https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DF3ZYDB213Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF7iYJWTq67
13Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjFWskMkepF
But in truth, it wasn't a little late, it was long over. There was nothing left to hope for. Child mages awakened their magical powers at the age of one. The most retarded, two years, and even then, these were really special cases. But for her little one, her ugly, beloved baby, who was already six and hadn't awakened at all, or hardly at all - you couldn't even use that term anymore - it was already a battle over. She knew it, and deep down her child must have known it too, but both preferred to deny reality.
Marion was stupid and knowingly cruel to have let him hope, once again, that he could become this warrior mage incomparable to the others in everything, but she didn't have the heart to tell her child the truth, and she probably never would.
Besides, Conor wouldn't need her to help him understand that he was different from the others, and in the worst possible way.
That's what the world and its inhabitants were there for. In fact, it had already begun.
“Okay, I'll trust you.”
“Time to close your eyes and have sweet dreams, angel.”
Marion leaned over to kiss her forehead.
“I can't wait to fall asleep because I'll surely dream of him, of Zion. I'll be him.”
“I'm sure you will, my love.”
And finally, Zion closed his eyes.
He fell asleep, and his mother hoped his wish would come true, even if only for tonight, for only in the realm of dreams would that be possible.
Marion looked at him for a moment, familiar, heart-rending emotions swirling inside her, then sighed as usual and left him.
The beautiful witch returned to the kitchen, where a dozen colorful flying creatures, including Conor's nanny, were busy preparing tea and cakes.
“That's it,” she announced, falsely cheerful, “the little monster has finally gone to sleep.”
The other creatures replied, also falsely joyful, then resumed their activity.
“So, where do we stand?” asked Marion, who couldn't even blame them for their reaction.
And as she asked, she walked over to a shelf, touching one side to reveal a secret drawer from which she pulled out a thick recipe book.
She stood in the center of the room, the book floating in front of her as she studied all the recipes.
“Well, I think you should now be ready to bring me the first sample of Orion's tea recipe.”
Three creatures: red, green and grey flew towards her and each presented her with a cup.
Marion first tasted the one from the red one, Conor's nanny.
“It's good, but too fragrant”, she judged, placing the cup on the table.
Now she tasted the green one, whose liquid was white.
“This one has a stronger taste, but there's a weird aftertaste that kills any desire to taste it again.”
It was the gray creature's turn.
“Too bland. Even the smell isn't appetizing at all.”
Having reached their verdict, the three creatures picked up their cups and returned to their posts to try to correct it, to improve it.
“Come on, kids! We really need to come up with a new recipe for tomorrow, and one that's good enough for our customers to enjoy. You remember what happened last time,” she added, and everyone nodded in agreement.
“We all thought the recipe was good and would be a hit with our valued customers, especially our regulars, but in the end it wasn't. In fact, it was so unpopular that we had to take it off our menu.”
The creatures all pretended to weep.
“That can only mean one thing, my friends. Our customers' tastes are undeniably fickle, so we have to be careful and adapt to them as best we can.”
Marion frowned and turned to Conor's nanny, who was looking at her eloquently.
“Well, you're right, I don't know everything that's happened, so get back to work, we've got to think of something!”
After several hours of relentless trying, the grey creature, visibly exhausted, returned to Marion with her tankard. He handed it to her with a kind of solemnity, so Marion drank in the same way. Everyone fell silent and stood still, waiting for the result. Marion gave it only after a long, but significant moment. Then she nodded. It was the most explicit of reactions.
Everyone rejoiced.
“Very good work, my little ones.”
Just as they were about to clean up, their mistress stopped them.
“Everyone, get some sleep. You've earned it. I'll do the cleaning, and don't worry, you know it'll be done in no time.”
The little creatures yawned tiredly, nodded and left.
“Good night, sweet dreams.”
After their departure, Marion washed up and silently recited a little formula, so that everything began to clean up, while she approached the window with the famous cup, absent-mindedly admiring the glittering New York night.
She savored the wonderful tea without really feeling it.
The euphoria of her new find had already faded, and her mind returned to her child and all its strangeness.
She knew he was magic. Everyone knew it too, but nothing could rouse him. She took him to the best specialists, and even they, who confirmed that he was a mage, couldn't find an explanation for his condition. They did all the necessary and thorough research: diseases, spells, curses, but they found nothing.
He was just that. A mage with little or no magic. And he had to live with that all his life.
As she continued to contemplate the cold, brilliant night, finishing her now cold tea, a group of water fairies passed by her window and dazzled her for a moment, so that she thought of making a wish.
She knew that in the human world, fairies are very important and that, according to their belief, they would even be able to make wishes come true, so she did the same.
Meanwhile, the object of her wish slept peacefully in her room, dreaming, she always hoped, of this Zion whose magic and personality were so great that they reached the level of myth.
Rather, on the verge of falling asleep, Conor opened his eyes wide and asked, very intrigued:
“But actually, Mom.”
“Yes?”
“Where's Zion now?”
Marion took her time before answering.
“Nobody knows, darling.
“What do you mean?”
“After triumphing over Jaros, he summoned creatures from the magical world to guard that black mage's defeated territory, occupying the entire northern district.He did this so that no one could ever take hold of what that abominable being had left, and thus perpetuate his legacy.”
“Wow, Zion really is incomparable.”
“The best, baby.”
“And what do the monsters look like?”
“Monsters as gigantic as they are ferocious, devouring anyone who still has the audacity to set foot in the territory, hence the name of this lost and cursed place - Rexis: the kingdom of the Devourers.”
“I'd like to go there one day and fight them, all of them!”
“You will, my love.”
ns 15.158.61.37da2
