Princess Of The Skulls - Chapter 56: Chapter 56

Two weeks after my coronation, I stood in what had once been a nobleman's estate, watching as workmen transformed ballrooms into classrooms and galleries into laboratories. The School of
Dimensional Studies would be the first of many, a place where both noble and common children could learn to recognize the signs of otherworldly intrusion.
"The equipment arrives tomorrow," Master Dorian said, approaching with a ledger full of notes. "Scrying mirrors, containment circles, ward stones. Everything needed to teach proper magical defense."
"And the teachers?"
"A mix of surviving court mages and recruits who've shown aptitude for dimensional magic," he replied. "Some of the nobles' children are surprisingly talented once you remove the restrictions that kept them from exploring their abilities."
Through the soul-bond, I felt Aldric's satisfaction from across the city, where he was overseeing similar preparations. The establishment of new institutions was proceeding faster than we'd dared hope, though not without resistance.
"What about the protests?" I asked, referring to the demonstrations that had erupted in the merchant quarter.
"Religious groups mostly," Dorian said with a dismissive wave. "They claim teaching magic to commoners violates divine law. But their numbers are shrinking as word spreads about what we're facing."
A commotion outside drew my attention to the windows. A crowd had gathered in the courtyard, but these weren't protesters. Parents with children in tow, their faces mixing hope with apprehension as they waited for the school's opening.
"Fifty applications yesterday," Dorian continued. "Word is spreading that magical education means better job prospects, better protection for their families. Fear is a powerful motivator."
"So is hope," I said, watching a young girl practice moving small objects with her mind while her parents watched in wonder. "These children won't grow up afraid of their abilities."
"Or ignorant of the dangers those abilities can unleash," Dorian added grimly. "The first lesson will be about control, about understanding the cost of power."
I nodded, remembering my struggle with the necromantic abilities that had nearly consumed me.
These children would have guidance I'd never received, structured learning instead of desperate improvisation.
A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts. One of the new security forces entered, his uniform marking him as one of Kael's trainees.
"Your Majesty," he said with a crisp bow. "We've detected anomalous readings three miles north of the city. Possible dimensional instability."
My blood ran cold. It had been less than a month since the cathedral incident, far too soon for another major breach.
"How severe?" I asked, already moving toward the door.
"Minor distortions so far, but they're growing. Master Kael requests your immediate presence."
I found Kael and his team in a forest clearing where reality seemed to shimmer like heat waves. The air tasted of copper and ozone, and the skull relics at my throat pulsed with agitation.
"Started about an hour ago," Kael reported, his professional demeanor not quite hiding his concern. "No full manifestations yet, but the dimensional fabric is weakening."
I approached the distortion carefully, extending my senses into the space between worlds. Through the growing instability, I could glimpse another realm—a place of eternal twilight where geometric cities stretched toward alien stars.
"It's not random," I realized. "Something is deliberately weakening the barriers from the other side."
"Intelligent?" Kael asked.
"Very," I confirmed, feeling the presence of minds that thought in patterns my human consciousness could barely grasp. "And patient. This is a test, seeing how quickly we can respond to smaller incursions."
"Can you seal it?"
I considered the question, feeling the power flowing through the skull relics. The dimensional magic I'd learned to wield could probably close this particular rift, but doing so would alert whatever intelligences were probing our defenses to the extent of my abilities.
"Not here," I said finally. "Not alone. This is exactly why we're training others."
I turned to the security team, seeing their mixture of fear and determination. "Send word to the school.
We need a full training group here within the hour. It's time for our first practical lesson."
"Your Majesty," one of the guards said hesitantly, "is it wise to bring untrained civilians into contact with dimensional instability?"
"They won't be civilians much longer," I replied. "And they need to see what they're training to face.
Better to learn under controlled conditions than to encounter this kind of threat unprepared."
Within an hour, a group of twenty students ranging in age from twelve to sixty had assembled in the forest clearing. Their faces showed the full spectrum of human emotion—terror, excitement, curiosity, and grim determination.
"This," I said, gesturing to the shimmering distortion, "is what happens when the barriers between worlds weaken. In the old system, you would have been told to flee and let the nobility handle the problem. In the new system, you are the first line of defense."
I began walking them through the basic techniques of dimensional sensing, teaching them to feel the wrongness in the air, to recognize the subtle signs that reality was becoming unstable. Some showed immediate aptitude, their faces lighting up with understanding. Others struggled, but even their efforts helped stabilize the local dimensional matrix.
"Magic isn't about individual power," I explained as we worked together to reinforce the weakened barriers. "It's about connection, about understanding how all things are linked. When you work together, you become something greater than the sum of your parts."
Slowly, methodically, we began to seal the rift. Not through brute force, but through careful cooperation, each person contributes their unique perspective to the solution. The geometric cities beyond faded from view as the barriers strengthened, and the taste of ozone began to dissipate.
"It's working," one of the younger students said in wonder, watching reality solidify around us.
"Of course it's working," I replied. "You're not helpless civilians anymore. You're dimensional guardians, protectors of the boundary between worlds."
But even as the immediate crisis passed, I felt a chill of foreboding. The intelligence behind the probe had learned something about our capabilities, our methods, our weaknesses. The next test would be more sophisticated, more dangerous.
Through the soul-bond, I felt Aldric's concern as he sensed my unease. What is it? His mental voice whispered.
They're learning, I replied. Whatever's on the other side of the barriers, it's studying us. Testing our responses.
Then we'll have to learn faster, he said with grim determination. And hope it's enough.
As we led the successful trainees back to the city, I couldn't shake the feeling that we were running out of time. The old world had died in the cathedral, but the new world we were building might not survive its first real test.
The skull relics pulsed with agreement, their whispers carrying warnings of greater dangers to come. But
They also carried something else—the voices of ancient guardians who had faced similar threats and prevailed.
We were not the first to stand against the darkness between worlds. With luck and skill and the bonds we were forging between ordinary people with extraordinary courage, we might not be the last.