"You made it," Lysane whispered, hugging Caster gently. "I thought you were dead.""I am too stubborn to die," Caster offered a weak, tired smile. They walked into the warm cave. The children cheered and hugged Caster’s legs. Caster patted their heads gently. He walked over to a flat rock near the fire. He sat down heavily. Sikoa sat next to him. She pulled off her wet eye-patch and wiped her scarred face. "We lost Solon," Sikoa said softly, looking down at the dirt floor. Lysane closed her eyes. A tear rolled down her cheek. "I know. He was a brave man.""He did not die for nothing," Caster said. His voice was firm. Caster reached into his deep pocket. He pulled out the clear glass crystal. It glowed with a soft, pulsing white light in the dark cave. He placed the crystal on the flat rock in front of the fire. "Lysane, Sikoa. Look at this," Caster commanded. He pushed a tiny bit of his normal, physical energy into the crystal. The crystal acted like a projector. It threw a brigh

Sikoa peeked around the corner of the sewer tunnel. She pulled her head back instantly. Her face was pale. "Federation Reactor Guards," Sikoa whispered, her voice tight with fear. "A patrol of five men. They are heading right toward us."Caster knew about the Reactor Guards. These were not normal Twin Moons soldiers. These were men who had been specially chosen by Chief Artificer Vane to guard the highly toxic, highly dangerous parts of the city. They wore thick, heavy suits of black lead armor to protect them from the radiation. They wore heavy iron helmets with thick glass visors over their eyes. They carried heavy, brutal iron pipes that glowed with sick purple magic. "We cannot fight them," Caster whispered back. "My magic is broken. The golden magic will kill me if I use it now. And Lysane’s hands are too burned to cast a spell.""Then I will handle them," Sikoa said coldly. She pulled both of her sharp steel daggers from her belt. "Wait here."Sikoa stepped out from behind th

Sikoa kept her hand near her daggers. She looked around the room suspiciously. "Who are you people? Why did you save us?"Kira, the young woman, stepped forward. Her green eyes were sharp and highly intelligent. "We are the Neutral Alchemy Accord," Kira declared proudly. "The Neutral Alchemy Accord?" Lysane frowned. "I have never heard of you.""That is the point," Thaddeus smiled sadly. He gestured for them to follow him to a large wooden table in the center of the room. He poured them three cups of hot, sweet-smelling tea. Caster sat down heavily on a wooden chair. He took a sip of the tea. It was warm and perfect. It settled his churning stomach. "When General Verne took over the city," Thaddeus explained softly, sitting across from Caster, "she ordered the total mobilization of all mages. She told her soldiers to arrest every single person who knew how to read a spellbook. She wanted to chain us to her iron tables and force us to build her terrible purple Mana Reactors."Thadd

Kira walked around the table. She stood directly in front of Caster. "I will not hide anymore," Kira declared. She looked Caster directly in the gray eyes. "I will broadcast your crystal. I will build a signal amplifier so strong that every magical mirror in this city will show those letters.""Kira!" Thaddeus yelled in pure panic. "You will get us all killed!""If we die telling the truth, then we die as scholars!" Kira shouted back at him. She turned to the other young mages in the room. "Who is with me?"For a long, tense moment, nobody moved. Then, a young boy with glasses stood up. Then a woman with ink-stained hands stood up. One by one, twenty young scholars stood up from their tables. They chose the truth over their own safety. They chose to be brave. Caster smiled. It was the first true, happy smile he had felt in days. "Thank you, Kira," Caster whispered. "But we have a problem, Archmage," Kira said, turning back to him. Her face became very serious and practical. "We bu

As the poison left Solon’s body, the tiny flakes of golden magic, the magic of absolute truth and life, seeped into his wounds. In the freezing mud, Solon’s chest jerked upward. Solon’s pale, lifeless eyes suddenly snapped open. "GAAAAAH!" Solon screamed. He rolled onto his side. He coughed violently. A massive clot of thick, dark red blood spilled from his lips into the mud. He gasped for air. His lungs burned like they were filled with hot sand. He was alive. He was incredibly weak. He was in agonizing pain. He was hovering on the very absolute edge of death. But his heart was beating. Solon laid in the mud, shivering uncontrollably. The freezing rain hit his face. He blinked his eyes, trying to see without his broken, thick glasses. Everything was blurry and dark. "Caster?" Solon whispered weakly. "Sikoa?"There was no answer. The cathedral was empty. Solon slowly pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. His arms shook so hard they almost collapsed. He looked down at his c