Part 1 Epilogue

Miles away from the two women, Elias stood in the open-air watchtower granted for use by the Second Circle, a spell channeled in front of him. He waved his hand, and the patterned circles of blue light in the air before him rippled and faded away like mist. As they did, the image in the center, of Yvonne disarming Lirena, blinked out of existence. The image appeared as a rough sketch in the book Elias held with his other hand, and he snapped the tome closed, the secret his alone.

“That was quite informative, Miss Darlain, thank you,” Elias said to the empty air before him in the direction he had been watching.

The Earthtouched woman had not sought him out after she was fully healed, which he had expected. He was not unaware of the tensions between the Touched and the nobility, but he hoped that his minor healing spell might help coax her.

So a secondary plan was formed, keeping a mystical eye on her from the top of the tower, one of the highest points in the capital along with the First Circle’s. From there, his spell acted to magnify his vision over a great distance, allowing him or anyone with the spell to keep an eye on faraway events.

The spell had its limitations; it couldn’t peer through solid surfaces, and so it couldn’t see the fruits of Yvonne’s training. It likewise couldn’t cross into the Zone barriers to see how the Touched were dealing with conflicts there.

Seeing Yvonne leave the city, however, presented an interesting opportunity. It required some additional power from how Elias typically used the spell in addition to changes in its rune structure to capture the added distance, but he was able to find the field of flowers and the two among it.Elias had not known about the duel, but his weary eyes widened when he saw the two women drawing swords against each other.

Lirena’s duels had a small amount of fame in wider high society, so to see such unbalance was the first clue to the mage that something was happening. A Low Ward blacksmith utilizing the footwork to keep pace with such a fighter was another.

But the blades stuck together like glue - that was the prize.

It was a small sample, but I finally have witnessed proof that the Touched use something akin to magic, he thought.

To the best knowledge available, no Touched had ever been taught magic, a stance the kingdom of Suleit was happy to keep enforced. If Yvonne was indicative of Touched at large, then there were many abilities that even the wisest mages had no existing proof of.

And if such abilities could be granted, they could be replicated with magic, of that Elias was certain.Elias retreated back into the tower, down the spiraling stairs to the building below where the Second Circle afforded quarters to their members. His own room was locked with a personalized spell, which he undid temporarily to enter the room sprawled with books. An outside observer would find no structure to the mess, but Elias could point to any location in the chaos and find what he needed.

What he needed now though, was to think.

He cleared away some space from his desk and took out a fresh sheet of parchment, scribbling down his findings in the closest detail he could imagine alongside the picture his spell recorded.Information was one thing, but how to put that into practice was another matter entirely. Would power from the Zones suffice? Would contact with a Touched individual act as a conduit? Could the effect merely be recreated with an understanding of what was happening and channeling the proper element as a spell?

He noted his speculations, but quickly became frustrated with the walls he was hitting.

“I need more evidence,” he muttered, drumming his fingers along the desk. “I suppose I’ll have to keep joining the expeditions for now. Wait for my next chance…”

Elias sighed deeply and placed his quill back in its inkwell. He leaned back in his chair and continued his typical vocal rambling as he sorted his thoughts. “I at least have another source for the time being.”

He looked to a stack off to the side of his desk, the prior project he had been invested in, as had every great scholar since Lirena Barton’s birth - the Untouchable Effect, that unique power with even less understanding than the Touched. Any mage who understood it could possibly protect the entire population from the Zones, or perhaps permanently prevent their appearances.

A hero to be noted in history, and a mage that would surpass the Magus himself.

But now, the two projects were remarkably close in scope, thanks to the relationship the two women clearly had. That facet was of no interest to the mage’s research, but it did make things remarkably convenient, and Elias was the only one who now knew to look for more.

“We’ll meet again soon, Lady Barton and Miss Darlain.”