Kingdoms of Laerna: Sora

So hungry.... I knew I should have gone hunting this morning. That is what I get for trying to focus on making my magic awaken by force though. In case you were wondering why am I sitting in a forest next to a mountain training myself to starvation? Well it is because I am trying not to be an embarrassment to my family. As the youngest child of the Sora Royal Family I have yet to awaken my magical powers. Which basically just means I can't use my Family Magic that every Royal before me has achieved by the age of 10. I am 13 though and I still can only do Beginning Magic or Novice magic.

I sit down visibly drooping as I give up on my mana control training. Another day failed. I can hear Lana laughing at my failure in my head. Lana is my elder sister. She should be turning 17 soon. Lana was a prodigy in our family mastering beginner, intermediate, and expert magic by the age of 15. She awakened our Family Magic at 10 and was the expected heir. Not that I am interested in the throne. I just figured I could fade into the background and support the people. The only problem is that the necklace had not chosen the next heir yet. My Aunt, Mayu, is the current holder of the Necklace of Judgement and the true ruler to the throne of Sora.

My father had taken over when Mayu became to elderly to maintain the royal duties. Normally my mother would have taken the throne as my father married into the family, but she died when I was a small child in service to our country. My father would never go in detail about what actually happened. I am guessing it was a top secret mission that only a royal family member could have done. The royal family of Sora typically had two children each generation. One heir and a spare as they say. The spare typically stuck to background roles in support of their country. My aunt never married, so there was only my sister and I in line for the throne.

I heard hoofbeats in the distance. I grudgingly pulled myself up and noticed the flag of my country in the distance. "Did father send for me?" I had been sent to the mountains to train. At least that was the excuse Lana fed to my father cause I was falling behind in my magical studies and I had not awakened the treasured family magic. I have been here a year I believe from my best guess. How she managed to convince him to send me by myself and not with an actual teacher I will never know. I remember his face was set in stone when he informed me that it was a cold and rainy morning. It was the first time I was ever called into the throne room. The first decree my father ever gave me as the King of Sora.

I was then escorted by carriage outside the city and dropped off here in the northern mountains. I almost died the first week from starvation and not being able to control my mana well. Hunger sure does teach you how to live though. I learned how to efficiently catch prey and search for ingredients and water. I could probably start learning Intermediate Magic now. The carriage with the two escort knights were close now as they caught sight of me from a distance. Hopefully I will get to go home now.

"Miss Layla de Sora by decree of King Roald de Sora you are to return home." My father had sent a civil servant to fetch me. He handed me a letter with the royal seal and ushered me into the carriage. I had nothing that I wanted to take with me and so I entered. The civil servant was kind enough to let me ride alone as he sat next to the coachman. I cut open the letter with my knife and read:

Layla,

Your Aunt is near death. It is time to hold the Ceremony of Judgement to crown the next rule of Sora. I hope your training has bore fruit and you are ready to serve.

Roald Sora

King of Sora

Wow, dad, no faith in me at all I see. It seems my father could only see Lana as the next ruler of Sora. It hurt a little but I had been preparing to just slide into the background anyway. The ride back to Cera, the capital city of Sora was peaceful. The weather was even better than the trip to the mountains had been and a fluffy blanket had been left for me in the carriage. I even got a nice nap before arriving at the palace.

I was escorted to my room and scrubbed thoroughly. Apparently, months in the mountains had made me look less like a princess and listening to the maids exclaim at the condition of my hair and nails was quite amusing. None of my old clothes fit so I had to borrow a hand me down from Lana as they measured me and ordered new clothes. All of this was tedious to say the least but as a part of the royal family it mattered how you looked. Not only because I held a high status in Sora, but if I didn't at least match other Kingdoms royalty they would look down on Sora itself.

After spending what felt like an exorbitant amount of time fussing over me the maids finally let me free. I collapsed in my bed. Oh I missed the comforts of a fluffy bed! After rolling around a few times I settled into a dreamless sleep.