After stopping the recording she leaned back, stretched and her voice became much warmer as she said, “Go on get out, go have your class with Archmage Pomposity. The hidebound fool wouldn't know a spirit if it bit his ample arse.”

Martuk chuckled and said, “True enough, Archmage Pompadine is very unaware of the spirit realm but his teachings have great value, especially for one such as I who has never studied with or studied mages. The only mages I ever met socially were Fae ones and even then it was very breif and infrequently, by their choice and ours. The only others were the Cadogan bloodmages but that meeting was neither particularly social nor pleasant.”

Madame Rebedilie grimaced and shaking her head said, “Bloodmagic is not a craft that should be allowed. To take the life of someone for your own workings? Utterly barbaric and monstrous. My helper spirits petitioned me to become so after their death for whatever reasons they had, even then I denied most. Those who seek power for it's own sake are not those who should have that power.”

“Truth. Unfortunately there will always be the power hungry and those willing to grant it, it is up to people like yourself to stop them.”

“And you once you finish your certification, I want you as at least a consultant even if you don't want to become an actual employee once your sentence is over. Your knowledge of the Astral is far beyond most and the depth of the spirit lore you have... breathtaking.”

Martuk smiled and inclined his head, “I will think on it, there are still another two turnings of learning after my term is done. Who knows how things will change in that time. All I can say for now, your wish is known and will be considered most strongly.”

“About the best I can as-” Something thudded heavily into the external wall rattling the pictures in their frames and she said, “Dammit, looks like Brutus is being difficult again. Thingy go restrain that idiot before it hurts someone or itself.”She stood and walking over slid the office door open, with a voiceless scream just at the edge of hearing The Thing that Should Not Be exploded out through the door. Following behind Martuk stepped out to see a huge man, even bigger than himself, wrapped in The Thing that Should Not Be's misted tentacles and surprisingly given their sapping effect, struggling mightily against them.

Madame Rebedilie's voice snapped as she shouted, “Prisoner Epsilon-Beta cease your resistance or I will banish you from this husk for a period of not less than five days and you do not want that, do you?”

The dead white eyes of the massive corpse turned to her, glaring hatred as a dusty grave riddled voice came from deep within the barrel like chest, “Want feed, want magic... I WILL TAKE!”

Shaking her head tiredly Madame Rebedilie chanted the short chopped phrases of the banishment. As the final shouted words echoed oddly around the hallway, misty blue light pooled around her feet. The body ceased struggling and collapsed bonelessly, only remaining upright because of the tight hold that The Thing that Should Not Be had on it.

“Officer Branet, Officer Killgore put that back in it's cell. Brutus will be back in a few days.” Turning to Martuk as they walked away she said, “We can't stop it inhabiting that husk because it's been made specially for it, a single entity doorway. We could destroy it but then it'd just find someone to make him another, which it can't do as long as this one exists. It's normally not quite this aggressive, which is very odd, I'll have to check its feeding schedule. One of our more interesting inmates wouldn't you agree?”

“Very, I've seen these before though. Made for war by Necromancers but I've never seen one free and able to get a new husk made. How does it do that? Normally they can't interact with anyone but their master.”

“Brutus is an oddity, as near as we can tell it is the Necromancer themselves or what's left of him or her. We believe it was a mostly failed attempt at immortality, it's close enough to immortal but there's not really a person left any more. The hunger for magic is all that drives it now and we have no way to banish it permanently. It always manages to find a way back and pops up again somewhere else after influencing some poor dumb sap to turn themselves into a husk for it.”

“What?” Martuk was shocked.

“Yes, that husk was a person who fell under it's influence and performed the rituals to make himself it's host. Why, we have no idea.”

Martuk nodded his head thoughtfully, “It is very close to what my own fate will be depending on what sort of entity eventually overcomes me. If it is slightly less hungry and slightly longer planning I could become a spirit-ridden husk much like that, more likely though that I attract something greedy. That will be a swift death at least, if painful.”

Madame Rebedilie said, “I am still looking and I have associates of mine searching as well, I refuse to believe that your fate is sealed. I will find a way to save you from yourself.”

“Once again you do not need to do so, I accept my fate. I chose this knowing the cost because otherwise one who was kind to me when he did not have to be, when it cost him to do so, would have left this world.”

“And I in turn choose to ignore your fatalism. You have too much value as a person and as a practitioner for me to just let you go. No, I will find a way to close that door again even if I have to create a whole new branch of spirit-handling to do so. Though it's not even really just about you any longer, this research and this endeavour have great merit of their own. Possession accounts for a large number of our inmates, normal people who fell afoul of something dark but most did not know better...” She tapped him heavily on the chest with her index finger, “You certainly did.”

*******

A little under half an hour later he settled into his seat with Archmage Felipphius Pompadine's stout form looking at him with vague discontent at him being less than five minutes late. “Mr Spirit-Talker, you are late.”

“Apologies Archmage I was delayed by a minor problem with Madame Rebedilie's next appointment, Brutus was apparently not fed well enough and became unruly.”

“Hrrm, no excuse. Don't let it happen again. You are in a very privileged position receiving personal instruction from myself and the good Madame. Our time, mine particularly, is extremely valuable and is not to be squandered. You should be grateful for the great opportunity you are being given here. Not just anyone receives instruction from an Archmage, much less an Archmage of my stature.”

“Understood Archmage, it won't happen again.”

“Excellent, see that it doesn't. Now where were we?... Ah yes, we were discussing the ramifications of Realm interactions on the corruption level of common magical actions. You read the chapters I assigned?”

“Yes, but I don't quite get how Realms which negate or lessen corruption like say Order will still dramatically increase corruption if matched against it's opposition element. Wouldn't it by it's nature still reduce it?”

“Good question. Order, Light, Water, and Earth, all reduce the corruption they cause. Their opposing elements Chaos, Dark, Fire, and Air all increase the strength of any corruption they cause so by their nature the chaotic elements are more dangerous to use but, and this is a very important distinction, they also grant much greater effect for less magic. When opposed the realm energies become... hrrm... wild in their desire to destroy their opposition. You understand of course that the Realms of magic are not sentient as you or I understand sentience but, there is an intelligence to them and they war with each other, most strongly against their opposite. As part of that intelligence the Chaotic elements reward caster skill far more greatly because you are walking a knife's edge with them, the Ordered elements favour raw strength of magic and the stability that brings. However the Realms of Life and Death are a special case, both reduce the corruption they cause when used alone. In opposition to any other element both increase it and to a much greater extent than any other Realm. Using them in opposition to each other is generally reserved for the insane, the opposition boost to the strength of the corruption is even greater. Anyone working with Life or Death is literally taking their life into their own hands, a single misstep in their Method and they will perish horribly but the effects they can bring are extreme.” He shrugged, “As with most things in magic the risk is commensurate with the rewards. Is that clearer?”

“Yes. Thank you, the comparison with my own practises is very interesting. The spirit realm, or Astral as your traditions call it, is not hostile to the magically active in any way. But these Realms seem to be, I wonder why?”

The Archmage looked slightly uncomfortable as he said, “Comparisons between the Realms and the Astral is a better question for the good Madame, I hold no truck with it. That is not to say that some Realm users do not make use of spirit workings in their Methods, but I am certainly not one of them. As for why they seem hostile, that is a question Mages have pondered as long as there have been Mages and no answer has ever been found. Many theories certainly but never any definitive evidence of any sort.”

“I think I will ask her then. Are there any books I could read about spirit use in Realm Methods that you could suggest?”

“Indiado's 'On the Nature of the Astral' is the reference guide to such things. That would be a perfect start, it's bibliography and references will lead you to further reading material if you so desire as well. Once you've studied a bit and know what questions to ask I can ask some of my associates if they would be willing to come in and talk to you.” He smiled, “More than a few have been pushing me to let them come in anyway, a Shaman is a very rare type of adept here and they would love to pick your brain.”

“Thank you Archmage. I'll happily talk to anyone who comes to me and after my term is done I'd be quite willing to teach anyone what I know. Passing knowledge to others is the duty of all who study the magical, when unknown it's far more dangerous then when people are educated about it's dangers.”

The Archmage grunted irritably and said, “Many of my peers don't believe so and hold to the fallacy it's called 'The Mysteries' for a reason. Short-sighted idiots is what they are. That may have been true centuries ago but now with the internet knowledge tends to find it's way into the hands of those that want it and if they have any ability, well, something will take advantage of their ignorance. Then, they end up here or under the ground. Utterly wasteful, new adepts are rare enough as it is.”