In the morning, over breakfast, Ada told me about the upcoming event in honor of the arrival of the High Priestess from Luminaria. On that day, as a rule, the city is painted in festive colors, and fairs fill the streets.
"But what about the war?" I asked. It felt strange to celebrate while mages and people were dying in another part of the kingdom.
"Sometimes people need a piece of happiness to keep fighting," she stopped stirring with the ladle and looked sadly at her hands. "Our kingdom lives in war. Families are torn apart or perishing. Our whole life is built around resisting dark magic. I think that's why once a year we allow ourselves a small celebration. It gives us the sense that we're still alive... that not all is lost."
She spoke as if she herself had walked through the fire of war.
"Did you lose someone in this war?" I asked cautiously. And immediately regretted it: her gaze grew even sadder.
"Yes," Ada answered quietly. Her words echoed with bitterness in my head. The woman, always energetic and talkative, had suddenly become quieter than a stream. "My husband and son," she continued, not lifting her eyes from her hands.
"I'm sorry," I managed to say. But the sorrow had already sunk into me like a hungry beast.
"That's why such holidays give us a chance to feel life again, the life we've forgotten in this river of blood," Ada looked away, returned to her work, and once more the lids clattered, the pots hissed. "Only on such days can we remind ourselves what life is... and keep fighting for it."
I didn't ask her anything else. After saying goodbye to Ada, I headed to see Nimor.
As soon as I opened the door, I saw someone I hadn't met in a long time, the elder Solemir. He looked well, his complexion was rich in color.
"You haven't been seen in a while. Are you feeling all right?" I came closer and crouched beside his wheelchair.
"I'm feeling better now. I see you're starting to find your footing," his kind smile tried to dispel my sorrow, but even it could not succeed. Ada's words still echoed inside me.
"Is something troubling you, my child?" he asked gently, as if he could feel my mood.
"I need answers. I need the truth that, for some reason, is being kept from me," I finally admitted.
"You can ask me anything. I'll tell you everything," he still looked at me with the same kind smile.
"Who am I?" that question had tormented me from the very beginning. But apart from being told that I'd lost my power, nothing else had really been explained. "Why was I sleeping in that room? Why did someone curse my pillow? Why did I forget? Why does Blake protect me from everything and everyone?"
"You are the girl from the divine prophecy," he said calmly. "It foretold that a child with great light magic would come to the land. A power that would help win the war."
"The girl from the prophecy?.." I repeated, stunned by his answer.
***
Before names, before songs, before sound,
there was a star.
It was born of silence,
meant to wrap the light
too bright for dawn.
The star sank into the earth,
into a place ruled by words
but deaf to them.
***
He spoke the words that echoed in my mind. And I remembered: I'd heard something similar from Blake.
"What does it mean?" I asked, stepping back and sitting down in one of the chairs where Nimor and I usually worked.
"The temples interpreted it this way: the strongest mage would appear in the main castle of Feller. And one day, at the castle gates, we found a basket with an infant. Following the prophecy's signs, inside it we discovered a magical crystal of unprecedented power. Over time, it became clear that you slept constantly and only occasionally woke. We don't know the reasons, but evidently you were storing strength, concentrating magic for the war. Over the years, your magic grew, and even being near you one could feel a great and mighty mana," Solemir paused.
"So I've woken before? And remembered everything?" I clarified.
"Yes. You always woke. You learned to speak and write faster than ordinary children. You woke four times a year, during the interseasons. You always loved to talk, sometimes escaped from the castle, but Blake always brought you back. Those were your younger years. You developed and grew stronger, more beautiful. Aging slowed due to the power of your magic. As Nimor already told you, humans live shorter lives and usually die by sixty or sixty-five. With us, that's the height of strength, beauty, and magic. That's when a mage fully masters their power, and the crystal becomes saturated to the brim."
"Were Blake and I... close?" I asked, and the room fell into a silence of surprise.
"He was the only one who knew you. Who watched over you, besides us," Solemir clarified.
"But why? Why does no one know about me?" I truly couldn't understand why I had been hidden from everyone.
"You see, my child..." Solemir sighed heavily. "The prophecy is known not only to light mages, but to the dark ones as well." He paused and continued: "They know of your existence. They know that you are the imbalance, not in their favor. So they will seek you... to kill you." At last, he said it. The truth that had been lying in plain sight, yet I had blindly failed to see it. "To all of us, you are Hope. With your power, with our advantage, we can win this long and bloody war."
They believe I'll bring victory. Drums pounded in my head. Fear. Terror. And something else...
"And now I have no power," I reminded myself, as if sentencing all hope. "And if people or the military find out... there'll be panic," I whispered almost inaudibly.
"Yes," the old man acknowledged. "Very few know of your existence or location. We've kept it well hidden. But in many castles and villages, the prophecy has been heard... or even a legend of a powerful sorceress who will appear five years before the centennial of the war:
***
But when the frozen silence shatters
on the fifth breath of the Dawn ,
The star will break,
and turn the blade away
from the throat of the world.
***
"Our elders, and I among them, interpreted this part as follows: after awakening, your power will help end the war. We translated it from the Divine language, so the meaning may have shifted... but it all pointed to one thing: your power will end the war."
"But now I have nothing," the panic inside me rose. "Blake is hiding me so no one finds out. He told me from the beginning, and I... like a blind fool... couldn't see the obvious," my voice broke, and a lump in my throat stopped me from saying more.
"We'll find out what happened to you. Don't worry. We still have time. You woke two years earlier than planned."
"How long was I asleep before?" a timid hope slid into my mind: maybe I could still go back to sleep.
"The longest was a week. That was in your teenage years. You were very stubborn and difficult," a small rebuke flew in my direction. Now it was clear why Blake insisted so much on my meek behavior.
That meant the moment of returning to sleep had already passed. There was no going back.
"And the pillow... and Sunny?" I asked, feeling a slight tightening inside, as if someone had gently pulled a thread into a knot.
"Your pillow... It's still unclear what magic that was. But it was definitely not Sunny. Most likely, a person. More precisely, a mage pretending to be her. There are too many questions in this situation, and we are still investigating it."
So they had been silent not only to hide the truth, but also because they themselves didn't yet know it.
I wanted to ask about the knight in the kitchen... but remembering how no one believed me last time, I decided not to bring it up.
"Where did Blake go?" I asked. He'd vanished right after the news about Sunny. Could something have happened? The thought stung, leaving a cold trace inside.
"Don't forget, he is the High Mage. He has many responsibilities. That's why, in his absence, we always looked after you... and the nurse. But I will say this: he didn't leave because of your situation," Solemir seemed to sense my worry and tried to calm it in advance.
I was able to breathe. The heaviness in my chest lifted. So it wasn't because of me. Not because of Sunny. Just... because he had to. Like a soldier.
"And one more thing..." Solemir began again, but quieter now, with that tone that chills the blood. "The Priestess of the Great Temple will soon arrive. She knows about you, but we told her you're asleep. Nimor will let you know when she arrives. During those days, don't wear the Guardian's clothing. We'll find something simple for you, like an ordinary person's."
"All right," I nodded. After everything he'd explained, my trust in their actions grew stronger... but with it, a weight settled inside. Now I more clearly saw the reason they hid me. It was more than just my amnesia... more than just Blake's stubbornness.
I was the hope of many.
I remembered Ada. I was her hope too — quiet, hidden deep in the heart, a hope that the war would end.
And I... empty. A useless girl. Without magic. Without power. Like a vessel drained of everything that gave it meaning.
"Have there ever been cases where magic disappeared from a person?" I asked, holding my breath, as if afraid the exhale might shatter the answer I longed to hear.
"No," Solemir replied with regret.
"But maybe..." I hesitated, unsure whether it would sound like foolishness or a possible solution.
"Go on," the old man urged, looking at me so intently, as though trying to grasp the thought before I could voice it.
"Can we... place a mana crystal inside me?" I asked hesitantly.
"That process is not as simple as it might seem. And since we don't yet know what happened to your crystal... a new one could be dangerous for you," Solemir sighed heavily and gave me a look filled with more understanding than words. "Don't worry, my child. Maybe your power is only sleeping. Maybe it will return. We can't say for sure, because you are special. We have time to study all this."
"But you said yourself that no one has ever lost their crystal?" my words broke off in fragments. Thoughts clashed painfully in my head. "People are waiting for me... waiting for my power. What if it never comes back?"
I looked at them in disbelief: how could they speak of this so calmly, so logically?
I'm the one who has to carry all this. And right now, there's nothing inside but emptiness.
Where does their calm come from?
"Why are you so sure I'm that girl... that mage from the prophecy? Why do you think it will come true?" the words burst out before I could stop them. Panic clung to my voice. "Why are you so calm?"
"Biana, calm down. It's all right," seeing my panic, Solemir spoke softer, quieter, as if his voice sought a path deep into my breath. "We cannot control everything in this world. We can only search for ways to solve the challenges before us. Your loss of magic is serious. We are searching for answers — in books, in chronicles. But panic will not help us."
His frail hands pushed the wheels with effort, and he moved closer. Extending his palm, he lit a silver light.
"And we know that you are the girl sent by prophecy. I know. Blake knows. I understand your worry. We are doing everything we can to learn what happened to you. You need only be patient, my child. Everything that happens to us is not by chance. We must pass through it. So do not be troubled. All will be well."
The light in his hand went out, and with it, the anxious trembling in the air faded.
My soul began to settle — perhaps from his words, or maybe from his magic. But deep inside, the knot of fear remained. I buried it again.
We spoke briefly about the map. Today, Solemir told me about five cities on the front and one just behind it — they take the heaviest blows from the dark forces.
He said we rarely attack, only defend, preserving lives. But darkness finds its way: by secret paths, through forests. They creep onto our side and sometimes attack farmers, villages.
So in any corner of the kingdom, it's unsafe to travel in a small group. Especially without a mage nearby.
After that, I had lunch and decided to walk to the river. It had almost become part of my routine.
The wind was cooler than usual, as if to cool the thoughts.
Solemir said there's a small chance that my powers are only sleeping...
A small chance. But still a chance.
So how do I wake them up?
Maybe a jolt. Or meditation. Or something I haven't even thought of yet.
I closed my eyes. Tried to listen inward, to search for even a spark I could call magic.
Though I didn't even know what I was looking for.
In complete silence, in fragile serenity...
"BIAAAAAANAAAAA!"
Kay's voice pierced straight into my consciousness.
"Well yes, meditation... sure, why not," I muttered to myself, opening my eyes.
The boys were already running toward me, and behind them, as always reluctantly, trailed Lily.
I stood up and greeted them.
"The High Mage hasn't returned yet?" Kay asked with the same excited gleam in his eyes.
"No. And I don't know when he'll be back. So stop asking me about it."
Solemir's words came to mind: Everything that happens to us is not by chance.
And suddenly... a thought.
A mad one, but stubborn.
"Guys... I have an idea. Do you trust me?"
They exchanged glances.
"Yes!" Kay shouted defiantly. I knew he'd support me without even asking for the plan.
"I want you to do something for me," I said a little mysteriously, catching their attention.
"Is it at least within the rules?" Lily asked with her usual skepticism.
"Don't worry, it's safe," I waved it off, as if it were nothing.
"And what is it?" Lily still wouldn't let go of her doubt.
"I need... for you to attack me with your magic."