Teyva woke the next morning in her tattered traveling gear. Of what was left, her boots were in half-decent shape. She spent the morning reading a bit more of her Sorcery skill book and though she was drawing to the end of it she still felt no closer to fully understanding what it was trying to explain to her. When she finally got up she found that the two doors in the rear of her room-modeled after Azrael’s own room-were to a restroom and a closet respectively. It was there that she was reintroduced to the glory that only a hot shower could provide and cleaned herself properly for the first time in over a month. Refreshed, she made her way to the room and found clothes already prepared for her on the bed. It was a simple high-collared tunic and slack pairing of dark colors. They were accompanied by a white sash. 

She threw them on and found that for the most part, they fit though she had a little trouble getting her clawed hands through the sleeves. Eventually she had to shift her claws into normal nails and then push them through before she made any sort of progress. She went from there to the vanity and looked herself over. It was a handsome look, at least. Though her hair was so long there was nothing she could do with it besides let it hang. Then there were the glittering star patterns that flew across her skin as she moved. She tried to shift them away but found that was easier said than done, same with the glow that she’d never quite figured out how to turn off. Sighing, she called Nephral to her shoulders and made her way out into the hall. She glanced toward Azrael’s door and found it shut tight with no sign of her friends.

“Guess that was a little too much to expect,” Teyva muttered, she’d let her cool down some more. There was no need to press her to interact after having that kind of bombshell dropped on her.

“The Magi, mother?” Nephral pressed.

“We’ll have to go ask around for where they are,” She said, making her way toward the lift in the center of the room. She paused as she saw a figure rising up through the floor just as she approached. The stranger was facing away, his posture saying that he was deep in thought when the lifter came to a stop. He turned and she got her first look at him as his eyes went wide with surprise and delight. He was a slight man, shorter than Teyva, with a mess of long rust-colored hair and gray skin that had a bit of a reddish tint to it. He wore a stylish, if a bit flamboyant, tunic of various colors underneath a loose-fitted robe that hung down over his hands. The bags under his eyes and generally frazzled appearance took her off guard for a moment.

“Just the woman I wanted to see!” The man said, stalking forward and thrusting his hand out between them. Nephral let out a hiss and flared his wings while somewhere in the room behind her the Marble gurgled his displeasure. He quickly pulled his hand back, wide-eyed, and broke into an even more delighted smile as he followed the source of the two sounds. “A sphinx and a wall mimic! So it is true!”

“And you are?” Teyva asked, crossing her arms.

“Aha! Right, yes, names,” He extended his hand again and Nephral growled, this time though Teyva stroked his chin to ease the feline’s tension. “Barin Kot, I am one of the Four and the leader of the Azar Magi, my King urged me to come meet you!”

That was more than enough reason to shake his hand. He winced a bit when she gripped it and looked her up and down; “What a grip! And those aspects! Fascinating!”

Teyva hesitated and pulled her hand away, “You can see my aspects?”

“See them? Of course! No offense but your mana manipulation such as it is leaves a lot to be desired, that and I possess the Aspect of Truth, there aren’t many things one can hide from me,” He laughed, “Though I can come off as a bit abrasive because of it. Honesty comes with the territory, you know!”

Teyva canted her head to the right, “You can’t lie?” Teyva made a mental note to double up her Mana Manipulation practice.

“Not one bit!” He said cheerily, “It’s quite stressful!”

She cracked a nervous needle-toothed smile and rubbed her arm, “That’s good, I think?”

“There’s a difference between honesty and silence, though, I can keep a secret,” He said, taking a breath to temper his excitement a little, “I certainly do not want to frighten you off. There is so much I want to ask you and I am told you have some questions for me as well.”

“I was actually just about to come looking for you,” Teyva said, “Or at least the Magi in general.”

“Magnificent! So you have time, yes?” 

Teyva glanced back at Azrael’s door and frowned before nodding in his direction; “Suppose I have plenty of time. Would you mind if we went somewhere else, though? I don’t want to be cooped up in a tower all day.”

“Of course! I’ll take you to the Arcanorum,” He said, “That’s the headquarters of the Magi,” He added eagerly before turning on his heel and marching right back into the lift. 

Teyva hesitated at the door into the lift and watched him begin to work his hand over the console. “I do not like this man,” Nephral growled, “He annoys me.”

“Be nice,” Teyva murmured, “He has answers we need.”

“For you, mother, I will endure.”

The lift took them down to the third level of the city, here the streets were far less crowded than the first level and she found that many of the buildings inside were larger and set for a more distinct purpose. Barin Kot was quick to explain that this level was home to many of the guilds that had been formed by citizens in the city as well as those that had set up there from many of the other kingdoms on the western part of the continent. It turned out that there were dozens of nations crowding the space on the other side of the Green Sea, most of them non-human-centric, though.

“So the Magi are a guild?” Teyva asked.

“Oh my no, we are fully a branch of King Thrake’s rule. Our duty is to study new magics and push forward new studies and realms of research. On top of that, we are charged with dealing with threats that ordinary folk cannot manage as well as assisting the city guard with crimes that involve magic. Each Magi has a lot of responsibility!” Barin Kot said, stopping to shake hands with a few civilians as they passed. Several of those same civilians stopped and stared at Teyva, confused and frightened by her appearance. With the streets less crowded she was far easier to spot and it was beginning to get to her. 

She had about reached her limit when they arrived at a three-tiered building set into the inner wall of the city and rising up to the ceiling of the third tier. Like the other buildings in the city it had very little in the way of external decor, the only hint that it was different from any of the others was a crest hanging above the door featuring an eye surrounded by streaks of light on a blue background. When they went inside they were immediately swarmed by dozens of people in robes who were eager to pepper both Teyva and Barin Kot with an endless stream of questions. It took a while for him to disperse them and lead her through the gaggle of magi and up the stairs.

When they finally arrived in his office, Teyva was too exhausted to even appreciate it. It was a beautiful room, far and away from the spartan decor of the Pinnacle. Paintings covered the walls above various desks that were littered with books and tools of scientific research. Liquid bubbled over open flames and vials moved through the air of their own accord, experiments ongoing even when Kot was away. Where there weren’t active experiments or paintings, bookshelves filled with a colorful array of tomes littered the space, making it all feel very crowded. That didn’t even begin to address his desk which was a mess of papers and documents. He gestured to one of the chairs across from his desk and she sat down, slumping a little.

Barin Kot on the other hand seemed completely unfazed by it all. He pulled himself up atop his desk and leaned back on his hands; “So! You have questions? Ancient treasures? Magic texts that need to be unraveled? Ah, wait! The King said something about a curse?” 

She paused, she hadn’t thought about trying to get further answers about her [Heart Stone of the Labyrinth] or the [Masque of the Fallen Queen] or the various crafting items she’d discovered. Not to mention perhaps getting some advice about the skill tome she’d received from Elder Yol. She pressed her lips together clamping down on those questions for now. “All of the above? Though I think my ‘curse’ is a bit more pressing,” she admitted.

“At least you can speak of it,” Barin Kot said, “Some curses prevent you from even uttering the terms.”

“This is less a curse and more baggage,” Teyva pointed out, “I’ve got a ghost.”