It has been several days since the elf kingdom Malatas fell into disarray. Talks of a plague have thrown the people into fear. The worst of all it wasn't a normal disease. Rumours had it that those infected with the disease became violent and attacked indiscriminately everyone they saw. Their eyes also changed to a bright red colour. The symptoms were fever, headache, hearing voice even though nobody was there and vomiting a black substance.

The king has offered a generous amount of treasure and promised the position of the court mage for anyone who could find the cure for this strange disease. If you wondered why the king didn't ask the royal mage already, it was because there wasn't one. The last court mage was the sage Theoron who valiantly perished at the hands of the demon lord more than ten years ago, or so the legend said. The old sage was renowned for his wisdom. If he was here perhaps he could have a solution to save the kingdom. Alas the vacant seat he left was too much of a responsibility for anyone to take or even deserved to replace him. And so the position was left empty for years.

Yet that person might not be very far. A young elf woman who spent the last couple decades of her life into researching magic could still be considered as an apprentice as elf usually lived for centuries. However in her case, she compensated her inexperience with her effort and enthusiasm. While being far from powerful like the great Theoron was, Astrea had a vast knowledge pool left behind from her master combined with her unusual curiosity for magical phenomenon. And like every mage at this moment, her goal was to find the cure for this strange epidemic.

Astrea, wearing a dirty witch robe but with feathers almost crow like, unwashed for days and a cone hat, was going through books after books in her sanctuary, a small room filled with dust because of her neglect to clean up her own house. For days she looked at these books but so far there hasn't been record of any similar disease in the archive. Indeed such a malady would have been registered in history. Did that mean this was intentional and someone was behind all this?

"What am I missing? Perhaps I should change my approach. If it's a new disease then I won't find anything here.

Any epidemic must have a source. If I can find the source and study it, I can at least find a way to limit its propagation then find a cure later."

The young witch took out a mass of documents. They were scrolls containing information gathered by the Adventurer Guild and the King made public to facilitate the research. The people were already in panic. Rather than keeping it as a secret, the King thought it might a better idea to share with everyone the knowledge they had so at least it would appear that they did something. Also who knew people with talents could be right out there but just didn't have the proper intelligence?

Next Astrea took the map of the elf kingdom and decided to mark all the infected areas along with the date of discovery. With both the time and location, she could trace back to where the epidemic began. And she found it.

The first case started right in the capital Galahad. A day later it spread to the surroundings areas but not all of them at the same time. In fact the closer the areas to the main river, the earlier the date of discovery. Could it be that something was in the water? It would make sense that if the water was contaminated then the disease could spread across the land in such a short time. But there were so much places to cover, where could the source be?

At that moment an idea came up to the apprentice. First of all, the first victim discovered was in the capital. Secondly it travelled by the river to others part of the country. This could only mean one thing: the Sacred Fountain, the source where all rivers in Malatas originated from.

There couldn't be another explanation. Immediately Astrea packed up her things and travelled to the assumed source of the epidemic. She couldn't hide her excitement as she ran across the town. Although she realized it was rude to take advantage of other people's suffering, it was her chance to become the next court mage for the royal family, a position which was unthinkable for someone as young and with a rather lesser background such as her.

And so by herself she arrived at the Sacred Fountain. She did not want to invite others people nor did she tell anyone else because she feared they might steal her well-deserved reward. After all she did find it by herself. Why should she share her hard working result with anyone? It was something from her own personal experience that in face of greed, people could change a lot.

But something was weird the moment she stepped into this place. The Sacred Fountain resided right outside the Capital and was surrounded by a forest protected by the Sentinels, warriors and beasts who dedicated themselves to protect the Fountain. Because it was one of the most important and holy places of the entire kingdom, to make sure that no one could use it for their personal motives, the Goddess of the Elves Elemyr has entrusted this task for a small group of her most loyal followers, the Sentinel Covenant.

Yet so far Astrea has not encountered a single one of them. Normally they would have stopped her by now for trespassing their sanctuary. Something was amiss. The forest was so quiet to the point of being eerie. How come there were no sound of insects or critters? Where have they all gone?

Despite all these anomalies, Astrea continued forward into the temple. Her mind was clouded by the glory ahead, making her blinded to her surroundings: someone was watching her, following her every step.

Opening the stone door into the temple, the witch was stunned by the sight: the interior walls of the temple was covered by a black sludge, moving as if it was alive. Yet despite all this, the water remained pure, or so it seemed.

"Did this black thing cause the water the disease? Whatever the case I must report it to the regime. I could probably fix things with magic or potion but this seems more like a monster, a dangerous one."

However, as she slowly took a step back, she realized someone was behind her. Two knights in golden armours and a beast with a lion head and a goat head, a serpent for a tail and two wings. The beasts guarding this place were supposed to be majestic and divine creatures, how could such baneful thing be here? And the knights, they had red bright eyes shining even in darkness just like the infected.

"Look I know how it looks but I am here to investigate the source of the plague haunting Malatas on order of the king himself. And I think I found it. Look it's right....What are you doing? Let me go!"

Before the naïve witch could even resist, the two knights have captured her and dragged her further in the temple. They were bringing her to the Fountain.

Now in front of what she was searching for, the young witch could only fear what was happening to her. The Fountain was supposed to be crystal clear filled with holy water. Yet what was once a sky blue pool of water was now a filthy pool of sludge. If the Fountain was corrupted, how come the water outside remained its colour?

"So it purposely changed back the colour of the water to make it look normal? It is no normal monster if it has that kind of intelligence." Astrea muttered to herself.

Then suddenly they brought her even closer to the Fountain. At that moment Astrea understood what they were trying to do to her.

"No!!! No No NO!" but no matter how she struggled, she couldn't fight back.

One of the knights grasped her head and drowned her into the Fountain. She tried to hold her breath as long as she could but it didn't work. The water surface vibrated heavily as the woman tried to resurface but the knight was too strong for her.

By instinct the woman opened her mouth to grasp some air. However it was all it was waiting for. In an instant the black sludge entered her mouth, almost making her choke on it.

The knights released the woman. There was no need for restraining her any longer. They accomplished what they wanted.

Strangely the witch no longer tried to escape. She calmly stood up, looked around as if she has never seen this place through her eyes. She slowly fixed her cloth before realizing that she actually smelled a bit.

"Does this woman never take a bath? She has such nice figure too....But then she died like the vermin she was. Ho ho ho! Now time to begin the next step. But first I should take a shower and cleaned up this place!"

* * *

"What? You actually found the source of the plague?" shouted the king.

The next morning, Astrea has already gone to the palace to report her discovery, with some small alterations to the truth.

"Yes, Your Majesty! From my investigation, the plague originated from the Sacred Fountain itself then spread across the country using the canals and rivers. The evidence can be easily seen if we use the map and the intelligence gathered by the Guild.

Yesterday I have visited the Fountain and thanks to the Sentinel's cooperation, we have found the cause behind this plague." Astrea took out from the bag she brought with her a moving black sludge. "This is what caused the plague!" she held it high for everyone to see.

The creature made a squishy and squirmy sound as it tried to find a way to escape Astrea' hands.

"What is that thing?" the king asked.

"It's a slime but a mutated one. Somehow it managed to bypass all the guardians of the temple and found its way to the Fountain before making it its nest. This thing secretes a toxine which caused the symptoms like what you saw from the victims. While I think it was by chance this thing was in the Fountain, this creature unconsciously caused the plague just by being in the water source of our kingdom." Proclaimed the witch.

"Poison? But you are holding by hands without using any protective equipment even though it's poisonous."

"That's because I found the cure to this disease Your Majesty. Every poisonous monster has something to counter the poison itself and in this case using the gland of this creature, I have produced an antidote right here!"

Astrea took out a small vial containing a purple substance. She handed it to a retainer to give it to the King. As he held the vial, the King was convinced that this was the cure. Why else would the woman be able to hold the slime like that? But most of all, he was desperate so right now if you had evidence he would believe everything you said. What a gullible man!

"My lords, I think we have found our court mage. Let the kingdom know that from today, Lady Astrea is our saviour and the next Minister of Magic.

Astrea, in place of our people, I thank you for your contribution and name you Baroness Astrea of Malatas, Court Mage of Eregron and Minister of Magic.

Does anyone object?"

Why would anyone object in this situation? They found the cure and the plague could be considered dealt with. And now they gained a capable Court mage to serve the kingdom. Everyone inside the court hall agreed with that statement, all except one.

"Your Majesty, I think that's a little hasty to decide the next Court mage like that. Certainly young lady Astrea deserves a reward for helping us solving this case but I think she might be too inexperienced for such a heavy responsibility. I propose we make her a noble and considers our options."

It was the chancellor who spoke. True Astrea was too young to be even considered as a master of magic, not to mention a sage. What the chancellor said was perfectly reasonable. That was if he spoke it without hidden motives.

In fact he was very angry toward Astrea. He had planned to have his daughter, the Priestess of Solana, the sun Faction of the Elves, to find the cure and so to even strengthen his position further in the court. In needed he could just appoint someone else for the position of court mage, someone he could control.

It was that not necessary as the King has already favored Solana for years but the chancellor would take no chance. However now his plan was shattered and an outsider, an unknown factor has joined the game. If somehow this person was to be with the Priestess of Luna, the Moon faction, it could mean a total disaster for him. As a worried father, as an ambitious man but also a member of the Council of Ten of Sanctus, he must eliminate this possibility.

"Options? What options do we have chancellor Finor? She may be young but she found the cure when nobody else did. It already means that she is superior to them in that aspect. I don't need someone powerful like Theoron was. We have the army for that. Who could? But rather I need someone with wisdom, someone who could assist me in the affairs of our kingdom.

This matter is not up to debate. I have made my mind."

With that the court was adjourned and the chancellor had no choice but to swallow his defeat.

'You think you can beat me at this game? Let me show you how a master of strategy plays your little game!' a voice spoke in the void.

* * *

The news quickly spread across the country along with the new antidote. The common folk hailed the name of their savior "Lady Astrea" in the street to congratulate her new position. Now only did she save the kingdom but also she represented hope for the lowly. She who was of common birth, the low class, has surpassed all obstacles and became the next court mage.

Now in her new position, the woman had everything a person could dream for. Richness, power, everything. Many has sought to meet this new member of the court, to ask for favors, to make acquaintance but most of all to determinate which side she was on. So far she seemed to be on very good terms with elder princess Elena and has been tutoring the young second prince Aldol. However both of these people were not related to any faction. Actually only first prince and heir to the throne Tanor was known for siding with Solana like his father but Astrea hasn't spoken with him much aside from a few formal greetings.

To put things simple, the court of Malatas has always been a place of power struggle between two religious factions: Solana the Sun faction and Luna the Moon faction. Solana worshipped the Sun while Luna the Moon. Yet both represented the two aspects of the Goddess Elemyr. How could they not get along with each other? But it simplified things for the court mage. She would take advantage of this for her plan.

Astrea remembered a conversation she heard when she was in a different form looking for intelligence.

.....

"Damn that woman! She played us all. I thought I can at least get her on our side but she rejected right in my face. She must have been in cahoots with that moon bitch." Raged the chancellor

"Calm down father! We don't know that! So far she has not make any move against us. Perhaps she is still considering her options before taking sides. She is still young after all." A woman spoke softly. It was the Sun Priestess Eris, daughter of the chancellor. A rather gentle looking woman, unlike her father, at least from appearance alone. In fact she was quite cunning, playing as a kind hearted woman to lure in her followers.

"Options? Even an idiot would know that we are the one in power here! In a few days when prince Tanor will be officially announced as the next heir and our position will be secured. The prince has long listened to my every word. More importantly I need to hasten the plan before reporting back to the council." Said the chancellor.

"Are you talking about Sanctus? I am not sure if we should associate ourselves with those guys. What do we even gain from that anyway?"

"Shh. How many times have I told you to not speak of that name? You are still young, not seeing the whole picture here. We do not just aim for Malatas. We want to unite the world. But these idiot royalties will never be able to stay in peace. They only know of power and greed. That's why we as Sanctus must guide them to the righteous path."

'So he belongs to Sanctus...Another one to add on my list! You will pay for what you have done to Mother!' a voice whispered.

.....

'Solana has all the political power in the court. At this rate it would not be long before the Moon faction perishes. And that's not what I want right now. Perhaps it's time to clean up the table!' thought Astrea.

"Astrea, are you alright?"

The witch was so deep in thoughts she forgot that she was sitting with princess Elena. The princess has invited her here for a tea session.

From an outsider's point of view, it just looked like two women making small chat. Since day one, Astrea has shown to be share a close friendship with the princess. Perhaps it was due to their age being young adults in this palace where the game of power struggle took place. They might only want to get away from that affair, seeking refuge and consolation together.

Usually when someone approached a member of royalty, it was to ask them for favors, to be in their good grace. But the princess herself was not associated with any faction nor political power. This was due to her being a woman while the elf had a patriarchy system. The only case of a woman in power was when the King died without a son then the Queen would take over until the next heir was chosen. Or when the King only had girls for children then the elder princess would take his place.

But that was not the case here. Not only did the King have two sons, he had already chosen in his mind his next heir. This meant the princess was very far in the lines for the throne. This led to her pitiful life despite being part of the royalties. The people who showed her respect only gave her empty words because she was seen as the King's daughter or the sister of the future King, not Elena herself.

Nonetheless Elena was not the weak woman everyone thought she was. They said a smile hided away the sadness and spite of a person. What would it be for someone who constantly smiled then?

"Are you thinking about our exchange the other day?" asked Elena.

"Please don't worry princess! I have sworn my allegiance to you and you alone. To make this plan work however I will need your assistance. But I want to make sure that you are prepared to do what must be done. This is not to be taken lightly..." said Astrea.

"Long have I been considered as a tool for political marriage, something to be given to when the time comes. I won't sit down idle any longer and watch my brother takes away what is mine. He is an ignorant fool who was just being used by the chancellor to gain more power. And my parents, a load of lies, taking me for an idiot. I despite the whole lot of them."

"I sure hope you are up to your words princess. In that case I need you to hold onto this." Astrea handed a small black vial to Elena.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"Just what you ask for princess. A drop will suffice to send ten men to their graves. When the time comes, you know what to do with it. I will assist you with everything I have." Astrea made a bow toward the princess.

* * *

It was the King's birthday, just a few weeks after Astrea received her new position as the court mage and minister of magic. Many nobles and lords from across the country have come to celebrate the King but also it was the chance for some to see the court mage in person.