alder!

Prodigy

“Lady's Temple was built in the shape of a four-pointed star, each chamber opening into radiating corridors. We passed through arches by arches into the lesser halls, where students and servants lived, in the courtyard lay a parterre forever wet with dew.

I wish I could say Karsus left a unique impression upon me, but he did not. The empire held many gifted youth: arrogant, restless, pretending to be socially awkward, He lived alone in the tower above and rarely came down to join the others.

When the yellow god cast his afternoon glory through the windows, The young arcanist was working on some unnamed spell — perhaps one that would never bear a name at all. Karsus gestured his hand as he spoke the incantation, his voice carrying a weight that was not presented in his usual demeanor. With a slight click, arcane energy surged through the chamber. In the depth of an opened phase door, image of the distant valley shimmered. a bloom of fire rose into the sky, muffled sound of explosion rolled down the hill.

The audience erupted into applause. Many had come for no reason other than to witness the prodigy; in an empire three thousand years old, boredom and curiosity were common among people. The young wizard folded his hands with satisfaction, savoring the trembling aftershock within the Weave while burning debris still tumbled from the distant hillside.

Karsus would almost certainly become an Archwizard. A chill passed through me. I felt something unseen swelling— over the walls and columns, over the temple roofs, reaching toward heights perhaps even the floating cities of Netheril could not touch. Beneath that tranquil afternoon, what I felt most deeply was dread.”