Rich Boy: Growing Pains - 22. Chapter 22

What was it that Kyle had said that morning of the whole debate about homosexuality and sin? Oh yeah. "You've seen demons, they're real, right? So, what about angels?"

It had been a good question, Worthington reflected and represented a hole in his understanding of magic. In the week and five days since then he had asked questions of other, more experienced mages both Light and Dark and still not found any concrete answers. No mage had ever reported having a discussion with angels or summoning such heavenly beings. No one knew a definitive answer on God's existence, nor did they know for sure that God did not exist. Someone had made humans and elves and dwarves.

The dwarves had their own God but refused to speak of him or her. Elves had not had any known deity since the betrayal of Landis by the humans, and much of their heritage had been lost with the slaughter of all adult elves. Some mages said Jesus Christ, and many other biblical figures had been nothing more than exceptionally gifted mages misusing their gift in a bid for power within the mundane world. They noted how believers could amplify a mage's power the way his Uncle had done to kill Worthington's family and said that was reason enough for the mistaken mundane belief in Christianity.

Kyle had been unhappy with those answers and still refused to give up the beliefs in right and wrong he'd grown up with, including that two men having sex was a sin. He'd even been proud that he was still a virgin, and he'd kept his distance from Worthington and the others since that morning, although he was with them every day, nearly all day. In that time he'd only gone to the home he shared with his relatives once, to pack up his belongings and move them into a guest room at Jamie and Worthington's house. All it had taken for him to make that decision was a shouting match the next day with his cousin Ted, and he'd come to Worthington asking him if the offer of a place to stay was still open.

Colin hated Kyle for the simplest of reasons. The younger, red-haired potential Adept was jealous of the older, less trained and more powerful Kyle. For his part, Kyle didn't like Colin either, commenting that he was a ‘spoiled brat' more than once. It only took one incident of the overly jealous Colin's use of his powers against Kyle to earn him a lashing of Worthington's wrath. He may have been jealous of the amount of time and attention Kyle was taking, but after a night of Worthington's angry attention, Colin was very repentant and had not acted up once since then.

Worthington remembered that night with a tightening of his loins and tried to think about something else. It had been the first time he'd engaged in sexual activity since the battle with Zaroc, and part of him had been worried that the Light had done something that would prevent him from engaging in some of the sexual aspects of Dark magic. His fears were groundless. The Light had demanded he be true to his nature as a sacrifice for using it, and what he'd done to Colin was as much a part of his nature as the fact that he would never love a woman.

What he still wasn't sure about was whether Colin's resulting good behavior was because he was scared of Worthington's reaction, or because he'd gotten the attention he wanted and had learned some of the scarier aspects of Dark magic. Jamie had convinced Worthington to set aside one night each week that would be his time with Colin, alone, and that had seemed to mollify Colin even further.

For his part, Kyle was adjusting to life in Phoenix, and as part of Worthington's ‘entourage' as he called it with some grace. He already had a girlfriend, a vapid girl that seemed to chase after all the jocks in the school, and was quickly developing a following both amongst the wrestlers and baseball players who had apparently heard of him while he was at his old school. Jamie's pitcher friend from last year even commented that he was glad he'd graduated already or he'd never have gotten any playing time with Kyle here at the school.

His newest student, and friend had been overjoyed when Worthington offered him the use of the BMW sports coupe. Despite the occasional awkward moment when Kyle remembered Worthington's sexuality, they got along well, and Worthington was no longer surprised to find Kyle waiting for him every morning, dressed in a pair of trunks. They would swim together until Stacy came out, and then Kyle would go back up to the house and start getting ready for school.

Kyle loved Clairville Keep from the first moment he'd seen it last weekend. While Worthington and Jamie had been locked up with Elizabeth, Stacy, Calhoun and the rest of the Mage Council in meetings with the representatives of the federal government, he had happily explored the growing town and even been invited to visit some of the homes dug into the old pit, and gone swimming in the clear pond that was now at the bottom where a sludge pond had been before. Worthington hadn't even managed to go swimming in that thing yet.

What was it he'd been thinking about before thoughts of Kyle had distracted him? Oh yes, Kyle's belief in God. He still believed in God the way he'd been raised, and that was causing problems, but it was something Worthington was willing to deal with because it also gave Kyle the strength to continue on every time he started feeling suicidal about having killed his family. Suicide was a big sin, worse than those he'd already committed, so Kyle would fall back and pray for forgiveness instead of killing himself. That was what Worthington was thinking of when he'd started reminiscing about Kyle. Right now he wished he believed in God so he could pray for help.

He certainly needed it.

"Lords and Ladies, Adepts, Mage, and Dwarves, I present to you Worthington Michael Sinclair the Fifth." The voice of the dwarf herald on his staff boomed out and Worthington straightened as the doors in front of him swung open. He felt more like a dandy than anything else, dressed in loose, flowing satin pants that had been a gift from Prince Kelvren for this occasion. The pants were a honey color, with sapphires woven into the material, and he had on soft low-cut boots also of elven make. His shirt was dwarven woven metal, and a dark stormy gray, with flickers of silver and gold shining as he moved. As loose and flowing as the pants were, the shirt was skin-tight and would have looked much more impressive if he had gained back the muscle mass he'd lost following the fight with Zaroc and his demons. The dwarf's voice continued to boom out, and Worthington moved into the second-floor conference room of his keep that had been prepared for this occasion. "Demon Killer, Lord of Clairville Keep, member of the Mage Council for the Valley of the Sun, friend and ally of King Odras, friend and ally of Prince Kelvren, friend and ally of Princess Orana, and mage Adept."

Worthington felt like it was far too much, but he held his head high as he entered the conference room and took in everything with a glance. Jamie stood at the closest end of the tear-drop shaped quartz table that had been crafted just for this meeting. At the further, wider end of the table sat a dark-skinned man and a fair-skinned woman, both middle-aged and trying to look bored. On either side of them were two men. The two on Worthington's left were dark-haired, while one on the right was brown haired and the man closest to him was blond. All six of them were Adepts, all Dark, and trying not to look like they were paying attention. Worthington moved to the single chair at the very tip of the teardrop-shaped table and sat down, with Jamie sitting down a moment after him. To his immediate right, Randall Smythe also sat, while on the other side of the older man, Governor Lokar and First Councilor Domas sat to represent the dwarves, and Kelvren sat next to them, with Orana on the other side, nearest the Dark Adepts. On the other side of the table, Byron William Jones sat with plenty of space between him and Jamie, as well as plenty of space between him and the nearest of the dark-haired Adepts.

"Welcome everyone, to Clairville Keep," Worthington said in the silence that followed him sitting down.

"Now that everyone is here, I guess we can begin." The woman Adept said quickly, trying not to let Worthington get the figurative upper hand. She, like all the Adepts, appeared annoyed at his ostentatious entrance, but Randall had insisted on it, and so had the non-human representatives.

"Yes, Madam Harbert, I do appreciate you coming, along with others," Worthington said with a nod of his head. "I believe we agreed on Mister Byron Jones to act as our mediator."

"Which is why I am wondering why he is still silent?" The nearest of the dark-haired mages said sharply.

"Maybe he is so tongue-tied with all the powerful mages in the room that he is unable to speak, having forgotten what it was like to feel true power." The blond mage said in a very haughty manner. "Maybe teaching all those children have dulled his senses after all these years."

"I see trying to teach manners to some was useless after all." Byron Jones snapped irritably at the blond, who smirked back at him. "Everyone here has agreed to discuss the four items on the agenda today. Is there any objection to those items at this time, or anything to add?"

"I object." Darius Rucker, the brown-haired Adept said as he leaned forward. "Sinclair has declared himself an Adept, but I do not recall any of us ever recognizing his skills as an Adept."

"Don't be silly." Vivian Harbert said with a sniff. "Since when does one Adept challenge the status of another? The boy is clearly powerful enough, and if he wishes to claim the skill without possessing it, he will soon find out the folly of that. He is doing enough to cross any of us already!"

"As much as I hate agreeing with the Harbret bitch, she is right." The furthest of the dark-haired Adepts said irritably. "If an Adept steps on one of our toes, we deal with them directly. That is how it has always been done."

"Milo, the boy has already stepped on all of our toes with his constant pleading for help and consideration." The other dark-haired adept said to the man next to him. "How can he claim to be an Adept if he's always pleading for help?"

"Richard, I am here to hear about this supposed threat from demons, nothing more." Milo, the first dark-haired Adept said with a frown. "If he has enough to tell me about them, I might be willing to listen to his explanations of why he is actually entering talks with the government instead of just wiping their memories."

"The government is not as stupid as we would all like to believe," Worthington said, stepping into the conversation. "They claim, and I believe it is possible, that they have made certain precautions. If they are made to forget, after a period of time the knowledge, with proof, of magic and mages will be made fully public."

"That is outrageous!" Darius Ruckert exclaimed. "We cannot allow such a threat against us!"

"It is a direct challenge to the Great Secret." Vivian Harbret frowned as she spoke. "Such a revelation will endanger all of us, and all mages throughout the world."

"Yes." Worthington agreed. "That is why they would make such a threat. It is far more dangerous to us than the alternative."

"Which is what, precisely?" Darius asked in a dangerous tone. "We bow down and work for them? I will not!"

"That is not what they are asking," Worthington replied calmly.

"Yet." Darius shot back. "Why are they talking with you instead of a real Adept?"

"Because I am known to them, and as far as I can tell, you still are not," Worthington said with a frown. "We have gone to great efforts to keep all of your identities secret still, although Byron Jones is known to them, as well as his school. They found that information out through other means after they captured a Dark mage."

"This capturing of mages is another issue." Milo Lonar said with a frown.

"It has stopped, and will not start back up again if our current negotiations are successful," Worthington said. "I take it we wish to discuss the government issues first?"

"That is the issue we all care about the most," Vivian said with a wave of her hand. "The demons do not bother me."

"Speak for yourself on that." Milo retorted. "Another Demon War is not what I want right now. I am concerned about demons, and about the wild number of Adept potentials that are appearing in the last few years. I have heard reports that Sinclair here is collecting them like crazy, now having two besides himself and his so-called brother sitting next to him. I good friend has complained that he poached one from right out of his hand!"

"If your friend is my Uncle, then yes, I did," Worthington said grimly. "I would also advise that staying friends with him is likely to be very costly for you. He has crossed me several times and will pay for that eventually when I have the time after dealing with the government and the demons."

"Do not threaten me, child," Milo growled.

"I would not recommend threatening any of us," Darius added dangerously. "If you are collecting Adept-potentials, that is something very dangerous. You are breaking a great many traditions here."

"You can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs," Jamie said, speaking up for the first time.

"What kind of omelet do you think you are making?" Vivian asked him with a frown.

"Something palatable, I hope," Jamie said with a visible frown on his face. "The truth is that as a society, we have kept the secret of magic far too well."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Milo asked sharply. "The secret is supposed to be absolute, which you two seem to be ignoring."

"We are facing reality, something it seems we are alone ready to face." Worthington allowed a hint of scorn to creep into his voice and almost let his smile loose at the sight of their faces. They were one and all angry, and slightly off-balance. "The facts are plain to anyone willing to look at them. Mage society is in a crisis, and needs leadership."

"Leadership you will be happy to provide, I presume, Sinclair," Darius stated with disapproval in his voice. "You Sinclairs have always been looking for a way to regain your lost power and prestige."

"So far it is only us who have chosen to face reality." Jamie retorted. "You were asked here so that hopefully we will not remain the only mages, or Adepts dealing with the issues we face. The issues we face all intertwine with each other to one degree or another, and are interrelated. First is the issue that as the elves and dwarves have warned us, magic itself has an ebb and flow, and right now we are approaching high tide. As a result, much more gifted are being born, and the non-human magical races are multiplying at a record number."

"The last time magic was at a place like this was before the start of the last Demon Wars," Lokar said, speaking up from his place between Randall Smythe and the elves. "All of our people, dwarves, elves, and human mages lost a great many people in those wars, and magic passed into a time of low tide for centuries. Now it is returning, with a vengeance that you humans have failed to realize and deal with up to now."

"People with almost any mage blood in them are being born with the gift, and at power levels previously only a very few possessed," Worthington added. "Think about it: there are four Adept-potential people within a few years of each other that we know of, and there may very well be more."

"I see many of the children born into mage families of the Dark path." Byron Jones said in a quiet, steady voice. "I have talked with my fellow instructors at the various schools since Worthington discussed this with me. We have admitted to each other that between our schools we have six potential Adepts between the ages of twelve and fifteen. Three are new students this year at my school. One is fifteen at one school, and the other two are thirteen and twelve at the third."

"That is astonishing," Vivian said with a frown. "There have not been so many Adept potentials in all of history."

"It is not just Adepts, either," Worthington said in the silence that followed her blunt statement. "Two decades ago a man discovered he was a mage while in his early twenties. He graduated from Georgetown University and ran into a government researcher who was looking into the ‘paranormal' and proved he could do far more than the researcher ever dreamed possible. Together, they worked at, and succeeded in establishing a government program to identify mages, although they did not use that word, and developed a scientific approach to magic."

"That should not be possible." Darius snorted. "A person exploring magic on their own faces burning themselves out when they explore spells on their own. Only Adepts have the power necessary to safely experiment."

"He was of Adept power." Worthington shrugged.

"Still, I do not see how these government mages can pose that much of a threat to us," Milo said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "What can one person do, even with government help?"

"Before the attack by the demons, there were approximately seventy-eight government mages in various stages of training." Jamie dropped that bombshell, and Worthington could see a very slight smile on his face at the stunned expressions on their faces.

"Thirty-five of them survive today," Worthington added and enjoyed the expressions as they did the math. "About half of the remaining amount was actually killed by the demons, or in the later battle. The rest were captures, and are presumably being controlled by demons."

"That just reinforces the point that they can be easily overwhelmed, even if once they had many more people." Milo scoffed.

"If it was just the mages, you might have a point, but they have mundane soldiers supporting them," Worthington said. "I can speak from experience, the mundanes are quite effective, and also, they have devices."

"What kind of devices?" Darius asked sharply. He was known for being a good artificer, making many magical devices of his own, and selling them to amass quite a fortune.

"May I show you an example?" Worthington asked, and when they had nodded, he placed the scrambler on the table before turning it on.

The reactions were quite satisfactory as the Adepts reacted with surprise, pain, and disorientation at the device that scrambled their shields on various frequencies. Even the non-humans looked to be in pain from the device while he and Jamie sat there calmly watching all of them. After thirty seconds he turned the device off.

"How does that work?" Darius demanded angrily as Worthington took the device off the table. "Obviously you have developed a defense to it."

"I have, after many, many hours of study," Worthington said with a shrug. "My first time exposed to that device, a government mage used it in an attempt to capture me. I was very lucky that time and managed to escape his control, but it was only through the luckiest of occurrences."

"Sometimes luck is as great a force as magic in our lives," Vivian said with a frown. "I do not think they would be able to use such a device to capture me, but then I am a highly trained Adept with many long decades behind me in experience. A lesser mage would be caught by that device."

"They have more than this?" Darius demanded.

"Yes," Worthington said.

"We must study these devices so they cannot be used against us," Darius said firmly and gave Worthington a stern look. "They must be shared so that we can all defend against them."

"You have ignored every call for assistance I made." Worthington retorted. "I believe it was you who said that you were not concerned about these government mages and that they could be easily dealt with. Why should I go out of my way to help you now?"

"This is different," Darius said firmly. "If they are learning to use magic to make such devices, we must deal with them while they are still weakened."

"The device I showed you does not use magic." Worthington retorted.

"That is not possible," Vivian said with shock while Darius stared.

"A device that affects magic and mages but does not use magic has never been created," Darius said slowly.

"Until now." Jamie corrected. "This device, and a few others we have become aware of lately show that it is possible to do this."

"What this shows is that they must be dealt with and before they regain any more strength," Milo said earnestly. "They cannot be allowed to continue what they have been doing."

"If we take action, we risk our secret becoming common knowledge to the general public, do we not, Sinclair?" Vivian said with a great deal of sarcasm. "Since you are so knowledgeable about them, what do you propose we do? I do not believe you have called us here for anything else."

"I have called you here to ask for your help in dealing with the government, among other problems," Worthington said with as much politeness as he could muster. This was the opening he had hoped for from one of them. "I do not believe you will particularly like what I am about to propose, mostly because I do not like it myself and would prefer another option. Maybe you will be able to come up with one, or more."

"What is it that you think we should do, boy?" Darius asked.

"For now, and the foreseeable future, we must cooperate to a degree," Worthington said and leaned back as the room interrupted in chaos while all six of the Adepts began yelling at him and arguing with each other.

"I told you, boy; they were a waste of our time." Lokar snorted in a voice loud enough to silence the others.

"You speak boldly, Master Dwarf," Vivian said coldly. "We remember how the dwarves ran at the end of the Demon Wars, taking their people and running over the seas to hide. The elves fled with them, as I recall."

"Many of you mages left us to die while you fled, mage," Olara said flatly. "We made several bargains with you mages, and only the Light Adepts even tried to keep their end of the bargains. Your kind was hiding in your warrens praying you weren't targeted next."

"We are not here to debate the failures of the past," Worthington said quickly, hoping to hold things to the topic now that it had been broached. "Now is the time for figuring out how to preserve the future, not debate the past."

"How will working with the government preserve our society?" Vivian scoffed.

"The government agency that they created with their Adept and the scientist he worked with was called the Department of Para-Normal Research and Regulation," Worthington explained and then waited for the comments to die down. "I was as offended as any of you when I learned that name. The idea of mundanes regulating us was and still is, quite abhorrent to me personally. Still, as we might expect, they believe that there should be some limitations on what we can, and cannot do with mundanes. One of the things they insist on is that except for certain matters, a mundane must consent to spells placed on them."

"What exceptions?" Milo asked with disdain.

"Primarily to protect the secret of magic's existence," Worthington said with a slight smile on his face. "They do not want magic to become widely known any more than we do, although they are willing to hold it over our head as a threat to us. They agree that sometimes it is necessary for mundanes to know about magic, especially if they are to be servants in our homes, or in other ways. If the mundane refused to have certain blocks placed on them to protect our secrets, we can make them forget, although we cannot do other things."

"An example would be if you wish to hire a maid or a cook," Jamie explained. "You can ask for their agreement to place controls on them that will keep them from revealing your secrets, as a condition of employment. If they refuse, they are to be made to forget and sent on their way."

"There are some spells we use that no mundane would agree to pay the price for, no matter what we offer them." Darius snorted. "The creation of certain artifacts often requires the life of a mundane. Why should I give up an important part of my magic to please some mundane government?"

"The mundanes are quite interested in some applications of magic that the Dark path is uniquely suited to accomplish," Jamie said with a very slight frown.

"What would those be?" Darius retorted quickly.

"The ability to keep a prisoner from breaking the law again is one," Jamie said in answer to the man.

"Even when they were told that some processes to achieve such an end would shorten the lives of the prisoners they were not hesitant to see some type of program initiated," Worthington added when Jamie stopped. He knew his brother did not like this idea at all.

"It is not necessary to…" Milo began but then smiled. "Ah, I see. When you say work with them, you do not mean to make us all reform our ways and to give them everything they want."

"It is a temporary solution," Worthington said with a shrug. "Some things they will have to know, merely because it is impossible to keep them totally secret. Other things they must not know, now or ever. Eventually, we will find a way around their protections, and their ‘ultimate solution,' and gain our freedom. Until then, we must at least appear to cooperate with them, and to a degree, actually, do cooperate."

"What of the spells that actually require a life?" Vivian asked. "I, for one, will not become a hag in appearance, or shorten my life span to preserve the lives of a few mundanes."

"I have some hope that we will gain access to certain types of prisoners, or people the government will not mind dying," Worthington said. "It will take time for that, and trust, but it might happen. Otherwise, I say I do not get caught and do not leave evidence that can be tracked to you. The government will use their mages to enforce their laws on us when it is needed."

"More importantly, we will be called on to enforce those same laws, if this proceeds," Jamie said with a direct look at them. "There is Light path mages that will not hesitate to work with the government, especially because they will perceive what you do in those cases to be morally wrong. The Mage Council for the Valley of the Sun has reached a tentative agreement with the government and is in the process of finalizing details on that."

"What kind of agreement?" Vivian asked, each word cracking like a whip.

"The Mage Council was established during the fight with the Demon Lord Zaroc to defend the Valley and its inhabitants, especially its mages," Jamie explained. "It was also given authority to arbitrate disputes where all parties agreed to such arbitration. That will change now, under government auspices. The Mage Council will still be responsible for defending the area from magical threats, but will also be responsible for overseeing interactions between mages and mundanes. We will have authority to put on trial mages who violate the free will of mundanes or use their magic to harm mundanes, or to evade the appropriate enforcement of the law. For an example, Worthington here liked to use spells to make sure police officers did not see him speeding on his motorcycle. Once these agreements go into effect, he can be fined, or imprisoned for doing that."

"The mages of your area are consenting to this?" Vivian asked with disbelief.

"We do not know yet." Jamie shrugged. "They are being asked this question now and will be asked to vote on it after considering it. If they do not, I fear the government will take more direct measures."

"If we are willing, and can show we are capable when it comes to regulating ourselves, the government will be less likely to directly intervene in our lives," Worthington explained. "For now, they are willing to use the existing Mage Council in this area as a test case. If it works, they will wish to expand it across the country, and set up some type of oversight board made up of mages. I have recommended that this oversight board consist of Adepts and certain other leaders of the Mage communities."

"I see," Vivian said with a frown. "What role do the dwarves and elves play in this?"

"We are growing in number," Kelvren said lightly. "It will soon be very difficult to remain as hidden as we have through the ages past."

"It is becoming ever more difficult to operate openly in the modern world," Lokar grumbled unhappily. "Computers and more efficient databases make it all but impossible for us to conduct financial transactions in the world without government notice. We do not have social security numbers, or other things necessary to operate in the world. The government has agreed to recognize us not only as sentient beings but as citizens."

"We will be permitted to hold lands within the boundaries of their national preserves that we already hold, and to purchase new lands elsewhere, so long as we do not make ourselves commonly known." Onora continued. "Further, we will be protected by the same laws as other citizens, should our existence become commonly known."

"They have offered us a status similar to that commonly held by those called Native Americans." Lokar continued. "We will have to pay some taxes, but our lands are ours, and not subject to all the same laws as other lands, although we will still bow our knees to some of their federal laws. It is not all we wanted, but it is a livable agreement."

"For you, perhaps," Vivian stated and gave Worthington a very direct look. "Why was not something similar achieved for mages?"

"Mostly because we are human," Worthington replied. "By and large, we live in mundane society, not apart from it as the dwarves and elves have lived. If we had land of our own, such a thing might be possible, and it is one avenue for us to explore. Would we be willing though, to live separate from the rest of society?"

"I would not," Milo said. "My home is far from the nearest city, but even I interact with mundanes regularly and would not lose that. It might be worth exploring some alternatives though. As you have shown, these government types do not appear to be easy to sweep away the way I had originally hoped."

"There is further benefit to us in working with the government," Jamie said as he leaned forward ever so slightly. "They wish to register every mage, and there is not much we can do about that except to insist that the records be kept by mages and only called upon by mundane authorities when a crime is committed with magic. There was no objection to us searching for, finding, and training mages who might not have been among our families. If what we see in this area alone bears out, there are thousands upon thousands all across this nation that are gifted and do not know that we exist. The government will actually assist us in finding them, registering them, and training them."

"Why?" Vivian frowned. "What do they get out of that?"

"Simple." Worthington smiled now. "No more rogue mages will be out there. Mages will be trained, registered, and known. As a result, they will be less of a danger to themselves and to others. This is something the government very much wants to see happen."

"We cannot take every whelp with mage gift at our schools," Byron spoke up with a look of disgust on his face.

"No, but there is no reason not to start new schools," Worthington said gently. "They should not compete with our existing schools. Dark path has traditionally sent their children to one of the three private schools, while Light path train their children at home, and later with specific, more advanced trainers. At the University level, Dark path mages have used the fraternity system for further training of their mages."

"My brother and I are discussing with Governor Lokar the establishment of a large, private school here on the grounds of Clairville that will be a new institution of learning for mages," Jamie said, and Vivian laughed softly.

"Oh, excuse me, boys." She laughed. "Please do not tell me you will call this school Hogwarts."

"No, that is not necessarily what we had envisioned." Worthington smiled at her with amusement. He remembered Kyle saying the same thing when Worthington had asked his opinion. "It will begin taking students at the equivalent of the sixth grade though and will last for seven years, but that is no different than two of the three boarding schools now in existence. Like them, it will have mostly a mundane curriculum and will be an accredited mundane school with its courses valid at most universities in this country.

"In addition to its mundane curriculum, it will specialize in teaching magic." Worthington continued after a short pause.

"Which path will it teach?" Darius asked.

"It will teach Light and Dark paths," Jamie said. "Students will be encouraged to sample both in their first two years before selecting the path they will continue after their third year."

"What about adults that are found with the mage gift?" Milo asked.

"A separate school will be set up for them, as well as for mages wishing to continue their magical education after their last year of school," Worthington answered.

"Setting up a school is no easy task." Byron Jones frowned as he spoke.

"The dwarves tell me that the buildings and grounds will be established, and built before a year is out," Worthington said with a nod to Lokar who nodded in agreement. "The government has started the process to turn over portions of national park land that borders this village for the purpose. Stacy Simons, who is an accredited educator in this state has agreed to act as Headmistress and started building a faculty of both mundane and mage instructors. Matt Wilson, a Dark path which is currently working for me as an instructor will recruit Dark path instructors for that portion of the curriculum."

"Who is funding this operation?" Byron Jones asked.

"I am," Worthington answered. "For those that are found with mage gift who can pay, they will be charged for tuition. All others will receive a scholarship. I do not expect it to be a profitable venture, but it will receive offsets from the government for its operation and for allowing government mage recruiters to talk with upper classmen. One ground rule we have already established is that a student already admitted to another mage institution will not be allowed to attend without that institution's agreement."

"Very smart of you young man." Vivian laughed softly. "So, you have grand designs and are approaching this far more logically than I expected. Let us discuss this some more."

Worthington wanted to sigh in relief but didn't. They were actually to the point he had hoped to reach, although they had not yet even broached the topic of demons. That would wait, until later. For now, he'd done all that he'd hoped to achieve for this meeting.