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Abigaile Elizabeth Frostraven sat on the bench within the Karakorum park. A magic lantern began to swirl about her head making her ever present smile grow wider. She reached out gently and the warming glow of the iridescent sphere wrapped around her fingertips. She drew orange pictures in the air until the sparkled lines faded away. A soft giggle made its way through her thin dark lips and her sapphire blue eyes sparkled each time the magic lantern flew into sight. Gaile loved magic with a passion. There was a romantic mystery about the very origin of the practice that illuminated her soul as much as the lantern illuminated the sky about her. This was the reason she had joined the powerful mage guild known as the cabal. Her own attempts at mastering this art resulted in many backfires including one that changed her rich black hair the same shade of blue as her eyes. She couldn't get the necessary help at home to improve on her natural talents, there weren't enough books to fulfill her insatiable appetite for knowledge on the subject, there wasn't enough time to practice on her own with the rigid schedule her parents kept her in, but that was all going to soon change for this mocha-chino skinned noble.
Gaile's best friend and music teacher Novaura came to the Frostraven manor in a more sullen mood than usual. Gaile watched her walk up the garden path towards the house and noticed that her harp wasn't with her. When the doorbell rang Gaile ran to the hallway above the stairs that looked down onto the entrance. She watched one of the family servants open it and Nova stepped in. She looked through her long flaxen bangs towards Gaile and tried to give her a reassuring smile which only made her more concerned. She went down the steps slowly while the attempted to take Nova's white cloak. She declined the offer and a small tear ran down her face. The servant bowed and left without the slightest hint of emotion. Gaile felt ready to cry herself even though she had no idea what was even wrong. Nova covered her grief with a smile as she always did and took a deep breath.
"We don't live forever, Gaile." Nova declared in the soothing voice she reserved for animals, children, and intense situations. Gaile expected the worst now as a lump rose in her throat. "And it's time that I went home."
"Home? You mean to Athens? Murmansk? Canada?" Gaile was confused. Nova was silent for a moment but then laughed.
"You know I am world known for my way with words. Why is this so hard for me to say?" She placed a cool hand on Gaile's shoulder. "You know as well as I do that none of those places are really my home."
"You're going back to the nomads?" Gaile backed away from Nova's grip. "But why? You're doing so well? You finally got that tavern you wanted and everything!"
"I know that Gaile. This isn't easy for me in the least. I've moved around so much in my life, and I left a lot of people behind searching for my father. After I found him I thought that perhaps I could finally stop, but after that dragon attack on Athens I realized something. I left someone very important to me behind and I may never get to see him again. So I decided after a long period of thought that I'd take all the things I've learned back with me to the tribe that raised me all those years and settle down there."
"But that tribe travels all over the highlands! How are you going to find them?! How am I ever going to see you again?!" Gaile could feel the hot tears streak down her face. Nova wiped them away with her thumbs and bent down to look her in the face.
"I'll write you." Nova smiled. "And my da' will always know where I am if there's an emergency." She stood up again, opened Gaile's hand, pulled a scroll from her pack, and placed it inside. "That's the deed to my tavern. Keep it up for me." Nova hugged her good-bye and Gaile watched her let herself out. She didn't even open the scroll as she walked back up the winding staircase to her room.
She sat at the chair by her window overlooking the hedge maze and lost herself in thought, which soon lead to daydreaming, which also lead to a warp in time making it nightfall much too soon for her taste. Most of her conversation with Nova had blurred into memory as so many other things did, but one comment replayed itself each time she looked at that deed. No one lives forever. Her mind wandered again to thoughts of magic and her recent enrollment in the cabal. A realization came to her as she stared at the yellowed piece of rolled up parchment. She never got to train in magic because her parents made sure to have any excuse possible to keep her from visiting any teachers. She never left because she had nowhere to go, but his tavern may just be her ticket to independence. The very concept of leaving made the blood rush in her veins. Knowing her parents would disapprove, she hastily threw some things she would need into a pack, and used her bed sheets to climb out the window. It wasn't hard to sneak into the barn and take a mustang, and in almost no time at all she was just outside the manor walls on her way to Athens. The journey was though and by the time she arrived at the inn her original silken garments were torn and her horse was gone. All that was left were the peasant clothes Nova left in a large chest for tavern patrons to take when needed. After a good eight hours of sleep in one of the rented rooms Gaile went downstairs to see two dwarven regulars drinking at the bar. They didn't seem to notice her as she listened in on their conversation. She spoke very little dwarven, but she did make out some comments about the finishing of the mage town Karakorum. She asked the dwarves if such a town existed and they gave her a melancholy gaze. One of the dwarves gave her a toothy smile and wrote some coordinates down on a bar napkin. She took it gratefully and with another long journey soon found herself there. The instant she saw the town she fell in love with a small home made of sandstone. She promptly sold the tavern in Athens and purchased that very home with the money from it. Finally Gaile felt that her training in magic could truly begin and she could now live the life of a real cabal recruit.