~ We have to get help. I cannot deal with a healing of this nature. ~

~ Where? How bad is it? We must save her. It is important to me. ~

~ My people. I know of one, he can help us. It is bad. Her mind is circling, with no finality being reached. I believe that she cannot escape from it by herself. Now is not the time to ask you why she is suddenly more important to you.~

~ I. Yes. ~

~ I shall prepare the magic for taking her. You take whatever you need. ~

Blackmain paused a moment, wondering whether he should go or not, despite what Ishton had said. He had much still to do before winter, and if they had to remain in the elven colony for too long, his chance to finalize the plans for summer would be lost. They had to save Julia though, without her, nothing would work. And if he was right, and she was his daughter, he would need to be there. The elves could likely tell him if his suspicion was correct anyway.

~ Hurry. I don’t know where or when this will end for Julia. We need to transport her as soon as possible. ~

Blackmain’s cloak was hanging on the back of the door, effortlessly blending into the wooden background. Blackmain decided against taking his crossbow, it wouldn’t be diplomatic when it was a peaceful mission. His throwing knives would be enough to remain them of his profession, as well as his simple dagger. The sword was an essential; its magic always came in handy for some reason and it often provided him with additional power to draw on when he was desperate. He shrugged on the breastplate; better protected than dead, but left the shield in its box.

Ishton rose from the floor gracefully, and walked to the workroom, mentally preparing himself to cast the energy back into the stone floor. It was a pity that he had needed to wipe it clean after the last casting, but the residual energy wouldn’t have assisted either, negatively charged as it was. He sank to his knees again, tracing a wide circle as big as the cramped room would allow. He followed this initial circle with two smaller ones, leaving a gap for Blackmain and Julia to enter. He then started to fill in the concentric rings with intricate looping designs, typical of elven work. Each of the circles followed a specific function: the first for protection, the second for direction and the third to hold everything together. Many a human spell-caster had forgotten this last ring, and paid for it in blood as their body parts separated during the journey. Equally, the ring of protection couldn’t hold if someone got the directions wrong – a seething pool of acid waste or a nest of determined poisonous vipers weren’t deterred by a protection spell that needed to be maintained by the caster constantly.

Nothing of the sort could go wrong with Ishton’s casting however, Ishton was a Master and had made this exact trip many times, often with Blackmain a dead weight on his shoulders. The man never did learn he wasn’t invulnerable. It hurt Ishton more often now, his friend was getting old, and Ishton could sense the tiredness in his thoughts. Blackmain entered with Julia inverted over his shoulders, indeed similar to Ishton’s memories. He smiled, and Blackmain looked at him quizzically.

~ What is so funny my friend? ~

~ You. But hurry still, we must depart. ~

Ishton and Blackmain gently laid Julia between them, her long limbs barely fitting within the confined circles. Ishton hurriedly closed the circles behind them, deftly inscribing the final directional instructions. Blackmain and Ishton settled down into mediation positions, Blackmain groaning slightly as his knees bent uncomfortably. Ishton reached again for Blackmain’s mind, drawing on it’s strength. Both were weakened, it would take both of their energies to reach the elven outpost. Even as Ishton pulled towards the area, he hoped that someone would be there to greet them, forewarned by one of the Seers.

The garments flowed about me, their unfamiliar silky softness caressing my skin. It was so ironic how I was standing in the wind to protect the others from the invasion. I should have been enjoying my morning cup of soothing green tea about now, with my feet being massaged back into shape after the cold night on the rocks. The training for mages was difficult, but the benefits were priceless. I steadied my feet, and winced as unseen splinters popped out to provide a distracting annoyance. The bridge was old and rickety, the only place of entry into the island that was left.

The island stood in the centre of the basin, on a rocky outcrop that had been gradually formed by the waves and winds of time. Eventually the place would crumble into the ocean, at the moment it was being held up by the master spells. The view was breathtaking from the centre of the bridge, green vines spiralling downward from the edges of the island, and the outflow of water into the surrounding lake.

I leant over the edge, rocking the bridge further. I could see my fellow students and the enemy. Whatever had been my luck to be out here I didn’t know. I was new, this would really stretch my abilities. I had watched all the other attempted invasions, and the mages who had become famous in repelling them. The magics they used were far from what I knew. This test would be the breaker of me.

“Halt.” The bouncers were just automations after all. Sarah had never been close to them, all the horror stories about those who were not ready, and the consequences always rang in her ears. “Your name?”

“Sarah Echinour.” She replied. “E-C-H-I…”

“Plagiarism,” said one, cutting her off. “That way.”

Jumping back in shock, Sarah couldn’t believe what he had just said. She hadn’t cheated. This was all her own work this time, she hadn’t wanted to risk failing again. This had been her last chance to enter the senior halls. Perhaps there had been a mistake.

Another set of escalators down, and Sarah was standing in front of her old year level coordinator in a huge open plan room. Ms. Phim frowned and started looking through the boxes of reports in front of her.

“What went wrong this time?”

“Nothing. It was all my hard work, I tried so hard. Are you sure there wasn’t a mistake?”

“We don’t make mistakes.”

“You don’t understand. There is no way I would have cheated. I’ll re-take all the tests right now if you want me to prove it,” pleaded Sarah.

“Sorry. That was your last chance.” Ms. Phim handed Sarah her results. “Good-luck in the future, with those, you’re going to need it.”

Sarah frowned and turned away. She had always though the teachers checked their results more than necessary. The head always color-coded the envelopes so that it was clear which went where, and then sealed them for privacy. The seal didn’t appear to be broken on her letter, but who knew? Ms. Phim could have used a little magic just to test it.

There were little viewing boxes to sit and read your results in the next room. Sarah went in. She opened her results carefully, making sure not to damage the paper with her knife.

Dear Sarah,

We regret to inform you that because of your extensive plagiarism, you fail to receive any recognition for your work. We have included the grades you would have received, had you not cheated, in brackets. A grade guide is included on the reverse of this letter.

Biological Basis of Magic P (B)

History and Philosophy of Magic P (A)

Practical Applications of Magic A

Religions P (A)

Theoretical Practice of Magic P (A)

With results such as these, we suggest a job in crime, or further action within cheating options. This includes gambling and drinking, you should already be familiar with these. No honest job will accept you, and we will certainly not be inviting you back to study with us next year.

Congratulations and sincere warmth

Mr. C.C. Gumn

Sarah didn’t bother to turn over the letter, she knew what the P’s meant. How could all of her results be nil, exempt, void, because of plagiarism? She had worked incredibly hard for those grades. Was it that she had scored so highly that they thought she had cheated? It wasn’t fair.

She almost laughed at the automated farewell at the end. “Congratulations?” For what? She had gotten an A for Practical Applications, but without a pass grade in Theoretical, no-one would want to accept her for further study or a job. Rogue mages were the ones who got grades like her. Most of them just failed each section, not had their grades wiped out for plagiarism.

Sarah sighed. There was nothing else for it. She thought about abandoning the letter then and there, but decided that too many questions could be asked. People were starting to stare at her curiously, wondering what she had gotten. She pushed through the crowds, heading for the stairs again. She had to escape.

Once out on the main road again, Sarah carefully calculated the speeds of the cars rushing past. The speed sign said 60km per hour, much too slow to make certain. Up ahead, there was a section of road marked 100. Sarah had always wondered why there was such a jump in speeds. She hurried her walk; she had to get there before any of her friends found her.

“Hey, wait up.”

Sarah kept walking, she was so close to her goal. The sound of running footsteps alerted her to the fact she was about to be grabbed from behind by Jane.

“Hey. Hey, how’d you go, I passed, finally, good thing too, isn’t it, what did they say about your career this time, I’m supposed to get an office job with mine, customer service or something, I did well in religions, didn’t you, and oh.” Jane cut off abruptly.

Carefully looking and scheming, Sarah checked out the cars.

“Hey. You know what, let’s go see a movie, pick you up.” Jane wasn’t the best at subtle hints, but she had enough people experience to know when her best friend was in a bad mood. “I’ve wanted to see that new one for ages, what’s it called, you know, the one that’s a take-off, they said it’s got heaps of decent look-alikes in it, think they used real actors for a change.” Jane dragged Sarah away from the road.

Sarah gave up, unresisting. Maybe being a thief wouldn’t be so bad after-all. At least she still had the choice. She wasn’t mind-wiped, she could act out against the system now. Her choice. And that other option was always free if she decided the life wasn’t for her. Nothing more to lose.