[Evil Agent]

Someone else's turn! :)
I'm totally hogging this story!

[Iskaral Pust]

"Master?" the effects of the drug were wearing off. "Why have you taken me?"
"You, my dear, are in the possesion of a great gift, some may call it a curse. For an untrained one of your age, I find your amplitude asounding. We are of the Guild of Mages, no doubt you've heard of us in legends. The truth is we are still completely operational, though the stories say we were wiped out centuries ago. I am a Guildmaster, Gilean here is my apprentice. Now, tell me dear, how did you discover the Path to the Pillars?" Madry was uncharacteristically intense. Behind her Gilean watched with interest.
"My grandfather, he used to teach me things... before he..." Magenta broke off as the memory she had been surpressing for years overcame her.
Madry smiled sadly, knowingly, "What was your grandfather's name, dear?"
"Adrigan," she almost whispered the word. Tears filled her eyes, "I used to call him Ganny," she sobbed. There was a sharp intake of breath from Gilean and Madry's eyes widened ever so slightly.

[Amyria]

"Adrigan?" Madry asked.
Magenta nodded with tears still in her eyes, "Yes, why?"
"Adrigan was once the greatest mage known to this world," Gilean answered, "He was your grandfather?"
"Adrigan," Madry's voice was soft and distant, "Was once the master of this guild. In fact, he trained me... And then he left, to take care of his family in Stilara."
"Yes, that was where I lived," Magenta said, "Where we lived. Until he died, and the rest of our village was destroyed. I was there... when it happened. That was when i discovered my... power."

[Evil Agent]

"Tell us child," Madry spoke gently, her eyes sympathetic. "Tell us how you discovered it".
The memories were long buried, and slow in resurfacing. "I think..." Magenta began. "I think my family was killed by a beast. A great, pink-hued beast. I was newborn and helpless. Ganny spoke seldom of it, but he told me once. The beast had attacked my family, and my village. Ganny tried to do battle with it... I think. But he was weakened. He couldn't save our family, he had to watch them die, and he almost died himself." The Mages watched Magenta intently. She continued, "Yes, he almost died, but he abandoned his fight with the beast to save me. The last of his kin. He grabbed me, took me away into the night, and brought me back to Stilara only when he knew it was safe. Bereft of my parents, I was raised by a foster family of sorts. Ganny visited me every now and then, when he could take time from his ongoing studies, and brought me all kinds of magical toys and tricks..." She paused, a look of fear in in her eyes. The horses had slowed to a walk, and their hooves on the road were the only sound in the night.
"And then...?" urged Gilean.
"Then," Magenta began, trembling, "when I was six, the pink Beast came back. It found me in Stilara just like before....." Magenta recounted the story of the night Ganny had died, trying to save her for a second time from the great pink Beast.
"And how is it that you survived?" asked Gilean, his green eyes keen with interest.
"I felt something inside me... something like fire," Magenta replied, "and it felt good. And then I killed it."
"Flame of the Universe!" Madry swore. "You killed the Beast?" Her face had gone paler than the moonlight that lit their way.
"Yes," Magenta replied, "I killed it, and I ran... I ran, and I never stopped running." She hesitated a moment, then said "Until you found me."
"Child," spoke Madry. "this is news of the gravest importance. We, the Guild, felt Adrigan's fire fade from the Universe. We knew it was an omen of great import. But I never suspected this... The circle turns, and the prophecy has begun."

No one spoke again that night.

[Amyria]

Magenta woke the next morning in pain. She was sore from having spent an entire night atop a horse. She felt dirty, tired, and hungry, and so far she wasn't liking the guild of the mages very much. Magenta sat up straight and found that she was alone with Gilean.
"Where's Madry?" she asked suspiciously.
"She went ahead." he responded tonelessly.
"Went ahead to where?" Magenta persisted.
Gilean looked at her. She looked scared and alone. His tone softened as he answered...

[Monalisa]

"She's preparing the guild for you," Gilean said, you don't understand how important you are."
Magenta looked away, "Why? Because of some stupid prophesy?"

[Evil Agent]

Gilean reached over and grabbed Magenta's wrist. It did not hurt, but his grip was firm. It sent a shiver through her. His eyes narrowed, and the look in them was intense as he spoke, "Magenta, I care for you. More than you are aware. But you must be careful when you speak of what you do not know.

Magenta's tongue felt thick and frozen, and all she could think of was how strong Gilean's grip felt and how green his eyes were. They sat next to the small fire where their breakfast of deer meat was cooking, and though she hadn't eaten in a day and the smell of the meat was delicious, Magenta could think only of this man. Finally she spoke, "Why. Why is it so important. Why am I so important. I thought I was dangerous..."

Gilean held her gaze and whispered, "You are...." and he took her in his arms. His kiss was like wine, and it sent warmth shooting through her body from her lips down to her numbed toes. She never realized how much she had hungered for this contact, for this young strong body next to her. Gilean's hands roamed her body with desperate abandon. She surrendered herself to him.

The breakfast burned to ashes, but neither of them noticed.

[Iskaral Pust]

Lying beside him, shivering in the chill of the morning, she tried to let her thoughs wonder, but they kept returning to him, and what they'd done. He stirred slightly in her arms, one hand resting on her sternum. Rising smoothly to his feet, he seemed to be almost in a daze. Silently admiring his tall, powerful body, she started when he looked down at her. Suddenly blushing and only now seeming to realise he was naked, he dropped to the ground. There was blood on the forest floor from when he had pierced her maidenhead.
Staring at her intensely, he said "I'm so sorry."
"Whatever for?" she replied, smiling as she remember their frenzied love-making.
"Well I...took advantage of you and apprentices aren't supposed to..." he was blushing again. The smile had faded off her lips, "Took advanage of me?" She poked him hard in the chest. "I seem to remember ripping off your shirt," she glanced over to where it had fallen. "And stop blushing, it really isn't becoming. You're a man, not some highborn little lady.
"Sorry, I suppose you're right"
" You suppose," she muttered. Then, interested to see how his reaction, she stroke his chest gently. Looking between his powerfully muscled legs she laughed out loud - how silly men could look when excited. Surprised at her own reaction when he gripped her in those hands, the laughter faded away and soon they joined under the morning sun, again.

Far away, Madgy sat among a council of masters, well satisfied. The fish had risen for the bait, though who was the fish and who was the bait she wasn't sure. Still, she wouldn't mind dipping in that pool herself, maybe if she were a bit younger... "It is done," she addressed the council.

[Evil Agent]

"We play a dangerous game here, Madry," spoke Khalion. Old and weathered, his bald head was home to one of the keenest minds in the Guild of Mages. His deep black eyes were framed by drooping white eyebrows, and his thin lips were drowned in his snowy beard. He sat wrapped in a cloak of the deepest blood crimson. If not for Madry's daring and often genius insight, Khalion might well have been elected Master of the Guild instead of Madry. Alas, Madry always seemed to out-do him.

Khalion, Madry, and eleven other Master Mages sat in the Council Chamber, around a cold and thick table made of ancient stone. This was the base of the Guild's power. This was the room from which world-changing decisions were made. Madry spoke with a smile, "Khalion, well you know that I always play a dangerous game. Were I to play safe, none of us would be here still." She looked around the Council Chamber, and her eyes met with those of each and every Master. The torchlight flickered over their faces, making their expressions hard to read; Was it fear she saw there? Doubt? Or was it something more sinister... "All of you have me to thank for leading us through the deadly years after Adrigan's death. You know it, and I know it. Would you doubt me now, when the Great Forces are converging? When the lines of fate are intersecting? When the Path to the Pillars and the True Pillar itself is in danger of being extinguished? Think on this: Where would the world be without us? Where would the lands of Syrium be without the hand of the Guild to guide them through the darkness?" No one spoke, but they watched her still. Madry continued, "The Mouse is alive, and the Owl has planted his seed. Their fates are already intertwined, beyond hope of separation. Magenta and Gilean will walk the path together, and through them lies our only hope of salvation. And now, if the council will permit, I must return to them. Expect us back here by nightfall; We will reconvene then." Without waiting for their permission, Madry rose and left through the great stone arch.

The Council of Masters sat silent, as still as statues carved from the same stone as the great table. The air smelled of fear.

[Amyria]

Magenta ripped a strip from the hem of her skirt and pulled her long,fiery red hair off her sticky neck. The weather was so random that she began to wonder if maybe she had been out longer than she had first thought. The sun was high in the sky and scorching relentlessly down on them. Gilean rode beside her, his cloak draped over the saddle and his sleaves rolled up.
"How much longer must we ride?" Magenta asked, fanning herself with her hand.
"We're almost there," Gilean responded, "If we go nonstop, no breaks, we'll be there in maybe an hour or so."
Magenta sighed and slumped in her seat. Her dress was sticking to her legs and the air itself was so hot and mucky she was having difficulty breathing. The sun had never been so merciless, and Magenta felt like she couldn't take it any longer. She yearned for just one breeze; a single one to fill her lungs for just one brief breath with cool, delicious air. Magenta closed her eyes and imagined it. The sweat all over her body became cold and began to chill her. She opened her eyes and was met with a world of white snow as a gust of snow laden wind blew over them. Gilean was holding his hand palm up and watching as snow flakes landed and melted on them.
"I have never seen magic so affective from someone unlearned in the art of necromancy," Gilean praised, his eyes filled with excitement, "You, Magenta, truley are the heir of Adrigan."