"Are you ready?" Aleksander said softly, his voice just above a whisper and Alina sucked in a deep breath before nodding her head slowly, hesitation lingering as she did. She was ready, ready to finally summon but nervous and scared at the same time. She knew nothing about summoning and she didn't want to look like a fool in front of him. He had been waiting for her his entire life and she was Ravka's saviour. She didn't want to let him down.
Aleksander sat in front of Alina, his knees almost touching her, and Alina gripped onto the sides of the chair as she watched Aleksander intensely. He was much more relaxed than her. Her shoulders were rigid and veins popping out the backs of her hands as she gripped the arms, her knuckles turning white. Aleksander could see how tense she was, and he gave her a soft smile.
"Relax, the only way this will work is if you are relaxed" he said, and Alina let out a shaky breath before lowering her shoulders and moving her hands to her lap. Her toes wiggled in the end of her boots, trying to keep the excitement and fear in harmony. She had to do as he said, he was the most powerful Grisha after all and was about to show Alina how to summoner her light. Once she finally relaxed, Aleksander smiled again.
"Good, the way we summon is by our hands, they hold our gifts inside. We do not conjure from nothing; we manipulate what already exists around us. We bring our gift forward and unleash with our hands and control it from there. The most important thing is to focus" he said and suddenly he reached for Alina's hands. She jumped slightly from the connection of his hands on her, a spark flying through her fingertips as he took her hands in his.
"When someone is tested and they are found to be Grisha, it's at a young age and from that age, they learn to bring forth their gift and control it. However, with you not knowing you are the sun summoner, your light has been repressed for so long, pushed down deep inside where you aren't able to easily call it, which means we must bring it to the surface" he explained, and Alina licked her dry lips.
She was more nervous than ever, and her heart was thudding inside her chest, a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach and she wondered if that was her light, trying to reach the surface and shine.
"How do we do that?" she whispered, and Aleksander took a deep breath through his nose before taking her hands and positioning them, so they were together, fingertips touching and held in front of her like she was praying.
"Like this. I want you to call on your light" he said, and Alina gave a look of panic.
"But I don't know how" she said flustered and Aleksander gave a little shook of the head.
"You have to focus carefully. Your light is waiting to come forth and you need to call on it to come, to show itself… close your eyes" he ordered gently, and Alina did exactly. Darkness evaded her and Aleksander's hands were still holding hers in place. Alina took a deep breath, her eyes itching to flutter open, but she kept them closed.
"Now call it" he said, and Alina didn't know whether he meant to actually call it with her voice or just think about it.
Alina thought hard, telling her light to come to the surface inside her head, her eyes squinting as she pushed harder for it to come. Nothing happened and Alina pushing. Her stomach clenched and she hoped it was her light crawling its way to the surface. Alina pushed and pushed for the light to come but nothing happened, and, in the end, she huffed and opened her eyes.
"It's not working" she whined, and Aleksander tilted his head up, his chin sticking out.
"Try again, remember to focus. Don't think about anything else but your light" he encouraged, and Alina nodded before closing her eyes, the darkness coming back, and she pushed again for her light to come. Her fingertips twitched and she started to feel a tingle in her hands, running up her arms and a warm sensation brewing inside. Alina kept her focus hard on that little feeling inside her stomach. In her head she was thinking of the beautiful beam that shone out of her when Aleksander tested her, revealing her sun summoning and that she was Grisha.
As Aleksander said, the other Grisha had found they were Grisha when they were young and had years to master and learn their powers, but Alina didn't. Her light was not easy to call as it had been pushed deeply away without Alina even knowing and therefore it wasn't easy to bring forth.
But suddenly, a spark flew from her fingertips, an orange ball the size of a conker and levitated between her fingers. Alina felt a sudden surge forward as her light bounced to the surface and she opened her eyes to see the small ball of light just floating between her hands. It was tiny compared to when Aleksander had tested her, but it was there. She grinned at the amazing sight. She was summoning her light, bringing it out of hiding as it had been for so many years and was holding it in her hands. She didn't move her hands as she feared the ball of light would vanish at the slightest movement and she looked up to Aleksander who held a smirk on his face.
Alina felt giddy inside and her fingertips twitched as her hands became tired from holding the ball steady. Her light wobbled as she dropped her hands slightly and it vanished with a poof, smoke drifting into the air and she frowned. Her light was nowhere near as good as it was when Aleksander tested it, why was that?
"What's wrong?" he noticed her frown and Alina sighed softly.
"It's just, when you did it my light was greater than that, how comes all I can do is make a tiny ball of it" Aleksander smirked again and held his hand out for hers.
"Because I am an amplifier. Which mean any person I touch; I can make their gift stronger and more powerful. When I tested you, I was amplifying your light" he explained, and Alina nodded. He was a living amplifier. Alina thought to what Marie had told her this morning about Zoya and the rumour that Aleksander had taken her amplifier away.
"Can other Grisha have amplifiers" she asked, and he nodded.
"I have given some of my most trusted and loyal Grisha an amplifier for example Ivan, he has an amplifier from the Sherborn bear claw. They usually come from animals and their power belongs to whoever kills it. Ivan killed that bear and so in return I gifted him it's amplifier. He's one of my most powerful heartrenders" he smiled.
"So, you're the most powerful Grisha then" she asked, and he nodded.
"I am, my bones or teeth could amplifier someone else's power greatly if they were to kill me" he said with a little frown at the end, but he brushed it off.
"But now you know how to summon" he smiled, and Alina sighed again.
"Not very well though" her summoning was nothing compared to his or the other Grisha and Alina wondered if she'd ever match up that standard.
"This is just the beginning, you need more training, you've only just discovered you are the sun summoner. I wouldn't expect you to be able to be like the others after a few hours" he said kindly.
"And I will be here to help you achieve that" he smiled, and Alina nodded. She felt at ease and knowing Aleksander was going to help her with controlling her light and making it powerful was a relief. She was the sun summoner after all and the king of Ravka wasn't going to expect her to do it all by herself.
…
Morning came and for Mal, Genya and Fedyor and they were about to start their journey to Ravka to rescue Alina. They suited up, wrapping big winter cloaks around them to keep them warm while the trudge through the forest and supplies to last them for today until they hit town. Baghra had given them each a knife for protection and handed Mal a rifle as well seeing as he didn't have any powers.
"This is for you, use it wisely, don't waste ammunition" she said hard and Mal nodded. One thing was clear the group wouldn't miss Baghra and her scolding, but they were nervous to be going on their own.
"Why don't you come with us" Fedyor asked Baghra as she handed him a rucksack of supplies and Baghra glared.
"Who do you think I am boy, only you three can help Alina but remember what I taught you" she said and then handed Genya a map.
"This is your map, do not lose it. Stay covered and make sure the darkling's guards don't catch you. If they do, you'll be covered enough as you are dressed as Grisha, but you will need to stay covered" Baghra warned Mal as he was the only one not wearing a colour of the Grisha, just a brown kefta for protection. The trio were ready, and they gave each other nervous glances but they knew it was time. As much as they were anxious, they needed to do this for Alina. Their mission was to find the stag and Alina to have her kill it and obtain its power to bring down the shadow fold.
"Remember, do not harm the stag otherwise it's power will not work" Baghra said with a hard tone and the group nodded.
"Thank you Baghra, for everything" Mal said and she huffed. She was not one for gratitude and shrugged it off.
"Quickly now, there's no time to spare" she ushered them along and the three lead off into the forest, leaving Baghra and her hut as they began their mission.
Hey so I hope you like it, sorry for the late update. What do you think will happen next, please leave a review and let me know what you think