When I returned to my office, it was to find Brodel flipping through the pages of a book with a look of discontent on his face.

“Is something amiss?” I queried, causing the old man to look up from the book with a sigh.

“This book is one kept by the academy, one that is highly treasured because there are no other copies.” He said, shaking his head with a low chuckle. “Yet here is the original untranslated version of that book with far more information within it than that which the academy possesses.”

“Ah, if you speak of the academy of Elemental magic in Rivera, then you will find the former High Priestess Hemera gave several books to the academy when it first opened.” I informed him, gesturing to the shelf he stood in front of. “Elemental magic is the lesser form of transmutation, thus falling under our patrons' domain.”

“Few recognize it as such,” Brodel said, inclining his head. “There are those of the academy who believe the individual elements to be the domains of others.”

“There are many whose domains cross into those of our patron.” I commented, lips twisting into a wry smile. “Now that you have mentioned it, I must ask. Will there be an issue with your departure from the academy? What I have heard of the magical academies does not lead me to the belief that they would respond well to one of their instructors departing to teach elsewhere.”

Brodel returned my smile, setting the book he held back onto the shelf. “There may have been some difficulties, were it not for the recent events in Airus. Word spread quickly that within proximity to the city even the most basic of elemental magics are unusable. They fear a dispute with you would lead to losing their ability to use elemental magic, thus are happy to send those wishing to learn transmutation elsewhere. It is not considered a great loss, as transmutation is not popular among the students.”

I nodded, pleased that I would not have to deal with the academy causing problems over my taking Brodel away.

“They are fools.” I muttered, leaving my office with the priest following close behind me. “Transmutation offers so much more diversity.”

“Transmutation is not popular among those who study at the academy, as it requires knowledge of all the elements. They believe it is better to master only one.” Brodel chuckled, moving to stand beside me as I briefly stopped at the banister to overlook the hall of origin.

“I know a water mage, who uses a set of rings for using his magic.” I mused, thinking back on the conversations I’d had with Conrad, one of the guild's magic users. “He said each ring powered a different spell, but that he could also cast the spells with no ring at a higher mana cost. I presume this is the same as how we can transmute without a circle, but it requires more focus, and mana.”

“It is indeed,” Brodel confirmed as we made our way to the stairs. “However, for those who focus on a single element, the spells require far less mana than a transmutation requiring a mixture of different elements.”

“What about fire, and lightning?” I said, glancing over at the man. “I once encountered a dark elf, who cast spells with the activation phrase fireball, fire blast, and thunderous retribution, which was a lightning based attack.”

I wonder if it was a single element, or a transmuter combining multiple elements to form lightening. I hummed thoughtfully, recalling my encounters with a trio of girls who had once attempted to lure me into a trap so they could steal my possessions. Those same girls had been the ones who placed a bounty on me with a humiliating amount for my death. I wonder where those three ended up?

“Thunderous retribution? Are you sure that was the activation phrase used?” Brodel asked, looking over at me with a frown, and I thought for a moment before nodding.

“Yes, and there were others with me who can confirm it.” I said, watching as his eyes narrowed.

“What was this dark elf’s name?”

“Vivian, though she went by Viv.” I informed him.

“She is a former student of the academy,” Brodel’s voice was hard as he spoke, and his posture stiff. “The girl stole a very powerful magic staff belonging to Fire Master Helstar. Priestess, might I enquire where you encountered Vivan? This information would be of great value to Helstar.”

I mulled over the man's request for several moments as we made our way to the clergy tower, where I planned to begin the tour by showing Brodel his new quarters.

“I met her in Hathus,” I said, before giving him a brief rundown of my interactions with Viv, and her friends.

“You say it is a very powerful staff, but the staff she was using did not appear to be very strong.” I told him, and he chuckled, his lips twisting into a sneer.

“That girl cannot truly wield such a staff, it’s strength can not be accessed by one such as her.” Brodel said, as we entered what would be his rooms. “I will send word to Helstar, should this information aid in the return of his staff, I am certain of his gratitude.”

Having a fire master owing me a favor would certainly be useful, but that wasn’t why I told Brodel where I’d met Viv. It was more a matter of spite, and a lack of desire to track the girl down myself. The lure of a powerful magic staff, and fire arrays might have tempted me in the past, but with the resources of the temple at my fingertips I did not need to chase a thief around the desert.

After showing Brodel the priest's quarters, where he had his own office, workroom and bedroom, I took him into the staff tower, which was opposite the one designated for clergy.

Entering the kitchens where May was working on cutting up various vegetables with Rainy, I made a quick introduction before leading the man out of the tower.

“May is the mother of Kip, one of my direct disciples who is studying transmutation. She currently works at the temple, and serves three meals a day to those in residence. However she will be departing soon to open a store in Bovia,” I informed Brodel, who inclined his head in acknowledgment. I decided to continue the tour by circling around the temple clockwise so we would end it at the hall of transmutation.

The first courtyard we entered, was the one I’d claimed for my personal use, and where Zaius spent most of his day. The courtyard had undergone several changes since Rainy’s arrival, and was now home to half a dozen snow plum trees, along with some other vegetation the dryad had grown which was able to survive in the cooler climate of the mountain.

Entering the hall of alchemy next, I found Liam seated at one of the tables, a pile of books in front of him as he read. Two others occupied the room, though none I’d yet taken the time to personally meet. Of the two, only the tawny haired human named Atticus held any interest to me, as he was among those bound to me as a direct disciple.

As I showed Brodel through the tower, I did not stop to speak with any of the room's occupants, choosing instead to ignore their presence. I would seek out Atticus, and assess his suitability to remain a direct disciple at a later time, for now I had more important things to tend to.

“Each tower follows the same layout,” I explained to Brodel, before going on to tell the priest how I’d structured the disciples access, and my plans for the future.

We continued through the temple, entering the first level of the astrology tower. I showed Brodel through the workrooms, before explaining that Meissa and her disciples slept through most of the day.

The dark elven priestess had recently been staying awake during the day to oversee the daily operation of the temple in my absence, but now that I was back to myself, and another priest had joined our ranks she would be free to resume her previous schedule.

A quick check of the temple’s map in my mind showed the orb which identified Meissa was located in the transmutation tower’s first level, surrounded by eight smaller gold orbs. As I watched, one of the orbs moved quickly out of the tower, and appeared to be heading towards my office.

Followed by Brodel, I left the tower of astrology, and looked up to see Roswyn, knocking on the door to my rooms on the second level balcony.

“Down here, Roswyn,” I called out both vocally, and mentally to ensure she heard me.

Spinning around, the red haired gnome ran down the stairs, almost tripping over the hem of her robes as she rushed towards where I stood with Brodel.

“High Priestess, you’re you again.” Roswyn cried out breathlessly as she stumbled off the bottom stair.

“Indeed,” I murmured, eyeing the woman’s flustered appearance. “What is it that has you rushing to my door?”

“Priestess Meissa is requesting you join her in the library,” Roswyn said, her eyes darting to the man beside me. “The new disciples who came are arguing with her over being prevented from residing in the temple.”

I sighed, glancing at Brodel. “As I have said previously, only direct disciples of the clergy may reside in the temple.”

The priest nodded, his expression grim as we began walking towards the tower of transmutation with Roswyn following closely behind.

“There is only one I will take as a direct disciple, and another two I would grant the position of inner disciple.” Brodel said, waving a hand towards the doorway at the far end of the hall. “However, the trek up the mountain takes several hours, so it would be troublesome for them all to reside in the nearby town.”

“It is my intention that accommodation be provided on the plateau surrounding the temple.” I explained, giving him an overview of my plans for the academic village I wished to build.

“Perhaps this can be used as a lesson,” Brodel mused, before looking over at me with a wry smile. “I will demonstrate the construction of a building, which they can reside in for now. Then guide the disciples in forming an array to construct more buildings. Four walls, and a roof is simple enough to achieve.”

“It was my intention the buildings be at the very least three stories high,” I told him, doing my best to hide the excitement his words awoke in me. “The space available is not large, so I felt it best to build up, but I wish the temple to remain the highest point.”

“We can make the buildings taller, but internal floors and walls require a more complex array to ensure they are properly supported.” The priest responded, and I nodded, mulling that over as Roswyn made a soft noise behind us.

Glancing over my shoulder, I fought back a smile when I saw her pulling her arm down from where she’d been waving it in the air. Cheeks flushed a bright pink, Roswyn cleared her throat before speaking.

“If the shell of the building can be formed, we can build the floors, and internal walls from wood.” She suggested. “Like how we made the new stables, with wooden stalls inside the building and the storage loft.”

I pondered this, mentally picturing how I wanted the buildings to look, and decided that having wood interiors might give the buildings more warmth than having them made entirely of stone. There was a dense population of trees on the mountain, and Rainy could aid in regrowing what we cut down.

As we drew closer to the door which led into the tower of transmutation, I shifted so Brodel walked in front, intending to allow the newly appointed priest to take the lead.

We found Meissa surrounded by half a dozen people who were all talking over each other as they faced the unhappy looking priestess.

Off to the side, I noticed Kip sitting at a table, deep in conversation with a stranger. As Brodel approached the group of disciples, I moved to where Kip sat to get a better look at the man who looked vaguely familiar.

“Look who’s back on two legs.” Kip teased, glancing up from his conversation with a grin.

The man seated at the table with him also looked up, and I was once more hit by the niggling feeling that I should know who he was.

“Kadia, fancy seeing you here. Though I shouldn’t be surprised, you were the one who taught me about Trismegistus in the first place after all.” The tanned skinned, blonde man greeted, standing up to hold out a hand. “How have you been?”

“Er, good.” I responded, still trying to force my brain into action, and remember where I’d met him before.

“You know each other already?” Kip asked, raising a brow at me, and I struggled to keep my expression from showing anything beyond a polite smile.

“We met in Hathus a few months back,” The man in front of me told him, and as he went on to explain how we’d met in the desert villages market, I fought the urge to bang my head on the nearest bookcase. It was Nadir!

I had met Nadir before becoming high priestess, and he was the one who taught me about the existence of transmutation arrays in exchange for learning about Trismegistus from me. I’d gotten my very first array from the man, and had even briefly considered tracking him down to help as a member of the clergy when I first opened the temple in Airus.

Dressed in a purple tunic embroidered with golden transmutation arrays on the sleeves, and no longer sporting a patchy beard, Nadir looked nothing like the dust covered man I’d met in Hathus.

“You came with Brodel I take it?” I asked, getting a nod in response from the man.

“I did,” he confirmed, glancing over to where Brodel was addressing the gathered disciples. “When I returned to the academy, I passed on what I’d learned to the other students like we discussed. It turns out, Master Brodel put information about our patron in the books he assigned, and becoming a disciple was a hidden test we had to pass in order to be properly taught the ways of transmutation.”

I pondered that for a moment, following Nadir's gaze to where Brodel stood. When I’d met Nadir, he’d complained about the lack of proper lessons on transmutation at the academy, stating that they were all directed to spend their days reading in the library with no real guidance.

It would seem, Brodel’s intention had been to use that to weed out those who did not truly have the desire to learn, just as I planned to do with the disciples coming to study alchemy.

“I’m guessing from your robes, you must be one of the direct disciples here as well?” Nadir asked, his voice pulling me from my thoughts.

Kip chuckled, opening his mouth to speak, but I cut him off.

“I am serving our patron.” I answered vaguely, giving the dwarf a warning glare.

Nadir smiled, and looked ready to say something further when Brodel called his name from across the room. With a quickly murmured farewell, the man hurried over to where the priest stood surrounded by the disciples. Meissa stood beside the man, and our eyes met briefly before she turned her attention back to the disciples.

I’d already informed everyone, including the newly arrived Brodel that I didn’t want to be publicly referred to as the high priestess in front of new arrivals. I wouldn’t outright lie, but I planned on simply letting those here draw their own assumptions of my position.

Very few knew what the I looked like, and no one would be inclined to think a Kitsune with only two tails was the high priestess, but everyone knew my race could use illusionary magic. My goal was to eventually be found out as the high priestess, and to give off the impression to those learning the truth, that I was using illusions to appear as a disciple.

If those disciples spread rumors that the high priestess would take on different forms to mingle amongst them, I could foster the image of being more powerful then I really was, which should deter those who might take advantage of my weaker state.