Shara startled as the voice began speaking in her head, looking frantically at the other students in the gardens. They all displayed a peculiar calm, considering the disembodied voice that was speaking to them. She searched for whomever the prankster may be until the voice mentioned heresy, and she realized that the others in the room could not hear it as well. Calming, she listened - if it could be called that - as the voice called her to a meeting of magi within the Black Forest. Promising freedom and life for mages, promising a better future, shouting blatant heresy to the world. While freedom to practice her magic would be wonderful, the allure of meeting other mages in safety was almost intoxicating. The opportunity was too great. She simply had to go.

 Oddly enough, Shara knew how to get there as well. The message had to have been magic. There was simply no other explanation, especially given the new knowledge of how to reach their meeting place. The message itself seemed burned into her memory, and she was able to recall it with amazing clarity. [i]If only I could find out how to do such things with my studies. Imagine having a whole library available at an instant.[/i]

The thought brought Shara back to reality, and the world seemed to come back from a standstill. Ambient sounds she hadn't noticed leaving had returned, and life appeared to be going on as if nothing at all had happened. Looking down, Shara scowled. In her surprise, she had jerked her hand, tearing the sketch of the gardens Loria flowers. She had been utterly engrossed in the sketching earlier, and it had been turning out quite well, but now it was most definitely ruined. Shame. She crumpled the paper and shoved it in her satchel, heading back to her rooms. She would need to make some excuses for her sudden absence. While the magic at the Black Forest was alluring, she would be foolish not to plan some means of returning to Tiena without being murdered by Paladins. 

-----

The next morning, Shara left Tiena university, which had been her home for the past few years, with doubt plaguing her mind. [i]Will I ever be able to return?[/i] She wondered. [i]What about my family? Will they still welcome me home? Will I even survive this....this?[/i] She had dispatched a note to her family, notifying them that she would be gone for some time researching something. She hadn't been specific about what. Another note had been left to her friends and teachers, telling how she had received word of illness in the family, and would be returning home for some time. She had left orders that any mail should be left in her rooms until her return, and specified such to any she thought might send her something, yet there hadn't been time to cover much, and there were so many holes in her ruse it felt like a sieve. 

Still though, she trudged onwards towards the Black Forest. The fastest route would be to go through Lidia, yet she feared the Paladins would find her there. It would also be an unnecessary drain on the funds she had managed to retrieve on such short notice. As she looked at the city fading in the distance, brilliantly silhouetted by the morning sun, Shara doubted she would ever return there again. 

Then she faced forward, and began the journey to the Forest of Magi.