politics and Noble Society, even if her family was powerful and wealthy, they were considered too lacking in status for her to be a baptismal mother to a prince, so a different stand-in was found.
Dominic cared little about this. He was from the modern world, and he didn't care about bloodlines at all. What was important was the relationship between the individuals, not whether they had a blood connection. He looked at Luce, who was troubled by the whole situation. Her face couldn't help but overlap with his mother from his previous life. He had always been an arrogant little brat, and by the time he matured, it had already been too late to make many memories. “Thank you for praying to Hebe for me. I'm sure I'll receive her blessing.”
Luce reached out her hand and patted his head. “With Hebe's protection, I'm sure you'll grow up to be a brave General like your father.” Valerius. Dominic thought of his relationship with Luce as complicated. But It was difficult for him to remember the face of his biological father in this world, as his biological father had spent most of the past 2 years as the governor of Grastide.
The two headed back to the living room to wait, and Nora, who decided to stay with them, and quickly fell asleep on Luce's lap. Until a guard came and reported that two companion cavalry sent by Veronica were there to pick him up, he stood up and said goodbye to Luce and his sister. Before heading out, he wore an outer cloak to protect him from the harsh weather.
As he exited the palace from the front door, the cold winter air blasted against him harshly, causing him to wrap his cloak more tightly around him. He saw two female knights waiting for him in the yard. They both wore pitch-black armor from head to heel, and the only ornamentation they had was their red cloaks and golden crowns on their breastplates. “Lord Dominic, please follow us, and if you require assistance, just ask for it.” He couldn't see her face but could feel her genuine concern.
“Thank you for escorting me. I'll be in your care.” Dominic said politely before pulling up his hood as he felt his ears going numb. The two of them set off walking through the snow, and Dominic followed them, Jane following behind him. They passed the Snowman that Dominic and Nora had built together almost a week ago, but it remained unmelted and even started gathering a bit more snow on its round body.
As they approached the Gate of the detached Palace, Dominic became inexplicably nervous. In all six years of his life, he had never left. That was true for almost all unbaptized children from noble families. They were isolated at home and trained in social etiquette and basic skills before being allowed to interact with other children, but now he would be stepping out into a pit of vipers.
However, he crossed through the open gate and into the main Palace. He felt slightly light-headed, although he wasn't sure if that was from the nerves or from the cold. “My Lord, would you like me to carry you?” concerned Jane. Dominic glanced at her. A magic barrier surrounded her, protecting her from the blowing winds and swirling snowflakes. He wanted that power for himself, the power of magic he needed to overcome his sickly body, not to mention stand firm in politics. Even if he never took to the battlefield or cast the spell, the fact that he could was the important part.
“No, I'm fine,” he refused. How could he be carried to his own Awakening even if no one would ever know? It was something he couldn't allow for his own pride. They pressed on until they reached an entryway into the palace proper.
After entering the palace, two domestic slaves were there to take Dominic and Jane's wet cloaks, which had been covered in snow. After living in this world for 6 years, Dominic has come to understand the position of everyone in a household at the top of the employees where the attendants are. They directly served the household masters, either personally or by aiding them in household management. In Dominic's experience, they primarily came from the noble class. Second were the servants who were employed by the household. They primarily served in more educated and trained roles, such as cooking and sewing. At the lowest level of the household were the slaves, known as domestics. They handled the most menial jobs and the physical labor of the household.
After removing their cloaks, Dominic, Jane, and the two knights moved to the magical heater next to the door. Dominic understood that the apparatus uses magic stones, at least one of which creates heat and the other of which creates air; as a result, hot air is generated and blown out. The device is box-shaped and, ironically, highly portable. All you need to do is open a little back door and replace the magic stones every time they become depleted.
After getting rid of the cold, which had already nestled in their bones, the two knights began leading the group again. Dominic tried to look around as they moved to get an understanding of the palace of the Kingdom he was a part of as well as his future home. Their speed prevented him from looking at anything in great detail, but something that struck him was the utilitarian style of the building. It was entirely unlike what you would think of when you heard the word Palace, although the architectural style of the detached Palace was similar.
They led him to a double-stone door guarded by even more knights in black armor and red cloaks. The door was engraved with the symbol of the Noble House of Black: a golden crown encrusted with rubies as if blood were dripping onto the background. “Captain, I've brought him,” the female knight who had first spoken to him informed one of the knights waiting in front of the room.
The captain nodded her head before she turned to Dominic. He could feel her cold and scrutinizing gaze on him. He was used to being on the end of similar gazes. Many people had looked at him like that since he'd come to this world as if sizing up a piece of meat. Dominic knew the best way to deal with it was to show that he was unperturbed. “Lord Dominic, do you understand the importance of the room you're about to enter?”
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Every noble house had an Acropolis, and many commoner families had one. The Acropolis was important symbolically to the Black family. It was where they enshrined their Patron deity and buried their dead. The Acropolis kept the sacred flame of the family burning as long as the Black family existed. It was the spiritual and emotional heart of the entire House.
Dominic understood that the best answer to the question was silence. The room was important symbolically to his family. Answering an outsider would be unsuited, so instead, he just nodded. He felt the woman's gaze change from slightly hostile to somewhat friendly in a second before she signaled with her hand that the two guards standing before the door were dressed differently from the female knights. The guards reached for the handles and opened the door. The door swung outward rather than inward.
“Good luck, Lord Dominic,” the knight said.
“I have to leave you here, Lord Dominic,” Jane said. “But good luck.”
Dominic nodded to both of them before entering the room. The door shut with a solid thunk behind him. This time, he had actual time to appreciate the scenery and decoration. He was in a wide hallway framed by steps and pillars with multiple paintings of battles. Dominic could easily recognize many of them. The battle of Mount Elia was where Archduke Theamor, a puppet for the kingdom of Antlatur, was defeated, and his army was routed. The second one was the first battle of Hayden's Ford, which established the Kingdom of Black, where France the Liberator was crowned with the crown of Higgsbury, the fourth of Antlatur, still dripping red with blood. As he advanced, he saw more and more recent battles, such as the Second Battle of Hayden's Ford and the Siege of Lepetra during the Golden Stallion’s invasion. The paintings were beautiful and artistic and clearly glorified the Kingdom of Black, but they failed to mention the battles they lost, such as the battle of Mardel, where Francis, the Liberator, lost his life.
Dominic moved down the hallway slowly, admiring the paintings. He also felt this place had a sacred and inviable aura about it. Like a library or cathedral, it was a place that needed to be respected with a hushed voice and move through cautiously and slowly. Whoever built this place had clearly planned for a long and glorious history of the Kingdom of Black. Only about 1/4 of the wall sconces had something painted on them. The rest were left blank, presumably for future glories.
Finally, he arrived at an antechamber at the back of the room. Directly facing the corridor was another large door, and 20 plinths surrounded the square-shaped room. Despite having plinths, only three of them were occupied. Two of the statues, Dominic didn't need to read the plaques to know who they were. Flanking the door on one side was a statue of a man wearing a robe and holding a book. He looked sincere and wise. He was Michael, the first patriarch of the Noble House of black. The second was a man who looked so much like Valarius it was eerie. He wore armor and lifted a sword above his head; on his head was a crown. That was Francis The Liberator. The final statue was likely Francis's brother, Frederick Black, who had also died at the Battle of Mardel. Those were the only three statues in the entire room.
Flanking the opened door were women dressed in black robes and their hoods, faces obscured. They were the Guardians Of the Acropolis. In larger houses with more history, they are distant branches of the family. In the case of the Noble House of Black, there weren't enough to fill this role appropriately, so outsiders who had sworn themselves to the family held the role. Neither woman spoke, but Dominic knew what to do without being told.
He walked through the open doors and into the Acropolis proper. The hall was made of black marble. Twisting pillars of white marble supported the ceiling, which was made of vaulted black stone. Magical light illuminated the entire room with blue and white light, and towering over it all was the statue three times taller than a normal man made of the same white material as the statue of Hebe. It was the Statue of the Goddess Noel, the Protector of the Black family and supposedly his ancestor.
Directly in front of the statue was a bowl filled with fire. This was the sacred fire of the House Black, which had burned ever since Michael Black had been granted Noble status. It must be kept the flame so long as the family is alive. Standing before the fire was the current matriarch of the House of Black. Veronica wore a red cloak, and she stood framed by the fireplace. He had never met his grandmother in this life before. However, the matriarch's or Patriarch's job was to guide their family members through the Awakening process.
Dominic walked down the vast Hall, admiring the splendor of the building and wondering just how much it cost. Most of the palace's budget had gone into this one room. Veronica called out once he reached the foot of the staircase leading up to the fire and statue. “This place was built to worship our ancestor, Noel, and to show our appreciation for her. Very few people are aware of just how splendid this place is.”
Dominic paused for a moment as she spoke before continuing up the staircase. Once he reached the top, he spent the moment admiring the beautiful statue of Noel, its vivid details, and excellent sculpting before glancing at Veronica's side profile. Dominic became momentarily startled when he saw her face for the first time. She was almost a replica of both the statue and Nora. The only difference was that she was an older version already with wrinkles and crow's feet lining her eyes.
Veronica finally turned to look at Dominic, and their eyes met. They stared at each other for what felt like a few minutes, but it was just a few seconds. Dominic shifted his feet, uncomfortable, before Veronica looked away. At that moment, he felt the pressure of a ruler, the gravitas of someone born to command. “Follow me, " she said simply before turning and walking away. Dominic, still slightly uncomfortable, hastily followed behind her.
As she walked around the statue and into a corridor. She took the first door on the right into a small room. The room reminded Dominic of a doctor's office with a bed, a chair, and a small medicine cabinet. The only difference was that there were no windows, and the entire room was made of black stone. The room was lit with magic light. Veronica motioned for the bed. She took the chair, and he climbed up onto the bed, which was difficult because of his small stature. Upon reaching the top, he noticed several straps on the bed looking like they were straight out of a James Bond movie.
“I'll explain the gist of Awakening now,” Veronica said. “Before Awakening, the amount of Mana you were born with would only increase slightly if you spent a ridiculous amount of money, were very lucky and talented, and were trained constantly. Your magic might double by the end of your life. Awakening changed the rules of the game. Through awakening, your magic increases constantly throughout your entire life, even without you spending money on magic items and potions. If you're talented, spend money, and train hard, your magic might multiply 100-fold from your Awakening to your death.”
Dominic nodded, more or less aware of all this beforehand. “Now remove your cloak and shirt,” she ordered. Dominic was wearing the outfit he tried on earlier in the day. After unfastening the brooch and his Cloak, he unbuttoned his shirt and removed it. “Turn around.” Once again, he felt Veronica placing two fingers on his back. He felt something uncomfortable, like someone peering directly through his skin. “You have a lot of Mana, almost as much as your sister,” Veronica said. He felt something slightly off in her tone, but she returned to her indifferent tone the next time she spoke. “Do you know internal detection,” Veronica asked. Dominic nodded before he realized she couldn't see him.
“Yes, I do.” Internal detection allowed one to feel their own Mana inside of their body. Dominic activated the ability by closing his eyes and feeling around inside of himself. Right between his lungs, he found a small Stone made of black and gold Mana. It wasn't an organ that existed in reality. Instead, it existed in The Ether, although Scholars debated where precisely the Magical core was technically located. Mana's effects were real and readily apparent, allowing one to strengthen oneself, cast magical spells, and perform miracles.
“I'm going to have you drink Mana potions, although you're currently at your maximum capacity, so that will cause some problems.” She went to the medicine cabinet and grabbed two blue vials before returning and handing them to Dominic. He didn't need her to tell him what to do, so he uncorked them and drank their contents. The first tasted like cough syrup, but the second tasted like apple juice and was especially sweet. Then, the magical effect hit, and the amount of Mana inside his core expanded rapidly. However, it started straining its confines since the Magical core was already entire instead of filling it up.
“Lie down on the bed,” Veronica ordered. Dominic quickly followed the orders, and shortly thereafter, his entire body started shaking. Veronica began to use the straps on his ankles, wrist, and stomach, tying him to the bed. He couldn't resist even if you wanted to because his body was still shaking like it was about to explode. Once she was done, she placed her hand on his chest right in between his ribcage, “This is going to hurt.”
Dominic felt something intrude into his body. It was something foreign, and it felt strange and uncomfortable. Still using internal detection, he saw that it was a wave of black and gold Mana coming from Veronica's palm. His own mana moved up and started attacking it, trying to push it out of his body without him even trying to do anything. Black on gold swirled together as their mana clashed, but it was clear that Veronica was winning. Her Mana was solid and sturdy; Dominics was thin and strained like gas.
After a while, he felt Veronica's want to change from simply trying to suppress his Mana to going on the offensive as it pressed forward deeper into his body before touching his core. At that moment, his mana went completely wild, desperately shoving at Veronica's Mana without holding anything back. But it was clear from the onset that it stood no chance of winning. A second later, he felt something sharp pierce his mana core, shattering it into pieces.
Dominic instinctually knew he was about to die even though there was very little pain. It was like getting a vital organ removed from your body during surgery while maintaining consciousness. Even if there were no pain, one would still instinctually know that they were about to die. On a biological level, Dominic knew he needed his mana core. Without it, his mana would run wild throughout his body, and he would die. But rather than panicking, Dominic's mind did something strange; it cooled down again to think about the situation logically.
Veronica wouldn't have dragged him out here to his Awakening just to murder him, and even if she did, she wouldn't have gone through such an elaborate process to do it. This meant he would likely live through it as long as he trusted Veronica and nothing failed. He felt her mana recede from his body. “What are you doing… Your Majesty?” Dominic's voice came out sounding much more strained than he'd expected. A strange emotion flickered across her face before it was back to her usual indifferent expression
“I'm going to use something called synchronization on you. Just submit to the process. Any resistance will just make this harder.” Dominic nodded, and a flash of relief crossed her face. He felt something intrude inside his body again, but it wasn't a wave of Mana this time. It was something akin to Veronica's presence. His Mana didn't react in his own body this time; there was no attempt to repel the presence, almost as if he was accepting it. “Synchronization is usually the process of transferring Mana from one person to another or having one party control it. In your case, I'm taking control of your Mana to reconstruct your mana core, this time adding a key spiral to it that will complete your Awakening. It'll be a long process. And so, I will put you to sleep for both your and my sake.” Without waiting for a response, she reached out her other hand and placed it on his forehead. A magic circle appeared a second later, and Dominic felt his consciousness fading. It only took him about a second to blackout.
*****
When Dominic next came to consciousness, he felt the need to urinate, thirst, hunger, and exhaustion all at the same time. He sat up and found that the restraints had been released. He glanced at where Veronica was when he last fell asleep and found that she had moved the chair over and was sitting in it, but other than that, she was in the same spot. Their eyes interlocked again; this time, Dominic identified the source of the uncomfortable feeling. “I hate her.” He wasn't sure why, but he Loathed her from the bottom of his soul. He saw her lips curling up into a sneer, and at that moment, he understood her better than he'd ever understood anyone. He knew that she had come to understand him better than anyone else. The way she Sneered confirmed that she knew he hated her, but she didn't care because she was strong and had nothing to fear from him, and she knew that fact would only infuriate him further. He didn't want to show her his feelings, so he averted his eyes.
She stood up from the chair and said, “There's a bathroom across the hallway, and from my understanding, your future baptismal mother's husband is already waiting for you at the entrance to the Acropolis. Leave whenever you feel like it.” She moved towards the door without waiting for a response. Once she reached it, she turned her head slightly, and their gazes locked again. “Oh, by the way, congratulations on your successful Awakening, Flick.”
She then waited while smirking at him. “I hate this woman,” Dominic thought, clenching his fists so hard he thought he might draw blood. “Thank you, Your Majesty, for all of your help,” he said, trying to sound as polite and normal as possible.
“You're very welcome,” she said before leaving.