Rina opened her eyes, looked at the star studded ceiling in her hut. This.. isn’t this their home in the village ? What in the world is she doing here ? Oh! Wait ! She must have died. However, even if she died , she did not think she would return here ! After all, they were cold, hungry and … ‘PLOP’ ! ‘Wet. ‘ she finished her thought, just after a fat raindrop fell on her forehead. On the side, her mother got up, curses in her mouth. Her dear parents. They were ever so happy to sell her off to the royal school of magic, as would the rest of their children. In their life, perhaps giving birth to enough children so that they could live off hand outs is their most proud work. Unfortunately, there was no scam worse than the royal academy. In Bohemia, the populace is full of mages. They may not be powerful, but there are many… The truly powerful only ever come from the nobles. Like all people, Rina also thought blood made all the difference when it came to magic, but it se

The cold, heavy oak door sealed behind Rina, plunging her into an oppressive, incense-choked darkness. This was the Awakening Chamber, a place of myth and false promises. It wasn't truly dark; a weak, phosphorescent glow emanated from the corners of the room, illuminating a single, massive slate altar carved with runes so ancient they felt like scars on the world. The altar was draped with linen woven from the silver thread of the Blessed Tree, and upon it lay a single, withered Blessed Leaf—the village's paltry investment in their children's magical futures.Rina walked across the stone floor, her movements quiet and deliberate, the recent memory of Edam’s defiant stand a cold, sharp comfort. He was resisting. The trap had been avoided, for now. She had bought them time, a precious handful of hours before the local nobility realized they had two rebellious, 'unprofitable' children on their hands.She lay down upon the altar, the linen cool against her skin, the Blessed Leaf crackling

Edam did as Rina said.His eyes widened in surprise as he felt the magic move. Rina moved back, allowing Edam to have his moment. First, the smell intensified, turning into a sharp tang of chemicals. Then, the water turned almost black. The reed in the middle of the swamp started growing extremely fast. Just as the water turned clear, there was a boat load of dead frogs and tadpoles floating atop the water. Then, even the dead frogs started decomposing. The water turned slightly murky, then extremely clear. There were blind white fish swimming all over in the water. The reed has grown to the height of two storied houses, with a gigantic leafy foliage atop it. Rina watched the entire process in fascination. As the reed grew and grew, she recognized what it was. It’s elephant reed. The elephant rope, which is used to tie the elephants and hanging bridges is made out of this reed. It’s a bit of a rare plant, given it’s considered a crossover from the demonic continent. She d

Rina worked in silence. She leveled up once by the time she finished elephant reed, despite not cutting as many times as she did when mining lime rock. She paddled the raft all the way to the front, then got off the boat, stepping right on the reeds. She jumped on the reeds all the way, to create some bruises on the reed. Then, with a vine, she started threading the reeds into a bunch, one reed in twist. She pushed as much of the reed's body in the pond as she could, then she started working on the tops. Elephant reed, as the name suggests, does bear some resemblance with the elephants. Especially the gigantic man sized leaves at the end of the reed. Only, these leaves could not be cut without burning off one’s fingers, or melting metal. Fortunately, she has a blade which is neither metal, nor mana. She cut through the membrane exactly in half. She repeated it with all the reed, once she’s done, she pushed off all the reed into the pond, leaving only an edge of the vine sh

Elora looked at the shell shocked ballroom, gleaming with pride.  She had always known that she was the most beautiful woman in the kingdom, now the kingdom will know the same as her.  She could see it in her mind’s eye. The day is not far when princes compete for her favor.  The ladies of the capital, who were ever so proud of being the first to buy any fashion on the street, will compete to copy her dress, only to realize they could never match her beauty.  She will bestow her token to the choice of the champion in the joust, she would have a knight who is eternally devoted to her, the crown prince will serve her breakfast in bed, for he could not bear to let her walk to the dining hall o