After he finally abandoned his seclusion, Ashura spent every spare moment of his free time in the castle's main library researching spells of control and subjugation. Despite what he had told Lady Kendappa and Lord Vainamoinen, he couldn't be completely certain that he wouldn't wake a raving madman again. He couldn't imagine dreams any worse than those which had triggered the fit, but, as he had discovered recently, his imagination about such things was lacking.

In two fragile, age-tattered texts, he found several spells that he thought might do for another such outburst, plus one that could be useful for the coming horror. They were ancient magic, not a standard part of a modern mage's knowledge or training, and they had a significant drawback: They all required tremendous, almost impossible amounts of raw power from the magician who cast them. Ashura believed he could pull them off, but knew that very few others could. He hoped at least some of the court wizards could manage them.

They were old, old spells, with the very oldest requiring the most power. He had never really noticed before that the most ancient of spells often required vast amounts of magical power from the caster. The records didn't explain why, and it troubled him. Why had such spells been required in the distant past, and why weren't they in use anymore? As far as Ashura knew, no one had cast any of these spells in over two millennia. It was a miracle they had even been preserved. According to the authors, the spells predated the books that contained them by some significant but unknown amount of time. Equally miraculous that the grimoires themselves survived, as they were only held together by the care and enchantments of the librarians who preserved them.

Along with the spells, he'd also found hints that there was some magic that could only be manifested by his family house, the Royal House of Vanir. That troubled him even more, especially since he had discovered no specific details about what such magic might be like or what its purpose could be.

No matter. He had what he needed; he'd have to be content with that for now. He sent a servant to fetch the chief wizard to him.

Then he took his books over to a large window to wait. He settled down on the window seat, leaning against the sill and staring outside at the falling snow. Such a peaceful sight. Restful. It calmed his restless mind, and he allowed it. He needed some respite from his own thoughts.

It seemed like he always needed respite from his thoughts these days.

At last he heard the library door open, and turned his head away from the peaceful snowfall to see who had entered. He frowned when Lady Kendappa came into the library.

She dropped into a graceful curtsey. "Your Majesty."

This library was accessible to all the courtiers and wizards, although in general they avoided it when he was present. His cousin's public manners in such open places were always impeccable. He could do no less. He sat up straight and acknowledged her. "Lady Kendappa. What do you here?" He didn't try to hide his annoyance with her.

"I'm just looking for a book, Your Majesty." Unfazed, she bobbed her head to him and disappeared into the stacks before he could tell her to leave.

Then he saw that she had not come alone. A dignified, older wizard entered behind her and came to Ashura's seat. The chief wizard. He bowed deeply. "You sent for me, Your Majesty?"

Ashura cast a fulminating look in the direction his scheming cousin had gone. He was rather vexed with her. Clearly, she wanted to keep an eye on the exchange, and her presence would certainly be a moderating influence. On the heels of that thought, he reconsidered. Perhaps it was just as well she had come. He turned his attention on his wizard.

Lord Suhail D Bhagat was the head of the court wizards, and had earned the highest honors possible for a mage of Seresu. The old wizard possessed arrogance commensurate with his achievements. He had also been one of Ashura's childhood tutors. Ashura didn't care for him personally, but trusted him absolutely in matters of kingdom magic.

Now Ashura wanted some information from him, as well as to impose a new task.

The chief wizard was a bit on the short side, and a touch sensitive about it. Ashura rose, deliberately using his height as an advantage, forcing Lord Suhail to look up at him. Ashura wanted answers and obedience, not arguments. Suhail could be contrary when the mood struck him or if he took offense. The chief wizard took offense easily, especially if he thought his knowledge, skills, or abilities were being impugned. He might very well feel slighted by the topic Ashura intended to broach.

"Yes, Lord Suhail," Ashura said. "I would like to discuss the healing block you put on me several nights ago."

Lord Suhail looked alarmed. "Majesty, I assure you that it was necessary."

"I don't dispute that." It had been more than necessary. Ashura had more sense than to deny the facts. He continued, chiding, "But it was too gentle or ill-made given the circumstances. I broke your spell far too easily."

The wizard became less worried about royal displeasure over the magical bondage, but he frowned at Ashura's last words. "It was a group effort, and we were pleased to have succeeded as well as we did," he stated, as though it should be an obvious truth. "It is no light thing to subdue and bind the most powerful mage in the land."

"One of the most powerful," Ashura corrected automatically. "There is no need for gross flattery."

Suhail gave him an impatient look. "No, Your Majesty," he said, very deliberately. "The most powerful. No one else can match you."

Ashura stared at him.

Suhail sent a quick glance at the direction Kendappa had taken, and dropped his voice so low that Ashura had to strain to hear him. "Forgive me, Majesty, but recent events make it imperative that I speak bluntly. I don't know how you came to hold this opinion of yourself, or how you have kept to it for so many years. Perhaps it's something your father drilled into you to prevent you from abusing your power, or perhaps you are so frightened by the implications that you deny the truth, but it is inaccurate and you must disabuse yourself of the notion."

Trust Suhail to speak his mind. Ashura raised his brows thoughtfully. Both reasons seemed to apply. Modesty and humility were part of the royal family's traditional upbringing, though how well those lessons took was often disputed. But frightened? That fit his state of mind perfectly. Every time he dwelled on the future, he became terrified. "An interesting speculation, Lord Suhail," he said neutrally.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Lord Suhail said with a bow of his head, recognizing that the subject should be closed. He let his voice return to its normal volume, and made a final point, "Perhaps Your Majesty should give this matter some serious thought and reassess your place in the magical hierarchy."

"Perhaps His Majesty should," Ashura said irritably. Foolishness on his part, to be so annoyed by the very answers he had been looking to obtain. They might be unpalatable and disruptive to his peace of mind—such as it was—but he would survive. He would ponder them later. "Now, about the matter of how easily I broke the healing block..."

Suhail blinked. "It hardly matters, Majesty. It served its purpose in stopping your rampage. We left it on you only as a palliative; something that we thought would help you rest easier for a time."

"You weren't worried I might wake still raving?"

"We weren't concerned," Lord Suhail said. "You weren't truly awake during your outburst, and were still caught up in your nightmare. I knew you would be fine after it released you."

This was also something new. Ashura pointed out, "Lady Kendappa and Lord Vainamoinen didn't seem to think so. Why didn't you tell them this?"

Suhail cast another nervous glance at the bookshelves and their hidden listener. Ashura cleared his throat meaningfully, and the wizard hastily answered, "I did, Majesty. I told them several times. They were just afraid."

"Afraid of me," Ashura muttered.

"Afraid for you," the wizard corrected him.

Now Ashura also looked off at the bookshelves where Kendappa was lurking and, presumably, eavesdropping. Served her right, to be made as uncomfortable as he presently felt. He returned his attention to the chief wizard. "Be that as it may, it seems to me that you need some stronger spells for dealing with this sort of thing."

"I was given to understand that it was unlikely to happen again."

"Unlikely, but not impossible." Ashura did not let himself sigh. "I'll do everything I can to prevent it, but there is a chance..."

"Very few can master all their dreams and nightmares, Majesty. Don't be so hard on yourself."

Ashura didn't need Suhail patronizing him as though he were still a youth. He said abruptly, "Come with me." Ashura collected his books and led the wizard to a work table. He set the books down, and opened the oldest one to a marked page. "Let's start with this spell. It should do for any—" he glanced at the wizard "—any fit I might throw, no matter how severe."

It should do quite well for the scenario Ashura really had in mind. Let Suhail believe it was just to quell the king after a violent nightmare; the old wizard wouldn't accept the truth of foreseeing now, any more than he'd accepted it when Ashura had been a child.

The Spell of Enchanted Sleep was the oldest and most powerful of the spells Ashura had selected. He had thought long and hard about this particular seal, about whether he really wanted to pass it along to his court wizards. It would trap him with his dreams for as long as he was held under its power. The thought made him shiver just a little.

"Majesty? Are you all right?" Suhail asked, eyes narrowed.

"Just a chill from a draft," Ashura murmured. This was necessary, he told himself; he could not shrink from his responsibilities. "Please examine these pages."

Suhail read for a minute, then inhaled sharply. "Majesty," he protested, "this is what I was talking about before. Perhaps you could cast this spell without incurring significant harm, but—"

"Are you saying you can't?"

Affronted, the chief wizard drew himself up. "Your Majesty! I say that it might be done, but it will take great effort and drain so much power that it would surely maim or even kill the spell-caster."

That stopped Ashura cold. He hadn't considered that possibility. Again he wondered why such spells had been created in the first place. "Is there no one among the court wizards who can cast this spell safely?"

Suhail's silence was eloquent.

"I see," Ashura said softly. This was unexpected, but maybe there was a way. "You mentioned earlier that you and the other wizards worked as a group, in concert, to subdue me during my nightmare. Could you and the others pool your power to cast this spell?"

Suhail gnawed his lip, staring down at the open pages with something akin to horror. "Perhaps..."

Ashura had never heard the chief wizard sound so doubtful about anything.

The wizard finally looked up. He swallowed hard. "Majesty, don't you think this particular spell is, well, overkill? I hardly think it necessary for an incident like...like..."

Was he actually stammering? "Maybe it is too much," Ashura conceded, a little alarmed by the reaction he'd unintentionally provoked. "However, I still require you and the others to find a way to use this spell. Think of it as a last resort, in case nothing else works," he added when it looked like Suhail would object again.

"As a last resort, Majesty," the chief wizard reluctantly agreed.

"Now, I have found some other spells that are not quite as drastic, nor do they take as much power. Please look here." Ashura directed Suhail to the second grimoire.

The chief wizard also protested these enchantments, although not quite so strongly. Ashura bullied him relentlessly, and at last Suhail agreed that they were workable and that he would pass them on to the court wizards. Suhail picked up the texts and, with another deep bow to the king, departed the library.

Ashura went back to the window and watched snowflakes float down from the clouds. It was growing darker outside as day wore into evening. "You can come out now, cousin," he said quietly.

Kendappa emerged from behind a bookshelf. She curtsied again. "Your Majesty."

Ashura tsked. "A little late for that, don't you think?"

She moved to stand next to him and smiled. "I knew you'd be annoyed, but I had to come anyway. Forgive my presumption."

"Don't I always?"

They both stared out the window in silence for a few moments. At last, Kendappa said, "That was an intriguing conversation you had with Lord Suhail."

"Indeed it was," Ashura agreed. "I was most interested to hear what he had to say about you."

"Bah."

"People who eavesdrop seldom hear good of themselves," Ashura scolded her.

"I only heard that I was a little too worried about my king and cousin," she said, nose in the air. "That's hardly an insult."

"Why did you decide to monitor us, Kendappa? Did you believe we would come to blows? You should know better by now."

"I expected you to have words with Suhail," she said. "I just didn't expect those words."

"And what did you expect?"

"I expected you to flay him verbally for the ineffectiveness of that healing block, in that cold, unemotional way you have when you are displeased. You never did get along well with him, despite the polite manner you use in public. I thought my presence would keep you both from saying something unforgivable." She clasped her hands behind her back and gave him an arch look. "Anyone who's spent much time with the king knows he can sometimes be a stubborn idiot when he puts his mind to it."

"Thank you, cousin. I can always count on you to keep my head from swelling too large."

"Imagine my surprise when you remained so civil."

"I am always civil."

"True." She gave him another look. "It might do you good to vent your spleen on occasion, Ashura."

"No, I don't think that's a very wise idea," he murmured.

"So you say." She sighed deeply. "I confess I don't understand what you think you're doing this time. I expected you to take Lord Suhail to task. Instead you handed him some spells that frightened him half to death. What is in your mind, cousin?"

"The safety of my people," Ashura replied absently, staring out the window at the falling snow.