Twenty years after the end of the Fourth Shadowwar, Thomas Gown is a happily married family man with a beautiful wife and a perfect son. When he takes his son back to Lexandria University to arrange for his wizardly education, however, he learns tha...
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For the next few days, for those who weren't too shocked to speak, there was only one topic of conversation. The awesome alien ship. The Rossem Ship as it came to be known, and its implications for the people of Tharia.
The matter was discussed from one side of the valley to the other, from the apprentices' dormitories to the research laboratories. From the village of the mundanes to the campsite of the Beltharan soldiers. From the retirement mansions dotted around on the high ridges surrounding the valley, where old wizards lived out their final days in as much peace and comfort as a lifetime of accumulated wealth would allow, to the High Tribunal itself; the half dozen or so most powerful members of the University faculty who met from time to time to discuss matters beyond the comprehension of their juniors. There was no escape from it, least of all for Thomas Gown, who was in constant demand by the senior wizards to help them investigate the magical meteorite that had started the whole business.
The day after the extraordinary conference in which Saturn had laid all his cards on the table for the whole valley to see, Thomas returned to Lirenna in the dwelling tree with a heavy heart and a troubled expression on his face. Lirenna saw it the moment he walked in, knew something was wrong and demanded to know what it was. Thomas was reluctant to talk at first, knowing how his wife would take it, but Lirenna pinned him up against the wall and wouldn't let him go until he told her.
"It's the ship they're building up on Kronos," he said, unable to meet her eyes. "You know they're looking for wizards to be among her crew."
Lirenna's eyes went wide with shock and alarm, then narrowed with determination and anger. "No!" she declared firmly. "Absolutely not! You're not going with them! I won't let you!"
"I've got to," said Thomas sadly. He tried to take her hand but she snatched it away angrily. "It's because I can sense the magic in the meteorite. I'm the only wizard in the valley who can do that, maybe the only wizard in the world. Derry may be able to one day, if he inherits it from me, but that'll be at least ten years from now, maybe longer. Until then, I'm the only one, and as they'll be going to a place where they use this strange kind of magic, they'll need someone along who can sense it."
"They've got spells and artifacts that can do that!"
"It's not the same as magic sense. Think about it. When was the last time you cast a Reveal spell? You use your magic sense now, now that it's developed enough in you, because it's more sensitive, more accurate. It's the same with me. All the spells and artifacts in the world can't do as much as one wizard able to use his magic sense."
"Well they'll just have to do without you," cried Lirenna, tears in her eyes, "because you're not going! You're not leaving me, I won't let you! We've done enough for the world! All the things we did back in the war! The Sceptre of Samnos! The Orb, the observatory! The Scrolls of Skava! You've done enough!"
