Tessia Eralith POV
Two years later
The sound of the leaves rustling in the calm wind filled my ears with the feeling of the warm, radiant sunlight shining on my skin. I was currently sitting outside in the castle's courtyard under a large tree. It's where I usually liked to hang out during my free time, as I found it peaceful. However, I was also out here for another reason.
It has been about two years since I snuck into the library and read about mana. Ever since then, I've been constantly trying to gather the tiny bits of mana spread throughout my body together in an attempt to form a mana core. It was a tedious task, but I was slowly and surely bringing all the mana specs together. In truth, I had an easier time learning how to walk in this young body than forming this mana core, but it wasn't too tricky.
I could see why the book stated that it'd take at least the adolescent age for a person to awaken. If I had let the mana particles in my body move themselves, it would've taken a few years for them to form anything remotely resembling a mana core.
Luckily, I had a perk that no one else my age had: my mental age. With my mental capacity, I have the cognitive ability to consciously will the mana particles together. Plus, I luckily had some experience in this field. As a child in my past life, we were taught how to control ki when we went to school. And I had exceptional control over my ki, which was probably why I found it somewhat easy to bring these mana particles together.
Essentially, all I needed to do was sense the mana inside my body and force the particles together near the solar plexus. If left alone, they would eventually float toward each other anyway. Essentially, I'm just mentally grasping at these particles and shoving them together in a slow process.
I would usually spend my time and limited amount of energy gathering the mana inside my body before I got too physically tired. It was a little difficult trying to hide suspicion from my parents, grandpa, and the maids since I was constantly under supervision. Luckily, this was one of the few times I got to spend some alone time outside.
Though, I made sure to cherish every moment I could with my family. Sure, Mom, Dad, and Grandpa would sometimes be busy with politics, you know, since they're the royal family, but that didn't stop them from spending as much time as possible with me as they could. Not having a family in my past life showed me how much it meant to have one, and the love I felt toward them was indescribable.
And with this family, with this new life, I promised to leave my old life behind. I wasn't Cecilia anymore. I was now Tessia Eralith.
And as Tessia, I wanted to be sure I could be strong enough to protect my loved ones. I didn't want anyone to have to fight for me again. Not after... Not after I lost Grey. I'll make sure I become strong enough so I don't have to watch another loved one die.
I let out a deep breath, focusing on my training. I was able to gather all the mana particles in my solar plexus and was beginning to condense them together to form my mana core.
The right corner of my lips rose into a smirk, 'Almost there.'
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Alduin Eralith POV
"This is concerning," Merial said, looking at the papers in her hands intently.
Merial, Father, and I were all currently sitting in my study. It was a large, spacious room with white walls that were decorated with an assortment of paintings. Lavish dark gray furniture filled the room, which included three couches that were situated in a U shape, with a coffee table in the middle. Bookshelves lined the walls, and a large desk was situated in the back of the room.
My eyes flicked to Merial, who was sitting beside me, and I nodded, "Agreed. It seems that my words fell on deaf ears at the last summit conference."
The summit conference was a meeting between the leaders of the three races, which occurred once every seven years. It was the only time the teleportation gates between the kingdoms were opened.
Merial sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, clearly frustrated. "What? Did Blaine and Dawsid think we were over-exaggerating about the problem with slavery?"
I looked at Father as he shifted in his seat. His brows were furrowed as he looked at the papers in hand. I could see the look of anger and frustration in his eyes as they flicked to me.
"Unfortunately, slave traders have become bolder. Not only are they operating in the Beast Glades, but they've been sighted in Sapin and our forests," Father stated.
"This is getting out of hand," Merial said and put the papers she was holding down on the table. "This cannot be allowed to continue. How can people expect us to protect them if we continue to let slave traders kidnap our people and sell them on the market?"
The sound of paper crumpling could be heard as my grip on the papers in my hands tightened. I was exasperated by this situation and wanted nothing more than to protect my people.
I nodded, "I agree. For now, we will fortify our borders. I'll speak with our military generals and have them increase our border defense."
"Even if we do that, we can't keep an eye on every part of the border. It's just too vast," Father advised.
"I know. That's why I'll make sure Blaine and Dawsid listen to me this time at the next summit conference and request their aid in dealing with the slave traders," I said with conviction.
Father nodded and gave me a proud smile. "Good, the summit will be happening soon. It will give you the opportunity to speak with him."
"Do you think they'll actually listen?" Merial asked, sounding slightly skeptical.
I shook my head, "Honestly, I don't know. But they'd be fools not to."
"The summit is in a few months. You two best make sure you know what topics to bring up when you go," Father said.
I looked at him curiously, "Will you not be coming with us?"
Father has always come with us in the past, which is why I was confused. Even though he no longer held the title of king, he liked to know about the political affairs of the elven kingdom.
Father smiled warmly and shook his head, "No. I'll be staying here with Tessia. She's too young to go with us, and I don't want to leave her here with just the maids."
I mentally face-palmed as I didn't even think about that, and by the look on Merial's face, neither did she.
I smiled and chuckled, "Sounds good." I narrowed my eyes on him playfully, "Just make sure not to throw her in the air."
Merial sighed, probably remembering when Father first did just that. It was about three weeks ago, and I walked out into the courtyard with Merial to see what Father and Tessia were up to. It was then that my eyes widened to the point where they practically flew out of my head as we watched Father toss Tessia up into the air. Usually, kids wouldn't go that high, but Father decided to reinforce his arms with mana when he tossed her, and she flew into the air like a high-speed projectile.
Merial and I yelled at the top of our lungs as we dashed toward them, yelling Tessia's name. To our relief, Father caught her, and she was laughing hysterically.
Father waved away our concern, "Bah, don't worry. No harm will come to her." He smiled as he looked up, like he was remembering something. "Besides, she loves it when I do that."
Boom!!!
A loud explosion was heard in the distance, and the room shook. The glass of water on the coffee table tipped over and spilled onto the ground.
We all shared a wide-eyed look of concern and immediately stood up.
"What the hell was that?!" Father yelled.
We all looked at the double doors to the study as seven guards poured in, weapons at the ready.
"Your majesties! Elder! Are you okay?!" One of the guards yelled.
"We're fine! What was that?!" I yelled in concern.
"Unknown, but it seemed to come from the courtyard," The guard responded.
"What?!" Merial yelled in a panic. "Tessia likes to hang out there!"
Dread washed over me, and my stomach dropped to the floor.
"Hurry, everyone, to the courtyard!" Father yelled.
The guards turned and dashed down the hallway, and the three of us quickly followed. We ran through the castle as fast as possible until we burst out the doors that exited into the courtyard.
My eyes quickly scanned the grassy field until they flicked over to a large tree that had been blasted away and was now lying on the ground. My eyes widened in shock and relief seeing Tessia sitting cross-legged. Though, she wasn't sitting on the ground. She was levitating slightly in the air, with a translucent barrier around her.
"I-Impossible... She's awakened? She's barely three," I breathed out.
We all stood there, not moving an inch, completely in shock by what we were seeing.
"H-Ha!" My eyes flicked to Father, whose lips curved into a smile of excitement and relief. "Hahaha!"
Father ran forward, and Merial and I exchanged a quick glance before we ran after him. We closed in on Tessia, who landed feet first on the ground. She slowly opened her eyes and immediately went wide-eyed, seeing us quickly running up to her, but she didn't have time to react as Father picked her up and held her up high.
"I can't believe my eyes! You've awakened, little one!" Father yelled in excitement.
He pulled her in close and gave her a warm hug. Merial and I walked up to them and joined them in a group hug.
"Oh, thank goodness you're okay. I was worried," Merial said in relief.
"So was I," I said with a warm smile as we broke the hug.
Tessia, who was currently in Father's arms, looked around, almost like she was seeing the world from a new perspective. I looked at her curiously, as it almost seemed like she had a proud look on her face.
"How is this possible?" Merial said, looking at Tessia, surprised.
I shook my head in amazement, "I-I don't know."
"I don't know either," Father said in excitement, with a wide smile. "But now, I can start to train her!"
"Wait, what?" Merial said, slightly worried.
My eyes widened anxiously, seeing Father push mana into his arms. I reached out to him, "No! Father, wait!"
I was too late as Merial gasped as Father tossed Tessia high into the air. Merial yelled with worry, and I held my breath as she fell and breathed out in relief when Father quickly caught her.
Irritation swelled within me.
"Father!"
"Virion!"
Merial and I yelled.
Father smiled happily as he held Tessia up high, and she laughed. He smiled proudly, "That's my granddaughter."