Valerian, The Legendary

248 Maiden’s Guidance.

Valerian slept on the hard bed with ease. This bed was much more comfortable than anything he has ever been on. The next morning, he got up and walked out of the shack. He began exercising in the small space in front of the shack. Just when he was about to be done Trin arrived by his side.

The boy stood up and wiped the sweat on his forehead. Trin smiled and said, “I was thinking whether you will be able to wake up on your own. Seems like I do not have to worry about anything.”

Valerian smiled and said, “Good morning to you, Lady Trin.”

Trin was slightly awkward by this, she knew that the child has picked up a grudge and was vexed. She sighed and said, “I apologize for any inconvenience that you might be facing but the magicals innately have the urge to suppress the humans. I did not mean for it to be hard but the maiden said that one cannot become a true warrior unless they live in hardships.”

Valerian shook his head and said, “You do not have to apologize and I have no complaints regarding the innate nature. It was that just that the attitude shown by the maiden seemed more like a threat. If you had arranged for me to sleep under the stars, I would not have minded that, but the disrespect shown and followed by the shack was something I found offending.

I can ask Fortuna to train me, but she is busy, and this cooperation is not beneficial for me, you guys seem to have your hand full with those snakes, the humans are trying to fend off the berserks. The humans might go down in the rubble, but your realm will also face danger because of it. The wolves do not spare anyone when it comes to the survival of their pack.”

Trin was left speechless, she was really out of excuses for their behavior yesterday, if they said that the maiden was trying to test if this boy had the backbone to stand up for himself or not, the situation will be even worse. She sighed and wanted to say something then Valerian said, “Please tell me what I have to do now.”

Trin said, “You should get cleaned up and then head toward the Sripa Palace, the maiden will have breakfast with you and teach you something.”

Valerian nodded and headed to the place pointed out by the lady last night. The place was organized and clean, so the prince did not have much trouble. If it would have been the same person as he was in the orphanage then he would not have minded the slight slip in hygiene but after spending the past three years in well-maintained places, he has gotten used to cleanliness.

.....

Valerian returned in a few minutes and found Trin cleaning the shack. The prince sighed and walked over to her and said, “I will clean it myself. You do not worry.”

Trin had just finished her work and said, “This is an attempt to make up for what happened.”

Valerian shook his head and said, “Do not worry, I will be fine with some time.”

Trin said, “You are the first person who called me with a tone filled with familiarity. I am the orphan in the clan. My parents died to protect the maiden, and later she took me in, but since I am her page, I became your grace in everyone’s mouth.”

Valerian did not say anything, but he walked forward to wipe off a trace of dust on her forehead and said, “I am an orphan as well. However, I never got treated with respect and was abandoned by everyone as a jinx. So, I can somewhat relate to what you mean.”

Trin nodded and sighed, then she said, “Come, the maiden does not like people to be late.”

Valerian nodded and Trin said, “I see why you could form a bond with Her Majesty Fortuna.”

The boy was surprised and asked, “Why?”

Trin replied, “The strength of the dragons is always derived from the meaning of their names. If you are the jinx of the poor, then your dragon is the queen of her kind and her power is that of luck.”

Valerian was surprised for a second but then he nodded and said, “You might be correct here.”

Trin nodded and did not continue speaking, it was not necessary. Valerian was not going to dwell on the reason why he was able to format a bond with Fortuna, but now that he had, it was good and he will cherish this bond forever more.

He arrived at the Sripa palace and then Trin took him to a dining hall adjacent to the main lobby, where the maiden was already waiting for them with a faint smile. Valerian bowed to her in greeting and the lady asked him to sit across her on the table.

The prince followed the instruction and sat down across from her. He was then served a few dishes by Trin. The lady said, “These are the native dishes of the realm, and we only eat vegetables, mostly.”

The maiden said, “If you wish to eat meat, then please go out to hunt on your own. The Sripa palace is a holy place where blood shall not be spilled.”

Valerian nodded and said, “I do not mind vegetarian food.”

Trin introduced him to the dishes as they ate, soon after the meal was finished, the maiden said, “Master Valerian, please follow me.”

Valerian nodded and calmly followed her, the maiden bought him to the first floor of the Sripa palace and then to a room. This room was ten feet long on four sides. The maiden said, “What do you see?”

The young man looked around and shook his head as he said, “Nothing.”

The maiden nodded and said, “Channel mana inside your eyes.”

Valerian followed the instruction and soon the scenery changed in front of him. The entire room was filled with threads running through the void and connected to the walls. Valerian focused more and found that the threads were not running across the room but the walls only.

He said, “The walls seem to be held together by glowing threads.”

The maiden nodded and said, “This thread is the mana flow. The wood of the Sripa tree channels mana through it naturally. The walls are made up of a paste of the Sripa tree wood, and the quality of channeling mana remains as effective as it was before.

So, what I need you to learn is to distribute your mana into such threads and have its channel through the pores of your body. It is easy to control the mana inside your muscles, however, it is not easy to have it move through your pores.”

Valerian nodded and asked, “Your Excellency, may I ask, what is the benefit of this exercise?”

The maiden nodded and said, “Our skins have many pores, they can be considered as mana ducts. The capacity of pushing mana through the body is limited, so if you can access these multiple ducts. You will be able to cut the spell-casting time by half.”

Valerian nodded and thanked her for the guidance. The maiden smiled and said, “After two hours, Trin will take you to the place where you will be working. Okay?”

Valerian nodded and then he sat down on a cassock and began to focus on the exercise. The first obstacle hit him hard at the very beginning. He has never sensed the mana inside his body, or what form it will have. How was he going to change it into fine threads and channel them through his pores?

The child was confused and then he started meditating. The reason behind meditating was to calm his mind and try to come up with a way to locate the mana reserve.

...

While Valerian was immersed in his meditation Trin was standing in front of the maiden and asked, “You dared to act out of place, have you forgotten your real identity? Hanra.”

The maiden shivered and immediately knelt in front of Trin. The sight was shocking. Trin was like a tower standing in front of the maiden. However, the next moment her face changed and she looked like the maiden kneeling on the ground. The maiden on the ground also underwent a change, and her face turned into the appearance of the lady standing in front of her.

The places were now exchanged, and the maiden said, “Manra, next time do not try to overstep your boundary, that child is not here with ill intentions. Do you understand?”

The lady on the floor nodded and said, “I understand, Your Excellency.”

The maiden walked around her and sat on a chair, she crossed her legs over each other and said, “I will handle him personally, I cannot risk enraging the Queen of Dragons.”

The lady on the ground replied, “Your Excellency, this is not in line with the conduct of the maiden.”

The maiden glared and said, “I will make my own conduct. You better not meddle in this matter.”