The guard at the gate wished to treat me roughly.The guard at the gate wished to treat me roughly. "What do you want?" he said. "Directions to the College of Mages." "Haw! And who's your patron?" He was a foul-faced fellow, all pinched and dirtied. Missing a few teeth, too. "I have none," I said. "Go on, get on your way," he swore at me. "Nobody gets to the college without a patron. What do you think you're doing here, anyway?" I reached into my cloak. "I have here a signed letter from Talen Silisto inviting me into the college as an unfettered student." I showed the illiterate fool the seal and quite suddenly he was nice to me. "Yes, sir," he said. He seemed more than a little distraught, an effect I found rewarding. "I'll bring a boy to lead you to it." He swallowed and walked away. As he did so, I turned my sense of hearing to him and I heard him mutter, "One of these days I'm going to say the wrong thing to the wrong mage and I'll be spending the rest of my days searching Mrs. Right Toad." I tried not to laugh. He did find me someone to lead me through the city. I dismounted my horse as he led me through the gates and to the College of Mages. Ah, the College. I'm sure by now you're as familiar with it as any student, but at the time the high stone walls and the beautiful spiraling towers within. The open-air main building, it's roof nothing more than magic itself, allowing in the sun and air but not the rain, the frame of a roof raised on great stone pillars. Once my invitation was acknowledged to be genuine, I was given a place to stable my horse and then led into the Main Hall, through a hallway and to an office, where I waited for Talen Silisto to meet with me. Finally, he did. "Ah, Darryn, you have arrived. You have no other name?" I shook my head. "Fine, fine. I am Talen Silisto." He was a tall man, reedy thin, with fine, strong feature. A well-shaped face with a sharp nose and inquisitive blue eyes. "Come into my office, would you?" He directed me towards the door, walking behind me; once he was in, he locked the door. Needless to say, this made me nervous. He sat back in his chair behind his desk and examined me closely. I felt probed, inspected, dissected by his careful vision. |