And so over the next few days Riani slowly became accustomed to her home in the Keep. It seemed that they were
under the kitchen of the Tower by about twenty feet. Far enough down to be undetectable by all but the most
advanced mages. She was as safe here as she was ever going to be. Avin had rooms for about seven other people
in a warren like arrangement down here. Four of them were occupied, though no-one was in residence at the
moment. They were all “in the worlds” as Avin put it. One was Riani’s and two were free.
After their unfortunate beginning, Avin had proved himself a thoughtful and kind host, with a mischievous and
sometimes wicked sense of humour. Riani was surprised and delighted by the comfort of her surroundings.
Her room had a soft bed with blue covers and lilac cushions.
She had a window too, and through it could choose to view the Northern Edge from almost any angle.
She had thought herself in the presence of a Mage advanced far beyond any she had ever heard of until
Avin admitted that one of his guests had actually brought a thing called “technology” back
from their travels in the worlds, and that it was the “technology” that made the view, not magic.
There was a thick patterned carpet on the floor and a screen at one end behind which was a bath and toilet
and a sink. These things were also made with technology and Riana had spent many minutes flushing the
toilet to watch it cleanse itself, fascinated that there was more than one type of magic in existence.
She had also found a wardrobe with some clothes there. They all fitted her and she had blushed when she realised
how he must have known her size. All the suggestive comments he had made at first had ceased now
though, and she felt fairly easy with the relationship. She had been almost miraculously lifted out of
danger, it seemed, and placed in a mage’s heaven. Amazing luck. There was a study room where she could
practice the Spellings, and Avin had allowed her free use of his library. It was all like a children’s tale.
She was the desperate Damsel and he the kindly Knight, ensuring that she wanted for nothing. Riani was missing
the sun though, and had got up this morning determined to go for a walk in the world above ground.
She pulled on leather trousers and a forest green tabard from the wardrobe, and her own cloak.
She just needed to know the times of the tides, and went off happily towards Avin’s room to look for him.
He would know. He would have to, or never leave here, nor any of his other guests.
She paused outside the inner door to his room. Something was wrong. The ward was not in evidence.
Avin always had one stationed at each door that he called “door bell’s”. She listened for a few moments, hearing a woman’s
voice raised in anger and Avin’s measured tone’s in response but she couldn’t hear what they were saying.
She had left her dagger in her room she realised with regret. She decided to just knock and enter, as she had
learned to do over the last few days.
Avin was sitting at his desk his head in his hands and the woman was shouting at him. As she entered Avin looked up
and smiled at her. “Riani, let me introduce you to…”
“I don’t need introductions to your servants Avin. Dismiss the wench and tell her to close the door behind her.”
Avin opened his mouth to speak but Riani was already offering her hand to the woman, “Hello” she said,
“I am Riani, and you must be …very rude.”
The woman was taken aback, and looked at her for a second and then laughed.
“Riani is it? Very well then, I’m Sil. I don’t mean to be “very rude” but this man provokes it in me.
She smiled and Riani saw that she was of a similar age to Avin and quite beautiful.
She had long blonde hair like him, and the scent of magic was all around her.
Riani felt it very strongly. She exuded it.
She wore a bright red gown that sparkled violet in different lights as she turned and she had the confident bearing of royalty.
“ I’m sister to him.” she pointed at Avin, “That’s why I can shout at him without him turning me into a pig.”.
They sat down together and Avin explained that Sil had a room in the Keep, but seldom used it,
“because you won’t listen to reason and make this place secure.” interjected Sil.
Sil had been the one who had found the technology and brought it back to the Keep. Riani felt quite awed to be in
her presence. Sil continued
“You must be the one that is in current danger, he mentioned that to me. Surely you must see that the defences need
to be as effective as we can make them?”
“Of course” replied Riani, “but they are very safe, at least what I have seen. No-one from my culture could
penetrate them easily, and it was an accident that I found a way in, and that was warded.”
“Pah! Warded! Did I or did I not dismiss that ward Avin? and were you not none the wiser?”
Riani was surprised. That wasn’t possible. A ward was linked to its realizer. The energy returned to them…unless
“You absorbed it.” said Riani quietly.
“Bright.” Sil nodded in approval at her response, “and if I can do it, so can someone else.”
Absorbing the energy of another mage was strictly forbidden in Riani’s Order. It was dangerous to do it,
the energy being linked to patterns that were individual to the caster.
Tales of chain reactions and spontaneous combustion of those who had tried it had abounded in the school.
Sil was Avin’s sister though, so perhaps the patterns were compatible. Still, the thought of it made her shiver.
The absorption of the energy of another mage robbed them of that energy forever. It could not be regenerated.
The energy needed to create a ward was relatively small, but Riani felt uncomfortable that Avin was a little the
lesser in power for Sil’s demonstration.
“I think that the use of technology has lessened the likelihood of anyone repeating what you did Sil, but I don’t
want to completely give up using my talent, as you seem to be suggesting, and rely completely on it. Besides,
you’re my sister, and able to absorb my realizations without much harm done. A stranger may be not
so lucky “
Avin’s comment was sensible and Riani thought he had made a fair point.
She felt a little dizzy she noticed. She was sensing the presence of the she wolf. That was odd.
She listened with her ears to the siblings argument and with her senses reached outwards.
“and the Elite?” Sil was asking Avin
“a myth or at most an exaggeration” he said dismissively.
“Avin, when is the tide out?” Riani asked abruptly
“until about seven, another three hours” he said puzzled, “why?”
Riani felt the she wolf even stronger, danger!
Without interrupting them further she ran to the outer door and opening it, cast a ward.
Using all her skill she sent it down the long corridor towards the sea door.
She estimated that it had been triggered about half way down the stair well,
at least it had not been absorbed by the one that triggered it.
“We are discovered” she said breathlessly and closed the outer door,
“Can either of you cast a camouflage? We can maybe make them think this is all rock or something.”
“No time “ said Avin. ”and Sil , I swear if you even think about saying....”
“Later, certainly brother” was Sil’s calm response.
“We have to leave here, now” he said regretfully and Riani’s dagger was suddenly in his hand.
He handed it to her “I know you feel naked without it “and he smiled his mischievous smile.
“You keep doing that” she said smiling back at their private joke, “Thank You”.
Riani was finding it easy to stay calm because they were staying calm. She knew that Avin was a highly advanced
mage and she had no doubt that he could do something. Avin locked the outer door of his room and He and Sil
disappeared through the other one. Riani followed them. When the three of them were outside he locked that too.
Sil produced a small object from her cloak. “Twelve people, five mages….I just registered weapons on this.
I can also sense plenty of hostility. Plan “A“?” she asked him, Avin nodded sadly,
“I liked that room so much”.
Sil looked at Riani very seriously, don’t use magic unless you have to. Please. Hopefully if this works you won’t have to.”
Riani stared at the little box in wonder, she could see the intruders in miniature pictures like a Seerorb might show.
They had weapons drawn and the mages looked strange. The picture was too small to show her more detail.
Sil pressed a button and the sound of tons earth could be heard crashing into the study.
“Oh” Riani realised what Sil had done. “We’re trapped here now. That was the only way out”.
“and to think I made advances to this simpleton” Avin was laughing at her,
“I have other options, so don’t worry until I tell you to.”
“Avin, you are a disgrace, she’s a just a child” tutted Sil
“I’m twenty six in Midwinter!” Riani asserted, immediately regretting the childlike tone.
It was also the only way in that was visible. Riani thought that someone had followed Sil down here, but Sil had
not used that entrance.
“Magemaster” had been Avin’s comment. “Has to be. Detected it while the tide was out. We were just unlucky. “
“Avin, we need to check the other exits. Just humour me will you” Sil was getting impatient.
Riani felt guilty. She had brought this upon them. Avin’s study was buried forever, possibly the whole labyrinth
was now under threat. Because of her. She looked down and then at him, catching his grey eyes looking at her
quizzically. “What’s the matter?” he asked. “I’m sorry, your wonderful study. I’m so sorry” was all she could find to say.
They followed Sil down the corridor with Avin making light of things to make her feel less guilty. “I wrote most of
those books, you know” he lied obviously, “I can easily write them again.” In Sil’s room was a large metal
box with coloured lights and buttons. Sil pressed the buttons in sequences and lights flicked on and off a
panel. She and Avin watched her. Riani suspected that it was not only herself who had no idea what Sil was
doing. Avin was as lost with technology as she was.
“Exit 2 secure, Exit 3 secure, “ Sil reported, her fingers tripping over the buttons almost automatically,
“Exit 4 ….exit 4 not responding “ she said flicking at switches, her eyes darting from one display panel to another.
“Where is it” Riani asked
“Village exit” Avin replied
“cutting it off at section 17.…Sorry Gant, wherever you are, you’re homeless.
Trying again…. Got you. Exit 4 Secure”
“Exit 5 secure, Exit 6 ….”
“was breached” The voice came from behind them. A young man about twenty years old leant at the door way, bleeding
from a serious looking wound to his head, his skin pale, almost white. He was holding a bloody
short sword in his left hand.
“looks like you took care of it Mat” said Avin, “and stop bleeding on my carpets. Can’t you do a healing spelling
anymore? “ Avin knew that Mat was more than capable of healing the wound, nasty as it was, and continued to
keep his attention on Sil’s activity.
Mat smiled a weak smile but continued to bleed.
“Exit 6 now cut off” reported Sil and Exit 7 is secure”. We are safe for now, but it for how long depends on who
we crushed with rock falls. If that Magemaster is still up there
detecting, we haven’t got forever.”
She looked long at Mat and forced her attention back to the esoteric business of the control panel.
The need to ensure all of their safety overriding her impulse to run to him.
She too was certain that he could heal himself. All healing spellings she had made sure he knew from his childhood.
“Mat!” Avin moved quickly over to the young warrior who had sunk to the floor and laid his hands on the wounds.
They healed almost immediately, but the pallor remained in his face.
“They’re real Avin, the Elite…, they’re real. Believe me. Took me too long to realise… used too much of myself in
magic attacks before I guessed what they were. I channelled the rest into the sword. I killed the three that
got in….”
Riani watched uncomprehendingly. The young man was dying in front of her eyes. She felt it. It was her fault.
They had come for her. She spelled a ward quickly. Too much might kill him even more quickly, any at all might,
come to that, but unless someone did something, he was dead anyway.
“Absorb it” she commanded. “Do it!”
Mat shook his head and smiled a half smile, “where did you find this one Avin, she’s as bossy as Sil.”
his voice was almost a whisper.
Riani knelt down and gripped his shoulders. “Patronise me all you like, but absorb it!”
“and become a forceleech like one of them? No…. Besides, how do I know you’ll still like me in the morning”
He chuckled weakly.
Riani shook him “Please” she begged tearfully, as Mat lifted up his hand to touch her face.
Avin’s friend was dying because of her. Would die for her.
Mat’s hand stroked her hair, “my sword is yours lady, use it well, it has what’s left of me in it…”.
The life drained from his eyes and she gently laid down his head on the soft carpet.
Avin helped her up, “ He chose. It was his right.” he said gently. Handing her the short sword, he added
“He wanted you to have this. I think you should respect his wish.”
Dismissing the ward, Riani turned to Sil. “This “Elite”. You were talking to Avin about them. Who are they?”
Her voice cracked. She had not seen a person die before. It had unnerved her, made her feel things that she didn‘t
know how to understand. She wanted to avenge him. Do something. Make this not have happened somehow.
She grasped his sword, her knuckles white with tension.
“Rogue mages.” said Sil through her own tangled emotions. Mat dead. So much sacrificed and worked for to try to
make them all safe and all for nothing, He was dead. It had all been for nothing.
“They call themselves the “Order of the Elite“, She broke through her despair with difficulty,
“ but follow no principles like most Orders do.
They have found a way to absorb the magical energy of another mage and survive most of the time.
He would not have realised until it was too late. I tried to warn him, but he always thought it far fetched.
Even to Avin they were a legend. I learned about them… in the worlds.“
Riani could see that she was holding back her tears, and holding back something else.
“You see, any defensive or simulation spelling they will simply… take. They can’t do the same with attack spellings,
but the energy used for those takes time to build again in us.
Mat didn’t wait, or try to get help. He‘s always been like that. Always…" her voice trailed away.
She saw Avin lift Mat’s body and lay it on her bed. “Avin, I’ll take care of him “ she insisted.
She moved away from the control panel and prepared to consign Mat to the void.
Her soft chanting was haunting and filled the room with deep sense of sorrow and longing.
Slowly the form that had been Mat began to fade, and finally no evidence of him remained except the sword in Riani’s hand,
and the ring that Sil had taken from his finger and placed upon her own.
“They were close friends?” Riani whispered to Avin.
“They were much more than that” was Avin’s equally subdued response. “She was his mother.”