Page 13 of Lucent Academy: Trinity Awakens
"What if we want a specific type of being?" asked a nervous voice. "Can we ask for a dragon, or a vampire, or—"
"You can ask for whatever you like," the principal interrupted, "but I strongly advise against it. Pacted beings are proud, ancient, and deeply sensitive to the nuances of intent. If they sense that you are treating the summoning as a shopping trip, selecting them like goods from a merchant's stall, they will be offended. An offended being may refuse to answer at all, leaving you with a weaker match than you might otherwise have received. Or they may answer specifically to teach you a lesson in humility. I have seen students who demanded dragons receiveimps, and students who asked humbly for companionship receive beings of extraordinary power. The summoning rewards sincerity, not ambition."
The student who had asked the question seemed to shrink slightly, and I noticed Seraphina's expression flicker with something that might have been uncertainty before smoothing back into confidence.
"One final rule," the principal said, and his voice took on a weight that made the air itself seem to grow heavier. "This is absolute and inviolable, the foundation upon which the entire system of Pacted bonds is built. One Manaborn, one mate. The bond is exclusive. It cannot be shared, cannot be divided, cannot be duplicated. In all the thousand years since the first summoning, no Manaborn has ever successfully bonded with more than one being. This is not a guideline or a tradition. It is a law of magic itself, as fundamental as gravity or the passage of time."
"That's not entirely true, is it?"
The voice cut through the courtyard like a blade, clear and cold and utterly unafraid. Everyone turned to look at the speaker, and I realized it was the violet-haired woman who had broken her silence at last.
The principal's expression didn't change, but something in his posture shifted almost imperceptibly. "Even as the crown princess, you should know better than to interrupt my speech, Cleopatra Invicto."
"My apologies, Lord Principal." She didn't sound apologetic at all. "But I felt it was important to address the matter directly, rather than letting it linger as an unspoken question in everyone's minds." She stepped forward, out of the bubble ofspace that had surrounded her, and suddenly I understood why the other students had kept their distance. The air around her was thick with power, a pressure that made my ears pop and my skin prickle, and when she moved it was with the fluid grace of a predator who had never known what it meant to be prey.
"The rule you speak of is true," she continued, addressing not just the principal but all of us, her voice carrying effortlessly across the courtyard. "One Manaborn, one mate. This has been the way of things for a thousand years. But there is a prophecy, is there not? A legend that speaks of an exception?"
The principal's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. "You speak of the Trinity."
"I do." Cleopatra smiled, and it was not a warm expression. "The prophecy says that one day, a Manaborn will arise who can bond with not one but three beings of the highest rank. Three diamond-rank mates, united under a single will. And when that day comes, the Trinity will end the Voidwar once and for all, driving the enemy back into the darkness from which they came." She paused, letting the words hang in the air. "You mentioned that even a few platinum-rank summonings might not be enough to turn the tide. You spoke of hoping for multiple diamonds from our generation. But we both know the truth, don't we, Lord Principal? A few platinums, even a dozen diamonds—they won't end this war. Only the Trinity can do that."
The silence that followed was absolute. I could feel the tension crackling through the crowd, see the mixture of awe and fear and skepticism on the faces around me. The principal stared at Cleopatra for a long moment, his expression unreadable, before finally speaking.
"The Trinity is a legend," he said carefully. "A story passed down through generations, with no verified historical basis. No Manaborn has ever bonded with more than one being. The magical theory alone suggests it should be impossible."
"And yet the prophecy persists." Cleopatra's smile widened slightly. "Passed down not just as a story but as a promise. A hope. The only hope, some would say, for a war that has dragged on for a thousand years with no end in sight." She raised one hand, and the air around her began to shimmer more intensely, power gathering like a storm about to break. "I intend to be that hope, Lord Principal. I intend to be the Trinity."
And then she released her power.
It hit me like a wave, a torrent of raw mana that swept through the courtyard and made every student stagger. I heard gasps and cries around me, saw people fall to their knees, watched Seraphina's careful composure shatter as she stumbled backward with wide eyes. Amber grabbed my arm for support, her face pale and strained. The pressure was immense, overwhelming, like being caught in a hurricane made of pure force, and I understood in that moment why everyone had been so afraid of the crown princess. This was diamond-rank power. This was what it meant to be the most powerful Manaborn in five hundred years. But even as others struggled to remain standing, even as the pressure bore down on me with crushing intensity, I found that it didn't hurt. The power washed over me and through me, and where everyone else felt a storm, I felt only a breeze—a cool, refreshing breeze on a hot summer day, pleasant and invigorating and utterly unlike the devastating force that had brought my fellow students to their knees.
The princess lowered her hand, and the pressure vanished as quickly as it had come. Students straightened slowly, their facespale and shaken, and the principal looked at Cleopatra with an expression that might have been respect or might have been warning.
"Diamond mana, diamond control," he said quietly. "I see your confidence is not unfounded. But Trinity is still just this—a legend. A hope without evidence." He paused, and something in his voice softened almost imperceptibly. "I will be watching your summoning with great interest, Your Highness. As will, I suspect, the entire Empire. But do not let legend blind you to reality. Even you are bound by the laws of magic. Even you may find that some things are simply not possible."
Cleopatra inclined her head, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and stepped back into her bubble of solitude. The courtyard slowly returned to something like normal, though I could see students still trembling, still exchanging frightened glances, still trying to process what they had just witnessed. Amber was staring at me with a strange expression, and I realized belatedly that I was the only person in our immediate vicinity who hadn't been visibly affected by the princess's display.
"How did you do that?" she whispered. "You didn't even flinch."
"I don't know," I admitted. "It felt like... a breeze. A nice breeze."
Amber opened her mouth to respond, but the principal was speaking again, his voice businesslike now, the earlier drama seemingly forgotten.
"The summoning will proceed in the order determined by Crystalline's assessment of your magical potential," he said. "Those with lower potential will go first, to ensure that any... unexpected occurrences... can be managed before we reach the more volatile summonings. You will be called by name. When your name is called, enter the circle, perform the ritual as Ihave described, and await your mate's arrival. Once the bond is formed and your summon runs out of mana, you will be escorted to the recovery wing, where you will have time to rest."
He nodded to Crystalline, who clapped her hands together with evident delight.
"I picked all of you for Group One because you're the most interesting," she announced, bouncing on her heels. "The strongest, the strangest, the ones most likely to surprise us. Let's see who answers your calls, shall we? Let's see what kind of mates you deserve!"
She pulled a list from somewhere—I didn't see where, it seemed to simply appear in her hand—and read the first name aloud.
The Grand Summoning had begun.
CHAPTER SEVEN: THE CIRCLE
The first student to enter the circle was a boy I didn't recognize, broad-shouldered and nervous-looking, with the kind of rough hands that suggested a life of physical labor. He approached the altar at the center of the circle with visible trepidation, picking up the ceremonial dagger as though it might bite him, and when he cut his palm he winced dramatically and nearly dropped the blade. Blood fell onto the stone, the symbols flared with light, and he cleared his throat several times before finally speaking.
"I want someone who'll make me happy," he said, his voice cracking slightly. "Someone who'll, uh, satisfy me. Keep me warm at night, you know? And if she could be pretty, that would be nice. Busty, maybe. And cute. Really cute."
