"Good morning," Lorit said. "Would you like to join me for the morning meal?"
"No time. I have come to escort you to see the Master of Magic," Ulera said. "He sent a runner to me asking that I find you and bring you to the Academy as quickly as I could."
Ulera led Lorit outside and down the street until they reached the Academy. It was a large marble building adorned with crystals and gemstones. Along the entryway were carvings and statues of ancient Wizards leaning on their staffs. A pair of large wooden doors stood open offering entry into a massive foyer.
Inside the foyer sat a young man in a dark blue robe that was decorated with small white stars. He wore a short pointed hat of the same material that folded back, dropping to his collar. He had a short dark beard, and wore spectacles. He was reading a thick book.
The young man jumped up and came around the desk, grasping Lorit's hand. "You must be Lorit. I was told to expect you. The Master is awaiting you. Please follow me."
Lorit and Ulera followed him down a series of wide hallways filled with young students dressed much the same as the one at the desk. Their only distinguishing factor was the length of their hats, and the number of stars on their robes. The young man told Lorit that the length of the hat indicated the level of mastery for the student. The stars represented a specific area of study that they had mastered.
They soon came to a door with a sign above it that read simply 'The Master'. The young man knocked once, paused, knocked twice, and then opened the door. He gestured to Lorit and Ulera to enter.
The room was filled with bookshelves packed from floor to ceiling. In the center of the room were several tables stacked high with implements of magic. On one table sat a rack containing all manner of powders and liquids. Each rack and each bottle was neatly labeled. Lorit scanned the contents, recognizing many of them from his lessons with Zhimosom.
Another table had an inlaid ivory circle and a set of ancient, worn bones used for divination. Next to that was a large silver bowl and a pitcher of water. Sitting on a ledge above the bowl was a bottle of black ink. Lorit remembered this from the witch, and he hoped this was not the method the Master proposed to use.
Behind another table stacked with books and charts was an old man in a dark red robe. His was decorated with so many stars, it was almost white. Lorit expected to see a very tall hat on his head, but it was bare. His white hair spilled down onto his shoulders in waves.
He stood and reached over the table to take Lorit's hand. "Glad you could make it. Please have a seat."
He gestured to a place in front of a plate that was laden with fruits, bread, and sliced meats. Next to that was a mug of tea and a glass of fruit juice.
"Sorry to ask you over so early. I have taken the liberty of having our morning meal brought in so that we can talk while we eat."
"Thank you, this looks very delicious."
"Don't wait on me. Please go ahead and eat while I fill you in. I know you are looking for the Wizard and Prince who were taken and are now hidden. The divinations I undertook last night were informative."
"Have you located Zhimosom?" Lorit took a handful of grapes and popped them into his mouth one at a time while he listened. He hoped that the Master had some good news.
The Master waved his hands in the air. "We'll get to that later. For now I want you to consider this." He leaned over and passed his hand in front of Lorit's face.
Lorit just stared at the Master. He wondered why he was waving his hand around like that. He must have a good reason, so Lorit just relaxed and waited for the Master to explain himself. The Master looked over at Ulera and nodded as Lorit ate his fruit, patiently waiting for the Master to continue.
"Consider this," the Master began again. His voice had a singsong quality to it that Lorit found quite pleasant. He tried to listen, but all he could focus on was how relaxing the voice was and how tired his eyes were.
"Consider this. You are looking for the Wizard Zhimosom so that you can learn from him in Amedon. You wish to learn the ways of magic and obtain power.
"You are eager to learn magic and increase your powers. You don't need to travel to Amedon to do that. You can do that right here. You can learn magic from us. You can reach your goal of learning the ways of the Wizards right here.
"You think you are paired with this woman, Chihon," he explained. "But she is holding you back."
Lorit considered it. Was Chihon holding him back? He didn't think so, but she had prevented him from taking the magic of the Priest back in Veldwaite when they fought in the park and then again in the Temple. She was always trying to get him to restrain himself, not use his full power, and keep it hidden.
"That's it. Consider that you could reach your potential a lot sooner if you worked with us, here at the Academy. We are all students here. We all help one another. You don't need to go to Amedon to become a Wizard. You are already a powerful Wizard. You can stay right here and learn with us."
The Master went on, explaining to Lorit why he should remain in Midian and study at the Academy. Chihon was holding him back. Let her go ahead to Amedon and learn from the Wizards there. They were stingy with their knowledge. Here at the academy he would be free to learn and advance as quickly as he wanted.
He told Lorit that there was no Wizard Zhimosom, there was no Sorceress, and there was no Chihon. He had only imagined them in a dream. Here at the Academy was where he was meant to be. Here at the Academy was where he could grow and flourish. Here at the Academy. Here at the Academy.
Suddenly, there was a wrenching inside him. Lorit felt the spell that the Master invoked trying to reach into his mind and extract his memories. He had a hold on Lorit's memory of Chihon and was trying to rip it from his head.
He fought as it dug at the memories of Chihon as he had first met her. The spark of magic he felt when their hands touched. The way they shared their power. How she had looked in Mistwind when they had dressed her for the funeral. How she had loaned him her power to fight the Priests. How she had stopped him from making the biggest mistake of his life when he was about to take the magic from the High Priest.
He hung on to the memories as they threatened to slip away. Was this what it had been like for her when she had been abducted? The idea of losing her overwhelmed him with grief. He cried out her name, calling to her with his magic.
Lorit felt Chihon's presence and power push through their connection as he called to her. She was in the Academy of Science, but she responded immediately to him, and loaned him her power to help break the spell.
He grasped at it and combined it with his own, as they had learned to do. It was enough to stop the ebb of memories and reverse the damage. Lorit could feel the images settling back to where they had been, but now they were somehow more vivid. He could see more clearly. Without Chihon, he was just another young man with a long journey ahead. He would be no more than these students who walked the halls of the Academy. He would be nothing and nobody.
He tried not to let his awakening show as the Master droned on. It no longer sounded sensible, but almost laughable. Who had put him up to this? Why was he trying to keep them apart and away from Amedon?
Lorit fashioned a web similar to the one that had been used to capture him. He tied in some of the spells that had been used on Zhimosom. He recalled one that was of particular use on a Wizard. One to dampen his magic and bind it away from his use.
Lorit wished he had his staff with him. That would have made the task he contemplated a little easier, but he persevered.
When Lorit had the spell ready, he cast it at the Master. The Master Wizard stopped in mid utterance. He reached up to his throat and grabbed it in distress. Ulera stepped back from the table, knocking over a stand with a large globe on it.
Lorit kept his focus on the Master, not wanting to let up until the spell had set. Once it was complete, he looked around to see a path of destruction where Ulera had rushed out, careless of knocking over everything in his way.
"Tell me. Do you know where the Wizard Zhimosom is or not?" Lorit looked with his sense into the Master Wizard to see if he was telling the truth. He released the spell that had kept him silent, ready to choke him off again if he tried to cast another spell.
"He was taken by the Wizard who opposes you," the Master said.
"And who is that Wizard?" Lorit pushed again. He was almost at the limits of what his magic could do. His reserves were dangerously low, but he needed to know.
"His ... name ... is ..." the Master choked on his words. He struggled to get them out but all that came out of his mouth was gray foam. His eyes flew wide open and he doubled over. Lorit could feel his power dissipate as he died.
Chihon awoke that morning to find that Lorit had already left, so she decided to break her fast alone. Before she reached the dining room, Yaleu arrived to escort her to the Academy of Science. Since Lorit had not returned, Chihon decided to go with Yaleu; she could find Lorit after her visit.
"Men do what they will most times," Yaleu said. "We will seek the Master of Science. She is a woman. Who needs men?"
They made their way to the Academy of Science building. It was a large marble hall adorned with brass fittings on every door post and window. The brass shone brightly in the morning sun, casting reflections everywhere.
"We're here to see the Master," Yaleu informed the young man sitting at a large brass desk just inside the main entrance.
"Yes Ma'am, right away," he said and scurried away. He returned soon and sat. He looked up at Yaleu. "The Master will be here shortly. She is in the middle of a sensitive experiment that cannot be interrupted."
He pointed to a comfortable bench along the wall. "You may wait there if you wish. Can I get you some water or perhaps a cup of tea while you wait?"
"No, thank you." Chihon took a seat on the bench.
"The Masters of the Academies wait for no one, not even the ruling council. Everyone waits for them," Yaleu said.
After a while, a woman burst through the doors. He auburn hair was long and kinky, sticking out from beneath a brown leather helmet that she wore strapped beneath her chin. A pair of rose colored goggles rode atop her forehead, one lens slipping down, which she pushed up, only to have it fall down again.
She wore a device that covered one ear. It appeared to be the bottom of a brass mug with a stick protruding out of the top. It was attached to her head by means of a brass band that ran from the cup, across the leather helmet and down to her free ear.
"Welcome, welcome," she said breathlessly. "Yaleu has informed me that you seek that which is hidden. We are experts in coaxing the secret knowledge out of the universe. We will certainly be able to provide you the enlightenment you seek."
Without waiting for an answer, she turned and headed back the way she had come. Chihon was deciding whether to follow her or wait for an invitation, when she stopped and looked back.
"Coming?" the Master said. Once again, she turned without waiting for an answer.
"We'd better hurry," Yaleu said.
They followed the Master down a long hallway and into her laboratory. Benches lined the walls and stood in rough lines throughout the room. On one table, glass bulbs were bubbling over flames, their contents emitting steam which curled through more glass tubes and into waiting beakers. The fluids so created ranged in color from a bright green to muted violet.
Another bench held machines of unimaginable function. On one bench, two large wheels spun in opposition to one another. Long brass arms extended from each side and ended in silver balls. The Master walked over to the machine and placed her hand near the sliver balls. Her hair frizzed and stood out from beneath the leather helmet, only to fall back into its disorderly place once she removed her hand.
"Here, try it." She reached for Chihon's hand and pulled it near the silver balls. A strange feeling overtook her as she neared the device. She could feel it tugging at her hair, and tingling in her fingers as she held them close.
Yaleu laughed. She grabbed a silvered tool that could be used as a mirror and held it up so Chihon could see her hair flare out of her head like the Master's had.
"Will this help us in our search?" Chihon asked.
"Oh, no. This won't help. It is fun, though, isn't it?"
She led Chihon over to another bench. On it, there was a long box that started out about a span square. It tapered down to about a hand's width on each side. The larger end was connected to a device that had more spinning wheels.
Chihon saw flashes of light coming from the apparatus that blinked and shifted color at random. She probed it for any signs of danger, but found none.
"Here it is. This is the one I want you to try. This will help you." The Master patted the device almost lovingly.
The Master dragged a chair in front of the box. "Sit here and put your head against this." She indicated an oval made of dark black wood that had leather padding on it. It had a groove in it to allow her to place her face in it and achieve a tight seal.
Chihon settled into the chair and leaned into the machine. At first, it was dark, but her eyes soon adjusted to the dim light revealing a faint glow coming from the interior of the box.
"Ready?" the Master asked.
"I guess so. I don't see anything."
"It takes a moment to warm up. Be patient. It also helps if you slow your breathing," the Master said.
"Just relax, let your cares fade away, watch the lights, listen to the sound of my voice," she continued. A door opened in the device, flooding Chihon's vision with a pattern of lights that slowly changed from one color to the next as it shifted.
"That's it, just relax and listen to the sound of my voice - you're so relaxed - You just want to look at the pretty colors. They're so relaxing. You can feel the cares of the day melt away. You're so relaxed, it's as if you're floating. Floating on the water, the gentle waves caress you and wash away all your cares. You're so relaxed. All the cares of the world are gone, released from your body, and washed away by the gently rolling waves."