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A Mage's Choice (Amaria and Kolath)

He looked worried as she said that she had come by the spirit horse. Sighing he shook his head, â??What about the Wall my dear?â? he had already asked it when he noticed her trembling. He instantly walked over to her his arm slipping around her waist. â??Come lay down my dear you seem to be exhausted.â? There was a large comfortable bed in the room, set off to one side of the door so that it wasnâ??t seen till you were inside. â??Your news will need to wait till you have rested and eat I am afraid because no matter how urgent you can do nothing for your country and king if you are dead.â? He gently was moving to her to the bed just firm pressure since she seemed to be so tired.
 
She allowed her self to be guided to the bed. It looked warm and inviting, her muscles relaxed in anticipation of its comfort. "Tired yes, hungry no, but I have so much to tell you." So tired she didn't realize her robe and boots were off an she was tucked beneath the blankets. Still mumbling she spoke again her weary eyes locking with his. "...the Wall, I felt it myself. there's...there's a weak spot..and..I'm sure Callar knows of it. They only pretend to repair ...some are...," she didn't finish her sentence.

Maris was confused when she woke up. She was in her gown but this was not her room. She glanced over at the desk, the sight of the man sitting there reminded her of how she came to be in this room. "How long have I slept?"
 
Willfrum turned slowly looking over his shoulder smiling at her. â??Yes my dear it was past midnight when you arrived and now it is well into the afternoon.â? He stood walking over to her adjusting the specitcals that sat on the bridge of his nose. â??I wish to hear the news you have of the wall but I think that some food and drink would be in order first.â?

Not even waiting for her to agree or disagree he walked to the door and sticking his head out he spoke shortly to a servant who hurried away. Turning back to her he pulled a chair over and sat near her touching her wrist for a moment. â??You seem to be a bit weak but food and rest should fix that.â?
 
"The ride here was amazing. I've never thought in my life I wold ride a spirit horse." Maris sat up slowly pushing her tangled hair from her face and trying to look presentable. "I'm sorry to have disturbed you but Keeper thought it was important for you to know now and.." her hand flew up to her face. "Master Callar! He will be looking for me, I was supposed to be before the council! I was in isolation chambers...He caught me coming in for observing the Wall and.." she was talking too fast and was out of breath from excitement. She stopped and looked at Willfrum with a sheepish grin. "I'm not making any sense am I?"
 
Willfrum shook his head slowly, â??No you arenâ??t maybe you should start from the beginning.â? He was the royal records keeper and so he knew all the reports that came from the wall academy and some things had begun to bother him. it was nothing major just that they seemed to always be the same. That had not been the case for a long time the wall was always changing its frequency but now it always stayed the same. He had thought little of it assuming that someone had just decided to be lax in filing reports or didnâ??t want to be bothered and so just gave the same information since nothing seemed to change, but if what this young mage was saying was true there might be something much more sinister behind it all.
 
Maris nodded and started her tale again. This time she began with what happen two weeks prior when she first felt the weakness in the Wall. She was in the training academy for mages of the realm, their first duties were simple and maintained of the Wall had been considered a good spell training for beginners. All that needed to be done was to read the Wall with a search spell, find weak points and reinforce. All of this was to be noted and reported to an Adept. Her first attempt at logging a weak spot had well but when she logged the second one she noticed her first log was missing from the books. When she asked about it she was told she was mistaken and then randomly moved to another part of the Wall to work.

She took it upon herself to search the Wall at night when no one else was there to hinder her and she discovered that not only was the Wall weakening but it was being forcefully weaken at some points. She couldn't trace the spell of the caster so she knew it was someone of great power. Maris ended her story to Willfrum with the recent events of being caught by Mater Callar and her meeting with the Keeper.

"I hoped that made more sense, my lord, it was the first time I've told it in full." she looked down, not able to maintain his kind gaze. He was not as cruel as Callar nor as intense as the Keeper, but intimidating in a way that was hard for her to describe.
 
He shook his head sighing, he knew that something was not going right and from her tale it seemed to be that there was a powerful group of mages that were trying to bring down the wall. he walked over to the door and looked outside before closing and locking the door. He touched a rune on the back of the door and a slight shimmer appeared around the door then spread out around all the walls of the room. â??There now we can not be listened to by any means.â?

He brought his chair closer before sitting down backwards in it so that he was facing her leaning on the low back of the chair. â??Marisâ?¦â? he trailed off for a second looking into her eyes. His were intense but in such a way that would not allow someone to look away from them. â??I can see that the Keeper trusted you. I shall trust you too. There are things that no one but the royal family know about the Wall and what is trapped behind it. What I am going to tell you can not be repeated to anyone as long as you live understand?â?
 
Maris nodded, "Yes, my lord," She knew the Wall protected the city but it had been sometime since she thought of what was on the other side of the Wall. When she was a child she was simply told it was there too keep a nation of evil people out, who wanted nothing more than to make our kingdom its slave. As she grew older and even more so now, she knew there was much more to the story than that. A Wall that grand in construction, that took the lives of the Seven Great Mages, could not be erected for such a simple reason. "I understand."
 
He nodded looking at the wall for a moment as though deciding something. â??What do you know of the wall Maris?â? he stood and slowly walked over to the wall tapping at certain places. A illusion spell deactivated and showed a map ancient in its work with writing from near the time when the wall was built. It showed the kingdom they were now in as well as another kingdom with the wall running between them. â??You will never see another map like that ever. It is the last one made that had both this kingdom of Arcadia as well as our sister nation Arcana. Have you heard that name in your studies?â?
 
I know much of..well that is to say, I know more about how the Wall was made and very little of why it was made." she glanced at the map, she had never seen a map of its kind before. For some reason she thought land stopped beyond the map, even though such thinking was childish it was how she felt. From studies she was aware of a country of people beyond the wall but knew very little of them.

"What is so horrid about the people that would require such a sacrifice to make the Wall. Who are these people?"
 
He shook his head slowly. â??Nothing about the people was that horrid.â? He sighed shaking his head slowly. â??Itâ??s what they did,â? he went over to a shelf of large books pulling one with a thick back and heavy lock on it. â??They felt that magical study should not be held back by such little things as morality. It was the kingdoms down fall.â? He took a key from the chain that hung around his neck that had till now been under his shirt and unlocked the book. â??They began experiments on their people changing them to little more than animals, or worse.â? He opened the book to a certain page then laid it on the bed next to her so she could see. The image was ghastly something that even in the darkest nightmares could never have been. The best way to describe it was a demon beyond mythic proportions made all the more horrific knowing that it had once been human. â??The king and the seven mages had to make a horrible choice. The changes did all happen immediately some took weeks to be seen and they couldnâ??t risk having those things coming into our nation. So the wall was built a barrier that locked everyone and everything out of out nation, dooming everyone that had not yet been changed to the mercies of the dark mages.â? He sighed sitting back down. â??If what you say is true then there can be only one reason, someone is after the dark magic tomes hidden deep inside Arcana.â?
 
"Magic tomes?" she repeated his words like young child learning them for the first time. She slid from beneath the blankets walking toward the map still shimmering on the wall. For a moment she stared in disbelief of the things he had just spoken. "Why would someone want to release such horrid creatures? are these tomes that powerful to risk the lives of an entire nation?" Maris turned and look at him, her face beginning to show the horror she felt. "I don't know why keeper sent me, I'm only a novice how can I even think to stop this. It's obvious whoever is behind this is powerful and it's most likely way more than one person." she rushed back towards Willfrum, thoughtless to addressing the kings brother so casually and still in her gown. "I have no idea how I can help but I am willing. What must be done?"
 
He nodded in answer to her question about the tomes, â??Undoubtedly they are that powerful lacking a moral compass to control research can in fact lead to many breakthroughs that could take years longer if you have a moral compass.â? He sighed again looking up at her. â??That is part of the problem Iâ??m not sure why he choose you or me for that matter.â? He shook his head, â??We are probably the least likely heroes to pick why not send you to the king himself.â? He stood slowly a determined look on his face. â??We both have a unwavering loyalty to the kingdom I believe that might be part of it, the first thing we have to do is find more evidence of this conspiracy because all we have right now is your word verse the headmaster and as you said youâ??re only a novice. The only problem is I have no clue where to start.â?
 
"Well I think two things should be done first. One, my little trouble with the master Callar. I'm sure he is still looking for me. As soon as I leave here he will find me and expect me to answer to the council for my...disobedience. Second would be finding out who to tell about this. We should learn who we can trust to help us..um" she paused in her speech realizing her mouth shot off before her brain did, she was talking to the kings brother.

"..at least that was what I was thinking."
 
Willfrum paused for a moment as she made some very good points he nodded. â??true but I think for now we should just avoid meeting up with master Callar because the keeper doesnâ??t trust him obviously and from what you have told me he is not one to be trusted.â? He went over to his desk and began going through drawers pulling out a fine gold chain with a simple stone hanging from it. â??This should do the trick.â? He held it out to her, â??Itâ??s a corsca gem it will prevent any form of seeking magic from finding you.â?
 
She stared at the smooth surface of the gem, a slow smile spreading across her face. Not many people were able to see such a stone, especially someone like her. It was a rare gift and a useful one at that.

"Thank you, sir. I should start by returning to my normal schedule. That way I could find out more about who is invovled in this, at least on my end. I don't have dealings with Callar so if he comes to me unnecessarily it will be obvious on his part. But there are others that I suspect, other professors that seem careless when working with the Wall. If you think its safe I could return now. And it is nothing for a novice to be seen in the hallways of the library...I could come back to see you again...?"
 
He blinked a bit taken aback. â??Are you sure about this? I mean I can have people go to the Wall and look into it and they would not even be known to be there. I donâ??t know if it would be safe for you, if Callar should see you there the stone will only keep seeking spells from finding you. It wonâ??t keep him from seeing you if you are there.â? He thought for a moment then realized she had asked a question of him, â??Yes of course you are always welcome to come and see me. I would welcome the company.â? He thought things over a bit more then nodded. â??I will go over reports and information that seems trivial but could have serious meanings when put together with other information.â? He stood and nodded, â??There is only one person you can be sure of at the Wallâ?¦the keeper it is his duty and sole purpose for being to keep the wall intact which is in the best interest of the country.â?
 
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