Ever since Cale had entered the creature plain, he had been waiting for this moment. The small number of creatures they had encountered so far and the sheer fact that they hadn't run into a single Anuxer confirmed his hope: the first wave of creatures had finally attacked the capital.

He carefully held his small crystal with both hands and let his mana flow into it, shortly after which a translucent window about the size of a book appeared, which almost seemed like a painting moving. An old man with blond, wavy hair and a short beard was visible, next to him a young man, who showed a discontented expression.

"The young mage greets you, Eldest."

"The Magistrat hails you, young member."

Cale greeted the High-Mage and Chairman of the Magistrat on the other side of the crystal with a significant bow and the usual salutation one gives to a higher ranking mage. Silence fell for a moment, Cale had to wait for permission from the Eldest to stand. Interestingly, his group watched the proceedings from a distance, approaching Cale only slowly. They were curious, but at the same time they did not want to overhear or even interrupt the conversation.

"Rise, young mage Caleb Leuen", the blond-haired mage finally gave voice, and Cale did as he was commanded. He straightened up and smiled at the mages on the other side. The man in the long white robe and neat light hair was known as the Eldest. He was the highest member of the Magistrat and was among the strongest mages of his time. Likewise, he guided young magicians who came to Altona to learn. His position at the top of the Magistrat also led him to the top of the whole region. He was equal to the king of Sylve or one of the chiefs, therefore he possessed similar power and influence on the events in the world.

Next to the Eldest stood the 1st seat of the council, High-Mage Grischa Vonstetten. He had officially been the Elders right-hand man for several years and, along with High-Mage Aaron Thopas, often assisted in the official business of the country, though Aaron preferred to operate in the background. Grischa and Cale had known each other for countless years and were good friends from the beginning, despite the 15-year age difference that separated them. Grischa Vonstetten had been the one who had revealed his secret, kept for years. To this day, it was a topic Grischa liked to bring up to annoy Cale.

"Caleb Leuen, the Magistrat convenes his supreme stand and desires their presence. On the high moon of this month, we request their presence."

"I will appear, Eldest."

Cale bowed again as he replied, secretly hiding the smile under his black hair. The high moon of todays month was a circumscription 30st winter. It was the day when the moon presented its full bloom. Cale was sure: it had finally begun.

The Eldest stepped out of the picture, so Cale rose again and looked anxiously at Grischa. It was clear to him why his friend had not yet finished the conversation. Grischa expected Cale to ask him what had happened. The High-Mage on the other side walked closer to the crystal so that only his face could be seen before he spoke up in a calm voice.

"Good to see you, Caleb."

"Good to see you too, Grin. How are you and your family? How's the little one doing?", replied Cale politely, trying to keep up appearances, but Grischa didn't seem to want to dwell on it much.

"You little rat. Do you know how many times I've tried to reach you over the last two years? Why by the Eldest's beard have you never answerd me back and where in the world are you right now?"

"I've been a little busy and ... I'm currently in Altona."

"Liar, if you were in Altona, then you would know..." exclaimed Grischa, which is why Cale merely showed him the surroundings. Immediately, the High-Mage recognized the creature plain and fell silent. The fact that Cale was here was nothing new to him, yet he was disturbed by Cale's relaxed manner. Disturbing was probably not an expression at all, it annoyed Grischa!

"Why did you never answer me?"

"I told you, I was busy", Cale lied as he watched his friend with interest. They hadn't seen each other for a long time and in an unexpected way it pleased Cale to hear Grischas voice, even if he was angry.

"Yes, of course. You couldn't even muster a few minutes to talk to me? Like I'm going to believe you. Not to mention, WHY are you on the plains AGAIN?"

"I'm escorting some Anuxers from Sylve", Cale explained calmly, turning the crystal to the side so that Grischa could see the four people walking slowly toward him. His four group members recognized what Cale was doing, so they stopped abruptly. Only Philippa hesitantly raised her hand, as if greeting the stranger she poorly recognized.

"You're escorting... what? Do you even have the slightest idea what's going on here?"

"Well, since the Eldest has contacted us personally, I have a premonition. Yes".

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"You have ... I ... ahh!", exclaimed Grischa in exasperation. "A few days ago, creatures from the south made their way to Exarion, you know? That was a sight I won't forget so soon. The way they attacked the inhabitants, who were peacefully going about their daily chores before we appeared... that was cruel. Yesterday the Eldest sent Sefra and Aaron towards the mountains of Sylve to check the situation and it is anything but pretty. They have seen five dragons above the second and third plains and the creatures are said to have increased significantly from the last count as well. You are RUNNING through some damn dangerous territory right now."

"I think you misunderstand something. Here in the first plain is less life than in the desert itself, we have hardly encountered any creatures, let alone been involved in fights", Cale calmly replied and could clearly observe how his friend despaired at this statement.

"You're driving me crazy", the latter merely exclaimed, completely ignoring Cale's apparent excuse. "How did you know?"

"What do you mean?", Cale answered calmly. He wasn't quite sure what the comment was referring to now, since he wouldn't have made much of a sign of hiding anything.

"Don't play games with me, Yusuf told me everything. Two years ago you asked him back to teach his students intense knowledge about the creatures from the Chronicles of Zod Adenia. When the creatures overran the villages and invaded the city, it was these kids who first helped and saved the inhabitants from worse consequences. Yusuf kept trying to avoid my question, but he confessed the whole story to me last night."

Grischa paused, waiting for a reaction from his friend, but when he received another soft smile in response, he got a mixture of anger and goosebumps. In front of him stood the young mage who had spent most of his apprenticeship at the Magistrat, changing his appearance with an illusion and boasting an incredible amount of knowledge about creatures. This very mage seemed to carry more knowledge and power than he let Grischa share. If he hadn't happened to run into him at the time, how long do you think he would have stayed hidden?

"You knew, didn't you? How?", added Grischa finally, sullenly.

"I had a feeling."

Inevitably, Grischa had to remember the Eldest's statement: "The city is safe."

Until recently, he assumed that the Eldest simply knew that nothing would happen to them thanks to his Igrikum, but since yesterday, he wasn't so sure anymore. Did Caleb have his fingers in the pie again? Was Caleb working for the elder personally, or what exactly was the relationship between the two High-Mages? What did Caleb know that Grischa didn't?

"A feeling? Don't make a fool of yourself. What kind of game are you playing again? And why are you in Altona? Don't tell me that was also a feeling or even a coincidence. You knew we'd get in touch, didn't you?"

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't expect it", Cale replied calmly, shrugging his shoulders innocently. He was well aware that he couldn't lie in front of Grischa.

"You... Caleb! Did you ever think about telling us anything? If you knew about this, why are you keeping it to yourself?"

"Don't yell like that, I can understand you perfectly", Cale replied far from the subject, but that only frustrated Grischa more.

"People have died, damn it. That's not funny!"

Grischa didn't calm down one bit. Ever since last night, he's been at his wits end. He couldn't believe that his friend had disappeared without warning back then and he could believe it even less after he heard Yusufs story. Even the Eldest seemed to have known what Cale had been up to all those years, but why had he never told him? And how did he know the city was going to be attacked?

Cale merely smiled gently, but did not answer his friends question. The latter only sighed audibly, which Cale's group, who had meanwhile caught up, could also hear. For a moment, Grischa stared into Cale's innocent-looking eyes before choosing his next words carefully.

"When you get to Exarion, you better report to me. You owe me an explanation and by the Eldest's beard, if you talk your way out of this again, you're in for a treat."

"May the mana guide you", Cale quietly gave voice, knowing he had won the discussion without revealing unnecessary information.

"Yeah, yeah. May the mana guide you too, youngling. See you."

Grischa disconnected annoyed, which made Cale laugh in amusement and a few moments later made the crystal disappear in his hand. The others, who were the reason Grischa had ended the conversation so abruptly, were standing a few feet behind Cale by now, giving him confused looks.

"Did we interrupt you?", Aletta cautioned. They had unintentionally overheard part of the conversation, but judging by Cale's manner, she had expected just that to happen. Why else had he allowed them to hear him in the first place?

"No. We were done talking", Cale replied with amusement. He didn't really care that people had died during the attack, because he had accomplished his goal. He had been able to make friends with the four of them and at the same time prevent major damage to the capital. His preparations and the first part of his plan had thus been a complete success. But now Cale was at a crossroads that would affect the future of the entire country if he failed.

"Who was that?", interjected William after a while, unable to contain his curiosity. He had barely been able to make out the face, but he had understood the last part of the conversation very well. The way the two spoke to each other suggested that they knew each other pretty good. But that was not what made William so curious. The strangers voice sounded suspiciously familiar to William, though he couldn't quite place it.

"My friend Grin."

"Grin?", the four members repeated synchronously. William was probably the only one among them who could rudimentary make sense of the name, but that didn't explain why his friend had contacted him via a communication crystal.

"Grischa Vonstetten, first seat of the Magistrat", Cale explained and immediately could see how William begann to put the appropriate face to the voice. He knew the High-Magician, almost every person knew him. He was the member of the Magistrat who was constantly coming up with new discoveries and inventions related to the mana crystals. Even the communication crystal itself was a development of this magician, which were the talk of the town a few years ago.

"You are friends with Grischa Vonstetten? The Grischa Vonstetten? How? Did you also get the communication crystal from him too?", Philippa interjected her part to the conversation.

"Do you work for the Magistrat?", William asked, which only caused Cale to let a satisfied look glide over the group. Ben and Aletta held back, both of them aware that Cale now had no way of hiding that he was a High-Mage. But the look on his face seemed to be the exact opposite of what they had expected.

"Something like that. I'll explain later at my leisure, let's set up camp first."