Page 36 of Frostforge, Passage Six
"Warden families?"Kaine asked, leaning forward despite his fatigue.
"No.Mainland families.Continental bloodlines."Luna pulled another document closer, comparing the scripts."They've been tracking magical lineages across the Southern Kingdoms for generations.Look at these notations—dates, locations, specific abilities manifested."
Kaine's exhaustion receded slightly, pushed back by a surge of interest."The bloodline compatibility mentioned in the other documents."
"Exactly."Luna set the first scroll aside and reached for another."They've been particularly focused on families with histories of rare magical talents.Not just the common affinities for elements or crafting, but unusual abilities that appear only sporadically."
Kaine grunted in acknowledgment, his eyes scanning his own translation notes.The references to magical bloodlines had appeared in multiple documents, always without a clear explanation of what magic they were referring to—or what purpose it was supposed to serve for the Wardens.
They worked in silence for several more minutes, the only sounds the soft rustle of parchment and the scratch of quills against paper.When Luna spoke again, her voice held the careful neutrality that indicated she'd found something significant.
"This page describes a specific type of magic the Wardens believe is hereditary," she said, sliding a half-translated document toward Kaine."They call it 'natural attunement'—a sensitivity to magical currents that they claim runs in certain bloodlines."
Kaine's fatigue vanished as though doused with cold water.He pulled the parchment closer, scanning Luna's partial translation."What kind of sensitivity?"
Luna leaned back in her chair, rolling her shoulders to ease the stiffness of hours hunched over documents."I'm still working through the details, but from what I can translate, it's a heightened awareness of magical energy—particularly as it flows through natural materials."She frowned in concentration as she translated a difficult passage."The text says...those with this ability can sense the flow of magic through anything 'of the earth'—plants, stones, metals."
"Current-sensing," Kaine breathed, his heart rate accelerating."Like Thalia's ability with metals and plants."
The realization struck with the force of revelation.Thalia's uncanny talent for metallurgy, her instinctive understanding of how magic flowed through different alloys, her childhood aptitude for identifying which herbs contained the strongest properties—all manifestations of this "natural attunement" the Wardens sought.
"That's why they were sorting people in Verdant Port," he said, pieces clicking into place."They weren't just looking for any magical bloodline.They were searching specifically for current sensors."
Luna nodded slowly."And Thalia's family was separated during the occupation.Her mother and sister were held in different facilities..."
"Because Mari is descended from a certain bloodline, and Celeste isn’t," Kaine finished.He rose abruptly, his chair scraping against the stone floor."Whatever this magic is, it must run through Thalia’s paternal family line.I need to speak with Celeste."
Luna blinked in surprise."Now?It's the middle of the night."
"She works late in the infirmary.The nightmares prevent her from sleeping."Kaine was already gathering his notes."Keep working on this section.I'll be back soon."
He left the archives with quick strides, his mind racing ahead of his feet.If current-sensing ran in bloodlines as the Wardens believed, then Thalia must have inherited it from one of her parents.Her mother, with her knowledge of herbs and remedies, seemed the likely source.But why would the Wardens care so much about this specific ability?
The academy corridors were largely deserted at this hour, lit only by the occasional ice-metal sconce casting blue-white light across the stone walls.The temperature dropped as Kaine ascended from the archives' depths toward the upper levels where the infirmary occupied a wing of its own.His breath formed small clouds in the chill air, a familiar comfort after the stifling warmth of the Southern climate.
As he walked, Kaine's thoughts turned to Celeste and Mari, to the burden of responsibility he carried for their well-being.He had visited them daily since their arrival, ensuring they had everything they needed, that they were treated with respect despite the lingering prejudice some Northerners harbored toward Southern refugees.Celeste had adapted with remarkable resilience, offering her knowledge of Southern remedies to the infirmary staff.Mari remained quieter, withdrawn, the trauma of occupation still evident in her watchful eyes and startled responses to sudden movements.
Both women asked about Thalia each time they saw him.Each time, he offered reassurances he didn't feel, promises he couldn't keep.
"She's resourceful," he'd told them yesterday."She'll find her way back."
The words had felt hollow even as he spoke them.The truth—that Thalia had sailed into enemy waters, pursuing a mission even Wolfe considered near-suicidal—remained locked behind his teeth, a burden he couldn't share.
The infirmary door stood ajar, a sliver of warm light spilling into the corridor.Kaine paused in the doorway, scanning the rows of empty beds until his gaze settled on a familiar figure at the far end of the room.
Celeste stood at a workbench beneath one of the high windows, her slender hands sorting dried plants with practiced efficiency.The moonlight streaming through the glass turned her silver-streaked hair to quicksilver, accentuating the fatigue etched into the lines of her face.
She glanced up at his approach, her hands never pausing in their work."Kaine," she acknowledged, her voice carrying the same warm resilience he'd come to associate with her daughter."What brings you here at this hour?You should be resting."
"So should you," he countered gently.
A smile flickered across her features, there and gone."Sleep and I have come to an arrangement.I don't seek it, and it doesn't find me."
The simple admission of her nightmares, delivered without self-pity, increased Kaine's respect for this woman who had endured occupation, separation from her children, and displacement from her home with such quiet strength.
"What are you working on?"he asked, nodding toward the herbs spread across the workbench.
"Fever remedies," Celeste replied, gesturing to several small bundles of dried leaves."Your Northern medicines are effective against the cold, but less so against the fevers that plague the refugee quarters.These will help."
