A professor from every department sat around the rectangular oak table in the staff room, arguing with each other. The meeting had already lasted over an hour. Yet Magnus was no closer to forming a Minningen Adventurer's Guild from the pool of students on their master list.

As their voices ascended in both volume and tenor, Magnus observed them all in perfect silence. Fools! Victory will never come until they begin to work together.

"We've been at war for eighty years," said Professor Weisen. "We need different tactics to defeat the Shadow. Innovation and intelligence gathering will save countless lives."

"I won't place the fate of the Republic in the hands of a group of children," insisted General Stormbringer, a respected dwarf fighter with long hair and a thick beard as red as his surcoat.

"Right, because old men wield swords on the battlefield," retorted the Dean of Sorcerers, jutting her chin. "My magic users are more experienced than your men will ever be."

Red-faced, the General cast her a look that would turn water to stone.

"Rogues can destroy infrastructure. Gather intelligence. Assassinate leaders." Master Arrowblade flipped back his black hood, revealing his long Elven ears. "But we must work in tandem with the military. Not on our own."

General Stormbringer gestured at the Dean of Rogues as though to say he had proven his point. It was probably the only time in the history of Minningen that a dwarf had agreed with an elf.

Professor Negrescu shook her head and tugged at her green surcoat. "I'd like to know why the committee hasn't placed a single Sorcerer or Cleric on the roster."

"Precisely." The Dean of Clerics folded her hands, the wide arms of her ivory surcoat draping across the table. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say the army didn't wish for any true Leaders of the Light."

General Stormbringer slapped the table with his palm. "How dare you!" 

"Enough!" When Magnus rose, it ended all debate and the shocked delegates turned to him. "You have asked why Lord Staufen dared to bring the Tower Guard into your esteemed institute of higher learning."

Silence.

"This is why." Magnus rose to his full height, pressing his forefinger to the table. "You academics assemble, and you talk while our enemy gathers both speed and momentum."

Some delegates exchanged incredulous glances while others hunched over their notes or stared at their hands. Good! These tiresome bureaucrats need some perspective.

"I have been sent here to put an end to your endless chatter and put you back on target," said Magnus. "Each wing of the university will give me two representatives. Your best and brightest. Lord Staufen and I will decide how best to use them. That is all."

General Stormbringer rose in protest. "Sir, I implore you to—"

"Dismissed."

Without another word the delegates rose and dispersed one by one. Magnus could detect their emotions leaching from their souls like a dirty paintbrush dipped into water. Red-hot anger mixed with ice-cold shock. In the Republic of Minningen academics had always enjoyed pure autonomy, free from the clutches of the Crown. But that was before the war.

Now they needed to act.

Magnus regarded the delegates over steepled fingers as the room emptied. Soon he sat all alone, apart from his trusted Mentor of the Light, Professor Weisen, who stood resolutely at his spot.

Neither of them spoke for several seconds. Magnus could not tell whether they were fighting a battle of wills or his mentor was choosing his next words with extreme care.

"Speak your mind, Professor."

Weisen ran both hands over his wild tufts of hair. "With all due respect, Sir, I would ask you to reconsider your decision."

"Which one?"

"Katharina."

Magnus was grateful for the mask, for it hid his pained expression. "Explain why I should."

"If you don't accept her as your assistant, you'd be making a big mistake," said Weisen.

"I know what I'm doing."

"Look at her exam." He gestured at the parchment, which held hardly any corrections. "She got the best mark. Even though you corrected it."

His heart clenched. If only Weisen knew how much he wanted Katharina on his team. But he could not accept anyone who might lead him on a path toward the Shadow.

"She must learn discipline." Magnus' voice thrummed with determination. "Did you not notice her sneer as she saluted us? Does she even favor the cause?"

"Katharina's a bit feisty, yes." Weisen sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "But she's a clever girl. Loyal to the Light. And a damned hard worker."

"I see she handed in her term paper two days ago."

"But—"

"Eight weeks late. Do you call this hard work?"

You are clutching at mist, and the professor will know. He is no fool.

"Did you read it?" retorted the flustered wizard. "It was one of the most brilliant papers I've ever read. Name one other student on your cursed list who could have managed it."

Magnus fell silent.

"Coming up empty? That's because Katharina's the best." The professor lowered his voice. "Better than me at her age. Now end this nonsense and hire her immediately."

Heavy silence filled the room like dense fog.

"Choose anyone else worthy of the title, and I will accept them gladly," declared Magnus. "Man or woman. Old or young. They can be a giant or an ogre for all I care. But not her."

Weisen approached him with calculated steps, so closely that Magnus could see the dark blue specks in his pale eyes. For the first time in years, he felt small. Like a child before his father, waiting to be punished.

"Give me one good reason why I should destroy her career before it starts," said the professor in an even tone that chilled his soul. "Put together a team of experts, and this woman could help win us the war."

Though Magnus met his fierce gaze, his heart shriveled, curling upon itself until it hurt to draw breath. He felt ashamed. For he realized the professor was correct on all counts, and Weisen fought for the clever woman with honor. Without any regard for his own position.

Under most circumstances, he would agree with Weisen and fight equally hard on her behalf. 

But not this time.

"Katharina guided my transition to the Light," replied Magnus in a hushed tone.

Weisen balked. "She did?"

"She tended to me every day."

"Did you..." The professor cleared his throat. "...bond with her?"

"I did." Magnus heaved a sigh. "I cannot speak for Katharina. I doubt it. She was a young woman of eighteen, exploring the healer track. After she started studying, she never contacted me."

"Light above!"

"Indeed."

The professor exhaled a long, steady breath. "If you've bonded with her, you can't be objective."

"No, I cannot," agreed Magnus. "When I saw her name on the list, I tried to recuse myself, but Lord Staufen—"

Magnus halted mid-sentence, unwilling to speak ill of his Lord and Master.

Weisen nodded. "He's headstrong and refused your resignation."

Silence.

"Typical," muttered the professor under his breath. "This one time, I can't blame him, though. You are the right person for the job, given your...experience."

His throat clenched. Indeed, Magnus knew the Shadow Realm better than he wished to admit.

"How did it feel...to see her again?" asked the professor. "Have your feelings waned?"

Magnus closed his eyes. With perfect clarity he recalled the young woman glaring at him with eyes as dark as the towering pines on the outskirts of Teufelwald. They had pierced him like a lance. They held a sparkle, much more than a glimmer of sharp intelligence. He'd never seen a wizard fight with such passion. Such determination.

Katharina was almost ferocious. Even now she took his breath away.

No other woman had made him feel that way. Not before or since her.

His draconic heart had fallen for the first time long ago when he was still one with the darkness. One with Andor. Back then he had not felt human love. No, the desire for his Queen had become an unhealthy obsession that had consumed his entire world in a ball of flame. Until she'd driven him to commit unspeakable crimes in her name.

His heart clenched tight. Flashbacks from the last great battle stabbed his chest, robbing him of air. Many had died on both sides. Including the one kill he regretted worst of all.

The Tower guard shook his head. "I fell once. It must never happen again."

Weisen grasped Magnus by the shoulder. "My Son in the Light, do you trust me?"

"Yes, Father."

The professor gave the guard's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "I've known Katharina from the time she was..." He chuckled. "Oh, a small babe."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, and Katharina sees me as you do," he replied, "like a Father in the Light. Especially after her papa fell in the last battle."

Magnus' heart squeezed so tight that it ached.

"Though I can't reveal her secrets any more than I would reveal yours," he continued, "I feel obliged to—in very general terms—reassure you that you have nothing to fear."

"I do not?"

"No, you see, Katharina..." The professor paused as though carefully forming his words. "You don't need to fear the fall. She won't ever lead you astray."

Magnus' heart sank into his stomach. Though relief swept over his rational mind, his soul plummeted as though he'd cast himself into the depths of Mount Balaam's fiery tempest.

Katharina did not return his feelings.  

"This relieves my mind greatly." Exhaling a heavy breath, Magnus nodded. "And it changes everything."

Professor Weisen caught his gaze. "But not your heart..."

His ice-cold mind chastised his weak heart. It doesn't matter. This is war.

"I will hire Katharina, of course. She is the best candidate."

"Thank you, Sir."

"I appreciate your candor, Professor."

Without another word Magnus strode toward his office, his black cloak billowing behind him. His footsteps fell in an even cadence that echoed through the ornate chambers of Castle Minningen, a classical stone palace with an ornately carved wooden interior.

In his weaker moments like these, the labyrinthine halls brought to mind vicious flashbacks of the last horrific battle that had changed everything. Flashes of the evil Shadow Queen and the fortress that had nearly destroyed him.

Castle Teufelwald.

He fought to keep them at bay. Silence. I need silence.

No matter how quickly the corridors filled after classes had ended, both the students and staff made way for him as though he were the magnificent Lord Staufen himself.

Magnus was grateful.

Desperate to be alone, he needed to think. To pull himself together. He longed to sink into the darkness and calm his troubled soul. After reaching his office at last, he locked the door.

Magnus shut his blackout curtains, blocking the breathtaking view of the Blue Mountains, the castle gardens, and the stunning waterfalls. Though his soul longed for the Light, his draconic body needed the darkness. A blessed reprieve from the brutal Minningen sun.

Ahh, I've longed for this all day.

Silence. Darkness. Peace.

___

Word count: 1,784
Total word count: 5,282/8,000