The Mana-Sphere
By Mandy Bova
Third Place Winner, Bow & Chariot 2026 Fantasy Fiction Story Challenge
Thomas loved the forest. He loved how the trees reached into the sky, dwarfing everything around. He loved the dappled sunlight that fell across the forest floor. He loved the hypnotic way the light shifted with the sway of the trees in the wind. He loved the music of the wind and the water and leaves underfoot.
This wood was his retreat from school and all the expectations that came with it. At times, Thomas swore the academy would make him combust long before it ever turned him into the “paragon” the instructors constantly claimed he could be.
As Thomas walked, he practiced with his mana-sphere–a tool meant to teach focusing and holding magical energies. As he practiced, he remembered the voices of his mentors guiding him through the exercise.
Concentrate on the magic of the world, let it fill you. Yes, like that Thomas! Now bring it into your soul and let the magic become you. Good, hold it there for a moment, then release–yes, release it, child! Don’t hold the power, you’ll alter your soulweave, you dolt. Share the power to maintain your soul’s integrity.
Thomas shook the distracting memory away and concentrated on his mana-sphere. Toss it up—breathe in the magic of the world. Shifting patterns of brown, green and gold mana streamed towards the sphere. Catch the orb—breathe out as the mana he’d collected transformed to the brilliant blue and silver of his own mana signature. The farther he walked and imbued mana into the sphere, the more the natural magic of the woods would respond. The orb would fly up, and leaves would reach towards it as if it was sunlight itself. Thomas would catch it and a bird would joyfully sing in response.
Toss the focus up, catch it. Toss it up, higher this time. Feel the orb’s smooth crystalline surface touch his fingertips. Up—
“Thomas? Hi!” A familiar voice called out and the sphere fell with a gentle whumph. Thomas resisted the urge to pinch himself. Surely, the most beautiful woman at school hadn’t followed him into the woods. Every daydream he’d had of her during their classes played rapid-fire through his mind.
“Tiera?” Thomas’s voice cracked. He cleared his throat, “What are you doing out here?”
“I was looking for ingredients for the alchemy mid-term. Would you like to…” her voice trailed off.
“Would I like to what?” Thomas leaned forward, pixie-wings filling his stomach.
Tiera huffed, cheeks turning pink. She shuffled from side to side, kicking a rock at her feet. “Would you–Oh Gods and glitter–would you like to come find herbs with me?”
“Like, as a date?” A wide grin spread across his face.
She reached out her shaking hand and grabbed his clammy one. Their eyes locked for a moment, before walking deeper into the woods, smiles wide on their faces. The forgotten sphere rested on the leaf-carpeted forest floor as tiny creatures emerged to investigate.
***
Wings of gossamer and lace trailed behind Kya’s golden silk dress. The fabric hugged her curves and the gems on the delicate tiara atop her brow caught the dancing firelight in the room.
Kya grimaced as she tucked a stray hair back into the intricate braid her attendants had styled earlier. She peered into the mirror and forced her expression to morph into the practiced and easy smile that a new queen was trained to wear. Her eye twitched.
Kya had to fight every fiber in her being to not rip the spider-silk dress from her body and tear the ribbons securing her hair. Today was her nuptial flight. The day she was supposed to spend her entire life looking forward to. She wasn’t sure why. Today, she would go from having all the authority of a princess, to being just a name for someone else to possess like a status symbol.
She turned from the mirror, eyes catching on the table by the balcony she would use to descend to the ceremonial meadow below. Her stomach filled with angry fairyflies as she noticed the bouquet of flowers Tate had sent as a nuptial flight present. Baby’s-breath. Great. She was allergic.
Kya gazed beyond the bouquet. Below, the Sphere rested, bigger than the grandest of peonies. Larger than the mushrooms and vines that made up the dwellings of her people. Its luminescent glow, a constant presence in the meadow.
The Sphere had fallen from the sky so long ago that Kya had never known a moment of living without its metaphorical shadow. Her great-aunts, before they’d passed, had whispered tales of the before-time to her. They swore it had only been a half-dozen moon-cycles since it had landed. Their voices would go scratchy as they spoke of a time when queens actually led the people.
Queens were revered for their strength, not just their family name. Before the Sphere sucked all the power out of their city, the queens were power itself. But alas, the Sphere fell, and now society was dominated by the Sphere’s shifting effervescent smoke and lightning-quick flashes of brilliant blue and silver, leading them to the present: desperate magicians harvesting whatever sphere-concentrated power they could squeeze out. The ability to gather ambient magic was lost.
Male attendants surrounded the orb, channeling the magic they would soon imbue into the nuptial ceremony. Guards in black chitin armor wore sphere-marked insignias—the males’ badges thrummed in sync with the Sphere, while emblems adorning the female guards’ armor were lifeless and dull. Despite towering over most of their male counterparts, the female guards were pushed to the edges of the ceremonial clearing, like dogs on watch, herding the assembling masses of pixies. The male guards basked in the center, beneath the curved, opaque walls of the Sphere.
Kya yearned to feel even a sliver of the power that the men revered. She reached out her hand, but of course, felt nothing. Even on the day of her nuptial flight, the Sphere was no closer to her than the painted backdrop of the ceremony.
“My lady?” a hesitant, quiet voice rang out from behind her.
Kya turned and saw Dola, wearing black chitin armor enter her chamber. A small leaf-blade graced her hip and Kya’s personal badge was the only one to adorn her breastplate.
“Yes, Dola?”
“The scouts and soldiers are prepared to follow, should you choose to range far on your nuptial flight. You need not tie yourself to the hierarchies of Oligogyny.”
“Dola, we’ve gone over thi–”
“I know, but Kya, you would be a truequeen, not the ornament they want you to be. We could leave the influence of the Sphere and start anew.”
Kya rubbed her eyes, denying the tears that hoped to fall. “Dola, that would place you all in danger. The Sphere provides all our society needs. To roam far from it would be to risk the unknown. Plus, I’m not sure that Tate would agree to leave.”
Dola scoffed, “Tate is a dolt. He only wants to marry you for the extra power the Sphere will grant him and you know that. Let me deal with him once your flight has ended.”
Kya sighed, her defeated smile juxtaposed against Dola’s hopeful face. “Tate has been my betrothed our entire lives. He’s been raised under the Sphere’s influence just as much as you or I. We cannot fault him for believing what it has reinforced.”
Dola’s eyes shone, lips quivering. She nodded. “Wherever you choose to fly, I will follow. Trust my soldiers to protect you from what may wait beyond the boundaries of this meadow.”
Kya straightened her back as she strode to the balcony. She closed her eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. She dabbed her rouged cheek, wiping away the tear that had dared to fall. Kya glanced back, wishing she could borrow some of Dola’s strength for the ceremony.
The Sphere’s hums suddenly crescendoed. The ceremonial magic had reached its pinnacle. Attendants rushed around, weaving threads of spider-silk to create the wedding cloak that Tate and she were to don for their first flight together. The silk glowed as the cloak lifted into the air, floating on the wind of mana rushing out of the Sphere.
Kya walked forward onto the balcony, letting the sunlight warm her for a moment. She glanced back at the bouquet, then leaped off the balcony, refusing to carry the petals. Her wings beat in a rhythmic figure-eight, lifting her body and sending her down over the throngs of assembled pixies toward the ceremony platform. Cheers erupted and washed over her as the gossamer of her wings caught sunlight, her elegant golden dress flowing behind her. The voices made her heart race. Before, the jubilant cries of her people had felt welcoming. But now….
She flew through the meadow, over the bridges woven from wildflowers, and past the dandelion-stem and bark cottages. She circled the meadow; first gazing inward at the gathered celebrants, then looking outward towards the beckoning unknown. The wings of the crowd started to beat, creating a droning buzz that vibrated Kya’s entire body.
Finally, her slippered feet touched down on the platform. Tate stood tall, barely glancing at Kya as she landed. As the cheers of her people reached a cacophonous roar, Kya scanned the crowd, finding concern painted on the faces of Dola and her guard contingent.
Tate’s attention was fully on the High Priest and the Sphere. Kya studied his profile, his flexed jaw. The rushing air from her wing movements ruffled Tate’s wedding suit. Her body was screaming to flee. She took a deep breath and with concentrated effort slowed her wings to a stop.
The High Priest raised his hands high to the Sphere, his back to Kya and Tate. Every movement of his hands pulled blue and silver mana strands from the orb. The strands flew into the sky, exploding in sparkling displays, sparks cascading down like a waterfall. The light show drew murmurs of appreciation from the crowd, and as sparks touched male pixies, their wings glowed gently.
The attendants began chanting, Kya cringed as their voices joined in a basso, rhythmic dirge. As the tenor voice of the Priest joined in the song, the spider-silk cloak floated on waves of Sphere-mana to rest upon the shoulders of the newlyweds. The song came to a reverent close, final notes lingering and raising the hairs on Kya’s neck. The cloak crushed her despite its feather-light weight.
The voice of the Priest broke the silence. “As this Sphere has granted us power, and as the power has made our society grow, let these newlyweds be fruitful and multiply, granting the newest generation to our people. Tate and Kya, please touch the Sphere and allow its power to flow into you.”
Tate’s arm rushed forward, the magic within the orb responding immediately to his touch. Light streamed around his arm, lightning flashes of blue and silver. As his body soaked in the power, the filament of his wings began glowing with blinding luminescence. The crowd erupted into deafening cheers. Kya looked up at the Priest. She searched for the words to protest, but couldn’t find an argument that would hold weight.
Tate grabbed her hand, squeezing it hard before placing it with his onto the Sphere. The power tickled her palm, before dancing around her arm, leaving goosebumps in its wake. Kya gasped as the power suddenly jerked toward Tate’s body. Her arm ached, goosebumps turning to burning pain. Her stomach churned, as the High Priest laughed and proclaimed their union solidified.
Tate’s wings began their figure-eight buzz and his toes lifted off of the ceremonial platform. He squeezed Kya’s hand hard, waiting expectantly for her to join him. Her breath came in sharp, shallow bursts, the movement of her wings feeling as if they were pushing through molasses. Once she’d joined him in the air, the cheering resumed, along with the drone of hundreds of wings beating below.
“Let’s fly far,” Kya whispered, as the ceremonial cloak billowed out behind the rushing wind of their wings.
“Why?” Tate scoffed.
“To live by our own rules. To begin our new life together with a fresh slate.” Kya pleaded, fingers entwined with Tate’s as they flew towards the sky. Each figure-eight of their wings released nuptial dust which coalesced and coated their bodies, securing their union.
Tate’s brows scrunched together. “Why would we leave the meadow? We’ll have a palace behind the Sphere. I assigned workers to the construction already–we aren’t leaving.”
Tate gripped Kya’s hand tighter, her fingers starting to tingle. Kya’s wing beats slowed as she turned to face Tate mid-flight. Luminescent wing-dust coated her face. “I want to roam far, as the queens of the past did. I want to explore a new world.”
Tate studied Kya’s face for a breathless moment before leaning forward, close enough for his breath to tickle the loose hair that had escaped her braid. His eyes bore into hers. “No.”
He smashed his lips into hers, the kiss possessive and relentless. Tate wrapped his arms around her and gripped the base of her wings. With a quick yank, he tore them off her back. She screamed into Tate’s mouth, scrambling to get out of his grip. The oblivious crowd’s cheers continued below. With another attempt to jerk away, Kya’s tiara fell off her head, tumbling with her ripped wings to the meadow below.
The nuptial cloak wrapped around Kya, equal parts fetters and tourniquet. Healing magic washed over her, both staunching the flow of blood, soothing the wounds on her back, and reinforcing Tate’s bond.
“You’re so beautiful,” Tate burrowed his mouth into Kya’s neck, lingering on her fluttering pulse as his wings kept them aloft. “I’ve waited my entire life to make you mine.”
Tate eased them back to the ground. “We aren’t meant to roam, baby breath. A queen doesn’t make decisions. She inspires loyalty, produces heirs, and stands beside the man who secures civilization. You know this, woman.”
Kya stared down at the gossamer and lace of her ripped wings on the meadow floor. Her muscles twitched as she imagined the phantom appendages flying her far away. Unbidden yet unrelenting, tears fall, marring the perfection of her ceremonial make-up.
Tate gently landed on the platform next to the Sphere, steadying Kya as she stumbled. He grabbed her hand and raised it with his triumphantly.
“Don’t worry, baby breath,” Tate murmured, “I’ll take care of everything now.”
She breathed in and forced her face back into the practiced, easy smile as she’d been trained. Kya looked out over the exuberant crowd, sobs catching in her throat as she found the tall, resolute form of Dola. Dola’s dry eyes met Kya’s tearful visage and she slowly saluted.
Kya, the queen, nodded to her loyal servant. She would be the one telling the stories of the before-times now.
***
Thomas and Tiera strode hand in hand through the shadow and sunshine laced path through the woods.
“I think it was around here somewhere,” Thomas said, eyes scanning the ground.
“I appreciate the romantic sentiment, my love, but this forest is huge. How do you expect to find the place where our first date started?”
“I had a mana-sphere that I was practicing with when you met me here and asked me out. If I can just–THERE!”
Thomas sprung forward, pulling Tiera with him. Their steps crunched dried bark and dandelion stems. He pointed down, showing her an orb with vines and grass growing around it. Thomas pulled Tiera in for a deep kiss.
“What was that for?” Tiera giggled softly, breaking the kiss.
“For walking into this meadow a year ago and making all of my dreams come true.”
Tiera reached up to gently cradle Thomas’s face before kissing him again gently. “I love you, Thomas.” She looked down at the mana-sphere between their feet.
Tiera knelt down to pick up the orb, furrowing her brow for a moment. “Oh, Thomas! Look! Pixies have built a city around it!” Radiant glee shone on her face as she crouched down to inspect the tiny construction.
Thomas chuckled at Tiera’s excitement and knelt down next to her, his jaw dropped open. “This is impressive–look, they’ve built structures right up next to the focus. See how the flower bridges all connect to this platform?”
Tiera beamed at Thomas before turning serious. “I hope that you weren’t planning on taking this focus back with us today. It’s obviously the center-point of their city.”
Thomas laughed, shaking his head. “What if, instead of destroying their little city, we shared our mana with the Pixies, just like the professors are always saying?”
Tiera’s eyes reflected the bright sunlight in the meadow. “We can power the mana-sphere focus together! If we come back every year on our anniversary, we could watch their little civilization grow.”
Thomas and Tiera held their hands out over the tiny city. Mana streamed towards the orb, first, Thomas’s, then Tiera’s– her gold and pink magic twisting and weaving into Thomas’s blue and silver. They poured their mana out until the orb was filled with a kaleidoscope of lightning-flashes, reflecting the colors of their shared mana.
Nature sang as they filled the sphere. Trees rustled and leaves stretched towards the power. The meadow went silent before exploding in a jubilant of birdsong and bells.
“Tiera, look.” He breathed as pixies buzzed into the air around them. Hundreds of the fae-folk, each no larger than an ant. At first, only about half of the tiny creature’s wings lit up, blue and silver sparkling in the meadow–but soon the wings on the other half of the pixies blinked to life in glistening pink and gold.
A tiny, armored pixie carrying a crowned, wingless woman landed on Tiera’s nose. The armored pixie saluted Tiera while mana streamed towards the crowned woman. The magic bathed her in luminescence as pink and gold wove together to create mana-thread wings of gossamer and lace. With a jubilant expression, the Queen darted away.
***
Kya was finally free.
