It was hard to tell exactly, but I assumed we spent a good few hours in the cave, listening to the blizzard passing through the approaching dusk. I tried my best to rest, but my mind barely let me. And all the feelings focused on the crystal that was gently poking into my skin right above my heart, making me feel every beat more clearly than usual. Over and over, I attempted to put everything that was happening around me into some whole that made sense. I failed. Meanwhile Elithia practically took a nap in the blanket.

When the storm died down at last, night shrouded the forest already. We rolled the blanket together again, stomped the fire out and emerged from our hideout. The way home passed mostly in silence, the coruscating constellation of the Guardian Stag guiding us through the darkness. The fresh snow made our journey harder, so we arrived at the village shortly before dawn.

Adriael's strong arms stole away my breath with the immense relief even though he looked like he didn't get any sleep that night. I quickly freed myself from the flood of gratitude under pretence of being tired and wanting to soothe my for sure worried parents. But when their door closed behind me, I didn't go to my own.

I was thinking about this the whole way back and made a decision. It was time to clear some things up... for real this time.

"Sigrian?" Tavris' voice made me look up from the snow that I was stomping out a path in. The prophet stood in front of his house, trying to shove some of the fresh powder away so he could open his door properly.

"Awake already...?" I asked, watching his efforts impassively.

"I heard you and Elithia went to the mountains. I was worried..." Tavris hissed quietly when he put too much weight on his recently injured leg.

"I see..." I came closer and slipped under his arm to support him. "I can do that later. Come inside, we need to talk."

The prophet gave me a confused look, but let me drag him back inside. "What do you want to talk about?"

I didn't even wait until we reached some place he could sit. "Before, you said that the path leading to the castle might give me the answer I seek... Can you translate that from metaphors to normal language for me?"

"I'm not sure what you're expecting to hear... I think you're on this path already, and that's what's important, right?"

"Maybe... though when I showed you that crystal, you wanted to take it for a while. Why?"

Tavris frowned. "I told you, didn't I? I wanted to try and find out what it's resonating with. You said yourself that it gets warm every now and then..."

And guess what... it did just now...

I suddenly let go of his arm and stepped back, leaving him without support. The prophet swayed and leaned on the solitary column that supported the ceiling and acted as a hanger for some of his strange devices. He gave me a surprised look.

"Say... would you mind if I took a look at that leg of yours? It's probably a neat scar by now, but I'm sure I'll still be able to recognize if the edges are ragged, like they would be if it was an antler, or clean like, I don't know, from being stabbed with a knife or something..."

Tavris kept quiet for a long moment, staring into my eyes. It was hard to tell what he felt or thought at that point. Eventually though, he moved away from the column, straightening up and closing his eyes. He let out a sigh and looked at me again. His expression changed...

"See, this is the real reason why I wanted to take it from you..." the eyes that looked into mine were no longer the warm but mysterious ones that I stared into with fascination whenever I listened to his prophecies as a kid. They suddenly became cold, angry... tired and bitter...

"Why did you lie to me...?"

Tavris slowly walked over to his table by the hearth, calm despite having been seen through. "Lie? I wouldn't call it that. Although, the cruel facts entwined with some subtle creativity so smoothly I even believed myself for a while..."

"Stop wriggling around and tell me the truth! What was the purpose of this whole act?!"

"How should I put this... I wanted you to believe that Sharish's cause is just. Which wouldn't be a deceit, really."

"That Sharish really exists then..."

"Of course he does. Do you think that old fool of a king would have lifted a finger if he wasn't convinced that he was in real danger should he not obey?"

"You were the one who contacted the king in his name then..."

"I was. I brought him the letter from Sharish, and even though I practically delivered you to him on a silver platter, he claimed he didn't manage to catch you..."

"Hold on... delivered me...?"

"Oh please... you can't think of anything? I told you and Elithia that day where that herd went, didn't I? Do you honestly think I had visions about deer...?"

My mouth fell open in disbelief. Even that was a lie...? "But then... why didn't you do anything for two whole years...?"

"I was stupid enough to believe Yisral and went to chase after you. I looked for a long time, without any results... then watched the village in hope you'd be drawn back to your beloved family. Eventually though, Sharish became impatient. He told me to meet with the king again and tell him to send out word to soldiers across the land and make the search easier. But as I came to the castle... I spotted you, happily sitting in a tree and reading a book. A beautiful depiction of the king's betrayal..."

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"And then you sent Elithia in..."

"I did. But she didn't go alone. I followed..."

My whole body went cold. "And... killed the king...?"

The smile he gave me almost made my legs give up. Staying calm at this point really wasn't easy... The thought that I once trusted this man made me feel nauseous. And the realization that he was capable of stabbing anyone in this village in the back this entire time almost froze the blood in my veins.

"I had a chance to impress Sharish by getting rid of that traitor and by bringing you in after so long... I missed you by a hairs' breadth the night you escaped. Snatching you away while here in the village would've been difficult, since everyone was clinging to you like crazy... which was why I encouraged the return to the castle. I wanted to retrieve all correspondence concerning this matter as well... but all I was able to bring back was this," Tavris picked something up from the table and tossed it over to me. I flinched but caught it, confused. It was just a rock... no, not just any rock. It was the same one I brought to the king's chambers in case the windows would be closed...

I clenched my fist around it. Ever since the day I set out into the forest with Elithia, nothing has been under my control... I was lied to, deceived, kept hostage, played around... "So..." my voice was trembling, partially with anger, partially with fear of what else this man would be capable of doing now, "where's the other half of this chaos' cause?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb... there was another mage in the king's chambers. Where is he?"

"How should I know..." Tavris scoffed, looking away. Some shadow clouded his eyes. "That guy just appeared out of nowhere. And I doubt we'll see him again, just like I'll never see my..." he fell silent.

"What was that?"

The 'prophet' clenched his fists. "Look, I have no idea who that was, alright? I didn't know there were freaks among us mages who go around stealing magic from others!"

That came out... genuinely desperate. "He... took your magic? Is that even possible?"

"Apparently it is, because I'm just as helpless as a fraud fortune-teller at a bazaar now... Ask your pretty sirath if you don't believe me..."

"My what?" I got caught a little off guard.

"That's what that stone is called. And you're clearly its owner, since it works for you."

"Yeah, what the heck is that anyway?"

"I think I told you enough... I'm not saying more, unless you wish to join me and Sharish."

"Why don't you try giving me a reason?"

"I did. What I told you about the mages' situation was the truth. Why else do you think I was cowering in this forsaken place for so long, hiding the fact that I was one? Why do you think did I do all those things for Sharish? Do you think that I don't want to just live normally like you all do?!"

I stared at him for a moment, drinking in his words and the emotions behind them. He wasn't some dangerous murderer, nor was he insane. He was just a man simply longing to live, making wrong decisions out of fear...

"Look..." I took on a gentler tone. He could be reasoned with, but I wouldn't be able to do it by jumping to his throat. "Even if I would join you, what can someone like me change about what's happening in Earlindon?"

But Tavris turned his back on me to face the hearth. "I'm not telling you anything else unless you say you'll join. I've had enough of this..."

I sighed. Was it a trick to get me to say 'yes'? An act of despair? Would Sharish hurt him if he didn't provide any results at last? I opened my mouth again, but before I could prove my capability of being a jerk, a faint rustle came from somewhere behind my back.

"If you don't wish to tell him, would you allow me to do it?" the gentle voice almost made me jump. I turned around quickly, stumbled over something (preferred not to know what) and almost fell over, had the pillar supporting the roof not been so conveniently close.

A dark figure stood in the shadows by the door, the features covered by a hood. Tavris turned back around, genuine surprise on his face. He too probably had the impression that the stranger had just entered the house along with the darkness that instilled through the fogged window.

"Who are you?!" demanded the 'prophet'.

The silhouette calmly pulled the hood back with one hand. It was a young man, slightly taller than me, maybe a year older or so... His longish hair, black like best quality ink, was tied into a thin ponytail and resting on his shoulder. There was intelligence and nobility in his eyes which were not exactly green, but held a note of blue when looked at from a certain angle. The hilt of a sword poked out from underneath his long, dark coat, for some reason wrapped in a clean cloth.

I immediately associated the few details in his appearance. "You... it was you who I saw in the mountains, wasn't it? You were following me the entire day..."

The stranger smiled softly, stepping into the light. He wore a strange earring, a small dragon wielding a halberd... "Yes, it was me," his voice was almost palpably warm, his tone kind and apologetic.

"Who in the world are you?"

"My name is Siaril Nitrael..." it sounded like he wanted to say more, but Tavris suddenly slumped back into his chair.

"Another one..." he laughed bitterly, shaking his head. "I work myself stupid for almost four years to get to one of you, and the moment I become helpless, two appear before me at once..."

I've really had enough by now. Nothing I heard over the past ten minutes made the chaos in my head any better. "Listen..."

"Don't worry, Sigrian," the stranger interrupted me softly. "I will answer all of your questions in a moment," he looked at prophet again. "If you know who I am, then you must also be aware of what I can do to convince you that helping Sharish is a mistake."

"Mistake you say..." muttered Tavris mockingly. "Are you saying that we are mistaken for wanting to live our peaceful lives...?"

"I didn't say that. All I'm saying is that the means you use to reach that goal are a mistake. You should be aware that truth can't be killed... you can change its shape, try to stifle it, but even if you bury a spring, it will continue to spurt under the earth. And someday, it will find its way to the surface in another place and reach the ones it's destined for."

The cold composure of the stranger's words seemed to work better than any argument. After a long moment of silence, Tavris hung his head and sighed heavily. "You win... Whether I face you here or Sharish's wrath later... I'm done for either way..."

"I'm not here to harm you," the stranger said calmly. "And maybe Sharish won't bother to pursue you either. In fact... I can take you somewhere safe."

"Excuse me?"

I was just as surprised as Tavris. He was offering a murderer help? This guy must be out of his mind...

But despite the small smile playing across the stranger's face, he seemed dead serious. "After I talk to Sigrian, I plan to head north for a while... I know a few places you can hide in along the way. And I won't spread any word about you to anyone."

Tavris' eyes slowly wandered from his lap to the hearth, then to the table... Eventually, he got up, heavily, like something prevented him from doing so. "I'll pack... you two do whatever you need to do..."

The stranger nodded before turning to me. "Do you know any place nearby where we could talk in peace?"

I don't know how long it took me until I finally managed to gather my thoughts enough to answer. "Yes, but... that would be outside. And it's cold..."

"I thought that shouldn't bother you anymore?"

I decided to just stop asking for now.

"Then... I know a place..."

Siaril opened the door, making an inviting gesture for me to go first. I glanced at Tavris who started to hobble around the house, hesitated for just a moment, but finally turned away and left. The mysterious stranger followed soundlessly.