Finally a new chapter for you. Hope you will enjoy it!
Lorlen looked up when he heard the familiar knocking of Lord Osen. It was still early in the morning, as it always was when they both began their work. With a little magic, he let the door swing open and sat up a little straighter.
Osen bowed to him after he entered, a stack of letters in his hand. "Administrator."
"Lord Osen." Lorlen smiled and then gestured to the chair in front of his desk. "Sit down."
The younger mage complied with the request and then placed the letters on the desk. "I have sorted them by importance as usual" he remarked.
Lorlen nodded. Not for the first time, it struck him how glad he was to have made Osen his assistant.
"What else is on the agenda today?" asked Lorlen. Lord Osen had by now taken over the task of scheduling appointments for Lorlen while filtering out unimportant requests so that the administrator could focus on the important things.
"Rector Jerrik would like to see you in half an hour, it seems to be about magical duels in the university corridors".
Lorlen raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it his job to take care of such things so that the offenders are punished?"
Osen nodded. "Actually. He said something about the High Lord's favourite being involved."
Lorlen sighed. "Of course. Anything else?"
"There is a meeting of the Higher Mages this afternoon, nothing else," Osen replied.
"Thank you, Lord Osen," Lorlen thanked him, squinting at the stack of papers his assistant had brought. It could wait a little longer. "What do you think of a cup of sumi?"
At Osen's approval, Lorlen prepared them both a cup and then sat back down behind his desk.
"The day off yesterday seems to have done you good," Osen remarked.
Lorlen nodded slowly. Indeed it had. After Akkarin's revelations two days earlier, Lorlen had needed time to think and had unceremoniously let Osen cover for him. So instead of dealing with the guild's concerns, Lorlen had first gone to the place where he had been attacked and then wandered aimlessly through the city. Over and over again he had rolled the events over in his head, looking at them from all sides, and had finally come to the conclusion that he believed Akkarin.
Lorlen was sure that the High Lord had not told him the whole truth, but if there was one thing he was sure of, it was that Akkarin had never lied to him. Instead, he had phrased the truth in such a way that it implied something completely different. In the light of the latest findings, Lorlen almost had to laugh at how ridiculously often Akkarin had told him about his activities without Lorlen ever questioning his words.
In the evening, they had had dinner together and Akkarin had answered Lorlen's questions, at least in part. They had talked more openly than they had in years. To Lorlen's surprise, Sonea had also been present at the dinner. She had said little, but did not seem surprised by Akkarin's answers. Lorlen had to admit that it offended him that Akkarin clearly trusted Sonea more than him.
At the same time, he had felt that Sonea was the driving force behind Akkarin's frankness without understanding why that was so.
"I had a very pleasant day and a good dinner with the High Lord and his novice," Lorlen replied vaguely.
Osen frowned. "I always got the impression Sonea was afraid of her mentor."
Lorlen laughed lightly. "Doesn't everyone here do that a little?"
Akkarin had impressed upon him in parting that Lord Rothen in particular had to continue to believe that Sonea feared and hated Akkarin.
Osen nodded thoughtfully. "He has an extremely awe-inspiring aura," Osen admitted. "I still don't understand why he didn't just leave the poor girl in Lord Rothen's care. Lord Rothen may live a somewhat reclusive life, but he has a knack for troubled novices and he doesn't share many mages' prejudices against the hut people. Besides, he really cared for Sonea."
Lorlen was silent for a moment. "I think he made her his favourite because she is powerful and extremely intelligent. I've been following her performance - despite skipping a year, she easily keeps up in class and is also among the best except in martial arts. Yet she could not read or write until not too long ago, nor did she enjoy the education given to children in the Houses before she joined the Guild. It is also an extremely powerful political statement. By making Sonea his novice, Akkarin underlines his support of King Merin's decision to offer Sonea a place in the guild. At the same time, he is ensuring that one of our most promising novices is no less encouraged because she is not from the Houses."
For a moment both men were silent.
"Do you think there is any truth to the rumours that their relationship is inappropriate?" asked Osen into the silence.
Lorlen thought back for a moment to the night before. There had been an unmistakable bond between Sonea and Akkarin, but it had not been romantic in nature.
"No," he stated categorically.
Before Osen could delve into the subject, there was another knock at the door.
"Ah, that must be Rector Jerrik," Lorlen remarked.
Akkarin had just raised his hand to knock when a voice at his back made him pause: "High Lord, a word".
Slowly Akkarin lowered his hand and turned to Lord Yikmo. Surprised, he raised an eyebrow.
"Lord Yikmo," he greeted. 'I did not expect to see you at the university at this hour.'
Yikmo bowed and then shrugged. "I was returning some books to the library," he remarked. "Do you have a moment for me?"
Akkarin made a welcoming gesture.
"I do," the warrior hesitated for a moment, then seemed to jerk away. "Sonea asked me not to talk to you about this, but I".
Akkarin raised his right hand in a dismissive gesture before interrupting Yikmo, "Then you shouldn't talk to me about it either"
"But" the warrior continued but Akkarin interrupted him again "I am sure you have only the best of intentions Lord Yikmo, nevertheless you should trust that Sonea will approach me when she is ready"
It was clear from Lord Yikmo's face that he disagreed, but he did not contradict.
"How are Sonea's lessons going?" the High Lord took advantage. He had wanted to see the warrior in the next few days anyway.
"I think I have identified Sonea's problem and we are working on it. It is not progressing as fast as I had hoped, but it will".
Satisfied, Akkarin nodded and then pointed to the door to Lorlen's office. He was keen to talk to him before the other Higher Mages turned up for their meeting to get an update.
"I bid you good night, Lord Yikmo," he said. When the warrior had also taken his leave and disappeared around the next corner, Akkarin knocked.
Almost immediately the door swung open and Akkarin entered.
An almost boyish smile flitted across Lorlen's face and Akkarin caught himself returning it almost as carelessly.
"Ah, Akkarin," Lorlen greeted. "Wine?"
"Lorlen. How could I say no to that? How's our little family?"
Together, the two of them made themselves comfortable in a small sitting area, each with a glass of wine in hand."
"Ah, nothing special, some complaints here, some requests there. Headmaster Jerrik was with me this morning, apparently there are some students who feel they should duel outside the arena."
Akkarin sighed. This was nothing new to him. To be precise, he knew every novice involved. And they had all turned on Sonea. The last time he had watched her, she had stood her ground against twelve other novices. It had taken everything he had not to simply intervene, but he couldn't do that if she wanted to end this once and for all.
"Has he found out who is involved yet?" he asked guilelessly.
"No, but he has his suspicions".
Akkarin nodded. "Of course. What is our little project doing in the huts?"
Lorlen sighed deeply and shook his head.
"There are way to few healers willing to work in the huts and the hut people are at least as sceptical about the hospital. The fact that you limited Sonea's time there doesn't help either"
"It was necessary," Akkarin said stiffly.
Lorlen gave him a trusting smile. "I know"