that! From this day forward, our world is forever changed!”
“What are you babbling about?” Jessamay demanded. “Stop that spinning and explain yourself this instant!”
Shaking her head, the sorceress looked over at Abbey and Adrian. “Are you sure that your concoction hasn’t finally put him around the bend?” she asked under her breath. Wondering the same thing, all the partial adept and First Sister could do was look back sheepishly.
Faegan finally stopped spinning. He grinned at Jessamay. “Do not worry, good woman!” he said. “Aside from a few burns, I’m right as rain!” As Faegan lowered his chair to the floor, Mallory looked around.
The Fledgling House facilities had been meager compared to Faegan’s. The laboratory was spacious. Many tables stood about, each littered with beakers, bottles, texts, and scrolls. More bottles holding dried herbs and precious oils could be seen locked behind glass in specially constructed cabinets. In one corner, a brass blood signature scope and criterion sat atop a wooden stand. A hearth lay along one wall, its fire burning merrily.
Looking farther, Mallory saw huge parchments filled with detailed scribbling hanging on the walls. A framed reference chart displaying the craft’s many esoteric symbols lay on a nearby easel. The room’s entire rear wall was taken up by a strange black panel. It was literally covered with Old Eutracian, the glowing, azure script shining brightly against its background. Oil chandeliers provided welcoming light.
Then Mallory’s eyes fell on what she guessed was the Scroll of the Vigors. Its beauty took her breath away.
The massive, unrolled document hovered in the air. One end was secured to a solid-gold rod. Snaking its way around the room, the fragile vellum appeared to be one meter high by about twenty meters long. Sadly, parts seemed burned away. Both sides were covered with Old Eutracian craft formulas. They were the most detailed ones Mallory had ever seen.
Looking closer, she saw dark vertical lines dividing the entire scroll into sections. The various parts were by no means equal in length. Numbers in Old Eutracian stood at each section’s top, identifying one section from another. Smaller numbers ran vertically down each section’s left-hand margin, referencing the scroll’s many lines.
Curious, the First Wizard looked at Faegan. “Why have you unwound the scroll?” he asked.
“First things first,” Faegan answered. He wheeled toward Mallory and looked at her new uniform. “I take it you are a Fledgling House girl?” he asked.
Mallory curtsied. “Yes, sir,” she answered respectfully. “I am Mallory of the House of Esterbrook.”
He bowed at the waist. “I’m sure they have already told you about me!” he said. Then he shot her a conspiratorial wink. “Don’t believe everything you’ve heard! Welcome, Mallory! We meet on an auspicious day!”
“It’s time you told us what’s going on,” Shailiha demanded.
“Right you are!” Faegan exclaimed. Beckoning them to follow him, he wheeled his chair toward the far wall.
Mallory stared at the black panel. Its depths looked endless, seductive. Sensing her curiosity, Faegan wheeled closer.
“It’s called a visage board,” he said. “It’s usually employed for teaching purposes. I keep one here because it helps me think. Observe.”
Faegan waved one hand. In the twinkle of an eye, the board’s writing disappeared. He turned to look at the inquisitive group, then gestured toward the hovering Vigors scroll.
“Very well,” he started. “We believe that at one time this scroll held every Vigors Forestallment calculation known to mankind. Some parts have been burned away. We also know that a Forestallment is a calculation of the craft, especially designed to be placed into an endowed person’s blood. Such Forestallments might be time- activated-that is, brought to life at a specific time. Or they might be event-activated-destined to activate concurrently with its owner’s performance of some predetermined deed. When imbued into the blood signature they form branches, leading away from the signature proper. Their purpose is to grant their owners immediate powers. This negates the tedious classical training usually needed to reach the same results.” Turning to stare at the unwound scroll, Faegan paused.
“Yes, yes!” Wigg interjected. “We all understand that! Tell us something wedon’t know!”
Returning to the moment, Faegan smiled. “I have just outlined the scroll’s positive aspects. Answer me this- what has always been the scroll’s greatestdrawback?”
“Its calculations number in the thousands,” Abbey answered. “But they are not labeled. Nor is there any other known way to find their physical location on the scroll. Even if one knew that a certain calculation was written there, it might take years to find-if not longer.”
Faegan triumphantly pointed a bony index finger into the air. “Precisely!” he exclaimed. “Those days are at an end!”
“What do you mean?” Wigg asked.
“The Forestallment Xanthus granted to my blood has provided me with the index to the Scroll of the Vigors,” Faegan answered.
Stunned, the others looked at him in silence. Wigg seemed especially skeptical.
“Prove it,” the First Wizard said.
Faegan smiled. “Very well,” he said. “Wigg, please describe a power that you have long coveted, but do not possess. He gave the First Wizard a wink. “Go ahead,” he goaded him. “Tell us your oldest, deepest wish. If its formula exists on the scroll, I’ll find it. I’m reasonably sure about what it is.”
Wigg’s answer was immediate. “You know full well what it is,” he said. “Ever since we blew up my father’s laboratory those three centuries ago, I have always wanted to be able to perform alchemy. It has long been my wish to give the results to Eutracia’s various charities.”
Faegan smiled. “That’s right,” he answered. “Before we find out whether such a formula exists, I must call forth the index. I will display it for everyone to see.”
Faegan turned and pointed at the visage board. Calling the craft, he concentrated mightily. To Mallory’s astonishment, azure words in Old Eutracian started forming in its depths. Soon the entire board was full, its last line literally running off the board’s lower-right corner.
Having been trained in Old Eutracian, she read the words easily. A title lay above the index proper. It read:
To all ye who seek the scroll’s secrets know this: Behold the index; its titles, subtitles, and formulas lay before you. Use the knowledge well, our children. These twenty-five facets of learning have been left behind as an instrument to guide you in the perfect, wondrous knowledge that is the craft.
Pointing to the board, Faegan again summoned magic. The board’s text started rolling upward, showing ever more words. Augmenting his power, Faegan forced the lines to rise faster. To Mallory’s lesser gifts, the lines were soon little more than a continuous azure blur. Soon the text started to slow, then stopped altogether.
Faegan walked closer to the board and used the craft to highlight a specific passage. As Mallory deciphered it she was astounded. It read:
Various formulas for the science of alchemy. Scroll Section 19; Subsection 58; lines 347 through 954.
Faegan immediately wheeled his chair over to the scroll. Rolling his way down the hovering scroll’s length, he found section number nineteen. After finding the proper subsection, he quickly started scanning the aforementioned lines. Suddenly Faegan whooped for joy.
“It’s here!” he shouted. “I beg the Afterlife, it actually exists!”
Then he backed away from the scroll. Looking toward the visage board, he waved his hands. The index promptly vanished. In its place, an azure craft formula materialized.
The formula took up nearly the entire board. Mallory was stunned by its vast complexity. Before today, she had had no idea that such wonders existed.
His face radiating pure joy, Faegan turned his chair around to address the astonished group. He gestured to the visage board.
“I give you the formula for converting lead into gold,” he said simply.
They all walked toward the board. For a long time no one spoke as they read the formula. Clearly, its solution had been formulated by an amazing mind.
His mouth hanging open, Wigg shook his head in wonder. “Can it be true?” he whispered. He looked at Faegan with unbelieving eyes. “Have you really unlocked the scroll’s vast teachings?”
