A New Arrival

[unpopularprophet]

Aleister barely noticed the incessant rain. It had been raining since he had arrived in Aydindril two days before, so there wasn't any point to wishing it would stop. He could have used his ability to leach the water out of his cloak, but he did not think it wise to reveal his power so soon. The last thing he wanted was to raise suspicions before he had even crossed the the Bridge into the Keep.
It was a typical spring morning in Aydindril, and, as always, the bridge was held by the infamous Keep-Wardens. Casually glancing at some of those he passed, he noticed that all were extremely well armed, bristling with numerous weapons of a greater variety than Aleister had ever seen. Those, however, were just the ones in plain sight...
He reached the door unchallenged. It was not unusual for people to come to the Keep, either begging for help with some issue or other, or demanding to see the First Wizard. He drew back his hood under the cover just before the door, and was almost immediately under the glower of a cranky sorceress.
"And what business have you here, young man? Out with it, and then be on your way."
Aleister fixed the small woman with what neither of them quite recognized as a classic Rahl glare.
"I am here because I would like to learn, Miss. Unless this is how all prospective students are treated, there is no call to send me off as of yet. Now, would you like to hear me through, or would you like to vent some more?"
The woman looked for a moment like she might try and smite him there and then, but after a moment looking into a now expressionless face, she relaxed.
"Very well, then, come in out of the rain. I have not been at my best today, so you shall have to pardon me."
It was likely the only apology he would receive. He sighed like one already weary of many years, and followed the sorceress through the ancient gate of the Wizard's Keep.
It was far warmer inside the Keep, but Aleister kept on his cloak for the time being. The sorceress briskly moved through a brief series of halls before striding into a room sealed by a strong shield of woven Additive and Subtractive magic. He felt a shimmer in the shield, temporarily clearing the door for free entry. The sorceress reappeared at the door and motioned him in. Passing through the shield, Aleister experienced both the familiar tingle of the Subtractive as well as the strange warmth of the opposite half.
Inside was an aged black-haired wizard, who immediately jumped in on Aleister.
"You wish to be a wizard, boy? First off, and trust me here, you don't. Second we no longer accept those without the gift."
"'First off', I have a name. I am Aleister Brighton, although I suspect you don't care. Second, I have the gift and can use it, so it is a little too late to simply stop being a wizard."
Aleister was already regretting his flip tongue when a knock on the door interrupted the tense exhange.

[unpopularprophet]

Aleister would have been willing to pause momentarily and let the person in, but the middle-aged wizard continued heedless.
"Well, I do not sense a very bright Han. If you are lying to me-"
"The reason my Han does not present itself is because my gift is not for the Additive."
One could have heard a needle drop, but the sound that was heard was the knock again. The dumbfounded wizard and sorceress-probably a Sister of the Light- ignored it. The Sister spoke up.
"Having Subtractive is not so rare, but surely you are mistaken- the Subtractive cannot exist alone."
"It did when the Chimes nearly destroyed the Additive long ago. Just because none has been born with only the Subtractive does not automatically qualify me as a liar."
The wizard made a skeptical sound in his throat.
"Well then, boy, if you have the Gift, and can use it, then you can demonstrate your ability?"
Aleister stared icily at the wizard.
"And why can you not sense my Subtractive yourself?" It was probably not a good plan to antagonize his potential instructors, but this was beyond reason. The wizard did manage to give a feasible answer though.
"Subtractive is best detected as a silhouette against Additive, so, if you truly have the Subtractive gift, the most sure way to prove it would be a demonstration, hmm?"
A highly flawed argument, but Aleister was not in the mood for a debate anymore. This man would receive what he was asking for, and, as a wizard, should be prepared to deal with any consequences. Aleister plunged his being into the powerful, cool, and bottomless well of darkness in the heart of his chest.
The lamps in the room extinguished.
The air began to lose it's warmth.
The water in their breath turned into fog before their blind eyes.
Aleister placed his hand on the Wizard's, allowing him to feel the unnatural cold in what for any other sort of beings would be total darkness. They saw each other, though. And the wizard and the Sister saw him, the epicenter of a whirlpool of void, and saw the truth of his words.
The unnatural pitch receded, leaving them in a more natural darkness.
"You do realize that you shall have to reingite the lamps yourselves?"
The knock came again.
The wizard, who now seemed to Aleister a little less self-important, made the lamps flare back to life, revealing the frost that had coated the room.
"Come in, then, but watch your step: you might break your neck in here." The door opened, revealing the figure of the person who had been so persistently knocking.

[unpopularprophet]

It was the Mother Confessor herself, wizard at her side. She calmly strode into the room, taking note of the ice that coated everything in the room. Both the Sister and the aged wizard dropped to their knees before her, heads bowed. Aleister hesitantly followed suit: he was unused to such behavior, but he knew to show respect to the Mother Confessor. She looked at the three, and said, "Rise, my children." She greeted the Sister and the wizard-Galatea and Nikolai-by name before turning her attention to Aleister.

[Mother Confessor]

"Who are you?" She asked, he didn't look familiar.

"Aleister Brighton. I have traveled from Westland to learn more in using my gift."

She attempted to sense the strength of his gift but got nothing. It seemed all of her effort was just vanishing before she could find what she was looking for.

"Your gift... It is odd. I have felt nothing like it before. "

"I have only Subtractive magic, Mother Confessor."

She raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Is that so," she looked to Nikolai,"What happened here?"

"That boy, it felt like he brought the Underworld itself into this very room."

She looked to Aleister for an explanation.

[unpopularprophet]

"That is accurate in a sense. Wizard Nikolai wanted proof that I had the Gift at all. He received that which he asked for. One could call me a conduit to the Underworld. I exist almost as much in that world as I do this one."
The last comment widened Adela's eyes greatly for a fraction of a second. She scrutinized Aleister again, lingering for a moment on Aleister's eyes, the hazel appearing a bright blue in the frosted chamber. His eyes had an intensity of a sort that Adela had only ever seen in Deneric Rahl. She set the thought aside for the moment, and leaned forward.
"Tell me, what do you know of the veil?"
Aleister's mouth quirked in amusement.
"What does the Mother Confessor know about the ground upon which she stands? Being alive, but part of death, the veil between the worlds is very plain to me. We interact with it every day of our lives, mostly not realizing it. I can even put wrinkles in it's fabric."
Adela was beyond doubt.