When Nicholas entered one of the Corporali laboratories he was surprised to see so much of his people in one room.
He had expected much less mages were needed to complete the procedure.
"Your highness." Glynda said as she gave Nicholas a deep bow.
As soon as the other mages noticed that their prince had walked in, they quickly bowed and waited to be allowed to stand again.
"Rise." Nicholas said as he walked over to the stone table at the center of the room.
On it were ancient words inscribed. They were words of blessing and healing, hoping that whoever lay on the table would have their deepest wounds healed.
"An old prayer." Dion whispered next to Nicholas. "One that is at the core of all Corporali magic."
"To do good and good alone. To heal and to help. Never to harm." Nicholas recited.
It too was inscribed at the head of the stone table.
He remembered that it was the first thing taught to all Corporali mages, and it was the very law of Corporali Magic that he wanted to break.
"Your highness, we are ready." Glyda said as she gestured for Nicholas to lay on the table.
"You can back out if you have a bad feeling about this, your highness." Connor reminded Nicholas as he stood to the prince's side.
"No, this is what we need to do." Nicholas said in a determined tone as he sat on the table, swinging his legs over as he lay down on it's cold surface.
Nicholas could feel that the table itself was special. It was probably as old as the palace and just like the book that kept a record of the history of the Cruor Kings of Merlen, this one was handed down from one Corporali prince to the next.
"We need this many mages due to the power required by the procedure." Glynda explained to Nicholas. "They are the fifteen most powerful mages in the kingdom and all fifteen are loyal to us."
"There is no one else we would rather serve, your highness." Nicholas glanced to see his best friend Thomas smiling at him as he winked at the prince.
Nicholas simply nodded, afraid that he would stutter or say the wrong things if he spoke.
"At any moment, if you feel something is wrong, raise your hand." Glynda instructed Nicholas as she placed her hand on his temple.
Nicholas could feel a warmth coming from her palms, it slowly spread over his head and he could soon feel it inside him.
It was an odd and eerie sensation, but nothing bad.
For over an hour Nicholas didn't feel anything change. He simply lay on the cold stone table, awake and anxious about the magical procedure.
"Almost there." Glynda sounded exhausted as if she had used up most of her mana.
"Don't push yourself." Nicholas warned. "I don't want anyone to lose their magic because of this. Remember, you are more useful with your magic than without it."
"Yes, your highness." Glynda told the prince as she continued to send her healing magic to his brain.
"Don't worry, your highness, I'm monitoring her mana mark. I'll tell her when to stop and if needed I will force her to stop." Connor told him as he attempted to reassure the prince.
"One more minute then we will need to switch." Glynda told one of the Corporali mages in the room with them.
Nicholas felt it when they swapped, he felt the magic change. It was the same warmth, doing the same thing, but he could sense that this mage was weaker.
"It doesn't seem to be healing." The mage that was working on Nicholas said as he blasted more magic at whatever injury they found in the prince's mind.
"Just keep at it. The journals said that an injury of the mind takes a lot more magic and a lot more mana." Glynda explained as Connor placed a hand on Nicholas' head, scanning the progress.
"Now don't be silly, there has been some progress." Connor told the group as everyone continued to remain silent, waiting to see if there would be any change.
Everything remained the same as mages switched, alternating between the more powerful and weaker mages. Nicholas could now understand the thought process Glynda had applied to selecting the order.
She didn't want the magic to just die out, she wanted there to be a system where the more powerful ones picked up after the weaker members of their group.
Eventually they were down to the last two, a young woman who caught Nicholas' attention and Thomas.
Oddly, when the woman began to use her magic it wasn't weaker than the person before her, she was more powerful. As a matter of fact she was quite close to Glynda's level, something that caught Nicholas off guard.
It was then that Nicholas felt a haze surround him. Things started to get blurry as he felt her magic working on him.
"How do we know if it's working?" Nicholas managed to ask as a head ache worse than before started.
"We don't know. Maybe something similar to how your memories are normally triggered will happen, except this time it will be much more powerful." Connor told Nicholas. "But from what I can sense more of your mind is now healed."
"Well I have the worst headache ever, so yes it's working." Nicholas grumbled as he felt the woman's magic and mana slowly run out.
"Last chance." He heard Thomas say as he placed his hands on Nicholas' temples and released the most mana Nicholas had encountered that night.
Without a doubt in Nicholas' mind, Thomas was probably one of the most powerful Corporali Mages alive.
Suddenly the headache got worse, making Nicholas scream in pain.
"Don't stop!" He commanded as he felt Thomas hesitate and almost stop.
Hearing the prince's orders Thomas continued to attempt to heal his mind.
As the headache slowly diminished, everything around Nicholas turned to black.