me.
“In all honesty, between the two of us, I’d much rather be spending my days on a beach with a good book. I know the perfect beach. A little Greek island called Samos. There is a beautiful town there. Lovely people. Amazing food. Epicurus lived there until he was eighteen. I met him once. Not what I expected. But we do not always get to choose the life we wish to lead, as I’m sure you are coming to realize all too well.”
“Tell me about it,” Gabriel said with a sigh.
“I just did. Honestly, twentieth century English phrases make little sense to me. So many of them seem redundant.”
“I just meant that I understand,” Gabriel said.
“Well of course you do.” Elizabeth placed her hand on his arm and looked him in the eyes. “It does lessen. The weight of it. The weight of letting go, at least. As the years pass, it becomes easier to accept. The pain becomes simply an old ache. Familiar. Almost comforting.”
“Does the rest of it get any easier?” Gabriel asked.
“Unfortunately, no,” Elizabeth said, looking up at the stars. “The war goes on and on. Friends are lost. New friends appear. Battles are won. Battles lost. But there is always The War. It’s always been like that, though. Even before magic. It’s always a struggle between those who want to claim power and use it for their own selfish ends and those who stand up to them. The same story again and again all throughout history.”
“May I ask you a question?” Gabriel said.
“Certainly,” Elizabeth replied, looking back down from the stars to Gabriel’s eyes. “I hear you have some very good questions.”
“Can the war ever end?” Gabriel asked. It was another of the questions he wasn’t sure he wanted answered, but felt compelled to ask.
“Oh, if I thought the war couldn’t be won, I’d be off in a cave like Nefferati,” Elizabeth said with a laugh.
“Nefferati?” Gabriel said.
“She’s one of the other two True Grace Mages. She’s a very remarkable woman, which is saying something coming from me. I’m rather remarkable myself. She is the oldest mage, True or otherwise. She was born on the banks of the Euphrates around 3500 BCE and claims to be nearly seven hundred years old, but I suspect she’s lying about her age. She’s eight hundred, if she’s a day. I was her apprentice many, many years ago. Plucked me out of the timeline herself. Taught me nearly everything I know. About magic. About leadership. About life. She is my best and closest friend.” Elizabeth was silent for a moment. Gabriel could tell by the look on her face and the tone of her voice that she had not meant to reveal that last bit of information. She clearly missed the elder woman a great deal. Gabriel suspected she missed Nefferati more than she admitted even to herself. She sighed and looked at Gabriel. “I’ve become maudlin.”
“What about the third True Grace Mage?” Gabriel asked, thinking to distract Elizabeth from her sudden dark mood.
“Akikane,” Elizabeth said. “Young by my standards. Only three hundred years old or so. You’ll like him. Everyone likes him. I suspect there are Malignancy Mages who like him. He lived in Feudal Japan in the fourteenth century and was born into a family of warriors and spent the first years of his life as a samurai. Then he had an epiphany. I’m sure he will tell you about it. He tells everyone about it. He destroyed his sword and became a Buddhist monk. At least for a time. Then he forged a new sword. One that he only ever used in the defense of others, and never to kill.”
“And what about the Malignancy Mages?” Gabriel asked.
“We believe there are several hundred, which would leave us fairly evenly matched. But they are not as well organized as we are. As you probably know, there are three Malignant True Mages. The oldest of them is Kumaradevi. She was a princess who lived in India around 300 BCE. She is nearly as powerful as she is old and she is almost five hundred
“In all honesty, between the two of us, I’d much rather be spending my days on a beach with a good book. I know the perfect beach. A little Greek island called Samos. There is a beautiful town there. Lovely people. Amazing food. Epicurus lived there until he was eighteen. I met him once. Not what I expected. But we do not always get to choose the life we wish to lead, as I’m sure you are coming to realize all too well.”
“Tell me about it,” Gabriel said with a sigh.
“I just did. Honestly, twentieth century English phrases make little sense to me. So many of them seem redundant.”
“I just meant that I understand,” Gabriel said.
“Well of course you do.” Elizabeth placed her hand on his arm and looked him in the eyes. “It does lessen. The weight of it. The weight of letting go, at least. As the years pass, it becomes easier to accept. The pain becomes simply an old ache. Familiar. Almost comforting.”
“Does the rest of it get any easier?” Gabriel asked.
“Unfortunately, no,” Elizabeth said, looking up at the stars. “The war goes on and on. Friends are lost. New friends appear. Battles are won. Battles lost. But there is always The War. It’s always been like that, though. Even before magic. It’s always a struggle between those who want to claim power and use it for their own selfish ends and those who stand up to them. The same story again and again all throughout history.”
“May I ask you a question?” Gabriel said.
“Certainly,” Elizabeth replied, looking back down from the stars to Gabriel’s eyes. “I hear you have some very good questions.”
“Can the war ever end?” Gabriel asked. It was another of the questions he wasn’t sure he wanted answered, but felt compelled to ask.
“Oh, if I thought the war couldn’t be won, I’d be off in a cave like Nefferati,” Elizabeth said with a laugh.
“Nefferati?” Gabriel said.
“She’s one of the other two True Grace Mages. She’s a very remarkable woman, which is saying something coming from me. I’m rather remarkable myself. She is the oldest mage, True or otherwise. She was born on the banks of the Euphrates around 3500 BCE and claims to be nearly seven hundred years old, but I suspect she’s lying about her age. She’s eight hundred, if she’s a day. I was her apprentice many, many years ago. Plucked me out of the timeline herself. Taught me nearly everything I know. About magic. About leadership. About life. She is my best and closest friend.” Elizabeth was silent for a moment. Gabriel could tell by the look on her face and the tone of her voice that she had not meant to reveal that last bit of information. She clearly missed the elder woman a great deal. Gabriel suspected she missed Nefferati more than she admitted even to herself. She sighed and looked at Gabriel. “I’ve become maudlin.”
“What about the third True Grace Mage?” Gabriel asked, thinking to distract Elizabeth from her sudden dark mood.
“Akikane,” Elizabeth said. “Young by my standards. Only three hundred years old or so. You’ll like him. Everyone likes him. I suspect there are Malignancy Mages who like him. He lived in Feudal Japan in the fourteenth century and was born into a family of warriors and spent the first years of his life as a samurai. Then he had an epiphany. I’m sure he will tell you about it. He tells everyone about it. He destroyed his sword and became a Buddhist monk. At least for a time. Then he forged a new sword. One that he only ever used in the defense of others, and never to kill.”
“And what about the Malignancy Mages?” Gabriel asked.
“We believe there are several hundred, which would leave us fairly evenly matched. But they are not as well organized as we are. As you probably know, there are three Malignant True Mages. The oldest of them is Kumaradevi. She was a princess who lived in India around 300 BCE. She is nearly as powerful as she is old and she is almost five hundred
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