Chapter 12: Legacy Of The First King 

Erias's eyes widened when she saw James approaching her. “J-jay?…how much did you see?” She asked embarrassed as the training room was surrounded by ice from all the practice. 

James chuckled as he held his new staff. “Just the last 5 minutes… you are very talented just as I said. The fact that you can do all of this with just half of your power is remarkable” he complimented with a small smile. 

Eria blushed from embarrassment and quickly said. “W-well most of it was luck... I still have a long way to g-go…” she stammered embarrassed to which James chuckled and nodded. 

“You do. But you're making progress… after watching you I realize that I can’t teach you the same way I taught Henry. You're different so the way I must teach you has to be different… I think you're ready for the next phase… follow me.” He then began to walk back to the palace. Eira was confused about what James said but decided to follow him.

Eria and James walked the halls of the palace and soon they entered an empty room. The room looked very old, completely different from the rest of the palace. 

“there's nothing here…” Eria said, looking around. To which James made his way to the middle wall and said. 

“Looks can be deceiving…” James said then placed his hand on the wall. Then suddenly a very tiny spike came out of the wall and pinched James’ finger. Once it recognized James’ royal blood the wall began to shift and soon the wall opened up to reveal a narrow staircase. 

“This way..” he said then led her inside. They began to descend deeper and deeper. The stairs seemed to be endless; they went farther and farther down. They only had small lanterns on the wall to light the way. 

“How do you know about this place? And where are we going?” Eria asked, both confused and surprised by this. She had no idea these kinds of things existed. She thought hidden passages and doors only existed in fairytales. 

“Remember this palace is mysterious. And those who call it home are even more mysterious. There are many secrets in this palace. Some are older than the kingdom itself. What I’m about to show you is one of the secrets I’m referring to. This palace was built on a mountain for a reason” James told her as they continued walking down the stairs. 

After a while, they could see a light at the end of the staircase. The stairs ended and when they walked out of the small passage it revealed a large natural space inside the mountain that the palace is built on. There was a massive rocky waterfall. Water poured down from all directions. And at the center was a small grassy island with a very old mana circle formation. Erias's eyes widened as she gazed at the beautiful natural beauty that was hidden in plain sight. 

“W-what is this place?“ she asked as she and James walked along a narrow path. They soon reached the small island In the center. 

“This is where the first king unraveled the secrets of mana and mastered magic. This is where it all began…. This is the birthplace… of the Varrethia kingdom.” He then pointed up to the rocky ceiling. Which had a small shimmer. 

Eria was confused and narrowed her eyes then she gasped when she realized that the shimmer she sees is a massive amount of small mana crystals. 

“I-is this…. Wait don’t tell me…” she said with shock in her voice. To which James smiled and said. 

“Yes. The royal palace is built on top of a massive mana crystal mine. We are standing right at the geographical center of the kingdom. As well as symbolically of course. This is where it all began. The first king of the Varrethia kingdom. He was a light magic user as well. Many people compare me to him. But the reality is that his talent far exceeds mine. 

He was a prodigy among prodigies. And he left behind his descendants a great gift. Now it the duty of every king to preserve and protect this great gift.” James said as he looked at the magic circle. 

Eria was stunned for the 3rd time today. “B-but why are you telling me all this? I’m nobody important. Shouldn’t you show this to someone more important?” She asked him.

James chuckled for a moment and replied in a serious tone. 

“There are many things you need to learn if you want to be a court mage someday. This palace is mysterious and those who call it home are even more mysterious. There are many secrets here, this is just the tip of the iceberg. But even so, you must promise me that you’ll never tell anyone about this. Although only those with royal blood can activate the spell it’s very dangerous if our enemies discover this.” 

He warned to which Eria nodded. “I promise I’ll never tell anyone!” She promised him it felt nice to be trusted. She knew that she should do her best to not break this trust. James nodded 

“The summit of kings is coming up. Which means I’ll be too busy preparing to see you. But don’t worry once the summit is over I’ll focus on your training” he assured her as they made their way off the island. 

As they walked Eria asked “the summit of kings? You mean where all kings travel to the center of the continent and have their super-secret meeting?” She asked, teasing him on the last bit. James laughed a little and nodded. “Yep pretty much. Although it’s mostly a formality these days. The reality is that those meetings are usually kings boasting to the other kings about how their kingdom is thriving and how they are better than the others.” he told her with a shrug 

Eria just laughed wondering if James was also one of those kings that like to boast how well their kingdom was. She pondered those thoughts as they made their way out of the large cavern and began to climb the stairs back to the palace.