Soon enough, the iron doors of the Accademia slid open on well-greased hinges, and a rather nondescript man had appeared in the doorway.

Cyrus' visual sweep reinforced his every expectation; the hall was richly appointed, with a grand stairwell directly ahead, extensive chambers to the left and right, and various inscrutable artifacts which emphasized the esoteric nature of the studies performed within. He was quite beside himself and felt rather intimidated, which was of course the purpose of the entry's layout, though it did not occur to him at the time. Suddenly, the man before him, whom he had all but ignored, cleared his throat softly in order to jar him out of his reverie.

"You knocked?" he inquired, with the cultivated subtlety of tone that was common to all butlers; polite, but with a hint of disdain.

Cyrus straightened up slightly. "We wish to speak with the headmaster."

"He is not disposed to taking visitors at this hour."

"But surely it is barely evening!"

The butler shrugged. "As you wish, I will attempt to summon him. In the meantime, would you care to sit-"

As he was about to gesture them inside, a man in a luxurious fur coat entered calmly from the chamber to the right and fixed the two boys with a piercing stare. "Ignatius, who are these... children who have chosen to grace us with their presence?"

Something unrecognizable flickered through the butler's eyes, but he simply bowed, saying "Forgive me, Master Kamril. I had not yet ascertained their names when you arrived."

"No matter," he said carelessly. "What do you want."

"We -- ah, we..."

Cyrus trailed off under the continuing intensity of the man's gaze, but he would never get anywhere if he did not state his purpose. He swallowed.

"We are here to request that Micael here be tested for magic and cared for by the Accademia, on the grounds of his relation to the former headmaster."

"Ah, Master Arturo... it was most unfortunate. But I fear we do not have enough room here to keep students due to mere charity."

"But, you can't! You can't..."

Kamril smiled humorlessly. "My apologies, but there is simply no way. Now, if you will excuse me." He swept up the stairwell, each footfall making Cyrus fall farther into despair until he had gone out of hearing. At once, the spell was broken.

The butler cleared his throat once again. A strange pity was in his gray eyes, but his tone varied not an iota from its norms. "I'm sorry, but you must leave now. You may wish to inquire again next year, when some of the students will have travelled home. Farewell."

Broken and dejected, both of them walked out into the snowy night with heavy hearts. They would not be able to make it back to the city, but even if they could, what would be the point? Nothing awaited them there on the run-down streets of Rallia, only more disappointment. It seemed that despair was inevitable.

Cyrus turned to Micael, whose wide eyes were on the verge of tears, and realized that his own were much the same. He wiped a tear off the young boy's cheek. "Don't fret, little one. We'll think of something."

The two found a sheltered niche out of view of the front entrance, and began to ponder their options. It was too cold and snowy outside to venture all the way back, so they would have to find someplace warm. Perhaps they could prevail upon someone else among the servants to allow them in; surely there must be another entrance somewhere. With no other plan seeming suitable, they got up and began a circuit around the building.

The great size of the building and the inclement weather hindered their progress, but at last they discovered it: a small entrance presumably used for messengers and others traveling on errands. Yet it was securely bolted. Despair encroached yet again as he tried futilely to force the door open. About to give up, he had a sudden flash of inspiration.

"Micael, stand back. I'm going to try and use magic on this door."

The boy mutely complied, as Cyrus closed his eyes and concentrated his energies. Because it was the wintertime, everyone's flowers had closed and magic was generally harder to utilize. Since most people had very limited magic to begin with, the wintertime all but prevented them from exercising even the slightest control over their element. However, Cyrus had been the best of his class.

Focusing all his thought on the door, he began summoning earth energy to himself, visualizing his white chrysanthemum glowing with power. After he had gathered what he deemed enough, he readied himself and directed the energy towards the door in one blast.

The door rattled briefly on its hinges and remained locked. The youth collapsed, exhausted and panting, and became even more embroiled in despair. Micael regarded him gravely for a moment, then offered his hand.

"You can do it, I'm sure!"

Grasping his hand, Cyrus clambered to his feet. Once again, he was reminded that now, he was not looking out for one, but two. He started collecting energy from the earth once more, and holding hands with the child somehow made him feel ten times stronger. Once again, he willed the power to travel towards the door.

The solid iron door was flung clear off its frame and hurtled towards the opposite wall, crashing with an enormous clang onto the floor.

Cyrus mutely stared at his hands, while Micael only smiled. "I knew you would do it," he said. "You're really strong."

The older youth shook his head in disbelief. In the knowledge that the little boy believed he could, he had utilized more energy than he had thought possible. Coming back to his senses, he crouched and listened intently to hear if anyone would come to investigate.

After several minutes, no further sound could be heard. The pair cautiously crept inside and began to survey their surroundings.

Cyrus jumped back in surprise noticing the prone form of Ignatius lying crumpled on the floor. He relaxed slightly when he realized that the butler was still breathing; he must have been knocked unconscious by the force of the door's passage. He did not appear injured. Despite his condition, the boy declined to verify his health; after all, his reception earlier had not suggested that he would be the one to help them, and he was rather inclined to leave him in this state. At the least, he had not witnessed them enter, and so would not be able to give any indication of their whereabouts.

They decided to carefully explore the extents of the cellar. It seemed plain that Ignatius had been the only one present who might have investigated the noise, for no one else had so much as stirred. After a short time, it became evident that the basement was just as extensive as the rest of the building, if not more so; the multitude of labyrinthine passages might have lost them, had not Cyrus possessed such a strong sense of direction thanks to his earth affinity. Discovering a small storage room which appeared to have been disused for ages, they decided to settle down for the remainder of the night, as there was little else for them to do. The pair lay down, resting comfortably on impromptu beds of dusty but serviceable sacks, and went fast to sleep despite their nervousness about being found.

Waking up in the morning, Cyrus' eyes snapped open when he realized they were not alone. Leaping up, he found that Ignatius was already at the door to the small room, tranquilly regarding them and making no move. He froze, and the two simply looked at each other while Micael lay asleep, oblivious to the world.

The butler was the first to speak. "Do not fear, I will not harm you."

At this, Micael began to stir. Glancing towards him, Cyrus nodded slowly and relaxed his stance, though he began to collect some power from the earth. Surely, just a little would suffice to bowl him over, and then they could make their escape.

"There's no need for that, my child."

Startled, the youth lost his concentration, scattering the gathered strength harmlessly. How could he have known? He had made no sign.

Ignatius smiled, divining the course of the boy's thoughts. "I, too, am an earth affinity. Let me assure you, I have no intention of telling Kamril -" he practically spat the name, as if it had a foul taste -- "that you are here. You've heard that the former headmaster has passed away?"

Cyrus nodded.

"I tell you now that he has not."

The youth was astonished. "But then, why -- how -"

"Though I cannot locate Master Arturo, I know for a fact that he lives still. Kamril has done something to him, in his underhanded fashion, for he is not strong enough to overcome the Master in a legitimate battle. What this is, I cannot guess. But I, in turn, am not strong enough to overwhelm the pretender, and so I bide my time and search as best I can for hints to his location. For some time, I've been searching the cellars, suspecting that he might have been ensorcelled in some way and concealed down here. In fact, I was on my way to the nightly search when you entered so... forcibly."

Cyrus looked chastened, and mumbled an apology. The old mage merely laughed.

"Think nothing of it. I remember in my youth I used to be nearly as hasty as you, hard as it may be to believe. The years have taught me temperance, and many years they've been indeed." His eyes took on a wistful cast, and he sighed. "Ah, well. Come, I'll take you to the servant's kitchen, and we'll have a meal. Kamril never condescends to venture down here, thankfully, and there'll be no one else around to ask any questions just now. Most of them have snuck off to town to enjoy the last days of the festival." He smiled ruefully. "Would that I had that luxury. But let us go!"

As they wound through the twisting passages, Cyrus was grateful of the butler's assistance. Though he would have been able to find the way out, it wouldn't have been much use if it was so impossible to seek out anything else in the catacombs without a long-standing knowledge of their layout.

They breakfasted like kings on the stores of the kitchen, treating themselves to copious quantities of bread and dried fish. Rather frugal kings perhaps, but they ate royally nonetheless. As they ate, the two boys began to discuss plans with Ignatius.

"How do you intend to find Master Arturo? What do you think happened to him?" Cyrus asked.

"I was planning to search the entire basement. Kamril's refusal to go down here, though it might be just vanity, seemed a bit suspicious, and I wondered if he hadn't tried to conceal my poor master somewhere here. I know for a fact, however, that he isn't dead."

"But how can you be so sure?"

"All people with an earth affinity can sense the presence of others. The ability must be taught, which is why, I imagine, you've not yet learned to utilize it, but everyone has a unique pattern which we can pick up on. Only the earth practitioners have this ability, although of course the other elements have their own benefits."

This was new to Cyrus, and he wondered that no one had told him earlier. "Why didn't my teacher tell me of this?"

"Ah, such skills are only taught to those who complete the basic training. How long were you taught for, and by whom?"

"Master Saltrio, for nearly 8 years."

At the mention of the old sage's name, Ignatius' eyes lit up in recognition. "Saltrio! My word, I've not seen him in ages! How is the old fellow?"

"Well enough. You knew each other?"

"Yes, we trained together, long ago. To think, Saltrio a master...!" He shook his head. "Well, he always was a better student than I. Where is he now?"

"Norven, where I live."

"Ah, if only I could go to live in the country, free of cares... but then again, I don't want to leave with Master Arturo yet to be found."

Cyrus considered telling him of Saltrio's mysterious conversation with the goddess Verbena, but he shied away from the idea. It sounded preposterous even to him, and he didn't want the man to think he was making up spurious tales.

"Might it be possible to learn these skills without having finished the basics?"

"I suppose, but it would be rather..." Ignatius paused. "You mean that you would learn them?"

"I want to help with the search in whatever way I can."

"Hmm, hmm... perhaps that would be just the thing. You are young and able yet, while I have grown rather old for such practice. Well then, we shall begin even now." He cleared off the table, and peered intently at Cyrus. "I can see you know how to gather energy, but do you understand the mechanism by which it operates?"

He shook his head, and the mage continued. "Everyone is constantly drawing upon the energies of the earth, and the earth in turn draws upon them. We of the earth affinity can increase this energy transfer, but we cannot unbalance its flow. This world is stronger than we could ever be; still, we may redirect its energy currents by our will. Now, you must learn to feel the current as it is. You know intuitively how to seek it out and draw it to yourself; now, you will not compel, but merely accept."

The youth emptied his mind and sought out the flow of the earth's energies; yet he found that he was blocked by a tendency to seize the energy, disrupting the natural pathways. He broke his concentration and sighed in disappointment.

"Patience. Do not fear, this is a difficult thing to learn. Try again, now. Simply observe the currents."

He closed his eyes and began to try again. Slowly, a fuzzy mental image began to impinge on Cyrus' awareness. There was no definite shape in his vision, but where Ignatius and Micael were sitting was strikingly apparent. He could "see" them, surrounded by a vague cocoon of slow drifts.

"I see it!"

The butler clapped his hands. "Excellent! Now, let me give you a test."

In front of the old man's figure, the drifts began to coalesce into an amorphous object, gradually gaining in definition and clarity. He held up his hands, and in between them, Cyrus could observe the shape of a flower.

"A lotus?"

"Yes!" he cried out in delight. "You've nearly mastered it already. But of course this is merely the beginning of how to observe others via your powers. Indeed, there is an entire mode of awareness to be learned. But that's for another time. I suggest that today, you remain hidden, while I go and tend to the upstairs. Feel free to explore the cellar; I trust you'll be able to find your away about. Don't travel upstairs, though; it would be disastrous if you were to be seen."

He nodded his assent. After the butler took his leave, the boys at once began to explore the underground expanse in search of the missing Arturo. They treated it as a game, looking in every corner and rashly shouting "Master Arturo!" in every passageway. The time passed swiftly as they discovered the many rooms that had long been in disuse. One contained nothing but dusty tomes filled with long-forgotten languages which neither could understand. Here and there were an old closet full of moth-eaten robes, a whole dining hall's worth of tarnished silver, an broken clockwork model of the stars' positions. It would take years to sort through all of the contents; it was no wonder that they had long been abandoned, for it all seemed to be of little worth. Still, it gladdened Cyrus' heart to see little Micael delight in every little trinket they found together.

As the day drew to a close, Ignatius descended into the basement to find the pair resting in the kitchen, exhausted.

"It looks like you had a busy day," he observed with a smile. "Waiting on Kamril is a trying business indeed, but I can deal with him. I must caution you, the others will be returning from their visit to the center of town on the morrow, and you must know how to evade them so as not to arouse suspicion."

He told them of the patterns of every one of the servants who worked for the Accademia, revealing his surprisingly detailed knowledge of their ways.

"How did you find out so much about their movements? Surely you could not have observed all of them so closely by yourself."

Ignatius smiled slowly. "That is the next aspect of what you must learn. With our earth magic, we can expand our awareness to encompass as much or as little as desired. This is considerably more difficult than merely observing those in the room with you, but you can learn it with a little practice."

"First, you must begin by going into the awareness you had earlier."

Cyrus complied, putting himself into a receptive state. As before, the shadowy figures of the others appeared in his mind's eye.

"Try to expand your sight, now. Sink deeper into the trance."

He felt as if seismic waves were radiating and reverberating outward from his body. A strange sensation of expansion invaded his thoughts, and all of a sudden was swept away by a new state of experience. He could now be aware of the entire Accademia, all at once. Ignatius and Micael were watching him intently

Kamril, high above, was sitting in his chambers, looking haughty and dissatisfied

One of the jolly, drunken servants had just arrived at the side entrance and was peering inside

He saw a somberly dressed man with a distinguished face lying prostrate on a slab, in a circular room. Arturo? Where was he?! But his new awareness would not stop

Cyrus could see Mattie sweeping the entrance of her building

Vendors crying out exhortations to buy their goods

His mother Fiella humming softly to herself and wondering where he was

The awareness encompassed the entire planet. Everything: all the marvelous scintillating threads of life, the crystal domes of the Gardens, the immeasurable domains of the Flower Maidens, everything was present and past and future and echoing and constant and joyful and inevitable and unremitting and wondrous and terrible

He reclined onto the iridescent, fantastically suspended circle in the center of the temple and began to dream.

A young woman sang in the meadow, a song brimming with love without words, and two men were frozen in wonder, in the same moment desiring ardently to go and see the one who had crafted this heavenly music.

It seemed that the song sprang forth into the world and was boundless, resonating in the deepest crevasses of the earth and the highest reaches of the sky; everything could not help loving it and loving her.

Singing and singing, the melody began to overlap and harmonize with itself. Yet here there was a poignant note hanging in the air, creating discord and overwhelming the song's purity, and all the harmonies were unraveled and began to falter and suddenly everything --

stopped.