“Don’t abandon her just yet, Gordon!” Marvin pleaded, smming his fists on the desk. “I beg you!” He stood in the middle of a rge, stately office atop Windrake Academy's tallest tower. His dark brown eyes bore into the seated figure oher side of the desk as the pair engaged in a battle of wills.

  “She’s plicit ihing he does!” an exasperated reply came volleying back to the standiioner. “Do you uand how bad it has bee? Children are bei into Greshelm every day carrying the decapitated heads of their own parents. That is what happens when someone refuses to join.”

  Marvin grimaced, but that did not stop his colleague's tirade as Gordon tio berate him. “Grimmault is razing the fortress of Pagon as we speak. His followers are delusional fanatics. They are blood-binding their firstborn to him! If she hasn’t decided to put a stop to it by now, then she is toone!”

  “She’s scared! She doesn't have a path out.”

  “Scared?!” Gordon excimed, rising from his seat. His well-trimmed beard framed his scowl. “She’s a dangerous mind mage who has dohing but support his nefarious campaign for dominance. Her powers will soon eclipse my own. We have to take her out while we .”

  “e on, Gordon; you’re better than this. You know Elena.”

  “I khe Elena that attended Windrake Academy,” Gordon replied bitterly as he sat back down and stared off into his office. “That Elena is gone.”

  “Dammit, Gordon.” Marvin shot back, his fingers gripping at his long bck hair in frustration. “You know that’s not true.”

  Gordon pointed a menag fi the stubborn dissenter, fury igniting in his eyes. “It’s time to face the reality, Marvin. She won’t speak to me, but she might speak to you. You o do what o be done. Kill her on sight.”

  “No,” Marvin replied defiantly. A rumble of thunder from outside punctuated the word. Heedless of what transpired ihe tower, it sighe arrival of a more literal storm.

  “Are you refusing an order from the Grand Oracle?” Gordon challenged, deg he was done arguing.

  “I’m under no obligation to follow orders from the Grand Oracle,” Marvin tered.

  “Fine,” Gordon huffed, his frustration evident. “Are you refusing a direct order from your headmaster?”

  “I am not,” Marvin said, shaking his head i. “You are no longer my headmaster. I quit.” He slowly turned around and strode toward the exit, his footsteps heavy, and his eyes determio not look back.

  The Grand Oracle’s bluish-gray eyes watched relutly as his friend and colleague departed, realizing that he had pushed too far. He swallowed aended his hand forward to the retreating figure, but his lips remaiubbornly still.

  To the growing sound of thunder, Marvin began the long, solitary dest down the spiraling staircase, leaving behind his tattered allegiao Windrake.

  ***

  Twenty years ter…

  The cottage door burst open, interrupting the rhythmi that had been filling the cozy space.

  “Papa!” A girl ie teens bouhrough the doorway. “Guess what happened?!”

  Jostled from his peaceful afternoon nap, Marvin blinked a few times befetting his bearings. He sleepily observed the girl’s excitement from his favorite rog chair, her bck, silky hair boung with energy. Brushing his own hair out of his face, which, to his dismay, appeared to have mray streaks than he remembered, he stifled a yawn before answering the lively girl. “Did Trey eat all of your cookies again?”

  “No—well, actually, yes, but that’s not what I want to tell you.”

  “Did you suddenly develop a burning desire to weed my garden?” Marvin asked wryly.

  “No, Papa!” the girl excimed, rolling her hazel eyes at his facetious remark. “I was learning how to brew a remedy for the Graveyard Fever from Madam Quay—”

  “Ah, Madam Quay!” he interjected, scratg his grizzled . “She’s quite skilled at brewing potions. You’re fortuo have someone like her all the way out here in Lovarn.”

  “Papa, let me finish!” she said, g her fists.

  Marvin chuckled. “Where’s the fun in that?”

  “Madam Quay was teag us outside by the river,” she tinued, ign the old man’s rhetorical question, “and a man walked out of the forest. At first, we thought he was the lumber mill owner ing back from Hedard, but whe closer, Marie noticed the Windrake insignia on his dark blue cloak. That got everyoed!”

  Marvin’s lips tightened, his fiapping the armrest.

  “Papa, the Grand Oracle is visiting Lovarn! He’s here right now! He waved to us when he walked by. e on, we have to see what he’s doing.” The girl scurried over to his rog chair where she prepared to help him up.

  “I’m not that old, Skye,” he grumbled. “I get up by myself.”

  “Of course, Papa,” she said. “I just know your rog chair be hard to get out of.”

  “Exactly!” Marvin replied. “That’s what makes it so great.”

  Skye turo head back out the door, but looked puzzled when she saw Marvioward the kit. “Papa, where are you going? Don’t you want to go see what the Grand Oracle is doing in Lovarn?”

  “No,” he answered simply. “I’m hungry.”

  “But… what if we miss him?”

  Marvin snorted. “I don’t think you have to worry about that.”

  ***

  A sturdy kno the door came just before diime. Skye rushed to the door and ope before Marvin could stop her. Her eyes widened as she saw their visitor. “Papa! e quickly!”

  “‘Papa?’” the old man on the doorstep echoed with a smirk.

  “Shush,” Marvied as he approached the doorway. “I didn’t want them calling me ‘Dad,’ nor did I want them using my first name. ‘Papa’ was a workable promise.”

  “Where did you find her?” the visitor asked.

  “A secret affair,” Marvin respoo which the visitor returned an unamused look.

  Marvin grunted. “I see you’re still lots of fun. Her parents were killed he end of the Burning ant. Needed something to d retirement. I’ve got aray out running errands.”

  The visitor nodded. “Are you going to let me in, or do you need me to apologize first?”

  “It’s been nearly twenty years, Gordon.”

  The visitor let out a heavy sigh. “I know, Marvin. I’m sorry it’s takehis long. To be fair, it took me upwards of fifteen years to find you. You always knew how to disappear.”

  “Why now?” Marvin asked suspiciously. “I get the feeling you need something from me.”

  Gordo out a stifled chuckle. “I may have a small request for you, but that wait until the end.”

  Skye, who had been silently the iion from the doorway finally chimed in. “Papa, how do you know the Grand Oracle?”

  “Skye, don’t you have a fireproof tonic to brew?” Marvin asked, trying to think of a way to dismiss the girl.

  “The st time I tried, it blew up. I need a new cauldron… and some new bed sheets.”

  “Why were you brewing in your room?!” the elderly man asked, his voice tinged with agitation. “Never mind; here’s some money. Go over to Madam Hart’s and pick up some new sheets.”

  Skye’s mouth opeue, but a stern finger from Marvin quelled any rebellion. Her face fell at the thought of missing out on the discussion, but she nodded and hurried dowreet.

  Marviured for his visitor to enter into his home. “You may as well e in, Gordon. Have a seat—not in my rog chair, though.”

  “Marvin,” Gordon said, taking a deep breath as he sat on the sofa, “I deeply regret how I treated one of my closest friends. Looking back, I realize that it was an incredibly challenging time, not just for me but for all of Arestia. However, I know that this does not excuse my behavior. I disrespected you, and for that, I am truly sorry.”

  Marvin studied Gordon’s face, the lines of age a etched deeply into his features. For a moment, silence reighe gravity of the past hanging heavily in the air.

  “Apology accepted,” Marvin finally said, his tone softening slightly. He casually strolled over to his rog chair and plopped himself down. “Now tell me why you’re really here.”

  “I o mend our retionship, Marvin. That’s the truth… and I need a dark magic teacher I trust.”

  “No way,” Marvin responded immediately. “Not even a possibility.”

  “Hear me out—”

  “Gordon, have you seen my garden out there? I’m enjoyiirement too much.”

  “You’ve had two decades to enjoy it,” Gordon tered. “You’re needed back at Windrake.”

  “’t do it, Gordon.”

  “Ahh, stop being an old witch’s dingleberry. It’s time to pull you out of this shithole.”

  Marvin clicked his tongue, suddenly reminded of how he, in fact, didn’t miss the sound of Gordon’s voice. “Insulting me will not ge my mind,” he insisted, “and Lovarn’s a very own.”

  Gordon couldn’t help but raise his voice. “Stop being so difficult!”

  “You’re ay-year-old man. I would’ve thought you were above throwing a tantrum,” Marvin quipped.

  “I’m y!” the Grand Oracle excimed with indignation. “Mid-sevehank-you-very-much.”

  “What happeo what’s-his-face? Professreene? Wasn’t he teag dark magic?”

  Gordon grunted. “He went crazy and became a Grimmault-wannabe. Recruited our fire magic teacher, and the pair fled when we uncovered it.”

  “Well, goblin shit,” Marvin said, raising his eyebrows and rog all the way back. “If only someone performed a Soul Inquiry on every magic user at Windrake, maybe that wouldn’t have happened.”

  “I performed it when we hired him, you spoony bard,” Gordon scoffed at the former instructor. “He flipped to the evil side during his years of teag.”

  “Ah, so it’s a terrible refle on the w ditions, then,” Marvin replied, holding back a smirk. He was enjoying his own snarky retorts a little too much.

  “Windrake still remains the most prestigious academy in the nd,” Gordon said with a scowl. “I assure you the w ditions are top-notch.”

  The Grand Oraoticed the smug look on his younger colleague’s face. “Alright, you’ve obviously been holding a grudge all these years. Go ahead a all out. We need a professor who doesn’t behave like a stipated ogre.”

  “There’s no reason for me to e back, Gordon,” Marvin said.

  “Dark magic already has a dubious reputation,” the headmaster said, “and with Greene’s ret stunt, it’s getting worse. Windrake—no, the entire nd of Arestia—needs you to e back.”

  The two men sat in silence for several minutes as Marvin pohe ordon grew increasingly fidgety, his fingers strumming the edge of the table as ay g him.

  Finally, Marvin broke the spell. “If I were to say yes, I would have ditions.”

  “hem,” Gordon said quickly.

  “I would like for Skye to be enrolled at Windrake,” Marvin requested. “She is a promising young sorceress, and I wao receive the best training. Full schorship.”

  “Of course,” the headmaster replied quickly. “She’ll have to gh a Soul Inquiry and will be held to the same academic standards, but I don’t foresee any issues.”

  “I do also have another under my care,” Marvin said. “I was hoping he could apany me as well. I want him to try his luck at being a null guardian.”

  “Is he of age?” Gordon asked. “I’ve retly re-instituted the age requirement specifically for null guardians. New guardians must be eighteen, though I could possibly make an exception for an old friend.”

  “Why the ge in policy?” Marvin asked curiously.

  “Esissions,” Gordon expined, “whie with i risks. We lost a couple of seventeen-year-olds a few years back. I know the one additional year doesn’t make that much of a difference, but I’m done sending kids into bat.”

  “There was a time when kids didn’t have the luxury of waiting until the age of maturity,” Marvin ented. “I remember seeing fourteen- and fifteen-year-olds standing up against Grimmault’s minions.”

  A cold shiver briefly passed through the headmaster. “Those dark times are, hopefully, firmly in the past.”

  “Regardless,” Marvin said, “the boy tureen just st month.”

  “So I officially end my search then?” Gordon asked, his voice rising with hope.

  “One more dition,” Marvin stated. “I want a favor that you will honor iure, to be used at my discretion.”

  “A little ominous,” Gordon admitted with a smile, “but one of us will probably long be dead before you redeem it.”

  Marvin’s voice took on a solemn tone. “I’m serious, Gordon. This is the kind of favor that would have ged our versation all those years ago. If I ask you to do something that goes against your better judgment—like when I urged you to trust Elena—you will listen to me.”

  Gordon gulped at the severity of Marvin’s request, but the prize he’d sought was within his grasp, and memories of how easily his friend had walked away all those years ago were fresh in his mind. “I uand. I shall grant you the favor.”

  A weak smile crossed Marvin’s face as he gazed at his former—and future—headmaster. He shook his head. “I ’t believe you’re ving me to e back.”

  “To be ho,” Gordon said, “it was a little easier than I thought. Is there an ulterior motive I am missing?”

  “Maybe I’m just in a fiving mood,” Marvin said with a chuckle. “Don’t go using your mind trie, now.”

  “Tempting,” Gordon said with amusement in his eyes, “but I respect you too much to resort to that.”

  Marvin snorted. “We will see just how long that ‘respect’ sts.”

  “In all seriousness, Marvin,” Gordon said, his eyes filled with siy, “I’m beyond thrilled to have you back. Windrake Academy will be lucky to have the great Marvin Kalo once again amongst its ranks.”

  “I’ve already agreed to take the job,” Marvin replied goodnaturedly. “There’s o pile oty fttery.”

  “The semester starts week. You know how busy I get during this time. I’ll take my leave now.”

  “Ahh.” Marvin raised a finger. “I should mention I have a prior itment to attend to. I’ll miss orientation, but will be there for the first day of csses. Skye will make the orientation, assuming I find a way to get her there.”

  Gordon scoffed. “What’s an old man like you have to do that’s so important?”

  “I’m a decade youhan you!” the younger old man excimed, “and I have things to do. It’s not like I was expeg a visit from the ‘Grand Oracle’ after all these years.”

  The headmaster smirked and shook his head. “I’ll see you in a week, old friend.”

  Marvin rose from his rog chair and guided the Grand Oracle to the exit. He opehe front door, revealing Skye rag back towards the cottage, bed sheets flowing wildly behind her.

  “Aw!” she whined. “Is he leaving already?”

  Gordon chuckled as he stepped outside. “Marvin tells me you're quite the young sorceress, Skye.”

  The girl looked astou the Grand Oracle's use of her name and nodded eagerly.

  “I look forward to seeing you at Windrake Academy,” he said with sparkling eyes.

  Skye gasped, her eyes widening in disbelief. “I’m going to Windrake?!”

  “Yes, indeed,” Gordon replied, a smile spreading across his face. “You’ll be taking several of Professor Lokia’s csses. She’s truly an exceptional sorceress, and I promise you’ll have a wonderful time learning from her.”

  With jubint energy her of the older men could muster, Skye bounced ooes and ed the sheets she was still holding around her shoulders in a makeshift shawl. “I ’t believe this is really happening!”

  Gordon stepped out of the cottage that had served as Marvin’s sanctuary for nearly two decades, taking a moment to soak iranquil sights and sounds of the small vilge. He turo Marvin, his voice ced with nostalgia. “Thank you, my friend.” With a deep breath, he tinued dowh, beginning his journey back to Greshelm.

  “Are you walking by yourself?” Marvin called after him, a hint of surprise in his voibsp;

  “There’s a teleporter in Hedard,” Gordon replied, gng back. “I don’t ve of the city too often, so I like to make the most of my time alo’s a rather pleasant walk.”

  “You called this pce a shithole.”

  The elderly man just winked in response and strolled further into town. Skye eagerly waved at the Grand Oracle’s batil he disappeared from her sight.

  ***

  Less than two hours ter, a young man strode fidently dowreets of Lovarn, the cobblestoransitioning to dirt as he passed the final cluster of buildings in town. In front of him, a cottage was led he forest, with a thatched roof, crooked ey, and thriving garden adding a touch of character to the otherwise modest home.

  His clothes were soaked i, marked by dirt, and his muscles ached, though it was his grumbling stomach that captured his focus. Upon reag the cozy abode, he pushed open the door without b to knock.

  Marvin gnced up from his cherished rog chair. “Dinner’s i, Trey; it should still be warm. Skye and I already ate, so feel free to finish it off. How was Orvan’s?”

  “I didn’t hate it,” Trey replied. “I helped him link together some mail.”

  “Did you get in some sparring practice?” Marvin asked.

  "Yeah," the boy answered, his exhaustion evident. "About two hours’ worth."

  “Good.”

  Trey shuffled into the kit to shovel food onto a pte. He took a quick bite before returning to ask Marvin a question. “I heard the Grand Oracle came into town?”

  “You heard correctly,” the old man said.

  “So,” Trey started and theated, looking around to see if Skye was nearby. “Did everything go as pnned?”

  A satisfied smile crept aarvin’s face. “It did. We’ll be within the academy walls by week.”