The illusion changed again, showing the face of a young man. He was handsome, a bit weary in the eyes, with long brown hair and a small scar over a thin-lipped mouth. "For a thousand years, not a single Sorcerer had stood on the Tower grounds. What few of us there were were called witches, and were hunted down and killed. But there were a few who managed to persevere, to find others with the Gift and teach them, and we continued. But it was a dangerous life. That changed when Marek the One was born. He came into his power late, as we measure things, well after he'd started a life as a caravan guard. He managed to teach himself once he understood what he was, using some scraps of books left over from the Age of Power. He came to Suld in his travels, saw the Tower, and stood for hours lost in its beauty. He claims in his writings that he heard a gentle voice calling to him, a voice he could not deny. It convinced him to come into the Tower, and he did so. Marek claimed the Tower of Sorcery as his own. Of course, nobody really noticed this. Nobody came onto the Tower grounds, because the people of Suld thought that the grounds were cursed. He was only the first, for more began to show up at the Tower gates, young men and women, all drawn here by some strange, mysterious voice. That, of course, was the voice of the Goddess, calling her new children to their home, just as it drew Marek. They were all Gifted to some degree or another, and almost by general consent, they organized themselves into the new katzh-dashi. Marek was named the first Keeper of the Key, or the Keeper, and they started on a quest of recovering the knowledge that was lost when the Ancients vanished from the world. A quest that we still pursue to this day."

"How much have you gotten back?" the dark-haired young man asked.

"Not even a fraction of what the Ancients knew," he sighed. "It was written in books from that time that the Ancients could move mountains, turn aside the sea, and even stop the moons in their places if they had a need for it. We think that this is exaggeration, but there has to be some kernel of truth to it. The Ancients were very powerful. We've found stories of how the Tower was drawn forth from the very rock beneath us by magic, and shaped into the form we see today. It has stood against the elements for over five thousand years." Tarrin wasn't the only one to blink. The Tower, the main building, anyway, looked like it was built weeks ago. "Yes, it doesn't look like it, does it? Amazing eye for architecture, the Ancients," Sevren chuckled. "The Ancients raised the other six towers not long before the Breaking, to create more room. They were very crowded, it seems. All of the other buildings on the grounds were built since we reclaimed the Tower." He chuckled. "Not long after this, the people of Suld realized what had happened, and they were very afraid. After all, it had been a thousand years since a Sorcerer had stood on this ground, and the people of Suld believed that the Ancients had caused the Breaking, and they still considered Sorcerers to be agents of evil. The stories of that time had evolved over the years into fanciful tales and myths. Anyway, it didn't take long for the priests of Karas, seeing their old enemies arise from the ashes, to try to put a stop to it. So they quickly incited civic unrest over the Sorcerers, and led a mob to the gates. But the katzh-dashi had no intentions of moving. They met them at the gates and demanded to see the King."

The illusion changed, to an illusion of a picture, a portrait of a man with a crown standing before an older Marek outside the very gates that stood before the Tower. "Tabon the Wise didn't earn his name through foolishness," Sevren chuckled. "He did indeed appear at the gates of the Tower to understand the intentions of these living myths. What surprised him was when Marek offered a bargain. In return for royal protection, the Sorcerers would aid the King in matters that didn't involve violence, espionage, or politics. They would also help defend the city of Suld itself against enemies that would attack it. They asked for very little in return. Only for royal recognition and protection from persecution. Tabon saw the gain for the Crown in this, for his current arrangement with the priests of Karas was not very useful for him. The priests considered the King only a minor resistance to their own wants, and they often tried to rule the kingdom through the King, through intimidation or worse. Tabon accepted the bargain. That bargain is still in effect to this day.

"Needless to say, the priests of Karas were outraged at this, mainly because it undercut the power of the church inside the kingdom. They gathered up their militant orders and priests and prepared an assault on the Tower. But Karas suddenly appeared before them as they prayed in their great cathedral, and he was very unhappy. He stripped the priests of their magical powers for a period of one year, and further decreed that one of the militant arms of the church, the Knights of Karas, would forever more be attached to the katzh-dashi. They would serve the katzh-dashi as bodyguards and protectors whenever they travelled outside the city of Suld, and when not needed by the Sorcerers, they would operate under the power of the Church. That arrangement is also still in effect," he chuckled. "Every katzh-dashi has a Knight assigned to protect him or her when they leave the city, and the Knights of Karas are famous world-wide for their skill, courage, and devotion. Both the Tower and the Church of Karas are very proud of them. Anyway, the priests weren't too happy about this, but it was the commandment of their God, so they could not disobey. It was made so, and the priests suffered their one year's punishment."

The illusion changed again, to show a great battle outside the wall of a city. Tarrin recognized it. It was the South Gate of Suld. "Our bargain was put into effect quickly. An army from Rauthym, a kingdom that was once to our east, invaded when they found out that the priests had been stripped of their magic. They marched unimpeded up to the gates of Suld and demanded the city's surrender. Tabon called on the katzh-dashi for assistance, and the Sorcerers answered. What happened next is what most call the Battle of Nine Bells. Grenig the Fool, king of Rauthym, attacked Suld, and was slaughtered. Instead of retreating, he foolishly pressed the attack, and was beaten back badly by the magic of the katzh-dashi. When the Church tower rang nine bells the next morning, the attacking army had been decimated, Grenig was dead, and the surviving generals had offered surrender. Rauthym was summarily annexed by Sulasia and became part of the kingdom, and still is today. Some of the people of Rauthym fled south and established the kingdom of New Rauthym, which is now one of the ten Free Cities."

The illusion faded from view. "That is more or less the general history of the Tower," he told them. "Very little has happened since the Battle of Nine Bells in a historical sense that has a bearing on your training. We'll be more specific about times and dates and events, but that will be later, after you're well into your training." He adjusted the spectacles on his nose. "I think we can start with the tour now," he said. "If all of you will follow me."

Sevren led them to several places, and they new Initiates followed in wonder. Tarrin himself was very intrigued by the story he'd been told, about the Ancients and the Breaking. He'd heard stories of those things from his father, old folk tales that did paint the Sorcerers as evil. They were also generally blamed for the Breaking, and that was the reason that, to this very day, a Sorcerer was not safe once he stepped over the border of Sulasia. Sorcerers were still considered witches in most of the kingdoms of the West. That they tolerated Sulasia's alliance to the katzh-dashi was something of a mystery to Tarrin. But then again, Tarrin remembered that his father said that the katzh-dashi almost never took any interest in affairs that happened outside the city walls of Suld. They were a very secluded order, almost regional, and it was easy to forget about them completely. Besides, Sulasia was one of the most powerful of the twelve Kingdoms, and no army would march against it with much enthusiasm.