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What was balance if not order?
Since stumbling onto some literature, a single line had stuck with Auria and had set her on an irreversible course: Without order, nothing can exist. If that was not balance, she did not know what was.
That line had brought her to Wayland. The proud sorceress had lowered herself into service to the self-proclaimed warlord that had taken over control of New Nystao and, by default, the fortress of Mount Tantiss - the end goal of the rogue witch.
She was not interested in the treasures that had been hidden there centuries ago and had since then been forgotten in the bowels of the mountain. To her, the earth would still speak volumes. The secrets that would be revealed would be invaluable.
Would tell her if it was worth digging into the labyrinth of tunnels.
Being battlemage and advisor to the most powerful man in the area, she was free to go where she wished. She knew, however, that a ritual like she wished to perform, would raise questions that she was not willing to answer. That was the easier part, however.
The hard part was the fool standing in her way for the tenth time that day.
"I ask again - what would be your business here, Augur?" the guard at the immense blast doors asked her.
It was making her eye twitch.
"Since when does the Augur have to explain herself to someone like you?" she asked him, her tone growing colder with each answer she gave.
"Since this is a restricted area." he shot right back at her.
"Oh good grief!" she almost growled before unleashing a wall of flame on him.
The armour he was wearing just cemented his fate of charbroil.
The other guards stared at her wide-eyed for a minute as the stench of burnt flesh wafted through the air.
"Anyone else want to question my job?" she asked as the flames in her hands still burned brightly.
"No, Ma'am." they said in unison before scrambling to open the giant doors.
"Good. Keep the doors open. I won't be long." she said, dousing the flames before marching past them.
Finally inside, she made a beeline for the Hall of Records towards the center of the mountain, adjusting the bag that was slung across her shoulder as she went. Upon reaching her destination, she got to work unpacking the conduits from her bag.
Nestled into the heart of the earth, Auria took her place in the center of the circle she had created before calling on the ancient ground beneath the immense foundation to yield its secrets to her - that which no one has bothered to ask for yet.
And it started to oblige with a sigh and a shudder.
