Since he arrived at Tower Black, Tercius had gone all-in on learning the spell which, as it turned out, other than doing its intended function also made his throat sore, wrists and ankles somewhat inflamed, and his fingers…. The constant swarm that nibbled on his fingers was quite the nerve-tester.

It wasn’t painful by any measure that matter to him, but it was thoroughly unpleasant and disturbing.

Shaking his hands to dismiss the phantom itch, Tercius reached to the back of his mind to check on his Familiar Bond. Every few hours for the past couple of days Tercius had done so at random intervals, using only a minute or two of his time.

The bond was in much the same state as it had been when he had arrived at this storm-ridden place, with him only being able to tell the direction in which Amber was. He still tried to see if he could reach out to Amber, but he found no success there. As his failures kept piling up, he started wondering if he was still doing the communication outreach right. And, even if he was, what if this newly added distance demanded another approach? But how? He had no idea, but as he did with all unknowns that were of interest to him, Tercius started to take copious amounts of notes. Ideas, observations… His newly upgraded Visualization, a skill currently at level [43], was making his note taking easier than ever.

The idea that occupied his mind was to harvest some Energy and see if its presence would change something when he tried to reach out to Amber next time.

A knock woke Tercius up from his musings and, with a sigh, he got up from his bed and opened the door, expecting Gael.

Only it wasn’t the young man. Standing there and looking at him with a critically lifted eyebrow and a smile on her thin lips, was a woman once old now not so much. A teacher that had spent a year instructing him in the basics of spellwork.

“Tercius. It took you long enough to open that door. You’re not sleeping in the middle of the day, are you?” Mistress Helfira asked.

Immediately next to her, Perdinar stood with his smirk. Tercius almost failed to recognize him from the first glance. The youngish-looking man had had his pale skin tanned and his short blonde hair was now at his shoulders and black. What the Hells?

How were they here? Mistress Kalina said that it would take them at least half a day and it couldn’t be more than an hour from his recital… What was it that Mistress Helfira said?

“Uh, no. Mistress. Please, make yourself comfortable inside,”

Mistress Helfira hummed and walked past him to examine his room.

"Tercius," Perdinar said as he too walked inside.

“Master,”

“Tercius.” Mistress Kalina said and also slipped into the room.

“Mistress,”

“Tercius, I presume,” the last member of the impromptu group at his door said, a woman in her late thirties. Her hair was waves of long, light brown hair and she looked at him with a glacial blue pair of eyes, the same pair that Tercius saw just moments earlier. Her skin was very pale and spotless, like Perdinar’s used to be.

“Mistress,” he said, and followed the protocol for the greeting.

“My name is Prime’era, child.”

“Pleased to meet you, Mistress.”

He had known that she would be coming and so he had prepared for this meeting. Mistress Kalina and Helfira were known to him and so was Perdinar, but this woman was a complete stranger. And yet that she was here, meant that Mistress Kalina trusted her.

While Tercius couldn’t say that he trusted Mistress Kalina to have his best interests in mind, he also knew that he had few options. And, despite recent stumbling blocks which had been revealed by the only Master present in his room, Tercius also couldn’t say that he didn’t trust her, which was a place to which few people climbed to with him. At least he now knew what were some of her considerations, which was a major improvement over earlier.

Dismissing matters of Mistress Kalina, Tercius took a good look at this stranger and then at Perdinar.

By the nose and the eyes especially, he would even go for a guess and say that this Mistress was biologically related to Perdinar.

Of course, if her appearance wasn’t intentionally made to be just that way. Perdinar’s darkened skin and hair aside, Mistress Kalina’s orange hair had been greatly darkened for her stay at Tower Black, seemingly at a snap of a finger, something which Tercius just went along with without a question asked out loud. Yet he noted many questions in his mental notebook. If hair color was changeable so easily, what else was? Eye color? Skin color? What if nose shapes could be changed? Any other body parts?

So, if the looks of this Mistress Prime'era were real, what was she to Perdinar? Daughter? Granddaughter? Great, great, great, great-granddaughter? Or… maybe his mother or something further north? Maybe, instead of going up or down the family tree, it was sideways?

He mentally waved away that train of thought as he focused on the group that filled up his room. Having his personal space invaded by a complete stranger was putting him on his customary starting point for new relations — keeping his mouth shut while his eyes and ears remained wide open unless a direct question arrived his way. Even though he knew the majority of the people present, the group-like setting wasn't helping one bit to lower his guard. It was only making things worse because groups enabled his instinct to climb to an even higher degree than was the case in one on one interaction.

But the trio, stranger included, was partially here because he needed them, so trying his best was the least that he could do.

Only he had no idea what to say, nor did he know if it was his place to say anything. Hells, he had no idea what to do now… Wisely, he chose the path he knew best — be silent and wait for a question meant for him. From his experience, most people found silence strange and were put off by it, but to Tercius it was a somewhat natural habitat.

After the four of them were seated on sofas and chairs in a semicircle Tercius took a seat himself and then proceeded as planned.

No one spoke.

Everyone seated was seemingly content to leave words out of the conversation, while exchanging long searching looks. Mistress Helfira looked briefly at him, at Mistress Kalina, then at this new Mistress Prime’era and Perdy. Tercius and the trio of Mistresses looked at Perdinar, who smiled back at each person looking. Everyone took a turn looking at everyone else and as the silence stretched, Tercius became somewhat relaxed in his seat.

Tercius did wonder what was the holdup, but only because something like this never happened to him. Everyone looked so comfortable while doing the same thing that only he used to do and Tercius found this strange feeling welling up in him, making him relax further.

“Tercius,” Perdinar said suddenly, instantly attracting all attention to himself.

“Master?”

“Perdinar is— ah, never mind. So. I was… chosen to ask you a few questions and then explain something and see if you are amenable to it.”

Tercius nodded. “I’m listening, Master,”

“Prime’era, Helfira, and I are here to be the witnesses during your Rite of Tfenn, but witnesses is not all we are. First of all, let me start with the preliminary questions.” Perdinar said and placed an open palm on his chest. “I swear on my Magical Craft to offer you protection if your decision to become the Disciple of one Kalina Zorya, Mistress of Alchemy and Warding, is not a willing one. What say you?”

Tercius looked at Mistress Kalina. "It is a willing decision, Master,"

“Kalina. I swear on my Magical Craft to offer you protection if your decision to become the Mentor to one Tercius of Nurium, Neophyte of the Craft, is not a willing one. What say you?

“I am willing to be his Mentor, Master,”

““Heard, seen and so witnessed!"" Perdinar, Helfira, and Prime'era chanted in unison.

Tercius's shoulders and legs tensed with the first Rurd spoken and he almost jumped from his seat. For a brief moment, he thought that he was near an enormous speaker until he realized what had happened. That spell was a real menace…

“Now, with that out of our way, let me deviate a bit from the norm and explain something. You might know some of what I’m about to explain, but I don’t know what you do and don’t know so just listen.”

Tercius nodded.

“You, as you are now, are not a Magos. Magos is the proper Title in Magik, Tercius, not mage,” Perdinar said. “Anyone can become a Magos with two achievements. The Well is one and the other is to successfully pass the tests of basic magical education. With either of those two achievements you are a Neophytos and without either you are either an Emfytos or a Xenos,”

Catching Tercius's unasked question, Perdinar answered, "Under the Laws of the Magi, a Xenos is any person currently unrecognized as a citizen of our society, while an Emfytos is a recognized non-magical citizen of our society, with all the rights and privileges which that entails.

"The only exception to these Titles are students of the Academy. They, while still counted as either Xenoi or Emfytoi, get the temporal privilege of a Magos, in addition to some more stringent Laws of protection being placed around them.

“You, Tercius, despite still technically a Xenos, are also a Neophytos — on the account of your Well — and you are also to become Mathethes of Kalina. But, as I said before, you are no Magos. And should you fail to pass the tests of basic magical evaluation, while in possession of precisely that combination of Titles that you hold, then that would place you in a very special place in regards to our Law,” Perdinar said as he looked at him with meaningful eyes.

“A place that is… what’s the word — I have it! Undefined! You would be the First of That Kind…” Perdinar said with that smirk of his.

Tercius’s heart skipped a beat as he noted the way that Perdy said that Title. The insinuation was so clear. First of That Kind… First of His Line… Was that Title another one, or possibly the main one, of those that placed him into this unique position?

“A somewhat… fitting Title, is it not? You would be part Magos, part Xenos. Part ours, part… not. You would be able to choose what you need to be. Do you understand what I’m saying?” Perdy said.

Tercius’s answer came slowly, as he took his time to think over Perdy’s words, and as he took some time to look at the other people present. Mistress Prime’era seemed relaxed, Mistress Kalina composed, and Mistress Helfira’s thin lips were curled into a frown.

“Your explanation is clear, Master, as always. But… What was its purpose? Why was I told this?”

“Straight to the center.” Perdy nodded as he looked at the three women next to him.

Mistress Prime’era nodded.

“I am to be his Mentor, but this is to be his decision, Master,” Mistress Kalina said. “I say ask him,”

“While I would like for something like this not to be placed on the shoulders of someone so young,” Mistress Helfira said. “I would need to be a headless fool to fail to realize the opportunity before us. That said, I will not give my consent to this if my student isn’t given a full account here and now. Tercius has to have a right to choose.”

“That is why Master Perdin’nar is here, Helfira,” Mistress Kalina said. “He is the only unbiased party here who knows both sides and therefore the only one qualified to give an unbiased account,”

“May I continue?” Perdy asked, promptly getting approvals.

“Do you remember when I said to you that you will need them—” Perdy inclined his head to the trio of Mistresses. “—and that they will need you?”

“I do,”

“Your unique, for now undefined, position is part of one of the reasons why you are needed.”

“There is more than one reason?”

“Of course. You, Tercius, are like a mimic. That’s a… what’s the word… an outlander species with incredible powers of adaptability. Driven solely by powerful instincts, this being can become what it needs to be to survive in a specific environment, and the newborn members of the species are often able to remake themselves within seconds. I compare you to that species only in the sense that you too could be as adaptable and do so almost as easily. You are a potential solution to many issues that have piled up onto the stagnated Society of the Magi.

"That is if you choose to be that solution, Tercius,”

Tercius leaned back into his seat, more relaxed than he had been in over a year. Finally, he could lay his tiresome guessing game to a rest.

“What is the exact offer here, Perdy? If I were to become this… undefined hybrid, what would I need to do?” Tercius said and bit down on his tongue, the devious body part which almost asked what he would get in return for doing something like that.

Mistress Kalina represented the Law, so the possibility that this could be a test of some kind was to be placed at the top of the list. Hells, it could be some kind of a frameup to make him an outlaw and then make him into one of those criminal test subjects.

Focus, man. Time to relax is not now.

Forcing a smile, Tercius said, “Nothing outside the bounds of the Law, I hope? I wouldn’t want my Mentor to discipline me…”

That got him smiles and snorts from the women and another smirk from Perdy.

“Nothing that will be illegal for someone found in the position I spoke of earlier,” Perdy said. “If my word means anything to you, I can vouch for that. No one here will ever break the standing Laws, despite our vehement disagreements with some parts of it.”

“So change them, then,” Tercius said.

At that statement he only got wry smiles in response.

“It’s not that simple. Once a Law is passed it can only be taken down if every Guardian of the Law votes to take it down. A single vote against is enough to keep the Law in effect in perpetuity.”

"Oh," Tercius said, surprised. "And… such a vote exists,"

“Unfortunately.” Perdy nodded. “The various Guardians of the Fourth Line have all denied undoing many Temporary Laws which were only supposed to be used for a century, at most. You see, one advantage our Society has is the longevity of a part of our citizens and that advantage has been used extensively in our history.

“That effort culminated in the so-called Permanent Laws of Order, a small set of Rights every single citizen of our Society enjoys, Rights which were distilled from the myriad different government types our ancestors had used at one point during our long history. The Permanent Laws are active irrespective of the current government type used.

"The Temporary Laws of Chaos, on the other hand, are a much larger collection which can be anything you like them to be as long as they do not directly conflict with the Permanent Laws, and they are meant to be changed every so often, a century at most, while the short-term and long-term effects are supposed to be extensively noted and then researched.

“While the Permanent Laws of Order were created to offer just the right amount of protection and stability to specific parts of our Society, the Temporary Laws of Chaos were meant to introduce dangers, uncertainties, and pressures of all kinds, among other things, but it was always change that was the primary goal of all Temporary Laws. Change, Tercius.”

Tercius stared at Perdy without blinking, enraptured by the tale. The almost mythological undertone of the story kept him on the edge of his seat.

“There can be no growth without change, Tercius. Remember that,” Perdy said. “And what isn’t growing is stagnating or dying. Unfortunately, that view was not shared by the newcomer, the progenitor of the Fourth Line, Grand-Mistress Aya,

"A time for a new type of government came within a few cycles of her ascending to her new position when a new set of Temporary Laws came to be drafted, and, just as any Magos or Emfytos can, she too was there to suggest many Laws. Laws which were not cruel and barbaric, she said. She was a bright star back then, by all accounts. A woman who did the impossible and so taken by her brightness many listened when she spoke. Too many. The new set of Laws were passed and our Society slowly closed itself. The already weak presence of our Society in the outside world became even smaller. Arc’aneos, as people like me used to be called once, with their already small presence sank even deeper into the shadows. Rules for Magi who could go on expeditions became more stringent. Many forms of magical combat were forbidden. Everything was done as the Temporary Laws dictated.”

“And then?” Tercius whispered.

"When the call for the next change of Laws came, some three decades later, Grand-Mistress Aya denied the vote she was the Guardian of. Every time a vote is called, the Fourth Guardian votes no, and… here we are. The Temporary Laws of Chaos became permanent in all but name."

“How long ago was this?”

“The New Pyramid Calendar was started in Grand-Mistress Aya’s honor.” Perdy said and shook his head sadly with a sigh.

"So… One thousand three hundred and twenty-four cycles…" Tercius murmured, incredulous. "Perdy, you weren't even born then…"

Mistress Prime'era suddenly laughed and spoke some coded nonsense to Perdy, the only non-coded word he heard was quite clearly "Perdy".

Oh, oh…

Perdy — No! Focus! It’s Master! — suddenly shrugged and said something equally nonsensical, a string of blurted-out words, and Tercius had no idea where one word ended and where the other began.

A moment later Mistress Prime’era suddenly slapped her thigh and started outright laughing.

"Forgive me." Mistress Prime'era suddenly said, wiping the corners of her eyes. "I just remembered why "Perdy" was so familiar to me. In our native tongue, it was used as a term of affection. "Cutie… pie" I believe would be a somewhat accurate translation. You could often hear mothers cluck about their children that they were "fil perdy”. As cute as a little pie,”

“Childish as ever, I see,” Master Perdinar said calmly.

“Broody and distant as ever, I see,” Mistress Prime’era said and laughed. “Perdy,”

Tercius, Mistress Kalina, and Mistress Helfira exchanged outsider glances, all three fearing to find the exchange a laughing matter.

Master Perdinar sighed. “Where was I?”

“You mentioned the calendar, Perdy,” Mistress Prime’era said and laughed.

Master Perdinar shook his head and turned to Tercius. “Thank you for this,”

“Uhh… you’re w—” Tercius snapped his jaw shut. “I’m sorry.”