Timothy sat in a crystal chamber full of legendary items.  Swords, staves, wands, and other knickknacks’ filled the massive room, all full of mysticism that still baffled the council. Most of these items had been created or found nearly ten thousand years ago, leaving the original purpose mysterious if not hidden all together. While some of them like the Staff of Osmosis, brilliant with its blue crystal top and a spiraling metal shaft imbedded with jades, had been found with great power that enhanced the wielder‘s abilities.  There were others like the Vase of Minx, which had very simple abilities; such as turning burned, ashen paper into the complete paper that it used to be. Most, if not all, of these items had been studied for over a few centuries and then placed into the First Seat’s chamber for safe keeping.
First Seat Antanacio, who had been the First Seat for three hundred and ninety-nine years, was pacing back and forth in the chamber, fuming with an anger that he had never openly shown. Timothy, however, was not showing a bit of emotion on his face and in fact was not nervous in the slightest. His calm may have had something to do with the pain killing herbs he had digested previously, but Timothy rarely did worry. Worry never gets you anywhere, other than the dark recesses of one’s mind. Timothy was awakened from his thoughts and his gradual lift towards intoxication, when the First Seat slammed his fist on his extravagant, wooden table.
“You bring a child with power’s that are undetectable and you say nothing.” Anger growled through his voice and Timothy jumbled in a few words. “Sir, I didn’t kno…”
“Do not interrupt me!” As the First Seats voice interrupted his interruption, Timothy’s head lifted with the shout and Timothy had to stop himself from smiling.  “You bring this dangerous child in our sanctioned palace, with zero warning of anything special, fully knowing there was something different about him, and you expect me to be anything but outraged?! Now I cannot blame you for what happened earlier, completely.” The word completely, was said just a heart beat later than the rest. “However, you will be lucky if the council does not have your wand for this.” This being the second time in two days that his wand was mentioned and, more than likely, the fact that the herbs were nearly in full effect, causing his head to swim; Timothy’s anger exploded.
“Now I will have you know, that I did not know of any special powers this boy processes. The only thing that I was aware of was the fact that his hair changed colors. Never the less, I will not be threatened with anything that is mine. Especially something that was forged by my own two hands and my own magic! I brought the child here for protection. If the council is too much of cowards to deal with the wonders of new magic then it was not my failure in lack of information, it was my failure in trusting a bunch of old fools.” Timothy’s head was swimming with drugs and anger, to the point of him ferociously shaking all over.
Instead of anger, Antanacio actually smiled. “Now Timothy, we have known each other for quiet sometime. Even if it was only on a strict professional basis, we have had our personal moments. I have never seen you get like this… Even with that knife wielding sleaze bag fourteen moon cycles ago. Are you sure you can handle those herbs?” Timothy smiled at this and his anger washed away like dirt in a rain storm. Other than the herbs mixing his emotion around, Antanacio and Timothy had indeed shared a few personal moments that would more than likely get both of them expelled from their positions of power. One of which involved a man who could not keep his hands, or his knife, away from the women of the nation.
The Nonma’s, non magic users, court system could find no evidence to convict him, so the man had been set free three times. Timothy had been the one who suggested the transformation, but there were many people who had complimented the cook’s on the tasty sheep. Ale and fine wine had been the end to that night, as laughter and secret tales were exchanged under a full moon. Those were lighter times with less serious subjects. Antanacio sighed and sat down heavily in his throne like chair. “You are going to be the death of us, Timothy. I admit that this child intrigues me, but why did you not at least warn us of the little bit that you did know?”
Timothy thought for a while on that, his head bouncing around thoughts even as he toned it to concentration. “Forgive me, my head swims. I do know that I was worried you would lock him in a room for some Wizard to poke and prod. Don’t ask me why, because for the life of me I do not know, but I have grown an affection to this child that I have never experienced. He was alone, Antanacio. Then I came into his life and brought him solace in a world that was pure evil in his eye’s… and he has brought me joy. I know that I was wrong, but I knew not that his hair changing came at such a price. Had I known, I would have said so before the Shaman began his work.”
Antanacio shrugged and stood, walking towards Timothy. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves; the child did save our lives.” A voice followed his and both of the Wizard’s turned in surprise. “Actually, he saved your life twice now, Timothy. I’m sorry for interrupting, but Thadius has woken up and has told everyone that he will not be happy until he see’s Timothy.” Ranen’s long beard bounced around as his head turned between the two.
Timothy sighed. “I suppose he is crying again, I swear a mouse could scare the life out of that boy.” Ranen smiled and waved his hand dismissively. “Actually, he is more angry than sad and there are no tears falling from his eyes. In fact, I believe most of the staff and council are scared of him, that’s why they called me.” Timothy arched an eyebrow at the news and Antanacio told Ranen to bring the child in. After a few shrugs and smiles, Timothy and Antanacio sat down and awaited the child’s entry. Timothy took note that one of the swords was missing from its place to his left. He was not sure what the sword’s purpose was or if it was significant in the slightest, but he did know that there was a sword missing. He had been in this room six times and had made sure to memorize every detail, as any good Wizard would do.
Just as any good Wizard would do, Antanacio noticed the eye shift and only smirked. The door opened only moments after, leaving any room for questions brief and futile.
Thadius entered, followed by Mage Ranen, who was also followed by the Elite Guard, David. Immediate shouts of disapproval met the guard from all three of the council members as he strolled into the room as if he belonged; he did not. No one was permitted to enter the room unless they had the ability to conjure a form of magic. In all the rest of their cases, including the child’s, this was plainly evident, but the sword wielding guard had absolutely none.  
“Stop Guardsman, you should know better than to enter this sanctioned area. Leave at once!” Antanacio voice was full of the usual authority that came with his position of power and David’s face was plain as a stone slab that only came with the Elite Guards years of training. “Forgive me First Seat, but I no longer take orders from you. I will not leave the child’s side.”
“I’ll be damned if there is nothing but disobedience filling my chambers as of now. Guardsman, may I remind you that the oath you took was for life? Not, when you feel like dismissing it.” The first seat pointed his white finger extenuating each note. “That may be the case, First Seat Antanacio, but I am not a tool. I am a mortal with my own free will and I learned that long ago, so while I was loyal under my old oath I am now under a new oath. Please understand that I have zero patience and no fear of you.”
David’s last words were no laughing matter, as all Elite Guards were trained to say the very same thing just before battle. Lorathen the Protector had been the first to mutter those words as he killed the first, First Seat of the council for his crimes against the nation. That being the first and last time those words were mentioned, in the very room they stood, made the words sting even more. The armor that he wore, leather and metal alike, were all blessed and webbed with spells that repelled simple magic, making it difficult to stop David with quick spells or incantations. “Fine. Thadius, would you mind telling the guardsman to wait outside?” There was a moment in time that Thadius thought of saying no as he looked up at his new protector, the man’s muscles bulging and lining the leather chest piece demanded the presence of intimidation that Thadius himself lacked.  
The boy’s words were slow, yet decisive as he spoke. “You may wait outside, David, I will be protected in here. Timothy will keep me safe.”  Smiling a smile that never quiet touched his eye’s and directly gazing into Antanacio eyes, David simply turned and walked out the wooden door closing it behind him. “Thank you Thadius, I appreciate that. Now if you would take a seat, Ranen you too.” Ranen, who had been standing quietly near Timothy, motioned Thadius to a seat in the center of them both.
“Now before I begin asking you anything Thadius, I must make it clear to all of you. I do not want anymore secrets, for any reason. The darkness that arose here yesterday has already brought in numbers of over a hundred deaths and countless amounts of homes, farms, and wildlife destroyed. I have already spoken with Timothy and I am confident that he has told me everything that he knows. Ranen, you mentioned that Timothy has been saved twice by young Thadius, please explain.” The first seat sat back in his chair watching Ranen intently as he began.
Ranen began his tale, by explaining how Thadius’ hair had changed from brown to black and then to white. He told him how his fingers shot out white light that caused the untouchable beast to explode into black dust. He told him how he could not detect a thing, how he had cauterized Timothy’s wound, and how the boy had blacked out remembering nothing when he awoke. He told him everything. Thadius watched and listened in shocked bewilderment, while he looked from Ranen to Timothy as if looking for some confirmation to validate the past events, but he never spoke.
Timothy, rubbing his shoulder as the memory of a sword entering his flesh passed through his mind, was also taken aback by the tale of Thadius’ transformation and power, alas he knew that it was not his time to speak. He watched as Thadius’ little head bobbed between the two, his cute red hair bouncing with each turn and a smile that had managed to linger, and just felt baffled at how much power Thadius had within him. His innocence was amazing as well, how could someone deal with the amount of pain or torment he had gone through and still maintain a pure demeanor?
“Interesting indeed and admittedly easier to believe after seeing the powers of this child with my own eyes, but it would have been a lot better had I known all of this before. We will have a discussion on that later, Ranen.” The words were a direct promise and Ranen had no doubt that there would be a conversation. “Now Thadius, do you remember anything that has happened at all?”
Thadius shied at first, but stiffened his shoulders as he announced his answer. “No, nothing about the cabin sounds familiar, but I do remember yesterday… The way my anger built up and my fear disappeared… The way my fingers, hands, and arms built up with a pressure that tickled and poked like tiny needles, then the feeling of letting it fly out of my hands like a rush of water. I remember a lot, if not all of yesterday, but I do not remember ever saving Wizard Timothy in the cabin as Mage Ranen has said.”
Antanacio smiled while tapping his middle aged looking fingers on his solid oak desk with an all knowing look. “Interesting,  and what do you suppose is the main difference between the time you do remember and the time that you do not, young Thadius?” Thadius looked at his feet as he kicked them to and fro, replaying the tale of his heroic venture with Timothy and the desperate battle with the beast that had been summoned in the Council‘s chamber. Timothy, Ranen, and even Antanacio were all staring at him causing his heart to begin to race.  Thadius knew that whatever the difference was, they already knew it… So, why make him come up with an answer? Suddenly the answer came swooping into his mind and he busted out like a giddy child.
“Well, I don’t remember Ranen saying anything about the beast talking to me or anything about the beast going back inside of me once I killed it. That’s the only real difference I can see.” Almost in unison the elders smiled. There was much more than mystic forces to this boy, he was also quick and clever. The first seat, still smiling, strolled over and praised Thadius with a pat on his back. “Well done my boy, but there are quite a few differences other than that one. How about the fact that your hair turned black in the encounter with Ranen and Timothy and it did not in the encounter here at the Council’s Palace?”
Thadius smiled and shook his head, how was he to know that his hair tuned black. It being as short as it is… How could he even see such a thing? “Now, while I know that you can not see your own hair… You can take the information given by Ranen here and compare and contrast with the information that you already know.” Thadius smiled and quietly wondered if the Wizard could read his mind, but simply dismissed it as the conversation continued. “To be perfectly honest with everyone here, Thadius is a danger…” The silence in the room that followed was far worse than the beast’s onslaught in Thadius’ opinion and his stomach turned more than his first encounter with Timothy.
Yet as the silence built to the point of fresh, unwanted tears collecting in his eyes, Timothy stood and pointed a bony finger in the First Seat’s face. “This is exactly why I feared speaking of the boy’s gift! This is exactly why…” Antanacio quickly raised his hand and stopped the Wizard mid speech. “This is exactly why you should not speak until you have thought things through. How much has the herbs effected you, that you would speak before thought? Very much indeed I would say. The boy is a danger, simply put. He is a danger to everyone, not just to this council. And as such, this would be the safest place for him for now.” The First Seat turned, his long black robe gliding in a dance like fashion as he walked behind his desk and grasped the hilt of a sword and lifted it for all to see.
The hilt was very simple, a band of deep black leather with an oval metal orb at the end and the blade was even less amazing. Slim, sharpened metal the length of a man’s arm with a slightly serrated end. “This blade has been in our possession for a very long time Thadius and no one has found its magical significance. As far as we can tell, it was constructed to be invincible and to weigh as little as a chicken feather. However, when it was discovered there was a stone that had a very simple message. This sword belongs to the one who’s hair changes like time flows. For the longest time, we believed that this sword was made for Druids, a lost civilization with magic beyond our understanding. However, I now believe we were wrong.” Antanacio stared at Thadius, wondering what was about to happen.
“Thadius, would you take this sword as a gift from me?” Timothy and Ranen both went opened mouthed, there had never been a recorded time of any magical item the council had being given to any person. Thadius stood up and walked up to the First Seat, reaching out his hands he simply said, “Thank you.” Little did any of them know, that when Thadius took hold of that sword… David, and other guards, would have reason to enter that room.