That, she said, was why she called it Magic-Consuming Physiology. According to Cururunelvia, my body was autonomously absorbing magical energy and using it to heal my injuries, cure my illnesses, and even prevent me from growing and maturing. That was why I appeared to be immortal.
“I thought that maybe if you could use magic—if you could actively consume it of your own volition—that you might be able to speed up your body’s growth as well,” she said. But unfortunately, using magic turned out to be something I couldn’t do, which meant I wouldn’t be able to suppress my body’s automatic use of magic to heal me.
“So you’re saying there’s really no way to undo my immortality?”
She was silent for a long moment.
“Cururunelvia?”
Was there no means by which I might age like, and with, those around me? How long would my life go on? Would it ever end? My questions were tinged with a desperation born of anxious rumination.
Finally, Cururunelvia looked at me. And she said…
“Could I tell you about a dream I have?”
“A dream?”
Wait, what? I was brought up short by the sudden change of topic.
“You see, I want to found a country.” Cururunelvia always looked so frivolous, like everything she said was a joke—but at that moment, she was quieter and calmer than I had ever seen her. “I want to found a country where people can live in peace. People who have made bad choices, people who have been persecuted. Even people who move along an entirely different ‘timeline’ from those around them. A country where people of every status and tribe can greet each other with a smile.”
She went on, “I don’t think magic would be necessary in the country I want to establish, so for a long time now I’ve been working on this device. It forcibly absorbs magic and uses it for people’s benefit. It’s still a work in progress, though.”
I caught my breath and looked up at her. If that was true…
“I still don’t understand it, but your body already seems to have a device like that. I could almost say you yourself are the country I envisioned. That’s why I want to investigate you. To study you in every detail.”
And if…if Cururunelvia’s research were to bear fruit…
“I think I might be able to bring your lifespan close to that of a normal human, Riviere.”
Then she asked me a question.
“So…won’t you come with me?”
Our eyes met, and I nodded. “Of course I will.”
I doubted whether refusing was really a choice.
Cururunelvia appeared to have been laying plans to found this country of hers since long before she had met me. Not long after that conversation, she visited a small island with me in tow.
This was a place where cherry blossoms bloomed in the spring, verdant greenery was rife in summer, vivid maple leaves populated the trees in fall, and snow fell in winter. Something different to enjoy in every season. That, Cururunelvia said, was because she’d acquired various beautiful things in her travels and had brought them all here.
We were welcomed by an apprentice of hers at the port. “We’ve been waiting for you, Mistress,” she said. We seemed to include quite a crowd, all standing there with the apprentice. Beastkin, elves, mages, and mundane folk. There was no one thing they had in common, not their social station or their tribe. While Cururunelvia was busy visiting every country she could find, doing her research, they had been busy developing the island. There were already houses and farm fields, everything people would need to live there.
“If you were curious, this country is called Cururunelvia, the land of prayer,” she said, pointing at her country-in-progress and grinning.
“You named it after yourself?”
“That’s what all the cool kids do,” she replied.
She definitely did things by the seat of her pants.
It took another five years before the mechanism that made the country work was complete. Once we got to the island, Cururunelvia started studying my Magic-Consuming Physiology in earnest, and she told me it helped speed up the completion of her device.
“When I embedded a device just like your body into the island, everything went great—just like I expected! And now, well, here we are!”
We were in the cathedral at the center of the island. Cururunelvia stood there looking very proud. In the exact same pose, in fact, as the Cururunelvia statue behind her.
“As long as this is here, no one will be able to use magic in this land,” she said.
Magical power would normally move into people’s bodies, but this device absorbed it instead, before allowing it to be used for other purposes. The Cururunelvia statue was the basis of the entire thing.
It was great that it was finished and all, but…
“You made it a statue of yourself?” I said.
“’Cause it looks really cool! Doesn’t it?
“Seat-of-the-pants, as usual…” I gave a shrug.
I still looked fourteen, just like I always had, but if Cururunelvia’s theory was right, then starting today, I would be able to age normally. Notwithstanding my look of slight irritation with her, I gave a sigh of relief.
“By the way, there’s been a lot of debate about how we should use the magic that the statue absorbs. My student is still really opposed to this, but…well, would you take a look, Riviere?”
As she spoke, Cururunelvia took the pointy hat off her head. It was the one she always wore.
“What about it?” I asked.
“This is how we’re going to use the magic.”
I looked at it, puzzled. What did this have to do with using the magic the statue absorbed? It looked like an ordinary hat to me.
“Hoo-hoo-hoo… Will you still think that when I show you this?” Looking extremely pleased with herself, Cururunelvia took the hat and put it on her head.
And then she vanished.
“Huh?”
I looked around, but I didn’t see her anywhere. In the whole towering cathedral, it was just me and the statue. Where had she gone?
“Hoo-hoo-hoo! Is that awesome or what?”
I still didn’t know where she was, but I could practically sense her puffing out her chest.
“Where are you?” I asked.
“Right here.” The voice came from behind me. When had she moved? I turned around to find her grinning at me. The hat was in her hand again.
“These objects have a power similar to magic, but not the same. I call them sancta,” she informed me, obviously trying to look extra cool while she said it.