C1 1. New Tasks

The magical alarm rang, and, startled, Master Raiden jumped out of bed. He immediately pulled up his shields and held a combat spell ready for action. But the alarm had only sounded because King Danian was trying to reach Prince Raiden through their magical mirror. I‘m already as paranoid as the old Dragon. The Lord of Naganor fetched a cloak, threw it around his shoulders and went down to his study. Meanwhile, the mirror had fallen silent, but Prince Raiden knew his brother well. The king usually sat in his office from very early morning, diligently carrying out state business until lunch time. Raiden yawned and activated the mirror. „Hello Danian.“ The Kings face appeared. „Finally you answer my call. How long did you intend to ignore your King, ungrateful subject?“ Amused, Raiden frowned. „No ill will, greatest of kings. I‘ll pay you a visit in Arvon later today and, over a decent meal, I will tell you everything.“ „And now you are so impertinent as to invite yourself to dinner,“ joked the king. „I am truly the slave of my people. And now, when I see your image in front of me like this, I would say, you‘ve just crawled out from under the feathers – while I‘ve been working for hours. Why is a hard-working king like myself punished with lazy subjects like you?“ „Everyone gets what he deserves.“ Unabashed, Prince Raiden did not even attempt to hide a second yawn, despite the magical presence of King Danian. „Go and shave, and, while you‘re at it, pour a bucket of cold water over your head so you can finally wake up, beloved brother.“ „As my King commands.“ The mirror went dark.

Later, around noon, the two brothers were sitting together in the Royal Palace at Arvon.Prince Raiden told of the events of recent weeks while the king listened on with great astonishment. „Incredible. So you have not been idle. But why didn’t you tell me this earlier?“ „I did not want to burden you with such affairs. The mages of the Brotherhood can be quite unpleasant contemporaries, making the life of an unmagical rather difficult. The less people who know, the better. And now that Master Elderon has already discovered my secrets and I – thanks to the Dragon – have regained my freedom, I can talk about it openly.“ „I am truly happy for you that the spell has been broken. This has been casting a shadow over your soul for such a long time.“ Prince Raiden could only agree. „It is incredibly liberating. Even just to breathe the air feels different and the pure joy of life fulfils me.“ Mischievous crinkles appeared around the King’s eyes. „Well, since you‘re in such a good mood now and have nothing left to do, then you could help your King to govern and increase your efforts with the affairs of Ardeen. Are you not officially the Protector of the North?“

„Nothing more than a honourable suffix,” Raiden grumbled, then added, “A title without meaning, my King.“ Danian laughed knowingly. „Maybe for someone who wants to shirk his duties. It is not difficult for me to fill this title with meaning. Let‘s start with ‚A‘ for administration. After the Black Guard‘s brief military presence in Two-river Country, you then rather quickly and skilfully dumped the bureaucracy onto my shoulders. You certainly know what I mean: collecting taxes, holding court, passing laws... while you just sit in your tower, waiting for the crown to give you your share. Which – considering your contribution of work – is rather high.” This topic was quite unpleasant for Raiden. „Now do not be petty, brother. This is not like you.“ But Danian was not yet ready to drop the subject. „I just don‘t want to deprive you of the chance to rule. How often in history has there been discontent and revolution because a king would not share his power with anyone, causing his relatives became dissatisfied? Feeling disadvantaged and excluded, so to speak.“

Now, small lines of displeasure began forming on the bridge of Master Raiden‘s nose. „If you would just forget me in my tower I would be the happiest man in the world, praising my King and being devoted to him forever.“ The suggestion fell on deaf ears. „Your future son-in-law, the young Orten, is to become Lord of Two-river Country. Send him there and, even better, send your whole guard after him. This newly acquired land brings many new problems. Building up a capable administration is important. The population is still hostile towards us. Officials are threatened and robbers roam the land. In short, this border region is still a long way from being safe.“ „I‘ll burn the whole area to ashes and the job is done,“ Raiden suggested, but for such a proposal he only earned a reprimanding glance.

„Raiden, we are civilised people, who work to find civilised solutions.“ „Alright,“ the Lord of Naganor sighed, full of self-pity. „I‘ll do it.“ „And nothing less was what I wanted to hear,“ declared the King as he slapped the table with the palm of his hand like an auctioneer awarding the highest bidder. „Heartless king,“ Raiden grumbled. But the words bounced off and Danian, after succeeding in his petition, changed the subject. „Do you think of returning to the Nimrod?“ Prince Raiden rolled his eyes. „Not at all. It‘s no better than other parts of the world and certainly not as beautiful as Ardeen. The Nimrod has meadows, forests and mountains like anywhere else, but, aside from that, a bunch of rather disgusting creatures live there. Monsters that scare even me. And, to top it off, the land is ruled by an extremely autocratic dragon. No, I don’t think that I will visit that country again. And believe me – I can not say it emphatically enough – we can all be glad that the magic of the Nimrod exists and keeps the brood that has developed there over the last fifty years away from us. We should pray that the Nimrod-spell will last for all eternity and continue to divide the world for the better. Here we have our safe area and in there is a monster retreat.“ „If even you warn against it, then it must truly be awful,“ Danian remarked, and then changed the topic again. „... And Sir Ravenor actually married this sorceress, who later lost her life? I would not have expected the splendid Sir Ravenor to settle down so fast. It always appeared as though he was more like you in that respect.“

Slightly offended, Prince Raiden answered. „Thanks for the flowers. My King is, once again, accentuating my moral transgressions... But in Ravenor’s case, he really was in love. And this woman was not a sorceress, but an ice-witch. There‘s a crucial difference. I still shake my head at his stupidity, and what overcame him is still a mystery to me. But he grieved her loss very dearly and is still rather depressed.“ Danian felt silent for a moment as his mind wandered into the past.

Then he said, „He‘ll get over it. You know how it hurt me when my first wife died. As soon as I learned that she had such a serious illness, my world collapsed. The mages told me that the only hope was to slow the process down for fifteen years, and even then chances would be slim. In my youthful impetuosity I decided to pass the fifteen years in sleep. Back then, I firmly believed that after this time I would simply wake up and have the rest of my life together with my sweetheart. How naive I was and how different things turned out in reality?“ The King paused for a moment and shook his head at his own behaviour, then he continued, „I found a mage who put a paralytic spell on me. One that faded by itself after fifteen years and that nobody could break before then. Of course, without listening to our father and certainly without his agreement. When I finally woke up, my love had died many years ago. She had not made it despite all the efforts of the mages.

And father‘s reaction – just thinking about it makes me tremble. At that time, his mind had not yet deteriorated, and he raged like mad. For me it had seemed just like a brief close of the eyes, but the world had continued to turn for fifteen years. After that, King Tarn was very hard on me. Shedding the foolishness and recognising the seriousness of life, he called it. That really wasn‘t a pleasant time for me.“ The Lord of Naganor also began pondering the past. „At that time, I was with Master Kailin. I doubt that father could have been worse than my dear teacher. Master Kailin was really bad.“ „Says the one who has hardly spent any time at home and still wants to shirk his obligations even now,“ Danian criticised, and Raiden grinned in conciliation. „Which brings us back to the beginning. My King, I have already surrendered and promised to perform my duties as Protector of the North. Maybe I will also send Ravenor to the new region in the north. That will occupy him with other thoughts and allow him to forget about the ice-witch. He never wanted to accept it, but that woman was really dangerous. Unmagicals are sometimes too good-faithed, as far as magical beings are concerned. And I believe that, after a while, he‘ll get over it and begin to look for another lady. It was exactly the same for you, and it was a real stroke of luck you found Lady Ysil.“ „Even a king needs luck,“ replied the ruler of Ardeen with a shrug.

Although Prince Raiden now had to take care of the North, there were other, more important issues to settle. The idiosyncratic way in which Prince Raiden took his leave from the Brotherhood could lead to misunderstandings among the mages. Especially if the High Mages of the Brotherhood were able to spread their version of the story first. Prince Raiden didn‘t intend to allow this to happen, and so, over the next few days, he talked to most of the important mages of Ardeen and the neighbouring countries. That would hopefully stop false rumours which could fuel unfounded fear. Aggression and warmongering were far from Master Raiden’s true intentions. He just wanted to enjoy his new found freedom in peace and quiet. When this work was done, the Lord of Naganor stood high up on the balcony of his tower with outstretched arms, hands resting on the balustrade. It appeared as though he was looking into the distance, but his gaze had turned inward. Master Elderon and the others would not be so stupid as to start an open war. At most, they might attack me covertly. That would be more like them. Yes, that‘s exactly what I should expect and take precautions. But since the First Mage has lost his best henchman for secret assignments, the chance of such a vile attack being successful is pretty slim now. Still, it can not hurt to be vigilant. And I have to guard Eryn too. As the bearer of a magic key he is particularly vulnerable, and he cannot protect himself the way I can protect myself.

It was amazing how quickly everyone returned to their old routines. Eryn was mainly sent to Master Eriwen, who had been appointed Deputy Towerlord and moved to new quarters. The Lord of Naganor had generously given him Ravenor‘s home as a reward for many years of good service, and to soothe his guilty conscience. After all, he had unfairly questioned Master Eriwen‘s loyalty and treated him very poorly. The good old Master Calwas had recently passed away. He had been very old, and, although the green vein extends life, even for a mage eventually the time comes to leave the world. The old master had simply fallen to sleep peacefully. At the honourable burial, even Master Raiden showed up and he himself spoke the words of farewell. A moment of sadness and silence ensued, dampening the mood of the audience. But as the men departed the world started to turn again.

The gap left by Master Calwas’ passing was filled by Master Eriwen, and Master Eryn took over the mages‘ combat training. On the one hand, Eryn felt flattered to have been appointed this task, but he was more eager for his damaged Circle of Gold to regain its strength. And he could barely await the moment when Master Raiden would free him from the soulban. After all, the Lord of Naganor had repeatedly promised him that. Meanwhile, documents regarding Two-river Country were gathered in Arvon. The only big city there was River‘s Keep, located in the fork of the river Sarekant. Further north, however, settlements were sparse, just some isolated farms and smaller villages.

The files were duplicated, and then, on a beautiful sunny day, the large collection was sent through the tunnel to Naganor. The whole package was the height of a small man. Now this pile of papers was lurking in a corner of Prince Raiden‘s study, leaning against a wall – to keep from falling – and awaiting further processing. Prince Raiden had consulted his senior staff often in recent days, and already the wildest of rumours had spread throughout the garrison. But one thing was already clear; there were to be changes in leadership. The men talked a lot about retirements and promotions. Some even claimed to have heard that the Black Guard was to be disbanded, while others were of the opinion that individual companies would be permanently relocated. Who, where and why? There was a lot of gossip on the subject and the commanders revealed nothing, which only made the rumours spin even more wildly.

When the tension had risen to an almost unbearable level, the day of the proclamation came. The entire Guard stood in precisely aligned rows in front of the fully represented staff of command. Even the Lord of Naganor, His Highness, the Prince of Ardeen, Commander-in-Chief of the Black Guard, and Protector of the North, was present in person, clearly emphasising the importance of the following announcements. It was Lord Boron who gave the address, speaking of great changes before officially announcing the plans and associated promotions. Sir Oswold was appointed Lord of Torwall and should take the entire First Regiment with him. Torwall had grown from a marginal city to a commercial hub. As a location of strategic importance, it should be secured and further embattled. From there, Lord Oswold should also guard Falgars Vale and Ragtal, as well as the road to the east in the direction of Two-river Country. The First Regiment consisted of the most experienced fighters of the Guard, but many of them were already ageing and would be leaving the service soon anyway. Until then, they would serve Lord Oswold well, allowing him to consolidate his new position. The regiment would then slowly be rebuilt with new recruits.

Sir Wylden was to leave the Guard after many years of service, and Sir Draken would take over the remaining units of the Second and Fifth Regiments and was henceforth commander of the Second. Some of the gathered men began to wonder what was meant by ‚remaining units‘, but an explanation followed soon after. Sir Galden was promoted and commissioned to build a completely new Fifth Regiment. Sir Haerkin and the rest of the regiment commanders were merely to restore their companies to their former strengths. It came as no surprise when Sir Askir was promoted to the rank of a commander and was to take over the garrison in the city of River‘s Keep. He received three units from the Third and two from the Regulars. After all, it was his destiny to become the future Lord of Two-river Country. At the expense of the house of Orten, Lord Egmond provided his son with another regiment, which put Sir Askir in charge of two hundred men. Plus a few mages from the Fourth Regiment, who, for the sake of completeness, should also be mentioned. A bigger surprise, however, came when Sir Ravenor was also promoted in rank. He got two units from the Fifth, one from the Second, and a unit of mages from the Fourth Regiment. In order to achieve full company strength, he should recruit the remaining men from the towns of the north. Sir Ravenor‘s future sphere of influence was the rural area north of River‘s Keep. A garrison was to be constructed there, and the area should also be secured. More detailed instructions would follow. There were more prospective promotions, concerning new officers, but these decisions had not been finalised and would be announced later.

A salute to the Prince of Ardeen was commanded and then the men were dismissed. Many hands clapped Ravenor, who was blazing with joy, amiably over the shoulder. Well, Askir faired even better, with two hundred men and the city as his new domain. But then Ravenor pushed his jealousy aside and basked in the pleasure of having finally gotten his own command. And with the promotion came a whole company. Commander sounds so much better than just being a simple officer.

The next morning, Ravenor was called to meet the Prince in his study. „Ah, Sir Ravenor. Come in!” he was warmly greeted. „Thank you, my Prince, for the promotion.“ Sincerely. „Don‘t thank me too soon,” the Prince responded in a lightly teasing tone. He was obviously in a very good mood today. “You will quickly notice that promotion always brings a significant increase in responsibility and work. I know it will pain you to discover that you are subordinate to Sir Askir as soon as you set off for Two-river Country. Sir Askir may be shining more at the moment, but you should know that I have entrusted you with the more difficult task. A task in which you may prove your abilities. Do not disappoint me.“ Ravenor was ambitious, and for him failure was not an option at all.

„And, before I forget,” Prince Raiden continued, “as you will be directly under Sir Askir up there, you can bother him with all your problems... and not me. Such trivialities are not my concern.“

In his exhilaration, Ravenor saw no problem with this. „Yes, my Prince.“ Then he asked, curious, „Regarding my unit? Has a decision already been made? Who will be appointed to my company?“

„I am looking forward to the time when Sir Askir will take care of all this,“ Prince Raiden sighed in reference to his previous speech. „But to satisfy your curiosity, Sir Cerdik and Sir Agarat of the Fifth Regiment will come with their men. From the Second Regiment, Sir Nortwik and from the Fourth, no decision has yet been made. What are your preferences?“ Oh, I still have one free wish...? After having to take Demon. „My Prince, I would prefer Eryn‘s old unit with Sir Kerven as their officer.“ The quill scratched over a piece of paper and completed the list of names.

„Not a bad choice. You shall have Sir Kerven. And, by the way, there are still two officers needed to complete your company, who would you appoint? I consider it best if you yourself make this decision. After all, it‘s you who will have to deal with the men later, and, as you‘ll see, that‘s not as easy as it sounds now.“ Prince Raiden looked expectantly at his bastard son, who was now feeling slightly taken aback. „May I be given time to think the matter over, my Prince?“ The attempt at a deliberate decision was dashed by the Prince‘s impatience. „No, decide now or Sir Draken will. Two names. First thoughts are usually the best ones.” And his fingers tapped the table in a small drum roll, further emphasising his impatience. „As you command, my Prince. Then I would suggest... Deren, who serves in the Second, and... Hartwig of the First Regiment.“ Prince Raiden thought this over. Both soldiers he knew by more than just name. „Your old roommate from the city guard, wasn’t he?“ Ravenor nodded in agreement. „And a distant relative... Hartwig has a lot of his mother and is very cautious. Why not? Both are experienced men. Granted. And now, before distributing favour goes as a matter of course, I‘d rather give you something to do.” The Prince raised his hand and pointed towards the pile of files in the corner.

„Over there are the documents regarding the economic situation in Two-river Country. Take them down to Master Werge and work through everything conscientiously. Ultimately, you and Sir Askir should root out the violence and criminal activities there. My Master of Administration will help you to interpret the files correctly, and to recognise the weak points. That should all be done before you leave. So that you – in theory at least

– arrive at your new area of influence well prepared.“

Well that was one reason. More importantly, the sight of the files disturbed Prince Raiden‘s aesthetic senses considerably, as they were piled in his study.

„So, take the stack right now and off you go to the dusty kingdom of Administrator King Werge.“ „Yes, my Prince.“ Ravenor bent down and tried to lift the whole pile in one go. Running back and forth several times is stupid. The top files were already leaning to the side, threatening to fall down. „Sir Ravenor, you can also go twice,“ remarked Prince Raiden, who had not missed the problem. But seeing as the mood was just so good, Ravenor decided to request one more favour. It‘s just a small one. „My Prince, I‘m a strong unmagical and, if the files do not slide around, I can quite easily take the whole stack at once.“ A little magic. Pleeeease. The Prince generously waved a hand. The movement was by no means to be confused with magical gesturing, for the Master of the Black Tower strictly rejected such amateur spell weaving. „It will hold for five minutes. A child could now carry the pile. Now away with it quickly, the sight alone reminds me too much of unpleasant work.“ Even if nothing else seems to grow, that pile of files still increases continuously. The pile not only stuck together, but was also beautifully light, and Ravenor lifted it effortlessly and hurried out of the study.

Downstairs in Master Werge‘s rooms, Ravenor put his bundle on the floor and greeted the King of Administration respectfully. Master Werge had already been informed and wanted to begin working on the files immediately, but everything was still held together by magic, denying any access. Ravenor explained the cause and Master Werge remarked shortly: „Then we will just wait until Sir Askir shows up, by that time the magic should have disappeared. Until then I am busy next door.“ Master Werge retreated to another room full of dusty files, while Ravenor did not mind waiting beside the enchanted pile. He knew only too well how quickly Master Werge could find them work, usually of the long-lasting, tiring and extremely tedious kind. But of course, in the presence of Master Werge, it was in no way possible to mention this, if one did not want to fall into the deepest depths of disgrace. No sooner had Ravenor got himself comfortable, when Sir Askir came in. The other commander was immediately greeted with euphoria. „Ah, my brave fellow combatant comes to my aid. You dare to enter the catacombs of the fearsome Master Werge? Are you armed with quills and ink to wage the hopeless fight against the infinite number of columns and the army of dusty files? And yet I fear that our situation is hopeless.“

Sir Askir looked slightly irritated at this poetic outflow, which came to a sudden end when Master Werge re-entered the room. „Stop jesting, Sir Ravenor, and get to work. As it stands, there‘s a lot to do.“ Determined, the accountant now headed towards the pile of files, but Ravenor still wanted to complete his ode:

„You see, brave Sir Askir, these walls will never witness the merry laughter of happy people...“ But Master Werge had very little sense of humour. „Sir Ravenor! Sit down and get started.“ At the same time, the accountant slapped the first file on the table in front of Ravenor, who obediently took a seat and refrained from further humorous remarks. „Yes, Master Werge... beginning.“ Serious and idle. More like a tragedy, a boring tragedy... The first folder was opened. Master Werge gave them dry instructions as he distributed the rest of the pile. „Sir Askir, you get all the files about the city and Sir Ravenor gets the villages and the countryside. First, try to get an overview: Cash flow, population, logistics, jurisdiction, officials, important people, merchants...” Master Werge recited a miserably long litany, while Ravenor was secretly amused that Askir‘s stack was rising up to heaven, whereas his remained a manageable little pile. Ravenor glimpsed at his colleagues work, and leaned forward. „Sir Askir, it will take you years before you can take leave for your destination.“

A rebuke from the Master followed immediately. „Don’t be too happy, Sir Ravenor. Your lack of files means that the infrastructure in this area is extremely poor and it will be your job to change this. Always keep an eye on the costs. The expenses will be high, and the income, on the other hand, low.“

He paints a picture of horror to scare me. But the brave Sir Ravenor is fearless. „Thanks for the advice, Master Werge.“

The promotion and the new task did actually pull Ravenor out of his depressed phase of mourning. While there were still moments when he conjured images of the past, they became less and less frequent, and the work did the rest to keep his mind busy. The files really did not reveal much and Ravenor was finally fearing that Master Werge was going to be right in his initial assessment of the situation. Meanwhile, Eryn was mainly charming tunnel stones. They were to be distributed generously in the north to improve the logistical situation. This variant had been chosen because tunnel stones worked without magical activation and therefore could easily be used by unmagical people. But, unlike a real gatestone, they connected only two places. By now, Eryn’s gold vein was fully recovered, and he had tried several times to talk about the soulban with Master Raiden. But his Master had always skilfully put him off. And slowly Eryn got the uneasy feeling that it was more a ‚not wanting‘ than a ‚not knowing‘ from the Black Mage. But now he was determined to get a final answer, and so the young mage sought out Master Raiden in his study.

„My Prince, I would like to talk to you,“ Eryn began directly, and Master Raiden already had an idea what it was about. He has such a serious face. Surely he is here because of the spell. „You‘re doing that already, Eryn,“ Master Raiden teased, but Eryn was not in the mood for fun. The question of the soulban weighed heavily on his mind. „Master Raiden, my gold vein has been completely healed for a while now, and I am therefore asking you to fulfil your promise and finally break the spell.“ That pretty much brought the problem straight to the point. Long eyelashes shaded Master Raiden‘s eyes as he avoided Eryn‘s gaze. „I have a lot to do today. We should

postpone that discussion for a more convenient time. As you know, at least another twenty tunnel stones are needed. You should take care of this matter first.“ But this time, Eryn was determined to get an answer. „Master Raiden, you‘re always putting this discussion off. That slowly makes me assume that you do not intend to break the spell – even though you have given me your word.“ He desperately wants an answer. Now the Lord of Naganor looked at him directly. „I can not break the spell anyway, at best only mask it.“ Then he became sharper in tone, „And now, I would be much obliged if you could finally leave this vexed topic. Do I still use the connection to force you to do anything? – No. So what‘s your problem?“ These words came as a real stab in the back for Eryn and he continued, deflated, „So you do not intend to... liberate me. May I remind you that you have given me your word several times. And as for what my problem is...

you can best answer that question yourself.“ He is going too far. The Lord of Naganor had now gotten up and put his arms on the table. „You forget yourself, student,“ he hissed warningly, but Eryn was not intimidated. This matter was just too important for him. They stared at each other for a moment. „I just want clarity... and an answer,“ Eryn insisted. This time I will not back down. „Why do you refuse to release me? Are you really so interested in a devoted servant? Go on then, show me who the Master is. That would be answer enough for me. After all, you know how to use the spell.“ Yes, I know that you are suffering, but matters are not so simple. An expression of deepest thoughtfulness appeared on Master Raiden‘s face. „Eryn, now listen to me,“ he tried to calm the younger man, „I know what I promised you, but the current situation forces me not to keep my word for the time being. You already know what you are and what power rests in you. That‘s why I can not release you so easily. The magic of the Nimrod shall not be broken and the key shall never used. On that point the Dragon and I absolutely agree.“ Eryn opened his eyes incredulously. That‘s what this is about? „And you really believe that I would sacrifice myself voluntarily?“ I‘m not so stupid as to forfeit all my magic for a spell. „Well, I can honestly assure you, that is not at all my intention.“ Prince Raiden tried to soothe Eryn with a soft tone of voice.

„I know that, but it‘s in the interest of many others, and if those gentlemen get their hands on you, they might convince you, persuade you, force you... whatever, finally making you do it. And that‘s exactly, what I want to avoid, for your own sake and for the protection of all of us.

Can you imagine what would happen if these monsters are released from the Midland?“ But the well meaning words only made the young mage angrier. „You want to keep me here, just because you think I can not take care of myself?“ Master Raiden kept his eyes fixed on Eryn, and he could well imagine what was going on inside the young man. I could grab him now and smack him a few, but that would only strengthen his convictions and drive him completely into stubborn opposition. And unfortunately he is right. I gave my word. He has the right to feel cheated.

„That‘s grossly exaggerated. You are not a prisoner here... anymore. Not for a time long now. You are my student... and, if you wish, you can leave at any time. I will not try to stop you, but I will prevent the use of the key by any means.“ With these words Master Raiden had hoped to win back his student‘s confidence, but Eryn, in his anger, was as stubborn as a mule. „Then I would like to leave Naganor right now, or do those words also mean nothing?“ Well, then I‘ll let him do what he thinks is right. He‘ll soon see what he gets out of it, thought Prince Raiden angrily, and still wondered whether he should discipline Eryn with violence, or simply let him run into the wall in his stubbornness. But the fact that he had given his word hung so heavily in the air, Prince Raiden opted for the second variant. „Well, if that is what you really want, I‘ll release you from your vow of allegiance to me. You can leave the Guard and Naganor any time and go wherever you want. But you should also be aware, that then nobody will be there to protect you.“ Let him try his luck on his own then. I already feel a little bit sorry for him and later he should not say I didn‘t warn him. The Prince paused, watching Eryn‘s reaction, but, for the moment, the lad did not show any sign of regret. He should know that he can come back anyway. „If you change your mind later, then you can return ruefully and apologise to your old Master. Because, instead of showing any gratitude, you just throw harsh words at me.“ Master Raiden tried to give his student a guilty conscience, but Eryn was indifferent and answered in a very reserved tone.

„Thank you, Master, but for the time being I am making my decision in favour of a limited freedom. But I want to thank you honestly for the training, Master Raiden. And now, if you do not mind, I would like to go.“ Should I hold him back? The Lord of Naganor hesitated, but then showed himself generously. Oh well, let him learn from his mistakes. „Then that‘s how it will be. I will use the spell one last time to prevent the use of the key as much as possible. After that you can leave, Eryn.” What are his plans? As always Master Raiden was curious. „Where will you go now? To Master Savyen, to Master Elderon, to Master Tellenor... oh, you did not like it there much either.“

Defiance reflected in Eryn‘s face. „I will not go to any of the Masters, I‘ll go...“ Yes, where to go? He hesitated for a moment. Then he blurted out, „I‘m going to Elverin. My creator left me the Golden Tower as my inheritance. Even if it‘s nothing more than a pile of rubble, it‘s rightfully mine.“ Boy, towers are not inherited, but awarded by the Brotherhood. On the other hand, the Brotherhood doesn‘t really exist any more. So he wants to go to Nimrod? At least he will be thus unattainable for the Brotherhood. „Well go then, Lord of the Golden Tower, and greet the Majestic from me. You should first get on good terms with him. I myself have no ambitions of entering the Nimrod again, and, if you have had enough of the monsters there, then you can think all this over again.“

The young mage bowed slightly. „Master Raiden, I bid you good day.“ With that, he turned and hurried out the door. The Lord of Naganor looked after him. He will regret his decision and then he‘ll be back begging forgiveness for his impertinence. I will generously forgive him for his juvenile lapses and then give him a few over the back of the head, just as he deserves, the ungrateful Nurin. Eryn‘s footsteps echoed through the corridors of Naganor until he stepped out through the main gate. He still feared that Master Raiden would bring him back. Maybe it was just a test to see how I would react. As soon as he had left the influence of the guard spells behind, he opened a gate. For that he did not need any charmed stones, for he was the one with the Circle of Gold. He jumped through to Aspengate and from there he continued into the Midland. When he was finally standing in front of the base hut, he took a deep breath and began to consider the full implications of his actions. That was all very rash, but I will not turn around now and go crawling back to Master Raiden. I already guessed that he would not keep his word, but that things would turn out like this? I did not think he would just let me go. But I was so angry and now I‘m standing here – alone. What should I do next? Eryn thought a moment and then decided. The Dragon‘s consent is important. Without his permission, nothing happens here. I just hope that he is well-disposed to me. Maybe I can even persuade him to mask my soulban as well. That at least sounded hopeful and Eryn squared his shoulders confidently. I have taken this new path and now there is no going back.