The Eve Of Change

Syra Bella Vitalis watched as a pair of Wyverns flew overhead, The young girl leaned on the conical roof of Helidura Castle. Syra was wearing an obsidian hand-carved mask with a silver lining that covered her entire face. over her head was a black cowl that shimmered with a hint of dark purple. Syra's clothing underneath was her dirty black sparring gear from sword lessons earlier that morning. This very capable Princess had been up here since completing her morning exercises. However, that doesn't mean she hasn't been busy.

While pondering her future she looked down over the cliff-top city beyond the walls of the fortress that lined the cliffside. Smiling faintly,  she took notice as birds flew from various places in the lower metropolis. A tiny Sparrow Named Strider landed on Syra's shoulder, chirping away. She gave her new guest a treat before it took to flight once again.

Syra felt utterly overwhelmed today. Everyone was busy preparing for her sixteenth Birthday. This was her royal coronation ceremony and her public debut. This weekend she takes power and the world will know who she is. However, she felt like the Kingdom of Helidura pushed this responsibility onto her. She thought her best friend Gretchen was a much better fit. After all, she is the former king's daughter, the one that righteous old-man Gerald usurped. Thinking about the people counting on her and the responsibilities she would need to take on after this weekend made her head hurt. Being a symbol of power and unity for mages sure created a lot of enemies. Gretchin wouldn't have had half of the problems Syra had. Gretchen's political connections and the fact she's just a typical healing mage would make it much easier to deal with the pressures placed upon Helidura by the two superpowers of Kia. After all, Gretchen's power set was easily hidden. Between the Astari Empire And the Ambient Church, Syra Had her work cut out for her.

Syra looks to the west, Noticing flocks of birds cross the great canyon towards helidura. as the birds flutter into the city images of lands she's never visited flood her head and the problems she must face become more clear.

Across the Nelio Sea sits The Divided continent of Kari,  The Astari Empire was the biggest government on Kia and Kari Is their Homeland. the Empire itself was on a warpath with kingdoms all over the continent of Afus blaming them for cultivating mages in Kari, This witch hunt crusade against the open casting of magic was founded on nonsense. There is a long history of empirical ideology stating: The Use of Magical power to augment items or heal others was acceptable. on the other hand, to use any prohibited powers outwardly and openly makes you a witch or heretic. Within the imperial borders, the open use of magic has become a death sentence. The emperor has Slowly fallen ill. Blinded by a quest for glory the crown prince has twisted the laws set by his father to justify a crusade at home and overseas in the "unclaimed continent of Afus". Helidura is a kingdom that controls almost a third of Afus.

Syra glanced to the east towards seagulls crossing the mountains on a journey back from the Ambient sea.

 on the continent of Kezia sat the other major superpower of Planet Kia, The Astari Church. The Church cared nothing for Politics or the execution of mages, unlike the rampaging Empire. No, they sacked Mages and exploited them along with the planet's resources. it didn't matter who you were the church would just take you for possessing magic. Settlements could govern themselves and nations could be born in these lands but all mages were taken by the church. no one really knows the church's true goals on Kia. What we know is when they steal someone you go to one of two places,  If you are Powerful or just lucky they will force mages to join the Arcanium.  there you can study what it is to be a mage and you can leave when they want to use you for your powers. the other option is to live on the penial colonies of Crucible and mine ores while fighting off wyverns, drakes and, other dragon subspecies. let's not forget a few random creatures of volcanic nature lurk there as well. You don't really want to end up in either place, but the church is better than death at the hands of the empire.

Birds flying in from the north and south bring images of fallen kingdoms and people in chains.

Syra sighs before talking to herself "Two Big Enemies that will never accept the kind of queen I'm about to become. People will die because I exist that can not be avoided. I need to figure out how to save as many of my people as I can in the days to come. I can't draw any attention to myself as a sorceress! not yet anyway. there really is nobody else that can do this. I've gotta unite these people."

Syra tried to stop thinking of the work ahead of her when her mind drifted. It was not like she was putting anything off, It's that her heart told her she needed to focus on her brother. 

She deeply missed both of her brothers. As much as she wished she could find Joryn. The one that was on her mind now was Nym. As her thoughts passed to Nym, She suddenly sensed a powerful presence she hadn't felt since she was three years old. Filled with excitement and something else, Syra sensed a slight tingle on her scalp.

Syra's beautiful dark red hair started to rise like she was gaining a static charge. Next, it was almost as if two water buckets, both cold and hot, were being dumped simultaneously on her body. Quickly, an overload of sensation encompassed Syra's entire existence. Down to the molecular level, Syra was teeming with power. The surge tore through Syra intensely and vigorously following both her nervous system and her Chakras. The ever-growing force was too much and the changes were too intense. She knew she couldn't handle this strength, so she decided to force a portion of it out of herself.

Her hands were trembling as she extended and locked her fingers firmly as if holding a ball. Slowly she pushed her energy into a central point in the air between her hands.

an Omni-colored mist sparked as it seeped out of her hands. The sparks drew the mist closer as if forming lightning-like threads of silk composed of individual types of energies by affinity and color

Sections of this Omni-thread swirled and intertwined like yarn. As the dense magical energy from Syra focused on a central point, it collided violently and repeatedly until it began to tangle and become one. Now the process sped up. Strands of the mysterious powers started to spin into the orb as it grew in size. I Appreciate the gift nym, I can't thank you enough, but I don't need more power I need a way to Control the power I already have, I need a way to unite all mages, really I wish I had a friend who truly understands me and is there when I need them most. Syra continued to pour this Shared power into the sphere Distracted by thoughts The Orb reached the size of a basketball. As the Energies Collided during Syria's distraction the humming and buzzing of power started to sound like a sad song. Noticing the tiles of the roof lifting off into the air, along with the darkening of the skies Syra began to tense up.in the next moments, it was as if she was targeted from across the heavens, purple and neon blue lightning began striking her orb! Green and yellow lightning came forth from the earth itself to join the bombardment.

Syra knows her barriers will not hold much longer someone might get hurt and the ball is getting too big! the orb had reached the size of a basketball. The poor girl starts to panic when she hears a young boy's voice in her head, it's her brother  "It'll be ok Syra, compress it! I Will share some of my knowledge with you!" Images of geometry and physics fill Syra's mind. Knowledge of Science and random cartoons followed by comic books also entered her thoughts."Sorry bout that sister, i was trying to think of the best solution, push that orb into a smaller size that'll use up a lot of the power i gave you if there's anything left make yourself something cool. i cant keep the bond up, I love you" And with that Nym's Massive Presence diminished to a faint nothing.

Syra returns focus to the task at hand. She cuts the flow of power to the orb and uses her mind to allow the rest to form items that cross her mind, The Young Sorceress placed the ball between her knees and forced the beachball into the size of a baseball. The Orb began to spin but it stayed in place so Syra focused on the other items she had begun creating.

The young monarch quickly decided to make herself a ring and a dagger with the excess energy. With nothing else coming to mind and a little power left, Syra forms a softball-sized orb and puts a little of her own clear energy over the ball to make it look prettier. she decided to give the smaller spinning Orb the same overcoat however it came out with a much more intricate pattern to the glossy shell.

Having suppressed the gift she just received and learned a new trick, Syra was delighted. she looked to the skies and smiled as she spoke. "Thank you, Nym. Happy Birthday to you too; I'll have the best present for you when I see you."  

A shadow passed over Syra's face, and quickly her smile turned to a heavy sigh. The incoming guest reminded her of her life's current dilemmas. did anyone see that?

"Speaking of Messes," Syra avoided eye contact with her approaching guest as she muttered under her breath. The tiles around Syra started to fall back into place and the skies cleared up.

Not now Martha, Not Now!!

"We still have not heard back from our scouts. It has been three days since we heard a word of anything from the northern villages. However, I am sure everything is fine. No beacons have been lit." Captain Miles worriedly explained as Lord Regent Gerald Miles stroked his beard and made his reply. 

"Son, that's what concerns me. No beacons, no alarms, no last-minute travelers. I don’t want to alarm the citizens. It would be best for them to be inside the palace walls if the city came under siege. I want you to start preparing for the worst while putting on a good face for our guests." Gerald dismisses his son and turns towards the doors." Guards, summon the assembly." Gerald turns towards the Blackbird in the rafters. "yes it's time for you to come here too, Syra."

Before Syra Enters The rest of the assembly piles in, lords and ladies of different titles come into the room. this makes up the acting government of Heldiura.

The doors to the royal corridor opened, and Syra rushed into the throne room hastily with Gretchen trailing behind trying to catch her breath, Gerald looks at Syra judgingly.

"So About the weather Syra" Gerald's tone is firm. The old wizard leans forward as he watches the young queen's face.

Slight muttering can be heard amongst the nobles.

"isn't it lovely out so many clouds, one almost wouldn't notice if I blocked out the sun?" Syra Smiled guiltily 

Charlie Miles smirks at Syra's remark. Gretchen elbows Charlie.

"we will discuss the weather later luckily that's the least of our concerns. We may need your power sooner than expected my queen. your coronation couldn't come any sooner. but before we get into that. I want to remind those present the reasons why we chose you to lead us and of what great power you possess." Gerald raises his hand to stop Syra from speaking. As her mentor, he could tell she was getting impatient.

"Many of you know Syra Came to us 16 years ago. many might not know how she came to be in my care. Syra was the baby who fell from the skies, before she could feel our breeze on her skin men wanted her dead. Those were very troubling times with a very troublesome king. Since her arrival, we have fought a long civil war that came to an end 6 years ago, and we have come extremely far establishing a new kingdom without much interference. so let us visually reflect on her arrival. because tomorrow night, The Magus Council will finally reveal our queen."

"Let me ask all of you to stand back as I'm about to show you the world as it was 16 years ago. I have taken my memories along with the memories of everyone present that day, combining them to make this projection."

In the lower city's jam-packed cobblestone streets, citizens of Helidura and refugees from all over eagerly awaited the opening of the gates leading to the cliffside castle and the upper town of Helidura.  Comet darts through hanging banners and shop stalls as the little blackbird searches the city as if looking for someone. the acrobatic little bird decides to take a break next to two guards talking.

"The festival has been going on all week man, I'm really tired." the first guard leans against a city dividing wall.

"Look Trev i get you are tired, However, the banquet tonight kicks off the real reason everyone has gathered. couple that with the fact tomorrow is the Coronation, we need to be ready for anything!" the second guard was an obvious combat vet however he was more relaxed than the blackbird expected. 

The younger guard Trev sighs, " i get it Tanir, a lot of nations do not want Syra to make it to her speech the day after her coronation. Spies are everyhere. Until tonight at the ball, no one outside the palace to knows her face. I don't get why the banquet has to be a masquerade, the unveiling of Syras's face will conclude the night yes. but this makes our jobs so much harder, the whole damn city is invited! how am i supposed to protect a girl I've never seen before and to do so short staffed and with little sleep?"

Before the next one spoke Comet left the bricks he perched on above the guards, heading for a commotion across the wall in helidura's Market. 

In the Market place, several men argued about the price of swords at a blacksmith's stand. As the argument got heated, the men suddenly stopped to look at one of their favorite merchants as he approached the empty stall next to them. This is when Comet Decides to land on a Lantern post and watch the show. after all these big men looked scared of someone so small Approaching slowly yet out of nowhere. 

The merchant suddenly had everyone on their best behavior, which was impressive for a little boy around eight years old. Jacob was wearing rags stained in dirt and charcoal as he led a young silver Drake, as small as a sheepdog, with emerald eyes as it pulled his cute little wheel barrel-sized cart. 

"Gentlemen, you know the prices of steel have gone up; besides, these blades are hand-forged, not cast from molds. You can't compare these prices with the foreign blades sold across the way. Most of those will break in a long battle," Jacob scolded in a stern voice to the older men. 

He cleared his throat and put on his cute salesman voice, "Now, if you want to enchant those blades after you buy them, I'm glad to help. Or maybe you'd like me to bless an enchantment you may already have." 

The men quickly dispersed, knowing the child merchant was correct. Besides, they could not afford his services either. Few people could afford the price of Jacob's enchantments. 

At that time, a beautiful white-haired middle-aged woman walked over, carrying a plate of baked goods and candies. Comet who had been watching jacob intently snapped out of his daze when he smelled the candies.

Jacob smiled brightly. "Jenna, I just finished your work order. It's in my cart. Just lay that stone back in your oven and wear this necklace. You'll be able to control your temperatures better, and the spell will prevent burning now. It was hard to figure out the dynamics of the last enchantments; however, I fixed them. I want a little bit more time to finish the trinket your husband ordered." 

"Thank you, Jacob, Except we need the trinket for Syra's gifting tomorrow night." Jenna looked somewhat stressed yet maintained a smile. Having seen the bird she realised she needed to watch what she said.

comet picked up on it right away. he knew exactly what she was thinking and gave a very deep birdy sigh. he was new at this and his cover was blown. 

"I can have it done now if I had a mana stone. My mana needs time to replenish after enchanting the city walls this morning. I don't know what is going on, but I appreciate the payment I received. It was worth setting up my shop this late. I have two tonics left. Maybe, I can work on it tonight. I wanted to go meet Syra, though. I even buy my first outfit."

"Tell me where you live, and I will get you a mana stone." Jenna had been trying to figure that out for a while. Everyone knew Jacob was homeless, but even the guards he talked to every day had no clue where he lived.

"ok, ok, you win; I'll shut down the shop and come over to work on it if I can use your husband's training room again. Wouldn't it be easier to get the stone to me there?" Jacob eagerly wanted to dodge that question. after a pause the boy sighed deeply.

Jenna frowned, "Ok, well, I have some things to do down here today. hmmm, take this token to the guard's lift. They will let you bypass the main gate. However, I need you to buy another outfit to wear while you work up there. It's not like before lots of people are in the upper city. We don't want them to assume we are keeping a slave." She looked at Jacobs rags and thought about burning them at the first opportunity.

Comet decides to follow Jacob, having noticed his stalker the small boy signals comet to land. Jenna heads deeper into the market as the three little ones drag their cart towards the upper city gates and the Guards entrance. as if on queue a magical display fell around them as they neared the gates.  

The bells in the towers chimed beautiful harmonies. Horns and trumpets sounded just after; as the melody filled the air, so did beautiful light shows that danced through the city, kicking off Syra's birthday festivities for the public. 

Gerald went to the balcony overlooking the market. He tapped his staff like a microphone as it made a corresponding sound throughout the city. 

"FRIENDS, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR GATHERING HERE TODAY......." Gerald began his speech.