Golnar stood on the balcony off of the ballroom of the palace. He looked down at the first ring below him. He was angry. He had been angry for a while. Everything had been going extremely well until recently. Now, his magic would barely work, he was behind on his plans, and he had lost the young king and Miss Keene.

He still didn’t know how they did it. He had left them under the temple under guard. He had practically poisoned Miss Keene to the point she shouldn’t have survived let alone run through the palace massacring soldiers. He had them bound in special rope that took away their magic. Still, somehow, they had both managed to escape the temple. What was it that made them so powerful?

Kedan had come to help them. He had led their rescuers into the palace. He had carried Miss Keene out himself. Golnar had seen some of it. When he heard the fighting, he hid in the study. He had no magic. He could not fight. It was Philo’s job to lead the soldiers, and he had plenty of them. Golnar had thought for sure Philo could stop one woman and a boy. Even when the rescuers came, there were only four, yet somehow, they escaped. Now Golnar had nothing but a plan that was far behind.

He would restart his plan in a few weeks. When Camelia and Teryn were ready, the fourth and third ring would start having its own gatherings, and magic users would be released. Once they were through, they could start reordering the city. Perhaps they could start with villages in the Great Surrounding, soon after.

Golnar also needed to find out what was wrong with his magic. The Keene woman had said she could tell his magic was weak. She had said Philo could tell as well. Golnar wondered if she was telling the truth. He thought she probably was. She was many things, but he didn’t think she was a liar.

Golnar turned and entered the ballroom. Philo walked in with Till trailing behind him.

“So, you lost them both,” said Till as they met in the middle.

“Where have you been?” asked Philo testily.

“I’ve been trying to run a city as you two played host,” spat Till. “I’ve been trying to arrange the next group of gatherings.”

“I still don’t understand how they escaped,” said Golnar pacing. “How did they even get out of the temple? The Keene woman shouldn’t have even been able to crawl. I’m surprised we hadn’t killed her with the amount of elixir you gave her.”

“Maybe there was a problem with the potion,” said Till. “Was it made correctly?”

“I made it myself,” answered Golnar. “Perhaps you would like to try some?”

“What about when they ran back into the palace? How did they escape the palace, Philo?” asked Till turning to look at Philo.

“They had help. Somehow, the protector, Ansel, the leader of the Valley, Talon, and my son got into the palace. They had the help of Kedan, so he must have known a secret passage to get in,” replied Philo.

“But there was just four of them, and only three of them magic users. There were soldiers everywhere,” said Golnar.

“They split up. I’m not sure where the young king went or how they found him. Gryphon was in the throne room. We would have killed her if Ansel hadn’t shown up,” said Philo.

“Still two magic users, one of them injured, against all of our soldiers and you. How did they escape alive?” asked Golnar angrily.

“I can’t explain it. We threw everything at them. It was all blocked somehow. I don’t know how it happened. I don’t know how Ansel did it, but we couldn’t get a single curse through,” answered Philo.

“Are you sure you didn’t let them escape?” asked Till. “You didn’t have a momentary flash of sympathy for your old friends?”

“No, they never were my friends. The Keene’s have always thought themselves high above everyone else. Ansel has been their pet for years. I would love nothing more than to be rid of both Gryphon and Ansel,” said Philo. “I’m telling you, I couldn’t do it, because it wasn’t possible. I have never seen a magical shield like that. I’ve never seen anyone do half the things they did in the throne room. There has to be something else going on.”

“Do you have any ideas?” asked Golnar as he stopped pacing and looked at Philo.

“No, not yet. I am going to meet with Gorm later today and see what he has to say about it. I will let you know if he has any interesting insights.”

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“Gorm, your friend from Abscon? Do you think he will have anything useful to say?” ask Till skeptically.

“He was on the Ring for many years. He isn’t a fighter, but he is intelligent. He knows much about the history of the magical folk. I think he could help us,” said Philo.

“Very well, Philo. Meet with him. If he does come up with something, I would be very interested to know what it is. Now, if you both will excuse me, I need to go check on my living quarters. I believe they are finally back to being livable.”

Philo nodded and Till moved out of Golnar’s way. Golnar made the way up to his tower. He hadn’t been in the room since the incident with the young king’s blood and the potion. He had sent soldiers up to check on it, and last night was the first night the air had been reported as tolerable.

Golnar opened his door and stepped into his room. The air still had an odd smell to it, but it was breathable. Golnar looked in the fireplace. The kettle there was half melted. He moved closer to get a look at it. On one side where the potion had bubbled out, the kettle was melted from top to bottom.

Golnar still didn’t understand what had happened that day. Why couldn’t he or Philo touch the young king? Why did the potion react this way when the young king’s blood was added? Golnar would need to do some researching. He had some very old books on blood magic he had found last winter in Aurumist’s library. He had not gotten to them yet, due to dealing with the young king and Miss Keene.

Golnar went to look for them and found them on a shelf. He grabbed them and sat down in the middle of his room in a large chair. He read for hours. He could not find one elixir or spell he was looking for. Of course, if he wanted an actual spell, he would have to ask someone like Philo to preform it for him. At this point, he was not above asking. If what Miss Keene had said was true, Philo would already know Golnar’s limitations.

Golnar put down his book and wondered about Gryphon Keene. What did she enter his thoughts so frequently? Why did she rattle him like no one had ever before? Golnar had been in the presence of other powerful magic users. He had dealt with dangerous folk from all over the kingdom. He had seen hunger and death throughout his life, yet nothing frightened him like Gryphon Keene.

He should have destroyed her when he had the chance. He should have had her killed directly after her performance in the throne room when she first arrived. Something made him wait. Something, made him want to keep her around. He wanted to understand what made her so powerful, so frightening. Now, she was out there in the kingdom. He knew he would see her again, and he doubted it would be a friendly visit.

Golnar went back to his reading. He was reading some very interesting material on plagues of non-gifted folk, when there was a knock at his door. Golnar looked up. It was rather late for visitors.

“Who is it?” asked Golnar towards the door.

“It’s Philo, I have some news.”

“Can it wait until morning?” asked Golnar.

“You will want to hear this information, Golnar,” replied Philo.

Golnar sighed angrily. He got up from his chair and walked over to the door. He opened it to let Philo in.

“This better be important, Philo. I am in no mood visitors,” said Golnar walking back over to his chair.

Philo followed him and sat down across from Golnar.

“What I have found out, is very important and interesting. I have been to visit my friend Gorm. He was on the Ring in Abscon for many years,” said Philo.

“Yes, I remember you telling me that. Did you go talk to him about the young king and his escape?” asked Golnar.

“I did,” said Philo staring at Golnar.

“Did he have any interesting insights on the matter?”

“He did,” said Philo. “I was particularly interested in how Ansel managed to block all of our spells by himself with seemingly very little effort.”

“And what did Gorm have to say?” asked Golnar.

“Gorm thinks it had to do with his protector’s magic. Protectors are particularly powerful when their sovereigns are in danger. Sovereigns likewise obtain great power in the presence of their protectors.”

Golnar nodded but looked curiously at Philo. “I thought the young king was elsewhere in the palace during your confrontation with the protector. I don’t recall the young king being anywhere close to Kedan, Miss Keene, or the protector.”

“The young king wasn’t anywhere near us at the time. I believe he may already have fled the castle by then,” said Philo.

“So, how does that explain the protector’s magic being used? I would have thought the protector would have gone to look for his king, instead of going after Miss Keene.”

“I think we might have been misinformed, Golnar,” said Philo slightly smiling.

“How so?” asked Golnar confused.

“What if the young king wasn’t a king at all?” asked Philo.

“What are you talking about? All of our sources have said this boy is the one. Your friend Gorm agreed, didn’t he?”

“He did at the time, but the new information made him tell me something that happened years ago. Something I knew about, but never knew the reason,” said Philo slyly.

“Are you going to tell me the point to all of this, or are we going to have a guessing game?” asked Golnar who was becoming annoyed.

“I am going to tell you, but the story is a long one. It will make for a late evening. I can come back in the morning,” said Philo.

“No, let’s hear this now. I’ll order some food,” said Golnar standing up. He walked over and pulled a cord to summon a servant.

Golnar sat back down and gave Philo and expectant look. “Go, on,” said Golnar.

“The young king is of Adalwen blood, but he is not the only one. There is another one who is older. One who has been leading her people for a few months now. It turns out the magical folk don’t have a king. They have a queen,” said Philo. ­­

Golnar swallowed. He knew what Philo was going to say next. He knew the name of their queen. He didn’t even want to say her name. To say it, would make it real.

“You know who I’m speaking of don’t you?” asked Philo quietly.

Golnar looked at Philo and nodded. He swallowed again. He could feel fear creeping up in his veins. His stomach felt uneasy, causing bile to collect in his throat. Golnar closed his eyes and whispered, “Gryphon Keene.”