The Ritual

An entity zoomed across the sky, shocking birds and clearing clouds. A water-like figure heading in a westerly direction. The figure paused for a moment then looked around. It appeared to be looking for something. Then like a pirate finding marked treasure, the water-like figure sped off, disappearing from the sky. It had found what it was looking for.

Earlier that day…

The sun shone brightly as it covered the kingdom of Ancilly's main temple. The central temple was grandiose and was located to the south of the royal castle. The sun rays created a myriad of colours gleaming through the stained glass. The colours rejuvenated the rooms, each colour with an enchanting presence. In the central tower of the temple, at the highest point was a room used for the ritual summoning of beings that were termed "Blossom". A Blossom was a being with abilities likened to that of a God. These beings aren't born but instead are grown as flowers in the soil of their realm. Their realm was referred to as "Heaven's Garden". Once a Blossom is summoned, their flower will begin to emit a vibrant blue aura. They are then released from the soil by a guardian elder who oversees the field. A summoning ritual had become a commonly performed ritual. At first, the Blossoms would only be summoned in times of war, however, with each generation that passed they were summoned for less crucial reasons such as to increase the kingdom's prestige in the presence of foreign guests or solve minor disputes for the royal family. Though the priests started to feel disdain towards the royal family for treating the Blossoms with such little respect they would still perform the summoning ritual so as to fulfill their duty to the royal family. The priests greatly revered the Blossoms and looked to them as deities to be worshiped. Each priest is specially selected by the head council of the temples. They would only select children who showed an affinity for nature magic. Those who could practice this form of magic would feel a deep connection with the Blossoms and be able to summon them easily. These children would not only be taught the way to practice their magic and various rituals but also the temple's ideology. On the surface the temple served the royal family as the highest power but in secret they held the Blossoms and the Elders in that position.

The central temple was preparing for the summoning ritual. It needed to be held at noon when the sun would be at its highest, as the energy from the sun helped to strengthen the priests' powers during the ritual. In order to summon a Blossom, a priest would need to use a large portion of their magic in order to do so. The stronger the Blossom, the more magic would be needed. The day of the ritual was also the crown prince's 20th birthday. The king decided to have it on that day as a way to show his kingdom the strength of the crown prince once the Blossom synced with the crown prince's energy. The king had plans to maintain their power without having to summon a Blossom repeatedly. The king wanted to ensure that the summoned Blossom would be powerful enough so he ordered the priests to strengthen the energy used for the summoning so as to bring forth a stronger Blossom. As a result they recruited the strongest practitioners from each of the other four temples. In total thirty priests were gathered to participate in the ritual as opposed to the usual ten. Preparations for the ritual began as early as 4am and all citizens that had the capability of performing any form of magic were ordered not to do so for that day. This was done to eliminate the possibility of the Blossom syncing with another's energy, as though Blossoms would normally sync with the crown prince of the kingdom it was their first attempt at summoning a more powerful Blossom. The priests were not at risk of affecting the ritual however, as the type of magic they would use during the ritual would not be compatible for the Blossom's needs. Once a Blossom was synced with someone there wasn't any known way for them to be synced with someone else. The synchronization was a very important process. It was similar to that of a contract between the summoned Blossom and the intended partner where the Blossom would follow all orders and protect their partner at any cost. Once synchronization is completed the partner of the Blossom would also see an increase in their abilities based on their current aptitudes. The synchronization process was also important because it provided the Blossom with the life energy they needed to maintain their form by converting the pulse energy received. Pulse energy was a combination of one's magic nature and life energy. While the ritual itself was of great importance the synchronization process could also not be overlooked.

While the priests prepared for the ritual the kingdom was also making preparations for the crown prince's birthday banquet. After the completion of the summoning ritual they would then celebrate with a grand feast. The king would spare no expense to provide his first son with the best. The king had three children. The crown prince and the princess were born of his queen and his second son was born of his concubine. All of the king's children showed great promise but he only cared for the children of the queen. The king never praised the second prince and the prince was often restricted from attending royal functions. His treatment of the second prince had a lot to do with the fact that his mother was a princess from a former enemy kingdom. The king feared that if this son were to gain too much power he would rebel against him in the future and take the kingdom in the name of his mother's homeland. The king would often call him a mistake that only came about due to a moment of lust.

On the day of the summoning ritual the second prince was tasked with getting twenty night lilies for the Queen. The distance was not that far from the kingdom but the journey to and back would result in the prince missing the summoning ritual and other festivities. The second prince accepted the task but before leaving, he left two trusted guards to protect his mother. Though his mother was a princess in her homeland she was never arrogant and was kind to all which made her loved by most of the servants. This didn't stop her from being mistreated however, as the queen's ladies in waiting would often ridicule her or play cruel tricks on her. Regardless of any complaints made by the second prince, there would be no repercussions for their actions. The king and queen would turn a blind eye to it all. His mother was sent to the kingdom as a part of a peace treaty and was only viewed by the king as an object to symbolize that treaty. Despite how they were treated, this mother son pair was always there for each other. The second prince wasted no time in departing for his journey as he wanted to return as soon as possible.

The crown prince, William Froth, was also preparing for the ritual. The crown prince was a handsome and charming young man. He had a slightly muscular build, baby blue eyes and had short blonde hair. He had striking features and was well versed in fire magic. The crown prince cared greatly for his image. He changed into multiple suits as he found fault with each he tried. There were two servants attending to the prince who were constantly going back and forth to get more suits for the crown prince to try. William had a large room adjoining his chambers that only contained clothes and shoes. He would have them bring in at least ten suits of clothes each time. While searching through a set of clothes the king entered the crown prince's room.

"Look at my dashing boy!" said the king as he approached his son.

William smiled as his father approached and slightly bowed as a show of respect. After greeting each other the king ordered the servants to leave the room. The king then shared with his son his intention for him to take the Blossom as his concubine. The crown prince couldn't understand why he was ordering him to take her as a concubine rather than his queen, the king then explained in greater detail. Blossoms were incapable of successfully giving birth to the child of a mortal. Though they also practiced magic, their bodies weren't compatible with that of a Blossom. In addition, the king viewed the Blossoms as servants of the royal family so their position could not be that of the country's Queen. The crown prince was reluctant at first but agreed to his father's directive.

"Make me proud son," the king said as he handed a royal blue suit to his son. The crown prince gripped the suite and looked down at it with a contemplative look as his father left.

Meanwhile the queen was making arrangements for the crown prince's banquet. She was meticulous with the planning and made sure that only the elite of the kingdom and their children would be attending. She wanted to ensure that the night would be perfect so she checked everything from the food to the types of candles that would light the corridors. The Queen's name was Elizabeth Rosenn and she was the daughter of the prestigious Rosenn household which was a high standing house in the kingdom and would often have family members that served in various court or government positions. The queen was treated as the gem of the family since she was a child as there had only been males born for the greater part of their family's bloodline. There was no doubt that she would've been the next queen, whether it was her background, education or physical appearance, there was no one who could match her. She was now in her early forties and was still very beautiful. She had delicate features, long blonde hair and baby blue eyes. She would often wear gowns that showcased her regality and would adorn herself in pearls or diamond earrings. The queen was not the type to forget or forgive a grudge and would deal out punishment for the slightest mistakes. Aside from three ladies in waiting that she handpicked, she would often change maidservants due to them dying or being imprisoned.

The queen loved both her children but placed most of her hopes on her son. Through him she could maintain her position and gain more power. The queen loved her son immensely and they were very close. The queen shared the night lily as a memory with her son. Although the Queen's main purpose for sending the second prince on his task was as a way to get him out of the palace she was also looking forward to the sight of the night lilies. She first saw the flower when her son gifted it to her one late night a few years prior. At the time the flower had bloomed beautifully and the sight of it was then engraved into her heart, she never forgot a single detail of that night. The task was not something she felt the second prince was worthy of but he was still more appropriate than a servant to get something that important. The presence of the second prince served as a reminder to the Queen that there was once a time when she wasn't the centre of the king's world, a moment of failure. She viewed the second prince as her living humiliation. Though it was normal for a man to have more than one wife, and previous kings also had more than one, she viewed it as an insult. To distract herself from this feeling she would put all her effort into her duties and planning the various events for the kingdom. The smiles and laughter from those enjoying the effort she put in made her feel needed and appreciated.

It was almost time for the ritual to begin and while everyone was busy with their preparations the princess was with her magic tutor. The princess was the third child of the king. Her name was Cecilia Froth. The princess had yet to awaken her nature of magic so she spent most of her time studying it and experimenting with ingredients that help to boost one's magical nature. It is expected for children to awaken their nature of magic by the age of 12 latest but the princess, now 16, still hadn't shown signs of an awakening.

"Do you think it will work?" asked the princess desperately as she tugged on her tutor's sleeve.

"Princess, it's never been tried so I can't give you false hope that it will," said the tutor respectfully.

Cecilia loosened her grip and wore a defeated expression. Seeing her face the tutor gave the princess a folded piece of paper and covered it.

"Don't let anyone know about this. This may be your best chance," the tutor advised as she smiled. The princess's tutor was Delima Strugs, a commoner by birth but as a result of her intelligence and capability in the practice of magic was promoted to the post of royal magic tutor. She spent a great deal of time with the princess developing a strong bond overtime. The princess hugged her then left to prepare for the ritual. Aside from those who would perform the ritual, the royal family would also attend. It was forbidden for any outsiders to witness the ritual.

Meanwhile the second prince was almost at his destination. The prince was only able to ride his horse to a certain point then needed to walk the rest of the way. On his way to the location of the night lilies the second prince passed the "Blooming Tree". It was a robust tree similar to that of an oak tree and had bright cherry blossoms. The tree got its name from a group of children who noticed when a full grown tree with blossoms suddenly appeared in a spot that had never even seen grass for years. After seeing the tree they ran back to the town yelling about their discovery. Since that day the tree has always been in full bloom. The name stuck and it became a site for many lovers to profess their love. The second prince was 17 years old and aside from the affection he received from his mother he had never felt another's love and although he was a prince he never felt he had the right to love anyone else, for he felt he would only bring them into a life of suffering. He passed the tree with a heavy heart and continued on his journey. Once the second prince got to the location he quickly and carefully stored all the flowers. After collecting the flowers, he was filthy so he decided to wash off in a nearby lake. The lake was hidden inside a cave so the second prince was confident he wouldn't be spotted.

During this time the ritual had started at the central temple. To execute the ritual they first activated all nature magics: earth, fire, water and air. Each priest would then release their magical energy into the respective symbol of their nature. After doing so they would then recite a summoning chant in their minds. In order to protect the secret of the summoning ritual only the designated priests performing the ritual and each generation's king would be provided with the chant by the temple council. After a few minutes, the different natures started to react to each other and began forming a circular shape. The ritual had to continue until the circle became a bud and then opened to reveal the figure of the summoned Blossom. All priests started to pour in more energy, almost to the point of completely draining themselves of magical energy. It was not in vain however, as after almost an hour the Blossom's figure started to take shape. Once the form had taken shape an almost water like figure began to emerge from the opened bud. At this point the crown prince then released some of his pulse energy. The Blossom reacted and began to move towards the crown prince, the Blossom reached out to the crown prince but then abruptly stopped. Everyone in the room stood silent, this had never happened before during the ritual. The crown prince released more pulse energy thinking it might not have been enough but it was futile. The summoned Blossom turned towards the west then disappeared in a gust of wind. The ritual symbol then began to fade. The crown prince fell to his knees, helpless and befuddled.

"Do something now!" yelled the queen as she grabbed hold of the king.

"Find her and bring her back or await your death!" shouted the king to the priests. With the little energy they had left they tried to trace the Blossom.

"Don't worry, it will all be okay soon" whispered the queen to her son as she helped him to his feet. He didn't utter a word. She couldn't bear seeing her son in such a state. She then called for the royal magic tutor to aid in the search. With most of the priests' energy depleted she would be the best choice. The princess left with two priests to find the royal magic tutor.