[Evil Agent]

Without waiting for a response, the door opened, and Madry flowed into the room.
"So," she said with a look of approval on her broad face, "you're affinity is Light. I thought so. Though I think you may have some Fire in you too, and maybe - Well, we'll worry about that later. But do not be surprised if you should manifest affinities for three, four, even all of the main Pillars, not to mention the lesser pillars that connect them. Beast and Shadow perhaps, or - "
"Master Madry," Amyria interrupted timidly, "I think she is frightened-"
"I'm not frightened!" Magenta snarled, "I just don't know why I'm even here!" Her frustrations from the last several days exploded in a well of anger, which she directed at Madry. "I don't know why you kidnapped me, I don't know what this 'mouse' business is all about, and I don't CARE about this prophecy-"
"Do you care about Gilean?" Madry asked calmly.
Magenta was struck dumb. Gilean. Her thoughts towards him were confusing, to say the least. She cared for him, she was sure. But what did that mean for her? She looked Madry in the eye and asked, calm but firm, "What do you want from me?"
"First of all, I want to tell you what happened in the council chamber. Are you not curious?"
Embarassed by Madry's condescending tone, she cursed herself for letting Madry bring up the topic of the council Chamber before Magenta could demand the answers herself. "Yes," she said lamely, "tell me everything."
"As you must remember, Zarina had entrapped you in a death embrace. The slightest movement on your part and you should have died."
"But I didn't?"
Madry hesitated. "No. You did something - odd. Zarina's affinity is for Ice, but she did not tap into its power. You tapped into her power, using it against her. You froze her in an instant, broke some bones and a couple of her teeth, but before she could defend herself, you unleased Fire and Light upon her. She was consumed."
Magenta didn't know what to say. Consumed? Then she remembered something. "But what was the other force I felt? Something lifting me up in the air, throwing me around...?"
Madry's face grew still and very hard to read. "That was the rest of the Council. They tried to intervene, to protect you from Zarina, with their combined strength. Those winds, stronger than hurricanes and thunder, were directed at Zarina but in your state you reacted out of instinct..."
Magenta felt the hairs on her skin rising, and the fibrous strands of light began to reappear in her vision. She felt power flowing through the room and herself, connecting to everyone, everything. "What are you saying, Madry?"
"Child, you took on the entire Council. Half of them are dead."

[Iskaral Pust]

"I...I...killed them?" thoughts whirled about Magenta's mind, bursting into life then dying before she had a chance to analyse them. "How many?" she dreaded the answer, yet needed it.
"Seven," that word revibrated around her scattered mind, "Zarina of Ice, Kibarae of Water, Dronso of Earth, Eldadie of Air, Farari of Life, Fasala of Darkness and Holdya of the Mind." Madry's voice betrayed no emotion as she went through her litany and Magenta's mind did not register the names. "The survivers where the ones how discontinued there assult and chose to protect themselves. The Master of Beasts is in a bad way, a number of his ferrets where incinerated. Not such a bad thing, they weren't allowed in the council chamber."
Magenta was aghast at this woman's hardness. "How, how is this possible?" Madry sighed at the question, and sat down before answering, "It's not the first case, though there has never been anything to this scale before. A number of years ago a young pickpocket...chose the wrong victom. However the boy had great potential and his mind took over naturally. Both the boy and the mage were destroyed. We are a dangerous race, without training."
"Why did Zarina attack me?"
"Ah...child, that is a story for another day. You need rest and I have a lot of work to do," she sighed again. "New Guildmasters need to be apointed."
"Madry, which master are you?"
Madry smilied, and with a bow she said, "Mistress of Death and Arch-mage of the Guild."

[Evil Agent]

For a heartbeat, no one spoke. Magenta's eyes widened slightly, and she opened her mouth as if to speak, but Madry cut her off.
"Now, Magenta, you must rest. I'm sure that you are quite drained after Khalion's testing. Be assured, you suffered no harm, and will display no ill-effects. The feelings of uncomfort you experienced are a necessary part of the testing process. A probing, if you will."
Madry's motherly smile reappeared for the first time in what seemed like an age, but it was gone almost before it began. Her eyes turned hard. "Amyria, see the girl to her chambers, and make sure she does not leave them. Besides Khalion and I, there are four other Council members that I must deal with. There must be no question that Magenta will lead them."
"And if I won't" Magenta asked, defiant to the end. Years of nomadic wandering had forged her into a fiercely independent young woman.
Madry met Magenta's eyes and stared deep into them.
"You will. Because you love Gilean, and you carry his unborn child even now. The feelings you bear Gilean, too, were preordained. It's hard, but true. As is written in the prophecy, you will reform this council, you will raise them for war, and you will give birth to the child who will lead them against the Great Darkness that is coming."
Madry turned and left the room. Amyria stood gazing at Magenta with wonder.
After an endless walk through winding, torchlit stone corridors, Magenta was shown to her room. It was large, with a high ceiling, but sparsely furnished. Every bone in Magenta's body ached, and it was all she could do to lumber over to the soft bed in the corner. She threw herself down on the bed, and sank into a deep sleep.
Her last waking thought was I won't be their tool.

[Amyria]

"Magenta, wake up!"
She felt a pair of hands shaking her. Groaning she tried to pull away and sink deeper into her pillow.
"Magenta, get up," again the voice pushed its way through the pillow and reached her ears, "If i must..."
Suddenly there was a loud snap and she felt a jolting shock travel through her body. She sat up in her bed with a jolt and looked around wide-eyed. "What did you do that for!"
"I'm sorry," Amyria bowed her head, "But i am on strict orders and Madry is no one to be disobeyed, as i believe i have told you before."
"Her," Magenta said, her voice dripping with resent. "She has no right."
"Oh, no, no, no," Amyria shook her head, "She has all the right. After all, she is the mistress of death. And i wouldn't want to fool around with death."
"I don't care who she is," Magenta said, then as if it occured to her, "Can she really.... cause death?"

[An8el]

"Yeah, except she does it on purpose," Amyria quipped, regretting it immediately.

Magenta layed back down in the bed. "Why should I get up? Everyone must hate me now."

Amyria cajoled, "C'mon, I'm supposed to get you up for more lessons. You want to learn how to control those accidently-on-purpose things you can't help doing, don't you?"

"I want it to go away," Magenta muttered. She kicked off the covers and regarded her heaveily calloused feet that had never known shoes. She was still sore, but Amyria had minted oil for the backs of her legs that made them feel better. Amyria handed her linen pants and a shirt and a brush to tame her hair, which made her feel a whole lot more awake. After something to drink, Magenta was feeling almost civilized.

Amyria didn't allow her to stop for a moment. She hurried Magenta out of the room toward the stables. "Where are we going?" Magenta asked. She was ready to leave right now and never return.

"Have to clean horse stalls, then we get breakfast in the common room, then to class," answered Amyria, fishing out and shouldering dirty laundry from carts outside the rooms. "Here, strong enough to carry this now? We're going to stop at the river on the way."

Magenta didn't mind being a beast of burden. Doing work that took no thinking allowed her time for her own thoughts; and she needed to sort a few things out to figure out how she was going to get out of this slave trap. She had escaped slavery before by sneaking away after her owners relaxed their guard. As she raked the hay in the stalls, getting to know the horses seems like a good idea, if she was going to leave in a hurry someday soon. She decided that she would stop telling people that she wanted to leave, so they would not suspect her secret plans to escape. She suddenly realized that Amyria was her escort, taskmaster and guard. She didn't like that idea.

[Amyria]

A full day of work she had not seen in so long left Magenta exhausted. She never thought it would be this way. If she was as important as they claimed then why was she shoveling manure and watering down horses? She thought about what Madry had said to her: "..you love Gilean, and you carry his unborn child even now...". Magenta looked down and pressed her hand against her flat stomache. She couldn't believe it, Madry had to be wrong. Her cheeks flushed as her thoughts turned to Gilean. This feeling that she had for him she had never felt before. But then Madry's words echoed in her mind again: "The feelings you bear Gilean, too, were preordained." Something in her heart twisted and she almost gasped. How could that be? She was sick of all these 'prophecies'. Who could ever have foreseen that she would love Gilean? It was all foolishness. They were wrong, all of them.
Magenta frowned and slumped against the rock wall that was the exterior of the Guild. Could Gilean be falsely leading her to believe that he loves her? Her head hurt, but her heart hurt more. Ever since she left fat Grenda's home everything had gone downhill. No one really cared about her. They all wanted something... But Gilean too?

[Iskaral Pust]

Lying in her small bed that evening Magenta came to a desicion. Startling Amyria who was sitting in the corner, she stood up quickly.
"I need to see Gileon," she hissed quickly and quietly.
"Madry said you're not to leave you chambers."
"I don't care, I need to talk to him."
Amyria looking wrung by indesicion, "Please, I'm carrying his child," she was coming close to begging.
"All right, but I'm not coming with you, and if anyone calls I'm saying you attacked me," she sounded sinsere.
"But how will I find his room?" she said.
Amyria smiled "I'm not telling, you'll just have to stay," she seemed genuinely pleased with herself. Hissing with frustration she stalked out of the room and almost slammed the door. She was lucky, the head servant Iskaral Pust was passing her doorway, muttering to himself. He glanced at her suspiciously as her asked directions to Gileon's room.
"Turn right, proceed thirty-four paces, then turn right again, twelve paces, then through the door on the right, thirty-five paces, through archway on right another eleven paces, turn right one last time, fifteen pace, then through the door on the right."
Surprised at his presice knowledge it took her a minute to think about the instructions. She stared at him and he shifted nervously.
"Or," she said slowly, "turn left, nineteen paces."
"Aye," he muttered.
"I think I'll take the short route, then"
"If you must." As she stode away she heatd him muttering "Smart bitch."
Several seconds later she stood outside Gileon's door. She knocked lightly before entering.

[An8el]

There was no answer to the door, so Magenta leaned her ear against it. Everything inside appeared to be silent. She pushed open the door a crack and sniffed the air. She detected faint cedar incense. She would get caught if she waited for Gilean outside his door, so she slipped in, She thought, he must be coming back late from the midnight chant. She lit the candle that was just inside the doorway of every room with an ember from the coal box.

The candle revealed a silently reclined form in the bed aclove.

"Wondered when you were going to show up." Gilean muttered, half asleep. "I was beginning to think we were being kept apart."

Magenta sat next to him on the side of his bed."We were. Amyria told me that she would say I had overpowered her to get to you, so we don't have much time." Magenta searched his green eyes. They appeared black in the candlelight. "I have got to hear some things from you." A long silence stretched between them, as they rested their arms around each other, leaning together.

Magenta snuggled her lips up to Gilean's ear, tasting his curls and salty skin. She stopped herself, closed her mouth, because she was just about to cry again from frustration. Could she allow herself to love, or not? If she started crying and stopped talking, then she might never find out. She took a deep breath. "They tell me I'm already pregnant."

"No, that can't be. I was practicing the fourth will to protect you." Gilean had pushed her away at arms length, coming full awake.

"So that's what made so much of a mess, huh?" Magenta pursed her lips through a held back smile she hoped he didn't see in the shadows. "I've got to know why...the first chance we had alone..."

"You know why." Gilean's green eyes flashed in the reflection of the candle, and then closed again. He sighed after another long silence. He was thinking how it was so rich to just hear her voice again.

Magenta pulled back from his grasp, putting down his arms from her shoulders. "I know why I did. Because you feel just like me, you feel as if I've already known you forever."

"So I've heard." Gilean hung his head.

She blurted it out, before she lost the will to say it. "You brought yourself to your senses with me because you were taught to do that, or what?"

"Listen, I told you that you would know everything about the council and why Zarina attacked you. I'm going to make it short. One of the things that I've...been taught is should be no secrets between us. " Gilean took another big breath, and let it out.

"I have to tell you the truth, or I can't live with myself. I don't know what you'll think about it, but I want you to know that I'll be here for you, whatever you feel."

He struggled to compose what he was about to say. "Zarina and I were...involved with each other. We were both assigned to Madry and we...just fell into being together quite a bit. She was jealous of you, once she knew who the prophesy said you were...and the rumors of what had happened between us didn't help her accept things."

Magenta bit back more tears.

He began to reach for her, and then held himself back. "Listen, don't say anything. I would have done the same thing with you had we met any other way. Before I knew who you were, didn't you remember I was flirting with you behind Madry's back? No, guess you would miss those sorts of things." He shifted his back further down, sliding down and curling around her body. "When Madry found out who you were, she left us alone...on purpose. I had been told the prophesy. My family line has always held the name of Gilean. I had no way of knowing it would be me." Gilean laid his head on her back." They want you to be pregnant. The prophesy says our child would be the Avatar."

[Evil Agent]

Magenta saw the image of Zarina's cruel smile in her mind, and when she spoke she could not disguise the repulsion in her voice. "But Zarina was... old. And old woman! You're only -" And then she realized that she did not even know Gilean's age. How could she never have asked? She herself was only nearing 17. "How old are you Gliean?"
Gilean held her gaze, but for a moment he did not speak. Then, he said "Zarina was a Guild Master, and a member of the Council. She generally chose to present herself as an aged and wise woman, yes. But she was by no means limited to that form. When we were - together, she took on a very different guise." He looked away, unfomfortable, but then continued, "Zarina herself had lived for several hundred years. As has Madry. As had your grandfather, Adrigan. In fact, he was more likely your great-great-great grandfather. Guild Masters are powerful beings, not mere magicians."
Magenta urged him to continue, "And you, Gilean, what about you? You're only Madry's apprentice, are you not? How could you and Zarina have both been assigned to her?"
"Master and Apprentice alike can be assigned to an Archmage. Especially
the Archmage of the entire Guild. But yes, I am Madry's apprentice. An Apprentice of Death. And I have seen twenty winters."

[Amyria]

Magenta blinked back the tears, determined not to look weak, and looked down. Her throat was painfully tight, urging her to release her emotions, but she would not. She stood up and looked down into Gileans pleading green eyes.
"You knew," her voice trembled with what could have been anger or pain, "You knew all along." She saw him open his mouth to speak and continued, "Don't give me that lame excuse that you were already 'flirting' with me. You knew and Zarina knew. And madry had this planned all along."
"No, its not that way at all," Gilean protested.
"I don't want to hear anymore," Magenta whirled around on her heel and started for the door. Gilean leapt out of his bed and ran ahead of her.
"Can't you be reasonable?" he asked.
"I have been. And i've also been truthful. Everyone here is the same!"
"No, Magenta. No. Just listen to me." he pleaded.
Magenta reached out to turn the door knob.
"Magenta, i love you."