King of his castle.

That was how he felt, sometimes. That was who he was, sometimes.

Regitris walked down a flight of stairs, deep in thought. Well… not walked. A flotation Spell allowed him to glide down them. His long robe made it look like he was stepping without moving. Not entirely for theatrics sake, thought image had its own benefits among the academy body. It was simply because, though elves kept their age and physique in better shape than most if not all species, Regitris was quite old.

And also, because he could.

Yet the old elf did not think of such things right now. No, his mind was on greater matters, pondering ever spinning wheels. That was how he thought of magic. Wheels within wheels. Reductive, perhaps, yet the analogy stood the test of time fairly well.

He thought of the academy and its recent troubles. Oh, Gnosis had always had… incidents. It was impossible not to, not with entire floors of wonder and horror being sealed off, but ever present. Yet these recent events… They were troubling in a different kind. A more personally hateful kind.

A werewolf roared in the main hall, not to long ago. Beasts of a misbegotten age. The very example of why the wilds should never be let loose. And that horror had came from and stalked his students. His students! His prize and joy. Regitris would have let loose an entire arsenal of stored magic, had his attempt not put in danger the lives of the very pupils he sought to guide and protect. And a dryad. Attacking Michael. Not only a student, but an Ascentionalist. Possessing him. Regitris had inspected his mind, but thought the after effects troubled him, he saw no immediate danger. To think that Ravena wanted to protect that thing.

But then, she always cared. Too much, in fact. It was why things stand… different than they once stood.

Regardless. Werewolves and dryads. It was no coincidence that old enemies had come to aunt him once more. Couldn’t be. Regitris was too old to think of anything as simple coincidence. But what did it mean? The greater pattern eluded him.

And that wasn’t the only think he had to worry about. The amulet that his prized pupil helped recover was now on display. It was the safest place for it. None would steal it from such an open place. None could, not with the heap of words he and others of his caliber helped place on the thing. Though, if all knew what it could do…

He supposed he should help Kelunad for this. The orc might not be a fine practitioner of warding magic, but the orc’s keen mind was a blessing at times… a curse at others. It was his plan to have it on display.

‘A clever enemy never attacks in the open’. Battlefield analogies. Yet, true.

Though, while he and Kelunad and implicitly their factions, saw eye to eye on the safeguarding of the amulet and the non-disclosure of its secrets, on the next problem on Regitris’ list they differed.

The secret.

The secret, for at the moment it was the only one worth seriously considering. What should he do about it? It was dangerous, that much was plain to see. Yet… powerful. Wondrous. An opportunity hat only arises only a few times even in a long life such as his. Should he seize it? In time… perhaps. Yet to do it right now would be to flirt with calamity. He would not endanger his students. He would rather wipe his own mind of this lure. Yet… it wasn’t only his own mind he needed to be afraid of.

Kelunad also knew of it. And where Regitris sought to balance the safety of Gnosis with the advancement of it, the orc surely thought only of the challenge. By all that is magic, the orc probably thought the challenge would be a welcome one for his faction.

Now there was a frightening thought. Would Kelunad take his faction with him on his quest?

Surely not. They were students, not worries. If he sought to, Regitris would have to intervene. But should he? Kelunad was aloof, but his faction was strong. And he may have allies.

Ah, Ravena…

Regitris walked on, magic surging around him, mind deep in thought.

***

Warlord of the citadel.

That was what he should have been. What his Class demanded. Yet he was no bloodborne berserker, using magic and might to slash open his opponents. He had grown wiser than that. Instead, he was the silent sage walking amidst stone walls. The elusive mentor. The Martial model.

This suited him. He did not feel the bloodlust and had not felt it for a long time. All was well.

Though… no. Not all.

Kelunad had worries of his own. Should he have been able to read the mind of his old friend as well as that of the others, he would have been sure of this. Even so, he could guess. Regitris was afraid of the old reemerging. The old what? Old everything. Everything that was part of the natural world and had died. Or, more exactly, had been killed. Did he have reason too? Perhaps. These walls had witnessed an old wolf and a protector of the grooves, albeit changed, very recently. But Kelunad would not be alarmed. Regitris might see patterns and plans everywhere. Kelunad, however, knew that strategists and planners could have their throat ripped out just like the rest of them. If it was a plan, he would wait and see. It provided no danger to him yet.

As for the other issues…

Hmm.

Maybe. The amulet was safe. That was good. He needed spare no more though to it. No more than it being a possible, no, even a probable solution to his second problem. As for this later one…

Worthy. It would be worthy. Would it be necessary? It could necessary.

Kelunad would lie, especially not to himself. He could admit the fact that there was a part of him that wanted to do it. A challenge! With a probable reward to match. Yet could he? It would be dangerous to attempt it alone. He would need help. His Martial mages would jump at the opportunity and he would take them, those of them that are no longer students.

He would have to find a way to keep the affair a secret. From his factions and other as well. Perhaps invite Regitris? Oh, but his friend might object either way. Once the started on his quest, whatever horrors might lie in wait could come for him. For him, past him and towards the academy at large. He could fight them all, but not stop them. So… Regitris. He would not have to fight him as well. Kelunad had to think about this. Who else? There were others, but few he could call friends. Perhaps…

Ravena.

But would she work with him? He gave her no cause for hate. But neither did he stop Regitris from hurting that which Ravena sought to protect. They do not see eye to eye. And after the old affair… Blood grew cold. Yet, could he use her? He could. She was formidable, in her own right. But would she fight alongside him? And if she did, would Regitris take offense?

Alliances and sides. As in war, so in life.

At least, he had Michael. His pupil, though from his friend’s faction. Yet that was an act of will. A choice. And choices could be made again. Perhaps he was the key. A softer approach towards Regitris. A more luring one towards Ravena. He had already placed much on the boy’s shoulders. Should he place more? And the recent events… Michael had issues of his own, whether he knew them or not. Yet it was not the orc’s place to tell them.

Kelunad walked the hallways, thinking. And none stood in his way.

***

Guardian among the trees.

That was who she should have been. Yet that was not who she was. Who she was differed greatly from the path she once tread. Why did it change? For loyalty. For purpose. And love, as much as it hurt to think of it. Foolish love.

But she had to walk on. How could she not, with everything happening round her? Gnosis was never a quiet place. A disaster or a monster unleashed was only ever steps away from happening. And that was normal, given that this was an academy for magic users and mages were, by and large, reckless.

And arrogant.

Yet there were those among them that showed promise. Her faction, grown with effort and care, was comprised of such sorts. Mainly. Some only had the right Class and massive amounts of power. But those that she cared for were the sorts that would try to keep a balance instead of simply pursue power and influence.

She wished more were like that. Yet, again, recent events showed that was not the case.

A werewolf attacks. That poor child… and the other lycans too. Ravena would have killed him herself, but she knew in her heart of hearts that she felt pity for the beast as well. It was not his fault that his race had grown mad. Once, they had a role in the wider natural world. This she read and learned. Once, magic and nature coexisted. Yet that was before her time. Should, then, her faction be rightfully labeled as a thing of the past? A group of mages wishing for timed that would never come again?

No. The past is… in the past. But balance should still be a thing we all strive for. Even if some disagree.

Yet, were the werewolf was a thing better put down for its own good, the dryad was a different creature altogether. Ravena felt… immense pity for it. Yes, she had turn into a predator, a wild almost mindless thing, so different from the graceful guardians of old. But she should have still been protected. Nurtured, until she had returned to her previous element. Returned to the green.

Instead, she was slaughtered. Gleefully. Because of a feud forgotten by eons.

He… how could he? He should have changed. He… I… Should I have changed?

No matter. Such thoughts… belonged with the problems that spawned them. In the past.

More pressing issues currently existed. Like that amulet. She learned of its powers, two of them. One still eluded the mage. Yet an offer had came for this latest knowledge as well. From one of hers. Micah. Ravena wondered if it was the little lycan behind it or his friend. Michael. This other child… intrigued her. He was so much like Regitris. And not. Could she trust such an offer? The only thing asked in return was social standind. For Micah, not Michael. Yet… should she? The young man was powerful. And dangerous too, of a sort.

Still, Kelunad took a liking to him. Perhaps she should too. She would think on this.

But that was not her top worry. Her top worry was the latest, most ‘fashionable’ secret. The one where every top mage fought to learn and every middling mage pretend to already do. A new source of danger had appeared and her two friends- her one friend- Regitrsi and Kelunad were acting like idiots!

They thought she didn’t know the full details. She did. They thought she couldn’t figure out what they were thinking. She did!

One of them viewed this new discovery as a danger for Gnosis, rightfully so. Yet still thought it was too good of an opportunity to pass out. Regitris was walking the hallways like a cheap |Necromancer| creation, trying to think if he should seal that think up for latter use or partner up with Kelunad.

Kelunad… Kelunad was less of an idiot. Because he actually wanted to fight the damned thing, not study it. He would do it for the experience. The Levels. The prize would be just a bonus. Yet she knew he was thinking of the danger to the academy as well. Would that stay his hand, though? Maybe. Maybe not. Leaning towards ‘not’, if Regitris joined him.

And Ravena herself.

The mage stopped, in a random place on a hallway, on the second floor and looked straight up. She looked, without seeing, at the place she knew it lay. And what were her thoughts on the matter?

That thing should not exist! We need to break it. Erase it. Gnosis help me, if those two idiots oppose me, I’ll fight them myself. I’ll take my entire faction to war. I will lay low all who oppose me, break all bonds, curse all friends, just for the chance to destroy that thing.

It. Needs. To. Die!

That might have been a very… worrisome reaction from Ravena. Seeing as how she was the most level headed of the three. So then, why was she thinking like that?

Because, a number of stories up, much too close for comfort, Gnosis housed one of the last creations of the most demented species to have ever walked their world.

The Gnomes.