The Wagon drivers alerted Thraxor that Sybilla had returned, and Thraxor welcomed Sybilla back from the House of Healing and asked if Rigo was still there. Sybilla explained Rigo’s additional time in the House of Healing and informed Thraxor that she carried a message from Zavdiel, to deliver to Radikor.

  “What’s the message?”, Thraxor asked.

  Sybilla showed the rolled up scroll, and Thraxor sent her to a Wagon near the front of the row of wagons. Sybilla found Radikor’s wagon and as she entered, she found herself in a laboratory dedicated to the study of magic. The walls were wrapped in shelves displaying jars, cages, and chests containing magical artifacts and parts of mutations. In the center of the Radikor’s laboratory, Radikor was crafting a magical artifact. The air was filled with the sent of lye and alcohol, Radikor held heavy tools in one hand, to keep a chain held in place, and the other hand switched between small tools to refine the artifact.

  “Master, I have brought you a message from Zavdiel.”, Sybilla announced.

  “Master? That’s me.”, Radikor realized.

  Sybilla presented the scroll, and Radikor was surprised that Sybilla held an Angelic Scroll. Radikor picked up the scroll, unrolled, and read Zavdiel’s message. A moment later, Radikor rolled up the scroll and returned it to Sybilla.

  “Impressive, I was almost fooled by the golden letters, but that’s not written in High Angelic script. Nothing from this world can write on the material of an Angelic Scroll, and an Angel wouldn’t use the common language. Who wrote this?”, Radikor demanded.

  “I did.”, Sybilla explained, as she held up Zavdiel’s feather.

  “It’s real? And you have an Angel’s feather. What did Zavdiel tell you to do with that feather?”, Radikor demanded.

  “He told me to keep it.”, Sybilla explained.

  “Well both that feather and scroll are valuable, and you need to keep both until the day you die, because if you loose either, bad things will happen.”, Radikor warned.

  “I had a question about the message. I saw the lost souls and the demons, I wrote this message, and your research. Are you and the Angels studying Exorcisms?”, Sybilla asked.

  “Correct. In Sorcery terms, when someone suffers from Possession, Exorcism is the correct counter spell. If you saw lost souls, then you know that Exorcism is catastrophic when used to break a Demonic Pact. Neither Sorcery nor Trinomion have found the counter spell. A few decades ago, we secretly combined our efforts. Everything we learn, we share. But because our methods conflict, we work separately. This is for you.”, Radikor explained.

  Radikor presented a new bracelet to Sybilla. Sybilla examined Radikor’s newest creation, and realized it contained seeing stones the size of beads, within the links of a chain. Sybilla put on the bracelet and it fit her perfectly. Then Radikor handed a book to Sybilla.

  “How to Craft Seeing Stones, Seventh Edition.”, Sybilla read.

  “Tomorrow we will reach the Kalavahn Outpost, and stop for a while to rest and trade. While we travel, you will study carefully and learn to craft a Seeing Stone, and then make a Seeing Stone of at least common quality, after we stop.”, Radikor instructed.

  “Master, may I ask about Rohdahk?”, Sybilla wondered.

  “No. But I will let you know a problem about Sorcerers. If you haven’t been told yet, you will eventually learn that Sorcery grows stronger with every generation. It’s more likely that one of your ancestors was a Sorcerer, maybe a weaker Sorcerer, but one of them definitely was like us, and maybe was a secret bastard. But a few generations ago, between six or eight, depending on the lineage, all Sorcerers stopped giving birth to sons. Except Sorcerers born of one specific lineage. What does that sound like?”, Radikor asked.

  “That sounds like a curse.”, Sybilla realized.

  “That’s what the other lineages will think too, since they aren’t stupid and any curse requires a spell caster. Now if the only way to escape the curse is to submit to one specific lineage, who do you think cast the curse?”, Radikor asked.

  “The culprit is most likely the lineage who gains the most. But using a spell so subtle which has effects will not be seen until new Sorcerers are born and not noticed for several generations should be extremely patient.”, Sybilla realized.

  “Correct. Now this next question is a riddle. Where could Sorcerers of the accused lineage hide, but still use magic?”, Radikor asked.

  “They need a place where they can reasonably explain their unusual level of high Sorcery, and avoid having any children to risk revealing their lineage.”, Sybilla suspected.

  “Does such a place exist?”, Radikor asked.

  “You would get both of those from just being in the Scar.”, Sybilla concluded.

  “Good, now apply your problem solving skills to your studies.”, Radikor instructed.

  Sybilla left Radikor’s wagon and found that some of the wagon drivers were preparing camp fires and torches around the far edges of the row of wagons. Sybilla decided to try out the new Seeing Stone bracelet from Radikor. Sybilla looked to the Kalavahn pass far behind the on the trail, and Sybilla could see the slain Warlocks of the Demon Horde. Sybilla noticed that some Warlocks who remained in their human form were left to die, but the Warlocks who showed signs of mutation were missing several body parts, and if they were cut with a clean blade, in an orderly manner, as if someone was trying to dissect these Mutant Warlocks as efficiently as possible. Sybilla turned her seeing stone to the front of the row of wagons, and saw that a day’s length of travel waited far ahead of them, since she could not see the Kalavahn Outpost, beyond the horizon.

  Sybilla found pots of stew having over fires, and imagined that someone prepared a large amount of food, even while Rigo was still in the House of Healing. Sybilla sat down to resume her studies, when she saw Thraxor was leading two women, and they were the same two women from the night before, but they weren’t trying to have fun. Instead they were handing out bread and bowls of stew to the wagon drivers. Rodring walked up to the fire, sat down on his shield, reached into his satchel, opened a can that smelled like lemon and salt, and used a cleaning rag to polish the Holy Gauntlets. The women handed a loaf of bread and a bowl of stew to Sybilla and Rodring, and Thraxor instructed the two women to continue to serve food to the rest of the Trading Company.

  “I thought you were trying to sell the Holy Gauntlets?”, Thraxor asked.

  “I’m still trying to sell, but nobody wanted to buy them, and they’re not Holy, they just look like Holy armor. Holy Armor never needs to be cleaned.”, Rodring explained.

  “I’ll take them, for five gold.”, Thraxor offered, as he leaned against a nearby wagon.

  “Bronze is worth at least fifty gold in the Kalavahn Outpost.”, Rodring argued.

  “But will they buy something they think is a Holy Artifact, from someone who they think is a Holy Knight? Or will they think they are being scammed?”, Thraxor suspected.

  Rodring looked at the Guantlets on his arms, which needed some cleaning, and the extra pair of gauntlets he was no longer needed and didn’t even want to clean.

  “Can you offer twenty gold?”, Rodring asked.

  “Deal. Stop cleaning them. Just hand them over.”, Thraxor agreed.

  Thraxor claimed the Holy Gauntlets, which were just normal armor and only looked like Holy Armor from Rodring. Thraxor and Rodring exchanged gold and armor, as Thraxor placed the Gauntlets onto his arms.

  “Fits like a glove.”, Thraxor declared.

  “They are gloves.”, Sybilla protested.

  Rodring gestured for Sybilla to remain quiet, as Thraxor moved his arms and tested the flex of the Gauntlets. Thraxor began testing the balance of the Gauntlets, and noticed something was wrong, as if the Gauntlets were different than what he expected.

  “Is one heavier than the other?”, Thraxor asked Rodring.

  “One arm holds a shield and just needs less armor.”, Rodring explained.

  “A shield? Hmmm. I can work with that.”, Thraxor declared.

  “Thraxor, I must ask. If you can use sorcery and you’re not afraid to let other see you use sorcery, why do you insist on being a warrior?”, Sybilla asked.

  “Insist? I’m not sure if that’s what I’m doing. But you are partly correct, that’s not something I’m afraid of. If a warrior can attack with his fists, pick up any weapon, or attack with just his mind, in my opinion, that makes him a better warrior. The only secrets I keep, are secrets that are not mine to tell.”, Thraxor explained.

  Roding removed his current gauntlets to begin cleaning them. Rodring first had to clean the blood off his hands and then cleaning the viscera from the gauntlets’ joints. Rodring’s sword hand was callous and scarred from numerous battles. Sybilla suspected that the need to fight with a sword is what resulted in always being closer to the threat, and needing gauntlets to protect the arm, especially for a swordsman such as Rodring or Radikor.

  “If his hands look like that, why do you want his old armor?”, Sybilla asked Thraxor.

  “Because I’ve been to the House of Healing more than once and I’m thankful they always manage to re-attach my arms and legs, but more armor means less time stuck in that place. But too much armor or the wrong armor can be just as detrimental.”, Thraxor explained.

  “Stuck in the House of Healing? Most of us are alive thanks to the House of Healing. What’s wrong with the House of Healing?”, Rodring laughed.

  “My life is in the Scar. I understand the mission of the Angels and Trinomion. But if there were no Scar, there were no Warlocks, and there were no Demons, then what would your lives be? You would be criticizing kings for failing to meet a perfect justice, you would be criticizing prostitutes for seducing men, who just want to be human, and you would criticize soldiers who just follow orders. Trinomion is opposed to life in this world.”, Thraxor argued.

  “Should people just stop wanting to have better lives?”, Rodring demanded.

  “Vaylandra said the New Kingdom will be free of hunger, sickness, death, and taxes. Everyone will just be young and healthy eternally, but there will be no sorcery. So how does Trinomion achieve this?”, Sybilla wondered.

  “Those are not the only things forbidden in the New Kingdom.”, Thraxor warned.

  “What else is forbidden?”, Sybilla wondered.

  “What you need to ask is why are those specific problems on that list problems that do not exist in the New Kingdom?”, Thraxor hinted.

  Sybilla remembered her lesson with Radikor, when he explained that Warlocks depend on two human emotions, hedonism and jealousy, and wondered what had to change about human nature to accomplish solving the problems of death, sickness, hunger, and taxes. Sybilla suspected Trinomion would change something subtle about humans that would impact everything described by Thraxor.

  “No body has sex? That’s why Vaylandra is waiting here on this world to get married. There’s no point in waiting for you in the New Kingdom, because you’re marriage can only happen on this world. If people never die, you won’t need to replace them.”, Sybill realized.

  “And that’s why I don’t want to join the Trinomion.”, Thraxor laughed.

  “That is a result of the ascension, but I don’t force people into Trinomion against their will. I only fight Demons and Warlocks, and defend people’s right to live.”, Rodring argued.

  “But you’re changing human nature. What gives you the right?”, Sybilla demanded.

  “The Followers of Trinomion choose to ascend. They can only ascend if they pass the test of the heart. They must want to attain a new existence, and sacrifice their mortality existence. We do not use possession, like Warlocks.”, Rodring explained.

  “But why? What is the point?”, Sybilla wondered.

  “You might as well ask for the meaning of life. Do you want me to answer with what I think, or do you want me to tell you as though you might join?”, Rodring asked.

  “Well I’m not giving up Sorcery, so let’s just go with what you think.”, Sybilla decided.

  “So as Thraxor already said, humans cannot be born in the New Kingdom, there is no need, and not as long as humans can be born here. Angels and new born humans exist in a corporeal or mortal existence, and that allows us to live or in the case of the Angels to exist. In this world, we are composed of matter, a finite amount of mass, measured in length, width, height, and weight. We are born, we grow, and then we die. Now we look at the purpose of ascension. We are restricted within a finite amount of time, within Trinomion time is called the fourth dimension, and when humans ascend we exceed time’s restrictions. All of time becomes accessible and we are free of any need to eat, sleep, or procreate. So we may join the High King, in either the New Kingdom where I will rule, or in the High Kingdom where the the High King rules.”, Rodring explained.

  “Why have a human ruler? Why not let an Angel rule instead?”, Sybilla wondered.

  “Because Angels cannot ascend into the fourth dimension to exceed the constraints of time, that is just the way they were created.”, Rodring explained.

  “And what happens to those who fail to ascend?”, Thraxor demanded.

  “When our time runs out, we cannot sustain a corporeal existence, and we must exist in a lower state. We descend, for lack of a better word.”, Rodring revealed.

  “What does that mean?”, Sybilla demanded.

  “Think about the letters on the pages of a book. They have flat shapes. You can still see them, know their identities, and derive meaning from them, but it is an existence without substance. It would be like losing a physical existence and being reduced to a flat shadow. That’s what happened to the demons. They were angel’s once, but they betrayed the High King and they lost their physical bodies as punishment.”, Rodring explained.

  “I’ve seen them in a prison near the House of Healing. They looked like smoke, but malicious and sinister, almost deranged by their loss of stature. I guess possessing a human would give them access to a physical body again. They might think even if the Warlock dies some time to live again is better than nothing.”, Sybilla suspected.

  “We considered that theory once as well, but it doesn’t match the Demons’ patterns and strategies. If the Demons want to possess humans, and they know that when a human dies, they have to find another. They don’t do that. They kill other humans, sacrificing several humans to gain just one new Warlock. If all the Demons wanted to have a steady supply of Warlocks it makes more sense to keep a few just to breed them, but since they cannot do that within the Scar, they’re more likely trying to escape. In that case the Scar is not a curse in the conventional sense, but functions more like a prison. But that’s also inaccurate, because when the Scar appeared, so did the Demons and the Warlocks, and when the Warlocks spread, so did the Scar. The Scar can be contained like a curse, but I’ve found no counter-spell that remove the effect of the Scar.”, Rodring admitted.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “Be honest. Even if you could undo the Scar, would you?”, Thraxor challenged.

  “Not as long as there is a greater threat the Scar keeps suppressed. If the Demons learned they could just grow food, build villages, and breed more Warlocks, the world would be facing extinction.”, Rodring suspected.

  “Grow food, build villages, and raise children? That doesn’t sound like an evil army, that just sound like people. I was raised in a small village. That makes the Scar sound more like a punishment, than like anything else.”, Sybilla suspected.

  “You might be right, but not everyone wants that life. You left your village for a reason, or you wouldn’t be here.”, Thraxor argued to Sybilla.

  “I didn’t reject my village, I loved my home, and my family. They had no way to help me. They accepted that I would be a Sorceress. But I just learned I can only have daughters, and those daughters can only have daughters. I feel deep regret for cruel pain that my village would suffer, knowing that maybe they might have been born differently. If I get to see them again,. I need to stay away to protect them. I’m just lucky Radikor needs an apprentice.”, Sybilla admitted.

  “Do you think you should have been born as a boy?”, Thraxor asked Sybilla.

  “That’s the most ridiculous curse I’ve ever heard of.”, Rodring groaned.

  “I don’t feel that way, but isn’t that what’s happening to the Sorcerers?”, Sybilla argued.

  “She’s got a point. That is unfair and dangerous for some places.”, Thraxor admitted.

  “We see Wizards, Mages, Death Mages, Druids, Magicians, Illusionists, and I’ve even met three Sorcerers who are men. Sorcerers are not being born as the wrong gender, or thinking they’re supposed to be another gender.”, Rodring declared.

  “That’s not the problem. Even if there are other ways for men to use magic. If parents wanted to have sons, or sons won’t get the chance to be born.”, Thraxor explained.

  “That’s also not the problem. It’s closer to what Rodring is arguing against. If I had to go through life as a man when I should have been a woman, or the reverse. I might feel that my entire life was robbed from me.”, Sybilla explained.

  “I change my mind. I agree with Rodring.”, Thraxor laughed.

  “Agree? We only agree if you join, Trinomion.” Rodring clarified.

  “Do you agree that it’s unfair to let me go through life thinking I can have either sons or daughters, but the truth is I can only have daughters? Is that fair to my children? Or is that fair that my parents let that happen to me? Other women can offer sons, but I cannot. Does that make me less of a woman?”, Sybilla demanded.

  “That’s pretty clear. Do you have a response, Rodring?”, Thraxor asked.

  “I’m pretty sure you’re a Sorcerer’s Apprentice. If you think magic is involved, then either lift the curse or find the counter spell.”, Rodring offered to Sybilla.

  “A curse? How many times can an object be cursed?”, Sybilla asked.

  “No numerical limit exists. Curses can be applied until a curse is contradictory, which usually results in an explosion, but that also attracts…Warlocks.”, Rodring realized.

  “Sybilla, are you thinking that every every unique problem in the Scar is not just one curse, but several magic curses in sequence?”, Thraxor asked.

  “That’s what I’m thinking. That would explain why we can’t find a counter-spell, because we don’t know the order of the curses. It’s like untying a knot, but not knowing where the ends of the rope are at, so we don’t even know if we make the knot worse. There’s a spell to darken the sky, and then plants would not grow, but that doesn’t stop food from rotting, fire still burns, and people can still die. However if we lift the curse on the sky, there’s an interaction between the sky, the winds, the ground, and water. Lift one curse and a different curse is still causing the next curse.”, Rodring suspected.

  “So why hasn’t the Scar exploded?”, Sybilla wondered.

  “What if the Scar already exploded? When wood is burned, it’s turned to ash. That doesn’t stop wind, the flow of water, or people from travel.”, Thraxor suspected.

  “Perhaps that’s true, but then why does the Scar spread?”, Rodring wondered.

  “If one curse from the Scar spreads, won’t the following curses also spread with the first just because they are linked?”, Sybilla asked.

  “The only way to do that is to curse another curse as an object.”, Radikor declared.

  Radikor approached the fire, carrying a bowl of soup in one hand, and other foods in his other hand. Radikor sat down next to the fire, flicked his hand as he dropped a cloth he carried in his pocket. The cloth spun like a whirlwind and was completely flat when it landed on the ground. Radikor placed the soup and food on the cloth and lifted the cloth, but instead of lifting from a single corner, an invisible table lifted with the cloth from the ground. Radikor faced the conjured table, as he reached for his dagger to begin dicing a portion of salted pork wrapped in paper.

  “Salted Pork? I thought we were going to sell those?”, Thraxor objected.

  “We have like sixty barrels, Rigo is still in the house of healing, and I’m not in the mood for extra veggie stew. If you want some for dinner, go get salted pork. I don’t care if we open a dozen barrels tonight. We’ll just have more room for trade.”, Radikor explained.

  Thraxor left his bowl of stew, to go get some salted pork. Rodring sipped from the stew, but began cleaning his other Gauntlets.

  “Any salted pork for you two?”, Radikor asked Sybilla and Rodring.

  “No thanks. I don’t want food with too much salt.”, Sybilla admitted.

  “No thanks. Pork is against Trinomion.”, Rodring explained.

  Radikor finished dicing up the salted pork and nibbled into a cut of the seasoned preserve.

  “Curses normally do not follow anything except for the object that is cursed. If the Scar is made of many curses, that explains the Scar, but not the spread. The Great Library of Lantryndar has all the knowledge about the Scar. Every once in a while I run into Wizards from Lantryndar, while they do their research. Sometimes they try to hire us to guide them to places they want to research, but I usually tell them no.”, Radikor explained.

  “Is there something wrong with their money?”, Sybilla asked.

  “Yes, they don’t have enough money. They always want to go off the trade routes, and stay in the Scar for a few months to conduct their experiments on the Scar. That’s both expensive for them, and catastrophic for the deliveries of food and beer to every outpost. If I can’t afford to do business with the Wizards, I doubt anyone else would.”, Radikor revealed.

  “Why not just build more outposts?”, Sybilla asked.

  “Because Warlocks and Demons are not the only threat in the Scar, the ground’s size is dangerous because of distance. Any location that can’t be reached within a few day’s length of travel, could die of starvation. Once an outpost guard gains enough wealth, he usually quits being an outpost guard, and goes home, but sometimes he starts working for me or someone like me. If the Alliance was willing to hire more guards, maybe they could build more outposts, but then outpost guards will quit faster if their work gets tougher, or more dangerous, and not worth the government wages. Dying of starvation can just as easily cause panic and several guards should quit and escape the Scar if the alternative is crying out to a Demon. My drivers are not soldiers, at least not anymore. I’d rather see them leave the Scar, poor, and destitute, than turned into a Warlock.”, Radikor admitted.

  “Do you also think the Demons created the Scar?”, Sybilla asked Radikor.

  “The Demons did not create the Scar. They only created the Demon gate. If anyone created the Scar, it was the humans who thought they could fight back. The Holy Knights believed that’s the reason the Scar amplifies Sorcery.”, Rodring protested.

  “But the Demons use Sorcery too, once a human becomes a Warlock, they have basic Sorcery, and no Sorcerer, Mage, Wizard, Druid, nor Witch knows how to duplicate the Scar. We’ve crossed the Scar for years, and the Wizards have studied the Scar since the Alliance built the Wall. Blame whoever you wish, but they’re dead. Only one man alive has ever witnessed the creation of the Scar.", Radikor argued.

  “The Scar has existed for hundreds of years, who could still be alive after all this time? How can they still be alive?”, Sybilla wondered.

  “The Oath Breaker, he’s one of the Original Six Holy Knights, Lord Valkrahm, Ruler of Sunderskar, and he wouldn’t willingly share the Scar’s secrets.”, Rodring suspected.

  “He rules a lot more than Sunderskar, that’s juts one city. The entire Southern half of the Wall pays tribute to him, and his army has the best soldiers in the Alliance.”, Radikor revealed.

  “Don’t you mean he has the best mercenaries?”, Rodring argued.

  “If you’re good at what you do, I think you can expect to be paid for your talents. I’m not in the business of training and employing an army. I just sell supplies to the Alliance. That means Lord Valkrahm is a valued customer.”, Radikor admitted.

  “So why is he call the Oath Breaker?”, Sybilla asked.

  “The Holy Knights are not meant to rule any part of this world. He teaches a Blasphemous form of Trinomion that allows him to command an army, and he won’t stop at domination of the Scar. Once he’s gained total control of the Scar, he’s going to conquer the world. If they were truly loyal to the Trinomion church, they would have a House of Healing. That’s how I know I’m right.”, Rodring declared.

  “But when they retire they always join Trinomion, and they know the Holy Book down to the page numbers. As far as I can tell the only thing that stops them from becoming Holy Knights is the fact that there’s only two Holy Swords and two sets of Holy Armor in the world. The Alliance needs Lord Valkrahm and his army.”, Radikor explained.

  “So what does his army do without a House of Healing?”, Sybilla wondered.

  “That’s why they are an army, they rely on replacement and retire anyone who can no longer fight. Only Lord Valkrahm can heal them sufficiently.”, Rodring revealed.

  “So if he’s an Oath Breaker, but he can still heal others with the divine power of a Holy Knight, then I think the Oath is just arbitrary.”, Sybilla suspected.

  “All that means is he can still pray, and not even my prayers can revive a judged soul. Their army has even recruited Necromancers…as Death Mages.”, Rodring corrected himself.

  “You’re lucky Rigo isn’t here to hear you say that.”, Radikor laughed at Rodring.

  “That doesn’t stop Rigo from filling my plate with vegetables.”, Rodring admitted.

  “Master, what should I do if I can’t find all of the materials for a Seeing Stone in the Kalavahn outpost?”, Sybilla asked Radikor.

  “Did you just call him Master?”, Rodering wondered.

  “Nobody else in my Company calls me Master, everyone just knows I’m in charge. You are my Apprentice, and I am your master, but just call me Radikor. You don’t need to worry about finding the materials, I planned ahead. Just read.”, Radikor explained.

  Rodring finished cleaning the gauntlet of his sword arm, and then slipped the gauntlet on his arm and tightened the straps. Rodring tested the gauntlet’s flex and fit around his fingers, and then removed it to clean the other remaining Gauntlet.

  “May I keep you company, your highness?”, Vaylandra announced

  Princess Vaylandra appeared as she floated downward next to Rodring. Rodring and Radikor stood and bowed as they greeted royalty. Sybilla bowed holding the sides of her dress following the etiquette from her Master, Radikor. Radikor, Rodring, and Sybilla sat back down on the ground, but Vaylandra just curled up floating above the ground as if an invisible cradle held her above the ground. Vaylandra tucked her wings behind her as she examined the new scratches on Rodring’s gauntlets.

  “Tell me about the battle, please.”, Vaylanrda begged Rodring.

  “The Demon Horde approached Dor-Gata through the Kalavahn pass. They had thousands of Warlocks, attacking in waves, impossible to stop them from taking over the pass. We had to resort to leading the Warlocks losing ground in every counter attack. At the final turn on the Dor-Gata end of the Pass, the Warlocks regained their full magic power, and cursed Rigo. There was no time to lift the curse, so we retreated back to the camp.”, Rodring reported.

  “So who carried Rigo back? You or Thraxor?”, Vaylandra asked.

  “Thraxor remained at the camp. Radikor led us through the pass.”, Rodering explained.

  “Thraxor didn’t fight? Was he injured too?”, Vaylandra wondered.

  “Do not worry, your highness. Thraxor is uninjured, he did fight in the battle, but his judgement needed to be tested. He forgot that he is trusted with much more than just swinging an axe, to ensure the safety of the Trade Company.”, Radikor reported.

  “That’s true, Thraxor joined the fight after the Kalavahn pass was overrun with Warlocks. Even Sybilla struck down the Warlocks’ doom spell.”, Rodring reported.

  “That’s not entirely true. I only deciphered the Warlocks deception. The great fireball was already hit with Radikor’s counter spell, but the Warlock’s hid the Great Fireball behind two Fire Shields. All I did was create a path for the counter spell to find the Fireball’s core. The Warlocks combined their magic so we had to combine ours.”, Sybilla explained.

  “Where were you during the Warlock’s great fireball?”, Vaylandra asked Rodring.

  “I think I was carrying Rigo to the House of Healing. The wagon drivers told me Sybilla cast the counter spell, after I returned to the Scar.”, Rodring concluded.

  “Well even if you combined magic, joining the battle is still brave. Especially for an Apprentice.”, Vaylandra assured Sybilla.

  Rodring finished cleaning his Gauntlets and began testing that they flexed and fit properly. Vaylandra floated upwards to examine the other side of the Rodring arms, and Sybilla wondered if Vaylandra would comment on how strong Rodring’s arms are.

  “So how have you finished the book on Seeing Stones? Do you understand the difference between artifacts and enchantments?”, Radikor asked Sybilla.

  “No, master. I have a few more chapters to finish, but I now know an enchantment is the effect of a spell applied to an object. An artifact performs a function like any tool, and just focuses a portion of the caster’s mana. I just haven’t yet read how.”, Sybilla admitted.

  “That’s a good start. Remember the difference between red spells and blue spells? You thought red spells implied hostile magic, and blue spells implied spells for solving problems. Red spells are instant and temporary, blue spells are given parameters for spell duration. This lesson is also important for lifting curses. Blue spells have rules for starting and stopping. If you can achieve the conditions to stop a curse, you can either break or lift a curse. Artifacts are enchanted to duplicate the effects of a spell, as long as the spell caster can match the requirements of the artifact. The seeing stone enchantment starts when you channel mana into the stone, it casts a basic finding spell, and stops when you either run out of mana as a safety against accidental blood magic, or if you find what you were looking for. If you learn to cast a spell, the mana cost is usually lower than using an artifact, but an artifact is generally considered to be faster.”, Radikor explained.

  “So that means when I cast force impact, after I hit the target, that’s what I wanted to do, so that means force impact is a red spell. But Fire enchantment only lasts a few moments, so that means it’s a blue spell. Can we enchant an artifact with Fire, so that we can just focus mana to have fire available?”, Sybilla wondered.

  “That’s an advanced lesson for later. You will learn something more basic, because if you try advanced magic now, you might create an artifact that inflicts a curse on the user, if they do not match the requirements of the artifact. Like your bracelets that focus mana when you cast spells, or how your dress should feel like a burden to you. The protection spells in the dye absorbs a portion of your mana to protect you.”, Radikor explained.

  “It feels like a burden, but only because it has boob armor.”, Sybilla admitted.

  “Are you always…brash?”, Vaylandra asked Sybilla.

  “Well your highness, I am thankful that my master has provided me with armor, but because it’s dye in the fabric, and not so much from the chest plates. I think a tunic or a cloak would have been more helpful. I just wish I had some control over what I’m allowed to wear. I’m an adult and I should be able to choose my own clothes.”, Sybilla pleaded.

  “You can just wear a tunic or cloak over your dress.”, Radikor suggested.

  “Well now I have to find one.”, Sybilla realized.

  “Can I give her one of mine?”, Vaylandra asked Rodring.

  “Your clothes are yours to decide what you will, but we wear the mark of Trinomion, and Sybilla has not joined our faith. If Demons and Warlocks see the mark, they will hate that, and will try to kill us first before they normally try to kill everyone.”, Rodring explained.

  “So my situation can change from the Demons trying to kill, possess, or force me into a Demon Pact, to them just trying to kill me? Can I just see one first?”, Sybilla asked.

  Vaylandra floated upward, and curled her wings, pulling the wings into her back, and then she waved her hand summoning her cloak. Vaylandra’s cloak was a flowing pure white fabric from her face and down to her feet, as she continued to float.

  “And now for the tunic.”, Vaylandra announced.

  Vaylandra spun causing the cloak to vanish behind her with the spinning and the tunic appeared in the cloak’s place, another even finer garment wrapped around Vaylandra’s body.

  “So which do you like?”, Vaylandra asked Sybilla.

  “Um I like the cloak.”, Sybilla answered.

  Vaylandra spun around once again, causing the tunic to vanish into her spin, and she extended her wings, which allowed her to control her flight once again. Vaylandra raised her arms above her and a beam of light shined on Sybilla.

  “They are now yours.”, Vaylandra declared.

  Sybilla realized she was now wearing both the tunic and the cloak.

  “Just remember, as long as you wear the mark of Trinomion, we know you have not truly joined. Do not allow others to think you have joined, because you will not pass the test of the heart. But you may enjoy these free gifts.”, Rodring explained.

  “Is it alright if I dye them to a different color?”, Sybilla wondered.

  “They’re yours now, do as you wish.”, Rodring admitted.

  Sybilla stood up to move around in her new cloak and tunic, and she realized they felt completely weightless and only pressed against the wind and she started to feel like she did when she was in the house of healing. Sybilla tried to sense the magic within the tunic and cloak, but felt nothing. Sybilla became concerned that something might be impeding her magical abilities, so she tried to sense magic from Radikor, and Radikor immediately sensed what Sybilla was doing.

  “Why are you looking for mana, you already know I’m a Sorcerer?”, Radikor wondered.

  “I can’t sense the healing magic from the cloak or tunic. I’m afraid I activated a curse, because I failed the test of the heart.”, Sybilla admitted.

  “The cloak and tunic are not cursed. They’re not even magic.”, Rodring laughed.

  “Rodring is correct, they have no magic properties, but they will make you feel really good. I’m glad you like them.”, Vaylandra added.

  Thraxor returned from the supply wagon, with three cuts of salted pork in his arms, a horn of mead hanging from his belt, a pot of stew in one hand, and a half loaf of bread held in his teeth. Thraxor glanced at Sybilla and spit the half loaf of bread into the pot of stew.

  “What happened? When I stood up, Sybilla thought she was a boy, but now it looks like she’s joined Trinomion.”, Thraxor wondered.

  “I’m not joining. Princess Vaylandra gave me these because I just wanted to hide my dress. And I never said I thought I was boy.”, Sybilla protested.

  “Are you planning to eat all three cuts of salted pork? You need to eat some extra veggies, or you’ll make yourself sick.”, Radikor observed.

  “I get plenty of veggies. I wait until Rodring puts down his plate and then I steal his food. His charitable Trinomion nature means he never gets mad at me.”, Thraxor laughed.

  “You’re not stealing, I just can’t finish them. Rigo puts extra veggies on my plate because we argue about necromancy, and I can’t stop him.”, Rodring admitted.

  “Hmmm. So how mad can I make Rigo, before he tries to poison me? If that’s all it take to get extra food, that’s easy.”, Thraxor suspected.

  “Your pardon. I need to study, so I will read next to the books’ wagon.”, Sybilla planned.

  Radikor allowed Sybilla to leave and study, and as Sybilla examined the principles of Seeing Stones, she listened to the laughter and banter of the other members of the trading company. Sybilla drifted until she fell asleep with her face flat on the pages of the book, then Rodring and Vaylandra woke her up.

  “Would you like to spend tonight in the House of Healing?”, Vaylandra asked.

  Sybilla accepted Vaylandra’s offer, and she noticed that Rodring was planning to stay behind with the wagons.

  “Are you also going to the House of Healing?”, Sybilla asked Rodring.

  “I can’t tonight. I have the second guard watch. Also Radikor and Thraxor got into a fight and Radikor decided to open a barrel of brew to see who is the stronger drunk. I’ll probably have to stop them from killing each other again.”, Rodring suspected.

  Sybilla returned to the House of Healing with Vaylandra and she slept on the soft bed that felt like sleeping on a cloud.