Disclaimer: I do not own these characters – they belong to Trudi Canavan

A Problem Disclosed

The Inner Council of the Magicians' Guild had been convened, the members had arrived and it only remained for High Lord Balkan to put in an appearance. Vinara glanced around the table trying to assess how they were coping with the aftermath of the recent fighting and destruction. Lord Timur, the new Head of Warriors, seemed relaxed and confident. He had been Balkan's deputy for some years, so his promotion to Head had not been too big a change. The Head of the Alchemists, Lord Veros, seemed slightly uneasy, this was perhaps understandable, because his recent elevation had been a considerable surprise, not least to him. Administrator Osen was his usual competent self. His years of assisting Lorlen made the task easy for him.

All in all, Vinara thought, they have coped reasonably well, under the circumstances, as have I.

In theory, there should have been another Head of Discipline at the table, but it had been agreed earlier that Black Magician Sonea was too young and too inexperienced to join and they decided that she would not be told of the existence of the Inner Council. She was invited to more general meetings, although she didn't contribute very much to the discussions, merely waiting until asked her opinion, rather than putting forward her own ideas. Yes, Sonea is a bit of a problem, thought Vinara and she will be a bigger one very soon!

At last, Balkan arrived and Vinara observed him closely. He didn't seem to have the presence of his predecessor. It's those white robes, she thought. Previous High Lords had appeared powerful and mysterious, all covered in black with only the gold incal on a sleeve to provide some small bit of colour. But white robes, with a silver incal simply looked pale and uninteresting. They didn't suit Balkan very much either, making him look rather pasty. They would have suited Akkarin better, she thought, providing a contrast to his black hair and eyes, but Balkan with his pale grey hair and pale blue eyes simply merges into the whiteness.

The Administrator distributed a list of items for discussion and they got down to business. Balkan had an unfortunate habit of setting out the issues in a way which resembled an old teacher lecturing a class of inattentive children, and Vinara noticed several times how members fidgeted in their seats or doodled on their pads during his explanations.

At last the main items had been dealt with and Balkan asked if there were any other things the Inner Council needed to discuss. The others seemed to want to get away, but Vinara needed to speak.

"I am still monitoring Sonea's health and I am pleased to say she is responding well to treatment. However, there is one thing, which may be a matter of concern. It's her power. We all know that she's strong, she was one of the strongest novices we have had for years and her power developed as she progressed. However, since the recent fighting, her power has increased considerably and is still growing. As far as I am able to compare her with others, I would say that she is by far the most powerful magician in the Guild."

There were surprised gasps from the people round the table, as they considered the importance of her words.

"You say her power is still increasing, do you think this will continue for much longer?" Balkan seemed particularly concerned. "An increase in any magician's power like this would be worrying, but in a Black Magician…." His voice trailed off as he frowned.

"I cannot say, High Lord," Vinara said. "I have never seen anything like it. I cannot tell if it is simply related to her natural power or whether black magic has anything to do with it. As far as I know, she has not taken power from any one else since the fighting stopped."

"You know, I never liked the idea of having Black Magicians in the Guild." Balkan sighed, "But the King was determined. I think all the events around Akkarin and what happened afterwards frightened him. Sonea was our only choice, too young, too inexperienced and a child of the slums, not an ideal candidate, but there was no alternative. You know we tried everything to find someone else."

The others nodded. It was very unsettling. There had been too much change in recent weeks and they longed for the calm routine of the Guild they had been used to.

"There have been a lot of murmurings amongst the Warriors," Timur said. "They blame Akkarin for the loss of so many good magicians during the fighting. They feel he should have told us what was happening rather than trying to do it all himself. It is most unfortunate that he took Sonea for his Novice and trained her in black magic. As you say, we have no choice with her, but the Warriors don't like it."

"Rothen has done a lot to calm feeling among the Alchemists," Veros said. "There was a lot of concern in the beginning, but not so much now, but one or two seem to resent her."

"What about the Healers, Vinara?" Balkan looked at her closely.

"They are very worried. So many of them work alone, throughout Kyralia, and they feel particularly vulnerable. They think the Ichanis could come over the border at any time and no one would be any the wiser until the bodies are found. There is also the problem of providing Healing for the dwells in the city and poor people in the countryside who cannot pay for treatment. They blame Sonea for getting the King to agree with her obsession that everyone should have equal access to Healing regardless of whether they can pay for it or not."

"So, not a particularly happy picture." Balkan considered things for a moment. "I suggest that you continue to monitor Sonea's power and keep me informed. If necessary, I shall have to consider restricting her movements even further until we can find out what may be at the bottom of this. I don't have to tell you that this discussion remains secret. I don't want it to become common knowledge or it will simply cause more upset in the Guild."

The members of the Inner Council began to gather their papers. Vinara sighed, One problem brought into the open, soon I shall have to persuade Sonea to tell the High Lord about her condition. There's no knowing how he will react to that!