After two hours that had seemed interminable to Nerya, they caught sight of great walls rising in the distance.

  Once they reached the gates, they stopped as a guard approached Wensworth.

  “Papers and travel permits, please,” he said curtly.

  Wensworth rummaged through one of his satchels and pulled out two parchments, handing them to the guard, who unfolded them at once.

  “One-day visit for the church.

  And may we know who the person concerned by this visit is?” he continued, his tone still sharp.

  “Just behind me, you’ll see the child in question,” Wensworth replied with a smile.

  The guard stepped aside, carefully examining Eldran and Zephyra before letting his gaze fall on Nerya.

  She felt an unpleasant sensation under the man’s stare, as if her presence bothered him.

  “Very well, move along and no trouble.

  Have a good day,” the guard said, returning the parchments.

  Wensworth hastily put the papers away and snapped the reins once more, setting them back on the road.

  “Seriously, they should relax one day.

  Is that really a way to welcome people?” Eldran scoffed.

  “Calm down, dear, they’re just doing their job.

  And it can’t be pleasant to stand there for hours,” Zephyra replied.

  “It’s mostly because the slave traders made a real mess.

  They were bargaining people from the city with unscrupulous mercenaries,” Wensworth explained with a sigh.

  As they traveled through the immense city, Nerya, who was watching the tall buildings and the many different people living there, noticed something strange.

  “What’s that?

  Is the lady wearing a costume?” she asked.

  Eldran and Zephyra looked toward where Nerya was discreetly pointing her finger, seeing a young woman in tattered clothes.

  On her head were thin, elongated ears, and from her back a small, bushy orange tail emerged from her tunic.

  “She isn’t wearing a costume, my dear.

  She’s a woman who has… how should I explain this,” Zephyra began.

  “They’re humans crossed with animals.

  They’re like us, but they have traits we don’t,” Eldran finished.

  “A pet animal?

  Is that why the man is holding her on a leash?” Nerya went on.

  Eldran and Zephyra exchanged a puzzled look, realizing they had not taken into account that what Nerya was seeing was unfamiliar to her.

  “No, and you must never do that.

  Even if many treat them as less than nothing, they remain humans who were sold as slaves,” Zephyra replied calmly.

  Hmm, that’s what I thought then.

  This kind of thing really exists, it’s not just in the stories I used to read, Nerya thought, still watching the woman.

  She eventually looked away, offering her mother a small smile and nodding obediently.

  After a few minutes, they finally arrived not in front of a church, but before an imposing cathedral.

  The carriage stopped at the foot of stairs leading up to a massive wooden door, Nerya feeling tiny once she stood on the ground.

  Wensworth climbed down as well, and together they went up the steps, stopping before the door, which felt even more immense once standing beside it.

  “Well, I’ll put the carriage somewhere it won’t be in the way.

  If you need me, I’ll be at the tavern,” Wensworth explained.

  “You don’t want to come with us once you’re done?

  No one forbids you to come, you know.

  You’ll spend a fortune if you pass your whole day at the tavern,” Eldran replied.

  “No thank you, my relationship with churches is, let’s say… complicated.

  I avoid getting too close to them whenever possible,” Wensworth murmured.

  He bent down and looked at Nerya with a serious expression, his mustache quivering with each movement of his lips.

  “Enjoy your day, little one.

  You’ll only live this once in your life.

  Don’t panic, and tonight you’ll tell me everything,” he added.

  Nerya hid slightly behind her mother’s legs, clutching her trousers as she did.

  She gave a shy little smile and nodded timidly, Wensworth straightening up and heading back down the steps.

  Eldran pushed open a small door set into the left wing of the immense gate, which Nerya had not noticed before because the seam was barely visible.

  They entered a large corridor, which suddenly made the place feel less overwhelming.

  Such a huge building for so little?

  It’s kind of disappointing in the end, aside from the height the corridor ruins it a bit, Nerya thought, unsettled.

  A person dressed in a long white tunic brushing the floor approached them, his hands hidden inside the opposite sleeves.

  “Good day, what can we do for you?

  Are you here for a visit?” he asked warmly.

  “Good day, yes, we have an appointment for our daughter.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  She turned five today,” Eldran replied.

  The man then looked at Nerya and offered her a broad smile.

  “And well, there we have a lovely little girl.

  If you would be so kind as to follow me, I will lead you to the great hall,” he explained.

  He turned around and began walking at a slow pace.

  He then veered toward a door far larger than the others, pushing it open with a brisk motion, as if it weighed nothing at all.

  Nerya parted her lips slightly as she took in the room, wondering how it could possibly fit inside the building they had seen from the outside.

  A long nave stretched out before them, flanked by rows of pale wooden benches that seemed to brighten the space.

  Every wall was covered in stained glass, separated by tall carved columns.

  They advanced at the same slow pace, before stopping near the small dais.

  The man gestured with his hand, signaling them to settle there.

  “Wait until your child’s name is called before moving, and make no noise so as not to disturb the others.

  Lastly, when your child is called, do not accompany her.

  She must be able to go on her own,” he explained in a low voice.

  Zephyra walked along the benches and took a seat, followed by Nerya, who settled beside her.

  A heavy silence settled over the hall, making the wait feel endless from that moment on.

  Until a small door clicked open with an echo, and an imposing man stepped onto the dais and placed a book on the pedestal set at its center.

  He did not look at the hall at all, turning instead toward the table behind him, handling various objects which he arranged in different places.

  He then turned toward the waiting people, opened his book, flipped through a few pages, and finally lifted his gaze to the room.

  He cleared his throat.

  “Elwine Grasinos, please come to me,” he said in a clear voice.

  Nerya glanced around discreetly, trying to see who would move.

  A stir rose from the opposite side of where she was seated, a young boy stepping out from between the benches and walking timidly down the aisle.

  He reached the foot of the steps and paused for a brief moment, as if hesitating to go any further.

  He finally placed his foot down and stood beside the man, his fingers twisting nervously.

  “Good.

  Sit on this stool and do not move,” the man explained, pointing to the small seat.

  The child sat down and waited, Nerya watching the scene with keen curiosity.

  The man dipped his hands into a basin, uttering words no one could hear.

  A strange bluish glow flared around him, fading quickly as he withdrew his hands from the vessel.

  He stepped toward the boy and placed a hand on his forehead, both of them closing their eyes as the man began to murmur incomprehensible phrases once more.

  The blue light emanated again from his hand, but Nerya noticed it seemed to be absorbed by the boy.

  “Mama, what is the man doing?” she whispered.

  “Watch, you’ll see.

  He’s awakening his Mana,” Zephyra replied.

  Nerya turned her gaze back to the man as he removed his hand.

  The boy remained seated, unmoving, for a few moments.

  Then the blue light suddenly burst from his body, as if he could no longer contain it.

  The bluish radiance flooded the entire hall, Nerya shielding her eyes from the intensity, yet forcing herself to look so as not to miss anything.

  The glow began to fade, focusing into a single point in front of the boy.

  But just as everything seemed to be ending, the floating particles began to move rapidly.

  A small creature materialized, slowly taking on a complete, almost real form.

  A small cat sat before the boy, but the man cleared his throat.

  “Very well, now you must control it.

  Recall your mana animal by merging it with the one within you,” the man explained.

  The boy remained lost for a few seconds, staring at his parents in search of an answer.

  Then he finally looked at the small creature before him, closed his eyes, and focused.

  Nerya watched, filled with curiosity, her impatience growing at what she was witnessing.

  But seconds passed without anything happening.

  Then the creature began to dematerialize.

  It was drawn back into the boy’s body, and he opened his eyes, swaying slightly under the effort he had expended.

  “Very well, you may go.

  From now on, only you decide how to use your magic,” the man said, without even concerning himself with the child’s condition.

  The boy’s parents came to retrieve him, his father lifting him up, while the man once again turned toward the people in the hall.

  “Estrella Alvione, come and join me,” he continued.

  Everyone in the hall began looking around, searching for the child whose name had been called.

  But after several minutes of silence, no one stepped forward.

  “Always the same.

  There’s always one who doesn’t show up,” the man scoffed.

  He turned back again and leafed through his book, before speaking once more.

  “Nerya Lorvain, please come and join me,” he finally said.

  Nerya felt her heart pound wildly as she heard her name, hesitating before standing up.

  She stepped into the central aisle under her parents’ gaze, but she also felt all the others staring at her.

  Stop staring at me like that, seriously.

  I’m not some kind of fair beast, she thought irritably.

  She climbed onto the dais and reached the stool, sitting down without a word before the man’s imposing frame.

  He looks like a huge bear up close.

  No wonder he scares children, she continued in her thoughts.

  The man repeated the process with the basin, the same bluish glow escaping once again.

  He stepped toward Nerya, who was torn between anticipation and doubt, and placed his hand on her forehead, murmuring incomprehensible words.

  The blue light burst again from the man’s hand, but the people in the hall let out a murmur of astonishment.

  Nerya was surrounded by some kind of invisible shield, the Mana particles crashing against it before being thrown back and vanishing.

  Though the man was surprised at first, he continued to press on as the particles kept being repelled.

  The shell around Nerya began to materialize in a golden hue, and the man immediately stopped, pulling his hand back sharply.

  “What is this?

  I have never seen someone reject the blessing of the gods,” the man said, stepping back.

  Then a flash erupted around Nerya, creating a violent gust that hurled everything around her away.

  The people in the hall felt a wind like the edge of a storm strike their faces, a dull roar echoing as the stained glass trembled.

  Before Nerya could understand, a total silence fell over the hall as the air returned to normal.

  Nerya felt every gaze fixed upon her, a deep discomfort rising as she tried to grasp what had just happened.

  “In all these years, this is the first time I have seen this.

  A child incapable of using magic.

  You have been recognized as unworthy of receiving this gift offered by the gods,” the man continued coldly.

  His words fell on Nerya like a crushing weight, leaving her wondering if he was joking.

  In… incapable of using magic?

  I… but… why?

  He told me I could live like everyone else, she thought, shaken.

  Eldran and Zephyra looked at each other, Nerya lifting her gaze toward them and seeing the sorrow on their faces.

  Tears welling, she stood up and ran down the aisle, leaving the hall and the church, disappearing into the city.

  Eldran and Zephyra did not understand immediately, rising and rushing after her.

  But Nerya had already slipped into the crowd outside, her small size rendering her invisible.

  “Go find Wensworth, we have to find her, Eldran,” Zephyra said urgently.

  Eldran nodded and ran toward the inn, while Zephyra pushed through the people in search of Nerya.

  But Nerya was already heading for the city gates, ignoring the troubled looks of those who watched her pass.