Chapter 5

The Ways of Gods

After he was done explaining the situation to the mage, Ivan said briefly, "I apologize Raistlin, but I am losing control of my emotions, and therefore my power. As we draw closer to the Solstice, that becomes all the more problematic. I need to go for a walk to calm myself before I act in ways unfitting for a servant of the God of Light. If you have any further questions, we can speak when I return."

Raistlin gave the smallest of nods to that and Ivan left the apartment swiftly, only taking time to lock the door behind him. He could hear Ivan's heavy footsteps as he sped down the old stairs.

Raistlin sat in stunned silence, slowly letting what he had been told process in his mind. It was hard to imagine Ria- a young woman who seemed so full of life and curiosity and kindness- going through the things Ivan had described. Of having a family who could look on someone like her and somehow think she was evil, that her gifts were a curse. Of hating it so much that they would do something so cruel as to try breaking her with drugs, and keep trying even when it was clearly endangering her life.

He didn't have a full understanding of this world's history, but clearly the desire to eradicate magic wasn't so distant that the threat had faded, even if Ria said there was some progress being made in fighting back. The attitudes that had caused the near extermination of magical practices still influenced the modern people. And Ria had been subjected to that persecution by her own family.

For the first time in his life, Raistlin felt a profound gratitude towards his own family. Gilon had struggled to take care of his wife whose mind was frequently ensnared by magic, but he had loved her too much to abandon her, her daughter by her first husband, or their sons. He worked long hard hours to provide for them. Gilon hadn't ever rightly understood his magic using son, but he still trusted that he had raised that son right and he wouldn't abuse his growing magic if he let Raistlin study, and had hoped in doing so that Raistlin wouldn't fall into the trap Rosamun had fallen into.

Kit, for all her brash behavior and rough treatment, had cornered Antimodes all those years ago in the Inn to get him to meet her little brother, opening the door to allow him to study. As much as he hated when his mercenary sister reminded him of his physical weaknesses, she at least understood that magic could be his own sort of shield and sword to protect himself with and wanted him to wield them as such.

Caramon probably understood him least of all, his simple mind didn't understand magic and he could barely grasp the concept of the many ways it could someday be wielded, but he still supported his twin's magic endeavors. He tried to protect him from bullies when they were small children and started working with Farmer Sedge so Raistlin could have rides to and from school back when the school house was on the outskirts of town. And yes Caramon kept trying to teach him a thing or two about fighting until his magic reached new levels and wouldn't accept that he didn't want to divert his time with such crude forms of self-protection, but Caramon still believed he'd reach those heights of magic someday and they had been discussing their options to strike out on their own to become mercenaries when they were both ready.

What could his life have been like if he hadn't had them trying, in their own ham-fisted ways, to support him? What if they had done to him what Ria's family had done to her?

He knew the answer to that; there was very strict rules on that in his world. He would not have made it to adulthood. Such attempts to drug him would have sent his handle on his innate gift for magic spiraling out of control and he would have become a danger to himself and everyone around him. The conclave would have found out from Master Theobald, or perhaps Antimodes in his travels would have been the one to discover it, and they would have sent people to end the threat he posed before he could become a larger one. They might have even sent Antimodes to be the one to do so.

How was Ria even still alive? Even with Ivan's explanation of the aid Maggie and Yevgeny had provided, how had she managed to hold on that long on her own? That must have been almost ten years of such abuse, if he understood the time frames properly. Maybe it was because magic users of this world had a lesser form of access to magic, perhaps that had made Ria's out of control magic a lesser threat to herself. The more the mage thought on it, he realized that didn't seem quite right. Especially not for what he had been told Ria's future potential was supposed to be.

No, whatever drugs they had used that had damaged her mind, they had been more effective at stamping out magical access than the drugs in his world were. They had somehow used the more advanced technology they had that allowed them to better observe the world to start experimenting with ways to neutralize magic users. The doctors may or may not have realized what they were doing, the doctors might very well have thought they were actually treating a mentally ill patient, but Ria's father at the very least must have known what he was ordering them to do to his daughter.

That was a bone chilling thought to the mage from Krynn, both for what had been done to Ria, and for the implications that such could potentially be done to other magic users. Whatever campaign there was to exterminate magic that people like Ria's mentors were fighting back against, such drugs could turn the tide against their favor and potentially finish the destruction if such information were to get into the hands of those who wanted to do more than simply break a daughter seen as problematic.

Raistlin stood and set about heating some water on the stove so he could have some of the chamomile tea he had asked Ria to purchase when they had gone shopping this weekend, wanting something to help calm his nerves as he continued thinking, and figuring that Ivan might appreciate some as well when he eventually returned.

Raistlin's thoughts went back to Ria herself. How was she not broken? She had made a few comments since they had met about knowing what insanity was, or seeming fearful of seemingly insane situations. Comments that he had taken to be an academic understanding from her schooling, or just from what a strange situation they were in and understandably questioning it, respectively. That wasn't the case, as it turns out. That was something she had personally battled with and somehow came through it as seemingly well-adjusted as she was.

He knew her closest circle of friends were people she had known since she was a small child, many of those attachments forming before her grandparents died and the paranoid torture by her father started. While they were unable to stop the abuse from happening until Ria ran away, had they been able to supplement enough support as a surrogate family to help her cope? Given how tightly-knit the group seemed, he was inclined to think that was the case and it had played a large role.

No wonder they were all so protective of Ria. Why Darlene was so hostile to perceived threats, but seemed to try to curb her tempestuous reactions to avoid overly upsetting Ria, even if she needed reminders at times. If he was understanding things correctly, Darlene would have been on the forefront of whatever mental break Ria had after running away as she and her parents tried to get Ria the help she needed. Why Vic was so quick to threaten him their first night meeting, even with his unspoken crush on Ria taken into account, and probably Ria's history played into part of why the young man had been hesitant to tell her. Why Evan, who had actually dated Ria and clearly still had feelings for her, was hesitant to try fighting for them to reconcile. Why Brian and Lexi seemed so quick to try to keep the peace in the group and help make newer influences in Ria's life feel welcome, like himself and maybe even Janet, so she wouldn't be upset by conflicts. They had been powerless to stop her father from what he had been doing to her, but they tried to help in what ways they felt they could, and now that they were all adults they were more confident in doing so, aggressively if needed.

What was he to do with this information? How did this change things? Did it change things?

Strictly speaking, it changed nothing, he reasoned. Whatever her father had done to her with those drugs, whatever damage he had caused her, she was still favored by the gods of this world. Gods who could very well be his own gods. He still wasn't fully certain on that, but it did seem highly probable. He knew his gods wouldn't be pleased if other gods had stolen him away from his own destiny in his world to play protector here. If they weren't the same gods, they could very well be related and cooperating on this matter. Either way that truly lay, the gods in general wanted Ria protected, and his gods were at the very least allowing him to be conscripted, which implied a demand by them to act. And he had sworn his service to them many years ago.

So he needed to protect Ria as best as he could. Which he had been striving to do, both because it was his responsibility now to do so, and because of his feelings for her.

His feelings for her, on the other hand, were now conflicted again. This revelation didn't change that he had them. If anything, now that the shock and horror was wearing away, it was making him furious on her behalf and wanting all the more to keep her safe so she couldn't be harmed again.

But now he understood better why the mentors had been concerned about feelings developing between him and Ria. What would it do to her if these feelings grew between them, and then he was sent home? He knew Maggie thought Ria could handle a 'responsible summer romance' at this point, the female mentor thinking it might even do Ria some good. Ria wanted them to "figure it out" as they went, she clearly was accepting her feelings for him. Given what Ivan had told him, though, was it short sighted to allow things to continue?

Could Ria really handle whatever stress she would be under from surviving the false wolves' attack, and then whatever additional strain would be caused by losing the one who had protected her from it and she had feelings for?

Could she handle potential future attacks? Would she be able to overcome whatever damage was done to her and access her magic at some future point to protect herself?

Yes, the mentors were working under the assumption that Ria was some prophesized priestess who would someday help them win their battle to resurrect their former traditions without persecution. The gods bringing him here to protect her would certainly indicate she was favored by them, and the mentors had mentioned they had reasons to believe before now that she held that favor. Her appearance, with her red hair and silvery eyes, was supposedly one of them. What were the others? And did favored by the gods necessarily mean she was the one spoken of in their traditions? Technically speaking, her mentors were also favored by their gods to some extent, that was why they held their positions. What if their gods were just tired of losing faithful servants and wanted to protect this one from those who were making a mockery of their traditions?

Raistlin sighed. He knew that wasn't likely. Ria's mentors were probably correct in their evaluations of the situation. Which meant that even if they could protect her through this round of dangers, there was likely to be more as Ria grew closer to fulfilling her own destiny. And she couldn't defend herself. Would the gods keep trying to find ways to protect her, or would they try to select a new champion for their cause because this one was damaged so early? Or would the gods really let this world fall to ruin if she couldn't change things, or if she was killed before she was given the chance?

More than ever, Raistlin resented the thought that he was in all probability going to be sent back to Krynn when all was said and done so he could fulfill whatever his future there was. He didn't want to leave Ria. He didn't want her to have to fight those future battles on her own. He certainly didn't want to be another potential event that harms her.

Yes, he would eventually have easier access to magical studies in his world to gain power from, but there was a chance he might be able to work his way through some studies on his own here. He had a fairly solid foundational understanding of the ways of magic and Sihir, so what if he sacrificed the quick path and settled on following in the footsteps of the first mages and worked out how to construct spells on his own? At least he had the foundation he did, instead of being like those of old who had to work even that much out with nothing but some inspiration from the Gods of Magic on how to do so. It would be worth the extra trouble if it meant he wouldn't risk hurting Ria or not being there for her in the future should other dangers arise.

Except, this wasn't his choice, was it? He had some destiny of his own awaiting him in his world. He didn't know how time and world travelling worked outside some of the theories Ria had shared and a few basic concepts student mages were taught. Only very powerful Archmagi were allowed access to magics pertaining to the flow of time.

The water was starting to get little bubbles in it, but it wasn't steaming properly yet.

Raistlin walked out to the living room where Ria's bewitched hourglass was. The sands were still not moving, it was as he had last seen it. While he couldn't know for certain, his instincts were saying that such was a clue meant for him, not Ria or her mentors. He was the one who could read the runes on the mage embraced hourglass without needing a translator. If it was meant for him, as the spellbook also had been, then that meant that his personal flow of time had been paused to bring him here, but eventually, like the inscribed runes warned, the sands would start to flow for him again in his world.

He was going to be sent back eventually, he had to be. If his hunch was right, the current state of the hourglass would further indicate he would be sent back to the exact time he left. No one would have cause to know he had been gone. The timeline in his world would continue on its natural course and he was expected to play his part in whatever the future held.

The young mage's jaw clenched as he fought the irrational urge to open the glass case, grab the enchanted hourglass, and smash it. That impulse wouldn't help him stay here. The spell was a minor one, just a motion freezing spell to give the warning. Smashing the hourglass would accomplish nothing. Still, the sight of it filled him with rage he couldn't vent and he swiftly turned away, going back to the kitchen and working to calm his thoughts.

Raistlin added some tea bags to the now steaming pot of water. Some part of his mind appreciated how quickly the stove could heat the water, compared to the wood stove they used at his home. He was putting the box of remaining tea back in the cabinet when he heard Ivan returning.

"I'm making some chamomile tea, if you would like a mug," Raistlin offered in as neutral a voice as he could manage, moving to the cabinet the cups were in.

"Yes, thank you," Ivan said, voice much quieter and passive now, taking a seat at the table again.

Raistlin glanced over his shoulder and saw the mentor no longer looked like he was straining to keep his emotions in check. He breathed a sigh of relief that the walk had helped.

Raistlin busied himself getting the tea ready. He was thankfully able to get his own emotions better in hand, then brought Ivan his mug and sat across from him with his own.

Ivan looked down at the mug, large hands wrapping around it, but he didn't drink from it immediately. "I would like to properly apologize for my loss of temper, Raistlin. Such things as was spoken of were things that we should have told you sooner, so you could have a better understanding of what balance we are struggling to maintain. They are not easy to think on, and there has been much to speak on, so we delayed on such an unpleasant conversation."

Raistlin nodded in understanding to that. "I can appreciate how difficult such a situation would be to speak of, never mind live through." He took a few sips of his tea, then asked, "Are you feeling balanced enough to answer a few questions I have, or should we perhaps let things rest for today and continue later this week?"

Ivan shook her head before taking a brief sip of his own tea. "All factors considered, I am as balanced as I can be at this time. The subject has already been broached, so if you have questions, ask them now. There is no guarantee we will have later time to answer, either by the wolves attacking or some other situation arising that distracts."

Raistlin closed his eyes a moment. It kept coming down to time, and not knowing how much they had. All he could do was keep trying to make the most of the time he had. He opened his eyes and saw Ivan was giving him a contemplative look. "Are you reading my mind?"

Ivan shook his head slowly. "No. Such would be rude, especially as we are having an honest conversation. I am merely observing your expressions. You look as though there is much weighing on your mind. So, let us speak."

Raistlin sipped at his tea, gathering his thoughts to form a proper line of questions to help him have the fullest understanding possible. "I ask the following to understand how the three of you are handling this situation, not to cast doubts on your judgement. How certain are you that Ria is the one spoken of in your prophesies? Outside of the circumstantial indicators of the world events, how do you know that she in particular is that person? That my presence here is specifically to protect her as the woman spoken of, and not as simply one favored by the gods who is being threatened by those who mock the gods?"

"That is a fair question to ask," Ivan said mildly. "Can we know with absolute, unshakable certainty? No. No one can know anything so absolutely. However, even outside your appearance here to protect her from the current threats, there are other indicators. Things such as Ria's appearance, which is very unlike her family's."

"Maggie mentioned that."

"Just so," Ivan said with a nod. "There are other things, such as the cat that you have this ongoing hostility with."

"What about the cat?" Raistlin asked, brows furrowing in confusion.

"Surely a mage of Krynn recognizes a familiar when he sees one?"

Raistlin's confusion grew. "That little beast is a familiar? Why didn't Ria mention that? And why doesn't it talk?"

"Yes, she is a familiar," Ivan said assuredly, a smirk forming. "Little Ria does not realize that Gabriella is a familiar, and we were of the thought that such a discovery should be done naturally, in her own time. I am quite adept at reading minds, even if I cannot control them as my brother does, and when I noticed odd behavior from the cat, I scanned her mind. That cat is far smarter than any normal cat has rights to be, and it fully understands human speech, no matter what language is used in front of it. I would hazard a guess that Gabriella does not speak yet because Ria's connection to her is not fully complete because she does not have proper control of her magic. Even still, this is extraordinary for our world because there has not been a proper familiar seen since the times of the ancients. Furthermore, Gabriella was sent to Argyria with a blessing from the God of Light to aid in her recovery. When Ria is upset, Gabriella emits a very subtle aura that helps bring her to a quieter peace of mind."

Raistlin pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, giving a sigh. "I suppose I'm going to have to stop using magic on her when she's being hostile?"

Ivan chuckled at that. "She is very fond of salmon. If apologizing to her and seeing you treat Ria kindly does not win her over, it would not hurt to bribe her with some fresh fish."

"I'll keep that in mind," Raistlin said dryly.

"As to other reason we believe we are correct in who Ria is," Ivan said more seriously. "There is also that you are not the first person who has been brought in to help her when in distress, even if you are the first person from another world. When Ria ran away from her biological father's house, our gods alerted another triad of their servants to aid us in helping her to recover. Such is something not often done, as we try to stay spread out so as to not attract notice or make it easy for us to be eradicated. We come together only briefly to share important discoveries and allow our apprentices to start building their own ties to one another for the next generation. Then we go our own ways unless there is extenuating need, and if there is need we keep our aid to only as long as absolutely needed and as circumspect as possible. Such is how we survive.

"The gods summoned these three because they had careers in medicine and they were able to maneuver their way into the facility Ria was to be checked into to detox, something we were unable to do. At the direction of the gods, they remained for almost three months to see to Ria's care personally and until they had done all they could. That High Priest to the God of Light was able to diagnose the damages that had been done and put together the best course to reverse what we could and know what to expect as lasting side effects. The High Priestess was a dreamwalker who was able to break through many of the hallucinations Ria had while she was detoxing to help her through them. The High Priest of the Dark God was able to keep watch on her so that the more volatile patients at the facility could not cause her harm, intervening before they could try. They helped us gain entrance to the facility so Maggie and Yevgeny were able to start their work as soon as the others had done what they could. They helped us keep Ria's biological father from taking custody of her again, providing us with medical paperwork that said he had knowingly caused irreparable physical harm to his daughter with illegal experimental drugs. Ria was remanded to state custody while in the hospital. While we were not able to take full guardianship of her due to the laws when she was released from the hospital, there was a judge at the courthouse who owed me favors. I convinced him to destroy her case file at the court and unofficially release her to our custody so she would not be forced into a stranger's care in her delicate state at the time. Yevgeny used his gift and guile to gain access to the office where her caseworker was and used his mentalist gift to remove her memory of Ria being in the system and then ransacked their office to remove her files and data from the computer system."

Raistlin nodded to that in contemplation. From what he could tell, it seemed the mentors were justified in their conclusions they had so far reached in regards to Ria's future. It also seemed these gods of theirs had a vested interest in continuing Ria's protection, that they were counting on her making a recovery to fulfill her destiny.

"If I may ask, what sort of training is Ria going through to help her gain control of her magic so that she will be able to protect herself someday? How do such things work in this world?" The mage briefly gestured to the books on the table that he had scanned over last night to start getting a rough sense of what knowledge this world might have to offer. "From what I have been able to gather so far, from what things you three have said, some things Ria has said, and some bits and pieces from some of my reading last night, it sounds as though your world relies on what in my world would be considered wild magic and divine magic, combined as a hybrid by high rituals. If I was understanding the basics of what I was reading last night, your magic is not drawn from the catalyst of the moon, as our mages do for our corresponding three moons to the three gods. It seemed like the connection to magic was instead from the world itself, the seasons of the year, and day and night themselves. And you mentioned before you went for your walk something about the Solstice and it having an effect on your powers?"

"That is correct," Ivan said. "In our world, we attune to the natural cycles of the earth and draw power from it. The earth is the Mother Goddess's domain, as is all life on it. The Gods of Light and Dark share influence over this world. Daytime obviously belongs to the God of Light, and the Dark God rules the night. From the Spring Equinox to the Autumnal Equinox, it is the reign of the God of Light, with midafternoon on the Summer Solstice being his peak of power. From the Autumnal Equinox to the Spring Equinox, it is the reign of the Dark God, and midnight on the Winter Solstice is when his power is at its peak. As such, the High Priestesses of the Goddess maintain a steady source of their power throughout the year to balance the natural forces throughout the world. High Priests' powers are tied to their Gods'. Those of us tied to the God of Light being at our strongest throughout summer and limited during the winter, those tied to the Dark God being strongest during the winter and limited in the summer, and both sects of High Priests being about equal in power during the spring and autumn.

"As for how that influences Ria's training, right now we are working with her on meditations to help her attune with this world and the cycles of the year, to feel how those cycles shift and effect the world. That's often best done outside, closest to nature. We have been teaching her magical theory and ritual construction, as well as such correspondences are appropriate for what one's goal may be in ritual. Maggie has been working with her to try expanding her psychic awareness to learn proper divination skills, as well as learn the art of Reiki for healing."

Ivan took a sip of his tea and then continued to succinctly explain their traditions. "As to being able to eventually protect herself, it is not expected that Ria will be responsible for her own protection in such ways as directly fighting. High Priestesses are seers and healers, teachers and balance keepers. They are the guardians of life on this world and they cannot have access to such magic with blood on their hands. That is why they have their consorts, the High Priests. It is our job to protect them, by magic or by martial force as necessary. The High Priestess divines when danger is coming, the High Priests neutralize the threats, the High Priestess does what she can to heal whatever injuries they incur. If for some reason the High Priests are unavailable to act and danger is imminent, High Priestesses can commune with the earth and ask the Mother Goddess to grant them protectors from nature to keep them safe. Generally, the Mother Goddess sends animals to fight a threat. There are rare cases where animals are not strong enough to handle a threat, so the elements will give the High Priestess aid. I have not heard of such cases in some generations, it is very rare these days for neither of the High Priests to be available to begin with. This said, there are stories of trees opening to hide a High Priestess, or the High Priestess diving into a river and becoming one with it until the threat passes, or storms appearing from seemingly nowhere to strike a foe down with lightning or cause deadly avalanches or landslides. If Ria truly is the High Priestess that was foretold, it will be that her studies to attune with the world will allow her to gain the gift of true healing to an extent even Maggie has been unable to achieve to keep her consorts in proper health to protect her, and that she can command such elements and animals to protect her should need arise, without needing to ask the Mother Goddess for intervention, so that she may remain innocent of murder."

Raistlin's mind worked to process that information, which was made harder by the reminder of this world's tradition of pairing off High Priestesses with these consorts. He hated the reminder that even if he could successfully protect Ria through this situation and had feelings for her, he was going to be sent home eventually and she would have to select such consorts. Given how Ivan was explaining the balance this world's magic users tried to keep by fulfilling certain roles, which reflected their deities and the balance between the three, that tradition (as much as he hated to admit it) did seem to make more sense now.

The mage didn't like it, but he could follow the logic.

And as much as he didn't like it, this wasn't his world, the ways they went about accessing magic were different here. Just as Ivan was willing to let him lead the decisions on how he went about pursuing his own magical studies as a mage of Krynn because he understood it best; he really didn't have much right to question their traditions, which he still only understood the bare basics of, that were given to them by their gods.

Raistlin sighed heavily, doing what he could to set aside for the moment his personal opinions and feelings on the matter to concentrate on the matters at hand. Right now, he was responsible for helping the mentors protect Ria because she could not protect herself, her consorts hadn't been selected, nor could she summon aid from nature through their hybrid form of wild and divine magic. "Do you know why Ria is having such a hard time connecting to her magic? From what you've said, the drugs did not destroy her ability to reach it entirely."

"From what we have been able to observe during her meditations and training sessions," Ivan said with a frown forming and a hint of concern entering his voice, "it seems to do with her having difficulties focusing inward, keeping focus to connect to the magic, and then maintaining the focus to bring it forth. She has improved a great deal at stilling her thoughts to reach in, but when she senses the magic, she is having difficulties grasping it properly and then loses focus in her frustration. We have been experimenting with different techniques to focus her attention, trying different visualizations and tools to act as catalysts until such time as she can do so on her own."

Raistlin nodded to that answer, and again when Ivan asked him if he wanted a fresh cup of tea.

Ivan stood and leaned across the table to pick up Raistlin's cup, and the platinum crescent around his neck likewise swung forward. Sunlight coming in from the window above Ria's kitchen sink hit the pendant, causing it to reflect the light into the mage's eyes.

As Raistlin's eyes started to close reflexively to that uncomfortable flash, time almost seemed to slow down. The flash of light caused the pendant to look like a full, silver toned moon, which stretched into the oblong shape of an eye, and then a red iris and black pupil formed.

The eye of his gods stared directly at the mage for just a fraction of a second as he felt their presence touch his mind, then closed and disappeared as the flash faded, taking that divine presence with it.

The divine presence was gone, time returned to normal, but the nudge of a suggestion was left in his mind. A suggestion on how he could help the mentors help Ria.

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A/N: Thank you Dekuton and Ortho for the encouragement. ^_^ Dekuton- I make no promises on when it will happen or what the circumstances will be, but eventually the fey child will get to have that adventure in Krynn she wanted. Ortho- I'm glad you could appreciate the DM insight and detailing, and had some laughs with me at that. And thank you, I'm glad starting to tie up those particular plot points is well received. I hope everyone appreciates this new chapter, I had hoped to get it done quicker but I had a game this afternoon.