Ocular to the Dying Sun

How Seasons Travel; part 3

She had recovered, fully, from her sudden physical depletion after using so much of her magic. To the point, she needed to use several Fire-brim shards to serve as output crystals of her magic that she could not control coming out from her body. The ordeal had Sacr and Epiro remembering the horror of her magic, to the point they could only stand in awe at the strength that the Prime Magician holds.

Her stance may seem like she is equal to a god, but nothing could prepare her for the fear of leaving a life all on its own, that’s why her reputation returning after protecting the end-of-year election a decade prior held her ground of power. This brought a certain relief within Yphemu and the people allied to her, specifically, people of the Sagan and the Saturni family, who continues to flourish their lives with certainty. At least for another time when an unprecedented event, forces her to reroute her life and those who believe in her.

“There’s an agenda here marked for discussion to Lady Tethea?” Sacr asked as she finalized something on her Kaderno. “I’ve given enough readjustment on your schedule for the blessing of shards, at least you could give a better assessment for it, but I forgot there’s a proposed discussion on Ignacio.”

“What happened? Did any monster penetrate our defenses in the town of Ignacio?” Yphemu said as she quickly looked around her seat.

Though not obvious, there are several slots on the side of her seat which held her documents, a.k.a. Kaderno, and scrolls with information. These items are accessible only inside the Krylesa and would automatically shift locations once she doesn’t use the carriage anymore. They also add or subtract depending on the urgency, it’s simple shifting placement magic that can only transfer the same type of object with equal weight.

“Yes, the mayor of the town left a few reports on the damage on the wall. They’ve hired assistance from the neighboring towns, to help with repairs and protection, but I don’t think it’s enough.” Sacr stated. “They’re proposing building better defenses, due to the last attack. A major overhaul of the wall and town construction, now that’s a lot of things to push. How bad is the creature poisoning in that place? Isn’t your blessed shard enough?”

“Perhaps if I was there to bless the land for days it would help. My magic’s potency isn’t much if it’s only from a borrowed vessel. It also doesn’t help if the darkness seeped further. The poison in the earth won’t be easily distinguished just because we plant Light magic shards within. As they say, every dust within the land is a part of Slitark that could not give but take, they take everything Slitark’s piece gives them. Darkness or Light, it doesn’t matter, as long as it came from the shard, the world and every element absorb within.”

Resting her hand on a Kaderno from one of the slits, it’s a white Kaderno with a symbol of a flower hugged by ropes and two sticks forming an “X” behind. It’s the Kaderno for papers to be looked over from the Saturni territory. All other concerns of the family were recorded into the shard, and usually, Yphemu goes over this as part of her work.

Behind the Saturni Kaderno was a piece of paper folded, it was placed there neatly but from the way it folded on the edges, it must have been sneaked in by someone. Yphemu absentmindedly picked up the folded paper, opening it as she looked over while browsing through the family documents.

“What’s that?” Sacr said, grabbing Yphemu’s attention.

Her hand was holding a paper, with what seemed to be magical properties mixed within. Her confusion dissipated when she realized that she was holding the paper and feeling a magical signature that attracted her hand to it, therefore making her subconsciously reach for the item.

A quick detection made her smile and read the message on the paper without any alarm on her face and she chuckled.

“Hmm, it seems like Mitt is growing spoiled from what I remember of him,” she said before folding back the paper. “That sneaky child, he placed a specifically handwritten proposal that we quickly schedule days early before the end of his school term. Because he wants to start studying and practicing for the coming Ocular.”

“The kids right though,” Sacr said as she chuckled. “He’s been doing good so far since he started learning spells and mastering them. I hear he’s completely good in combat, just like his mother. But isn’t he struggling with something right now?”

“Lord Verbasi has been keeping tabs on his practice after school. On our last trip to bless and secrete shards from a province, he lost his focus and managed to destroy an entire location.” Yphemu said before sighing. “Things could have been bad if he hadn’t been wielding Shield magic.”

Eyebrows crinkled on her fair-skinned face, and Yphemu could still recall her son’s face scared for his life and others at his mistake. The crater on the ground that he made could have been in a place with many people around and he wouldn’t have stopped anything from destroying those around him.

The fear he felt was immensely written on his face despite Mitt trying to stay his ground, steadying and tough but shaken. He was normal during the time they were packing up and making sure everyone was unharmed, but at home when they slept, he snuck into her room that night. Knocking on her balcony door that was on the second floor a few rooms away from her.

The warm night breeze didn’t deter how cold Mitt felt as he remembered how strong the intensity of his uncontrolled magic could be from within the shard. She could recall that she felt he was losing his control, and not even her words and imbued guidance could make him return his thoughts to properly detecting the veins of the rock in front of him.

There was no time to blame herself, but she didn’t expect Mitt to take it to heart enough that he couldn’t sleep. Everything else was easy for him during his childhood, from procuring the highest Light magic to learning spells that were meant to be used by the Prime Magician.

He excelled so fast that he grew confident enough to be playful and dismiss all the adults that branded them as ridiculous and pretentious for being a child that’s a genius or borderline prodigy. He only wants to live his life with his mother and Yphemu could only give him enough guidance and warmth, protecting him with words of affirmation.

That’s why that night, even if she was still busy with work but just handling them in the confines of her room, she let Mitt in and she hurriedly comforted her son. Sleeping together, cuddling and holding him tightly in her bosom, trying her best to abate his shaking shoulders.

He didn’t shed a tear, no trace of fear, but the hollow eyes that awoke from a nightmare looked bad and haunting on his red edging eyes, that she cradled him in her arms and sang him a lullaby she learned from her dead mother. No tears spread that night on soft white cheeks, only that she could tell that she needed to give better guidance to Mitt before anything else could go awry.

After settling in her office, an entire acre away from the Academy but double to the All-Monarch offices, she had enough leeway to be available for the school and in arm’s length distance to the magicians who need her guidance. While giving herself enough time and distance from the politics she’s embroiled in as the Prime Magician.

The rest of her day went by with nothing but receiving a volley of guests and document discussion, something that her assistants and other employee handled with care. She is aware of the weeks coming won’t give her enough time to deal with matters that need tending.

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Shining light spread on the pavement as the brightness of the sun hit the windows of the Academy, Euclytera serves as a beacon of central knowledge and learning for many. From the lowest post in life to the nobles and the councilmen who serve the kingdom, and the country. Though schools are widespread and used by many in all regions of their land, it does not have everything if the person is thirsty for knowledge of the past and possible future.

The establishment is built from the foundation beyond the indoctrination and proof of the Prime Magician’s existence, though capable of being a standalone powerhouse without external governance of the council they are not too humble to believe they have all the power.

They pressed that their existence does not constitute the pursuit of “power” but of the control of power and its subsequent sibling knowledge. This has been controversial to many, but their actions prove better proof than the context or meaning of their motto.

Decades they held producing children of immeasurable discipline with the right kind of gumption and thought towards the care of society using their magic of all variety. Later in the years, their leaders and successors became the founding land for learning beyond the scope of magic and branching onto politics to livelihood. Knowing the courts’ rules and regulations, ranking, and all simple managerial types of work can be properly acquired through learning in the Academy.

Under the Eucalytera building where students could learn all viable nobility and rightful responsibility, equal to leadership and management of land, all go to this establishment. Within the Academy, they cherish all kinds of arts from the concept of mathematics to the promise of prose. They will not skimp including every skill that could be useful to society.

Especially those of combat and magic, they are above in the order of achievements throughout their use and necessity, even if it’s a hard form of study that requires pure bodily dedication. No one is safe from their responsibility to noble society, but their service to the people also inspires all kinds of motivation from the clutches of their birthright to the novel simple lives of the regular citizen.

This is by no means a curse or a blessing but an indignant reality that in this world there will be people born into their position, whatever it is their life originally was, like the way students revere and indiscriminately badger Mitt Saturni. The amber-eyed boy watched in wonder how people outside on a good sunny day could last in the glaring heat of the glass that reflected Slitarks rays like a shot of a magic beam intent on penetrating your skin with immense heat.

Though young and partially naïve in several aspects of life, he is aware that even if he didn’t listen to the lesson the teacher will forgive him for the next best expectation from him is to focus on his magical studies, that he is already excelling. There was no doubt he could pass this level-five history lesson without focusing on the lecture or his studies.

Bending his neck to look back at the front, he could still see the teacher reading their Kaderno in front as if none of the students around didn’t have the same text on their slate. He soon found himself looking out the window, again, seeing a group of students passing by.

The uniform they wore is a normal white button-up shirt-polo’s with brown slacks almost singed on the waist if not for the clear black belt, coupled with a vestment made out of what looked like simple dark navy cloth. Everything in their attire is simple and without flare, like a stiff outfit for the military.

Compared to their uniform which simply required a badge and a dark navy coat, Mitt’s other classmates wore all kinds of dresses and clothes underneath, made for or fitting the image that they want to portray during their school life. When you see the students below with their almost dour uniforms, you could tell the class difference and the way they’re meant to be considered in this school.

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