The Hinterlands, a country further north of the Tristan Kingdom, is generally covered with snow during most of the year. For this reason, this country is also sometimes called the Ice Kingdom. Even though it wasn't a kingdom ruled by any King or Monarch, but by a man chosen by God to be the Pope, no other country has ever tried to invade, for the land here was so arid that they will only suffer without food and shelter when winter settles.
Famine prevailed in many parts of this country due to terrible weather. The common folk perished in those cities for lack of food, and many found lying dead in their rooms or the roadway. Even those who survived were so skinny that they looked like skeletons. In these difficult situations, people had no way but to turn to God for help. They prayed day and night for rain and seed, but there was no reply or a miracle. Their only hope was that if they died, they would join God in eternal life. A life full of happiness and no suffering.
In a small village named, Fome, located in the northern part of the country, a Priest could be seen entering every hut looking for a young girl who will be a candidate for Holy Maiden. There were many other priests dispatched to every other village in the country in search of candidates for Holy Maiden. There was no precedent where the Holy Maiden was chosen in the country before, but it was a direct order from the Pope, so he looked through each village he was assigned to diligently. To be chosen as Holy Maiden, one must have a Holy attribute, and she must be a virgin. Until now, no one has been found from this village, and only one hut remained to be checked.
Andrew was a typical farmer who spent days plowing the fields. No rain has passed through the soil for the past few months making it barren. He had a wife and two daughters to provide food for, but only half a bag of grains left in the reserves. They have already cut down the food to one meal per day to reduce food consumption. He was heavily relying upon a miracle at this point. Soon a priest knocked at this door and informed him that they were looking for a young girl with an aptitude for the Holy attribute. He never had a priest visit his home before. So when he saw the Priest, he had a glimmer of hope in his eyes but soon vanished as he had no hope because none of the family members of previous generations was anything but farmers. Nonetheless, he invited the Priest in and have his elder daughter give it a try. The Priest soon entered the hut of a farmer with an orb in his hands, looked towards his elder daughter, and instructed her about what to do.
Awakening was a process by which a user triggers his potent ability to control mana. Usually, an enchanted crystal, known as Orb of Awakening, is used in the Awakening ceremony. It contains many complicated magic circles hidden inside it and helps the user awaken his abilities. Depending on the user's affinity towards the elements, a unique color shone inside the crystal. For the Holy attribute, the Orb of Awakening should glow white, and the brighter the light, the greater the affinity. The Awakening ceremony only helps if the mana veins are fully developed within the user's body. If the mana veins are not fully developed, then the Awakening ceremony won't work. That is why usually, only a child of 14 years or above, goes through the ceremony.
With doubtful eyes, Freesia stepped forward and laid her hand on the orb as instructed by the priest. Searching for magic users among commoners was like searching for a needle in a haystack. Even though one did find someone with magical ability, the odds are close to zero that they will possess the Holy attribute also. The Priest wasn't expecting any good result as the Orb of Awakening laid still with no reaction. He was about to give up and have the other girl try it when a faint white glow illuminated the room.
"My Goodness." exclaimed the Priest.
"Congratulations! She possesses the rare Holy attribute that we were looking for. She is eligible to become a Holy Maiden." The Priest said as he looked towards the farmer.
"What does it mean to be a Holy Maiden?" the farmer asked.
"The Pope is looking for a young girl with the Holy attribute to receive his teachings directly. It will be a great honor for her. Also, She will receive three meals a day, can have regular baths, fancy clothes to wear, and anything else she might desire." the Priest answered.
Andrew and his wife were excited to have such a miracle happen just in his time of greatest need. Their elder daughter might be separated away from her family, but at least she would not need to worry about food or shelter in her new place. Also, it was a great honor to receive teachings from his holiness directly. With those thoughts, Andrew resolved himself inwardly that he will send his daughter Freesia away for her sake.
"When will I next see her? When will she come back to Home?" Andrew asked eagerly.
"I can't tell you exactly how long, but it will take many years to learn all the Teachings received from the Pope. Before she can consume all that knowledge, she can't leave the capital city." the Priest declared and went on, "Also, as her family, you will receive ten bags of rice and grain that should feed you for more than a year."
With ten bags of rice and grain, his family can fill their stomachs for an entire year and even sell the additional amount. He was quite perplexed about what to do as it felt he was selling away his daughter for few bags of rice and grains when Freesia called out to him, "Father, I would like to go. Once I learn the teachings, I will come back one day and take care of my family again." At first, she was rather reticent to go, but when she heard the priest mention rice and grain, she made her resolution. She knew the current situation of her family, and this was the only way everyone could remain alive.
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"If that's what you have decided for yourself, then I won't stop you," Andrew said as he felt proud of his daughter.
His wife hugged her while crying about the pain of leaving her alone.
From beside, younger daughter cried out, "Sister, Don't go. Please stay with us."
Freesia consoled her sister as she wiped her tears away.
"Lily, Don't cry. I will try to come back as soon as possible. Until then, you must take care of our parents." Freesia said.
With teary eyes, Lily nodded at her sister.
Looking at the younger sister, Priest asked the farmer, "How old is she? Maybe she can also go through the Awakening ceremony."
Hearing Priest's words, Andrew's heart tightened. He just gave away one of his daughters, he wasn't ready to lose another. Even though Lily had just turned 14 this year, Andrew lied and said, "She is still a year younger. The power remaining in Orb will only go to waste if she tried."
The Priest agreed with him and said, "Maybe next year. Who knows younger sister will also inherit the magic ability like her sister." With that, he stepped outside and left the family alone to say goodbye.
Freesia's mother packed all her belongings and clothes in a bag and prepared to send her away. Not far from their hut, there was a big, sturdy sleigh on wheels with the reins tied to an Ice bear. The ice bear was around 9-feet tall and was trained from a cub to be a loyal steed. It had several spikes, small and big, all around its body to fight off any enemies. The sleigh was big enough to carry 4-5 persons at a time, and underneath had long, smooth runners that act like skis. After saying goodbyes, she picked up her bag and followed behind the Priest. Under the light of the warm winter sun, she was so gentle that it could touch the heart of anyone who looked at her. She entered the sleigh as Priest guided her. Soon after Priest pulled the rein and urged the Ice Bear to strode towards the capital.
The capital of any country was often the largest settlement in the country, and geographically located near the center or heart of their country, but that was not the case with Vatican City. The Vatican City, which was the capital of The Hinterlands was built near the extreme north of the country, and only housed the church and the college of cardinals. Further north from Vatican City only laid snow-capped hills and a seal that cut-off the entire continent into two parts. The seal is known as the Sealed Edge as it formed the edge of the continent that made it impossible for any being to cross the line and go over to the other side. Like a sheet of prismatic translucent colors, hundreds of meters high, the seal made it nigh possible for anyone to know what lies behind the other part of the seal. The Vatican City was built here so that the church and its believers will be the first line of defense against the enemy that may arrive one day from the other side.
Ever since the Dark Hero created that seal thousand years ago, the Pope and his followers kept watching over the seal for the sake of humanity. Though, the rest of the continent could have forgotten the seal now, but not the residents of Vatican City. With each generation, a new Pope was chosen and inherited all the responsibilities and duties of the former Pope.
In the Papal Palace of Vatican City, a stooping figure paused, slowly straightened, and looked at the snow-capped hills. It had snowed the night before. A little above the hill-tops lay a long line of curling clouds, white and foam-like, here and there piling up into exquisite masses. Even though it was morning, a thick mist surrounded the hills blocking the sunlight.
Following the death of the previous pope two decades ago, Henry III took the position of the supreme pontiff and the Pope of Vatican City. He was in his seventies and appeared to be as old as the earth itself. His hair was long and was as white as snow. Pope Henry III was wearing red papal mozzetta, a shoulder cape with a collar, and a white, pointed zucchetto.
A knock was, heard, from behind.
"Come in." The Pope said.
A middle-aged man soon entered the room. He was Cardinal Joseph, a right-hand man to the Pope. He had served the Pope diligently for the past two decades ever since he was just a bishop. Today, the Pope has called for him to discuss some urgent matters.
"As you are aware, the seal is already weakening. There are already many cracks appearing over the layers of the seal." the Pope said.
"yes, Your Holiness. Although we are not sure when the seal will break completely, we are preparing our main forces to deal with the enemy." Joseph said.
"Our forces are not strong enough to deal with the enemies. We must look for an alternative." the Pope said lowly.
"Do you mean the Prophecy that When absolute evil consumes the world, causing chaos and destruction everywhere, a hero will arise and fulfill his fate to save the world? " Cardinal Joseph still had faith in the Prophecy from old times.
"Prophecy was already fulfilled when dark hero rose and saved the world a thousand years ago. There's no guarantee that Prophecy still holds." the Pope disagreed and continued, "What if I said there's another way, not to fight the enemy but to strengthen the seal so that it will last longer."
"Is that true?" Cardinal Joseph asked radiantly.
"In the restricted section of Vatican's Secret Archives, I found a book with forbidden spells much more powerful and darker than I have ever seen. There was a specific spell for strengthening the existing seals that were as strong as the Sealed Edge. Upon further study about the magic circles involved, it seemed even more possible. But it comes with a price." the Pope stated.
"What is the price?" Cardinal Joseph asked curiously.
The Pope said, "A blood sacrifice."