Now, her gaze was drawn to the pair of beings in the room. A robed moon elf, much older than her but not old by the nature of this race. At least that was her guess. Reading magic was easier for her than reading people. She laughed inside her head that she would have ever had a thought like that.

  Next to him was a vaguely androgynous creature. It was eight feet tall but unnaturally slender. Even without being able to sense much outside of the magical circle, Mira could still tell that it wasn’t a natural being. It had the look of an automaton.

  A sudden understanding dawned on her, causing Mira to quickly draw in her breath. It might be possible that she was seeing a type of golem made purely of metal. It could be considered a Frankenstein’s monster or sorts. Now, she truly wanted to examine it, but she knew enough to hold that desire in.

  She didn’t say anything. It took all her willpower not to yell at this uh… she didn’t know what he was, but it wasn’t flattering. A kidnapper? No, that didn’t seem to do justice to the efforts made to bring her here. Dad had told her that often in a negotiation, the loser was whoever spoke first… or next… or was it most? Truthfully, Mira had only paid passing attention to her father’s advice, yet she took it to heart now and kept silent.

  The elf stared at her. He was clearly intrigued and examining her, but she didn’t feel any spell from him. If he was using magic, it was at a level she couldn’t detect. That chaffed. Mira had become accustomed to being the prodigy. She was always petted and praised by all the casters she knew. They all envied her mastery.

  Perhaps something that she’d heard was true. She had been a big fish in a small pond. Her kidnapping was proof that Eloria was a bigger place than she knew. So she continued to remain silent.

  This carried on for a good half-hour till Mira felt she was going to pop if she didn’t start ranting at this guy. Ambassador Jaems would have probably said something about being amazed she could keep quiet for this long. That man could be infuriating at times. Yet, the sun elf ambassador was likely far away.

  Finally, the moon elf mage spoke, “You are not what I expected.”

  That simple statement broke through Mira’s self-imposed silence. “Oh, do you often kidnap women? Do most of them throw themselves at your mercy? Or do they start begging? Phah, never mind. Just tell me where I am.”

  The elf smirked at her response. Mira felt her blood boil. He didn’t just laugh at her, did he? She began to prepare a matrix of spells. She was always ready to defend herself, but now she pushed the spells that were partially cast and held in abeyance to the edge of completion. Something about the circle she was standing in wouldn’t allow her to actually cast a spell, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t hold the pattern ready in her mind.

  It was like she was typing out a bunch of texts but holding them all without sending them. They weren’t messages yet, but they were prepped, and she could send them in rapid succession once she decided to. She had experimented with this before, but it was of limited use. She could only hold the patterns in her head for a short time, and it took time to prepare. That combination meant the skill wasn’t good for the battlefield or for long-term defense, but maybe it would work now. Even if it didn’t, imagining what she would do to this jerk made her happy.

  “So you are a feisty one, young elfling,” the mage replied.

  “Oh great, so I get pulled to… uh, wherever this is only to be insulted.”

  “Insulted?” Confusion was written as clear as day across the elf’s face. “I meant no offense. Actually, I was simply trying to determine why you were caught by this spell.”

  Mira might not have had her mother’s ability to detect lies, but she was a practiced bluffer in her own right. She could recognize it in another. The question was what was he bluffing about. “Elfling doesn’t exactly sound complimentary.”

  He sputtered. “Uh, I apologize. I’m not sure how half-bloods are referred to where you are from. Here the polite form of address is elfling. We honor your elder blood while acknowledging your human heritage too.”

  Hmmm… he seemed sincere about that part, but there was still something missing. “You don’t even know where I’m from? Aren’t you the one who pulled me here?”

  “Not exactly, and sort of.”

  If she had to guess, Mira would say the first part of his answer was a lie and the second part true. That left her even more excused. “Sort of? How do you sort of teleport someone against their will?”

  “Well, young elfling, teleportation is not exactly accurate. You were summoned. It might seem like a minor distinction, but here at the Imperium, it is an important one. As for how, the spell was targeted on the pendant you are holding and simply brought anyone who put mana into such a pendant,” her captor answered.

  That put Mira even more on the defensive. Was this guy somehow involved with the Cult of Alucien? She really wished her family was here. She could use some backup. “Is there something wrong with this pendant? It was unearthed following a battle, and I was tasked with learning something about the enchantment woven into it.”

  The way he tilted his head and his lip curled slightly told Mira that he hadn’t believed her. Perhaps he was part of some group that hunted the Cult of Alucien. If that were the case, she needed to be careful but for different reasons. They could use allies—especially ones with power like this.

  “Is that so? You must be talented then if you were assigned such a task at your age. By looking at you, you couldn’t be more than what? 30?”

  Now, it was Mira’s turn to sputter. “Screw you. I’m 19. Do I look like I’m freaking middle-aged?”

  Confusion filled his eyes again. “I truly meant no insult. 30 would be considered quite young to be an enchanter. At 19 most elflings are still learning rudimentary magic in preparation for Tier 3.”

  “You still haven’t told me where here is? I don’t know what the Imperium is. Am I a prisoner?”

  “No, not at all. I simply need to ascertain a few things. You insist that the pendant is not yours?” he asked.

  “I already told you I was simply asked to examine it. I have a knack for that sort of thing. It comes with my class.” Mira was still weighing out how much she could share, but clearly, she would have to share some. As far as she could tell, she was truly trapped inside this magic circle and would need him to release her.

  “Well then you should know that here at the Imperium a pendant like that can get you into a great deal of trouble. It is a symbol of a former leader who was cast out nearly a thousand years ago. Something of a cult has risen up around him, and many believe that he is going to return someday. They are considered enemies of polite society.”

  Mira heard it all too well. The best lies were as much truth as possible, but something rang untrue for her. No, that wasn’t accurate. It was more about the light he was casting things in. He had strong feelings about this issue and was trying to couch it in sterile terms.

  “Who was this leader? Maybe I’ve heard of him,” Mira said.

  “He was Alucien, the greatest archmage Eloria has ever known. A true 7-7.”

  There it was. She heard it in his voice. Admiration, envy, something. Mira was sure that he wasn’t telling her everything. “What’s a true 7-7.”

  Then the condescending sneer returned. “You really must be from some backwater province for you not to know such basic information.”

  “Rather than being a jerk, just tell me,” Mira said. She wanted to curse at him. She wanted to work at trying to unravel this magic circle, but she forced those urges down.

  “Yes, but this is the last question that I’m going to answer. Then you will need to answer some of mine before I decide what is to be done with you. A 7-7 is shorthand for someone who has obtained 7th Tier in both level and class. If you didn’t know that is the highest that a mortal can achieve, although even then not everyone is equal. It depends on the nature of their class as well as personal skill.

  “Now for my questions. Where are you from, or more specifically, where were you when you were summoned here?”

  Mira was entranced to know that it truly was possible to obtain 7th Tier in both class and level. There had been some rumors but no true knowledge from the natives she had met. Whoever this mage was, he clearly knew more than even the royal mage had. She decided if she could gain some knowledge, it would be worth giving away some information. “I was in Tsukishiti, the capital of the moon elves.”

  “Capital? What do you mean? The different races no longer have separate cities here on Solun.”

  Mira watched him closely. His shock was forced. He knew more about where she had come from than he was letting one. That alone was worth speaking with him. He simply wasn’t as good at bluffing as she was. Whether that was something to be proud about or not she would leave to her mother to argue. For now, she’d use it to her advantage.

  She paused before answering. “Oh, then perhaps I could share information with you about where I’ve come from if you can explain more about where I find myself. It seems I am your guest after all.”

  Then she turned her face slightly and allowed her mouth to open slightly as though a shocking thought had come to her. “Unless… I’m your prisoner?”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “What is wonder if it cannot be shared?” An Inscription Upon the Original Building of the Imperium.

  Solun- Imperium- Mira

  There was just a slight pause before the moon elf laughed. “I suppose it might seem like that to you. I will drop the magical circle if you tell me your name and give me your oath to not attack anyone here except in self-defense.”

  “That’s easy. I’m Miranda Nelson, and I promise not to hurt anyone I don’t have to.” As soon as she spoke, Mira wasn’t sure why she had given her full first name. She hated her name. It was supposedly some legal term. Her dad had supposedly thought it was a cool, witty name for her, and back then her mother had been so in love that she agreed with all of Dad’s ideas. She had been born just after her dad had graduated law school, but, of course, that had never meant anything to her.

  “Well, hello, Miranda. I am Professor Megor, instructor of conjuration at the Imperium. But, I’ve never heard an oath given like that. What is it that you swear by?”

  “Swear by?”

  “Yes, what power do you swear by.”

  Mira thought she knew what he meant but wasn’t sure. “I can swear by Shanelle if you want. My mother is her Chosen after all, but why should I swear by something?”

  The moon elf seemed confused. “Is that not your custom? When one makes an oath by a greater power then they pledge they will keep the oath or that power will strike them down?”

  Mira couldn’t help but laugh at that. It sure would have made things different back home if that was possible. “And how often does that happen here?”

  “How often does what happen?”

  “You know, the Gods strike someone down for breaking an oath.”

  Then Megor laughed. “It happens, but I see your point. It doesn’t happen every time. It is one of the reasons why some consider the gods to be fickle. Your oath doesn’t have to be made in the name of a god. As a member of the Imperium, I could make an oath on the Imperium. Then if I broke my word, the consequence would be up to the Praetors.”

  “You are speaking of things I know nothing about, but I think I get the gist. I’ve seen too much from my mom not to think that Shanelle is real, but the greatest power I know personally is magic. So I swear by all the magic of Eloria, that I will not harm anyone here unless it is necessary.”

  Megor’s eyes went wide, but then he nodded. Mira found that amusing, but it seemed he accepted her oath because he dropped the magical circle then. “Welcome to the Imperium, even if the way you got here is a bit unusual.”

  “Okay, I have so many questions, and I know you have some too. I’m happy to keep exchanging answers, but can you at least tell me where or what the Imperium is?”

  He got solemn as he answered, “The Imperium is the greatest and oldest academy of learning in all of Eloria. It was founded when the mortals first took control of their own destiny millennia ago. The wisdom of the Imperium embodied by the Praetors and professors is what guides all of Solun.”

  “Okay, so Solun is a different continent. I was on Talos before this.”

  Once again, Mira watched his face carefully. He feigned shock, but it was clear that Megor knew she had come from Talos. She just couldn’t figure out what reason he had for acting surprised by that. “At least for now, you should be careful about making that claim. You should also give me that pendant that caused you to be trapped in this spell.”

  With that, the golem next to him slid across the ground. It would have been a misnomer to say that it walked. Its legs moved slightly, but mostly, the lower portion of its form seemed to liquefy as it slid along the ground. Most interesting, though, was the way that all the ambient mana seemed to slide around the creature like it was a rock sticking up from a stream.

  Then its hand was held out, palm up, as though to receive something from her.

  “If you want me to give it to you, then tell me what this is,” Mira said while pointing to the golem. “And more to the point, tell me why mana seems to flow around it rather than through it.”

  Megor smiled. “It is a mithril golem, an ancient construct. I’m not sure what you mean about the mana, but mithril golems are immune to magic.”

  Mira made a ‘pfah’ sound of disbelief. “Nothing is immune to magic. I can see how the ambient mana flows around it, but it most definitely has mana inside it. Maybe it is just resistant to magic other than its own.”

  “Are you going to instruct me, a professor of the Imperium, about magic now?”

  Mira shrugged. “If you’re wrong, I will.”

  Megor’s smile was gone in an instant. He started to respond, “Why you impudent—”

  Then Mira cut him off. “I am a meta-mage, so seeing magic is sorta my thing.”

  The elf swallowed his words. Then looked at her as if in a new light. His eyes widened, and he cast a spell. She felt the magic wash over her, but it was only an identification spell, or at least that is what she assumed. That wasn’t what interested her but rather the incredible ease with which he cast the spell. He clearly must be talented beyond any she had met so far.

  In that moment, Mira wanted to study at the Imperium more than she had ever wanted anything before in her life. She knew it was selfish. Her family needed her, and she was the Gods only knew how far from them now. She even considered the dungeon and whatever changes it was going through, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she needed to be here.

  With that realization, she bowed from the waist with deep respect showing. “I apologize for my quick tone, Professor. The study of magic is my life. What must I do in order to be accepted as a student at the Imperium.”

  “Well, my spell says that you are not lying. Your class is indeed Meta-mage, and you are already midway through the 4th Tier. So perhaps…” His voice trailed off. His face had the expression of someone doing mental calculations.

  “Perhaps there is a reason you were brought here. There hasn’t been a meta-mage in a very long time. That will cause some questions. I could present you as a cousin from the fringes. Yes… that might work, but we would still need to get you a sponsor. It would draw too much attention otherwise. Could this be the reason?”

  Mira just stood there. It was clear he was speaking more to himself than to her.

  “Are you willing to not share about coming from Talos?”

  “Yes, but as much as the idea of studying at a magical academy means, I still have to figure out how to get home. I can send messages to my family, but I will eventually need to be able to return. My brother is marrying a princess of all things.”

  Megor shook his head. “It isn’t possible to teleport there. It shouldn’t even have been possible for you to get pulled here. And I don’t know how you believe you will be able to send messages to Talos. There is a barrier between Solun and Talos that prevents teleportation and communication between the two continents.”

  “Maybe you are right, but I saw the barrier as I was pulled through it. Given enough time it can be gotten around. The thing, though, is that my means of communication wouldn’t be from Solun to Talos.”

  “I don’t like riddles, and if I can get you admitted here, you will find out that none of the other professors like them either, the Praetors even less so.”

  Mira reached into her bag of holding only to find that her hand hit the bottom of the cloth. Then a notification popped up.

  Access to extra-dimensional space is temporarily unavailable.

  She looked at Megor. “I can’t access my bag of holding.” Then she looked around the doorless room. Understanding dawned on her. “Oh, I get it. This room is for summoning, so it limits contact with extra-dimensions unless they are targeted by a spell and controlled by the magic circle.”

  Mira looked at the runes on the floor and smiled. There was so much for her to learn here.

  “Very good. How did you figure that out?” Megor answered.

  She handed the pendant into the still-open palm of the golem. It was quickly absorbed into the construct’s body. “First, take me outside this room and I’ll explain.”

  The elf stared at her for a moment before waving his hand. A large doorway appeared in the wall. “Fair enough, I suppose I have to give some trust to get some.” Then he walked out with Mira and the golem following.

  Once again, she reached into her bag of holding, but this time she was able to pull out parchment and a magical writing quill. Then she walked over to the wall and wrote a short note against it. She showed the note to Megor and then placed it back into her bag of holding. “There, now, I just have to wait for one of them to check the bag.”

  Megor frowned and started to speak, but Mira continued, “I suspect you are familiar with a bag of holding. What this is, though, is a bag of holding that connects to two other bags. With enough practice, I hope to be able to connect a great number of bags.