“Thrice damned mages.” Mar muttered as he walked back to the small room where Grob was likely still at work making paper. They were arrogant pricks who thought themselves superior, every last one.

Mar had been denying it for years, but now he was forced to realize that they had even turned Verona into one of them.

“She thought I was a burden… like I’ve become a cripple.” And compared to a mage that’s what he was. Not being able to cast magic while living among mages was like a man without hands trying to work in a time keeper's workshop.

All the more reason to get out of this city. Orlem was wealthy and powerful beyond compare, save perhaps the Empire’s capital. But here in Orlem mages ruled, and those without magic could never amount to anything more then a notable shopkeeper or merchant.

Maybe the world would be better off if the Empire succeeded in finally invading and destroying Orlem and the League of Free Cities it had built around it. The mages here were beginning to see themselves as gods. Without the increased mana density from the Realmstone they wouldn’t be nearly so powerful. From what Mar had read, mages were obscure and rare throughout the rest of the world. Most of the time they were proscribed from taking political office, and in places like the Empire they were forced by law to subject themselves to additional scrutiny for all of their activities, lest they plot to seize power as they had in Orlem.

Mar had heard of more than one mage escaping the Empire to seek sanctuary with Orlem. Maybe he should do the opposite. Flee to the Empire to get away from all these damned to the seven hells mages.

Mar touched the spot on the back of his hand where he knew the trial’s mark lay magically inscribed on him. First things first, he needed to get that thing removed before he could even think about taking a portal out of the city.

He really should be preparing to leave. He did participate in an attack on the Pyrastern estate. Nobody saw his face but there was a strong possibility they could have found out from Yavin. It was taboo it mistreat a mage --especially a powerful one-- even if they invaded your home, but the Pyrasterns might just be barbarous enough to compel Yavin to tell them all about the warlock’s totem Darrik was so keen on getting his hands on.

Mar didn’t think so. Yavin might have hurt --maybe even killed-- a few of the guards, but mages were on a whole different level of importance compared to mundanes. There were laws in place for the ethical treatment of fellow mages, and even the Pyrastern’s wouldn’t risk being proscribed by their peers.

They probably wouldn’t even get to questioning Yavin. She had been betrayed by Darrik and attacked, as a guest welcomed into their home. If word of that got out it would be a stain on the entire family's reputation.

Mar smiled at the thought of Darrik being punished by his family for sullying their name.

Yavin really had helped him back at the estate, teleporting Mar out with the stone rather than just teleporting herself out and leaving Mar to fend for himself. Had it been Mar’s word against Darrik’s, Mar would already be in the city dungeons, maybe even tortured if Darrik insisted on it. If Mar remembered correctly, in the eyes of the law mages counted as thirteen and a half people. Some ancient rule made years ago when the law books were being written. That meant you needed at least fourteen other mundanes to corroborate your story for it to be believed over a mage’s word in the eyes of the law, though in truth even that rarely worked. A trial with a mage against a mundane was no trial at all.

Maybe not all mages were bad. Yavin had been a bit demanding barging into his home like that, but she’d come through. Then again Yavin was technically a druid, not a mage. And she wasn’t from Orlem either. More evidence that the arrogance of the mages Mar knew came from the superiority complex they all developed from growing up in a city where mages were legally worth more than regular people. Livy was polite, but that might have been because she came from a family of mundanes, rather than one of the established mage bloodlines.

Mar had hoped they would have released Yavin by now and she’d come by to get rid of the dangerous mind-controlling stone. Mar had no desire to hang onto it for any longer than necessary. He reached into his pocket, fingers stroking the broken edges.

Since he couldn’t get Verona’s help, maybe he could get Master Warric’s? He would have no probably removing the mark, and wouldn’t mind helping Mar out. The dwarf had a slight fondness for Mar. Dwarves valued hard work and frugality, and human mages tended to use magic to avoid as much hard work as possible. Mar worked constantly, even when he had enough money set aside for the month that he didn’t , and Master Warric recognized that.

But going to Master Warric would mean begging a mage for help with his problems, and that was something Mar was loath to do at the moment.

Then a thought struck him as he was still running his fingers across the face of the stone in his pocket. He could remove it himself.

It was in his care until Yavin came back to pick it up after all.

Mar adjusted his course as he walked. Instead of Master Warric's workshop, he stepped into the library. He breathed in the familiar musty air. This was almost like a second home to him. It’s where the school tossed him when the Masters realized that their test had made a mistake. It would be a waste to throw him away after they paid for an expensive childhood education on the assumption that he would become a skilled mage. He did technically owe quite a bit to the school for raising him. Verona had already paid off her debt to the school in full, but as a mundane Mar would need to put in years of work.

Mar had entered through the back of the library of course. He had his own key, as the school paid him a small stipend to help take care of the books. Mar looked up the floor to ceiling walls of shelves. The top shelf was so high you would need to use two ladders to reach the top. Hauling a ladder up a ladder is a sure way to throw your back out. Luckily there was magic for that. Arrogant and entitled as they are, mages had their uses.

Mar tapped a globe at the end of the bookshelf. The tile of flooring underneath him popped out of position and floated in the air while Mar stood comfortably atop it.

Mar stroked the globe, indicating he wanted to go up. The stone slab floated up, taking Mar with it. He navigated the upper shelves.

The school library was vast. Even Mar, who had practically grown up here, hadn’t even seen all the shelves, let alone read all the books. That being said, Mar didn’t have to have read all the books to find the book’s he needed.

It took Mar an embarrassingly long time to locate the titles he was looking for. The trouble lay in the fact that while every section of the library was organized, they were all organized under an entirely different system for each section. Navigating between systems was a nightmare.

After a long search, the two titles he was looking for were under his arms.

Under his left arm he held “An Inquisitor's Guide to Warlock Totems and their safe Handling” and under his right arm he held “The Mysteries of the Enchanter’s Eye”

Mar had grabbed the second title as an afterthought. Yavin had told him the stone was a Warlock's Totem, and Mar was certain he had heard it speak to him.

But Master Warric had identified it as an Enchanter’s eye. Mar had never heard of such a thing before. But he’d never known Master Warric to misidentify an artifact.

And so Mar sat down at a table with both books and settled in for a long read.

Mar read over the most relevant passages a second time, trying to make sure he didn’t miss anything. The inquisitor's guide clearly stated that Warlock’s totems were in no way able to do anything without an active bond to a living mage. A host, whose aura they could use as their own.

Mar had only had an active bond with the stone briefly, but he had clearly felt its influence during that fight at the Pyrastern’s estate. The bond had been broken at that time, so how had it been able to function, let alone influence him?

Yavin had spoken of a binding spell, but the Inquisitors guide said to keep a Warlock’s totem in a dormant state all you needed to do was isolate it.

Mar found it hard to believe that the inquisitors could be so wrong. They depended on this information to do their jobs without being killed after all. Maybe Yavin simply had no idea what she was carrying, and this stone was something else entirely.

Mar turned to the next book. “The Mysteries of the Enchanter’s Eye” was mostly a history of the dwarven kingdoms. It spoke of how Domoulis, the ancient god of the dwarves, crafted them in an effort to recreate the Worldforge, which had been shattered at the end of the god wars during the cataclysm. In the end though they were inferior copies of the creator’s tool, and so Domoulis gave them to his children, the dwarves.

Three-hundred eyes were made and distributed amongst the dwarves, and all those who possessed them could craft creations like no other. The tools allowed them the briefest glimpses into the fundamental workings of the world, and through that insight they were able to build creations of untold power. Enchanted armor that could multiply the wearer into an army of themselves. Castles that could fly through the air like a bird. Bursts of energy that could burn cities to dust in an instant.

With weapons of such power the dwarves rapidly began taking over the world. The other gods were forced to take action, and nearly all the Enchanters eye’s were broken, with a few left in a barely functional state.

Some still worked enough to allow a skilled craftsman to create something far beyond their abilities, but never to the degree they previously allowed.

Mar closed both books in frustration. This wasn’t helping. These were the two most relevant books he could think of but neither of them were telling him anything that made sense.

Fine. If books couldn’t tell him Mar would just have to do a bit of experimentation.

He stopped by the alchemy lab briefly to leave a message for Yavin with Grob is she should come looking. Mar left Grob in the room. He had been encouraging Grob to move his few things into the alchemy lab so that the goblin would have somewhere to sleep other than in the garbage. Grob was hesitant to do so because the location was far from the trash piles he could raid for food and much too open for the goblin’s taste. Not to mention the fact that having only a single entrance and exit made the goblin extremely nervous. Still, after Mar taught him how to lock the door Grob felt safe enough to move in, albeit reluctantly. The next step was to convince the goblin to start bathing.

Mar took the floating paths home. Walking the distance from the school to his house would have taken hours. Such powerful magic at the fingertips of the average citizen was something no other city had, and Mar worried a bit about his plan to leave.

He made a brief stop at Dirtflea market, and bought a pouch of second-hand mana crystals. They were half drained of power and probably stolen at least once, but the important part was they were cheap and imported, rather than being made locally by the Pyrasterns.

Mar could tell these were adventurer-made because they were all irregular in size and shape. That meant they were all created from the compressed auras of all manner of monsters and beasts that made the world outside of Orlem a dangerous place.

The Pyrastern’s mana crystals were different in that each line of crystal was identical to the others of it’s grade and contained exactly the amount of mana it promised. This meant they were far superior for mages, artificers, and alchemists to work with. What didn’t concern the craftsmen was the fact that the Pyrasterns created their mana crystals by ripping chunks of aura of hundreds of slaves, harvesting the mana from them like milk from cattle. Except this process was extremely painful, and sometimes fatal.

Mar wanted no part of it, so he took his weak imported mana crystals and walked up towards the small apartment he called home. He stepped into his single kitchen/bedroom and looked around. Mar noted that nearly everything he would be able to carry everything he owned in a moderately large bag. The furniture had come with the place, and the only thing Mar had done to make it more comfortable was buy the spare blankets and some candles.

Mar took a seat on the floor, his back against the cot he used as his bed. Part of the reason he never did work at home was because he didn’t own a desk.

Trinkets and talismans like a warlock’s totem were generally connected directly to the wearers mana pool, which they drained to keep themselves active and identify their owner in order to serve their function.

To use a mana crystal, a mage would absorb the mana in the crystal into their own pool. This was much faster than waiting the days or weeks it would take for their mana pools to refill naturally. They still took time, which is why mages couldn’t rely on them during the heat of combat, but they definitely helped.

There was another way to use them however. While the mana crystal was relatively stable in its intact form, once the crystal itself is fracture mana begins leaking out. Properly installed, they could allow a non-mage to operate magical items that were intended for use by mages. This was how Mar intended to operate the arcanists probe he had just pulled out of a drawer.

Master Warric had thrown the oblong tool in the trash about a year ago when the handle broke on him. The artificer had dozens of them after all. They were never intended for use by non-mages, but out of laziness Master Warric had modified the probe for use with a mana crystal, so that he didn’t need to supply the power himself to operate it.

Grob had rescued it from the garbage for Mar, which Mar was thankful for. He’d probably have to pay a hefty fine if anyone found out he had the device, so having it discretely retrieved by the goblin was a good idea.

Mar stuck a crystal in the slot, holding it in place with his thumb since the piece that would have held it in place was snapped off. Mar positioned the grey stone in front of him. He then reached into his bag and withdrew the enchanted visor from the guards helmet. He could see through the lenses with much more detail than he could at the school. Probably because the whole area around Dirtflea market was a dark spot for magic in the city.

Mar peered at the stone through the lense. The gray stone appeared black and lifeless. Just an ordinary rock.

According to the inquisitor's guide, a Warlock’s totem was completely inactive without a human host. An unclaimed enchanter’s eye would take ambient mana and produce a random effect. Time to do some experimenting.

Mar poked the stone with the probe. Nothing happened.

Mar increased the amount of raw mana flowing from the probe into the target. Still nothing happened. Looking through the enchanted lenses it seemed as though the mana came into contact with the stone and simply… disappeared.

Mar touched the stone with his hand. No heat. He sniffed the air and smelt nothing. There were no sounds, no blasts of color. As far as he could tell nothing had happened.

That made no sense to Mar. From what he knew of the laws of manadynamics, magical energies could not be created or destroyed. It had to go somewhere. Only mana crystals and mana capacitors could store magic, and from his readings he knew neither warlock’s totems or enchanter’s eyes possessed any great degree of either.

Mar poked the stone again with the arcanists probe set to full power. The crystal glowed slightly, then shattered as all of it’s energy was rapidly and forcibly extracted. It was a thirsty little rock.

Mar poked the stone.

“Talk!” He commanded. Mar took the time to close the blinds on his one window. He didn’t want to be that crazy neighbor who yells at inanimate objects. Meanwhile the gray stone did nothing.

Then Mar had an idea. He picked up the bag of mana crystals, tossing one in the air. “Well if you don’t want any of these mana crystals I guess I’ll just have to keep them all to myself…” Mar taunted.

What am I doing? Trying to play mind games with a rock?

A warlock’s totem was completely inanimate without a host, and an enchanter’s eye had no will at all. Neither of them would have any reaction at all to having a mana crystal placed next to them.

Mar placed a mana crystal a hair's breadth away from the surface of the gray stone. He backed away and went very quiet.

Sure enough, there was the tiniest bit of movement. Completely imperceptible to anyone who wasn’t paying very good attention. But Mar was paying attention. The gray stone shifted in place ever so slightly to come in direct contact with the mana crystal. Instantly the crystal was being drained of power at a rate many times greater than what any human mage could manage.

Mar leapt up in triumph. “Haha! I caught you!” He exclaimed.

The gray stone froze it’s mana absorption instantly. The mana crystal imploded violently from being so suddenly drained, only to have the flow of mana come to a complete and instant stop.

“I’m beginning to figure out what you are.” Mar lied. “So there’s going to be no more behind-the-back secret mind control from now on.”

Mar waited for a response. None came.

“I know you can talk. You spoke to me that first night, and you whispered something to Yavin earlier.”

A silence hung in the air for several minutes. Mar didn’t attempt to break it. Finally he heard a slight noise, like a distant whisper.

“Need… Mana…” the stone croaked out in a tinny whisper.

Mar rolled his eyes and placed a mana crystal next to the stone. It greedily absorbed everything it could.

“More…” It croaked, slightly louder this time.

Mar pulled out about half the stones in the bag. It took several minutes but eventually the stone drained all of those as well. Whatever energy storage mechanism the stone used must be extremely powerful to be able to store away more than eight mana crystals worth of energy.

“Why can’t you talk properly, like you did before?” Mar questioned the stone.

“Using… vibrations to talk… takes much more… energy. Less… efficient… than telepathy.” The stone said slowly. “Connect me to… your aura human. I… leaking power… fast.”

Mar shook his head. “Not going to happen, stone. I don’t want you mucking around in my head any more than you already have been. And I sure as hells don’t want you connected to my aura. That had been a mistake I made when I thought you were just a simple enchantment.”

“Can… give… you… power. Beyond your… wildest… dreams.” The stone whispered. The words were starting to grow dimmer.

“Yes.” Mar scoffed. “At the low price of eternal damnation for my immortal soul. No thanks.”

“You… want… power... human. I… know... you… do… your… kind… always… does…” The stone’s whispering was growing faint. Mar placed another one of his dwindling supply of Mana crystals on top of it. He noticed that the stone was slightly warm to the touch now.

“I don’t need your power.” Mar said to the stone.

“Lies… I have seen... the way the fleshlings… sneer at you. I have seen… how you cringe... beneath the gazes… of the magi. I could make… you more powerful… than any of them…”

“Yes, through you.” Mar scoffed.

“With my help… you… could cast… magic.”

Mar’s head jerked towards the stone. If it had a face Mar imagined it would be grinning at his reaction.

“Like a mage?” Mar asked suspiciously.

“Better… than… a mage.” The stone whispered in reply. “Like… a… god.”

Mar snorted. “I have no delusions of godhood, stone. For years I thought I was going to be a mage. Then that fate was denied to me. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

“Then… bind… me… to… your… aura. Let… my… power… become… yours.”

“No I won’t be doing that.” Mar dismissed the demand with a wave of his hand.

“Please…” The stone asked in a soft voice.

That, more than anything, startled Mar.

“I am… we are… dying.” The stone continued.

Mar had expected everything else. Offers of power, demands, trickery, bribery. All common tactics for demons --assuming that this was a warlock’s totem and that the spirit fragment animating it belonged to a demon.

“You said we? Who else is in there?” Mar asked, made curious by the strange behavior.

“Other… one… doesn’t… talk. Too… damaged. We both… are… but it… is damaged… more. It… wants...”

“It wants what?” Mar prompted, leaning forward.

“Don’t… know…” The stone said finally after a long pause.

Mar sighed in disappointment. “Look, see this Mark on my hand?”

“Closer.” The stone asked, and Mar moved his hand within a pace of the stone.

“I need it removed.” Mar continued. “Can you do that?” Mar asked. If it could then it would be definite proof that the gray stone was not a warlock’s totem.

“A… trivial… task.”

There was a brief searing sensation on the back of Mar’s hand. It burned for a moment as Mar felt the mana being unwoven from the portion of his aura associated with his hand. This wasn’t like the anti-weave the administrator's used to get rid of the mark. This felt like somebody grabbing the raw strands of magic and pulling them apart. Wild magic, rather than the formulaic castings most mages pre-loaded into their auras.

As suddenly as it started the pain vanished. Mar picked up the lenses pried from the guard’s helmet.

Mar examined the back of his hand. “It’s gone.” Then suddenly the pain in his hand reappeared, stronger than ever. Mar looked at his hand and watched as the mark wove itself back into his aura with astounding speed. “Hey! Stop it! I wanted it gone!” Mar exclaimed. It felt as though two magical forces were playing tug of war with his aura.

“The… other… fights… me.” The stone said in a grunted whisper.

“Then make it stop!” Mar exclaimed.

There was a rattling sound and the stone started shaking in place. After several long seconds of pain, the feeling finally abated. Mar looked through the enchanted lenses at the back of his hand. The mark was there, stronger than ever.

“What gives?” Mar demanded of the stone.

“The… other… wants the… mark. It… will… not see… reason.”

“Well then you’re useless to me.” Mar snarled. “You can forget about getting any of these mana crystals. And once Yavin gets out of the Pyrastern’s clutches, I’m giving you right back to her.”