He bought a simple carriage and attached the horses that had once pulled the fire giant baby. Henry knew he overpaid, but it was urgent. He couldn't just drape Ash over a horse's saddle for the duration of the journey to Shae.

The carriage was only two wheels, but it was more than large enough to carry a comatose young man laying down. Ash was inside, behind a thin, woven straw curtain that kept him hidden from outside eyes.

If Henry didn't have Simir to reassure him multiple times that Ash was only sleeping due to his body being overwhelmed with magic energy and depleted of spiritual energy, Henry would've dragged Ash's unconscious body to the nearest doctor or cleric.

And that was only after he managed to regain his composure and rationality.

The moment Ash fell, as if his soul had left him, the worry and panic in Henry went numb. He ran for his brother, but was too slow to catch him.

"Ash? Ash!" He cradled his brother's shoulders in his arms and tried to shake him awake. He received no response. Ash laid limp in his arms, his head hanging to the side.

At that moment, a wave of pain swept through Henry. His entire chest felt strangled, and it was difficult to breathe. He was empty and confused. Somewhere in the back of his mind he was telling himself to do something, but what that something was, he didn't know, nor did his body follow through.

For a moment, he was that child who was staring at the limp, broken body of Arunsha. This time, he was the one hugging the fallen, begging them to wake up.

It stunned him that he felt that same unadulterated helplessness and heartbreak now, when he was arguably much stronger, a better fighter, and in a position where he could easily protect his only remaining brother.

He didn't think he would.

Ash could be impulsive and a bit reckless, but he was also powerful, and knew his limits. Therefore, Henry always believed his brother would be fine, no matter what he did. In fact, he wasn't a stranger to the belief that Ash would outlive him simply by carrying Lunapsar blood.

He didn't know how long he'd sat there, but Simir's voice finally broke through his clouded brain.

"The Second Young Master is in a coma because his body must grapple with the after effects of the array." Simir encouraged him to check Ash's breathing, as if knowing that simply telling Henry his brother was alive wasn't enough to convince him.

Henry's hands had trembled as he checked Ash's breath, listened for a heartbeat, and checked his pulse. His breathing was faint and his heartbeat felt slower, but Ash was alive.

Simir then reminded Henry of what Ash had said just before he activated the array. "I'll wake up in time for the Exhibition! Just make sure we both make it there on time...."

Ash had known the entire time what was going to happen.

And he still did it.

Henry's fears gave way to anger. He put Ash on one of the horses, tied him in place to ensure he didn't slide off, and headed to the nearest settlement, where he bought a carriage from a village leader.

He had to awkwardly explain that his brother had been injured in a fight and he needed to bring him home. The villagers were sympathetic, and tried to send him off with food and some cushions made of rough fabric and straw, but he refused, pointing to their packs still on the horses.

He also gave the villagers the two horses that had been pulling the baby fire giant wagon before he set off.

Henry's anger was short-lived.

Despite knowing Ash was only sleeping, it was unnerving to see his brother laying there for days, not waking up once. It was hard to be mad, especially when Ash had bouts of fevers. They were odd; extremely short. Perhaps a few minutes at best, and then he'd return to normal.

Simir said this was due to his body adjusting.

Henry didn't know the exact details, but he gathered that the magic that was released from the mage using magi-demae was so overwhelming that it clashed with Ash, causing his current condition. Henry could only hope that when his brother woke up, he would be fine and his magic hadn't suffered.

Magic was Ash's most prized ability and the source of much of his pride.

In addition, it was what connected him to his master. Ash always called her that as the highest form of respect. All their other siblings called her auntie. Once, Henry asked Ash why he preferred to call Saphira master instead.

First, it was because one of Ash's first memories was Saphira raising him into the air with her hands under his arms and proclaiming that he was her pupil and she was his magic master. It was a strange thing to say for a woman who was said to have no magic and was a shame to the Traceras Clan.

Second, Ash wanted her to feel the prestige, pride, and respect that others never gave her when it came to magic. Henry had to admit; he had a point. Because Saphira Traceras couldn't use magic, she was seen as a pariah by mages. She had the bloodline, but none of the benefits, therefore she was a shame upon her clan.

They treated her as such.

Though, Henry's mother never showed that their words and actions hurt her. It saddened him to think that she was simply used to that treatment from others her entire life. Then, she gave birth to him, who also couldn't use magic energy.

Henry was a disappointment, but his mother had been adamant that whether or not a child of hers could use magic wasn't important.

"He is my son. That is good enough!" He vaguely remembered her retorting to an old minister in passing.

Of course, when Henry contracted Raiju, he'd been excited and wanted to tell the world, but his mother stopped him.

If the public, or in particular, his father, knew that he was a summoner, he would be weaponized or worse, seen as a threat to the Old Bastard's power, and in turn be targeted. She told him to keep summoning a secret.

His father and mother had been in a politically arranged marriage since childhood. They didn't have strong feelings for each other. However, anyone could tell, considering when Saphira was pregnant with Henry, his father got his former lover pregnant as well.

Jasmin, the mother of Third Brother, Laheran, said that it was so well known, that there were plays about it. Almost all of them sided with Saphira being wronged, and made the public dislike their ruler even more.

The previous emperor wanted his bloodline to have the blood of an ancient mage clan, and Saphira's father thought that the safety of a powerful family could protect the last member of his family. To an extent, he was right. Saphira's status and highly revered bloodline was enough to make her treasured by the public. The Emperor didn't give her much trouble.

Then again, perhaps he simply didn't care. From what Nera told them, Saphira was safe in the Mourning Tower, and it seems that the Emperor was indifferent to the entire Court of Imperial Wives, so he ignored their existence. As long as they didn't pose a threat, the Emperor could ignore them.

Whatever the reason, at the very least, Henry could rest easily knowing his mother, though confined, was still alive.

He looked back into the carriage. In order to prevent Ash from rolling out of the front, which lacked a panel and was open to the driver's seat, Henry had tied a rope around Ash's waist and secured him to the interior of the carriage.

When he was young, Henry suspected Saphira loved Ash more than him. Not that he felt bad about it. It was difficult not to love such a fat, jolly baby. Everyone in the Court of Imperial Wives loved the cheerful, cute prince. He was the youngest and was treated well by all his siblings.

Henry loved all his siblings, as well, but Ash was the one he was especially close to. Ash was the only sibling he'd carried in his arms just hours after Ash was born.

"Isn't he cute?" his mother had gushed.

"I didn't know he'd be this heavy," he had replied, earning him an immediate rebuke. He was taken and felt responsible for that fat baby.

So much that in the middle of an unprecedented storm, the thunder and lightning were scaring a toddler-Ash so much, Henry had gotten irrationally upset at the weather and yelled at the sky to stop.

Raiju appeared, apparently drawn by his intensity, and asked why he wished to stop the thunder and lightning so much?

"It hurts my baby brother," Henry had retorted proudly.

Raiju had laughed, and asked how he planned to stop it.

"I'll fight you." It had been spoken with such determination and fearlessness, that Raiju grew serious and agreed.

Though Henry didn't have magic, that didn't stop him from reading some magic texts written by the Traceras Clan. He trapped Raiju, diverted his lightning, and planted a child-sized fist in the side of Raiju's head.

Impressed that a child could be so daring, and believing that Henry would become strong, Raiju proposed a contract.

After that day, Ash was never frightened by lightning or thunder again.

Henry let out a heavy sigh and looked back towards the road. Around them, the dense forests they'd driven through for days had been cleared. Swaths of land were partitioned off in massive squares of varying colors depending on what was planted in them.

In the distance, he could see small clusters of buildings forming villages.

Villages began to form towns, and towns began to appear on the main route.

Farmland gave way to buildings, and in the sloping hillside to one side, greenery was occasionally broken by a large house nestled amongst the trees.

Shae had a large, natural harbor with a series of hills gently leading down into the sea. Like the other merchant cities, its actual territory was much bigger than the city itself. The city was always a fraction of the territory.

"It was good that we left before dawn. We should get to the city gates well before sunset," Henry said, as if Ash were awake to hear him.

The sprawl of the city began to grow with the structures changing from modest home steads to the walls and gates of homes of some of Suna's wealthiest merchants families. The thin strip of dark gray in the distance that was too even to be a skyline grew larger as the route they were one went from wide, hard packed dirt to paved.

Shae Merchant City's hills gave way to a basin that opened into a massive bay as large as Carthage Harbor, only without the island in the center. Along one side of the harbor was a flat basin, but around the other sides were hills. It had multiple walls, first surrounding the old fortress area on top of the hill closest to the water.

Then there was the wall that surrounded the sprawling urban area just beneath the fortress, and finally, there was the incorporated city wall, which was the two story, two horse length wall that surrounded the basin and connected to the old fortress.

Every few paces, there were guard towers. Shae was ancient, and one of the older Merchant Cities. Long before the Federation existed, it had been prone to attack from both pirates and former enemy neighbors and its remaining fortifications reminded everyone of that.

The western gate had several entrances, including two to one side specifically for citizens of the Federation. There was another gate for Dareisol allies marked with both the seals of the Federation of Merchant Cities, Shae, and Dareisol.

However, as a citizen of the Federation, Henry lined up in the gate for citizen travelers without trade cargo. Since most citizens likely came by boat, the land ports of entry weren't usually anywhere near as busy at the gates for non-citizens, but due to the Invitational, there were more people than usual.

The western gate was decorated with flower wreaths and banners that represented each of the Merchant Cities. The official colors of the Federation were ultramarine, for maritime trade, and gold, for, obviously, money, but each city had a different city seal.

Carthage Harbor's was a star-compass.

"Your documents, sir," a city guard approached Henry along with a city official rolling a sort of standing desk that made it easier for documents to be laid out.

"Here are mine," Henry said as he handed them his leather folio. "And this is for my brother. He was injured and is comatose at the moment."

Immediately, the guard tensed and looked up. "Do you require medics, sir?" He appeared ready to make the call and rush Ash to the medical center next to the gate, which was meant to treat sick or injured arrivals.

"No, I've had him checked and our mother is waiting for us with a healer," Henry replied. "At this point, we're just waiting for Ash to wake up."

Seeing as how he was so calm about it, the guard nodded.

"Young Master Atractas, welcome back." The official stamped his travel documents. Henry caught the look of surprise on the guard's face after the official said his name. The young guard looked at Henry with surprise and awe. "Are you not competing this year?"

"No, I had to give the rest of the cities a chance," Henry said with a slight smile. The official personally handed him both folios.

"Maybe we'll take the platinum ring this year," the official said. He looked towards Ash. "Are you sure medics are not necessary, Young Master?"

Henry shook his head. "Our mother is already here and is waiting for us. She's already prepared."

The official nodded and stepped back. "Then, I hope the Second Young Master wakes up soon. I read his name in the Exhibition list and look forward to what he's brought this year."

Henry gave him a nod. The metal gates were opened for him, and he shook the reins to move the horses forward.

The short tunnel beneath the gate was brightly lit, so his eyes didn't need to adjust much when they emerged from the other side, onto a plaza that was the start of one of the city's main thoroughfares.

Multi-storied stone brick buildings with tiled roofs lined the street. Their ground floors featured colorful and elaborate display windows of storefronts. Along the center of the street were islands with thin trees and flowers on raised beds. The bustling city was alive with people from all over the continents, speaking different languages, wearing different clothes.

A few sported scarves folded or draped around their necks with their merchant city's seal patterned across.

"We forgot our Carthage Harbor scarves," Henry said with a frown. "We're so close to the opening ceremonies, they're probably all out now."

Every so often, over the rooftops, he could see tall buildings, a few towers, and various banners. So much was going on around with the festivities of the Invitational that he wouldn't have noticed the ravens overhead had he not been looking for them.

He followed them, as he only had a vague memory of where Snake, Scarab, and Sons was located in Shae.

The small, somewhat dilapidated carriage stood out a bit, but no one really stopped to stare. They turned a corner off the main street and on to another one. They were halfway between the water and the fortress, and the ground began to slope up.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Shae's Snake, Scarab, and Sons was as large as the one in Carthage Harbor, but was a full three stories with only the top floor and roof top being private family quarters. It was located on a prominent corner. Since it was on a street with a lot of horse and carriage traffic, the entrance was recessed from the street to allow carriages to stop right in front and under a green awning bearing their brand symbol.

Henry didn't turn into the recessed entrance.

He drove their horse around the corner, and to the entrance of the family apartment that faced the smaller side street.

Standing there were Nera, Effie, and two silver-white-haired elders in draping robes. Two family guards were with them, but stood to the side in silence.

The ravens that had been leading them landed on the overhang above the door as Henry stopped the carriage in front of it.

"Auntie, Effie." Henry put the reins down and quickly climbed off. He gave quick bows of his head to the elders. "Master Chanda, Elder Kosal. Ash hasn't woken up yet." He didn't rush to embrace his aunt or Effie as he normally would.

Instead, he locked the carriage in place and rushed to Ash.

"Take the horses and carriage to the carriage house." Nera gave the guards a quick order and they nodded, hit their chests, and walked forward. One began unloading their things from the horses while the other got on the driver's bench.

"Brother, is Second Brother still sleeping?" Effie asked. She arched her neck up to try to get a better look.

Henry put one arm under Ash's knees and the other beneath his shoulders, and lifted him off the floor of the carriage. He adjusted his brother in his arms so that Ash's head rested against his shoulder, and then turned around.

He heard Nera take a sharp breath.

"He's fine, Auntie. He's just sleeping," Henry told her at once.

Nera was tense, appearing to hold her breath as she nodded, nonetheless. She swallowed hard and stepped back. "Bring him upstairs. I've prepared his room."

Effie gathered as much of their things as she could carry in her arms and waddled up the steps and into the building behind them.

The foyer was narrow and there was a parlor and small dining area on the first floor. The stairs took a good portion of space beyond the foyer, but Henry went to the lift they'd installed.

Nera and Effie went up the stairs, so when Henry reached their family's private quarters, they were still climbing up.

Henry knew where his brother's room was. The door was open, waiting for them. He carefully laid Ash on the bed, checking his head and touching his forehead to check for a fever. Nera removed Ash's boots and then poured some warm water into a basin so she could wipe her son's face.

As she knelt beside the bed and used a small, fluffy towel to wipe Ash's face, Henry almost laughed. Ash used to hate having his face wiped by a towel as a child and his face would twist with disgust and refusal every time. Even in his sleep, his body seemed to instinctively reject it and turn away.

"When the Elders arrive, tell them everything that happened," Nera said as she wrung out the towel. "Effie, get your brother something to eat from the teahouse. I had them make noodles with shrimp sauce earlier. It should be ready by now."

"Yes, Momma!" Effie gave her a little salute to show she accepted her mission. She left the things she was carrying by the door and scurried out and down the stairs.

At this time, the Elders reached them from the lift.

The younger of the two was Master Chanda, a grandmaster beast master who was Effie's occasional instructor. Though in terms of strength and ability to communicate through distance, Nera was stronger, Master Chanda had other abilities that Nera didn't have, but Effie did.

The older elder with a shaved head and a long white beard was Elder Kosal of the Council of Elders. He was one of the few mages who had survived after The Fall, but had lost many of his pupils who had stayed on the island to try to counter the sinking, despite the Last Queen's orders.

And while he was much older than all of them, he saw Ash as a peer. Elder Kosal's original master was also a Traceras.

"You've worked hard, Henry," Elder Kosal said as he passed Henry and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Take a seat," Master Chanda said with a slight chuckle. "You haven't relaxed since you arrived. Your brother is in good hands now." He motioned to the chair by Ash's desk.

After he'd put Ash down, Henry hadn't considered resting. Now that it was mentioned, he found himself still tense, and couldn't calm himself despite being somewhere safe with people he trusted. He looked at his brother with a complicated expression.

"Sit down, Henry," Nera told him.

Hearing his aunt's voice, he nodded stupidly and walked to the chair. Strange. His legs felt a bit weak.

Once he sat down, Elder Kosal, who had been studying Ash, looked over at him. "Tell me what happened."

Henry took a deep breath and then recounted the entire story, starting from when they were trying to rescue a baby fire giant. That part didn't seem to surprise anyone, nor did Henry and Ash's battle to funnel the kidnapping horde towards the adult fire giants.

But when he got to Minister Heisarar, Nera had a reaction to the name and Elder Kosal had a reaction to what Minister Heisarar had done.

"That arrogant toad is still alive?" Nera scowled as her hand gripped the headboard of Ash's bed. "He was one of the most arrogant, condescending pieces of cow diarrhea I've ever had the displeasure of coming across."

"Not anymore," Henry told her. Nera lifted her chin with a hint of satisfaction.

"Good."

"And he was a user of magi-demae...." The knowledge seemed to further age Elder Kosal. The old man reached for the foot of the bed and almost stumbled back. Master Chanda caught him and helped him sit. Elder Kosal's brown face appeared paler than usual. His chest rose and fell with unsteady breaths. He looked at Ash with pity on his face. "What he must've seen...."

"He didn't seem scared," Henry offered. "I couldn't hear what he was saying over the sound of the wind, but he didn't appear to panic."

"You can ask him when he wakes, Elder," Nera said. She stroked back Ash's hair with slender fingers.

Elder Kosal closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Is this...Minister Heisarar...did he come from a mage family?"

Henry glanced at Nera, who drew her lips inward and seemed hesitant to answer. She let out a low breath, but didn't meet Elder Kosal's eyes. "Yes. The last patriarch received nobility for the family for their magic ability."

Elder Kosal's eyes narrowed just a bit. "Have they always been a mage family?"

Mage families were rare. Mages could be related and the more mages in a family, the more likely there was for more mages to be born into one, but Henry could count the number of families who considered themselves magic lineages he knew of in one hand.

The Heisarar Clan was not one of them. "No." Henry's answer had some coldness in it. He glared at the floor. As the first prince, he had to be knowledgeable about the noble families of Ashtar. Noble families were given the prefix 'Hei' to their surnames as a symbol of how noble they were.

Those 'Hei' families dominated the top social and economic tier of Ashtar.

The Heisarars were new nobles and the former patriarch had sworn a blood oath of loyalty to Ashtar.

"They weren't known for magic, let alone being a mage family, until the former patriarch impressed the former Emperor enough to gain notoriety," Nera said, still frowning. "It isn't uncommon for there to be one or two mages in a family, but suddenly, the Heisarars had several. A few even claimed that it was a sudden development in adulthood. It was ridiculous. Saphira and I both felt something was wrong."

Elder Kosal's brows were knit tight. "Many people are born with innate magic, though so weak, they can't even sense it, let alone use it. Families with mages carry it in their blood." He let out a shallow breath and his wrinkled hands clenched his knees. "But as long as there is a trace of magic...magi-demae can be used."

The air in the room went still as his words alluded to something terrifying.

Henry's jaw clenched.

Nera closed her eyes and let out a low breath. "I wouldn't doubt that the Heisarars were using magi-demae. If they did, it would explain their sudden rise. Why even adults who could never use magic before gained abilities."

Elder Kosal's red eyes stared ahead of him, filled with pain. "Among mages, magi-demae is worse than murder. Not only does it require the victim to give up their magic, but their magic is only given up when they're killed. It endangers all mages, which is why there is a consensus that practitioners must be killed when they are witnessed to be doing the unthinkable."

"But if the entire family was practicing it in secret, they're not going to report themselves," Nera replied with a dark look. "It is their family's...shortcut to power."

Elder Kosal swallowed hard. "My master was one of the last remaining master Traceras mages. He left the island after being summoned by the main branch. At least, that was what he was told." Elder Kosal was quiet for a moment, but when he spoke, his voice was tight. "He was found dead enroute through the mountains. We were told it was bandits, but I didn't believe it. It was clearly a violent death from how his body was found."

Henry looked ahead of him. "Ash refused to leave until he stopped Minister Heisarar. He knew what would happen."

"The energy exerted would send any normal mage into a coma," Elder Kosal said. "But he is not a normal mage."

"Do we know how long until he wakes?" Nera asked.

"He told me he'd wake up before the Exhibition," Henry replied. "It's been over a week since he fell asleep."

"I believe he'll wake up in the next day or two," Elder Kosal said.

"Henry, you should go and rest. Wait for your sister to bring you food," Nera told him. "I'll stay with Ash. We'll take turns."

"Does Her Majesty not have to leave for the Invitational dorms soon?' Master Chanda looked at Nera with a raised brow.

Nera didn't falter. "My son says he will wake before then, so he will."

------

The woman's voice was low and melodious. It carried a gentle warmth that wrapped around him, and for a moment, he almost felt as if he were being gently swayed while wrapped in the comforting warmth of a swaddling blanket.

The familiar Lunapsar words reached his ears, singing him into comfort and safety, making him lower his guard to sleep.

It was his mother and that was his childhood lullaby. She'd sung it to Effie when Effie was a baby, and Henry had learned it so he could help put him to sleep when they were children.

Now when Ash heard it, the same familiar feelings of comfort and protection seeped through and he began to relax.

The gentle singing stopped.

"I think he's awake," Nera whispered. He heard a childish gasp. That was Effie. He then heard a gentle thud and a few footsteps before his bed sank.

"Second Brother, are you awake? I'll get you water."

"I'll give him water," Nera said. "Last time, you spilled it all over the bed, remember?"

Effie huffed. "Momma, I was five then. I'm a big girl now. I can hold up a jar of water to pour." Then, a heavy clank was heard, accompanied by Effie's gasp and Nera's sigh. "This jar is just too heavy!"

"I'm sure," Nera said. "Go and tell the others he's awake. Make sure to get Elder Kosal."

"Okay! Second Brother, I'll be right back!" Effie made sure to tell him she was leaving before he heard her little footsteps race away.

"My son." Nera's voice was soft and affectionate, as if still addressing him as a child. "Can you sit up to drink?"

Ash opened his mouth and let out a breath instead of talking. He didn't know how long he'd been asleep, but he could tell at once his mouth and throat were dry. He tried to open his eyes, but the light from the window was too much for him to take so soon, so he kept them shut. He pushed his hands down beside him and tried to push himself into a seated position.

"Auntie, I've got him." Henry had arrived. From the side where his mother was, Ash felt the bed dip again as Henry leaned over and helped pull him up. He held him upright as he piled pillows behind Ash's back. "There you go."

Ash made an awkward grumble to thank him. A moment later, a glass was in his hand and his mother helped guide it to his mouth. After taking a few sips.

"Thanks, Momma."

"My boy...." Nera's voice trembled a bit. "I know you felt that everything was in control, but you frightened us."

"Sorry." Ash offered a weak smile. "But it had to be done. I couldn't let a murderer escape." His smile faded and his voice dropped. "There were many victims. So many, I couldn't believe he killed so many people in a single lifetime."

"It may not have been him who killed all of them." Ash struggled to open his eyes, but could only blink and squint. Still, he recognized the raspy voice speaking Lunapsar.

"Elder Kosal."

"Your Highness."

"No formalities." Ash brushed off the formal greeting. He shut his eyes as they began to water. "Did Brother tell you what happened?"

"He told us what he witnessed, yes," Elder Kosal said. "But what did you see?"

"Elder, there were so many, as I said. I witnessed him slitting the throats of several mages they had traveled with," Ash said with shock and disgust. "And then he grabbed them, soaking his hand in their blood to drain them."

Elder Kosal let out a heavy breath. "There are only theories about how much magic can actually be stolen in this cursed manner."

"But it still stands that the stronger the mage, the more magic they'd stand to gain," Ash replied. "When the purification and release arrays were activated, and the trapped stolen magic was released, I saw them."

"Saw who?" There was a bounce at the foot of his bed. Judging from the weight and the sound of the voice, it was Effie.

"The mages they killed to take power from," Ash told her. He held out his arms and Effie crawled up to sit on his lap and hug him. "There were at least twenty people that I counted."

"A mage's magic energy is a piece of their soul," Elder Kosal explained to the little girl. "What your brother saw were the trapped souls of the mages who'd died."

Effie's embrace tightened. "That's sad...." As part Lunapsar, Effie understood the implications of part of someone's soul torn away and trapped. It meant the rest of the soul could not rest.

"Yeah." Ash rocked her in his arms. "There were men, women, of different ages, in different clothing. They didn't all dress in Ashtari clothing, either."

"But Ashtar's borders had been closed for some time. He would've had limited contact with mages outside of the country," Henry said.

"It is possible that soul remnants were carried over," Elder Kosal replied.

Ash opened his eyes once more and winced. He continued to blink to adjust his vision, but it remained blurry. "Carried over from someone else?"

"If a mage who gained his powers from magi-demae is then killed by someone else, wouldn't at least part of the first victim be transferred to the second killer?" Elder Kosal asked.

Ash held his breath. "That...would explain why there were so many."

"It would also explain why many of those older mages in the Heisarar family were above average mages before they died, and then suddenly, Minister Heisarar takes control as the most powerful living mage in his clan," Nera said with vitriol.

"Doesn't that mean magi-demae is even more dangerous?" Henry asked.

"Yes," Elder Kosal replied. "But now, we should be more concerned with Ash. I've noticed you're having trouble opening your eyes. Can you see? I worried that since you have such strong vision, it could be affected by the magic you were exposed to."

Ash was still blinking, but his blinks were fewer and farther in between. He was still trying to focus his vision. He knew who each figure around him was just by their general shape and coloring.

"Can you still see?" Master Chanda asked.

"Yes."

"Is it blurry?"

"Yes."

"That should pass," Master Chanda told him. "Can you still see magic?"

Ash could almost hear everyone in the room freeze and wait for his answer. He narrowed his eyes and looked out the door. He raised one hand and drew the characters for light.

Relief washed over him like water on a sweltering day as he saw the familiar particles of light collect as they did before. He narrowed his eyes and then tilted his head a bit.

The particles were a bit sharper than before. He moved his hand, watching as he willed the particles to move and then raised a brow.

"Brother can you give me a slip in my pocket?" Ash asked. Henry uncrossed his arms and picked through his usual outerwear. He handed Ash a slip and Ash pinched it between his thumb and index finger. He focused on the faint debossed lines before activating the slip.

He could see the energy leaving his fingertips and entering the woven fibers of the mulberry paper slip. He focused on controlling where the magic went not only through the debossed channels that usually guided his magic, but to each individual fiber. The contained magic was so precise, it didn't reach the sides of the debossed channels, as if only taking up the space of a fine hair strand.

To Ash, it seemed to happen slowly, as if time had slowed down so he could better control the direction of his magic. Then as soon as he reached the final character to make the slip light up, he was pulled out of his trance.

"It doesn't seem like there's a problem with your magic," Henry said. "The slip lit up immediately."

Ash looked towards Henry and squinted. He opened his mouth, but wasn't sure how to describe what he saw. He looked at the slip in his hand. That was just a little over half the amount of energy he normally used.

"This is weird...." he muttered to himself. He deactivated the slip and lowered his hand. His vision was clearer and now he could see magic in the air. He squinted once more. He reached out a hand and tried to grasp at a few bundles that seemed denser than others. "...I've never seen that before."

"Seen what?" Effie asked. Ash turned to look down at his sister.

"The density of the...." He snapped his mouth shut as he looked at the little girl with buns on her head. Ash knit his brows together once more and raised his hand. He moved it over the top of Effie's head to touch the faint blue that seemed to come from her skin and head. It didn't tint Effie, but it was as if there was a thin strip of colored light hovering above her skin. "I've definitely not seen this before...."

"What is it?" Henry asked, sounding serious.

Ash turned to look at him. "Colors...." He trailed off and looked at Henry. "Yellow."

Henry jerked his head back. "What?"

Ash looked at his mother, who also gave off a faint yellow. Master Chanda had a similar faint blue as Effie, but Elder Kosal was also faint yellow. It couldn't have been what kind of magic or gift they had, otherwise Nera, Henry, and Elder Kosal wouldn't all be yellow.

This was the first time he'd seen such light around people. "I see colors."

"Colors?" Nera cocked her head to the side and Henry frowned.

"Is that bad?"

'"Of course, it's bad!" Ash shot him an annoyed look. "I don't know what those colors mean!"

"Colors aren't bad, Second Brother," Effie said with a roll of her eyes. "I love colors!"

Ash groaned. "It's not that colors are bad, Effie. It's just that I've never seen these colors-"

Effie choked back a gasp. She grabbed his face with her little, sticky hands and looked intensely into his eyes. "You were color blind this whole time!?"

Nera ran a hand down her face.

Ash batted his sister's hands away. "No! I mean, I see color. I see color like normal people!" He motioned to everyone around the room, ignoring that everyone in the room was not exactly 'normal'. "Your shirt is blue," he said, flicking the ribbon on Effie's collar. "Momma is wearing black. Brother is wearing burnt orange. Hana likes to wear pink and those jerk mages wear purple. I know what colors are."

Henry shook his head and shrugged at him. "Then what's the problem?"

"Because people are giving off color!" Ash pointed at him and made a vague outline around him.

The room was silent and everyone stared at him.

Henry crinkled his eyes. "What-"

"What's wrong with that?" Once more, Effie let out a big sigh, as if he was blowing things out of proportion. "Color is really useful, right, Master Chanda?"

Master Chanda took a step closer and rubbed his chin. He looked at Ash carefully with squinted mercury eyes. "Can you describe the colors you see? Their texture? Shape? How do they move?"

Ash couldn't help but be a bit frustrated. He ran a hand through his hair and moved his hands around Effie's head. "I don't know...it's like...there's a faint...it's not a glow, per se. It's not clouds, either. Nor a mist. It's as if there is a partially transparent light around Effie. It's not really moving. No strange pulse. It's just...around her."

Master Chanda looked at him carefully and then down to Effie. "What color do you see on Effie?"

Effie sat still, as if waiting for her brother to assess her, but a clear look of expectation was on her face. Ash drew his head back and studied her.

"Do the colors mean something?" he muttered. "She's...green, blue...some orange. The longer I stare, the more the colors change, but it cycles between those three."

Nera straightened up. "Effie, what did you think of that kitten you saw at Prince Max's?"

Effie's face immediately lit up. "It was the cutest ball of claws I've ever seen!"

"It's gold!" Ash sat up and leaned closer to look at Effie. "It even turns metallic?"

Nera's shoulders relaxed, as did Master Chanda's. "It's because she's happy," Nera told him.

"This is very impressive, Ash," Master Chanda said with some satisfaction.

Ash looked at the two of them, still confused. "What? Why is it impressive?"

"Because now you can read a person's emotions without relying on their voice or body language. You can read it from afar, without contact," Master Chanda said.

Ash chewed his lower lip for a moment. "Do colors align with emotion?"

Master Chanda nodded. "Yes. This is something most beast masters have. It helps how we communicate."

"The stronger you can see the color, the stronger a beast master you are," Nera added.

Effie patted her chest proudly. "I see very strong color light," she told him. "And right now, you're blue...you're confused. Really? After they explained it..." She trailed off and narrowed her eyes. "Now, you're dark purple, brown...ah!" She gasped and clutched her chest before glaring at him, offended. "Am I annoying you?"

"Momma, Master Chanda." Ash turned to them, almost exhausted. "Can you just tell me what this is?"

Nera looked at her son and smiled, amused. "It's aura."

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