Chapter 6: The First Lesson
426 Words
Chapter 6: The First Lesson
The palace was in a state of frantic, glowing chaos. High Priests were sprinting through the halls, carrying baskets of "Sol-Salts" and glowing crystals. The air in the King's wing was so hot it distorted the vision, like a desert road in midsummer.
Elara stood at the end of the hallway, watching as her sisters, Lyra and Solene, tried to help. They were channeling their own light into the King, believing that more "purity" would burn out the sickness. But Elara could see what they couldn't. Through her shadow-touched eyes, she saw the King’s aura—it was a jagged, white-hot mess, vibrating at a frequency that was tearing his physical body apart.
"He can't take any more!" Elara shouted, stepping into the room.
The High Priest turned, his golden robes shimmering with sweat. "Away, Princess! Your presence is a pollutant. Can you not see the King struggles with the very darkness you embody?"
"He isn't struggling with darkness!" Elara countered, her voice ringing with a newfound authority that made the priests flinch. "He is drowning in the light. You are pouring oil onto a forest fire!"
"Silence!" the King’s physician roared. "The Solar Arts have sustained this kingdom for centuries. We will not be lectured by a girl who hides in corners."
Elara looked at her father. His eyes were rolled back in his head, his skin glowing with a terrifying, internal luminescence. He looked less like a man and more like an exploding star. She knew she couldn't win an argument with the priests. They were blinded by their own radiance.
She retreated, but she didn't go to her room. She went back to the hidden library.
"I need to do it now," she told Orin, her hands trembling. "They're going to kill him with their 'purity.' How do I stop the sun?"
Orin looked at her gravely. "You cannot stop the sun, Elara. But you can create an eclipse. To save him, you must perform the Ritual of the Velvet Moon. You must bring the night into the very heart of the noon. But be warned—once the court sees what you can truly do, they will never look at you with anything but fear. You will be a queen of shadows in a land that worships the day."
"I don't care what they call me," Elara said, her eyes turning entirely black as her magic began to surge. "I just want him to breathe again."
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