Nagan found himself wandering the halls. No aim in mind, but it wasn't as if he was aiming to have something on his mind in the first place. Master Dagmire's words had struck him harder than he cared to admit, and they were all he was afraid of. This...all of this didn't feel right. What was the Council looking for during all of this? Something wasn't adding up to him.

That was when something near the ceiling caught his attention. A couple magical presences were lingering around—which was expected considering how many mages were in this building—but one of them felt eerily familiar. It was a dwarns.

Master Erswell's? And Nagan recalled seeing Erswell take a right from where he took a left. The location he was now lined up with that direction, and if he recalled correctly, there was a library up ahead. Not one that contained anything important—he remembered Rin mentioning there was an even bigger archive below that not everyone was allowed to access—so this one was filled with books the public could access. That didn't mean Nagan didn't chuckle a bit at the irony if this presence really was Master Erswell's. Well...there was no harm in confirming his suspicions, right?

The library within the Council of Thirds was smaller than the one on Carvolier and kept to one floor, but that didn't mean the size of the room was anything less than spacious. Long tables ran down the center as bookshelves stacked on either side. Some shelves were embedded into the walls, but most of the space was reserved for large paintings and other grandiose, decorative features. Doors and other archways were placed between as well, all leading to secluded areas or other sections of the library as their public archive grew out of the space. No one but himself stood in the main part, but he could still see the remanence of three presences heading further in. Nagan stuck to the walls and in between shelves as he followed them.

He had gone through an archway and another room before he encountered something surprising but not unknown. Silencing barriers were invisible to most, but for a magic affinity, they hung in the air with a slight shimmer as one got closer to it. What this barrier was, Nagan didn't know quite yet, but all three presences lead beyond it.

He carefully prodded at it, wary that it would inform those who stood inside it of his own presence. He shook his head after the thought. This was a public area, and he had every right to be here as anyone else. If anything, as far as anyone else's business was concerned, he was simply looking for something to read.

With his mind made up, he pressed his back to the bookshelf behind him and nearly against the barrier itself. It shouldn't activate as long as he didn't pass it, and the last time he checked, he couldn't walk through solid objects. He shut his eyes tight as he carefully began unraveling a small hole into the silencing wall. Risky, but well worth it when done correctly. All barriers could be broken through, after all. It only took a bit of patience and someone who knew how the magic worked. Slowly but surely, Nagan began hearing the hushed whispers of the people behind it.

One voice was the most apparent and the loudest of all. Master Erswell must have trusted the barrier well. The other two, however, were much quieter and harder to hear. Nagan didn't recognize them, but one of them struck him as vaguely familiar. If there were others, they had yet to speak. It took a bit more fine-tuning for Nagan to hear everything being said.

"...don't you think?" Nagan didn't catch the first part of what Master Erswell said, but the rest he heard loud and clear. "The Sendiros have already replaced the Arclovens due to their refusal to get involved. Well, besides Madam Arcloven's husband, but I seldom consider him as one of them. Such an odd choice she made marrying him. Wasn't one of the Elvar sons an eligible bachelor at the time?"

"Eidris?" another voice spoke. "I don't believe he was at the time, but even then, he and Cilara never got along. Unless you're talking about Nageth."

"No, no, I was talking about Eidris. Why would I talk about Nageth if the overall topic was advantageous marriages and that Cilara chose poorly?"

"Masters, if we can please keep to the original subject?" a more timid voice said. "Even if this is a public place, someone may still become suspicious if we're caught meeting here."

"And what will they do about it, ah? We've just got done saying Master Honoria is too weak-kneed to do anything right now." Master Erswell let out a disgruntled hum. "He was never the same after losing his son."

The two with him murmured in agreement.

"Which is why I think we should start proposing that we choose another Drakon head. Respectfully, of course." Master Erswell cleared his throat. "Not that I am so bold as to nominate myself, but we do need a strong leader during these times. The Elvars and Warvens are still trying to gather themselves, the Totari never wish to do anything except protect their own borders, the Sendiros are still new, and the only Dagmire left is too preoccupied with the war itself."

So the Erswells are a drakon family, Nagan thought, disappointed, but Master Erswell wasn't done speaking.

"If Master Dagmire died without an heir, I don't know what would happen to the line nor if anyone could replace it, but that's none of my concern at the moment. What is my concern is how to keep me on this council."

The other, "If anything happens to you, you still have us here."

"Yes, but then what will stop them from continuing their search? That could lead to you, or even you."

"I'm not sure I wish to be involved any further than I am now," the timid one said.

"I hope you are not thinking of betraying us, Dorin." The shift in Master Erswell's tone almost gave Nagan a mental whip-lash. Gone was the natural charisma, only being left with a blatant threat.

"N-No! Not that. I just...think this is as far as I can go."

"You have done too much by now. Going weak at the knees too at the slightest thought of being discovered? You're not the one being investigated at this moment." Master Erswell made a disgusted sound. "I don't know what Meixong is playing at sending the rat brat here in their stead."

"If it helps, the boy is also being investigated," the other said. "Even if it was a woeful oversight of him being below the age of seventeen, we still got our point across. I'm sure there's something else in his past that will strike him even more suspicious. Perhaps...that incident where Honoria's boy died?"

"They did get into that fight during my last year at Carvolier," the timid one noted.

"Yes, yes, they were notorious for never getting along! I remember now. Yet Carthadeus still chose Nagania as his second sergeant. Did you ever notice that it was only the two eldest of the squadron who died? It's obvious why the rat would kill Carthadeus—if he was dead, he would naturally take the other's place—but what if he killed the other boy—what was his name...ah, doesn't matter—in case his place was challenged?"

Nagan could barely believe what he was hearing. Were they about to accuse him of murdering Carth and Gath? A treacherous voice whispered in his mind that he may as well have since he certainly didn't save them, and he violently shoved it away. How dare they say such a thing!

"Too much speculation," Master Erswell gritted, no doubt frustrated with the situation. "We have gotten this far with speculation, but now we need to start presenting evidence. At least, something eye-catching before they start digging too deep. If we were caught...well, at least the Council will be more merciful than what he will do to us."

A long line of silence fell between them.

"I think that's enough talk for the day," the other voice said. "These meetings aren't over yet, and after that, we can reconvene again. Go ahead and pull down the barrier."

Nagan opened his eyes as the barrier was disabled, and he crossed his arms in front of him. For a fleeting moment he thought about leaving without a trace, and he knew he definitely could with his skill level. Besides, these people weren't soldiers. They didn't know a single thing about a fight besides flinging a few spells. Most of all, they didn't have the instincts to keep them alive.

That is an assumption, a little voice in Nagan's mind whispered cautiously. Despite that, however, Nagan remained where he was, and it wasn't long until he saw people pass the aisle he stood in. The first didn't notice him, but the second did, leaping back with a shout. Within seconds, the end of the aisle was crowded with the three voices he heard before.

"You!" Master Erswell pointed accusingly at him. Only then did Nagan look at them, letting an easy smile slip onto his face.

"Master Erswell," Nagan greeted before glancing at the other two. One recognized, but the other he didn't. "Sir Tinlar. And I'm afraid I don't know the third. My apologies. Are you here looking for some reading material as well?"

"Lieutenant Elvar," Sir Tinlar greeted feebly, and Nagan recognized it as the timid voice from before. "You see—"

"That tongue will not fool me, Nagania!" Master Erswell hollered, taking a few daring steps toward Nagan. Master Erswell wasn't the first to use Nagan's name in scorn, but never before had he hated hearing it more.

"Master Erswell, I don't believe I ever gave you permission to call me that." Nagan pushed himself off the bookshelf, standing at full height and sending a disapproving look in the group's direction. "We are not familiar. I understand that the Elvar's main branch is here, but that doesn't stop you from addressing me as Lieutenant."

That took Master Erswell aback, him taking a step back, and he even looked over his shoulder at the others. Neither of the men behind him looked eager to get involved. Nonetheless, Master Erswell gritted his teeth and stepped back into Nagan's personal space. If he were able to, Nagan was sure Master Erswell wanted nothing more than to throw him into the shelf.

Not so little to throw around anymore, Nagan thought, amused, but he was torn from his thoughts when Master Erswell began to speak, his voice low and threatening.

"Then listen to me carefully, boy. Bigger things are going on that your narrow, little world you're used to could never comprehend. I don't know what game you're playing here, but I would suggest you run along and keep quiet. You have no place here, not when the adults are speaking."

"Oh? You seemed rather pleased in accusing me as an adult a few days ago. Changed your mind that quick?"

"And let's keep it that way, yes?" Master Erswell tilted his head to the side as if he was thinking through his next words. "It would be...safer, if you consider yourself a child. The Council may go easier on you on that account, but I am the one they have known for years; myself and my family name. You, however, are an unknown with a lineage of defiance. It is very apparent you didn't need to spend much time around your father for his tendencies to rub off on you."

The chime of a bell rang through the air.

Nagan frowned as he stared at Master Erswell's motionless face. He had almost forgotten how silent it was within his time spells. Blood usually rushed in his ears or his mind was too preoccupied to really appreciate it. An unknown emotion flooded his being, however. Something akin to rage but much more subdued; calculating, even. Heat radiated from his hand as a stone knife slowly began to form, dust and rubble assembling bit by bit. Nagan never really felt the need to perfect the Elvar's signature forging magic, but it was at this moment when he saw its true potential. The blade wasn't the sharpest, but...

Nagan raised the knife and held it to Master Erswell's neck. Oh, how easy it would be to simply...let it slip.

The knife dissolved in his hand without a trace. Master Erswell continued to stand, unharmed. Instead, he slipped around the man, releasing the time spell just as he pulled a book from the shelf. The two behind startled back now that Nagan appeared right in front of them, and Master Erswell looked around wildly until he finally saw Nagan behind him. He stumbled back, then, once again pointing a finger at him, all the while as Nagan skimmed the book's preface. Nagan was never really interested in theories in lithomancy and their connections with alchemically made crystals and affinity divination, but now that he was here—

"How—how did you—" Master Erswell sputtered, breaking Nagan's concentration.

"I don't know, you tell me since you know me so well." Nagan snapped the book shut, tucking it under his arm. "Or don't, and leave it to speculation. How did you say it? Present something eye-catching?"

Nagan turned and pushed past Sir Tinlar and the other—he still didn't know his name—heading straight for the exit. He didn't know what he would do if he had to stay in such close proximity to Master Erswell any longer.

The image of the knife against Master Erswell's throat briefly flashed through Nagan's mind, and he swiftly pushed down the sick thrill he got from it. That wasn't really what he wanted...right? Only a fantasy, and nothing more.

Nagan stopped by a heavy book of names, writing his own and the title of the book he carried knowing that the invisible barrier would stop him if he didn't. No one had followed him out, after all. For the rest of the trip, however, he refused to leave Rin alone for more than a few minutes. If Rin noticed how Nagan kept looking over his shoulder, he never mentioned it.