Ceres and Waithe arrived at the large elegant manor that housed the Lord of Moeras and his Lady. Ornately trimmed shrubbery and baskets of brightly colored flowers lined the stone pathway to the front door. Ceres dismounted from her horse and took a moment to admire the plants.

Waithe pounded on the huge oak door, which quickly opened to him. He announced, "Lady Ceres of the Order of Medice to see Lady Sharm."

The attendant bowed slightly and ducked back inside. Within a few minutes, a woman stepped out the door and smiled broadly. Her beauty struck Waithe. Long black hair framed a narrow brown-skinned face with high cheekbones. The woman, Lady Sharm apparently, rushed out and embraced Ceres. Despite her small thin stature, she easily lifted Ceres in her arms. Ceres returned the hug.

"Ceres, it is so good to see you! I have missed you so. Welcome to our house."

"My dear Sharm, I have missed you as well. Our house, be it? Your life has changed, my friend."

"Indeed so, all for the better. You must come inside and meet Eudus. We have so much to speak about. I will have our servants tend to your horses."

Ceres turned toward Waithe. "Sharm, this is my protector, Waithe. He travels with me."

He bowed. "My Lady."

Sharm said, "Welcome, Waithe." She turned back toward Ceres. "What brings you to our door?"

Ceres said, "There be many things to discuss, but for now I am eager to meet the man who took my best friend's heart."

"You will like him, come." Sharm led Ceres inside by the hand, bouncing along as she walked.

Leaving Ceres and Waithe alone in an ornate sitting room with a circle of cushy chairs, Sharm went to fetch her husband.

Waithe smiled. "Your friend has much exuberance."

"Indeed. We shared many adventures at the Order. And she got me in so much trouble."

"You in trouble, my sweet innocent Lady? I would very much like to hear of these tales of mischief..."

They turned as Sharm reentered the room on the arm of a handsome man. He appeared to be about ten years older and a head taller than she, with dark curly hair that flowed down to his shoulders and a broad smile that rivaled that of his wife. He wore a fine white silk shirt, fitting of a Lord.

He took Ceres' hand, bowing to kiss it. "My Lady Ceres, it is an honor to finally meet my wife's best friend. She has told me much of the exploits you two shared. A celebration is in order. Please join us for dinner and music this evening."

Waithe cast Ceres a knowing wink. A reason for a party indeed.

Ceres replied, "It would be my honor, Lord Eudus. Oh, with me is my protector and friend, Waithe Rand."

Waithe bowed, but Eudus would have none of it. He grasped Waithe's hand and shook it vigorously. "Welcome, Waithe. Your name seems familiar. Have we met?"

"I think not. But I was an officer in Lord Girald's army during the wars. We allied with your father's army and I fought side by side with them."

Eudus sat down across from Waithe in one of the finely upholstered chairs and put a hand to his chin. "And I fought side by side with the army of Woest. Perhaps our paths did cross at one point. But no matter. I am concerned, however, why a Lady of the Order would need a protector. No one would dare harm one."

Ceres replied, "My dear friend Waithe has already proven his worth, having saved me from harm during our journey here. There are those who pay no heed to the Order. But there is another thing, I have fled the Order of Medice."

Sharm's eyes and mouth opened wide. "What is this, Ceres?"

"They would have me assigned to Lord Scias in Kust and be bred to his Shaman, Raste. I would have none of that."

Eudus shook his head. "Scias is indeed a vile man. I would not fault you for resisting the assignment, but I thought a Lady of the Order would have a choice in the matter?"

"I was given none and sold like a slave, so I left in the dark of night. I fear both the Order and Scias' men seek to return me, by whatever means necessary."

Sharm frowned. "Just two days ago, a man I believed was a Guard of the Order asked me of you, Ceres. I thought nothing of it at the time, but now it troubles me."

"This is indeed troubling. What is becoming of the Order?" Eudus turned toward Waithe. "I will introduce you to the Captain of my guards this evening. Feel free to call on him for any assistance you may need. Now if you all will excuse me, I would set in motion our celebration. Perhaps we should make it a smaller affair, with only those we trust."

After Eudus departed, Sharm shifted forward to sit on the edge of her chair. "What else have you to discuss?"

"The Taint, what have you learned of it? In your letter to me, you said you study its nature."

"If I may ask, why do you wish to know?"

"The Order has done little to resist it, a lack of judgment at best, or a corruption at worst. It is my quest to end the Taint. On my journey here from Brosse, twice did I purge it from lands, and twice did I cure people, one of which be my dear protector."

Waithe interjected, "For which I will be eternally grateful."

Sharm lifted her eyebrows. "How did you do that? It is hard enough to make well Tainted lands, but for people, it is near impossible."

"The Spirit Anu lent her support, and of course, Phy is always with me. It did drain me, though."

"To get Anu to work together with any other Spirit is extraordinary in itself. Ironic, that the Spirit of natural balance bickers so much with the other Spirits. I could never channel her with any other. You have become powerful with the Magic, my friend."

Ceres looked away in thought. "I never considered myself as powerful."

Sharm tilted her head. "There is a patch of land deeply Tainted not far from here that has resisted my efforts to purge it. Rich lands and waters that once yielded much rice and fish, now lays wasted. Perhaps together we might cleanse them, once and for all?"

"I would be happy to assist, my good friend."

Sharm smiled. "Thank you, my dear Ceres. But for now, let me tell you what I learned of the Taint. Its roots lie in the Darkness, that which opposes the Creator God and would bring about the End Times. You know well the tale of the Darkness corrupted Shaman of the North Lands who cursed the Lands with the Taint. I believe, though, it was his original intent to initiate the End, but he could not. Long ago in Moeras some Shamans with darkened hearts worshiped the Darkness. Some of their writings were discovered and I have studied them. They also sought to bring about the End Times."

Ceres dropped her jaw. "Why would they want to end the very creation where they live?"

"Ah, that is one thing I learned. The End Times do not mean the end of all creation, but the end of free will. In it, we would all become as mindless slaves to the Darkness, a perfect order in the twisted minds of these dark Shamans."

"Have you learned of a way to rid the lands of the Taint forever?"

Sharm shook her head. "Nay. But I have learned that the dark North Lands' Shaman had a powerful spell book that he used to bring about the Taint. If that could be found, a way to end it may be discerned. The archives of the Order of Medice may tell you how to find it. But there is another difficulty, only a Tau may bring the writing forth, otherwise, the pages appear as blank."

Ceres wrinkled her forehead. "A Tau?"

"Aye. A rare attribute granted by the Spirit Aon, few Shaman ever carry it." Sharm turned to Waithe in explanation. "Aon is the Elemental Spirit of time, and very elusive. Rarely does she interact with mankind." She turned back to Ceres. "Those with the mark protect the flow of time and resist the End Times by their very existence. Thus the forces of Darkness hunted them down. It is rumored that no Tau exist now. Here, I will show you the mark."

Sharm withdrew a sheet of parchment and a charcoal marker from a drawer. On that, she drew the symbol.

Waithe jumped up and snatched up the page, gazing at it in disbelief. "My lost wife... She carried this mark. For so long have I sought reason to her murder."

Sharm opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

Ceres looked away, a distant look of dreadfulness on her face. "I never knew what it meant..."

Ceres stood. She tilted her head to the left and pulled down the top of her dress down to reveal her right shoulder. There on the front, near the collarbone, rested the mark of Tau. The dark mark stood out prominently on her light skin.

Sharm came to her and laid a hand on the mark, then closed her eyes. "It is... I feel the deep Magic." She opened her eyes and cast a grave expression. "My dear friend, you may be in far more danger than you know."