Chapter 230 - The Star Pavilion (1/2)

Long ago, some said even before there were Dynasties fighting over Eldovia, there existed an exceptional Magician the like of which the world had never seen before. So powerful was this Magician, that he could predict events before they would happen. He saw all, knew all, and people flocked the world over to ask him a question of what was to come.

They came from far and wide, though no matter their status, whether or rich or poor, noble or peasant, all were only allowed one question. One question was never enough.

Envious of the power the Magician wielded, one particularly powerful lord rose up against him, and through a means long lost to history, stole the power to see the future from the Magician and was never seen again. Since that time, the power to see the future was nothing but a myth.

It was believed however that the Magician never stopped trying to divine the future, and he constructed a great Pavilion in order to help him and his disciples. A place that came to be known as the Star Pavilion.

Every child had grown up with the stories of the Magician who could see the future. Even Illai. They all dreamed of seeing the Star Pavilion at one time or another. The place where it was said you could still hear the whispers of the Magician and his disciples, murmuring of the future and what it had to offer. Though, by all accounts, it had been centuries since anyone had practiced the art of Divination.

Still, the Star Pavilion had remained a Sacred place. Sacred enough for it to have its own Knight Contingent that answered to nobody but the one who held the ownership rights to the Pavilion.

An owner and contingent that currently stood in Illai's way.

Illai had done as her Master had asked. She had crossed the Ocean to Eldovia and come to the Star Pavilion. She was not the only spy who surveyed the Fortress that surrounded the Pavilion, though she was the only Magician.

That however, appeared to make no difference.

There was no way into the Pavilion, at least from what she could ascertain from an initial surveillance of the area. The Fortress was perched in the center of a massive canyon that followed the direct like of the sun from East to West. In Winter perhaps, when the sun was lower in the sky, it did not possess so much sunlight, but in the middle of summer it was practically alight like a beacon. It's white walls encompassed the entire Fortress, the internal structure only visible from the cliffs on either side of the canyon that were far enough away that even an air Magician would have trouble controlling the winds long enough to fly in. And that was counting on the fact that they weren't spotted.

The only entrance into the Fortress was via a long bridge that connected the Fortress to a guard station in front of it, which in turn connected it to either side of the canyon. The door, for the most part, only opened when a delivery was being made to or from the Fortress.

It was frustrating. The Knight Contingent's watch was thorough, and they'd clearly been trained against the likes of Magicians as well. Every time Illai had attempted to sneak in through the shadows, she'd been spotted or detected in some way she had yet to ascertain. Three days has passed, and the Knight Captain she'd seen patrolling the Fortress walls was beginning to get on her nerves.

Once she got in, he'd meet with an unfortunate end.

Once her surveillance hadn't overturned any stones, Illai had found herself a vantage point and settled to watch, waiting for an opening.

But a week had passed by, then two. No openings arose, and Illai began to grow impatient.