Jerius reunited with Mirayoung ten minutes before the time was up. Half-expecting them to head off and seek an audience with the administrator, Jerius instead was asked to sit down. Mirayoung poured him another cup of hot tea and asked. "I considered what you told me and corroborated some facts. There are enough threads of a complot to take this up with the administrator and be heard."

Darting his eyes around, Jerius sensed the residue of a recently-cast spell in the air.

Tracing his eyes and anticipating his question, Mirayoung said. "One of the benefits of being an archmagus of the elite Guild is the access to the Cabal Network, and a set of spells you can cast to scry through the network to learn certain truths."

"Truths like?" Jerius said, his expression betraying amazement.

"Manmade and natural disasters. Wars. Army movements. Strange magical fluctuations," Mirayoung explained. "The network constantly feeds data back to us, which an archmagus of the Guild can tune in. Of course there are limits to it. I can't learn about conversations happening in the bedchamber or courtroom. I did scry for anomalies from the arrays near Nox, and found something of concern. Traces of a greater demon's magical scent linger. It's faint, but it's there."

I suspect so. The cityfolks of Bliaton were turned into bloodthirsty savages. No mere mortal spells can muster an act this sinister," Jerius narrowed his eyes. "Was this not caught earlier by those who monitor the happenings? Or is there an Order of Demonic Craft in the Guild, and therefore the collective approach is to tolerate such occurrences?"

Mirayoung said, an expression of concern crossing her face. "You're keen of mind. We do have learned scholars and mages forming the Order of Demonology but such orders work within strict laws and principles. Outside of that, we do not take lightly spells cast with or for a greater demon. And the fact this did not raise an alarm in the Guild is concerning. But it may be that the management body is aware but chooses not to divulge to us during the Council of Archmagi."

"What authority do you hold as an archmagus of the Guild?" Jerius said. "An archmagus is the highest of magician's ranks. Such information should be privy to you."

"Fermand as an administrator tends to aggressively guard information," Mirayoung said. "It matters not. This will clear up soon enough."

Jerius's tone still carried a trace of astonishment. "That said, this Cabal network is incredibly handy. I can hardly imagine the complexity of arrays and arcane energies you need to sustain the data transfer across such a long distance."

"Our scouts and mages have painstakingly built erosion-resistant arrays along the Gaia Lines," Mirayoung said. "They are powered by the Cabal Source, a collective reserve of arcane energies that siphon a tiny speck of energy from every denizen of the Guild over the centuries."

"You can use the Gaia Lines that way?" Jerius asked further as he could not help to be intrigued by the magical marvels of the Guild. The Gaia Lines were the lifelines of the world they lived in, channelling and distributing the flow of arcane and other forms of energies. By riding on the natural flow of the Gaia Lines, the arrays could more easily pass data back to the Guild. But the distance will still present problems, he mused. Data loss is one.

As if reading his mind, Mirayoung said. "Your expression tells me you've answered your own question, but some confusion remains. If it's the distance, believe me it was through sheer grit and endless attempts to finally build nodes that can maintain the integrity of the data. Then there's security. How do we prevent malicious parties from intercepting the data? Coding the data is a start. I can go on, but I hope that helps to sate your spirit of inquiry enough for us to go on with the matter at hand."

"I'm of the same mind. Thanks for sharing so transparently with me," Jerius said. "I imagine this is restricted information not many have the privilege to know."

"It's because you're Lyvia's disciple but do not take this privilege for granted," Mirayoung said, momentarily surprised by Jerius's politeness. "That said, she once told me she would only get one when the sun rises from the west and sets in the east. Whatever you had done that day to capture her attention, you had done right."

"Maybe the sun did rise from the west that day," Jerius said, reverting to a more cheeky self. "I did remember a particularly glaring sunlight hitting me from the other direction."

"You're definitely her disciple," Mirayoung said. "You even learnt her dry humour. Use that sparingly."

Jerius grinned.

"Did Lyvia ever tell you about the High and Tallis magicians, and how they are segregated within the Guild," Mirayoung went on to ask. "This is crucial, and you'll know why later."

Having had a long conversation with Edeli on the Guild, Jerius was surprised and slightly jaded about discoursing further at length on the Guild's affairs. Raising one eyebrow, Jerius nodded his head. "Yes. She mentioned there're many purists among those who pursue Tallis magic in the Guild."

Mirayoung nodded. "Pure Tallis mages are rare among the Cities outside because of the sheer difficulty of mastering it. Most are High mages who dabble in Tallis."

"Why did you ask?"

"How much do you know the differences between them?" Mirayoung said. There was a note of enjoyment in her voice.

"I can recite verbatim from Volume 1 of Fundamental Laws of Arcane. Do you want me to do that?"

"I dare you to try," Mirayoung said, skeptical.

"Chapter 3, Page 91 began by saying the High Magic Philosophy draws out and manipulates the arcane energy within oneself. Its principles revolve around agility, instantaneity and flexibility, built on the concept of instantaneous translation of arcane energy into the desired magical state. This is mainly through incantations, but many high-level mages have mastered wordless spells as it is thoughts, not words that shape the magic. They can also be 'stored' by inscribing them into symbols or enchantments of power. Enough of them can form an array," Jerius said. "Continue?"

Mirayoung folded her arms, signalling him to go on. "Tallis?"

"Chapter 3, Page 107 started with Tallis Magic Philosophy is far more complex than High Magic Philosophy to learn and understand. It sees arcane energy not as fuel for magic, but as a bridge to communicate with entities. Most often, these are sentient and insentient spirits that perform deeds for the mage. But some venture further, forming contracts with power ancient, old and sometimes alien to this realm. It sacrifices predictability and consistency for remarkable variability and power."

"Go on."

Jerius sighed. "I feel like I'm in another one of her weekly assessments. It was distressing."

"I'm not letting you off the hook, young Jerius," Mirayoung did not flinch, leading him to concede.

"Tallis magicians begin with a contract. These are often partnerships that lend power through goodwill and fair contracts. Then there are others that bend the will of the entities through duress or trickery, forming an unfair or one-sided contract. These let the magicians call overwhelming power without paying a fair price, but often with far greater risk. A single mishap with the wrong and malicious forces may mean forfeiting one's soul."

"She trains you well," Mirayoung said. "It amuses me because she's as impish a student as she is talented."

"I hope that gives you confidence to share why you asked that question or the plan you conjured over the last hour," Jerius said, mirroring her arm fold.

"Well," Mirayoung said. "I was initially concerned Lyvia would intentionally leave out the distinctions between the two philosophies. She has always seen it as an unnecessary demarcation, asserting the belief that magical pursuit was devoid of boundaries, and seeing the purists' attempts to draw lines as nothing more than short-sighted acts driven by outdated traditions."

Jerius said, looking meaningfully at her. "I'm beginning to catch on."

"Oh?" This pleasantly surprised Mirayoung as she goaded him to continue.

"The administrator is a purist," he said after musing for a short while. "She and Mistress Lyvia were not in the best of relationships due to ideological differences."

"Correct. It's no coincidence Lyvia left the Guild within several months' span of Fermand's appointment as the new administrator. Fermand sees any western-eastern blend of magic as adulteration, and any by-product as such as well. This is different from a High Magician dabbling in Tallis magic. This is a deliberate blend of both magic to create an entirely new spell. While it's not a crime as the Cabal encourages the pursuit of magic in all forms, she frowns upon and impedes the blend with stricter rules. And you..." Mirayoung said, pointing a circling finger at his face. "Are a product of merging both philosophies of magic."

"I did recall certain entities were involved in the Maker Ritual," Jerius said.

"That's the first, and the mitigation is simple. She'll ask about your background, and you'll do well to avoid those that disfavour your cause," Mirayoung said. "Next is her distaste for the Noxarians, of which you identify as one. Now this gets problematic."

"Nothing new," Jerius said, his tone feigning light-heartedness. "Noxarians were long hated before I was born. Or for that matter, even before my father was born or his father before him, whoever they might be."

"Mistrust does not come overnight. They simmer and ferment for years, and in her case, decades," Mirayoung frowned. "It'll hurt your cause."

"Do you know the reason?" Jerius asked, as a thought punctured his mind. It seems many of my past and upcoming disagreements are with a Yaleheart. Did I owe one dearly in my last life?

"A ghost of the past, a tragedy that haunts her sleep. Well, the least you know the better. Let me navigate the conversations when they get delicate," Mirayoung said.

"I trust the administrator of the Guild is a sensible lady who will act in the Guild's best interest and not betray the trust her fellow mages put in her," Jerius said, imitating Mirayoung's words and tone from when he was asked to leave her house for an hour.

Slightly amused, Mirayoung raised an eyebrow. "You're not wrong. Her personal dislike and judgment should not cloud her decisions to put the Guild's interest first. But we do not fear the conscious biases that we actively stamp out. It's the unconscious ones that will derail you against your better judgment."

Jerius sipped his tea. "What then is your plan?"

Mirayoung stared at him for a second too long then said. "Her inner circle‒people whom she deeply trusts‒has a few who are reasonable, just voices that we can bring to our aid. People with whom I enjoy certain goodwill as well."

Before Jerius could ask more, Mirayoung placed a finger on her temple, murmuring the required words and intonation. A thin thread shaped like a silvery hair coiled around her finger, waiting for a release. The surface of the air beside her stirred upon contact with the silvery thread, forming an image that rippled till it gained form, clarity and opacity.

A figure appeared in the image. It was a man with raven-black hair and a look of lively intelligence. He wore a jacket of finely woven pants and boots that signified nobility; a belt buckled at his waist helped to accentuate his trimmed body. In the image, he was at a high vantage point somewhere overlooking a vast landscape of both land and sea, with a few of the largest trading ships as dark silhouettes in the horizon.

The image shifted down showing him in a circle of power. While the intricate symbols could not be discerned from a distance, Jerius knew the energy it emanated even if the image was but a distant memory. Within the circle, he was choreographing a flow of movements that Jerius vaguely recognised as some of the 108 steps from the Moving Meditation, a way to attune with the elements of the world. He never managed to learn it since Lyvia had told him to focus on refining his command of High Magic.

"That's Ludger Amman," Mirayoung said. "If there's someone Fermand respects, it'll be Ludger. He was a newly minted archmagus a few months ago, making him and the administrator the only two purist archmagi in Tallis magic still active in the Guild. A little absentminded at times, but incredibly reliable and respected. I sent him a message earlier but haven't heard back. I suspect he's out on an assignment. My psychic message would not reach him outside of the wall."

Mirayoung thought Jerius, in his earlier display of childlike curiosity, would become fascinated with the long-range messaging capability, clarifying more or even proposing the use of the Cabal Network to send the message. While that was possible, she would need a magical mark on Ludger as the recipient, so that the network would be able to know where it should communicate. The network, even as a marvel of magical engineering, was not omnipotent. At least, not yet.

She had that explanation in her head, expecting Jerius to ask questions but only silence greeted her. She guessed that Jerius was enthralled with the Moving Meditation as he watched the movements with a child-like approach to new magic that she fondly remembered both Lyvia and herself had when they were younger. She still had it with newer magic, albeit with much less intensity. She added, "Yes, the Moving Meditation is used by many Tallis mages when seeking spirits and entities to contract. It's like a dance that takes your consciousness to an order where you can more easily interact with them."

"Thanks for that," Jerius said thoughtfully. "Can I use the Finder's Pebbles as a magical mark to send a long-range message through the Cabal Network to a particular person?"

"You can," Mirayoung said, slightly amused that she was off the mark. "To whom do you plan to send this message?"

"Prince Zenvix," Jerius said, with a glint in his eyes that suggested closure to a long-standing problem he had in mind for a while. "We haven't decided on a place to meet because it'll only make sense it has to be near the Fifth Key in the off-event we both fail to stop Aderis at the Third and Fourth Keys."

"That will be the Village of Taxia, under the jurisdiction of Tahoa and rumoured to be the closest living place to the portal," Mirayoung said.

"That will be it," Jerius said. "Will you be able to help?"

"Consider it done, but it'll be through me. Your prince will need to agree to receive the communication. It isn't a one-way blast into his mind. Do you have a codeword?"

"Yes. Kush'tar. Thank you again, Lady Mirayoung."

"Now where was I? Ah," Mirayoung said, swirling her finger as the image shifted into another figure. "The second person is Kas Bern."

The image shifted to a slender man of red hair making measured notches into a neatly trimmed grass patch. Behind him were several more figures but none was the centre of the image's attention.

"Kas Bern, a purist Tallis mage and one of Fermand's oldest disciples. He's the deputy head of the administration branch reporting directly to Fermand. He's important to our plan because while Fermand and I do meet in the quarterly Council of Archmagi, we rarely speak to each other outside of that. And with her in the administrator's role, I should not circumvent standard protocol of going through the administration branch first and seek her out informally for such matters. Kas manages her schedule and appointments, making him a kingpin in our plan to seek an audience," Fermand said. "A magus now, he also has the highest potential to become the next Tallis archmagus. Fermand personally grooms him, and he advises her in her own inner council. A man of importance, and one you will find pleasant to bring to your side."

Jerius listened attentively and did not speak.

Mirayoung said. "Let's find Kas, shall we? He works till dusk in the Tower of Ced."