Kevza was sure this whole ordeal had to be a nightmare.

            For him to be scorned, to be doubted and held as a suspect by the Coven was nothing to him- he believed he deserved every ounce of their mistrust and caution as he stood center, the weight of the High Council’s gazes heavy on his shoulders. He deserved this.

            Even their cautious wariness of Danae made sense.

            But it most certainly did not belong on Natavali’s shoulders.

            “The problem remains that this incident was caused by your lack of discretion,” one of the High Magus said, his frown directed at Natavali where he also stood in the middle of the council floor. “Ser Kevza and Lady Walkier may be in a time of strife, but you have permitted them to bring a dangerous weapon into Domen Keep, and now they have injured many of our people!”

            “And in such a time of turmoil, when we were able to thwart a direct attack, it does seem overly suspicious that these two would just happen to be able to enter the wards thanks to you, all while armed with an Ether-bound weapon remarkably similar to those we were threatened with before,” another tacked on, her voice harsh despite the smile on her face. “Wouldn’t you agree, Magus Natavali?”

            “I have already told you,” Natavali said, resuming his role as their defender. “I was there when the shard was recovered, and there was no reason to believe it to be anything strange at the time. How were we to anticipate something with information no one had until now?”

            The few days since the accident had been hectic, to say the least. Or so Kevza had heard, anyway. He and Danae hadn’t been in a position to get much in the way of current news, having been confined to isolation cells on the cliffside as they had been. It was only on the third morning, after much deliberation, that mage guards had come to escort them to the High Council of Mages, Natavali having managed to call for an appeal on their treatment.

            “These two have still carried out an attack!” an older councilman yelled. “And there will be repercussions!!”

            “They have done nothing,” Natavali yelled back, his patience breaking at long last. “You cannot punish them for a crime they did not commit! We are all victims!”

            “Ser Kevza has ample reason to carry out a strike against the Coven,” the first Magus said again. “His expulsion alone would be cause, never mind any festering that might have happened since.”

            “Maybe you’d like to accuse me of destroying my home in Faren and murdering my friends too, while you’re at it?” Kevza stated coldly, joining the discord. “But if you know so much about my expulsion, you know if I wanted to hurt you, I would have done it myself.”

            His chilling outburst seemed to draw the focus of the council to him, the berating of Natavali finally halting for more than a breath. There were several quiet murmurs from the older, more established members of the group, a few of them looking warily between each other.

            “Magus Natavali has a point,” the Grand Magus said from her seat at the head of the room. “Ser Kevza and Miss Walkier may not have intended to bring us harm, but someone has. And I intend to get to the bottom of it.” She turned back to the three of them. “Unfortunately, the council has also expressed several key points in the matter that cannot be overlooked.”

            She stood with a sigh, suddenly looking very tired and much older. “I am sorry. I want to believe all three of you, but as Grand Magus, I must act with the best interest of the Coven at heart. So, with my regret, I cannot grant your appeal, Magus Natavali.”

            “Your Excellency,” Natavali started earnestly, only to be stopped as she raised her hand.

            “I’m sorry,” she repeated. “Until further evidence is found I must insist that they return to isolation, and for you to continue bearing your reprimands with grace.” She sighed again, straightening her robes. “And until such a time as that is the case, this matter, and thus this council, is dismissed.”

            Kevza could feel his heart drop out of his chest and through the floor as the four guards returned from the corners of the room, sigils burning brightly against his skin as he was restrained once again and pulled back towards the doors.

            “Don’t worry,” Natavali said as he was forced past the door, the Magus walking quickly to keep up with the clip of the guards. “I won’t let them do this. You won’t be there forever.”

            “This is what they wanted for me from the beginning,” Kevza said, his voice sounding dull and echoing in his ears. “And I’m the perfect one to blame. It’s done, Natavali…”

            As if the very universe could have conspired to make this moment any worse, a group of mages and Magi were on the far end of the courtyard, whether by design or coincidence. And there in the hoard of people, Kevza could see Kata, Baru, and Nenaat watching him with uncertain eyes.

            He hung his head, ashamed. It didn’t matter if he had done the deed or not, they would all call him guilty.

            And while he was locked away to rot, Natavali would be the one who it splashed back on.

            Said mage began to slow as they reached the edge of the Keep’s main grounds.

            “I promise, Kevza!” he called after them, his voice fading into the background as the two alchemists were escorted down the steps to the isolation cells where he was not permitted to follow. “I’m going to get you out! I promise!”

            “He promises,” Kevza thought. “His promise won’t save us now.”

            And as stiff, salty tears dripped down onto the floor of the small cell Kevza shared with no one but his thoughts, Kevza found himself regretting ever coming back to Domen Keep.

***

            A fourth day…

            A fifth day…

            A fifth day… wait… no, the sixth day…

            Was it six or seven? Maybe eight? How long had he been asleep? How many times had the guard brought him his food?

            Kevza was already losing his time, the only light in the cell was the dim glow from the runestones laid into the granite. Torches were a luxury for those who weren’t behind bars, and with the runes lining the walls and suppressing his tie to the Meridian, Kevza had no way to augment things on his own.

            If Natavali wasn’t able to sway the council… Kevza was looking at the literal rest of his life: trapped in a room that couldn’t be more than four paces by four paces, with no magic, no company, and only the bare basics of a meal to look forward to. Maybe the occasional treat if they cared enough to keep him from getting too weak and sickly.

            Part of him hoped that this was only a holding isolation cell. The coven surely wouldn’t be that cruel… would they? Maybe if this went on much longer, they would move him to a new one. One that had a bed with more than a simple thin blanket, maybe a small space for a book, or even just room to stretch his legs a bit easier.

            There had been a small stone chip Kevza had found in the corner of his cot where it was set into the wall, and he had taken to bouncing it off the far edge of his cell. (Again, not that that was very far.) But while it was boring and repetitive, it was still something to do as he passed the time.

            Maybe the guards would eventually see he wasn’t a threat. Then he could at least talk to them when they brought him his daily things, like his meals or the basin of water each morning so he could wash at least the worst of the stone’s dust from his skin.

            Sure they were his prison keepers now… but that didn’t mean they couldn’t have a little peace and understanding between them, right?

            “This must be what it feels like to go insane,” Kevza thought. “And what a pity, seeing how I put so much effort into staying sane as a free man.”

            But then again… this had all started because the world went crazy, hadn’t it? Crazy enough to blow up cities, raze whole forests full of life, and attempt the massacre of thousands… maybe even millions.

            But why?

            Why would someone do such a thing?

            That was really the question, wasn’t it? Who would want to do all that, and what gave them the drive to actually follow through?

            But no matter how long Kevza turned those questions in his head, over and over, for hours, days, years, or maybe just minutes, he couldn’t see an angle for it.

            “Unless,” Kevza thought as he bounced his rock off the wall again, watching it skitter back across the floor. “It’s like Natavali pointed out, and there’s still a piece in all this we’re still missing.”

            He threw the rock again, but his arm spasmed and it went skittering off to the side on the return, sliding out between the bars.

            “Ugh,” he sighed, looking out at the stone with dismay. “You weren’t supposed to go over there.”

            “Aaaand now I’m talking to a rock,” Kevza thought suddenly.

            He shook his head, rattling his brain back into place from the brink, and scooted over to the bars, attempting to reach through and grab his stone, but to no avail. Its rounded little edges were just out of reach.

            “You were getting boring anyway,” he moaned to the rock, flopping onto his back.

            He wasn’t sure how long he had laid there when he suddenly heard the quiet sound of footsteps approaching. It had been at least a little while since he’d last woken up, and they’d fed him before that, so maybe it was time for his next meal?

            “Oh joy,” he thought out loud, his voice dry and scratchy from lack of any actual use. “Let me guess… more gruel with nuts?”

            “No,” came a voice, and Kevza looked over in surprise.

            This man was clearly not one of the usual isolation mage guards. But he wore a mage guard uniform, and the insignia of the Keep was embroidered proudly over his chest.

            “You’re new,” he remarked. “What brings you by?”

            “You’re to come with me,” the guard said, sounding intense.

            “Oh?” Kevza was on his feet so fast he nearly swayed out of his skin. “We’re going somewhere?”

            “Yes, we are.” Suddenly, the voice was different in the air, and the torch in the guard’s hand sputtered, his brown eyes suddenly flared gold with a whisper of magic in the air. “I’ve made my promises.”

            Kevza’s breath caught in his throat as he realized.

            Natavali had come.