Karazin's mouth hung open for a second before he could find his voice.

"I thought you said you were going to hear me out!" he exclaimed in mixed incredulity and outrage. "You might as well have just sent up a flare telling her where I am!"

"Be silent!" Sir Edward, Karazin's uncle and former headmaster, commanded in a tone that left no room for argument.

Karazin shut his mouth with a snap. It was a reflex born of his time spent at Alduin academy where that tone meant someone, usually Karazin himself, was about to be on the wrong end of a hickory wand. Uncle Edward never showed any favouritism when it came to enforcing order. As the headmaster, he couldn't afford to. That was doubly true now that he was a member of the mage high council.

"Use your head, boy," Edward continued in a tone that was softer, but commanded just as much respect. "Do you really think we'd allow the queen, or anyone else, to listen in on our meetings? Really, you should know better."

Karazin mentally berated himself. Of course, the council would have so many safeguards around this room that nothing could get in or out without their express permission. And since Coran was likely the one who set up the safeguards, it's likely there wasn't another mage alive who could circumvent them. Coran's skill for enchantments and wards was, without exaggeration, unparalleled.

"Please, excuse my outburst," Karazin said humbly, bowing his head. "I didn't think before I spoke."

Sir Edward let out a tired sigh. "I see that much hasn't changed. Then again, I suppose having a hex hovering over your head for so long would make anyone paranoid. Apology accepted. Now then, let us move on. I assume you know why we called you here."

Karazin sighed resignedly. "Yes, I have a pretty good idea."

"In that case," Edward continued, "Why did you run away from Weldyn? Especially less than a week before your coronation."

"If you really must know," Karazin replied, a hint of resentment in his tone, "I left because of the coronation."

Sir Edward raised one eyebrow quizzically, an expression that had found its way onto his nephew's face more than once. Karazin didn't need any further prompting, and began to explain.

"I… I left because I didn't want to be King," he continued. "I didn't want the responsibility."

Edward's eyes narrowed, taking Karazin apart piece by piece until his very soul was an open book.

"You're a clever boy, Karazin," Edward stated flatly. "Altogether too clever for your own good. If all you wanted was to avoid becoming King, you could've devised dozens of ways to accomplish it without tarnishing your pride. I'd appreciate it if you'd stop lying to me."

Karazin resisted the almost overwhelming urge to flinch. "The thing is, it's the truth. Or at least, part of it," he admitted. "I've always dreaded becoming King. I guess the main reason for that though is that I don't think the people would accept me as King. In fact, from what I've seen Mage-Kings in general have been viewed in a negative light all throughout history. In the eyes of the laymen, Mages are seen as either crafty and scheming, or eccentric professors with their noses constantly glued to their books."

Edward raised his eyebrow again, but Karazin held up a hand. "I know, it's an outdated stereotype; but it's as pervasive now as ever. There's another reason Mage-Kings are looked down on though. Think back to the old stories of the first golden age of our country, before the Fall. In particular, think about the legend of King Konrad. Who overthrew Garard the second and tried to take control of Wesnoth?"

Edward's mouth curled downward in a frown as he realized what his nephew was getting at. "Queen Asheviere, a Mage."

Karazin nodded. "Precisely. Her reign was full of cruelty and suffering, and she's been remembered as an evil witch ever since."

"No one is going to discriminate against you based on that old story," Sir Edward stated.

Karazin set his jaw. "They discriminated against my mother," he replied grimly, glaring up at his uncle. "You'd be shocked to hear the things people say about her when they think no one is listening. Some have even gone so far as to insinuate that she had my father murdered…"

Karazin let that thought hang in the air, leaving the room deadly quiet.

"If I took the throne," Karazin continued eventually, "It would cause nothing but trouble."

"So you ran away," Edward stated.

Karazin nodded. "Yes. I was hoping that, with the people demanding a king on the throne, Mother would be forced to give up on me and make Jonathan king instead. You have to admit, he's much better king material than I could ever be."

"Whether your younger brother is a better candidate for kingship is irrelevant," Edward said grimly. "You were meant to be king, not Jonathan. Still… I am at least relieved that your flight from Weldyn wasn't merely a selfish shirking of responsibility as so many assume." He paused a moment, then continued. "However, I am curious as to how you wound up in Fort Tath surrounded by the undead."

"It's a… long story," Karazin replied sheepishly.

Edward fixed him with a stern look. "We have time."

Karazin sighed. "Well, after I… left Weldyn, I made my way towards fort Soradoc. There's a small ford near there, shallow enough to cross the Great River."

"You were planning on going to the Northern Wastes," Coran commented. "Clever."

"As expected of the heir to the throne," Sir Edward said pointedly. Evidently, he didn't intend to let the issue die.

"When I finally got there however," Karazin continued, "Soradoc was already burned to the ground. I found one undead remaining inside."

"And you figured out that Tath would be next?" Coran said.

Karazin nodded. "Yes. I used an imbued teleportation spell to get over there, but I was too late. The undead had already overrun it. I snuck in and killed the necromancer, but there must have been another nearby because the undead didn't fade. That's how I got these," Karazin said, gesturing to his bandaged chest wounds.

Edward narrowed his eyes. "Our scouts said that the undead had all crumbled to dust by the time they got there, and there were no signs of any other necromancers in the area. You say the undead survived for a while after the necromancer's death?"

Jack nodded. "Yes, long enough to shoot me several times in the chest. When they did, they didn't even look as though they were crumbling."

"That means there had to be a necromancer still controlling them," Edward concluded.

"They would've had to be within around half a kilometer of the puppets," Coran said. "But our scouts assured us that there were no other necromancers; and no signs that there had ever been more than one. I'm hesitant to assume that they were mistaken."

"Is there any way a necromancer could control his undead from a greater distance?" Edward asked the Arcanister.

Coran shook his head. "It's not just a simple matter of power. The very method by which undead are summoned has a limited range. There used to be more effective methods, but fortunately those were lost when… when the Lich Lords were defeated," Coran finished thoughtfully.

Edward's expression darkened. "You don't think…"

"That we're dealing with a lich?" Coran finished. "I don't want to jump to any conclusions, but it's not impossible…"

"The necromancer at Tath did say he was working in a group," Karazin piped up. "He mentioned a name… Mal something…"

"That's just a title that powerful necromancers take," Edward replied, shaking his head. "It's an homage to Malin Keshar; as you know, the man is still regarded as a hero by many necromancers."

"Although," Coran pointed out, "Even if there isn't a lich involved, the mere fact that necromancers are banding together for an assault on Wesnoth is cause for concern."

"Cause for concern?" Edward retorted. "A full-scale invasion by the undead would quite literally be a nightmare scenario. Mundane weapons are almost useless against them, and not to mention that every soldier they kill is another puppet they can turn against us."

It was then that General Xavos spoke up, his eastern heritage obvious in his thick accent. "We do have a small standing army of battlemages, but nothing like what we would need to repel an invasion. If need be however, nearly every man and woman in Elensefar has been trained to fight; especially those who studied at Alduin. Isn't that right, Sir Edward?"

Edward nodded. "That is correct, but still I would be loath to send civilians into battle against a mortal opponent. Much less the undead…"

"What alternative do we have?" Coran stated rhetorically.

"Necromancers… don't usually like working together, do they?"

Every head in the room turned sharply towards the speaker, Karazin. He flinched a little, but stood his ground.

Coran sensed an idea forming in the young prince's mind, and he nodded. "That's true. Necromancers almost never band together in numbers, because their pride and lust for power gets in the way. They tend not to trust one another. Why do you ask?"

Karazin lowered his gaze thoughtfully. "Well… I'm reminded of the Orcish Incursion in the early years of Wesnoth. When the orcs were banding together into one massive army to attack both Wesnoth and the elves of Wesmere Forest, Erlornas took a small force of elves and fought up into the orcish homeland to kill their leader. With their leader gone, the orcish tribes fought amongst themselves for the right to lead and the massed army quickly fell apart."

"So you're saying we should try and eliminate the leader of these necromancers," Coran said thoughtfully.

General Xavos was already nodding. "I do not know too much of the early history of your country, but that is a sound strategy. Remove the head of the snake, and the body usually dies quickly."

Edward nodded as well. "That would be best. The only issue is, who would we send? It would have to be a small force in order to move quickly and carefully enough to maintain the element of surprise. Still, even if we take the possibility of a lich out of the equation, the leader of these necromancers is bound to be quite powerful indeed."

"The real question is," Xavos stated, "Who can we spare? After all, we do not know how quickly the necromancers will regroup and try again. We will need as many troops as we can muster to reinforce the borders of Wesnoth in case their attack comes before ours."

"That's simple," Karazin said. "Send me."

"Absolutely not!" Edward thundered immediately.

Karazin managed to stop himself from taking an involuntary step backwards at the intensity of his uncle's reply. He set his jaw.

"Why not?" the boy asked. "Because I'm the crown prince? We've already discussed that..."

"But not come to a decision," Edward interjected. "The council has yet to make a ruling concerning you, Karazin. Until that happens, you are the heir to the throne whether you like it or not. You cannot go running off on a mission that could very well end in disaster!"

Karazin paused a moment to arrange his thoughts. "With all due respect, Uncle, I believe you underestimate me. Necromancers may be dangerous to those who do not understand their power, but I have studied them at length."

"So sayeth the boy with three arrows in his chest…" Edward replied icily.

"I was careless," Karazin admitted, but then shook his head. "But you know full well I won't make that mistake again. You oversaw my training for years, Uncle. You know that, outside of my mother or the members of this very council, there are very few who can match me in magical combat."

"That you know of," Edward shot back, but he sighed and spoke more gently. "I do not doubt your abilities, however you lack experience. And my experience is that even the most skilled mage can be caught out by the unforeseen. No man, elf, or mage is immune from making mistakes; and in combat, the slightest mistake is all too often a death sentence."

"Indeed, but as you said that is true for anyone you could send," Karazin retorted. "And you were right about one other thing as well. I am a prince of Wesnoth. And as a prince, is it not my duty to serve my country? I cannot serve my people as their king, but I can serve them now. And the fact remains that I am the one best suited for the task."

Sir Edward was silent for what seemed like an eternity, his expression unreadable as he searched for another reason to keep Karazin from going. Eventually Madame Caroline, who up until this point had been silent, spoke up.

"Edward," she said, her voice filling the room effortlessly without her even seeming to speak loudly. "I know you wish to keep the boy from harm, and I doubt there is one person here who does not wish the same. However, you know full well that our personal feelings should not sway our decisions. The fact of the matter is that the only ones better suited to this task are members of this very council, and all of us will be needed here."

Edward stiffened, and for a moment he looked as though he would object. After a moment's silence however, his shoulders slumped slightly and he let out a sigh. "It is as you say, Caroline…"

Caroline looked back down at Karazin; her silver eyes seeming to gaze into his very soul. Karazin shifted uncomfortably.

After looking at him silently for a moment, Madame Caroline nodded. "I see. It is as I thought, young prince."

Karazin flinched, knowing full well that she'd just seen right through him. He supposed he shouldn't have expected anything less. Fooling a hex, or even his own uncle, was one thing. However, nothing escaped the blind eyes of Madame Caroline.

"Just consider yourself fortunate that she's content to keep our secret," Karazin thought to himself.

Suddenly, Madame Caroline's gaze shifted behind Karazin and she chuckled slightly; as if something had amused her. A moment later, the doors of the room burst open and Maria marched through looking as though she was prepared to break a few hippocratic oaths. Somehow, in that moment the beautiful young healer terrified Karazin more than his uncle ever had.

"What is the meaning of this, Maria?" Sir Edward demanded, although not quite as harshly as he'd spoken to Karazin.

Maria, seeing that the council was in session, hesitated a moment before drawing herself up to her full height of just under six feet. "My lords and ladies, I have come to take J… Karazin back to the hospital. His wounds have not fully healed yet, and he is in no condition to be up and about. He snuck out of his room without my knowledge, and I apologise sincerely for…"

She stopped as, being familiar with both the young people standing before them, a few of the council were smiling in amusement. Coran surreptitiously held a hand to his mouth to stifle a chuckle.

"Why does this not surprise me…" Edward said in a tone of resignation, looking down at Karazin. "You never could resist pushing yourself too far, could you?"

Karazin looked down at the ground sheepishly. "I, uhh… I wanted to deliver my report on Tath as soon as possible, sir."

Karazin's uncle fixed him with the same look he'd used many times as a headmaster. "Karazin, as your uncle and as a member of the council, this is a direct order. You will stay in bed and rest until you are fully healed. Do I make myself clear?"

Karazin swallowed nervously, feeling like a mouse that had been cornered by a cat. "P-perfectly, sir."

Madame Caroline glanced down at Maria and smiled. "Please, take him away dear. We have heard all we needed, now we must discuss amongst ourselves."

Maria nodded, bowing. "Yes ma'am. As for you," she continued, glaring at Karazin. "I'm not letting you out of my sight again."

She snapped her fingers, causing Karazin to levitate a few inches off the ground. Maria then marched out of the room, Karazin floating helplessly behind her. As they left, Coran released the chuckle he'd been holding back.

"I can't tell if I should feel sorry for him, or be jealous," he commented.

Sir Edward snorted slightly, the barest ghost of a smile touching the corners of his mouth. "Definitely the former."