An Unfortunate Birth

[A/N: Like I said in the synopsis, I am an amateur. There might be grammar errors, but I'll try my best. Writing class was never my strong point in school. I hope it's good. It'll be slow at first, but it will get better. Positive Comments are always appreciated. ]

It was late into the evening in the kingdom of Evergreen. The shops had already closed and their owners at home in bed. The streets of the capital were deserted. It was late autumn and a cool crisp breeze blew through the trees, unhindered by the leaves. It felt colder than it actually was for the guards patrolling the city.

All was calm or at least it seemed that way on the outside. Inside the castle their was a flurry of activity. Maids running in and out of the queens room getting different things for the midwife that was busy helping the queen bring life to the world.

The king was waiting inside the queens sitting area because it was seen as improper for males to be part of the birthing process. However most knew it was just an excuse to keep the husbands out of the way. The king was anxiously tapping his foot deep in thought as he tried to drowned out his wife's blood curdling screams.

"Would it be a boy or a girl" he thought to himself "a boy would be perfect because I still needed an heir. But a girl would also be exceptable." as he continued to tap his foot thoughts about the kids future strength popped into his mind. He prayed that the child would be a prodigy like he was. A God amongst men. The king was at the peak of the heaven defying rank which was one whole rank away from being at the demigod rank which is the strongest that humanity can get.

The ranks are as follows:

Novice (automatic once a child reaches the age of 10 and awakens their mana core.)

Adept

Expert

Origin

World expansion

Heaven defying

Holy manifestation

Demigod

Each rank is broken down into three realms, basic

Intermediate

Advanced

Advancement beyond the basic novice rank, is dependent on the person and their commitment to cultivation.

The king was brought out of his thoughts by the shrill cry of a newly born child. He stood up and paced around as he waited for the news. 30 minutes later he heard his wife start screaming again. And a maid rushed out of the room.

"What is happening" he asked the maid as she got clean water and more towels.

"Forgive me your majesty i dont have have all the information you seek but it seems to me that the queen has gone into labor again" she said as she poured the water into a bowl.

The kings eyes got wide "what does that mean" he asked confused "she's already given birth"

"Most likely it means she's having another child your majesty" she said as she then entered the room and closed the door.

"Another child" the king said out loud. It was rare for people to have multiple children at one time. He wasn't 100% sure why but he knows that it has to do with something about mana.

Time passed by slowly for the king. What felt like an hour was actually only 20 minutes when he heard the cry of a baby again. The door to the room then opened and the midwife told the king that he could enter. The king entered the room and went up to his wife. He took a moment to admire his wife. Her beautiful Auburn hair was plastered to her face with sweat She looked exhausted as the healers were in the process of healing her.

"You are absolutely amazing you know that" he said to her

"Well arnt you sweet" she said "and before you ask they are both boys"

He nodded "I do try" he said as he held her hand. Just then an old looking mage walked in. He was wearing white robes that was trimmed with gold, and he had a long white beard that hung down to his knees. This man Radiated a powerful aura that made the babies cry out in discomfort. "Rain in your aura old man"

"my apologies my king. I was so excited that I forgot." Said the mage. "I'm here to test their cores strength"

The queen looked annoyed "this couldn't wait until tomorrow"

"Sorry sweetheart I didn't think you'd mind. I can have him come back tomorrow if you want." Said the king

"No no, he's here now Might as well get it over with" she said in an annoyed tone.

The mage then sat the boys on the bed while he preformed the tests. A warm white glow incased his hands as he passed them over the babies. When he got to the second baby, his brow furrowed.

"Well, what's the verdict" said the king "their going to be prodigies just like their old man right?"

The mage smiled uneasily before speaking "I have fantastic news my king" he said "this boy here has a mana core that is the purest I've ever seen which means that his potential is going to be great. Of course we won't actually know if he's going to be a prodigy until his awakening in ten years" the mage then paused while looking at the other boy

"Why do I feel like you have bad news" said the queen looking at the concerned look on the mages face.

"Well…..I do" he hesitated "this boy here" he said pointing to the other baby boy "has no mana core"

"WHAT" the king and queen said at the same time.

"Thats impossible" said the queen

"Maybe you made an error when you scanned him" said the king

"My condolences my king. I truly am sorry but I did not make a mistake. I am one hundred percent sure that this baby was born without a mana core."

"Can you fix him and explain a little bit more of how this can be" asked the queen with sadness for her baby that she knows will suffer.

"Unfortunately their is nothing we can do about his lack of a mana core but I can explain a bit of what I know.

When you become pregnant you sacrificed a portion of your mana to your baby. This mana then slowly over the course of the pregnancy condensed down to form a core. This is a constant stream leaving your core. This is also what made you feel weak during your pregnancy" the mage explained

"So that's why I struggled to keep my mana filled" she said

"Yes, could you imagine having to supply mana to two babies" he asked

"I don't think I would have made it through the pregnancy. I just felt so drained all the time" she said "but if I had known about their being two maybe I could have forced mama to the other"

"Perhaps that could've worked. We don't know. Most of the time twin pregnancies go unnoticed. The reason they go unnoticed in my opinion is that once the mothers body chooses a baby to supply mana too the extra embryo shrivels up. This, of course, is a very rare case."

"How many cases have their been" asked the king

"To my knowledge their have been a total of five. Yours included" he responded

"What happened to them" asked the queen

"Their has been a one hundred percent mortality rate with all dying young due to one mishap or another. They do have one thing in common though. They never aged past 10 years old. Experts have called it arrested development"

"So not only will he not be able to use mana but he also will be stuck as a prepubescent boy forever on the cusp" the king stated "what a pathetic existence"

The queen frowned when her husband said that last part "what causes him to stop ageing" she asked

"In order for a boy to start puberty he needs mana, his own mana, it can't be somebody else's they've tried that, which is then released through out his whole body. This takes place conveniently during his awakening. Without a mana core he would have no mana to kickstart puberty which will halt his growth completely. If he lives that long"

***********************

"I would take what that kooky old mage says with a grain of salt" said the king trying to reassure his clearly worried wife. "He has been known to be a bit eccentric"

"So you don't believe him" she responded

"Not even a little bit." He said "the boy will be fine and if for some reason the old man is right then we will have to take some precautions to protect our Legacy"

"What do you mean by that" she asked

"Well think about it, theirs not a whole lot he will be able to do without mana. Even being a servant requires the use of chore magic. He's going to be a burden if that happens."

"It's no use worrying about it now I guess" she said "we still need to name them"

"How about Vorick for the first born and Mack for the second" he asked

"I like it" she said "Vorick and Mack Evergreen the twin terror"