Page 49 of The Starlight Savior

Saige’s brows furrowed. “Tested?”

“If you are to harness magic, you must understand where it comes from. Maybe then your mind will be more clear.”

“Okay,” she said slowly, but she wasn’t sure how this would help.

“Who was the first God that rose from Sydera’s power?”

“Terrus.” She was quite acclimated to the earth God now. Turns out, she tuned out most of her studies as a child.

“How?” Tobin’s voice was clipped and quick, his robes dragging on the floor as he paced.

“From the dirt of the land, to watch over everything that grew.”

“Second.”

“Is this really necessary?” She sighed.

“Second.”

Saige couldn’t help but wonder how useful these training sessions truly were.

“Mara! Forged from the sea, and her blood flows through all rivers and lakes.” The words had become memorized after reading them so many times. Every book loved to highlight the deities’ creation. Saige looked up to the blue-eyed Goddess on the ceiling above, her lips full in a taunting smile.

“Third.”

“Tonirus, created from the clouds that hung heavy to tame Mara. Keeper of storms.”

“Fourth.”

“Ignesa.” Saige sighed. “Fire and healing. Born from the flames.”

“Fifth”

“Silva, at the request of Terrus, who needed aid with not just the lands but the animals throughout.”

“Almost there.” Tobin tsked. “Can you get through them all?”

She looked up at the stained glass windows. Each depicted a piece of Opela’s creation, deities looming over every corner. Long days of reading, training, and seeing their faces throughout the castle had begun to infiltrate her sleep.

“Caelum,” she said. He was not a deity most people spoke of, their fear of life and death getting in the way of any offerings or blessings.

“The God of the Afterlife.” Tobin pointed to the final stained glass window, the one Saige often tried to avoid. Caelum and Sydera digging into the earth until his sanctuary was formed. Wide open gates, blood dripping from the iron.

Her neck heated with anger. If he was real, it was him that had summoned her mother and father. Too soon. He demanded their life too soon.

“I hesitate to say this, but I don’t think you’re taking your training seriously,” Tobin said once Saige was finished.

“What?” Saige exclaimed, her voice echoing throughout the dome shaped room. “I have shown up here everyday! Sometimes until supper. I sweat, and I bleed to be here.”

The maester didn’t flinch as her voice rose, cheeks growing more red with each word. “You are impatient. I can sense it in every moment. You try to rush a process that takes wielders years to master.”

“I do not have years!”

“I am well aware. I would think that would be motivation to value these trainings more.”

“Training? We don’t even do anything. I try to use my magic; you ask me about the deities and emotions and things I need to feel.”

“You still do not grasp why you must understand all of this.”