Prologue

Clock Tower, 1994

She ran, knowing her master would find her. Hazel had always been a trickster, but this act of heroism would surely have consequences.

She turned to the nearest stairway, a hidden passage within the old stone coffin called Clock Tower. Hazel kept her pace, briskly treading down the steps but in her focused state her senses had isolated only to sight. Though she could see the path clearly, another mage followed close behind her.

"Scalp." she heard it but before she could turn, the silver colored spike impaled her left shoulder against the wall. The mercury nipped as the spike swirled in the wound, leaving her frozen to face the assailant. She knew she would get a lecture, but clearly he was angry enough to follow her into a back stairway.

The more she moved the more the mercury stung her inner muscles. She just had to wait and watch as her master glided down the steps with ease. Though composed, he knew his apprentice had deceived him which made this annoying.

"Where is it Hazel?" he asked coldly, facing her directly with his hands crossed behind his back.

"I have no idea, professor." she lied, and the spike drove in deeper.

"You picked up my mail." he asked politely, "The package from your father, where is it hidden?"

Hazel knew what this was, why he wanted it desperately. It was for a war from what her father said, one that would summon heroes, the reason her grandfather and him entered the artifacts trade. But she heard who Kayneth had intended to summon, and knowing the legend the pair together wouldn't work. Two powerful beings could never work together in her mind. She knew it could be a mistake, but Waver was her only friend at Clock Tower, and he needed someone else to tell him he wasn't worthless.

"I lost it." she said, the spike expanded again and Hazel resisted the pain, biting her lip to a point that she broke the skin. She could taste the blood in her mouth with a faint flavor of mercury. The chemical was creeping into her system. It burned, but she had a spell to manage it once the wound was free of the make shift weapon.

"Where?" Kayneth prolonged the spell. She had been trained from an early age to hold back her screams. Kayneth knew this and often abused it.

"Do you always humiliate your student's work?" Hazel said and Kayneth realized her actions. The spike of mercury lifted her body into the air, pulling it up like a taught nos. She looked at her master, he was intense. This was the side she feared, the wrath of his blue eyes froze her.

"For a mage with your linage, you'd soil it with a worthless boy!" He yelled, throwing her down the steps. She rested on the landing, as her body began to heal the hole in her shoulder. Her master smiled, knowing now that she had given a powerful catalyst to an arrogant boy.

"Well, I'll make sure he doesn't survive this war. Then you will know your mistake."

"Eir Bien." She uttered her healing spell from inside her body. It worked fast, erasing the mercury from her system. After a moment, she spit out part of the shield, only the size of a pea. It absorbed back into the ball that followed her master. This wasn't the first time she disobeyed Kayneth. They were polar opposites, but her father insisted she could master shield work from him. Often, Hazel would demand his time which annoyed him, but it was the only way for her to get experience.

"Ever thought I wanted him to learn something too?" she stated, "Why would Clock Tower accept mages unless they saw potential in them to grow?"

Kayneth chuckled. "Because they must weed out the best." he paused, for once he wanted to teach her something. "You could be an excellent mage but you waste your time fighting, trying to be a hero to others." he said it with a small sincerity. Her father was his close friend, or competition when he was a student though they pursued different paths. When she was accepted at a young age, 16, Kayneth agreed to instruct her, knowing that her knowledge was already impressive. But she wanted to fight, become a combat mage in the field.

"Maybe. But as long as I have this body, I will use it in combat to save who I can."

"A shield for those you care about." He understood now, why she protected the speck of a mage. Once she had deemed someone worthy of protection, Hazel didn't care about the pain, it only mattered that they were saved. He smirked at the foolish sentiment, but felt she could heed his lesson.

"You can only rely on yourself, Ms. Matterhorn. When I return you will no longer be my apprentice. I refuse to teach such a reckless child." He started walking the other direction down the steps. "You Matterhorn's have always been tricksters, never settling for one practice or side. You'll just end up like your Irish counterpart, disowned from the community like Yggdmillennia." Hazel extended a yellow diamond shaped shield from her arm. The sharp point stuck out next to Kayneth's shoulder, inches from the veins in his neck. Her best friend from childhood was not to be mentioned in such a way.

"She has a name," Hazel said, cold with her tone. "And as a Matterhorn I side with what I believe. Help people who need it, protect the few I love, and live." This was a phrase from her late grandfather, he always wanted to be clear that though he may not have a side, he had to fight for what he believed in. Kayneth smirked. In time, he knew his apprentice would see the world only takes things away. How love is a weakness. But seeing her innocence now would only make her corruption more enjoyable.

"What a foolish phrase," Kayneth said as he began to step away. "That will cause your downfall."