The Blood of Amietta

VII. Family

"I'm a bloodsorcerer?" The words leave my mouth feeling foreign, but out of all of what Noelani just said to me, they are the only words that my mind will focus on. I refuse to think about the rest right now. "Are you sure?"

I'm not a bloodsorcerer. No way. I don't have magic. I can't do that thing that Noelani did with the bell and the candle. I mean, I would know if I had magic, right?

Noelani scoffs. "Am I sure?" she mocks. "Every bloodsorcerer has their own special brand of magic– a unique power that no one else has. You have visions of the past and I can manipulate memories. You casted without a soka," she reminds me. "Not to mention the fact that you curse to the Deities– only Nirasians do that."

"So, I'm a bloodsorcerer," I repeat.

"The name's misleading," Noelani says, interrupting my panicking. "All sorcerers get their power through bloodlines– it's a gift passed down from parent to child. Bloodsorcerers just have a lot more magic in their blood. It's rare."

"How rare?" I ask.

She catches my eye. "About ten bloodsorcerers are born every century."

"Wow," I breathe. What else is one supposed to say when they find out that they are one of ten most powerful sorcerers born in the world? "And everyone else is just considered normal?"

"Actually there are three rankings of sorcerers," she tells me.

"Oh, great. Yeah, that makes sense."

"You're freaking out," she observes. "This is a lot to take in, we can finish our conversation another time."

"No," I say.

Noelani is being weirdly understanding right now and I don't like it. I think this is the longest we've gone in a conversation without fighting.

She's only being nice because she needs something from me, I remind myself.

"I'm not freaking out," I tell her. "I'm just processing. Tell me about the sorcerer rankings."

It's a total lie.

I mean, I'd begun to suspect I wasn't from Tsulona, but this? This is a lot.

"Okay," Noelani studies me skeptically. "Besides bloodsorcerers, the most powerful sorcerers are called Esama. There's also Onama, the next ranking of sorcerers, and the Shickli– also known as the Magic-less."

I nod, taking this in. "That's what Arabelle is, right?"

"That's right," she says. "Shickli have a very low amount of magic in their blood. They can learn to cast, but it is very difficult for them to learn even the most basic of spells. Onama can become decent sorcerers, however their power is weaker than the Esama, who have greater stamina." Noelani smirks. "They don't even compare to bloodsorcerers, of course."

I frown, reality finally catching up to me. "Why didn't you tell me all of this before?"

Noelani sighs, an annoyed look crossing her features. "I had to be sure first," she explains. "You have to understand how low the chances of you showing up in Moonwake were. Especially after the hitchstone moved to Tsulona. I didn't even fully believe it until you confirmed that you have visions of the past."

Is it possible that I opened the hitchstone on purpose? Maybe I was trying to save everyone in here.

"That and I had to make sure that you would help me," she says.

I scoff. Help her? There's no way I would ever do that.

"And we knew each other?" I ask, changing the subject before I snap at the mayor. "In Nirasus?"