Arcadia's Ignoble Knight: The Sorceress' Knights Tournament

Chapter 23

When she woke up that morning with a headache, Elincia knew that she had overdone it. Sylvia was always telling her that she needed to be careful about how long she let a spirit stay on this plane of existence. Letting them stay too long drained her mana, and since mana was the very essence of life, she could die if too much of it was drained.

Human sorceresses have it so easy. They don't use their own mana except when summoning a spirit.

She sometimes wished she'd been born human. If she had, then summoning a spirit wouldn't put so much stress on her body and mana reserves.

I wonder where I am?

Turning away from the white ceiling, Elincia was greeted by plain white walls. A window next to her bed allowed sunlight to filter through. The rising sun and multitude of colors spread across the sky let her know that it was early morning.

Sitting up in bed, Elincia belatedly realized that she was fully clothed. She tried to raise her hands and stretch, but something was pinning one of them down. A single glance revealed the culprit, Caspian, his head resting on the bed and one of his hands clutching hers.

Oh...

Elincia spent a moment basking in the warmth that engulfed her heart. She didn't know what was going on, why she was in a bed, or what Caspian was doing there, but knowing that he was there, with her, made her heart soar.

"He stayed here all night for you, you know," a voice said. Elincia looked at the doorway to see Erica leaning against the wall, her arms crossed underneath her bust.

She wasn't alone. Derek was sleeping on a chair that had been pressed against the wall, his neck lolling at an awkward angle and his armored feet splayed out in front of him. He would snort every few seconds, then mumble something about how he couldn't take anymore. Elincia didn't want to know what he was dreaming about.

"Lady Erica... what are you doing here?"

"Making sure that you and Caspie are okay, of course." Erica stood up and walked over to the bed. "Considering everything that happened last night, I felt it would be best if you two were not left alone."

"Last night..."

Elincia only needed a moment to remember what happened last night, the attack on her and Caspian, the maliciously glowing red eyes, the feelings of despair that had overwhelmed her, and of Caspian throwing himself at the machine's to protect her. She recalled summoning Baldur, and after that, she could remember nothing else.

I used up too much mana trying to keep Baldur on this plane.

Baldur was one of her contracted spirits. He lived in Yggdrasil, one of the five spiritual planes that existed out of phase with Terraria. She'd never summoned him before, since she didn't have much reason to. Perhaps if she had practiced, she would have been more prepared for how draining the act was.

I need to become stronger. Caspian almost died because of me.

Her best friend, the boy she'd dreamed about every day since he'd begun attending the academy, had nearly died because she hadn't been strong enough. He'd thrown himself against impossible odds while she had frozen up. Even after she'd summoned Baldur, she had been of no help. She passed out from exhaustion mere minutes after the battle began.

I can't let that happen again.

"Um, Lady Erica?" Elincia asked.

"Hm?"

"Um, I don't want to trouble you, but do you think you could train me?"

Erica perked up. "Train you?"