The glass citadel or as it is often politely referred to, the glass university. It was created by one of the first wizards of the new age, when he was banished to the desert for practising magic. Of course no one back then expected him to survive, so a couple years later when another group was found they just banished them too. This went on for a full decade until a group of guards ‘escorting’ children to the desert came back with the tale of sand ships, the return of wizards to society and no children. They were summarily executed. When the next group also came back with the same story, people actually started to believe them. They never stopped sending kids though.

~ Memoirs of Heron Torril, lifelong politician

They appeared in a flash. Before she could try and calm Kirrin, the door flew open. Normally a teleport like this would be her emergency exit. Medical personnel flowed into the room, calming quickly once it became clear she was in no distress.

The same could not be said for Kirrin though. He was clearly overwhelmed. The room they found themselves in was a small room made of dark glass. Patterns of gold and silver wove themselves through the walls. Crystals were inlaid in the 6 walls powering the specific wards and channels that made this one of the few places you could teleport into without a grand working.

“Kirrin, these are some special wizards that will help you. They’ll try to find out what’s wrong with you.”

The instructions were not just for him. Something one the more senior members picked up quickly. He knelt down and reached out a hand.

“Why don’t you come with me? We have this giant magical scanner here. It’s one of few in the whole continent.”

Kirrin seemed to relax. At Least that's what it seemed like to her. He grabbed the hand and was slowly led from the room. As it seemed to calm down an older woman signalled Bernin. She hadn’t realized that she would be here today. Well, she will know what to do with him. After all, she’s done it before. Walking up to her, she came into view. This woman was clearly older than Bernin. Her hair, a deep purple compared to her own brown. Who was wearing what looked at first glance like a mix between a military uniform and a suit. Medals clearly showing on her chest. She looked a lot more serious than Bernin had expected.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“I see you’ve brought something interesting back. What happened? This was supposed to be a routine check-up.”

“He was named ‘Gurva the unscrupulous’ . How was that not a giant red flag?”

She fell back into snark immediately. She knew better, but it was an almost instinctual response. Taking a calming breath, she hadn’t even realized that she had been stressed. She began walking to the office. She knew the route by hand, even through the maze that was the glass university.

“I’m sorry, this whole situation. It just brought back a lot of memories. I thought I had moved on. When I saw the signs that a child was kept there, I just reacted.”

“What did you find exactly?”

“He was experimenting, it…wasn’t the exact same as what you found, but it was close. Gurva was an alchemist by trade. That changed the approach already, I truly have no idea what he fed that kid, but it can’t have been great. He is much too calm about this.”

“I see, the scanner should find any magical anomalies in his system. That will tell us more about exactly what happened.”

“There was something else. The kid mentioned that he was his uncle. That he took him from his family.”

There was a sharp intake of breath. Bernin halted as well.

“I’ll check the records, I don’t believe we knew of any family members. Do you think he messed with the kid's mind?”

“It’s possible, mind magic was never something I researched a lot. I do know that at this age, memories are easily shaped.”

They resumed their walk in silence for a while. Bernin looked around. No matter how many times she walked these halls, the art was always something to see. Especially since it was often changed. Colourful glass was blended into lines and shapes, some showing scenes, others just shaped into something pleasing to the eyes. They finally reached the office, she grabbed the handle and opened it, sitting down in the chair while the older woman took a seat behind the desk.

“We have a lot of work to do, but I’m still glad you’re back. It’s been awhile since we’ve spoken.”

“I missed you too mom.”