Suggested Listening (still)

Elruin remained close to Cali while the scourge and guards made certain that there was nothing left of Mister Clackybones. There wasn't, Elruin made certain of that, and she hated them for it. She hoped all of this would be worth it. "Did... did I make a good impression on Scourge Nerys?"

"I think so," Cali said. "She wouldn't have been discussing which academy you wanted to go to if you weren't talented. This is the first time I met her, and necromancers are hard to read at the best of times. Speaking of, the College, huh? I hadn't taken you for the scholarly type."

"I used to borrow Kasa's books to read when I was done with chores since nobody wanted to play with me," Elruin said. "Some of them were hard, I'm not as smart as Kasa."

Cali knelt down in front of Elruin, keeping her hands on the younger girl's shoulders. "Kasa was not smarter than you." Elruin nodded, since this seemed important to Cali. "When you get older, you'll learn that there's a difference between education and intelligence. There are many, many things out there smarter than Kasa which don't read a lot. Such as pond slime."

Elruin smiled; Kasa hated it when people didn't think she was smart. "I'm going to learn all about how magic works, then I'll be smarter and more educated."

"Well, if there's anything necromancers are known for, it's spending countless hours sitting still in dark rooms."

Miracle of miracles Elruin managed to go the rest of the rather uneventful day without destroying yet another article of clothing, so with a quick cleaning spell from Cali, she was ready when time came to visit Lady Juna and Lord Garit's mansion. Once again, Elruin was impressed by the size of the building, though it didn't compare to the ostentatiousness of the church. The wall around the building reminded her a little of her farm, complete with the gentle hum of magical static from the defensive sarite fixtures.

Suggested Listening

Four guards, two of each sex, waited at the main gate. When Elruin and Calenda began walking down the path to the gate, they followed a well-choreographed routine that involved the men stepping back and the women stepping forward to have them greet the guests.

"Scout Calenda," one of the women acknowledged them as they approached. "We were told to expect your arrival, please allow me to escort you."

"Your assistance is appreciated," Cali answered. In truth, she'd walked these halls so often she could probably show the guards places they never knew existed, like the secret passage in one of the wine cellars where... well, no point dwelling on those memories. Social protocol, however, demanded they all play their roles. While the three walked into the building, another female guard exited the building to replace her. Everyone had a role to play in this dance known as noble society. Cali hated every second of it.

The inside of the building was as well designed to impress as the outside, with walls of solid white stone the likes of which Elruin had never seen before. The crackle of fire-magic kept the building lit and heated, and made for a fascinating song in Elruin's ears. The whole building sang of fire magic, with an earth magic undertone. It was as if the twins were with her, already.

The dining room they were led to was designed to impress, the sort that might be used to house visiting kings, not that Elruin knew anything about kings other than that they were in charge of all the nobles beneath them. Like most of the rooms she'd seen, it seemed too large for its purpose, with a table that was well made, but looked small compared to the floor it stood on.

"Greetings, Lady Calenda and Miss Elruin," Lady Juna was standing and ready when they arrived. "I apologize for my brother. He wished to be here to greet you as well, but the matters of running the city do not always care for our wishes. Shall we eat first while we wait? I promise Garit would prefer it that way."

"You know him best," Cali said. Were it other nobles, she might suspect some sort of political trap being set, a power play against the other, but the idea of them harming one other was insane. "Dining while we await Lord Garit's arrival would save time. These are busy days for all of us."

Most people would never know themselves half as well as these two knew each other. When the pair plotted, they plotted as one against their rivals. Thus the salacious rumors. While they no doubt had ulterior motives in this invitation, it was going to be the sort that would involve the pair of them trying to lure Calenda and Elruin further into their camp. Power plays would only serve to harm that goal; the real trap would be honeyed words, gifts, and promises of alliances.

The meal was excellent, dozens of foods to choose from most of which Elruin had never seen before. She ate enough that her stomach started to hurt from being over-full, and nobody tried to hog the meat for themselves since there was more than enough for everyone.

Garit arrived not long before the meal was over, but said nothing as he took a seat next to his sister and claimed the remaining leg from some animal Elruin suspected was a bird. Since everyone else was almost done, he opted for that small snack, then Juna indicated to the all-female staff to clear the plates. Only then did social graces allow them conversation.

"I'm sure my sister has apologized for me, but I express my regret and frustration nonetheless," Garit chose to start. "The aftermath of your encounter at the farm has had some... far reaching consequences..."

Oh, here it is, Cali thought. While she puzzled out a careful way to navigate the metaphorical trap, Elruin cut straight to the heart of the matter.

"Did I do something wrong?" Elruin asked. She came to the same conclusion Cali did, but didn't consider that it was part of a ploy rather than just her getting in trouble.

"No, not at all," Lady Juna said. "In fact, you did better than anyone could have expected from one so young. The exorcist said there was no sign of taint left on the farm; the only evidence of undeath was witness testimony. Even many skilled necromancers couldn't accomplish that thorough a cleansing. Their one complaint was a lack of suspects to interrogate, but that's hardly your fault. Besides, we got enough information to act upon."

Calenda allowed herself to breathe again; not for the first time, she wondered if she was too paranoid for her own good, and that her history with the twins was coloring her judgment unfairly. "Then it wasn't all lost when I let one suicide himself?"

"Well, it didn't make the job any easier, Scout." Lady Juna said.

"My apologies, General."

"Don't be too harsh on Lady Calenda, sister. They're operating in small cells, so that no one group can identify any others, and scrying has only served to prove they have experienced espionage mages working for them. That team was nothing but the lowest rung of their organization, and if we took all of them alive, I doubt we'd know more than we now do."

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"You're right, brother, I'm letting stress get the better of me. Sorry, Calenda," for the first time since they were children, Juna addressed her without title. "You weren't the only one they went after. They timed a simultaneous strike on Scouts across the empire. Including you, twelve escaped. Five others are missing, and one is known to be dead."

Now Calenda's suspicions went back into overdrive, wondering if the whole display was an attempt to make her amenable to her possible future husband, then hating herself for worrying about that instead of the lives that were lost. "Scouts are the ears of the Empire," Cali tilted her head down, to respect the dead. "They tried to deafen us before launching future attacks."

"At the very least, most cities will hesitate before risking the Scouts and Guard on the roads," Lord Garit said. "Cut the farms from the cities, and they can act with impunity. And since it was such a widespread move, with so many possible advantages, we can't begin to guess their next move."

"Do we know anything about their motives?" Suspicion of the twins notwithstanding, Calenda was a loyal soldier who had no intention of not joining this battle.

"They believe they can spark a revolution," Lady Juna said. "Or at least, that's what their rank and file believe. Their leadership's smart enough to realize that's impossible, so the true goals can be anything from simple banditry to a higher noble hoping to humiliate rivals as a play for one of the thrones. They call themselves the Ghosts of Sorvel."

"Merat!" Calenda didn't so much as look apologetic for the outburst.

Elruin recalled the images from the dead man. "What's a Sorvel?"

"Sorvel was a city," Cali said. "Before I joined the Guard, before you were born. Some insane cult decided that the walls were an evil plot to control the common people and make them dependent on the nobility. Someone in Sorvel, somehow, deactivated the Sarite barrier. It was a massacre. I never comprehended why they did it. They could have walked out the front gate and died in the wilderness, if they wanted. Instead they killed tens of thousands."

"Utter ignorance," Juna added. "It got popular amongst scholars, who pointed to old maps and stories that proved people once lived without walls, without fear of monsters."

"Myths," Cali said. "Fiction dreamt up by men who died a thousand years ago."

"Not necessarily myth," Lord Garit said. "There's strong evidence monsters have become more powerful, or at least more common, in the last couple centuries. If that trend dates back thousands of years, then perhaps it's true that there was a time our ancestors lived without the walls."

"Whatever the truth in centuries past, it's clear to anyone sane that we need the walls today," Juna continued. "But the cult believed that they could prove they weren't necessary, and thus would discredit the nobility. They proved the opposite, on many levels."

"Sarite shields aren't just about preventing monsters from breaking in, they also prevent human energy from leaking out," Cali explained. "A scholar can explain it better, but it's obvious to any mage with magical senses that humans generate a unique sort of energy. A city of that size, with the bubble popped, was a beacon that called to every monster in the empire and beyond."

"They got the shield restored." Garit's turn, now. "But it was too late. Within minutes, the first dragon arrived. Less than an hour later, other beasts broke down part of the wall. Another hour, and half the population was dead, while the strongest of the nobility did their best to organize a fighting retreat. Hundreds fought, died, so that thousands had time to escape. We all lost people that day. Friends, family, loved ones."

"May they never be forgotten." Calenda spoke the prayer, the others echoed it. Even Elruin, who lived in a small farm that knew nothing of politics, knew the prayer for dead family.

"But, they were," Cali muttered. "Others still believe in that insane idea, claim that Sorvel was sabotaged, and the nobility called in the monsters as a plot to destroy their fictional paradise. It's illegal to speak such opinions today, but there are sympathizers across the Empire. It looks like these Ghosts of Sorvel are an extension of that insanity."

"Oh." This was all far too complex for Elruin to wrap her head around. She knew what it was like outside the walls, and while strong people like Cali were safe enough, she couldn't imagine how any member of her family could have survived even a single Mork, let alone the pack that targeted her. "What should we do?"

"That's sweet of you to offer," Lady Juna said. "But nothing you need worry about. We're the adults, trained warriors and the nobility which exists to defend the people against the wilderness. We'll fight the Ghosts. You complete your education, so that in a few years you'll be strong enough to fight alongside us."

"Alongside, my sister says," Garit chuckled. "With your talent, it would be better to put her on a separate battlefield. Power like hers gets a specialized team built around it, an entire unit with her name. We'd only meet when the fighting was over to see who got the high score."

Elruin didn't blush often, but with her pale skin it showed as clear as sun. "You think so?"

"Of course we do," Juna said. "Why else would we take such an interest in your education? Speaking of which, we heard you talked with the Academies, which school gets the honor of training our favorite future dragonslayer?"

"The College of High Thaumaturgy," Elruin answered. She thought she saw a flicker of disapproval from the twins. "It, umm, I want to learn about how magic works, then I can use it better." She left out the part about wanting to find a way to have dollies without taint, so people wouldn't want to break them anymore. "And maybe I can make new really smart friends."

"I suppose that is where I'd recommend you go, if those are your goals," Garit said.

"You're certain you don't want to train with The Order of Enge? Or even the Naval Academy?" Juna asked. "The College is good for producing scholars, but with your power you could be an irreplaceable warmage."

"She still might, dear sister." Lord Garit put his hand on Juna's elbow. "It would mean working harder, and making an... exception... for her at the barracks training hall, but it would not be so difficult to see to it that she gets proper training with combat magic."

"At the cost of her studies," Cali amended.

"I'm certain the headmaster won't mind too much," Lady Juna slipped into the role of supporting her brother's plan like it was a glove. "After all, a mage so young cannot be expected to keep up with advanced magic theory regardless of natural talent. Once, perhaps twice a week of high power training won't hold her back any notable amount."

"Speaking of our help," Garit added. "I talked to Rig, he said you never visited his shop."

Elruin put her hands over her chest. "Thank you, but it didn't feel right to take gifts." Cali's warning made sense, however; after all, the two were trying to sway her choice of schools even though she hadn't accepted presents from them. How much worse would it be if she had? "I want to do it on my own."

"Well, you are in part an earth mage," Lady Juna said with a smile. "Would you believe us earth mages have quite the reputation for being stubborn?"

Elruin didn't know that, but to her knowledge Lady Juna had never lied to her. Besides, Cali said nothing to contradict her. "Yes."

Having gained the answer she expected, Juna continued. "I suppose that leaves an unanswered question. What do you think your third aspect is?"

"Third?" Up until yesterday, Elruin didn't know she had two Aspects, or indeed what an aspect was. "Are you sure I have one?"

"Of course you do."

"It's possible, my sister, that you're letting your other aspect cloud your judgment some," Garit said. "Not all mages have two aspects, let alone three."

"Ah, but all the strongest do." Juna kept her focus on Elruin while answering her brother. "You're so obviously a necromancer it hurts, so we can rule out true earth aspect. I bet you're an ice magic."

"But I don't know how to make ice?" As far as magic went, she was always willing to hear ideas.

"Well, it does do making ice, but that's one of the less popular spells. I like to call it Hypothermia magic. Ice mages are famous for slowly sapping the mental and physical strength of an enemy, even stealing their life energy to fuel their own magic."

"And you're so convinced she's not Blight or Miasma?" Garit asked.

"Blight?" Now Juna took the time to act shocked for her brother. "How could you imagine this sweet, quiet girl would be a Hate Mage? But it's true, the ability to drive people insane with rage or create flame powered by the victim's own magic is amazing. Do you have magic like that?"

"I don't think so." Though as she thought about it, perhaps she could use a person's own energy as fuel. It wasn't something she could do now, however. "What's miasma do?"

"Well, it has some illusion tricks, but mostly it's good for poisons," Lord Garit said. "Coughing, hallucinations, asphyxiation, and death. Worst part is, they're hard to identify and counter, so by the time you know one's there, men are dying around you."

"I don't think I can do that, either." All those magics sounded powerful, and scary. All her magic was scary, but that magic sounded extra scary.

"Don't worry about it," Cali said. "I didn't figure out I had water magic until I was years older than you. And even if all you have is time and negation, that's more than most people ever get."

That made Elruin feel better. "Thank you."