“Master Eldrin! Master!”

  As so often before, in the after-dinner hour, Master Eldrin Caedos, Leader of the Order of Shadowrock, found himself enjoying a quiet read by candlelight in the empty library. He was drinking his regular cup of hot tea whose delicate aroma mingled with the scent of ancient books, many of which he had collected during his travels throughout the kingdom and which now occupied the countless bookshelves that stretched across the vast, dimly lit room.

  That was his sanctuary and everyone in the castle knew not to disturb him when he was there unless a catastrophe occurred.

  Which seemed to be the case by the way a thunderous Leander Kalas suddenly appeared almost knocking down the door with the same force as a gust of wind, all of which ended his peace of mind.

  “Master Eldrin!”

  His agitated colleague stopped just a few steps away from him trying to catch his breath.

  “You won't believe this!” exclaimed the much younger wizard.

  “By the grace of Nemertyss, Master Leander!” exclaimed the other, visibly annoyed. “Remember your position! Behave according to the dignity of the Order you represent!”

  Nodding, Leander ran his hands over his chest, smoothing his tunic and trying to regain his composure, but Eldrin could feel his body trembling with excitement.

  The old wizard just hoped it wasn't another experiment. For some reason, the new generations showed a certain inclination to innovate in seal design, which had already led to a few accidents in the tower. He didn't understand why they continued to do it. They never succeeded. It was enough to follow what the books of their predecessors said. There was no need to create new types of seals when the ones that existed worked perfectly.

  A long silence fell. Leander just remained quiet, and looked at him expectantly.

  “Then speak up, man!” Eldrin ordered him. “I want to continue my reading in peace.”

  Leander bowed his head in apology.

  “I'm sorry to disturb you in your hour of rest, but... I need to confirm something with you.”

  Yes, Eldrin thought, it was what he had feared.

  “What is it this time? A communication mirror? A pen that writes by itself? A damn flying broom?”

  Leander closed the door, and approached him. When he spoke, he did so in a whisper:

  “Master... I can't say for sure but... I think... I found... a chimera. A chimera, Master Eldrin. A chimera, I don't know how, it was discovered here, inside our castle.”

  Eldrin looked him straight in the eye. Perhaps the effect of the potions had unhinged his mind.

  “Master Leander... Why don't you go get some rest and...?”

  The other man's eyes bugged out. At that moment Eldrin thought him capable of grabbing the Leader of the Order and shaking him by the shoulders, something completely out of place.

  “A chimera, Master, a chimera! You have to see it, a chimera!”

  “You don't realize what you're saying! You've lost your mind!”

  Leander turned around to go back the way he had come.

  “Come with me, and see it with your own eyes!”

  Against his will, Eldrin followed him at a gentle pace. The other wizard, out of respect for his superior, slowed down.

  Perhaps this was for the best, Eldrin thought. If his colleague had gone mad, that would be all the justification he needed to expel him from the Order. He had only agreed to let him join it because the Count had pressured him. And all because they had been friends since childhood. That was no way to run a castle.

  At the slow pace they were going, it took them several minutes to reach the staircase leading to the experiment room located in the south tower. Leander was trying not to get too far ahead, but Eldrin could tell he wanted to run. It took them another while to climb the stairs.

  Finally, they arrived at the tower, in which, as always, disorder reigned. The only thing that illuminated the room were some glowing stones that left half of the room in darkness, but Eldrin could see perfectly well that nothing there was in its proper place. The work tables had never been cleaned. Scrolls, stones, plants, potions, all mixed together without any criteria, thought Eldrin, who hated that place, and stayed as far away from it as possible. He always put as an excuse the state of his old legs, and there was no lack of disciples worried about the health of their leader...

  But then he felt something... a presence coming from one end of the tower whose energy could not be perceived by the senses, but pulled him along like an invisible rope.

  Leander had not told him anything when they entered, he did not give him any indication. Now he understood why. He didn't need to. In front of him, at the back of the room, in a cage sealed with magical shields, lay a small crouching mouse.

  No, that was not a mouse. It looked like one, yes, at first glance, but it was not.

  He had never felt that flow of energy before. It was something new, something different. In his younger years, he had spent his time traveling through every corner of Terrarkana to study the Ethereal Codes of all races. Humans, elves, sirenians, hybrids, even common animals. There was nothing alike in the energy emanating from this innocent rodent.

  The old wizard stood in front of the cage. He raised both hands, and immediately a series of golden lines emerged from the creature's body, ascending the air as they intertwined with each other, forming shimmering patterns that curved and twisted, creating a spiral that extended from a central point outward.

  Both wizards stared at the spiral whose lines continued to rotate.

  “Can you read it?” Leander asked.

  “No,” answered Eldrin coldly. “What about you?”

  “I tried, but I couldn't recognize any symbol... but I could recognize this, look... there it is...”

  With a gesture of his head, Leander pointed out to Eldrin the small symbol inserted in the middle of a series of geometric patterns.

  There was the anomaly. Serpentine lines, covered with thorns, intertwined with each other like a tangle of knots.

  “The dragon seal,” Leander added.

  Insolent! Did he really believe that his leader was not capable of recognizing the seal on the spot?

  “Yes, the same one.”

  “His Excellency must be notified immediately,” said Leander, and again he rushed to the door.

  Eldrin stood still with the bright spiral still floating in front of him.

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  “Give me a few seconds, Leander. I'll be with you in a moment. I want to see some more.”

  “I'll wait for you downstairs,” Leander nodded.

  However, after seeing Leander go down the stairs, Eldrin lowered his hands, and the spiral slowly dissolved.

  He again raised his hands in front of the cage to make visible the diamond-shaped gold codes that formed the shields protecting it. He studied the intricate design Leander had created. A string of precise lines that needed only a couple of twists of his fingers for the patterns to change. Pretty good, Master Leander, but not good enough.

  Done with his task, he then watched the mouse's tiny twinkling eyes.

  “You are very good at keeping quiet. I'd stay like that if I were you," he said calmly before leaving.

  He took all the time in the world to go down the stairs. Leander was waiting for him at the bottom, walking back and forth as if he wanted to dig a hole in the stone floor.

  From there they continued on to the count's chambers.

  Leander again went ahead. The confidence he had with the Count made him forget that he had to watch his manners even in front of his Leader who knew him since he was a boy.

  He stepped in the same disgraceful way as he had entered the library earlier.

  “Your Excellency! We have... incredible news!” he exclaimed.

  When Eldrin walked in behind him, he found himself face to face with the grim-faced Lord Alaric of Shadowrock, who was watching them exhausted behind his large dark desk covered with parchments, most of them related to administrative matters, perhaps some pressing message from the king concerned about the constant delay of the marriage alliance and reports from the spies stationed in the capital, of which Eldrin was also aware, although this last the Count was unaware.

  According to the servants, the Lord had secluded himself there since dawn. Beside him lay an empty tray. He had not dined with Olivia, that much was clear. It had been more than a year since the relationship between father and daughter had been going from bad to worse, which made Eldrin's future plans easier.

  The Count raised his eyebrows, waiting for an explanation for the unexpected interruption. It was Leander who narrated the episodes of the last few hours, while Eldrin remained impassive, his hands clasped, waiting for him to finally finish.

  At the end of the enthusiastic explanation, which caused Leander's blood to rush to his head, the Count stood up abruptly, throwing back the heavy chair, the clatter of which reverberated throughout the room.

  “A chimera!” he shouted. “But it's been...”

  “Almost a hundred years!” Leander completed the sentence.

  The Count grabbed his friend by the shoulders.

  “How can you be sure?" his head turned. "Eldrin?”

  The old wizard, former tutor of both men, watched them stiffly, his hands clasped at his stomach.

  “I am as amazed as you are, Your Excellency,” he replied calmly. “But I have seen the creature and I have no doubts either. We are the first of our generation to see a chimera, but the energy flow is the same as described in the Chronicles. Although the ultimate proof has been the dragon seal we have discovered trying to decipher the creature's Code. Unsuccessfully, I might add.”

  The Count held both hands to his head.

  “Just like the legend!”

  “Exactly!” Leander exclaimed again.

  “A chimera in my castle...” the Count whispered. “The Nymph... and the Dragon... even the Eternals are on our side!”

  “It is unbelievable but it is so...” continued Eldrin. “We don't know what could have driven it to our gates, but it must have been desperate. It was fortunate that Olivia just...”

  The name of his daughter seemed to snap the Lord out of his reverie.

  “Ah, Olivia... Has she been told anything?”

  “No, my Lord,” Leander answered. “When I discovered the creature, I sent her back to her room without explanation, and went straight to Eldrin to corroborate my finding.”

  “Well, well, our circumstances have taken an unexpected turn..." the Count began to walk in circles around them. "Now the king will have no choice...”

  “It certainly puts us in a very advantageous position to negotiate,” Eldrin added.

  “Yes, but we must move carefully...Where are they keeping it?”

  “In the south tower, my Lord," Eldrin replied. “It is the only safe place. It is barely a cub, but just in case, Leander has put several protective seals on it.”

  “Perfect! I want to see it,” announced the Count. But before opening the door, he stopped to listen to the old wizard:

  “If you will excuse me, Your Lordship, my legs can't take any more for tonight. Leander, however, will be happy to explain everything about the creature.”

  The Count nodded.

  “You have earned your rest. We will continue tomorrow.”

  Leander and the Count then headed in the direction of the south tower, while, in the opposite direction, Eldrin advanced a few meters slowly and, after hearing how their voices got lost, hurried the pace along an endless path of corridors and stairs until he reached his pupil's room.

  As so many other times, he found it locked. A flick of his fingers was all it took for the lock to turn, and he found himself face to face with the girl.

  “Eldrin! What's going on? Leander...!”

  The wizard placed a finger to his lips, and gently closed the door.

  In contrast to the distant manner in which he treated the count, Eldrin offered the young noblewoman a soft smile.

  “I'm glad you made the wise decision not to go out on your own,” said he.

  Olivia rolled her eyes.

  “I knew you would come and decided to wait.”

  “I have taught you well then," said the wizard and patted her back lightly. He then went on to quickly report to her everything that had happened.

  Olivia stared at him unblinkingly.

  “I had a chimera... a chimera in my arms?

  Eldrin nodded.

  "That's right, a male specimen, but young, with very little power. Otherwise you would not have survived his attack."

  “And what's going to happen to him?”

  “Your father plans to deliver him to the king.”

  Olivia's lips quivered.

  “But didn't you say...?”

  “A weak chimera is better than a non-existent one.”

  Eldrin watched the girl's spirits collapse. Her eyes darkened like storm clouds.

  “So because of me...” she began to say.

  “You couldn't have known,” he comforted her.

  “Well, yes... I felt something, but I...”

  The wizard's heart fluttered.

  “What did you feel?”

  Olivia went on to describe the vibration she felt as soon as she laid her fingers on the cat's fur, but it never occurred to her that it might be a magical creature, let alone an extinct one.

  Eldrin nodded in satisfaction. The girl had not yet passed the first levels in reading the Ethereal Codes, but what she was describing to him showed her undoubted potential. What a great queen she would be someday... unless the chimera came into the king's hands and then...

  Despite all he had been through, His Excellency was still the same stubborn boy who had given his old master and the previous Count so many headaches.

  But Olivia would be different.

  “Such a noble creature... it's a pity,” the wizard lamented.

  He watched as the girl's delicate hands closed into trembling fists.

  “What will happen if the king...?” she asked.

  “Who knows..." Eldrin sighed heavily. "The wizards in the capital... their minds have been corrupted by power.... They may even try to train him, or test him and...”

  She sat on the bed with her eyes fixed on the floor.

  “And that doesn't matter to my father...”

  “Your father values you highly. Everything he has done so far has been for you," Eldrin sighed and turned slowly towards the door. “We will think of something in the morning, my Lady, though I have seen your father very determined. I think he even plans to ride early tomorrow morning to the capital.”

  “But..." she shook her head. "The Return of the Sirenians... my father would never...”

  Eldrin interrupted her.

  “A chimera, Olivia, a chimera for the first time in nearly a century. You have no idea how powerful your father can become if he moves his pieces cleverly.”

  Olivia didn't know what to say. Eldrin noticed a glint of moisture peering into her eyes.

  “I'll bring you news tomorrow. Don't worry too much. We will try to convince your father.”

  With those words the wizard took his leave and turned the lock back on the door so that no one would be suspicious.

  Now he had to act fast. If his pupil was determined enough, she would know how to get them out of that mess. It was a very risky move. That's why he could not lose time and had to get a message to the Mistress of the Whispering Forest as soon as possible.

  He continued walking without getting agitated down the stairs, until he turned down a corridor that led him to the courtyard at the exact time of the changing of the guard. He nodded to the soldiers, who were not surprised to see the Leader of the Order crossing in front of them, until he reached the small temple dedicated to the nymph Nemertyss, where he would surely be praying or paying tribute.

  But his intentions could not have been more opposite. After stepping inside, the wizard passed the altar, where the two-meter statue of the deity carved in marble stood, and placed his hand on the wall, stamping a golden seal whose lines resembled the notches of a key and thus unlocking the door that once opened revealed a passageway leading to the outside.

  Crossing the dense wall, the wind ruffled his robes, and he found himself in a dense layer of snow that reached his knees. He swung his arm, as if trying to cut the air with a knife, and in front of him opened a path several meters long that ended just where the forest began.

  When he got there, he rested his hand for a moment on the cold bark of a tree until it left another golden seal imprinted on it in the shape of a perfect circle crossed by an arrow. This glowed for a moment and began to be absorbed by the tree.Then it took the form of a line that crawled along the trunk like a snake and when it reached the branches it shot out like a spark that bounced from tree to tree until it disappeared in the darkness of the thicket.

  He then again took the same path in reverse, this time to his quarters. As soon as he crossed the door he would have liked to fall into his bed, but he still had to make sure how effective the conversation he had had with his pupil had been.

  He pulled up a chair to sit by the wall and rested his hand on it. As he closed his eyes, a map of golden lines gradually traced itself in his mind revealing to him all the corners of the castle.

  The soldiers stood still at their posts, the other wizards had gone to rest. Some servants were carrying out the last tasks of the day. Leander and the Count were still in the south tower. It would be a while longer before they would be out of there.

  Then he turned his attention to the bedroom of the young noblewoman, who at that very moment was making preparations for her escape, which caused a light laugh to burst from his lips.

  The pieces were in place and ready to move.

  It was going to be a long night.