Chapter 5 That winter.

Ana knew the basic details of the events that took place that day and how they gave rise to Alice's secret desire to potentially become a mage. But she didn't know much more since she was unconscious most of the time. She only knows that the cleric arrived and performed a ceremony, praying to the gods for the illness to leave. And that's exactly what happened, the miracle. Something Alice recounted and described to her, although she didn't understand it very well herself, repeatedly over the past year and more frequently as the date approached.

The story goes something like this:

It started like any other winter. Every year, people in the rural areas of the empire gathered during the harshest and coldest part of it. Despite Palo Verde not having any difficulties of its own, it wasn't a selfish village that only cared about itself. They shared food and drink with others, ensuring the survival of as many as possible while giving thanks to the gods for the blessings they had received throughout the year.

During these gatherings, it was customary for a cleric from the holy church to always be present, no matter if such gatherings were held in the most remote villages or if they were extremely devout or not. The clerics would offer a prayer and their blessing to the people gathered during this period. "Under the light of the gods, winter will never be eternal," they always said. But that year, no one came out to greet him as in previous years; he had to search, go to houses, and knock on doors.

It all started a couple of weeks before the cleric's arrival. The few witnesses to the beginning of the tragedy said that one of the hunters was returning from the forest after a nighttime hunt—an unusual activity for the residents of Palo Verde but one he undertook in a presumptuous attempt to put some extra meat on the table. Unfortunately, a little extra game wasn't all he came back with; the next day, he started showing symptoms that something was wrong.

At first, it was just a cough, nothing out of the ordinary for someone who had spent a cold night in the forest. As hours passed, it began to show that it wasn't just due to the cold. The cough became more aggressive; he soon started having a fever, showing signs of chills, and eventually couldn't even stand on his own.

Not long after the hunter had to stay in bed, his family began to show the same symptoms. Not just the family, but those who visited with herbs and food in support of the family also began to show signs that something was wrong. It was then that the people in the village realized it was a highly contagious disease, but by that point, it was already too late.

When the cleric assigned to the area arrived in Palo Verde and learned of the situation, it hadn't been long since the hunter showed the first symptoms. However, three-quarters of the village was already sick. Among them, Ana was ill, and Alice, who was close to her and other sick people, was taking care of her, but she didn't seem to show symptoms. Although she did everything possible to help them get better, unfortunately, it was to no avail.

Alice still remembered the desperation and helplessness she felt. The simple herbal remedy her mother occasionally gave her when she was sick didn't work at all. Time and again, she wiped the sweat off her mother's forehead with a damp cloth, hoping to lower her temperature without success, and Alice could only watch as her mother's condition worsened.

When she heard of the cleric's arrival, Alice went to him immediately. Although she didn't really know what a cleric was or what he looked like, even her knowledge of the gods was scant. The deeper teachings on the matter were reserved for their servants, and besides, her mother, for reasons she never explained, was always very firm in keeping her away from them. Alice knew one special thing about the clerics who visited rural villages, and it was the only thing that mattered to her at that moment: clerics could heal.

Alice didn't know the method by which clerics performed such feats—those that villagers called miracles—but she was desperate to get help. For the first time in her life, consciously, she ignored her mother's wishes, that request she made to her at every visit about being discreet around the servants of the gods. She ran as fast as she could to find him.

Alice could still remember the kindly and calm-looking man who stood out like a ray of light in the darkness. He greeted her with a smile as if he had known her all her life and reassured her naturally. His demeanor reflected that nothing in the world could disturb him, not because he didn't care enough, but because he had an unshakeable faith that the goddess he prayed to wouldn't give him anything he couldn't handle.

Alice didn't even have to beg or insist; as soon as she could explain the situation, the cleric knew exactly what to do and never asked for anything in return. First, he gathered all the healthy people with Alice's help and asked them to help move the sick to the center of the village. There, the man, who never revealed his name, began to perform some kind of religious ritual that Alice didn't understand.

The man's actions, although incomprehensible to Alice, were forever etched in her memory. Not just because of their peculiarity or because their nature awakened something in Alice that couldn't be described, but also when she saw the immediate result with something that seemed so simple, she was amazed by the possibilities and scope of something that appeared so straightforward.

The man started by burning some herbs, making an offering, and saying a prayer. Immediately afterward, an intense radiant light, evidently out of place, emanated from the religious symbol the man held in his hand and, in an instant, burst into a gentle wave that could only be described as peaceful warmth and spread throughout the place.

As the light advanced, it could be seen making its way to the living beings in its path, enveloping them in its warmth. When it reached the sick people, they seemed to absorb it more strongly than those who were healthy. It was visible how the warmth entered and expelled the illness from their bodies as if removing a stain. Thus, they were freed from the burden of the disease that afflicted everyone present, even illnesses unrelated to the plague.

One could say that when Alice witnessed that wave that seemed made of sunlight and everything related to it, something ignited within her. While the plague that afflicted Palo Verde was extinguished, a boundless fascination for that kind of power and a desire to wield that kind of warmth for the good of others was born in the young girl.

Being able to help others, care for them, and protect them was something Alice had dreamed of since she understood the principles of good and evil. The moment she understood that people suffer, she knew she wanted to be able to prevent it, especially if the person she could help was her mother. As Alice began to approach her fifteenth birthday, the possibility of awakening her Nexus was an illusion that both tormented and filled her with hope. She couldn't help but feel a strong longing and hope for that possibility but also a strong pressure that it might not happen, even though no one demanded or gave her the idea that being a mage was her only purpose.

Both remembered how difficult that winter was when the plague, which the cleric called the flu, caused more than half the village to fall ill. At that time, people were afraid of what could happen; they felt helpless and they really were. It's peculiar to consider that everything was resolved as soon as the cleric arrived. It almost seemed like a divine coincidence that the cleric in charge of the eternal winter ceremony arrived in the village and found a young and desperate Alice.

Alice repeated this story, sometimes filled with hope and illusion, sometimes with sadness for all those who might have been lost that winter. However, it was joy and hope that filled this story on this occasion, perhaps because the date of her fifteenth birthday was approaching, and the possibility of becoming a mage felt real. Still, her desire to help was so strong that she even considered that if she wasn't a mage, she could always venture into the church.

When it came to possessing a pure soul and honest intentions, both Ana and some members of the village did not doubt that the young girl should be able to meet the minimum requirements to be a cleric.

Regarding miracles, Ana knew they were a type of magic. Although she knew only a little more than her daughter, as she had never witnessed one—even the one that winter happened while she was still unconscious, and she only heard about it from stories—she was also unaware of anything beyond the reasons the clerics gave for having them.

Similar to magic, they explained, miracles were another gift given to mortals by the gods, but the way they were granted was very different. Although they didn't share exactly what was different, it was fair to assume it had something to do with their Nexus since clerics didn't possess a Grimoire as such. It was said that only the most faithful believers with the purest souls could contact the gods in search of a miracle, and truly, all Alice lacked was faith because she already possessed unshakable purity.

At some point during her upbringing, Ana considered the option of sending her daughter to the church. Although that thought quickly changed, there were some rumors about it in the village but nothing about the reasons why she decided against it. Not only did she change her mind about enrolling her daughter in the church, but it also led her to take the initiative to always keep Alice discreet around members of the church if they ever saw one—a drastic change, apparently overnight and without apparent reason.

Fortunately, according to Ana, Alice gave up the possibility of joining the church, and the illusions about having magic, well, that stopped over time.

The only thing that would make Ana change her mind, and she wouldn't be surprised at all if it happened, was if her daughter one day performed a divine miracle. Alice lacked few qualities to reflect the mastery of a cleric or a mage; she only needed that spark, whether it was a Nexus or unshakable faith.

Ultimately, her daughter's motives spoke volumes about her personality. Ana was almost sure that no matter how much she wanted to make all her daughter's wishes and desires come true, expecting her to awaken a grimoire was not realistic at all, so there was no point in worrying about it further.

Having finished dinner and reminiscing about the past, mother and daughter prepared hot drinks and got comfortable. This would be a night they spent awake due to Alice's birthday. Even though both pretended not to have any illusions or hope that the spark would appear, deep down, they wished that Alice's dreams would come true. Besides, it was a good reason for Alice to be excited about her birthday in some way.