Otherworldly - A Shadowed Awakening

Hands of Dawn

Peak of Autumn, Week 4, Day 3

With hair of a soft blue and eyes of molten amber, Maria was a beauty. She was young and sweet and for all intents and purposes average. Her sheets were the average amount of soft, her tea moderately hot, and her sweets just extravagant enough for a county maid. Again, Maria appeared to be an average maid. She was mild-mannered and kind to children. She spoke only when called upon. She was just as a maid should be. But Maria was not all she appeared to be.

As she slipped out of the room of the newest Awakened member of House Dawn, she hastened her steps.

Her [Inspect] had shown a simple [Noble] tag but Eunora Dawn was suffering stat sickness. In the extreme. After not leaving her room. Not that such a thing is odd for a child of the Dawn —they have been notorious in ages past for their peculiarities. Even the youngest twins, Leah and Leonard, have times when they spend days in their rooms. But she was there for Rise, Rule, and Peak. Three months. Maria had noticed, of course —someone of her station could not miss that. But it had not seemed to be a problem at first. None of the other maids reported odd behavior, or brought any concerns up. The Countess, as per usual, took the reports that she had not left her room, asked a couple questions regarding meals and attitude, and sent Maria on her way.

Today was the first time in months Maria had been called on by the young Miss, and stat sickness is unheard of for Common Classes —it usually took ten points in a single attribute to cause it. For Common, that meant ten Levels —but for Uncommon that could be as few as two Levels if the Class was specialized enough. Maria had to report this. Another odd thing was that Eunora had Awakened at the beginning of Rise, Maria was sure of it. That means Eunora waited until after Young Lord Raphael came to see her.

Maria found it bizarre Raphael had advised her, but the other Awakened children had both taken guidance from Lina, their Governess. And Eunora always had clung to the other Dawns —despite her quiet nature, she always went out of her way to play in the vicinity of her siblings. And Lina had been on vacation starting the second week of Rise. She wasn’t set to be back until the third week of Break

Soon enough, Maria had traversed the entirety of the estate and took a moment to straighten her apron and run a Skill over her outfit.

[Midsummer Breeze]

The deep violet fabric fluttered with the wind and any stray hairs, bits of dust, and even a light smudge lifted and flew away from Maria. She had to straighten her bright white apron once more, cursing herself for forgetting she needed her Skill after already mundanely tidying herself.

Taking a deep breath, Maria shifted her stature. Her shoulders straightened and Maria went from a demure maid to an ice queen, her eyes sharpened and her hands settled behind her back. Her eyes settled on the guard outside the door, a Knight of the Dawn, who had averted his eyes as Maria had righted herself. Now he was looking back at her. She didn’t smile.

“The Hands of Dawn work diligently to carve the Day.”

Maria’s voice was lined with power, and she felt the ice of her mana fill the air. The guard nodded and turned towards the door. With Strength, he knocked. Once. Twice. Three times he rapped his knuckles on the door. The sound reverberated through the hall, shaking a nearby portrait hung just a smidge too loose. Maria fought the urge to scold the guard. A breath later, the door swung open and a man in a violet butlers uniform beckoned her inside.

“The Dawn beckons her Hand, as the Shining Day beckons the Everlasting Dawn.”

The familiar voice filled Maria’s ears and as the door slammed behind her she lowered into a kneeling position, one hand spread over her heart in a subtle salute.

“My Lady,” Maria bowed her head before the Countess Mallorica Dawn.

“Lift your head and rise.”

The woman behind the desk had a head of black curls and blue eyes so deep they were nearly indigo. The Lady of Red Daybreak. Her very presence radiated power. Maria felt her mana spike in response.

“Yes, my liege.”

Maria stood swiftly, meeting the Countess’ eyes steadily.

“Report.”

“As the Hand assigned to Eunora Dawn, I would like to report her Awakening and Class selection.”

The Countess nodded slightly in acknowledgment and waved her hand back toward the door.

“Very well. I will call upon—“

“Pardon me, my Lady,” Maria’s voice remained calm, despite her fear, “But that is not all.”

Mallorica leaned forward onto her previously held out hand, a scowl on her face, “Continue.”

“At the beginning of Rise, Eunora Dawn Awakened,” Maria reiterated —as for some reason the Countess seemed to have been unaware of the Awakening, “But it appears she just chose her Class.”

Mallorica’s brows raised in surprise, “But it is Peak.”

“Yes, my Lady.” Maria nodded, “But there is a more pressing issue.”

“Well? Out with it.”

“It appears she is suffering from stat sickness.”

“Eunora? Eunora Dawn?”

“Yes, my Lady.”

“My daughter Eunora?”

“Yes?”

“The one who was supposed to Awaken this week?”

Maria understood then, and winced.

“No, my Lady.”

The Countess let out a breath-

“She has already Awakened. Again, in Rise.”

“What has she been doing for three months?”

“Well—“

“And why have I been unaware?”

“Again—“

“And stat sickness?”

“Yes—“

“Summon her to me. Immediately.”

Another wince from Maria.

“About that—“ Maria took a sharp intake of breath as Mallorica’s gaze grew baleful, “She has refused to leave her room.”

“So she is sulking, very well. Allow her to have a few days. How long has it been so far? A day? Two?”

Maria felt her heartbeat pick up, “Since Rise.”

“I see—“ Mallorica’s brows furrowed as she processed Maria’s words, “Since Rise?”

“Yes.”

It was a long, silent moment before Mallorica tapped her nails along the wood of her desk. Presumably deep in thought about what this meant for her daughter. Maria hoped she wouldn’t decide that it was her responsibility to have made sure that the young Miss was leaving her room.

“What happened in Rise?” The solid voice of the Countess brought Maria back to reality.

“Nothing out of the ordinary according to the regular maids —I myself simply found she stopped calling upon me for morning meals.”

At her words, a heavy air settled on the room. The Lady of Red Daybreak was unable to control her aura. Maria found it difficult to maintain her calm facade, a bead of sweat forming on her brow. It took everything she had to remain standing with her back straight.

Mallorica hit her palm against the desk, “It ends today. Dawns do not cower, or sulk, or whatever that child is doing.”

Maria felt a lump in her throat, “My Lady?”

“What?”

“What about the stat sickness?”

Mallorica leaned back, crossing her arms, “I’ll deal with that later. Her sulking ends in the morning, once the worst of it has passed.”

And like that, the Countess took her aura under her control. Maria nearly collapsed in relief, but was able to kneel in acknowledgement.

“Yes, my liege.”

The Countess had already gone back to marking a stack of papers on her desk when she spoke a final time, “Dismissed.”

Forcing her way up, Maria steadily made her way out of the office, focusing on one step in front of the other. As soon as the door was closed behind her and she had made it around a corner —out of view of the Knight— she leaned her back up against the wall. Maria was not so weak that she would react this way to just anyone. She was well into her Tier 2 Uncommon Class. The strength of the Countess was well documented, she had served in the Queen's Guard in No Man’s Land after all. But to live through it was always a trying endeavor.

With that thought, Maria pulled herself together and went back to being an average maid.

Mallorica, however, stewed for a while longer. If she were to say what it was she was feeling, concern is not what she would label it. Children are the affairs of lesser women. Women who are not pledged to serve their Queen and country. Women who are ordinary. She has led war bands in No Man's Land, has sat at negotiations with the King of Quoral, has sat beside the monarchs of Maeve as both a friend and confidant. Mallorica Dawn is anything but [Common]. She is the Duchess of Daybreak. The Countess of Dawn. She is the highest ranked woman in Maeve after the Queen herself —the fifth highest ranked overall if you pull in the rest of the Royal family. Thus, what Mallorica was feeling was irritation. Indignation. Dissatisfaction.

A child of the Dawn locking themselves away is unacceptable.

Not to mention the stat sickness. It’s rare for a child to level up immediately, though not unheard of. So it’s possible she is [Uncommon]. However, Mallorica had a suspicion that Eunora had somehow unlocked a [Rare] Class. Mallorica gave a feral smile —if that was true, Eunora would be more powerful than all of her siblings. Even Mallorica herself had not Awakened to a [Rare] Class.

As quickly as it appeared, her smile turned into a scowl. Eunora, despite being Mallorica’s daughter, had taken the coward's way. Unacceptable. Even the possibility of a [Rare] Class was not enough to dampen her disapproval. After all, what use is the Class if the one who possesses it is useless themself?

No. Eunora needs to learn how blessed she is to be of the Dawn. And how those blessings mean responsibility. Mallorica herself had always understood such things. She had always been the strongest of her siblings, the brightest, the most dutiful. And so, she came to a decision.

One way or another, she would find out what Eunora was made of. Be it sand or be it stone.