[b]--- Something is not Right.... ---[/b]

Nyhem, Thale Manor, Slightly after nightfall.

Mary, maid servant of House Thale, was afraid. The riot had been going on for hours now, and though the Magister had scared the mob away from the manor for a time, bands of angry people from the lower districts still came by occasionally, shouting, waving torches and clubs. Until now, she had considered herself quite lucky to live and work in the Garden District, for even as a mere servant she still had it better than most. She knew there would always be food, often good food. The manor was always warm, and she even had the good fortune of a kind master, who paid her and the other servants quite well for their station. Sure, sometimes she had to do some quite unpleasant jobs, and sometimes she would be shouted at and ordered around by the mysterious Magister, but all in all, she thought it was a rather safe and comfortable life. A good life for a farmers daughter.

But now, she was afraid. Fearful that she would be beaten, killed or worse - simply for working and living in the house of a Nobleman and a Magister. The people outside had plenty of hatred for both. If they got in, she would be just another mage sympathiser, or lackey of the nobility.

And so it was that she found herself ever on the heel of her master, Lord Dominus Thale. She felt safe near him - he had donned a chain shirt and taken his shield and mace from the display on the wall. Although, admittedly, it was less the old, fat man's state of armament that made her feel safe, and far more the fact that Sir Hansen of the Order of St. Elenor also followed him. He was a tall man wearing plate armor and carrying a long two handed sword as though it weighed no more than a feather. She knew that the gods would safeguard him and those that followed him. And if not, then the steel he wore would certainly empower him to defend her.

Just then, there was a loud knocking on the houses grand door. She nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound. She told herself that the guard were still near, keeping the streets safe. It couldn't be rioters. And they wouldn't knock anyway. Would they?

Sir Hansen went to check who it was, with Dominus close behind. Mary followed the men. Dominus was shouting - he had gotten quite worked up about this whole affair. “If those blasted ungrateful peasants have broken through, by the gods I’ll put them back in their place! My mace will remind them that it’s the right of the nobles to rule and protect, and the right of the peasants to-” He stopped suddenly as he saw who it was at the door.

Before them, in the acrid, smokey air, stood three figures. The two on the sides were gigantic men, wearing a variation of the Thale Guardsmen uniform that marked them as hailing from the provincial lands. The one in the middle was clad in black, with a voluminous black cloak about his shoulders. There was an expensive crossbow slung from his shoulder, and a sword clearly visible at his waist. His hood was down, revealing a face with sharp features that were haughty, but also somewhat weather-worn. “Father.” He said on catching sight of Dominus. “Good to see age hasn’t made you too soft on the peasants!” He said, though there was little mirth in it.

“Thanatos, my boy!” Dominus said, waving him and the guards in. They all filed in to the great hall just beyond. “What brings you back to the city? And on this dark day?” There was far more joy in Dominus’ voice than his sons, yet Mary could sense the tension between the father and son. She knew there had been some unpleasant history in the past. She hoped that would not boil over now. This day really didn’t need to get any worse. “I came for news of the war. Yet when this chaos broke out, I knew I had to come by, and make sure the rioters hadn’t gotten to you.”

“Ah, very noble of you my boy.” Dominus said. “But you needn't have worried. Lady Lanaya has the house well defended with sorcery.” Thanatos’ face took on a dark expression at that. “I see. It is good to see you safe all the same father.” They talked for a time, of casual things, and of the family holdings, yet something felt wrong to Mary. Not merely Thanatos’ calm in the midst of this chaos, but something else. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she did not feel safe. Yet it was not her place to trouble her betters with her petty fears and worries.

“Where is the Sorceress anyway?” Thanatos said, his words once again catching Mary’s attention. There was an odd tone in his voice - It was normal enough for him to speak of the magister with anger, but this was something else. Dominus didn’t seem to notice, but replied sternly all the same. “You’ll not be picking a fight with her again boy. This is my command. She sits on the High King’s council now, and it is to his Majesty that she has gone this night. Angering her may bring the Kings eye down upon you Thanatos, and not in a good way.”

Thanatos looked cowed and… almost disappointed by his fathers reply. “Yes Father. I understand.” That set warning bells off for Mary again. Never in her time serving the Thale’s had she seen Thanatos back down from such a stern talking to by his father. Dominus seemed not to notice, merely saying “Good.” Mary thought maybe she should say something, but caught her tongue just before voicing her observations about the strangeness of it all. Noble’s worked in mysterious ways, always fencing with words and saying things they did not mean. No, it was not her place. Besides, should anything untoward truly be going on, she was sure the gods would let Sir Hansen know.

Thanatos dismissed himself then, walking up the stairs presumably to retire in his room. It was far too late for him to travel back to the Thale estate in the countryside, if he could even leave the city safely. Dominus made his way to a chair at the side of the hall and sat, seemingly deep in thought. Mary tentatively approached and spoke. “Milord, is there anything you would like?” He looked up at her, his features softening. “No thank you Mary. But if you could check on my Son, make sure he is comfortable?” She nodded and set about seeing her lords wishes made reality.

Ascending to the second floor, Mary made her way to the guest rooms. She was expecting Thanatos to have already made himself comfortable in what was once his room, but this was not the case. She stopped suddenly when she saw the man staring into the room that had been given to the young girl Captain Moros had rescued from the streets. After a moment of confusion, she timidly spoke up. “Milord, are you alright? Is there anything I can get you?” He was silent for a moment, then, without turning to face her, asked “Who is that?” Mary answered promptly, without thought as to the consequences. “Thats Miriam. Captain Moros rescued her from the streets at the Magisters request. She’s supposedly a mage.”

Only after she finished did she realise that it might not have been a good idea to tell [i]Thanatos[/i] of all people the whole truth.

He turned to her then, a vicious looking grin now twisting his features into a rictus mask that chilled Mary to her core. He very pointedly said “Thank you. That will be all. You may go.” Then turned and walked deeper into the Manor. Mary turned and abruptly headed back to Dominus, trying to put the image of Thanatos’ face out of her head.

Fifteen minutes passed, and Mary finally began to relax. There hadn’t been any more mobs immediately outside the Manor and everything seemed to be getting back to normal - at least as normal as possible when Thanatos was in the house. Then, for just a moment, a muffled scream sounded from upstairs. For a moment Mary thought she had imagined it, but then Dominus bellowed “Whats going on up there?” And got to his feet. He was just approaching the foot of the stairs when Thanatos’ came down to them from above. “Don’t worry father. This is all for the greater good. I’m going to save you.”

He descended the stairs, his two brutish guards behind him. One of them was awkwardly carrying a young girl with a strip of cloth bound over her mouth and her hands and feet tied off with rope. Mary immediately recognised her as Miriam. Dominus immediately raised his voice and responded, a rare steely sternness in his voice. “Now you listen to me boy. I do not need saving. Lanaya is [i]not[/i] controlling my mind.”

“Father I know you think that.” Thanatos began, his voice conciliatory. “But that is what she wants you to think. I’ve seen it. Your mind isn’t your own. It hasn’t been for a long time.” He was clearly passionate, yet it did not sway his father.

“You’re insane.” Dominus roared. His face was a brilliant shade of red now. “And how do you plan to save me by kidnapping that poor girl?”

“You don’t understand father. Your mind belongs to the witch! I’m helping you!” Now Thanatos was raising his voice. Mary could only stand by in shock as father and son railed against each other.

Suddenly, Dominus’ voice cut his sons off mid-speech with a terse command. “Sir Hansen. Retrieve that girl and bind my son as one of the rioters!” He was practically hysterical now. The Knight spared only the slightest sidelong glance at the furious Lord of the house before springing into action. He strode forward, raising his arms to act - but Thanatos acted faster even than the knight.

Before anyone realised what was happening, the young man had swung his crossbow into firing position, aimed the already primed weapon and but a bolt clean through the chainmail around the Knights neck. Sir Hansen was flung back off his feet by the force of the weapon, hitting the ground with a clank and gurgle.

Mary was frozen in shock, and could only look on as Dominus suddenly clutched at his chest and fell, as if in slow motion, to the ground. Between gasping for air, he managed to rasp “What have you… done…”

Thanatos’ face shifted as rapidly as his fathers had, from triumph to despair. He rushed to his father's side, kneeling down and cradling the large mans head in one hand, while taking a clawed hand in the other. “Father, no. No! what has she done to you! Stay with me. You have to stay alive. You’re stronger than her sorcery. Please.”

Mary continued staring in shock as tears streamed freely down Thanatos’ face. Dominus had already stopped moving. She could only watch as Thanatos’ remaining unencumbered guard sauntered up to her and roughly grabbed her from behind. She was vaguely aware of tears now flowing down her own cheeks.

Moments crawled by like hours as Thanatos remained kneeling over his father’s body. When he finally rose, it was not grief that defined his features, but fury, and the unrestrained hate of a man who has just lost the person he cared most about. “That witch will pay for this.” He said quietly, cutting the silence like a razor. He began to turn to leave, but then stopped and turned back to look at Mary. For the second time tonight he was looking straight at her, his face twisted into a demonic visage. She screamed.

“Sorry.” he said, his voice now a strange combination of sadness and disappointment, as though he were informing her she wouldn’t be getting the gift she wanted for her birthday. “But we cant have any witnesses.” He pulled a vicious dagger from its sheath and stepped towards her. Tears rolled down her eyes as she pleaded. “Please, I wont tell anyone. Please milord. I don’t want to die…” He raised the dagger up to her throat, but paused, speaking now with a tone of inevitability laced with hate. There was madness in his eyes. “I’m sure you wouldn’t. But you see, the Magister would just bewitch you as well. You would have no choice but to tell her everything. So its her fault really. She may as well wield the blade herself. In your last moment, know that it was Lanaya Dionisa that killed you. Tell the gods about it when you see them, and maybe they will punish her.” With that, he quickly and brutally drew the blade across her throat. The guardsman let her drop to the floor, and she scrambled meekly at the gash as it bled profusely. There was only pain and emptiness in her mind as her lifeblood spread across the polished stone.

[b]--- Wrath of a Magister ---[/b]

Nyhem, Above the Docks, around the same time.

Far above the city, Lanaya’s hawk eyes searched for an ideal spot to intervene. With her petty errand for the king done, she was now free to actually make use of her full power to put a stop to this insane riot. She was not feeling particularly kind, however, after her argument with the king and his underuse of her abilities. No. She had priorities to focus on. Mages deserved help first, nobles a distant second, and everyone else would get help if they still needed it after all of that.

And so it was that she spotted the flicker of magelight below - at the docks, where one of the Summer Isles Catamarans was docked. Its crew, mostly mundanes but also a few specialist mages, seemed to be trapped on the dock, just out of reach of the swift vessel, surrounded by a crowd of peasants with all manner of daggers, torches and improvised clubs.

She swooped down, diving towards a clear spot just in front of the ship’s crew. There was still a several meter gap between the two groups, as the crowd warily eyed the mages and the unearthly light emanating from them. Lana wasted no time in retaking her original shape as she touched down, remembering at the last moment to cover up the ugly bruise on her face with magic. She would not let the mundane scum here get the idea that she could be injured.

Amplifying her voice, she spoke while the crowd was still shocked at her sudden appearance. “By order of the Circle you are to disperse and go back to your homes at once, or face the wrath of a Magister!” There was fire in her voice, and magical flames began to lick at her fingertips as she spoke. The gem upon her breast glowed a vibrant crimson.

Some of the crowd began to look uncertain, but these people had already made up their mind to attack known powerful mages. They would not be cowed by her display, and the uncertainty quickly passed. In fact, it spurred them on. Someone shouted “Burn the Witches!” and the crowd surged forward. Some of the ship’s crew fired crossbows into the crowd, their bolts all finding fleshy targets in the dense mass of people. Others prepared swords for melee. Yet they never got a chance.

Power surged through Lana as she raised her hand to the sky, her tongue twisting around arcane, inhuman words of power. Then she suddenly dropped the hand to point at the ground, marking out a half circle in front of her. As soon as she finished the gesture, a glowing half circle of runes appeared on the ground, surrounding the ship's crew in the front, with the edge of the dock behind them. As soon as the first mundane foot touched one of the runes there was an intense flash of light. A wave of force rolled outwards into the crowd, smashing them to their feet. Those near the water were thrown into the blood slicked crimson waters.  Those near the back of the crowd were thrown bodily into the buildings that lined the dock with a sickening crunch.

But Lana was not done. She had not cast any destruction magic on this scale since leaving the Summer Isles. She had forgotten how much of a rush it could be. That feeling mixed quickly with her hatred of mundanes and their mundane violence. She couldn’t stop now. They had to learn. She had to make an [i]example[/i] of them. Her hands sprung into motion as she began to cast another spell. The gem glowed brighter.

Out of the waters behind them all, long, sharp shards of blood red ice began to rise. They floated gently above the waves, aimed towards the crowd. The moment a rioters picked themself up from the ground, one of the ice spikes shot forward and impaled them. There was so much force behind the shards that they picked each victim up off the ground and propelled them into the building behind, where the spike stuck and held them aloft. Some of the rioters tried to rush the ship's crew again, and every one of them was slain in this manner. Others got up and tried to run. They too were cut down. Two minutes of this indiscriminate slaughter passed, Lana’s hands in motion the whole time. The very air seemed to twist with the arcane words she spoke, regularly punctuated by the screams of her targets.

But then, she stumbled, barely remaining on her feet. Even she had limits. The ice shards fell back into the water, and those that already impaled rioters already began to slowly melt. Many of the smarter people in what was left of the crowd took this opportunity to leap up. Many ran, but not all. Some of them were driven wild by the horror they had just witnessed. These remaining fanatics sprinted towards Lana specifically, screaming for blood and vengeance. Lana raised a hand and blasted them back with a simple wave of force. Yet this was not enough. They all began to pick themselves up again to charge.

But Lana was not alone. Behind her, the ships mages had joined hands. They formed a circle behind her, and she felt two hands on her shoulders. It reinvigorated her instantly. Standing tall again, she began to chant a new spell. Behind her, three more voices joined in the same chant in unison. The sky cracked with thunder. The clouds above momentarily took on a red glow. And then it appeared. From on high, a searing ball of what seemed to be white fire streaked towards docks. It consumed the first two of the maddened rioters immediately, leaving nothing but charred husks. But it did not strike the ground. It moved sharply, darting to each man in turn, until all fifteen of the remaining rioters on the dock were charred beyond recognition. Then, with a pop, it disappeared.

Safe at last, Lana and the other mages were free to collapse. None of them hit the blood soaked ground though, as the hands of the mundane crewmen caught them. Lana felt that she was being carried towards the Catamaran by the ship's crew, but all she could think of was how [i]heavy[/i] the now dark gem felt.

[b]--- Epilogue ---[/b]

Bay of Nyhem, Aboard the Summer Isles Catamaran [i]Petal of Light[/i]

Lana awoke with a start. The world was rocking about, ever so gently, and she immediately realised she was on a ship. From the wood and construction style, she also realised it was a Summer Isles Catamaran. She was confused for a moment, and could not remember how she had gotten there. All the signs of magic induced exhaustion. She felt weary, and as she stood up from the bed she had been placed in, her dress suddenly felt so very heavy. Though it was nothing next to the weight of the large jewel hanging from her neck. [i]Oh how she wanted to strip it all off right now.[/i] Her hand moved towards the latch on the necklace, but just before she could undo it, the door opened. It was one of the ship’s crew. “Ah, Magister. You’ve recovered. Good. The Tide Master wants to thank you. I’ll take you to him when you’re ready.”

Lana looked at him blankly at first, but then the words seeped through the weariness. She remembered that she had no time to be laying about, and though she couldn’t really muster up the feeling of urgency right now, she still didn’t want to waste time. “I’m ready now.” She said, trying, and failing, to sound energetic. The crewman smiled and with amusement and simply said. “Very good Magister. This way.” It clearly wasn’t the first time he’d dealt with a mage trying to look like she wasn’t exhausted from her magic…

She was lead through the ship to the mage in command of the vessel - the Tide Master. When he saw her, he smiled and spoke. “Thank you Magister. You saved my crew in its entirety, not to mention myself. I am in your debt.” Lana meekly returned the smile, then went to the nearest of the comfortable looking seats built into the wall of the cabin. “I just did what was right.” She replied.

“That was very impressive Ball Lighting.” The Tide Master said, sounding genuine in his admiration. “Thank you…  I’m not sure how I managed it to be perfectly honest. I have never cast it before. I don't think I could’ve without you and your companions.” She wasn’t even sure if that was true either. Her memory of the whole encounter was… fuzzy. But it would make the Tide Master happy to hear it.

“Even more impressive then. I’ll be sure to tell the others what you said. But for now, we must decide what to do next. I intend to return to the Summer Isles, but if you have another directive…” He trailed off expectantly.


“No. Return to the Circle. They must know what transpired here. But tell them that I intend to step up the actions of the Collective. If even the citizens of Nyhem can embrace the idea of burning our kind for no reason than our existence… Then we must act now if we ever wish to walk the lands beyond the Isles again.”

[i]Meanwhile, in Thale Manor[/i]

Guard Captain Moros was distraught. He had returned from his patrols to find his Lord dead and Miriam, who he had saved, nowhere to be found. He felt responsible. Maybe if he had been there, he could’ve saved them. He was ready to accept the blame when he informed Thanatos and the Magister. But what he was not ready for, was handing over the document in his hand to Thanatos. Having taken his Lords key and entered the study, he had acquired Dominus’ will, to ensure it was not ‘misplaced’ by any stray hands. In his curiosity, he had seen who the estate was left to.

It was not Thanatos.

According to the will, he and all the Thale lands, fortunes, rights and titles now belonged to Duchess Lanaya Triskell Dionisa.