A Temperamental Enchantress (Life in Exile) - Prologue (Patreon)

Prologue

The darkness of the night was no impediment to Megor’s eyes. He had been set to watch and watch he had done. No one disobeyed the master and lived long, so diligence in his duties was the most prudent of actions. Not, that Megor was what one would call a true believer. Rather he was a pragmatist. They had already killed the master once and yet he still wielded more power than any of the praetors.

It might not be obvious in the streets, but those who had reached a certain level new that another war was coming. This one would not be between the races, but rather between differing visions for the future. The irony was that the Alucien had won the last cultural battle nearly a thousand years ago. His grand purge had been implemented. All the undesirables had been banished from Solun.

Instead of a panacea like it was supposed to create, society was even more divided. Anyone who didn’t make it into the academy now was deemed the dregs of society, fit for little more than menial work, even if they made it to Tier 4. Once again, there were even rumors of a growing number of those who stalled out at Tier 3.

Megor shook at such a thought. Thanks to the boons he had received from Alucien, he had already been accepted as a junior instructor of conjuration at the academy even though he had only just reached Tier 6. Once he received everything that he had been promised he would be able to challenge for the position of praetor in a couple of decades. That was nothing to a moon elf such as he.

His scrying had revealed the danger to the one he was watching. He had only been assigned to watch her two weeks ago and while she was impressive for a child, Megor still couldn’t fathom what the master’s interest in here was based upon. But questions were not encouraged, so he kept his mouth shut and kept watch over the girl. By all the true gods, if it got him what he wanted, he would have even married the half-breed, despite the chill down his spine which such a thought caused.

Despite his vigilance it was the master who had revealed the threat to him. His charge had come upon a portal from one of the hells. It was concerning that the fiends had been able to force such a portal open, but when he checked it was fading. What he had missed was the being which had stepped out. It was a greater fiend, likely near the peak of Tier 6. Even with his aptitude for conjuration, Megor wouldn’t have tried to summon such a monstrosity. For it to have entered Eloria unbidden and unbound was highly problematic.

If it had happened here in Solun, where they were civilized and not backwater peasants, even such a monster would be dealt with quickly. But the fact that it happened on Talos was potentially cataclysmic. When he heard Alucien’s voice in his mind, Megor had half expected that he was being sent to deal with the threat. That had caused a cold sweat to run down him back.

Alucien always kept his promises. When he promised a reward, he delivered. But, he wasn’t known for being cautious with how he used his servants. Promises of knowledge, power, and wealth were all great but they weren’t worth dying with a hope of resurrection on Talos. No, when he was tasked with bringing the girl here, he had breathed a sigh of relief.

Now, he simply had to form the proper summoning circle. It was unusual for him to be working this late at the academy, but his position allowed him access so the guards hadn’t done more than check his identity. Not that it was their eyes he worried about. He was certain that his master was watching him closely. The weight of those eyes upon him was almost tangible.

Even after he ran into his lab and began gathering the necessary materials he could remember the conversation well. The master had yelled at him to stop worrying about the fiend and then made his wishes known.

“You will create a summoning portal and pull her here from Talos,” Alucien’s dry voice had instructed.

“But… Master, what of the wards? Teleportation to and from Talos has been locked since the exile… err… I mean since the Great Purge.”

“And well it should be. Soft hearts would allow that contamination to spread, but events have happened which require us to make an exception. Open the portal. She has a binding link on her person. As soon as she touches it again, it will pull her through. Simply follow my instructions to the letter.”

Megor remembered bowing his head then and listening to the instruction from his master. Truly the man, or whatever he was to be thought of as, was a genius when it came to magic. He had a way of warping spells to make them do things that defied what Megor had been taught to this point. Now all he could do was form the circle and feed it the necessary mana.

Hopefully this wouldn’t take too long. He had already cancelled his classes for the next day, but there would be questions if he kept that up for too long. No, Megor had to stop and breath deeply. He didn’t want to upset the masters of the academy but the most they would do was revoke his position, failing Alucien in this would result in his life being revoked. Of that he had no doubt.