He was among the few that made it back on the Isle alongside the small community of apprentices and wizards, but he was far from happy. Of all the people that could have seen him cast a spell in the city, why did it have to be those two?
In his pensive mood he was walking on the corridors close the the tower of the sorcerers and he heard voices of two wizards in the stark silence of the monastery. They were discussing the details of their final test. He needed to find a way to keep his brother and Genffaine quiet before losing his privilege to be on the Isle since the secrecy of their identity was a sworn oath if he was to become a wizard of the order.
The information he heard gave him an idea, and he consulted his copy of 'Magic for sleight and entertainment' to find a useful spell. He refused to be at their mercy.
Not wanting to waste time, Genffaine started a rumour of having chanced upon the spell which was to be used to unveil the clue to their final magical test called The test of flame. Getting to know this spell was a test on its own, it helped to hoodwink all the protection charms around the final test. It required only one member of a sect to know and then passed on to the rest for an advantage over the other sects. Early knowledge of this spell helped the apprentices to know the challenges for which to prepare and deciphering the spell was enough to frustrate any sect.
The rumour spread like wild fire within a day to his amazement and the apprentices were bent on keeping this secret to the extent that they did not realise that it was not a secret, since Genffaine deliberately gave every sect the same information.
Barsithe proved a useful tool when Genffaine admitted to him that he was the one who found a guide to deciphering the spell since he found it lying atop the library front desk upon his early return to the Isle. He was willing to trade the spell for a few pieces of silver. He admitted to having scribbled it in his notebook.
As expected, the news got around to the other sects though the apprentices were careful to keep it hidden from the wizards, lest they give them a more difficult task. Tikan's sect tasked him to retrieve the spell from his brother. Tikan's first attempt to get this spell from him assured Genffaine the plan was working.
He refused the money Tikan offered and he asked Tikan to swear not to reveal what he did at Crystalia on Thyeseus day in return for the spell. Tikan readily obliged.
He told him to bring Spiken Cynthalith to meet him in the library to swear to the same conditions of silence then he will divulge it to them. After these conditions had been met Genffaine would then leave his notebook with them to memorize the spell to avoid suspicion.
Tikan did as told and brought Spike along to the library after convincing him to let go of his misgivings. They read together a ridiculous spell concocted by Genffaine behind the volumes of flaking books that obscured them from prying eyes, each trying to get the pronunciations right:
NESEN NOMON NESEN
MORF DESRUC SPIL DNIB EM
NI STI SDROW ERIS EM
Both apprentices did not notice until the end that they had shrunk into the page of the notebook. Now on every side Spike and Tikan found that they were running around a two-dimensional plane surrounded by the words in Genffaine's notebook.
They heard loud crinkling sounds all around them but realised they could not hear themselves speaking anymore; the gigantic face of Genffaine appeared above them when he picked up the book.
He waved his palm less conspicuously over it and muttered some words.
The words in the notebook regrouped the right way and read as:
NESEN NOMON NESEN
YOU ARE READING
ARYSARNIA
FantasíaThe powers they had acquired were not meant for their mortal beings...They had acquired magic fit for gods...Ancarta!" She saw rivers pouring out of the outstretched arms of bonny infants, the earth screaming with chasms at the touch of old men ,fir...
