The White Tower

Koteph, Bashra and I were three men, nearing twenty years of age, who had just been ejected from the world's premiere center of magical learning. This presented a very different problem for each of us.
Bashra was poor, and had nowhere to go and nobody to pay for him. He could go to some minor town and set himself up as the village sorcerer. He could try to become court magician to a very decrepit king. Or he could starve.
Koteph had some family money to fall back on, but his outlook was just as bleak. His was the scion of a dying noble house that had been stripped of its lands and titles by the dying royal house it had served for centuries. It was hoped that if a member of the family became a powerful sorcerer, the whole clan might manage a resurgence. That seemed a lot less probable now.
Meanwhile, I was heir to the White Tower. For centuries, my family had inhabited one the most venerable and prestigious of magical locations. And now, their only son had been booted out of the University before he could complete his training. Would I be able to maintain my residence their upon my father's death? Would the king of Irin still accept me as a vassal if I didn't carry a Sorcerer's staff?
Now, my problems were much smaller than those of Bashra and Koteph. For instance, I still had two parents, both of whom were wealthy and powerful. I had a place to live and things to do.
"Would you like to come live with me," I asked Bashra.
"No."
"Do you have somewhere better to go?"
"No."
"Then why not come with me? My family can put you up until you find somewhere to go."
"I will be fine on my own."
"That is debatable. You got into this fight thanks to me. You can at least accept my help."
Bashra had a taste for the finer things in life. But he didn't want to be dependent on others. I thought I could see those instincts at war inside him before he agreed to spend time at the White Tower. "This does beg another question."
"What?"
"Will Koteph be staying with you as well?"
"Well," I said, "I suppose he is also in this situation on account of me."
Bashra grinned. "I'll tell him the good news."
"Why you?"
"Do you want to do it?"
I did not enjoy spending time with Koteph. "No."
A few hours later, Bashra and Koteph came by to ask when we would be leaving. I can't say I was thrilled. I did not enjoy spending time with Koteph.

My parents had mixed feelings about me returning home. They were glad to see their son after his years studying magic half a continent away. But they wished I had stayed long enough to get my staff.
"It shouldn't be a problem," my father said. "Everyone knows you are a competent sorcerer. Our family was great long before the University rose to prominence. It will continue to be great." But still, did I have to be suspended from the University for such an asinine reason?
"I'm sure they'll let him go back," my mother said. "He is a good student, and plenty of young sorcerers get into fights like this." Just not the smart ones.
My parents seemed to like the charming Bashra, and they tolerated the distinctly non-charming Koteph. My father even took Koteph to see some of the research he was doing into the spirit world.
There was one member of the White Tower household, who was not happy with the three half-baked sorcerers who had taken up residence.

The day that we arrived, Cassinder was in the stables. She knew to be there, in order to wait for us. She was unaccompanied. She had only recently come into her powers, and my parents did not yet realize the amount of trouble she could get into on her own.
She noticed me first. "Amniel."
"Cassinder! Great to see you. You've grown."
"You haven't."
"And what's this I hear about your new magical powers?"
"I see the future."
"That's amazing. Only a few people in history have had that ability." I should know. After I received my father's gleeful letter, I consulted the University library on the subject. I could only find four credible reports of people who could see the future. None of them predicted happy endings. But I knew my sister could be different.
"Monster!"
"What?"
"He's a monster!" It took me a moment to see that my sister was pointing behind me. Koteph and Bashra stared at each other.
Cassinder ran off without explaining her outburst.

I asked my mother about it. "She's been doing that lately. Talking about a monster who would come. Something about a Destroyer."
"Have you tried to find out anything more specific?"
"Yes."
"I assume it didn't work." Based on my reading, Seers were not into times and dates and useful geographic instructions. Just vague and terrifying predictions that were spot on, with the benefit of hindsight.
"You're right."
"Anything at all? Any hints about what form this Destroyer might take?"
"If I knew anything useful, I would tell you."

We should have tried harder. We should have demanded that Cassinder explain herself. It wasn't that she was being deliberately obscure. She just had trouble communicating with us. With the people trapped in the past and present.
The last time she saw her father, she grabbed his hand. "Why are you doing this?"
"I developed a new spell that would actually allow me to summon and study a spirit. Koteph will help me. The boy has some of the best raw sorcerous talent I've ever seen."
"He moves stones."
"I know. He has already learned the True Name of stone."
"Why are you doing this? I don't want you to go!"
"Don't worry. I'll be back in a few hours."
"You will?"
"Yes."
He wasn't. A day or so later, we found his body. A small stone was driven through his skull. All of his notes were gone. So was Koteph.      

In Younger Days

"You killed him," I asked.
Dragoneyes turned his attention from his horse to me. "Yes." He didn't seem incredibly troubled by this.
"You killed him in cold blood."
"I don't see why you are complaining. He was attacking your sister. I wasn't about to start negotiating with him."
"But, still. Killing someone in a cold. Killing a person like that..."
"Grow up," Dran interjected. "Dragoneyes did exactly the right thing. He didn't kill a person. He killed some twisted creation of Koteph's. And, in doing so, he probably saved Cassinder's life."
"Besides, we were going to kill him eventually anyways," Dragoneyes said. "It's not like we are going to fight a war against Koteph without killing anyone."
I didn't really have a good response to that. We rode on in silence.
I contemplated the killing we would have to do. Did I have that capacity? To destroy someone who threatened me? Or to destroy someone who was helpless against me, but still an agent of the other side? I was no warrior. I never killed anyone. I had never gotten into a serious fight. Well, I had gotten into one serious fight...

The University doesn't have bars. Sorcerers are supposed to be too good for that sort of thing. Instead, the University had philosophical taverns, where learned people of all ages could discuss a wide variety of topics. And drink alcoholic beverages.
I was at such an establishment. Dragoneyes was with me. Of course, he was called Bashra then.
We were both upper-level students. In fact, I had just taken my examinations to graduate. Which was why we were out drinking.
"Look at you Amniel. Soon to be a full-fledged sorcerer."
"Assuming I passed."
"In Garion's Grimoire, how many spells are there for fire-proofing."
"Nine. Ten if you count the one to summon moisture."
"You passed." Bashra looked behind us.
"Four people took the exam. Only two can pass."
"Yeah. You and Koteph."
"How could you possibly know how Koteph did on an exam? You haven't spoken to him in about a year."
"Because he is getting drunk and laughing, while Crasys and Nershal are over there trying not to cry."
"You claim to be very good at reading people. I don't think you really are."
"Of course I am. Tell you what. I'll go over there and ask Crasys how he did. Whoever was wrong will buy the next round."
Yes. This was a stupid idea. Bashra was foolish to think he could get away with asking someone how badly they had done on the test they had studied for for years. But, in his defense, he was drunk.
"You're on."
In my defense, I was drunk as well.
We made our way over to Crasys. "So," Bashra asked. "How did your little exam go? Are you about to be a sorcerer?"
Crasys didn't respond with words. He responded with a sneer that said go-away-you-miserable-peasant.
"I see. Well, better luck next time."
Bashra turned around to leave.
"You think you're so special, don't you?"
"I think I'm pretty great, yes."
"You think that just because you spend time around the great sorcerers of the age, you too might amount to something. But I've seen the way you grub money, holding on to every penny. I see your low-born nature, and your serfdom taints every word you speak. You claim to be a princeling, but we all know what you really are."
"Yes. And everyone tolerates my lowly origins because I am more talented than a dozen of you spoiled brats put together."
"Perhaps you would like to put that to the test, you miserable wretch."
"I know the True Name of Fire. I could kill you."
"Oh, yes. The prodigy. Spent so much time raking coals you became a mage."
Nershal joined in the conversation. "And you should see how he lords it over us. He slept all through Master Girgis' lectures on charms, and got away with it because he could speak a word and make something fireproof, or lift it in the air on a tongue of flame."
"I have half a mind to life you in the air on a tongue of flame."
"I would like to see you try."
Koteph joined in the conversation. That was a surprise. None of the four of us spoke much with him. Nobody spoke much with him. He was a bit of a loner. Probably because he was a murderous monster with a deep hatred for his fellow man. "It would be foolish to tempt Bashra. Mages are dangerous men."
"Oh, says the other child-mage. Maybe he will make some rocks fly around."
I have to say I don't remember much of what happened after that. But I do know that the bar burned down, and Bashra, Koteph and I were suspended from the University, pending expulsion.

Written in the Clouds

Dragoneyes and Cassinder were riding back. About to meet back up with me and Dran. Dragoneyes was working with the True Name of cloth. Trying to deepen his understanding. He already knew enough to reshape it. Even create it. But he wanted to see how the fibers bonded together. It taxed his mind. So he was grateful that Cassinder wasn't the talking type.
That's when he realized that Cassinder had been gone for at least half an hour.
"This is embarrassing," he muttered to himself. He had lost her. He could see a man's soul, or the path of a leaf on the wind, but he had lost the person riding next to him.
He wondered what to do. He knew that he should go to Amniel and Dran, ask them to help look. But he was too embarassed. He bargained with himself. "I'll give myself two hours. After that, I'll ask for Amniel and his tracking spells."
Dragoneyes turned his horse around. He slowly retraced his path, looking for all signs of human influence. He saw those signs. Every broken twig, every trampled leaf, shone before him, glowing with something other than light, which nobody save the dragons had ever seen.
He saw all these signs of travelers. And they were all signs of his own passage. He grew anxious. How far back could Cassinder have slipped away from him? Why hadn't he spotted any signs of her? Were his eyes deceiving him? He began to grow fearful. Cassinder was a powerful sorceress. Who knew what she was capable of, how hard finding her could be? Who could say that he and Amniel could even win this silly game of hide and seek?
Dragoneyes cursed his carelessness. He cursed Cassinder for disappearing. He cursed Amniel for doing less to control his sister. He was halfway through cursing the rest of the White Tower household when he finally picked up on Cassinder's trail. Yes!
He followed her. He raced after, trees and branches parting before him. He was going to find her!

As Dragoneyes stalked the countryside looking for Cassinder, a shade was stalking the countryside looking for him. The shade had been created by Koteph. He had been sent off, instructed to destroy Dragoneyes. Koteph hadn't put much effort into this one. He had just taken one of his palemen and bonded it to a spirit. The resulting being didn't even have a name. He had a purpose.

Cassinder was looking at the clouds. That one looked like a rabbit. That one looked like a boot. That one looked like a painting she would see one day. It was a sad painting. Too much blood.
Cassinder waited for the man to find her. She wasn't looking forward to seeing him. She new he was horrible, nasty, and that he would try to hurt her. She couldn't see if he succeeded. But she did know that it was necessary. She knew what would come of this encounter. And  she knew it was worth the price. It was written in the clouds.
She saw the man. He was wearing a cloak. A black cloak. Good people don't wear black cloaks on sunny days.

"You're the sister, aren't you?"

Cassinder didn't answer.

"I was sent after Dragoneyes, not you. He's the one Koteph actually cares about. So here is the plan. I will hurt you. You will feel pain as nobody has ever felt before. Your screams will be so terrified that Dragoneyes will rush to save you. Rush to his death."

"You think you can cause me pain as nobody has ever felt before." Cassinder didn't make eye contact. "You are wrong. I have seen fields of bleeding corpses. Cities with fire falling from the sky."

"Well," the shade said, "prepare for the second worst thing that ever happened to you."

The shade stretched out his hand. Tendrils of magic extended towards Cassinder. She swatted at them. "Go away."
"I don't think I will." He spoke an incantation, binding Cassinder in place.
Cassinder sent a wave of pure sorcery at the shade, nearly knocking him over. "You are powerful," he remarked. "Especially for someone so untrained. But I am a shade." He hardened the air in his hand until it formed a blade. "Now, why don't we have some fun?"
Cassinder did not think she was going to have fun.

Dragoneyes could see it before he got there. He could see the monster cutting into Cassinder. He could see her screaming in pain. Then, another vision came to him. A version of the past where he had noticed Cassinder leaving, stopped her, and protected her from the shade. He swatted the visions away, and ran.
He could see how long it would take. He couldn't see what the shade would do in that time. Seeing into someone's intentions was difficult from a distance.

The shade continued to draw blood from his victim. This was the first time he had ever held a life in his hands. He like watching that life trickle out into the ground. It was intoxicating. He pondered making another cut. He never got to make it.
Dragoneyes emerged from over a hill, screaming the True Name of fire. The shade was reduced to ash.
Within seconds, he was on top of Cassinder. He called forth cloth to bind her wounds. With the knowledge of an expert physician, he applied sutures. "Are you okay," he asked. "Are you okay?"
"You have saved me," was all that Cassinder said.

The Blue Tower

The Blue Tower was slightly smaller than the White one, slightly larger than the Black one. But it looked a lot bigger than either. It was surrounded by trees, and it dwarfed them. Kyotr, the resident sorcerer, had an interest in plants.
I didn't knock. I had the wind howl.  I made it bite against the door. This was how sorcerers did things. Powerful mages let inanimate objects announce their presence.
Kyotr opened the door. "Amniel of the White Tower?"
"Yes. And this is Dranarius, Phorius' son."
"Oh. How's the old man doing?"

"Dead."

"And that's what we came to talk to you about," I added. "The man who killed Phorius, and the danger he represents."

Kyotr stared at me for a second. "Perhaps we should take this conversation into my study."

Although slightly smaller than my own tower, the Blue Tower was still large. Frankly, it was too big for a single sorcerer living alone. The rooms were filled with trinkets, old furniture that existed only so that Kyoter could lie to himself. So that he could convince himself he used half the rooms of his estate.

Kyotr's study took the theme of eccentric decorating to an extreme. It was filled with water. The mage opened the door, and the liquid didn't splash out. It stayed in place. He walked in, the water parting around him. Dran and I looked at each other. "Neither of us knows the True Name of water."

"Oh," Kyotr said. "Sorry. I don't get visitors often."

"That's a surprise," Dran said. "And here I thought you just had some trouble with flooding." I rolled my eyes.

"What was it the two of you wanted to tell me about," Kyotr asked.

We told him about Koteph, and how he had pushed the boundaries of magic to become the most terrifying and powerful shade in history. Dran spoke of Koteph's growing armies. His palemen. Also Giants, Horned Ones, and monsters so dangerous nobody had survived to name them.
Kyotr listened through all of this. He nodded along as we told him about Koteph's plan to release Ochekol'kan.
"So," I asked. "Can we count on your help?"
"Yes," Kyotr said. "Yes, of course. I imagine that you'll need me to help defend the University. I will be there."

"Excellent," I responded. "I assume that you will travel with us."

"Unfortunately not. I do have some business to attend to here. But I will be close behind."
"What business," I asked.
"Some spells I need to complete. I wouldn't want to slow you down. It seems like you have important information to carry."
"Well, we will see you soon."
"We had better," Dran added. We walked out.

Meanwhile, Cass and Dragoneyes were riding to the Lake of Loria. "I assume you know all about the lake," he said. More to make conversation than anything else.
"It was made out of water. Then, spirits came."
"Yes. The occult kind, not the alcoholic kind. Nobody really knows why, but the lake has a very strong connection to the world of Spirits. It is a border between realms. And, as such, it has a rather large immigrant population."
"It has forty-eight spirits," Cassinder said.
"Forty-eight. I hadn't appreciated that it was that many."
"It is forty-eight." Cassinder looked ahead. "You want them to be warriors. You want to persuade them to fight a shade."
"Yes."
"Talk to the gray one."
That was a pretty cryptic statement. Spirits don't have colors anymore than bubbles do. But Dragoneyes didn't look for clarification. He could see how much that would frustrate Cassinder, explaining what was so clear to her. "The gray one. I'll know him when I see him."
They reached the lake. To the unaided eye, it looked like... a lot of water. But neither Bashra nor Cassinder saw the world through unaided eyes. "Over there," Dragoneyes said.
"What are they doing," Cassinder asked.
"Celebrating," Dragoneyes said. "The start of spring."
"It will still be cold here."
Dragoneyes looked at the sky. He looked at the lake. He saw how the water effected the region's climate and weather. "You're right."
They approached the gamboling spirits. "I am Bashra Dragoneyes," the man shouted. Let the spirits be cryptic. He wouldn't be.
The spirits appeared. To a normal human, they would have been shifting masses of color. But Dragoneyes could see their histories, their abilities. He could see their personalities. And he could see which one was 'the gray one'.
The spirit in question was old. How old, exactly, would be difficult to say. The world of spirits was different from the material one. Some sorcerers speculated that it was like a second moon, moving around the world for its own mysterious reasons, creating its own strange tides. But nearly everyone agreed that things like time were different there. Dragoneyes was able to determine, however, that this spirit had crossed over about eighty years previously. From what Dragoneyes could tell, that seemed fairly typical.
"Bashra Dragoneyes," another spirit said, in a strange and ethereal voice. Amazing that it had even learned to speak a human tongue. "Why do you here?" It hadn't learned to speak well.
"I am here to talk about a shade named Koteph." Dragoneyes explained the situation, using simple worlds and giving this speaker time to translate.

"Why do bother us with story of angry human?"

"Because if Ochekol'kan is freed, she threatens you as much as she threatens us."

"She no can harm spirits."

"That is not true. The Shapers have as much power over the spirit world as they do over the material one."

At this point, the spirits seemed to start arguing among themselves. And while Dragoneyes couldn't follow the words of the conversation (because spirits didn't use words when communicating with each other), he could still get the general outlines. The grey spirit did seem to agree with him. Most of the others didn't. Eventually, the grey spirit left in disgust. The only one who spoke a human tongue.
Dragoneyes looked at Cassinder. "What now? Do we pantomime the rest?"
"No. Talk to the gray one."
Dragoneyes looked at the spirits. They were afraid. Afraid of what Koteph might do to them. Dragoneyes looked into the heart of the gray one. He had once seen a shade. This shade hadn't been very powerful, but he had invoked the True Name of wood. The gray spirit had been so impressed that he still entertained his companions with tales of that day. Dragoneyes spoke the True Name of wood. Posts shot forth from the ground. A spear materialized in his hand. He spoke another Name, and the the spear burned to ash. The spirits seemed impressed.
Dragoneyes continued to show off. He made a great spout of water. He froze one half, and turned the other to steam. He ached from the strain of using three Names at once. He wondered if anyone else had ever done that before. He continued. He forged a hail of iron sword. He made large piles of gold. Then, he melted them.
Once he was satisfied that he had the spirits' respect and support he left. "I am going to need to sleep for several days," he muttered, as he staggered off.

The Journey Continues

I didn't like having Dran around. I had a lot of reasons. Some were legitimate, some were rather petty.
My more legitimate concerns were about his trustworthiness. Sure, he had every reason to hate Koteph, but that didn't necessarily make him our friend. He was a shade. He was the son of a dark sorcerer. He had lived his entire life in the Black Tower, and, according to him, literally every person he had ever cared about was dead. "All five of them."
Also, I was worried that he would slow us down. Larger groups travel more slowly. And we were kind of in a rush to get word to the University before Koteph's army mobilized.
He was from the Black Tower. I was the heir to the White Tower. Quarreling with him was my ancestral duty. You wouldn't expect Tylus the Blue to get along with the Red Mages, would you?
But my biggest objection, by far, was that he was a reminder. A reminder that I had left the safety of my tower. That I was being hunted by forces more powerful than me, and that those forces wouldn't hesitate to kill me. Or worse. I didn't like that kind of stress.

Dran seemed to get along best Dragoneyes. The two of them continued talking long after we were finished asking him about Koteph's most recent doings. "So, your powers allowed you to identify me as a shade, defeat me, contain me, free me from Koteph's control, create clothing for me, pick out a horse for me, and pay for it with gold you made yourself?"
"Well, Amniel did most of the work on the amulet, but yes."
"Can you kill Koteph?"
"I'm going to have to." We rode away from Eriat. Dragoneyes examined the look on Dranarius' face. "It's a city."
"I've never seen so many people at once."
"And that's not even a major city. Wait until you see Condora, or the Yellow City. Or one of the great Etoran settlements."
"What makes this even stranger is that I know all about all of those cities. Eriat has five thousand people. The Yellow City has about twenty times that. My father made sure I received a full education, and would know all about the world that he never let me see." He choked up a bit. "Sorry. I'd prefer not to talk about my past."
"That's perfectly fine, since I like talking about myself regardless." I perked up. Dragoneyes had never told me the details of his past. "I was born in one of the Little Lands. Darmash? You heard of it?"
"Yes."
"Well, I was a bastard. Literally and figuratively. The bastard son of the court magician and the king's junior wife. You can imagine how popular that made me at court."
"I think I can."
"Well, I was a constant reminder to everyone that the king was a cuckold. The king didn't want to kill me. That would just mean admitting he was a cuckold. So, when I was sixteen, he sent me off to war."
"War?"
"Yes. Your cousins, the Etorans, were invading the Little Lands a few countries to the north, and the king of Darmash wanted to get an early start at losing to the Etorans. And he decided his bastard not-a-son would love fighting and dying for his country, far away from the attentions of the court."
I had never heard this before. "So how did you end up at the University a year later?"
"Well, I never actually reached the front. I deserted. Wandered around for some time, doing odd jobs. Eventually, I came across the ruined camp of some neighboring princeling. Torlus, I think his name was. He was headed off to the Green Tower when some bandits showed up, killed him, and took his money. But they didn't take his letter of admission to the University. So I showed up, pretended to be Torlus, told them I went by 'Bashra,' and wrote to Torlus' parents for more money."
I was flabbergasted. "You got into the University on false pretenses, and stole money from the parents of a dead child."
"I needed it more than them. Torlus was a prince."
We bickered a bit. In the end, I admitted that Dragoneyes was probably right in doing what he did, and he admitted that it was dishonest. Dran kept quiet.

The conversation shifted to our next destinations: The Blue Tower and Lake Loria.

"We should split up," Dragoneyes said. "We can meet up afterwards, and it doesn't take long to bear a message."

"Splitting up seems like a bad idea," I countered. "Could be a recipe for trouble."
"I see your point. But there isn't much that could trouble me. And if you and Dran are together, there won't be much troubling you either. Unless Koteph arrives with all his army."
"Which is a possibility."
"No it isn't."
"You seriously think that a pair of sorcerers is a match for whatever fate may throw at us?"
"This is Irin, not the Land of Giants. If we let our fear affect us that much, we will be paralyzed."
"Fine. Me and Dran. I assume Cassinder will come with us."
"I assume so too."

Dran spoke up. "It seems like Dragoneyes is stronger than both of us put together."
"I am."

"And, I don't mean to be harsh, but it seems like Cassinder is a bit of a liability."
"I am." I didn't even know she was listening.

"So you're saying I should be in charge of Amniel's sister?" Dragoneyes thought for a second. "Actually, that is a good idea. The two of you will head off to the Blue Tower, and explain things to Kytor. I think Cassinder would prefer to come with me and talk with the river-dwellers."
"Why do you say that?"
"You know, She's odd. They're odd. I'm sure everyone will get along splendidly."

I considered pointing out how embarrassingly optimistic that was. "Fine."

Awakening the Shade

The intended innkeeper wasn't exactly thrilled at the idea of rooming three highly destructive sorcerers. But he also wasn't thrilled at the idea of turning us away. In the end, he reached an internal compromise. He would give us a room for the night, but the extremely unfriendly and hostile so as to discourage further patronage from such dangerous customers.
Then, he woke me up in the middle of the night. "Why is there a gigantic boulder in front of my in?"
"That's a difficult question. My guess is that Dragoneyes has finally gotten bored of forging broadswords."
I went outside. "Oh," Dragoneyes said. "You fetched Amniel for me." He offered a tip. The innkeeper reluctantly accepted.

"There's a shade in that boulder," he said. "Sent by Koteph. Any way you could un-evil him?"
"Well, there are techniques to 'un-evil' people, as you put it. But it isn't like I know them off the top of my head-"
"Well that's inconvenient-"
"Which is why I always carry around a few hundred books."
"Well, that's convenient. Also, I saw that coming. I see everything."
"Sure."

I went into my room. Cassinder was still asleep. She was smiling. Good. She deserved some pleasant dreams.

I picked up one of my packs. I opened it, and reached in. I requested a copy of Durun's compendium on the subject.

I marveled a bit as I pulled out the book. How wonderful it was to be a sorcerer. I had made that pack as a project even before being admitted to the Green Tower. Years later, it could still hold the equivalent of several complete shelves.

I spent much of the day reading. Different incantations, and their effects on shades. It seemed that for most of them, the primary effect was 'make the shade angry.'

In the end, I designed an amulet that could weaken the spirit's power.

Dragoneyes looked over my shoulder. "Wow," he said. "That is one clever bit of sorcery."

"You see what I'm doing? Oh, right. You see everything."
"I do. And while that mechanism could work in theory..."
"You question whether it would be strong enough."
"Yes."
"Well, that's because you don't see everything. The weakest part of the spell is the binding. And what you don't seem to realize that we can put in multiple bindings in tandem."
"Oh. It wouldn't be a linear effect-"
"Quadratic-"
"Because of interference. Nice. But still, Koteph is powerful. I worry about going head-to-head with his handiwork."
"Well, if it doesn't work-"
"I'll tear him in half."
"I was thinking something a little less gruesome, but yes."

Dragoneyes and I were casting spells, trying to create an amulet powerful enough to save Dranarius Shade. Cassinder wandered in. "You need more spells," she said. She snatched the amulet from my hand, held it for a moment, then returned it. "It will work."
I waited for my sister to wander off. "Did she do anything?"
"She added a spell. As far as I can tell, it's to help people wake up in the morning."
"Oh. Well, that seems relevant."
"It was put there by someone who can see the future."
"True. We'll know what she saw soon enough."

Dranarius woke up. He felt different. Refreshed.
He opened his eyes. There were three other people in the room. One was short and bookish, with light hair and a white tunic. Standing behind the bookish one was his polar opposite. Tall and dark, with a brightly colored tunic. He had a ridiculous number of swords strapped around his waist. In the back of the room, not really paying attention, was a woman. She had dark hair, and another white tunic. She seemed to be entertaining herself by playing with a burning stick.
Dran cleared his throat. "You wouldn't happen to be sorcerers, would you?"
The colorful one spoke first. "My name is Bashra Dragoneyes. My friends who have never heard of dyes are Amniel and Cassinder of the White Tower. I am fairly certain I know the answer, but I'd like to ask just to check: are you currently an evil shade bent on my destruction?"
And that's when the past all came crashing back. His parents' deaths. Dran's slow enslavement, as a suitable spirit was brought into the world and given dominion over Dranarius of the Black Tower.
"What have I done?" Dranarius sat up, in horror. "I've killed people. I killed four people getting here. That's like a tenth of all the people I've had a conversation with!"
"How do you know that," the blond asked.
"I've met my parents, four of the Red Mages-"
"No. How do you remember killing people while under the spirit's influence. That shouldn't be possible. Unless the spirit still retains-"
"It was a dream," the girl said. "If you wake up fast enough, you can remember."
"I hope that's it," said the mage of the White Tower. "I really hope that's it."

The City of Eriat

We entered the town of Eriat. This city was firmly out of my dominion. The White Tower was just another spectacle that existed somewhere below the horizon. If they knew of me at all, I was a distant figure, on the same level as the King of Kollun.
"How does it feel," Dragoneyes asked, "to set foot in a town you don't own?"
"I assume you would know, never having owned so much as a fallow field in the country."

Dragoneyes didn't react to my witty response. He was busy examining his sleeve.

"Something wrong with your shirt? Sorry, my shirt that I'm lending to you?"

"Whuh?"

"When did your sleeves become so interesting?"

"I'll talk in a second."

"What could you possibly be doing?"

"I almost had it," he snapped. "The True Name of cloth. It's gone now. I'm sure it will come back to me, but it will come back faster if you shut up, and quit obliterating my thought with your annoying voice asking trivial questions!"
I decided to be quiet. Cassinder didn't. "The Destroyer," she whispered. "He grows more powerful."
"I see."
I evidently didn't see to her satisfaction. Cassinder got off her horse and started spreading the word to the good citizens of Eriat. "The Destroyer. We need to stop him." She ran through the streets. I chased after her. Dragoneyes continued to ponder his pants.

I ran in pursuit of my sister. But it was hopeless. I wasn't exactly an expert at running. Turns out that spending most of your waking hours reading and experimenting didn't make me a paragon of physical fitness.

So my younger sister raced through the town. She accosted a stranger. I later learned his name was Lerren. "Stop him," she demanded. "Stop him!"

Lerren assumed Cassinder was being chased by some sort of criminal. "Slow down. Who is chasing you?"

"Horrors. Blood! Death! He killed them all! They never threatened him, and he tore them apart."

"What are you talking about?"

"He burned a city to the ground. A camp of refugees, washed away in a flood."

Lerren began to back away.

"You don't care! You won't try to stop him. I knew you were cold, uncaring, like the rest of them. I tried to persuade you. I did! But I can't stop the Destroyer. I need help. Somebody help me!"
At this point, I showed up. "Cassinder! Are you okay?"
"He's still there! Why won't he leave me alone?"
I think Lerren misunderstood who Cassinder was talking about. "Are you hurting this girl?"
"No, quite the opposite. I'm her brother."
"Hell of a good job you're doing."
"I'm sorry. How are you doing protecting your clairvoyant loved ones from terrible visions of the beyond?"
"All I know is, my daughter doesn't run through town crying."
I was about to do say something foolish when Dragoneyes showed up and said something even more foolish. "Go away, Lerren. Otherwise, you'll be the one running through the town.
"Are you threatening me?"
"Yes. Cassinder's problems are not your business. Leave now."
The two of them were busy staring each other down, when Cassinder bolted. Even before I had started to give chase, she disappeared completely.

"What was that," I asked.

"Quick bit of sorcery on her part," Dragoneyes responded. "Don't worry, I see her."

Powerful as Dragoneyes was, I was doubtful of his ability to move fast. It turns out those doubts were mistaken. He didn't invoke his power as a mage. He was just more fit than me.

Cassinder reappeared, flying through the air. She was propelling herself with the might of her own sorcery. I didn't even know that was possible.

"You're in the air," I said to her. "Now I can help you."

I spoke a fragment of a Name. I called forth a great gust of wind. My sister's sorcery couldn't function against such a headwind. She was held in place, prevented from getting any further away from us. I steeled myself, and invoked the Name again. The air before me hardened, and I walked on a staircase of air, climbing into the sky.

I caught ahold of Cassinder. "Did I hurt you?" It occurred to me that going head-to-head with a sorcerous gale couldn't be a fun experience.

"He's chasing me," she said. "The Destroyer. He knows I see him, and he wants me quiet."

"The Destroyer is not trying to kill you." Presumably. "And nobody is chasing you. And there is Dragoneyes." Finally. Standing in the sky on hardened air is difficult. I welcomed his nice, solid spire of stone.

"We finally show up someplace where you aren't a famous sorcerer. And within half an hour of entering the town, we're local celebrities." He turned his attention to Cassinder. "You okay?"

"For now."

Dragoneyes was out drinking. He was curious. How would his new senses function while drunk. He had heard many mages say that True Names came more easily when inebriated. That didn't ring true, but, again, Dragoneyes was curious.

A stranger came up to him. "Were you the one who tore up the market a few hours ago?"

"I really need to get some clothes that aren't a wizardly white."

"Mind if I drink with you?"

"Not in the least."

"The two of them drank a while, and chatted about trivialities. The stranger had some pretty negative opinions about the Etoran Empire. "There they go, expanding into the Little Lands as if nobody but them had any right to self-sovereignty."

"Look on the bright side. At least they've stopped making war with Irin."

"Only because they know that Irin has powerful sorcerers, who would be a trouble to conquer and a trouble to execute once defeated."

The conversation wore on some more. Dragoneyes cleared his throat. "I actually have a problem you might be able to help me with."

"What?"

"Come with me. I'll show you."

The two of them left the bar. "I don't see a problem."

"I do. I see a shade who thought he could poison me. Want to plead for your life, or should I kill you now?"

Dran didn't actually respond. Instead, he invoked the True Name of ice, and began to encase Dragoneyes in a frozen block.

"You aren't the only one who knows that Name." Dragoneyes began muttering icy syllables. The block's progress slowed. Dragoneyes concentrated. This was his ultimate test as a master of ice. He drew upon his full command of the True Name. The ice continued to advance.
Dran, too was calling upon every ounce of will in his body, forcing the ice to push forward. This was his only chance. He could freeze Dragoneyes. Administer poisons into his cooled body. He could succeed.
Dragoneyes saw the outlines of the plan forming in Dran's skull. All the more reason not to be frozen. He redoubled his efforts.
Dranarius let out a harsh chant. "I.. will... defeat you."
"Whatever." He drew upon the True Name of fire, and the ice became so much warm water. Dran's frozen daggers bounced off stone barriers. A sword materialized in Dragoneyes' hand. He pointed his weapon at the shade.

 Dran knew that he was beaten. "How did you know I was a shade?"

"I see everything." Dragoneyes looked harder at his defeated assailant. "Interesting. I see the internal conflict, human fighting spirit for control. Perhaps I can find a way to shift that balance."

"I doubt it."

"Well aren't you smarmy for someone I could incinerate, eviscerate, drown, or pummel to death?"
"Am I wrong? I don't hear any bright ideas."
"That may be the case. But I know someone who specializes in bright ideas regarding esoteric magical phenomena. His name is Amniel."