Ferron
In the late afternoon, Arminio stepped through a portal into Archmage Ferron's study. The room was cool, despite the extreme summer heat that haunted Europe. The walls of the large room were panelled with white marble slabs, and its ceiling was supported by six pillars.
“Good afternoon, Arminio.” Ferron put the quill back and stood up from his chair to greet the visitor respectfully. “Please, sit down.” He pointed to the centuries-old visitors' chair in front of his desk.
“Good afternoon, Ferron, I thank you.” The fire mage accepted the offered seat and rested his hands on the sleeveless red robe.
“What can you tell me about Miss Berger?”
“Glandera Berger, 19 years old. She lives with her grandmother Gladis Forster, her mother Hilde and her brother Arno in Weber Alley. Among the miners, she is known as the Crystal Spotter because she found the quartz veins in the mine.”
Ferron raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“Before that, she lived in a cottage below Chattenberg on the edge of the forest, on a tributary of the Eder. She never went to school and has been working in the mine for three years to support her family and enable Arno to train as a blacksmith.”
“He had to go to school for that,” Ferron nodded approvingly. “That's expensive in this county.”
Arminio agreed with him, “Yes, but she is working assiduously so he can realise his dream.”
“Where is her father?”
“Georg Berger died four years ago, according to the parish register. Her mother Hilde barely has time to spin wool and sell it at the market, as she also has to look after the confused grandmother. They have scant funds. That's why Glandera works in the mine.”
“The mother is unmarried? Is Glandera wedded?”
The fire mage shook his head. “No. There's no aspirant clamouring to have to feed the whole family, either. They live rather secluded.” Arminio glanced at the bookshelves and back before he began to enumerate, “Every day she struggles to feed the family. The foreman is a sneaky scoundrel. She avoids us mages because she's afraid she'll disappear if she doesn't. And she fears that you will punish her for colliding with you. Her life is marked by fear.”
The archmage raised his hands in defence. “She ran into me completely unintentionally.”
“And in the process, she touched you without asking which makes her afraid of the consequences. She is ignorant, neither educated nor does she know how to handle her feminine charms.” In typical Italian fashion, Arminio spread his arms. “You know me, I'm curious: Do you want her because she's pretty?”
“No,” the earth mage shook his head, “I have another reason. Have you noticed her using magic?”
Arminio raised his eyebrows in surprise. “She did hard men's labour yesterday and today. No one with magical abilities would do that voluntarily.”
The earth mage nodded and was silent for a moment. “Good. I ask you to keep the following information quiet for now: I think she's an Incantatrix.” Ferron's irises turned grey and he shared his memories. He transmitted him his recollection of the collision with Glandera in detail.
“Unbelievable!” Arminio connected the evidence in no time at all, while his eyes moved back and forth. “This energy of lightning. Do you think she's an untrained earth mage? What that would mean!” He leaned forward and propped his elbows on his legs. “Why didn't we notice her earlier? Was she tested with the wrong result?”
“I'd be grateful if you could find out for me.” The chair scraped across the floor as Ferron stood up. “I have to get going. A dam is threatening to burst in Egypt.”
Arminio also rose. His hand formed a horizontal eight and a blue-violet portal appeared. “I'll get back to you later.”
