The news spread quickly through the city of Ryal. There was to be an execution that afternoon. A traitor was going to be put to death in the yard outside the castle. It drew a crowd of curious onlookers, and gave the yard an almost festival-like atmosphere. Street vendors sold treats, drinks, and trinkets to the crowd, using the strange fascination people seemed to have for death to their financial advantage.

Everyone noticed the presence of the royal family and other nobles, but only those who managed to get close to the execution platform noticed that the queens weren't in attendance. Many wondered if that was a normal procedure, or if perhaps there was more of a meaning to it. No one had seen any other such executions to know for certain. Perhaps the traitor had tried to harm them and that was why he was being put to death. Perhaps the rumors were true that the queens were pregnant and such an event wouldn't sit well with them.

The crowd grew quiet when the prisoner was led out by several guards. He didn't speak or resist, simply stood where they placed him and stared out at the crowd.

A guard stepped forward and unrolled a scroll. He cleared his throat dramatically, then began to read in a booming voice, "For crimes against the royal family of Ryal, this man is stripped of his name and identity in the public eye, and sentenced to death. He has been charged with and confessed to working with our enemy, the Emperor of Dyrai, and using necromancy in an attempt to harm members of the royal family. He is condemned by the word of Grand King Wildas."

He rolled the scroll once more as jeers and insults were lobbed at the prisoner. The condemned man did not react, merely continued to stare off into the distance, his gaze above the crowd. When the guards moved him, he didn't fight. He willingly went to his knees and allowed the guards to position him over the executioner's block.

Those who had come to see a bloody spectacle were disappointed by the man's lack of emotion and the need for only one stroke of the blade to behead him. Some were still curious enough to follow the wagon that carried the body to the forest outside the city, where it was dumped and left to feed the wild animals.

Many people forgot what the man's crimes had been, being far more interested in the gruesome sights than the details, but others couldn't help but wonder what exactly the man had done. How had someone who knew the horrible magic of necromancy gotten close enough to the royal family to attempt to do them harm? And what exactly had he attempted?

It was something the city would speculate about for days, maybe even longer. And it would keep their minds off the impending war. Until they began to realize it was all a part of the same impending doom.

They had crossed the river into Phelin two days ago, and for the past two days Jaimathan had been experiencing something he had never expected to experience: his mysterious magic was deserting him.

He had still felt its presence when they had met the Phelinian soldiers who were to escort them to Ryal, but as they rode farther from the shore of the river that divided their two countries, he had felt it fading. He pulled Braith aside when they camped for the second night.

"Why is my magic leaving me?" he questioned.

Braith gave him a curious look. "What do you mean?"

"It's fading away. I can barely feel it now. My mother sent me here to learn how to use my powers, and now it will be for nothing. Your magic isn't gone, too, is it?"

Braith shook his head. "I'll speak to my father."

"Are we not going to see the most powerful sorcerer in existence?" They both turned as Fae approached. She stopped beside Jaimathan and put a hand on his shoulder. "Perhaps he may have an answer, if Braith's father doesn't."

"This is true," Braith said with a nod. "I'll speak to my father, but he'll likely tell us to speak to Master Shelton when we reach Ryal."

"At this rate, my magic will be completely gone by then," Jaimathan said grimly.

"But you will get answers," Fae assured him.

"Hopefully."

When the Algomans were expected to arrive, Coulta went with his spouses to the throne room. Wildas had refused to overdress for the meeting, and the rest of them had been happy to follow his example. They still dressed well enough, and Anil and Myri both wore a couple of extra pieces of jewelry, but they were not as wonderfully dressed as their personal attendants had wanted them to be. The only concession Wildas made was for them to sit on their thrones and to wear their crowns.

But Wildas got to his feet and set his crown aside as soon as the small group approached the raised dais. He stepped down to the floor at level with their guests, and Coulta followed moments later with Anil and Myri.

The prince bowed his head to Wildas and his companions bowed completely. He appeared slightly older than Wildas, with curly blond hair, a short beard, and deep blue eyes.

"Thank you for your hospitality," Jaimathan said, his voice carrying a slight accent. "I hope that I can help in any way I can."

Wildas dipped his own head in return, which seemed to surprise Jaimathan. "You are welcome here. Do not hesitate to ask for whatever you may need."

"Thank you," the prince replied. "Allow me to introduce my companions. Fae Unicorn of the Shifter people is my wife. Her people will send aid if we request it. Shan Hawk will be our messenger to Fae's father in such an event. And Braith Arin, Wielder of the Red Power, is my personal Guardian."

When Wildas introduced his spouses in turn, Coulta couldn't help a tiny cringe at his title of "Second King Coulta of Arren, the Formerly Cursed." And, since most of Ryal had become accustomed to his appearance, it was discomforting to have their guests looking at him with so much fascination. They obviously noticed the mark Wildas bore, judging by the way they looked at him as well.

"Would I be able to speak with Master Shelton once we are settled?" Jaimathan asked when the introductions were complete.

"He is working on some new defenses in the city and may not be back until late," Wildas replied. "You should be able to speak with him tomorrow morning. I do know he's been wanting to meet with you, as well."

Jaimathan nodded. "Thank you."

"I'll have someone show you to your rooms," Wildas offered, gesturing to the servants waiting by the wall.

"And if you need a healer for anything at all," Myri added, "the castle healers are wonderful but I would be happy to help personally. I am also a healer and I keep my own supply of herbs for common ailments. I know traveling can be tiring."

Fae smiled. "I am also a healer. Of course, I left most of my herbs and medicines at home, but I will be sure to encourage my companions to seek your aid if I believe they need it."

"I'm sure you must be accustomed to encouraging them," Myri replied, and Coulta could practically hear the grin in her voice. "Your husband at least."

Fae laughed. "You are very much correct."

"I can see the two of you will become good friends," Jaimathan commented with a faint smile. "For now we should allow these busy people to show us to our rooms," he added, nodding to the servants.

"They seemed rather nice," Anil commented when the guests had left the throne room.

Wildas nodded. "They may be here for a few months, so that's a good thing."

"Why was he surprised that you bowed your head to him?" Coulta asked.

"Because it told him that I consider him an equal and will treat him as a guest of honor, not like a minor noble as tradition would usually require," Wildas answered with a shrug.

"And why are you doing that?" Myri questioned.

"How else would I treat an ally?"

Shelton had been looking forward to the Algomans' arrival and had been disappointed when he realized he would miss it. But he needed to speak to his sister before she left the city to visit their parents.

"I'm just afraid you won't be back before winter sets in," Asema's husband, Elin, was saying when Shelton reached his sister's house.

"My mother won't live to see winter set in," Asema argued. "I need to visit her. If you're so concerned, come with me."

"I would be useless to you and you know it."

"Then stop arguing with me!"

Shelton carefully shut the front door behind himself and stepped farther into the entry hall of the small house. Elin stepped quickly out from a room down the hall and moved toward the door. Though no magic was visible around him, Shelton could feel the power in the air.

"It's only me," he assured the man.

Elin stopped and the power in the air faded substantially. Despite the scars that marred his face and made his eyes white when they should have been the same red as his robe, Shelton could see the confusion in his expression. "You never come here yourself. Are you going with Asema?"

Shelton felt a inexplicable sense of pain. "My parents made it very clear to me that if I joined the court of Ryal I would no longer be welcome in their home. I've tried for nearly thirty years to mend the rift, but there is nothing to be done. No, I just need to speak to Asema before she leaves."

Elin nodded. "She's packing."

Shelton went to the room Elin had exited and found his sister packing her things on a large bed. She was wearing traveling clothes instead of her usual blue robe. She barely glanced up at him when she spoke. "I know we agreed that once you were no longer the Second King I wouldn't make you pretend we aren't related anymore, but it's still strange to have you in my house."

"It's strange to be here," Shelton agreed. "Hopefully your neighbors won't still consider me important enough to exploit your friendship and relationship to me."

"They're all going to war for you," she pointed out. "I doubt they'll try to use me to get extra favors."

"I wanted to talk to you about that," he told her. "The army."

"I assumed it wasn't to tell me to give Mother and Father your love."

"You can. Whether or not they accept it is their choice."

She finally looked at him and sighed. "I'm sorry they were always so hard on you for taking a very honorable job when you had the opportunity. I'm even more sorry that it only got worse once your heart led you to become the Second King."

"Joining politics was simply the worst choice I could have made, in their eyes." Shelton shrugged. "I made the best choice for my life and my magic. They chose not to support my it. What's done is done. I can't change how they feel."

Asema nodded sadly. "What did you come to talk to me about?"

He pulled his thoughts back to the present. "I need someone to help lead the mage army. It will be too large for me to command without a few generals. Would you like to be one? You have combat experience."

She nodded. "I would certainly consider it."

He smiled. "Thank you."

He helped her finish her packing while they began discussing the details of how they could use an army of mages to defeat necromancers. The army wasn't especially large yet, but Shelton knew that it would only grow as time passed and more people with magic swore to join with him. As soon as Asema returned from seeing their parents, she would help. Elin would work with Shelton as best he could in the meantime.

It made Shelton feel a bit more confident about their ability to fight.

The next morning, Shelton was happy to finally get to meet the Algoman prince. If Shelton was right about what he was, Jaimathan would be a more powerful ally in the fight than perhaps anyone else thought.

Wildas brought Jaimathan, Fae, and Braith to the morning court meeting, where Shelton was surprised not to witness much argument against the guests' presence. The few arguments that there were had been easily extinguished by the prince's assurance that an army of Shifters could now come to their aid if needed. Not even Ruairi, Prince-General of the army was too proud to realize that they likely would need as many allies in this war as they could get, even if there wasn't much respect for the Shifter people themselves. The old prejudice against people who were considered "part animal" still existed in some minds, but it wasn't voiced in front of Fae.

After the meeting, Shelton took Jaimathan across the hallway to his own office. "I know part of the reason you have come here is to seek training in your magic," Shelton began once they were seated in his office. "I believe I may have an idea of where your powers come from, but to be sure I need you to describe your abilities to me."

"They're gone," Jaimathan declared, looking away.

"Since when?"

"They began to fade after we crossed the river. Now they are completely gone."

Shelton nodded. "That is confirmation enough. What do you know of the Asirim?"

The prince's expression was one of confusion. "I've never heard that term."

"You've never dealt with the people from Nairiume? Most Nairs are Asirim."

Jaimathan shook his head. "They have had a trade embargo against us for three hundred years. Any goods we have from Nairiume are gotten through other trading partners. Nothing comes directly from Nairiume to Algoma."

Shelton raised an eyebrow. "Why won't they trade with you?"

The prince shook his head again. "The reason for the embargo wasn't recorded, so we are left to speculate. We haven't reached out in an attempt to end it, either, because we don't know how we would be received, since we don't know what was done to cause offense. We've simply chosen to let it be for now."

"You may have had better luck finding training if there were people visiting your country from Nairiume," Shelton explained. "I only knew right away because I have worked with Asirim before. I'm guessing that your powers are often accompanied by a silver light and that the powers themselves involve the ability to see and touch souls. You may have unintentionally spoken to the dead in the past, as well."

This time Jaimathan nodded. "Somehow I summoned the spirit of my grandfather when I was twelve. After that, my mother made everyone swear not to speak of the incident and for me to try to control my abilities. She was worried that people would be afraid of me."

"That is understandable. I do not personally have the knowledge to train you in the use of your powers, but I have several books that may help you. I also believe that I can help with issues of control, if you have any."

"My mother's Guardian, Arin, was able to teach me control. For the most part I do well enough with it. Not that it matters now that I can't use the powers at all."

"I believe there is a way to fix that, as well," Shelton assured him. "Most male Asirim cannot use their powers outside of their homeland. It is a strange limitation of the power that no other types of magic have. If I can find another Asirim willing to help, we can allow you to use your abilities even here. Unfortunately, I don't know how long it will take to find either a female Asir or a male Asir born and raised in this country. Hopefully, not long."

"What do I do until then?" Jaimathan questioned. "I want to be useful here."

"We will find something for you." He sighed. "I can't even imagine how I would feel to be completely without my magic, all I know is that the thought terrifies me. So I don't know how you are feeling exactly, but I know it can't be very well. I will do my best to find a solution as soon as possible. I still believe we have another couple of months before Kemale is strong enough to launch an attack against us, not that this is any consolation to you. All I can do is promise to work my hardest to find someone to help you."

"I appreciate this very much," Jaimathan replied with a nod. "Thank you."