The chairs disappeared as Nomavisa waved his hand and he calmly turned to follow behind the group. Passing through a hidden door the group entered a well lit, albeit windowless hall with thick carpets to absorb footsteps. Tapestries, sculptures, and other works of art from all areas of the continent and covering all recorded history lined the halls. Twists, turns, and stairs finally ended with the group deep in the Palace before a large pair of doors flanked by two guards and engraved with glyphs and words in ancient Balpuri. Essence imbued the ancient walls, strong enough for even a non-mage to feel. Of greater import to Mira, though, was the area's divine aspect, what espiri called devova. Mira thanked Feroze that he and Miracradsa were not actively hostile. Had they been so, her magic would have been greatly weakened by the devova of Miracradsa which permeated the area. Entering the room, Mira noted that the outside guards bore swords in addition to wearing the black robes of sorcerers, but her attention was quickly drawn to the room itself. A large circular window in the ceiling cast light around a crystal that had been placed into the floor of the circular room. Nine chairs were placed in a circle around the light, and three chairs stood at the corners of a triangle inlaid on the floor. As the crowd gathered, no one took a seat. Turning to look over the group, the Ri'Magus smiled and spoke, "Welcome to the testing room. Most of you have been here before, but" he continued with a nod to Mira, "that does not give you an advantage here." Smiling at the serious faces he continued, "Don't be so glum looking my friends. Remember, while there are events in life that must be taken seriously, they do not usually require glum faces." He then turned to other two Councilors. "Let's make sure everything is ready." The three of them began to check that the chairs were in position. Judging by the expressions around her, Mira wasn't the only one to wish that they would simply start the tests. To distract herself she began working through the changes that might be needed in her rites to account for Miracradsa's devova. Though few were needed, the task provided a needed anodyne to keep impatience away while she kept a lookout for the tests to begin. -- Jefferson (Exquaestio) http://www.picotech.net/~jeff_wilson63/rpg/fiction/Exq_MageTest.html ---------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send mail to celandra-off@phoenyx.net.
