In the morning, Maia was waiting excitedly for Priscilla to wake up. Priscilla opened her eyes and stared up at the sky. She could see Maia at the edge of her vision, but being observed was making her uncomfortable. She could tell that Maia was giddy and wanted to say something.
"You memorized it?" Priscilla said while still lying down.
"Yes! And I finished my second circuit! I tried really hard but I couldn't even figure out how to start the third circuit." She said, going from happy to depressed.
"That is only natural; You need a third circle spell in order to advance. Each circuit must be based on a spell to be successfully drawn. The chosen spell becomes an innate ability that can always be used without incantation. For example, your first spell, the heat object formula, is the spell with the highest capacity for aura. That makes it the best spell for a Natural sorcerer. The second spell is call spirits, one of the most important spells for a druid."
Maia was stunned as she processed all this information. Then she turned red and looked down. She was ashamed at herself for thinking poorly of Priscilla. It was only for a moment, but she thought that Priscilla had turned cold and callous. Now, however, she blamed herself for her thoughts when she came to the realization of the truth.
"You thought about what was best for my training from all the way back then…" She said unconsciously.
"Don't get me wrong! Training you will get me closer to getting a divination!" Priscilla retorted.
"…But you didn't know about that at the time…" Maia mumbled.
"Grr, what do you know!" Priscilla turned red and quickly got up to hide it; She began to head towards Lothian. Maia got up and quickly followed behind. To Maia, Priscilla felt like a teacher. Even though she is a bit difficult to get along with, and couldn't say what she is feeling; Maia could feel the warmth.
"Master, didn't Sir Gawain say you were born at first circle? If what you said about circuits is true, why didn't you need to learn a spell?" Maia asked innocently. Little did she know just how important that question was.
"I was born with an innate ability; thus, I did not need to have prepared a spell and the circuit was also drawn. And don't call me Master." Priscilla answered calmly.
"What innate ability were you born with, Master?" Maia responded enthusiastically. Priscilla turned her head toward Maia and pointed at her own face. Priscilla's skin tone and hair color changed a few times before returning to the color they were previously.
"Transformation. Also, don't call me Master."
"Do you have a third circle spell picked out for me?" Maia asked shyly.
"Have nine spirits active at once for an hour and you'll be ready for the next step. You have a week or I'll stop teaching you."
Maia looked depressed for a second and then changed to determination. She had tried to cast the spell already, but after a minute of maintaining a single spirit, it vanished and she was exhausted. After a while she was able to hold it for five minutes and even have it take over a pile of stones. As soon as it possessed them, however, her remaining supply of magic aura depleted in an instant.
Their active form was when they embodied or possessed a force of nature. Having nine activate at once sounded like an impossible task at first, but Maia felt that she could do it. She did not want to let her master down. She checked behind her and saw Christoph and Gawain talking about a topic that had Christoph excited. Everything was like a dream to her. But when she recalled her nightmare, she shuddered.
Priscilla had already noticed her strange behavior. Combining it with the hesitation she showed when her seer ability came to light, Priscilla was able to determine Maia was holding something back. However, it was impossible to make a seer reveal their visions; She has tried before. Even after being tortured, their mind will protect itself by entering a perpetual vision and they will lose all feeling in their body.
Seers were very particular about the people they talked to and what they divulged. When she discovered that Maia was a budding seer, she was quite ecstatic. She thought that if she could raise a seer, many problems could be solved. However, she didn't expect a seer's personality came with the power; It was not taught. Unbeknownst to her, this was actually Priscilla's misunderstanding.
When they rejoined with the main road, there were dozens of wagons and travelers. They all traveled in the same direction—Lothian city. The grand wall looked more imposing from where they were walking. The wall was partly symbolic and partly defensive. Once their turn came up, the soldiers only asked a few superficial questions before letting them in.
Apparently, the rebellion had a much greater affect than Priscilla expected. She overheard some soldiers talking about the sheer number of refugees being evicted from the villages that were created in the name of the empire. As they weren't originally Camelot citizens, it seems they weren't given mercy. Priscilla fumed with anger at hearing that. Those poor people were especially gathered by her to give them a place to live in exchange for taxes.
She had taught them techniques that only worked in that particular land. Due to the soil contents, it was thought to be a dead land for farming. However, with the invaders knowledge she was able to turn that land into a fertile wonderland. Those vagrants were taught to farm there from scratch. Those techniques weren't applicable to other fields, so they would only find disappointment in future employment!
Just as the four of them passed through the portcullis and stepped into the city, a group of soldiers were lying in wait for them. Priscilla went to draw her sword when someone stepped forward.
"That shouldn't be necessary. We come with orders to invite you to the King's court.��
"How did you find out?" Priscilla asked suspiciously.
"Shouldn't you be the most knowledgeable on this matter?" He asked sarcastically.
Priscilla couldn't believe it. Of course, she was worried that her own technology would reveal her, but King Orkney was openly against using invader inspired technology. She chose Lothian for mainly that reason. She was tricked.
"Seems that this was planned for a long time. Very well, lets see what he has to say." Although she was played by the King of Lothian, she knew that her magic and swordsmanship was slightly higher than his. This was an innate benefit of her blood line. As she grew older, her body naturally grew stronger in proportion to her aura.
As they were being escorted through the city, Priscilla felt like a fool. There were magic-tech devices everywhere. One could even say that there was more than in Camelot. No wonder the guard talked down to her like that. She had never bothered to inspect this kingdom, so she had assumed she was tricked. But the reality was painful!
Once they were brought into the castle's court, she was shaking in anger. Priscilla wanted to teach that man a thing or two right now. Soon enough, an older man with a bald head and purple robes sat down on the throne.
"Your Majesty it is good—"
"What in the name of the gods? Did you not declare that you would sooner die than touch those corrupt tools?" Priscilla's anger couldn't be held back anymore and she exploded.
"Haha, indeed I said that. It is my fortune that my son brought back one of those trinkets and I grew addicted to its usefulness. My kingdom now prospers due to having the most magically advanced city."
"How incompetent have I been to not even notice such a thing happening under my nose…"
"Oh, Your Majesty, do not be so hard on yourself. My spies had long since determined you were being kept in the dark of many dealings." This caused Priscilla to pause and turn serious.
"Is this why you called to meet me?"
"Oh, goodness no. All of that is already beyond help. I wished to formally invite you to lead my own magic-tech research group. I will offer you pay, a residence and hide your identity. I will also allow you access to the information network that monitors Camelot."
Priscilla was surprised but also felt strange. In her mind, King Orkney was unruly and impossible to get along with. However, he had given her valuable information and also reached out to shelter her. Even if she were being used for his own gain, this was unexpected. She thought hard about it but ultimately decided.
"I agree on the condition that we are all allowed to stay and you do not interfere with anything I do outside of research."