Chapter 6-2: The Howling Winds

It was Aiden who opened the door and immediately stepped back in what seemed like shock.

"Your highness!" He motioned to bow, but Princess Iris gently touched his shoulder to stop him. "There is no need – or time – for that." Her cold voice sounded. She stepped inside, closed the door, and immediately cast a simple, yet powerful sealing spell on the room. No one was getting in or out of here unless she allowed them to.

Aiden hadn't noticed the spell since he was still masking his mana, effectively rendering him blind to magic around him. He motioned towards the door. "I'll wait outside,"

"Stay, Lord Condor." Princess Iris once again stopped him. "You being here still means you've chosen to stand by Ren. Am I right?" She glared at the young noble's eyes. He hesitated. Ren didn't blame him for it. Everything he knew, everyone he looked up to was being called into question. Of course he'd feel lost and confused, even scared.

"Yes," he finally spoke with a low voice. He then responded to her glare with his own as he spoke. "What about you, your highness? Are you here as an ally? Or as a representative of the Imperial family?"

Ren flinched. Aiden's wording was dangerous. What he hinted at was risky and, honestly, a terrifying thought. He braced himself for the Princess' wrath, but she simply chuckled and masked her mana. "Both," She said with a smile, before turning her attention to Ren. "My brother contacted me soon after the Council meeting ended. He asked me to give you this," She approached him and gave a small bottle filled with a purple liquid. "It's an herbal remedy."

Ren hesitated. "Thank you," He held the bottle in his hand, but made no motion to drink it. He didn't trust her, or Prince Aon. "This isn't the only reason you came here, is it your highness?"

She shook her head. "No. I came here because Aon told me you made a deal." She glared at him. "Idiot." Ren flinched with her words.

"Your Highness!" Aiden tried to calm her down, but she was hearing none of it.

"Silence!" She promptly shut him up before once again turning her attention to Ren. "Do you know what you just started?"

Ren hesitated, then nodded. "I know."

It was Princess Iris who flinched this time. "And you are okay with this?" Her face was pale as ash as she whispered. Ren simply shrugged. Of course he wasn't okay, but he wasn't about to say that in front of Aiden.

"You-" She shouted, then stopped herself. "Fine." She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself down. "Fine." She repeated. "In that case, there are some things you need to know." She glanced at Aiden, who seemed even more confused than usual. "You too, Lord Condor."

Ren took a deep breath. "I assume this means Prince Aon talked about the past?"

She raised her eyebrows, then nodded. "Lord Condor, please take a seat." She gestures to the chair. Aiden hesitated, then lowered himself onto the wooden chair. Ren sat at the edge of the bed; he was still exhausted.

"All of this ties into what happened about a century ago". Princess Iris began talking. "Back then, the Council's purpose wasn't to 'Protect Arkon's prosperity at all costs', it was to 'Find a way to allow humans to coexist with other species'." She gestured towards the window, from where the barrier was clearly visible.

"Several hundred years ago, more humans were allowed outside." She said with a grave tone. "Passage through the barrier wasn't restricted to the Battlemages and the military. In fact, normal people were encouraged to leave Arkon and experience the world. Of course," She quickly added. "They were accompanied by military escorts to guarantee their safety from monsters. But usually, soon after the sun set, several hundred people would leave the city and spend time outside."

"But… Their mana pools?" Aiden asked in shock. Ren remained silent; he was listening intently.

"They were encouraged to dilute their mana pools." Princess Iris said.

"What?" Aiden cried out. "But that would mean many would die! Almost none of them would be able to use magic ever again since the treatment for mana dilution wasn't discovered until two hundred or so years ago!"

"Except many didn't die." Princess Iris calmly explained. "Many learned to use their mana despite their diluted mana pools. Some lucky ones could even manipulate wildmagic."

Ren flinched. He'd heard of someone who was capable of that.

"You see," The princess continued with her words, "The Council of that time believed that with time, and through generations, humanity would slowly adapt to wildmagic, to the extent that eventually the daylight would no longer be fatal to us."

"Makes sense." Ren whispered. "By slowly introducing wildmagic to the population, they could try to cultivate an innate ability to control it. Or, at least a tolerance to it."

"Indeed," Princess Iris nodded. Ren glimpsed a smile flash across her lips. "But all that changed when one man discovered a way to 'cure' the dilution." Her expression darkened. "I use the word 'cure' very loosely, mind you. His solution was to use his own magic to destroy the inflicted person's mana pool, causing them to lose all their training and power."

Ren flinched. He'D seen this method used so many times in the inner keep. It was disgusting. Especially when he could see, hear, even taste the destroyed mana pool. So many lives had been ruined because of it.

"Thankfully, years later another way was found." He mumbled. "So, the method you're talking about is only used when there is no other way left."

"Are you talking about forcefully spending all of a person's mana, and allowing it to replenish from nothing?" Aiden asked in confusion. "That takes weeks, if not months." Ren nodded. It was what Yu and the others used, though their recovery time was days rather than weeks.

"That method was found too late." Princess Iris added. "The 'amputation' method was consistently used for about one and a half centuries, effectively destroying what the High Council was trying to do as well as lowering the average power level. Anyone whose mana was diluted was 'treated' by the Inner Keep, and the Council was powerless to stop them. They watched their hundreds of years of hard work go to waste."

Aiden pondered a moment. "But" He finally asked, "Does that mean the High Council didn't have the power it has now?"

It was Ren who nodded. "The High Council became the highest governing entity of Arkon in the last century."

"Indeed," Princess Iris added. "With the current set of Council members – save my uncle – no less." She sighed, then continued. "Anyways, the population quickly lost whatever little wildmagic tolerance it had built, and everything started to become 'pure." She released her mana. "Ren, you should know better than anyone. Tell me the difference between my mana and that of one of the battlemages."

Ren hesitated. It was difficult to explain. "Your mana is like a glass of water, or a pool. You are in control of every bit of it. The battlemages' mana is like the river. They control what it does and how it does it, where it goes and all that but…" He hesitated. "It has tendencies. It changes with their mood; it adapts to the environment and situation. They don't think to do it. It just does it on its own."

Princess Iris nodded. "It's got that little bit of wildness to it, am I right?" Ren nodded. There was no better way to put it.

"Wait." Aiden suddenly asked. "I get that they've built some form of tolerance but… What does that have to do with Ren?"

Princess Iris hesitated. "Let me continue. Back then, humanity still had a few people who could manipulate wildmagic. The last of them, in fact, was the previous Archmage."

Ren nodded. He knew of that story, Yu always told him about it.

"He died a hundred years ago and his apprentice, the current Archmage took his place, becoming the very first Archmage of Arkon who could not manipulate wildmagic. Since he couldn't do what his predecessors could, the position soon lost power and he became a tool for the new High Council – the High Council that advocated for 'purity' and 'prosperity of Arkon'."

"Something else must have happened." Ren suddenly said. "A shift in opinion and goals so quickly makes no sense. They must have either discovered something or…"

She nodded. Her eyes focused on Ren's as her next words sent a chill down his spine. "Yes. You see, at about the same time as this, something unlike anything done before happened. A young scholar – the current Archmage's apprentice – led an expedition. And that is where Aon believes your story begins."