Tath knelt in the dirt of the hut, squinting at the painted bones the shaman had just cast. Beads of sweat rolled down his skin from the heat of the three fires burning in the hut. The God of the sky whispered things to Unkai, showing the old man hints of the future. Spitting into the dirt, the shaman scooped up the bones in a wrinkled hand and tossed them once more. He hissed, cocking his head. Tath's eyes watered, the bowls of burning incense and herbs drifting across the smoky hut with the...

"This will be your final lesson." The alchemist grasped an iron with his age spotted hand, using it to stir the dying remnants smoldering in the fireplace. Lantes brought over the heavy, cast iron tea pot and hung it above the weak flames. He searched out another piece of wood and carefully set it atop the fire. "Have seven years sped by so quick?" The damp, solid walls of the old round tower closed comfortably about the pair. The tower, with its bowing shelves and endless stacks of dusty to...