Alyssa jogged down the dirt path. Real great mages! People who's names rebounded across the globe. They were here. She could barely contain her excitement.
The temple wasn't large, so within a few minutes, she stood before Honored Sandstorm's office. It was an older part of the temple, a squat adobe and stucco creation, with a brightly dyed curtain across the doorway. The temperatures in Gygonxe were always high, so curtains worked better than doors.
She rattled the cowbell near the door.
"Come in."
Alyssa slipped into the coolness. "Honored Sandstorm, there's great mages here!"
Sandstorm smiled. "I'm glad you've figured that out."
Alyssa giggled. Sandstorm was never as regal as the other high-ranking dedicates. "I mean, a pair of them showed up at the gate and Hwang- Dedicate Hwangwalker- let them in and he took them to the bathhouse, because they've been traveling for so long, but he said he'd bring them here when they were done."
Sandstorm raised her eyebrows slightly, but gave no other signs of emotion. She sat still for a moment, then stood abruptly. "Alyssa, can you bring me something?"
"Alright."
Sandstorm drew a book off the shelf behind her, letting it fall open in her hand. She ran her finger down the page. "I need powdered dittany, beeswax, and basil."
Alyssa blinked in surprise, but nodded, then darted out the door to find them.
It wasn't much longer before the cowbell was ringing again. Sandstorm swept the curtain aside, and let her guests in. Hwang stood nervously by the doorway, but the other three mages neatly arranged themselves in the battered array of chairs. In Sandstorm's magical sight, they shone brightly with magic, the elder woman most of all. The boy had barely settled, when Alyssa slid through the doorway again.
"I think this is everything. The only beeswax I could find was in a candle, so there's that, and the basil was dried, but that's okay, right?" She smiled again, then turned to leave. Her gaze fell upon the mages and her mouth dropped open. She bowed low, and began to slowly make her way out.
Sandstorm snorted softly. "Novice Alyssa, I would appreciate if you stayed here and observed. It would be a good addition to your training."
Alyssa grinned brightly, then formally bowed, and retreated to a corner.
Sandstorm nodded slightly, and Hwang began introductions.
"Honored Sandstorm, this is Dedicate Initiate Rosethorn of Winding Circle Temple," he glanced at the boy, who mouthed a word. "Of Emelan. Her student, Briar Moss, and his student Evumeimei Dingzai."
The mages stood and bowed. The girl sat down again, then added, "It's just Evvy." Briar elbowed her ribs. "Pahan."
"Dedicate Rosethorn, Pahan Moss, Pahan Evvy, this is Honored Sandstorm, the head of our temple. And Alyssa Yalina, novice of the Air Temple."
Sandstorm stood again. "Tea? I've a feeling this will take a while."
Rosethorn smiled sardonically. "That would be wonderful."
The tea was already prepared, heated after Aly had left. Nonetheless Sandstorm turned to her table, and carefully hid her hands from the other mages. She held the beeswax against the hot tea kettle until it began to melt. She caught the stream of wax and mixed in the basil and dittany. A small flash of magic, and she had a rustic, but usable truthsayer's balm. A smudge of it on each eye, and she would be able to see if anyone was lying. She gathered the tea together on a tray and carried to the desk, where everyone could reach.
"Help yourself." Sandstorm rubbed her eyes, as if she was tired, and smeared her balm across her eyelids. "You said you were here from Emelan? That's rather far isn't it?"
The older mage, Rosethorn, answered. "It's across the Endless Ocean, on the coast of the Pebbled Sea. Briar and I came to Chammur as part of our studies. Evvy joined us there, and we continued on our way to Yanjing."
Sandstorm frowned. Yanjing had been troublesome of late. The new emperor did not take kindly to mages who would not give fealty to him. Mages like Sandstorm and those of her temple. "How did you come to Gyongxe?"
Rosethorn glanced around the room. She leaned across Sandstorm's desk."Are your attendants here trustworthy? Would you trust them with Imperial secrets?" she whispered softly.
"I would trust them with my life," Sandstorm replied, equally quiet. "What are you insinuating?"
Rosethorn straightened, then beckoned the others to come closer. "We were at the Imperial Palace of Yanjing. The emperor invited us to an audience before his court."
"Dangerous," Alyssa whispered.
Briar snorted, but Rosethorn ignored them and continued. "We arrived early. He was in a meeting with his advisors. They were speaking of mages, and how we are a danger to Imperial power unless we are bound to him. They came to conclude that your temple is the biggest threat for hundreds of miles. I think they've been planning for sometime, but right then they voted to wage war on the Living Circle."
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