Blood In The Saint’s Glade

"Do you know why Saint Mirin is called a saint?" My uncle asked with a captious smile.

Curly black locks bounced around Lumia's small horns as she shook her head. As a dragon, she wouldn't have much reason to learn about elvin saints, but I was still surprised that Lumia didn't know the answer.

"That's an easy one," I began, then cleared my throat. "She was the first elf with magic strong enough to defeat a dragon."

Lumia's eyes popped at my words. "Is that true?" she asked, "Was there really an elf that could fight dragons?"

My uncle nodded. "There was," he said to Lumia; then, turning to me he spoke sharply, "but that isn't why she was called a saint."

"I wasn't finished!" I said, my voice coming out unintentionally whiny. I cleared my throat again. "She killed the black dragon lord and ended his reign of terror."

"Are you done?" Uncle asked.

I nodded. Surely that was the answer. Mirin did a lot of good things in her life, but none of her other accomplishments compared to slaying the black dragon.

"You're wrong again, Silvon." Uncle's smile disappeared. His smooth forehead creased with lines, and the points of his ears dropped. "If this is the state of your education, I'm worried about where our kingdom is headed." He frowned.

My heart sank. I was so sure that was the right answer...maybe I should've paid more attention to lady Melissa's history lessons.

"Well then, why is she a saint?" Lumia asked.

Uncle rubbed his beard as he answered. "Good question, young one. I'm afraid the answer is quite disappointing actually. She was sainted for being beautiful." He paused briefly, letting the words hang in the air before he continued. "Along with her powerful magic, the matriarch of the royal bloodline was also gifted with bewitching beauty. They say her hair was like gold, and she possessed a silver pair of irises..." uncle raised a hand towards her statue. "...she was truly a goddess come down from heaven. That was the belief anyway."

"Wow, she must've been gorgeous." Lumia smiled.

"And you will be too, when you grow up into a big strong dragon," Uncle said with a wink.

Seeing how Lumia's eyes sparkled at his words, I wished I had been the one to say them. Instead I grumbled, "That's dumb! Who would make someone a saint just for being pretty?"

"The same people who choose their kings and queens based on how closely they match her image." He retorted with a gesture to my head of half gold hair. "Your mother was blessed with a few gold strands, but had she been born as I—with none—then perhaps they'd have found someone among the civilians to rule."

I couldn't argue with him there. It was a practice I didn't fully understand, but it was true that despite being older my uncle had been denied the throne simply because my mother had a mix of gold and white hair while my uncle did not. I doubted the second part of his statement though. I didn't think they'd pick someone random off the streets to rule even if both of them had been born plain.

Uncle Vale didn't usually comment on the issue, but I suspected some part of him was resentful.

"Silvon..." uncle called, drawing me back from my thoughts. He was standing near the entrance to a hidden passage that led to the holy sanctum with Lumia at his side. "I seem to have forgotten the key."

"Seriously?" I groaned. "I only came because you said you would show us the eidolon."

"I know, I know. We wouldn't want to disappoint our illustrious guest either." he smiled as he gently patted Lumia on the head. "Could you do me a favor, Sliv; go and ask Riona—I mean her majesty, for the key."

I nodded and ran to find my mother. It was already after noon, so she would've been done with audiences for the day. Since it was talusday, she wouldn't have meetings, but with high lord Andrhei visiting, it was likely she'd be entertaining him.

Usually our visitors were more interested in learning about elven methods of enchanting, or the secrets of magical construction. As such they'd often only seek only a brief audience with the Queen before heading to the artisan district, but not High Lord Andrhei. Whenever he'd visit, the dragon lord would insist that my mother accompany him on a tour of the royal library or a visit to the magic academy. It was unusual, but in this situation it helped to narrow my search.

The library was closer as it didn't require leaving the palace so I went there first.

***

Vorlin was leaving as I arrived with a young girl named Clair hot on his heels. She was feisty and a bit of a teacher's pet, but for all her pining, Vorlin never gave her special treatment.

"Your highness." Vorlin bowed as I barreled past him.

I nodded my acknowledgment and kept going.

The library was the largest room in the castle with the ballroom a close second. If I had to use ordinary means then it'd have taken me an hour just to search each level. Fortunately, Silvia had taught me a trick that would eliminate the need.

Upon entering the library, I closed my eyes and extended my senses through mana. Monitoring the fluctuations in the ambient mana, mages could detect other nearby mages. Someone as powerful as Lord Andrhei would surely be able to hide traces of his presence, but he was proud and confident—dare I say arrogant even. Mana was usually calm, but around him, the particles were charged and wild. No one, but a dragon, would let their power leak so carelessly; however, thanks to his presence, I found my mother in a matter of minutes.

I raced up the central spiral to the second level then took a left at the second book shelf and there they were.

Lumia's father paid me no mind, but my mother gasped as I darted up to her. "Silvon, is something wrong?"

I shook my head. "No, uncle just forgot his key to the holy sanctum. He promised to show us the eidolon, so he asked me to come borrow yours."

Her lip twitched and the brow above her left eye dipped. She was bothered by something, but she handed me the key without further questions.

"Thank you." I said with a slight bow.

"You're Welcome Silv." My mother smiled, "I'll come join you, once we're done here."

"Okay," I nodded, then hurried back to the saint's glade through a secret stairwell, obscured behind the throne.

Before reaching the end of the saint's descent, I knew something wasn't right. This was a holy place and yet I sensed immense darkness down below. I pressed on faster, tripping over my feet and nearly tumbling down the rest of the stairs.

The glade where Mirin's statue stood was soaked with blood and the air was harsh. My uncle and Lumia were nowhere to be found, but the door to the holy sanctum was open.

Someone must have found uncle's key and come here hoping to steal the eidolon. But why hadn't uncle stopped them?

I followed the trail of blood down to the holy sanctum. My heart beat faster with each step as I heedlessly pounded down the blood soaked stairs.

Reaching the bottom, I needed a moment to take in the scene before I could process the horror that awaited me. My uncle, covered in Lumia's blood, stood over my best friend as she lay taking shallow breaths. She was struggling, desperately trying to crawl away from him, but for each inch she moved, he stepped a foot closer.

"Silv..." she cried weakly, as our eyes met.

My uncle's focus had been entirely on her, until now; he looked up and smiled at me. "You made it back quicker than I was expecting." He sighed and shook his head; blood smeared on his cheek glimmered faintly as it caught the firelight of a hoovering green flame. With a wave of his hand, a thick layer of black mana blocked the way back up. "Just in time to watch your friend become my slave."

Seeing the red gem in his hand I realized what he meant. He was going to turn Lumia into an eidolon. I couldn't imagine what was going through his head, but it certainly wasn't logic.

Lumia's blood mixed with mana particles and swirled toward the gem as my uncle's eyes began to glow. Lumia stretched her arm toward me screaming, "Silv!"

It was a desperate cry. That one word seemed to contain all of her strength, emotion and no small amount of pain.

Reacting on instinct, I fired several bolts of pure mana at the dark barrier without looking back. Breaking into a sprint, I fired another shot at the gem which was now floating in front of my uncle.

I heard the first three bolts crash against my uncle's barrier, but when I looked, it didn't seem like they had any effect. Wrapping his hand in mana, my uncle swatted aside the final botl before it hit the gem.

"Silv...please..." Lumia cried, her word's barely a whisper.

"Tsk tsk, what a poor performance," my uncle said, "I guess looks aren't everything after all. You might have her gold hair, but you certainly don't have her power."

Tears rolled down Lumia's cheeks and her breathing slowed. The last remnants of her blood were flowing toward the gem. The spell was almost done and Lumia would forever be bound to serve my uncle.

Desperate, I let out a furious roar. I tried to pull mana away from my uncle, away from the gem, but I couldn't hope to overpower him.

As I was giving up, I felt a strange sensation. The mana around me trembled with golden light, vibrating the air as the normally invisible particles became plainly visible.

My uncle started to say something, but I couldn't tell what. Mana was rushing into my core at a rate that I knew was unsafe, but I couldn't stop it any more than I could stop my uncle. My core swelled as much as it could to accept the incoming mana, but it didn't take long before it was full.

As more mana tried to force its way inside, my core felt ready to burst. The pain was overwhelming, so much so that I could hardly process my thoughts. My vision blurred into bright light and the only sound that made sense was the steady pounding in my ears. Several moments passed like this, then my vision returned, but I still couldn't hear.

My uncle was irate, flailing his arms and screaming like a mad man. The gem had fallen, Lumia was slowly moving towards me and her wounds were healing. Whatever was happening, it seemed to be stopping my uncle's magic, at least for the moment. I knew I couldn't keep this up for long. My core would give out and shatter. Lumia was safe for now, but what of the barrier? My mother said she'd come soon, but would I last long enough, and would she be able to reach us?

I couldn't answer any of the questions. I was in too much pain to twist around and check on the barrier, and my core already felt like it was cracking. I figured I might last a couple more minutes at best.

'The eidolon,' I thought, my eyes frantically darting around trying to make sense of everything in view. Vivi should be here, if I can but rouse her...

It was then that my eyes settled on a forest green gem—or rather, the gem's shattered remains. The realization that my uncle hadn't acted on a whim struck me. Destroying her gem was likely the first thing he did upon entering the sanctum. Probably as Lumia was distracted admiring the only creature that truly compared with dragons in might.

Neither would've expected his treachery; however, I guessed it must have been deliberate that he chose here of all places. If he had not eliminated Vivi, then even if he'd succeeded in dominating Lumia, my mother would've turned the sacred beast on him as soon as his plot was discovered.

I felt a dull thump as something struck me from behind or in front, I couldn't tell. There was hardly any pain from the impact, but a jolt shot through my entire body. It was all I could take. I felt myself tremble as mana rushed out of me, but nothing else made sense. I tried to hang on, to keep fighting for Lumia, I wanted to know she was safe; instead I felt my mind drift into a dark void, unable to climb back out.

A peaceful darkness called to me, its tug growing stronger the more I fought to get free. Soon I forgot the scene entirely and relaxed into the easy quiet of nothingness.