Hello, this is a small side project I am currently working on to improve my English skills a little bit. So I am really sorry if there are some grammar mistakes. It can also happen that the chapters don't come very regularly because I don't really have enough time to write down all the stories in my head. But now have fun!

It was a quiet night when Lorlen, driven by his own thoughts, entered the roof of the university. It had been half a year since he had seen in Sonea's mind how his best friend used black magic. Since that hearing, the memory had always been in a corner of his mind, lurking whenever he had some time. Why, by the eye, had his best friend learned black magic? Why did he practice it on the guild grounds? And why did Lorlen have to learn it from the girl's mind? Lorlen wished for nothing more than to forget all this and return to his old friendship with Akkarin

He sighed. Half a year ago he had been very frightened and angry, and he had thought about strategies to defeat the High Lord. At the same time he had felt that someone had torn the ground from under his feet. Did he even know Akkarin? But it had been the first shock that had made him think that way, and now he wasn't really sure if it was necessary to act that way. Akkarin was already high lord, he was already the most powerful man in the guild and most importantly: he had never acted against the guild before. In fact, he was quite a good High Lord, who had a good bond with the court and was wise in his judgement within the guild. And although Lorlen had retreated from him, Akkarin had remained a friend to him.

And then there was the old friendship between Lorlen and Akkarin. They had been friends since their noviciate days, and Lorlen just couldn't imagine that the man he knew would do something so bad without good reason. Yes, Akkarin had never been a law-abiding person, but he had never overdone it, even in their early days. But was Akkarin still the man he had once known so well? Lorlen could not deny that he had changed since he had returned from his travels.

Lorlen sighed again. He was not really sure of his own thoughts. Black magic was really bad and there was a reason it was forbidden. But deep inside, the administrator knew it was like any weapon: it was neither good nor bad. It was only a tool, and its use lay with the man who used it. This brought him back to all his questions and to the man who could answer them all. If he could bring himself to ask questions and if his best friend was ready to answer him.

Lorlen suddenly flinched when he heard the voice of the man he had avoided so much since the hearing. He had not noticed his arrival, lost in his own thoughts.

"I knew I would find you here. Why are you so worried my friend? Is our family not well?"

It was only a few seconds before Lorlen decided to trust his former best friend. In the end, everything in him had longed for everything to go back to the way it was before, but he had to take the first step to do so. He took a deep breath before answering.

"Maybe they are not well," Lorlen replied without looking at the High Lord. He knew his courage would have disappeared under the piercing gaze of his best friend.

"Perhaps I can help you in this matter?"

Lorlen smiled. "Actually, you're the only one who can do that," he said. The High Lord remained silent and waited patiently for Lorlen's explanation. The man dressed in blue took a moment to find the right words to give enough information, but also to withhold the fact that he was not the only one who knew his best friend's little secret.

"I've seen you practising black magic," he finally managed to say and looked up at his best friend, who apparently remained untouched. He stood leaning against the parapet, his arms crossed in front of his chest, his gaze fixed on Lorlen. Uneasily, the administrator stepped from one foot to the other.

"This is a really serious accusation, Lorlen," he said, his voice low, as if talking to a child.

"I know"

The two men stood there in the middle of the night on the roof of the university, staring at each other and trying to figure out their next steps. It was Lorlen who finally made a decision.

"I saw you with Takan in your basement room taking his power."

"That must have been a while ago," Akkarin replied thoughtfully. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"I had to think about things," Lorlen tried to smile, but failed miserably. "You can imagine that it was quite a shock to see you do such a thing.

The High Lord frowned. "How did you see it?" he asked. Lorlen had the feeling that something had gone terribly wrong without knowing why.

"I wanted to see you and I looked for you. As there was no one in the guest room, I decided to look for Takan and entered the staircase. When I saw you taking away his powers, I hurried away," Lorlen explained, hoping that Akkarin would believe his lies.

The mage, dressed in black, turned around abruptly and now watched the deserted guild grounds.

"Why are you lying to me, my friend," he asked in a low voice with a hint of reproach. "If you had been there, I would have sensed you. Well, actually I did feel something a while ago, but it wasn't you." It seemed as if the High Lord was speaking to himself, trying to find out something. He shook his head and turned back to Lorlen with one of his piercing looks that felt as if it exposed Lorlen's soul. "So what have you been keeping from me, my friend?"

Lorlen could no longer bear the looks of his best friend and turned away to calm the maelstrom of anger and worry in his head. He should not have said anything. He should have kept it to himself and kept looking for a solution

"Don't force me to read your superficial thoughts, Lorlen," Akkarin warned him. Lorlen shook his head, angry at himself. He should have known better.

"Do you remember Sonea's hearing?" Lorlen asked, feeling guilty about exposing her role in this matter and putting her at risk. In the end, he did not know how Akkarin would react to protect his secret, and she was just a little girl with a lot of power. An easy victim, if you like.

"I understand. Well, that brings some pieces of the puzzle together," muttered Akkarin. "Does anyone else know?"

"Sonea asked permission to tell her mentor. I gave it to her. Probably he would have found out during an exercise anyway.

Akkarin sighed. "You should have spoken to me sooner, Lorlen. Well, we can't change things, I have to make the best of it. Actually, I'm glad you trust me enough not to openly accuse me," the High Lord rubbed his face in a tired gesture. "Will you allow me to read your thoughts? I must be sure that you won't tell the other magicians about it."

"No, I will not allow that," Lorlens replied gruffly. He was annoyed at his friend's lack of trust in him and at his request. He really loved Akkarin, but there were limits. A mind-reading was an invasion of his privacy in a very intimate way. Once upon a time, Lorlen might not have minded, but they were no longer the novices of that time.

"I don't like it either, but this is not some kind of nonsense. This is a really serious matter".

"It is. And I think you owe me an explanation," blurts it out of Lorlen. "I can't imagine you're doing this without a good reason, but I must know your motives, Akkarin"

A long silence lay between these two men, witnessed by the full moon that bathed the scene in a flat light. It was Akkarin who finally broke the silence, his face the same distant mask he always wore.

"I will tell you what you need to know if you allow me to do the truth reading," he offered to his friend. Lorlen knew this was his only chance to at least learn about his best friend's reasons, so he decided to accept the offer, hoping he would not regret it.

Hope you enjoyed reading. I would be glad to hear your opinion about it.