After such a delicious meal, Rin felt very content and it showed. Prince Lyn understood her happiness to a certain extent because he had been through hard times and dangerous experiences too. Having a hearty meal had always been a good cure for wariness.
-Thank you...-she remembered she wanted to ask about this issue too- Is it fine if I just call your name?-
-You can call my name only without the titles, yes and feel free to do it it in public too. I will do the same and call you Rin only-it was an extremely intimate thing to do, specially in front of others but it was one of those easy things, same as sharing living space, that gave credibility to their marriage and he was happy to use it to his full advantage.
Rin put the blue pouch over the table and glanced at him directly in the eyes. He had to give it to her, such a straightforward manner could even be unnerving for many people and downright rude if she had a lesser identity and conducted herself like this in front of authoritative figures. It was a blessing that above her Crown Princess station there were only a handful of people such as his parents. With the way things were, she would be deemed as powerful dignified and assertive because all of her actions and words were direct but not arrogant. Just the way she handled the dessert episode with the servants showed she could be extremely gentle and considerate. It was such a refreshing thing for him that he knew even he was becoming entranced by her effortless and natural charm.
-Where do you want to start?- he asked knowing that this might well be the moment Rin began her journey into the realm of magick-I dont want to bore you with things you might know already.
-Teach me as if I was a kid who knows nothing -she answered- My world has no magick and our minds are trained to look at things with a whole different mindset and rules. Rin Coesen has no memory of how to do anything either because she was unable to from the start-
Lyn thought and after some deliberation, he began with a bit of history, because that might make things easier later on.
-Aeons ago, the world was filled with life, trees, plants, all manner of animals and beasts in the land and the seas but empty of humans. The Celestials saw that it was a realm where people would thrive and planted the seed of the first nation but soon, they realized that magick was strong and people did not live long as their bodies could not withstand its force, thus, the Celestials bestowed us with soul gems that would allow us to withstand and even make use of magick-
There were scriptures with thousands of pages about that story. Later on, Rin realized just how summarized it had been but she certainly thanked him for it.
-What about people like Rin who are born without gems?-
-There are lots of legends and explanations about that-he said- Some countries and religions regard kids like her as an abomination and get rid of them as soon as they are born-she guessed this country took another stance about the issue-The Meric Empire and its vassal nations frown upon such practice because it is very rare and also because individuals born without soul gems rarely live beyond 30 years and they tend to be heavily discriminated against- He did not say it but that was another reason why his previous engagement with her was considered an insult to his prestige as no one would want a crippled and useless bride like Rin Coesen-
-And the colors? Why do you change yours?-
-A soul gem color represents the potential to use magic that a person is born with-he decided to tread carefully about that and rope her together with him in understanding they were on the same boat of danger- Most people can find themselves identified on the colors of the rainbow with red being the least potential and violet the one with the most.
Rin knew her own soul gem was golden and his was black in their true forms, none of those colors belonged to the spectrum he mentioned and so, they were rarities. The only way to walk around and have something resembling a normal life was to mask them to closer colors in which case, it was blue for him and yellow for her.
-I see you understand-he followed- we have to mask our true potential because it goes beyond what our people can imagine. A person with a violet gem is regarded as little less than an envoy from the Celestials. One legend says that white is the color of Gods while Black is that of demons...
-What about me? What does golden mean?-she interrupted. Lynn looked at her in the eye and found no trace of rejection over that demon comment, it was like the fact held no significance whatsoever. Other women would be in histerics the moment they realized they were married and tied for life and maybe even death to someone like him.
-It means you are the Phoenix Warrior-he said without preamble- Sent by the Celestials themselves to make the world right, worshipped by millions, desired by many factions who would kill to have you turn to their side-
He did not mention the most important part, but Rin Coesen had read about many legends and she could access those memories to make herself a clearer picture. The Phoenix Warrior was meant to fight to death with the Demon Lord and succeed or their world might fall to one of the dreaded Dark Ages, long periods of time when slaughter, war, suffering and general mayhem were the rule. The thing was that he had had that power for over 20 years already and if he had wanted to seize power, he could have done so ages ago long before she came along.
Rin sipped a bit of tea that was becoming cool fast. Her face remained calmed and her heart rippled just faintly.
-So, you mean to say that you belong to some demonic race and I´m now married to you and we have to tear each other apart?-she summarized the situation beautifully- I call bullshit, you dont seem to me like a power crazed guy and I´m way too tired of fighting so how do we settle this?-her serenity with the situation amazed him- Also, we got out of track, what´s the deal with my mother´s pouch?-
-I think you see things clearly-he answered after a while-maybe only a person out of this world like yourself would be broadminded enough to do so- he leaned back in his chair and stared at the seemingly simple pouch still displayed on the table-A pouch like this is an spatial artifact and can only be created by people with violet soulgems who have trained on spacetime magick. They are scarce and extremely expensive.
-How do we open it up?-
Lynn raised an eyebrow at that. Did that mean that she would allow him access to the contents? God knows what the late Lady Coesen and the Nen family had stowed away in that pouch. He extended his hand towards pouch and touched it. Spacetime magick was not his forte but with his other abilities, he could easily glean its situation.
Rin paid close attention and found that he did not close his eyes or chanted anywords. The item did not glow upon contact and she was kind of dissapointed. After a few seconds, he gazed at her again and smiled.
-We lucked out, your mother never gave access to your father or any other person in the Coesen family other than your brother and you. This pouch remained out of their reach and will not be listed on their magical artifacts registry because it was never under their influence. Perhaps the Nen family may be able to trace it but they mean you less harm-he meant to leave it behind if things had been different but such a valuable artifact would have been a tremendous loss.-give me your right hand.
Rin complied without hesitation. He observed no hint of shyness or akwardness in her face as he held her hand and together, they opened the pouch.