“All things truly wicked start from innocence.”

- Ernest Hemingway

Alyssa looked at her friend and quickly put on some clothes. “Do you know where Alea went?”

“No idea.” Mireille’s hairs were sticking out in every direction and she seemed to be still half-asleep yawning widely. The effect was heightened by an equally sleepy Semiramis nestling in her pajamas.

Cyrus looked on disdainfully.

“Butler One?”

“Yes, mistress?” The porcelain mask turned in her direction.

“Do you know where Alea has gone?”

“She was called by Lorelle approximately two hours before dawn.”

Mireille wrinkled her nose. “Brr. That’s much too early.”

“That’s what bothers you?” Alyssa looked as if she had a headache. “But if it's Lorelle it should have something to do with her family?”

“Probably. Let’s see if she turns up for breakfast and ask Maximilian, Vivienne, or Lieseleta if she doesn’t.”

A room in the temple of Jaros

“How are you feeling, Lightbringer?”

Alea woke and saw through Cecily that she was in a small chamber with heavy drapes before the single window. A woman sat beside the small bed wearing the dark grey robes of Jaros faithful. She was in her early twenties and had the white-blond hair of the northern kingdoms with a thin nose and serious eyes.

Realizing she had spoken to her Alea answered, “I feel…” and then there was the feeling of power, of warmth that emanated from her chest, her hands. Everything seemed to glow for a moment with an inner radiance, the figure beside the bed was especially luminous. “...I don’t know. I see light everywhere, is that normal?” She coughed.

“Yes. The scripture tells us that Jaros can give many blessings large and small. The one you received is the Lightbringer.”

“Meaning?”

“Do you want to drink something? Are you hungry? Any discomfort?”

“A glass of water would be welcome.” Alea felt embarrassed by the situation realizing she had been seen sleeping by a woman she did not even know the name of. “What is your name?”

“Zoe. I am a novice of the temple.”

“I was perhaps a bit hasty but it seemed a natural choice with what Bertram said.”

Zoe only listened attentively.

“And I had the first blessing since I was small. I always thought…” ‘when I could remember it’ she added internally, “...that it would be normal to join the temple in some fashion.”

The young woman in the grey robes raised her eyes and looked at her face, because of Cecilie's point of view it looked as if she was gazing past her.

“Do I have any responsibilities?” Alea blushed furiously as she thought how dumb she must seem.

“Yes. But they are not what you might fear. You are not a regular part of the temple hierarchy because the greatest blessing is bestowed on those that can carry them and not according to rank or even affiliation with the temple. Jaros does not have such petty concerns for him it is always the whole and not the part. He sees who can do the most good and helps them achieve it. Only we, his faithful, dabble in the necessities of politics and the trade of favors.” She smiled a bit self-deprecatingly. “You should use what you are given to protect humanity and combat darkness and evil. We cannot and will not force you but that is the purpose of the Lightbringer.”

Alea nodded. That had been the purpose of her accepting after all.

“But others might not be of the same opinion and give you a choice. Enemies of the church and of the light will target you...so looking back on those who came before you. It seems like a good idea to surround yourself with allies and we would help you if you would have us.” Zoe looked apologetic.

Alea sighed and nodded again. “I understand. I must tell my family and my friends.”

“Prior Bertram informed your uncle, grandmother, and brother. He wanted to leave others to you.”

Getting up from the bed Zoe grabbed her arm and stabilized her as she became dizzy.

Zoe smiled and said, “Don’t be too hasty. There is still time. When you are ready you should eat and then return to the academy. Prior Bertram will be there and available for any questions.”

“ALEA!” Mireille shouted as soon as she saw the small girl exit the coach. Running forward she hugged her tightly.

They were standing at the plaza in front of the main building. Adam had stopped the carriage expertly and had just opened the door and helped Alea to exit the vehicle.

The skies were clear and a cold wind blew. Students looked up as Mireille barrelled past them shaking their heads in amusement.

Alyssa trotted after her friend and apologized to a teacher with a disapprovingly raised eyebrow.

“How are you, where were you?” Mireille looked her friend up and down. “Maximilian told us you were in the cathedral of Jaros. Are you a priest now? A nun?”

Alea gasped and pulled at the enthusiastic redhead's arms. Mireille ducked her head in embarrassment and loosened her grip.

“I will tell you when we are in the dorms?” Alea coughed and the statement sounded like a question.

“That will be fine.” Alyssa patted Mireille on the shoulder. “Let us first go to the dorm. Aren’t you always complaining about the cold?”

Mireille looked back, shrugged, and grinned. “Okay. Let’s do that.” Then she pounced on Alyssa and hugged her. “It’s cold! You just reminded me. Let’s hurry back!”

Alea grinned at their antics and Cecily restlessly moved around her shoulder. Everything was bathed in halos of light. Sometimes it all blurred together. She shook her head. The burning golden feeling coming from her breast warmed her from within giving her a sense of security.

Days passed.

Alea worked with Bertram and learned about the blessing and its effects.

Alyssa worked hard to refine her abilities.

Mireille played with Semiramis and sparred with Paula.

The dream began with the workshop behind the house in Grunewald. She was still very small and could not look above the tabletop. “Grandfather! Grandfather, help me up!” She hopped beside the table and tried to pull herself to the top.

The man with the dignified white beard and close-cropped hair looked at her affectionately and laughed. “Soon you will not need my help anymore. Look how tall you have gotten.” And he gripped her beneath the arms and placed her gently on the edge of the table.

She looked at the gears and crystals, the wires and tools nearly blinded by the intricate gleaming metal.

“Do you like what you see?”

Alea nodded earnestly.

“One day you will learn to do this too. You are a smart girl.” He rubbed her little head and smiled broadly. The dark leather coat he was wearing bedecked with strange machines flapped open and she saw the wands and runed tools stuck in his belt.

He deftly assembled a delicate piece of clockwork using pliers and oil a magnifying lens clamped to his eye while she laughed delightedly.

The light shifted and more and more light fell from the windows blinding her.

“Remember that the Ayrton converter can only supply so much power. The Bluestone will not be enough when you use Butler One in the more energy-draining configurations. You should really use a Mana Jewel.”

The smile on his face blurred by the light falling from the window she looked up in confusion the laughter faded.

“I missed talking to you so very much.”

And she woke up.

“You want to go to the tinker's shop?” Alyssa asked raising her head from the book she had been studying.

“Yes, I have to ask him something.”

“Take Butler One with you let Adam come with you too. I worry with all the problems we had of late.”

In the market ward in a side street the bronze sign proclaiming ‘Willibald’s Clocks and Clockwork’ the door opened and let some of the warmth escape a jingling bell alerted the dozing proprietor. With an unwilling groan, he sat up and removed the newspaper he had put over his eyes to get a bit more sleep throwing it to the side.

“Willibald’s excellently magnificent clocks and clockwork, what can I do for the esteemed customer.” The sarcasm was thinly veiled.

“Do I come at an inconvenient time?” Alea asked softly while Butler One closed the door behind Adam who was also accompanying her today.

“Young Miss von Graufurt? Sorry!” Willibald brushed his wrinkled clothes. “This time of day and with the cold and all I don’t get so many customers.” He had the grace to look embarrassed. “And so I was a bit sleepy. But now I am awake and eager to help! What do you need?”

“I wanted to talk to you about my grandfather.”

“I see.” He got up stretched and cracked his neck before putting a ‘closed’ sign in the window and locking the door. “It’s truly a waste of my time opening the store in the morning on a weekday at the moment. Come with me I will make some tea. Or do you prefer something else?” The last was addressed towards Adam.

“’ am fine,” Adam mumbled around a piece of tobacco he was chewing contentedly. Butler One followed silently.

“Did you buy the Ayrton for this automaton? This is also Gallius’ work, isn’t it? It's unmistakable.”

“Yes, I had to refurbish it. The former Mana Jewel was broken.”

“Broken you say? Unusual.” Willibald raised an eyebrow then shrugged. “Nothing to be done, you need a new one. The Ayrton would be perfect for a simple household construct, but this here…” He looked Butler One up and down. “No. That won’t do at all.”

He busied himself with a teakettle and put it on a metal plate inscribed with runes. The room was cozy and small, large enough for a gnome, Alea supposed. The walls were simple wood with a lot of shelves holding everything from cups and plates to gears and metal ingots. A small window for ventilation, and a glow globe for illumination in the middle stood a sturdy table with a height appropriate for a gnome, approximately two-thirds of a meter.

Putting the cups filled with fragrant tea before Alea and himself Willibald scratched his head and asked, “So. What did you want to know?”

Alea sipped the tea. She had gotten a lot more experienced with talking to people but there was always the old anxiety gnawing at her stomach. She breathed deeply the spider lifted her lenses and looked at the gnome. “I know that my grandfather dabbled in soul magic. I want to know what he was researching. I need to know.”

The gnome blotted his sweaty forehead and sighed. “Must you? I suppose you must." He was silent for a time and seemed to be struggling with something. Vapor rose from the tea into the still air, and rays of light illuminated floating motes of dust. He continued. "It was hidden at the time because of his achievements as a professor. He dabbled in the old techniques of soul manipulation to fuel or control constructs. The methods...were questionable.”

“It’s too late. I can’t be ignorant any longer. Veiling my memories, coddling me by withholding knowledge, will only do harm in the end.” Alea clenched her hands beneath the table, knuckles whitening.

“So be it. He was a brilliant arcanist and enchanter. His constructs were refined and he neared the mastery of old Allissair. But later he found the limits of runic commands, of glyphbound elemental spirits. There were always faults.” The gnome drank down the tea before getting up and pacing nervously. “When he was praised for his innovations he was full of dissatisfaction, when his genius was extolled his only thought was- How come when I’m so smart I can’t overcome this problem?”

“Decades passed and he found a solution. The laws of magic state, that a soul can’t be created. But you can take it, cut it, manipulate it. And who understood that better than the Keralis Erh, the Soulweavers.” A quick guilty look flickered in Butler One's direction nearly too brief to notice.

“I have his notes. His research. I think he wanted for it to pass into obscurity. It’s not that no one thought to do what he did. But they did not succeed. He did. He could transplant a living soul into steel, stone, crystal. He could power automatons with the energies drawn through soul circuits. Forever. There were some who came knocking at my doors after his death. I feigned ignorance and did nothing with it. And with the years those who looked for me became fewer and fewer. I always thought knowledge cannot be evil, it can only be. Knowing something is not a crime. Imprisoning a soul in a crystal until the crystal turns to dust. I don’t know anymore.”

Alea left with a thick bundle of notes and books.

Wilibald took the whiskey and discarded the cup for the bottle. “Gallius, wherever you are, be at peace, my friend.”