Akkarin began, of course, with Coren's diary. Where else would be a place to start than with the slightly-crazed musings of a young man who brought about a revolution by the actions of a sin? Sonea had taken the small book in her hands with the embers of curiosity in her dark eyes. Those embers were fanned into flames of amazement as she read the title and realised what she was holding. As he had left his library and called Takan away, he turned back to watch her, hunched over the book, eyes never leaving the text.

When he asked her about it at their next dinner, a defensive look came into her eyes. She described what she had read in clipped tones, only acknowledging Coren's use of black magic when pressed. Clearly the account had had some impact on her, otherwise she would have been able to meet his eyes more whilst talking about it.

"So, she understood," Takan said after she had left and Akkarin was left alone to nurse his wine glass, "what now?"

So then Akkarin moved on to the account of Tagen, this time bringing the books to her room now he knew she had the ability to be discrete. Sonea's face had been one of unsuppressed horror when she found him stood in her doorway. He made a very conscious decision not to enter her room- he was not going to invade her personal space- well, not again. She had looked dubious when he had explained the two copies, but took them none the less. As he turned away from the room, he heard her voice, small but incredulous.

"Why are you showing me these books?" He couldn't stop himself turning to stare at her in curiosity. She had never spoken first before. What had made her start now?

"You want to know the truth, do you not?" It wasn't really a question, they both knew the answer without it being spoken. As Akkarin padded down the corridor and made his way to his bedroom, he silently thanked whatever Gods there really were for the natural curiosity of the young.

Now, as he strode down the darkened tunnel, hearing the gentle patter of her footsteps behind his own, he knew this was beyond feeding her curiosity. This was a part of a campaign to recruit her. A part of him was sickened by his actions, another part of him was desperate to share. Desperate to share the weight that had sat solely on his shoulders for so long. Desperate to let another person know, desperate to confess.

Eventually, they came across the guide that Akkarin had been expecting to find. Akkarin thought he recognised him, but he had had so many guides now it was getting difficult to remember them all. The man nodded to him stiffly, then noticed the figure behind. The man stared at Sonea, then back at Akkarin. Any objections stalled in the man's throat, as he quickly turned and led them through the passages.

Eventually, after many twists and turns and more foul smells than Akkarin cared to think about, the man led them to a door, nodded swiftly again, and retreated into the darkness. Akkarin knocked on the door. He could hear Sonea's quick breath behind him.

A familiar man opened the door. Morren bowed his head respectfully, then his gaze, like the guide's, slipped to Sonea. Then he seemed to remember himself, and stepped out of the doorway so his visitors could enter. As he entered, he immediately sensed the power wafting from the shield he had put up around the slave he had tied up only hours earlier.

"He's awake," Morren said tightly. Clearly the man was none to happy about having a prisoner. Well, that would soon be dealt with. But not before the slave had made himself useful. But how best to approach this?

"Thank you for watching him, Morren," he said softly, considering the options he had. Morren replied, but he was too deep in his own thoughts to hear what was said. He wanted Sonea to see what the slave was doing from his own thoughts. That meant having her in his presence- but what about his bloodgem?

"Did you find a red gem on him?" he asked Morren.

"No, searched him good, found nothing."

That meant that blood gem was in more…personal space than usual. Lovely. "Very well," he replied. "Stay here. This is Sonea. I will send her out in a while."

"The Sonea?"

Akkarin managed to not roll his eyes. Why did everyone still have this fascination with her? It was getting ridiculous. He was suddenly reminded of a conversation that he and Lorlen had had about her, years ago now. The memory brought a pang of sadness.

"Yes, the living, breathing legend," he replied.

"Honoured to meet you, my lady," Morren said to Sonea. Akkarin didn't look at her, but could hear the surprise in her voice when she replied.

"Honoured to meet you too, Morren."

Morren seemed to finally put of the inevitable, and went to unlock the great wooden door. Immediately Akkarin put up another shield around himself and Sonea, and was met with the rather pathetic sight of the slave-turned-black magician tied to a wooden table.

First things first, where was the blood gem? Striding to the table, Akkarin put his hands on the man's temples and sent his mind forth. His mind easily wafted into the slave's, despite the man's attempts to evade him. Soon the answer to his question became clear. Well, it could be in a much worse place. Carefully pulling the man's mouth open, it took little effort to find the gold tooth and to extract it, dropping it to the floor. To his slight surprise, the man chuckled.

"They have seen your woman now, Kariko says she will be his after he kills you."

Well at least he knows he will have to kill me first. Saves me the trouble of telling him myself.

Akkarin lowered himself slightly to look into the man's eyes. "What a pity neither you nor I will be alive to see him try that." He then stamped down on the gold, making the man wince at the sudden noise.

He straightened, and looked back at Sonea. She was watching the scene before her with wide eyes, eyes that were full of terror and not a little confusion.

"Sonea," he said softly, and her eyes snapped to his. Interesting, she found him the easiest thing to look at, did that mean he was least terrifying part of this for her? "I have brought you here to answer some of your questions. I know you will not believe me unless you see the truth for yourself, so I have decided to teach you something I never intended to teach anyone. It is a skill that can too easily be abused, but if you—"

"No!" she interrupted, staring at him as if he were mad. "I will not learn—"

Akkarin realised his error. He supposed he had been a little vague. "I do not mean black magic," he corrected. "I would not teach you that, even if you were willing. I wish to teach you how to read minds."

"But…" Sonea's voice trailed off as she considered this. She looked away, and he could see in her face her mind was working quickly. She then looked back at him, a challenge in her eyes. "Why?"

"As I said, I want you to know the truth for yourself. You would not believe me if I told you. I would not trust you with this secret if I did not know you have a strong sense of honour and morality. Even so, you must vow to never use this method of mind reading on an unwilling recipient unless Kyralia is in great danger, and there is no other course of action."

Sonea's eyes narrowed at him. "You expect me to restrict my use of it as you say, you have not yourself?"

Akkarin chose not to defend himself against that remark. "Yes. Will you make the vow, or shall we return to the Guild now?"

They were silent for a while as she pondered. Akkarin thought he ought to be pleased, she was taking the vow seriously, but at the same time he just wanted her to make up her mind. He just wanted to show someone what he had been having to go through for so many years.

Her eyes had strayed to the captive. He stared back at her, but she didn't flinch or look away. Instead, she looked at him with curiosity. Then slowly, she finally spoke again.

"You would have me vow to never read a mind unless Kyralia was in danger, yet you want me to read his. Surely he is not a threat to Kyralia."

Takan was absolutely right. She really would make a worthy ally.

"He isn't now," he answered. "But he was. And his claims that his master will enslave you after he kills me should prove there a possible future threat. How can you know whether his master is capable of it, if you do not read his mind?"

She narrowed his eyes at him. "With that reasoning, you could justify reading the mind of anyone who made a threat."

I'm not going to tell Takan she said that. He'll be saying 'I told you so' until the end of his days.

"Which is why I require you to make that vow. You will not use this skill unless there is no other choice." As much as her mental jousting with him was entertaining, even gratifying, it was time to get an answer from her. "There is no other way I can show you the truth- we, not without putting your life at risk. Will you make the vow?"

One last pause, and then, finally, she slowly nodded. She looked at his expectantly. There was no way she was getting away with just that. He looked back at her with the same look she had given him. An expression of mild irritation passed over her face, then she spoke in a cool, calm voice.

"I vow to never read the mind of an unwilling person unless Kyralia is in great danger and there is no other way of avoiding that danger."

He nodded his approved. "Good. If I ever discover you have broken that vow, I will make sure you regret it."

She seemed to bite back a retort, but Akkarin chose to ignore it and turned to face the captive. The man looked suitably frightened now.

"Will you let me go now?" he whimpered. "You know I had to do what I did. They made me. Now the stone is gone, they can't find me. I won't—"

The desperate pleading was nauseating, and Akkarin was concerned to would put Sonea of her resolve. "Silence," he said as he lowered his head to the slave's level.

He considered where to begin. He had never taught this before, so he wasn't sure what would be best. Well, she needed access to the man's surface thoughts for a start.

"Place your hand on his forehead."

Sonea approaches, crouched down, and did as she was instructed. He placed his hand over hers. He briefly realised this had been the first time in over a year that he had touched her- the last time had been when he had made his inner shield for her during the Challenge with Regin. He wondered at why that thought had struck him for the briefest of moments, then brought his mind back to the lesson at hand.

And so Akkarin taught another person how to read an unwilling mind, something he had never thought he would do. He hadn't made any promises, not like the other things he had been taught, but it left him with a chill in his bones that he could not identify.

She struggled with the concept of 'drifting' into another person's mind at first, but that was to be expected- no lesson in the University could teach her this. She then grasped the idea quickly and confidently, and he was once again struck by the twists and turns of fate that had brought this particular girl to his residence that night so many years ago now. This particular girl who no other novice could match for ability, strength or natural talent. It made him wonder, had it been a coincidence? Or…or was it fate? Did something…pull her there, did some thing want her to see what she had seen, so they could all end up right here, right now? He almost snorted out loud- of course he didn't believe in fate or destiny. Those things are for people with the luxury of happy lives and good fortune. But enough of this talk for now.

-Who are you? Akkarin asked the slave, with Sonea's presence watching.

-Takava, the answer came immediately, and information about the man burst forth.

-Who is your master?

-Harikava, a powerful Ichani. So this wasn't one of Kariko's. Interesting…

-And what are the Ichani?

-Powerful magicians.

Akkarin sensed surprise from Sonea. Why do they keep slaves? He asked.

-For magic.

Sonea's confusion, and then horror, at her understanding of the constant strengthening of magical power through the slaves was palpable.

-But no longer! Takava interrupted his own memory. I am a slave no longer. Harikava freed me.

Akkarin felt a small amount of pity for the naivety this young man displayed by believing that, but then remembered what he had done since arriving in the city, and it vanished. He and Sonea watched the man's memories of 'being freed', watched as he learnt the basics of how black magic worked. Before Sonea saw anything she didn't want to see, Akkarin stopped the memory.

-Now you try, Sonea.

He was half amused, half surprised, when Sonea chose an image of himself to prime Takava with. After the initial hate had subsided from the captive, she was able to grab the image she was most interested in- an image of the Ichani.

-Who are these Ichani? She asked. She wanted to test the complexity of the memory, consider its validity- good. Takava went through the lift quickly, finishing with a name that, despite his best efforts, sent a chill down Akkarin's spine.

-Kariko, the man who wants to kill Akkarin.

-Why?

-Akkarin killed his brother. Any slave that turns on his master must be hunted and punished.

The astonishment that swept through from Sonea was potent. Of course, she had no idea. Of course, no one of the Guild had any idea. That was the whole point. Akkarin quickly backed away from the sensations, fearing what he might feel from her. Takava went on with his story.

-He says he will invade Kyralia and defeat the Guild easily. It will be a fine revenge for what the Guild did to us after the war.

-When will this invasion be? Akkarin asked abruptly, realising this was the perfect opportunity to ask such a question.

-Don't know. Others are afraid of the Guild. No slaves return. Neither will I…I don't want to die!

Disappointed in such an unhelpful response, Akkarin considered Sonea. Her astonishment had quickly became questioning. But her thoughts showed her curiosity was not disbelieving, but desperate to understand. Akkarin was incredibly, but quietly, grateful for the lack of one emotion- pity. Sonea was horrified for him, but didn't pity him.

There were so, so many reasons Akkarin would never tell this story willingly- it would divulge too much information about his history, the Guild wasn't ready to know its own history when it came to black magic, there was a small chance he wouldn't be believed. But the main reason- the true reason- was that he couldn't bear the way people might look at him after. He'd be damned before he saw people looking at him with eyes wide with tears and heads tilted with compassion.

-What have you done since entering Imardin? He asked Takava, and prepared himself for stopping the answer to his question when he needed to. As the memory turned to Takava finding a man with magical potential and capturing him, he brought himself back to his body and pulled Sonea's hand away from the man's forehead.

He looked at her. She was frowning at him, but once again there was no shred of pity about her. He could have thanked her for that. But he didn't.

"Why did I do that?" he said, voicing the question clearly on her lips. "You were about to learn what you don't wish to learn."

He got back to his feet, holding back a wince as his knees straightened after slow being crouched down. He was not getting old, he wasn't.

"Leave us Sonea," he said softly. He didn't look at her, but he knew the slight hesitation in her movement towards the door was her initial understanding of what he was about to do, and her desire to stop him. But then she walked swiftly to the door and left without a word. So she understood, and accepted, what he had to do. Perhaps tonight had been worth while

"Kariko will be very interested to meet her," Takava said will a false bravado. "She'll be quite the prize."

Akkarin gave his captive a stare that made the man flinch despite his bonds. "Well, as we have already gathered, my dead body will be in his way before he gets to claim her. And believe me when I say she'll put up a fight like no woman you have ever met. Now, shall we get this over with?"

A half minute later, and it was over, and Imardin was safe once again.

But Akkarin's soul was blackened just a little more.

Not wanting to hang about, he quickly left the room to rejoin his two companions. In the small entry room, Morren was looking thoughtful. Sonea was looking pale and not a little frightened. She looked up as he clicked the door closed, but unlike so many times before, she was able to keep his gaze. He had been right, there was no bit of pity about her. Indeed, even now there wasn't as much fear of him- yes, she was scared, but much more to do with what she had seen than him. No, as they considered each other, he thought he saw something else- empathy.

"You have much to think about," he murmured, and she nodded. "Come, we will return to the Guild." She looked relieved at that. He looked at the assistant. "Thank you, Morren. Dispose of him in the usual way, will you?"

"Yes, my Lord," Morren said, bowing his head. "Did you find out anything useful."

As he looked at Sonea, who was staring at the wooden floor, but clearly not seeing what was before her. "Perhaps," he replied, certainly hoping, praying, that he had. "We shall see."

And thus began the beginning of the end.

Phew, that was a big one! Thank you to *all* of you who sent me ideas of fics to promote, it's so lovely to see people being so eager to celebrate other people's work. I have a list, and I will work through it, so don't worry if I don't mention yours immediately. I am still looking for recommendations, so please keep sending them in. Firstly, the lovely EdHellos recommended "Struggle" by Lord Thibault (who has actually written a few other fics as well). Edhellos described it as a completely different approach to an AU version of the BMT, and is really well written. I can definitely testify to that! It is rated M, so proceed with caution. I have favourited it as a story, so you can find it on my profile :) Love you you all, Cece xox