The North PacificBoard

Neither the daughter nor the mother expressed anything beyond their own silent facial expressions. They listened to what Tiara had to say and they did not allow a word to escape from their minds. For Natalia most especially, she sighed in relief and nodded with respect to Tiara. Then tea time came.

The older Azen was not surprised to see Nia. She thought that this one must be the lover of the Rynese Empress. She also blushed a little when the Blade addressed her as Empress. For Natalia, she thought that the title of Queen was more simple and suited to her. Even though the Azen Empire has returned, she still felt that her country was firm as a kingdom. Well, her kingdom.

The younger one was the one who was surprised. She saw that this one was a real...cat girl! Just like in the foreign cartoons she watched. Her eyes couldn't stop staring at the neko even as she approached her. Paulina gasped and stumbled over her words until her mother spoke for her and said

"Thank you, Miss. This is Paulina, my daughter. I hope she finds you well. Thank you for serving us some tea!"

When all the tea was served and the cups were ready and the people were settled, Natalia spoke after Tiara and Nia had done so.

This time, at least, her voice was more settled, more at ease.

"Finally, we have tea. I hope that this would be extremely satisfying to have. If I may, I'd like to bring some back home...after, of course, I accomplish my studies under Tiara." She turned to Tiara, her expressions showing more respect and friendliness towards the young Rynese leader. She bowed her head and said gently

"Milady, I wish to be your student."

And surprisingly, Paulina was grinning as she said

"Me too!"

"Paulina!" Said the Queen, surprised at her own daughter. Paulina shrugged and just said joyfully

"I want to be with my mother and I know some magic too." She turned to her mother "Mom, can I show it off to them, please?"

There was a bit of a pause in the air as Natalia slowly nodded and said "Go ahead, love."

With a child's giggle, Paulina left her chair and raised her hands to the level of her chest. She aimed it at the sky and uttered one word

"Empujar!"

And out of her hands, a moderately sized wave of force, visible due to the red colors surrounding the wave, came towards the sky. A great wind was produced and so was a mighty backblast. Natalia had to leave her seat too and stand against the force, crying out as a vast shield covered them and the table with the tea.

"¡Defender!"

In the end, none of the tea was spilled and no cup was broken. Paulina returned to her seat with a grin that would not leave, her body shaking with excitement as the Queen lowered the shield she made and returned too to her seat, quietly sipping some of the tea before telling Nia and Tiara

"As you can see, that is our magic.

For us Azens, our powers came from the blessings and the curses of our goddesses. Forgive me because some of our lore seems confusing to foreigners.

You see, in the beginning we had two goddesses." She then lifted her hands up to produce two images. One image showed the face of a woman whose hair flowed like a river and burned like a star. Another showed a younger woman whose hair was as violent as a tsunami and eyes like black holes. "These are Eonera and Kerugitisia. The goddess of mercy and the goddess of the ostracized.

Eonera blessed and Kerugitisia cursed. But both goddesses sometimes did what the other does. Eonera cursed and Kerugitisia blessed." She paused to smirk and say "If you wish, you may call Kerugitisia simply as Keru. It's what her sister, Eonera, calls her."

She continues explaining

"The two goddesses gave a united collection of blessings upon Aze, the mother of all Azens. Aze was our first Queen, our greatest woman. She united the tribes and formed out of them a kingdom that lasts to this day. For her, Eonera and Keru granted poder salvaje. It means wild power.

Today, our form of magic is learned. We take it from books of old, from living men and women who still remember it and from drawing it out of the example of the natural world." Natalia then rolls up her sleeves up to reveal her scars. She whispers a few words to her flesh, causing the scars to bleed. She swiftly drew her arms out to the floor so that it may not dirty the table. Natalia explained

"My powers are a vast collection. I can manipulate my own blood, my bones, my flesh. I could change the climate of my country and master the classical elements. I could consume flesh and regain time and vitality. And so much more. My own powers are dark but bright too, just like my mother's." She then whispered a few more words to her arms, letting the scars heal rapidly but at the cost of causing some pain to Natalia who promptly cringed and bit her lip. She didn't roll down her sleeves as she lifted both of her hands to the level of her breasts and let her palms face both Nia and Tiara. She said

"Salir."

And out of her fingers came claws. The rest of her hands became armored and Natalia withdrew her hands, cradling them so that the claws would not scratch her.

"I have natural weapons. My body is one."

Then she nodded to her little one, who was smiling at Nia and waving at her.

She told them

"She showed you one of her powers. Now, she is capable of blinding people, of causing people to cheer up, of feeling the emotions of others around her and of hiding her footsteps."

The Queen then let her hands slowly turn back into normal fingers, again, causing pain to her own self. When that was over, she looked at Tiara with eyes of determined decision and said

"My magic is wild and given by goddesses of our greatest mother. Teach me, please, Milady, and I shall share my power with you too. If power corrupts, then power saves too."