Two years later...
The mages lost the war to the Mainlander kingdoms. Now, the Council of Kings have deemed that the High Governor, appointed by the Council, will have a mage serve him. But other than that, no magic is allowed on Sonic except for in the mages' training school, Erwoe, where a graduating mage will be chosen by the High Governor as his mage. At Erwoe, a fierce competition has begun for the position.
"Ugh, I feel groggy. What happened?"
"You collapsed, Raevyn. Fainted, I think."
'Who is this girl? Who's Raevyn? My name is Liana. Shouldn't everyone know who I am? What the hell happened and where in Hell am I?'
"Raevyn?" the girl pouted. "Are you even listening to me?"
'Does she think I'm this Raevyn?'
"Hmm? What? Sorry, I must've spaced out."
"We have a check-up routine in five minutes. They're going to see how our magic has improved."
"What? Wait... where are we? And who are you?"
"Erwoe, silly. And stop trying to be funny. You know who I am. I'm your best friend, Daisy. Wow, you must've knocked your head harder than I thought."
"Erwoe? What am I doing here?'
"What's going on? What happened in the war?"
"It ended two years ago, silly. The Mainlanders won. We must live according tot heir rules now."
"No," Liana breathed. "This can't be happening. It can't be."
"Raevyn?" Daisy asked concerned.
"Girls, hurry onto class."
Daisy and Liana looked up.
"Yes, Professor Goodman," Daisy said.
Then, she grabbed Liana's hand, pulled her up, and dragged her through the halls to class. They entered the classroom just as the teacher turned around.
Liana looked up and saw Vander, the Headmaster of Erwoe.
'Shit. If I really am reincarnated as this Raevyn girl, then I can't show too much. Or else Vander will get really suspicious.'
When it was Liana's turn to perform the spell they were trying to learn, she did it but toned down the intensity as much as she could without letting the spell sputter and die.
"Hmm, your magic is still weak, though that could improve with time," Vander said. "But at least you seem to have finally grasped the concepts. Good work, Raevyn."
"Uh, thank you, Headmaster Davies."
'So, Raevyn is a weak mage. Great... this is going to fail terribly.'
The rest of the class blurred by and the kids were released, Liana took the now familiar walk to the library. There, she poured over many books, looking for anything, even a short reference, related to reincarnation.
"Why is there nothing here?!" she screamed. "Everything is saying there's no such thing as reincarnation, even for mages. So how am I alive again? I died saving Vander's life. According to these books, I shouldn't be here... or breathing for that matter."
"Raevyn?"
Liana jumped and spun around to see Daisy. Luckily, the girl hadn't heard anything Liana had just said.
"Yes?"
"The teachers say it's your turn?"
"For what, exactly?"
"Private testing. They want to see what you can do without any other students in the room. Just the Headmaster will be present."
"Oh, that's comforting," Liana said sarcastically.
"Raevyn... this is important."
Liana waved it off. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Lead the way."
She followed Daisy to the practice room where the testing would take place. Entering alone, she saw Vander standing just in front of a desk. He walked forward.
"Ahh, Raevyn, welcome."
"Thanks."
"Don't be scared, just do your best. Show me what you can do."
Liana nodded and began a medium difficulty protection enchantment.
"Wow," he breathed.
When the protection spell was fully activated, she held it strong. A bright glow surrounded her and then dissipated into nothing.
"That was a perfect spell. I'm impressed. You've grown a lot."
"Thank you, Headmaster. I've been working very hard."
He gave her and odd look. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, but she hoped it wasn't anything connecting her to her past self.
A long silence ensued.
Then, he said, "Thank you, Raevyn. You may go."
Liana just nodded and walked out of the practice room.
~~~
Three weeks pass...
Headmaster Davies calls for an all-school meeting in the mess hall.
"In two days, the High Governor will be arriving. He will be the Overseer of Sonic, as agreed upon by the Council of Kings and myself. He will watch the top five mages-in-training perform and then choose who he will take as his appointed mage," Vander explained.
'High Governor? What in Hell happened in the two years I was dead?'
"I will be choosing the top five now."
Excited chatter filled the hall until Headmaster Davies cleared his throat and silenced them.
"Duncan."
"Yes! Haha, still number one!" a young man named Duncan cried.
"Full of himself," Liana muttered.
"I agree," Daisy said.
Liana gave her a sideways glance.
"Sylvie."
"Like anyone other than Duncan could top me."
"Arrogant brat," Liana growled low.
"All the best are. Because they are the best, and they know it. Take the Mage Queen for example..."
Liana went still. "Yes?"
"She wasn't the best of us, just the most powerful. Her pride was her defining characteristic. Apparently many mages didn't like her. The power got to her head."
Daisy shrugged. "It's sad that she's dead, but not too many actually mourned her."
Liana nearly stumbled. The truth shocked her, but she understood, and it saddened her.
"Nathan."
"Thank you, Headmaster. It's truly an honor to be considered."
"Well, at least he seems appreciative."
Daisy nodded in agreement.
"Jersey."
"It's my pleasure to represent Erwoe to the High Governor."
Liana gave a low growl again.
'Sonic should be free and not under some Mainlander's control. This "High Governor" will never understand our way of life or magic itself. The others don't understand that we pose no threat to them.'
"And lastly, Raevyn."
Liana looked up, genuinely shocked.
'What? I tried to tone down my powers. Did I fail? Does Vander know? It's not my fault they transferred along with my life and memories.'
"Uh, thank you, Headmaster. This is... unexpected to say the least."
"I see major potential in you, Raevyn. Don't let me down."
"I won't."
'How could I? I'm me.'