The open sky hung an intense afternoon sun, the kind with which anyone would expect to come with a heat haze. But there was no sweltering heat even as Jerius walked with Mirayoung out in the open massive space behind the wall and garrison of the Guild; instead it was a cool temperature, ever just right and perfect.

Magic. Jerius thought of the temperature.

In front of him was a barren land, but Jerius knew better that it was but another illusion created by illusionary spells. As they continued north, the landscape before them shed its invisible cloak to reveal another wall of old-class majesty that Jerius had not seen before. Studying military fortifications as a Prime Sorcerer of Nox, he could identify the Guild as a concentric castle with both outer and inner walls.

But it was also not simply a walled fortress with conventional architecture. Towering trees with green canopies were planted on both sides of the inner wall, reaching heights beyond the manmade fortification. Intermixed with them were climbing plants and flowering vines of different species, forming what looked to be a sporadic and messy view. But Jerius recognised them for what they were‒parts of a magical array.

"The Guild does live up to its name," Jerius said.

"From the times of old, where the trio of empires ruled, the Guild has existed. When the trio of empires perished, and smaller empires began like Nox with its conquest of the west, the Guild has only grown mightier and fiercely independent like a bastion of hope, power and peace among a sea of battles and chaos," Mirayoung replied. "And now, as the world fragments even more with no clear might, the Guild grows stronger. This is the most impressive city you'll ever see, young Lyvia. This is the city of magic, the home to the Guild."

"I know all too well about the infamous pride that plagues all mages at some point," Jerius said.

The magician's pride was something every arcane practitioner needs to grapple with and overcome. Lady Lyvia had warned him on the first day of his training. Commanding the elements and arcane forces had an intoxicating effect on mortal flesh and mind. The more talented and powerful the magicians were, the more susceptible they became to a sense of self-importance. And in a place like the castle of the Magician's Guild, where magic reigned supreme, the intoxicating effect had gone unchecked.

He knew the task at hand was a difficult one: convincing the magicians of the danger they would be in.

"We're entering the Guild," Mirayoung warned him with a sideward glance. A huge, shimmering mark of energy separated itself to form a rift big enough for two people to walk through. As they did, the fine hairs on Jerius's back stood, feeling not just powerful, but intelligent magic evaluating and granting him access to the inner city. Once they passed through, the magical entry returned to its original form.

"This feeling," Jerius said as the tingles on his skin remained perceptible.

"Harnessed spirits," Mirayoung said. "Lady Lyvia is a High Magician. I'm unsurprised you haven't had such an experience."

Gallyn and his squad trailed a short distance behind, but eventually broke off, returning to the wall post. The inner city was a wonder that nearly took his breath away and Jerius understood where the magician's pride hailed from. The walled castle was a beautiful blend of nature and man-made buildings and towers, shaped into a single, cohesive form.

There was no unnecessary gap, slack or crevice. No odd bit, or eyesore. It was perfection unto itself, with the top of a massive dome viewable in the yonder, framed by towers and spires that seemed to extend to the heavens. A particularly veritable one to the left of the dome stood out as the tallest of the towers. A lake could also be discerned in the distance, far to the right. From where Jerius stood, the water seemed crystallised, yet beautiful in its unnatural state.

A calm, magnificent aura settled upon the place.

"Few get to come here, young Lyvia," Mirayoung said. "Only the kings, their ambassadors or the most powerful lords get invited to the inner sanctum, as we call this place. Most discuss businesses with us at the outer sanctum, by the guesthouses or manors."

"But you're the only disciple of Lyvia, my oldest friend and sworn sister. I believe this is what she wants me to do," she continued. "The Guild is as much your home as anyone else."

Viewing it from the western gate of the inner sanctum, the lady-sorcerer went on to introduce the various landmarks. The massive structure Jerius saw was the Dome, which acted as the assembly hall for all magicians and the convening point for the Cabal, the ruling council of the Guild. But the last assembly was many full moons ago, and now on a week-to-week basis, it served more as a glorified place to tour about for the most distinguished guests from the outside. Behind the Dome and largely obscured in view were the living quarters for the trainee and junior magicians they called apprentices.

The quarters stretched out to the academy that bordered the town square‒the beautiful centre of the Guild. The spires and towers that Jerius saw scattered about served as either homes to the oldest and most privileged magicians, or as great libraries to powerful and ancient tomes of knowledge, cared for by the Librarians; these librarians, in Mirayoung's own words, were a peppery clique of old mages with waspish remarks and poor temperament. Jerius did not attempt to pursue more, guessing she had her fair shares of disagreements with them.

"Tell me, how long were you under Lyvia?"

"Seventeen years."

"What?"

"Seventeen years. My apprenticeship was seventeen years, when one day she disappeared and there was a dark charred mark in her room, and all items were floating in mid-air for days after as though enchanted."

"And?"

"I read about it in scrolls: the Vanishing, where a magician who unlocks knowledge beyond space and time and transcends to a higher dimension."

"And?"

Jerius sounded irked. "That's it. She's gone. I take over her mantle. What else do you want to know?"

Mirayoung looked him in the eyes. "You're not telling everything, but that's alright for now. The Vanishing, indeed. It's a mystery here too, and happened to a few of the best. There are theories but nothing's concrete. The last Vanishing happened a thousand years ago."

With resignation Mirayoung then continued. "At least I know Lady Lyvia is gone because she chose to, not like how Frarth's story went down. That gave me peace of mind."

Her tone was tinged with sadness and longing.

"Yeah Frarth's story was about me. That bald man confused Lady Lyvia with me, probably because of how I look. Never trust storytellers fully. They‒"

"Let's be honest. This is Nox's intention right? The disappearance of a famed Prime Sorcerer like Lyvia would change the power dynamics of the west. I imagine the Nation of Ceil, as a stronger rival, will have much to gain. Nox also promoted you to the position to continue that illusion of power," Mirayoung said. "What intrigues me the most is, with just seventeen years of apprenticeship, you could cast a sixth-rank spell."

"I'd be boasting if I said it were easy," Jerius said.

"That's not the question," Mirayoung said. "Even the most gifted mages will need to devote easily half a century's time to learn to cast a sixth-rank spell, without killing themselves. If you manage to contract powerful spirits to do for you, sure, but that has never been recorded in history. Besides, you're a High Magician by training, right?"

"Yes, that may have seemed strange to you but I've a perfect explanation," Jerius said.

"Did you have prior training before Lyvia? How old are you now?"

"Twenty-five years old," Jerius said.

"It's the Maker Ritual, am I right? It's Lyvia's passion project," Mirayoung cut in, and when Jerius gave a nod, she continued. "I'm impressed. She did it. She never succeeded during her time here. You initiated it with her blood, didn't you? The ritual artificially amplified your power with hers, but her beauty also affected you, I see."

"Just the appearance," Jerius said. "I would do anything to become useful to her, to Nox. And when she asked me if I were willing to take this risk, I did so without hesitation."

"Is it only the appearance? And your voice?"

"Yes, I'm very sure it's just the appearance. My voice is underdeveloped. The larynx never grows," Jerius said, intoning each word to Mirayoung's slight amusement. But she sensed a subtle undercurrent to his words.

"Tell me...is it a curse for a man to inherit the beauty of a woman, even for one as famed as Lady Lyvia? Sate an archmagus' curiosity, young one," she said. "Getting attention from the wrong crowd, as I imagine, must be frustrating for a young man."

"Don't the bards sing of love that transcends the skin's deep? Hah, I care little about it. The ritual can make me beautiful or hideous beyond imagination; neither will make me hesitate. This ritual has made me immeasurably useful to her, and to Nox. "

"Why this obsession with being useful?"

That brought out a sigh from the younger magician. "I don't know your history, but I once lived out in the street, begging for alms. Pardon me, is this relevant?"

"Tell me more, young one," Mirayoung said as she guided him down the easternmost lane, passing by the picturesque lake where a few mages scattered and indulged in their own activities. "You cast that spell to draw my attention. Not the Guild's. Granted, I was not the first one to find you but it played to your plan all the same since you're here with me. Now if you want my help, you can start by being open and honest. I'm someone who helps only when I understand all your intentions and motivations. Has Lyvia ever told you that? What did she tell you about me?"

Jerius sighed again. "I'm happy to share, but one question at a time, shall we?"

"Start with the usefulness bit," Mirayoung said thoughtfully, her eyes regarding him with fascination. That made Jerius a little self-conscious, but he saw it as her delightment to see her old friend's face again.

"I was an orphan who survived on the streets. An outcast. There were those who helped me...but that stemmed from pity. I thought myself useless but Lady Lyvia saw something in me...the potential for magic and saved me from a life of begging, or even a certain death. She brought me to Nox and nurtured me as her apprentice because my magic potential proved useful to her. Nox kept me when she left, because I'm useful to them as a mage. I know not the Guild but this is how the outside world works."

"Lyvia has no shortage of high-potential mages keen to learn from her. I don't know what she saw in you but it's more than being useful to her. And I'm sure your friendship with the other Noxarians is not one driven solely by utility, seeing as you're here for them," Mirayoung said.

"You're not wrong."

"Of course I am. Nox had fallen," Mirayoung said. "If there were no emotional and familial ties to the city and her remnants, you would have simply departed. With your strength, you can easily seek a high-ranking mage position in another nation. Yet here you are, seeking help from me. Is it for Nox's revival? Political alliance?"

"You're right, Mirayoung. I'm here with a purpose," Jerius looked her in the eyes. "A menace who goes by the name Aderis Kilfir is targeting the Guild because of the Ritual of Keys. I'm here to warn the Guild about him and to garner support to curb him once and for all. In my learnings, I understand the Guild is run by the Cabal, a single collective entity of five mages who have merged into one. Will you kindly bring me to them, friend of Lady Lyvia?"

Mirayoung paused for a while, looking uneasy. "Did you say the Ritual of Keys? Those words have not been spoken for centuries. Elucidate more. I need to be sure you know what you are speaking."

"A five-step ritual to end death itself," Jerius said. "Each step, called a Key, requires elaborate preparations and heavy sacrifices to create a condition. As to what condition that is, I do not know for sure but more deaths will come if we don't put an end to him."

Mirayoung said. "The condition is a mass exodus of human spirits, which overwhelms the gates that regulate the souls of the dead between this and the spirit realm. There are many means to achieve that but a war is the easiest. You're saying the siege on Nox was intentional to activate the Key?"

Jerius nodded, his face hung with a serious mask. "Aderis planned it for a long time. Before the siege, he accused me of treason. I was incapacitated and thrown into jail. The other court conjurors and their apprentices were massacred, all nine of them."

"Wasn't Aderis the shadow advisor to the Noxarian king? Mirayoung took a deep breath. "So he seeks to realise the Ritual of Keys."

"Yes," Jerius said. "He must have succeeded at the First Key since Nox, as the Second Key, was destroyed. The third is Ceil, the City of Order far southwest of here. Zen‒Prince Zenvix is travelling there with the remnants of Nox as we speak, to warm and protect them. And the fourth‒"

"-is the Guild," Mirayoung finished for him. "Your story is a deeply disturbing one because the first is Gainac, a tiny hidden city to the northwest. Or some might call it Qosh'rah, a word from the language of the seafarers who founded Gainac. They were said to be crooks, pariahs and bastards who sailed from another land on the other side of the Sea of Great Beyond a century ago to form Gainac. It was secluded and isolated, and not known to many nations. It was destroyed a year ago. Our sensors picked up a wave of deaths and sent a team to investigate."

"And?"

"The team concluded its investigation as a mysterious plague that killed off the entire population," Mirayoung said, fidgeting with the emerald bracelet on her left hand. "As it was isolated, there was no risk of spreading beyond its borders."

"If the Guild has people monitoring these events," Jerius said. "Why does this not trigger an alarm? Two Keys down in a span of a year."

"The Ritual of Keys is ancient," Mirayoung said. "Not even all the archmagi may know about it. It was purely by chance that I learnt about the ritual. No rational person will think someone is evoking such a ritual when a plague struck an isolated city known for its raw-food diet. It's merely concluding an investigation based on the simplest of competing theories. And oftentimes, the simplest is the most likely. It's the way of nature."

Jerius nodded, briefly glancing to the left where he saw a stretch of stone houses that were not too different from the living districts of Nox. "I do not fault the Guild. The First Key's destruction was a single occurrence. Aderis is a scheming man, who must have orchestrated the deaths around a plague, to fit the raw-food narrative. And the Second Key's destruction is still recent, too recent to draw out a pattern."

"Isn't that why you made a purposeful trip here, young Lyvia?" Mirayoung nodded thoughtfully. They had walked to the end of the stone path bordering the concentric wall to the right, where trees greeted their gazes. The lush trees were neatly planted, forming a solid wall that denied them from proceeding further.

"My house is inside," she said. "I enjoy privacy, as you can tell."

"Are we supposed to cut a way through?" Jerius asked, more genuinely than he expected.

Mirayoung gave a light chuckle and waved her hands. The trees started to stretch, unearthing their roots and lifting the undergrowth by several feet to create a small lane. "We may continue now."

The smell of lavender pleasantly flooded his nose when they stepped into a small house after reaching the end of the trail through the underbrush.

It was a simple home, far too simple for one of the highest-ranked mages of the Guild and a confidante of Lady Lyvia, whom Jerius knew as a most extravagant figure. The home had a monotone interior, with a single painting of spires hanging by the wooden blinds the most striking of all. A multi-layered bookshelf of heavy tomes stood at the far end by a potion table.

"Welcome to my humble dwelling," Mirayoung said. "Shall we continue discussing the matter at hand?"