Raija Darknight stood in the Tower of High Sorcery, going through books. She had come here for fun, being rather bored. And the trip getting here had certainly been fun, if not slightly dangerous. Her evil rabbit Nightshade had bounded through the grove with some ease and let her off at the front. She had somehow avoided all the things in the grove and the gates had been miraculously open. Well, if you counted sneaking in through the large gaps 'open'.

The guardians were a bother though. They continually came up and started talking about the master of past and present and tried to kill her. Then she had to bring out the blue holy water she had borrowed from someone.

She stifled a yawn. The spellbooks really were boring. True, they did have immensely powerful spells, but she could only perform a few. She looked at the nightjewel on her necklace, which had been enchanted to look to tell what time it was, along with other magical properties. It would flash when enemies were nearby, and would also show who they were and their purpose.

Looking at it, Raija could tell it was noon, and stretched. She put down the book in the exact place she had found it and exited the room.

Raija carelessly walked to the stairway, then jumped off the edge of the stairs. Remembering, she grabbed the ledge with both hands, almost dislocating her shoulders. Smart person that she was, she hadn't remembered the rules here. Until The master of past and present came, the magic of the tower stifled other magics that were not evil. Or something like that anyway. So Raija, trying to remember to breath in through the nose and out through the mouth, hung and attempted not to panic.

Her arms, which were cramped ffrom holding books in one position, couldn't take the strain. Her fingers slid over the edge, ever so slowly. Then, with a quick movement, they let go altogether. Raija, her eyes bulging, fell.

Or almost did. Raija, who was just about to bust a lung screaming, felt cold fingers grab onto her hand, jerking her to a stop. She saw a man in a black robe, almost blending in with the dark stone. His hood was low over his head, and she could see any of his face, not even a tint of skin. Raija grinned hopefully, though he didn't look very cheerful. Still, he had just saved her life. "Hi there…I'm Raija." No last name, not until she knew a bity bit about him. "Thanks for saving me. Out of idle curiousity, how'd you get in here?" Don't ask for the name, people got killed like that.

The man stood there, perfectly still. His voice, when he spoke, was cold, sibilant, and naturally menacing. "It is not your business to know. You should leave now; none are permitted to be here yet."

Raija nodded and rolled her eyes very slightly. She'd heard it all before with the guardians. The truth was, she'd only gotten in because Nightshade, the giant evil rabbit that was her constant companion and steed, was born in the Shoikan Grove. So they'd gotten past most of the hands and trees, and she wasn't going to just leave.

She started to explain, but the man held up a hand. Raija could swear she felt his gaze on her. It was almost painful, but she still couldn't see his eyes.

Raija, who never gave up, opened her mouth to protest. The man spoke a word that Raija remembered briefly from one of the dusty old spellbooks upstairs. She quickly cast a shield spell, but either she was too slow or the magic too powerful; she didn't know. In an instant, she was caught in a whirlwind of magic.

The magic slammed her against the wall. Raija managed to stop her head from being hit by guarding it with her hands. Fighting the pain, she reached into her pouches and threw a handful of dandelion seeds at the man. They sped toward him, born on an unfelt wind. The man held up a hand. It was pale, almost blinding in the darkness.

The seeds stopped. They hung in the air mockingly, then sped toward Raija. Never one to panic, Raija did the best she could and ran. The seeds caught her up and surrounded her, forming an enormous puffball. Raija cautiously reached for her spell components, though she knew what would happen. Blue jolts of electricity shot out of the ends of the seeds and she was shocked about a million times. True, the beams were weak, but when you put so many together like that... She gasped and fell to the ground, getting shocked again and again as she moved.

The man above watched until he saw she would soon be too weak to stand. Then he waved his hand toward the seeds and they disappeared. " Go now," he said to Raija. "And be grateful. I rarely waste this much off my time with you lower ones." He gestured toward the exit with a sharp gesture that clearly showed his impatience. Raija, grumbling and nursing a hand, decided that she was probably better leaving this to another time. When she was better prepared. She walked down the stairs quickly, not looking back. You never look back.

Raija took the Nightjewel around her neck and blew over it softly as she stood in the doorway. A rushing breeze spread through the Skoikan Grove, and Nightshade appeared. "Well, well, see your still partially alive," Nightshade said sarcastically.

"I don't want to talk about it now," said Raija walking with difficulty to the Nightshade's side. She got on the rabbits back and they hopped out of the Shoikan Grove. Just as they were at the closing ring, all the trees rustled again. To Raija it seemed like a warning, and a farewell.