by S.J. Drew
entirely surprised, but I wonder how much you know about the powers of the Avatars."
"I know that your power comes from the gods. You would be better off studying divine magic."
Now she was convinced there was something Dark in that corner of the room. Without a second thought, she stood up and raised her hand. A beam of pure, bright, divine Light was emitted from her palm, past the startled mage, and into the shadows in the corner. There was a hideous and unearthly scream as the darkling assigned to follow her was consumed and destroyed by the Light.
The mage was staring at her, his gray eyes large and full of fear.
There was a cautious knock on the door.
"Sir? Are you alright, sir?" came the timid voice of the secretary.
"Yes," he answered, his voice hoarse. "Yes, I'm fine. Go back to work."
"Very good, sir."
She sat back down, trying to hide her own fear of what she had done. Seeing the mage shaken up, she decided to press him into taking her seriously. "Had I tried that with arcane magic, you would have probably been hurt nearly as badly as the darkling."
"Darkling?" he repeated.
She nodded. "I've read about them in the Book of Sol. They are creatures of Darkness. That one was watching me. And I have destroyed it."
"Yes, of course. We know of them, but do not generally concern ourselves with such creatures. We have wards to protect us."
She refrained from commenting on the effectiveness of the wards. "I'm more powerful than any cleric, or any sorcerer. Are you still unwilling to provide with even the smallest amount of guidance?" She decided not to mention her elemental control.
He leaned back in his chair and half closed his eyes, clearly calming himself down and pondering the question. In a few moments, he opened his eyes again and leaned forward. "What fields do you want to learn?"
She paused, sensing there was more to his question. "I want to learn healing, defensive magic, dispelling magic, and how to scry." She got the distinct feeling she was being judged.
After a tense moment, he nodded slowly.
She almost smiled with relief, knowing she had passed whatever test he had just given her.
"You seek knowledge to gain more knowledge, and to protect others. That's very wise, and I would expect you would use the scry only to find out the movements of your enemy, not to learn secrets you have no business trying to find out."
She nodded.
"I can direct you to a bookstore. Do you have money?"
"Yes," she replied with sigh, thinking of the pittance Jomei managed to gather.
As though guessing her thoughts, the mage said in a low voice, "My aid to you must be limited because of my official capacity as Principal of one of only three surviving Arcane Academies. Individual mages, such as shop proprietors, may weigh the responsibility for aiding you for themselves."
Now she did smile with relief.
He gave her instructions, then stood and went to the door.
She stood up to leave.
"One more word of advice. We don't know why the gods have done this. We fear the outcome of your battle may have more consequences that reach beyond your lifetimes. I suggest you ask a cleric or the god Itself what is the purpose. Remember, knowledge is the greatest form of power. You will do well to arm yourself with as much knowledge as you can before you fight with the ShadowWalker."
"Thank you," she replied, and bowed.
"Good day," he returned, with a slight bow of his own. Then he opened the door.
She exited the office and turned to the secretary. "Do I need anything else?"
He looked at her suspiciously, marked something on the pass, and returned it to her. "Give this to the secretary at the front desk. Go straight out. Do not wander around the corridors. Good day," he answered curtly.
She did so, and soon was free of the imposing structure. As expected, the guard on the inside had to open the door for her. She took her time walking to the bookstore, allowing the chilly air to clear her mind. It was slowly dawning on her that she had completely destroyed the darkling in the corner. "My gods, I've killed someone. Or something," she thought, feeling horrified and vaguely disgusted. "Later. I'll talk to Jomei about it later. I have to finish my errands here now. I don't want to run into the ShadowWalker again."
Following the Principal's instructions, she turned down several streets and found herself in a more middle class neighborhood. Eventually she came to a line of shops and found the bookstore. She entered, causing a bell behind the door to chime loudly.
It had windows, but heavy curtains were drawn, making the room quite dark. The air was dusty and had the musty smell that comes from years of being infused with the scent of old paper and leather. It was two stories, with a narrow staircase on the left side in the back. On the right side near the door was a solid wooden counter with a cash register on it. A short, stout woman in her fifties wearing dark green robes, glasses, with graying brown hair and brown eyes was sitting on a stool, reading a book.
Eliora was not fooled. She knew the woman was watching her intently, and she guessed there was probably a staff hidden underneath the counter. She walked up to the counter. "Excuse me," she said in Arcana. "I'm looking to purchase some books on healing magic, defensive magic, dispelling, and scrying."
The woman closed her book and placed it carefully on the counter top. Her eyes flicked to something beneath the counter. "Were you followed?"
It took a moment to register the odd question. "I was followed to the school, but I-I destroyed the creature that was following me."
The woman nodded. "Good. Then I may be able to help you. Stay here." She waved a hand, and Eliora heard the front door lock turn over. The proprietor hopped off her stool and went searching the shelves with a more nimble gait than she looked capable of initially. After several minutes, she returned with six books and a flat, square box that was about the size of a book. "How much money do you have with you?"
Eliora turned out her purse.
"Pity, pity," the woman murmured. "That's not a tenth of what this lot is worth. Still, some sacrifices must be made."
"You know who I am?" she asked in a low voice.
"How could I not?" she answered, switching to the Northern tongue. "We mages have our own way of finding things out. But we don't know enough, I fear. All I know is that I would rather you win this battle, come what will afterward, than your counterpart."
"Thank you, I think."
"These are the best books I can find the subject. I wish to gods you could get properly tutored, but even I won't go so far as to get that involved. The box holds a scrying mirror. Read before you practice magic, and be careful. You are more powerful than a sorcerer, and I shudder to think what would happen if one of your spells goes wrong."
She looked over the books, which were thick with leather covers and titles written in Arcana. She quickly packed everything away, slung the pack over her shoulder, and pulled her hood up. "Thank you for your generosity."
"Don't mistake my motives. This is self-preservation. You bring danger to us, which is why you found little help at the Academy. Now get out of here, and leave this city as quickly as you can."
She departed from the shop and turned down a few streets, looking only for a place where she could disappear. As soon as she found an empty alleyway, she vanished.
Donnan followed the instructions given to him by Dwyer, trying to put the meeting out of his mind. He wandered through the downtown area and into progressively more low class neighborhoods. He turned down a dirty and cramped street, looking for the shop. He missed it the first time, and had to walk back down to find it. He entered, causing a bell to ring. Its chime was oddly discordant.
The shop was cleaner than the street. It was dark, with heavy curtains, and smelled predominantly of old books, but there were other chemical smells in the air. There were two stories to the shop, with a staircase on the right
side in the back. On the bottom floor were bookshelves, but some shelves were filled with unfamiliar devices and bottles of strange liquids. Near the door was a counter with a cash register. Behind it sat a tall, skinny woman who seemed to be between forty and sixty. She had a bony, long face with few wrinkles, but her hair was blond mixed with gray. She was wearing dark green robes with a thick, neutral brown hem. Her sharp eyes were large and hazel, and she was staring at him through a pair of small reading glasses.
"May I help you?" she asked disdainfully, and in Arcana.
"I've come to purchase some supplies," he answered also in Arcana, and handed her the scroll Dwyer had given him. "But you should read this first. It's in regard to a debt."
With a slight snort, she took the scroll and quickly read through it. Then her mouth became a thin line. She crumpled it up angrily and shoved it back at him. "Well. I expected my debt would come due," she said crisply. "I've been instructed to give you any books or supplies you ask for."
"I want books on mind magic, enchantments in general, portals, and scrying. And of course a scrying dish."
She considered this a moment. "I suppose it's in my best interest not to ask what you want these particular items for."
"The less you know, the better."
She looked him over thoroughly.
He felt uncomfortable under her searching gaze.
"Do you know what will happen if you win this battle?" she asked, switching to Northern.
"You know about that? You know who I am?" he blurted,
