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Skye woke to a knocking at his door. Fearing that he may have overslept he shifted his vision to the singular window in his room. Outside the world was still dark, but he could see the lightening of the coming day on the horizon. He jumped out of bed, his feet tickled by the dark red threads of the thick carpet. The knock repeated itself and he called out "Coming" as he shuffled to the dark oak door.

The grandmaster smiled at him as he stepped into the room. "I have a gift for you." The old man said as he closed the door behind him. "Hold out your hand"

Skye brushed sleepily at his eyes and held out his right hand, the old man placed a slim leather book in his upturned palm. Skye could feel the contained power brushing against his skin and wondered at what this small book contained. He was startled when a spell -form surrounded the book, the grandmaster and his hand. It was a delicate structure of immense complexity. Skye looked up into his teachers eyes. He recognized a few of the outer structures of the spell-form. Forms of death and destruction weaved between the lines of the unknown spell.

The old man smiled down at him and spoke "I, Arden Orrestan, hereby bequeath this book and its rightful ownership of my own free will to Skye Ingstan. By my blood" and with these words the old man brought a dagger round and pierced the flesh of one of his fingers, a glistening drop of blood hung like a red ruby for a moment before he pressed it down onto the dark green cover. "I make it so." There was a flash of light from the book and the mark of blood was gone. "Now don't lift your hand from the book, turn it over so it lies on my hand."

Together Skye and the grandmaster turned the book and their palms over, so that Skye's was now resting on top of it. "Repeat the words that I speak and do as I did with the blood."

Skye nodded his understanding, realising that a mistake now could indeed be fatal. He repeated after the grandmaster "I, Skye Ingstan, take possession of this book and its rightful ownership from Arden Orrestan by my own free will. By my blood" Skye winced as the dagger pierced his finger with a sharp sting "I make it so".

When he touched the bead of blood to the book the spell-form swirled apart. Coloured lights of magic flashed around himself and the grandmaster. Twining around them and the book, connecting them with their sweeping swirls, slowly the lights drew away from the old man and he released the book. Skye felt the magic come to life and the strange sensation as they wound themselves tightly around the book which was now floating in the air. It seemed to be held up only by its connection to his fingers. He turned his hand and the book followed until it was resting on his palm, the lights flashed and he felt as the magic tightened around him before feeling the power as it settled into his skin and then disappeared.

"Now, you must be wondering what all that was about?" The old man's eyes twinkled with laughter beneath his heavy eyebrows. Skye nodded dumbly, half wondering if he was still asleep and having a vivid dream. "Come let us sit and I'll tell you. We don't have much time and then you'd best get ready to head out."

Skye perched himself on his bed, still holding the book on his palm resting it in his lap.

"As I'm sure you've realised, that is no ordinary book" the grandmaster said as he dragged over the chair from the small desk and sat.

"There aren't many of them that have been made, as much as I would prefer it otherwise. The enchantment of them is a long and arduous process that takes almost a year to complete. The safeguards alone on the book take up most of the time and are dangerous even for the most skilled of our magicians. If I had simply given you the book you would not have been able to read anything in it and had you tried magic to divine its purpose you would have been dead in an instant." The grandmaster held up his hand to forestall Skye as he opened his mouth to speak.

"The book is now tied to you and only you will be able to use it. If you were to die before passing the book on to another then it will burn itself up. If I had been forced into passing the book on, the magic of the transference would have killed everyone in the room with us. When you are back, I will teach you the spell to allow you to pass the book on, but enough of that. The book that you hold in your hands is a tome of knowledge. Every book and scroll, every bit of written knowledge that is held in our vaults is contained within it. There is a tool that when used imparts that knowledge to this book and all of its kind."

Skye reverently looked down at the book in his lap. It was difficult to even comprehend that this thin volume could possibly contain all the tomes of the Keeps library, a vast chain of rooms that made up almost an entire wing of the keep itself.

"When you seek knowledge, simply speak it to the book and open it. Its pages will contain the writing you are looking for if it is known to it. Every page will be from a different source of knowledge, if there is more than one that contains what you seek. There is a glyph at the bottom of each of the pages that when touched will 'turn' the page of the tome that it is drawing from."

The grandmasters voice became serious and stern "I'm sure that I don't need to explain to you the enormity of such an artefact, or how I expect you to protect it with your life if necessary. I pray that it never is."

Skye looked up from the book into his mentors eyes. "I swear I will protect it with my life, thank you for entrusting it to me."

The old man nodded and rose wearily "I have faith that I have made the right decision and I expect that you use it on this trip to continue your studies. Take other books with you as well and keep the secret of having this book in your possession. Don't let anyone know of it, even master Gren."

"I will sir" Skye replied earnestly, rising and walking with the grandmaster to the door.

"Now best that you get ready for your outing, it will be first light soon and I expect my student to be on time. I'm sure Grev is already out by the eastern gate and that the others are with him as well. Get yourself ready and out there as fast as you can. A word of advice, don't wear a robe, they're terribly difficult to ride in." The old man laughed and stepped out into the hall.

Chris fingered the amulet, a simple golden disc hanging from a chain around his neck. Grev had handed each of the party one as they arrived, explaining that they were all tuned to his. Chris and Snow had been awoken early by Grev while it was still dark and gathered their equipment before accompanying him to the eastern gate.

Ylien and Olien had been next to arrive, riding on two jet black steeds. They had brought another three horses along with them. All four had snorted nervously as they approached the Wolven, but had quieted when one of the twins had spoken softly to them in a strange language. Skye had been next to arrive, the girls had helped him hook to pack his belongings into the saddle bags. Chris noted that the lanky boy had put on some more weight and no longer looked like a scare crow. Strangely Skye was dressed in simple trousers and a red shirt instead of the robe that he always wore, black cloak hanging from his shoulders. His hair was pulled into a tail and fastened at the base of his skull with a leather cord, hanging like a silver horse's tail down his neck. They had all laughed at Skye's attempt to mount his horse, succeeding only on falling to the ground with a loud grunt as the horse stepped away. The girls finally helping him up giggling after his second attempt ended in a similar failure, Chris had doubled over laughing at the look of disgust on Skye's face.

Next to arrive had been a giant of metal. Chris had watched its advance with interest. It had only been when the metal man had lifted the chest piece he'd realised it was Uthran. Chris was fascinated. Arcane symbols glowed faintly all around the inside, Uthran seemed to be suspended in the air inside. He'd lifted a meaty arm and pushed a sash that covered his eyes upward onto his forehead before speaking with Grev. The hulking metal form stood a head higher than Snow and twice his breadth. A large blade hung at its waist and a shield was hooked across its back. The polished silver metal was painted with blue stripes running down the arms and legs. Strange designs were painted on its chest and shield. There was a distinctive crackle in the air around it that made his fur stand on end.

Aaron was next to come running up to them pulling on a shirt over his head as he arrived and then squatting before pulling a long hooded heavy cloak from out of his bag and throwing it around his shoulders, huddling into it for warmth.

Chris kept his cloak hanging open with the hood down, his fur and armour were enough to stave off the morning chill.

Chris's sharp ears caught the whispered and inventive curses about mages from Grev as the sun rose spilling its light across the world. Ylien and Olien were talking between them in their strange language casting glances at Skye.

Aaron was huddled in a shivering heap on the ground with his cloak pulled tightly around himself, his breath puffing from under the hood. Chris listened as Grev hunkered down to speak to him "Why don't you mount up? I had another horse brought for you, I know you won't be on the ground much but you may as well ride when you are."

Aaron had gratefully mounted, jumping high and onto his mount with acrobatic grace. Chris noted that the boy wore no boots and was quick to cover his feet with his spreading cloak after tying his bag to the saddle.

Finally the last of their party arrived. Chris was surprised to note that it was the bald headed old mage that had been so fascinated with his uniqueness. The old man had a splendid silver cloak gathered around him that seemed to almost shine with its own light, arcane symbols embroidered along its edges and sleeves. A server scurried in the man's wake burdened with bags which he was quick to slip into the saddlebags on the grey steed before assisting the mage to mount.

The mage gestured imperiously to Grev who nodded and turned to them. "Right, now that everyone is here. Let's move out."

The guards at the gate opened the great doors and the party filed through. Once outside Grev stopped them, pulled out a strange cube. Chris watched as his mentor touched symbols around the cube which lit as his finger brushed over them. Grev spoke as he held the cube out in front of him "Krundas, South East border, large gate". There was a shimmer in the air and a line of light burst into being running upwards from the ground to above the heads of those mounted. The line seemed to twist the landscape with it as it swirled in upon itself before opening to show a still dark misted landscape before them.