Chapter 3: Lakeshore at Sunset ◇
Winter days were short.
The eastern sky had already deepened to indigo, and lights began twinkling on in the city.
Awellarna left the window and looked at her father's face.
His suntan had faded considerably over the past half year. Did he want to go out on the lake, gazing out the window?
Her sister chattered on about neighborhood gossip, but their father remained unresponsive as ever.
It wasn't that he couldn't hear. Some days if you called "Dad," he would turn to look.
Awellarna steeled herself and tried speaking up as well.
"Father."
Today he was still as stone.
Awellarna and her siblings came to visit when work let them take time off or the weather kept them from fishing. Only her sister came to his bedside daily.
Last year while fishing, her father had fallen from his boat and contracted pneumonia.
Water entering his lungs was the cause.
The father of old never would have drowned after falling into the lake. With water magic he could immediately stand on the lake surface, expelling any water from his lungs by himself. No, to begin with, he never would have fallen from his boat.
Seeing the unimaginable decline compared to his former self, the family grieved.
Though his pneumonia cleared up in two weeks, he was visibly diminished since.
Continued bedrest without regaining strength, reduced appetite, then forgetting he'd eaten and asking for more... Until then, ignoring all protests, he had insisted "I'll fish as long as my body moves." Now that father showed no interest in boats or fishing.
Still worrying he might be unwell, they had brought him to the hospital, resulting in a dementia diagnosis. With declining kidney function as well, he was admitted again.
Not only this Zelno Central Municipal Hospital, but hospitals across the Nemolis Republic had transformed into scientific hospitals focused on modern medicine with physicians trained after the civil war. Rather than magic, doctors made observations, ran tests using instruments and equipment, providing treatment through surgery, medication, rehabilitation and more.
Magic healing returned things to "normal."
Save instant death, even critical injuries on the brink could be restored to their original undamaged state. In exchange, inborn disabilities and age-related mental/physical changes fell outside its purview.
Science-based medicine aimed to provide treatment where possible, regardless of cause.
With research still in early stages, many conditions could only be addressed by alleviating symptoms and slowing progression. Side effects sometimes remained.
Medical magic was divided into specialized schools for each field. Acquisition was difficult. Moreover, the physical demands each art placed on its practitioners were so stringent, their numbers were extremely low compared to other schools.
Further reducing their ranks, many curse doctors had lost their lives in the civil war.
Fortunately, this Zelno Central Municipal Hospital still had one curse doctor on staff full-time who had studied arts from the Blue Single Wing School, mainly handling surgical treatment.
Awellarna's father had received treatment for bedsores from the curse doctor.
The festering, pus-oozing pressure ulcers vanished as if they'd never been, his wrinkled, taut back restored. Her sister now provided daily care, preventing any new bedsores.
Her father's life was stolen away moment by moment, little by little, by incurable old age.
Though still living, they could not even converse. Perhaps the sickness had caused him to forget Awellarna entirely.
...At least he made it through the war alive. To die from nothing at all... But is it better if he isn't in pain?
Awellarna vividly recalled as if yesterday her family, relatives, friends, neighbors all disappearing into the flames of bombing raids during the civil war.
Nothing remained, not a single photograph.
She remembered all that, yet could not call their dear faces to mind.
The powerless people without magic were incinerated without a trace.
For the powerful, whether of land or lake, magic crystallized in place of their bones.
Those crystals... the "Sorcerer's Tears"... were pillaged as resources by each faction.
Kin for funeral rites and memorials.
Government army, republic volunteers, Aether forces, armed Kirkuls factions, magician guerrillas, civilian defense forces - all coveted Sorcerer's Tears to replenish magic.
When the remains of the magically empowered were burnt to ash, residual magic would coalesce and crystallize. These crystals were called Sorcerer's Tears.
Their size corresponded to the greater mana of longer-lived individuals.
Resembling crystal, they contained condensed mana, amplifying a spell's power and range when held, adding the Tear's mana to the caster's own.
The Tears themselves could also be enchanted for use.
For example, ice spells could be powered by Tears as a cold source instead of refrigerators; fire spells in place of hearths. Their effects persisted until the Tear's mana was depleted or the magic dispelled. They could also serve as batteries, magically powering devices.
With Sorcerer's Tears and an enchanted tool, even the powerless people could use magic.
All lake people had magic, as did some elite land dwellers like royalty.
Awellarna had heard the "powerless people" of Aether Province were long subjugated by magic users.
They endured the oppression, contempt, and torment of magicians leaning on the teachings of the powerless Saint Kirkuls Lacteus, founder of the Kirkuls faith... According to powerless Kirkuls believers, at least.
Awellarna was born halfway through the civil war.
In early childhood she had seen Kirkuls fighter planes saturating cities with incendiary bombs, razing them to the ground.
Soldiers and armed Kirkuls factions with the Kirkuls star emblem roamed the smoldering ruins, eyes bloodshot.
Now an adult, she realized the powerless people had craved Sorcerer's Tears more than any other faction lacking magic themselves. They had thirsted for power to oppose magicians.
The Kirkuls soldiers displayed no psychological resistance to hunting the lake people as "resources."
A lakeside community, so it burned. Magic users, so reduced to ash.
Not all the magically empowered were battle-ready magicians, whether from lake or land.
Spellcraft divided into schools by specialization.
While everyone grasped fundamentals for daily life like the peaceful dove arts, few warriors mastered the fierce hawk arts for efficiently slaying foes.
Beyond peaceful dove spells, average citizens only used magic necessary for their work, like farm-tilling skylark spells for farmers or fishing pelican arts for fishermen, and artisan arts like the weaving reed arts.
Awellarna's family had fished the Nenia Island shores for generations. Though versed in fishing pelican spells, none knew battle magics.
When the air raid siren sounded, all they could do was flee desperately to the nearest shelter.
Even after enemy craft departed, they couldn't immediately begin firefighting. Venture from the shelter and ground troops might gun them down, left to burn in the flames.
The injured had to hide even from allies.
With the collapse of medical services, severe injuries like fractures, gunshot wounds, or major burns were deemed "unsalvageable." Awellarna had seen many casualties euthanized by comrades and harvested for Tears as "resources."
As a child she'd had seventeen cousins. By war's end only five remained.
Curse doctors who had lost their hospitals taught children medical magics, hoping to save more lives.
To teach magic could be a power for saving, not fighting.
Awellarna had also learned concoction arts from an owl doctor, healing arts from swallow and winged doctors.
Now she worked dispensing medication at a civilian hospital pharmacy.
Whenever she saw the sunset, Awellarna recalled the flames of civil war, her mood sinking with the dying light.
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Prologue Summary
Though harboring much discontent and anxiety, the half-century of civil war had come to an end.
The peace agreement would not be overturned, and the peaceful days continued for thirty years. At the same time, small dissatisfactions accumulated over those thirty years as well.
Awellarna visits her hospitalized elderly father.
Her sister comes to see him every day, but work prevents Awellarna and her brothers from visiting as often.
Her father's life was stolen away moment by moment, little by little, by incurable old age. Though still living, they could not even converse. Perhaps the sickness had caused him to forget Awellarna entirely.
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★Cast Introduction★
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◆ Awellarna - Lake pharmacist. Nickname means "mountain rose."
Lake person. Fraksinus believer. Green hair and eyes. Nemolis.
The sole long-lived Chomei in her clan due to atavism. Appears 15-16 (actually 58, born during the half-century civil war).
Works as a pharmacist at the Agate Hospital in Mieac District, Zelno City.
Trained in Owl, Blue Single Wing, Fishing Pelican, and Peaceful Dove spellcraft.
Her family runs a fishery in Zelno City's Geriezo District on central Nenia Island near the border. They survived the civil war supporting each other.
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◆ Awellarna's father
Lake person. Fraksinus believer. Green hair and eyes. Short-lived Tyoomyo. 80s. Nemolis.
Apparently did reckless things fighting the military during the half-century civil war (relatives).
Fisherman trained in fishing pelican arts.
Hospitalized at Zelno Central Municipal Hospital during the Star Road volunteer army terror incident.
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◆ Ilex - Nickname means "holly."
Lake person. Fraksinus believer. Green hair and eyes. Short-lived Tyoomyo. Late 60s. Nemolis. Elder sister of Awellarna and Abieus.
Housewife managing a fishing family. Fishing pelican arts.
Should have been at the municipal hospital with their father during the Star Road volunteer attack, but is missing.
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◆ Abieus - Nickname means "fir tree/boat/spear."
Lake person. Fraksinus believer. Green hair and eyes. Short-lived Tyoomyo. Nemolis.
Awellarna's brother. Ilex's younger brother. Fisherman trained in fishing pelican arts. Captain of the fishing ship Kofuku III of the Zelno Fishing Cooperative.
Ran a fishery in Zelno City Geriezo District, Nenia Island before the war began. Missing along with his wife and nephews immediately after the Star Road volunteer terror incident.81Please respect copyright.PENANADcvbBsCgyR