Rhaegar felt down during the entire trip, and even though Anne and the others tried making him feel better he didn’t even listen.

“Stop blaming yourself Rhaegar, you’re still too young . It takes years for people to fully master aura “

“What do you know about it? Do I look like I need your pity? I’m telling you that woman did something to my attack and I’m gonna find out what it was “

“Sorry I spoke out of line Rhaegar.. khem, Lord Rhaegar. You know best “

Richard and the others were happy that Anne finally got a scolding from the young lord, they weren’t happy that she was using her body to get close to him. She even spoke to him without using honourifics as if they were friends .

Once home he went straight to his room refusing to give any explanation to butler James and the others .

“ Maryanne, did something happen to Rhaegar? “

“One of his aura attacks went astray, he keeps saying that his opponent did something to it but she was just a commoner , there’s no way she could have used any magic “

Butler’s face ‘darkened’ from anger .

“Perhaps I should tell the lady to teach you some manners, who are you to question his lordship ? If he says someone did something to his attacks then thats how it is? RICHARD “

“The young lord’s humble servant Richard is ready to receive your orders, sir James”

This time it was Anne who showed disgust, this shoe-licking bastard had no shame .

“Good! Tell me everything that happened, the woman Rhaegar met,the location they were at when the accident happened, I want to know everything “

Richard explained everything to the butler, from the weird outfit the woman had to her tattoos and her rings. Anne also told him what happened to the bandits and their plan to kidnap children .

“Did you say Rhaegar has the book now, and the direction she was headed to was somewhere near Baron Pilgrim’s land ? “

“Do you know anything about this, sir James ? “

“Quiet, Ill now go see the young lord .

You better behave yourself in the future, don’t embrace any delusions, Rhaegar will never love you , nor think of you as more than a tool . We and them are worlds apart , do not question and obey him. His future will be great “

His words were sharper than blades and left Anne wounded. James did not intend to bully the poor girl however she needed a reality check . The sooner she understood things the less hurt will she feel in the future, especially after the marriage offers that were heading Rhaegar’s way .

“Who is there? Is it you Anne ? I told you to leave me alone “

“It is James, your lordship. May I come in “

After receiving permission to enter James directly asked him about that woman’s outfit and behaviour.

“Look, if you are trying to make me feel better, don’t. I know what I saw, she did something to my attack and somehow this damned book is connected to it. It just feels weird but I don’t seem to understand the language “

The butler’s answer was short .

“ I know “

“I told you I know what I sa.... Wait a minute. YOU KNOW? What’s that supposed to mean “

“It means you’re right, the woman really used magic to cancel your aura. The book that you are holding, It’s in Elvish, thats why you cant read it “

Rhaegar had read about Elves in the house library . They were beautiful and looked fragile however they did not show themselves to humans since they preferred living near mother nature .

But what’s their connection to this ?

“Before the noble ancestors were summoned in this world, elves had the highest status . Humanity was enslaved to them and they were the only ones who could use magic without any mana “

“That’s weird, did they find a way to use magic through aura or something? “

“They cant use aura either, aura and mana were granted to nobles only after the arrival of the ancestors. The elven race uses magic through life force “

Rhaegar couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Life force could be used instead of mana and aura but you would be burning life itself, shortening your own life span. That was a huge price to pay .

“I know what you’re thinking, but elves can live up to 500 years, high elves can go past 1000 years old. They draw in life energy from nature itself so the penalty for using life force powered magic is not harsh to them “

“What you say makes sense, but the woman who attacked me was no elf, she was a common woman . So how could she be using magic, or could it be that this book..... “

“You sure are smart Rhaegar, it took your father much longer to understand. The elves have been sharing their secrets with neighbouring empires and kingdoms . The demihuman tribes in the abandoned planes included . A huge war will start soon “

Since elves lost their status to the 30 noble families they isolated themselves and made no contact with the outside world. Something must have happened for them to come up with something like this .

Soon Rhaegar realised everything.

“I need to go, we have to let the common folk know about this. They must be lying them and hiding the side effects , a human cant live past 40 years old if he uses elven magic “

“It’s pointless, it wont make any difference. Commoners rarely live past 50 anyway, plagues, sickness , famine etc .

Living till 40 with magic powers will be much more appealing to them than living a common life where they go hungry once every 3 days “

Rhaegar refused to believe it.

“The commoners in our territory will definitely not choose something like that. They will .... they will “

James gave him an ironic look and added.

“What would you do if you were in their place? “

“I would probably do the same “?

He admitted

“But still , I have to go after that woman and learn more about her organisation. I have to put a stop to their plans before its too late “

“The nobles will only be allowed to leave home after they become 17 years of age. Its tradition that they take a 1 year journey to learn more about the world until they’re ready to participate in the spirit condensing exam “

“I have got to wait that long? But there’s no time... “

James started laughing at him, it really made Rhaegar feel uncomfortable.

“It takes at least 8 years for someone to learn basic magic, so we have time .

Besides, do you think the noble households are weak? “

“But I learned magic in 3 years, what do you mean 8 ? “

“Not everyone is like you Rhaegar”

He gave him another warm smile and left him there thinking. Young Rhaegar had grown up !