Disclaimer – I do not own BMT world, it belongs to Trudi Canavan

Imardin Again

Imardin hasn't changed. That was Sonea's first thought as she entered the gates of her birthplace after so many years' absence. The noisy, crowded streets were the same, with hurrying figures darting between obstructions and dodging other people as they went about their business just as they had always done. She could hear the familiar cries of street vendors plying their wares from the nearby street corners and caught glimpses of Thieves engaged in their unlawful activities. Nothing had changed at all.

The King had arranged a house for them in the West Quarter, not far from the busy market. His letter hadn't given much detail about it, so Sonea wasn't sure what to expect, but at least it would be a comfortable place for Justen and Takan to stay while she and Akkarin went off to live back in the Guild.

Justen had taken the news that his parents would be away surprisingly well, better in fact than Sonea had dared to hope. He had accepted the story she and Akkarin had agreed upon; that his parents had been asked to work on something which needed their constant attention day and night. His face had fallen initially, but once he understood that he would be staying in a city with Takan, his smile returned and she could see how much he was looking forward to leaving the mountains.

On the day they left for the capital, after having sent Takan and Justen off ahead of them, she and Akkarin used a very powerful form of magic to obscure their home from casual eyes. By the time they had finished, the buildings looked like ruins, the neat vegetable gardens appeared to be wildernesses of tangled brambles and weeds and there was no indication that anyone had lived there for many, many years.

As they moved off to join the others, she had turned round in the saddle for a last look at where she had lived safely for so long, and wondered if she would ever see it again, let alone live there. She had been careful not to question Akkarin as to his future intentions. It was plain to her that he wanted to concentrate on the task in hand and not enter into discussions about what would happen once the problems at the Guild had been dealt with. The King's letter had contained two royal pardons, one for each of them. These overturned the judgement against them and meant that once more, they were considered to be Guild magicians. Sonea was unsure how she felt about that. She still had a great deal of anger inside her over the way the Guild had treated them both.

There was the Hearing, of course, when they had refused to believe Akkarin or trust him to do what was right. She hated the way they'd tried to keep her, despite the fact that she had chosen to learn black magic, yet expressed no understanding of why Akkarin had done what he did. Later, there was what had happened at the gates when they had left Akkarin outside and offered no assistance, even when he had been struck by Kariko's strikes. Her own experiences following her capture and the meeting with Balkan had also not caused her to think of the Guild with any degree of pleasant anticipation. She was prepared for a great deal of hostility when they eventually did return, despite the pardons. Still, I'm used to that! she thought. I survived it once before and I'll do so again. For Akkarin, though, it would be a different experience. He had been the Guild's most powerful leader, someone whose actions had not been questioned, at least up until the point where the black magic books had been discovered. How would he deal with the hostility which would make his task so much harder?

In the time she had been musing about the future, they had crossed from the North Gate into the cobbled streets of the West Quarter. The horses dropped from a trot to a walk as they entered the West Square. The crowds were thinning out a bit and the noise was less. She looked around at the houses. They seemed to be a little bigger and in better condition than their previous home near the docks. Akkarin led them through the square and into a side road. She noticed that houses were beginning to possess tiny gardens and more ornate door and window frames. They turned off into another road, this one very quiet with few people around. Here the houses were much grander, some even having balconies which overlooked the road. Finally, Akkarin stopped outside a large double fronted house. This one didn't have a front garden, but there was an area of grass and small trees to one side and which seemed to run round the back of the house.

Akkarin dismounted and helped Sonea down. Takan had already lifted Justen from his pony and the boy was looking eagerly around. As they reached the front door, it opened to reveal a bowing servant. Behind him was another who took charge of the horses and led them off, presumably to a stable.

"Welcome, my lord, my lady," the servant said with such an obsequious smile that Sonea decided she disliked him already. "You will find everything ready for you."

From what Sonea could see of the entrance hall and the grand staircase, the house was expensively decorated with fine pieces of carved furniture, antique ceramics and marble statues. There were paintings on the walls and what she could see of the curtains showed them to be made of fine embroidered velvet. The servant ushered them into the guest room, which had a large set of windows that took up almost an entire wall overlooking the gardens to the side of the house. Again, the room reeked of expensive attention to detail. It all made her feel very uncomfortable.

The servant went off to bring refreshments, leaving them get used to their new surroundings. Justen seemed very taken with the paintings, standing on a nearby chair in order to examine them closely.

Akkarin, this is awful! Sonea sent, unable to keep her feelings to herself.

We will not be living here, and Justen seems pleased with it!

Sonea was just about to reply with a cutting comment, when she noticed that Justen had turned towards them, his eyes flitting anxiously between her and Akkarin. His movements had stilled and there was a strange look on his face.

Akkarin! I think he hears us!

Sonea's mental voice sounded full of panic, even to herself and Justen reacted instantly by jumping from the chair and running to her, flinging his arms around her and burying his face in her clothing. She picked him up, raising his face so she could look into his eyes.

Justen? Justen, she sent, it's all right.

Justen's face cleared and a smile began to hover on his lips. He moved his mouth, but there was no mental voice to accompany it. Meanwhile, his father had come to stand beside Sonea. He touched his son's face, looking searchingly into his eyes; after a moment, he turned to Sonea.

"Yes, he can hear us but doesn't he understand. His magic is beginning to emerge," Akkarin couldn't quite hide the pride in his voice. "We must start to teach him some easy ways to control it before it gets much stronger."

Before Sonea could say anything further, Akkarin went on, "Later, we'll talk about it later," before taking Justen by the hand to lead him out of the guest room. "Let's go and find your room," he said with a smile.

Takan followed them, leaving Sonea alone. She sat down and thought over what had happened. They had always taken great care not to use any sort of magic around Justen, even making sure their mental communication was kept tightly under control. It had been the impact of the new surroundings which had caused her to send without thinking, and now Justen could hear them. It meant that as his power in magic increased he would be able to communicate with them like any normal boy.

She found herself smiling in delight. To know that Justen would not be silent forever was the most wonderful thing she could imagine. She could have done with better timing, though. Why couldn't this have happened before! Why now when we were leaving him? It was all so frustrating.

The servant reappeared carrying a large platter filled with cakes and other delicacies. Another servant carried a tray with pots of tea and raka, as well as bottles of wine. They placed these on the table, then bowing to Sonea, left the room. She wandered over and absently picked up a cake. Before she knew it, the cake was gone and her mouth was filled with a sticky, sugary sensation that she didn't like at all. She hurriedly poured a cup of raka and drank it down, trying to flush away the sickly taste of the cake.

"Sonea, you'll never guess what the King has done!"

She turned at Akkarin's voice and saw that he was standing by the door, smiling broadly. He beckoned, then disappeared, leaving her to follow. She caught sight of him turning the corner at the top of the grand staircase and ran lightly after him. She found him just inside the doorway to a large bedchamber. She went in and was immediately struck by the boldness of the decorations. The walls were hung with brightly coloured tapestries and the floor was covered by a deep red carpet with a pattern of scattered flowers and leaves. Like the rooms downstairs, the furniture was ornately carved and decorated with inlaid metals. Dominating the entire room was the largest bed Sonea had ever seen, hung with crimson velvet hangings, heavily embroidered with silver and gold thread. The whole atmosphere in the room was of a stomach churning richness, so striking, that Sonea felt it was almost giving her a headache.

She turned to Akkarin to find him watching her reaction with great amusement. She looked around again, just to make sure her first impressions were correct, then said, "Is this supposed to be our room? If it is, thanks be to the Eye that we'll be in the Guild. I've never seen anything as horrible as this before."

Akkarin nodded, "It's in the most appalling taste, but it is comfortable. Justen will be happy here and I'm sure Takan will find the kitchen up to his exacting standards." He took Sonea's hand, "But this isn't all, come over here." He led her towards a concealed door and pulled it open. Sonea found herself in a smaller room, obviously meant for storing clothing. There hanging from a row of hooks, she saw trousers, shirts jackets and sets of robes.

"The King has supplied us with everything we need for when we go back to the Guild."

"But these are black robes," Sonea said, puzzled at finding what looked like the High Lord's robes.

"Yes," Akkarin agreed, "but not like I wore before."

He pulled down one of the larger robes and held it out to her. She could feel it wasn't made of silk, but of a fine woollen cloth. It was not as full as Akkarin's earlier robes, and she could see it would hang differently. He pulled it over his head. It was a perfect fit and she felt a shiver of recognition – it was almost, but not quite, the old Akkarin, the one she had first hated, then come to love.

"Seeing you dressed in that will cause a few magicians to feel very uneasy," she said slowly. "I wonder if that's what the King intends…"

"Yes, I believe that's exactly what he intends," he replied. He held out his arm, and there on the sleeve, just as on the High Lord's robes, was a golden incal. She bent to examine it closely. It was not the Guild's incal, traditionally worn by High Lords, but the King's, put there to reinforce Akkarin's official position of King's Magician.

"These are yours."

Akkarin held out a smaller set of robes; like his, they were made of black woollen material, perhaps not quite as fine, but good quality nevertheless. There was no incal on her sleeve; instead there was a wide band of black velvet providing a border to the sleeve. She put it on, and like Akkarin's, it was a perfect fit. The King was obviously a man who took his preparations seriously.

It felt strange to her to be wearing the robes of a qualified magician. Her last set had been the shorter drab brown robes of a novice. In many ways, it didn't feel right. She expressed her doubts to Akkarin, but he dismissed them, "You would have graduated formally in a few weeks so your noviciate was almost at an end. Besides, the King has simply recognised that your knowledge of black magic means you are the second most qualified black magician in the whole of the Allied Lands." He laughed at the expression on her face, "Well, it's true isn't it?" and she had to agree.

She hurriedly took off the robes and stuffed them back on a peg. She wouldn't put them on again until she had to.

They spent the rest of the time before the next meal exploring the house and all the things the King had provided for them. Takan was thrilled with the kitchen, although he wasn't as pleased with the two kitchen servants he found there. Justen had a small room with a long shelf filled with books. He had already taken one or two down to look through and seemed happy with what he'd found.

Just before they went in to eat, a messenger came with a packet addressed to Akkarin. When he opened it, he found a small leather purse and a sheet of parchment. He quickly scanned the message, then opened the purse. A medallion on a long thin chain fell out on to his palm.

He held it up for Sonea to see, "The King's Magician's badge of office," he said with a flourish. "We are to present ourselves at the Palace tomorrow for a meeting with the King. We are to wear our robes."