Star of Blood

2 | Jude and His Family Present a History Lesson

On his way to the Mendaxian castle, Jude tuned out the commoners praising his efforts and trying to get his attention.

He lifted one hand and produced a bit of energy in his palm. As he walked, he stared at the way the magical mass gently danced and weaved between his fingers. For some reason, watching the movements of his energy always relaxed him, and he did it during almost every period of boredom.

Magic was the heart and lifeline of Mendax. Not only was it a useful tool in winning battles, but here in the kingdom, it was part of daily life. Almost every civilian could produce at least a little magic, although battle-ready sorcerers like Jude were a super rare breed. For civilians, magic was used in things like construction, cleaning, and even cooking—yes, somebody in the kingdom once put a hint of energy into their meal and tasted it. Without this power, life wouldn't have been half as easy. In fact, everything felt too easy sometimes.

However, magic was more of a general term—Atman was the actual essence of it all. Atman was chi. Atman was chakra. Atman was energy. Atman was life force. Atman was what all living entities on the world had in common, no matter the form or shape. If skilled enough, one could manipulate the flow of Atman, in the air and their body, into a magical force for their convenience. Trying to understand it usually blew up people's minds, though. Funny enough, learning how to harness the essence was easier done than said.

Why did people know how to do this, one may ask? Nobody knew. Documents and books only went into minimal detail about how the Mendaxians learned to manipulate Atman. Some believed the development sort of just happened. Some thought the gift of magic was a blessing from the heavens. Others were sure it was taught to Mendax by another people—after all, "Atman" didn't even sound like a Mendaxian word.

The Dorobans knew the exact same type of magic. Considering that Mendax and Dorobo were enemies for centuries, that info definitely must've been significant in some way.

Whatever the reason, nobody thought too much of it—magic was an indisputable part of life in the kingdom, and everyone cherished it. Jude appreciated it too . . . except for when he had to use it over and over again just to beat up more imperial soldiers.

Before he knew it, Jude finally reached castle grounds. Upon looking up, there was quite the sight to greet him—a beautiful courtyard that offered peace, firm stone walls that offered protection, and magnificent castle towers that offered royalty. Even so, nothing could've caught his attention more than seeing his parents coming over. He smiled and ran up to close the distance.

"Hi, Mother, Father," Jude greeted, pulling them both into a tight, warm squeeze.

Father eagerly hugged back despite being a head shorter. "Son, I know it's only been a few weeks . . . but did you get bigger again?"

"Truly a useless question," said Mother. "He's always getting bigger, and there's nothing we can do about it, ever."

"Oh, how rude of me, then," he joked, releasing them from his iron grip.

"How are you, Jude?" Mother asked, adjusting her blonde braids. "We heard all about your series of victories, and honestly, I'm not sure whether to be surprised or not."

"Yeah, well, that's all done, so try not to think of it too much. I'm doing just fine, and so are Mateo and the other soldiers. Less casualties than usual, which is a good thing."

"What's also a good thing is that you were with them," commented Father, scratching his golden beard. "Seriously, we've got nothing to worry about under your protection. You're undefeatable."