Shon Lin opens her eyes while breathing a sharp intake of air. She looks to the piece of parchment she holds in her hand, scanning the flowing script across it. The princess holds desperately to the power flowing through her, afraid that if she lets down even a small bit that that energy will fade away to where she has to coax it back to her again.
With a quick shout, she releases the power. Shon Lin feels herself being a channel to the energy of white magic. The talisman bursts into flame the second she releases it, and a bolt of white light fires from her fingertips to the boulder she was concentrating on, neatly slicing it in half.
Shon Lin sighs, looking at her hands. She can still feel the traces of the magical energy that remains in the air. Lowering her arms, the girl takes her seat once again and looks over to her new teacher. She then glances over to Xelloss, who's sitting next to him, drinking from a cup of hot tea.
Yasha is the current master of the Barunos Art, the empire's specialized use of magic. It involves pulling at the energy of magic, and focusing it to your will, rather than casting spells to achieve a certain affect. The power remains focused within a small, paper talisman that is consumed in the spell. The Barunos Empire focuses White Magic into their talismans, and has never thought of the idea of Shamanist or Black Magic talismans. They only hope to use the most effective force against the Mazoku.
The magician stands up, and speaks softly to his student, "Your highness, you obviously have been taught of how to handle the talismans. Who gave you the lessons and how long did they teach you?"
The princess sits there silently, and thinks before speaking. "I was taught by the High Priest and Priests of the Kingdom. By Aristan, Koran, and Shelar for ten... No, Eleven years."
"You do have a powerful ability to handle the talismans. You shouldn't stop your lessons. You could be a powerful asset in defending the Empire." He then closes his eyes while sitting again. "You do know why I wish to remain outside of the city, right?"
"I believe so," Shon Lin returns "You're honing your skills without distracting, preparing for if a time comes that the Mazoku will attack. Correct?"
"Yes, your Highness. You're correct. The Mazoku had attacked the palace once, 4 years ago, and the 3 Priests were killed. They didn't die in vain, though. They told the people beforehand, that what has happened once, will happen again. As proven by the Mazoku's attack on the palace the other night. They seem to want something that the Empire has."
"...Or someone." Xelloss adds in, going silent again to drink his tea.
Shon Lin and Yasha glance at him silently, before the magician continues. "He is correct. There is a possibility that there is someone in this kingdom that they want, but we cannot let them get to it... or them. You understand, right?"
The princess nods again.
"You are welcome to stay here with me, princess, to train and prepare for an upcoming battle, but something more powerful is playing the pawns on the field. Do you know of the Child's Fortune?
The princess then shakes her head, remaining silent.
"Is that the prophecy that the Priests were able to foretell with the help of an ancient myth passed down from their ancestors?" The strange, silent servant asks.
"Yes, it is. How do you know? You don't appear to be of Barunos descent."
"I'm not, but I know of the Barunos myths and prophecies. Quite a powerful group of Priests, though. Unfortunately, a powerful religion died with them as well." Xelloss lowers his head, drinking from the tea again.
Yasha sits there, and just blinks at the quiet man. He knew information that only those important to the royal family knew. Normally, servants don't deal with their affairs too much. Yasha narrows his eyes, becoming suspicious of the servant and returns to his lessons to Shon Lin.
"Your highness, do you understand the concept of using multiple talismans for working your magic?"
While the lesson goes on, the man who no one realizes is a Mazoku pulls out a thick leather-bound book that was given to him, and looks over some notes he had written about the Princess from his latest observations. Xelloss had been in the palace, posing as one of the servants for several days prior to the attack from Shalien. She is the one they want, and now he knows why. The priest thinks back to the night before when watching over the princess while she slept. He found the marks. She had them, just as he was told she would. To add to that fact, she held an incredible ability with magic, unlike anyone he's ever seen. She does not cast the Barunos spells correctly, her hidden talents taking over without her knowledge. To make things better for Xelloss, he could see that they were growing, becoming more powerful. Until he receives word from Zelas, all he can really do, though, is just watch her, as he does, observing the lesson from the skilled sorcerer.
Don't let him break her programming!
Xelloss suddenly looks skyward, not believe in what he heard, thoughts racing to figure out another, logical explanation. Having failed with that, he complies with the words, not wanting to think of the consequences of disobeying.
Her programming...
The priest then allows the empty glass of tea roll out of his hands, letting it shatter on the floor. He looks up to the two as it broke their concentration like he wanted.
"I'm so sorry about that." He apologizes to the pair politely. Xelloss begins to pick up the pieces of the teacup while Yasha kneels next to him to help.
"Don't be. There's no need to apologize. Let me get this for you." The man kneels next to the servant, picking up the broken pieces carefully. While Yasha does this, he calmly studies Xelloss from the corner of his eyes, trying to see if he can find any clues on the man.
Of course, Xelloss notices this and keeps to himself, backing away from the mess. "Let me get something to put that in." He begins to stand up, then stops as Yasha is behind him, hand on his shoulder.
"Let me come with you." The sorcerer says, his cold stare meeting with the Priest's closed eyes.
"Who are you?"
"No one in particular, Yasha."
"I ask again." The magician steps towards Xelloss, a cold look in his eyes. "Who are you?"
Xelloss stops, looking at the man, then he grins. "That is a secret."
Yasha glares at Xelloss before grabbing him by the collar of his cloak. "What are you doing with the princess?"
"Protecting her."
"What proof do you have for that?!"
"None. It's just something you have to make with your judgement."
"Don't talk riddles to me!"
"I'm not. I'm just saying that you have to make the decision to trust me word or not."
Yasha closes his eyes, trying to calm down.
"What happened at the palace?"
"Shon Lin was attacked by a Mazoku Lord. I helped take her to safety."
"What happened to Hei?"
"He was killed. He attacked the Mazoku, telling us to run."
Yasha stops to think over the servant's words. "Alright then. Let me go get the bag for the broken glass. You return to the princess."
"Alright." Xelloss smiles, watching as Yasha turns to leave. Suddenly he opens his eyes, and reaches out to take the man's arm.
"What is it now? I..." Yasha stops, seeing the cold, serious look on Xelloss' face.
"If you know what's good for her... Don't teach her anything. She is what she is for reasons that we're not supposed to understand. Got it...?" The priest speaks softly, seriously.
Yasha backs off, jerking his arm from the servant. He can't help but take this man seriously now. He has offered to teach Shon Lin, though! ...but he can't refuse the man's words... He cannot teach Shon Lin anything. He turns to finish what he was going to do.
Satisfied with himself, Xelloss smiles before walking back into the room that the princess is sitting in. His job for the day has been done, now he can just play around a bit.
Shon Lin looks up as Xelloss comes back in without Yasha.
"What's going on?" She asks quietly.
"Nothing. I didn't know what Yasha wanted, so he went to get it for me."
The princess nods before she looks back to the handful of talismans that she holds.
The priest sits down next to Shon Lin, then looks over the paper in her hands.
"You know... You can probably rival Yasha's power, Princess."
She stops, hearing is calm voice, and looks up at him. "What do you mean...?"
"Just what I said."
"But... I... I don't know... I've never been talented with this... I like studying magic, yes, but..."
"But nothing." Xelloss suddenly grabs her wrists. "Don't listen to what anyone tells you. Just do what you feel is right. You got it?"
Shon Lin looks at him silently before nodding slowly.
"Like I told you before, you are very important. You will see many things happen before you in the next year or so, that many people have never seen in their lifetimes."
"Why...?"
"That's a secret." Xelloss kisses her on the forehead before getting up to scoop up the pieces of broken glass just as Yasha returns.
The sorcerer immediately kneels down next to Xelloss, helping him scoop the broken shards into the tin he found.
"Shon Lin." He speaks without looking at the princess. "We'd best go to bed. I'll have to get up early in the morning to do some chores and errands."
Koran looks around him, moving quickly through the palace, brushing past the servants with his staff in one hand, a limp child over his shoulder. As he rounds a corner, Shelar appears in a flash of white light, then stops, looking at the two.
"What's going on?" She seems to be on edge while looking back outside.
"The palace is under attack." Koran speaks. "Most of the people haven't noticed it yet, because they're being very discreet about it."
"They?"
"Mazoku."
The priestess stops, then looks around her. "We'd best alert Aristan then. Bring the princess with you. We would be severely punished if anything happens to her."
Koran nods then dashes past Shelar while she casts a spell with a handful of talismans, vanishing from sight.
Aristan kneels at the altar after lighting the two candles before him. He folds his hands while he lowers his head.
"Great Mother, please listen to my voice. The time has come that we will have to fight for Your honor and what You mean to us all. Unfortunately, we stand against the Mazoku. So, listen to my pleas, and listen to my prayer for hope. We pray with all our hearts that this is not the beginning of the future that those of my past have handed down to me in their words."
He closes his eyes, remaining there silently for a minute.
"Please, Mother, we beg of you. Don't let Shon Lin fall into the trap that others have."
Shelar appears after minutes of silence, interrupting the priest's prayer. She steps towards him hurriedly. "Sir! The palace has been attacked. Koran is on his way, bringing the princess with him, so she'll be in the safety of the Mother."
Aristan says nothing as he stands.
"Sir...?"
He slowly turns around, looking at Shelar. "Our time has almost ended, my dear Shelar."
"What do you mean by..."
"It's just as I say. Barunos will fall soon. We must prepare for our downfall as well."
Shelar blinks, not knowing what to say about Aristan's discovery.
The doors burst open as Koran kicks them open, carrying the princess into the chapel. He sets her down on the ground before turning back to close them again.
"What's going on out there?" Shelar speaks quietly.
"Well, I'm going to lay a bet down that they're going to attack from inside out. Nobody expects it to happen that way."
"Did you notify the guards?"
"I had no chance to. It's like you said we have to protect the princess above all else. Of course, someone had gotten to her before I could find her."
Shelar lowers her head. She hates using the kingdom like a shield to the princess, just as much as she hates raising the princess with the other priests with a certain image in mind, like she were just an instrument to be used. She looks up at Koran again. "She's alright, though, right?"
"Of course!" Koran smiles. "She'll be fine. I managed to chase 'em away. I guess that they don't want to be discovered at this time."
"If not, both you and the princess would be dead."
"Of course, Shelar dear. We can't stand up to the Mazoku. We're not meant to either. We're supposed to preach the ideas of keeping a balance. We're not supposed to tip the scales for the Mazoku or the Ryuzoku in any way. Besides, our current duty is much more important."
He says this while picking the princess up. Koran appears as to be willing to lay his life down for the sleeping princess in his arms as he protectively holds her and begins to carry her past Shelar and towards the altar.
Shelar watches him silently. As much as he goofed off, played, and messed around, he knows when it is time for him to become serious. He knows his place, and knows how to act. It is because of this that he would most likely become one of the greatest Priests of Chaos.
Aristan watches them silently as Shelar steps forward to speak to Koran again, though she feels the High Priest's hand on her shoulder stopping her.
Koran kneels down at the altar, setting Shon Lin down before him, whispering to her softly so that the others don't hear him. "I'm sorry, your highness... I'm sorry that the Mother had to choose you for this." He lowers his head, closing his eyes. "You mean so much to us, and your training may seem like you're being used, which I promise you aren't. Just remember my words, Shon Lin. Times are tough, and I will always stand by you to protect you."
I will always protect you.