Cullen would often keep to himself, engaging in short conversations with his fellow Templars, he would often be seen patrolling around the main library and the corridors outside the apprentice quarters, as most newly knighted Templars did, the apprentices, most still novices with their talents made the transition from training into full circle life that bit easier, his appearance was always focused, watching, not in the same way the other Templars would watch, some, would have a creepy uneasy stare about them, leering with a smug sense of satisfaction, brought on by the knowledge that for all the power a mage may have, the Templars, with their training, can still strike them down, others would look upon the mages with pure hatred and disgust, he had a softness about him, an almost sympathetic look in his eyes.
He would often find himself looking at the apprentices and feeling a pang of sadness for the young men, women and elves, cooped up in the tower, and for what, being born different, after all, magic is not something you ask for, you don't wake one morning and decide you want to become a mage, it is part of you, and for that these young apprentices will never get to experience normality, such as it is, they're taken from their families and brought circles like this one, where they are taught to control their magic, to use it safely, after all, he would remind himself, despite there being many innocent, good, kind hearted people in the circle, there were always those who turned to forbidden arts, to blood magic, those who used their skills for evil deeds, many under the guise that they are doing it for their fellow mages, for freedom, others simply because the corruption of demons from the fade was too much for them to fight.
He had found over the last few months however, that his gaze would linger on one particular mage, the young girl he'd met on his first night in the tower, Neve, he would often catch himself admiring her waist length crimson hair, and smiling to himself on the occasions that he would catch a glimpse of her Amber eyes, they reminded him of pools late autumn sunshine, bright and filled with warmth.
It was no different one evening in late summer, the apprentices had been split into separate groups, depending on which school of magic their talent seemed to fall into, spirit, creation, entropic and primal, all can master the basics of each school but most mages excel in at least one in particular. Each group were set in different sections of the main library and assigned two Templars to watch over the young apprentices as the senior enchanter shows the young men and women how to master their skills.
Cullen, found he moved between two different schools, Spirit and Creation, he always had an uneasy feeling watching over those learning the skills of spirit magic, the ability to render an enemy helpless within a crushing prison or animate the dead gave him an uneasy feeling, creation magic however, he could watch over the young men and women mastering the skill of creation magic from dawn until dusk, he found the art of casting glyphs, enchantments and healing spells fascinating. Of course that was not the only reason, Neve had shown great skill with creation magic, her ability to heal and rejuvenate was second to none for an apprentice, her natural caring manner made the spells she cast seem effortless, she would no doubt go on to specialise in spirit healing.
This was one of those evenings, he was overseeing the creation magic lesson, trying his best not to focus too much of his attention on Neve, the last thing he wanted was for her to notice that he was watching her more closely than the others, he didn't want her to think he was just another lecherous Templar who saw these mages as nothing more than something to control and abuse, no, he wanted to be respected, not feared, by all the mages under his watch and protection, but he particularly didn't want Neve thinking ill of him.
As he scanned the room, still allowing his eyes to rest upon Neve for a little longer than necessary, he became aware of someone standing just behind him, glancing over his shoulder he noticed his fellow guard for the evening had arrived, Carroll, he wasn't quite sure what to make of Carroll, he was a capable Templar, he also seemed to share a similar view as Cullen in regards to the Mages, however, he was maybe six months older than Cullen, but showed the attitude of a young man not bound by the vows taken by the Templars, he had be reprimanded on several occasions for making lewd and inappropriate comments towards the young female mages, and although it hadn't happened yet, Cullen often wondered how long it would be until he went too far
"Now that is an impressive set of curves" Carroll observed, following Cullen's gaze "nothing beats a women with a bit of meat on her bones"
Cullen silently agreed, she did possess a curvy body, an ample chest, full hips, she was by no means over weight but she certainly wasn't slight, "built for comfort not for speed" was the phrase he had overheard her saying to a group of young male apprentices who had felt the need to bring her size to her attention.
"They're like desire demons in the sack, all kin…."
"Shouldn't you be on the other side of the library" Cullen interrupted, he hated the way Carroll would talk about Neve, about any female mage "and I wouldn't go boasting an extensive knowledge of what Desire demons are like in the sack if I were you"
"Oh you know what I mean" he retorted with a laugh "but you're right, I should be over there, I'll get a much better view of that backside from over there"
Before Cullen could stop him Carroll had mover from his side and positioned himself directly behind Neve, just as she had leaned over the table to help a fellow apprentice.
He could see him leering at her and felt a sense of rage bubble up in the pit of his stomach, the urge to remove his gauntlet and launch it at his smug face was almost too much, but he managed to restrain himself, enough was enough, this wasn't the first time Carroll had spoken about her in that manner, something had to be done, how long would it be until those looks became something more, something physical, he had to protect her, he had to protect his Neve.