Akkarin massaged his temples as another wave of fear washed over him. He had assumed he would stop sensing the girls' feelings once she had learned Control, but despite the fact that Lorlen assured him she had done so months before, he could still feel her emotions, particularly the strong ones. He had had some respite the first few months after she learned Control, and he had assumed that he had solved his problem. However, soon after she started training with the summer intake class a few weeks before, he had begun to sense her feelings again. More often than not, those feelings were accompanied by a vision of what was happening, so it was easy enough for Akkarin to determine that one of the other Novices was tormenting her, often helped by a friend or two. Akkarin had considered interfering, but so far, the encounters had put her in no danger, so he had decided to sit back and wait to see what happened. He reasoned that she was receiving better training from the clashes with her classmates than anything she might receive in class and any interference from him could lead to uncomfortable questions he was not prepared to answer. Besides, he doubted she would welcome the interference.
On this particular occasion, the fear felt stronger, so Akkarin set aside the notes for an upcoming Council meeting he was working on and focused on the vision he was receiving. He had experienced enough visions through Sonea's eyes to realize that she was not one to jump at her own shadow–he supposed growing up in the Slums likely accounted for that. Given the level of fear he was currently sensing, he suspected something was different about the current encounter than the previous ones, something more dangerous. Akkarin closed his own eyes to block out what he was seeing, for he found it helped to focus on the vision. In this particular instance, it did not take him long to figure out why Sonea was scared. Seven Novices stood in front of her rather than the normal two or three. Akkarin recognized the ringleader as her usual tormenter, but he could not have put a name to any of them, even him. In general, he did not concern himself with the Novices until they reached Fourth or Fifth Year. However, even if he did not know the Novices personally, he did know that it was unlikely a single Novice could face seven classmates successfully, even a Novice as powerful as Sonea. And from the look on the ringleader's face, he knew this as well and intended to take full advantage of the opportunity. It seemed the time had come for Akkarin to interfere.
Quickly, Akkarin stood and strode from the room and down into the basement, searching the area around Sonea for details. He determined his destination just as he entered the tunnels and turned toward the University Building. As he walked, he watched through Sonea's eyes. Interestingly, no one had yet attacked. It seemed almost like they were waiting on something, but Akkarin was not sure what it could possibly be. Still, it at least gave him a chance to reach her before something happened, a chance he did not intend to waste. He lengthened his strides.
He was just entering the tunnels under the University when he saw the first strike occur. Much to his surprise, the strike was not directed at Sonea but instead at Regin and his followers. Strangely, however, he sensed Sonea's confusion, so he did not think the strike came from her. However, it did seem to provide the impetus the rest of them needed, and they began casting a series of Stunstrikes at Sonea who quickly threw up a shield. Through their connection, Akkarin could feel her power draining quickly, and he was not sure he was going to reach her in time. Without thinking, Akkarin broke into a run, his feet quickly eating up the distance over the familiar terrain. Fortunately, the tunnels were smooth with no obstructions in the middle, and Akkarin knew them well, so he could focus his attention on the fight. Sonea's power was almost gone; Akkarin could see her shield wavering around her. He was still two floors and half a dozen corridors away, so he knew that he would not make it in time. Desperately, he wished he could help in some way, perhaps giving her enough of his power to hold her shield. He felt responsible for her–not only was it his fault she was in the Guild, but he also had done nothing about the attacks in the weeks he had known about them.
Suddenly, he felt a rush of power leave him, so sudden that he stumbled. It felt like he was giving power to another magician, but there were no others in the immediate vicinity. He also had not tried to give power to another. Briefly, he wondered if someone was practicing some form of black magic he did not know of, for that was the only way he knew to force another to give power, but that did not seem right. He had experienced the effects of black magic, and he had always found it overpowering and draining. Currently, he felt nothing of the sort; it simply felt as if some of his power stores had disappeared.
Recovering from the initial shock, he focused again on Sonea's perspective. Interestingly, her shield seemed to have increased in power from the last time he had seen it. His brow furrowed as he puzzled over that for a moment, but it did not take his quick mind long to reach the only logical conclusion. Somehow, he had given Sonea power without touching her. He had never done such a thing before and had never heard of it happening either. Even with black magic, of which he knew more than he would ever admit to anyone else at the Guild, the attacker needed to touch the victim to take his power.
Akkarin soon pushed thoughts of how the power transfer had occurred to the back of his mind. He would need to do more research on that particular event, later, but for the moment, he had more pressing matters to attend to. Though the increase in power had certainly helped Sonea for the moment and seemed to confuse her attackers, the power he had inadvertently given her would not last forever. He turned a corner, ascending the tunnels quickly as he neared the location where he had seen Sonea. As he approached the location where he knew she was, he nearly ran into another magician moving quickly in the opposite direction. The other man startled, his eyes going wide as he realized who was standing in front of him. "High Lord!" he exclaimed, bowing hastily. Akkarin frowned. He recognized the magician as Lord Fergun, a man a couple years his junior who had neither strength of character nor strength of magic to recommend him. Akkarin had never particularly liked him, especially since he was one of the main magicians who had become overly obsequious after Akkarin had risen to his current position.
"I did not expect to see you here, Lord Fergun," Akkarin remarked, his voice cold. After a moment's consideration, he added, "You best come with me. I believe you may be able to shed some light on our current situation." Given Fergun's behavior and the location from which he was running, it was quite clear to Akkarin that he was somehow involved in the attack on Sonea though the High Lord had not yet figured out how. Still, he was unwilling to let the other magician out of his sight until he had all of the facts, and he also knew he needed to stop the fight quickly.
Akkarin rounded the final corner, reaching a peephole where he could see for himself what was occurring in the hallway. Fergun followed behind him, muttering something under his breath. Akkarin ignored him. He noted that Sonea's shield was wavering again, and he wondered if he could pass her more of his power as he had before. Once more, he focused on his desire to give Sonea power, this time opening the flow gradually as he did when passing power to another magician through skin-to-skin contact. Unlike the previous occasion, the flow was much more controlled, and Akkarin saw Sonea's shield strengthen. After a few seconds, he cut the flow and considered his options. He could easily dispatch the opposing Novices, but he preferred not to get more involved than he already was, especially without knowing Fergun's role. Fergun may not have been strong magically, but he was known as a master manipulator. Things could get quite messy with him involved.
Decision made, Akkarin reached down to his source of power and cast a spell. Immediately, a wall of power pushed back Sonea's attackers, simultaneously blinding them with light and sending out a piercing wail that should alert any magicians nearby. He waited until he heard footsteps coming down the corridor before turning back to Fergun. "Let's talk," he remarked simply. Fergun cowered under his unwavering gaze.
Though she had not been practicing magic for long, Sonea knew enough about her power to realize it was nearly depleted. She huddled under the rapidly-failing shield trying to determine her best option for escape. Unfortunately, with seven attackers, they had her quite well surrounded, and there was nowhere she could run. She wondered what would happen when her shield failed. She was sure they would continue to hurl Stunstrikes at her, but would they do so long enough to kill her? Surely such an action would result in punishment for them no matter their relative origins.
With those grim thoughts in mind, Sonea concentrated on bringing her shield tighter to herself, conserving as much power as she could. Even with all her efforts, she felt her shield failing, and it began to flicker. She reached into herself, trying to figure out if there was anything left, but the only power she had left was what she needed to keep herself alive. Closing her eyes, she gave herself up to the inevitable.
Somewhat surprisingly, she felt a sudden surge of power, and her shield strengthened. She opened her eyes, noting that her attackers seemed just as confused. She had never heard of power suddenly entering a person whose stores were depleted, but she also did not know much about magic. Perhaps there was some way to gain more power. If so, she would need to learn how to use it more consciously in the future, for it was certainly a useful skill.
Even with the extra power, however, her shield could not hold forever. As it began to waver again, she felt a presence on the edge of her mind. It was familiar, but Sonea could not place it. However, something about it comforted her, and she felt herself letting her guard down slightly, helped by the fact that she was rapidly weakening. Immediately, she felt the same power transfer she had before, slower this time but nevertheless welcome. She let her guard down further, and the power flowed into her, merging with hers easily. The flow continued for a few seconds before stopping, less abruptly than before. Once more, the increase confused her attackers, and they actually paused the attack for a moment. Sonea used the opportunity to adjust the strength of her shield, adding a bit more to the front and weakening it beneath her where it seemed no one was attacking.
The attack began again, but Sonea was ready. This time, it did not last for long before a shield appeared in front of her, nearly blinding her with its light as it also emitted a loud wail. She shut her eyes tightly and clamped her hands over her ears as it continued. After a few seconds, she could no longer hear the wailing through her hands, and she cautiously took one off. The siren had stopped, so she pulled the other off as well. She opened her eyes, blinking as the after-effects of the flash affected her vision. She heard footsteps nearby, so she knew another magician was coming. Her attackers all seemed stunned by the sudden change in events, and Sonea wondered briefly who had set up the shield. However, she did not have long to wonder, for three magicians suddenly rounded the corner, one of whom Sonea recognized as her Alchemy teacher. All of the Novices blinked a bit stupidly at them for a moment, but unfortunately, Regin found his tongue first.
"She attacked us, Lord Givens! We were just minding our own business when she cast a Stunstrike at us!"
Sonea was too surprised to speak for a moment. She had noticed the initial strike had not seem to come from any of her attackers, but it also had not come from her. It had also missed everyone in the corridor. Fortunately, Lord Givens was too smart to accept the story immediately. He glanced between Sonea and the group facing her. "She attacked seven Novices?" he questioned.
Regin's confident expression faltered slightly, but he quickly recovered. "I don't pretend to know what goes through her mind." He pronounced the word "her" with a sneer, making it quite clear that he felt she was so beneath him that he could not conceive of a situation where he would need to empathize with her.
"Indeed. In that case, I feel that you should all come with me to my classroom. I will call Director Jerrick, and we will sort out what happened here." He motioned for them to follow, and all eight fell into step behind him. The other two magicians dispersed, obviously feeling Lord Givens had the situation well in hand. Sonea had hoped that her alchemy teacher might stay so she would have a familiar face, but she also was not quite sure what his true thoughts about her were, so perhaps it was best to have someone without bias. Sonea noted Regin did not seem worried which she suspected did not bode well for her. She wondered what he was planning. She heard a mental call for Director Jerrick, but she quickly tuned it out, knowing it was not considered polite to listen in on others' conversations. Instead, she focused her attention on listening carefully to Regin and his friends to see if she could figure out what they might be planning. Unfortunately, they were too far away for her to hear more than the occasional word.
They waited in Lord Givens classroom for a couple minutes in silence before Director Jerrick hurried in, his robes a bit more haphazard than usual. He glanced around at the group of students and then at Lord Givens. "What is going on here?" he questioned.
Regin immediately spoke up, "She attacked us in the corridors."
Director Jerrick turned a penetrating gaze to Sonea. She had never particularly liked the aging magician, but she had never disliked him either. He had always struck her as fair and relatively unprejudiced at least in comparison to many other magicians. Now, however, she wondered if she had always been seeing what she wanted to see. Finally, Jerrick turned back to Regin. "An accusation has been made," he remarked.
"Truth Read me," Regin said, his voice still full of confidence. The pieces suddenly clicked into place for Sonea. Rothen had told her about Truth Reads a couple months before, mentioning that they were a way for a magician to view another's memories. Because they were memories, they could not be altered which meant it was a good way to figure out what actually happened rather than relying on possibly false testimony. In the current case, however, Regin's memories would show a strike being sent his way from Sonea's direction. Sonea doubted it would be possible for Director Jerrick to tell that it had not come from Sonea. Unless. . .
"Truth Read me," she countered. Jerrick turned to look at her, his eyes narrowing in confusion. Sonea stumbled a bit over her next words, trying to simultaneously speak and come up with a plan. "They attacked me, not the other way around."
Jerrick's eyebrows rose. "A second accusation? This is an unusual situation." He considered for a moment. "Regin's accusation occurred first," he finally remarked. "Therefore, I will start by Truth Reading him. Everyone else, please step over to Lord Givens." Obediently, the other Novices moved to the other magician. Jerrick approached Regin, placing his hands on the boy's temples. Both relaxed, letting their eyes slide shut. Sonea watched nervously. Would Director Jerrick actually Truth Read her after what he saw in Regin's mind? Or would seeing the strike directed at Regin be enough to convince him of her guilt? She was sure Regin was expecting the latter or he would not have been so quick to accuse, but she doubted the other Novice was sure that would occur, no matter how confident he seemed. And, underneath all her other questions, an additional one lingered–who had cast the first strike?
After what seemed like quite awhile but was likely only a few minutes, Jerrick and Regin both opened their eyes. Jerrick's narrowed in anger as he looked to Sonea. "Regin spoke the truth. The first strike came from Sonea."
"It didn't!" Sonea protested immediately.
"I just saw it in his memories."
"It wasn't my strike!"
"Then whose was it?"
"I. . . don't know. But can't you Truth Read me to prove that it wasn't me?"
Director Jerrick seemed to be considering that option when a new voice suddenly spoke. It was quiet but carried an air of authority that immediately stilled the whole room. It sent a shiver of recognition down Sonea's spine though she could not say why. "I do not know that that will be necessary." A black-clad figure stepped into the room trailed by a magician in red robes who Sonea did not recognize.
"High Lord!" Director Jerrick exclaimed, giving a hasty bow. The others followed suit though Sonea kept her eyes on the tall man, feeling a tug of familiarity in the back of her mind that she simply could not shake. "What makes you think it is not necessary?"
"I have an additional. . . witness to the events tonight who can shed some light on what happened." He turned a dark gaze to the figure behind him. The man shuffled forward, his head bowed low.
"Lord Fergun?" Jerrick asked, clearly confused. "Was he present during the attack?"
"I didn't see him," Regin said quickly, and Sonea was pleased to note he had a slight look of panic on his face. He glanced to the side, and all of his friends immediately nodded in support of his statement. The newcomer simply watched them stonily.
"I caught Lord Fergun in the tunnels going somewhere in great haste. Imagine my surprise when I walked back the way he had come and peered out to see seven Novices attacking a single one. I ensured that someone would help out with the situation between the Novices before questioning Lord Fergun about his involvement. That was when I discovered the attack has been his idea all along and that he himself had cast the first strike from his hiding place." Sonea's eyes widened at the revelation which explained a great deal. She wondered who Lord Fergun was that he hated her so, but she would have time to question that later. At the moment, she was simply grateful that the accusations no longer fell on her.
"Is that true Lord Fergun?" Jerrick asked sharply, glaring at the younger magician. Fergun glanced nervously at the man beside him before finally nodding jerkily. Jerrick's eyes narrowed. "What did you hope to gain from your actions?" he questioned.
"I felt. . . I. . . It's all your fault!" Fergun suddenly stood straighter, an angry glare in his eyes that caused Sonea to take a step away from him. Jerrick and Givens also seemed a bit nervous though his captor looked unconcerned. Fergun pointed an accusing finger at the High Lord. "If you had just kept the standards of the Guild what they were instead of letting in Slum trash, I would not have needed to help get rid of it!"
"On the contrary, I feel that perhaps our standards slipped long before we let Sonea in," the High Lord remarked, glaring at Fergun in a way that made his meaning perfectly clear. "In fact, I think that if we concerned ourselves more with magical potential than a person's origins, the Guild would be far more. . . effective." Silence followed that statement, and the words hung in the air for a moment. Everyone in the room understood the implication, and it sent a slight thrill through Sonea's body to hear the High Lord, the leader of the Guild, speak so positively about her entrance into the Guild. She had always thought she was more of a problem for the other magicians, a Novice kept because the King wanted to give some token acknowledgement to the Slums, but she was beginning to realize that perhaps she had more support than she expected.
Director Jerrick looked between the High Lord and Fergun for a few moments before speaking. "It seems the matter is mostly settled though I do still think a Truth Read of Sonea is in order to confirm everything. Are you still willing to submit to one?" He turned to Sonea who nodded quickly. With the High Lord's support and Fergun's obvious guilt, she did not see what she would have to lose from a Truth Read. In fact, perhaps it would help strengthen her position.
"I will do it," the High Lord remarked, startling everyone.
"Are you sure?" Jerrick asked doubtfully. "I performed the one on Regin, so perhaps I-"
"Do you doubt my integrity?" the High Lord questioned, his eyes blazing.
"Of course not."
"Mmm." With a final nod, the man stepped toward Sonea. She looked up at his face, once more feeling a tug of familiarity. But that could not be right. There was no reason she would have seen the High Lord before except perhaps in passing. Maybe that was why he looked familiar. He placed a hand on either side of her head, and Sonea noted that they were warm and oddly comforting. Though his deep voice and authoritative demeanor had scared her when he first entered the room, she found herself surprisingly comfortable with his nearness now. She supposed the fact that he had countered the accusations against her helped.
Sonea closed her eyes and visualized her room as Rothen had taught her. When she opened the door, the High Lord stepped through, and Sonea had a sudden epiphany. "You're the man who I met in the Slums! The one who threatened my family!" The visualization in her head glanced at her, the expression unreadable.
"I expected you to discover that sooner," he remarked simply.
"Is this some new ploy to keep me in the Guild? Did that. . . Fergun really cast the strike or are you just casting the blame on someone so I don't get kicked out? And why do you care anyway? Why does it matter to you if I stay in the Guild or not?"
"It is difficult to answer your questions when you never pause to allow me to do so."
"Are you actually going to answer them then?"
"No. That is not the purpose of my presence here. Show me what happened tonight."
"Not until you answer my questions."
The projection sighed. "You can either show me voluntarily or I can force the memories to the surface. Trust me, the first way is much more pleasant."
"You can't do that!" Sonea had been worried about just such an abuse of power, but Rothen assured her that magicians could only view memories another person–typically a magician since the visualization involved was easier for them–showed them voluntarily.
"I can and I will. Now, which will it be?" Sonea stared at his projection for a moment and realized that he was probably telling the truth. Deciding it best not to test what he meant by the first way being more pleasant, she called up the memory in question, projecting it into a nearby painting. He stepped toward the painting, and as he passed near her, she felt his magical presence more clearly. There was something familiar about it, something beyond just feeling it when he was threatening her family. She played the memory for him, letting him view it in silence as she puzzled over why his magic felt so familiar.
It hit her as he was reaching the part of the memory where her magic suddenly increased. The magic she felt from him was the same magic she felt when her own magic surged. So she had not found additional magic reserves after all; somehow, he had sent her magic when she needed it most. But why would he have done so? Was he really so determined to keep her in the Guild? Why had he not just let Regin and his gang finish her off and rid himself of what he clearly considered a problem?
As Sonea pondered those questions, she realized she had felt his magic before the current night as well. Since learning Control, she had been having very vivid, strange dreams, one of which had even spilled over into her waking hour. She had tried to discreetly question Rothen to see if odd dreams might be a byproduct of awakening her magic, but he had seemed confused by the questions, so she had eventually given up, not wanting to give too much information away and risk being labeled as crazy. Though the dreams had a wide variety of settings, they had all featured a man. Sonea had not been able to see his face clearly, for she seemed to be in his body, but she had felt the same magical presence that she now felt from the High Lord. But why was she dreaming of a man who had only ever threatened her at their meetings?
"What dreams?" the High Lord asked suddenly, spinning away from the memory. Sonea startled, having been so lost in her own thoughts that she forgot he was still in her head and obviously shared some of them.
"No-nothing," she stammered quickly. "Just strange dreams."
"Show them to me."
"I don't think-"
"Show them to me now!" Sonea felt his presence assert itself more in her mind, and she remembered his earlier words with a jolt. Given the anger she saw on his face, she certainly did not want to experience his way of forcing the memories to the surface. Quickly, she pulled up the most recent dream she had–one of a man in a wasteland of some sort. He was obviously in poor condition, for his tattered clothing hung loosely from his body, and his eyes were glassy. Looking at him, Sonea was not surprised she had not recognized the High Lord from her dream at first; the man in her dream had none of the power and authority as the man standing in front of her. But the eyes–those she should have recognized. There was a glint in them that seemed to indicate both intelligence and defiance that was present even in the dream. Interestingly, despite what he had done to her, Sonea had never seen cruelty in the High Lord's eyes, not in the dreams and not on the current night. She could not help but feel that she was missing something. Like the initial strike on the current night, what she had seen simply did not make sense.
"Is that the only one?" There was still an undercurrent of anger to his voice, but he seemed to have brought himself under control. When Sonea looked at him, his face was impassive once more. Instead of answering his question verbally, she brought up another dream, this one showing a man with his arms shackled above him. A man stood over him though Sonea could not see his face. She could, however, see the whip which the man was using to beat the High Lord. Sonea wondered what had happened to lead to the scene. Was the High Lord a political prisoner of some sort or was there something else going on? However, Sonea knew better than to ask, and she simply let him view the dream without comment. She then showed him two more–one of a man on a throne who was clearly not King Merin (a dream which gave further credence to her political prisoner theory) and one of a dark room. "That is all?" the High Lord asked when she had shown him the final vision.
"Yes," Sonea answered. He nodded shortly and stepped back.
"I need to think for a moment." Sonea felt him retreat slightly though he was still at the edge of her mind. She waited, still trying to piece together everything she had learned that night. She still was not sure what to think of him, and the additional knowledge she had gained that night had not helped her decide. She had heard others talking about the High Lord, but most of the people she overheard seemed to think he was aloof but powerful and dedicated to the Guild. Surely he could not fool everyone so completely?
She felt his presence reassert itself just before he spoke. "You need to learn how to block unwanted thoughts from intruding," he remarked. "I will teach you an exercise to do before you go to sleep each night which should help."
"What if I don't want to do that?" Sonea asked, her contrarian nature reasserting itself as she grew more comfortable with his presence.
She expected him to grow angry, but he seemed more resigned than anything. "It is in both of our best interests," he said simply. With that, he began to walk her through a relaxing exercise followed by a way to put up specific mind blocks. Sonea watched him closely, for as much as she did not want to blindly do what he said, the dreams were disturbing, and she did want to find a way to rid herself of them if she could. She wondered how he could stand them, but then, she supposed he had probably grown accustomed to them. "Do you understand?" he asked when he had finished explaining.
"Like this?" Sonea wondered, putting up the walls he had taught her.
"Just like that." There was a note of surprise in his tone which made Sonea feel proud. She took the blocks down, and he retreated from her mind. When she opened her eyes, the other magicians were watching them expectantly. "She confirmed what I told you earlier. The initial strike was not hers; she did not know its origin until Lord Fergun's confession. She, in fact, did not strike at all tonight but merely shielded." Lord Givens and Director Jerrick's eyebrows rose, but they did not have a chance to speak before the High Lord continued. "I will leave the punishment of the seven Novices up to your discretion, Director Jerrick. I will confer with the other Higher Magicians on an appropriate punishment for Lord Fergun."
"Of course, High Lord."
"I assume Sonea is free to go?"
Director Jerrick still seemed to be a bit in shock after the events of the night, but he managed to stutter out an answer. "Yes. Of course."
"Good. Sonea, you may return to Lord Rothen's rooms. Lord Fergun, I will escort you to your rooms and ask that you remain there until we have a chance to talk with the other Higher Magicians. Come." Fergun looked as if he wanted to object, but he did not have a chance to do so before the High Lord stepped out of the room. Sonea chanced a final glance at the other Novices who all seemed much subdued before hurrying out as well, not wanting to give anyone a chance to question her further. She had quite a bit of thinking to do based on the revelations of the night.