The shock of the moment seemed to fade away, and Tobi’s face twisted into lines of panic and fear. His father, his comrades, and all the people he swore to protect were now in danger, and he was in another country, unable to help. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, then turned his face to the sky and gave a cry of rage. Samuel recoiled in shock, surprised at the uncharacteristic display of anger on his apprentice’s face.

“Tobi!” He said, glancing quickly around. Several guards were nearby and had turned at the shout, their faces set in stern lines. “Calm yourself!”

“But we can’t help!” Tobi shouted. “How are we meant to do anything this far from Milagre?”

“I don’t know either,” Samuel replied, raising his voice. “But if you keep shouting, we’ll be in trouble here too!”

Tobi seemed to lease all sense of reason with the flood of emotions that was taking him over. Samuel saw him spare half a glance for the guard walking towards them, then noticed his hand twitching in the direction of his naginata where it was slung over his shoulder. Reaching out, he grabbed hold of the arm before any overly provocative action could be taken.

“Stop!” His voice was quiet but firm. That seemed to reach Tobi through his haze of fear and anger, and the youth looked at him, his eyes shining. “It’s not just us, you know. We can call on others for help.”

Hastily, he reached out with his own mind in the now-familiar prayer to contact Grimr. His old friend responded in an instant, his voice hurried and tense, but crystal clear. I know why you’ve called. I have sensed Shigeru’s own disturbance.

Can you help? Samuel thought the question with such ferocity that he almost shouted it into Tobi’s face. Can you help us get to Milagre quickly enough to take a hand?

The pause before Grimr answered felt like a lifetime. I possess the magic to transport myself, but I cannot help you get there.

Samuel felt his own panic rising, seeing that the guard was within twenty feet now. Time seemed to be moving immeasurably slow, as if some magic had frozen the air around them while he spoke with Grimr. He had no doubt, however, that the guard would be upon them soon. He couldn’t trust Tobi to keep his sudden temper under control, either. Best case, they would be in serious trouble, even potentially imprisoned.

“Stop!” A new voice broke through Samuel’s thoughts, and he turned to see where it had come from. Even the guard, mere feet away, stopped in his tracks, body stiff, and turned.

Striding purposefully towards them from down the main street was a tall elven woman with shining green eyes and flying blonde hair. Her intricate robe and posture were instantly recognizable. Somehow, through sheer luck, Ryllae Inaro had appeared. Her voice had rung out with thundering impact, the command directed at the guard who was attempting to apprehend them.

The man stopped in his tracks at the commanding tone of her voice. Judging by the expression on his face, he expected one of his superiors to be approaching. But as he turned and saw Ryllae, a slight sneer formed on his face. He leered across at her, nose tilted upward in a disdainful gesture, already turning back towards his original target.

“I don’t follow your orders, Chancellor,” he spat the last word as if it were an insult. “I take orders from the Glass Blade, not a failed priestess.”

Ryllae’s face turned bright red with anger and opened her mouth to shout at the man. Samuel didn’t have a single thought to spare on the interaction between them. His attention refocused on Grimr, and he was granted a faint visual of the Ancient pacing back and forth in irritation, a familiar white tree in the background. In an instant, Samuel was standing before him, having projected without meaning to.

“I can’t get you there, Samuel,” Grimr growled. “I don’t have the knowledge.”

He stopped suddenly, then, and appeared frozen in place. His body had suddenly become rigid. Slowly, he turned to face Samuel. His eyes were slightly widened, and they carried the same intensity as they had in the past, when he’d tried to make Samuel understand something obvious. “But of course, you have access to more knowledge than I do.”

“What?” Samuel asked, sure that Grimr had lost all reason, just like Tobi. “What are you talking ab-”

Then it struck him as well. He could have kicked himself for his sheer stupidity. He prided himself on logic and reason, and at the first true wall, he’d lost himself. He served Arcana, the Ancient who had become God of Magic, and more importantly, of Knowledge. He stared back at Grimr for a second, then nodded.

“Thank you.”

Grimr stared at him evenly for a few seconds, then nodded in his own turn. “I trust in you. Go.”

Samuel withdrew his mind from the communion and regained his senses. The guard was within reach now, and his hand was stretching out to grab hold of Tobi. Without thinking of the consequences, Samuel lashed out with one foot, catching the man in the chest and shoving him back. The guard staggered several feet, then regained his balance. His hand dropped to the curved blade at his waist, and it slid free with the sinister sound of steel on leather.

“That’s it!” he shouted. “You’re spending the night in a cell!”

Samuel turned on the spot, both hands holding tight to Tobi. “We’re going to Milagre!”

His apprentice didn’t even have a moment to question his sudden decision, so fast was Samuel’s spell. His mana was up and around them in the blink of an eye, even as his mind was reaching out again. More accurately, he was delving deep inside himself, to that hidden font of knowledge within his mind that Arcana had gifted him. He dove past lines of text, entire libraries of history, intently focused on his goal.

“Asilo!” he cried, putting all his conviction into the one word.

The world faded to black faster than he could blink. Even as he faded from the world for the second time in his life, he knew, deep inside, that this would not fail. Grant us safe passage, Keeper of Knowledge. He could feel something, both far away and deep within himself, come to life in reply. Then there was a bright flash of light, and he was nothing.

Looking back in future years, Samuel would never quite understand why he’d made this choice. It had been undeniably the correct, and only path, for him to take, but it was so horrendously reckless as to be suicidal. Few mortals, before or since, had ever dared to delve so deeply into the ethereal plane. At this depth, one lost their minds, bodies, even their sense of self. He suspected it was only his fierce determination that had resulted in the safe transit, aided and guided by Isip’s influence. But despite his many great magicks, this would forever remain his greatest risk.

The light flashed again, bringing with it new sights, smells, and above all, noise. Suspended in time, the plains before Milagre had become a battlefield. Hundreds of figures, carrying steel and wearing armor, were bunched there, trying to force their way into the capitol. One could never tell by looking at them that they were once innocent commoners. All their faces were frozen in expressions of rage and hatred for those who had oppressed them. Men and women of all races, bound only by their social status, were here for revenge.

Samuel and Tobi had appeared directly in their midst, the power of the spell pushing them back, carving out space for their arrival. The bodies were flying back in more of that slow time, giving both him and Tobi just enough time to grasp the severity of their surroundings. Then time came crashing back to its usual pace.

The armed warriors around them gave shouts of surprise as their comrades were sent flying several feet back, turning instinctually away to protect from the explosion of light. The entire army came to a halt in their charge, all eyes turning to the two new arrivals.

“How?” Tobi asked, unable to say more than one word. Then, his eyes taking note of the armed figures around them, his face set back into lines of anger and determination. The naginata was out in an instant, the head of the spear glinting in the bright sunlight.

As quickly as it had come, the surprise faded from all faces around them. They could see Tobi and Samuel clearly, noting the fine robes that both wore. They focused especially on the white Archmage’s robe that Samuel had foolishly donned that morning. One man gave a loud warcry and charged forward. The dam broke, and the crowd swarmed in, as strong as the fiercest storm.