Chapter 2

He wandered out to the stone stoop of his abode and watched the fading sunset. From what he could see, much-needed rain was not likely. Perhaps a small spell was in order. The Tanguich livestock required new grass and the crops in the fields down the narrow valley from the hilltop fortress were beginning to wither from the extended dry spell. Ambling back inside, he went directly to his workbench and dragged up a three-legged stool. He planted his bottom on the solid wood and prepared to get to work.

After he selected certain herbs, an appropriate candle and several other implements, he began. Although his powers were substantial, magick was taxing work. When he concluded the spell, he sat back with a sigh, weariness settling over him like a cloak. Far removed from others of his kind, he had few ways to recharge his special energies. That worried him. Still, unless he had totally lost his touch, rain would fall before daybreak. The dom would appreciate his supportive gesture, or so he hoped.

Just before he snuffed the candle, it gave an urgent flicker. At the same time, from its niche above the worktable, his crystal ball emitted a startling flash of light.

Whoa, what’s all this?

He snatched the globe down and gazed intently into its depths. As a shadowy figure appeared there, a wisp of thought trickled through his mind. He focused his attention on the signals until a message shaped itself out of the vague whisper.

::Is anyone listening? I seek a mentor, a master, a high mage who is not bound to any university or post, but one who works alone. I am a talented young man with magickal ancestry and gifts of my own in need of further guidance and instruction. I’m willing to work hard…be your total slave if necessary. All I ask is that you teach me!::

Although pinpointing the location from which the plea came proved difficult, after a time, Cory determined the caller was somewhere in or near the capital city. This contact seemed an odd coincidence, almost as if his wish for companionship had summoned a response. Perhaps it had. He focused on the dim image within his crystal ball, trying to make it clearer. The young man appeared comely enough and perhaps sincere in his wish, earnest, at least.

Without giving it a great deal more thought, Cory replied. ::You must make your way to where I am to prove your determination and latent skills. If you arrive at my door within a ten-day, I will grant your wish.::

::Wait! Give me some hint, a clue to where you are…at least what direction I must take.::

Cory sent the tiniest glimpse of the mountains behind the Tanguich holdings. The area was remote, but the three highest of the peaks were fabled enough for portrayal in paintings and exotic tales of adventure. That was more than enough of a hint. Smiling to himself, he cut the communication, extinguished the image in the crystal orb, and placed it back in its space. If the gods were kind, perhaps he’d get what he desired and needed. Maybe the distant youth would also.

* * * *

Driz waited for long moments after the fleeting images faded from his scrying bowl. Even if he’d hoped for more, any response was a gift. He nipped the candle’s flame with thumb and forefinger, knowing better than to snuff a magickal candle any other way. Exaltation and terror warred in his heart. Now that the moment was passed, he hardly dared believe. Had he really contacted a distant mage, one who desired a disciple? The image of a towering range of jagged peaks still burned in the back of his eyes. They almost seemed familiar, like a place he had known, although his whole life had been spent right here on the outskirts of Melcorth. Although the actual city had edged closer to his home than what he recalled from his earliest memories, that was the only real change.

He’d heard of mountains in books, seen them in the magickal vid-auras some of the schoolmasters had conjured to show their students. Had he ever been near them, he knew he would never forget, even if he had been barely a babe in arms at the time. It must be a fragment of genetic memory coming down from distant ancestors or merely the images he had seen during his schooling. But wait—that silhouette against the sky. He felt sure he knew that!

Even though the hour grew late, he drew on a cloak and dashed down the street to the nearest library. There was something about those mountains…If they were as important as he sensed, they’d be described, perhaps even pictured in a tome of some sort. If he could find where they were, perhaps he could go there. And if he could go there, perhaps he could locate this illusive mage

Luck was with him. Within a turn of the glass, he’d found pictures of the mountains in a musty old book on history and geography. Called the Alpenzers, they formed a nearly impenetrable border between Melcovia and the neighboring country of Zoolcresh, with whom relations had long been strained. The three highest peaks were named in turn, Dicruz, Darnzel and Doermust.