Shadows Over Arcadia Chapter 7: 7. Birthdays

Read chapter 7 of Shadows Over Arcadia by Zacheas on NovelPedia.

7. Birthdays I am Ren Drakemore, the unwanted second Prince of Arcadia, who will one day take the throne from my tyrannical father and good-for-nothing brother. And today is my 8th birthday. https://shadowsoverarcadia.com/api/storage/objects/uploads/94d9f12d-768f-4ec3-a12d-51b487be4617 For most people, birthdays are joyous occasions, or so I’ve been told. They are meant to be a time to gather with loved ones and celebrate life. But when your birth also marks your mother’s death, the day carries only sorrow. Every year, on the 10th day of Blossomarc, the entire kingdom holds a grand festival. Commoners and nobles alike celebrate the memory of Queen Arin. In a way, my birthday is widely observed, but never for me. Even if they knew of me, would they rejoice in the birth of the prince who stole their queen? Even in death, my mother casts a long shadow. How great she must have been to be so loved, even now, so many years later. Surely that love is only matched by the hatred they would bear for the one who took her from them. It matters little that I know not how I did it. All night long, the sounds of nagging music and cruel, mocking laughter drift up from the city streets, echoing through my tower and rattling inside my head. Pressing my pillow over my ears does little to mute the concussive blasts in the sky, each one flooding my room with bursts of blinding, disorienting color. Same as every year, sleep will not come. And same as every year, Willow will hold me, keeping me from breaking apart in her arms. She will undoubtedly plan something private to mark the day for me. She always does. Most likely, she'll arrange a special meal and present me with some thoughtful gift. Every year, she goes to great lengths to fulfill some imagined checklist of birthday traditions she believes human children desire. I’m grateful for the effort, but it’s obvious she doesn’t fully understand humans, children, or birthdays. If I had the choice, I’d rather skip it altogether and focus on my training. Nearly being devoured by a monstrous worm three years ago has a way of motivating you. That fight with the dreadcoil taught me an important lesson: I can’t rely on magic alone. If I’d been alone and burned through all my mana the way I did that day, I would have been defenseless. Gavin, who has mana reserves similar to mine, uses it far more efficiently. That’s why I asked him to train me in swordplay and physical enhancement spells, skills that will let me conserve mana. Gavin agreed, but told me he would have to do so in secret. My dear father had ordered the few nobles who even know I exist to keep their distance. Gavin saw that command as a betrayal of duty and chose to come anyway, slipping into my tower most nights for an hour of practice before joining Lady Willow and me for dinner, then heading home. Under his guidance, I’ve grown stronger and more capable with a sword. One of his first lessons was that physical conditioning helps reduce the toll mana drain takes on the body, so I’ve made strength and endurance training a part of my daily routine. My magical training with Willow has also advanced. I can now command four puppets at once, linking my thoughts and vision with them over several miles. They are great sparring partners when Gavin isn’t around. My collection has grown: four humanoid constructs, a flock of hummingbirds, and a hawk with steel talons and a razor beak. I haven’t neglected my studies either. By assigning two puppets to read separate books at once, I can finish over a hundred volumes a year, absorbing knowledge across countless subjects. I’ve nearly burned through Lady Willow’s entire library and am already searching for new sources. The biggest change came six arcs ago, when Lady Willow finally agreed, after years of my pleading, to teach me offensive magic. She decided my control had improved enough to safely handle destructive spells. Since then, I have mastered second-tier spells in fire, earth, wind, and water magic.