After a very tiring day, Aristhaeus finally fell asleep... And he went to a place where reason did not have power – a particularly dangerous part of the Unseen.
Only mist surrounded these lands like a magical veil, hiding them. There were no plants and no sky. A person could get ill and lose his sanity there. Of course, this could happen only if you weren't the most powerful mage alive.
Aristhaeus did not want to be here, but he had no choice. He was summoned by a creature from the Unseen. For some time, he couldn't realize where he was, but then he recognized the wild energies of that zone.
He was in the middle of something like a gray desert. There were sands and in the distance, a lonely well. He approached it and stared at its muddy waters. Then, a raindrop fell from the sky and exactly into the well, creating ripples.
"Have you dreamed of me before?" A whisper was heard. Aristhaeus looked up, wondering where the drop had come from. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky. The words were repeated, slowly and clearly. Another drop in the well.
"Do you remember?"
Each time the voice was heard, a raindrop fell down.
"Remember?"
Suddenly, an echo sounded throughout the desert,
"You have dreamed of me, I know!"
He suspected he was talking with Elyre's spirit guardian but wasn't sure. He knew many creatures in the Unseen.
As the next drop fell in the well, a murky whirlpool was formed. Then suddenly, something grabbed the archmage and dragged him into the deep water. He felt as if he was drowning, but he couldn't get out. Just as he thought he would either wake up or really die, he was washed up on a sandy coast. He coughed, gasping for breath.
He was in a desert again, not sure whether the zone of the Unseen was the same.
"Are you deaf for my words? Are you blind for my thoughts?"
Just as Aristhaeus had guessed, it was Elyre's spirit guardian. This time the creature didn't have human form. It was a dark-blue stream of smoke and in its mist sparkled the magical amulet. There were two amulets obviously – one in Allyria and one in the Unseen. But did they function in the same way?
The atmosphere grew darker as the stream of smoke spiraled to one side in the sky far above the archmage. It almost formed a circle.
"Isn't this what you wanted? Why did you bring her here?!" the spirit said in a high-pitched echoing voice. The smoke fell on the ground, surrounding Aristhaeus, as if it had grown heavier.
It split into nine completely identical human-like bodies.
Despite the magnificent display, the archmage was not worried. Guardians could not attack first. They could only defend. The spell used by the spirit was called "separation". It wasn't very complicated, and Aristhaeus wondered why the guardian would use it. Was it just for show? To scare him?
When any creature separated, its energy was divided into a few bodies. These bodies were weaker in power but they provided an opportunity to attack from different angles, which could be useful in certain cases. One of the bodies was the main one, and it gave strength to the others, which were clones.
But the guardian knew very well that Aristhaeus belonged to the sommei race. Sommeis had the ability to see creatures' auras. So the archmage could recognize which of the nine parts was the main one through the difference in its aura.
There was no way to surprise the archmage with this "separation" technique.
If the archmage decided to attack, his attack would be directed straight at the main body of the spirit.
What's worse, the main body was supposed to be nine times weaker than normally...
~Using "separation," the spirit should be nine times weaker than normally now... If the spirit is nine times weaker than normally, then I should be able to defeat him,~ Aristhaeus thought. ~Why do I feel there must be a catch here?~
Why would the spirit use this kind of magic if he was perfectly aware of Aristhaeus's powers and his sommei abilities? Only to demonstrate superiority?
~Why is he so certain I can't defeat him today?~ Aristhaeus wondered.
One thing was sure: the spirit expected an attack on the main of the nine bodies.
~The spirit thinks even if he loses this battle, the point will be made. He does not fear my powers; he thinks I can't ultimately defeat him, at least not today,~ the archmage thought. ~Maybe he just wants to confuse me.~
The spirit's eyes were on the mage, following his movements all the time.
"You look menacing," Aristhaeus said. "But…" He fell into silence. Was he going to cast a spell? Aristhaeus passed by some of the nine clones and stopped in front of the main form, then added,
"Are you sure?"
The spirit did not reply. He was ready for any type of magic, observing the lips of the archmage, wondering if he would start an incantation. But he remained silent.
Instead of attacking, Aristhaeus extended his hand… and tore the amulet off the neck of the guardian. The ever-so-interesting amulet. ...He could do that but the amulet was completely useless in his hands as it was protected by many spells. To control the amulet, he'd have to break all the spells...
Startled, the guardian united itself into a single body instantly.
"What do you want?!" The spirit glared at him.
"Do you need that?" Aristhaeus asked. "What would you give me for it?"
"You may possess it, but it has so many protective spells it is completely useless in your hands!"
"I agree," the archmage nodded. "Even when simply snatching it away, I felt I activated a few spells. It's useless to me, but it's very important to you. ...Perhaps you should fulfill three wishes of mine, then I may return it to you..." Aristhaeus mused. "Or perhaps they should be five, since you are stronger than all spirit guardians, are you not?"
"Or perhaps you should meet some friends of mine who will quickly help you in your choice of a wish," the guardian snarled.
"Oh, is this a threat?" he laughed. "If I were you, I would be more careful about my behavior towards my master. You are the one interested in fulfilling my wishes, no matter how many they are."
The spirit flew upwards angrily,
"How dare you! Do you think I don't have nasty tricks up my sleeve?! If you don't give it back to me, I will lock you in the Unseen and you will need thousands of years to wake yourself up back in Allyria!"
"Then my first wish would definitely be not to lock me in the Unseen," Aristhaeus stated sternly.
"What are you trying to achieve?!"
While for the archmage this "game" was harmless, for the guardian it was not quite so. Without the amulet, the spirit would quickly grow weaker and might ultimately disappear because most probably no one knew of its existence or believed in it, and spirits fed on people's faith.
The guardian's position wasn't very good; he couldn't carry out his threat because if he locked the archmage in the Unseen, then the archmage would never return the amulet. The spirit would disappear then.
"My necklace is completely useless in your hands. It has dozens of protective spells. Without my permission, you can't do anything with it or study it," the spirit said. "It belongs to the Unseen. You know I can't do anything to you and you are completely safe unless you attack me first... You know very well what you are doing! You are not winning anything in this situation. You don't know what will happen if I were to disappear."
"I have not approached you as an enemy, guardian, you did. You are not going to get your amulet back today. When I make up my mind about what I want in return, I will inform you. And I will give you back your necklace… once you've fulfilled my wish, that is."