Seeing the Mages’ Guild up close gave me a weird feeling. When looking at the building without the benefit of Lenore’s sight, it looked like a completely ordinary building, not any more special than the ones to its left and right. There was a funky smell in the air, the amalgamation of dozens of different spells and types of magic mingling and the Astral River being repeatedly disturbed in this place, but I doubted I would have noticed it just passing by, as it seemed rather subdued.

With Lenore’s sight, however, the magic around the place was obvious, even with the thin veneer of Darkness magic they employed for concealment. It merely kept the power from disturbing the passers-by, the power and complexity were far insufficient to hide anything from a determined observer.

For a few minutes, we simply stood there, with Sigmir behind us, quietly observing the magic emanating from the structure. The different spells and formations, all existing in the same space, it was a fascinating sight, especially the interaction between the spells. There were harmonies and conflicts, some of them overt, others covert and concealed. Some of the spells appeared to support other mystical structures, only to slowly siphon off energy, while others directly clashed, scattering sparks into the Astral River and causing small eddies.

If I had the time, I could have stared at the structures for days, the countless minute intricacies and interactions, all giving me a small insight into different mystical elements and the interactions between them, it was a fascinating sight. Alas, as so often, we simply didn’t have time.

Letting out a deep breath, I focused on the world around me, noticing the curious glances from some of the locals, spellcasters from the feel of it. They were emanating their own Astral Power, some of them almost entirely concealed, others proudly and out in the open. It made me wonder if some of the people around me, who appeared to be nothing special, were able to conceal their power to the point that I missed them.

For a moment, I considered speaking to some of the spellcasters but ultimately, I decided against it. If they wanted to talk, they could approach me, I wasn’t about to pester some random person on the road, merely because they had a bit of power.

Walking forward, I passed through the magical formations of the Guild, using the Twilight Shroud I constantly kept around me to bypass some of the gentle probings, while calling on the Shadows beneath my robe to squash the more direct attempts. I wasn’t about to let anyone but Sigmir probe me, either magically or physically. Similarly, I extended my protection to encompass Sigmir. I was the only one who could know her body and soul on such an intimate level.

When I stepped up to the door, there was one more attempt to probe me, this one even more insidious and powerful than those before, to the point that I needed to activate Overflow and Bullet Time, just to give me the resources to deal with the magical scan.

Letting out a sigh, I questioned whether I wanted to go in at all, and possibly face further, even more determined, probing or simply leave but before I could decide, the door opened, as if inviting me inside.

Looking past the magic on the outside, I realised that the inside appeared to be fully devoid of magical formations, making me wonder if the outside formations were some sort of test. With the door already open, I walked in, my curiosity overwhelming my caution.

The inside wasn’t what I had expected, even if I hadn’t been certain what to expect. A part of me had expected some mystical space, far larger on the inside than on the outside, something reminiscent of the Grandmother’s Hut, with rooms that existed in different spaces and even during different times. Another part had expected something utterly mundane, akin to the Adventurers' Guild, an office building so ordinary it could have been built in the real world.

What I saw in reality, was neither. Most of the building was ordinary, without any interesting parts, not even magic running through the construction, at least none that I could detect. But other parts, some small, others large, were decorated with tiny, magical formations and glowing with power, fulfilling some unknown functions.

There was a set of elevators, constantly running in a nearby shaft, only that there was no connection rope or shaft, the platforms were moved solely with magic. I stared at them, after coming in, trying to figure out what I was seeing, before tearing my gaze away.

Only to get stuck on another object, a gilded mirror, decorated with gold, inlaid with runes and glowing with magic. I didn’t even try to delve into that item’s secrets, instead, I focused on the receptionist, standing behind the counter.

The perfectly ordinary-looking counter, that was glowing in Lenore’s sight with enough power to send a shiver down my spine.

“Welcome, Magister.” the attendant greeted me, his voice filled with respect. “What can we do for you today?” he asked, giving me a deep, almost submissive bow.

I was taken aback for a moment, not quite sure how to react to the title or the sudden submissiveness.

“Did you mistake me for someone?” I asked, stepping up to the counter, “It is my first time in a Mages’ Guild, so…” I let the words hang in the air, an eyebrow raised. I noticed the attendant’s eyes widen in surprise, but the polite smile on his face stayed there, only twitching a little.

“Most impressive.” he nodded, “But the door opened for you. That means you either hold the rank of Magister, or you are to be treated as such, in respect for the power and ability you have.” he explained, before repeating his earlier question, “What can we do for you today?”

“So, the magical examination on the door determines the power of the person approaching, and if the person is capable enough, it automatically opens?” I mused, nodding to myself, feeling it an interesting approach. “Curious.”

“Anyway, I’m here to peruse the literature in this place. I’ve been told that the Mages’ Guild has a library of sorts, where various spellcasters pool their research and resources?” I suggested, getting a nod in response.

“We do, if you move through the door over there, you’ll find the reference room,” he directed me, before looking at Sigmir behind me, a confused frown on his face.

“She’s with me,” I told him, after deflecting another use of Observe.

“Certainly.” he nodded, his focus back on me. “Is there anything else?”

“No, I will take a look at the reference room,” I told him, walking over to the door he had indicated earlier. Sigmir stuck right behind me, acting both protective but also staying within my space, so I could protect her. Reaching behind me, I gave her hand a quick, reassuring squeeze, having a notion that she wasn’t too comfortable in the magically charged building. While there was no magic in the air around us, there was enough in the stonework and the surrounding area to give it a faint aura of power.

The reference room was similarly designed to the Guild itself, with low-key magic covering the shelves and a couple of small appliances providing some comfort. One such small construct, set with gems and magical formations was in the corner, providing warmth, or cooling if desired. The shelves on the other hand were covered in small-scale magic, some of which looked similar to the Ice-magic I was using, just with some subtle differences.

Studying the magic and its flow, I slowly became convinced that it was the same result, that of stillness, but without using the concept inherent to Ice. Two roads, arriving at the same destination.

Shaking my head, I focused on the books themselves, my eyes quickly scanning across the names, taking a few of them and reading the introductions. Just from that, I soon realised that I wouldn’t benefit too much from being here. The writing on topics I was familiar with was too low-level to help me, one of the texts on Ice-Magic simply made me shrug and think, ‘Well, duh?’, but the texts on topics I was yet to become familiar with, lacked the basic information to introduce the topics to me. Neither Lenore, whose mind was closely aligned with mine nor I had the wide, systematic foundation necessary to make use of the research unless we had already made some inroads into the subjects on our own.

Letting out a sigh, I gently pushed Sigmir, who had been quietly following after me, onto a chair, took one of the books on Scrying, a topic I was reasonably familiar with, and sat down on her lap, snuggling into her arms, while starting to speed-read the text.

Maybe I would find some interesting nuggets of information, something to advance my own ability.