It was close to midnight in the dimmed throne room when a gust swirled. You could tell it did this as the candles flickered, and the curtains twitched slightly. This was odd within itself. The main door, a foot of solid Titanium, was bolted shut for the night. On principal the windows were shut by a small team of servants after the sun had set each night, so they couldn’t be the source. If anything else had occurred, then some explanation might have been derived. However nothing did. It wasn’t time yet, but soon it would be. If anyone had been present with even the slightest twitch of supernatural senses, they would have picked up on the added presence that was no in the room.

Not that most with it knew they had it. Magical training was an elitist schooling. Money was not enough to get a User to take someone under their wing. Not the best anyway. You would always get some sell outs, and inevitably it was the lower ones who seemed to fill in this role, putting themselves up for hire. The remaining few tended to just show up and expect a place at the high table. History was riddled with stories of people who hadn’t thought it that vital. The lucky ones were still living as pond slime in a ditch somewhere.

In his early years, King Theo, then a prince of no more than 11, had been trained up. Not that the mage had had much choice. Theo had been born with enormous power, which was subject to his mood swings. In nature these things sometimes happened, and as of yet, there was no known explanation for it. The mage who had taught him had just happened to have been passing through at the time. Upon seeing a silver dinner tray hurled at a cowering servant the mage had stepped in. Years had passed since then. Theo had, thankfully, grown up and become a mature and responsible ruler.

Now the event the entire country had been waiting for had finally happened. The royal family had once again been blessed with new life. The child was at the present time sleeping in the room adjoining the King and Queen’s bed chamber. Both were guarded by the Diamond Elite. The personal body guard of the family, who had each been trained from near birth. It was a very honourable role to be given, and in general ensured the well being of the rest of the family in service at the castle.

Even with that training they did not notice the solitary figure slip between the shadows of the doors they stood watch over. The magic was extremely advanced. It was a ninja art employed by some of the highest paid assassins from foreign parts. This was what the mage had been waiting for. Even in the elemental wind form, he still had his senses in more or less tact. In the blink of an eye he was human again, and falling. In another blink he was gone, teleported.

The ethereal dagger had already been taken from its sheath, and was raised above the child. The idea was not to kill the babe, but to brand it. The power they might come into would then be transferred to whomsoever held the heart of the blade. The cloaked figure brought the dagger down swiftly. In the dead of night a high pitched scream rang out. In an instant the Royal couple were awake and slamming open the door to the nursery, the guards swiftly behind them. The glowing yellow eyes looked at them, and then the figure was gone.

The couple rushed to the cot. The new born princess was writhing as if in pain. Queen Esmeralda picked up her daughter, and held her close, to provide as much comfort as she could to the frightened child. The mage sidled up to the King, and put a firm hand on his shoulder. “Theo.” He intoned in a whisper that was more like a command past all the emotions, to the part of the Kings mind that contained memories and worked logically. Theo turned.

“Mentor…” He intoned in recognising tones after a second. The truly great mages never revealed their names, it wasn’t for fear of anything, just because they could.

“Theo. He has left a fragment of the blade behind. We have work to do if you want her to live without being in a state of constant agony.”

“I don’t… I don’t know how.”

“That is why I am here. I told you once that I would take you under my wing. Gather your senses about you.”

“Why didn’t they get me?” The King asked, almost out of the blue.

“Your power was tied to you before they knew you had it. Order the guards to get the Realm Sceptor.” Theo nodded, like a puppet on a string. The princess had calmed down a little by now, though she was still understandably very upset. A couple of the guards left, most probably to go to the vault to retrieve the fabled item of power.

“Why didn’t you stop him?”

“One of your ancestors put teleport proof enchantments in these two rooms, which I hadn’t known about. I don’t know whether it helps, but, I am sorry.”

“What are we going to do?” The mage smiled. It wasn’t the most reassuring of smiles. It had a slight twinge of uncertainty about it.

The two soldiers of the Diamond Elite returned. On a regal cushion they bore the archaic rod, designed like a gnarled branch clutching a sapphire orb in it’s gold and silver tendrils, from which was hung four rubies in the shape of a fox’s tail, the symbol of the country. Deep within the orb a kind of nebula swirled. There was the occasional spark that flashed at it’s heart. Great leaders had gone mad before, looking too deeply into its depths.

“Take us to the North most tower.” The great mage instructed, avoiding contact with the mysterious orb. It was bad enough that he could hear its lusty song. It had trapped the power of a few mages before, and had grown to love the taste of their magic on top of its own.

The two soldiers who had brought the Sceptor lead the way out. King Theo gently hugged his wife. She looked into his deep blue eyes with her own swollen red ones. The communication between the two of them was on a level that no bystander was able to interpret. She handed over her little girl, trusting who ever her husband was willing to follow without question. It was one of the things that made them really stand out as great leaders.

There was a gentle Lull of a far away thunderstorm on the crisp night sky as they emerged atop the tower. A brash wind blew the capes of the soldiers out front, and the mage’s, however, didn’t. Weather systems had learned a long time ago that it was best not to mess with mages, especially ones that were marching with a quiet determination. How they knew it was a mage is anyone’s guess, but for nigh on 2000 years the weather had successfully avoided only them.

“Guards, how loyal are you?” The mage demanded. The two turned to look at him.

“We would give our lives to protect the royal family.” They chorused.

“That will not be necessary at this point. But what you have to do instead is swear an oath up here to never repeat the events you see and hear op here tonight to any other being.” The soldiers glanced at each other, then at the King, and then almost as one they pledged the vow.

“Now, you two, each place a hand on the Orb. This is going to feel a bit weird. Theo, hold her close. This is going to really hurt you, I am afraid.” The three obeyed.

“What is her name?” The mage asked.

“We haven’t decided on one.” Theo informed him.

“For this to work, she must have one.”

“I name her… Kassandra… Esmeralda… Yenvell.” There was a flash of bright light from the Sceptor, which seemed to push them away from it with an unseen force. Then the Sceptor took the price the spell demanded for such great working. It pulled the life forces out of the man and the woman holding it, and the magical power out of the King. The mage had started chanting at some point, and now it had risen to a bellow. The land shifted uneasily, there was a loud bang, and then there was nothing. Not nothing as in the complete absence of everything, just nothing as in a sudden return to normal.

“What have you done mage?” Theo demanded in a voice as cracked as a mirror that had just had a brick thrown at it.

“I’ve over ruled the thieving curse that had been placed upon her. She is no one with the land, and the land is one with her. You remember early on what I told you about trying to draw power from the land?”

“Something along the lines of it being easier to get blood out of a stone, and use that to feed to a lion in order to steal its teeth.”

“A tiger, but close enough. The next few years should be very interesting at least.”

The group returned from the tower. The young Princess was sound asleep, which was probably for the best.

“Mentor, will you be able to trace you tried to do this to my daughter?” King Theo asked, his voice slightly more normal.

“It will be difficult, but I had no other plans for the near future, I shall. Would you want them brought before you, or to be dealt with as I see fit?” The mage asked.

Queen Esmeralda was at the bottom of the stairs, waiting anxiously. This put all other thoughts out of Theo’s mind. He took her aside and explained roughly what had happened. A look of horror and surprised flashed across her face, even though she had heard the fate that had awaited her daughter otherwise. She looked at the mage. He met her gaze, and her eyes seemed to soften slightly. With things relatively stable, the mage slunk away to the throne room. To save a bit of strength after the draining bind, he would use the magic echo he had left when he first materialised to leave.

Undoubtedly the guards had returned to the vault with the Sceptor, which had started beating faintly, almost like a heartbeat, and strangely enough, it was at the same pace as the Princesses. This would be the least of the similarities which would eventually arise.