Tipping the Scales

25

Lukas put his all into Henri's training. He had mastered the control of mana within his body, and was now able to manipulate it around his body without the deep levels of concentration he needed before. He had even begun to manifest a purple layer of mana at different points outside his body other than his palm.

Henri was amazed with his progress, stating he had surpassed some of the nobles in mana control already, which he believed was the most important of the three aspects when it came to one's magical competence. The other two being the mana capacity one has stored within them and the amount they can draw and output at once. The only issue was that Lukas couldn't do anything useful with the magic. Up to now, he had failed to discharge any mana he had built up. Any attempt to do so would result in the building up of more purple and black mass, which neither Lukas nor Henry felt comfortable with in large quantities.

Leo had drawn more distant as Lukas grew in his ability. He hadn't offered any help since calming Lukas down in the first session, tending to keep to himself on another side of the training courtyard. He was absent at mealtimes and went to bed early each night. Whenever they made eye contact, Leo would look away with gritted teeth.

Lukas wanted to reach out but felt helpless. He didn't know how to rebuild the bridges when he wasn't sure what burnt them in the first place. Instead, he decided to focus on himself. They would have plenty of time to interact in the Solar Dawn.

The impending deadline of the mission – that was supposedly crucial for the Ferlandian Empire – was weighing on Lukas. He felt the pressure of the need to master magic, to be of some use to Ferlandia. He didn't want to give Anselet or the King a reason to discard of him. More importantly, he wanted to earn his right to be a member of the Solar Dawn; he saw it as his quickest path to finding out the truth behind his family's demise. But someone who wasn't even in control of their own emotions couldn't hope to maintain their place in the country's most elite squad. He was sure Leo felt the same. The young noble was always at the courtyard before Lukas arrived and ended each training session dripping in sweat.

Lukas now knew that having your older brother leading the squad you were joining meant nothing. If anything, he was sure Leo had something to prove too. The days spent training at Winthrope manor were far from wasted.

One morning, during Henri's stretching exercises, they were interrupted by one of the Winthrope's butlers.

"A message from Master Apollo," he stood just within the walls of the training area holding an unfurled letter. Clearing his throat, he read out, "All members of Solar Dawn are to assemble at the Northern Gate by sun set this evening. In the name of Ferlandia, prepare for war."

Leo looked to his mentor, who was the first to speak. "He's always been a bit dramatic, that one."

"That letter was sent out to every single member of the squad?" Lukas said questioningly.

"You do know the elite squads are relatively small. I'm sure the Solar Dawn only has around fifteen members or so." Henri looked to Leo for confirmation.

"Less than that now. They've been refining their members for this upcoming mission due to it's importance," Leo spoke matter-of-factly.

And then there's us. Lukas couldn't help but feel they were being thrown in at the deep end. Maybe he should've stuck to joining the Garrison like the other commoners, they were sure to have an easier life ahead of them. It wasn't like he had a choice though. His life had been out of his hands since he'd been born, particularly since the discovery of his mana. He could just hope to make the best of the situation he had been dealt.