Finally Gareth spoke.
"I used to be the Archmage of Sandar. Now I am not but I am still the most powerful, human, Mage in this land. Undoubtedly you next question will be asking why I run a dress shop."
Well. That was not what I expected to hear!
"Actually, I was going to ask why you stay in the city."
"An intelligent question. The fact of the matter is that I am not allowed to leave and while I am the most powerful single Mage I can not match the combined power of my enemies."
"What did you do?"
"You are the first elf I've met who asked so many nosy questions!" grumbled Gareth irritably. "You remind me of someone but bedamned if I can think who."
"Please stop procrastinating."
I replied more politely this time, hoping it would encourage him to speak further.
"I thought you lot were supposed to patient."
"We are also supposed to be polite, demure, and ladylike... you may have noticed I have none of those qualities."
"I had, "agreed Gareth, "I could ask you the same question, Miss Leanni, what is a young Elf lass like yourself doing so far from home?"
"At the moment I am trying to help the centaurs find a new home. In general I am living my life in the way I chose too."
"You have a rebellious spirit... I can see why you left. In comparison to what I know about Elves you are very different."
"We were talking about you," I reminded him again; Gareth sighed and looked away from me for a moment.
"So we were."
He fell silent again and this time I decided not to press for a reply as the question was obviously bothering him.
"You do not have to tell me," I reassured him, "I am not going anywhere anytime soon. Perhaps we can talk another day."
"No. It is best for you to know now, I think. If you plan on going to Court the gossipmongers will tell you as soon as they find out who made your dresses."
"I really do not think you are going to shock me, Gareth, just speak and I will listen."
"Speak, she says, as though we were discussing no more than the weather!"
I started at his loud exclamation and caught a glass just before he knocked to the floor with accompanying gesture.
"Have I offended you? I will repeat my offer to leave, if you wish it."
"Be quiet and let me speak, please."
His politeness startled me almost as much as his anger and I stayed silent.
"We human mages have very strict rules and procedures we follow for spell casting... but there are other ways of using the magic this world has to offer."
That did confuse me a little because I had always assumed that the magic Galeorhin taught me was the magic used by humans.
"These other ways are strictly forbidden by both our Gods and our own laws of magic."
All of your Gods? I wondered silently.
"For a time in my youth I completed turned my back on the four-fold path. I saw the error of my ways and returned to the fold, so to speak."
"And you were the Arch mage?" I prompted him when he fell silent again. I well understood not wanting to speak of the past, but I was beginning to have one of those feelings.
"Indeed I was, though that came some two hundred years after I returned."
"May I ask how long human mages live? All Elves are Mages and we all have the same life spans."
"It depends on how much power one has. I am three hundred and forty and will probably live another two or three centuries, barring assassination attempts of course."
"I am just over one hundred and seventy years old."
"Do Elves not age at all then, once they finish growing?"
"Not until they are at least two thousand years old. Galeorhin was several centuries older than I but looked no older."
I cursed myself the instant I said his name; it was a slip of the tongue I had not intended.
"Who is this Glahin you speak so wistfully of?"
"The man I would search Eternity itself to find."
(Eternity is a word that means 'everything and forever'. - AL)
"Surely two powerful Mages who are also bound by strong feelings can find each other upon a single world?"
I did not want to permanently damage Gareth's ideas about the way things worked so I said:
"He was taken from me by the most powerful Mages of our people; it is only through the personal intervention of a powerful deity that I even know he lives. I can only pray that the same deity gave him that information regarding me."
"Yet you take the time to help those you hardly know who are not even of your own race? I confess myself shocked and puzzled by you, Leanni."
"There are those among the centaurs who are my friends. Of course I want to find Galeorhin as quickly as I can, it is like having half of me gone, but I also reluctantly accept the fact that there are those who do not, for reasons known only to them, wish me to find him."
At least, I added, that is how I interpret Electis' actions.
"It seems we both have powerful enemies. I also have strong allies, do you? For I fear you will need them if you would pit yourself against the Mages of Sandar."
I thought of Riax.
"I have one very strong ally, who keeps his own council, and many friends who are not so powerful but are precious nonetheless."
With that I thought, not of Sallan who was my closest centaur friend, but of Darrell.
"The young should be free to make their own choices and not be bound by the past. Perhaps my plans here in the city, if they succeed, will not solve the problem but they will be a good start."
Again, I noticed, this human male had drawn the subject away from himself. I would ask him again but not until his curiosity was satisfied.
"All people are the same, really, Leanni."
I could not help but notice the bitter disillusionment as he spoke.
"I have met them all in one way or another. They are the same the world over. There are a few good ones but in the end it is the corrupt and ruthless that have control."
I wonder if I will become bitter as the years go by. I hope not but who can predict what the future will bring?
"I am truly sorry that you feel that way, Gareth. I must beg your pardon but I have promised to perform at the Inn tonight. May I return tomorrow?"
"Yes. Of course, do not let my foolish ramblings keep you."
"You are not a fool, Gareth, no more than any other who stands upon the world."
I confess my thoughts were dark as I returned to the inn, I believed that I would succeed but the doubts were still there.