Prologue
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They left by noon, stepping into a portal, one by one, to the Hall of Mirrors. Not a very creative name he knew, but there was no other way to name the passage that made them leave this world and allowed them to enter others.
From his own seat in the castle, the sorcerer stared at the small hand-mirror, checking if they had crossed safely, observing to see if they made the right choice. They were all determined and stubborn, a company of heroes – well, heroes save one – who want to save their continent, or at least that’s how they had been presented to the world outside.
It was a pretty lie for them, the truth is that he didn’t need heroism, at least not from the four hunters he had sent away. He leaned on his armed chair, staring at them wandering inside the hall, the place where every door was another mirror, the place where he couldn’t reach them nor cross himself, even when all the rules about it used to say he should have.
They paced in the hall, probably deciding what to do next now that they were finally there, which door to pick. Three men, one woman, all of them knowing they had a deeper reason for their enrolment in the quest. He knew they did. Well, maybe not Ewen, their youngest member, he was sort of what he said he was: a boy trying to save his home from the dragons, the conflict and the plague. He was one of the ingredients the sorcerer needed for the success of the mission: a slight dash of young, naive hope to balance the more cynical members.
“So, what is it going to be?” Briallen was the first to break the silence. The Princess of Imnalia, who probably carried the same reasons to do this as her countryman Ewen. “Will some of us wait here? Will we all go together?”
“It will be quicker if we separate in half and take one door each.”
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The fourth member of the company gave the princess a curious look, which she answered with a scowl. Of course, the first clash between them was expected, even though this was rather quick. He, however, kept a steady look and a raised chin as he approached her.
“We’ll attract attention if we go all together,” he said, straight to the point and doubt prickled on Briallen’s face. Witch of one of the royal covens as she was, she didn’t trust the Brotherhood that much, if the two of them decided to escape with their target, there was little that she and the boy would be able to do about it.
“You've got no magic.” she said, staring at him up and down. “You won’t be able to come back if something happens to Ivor, keep that in mind. “
“I’ll go with you, then.” The face of the captain was impassive and cold, the kind of expression someone would show to a person like Briallen, who hated being taken by surprise. A smile would have been easier to get under her skin, along with the proposal, but they had no time for that. Neither them nor this world, they had no time for the rivalries between their houses and their kingdoms.
So the princess made a decision and nodded curtly, gesturing to one of the doors and making signs to the sorcerer and the boy to do the same, and so the two pairs stood in front of the doors and opened it, entering each one to a different world. Searching for their price, this world’s price, his price.
The first challenge they would have to face in this venture: learning to trust each other enough to not escape, to not leave any others behind. It might fail at first, but he had no doubt that at least one would return with the price. Two heroes, one that serves the brotherhood and one villain, he needed them all. He needed their determination, their bravery, their loyalty. Because his power couldn't reach the other worlds, not any more.
They would bring her to him. Even if most of them died, there would always be someone. Even his very own villain, so seemingly useless, so down without his magic, would do everything in his power to not see his home burned down.
They would bring her to him, and then, they would be free at last.