A warm breeze blew across the lawn of the old Hex manor, rustling the beautifully green grass that surrounded it. Being on the outskirts of the city, the house had a fair amount of space around it, giving Elowen plenty of room to grow many, many flowers. The brick walls of the building were almost entirely covered in ivy, with dots of color popping out in between the cracks. There was a path leading to the front door, marked by rows of daisies, marigolds, lilies, and a variety of other flora. Countless wildflowers were scattered throughout the yard, their scents mingling together in the summer air. A cluster of trees was settled behind the back of the house, and that was where Wen had found herself on such a lovely day.

She was reading one of Randal's books about Holy magic, but it was honestly very dull. In fact, several times she caught herself dozing off to the hum of a nearby beehive. Wen was just so relaxed that she felt like morphing into the wood of the tree on her back. The soft yellow sundress she wore wasn't exactly helping, especially with the numerous sleepless nights she and Randal had had since Edgest's departure. Although she loved her husband, she missed the days when he wasn't burdened by such a weight. But she let the thought drift from her mind as she closed the book and sighed.

Gently, Wen pushed herself off the ground, dusting off her dress and picking branches out of her hair with her free hand. She began walking back towards the house with bare feet, feeling the soft earth beneath them. Instead of going in through the back door, she decided to walk around to the front, viewing her rainbow of handiwork and allowing herself to feel proud. A bright grin crossed her face as she rounded the corner, somehow feeling that today would be a good day.

The nerves had finally got to him as he held tightly to the iron knocker, knuckers white as ghosts Ali finally broke taking a step back deciding maybe it would best to walk around the house to get a better understanding of the people living here or was it mostly try to calm down his heart but never the less as he walked through the gardens filled with flowers smelling of sweet pollen, it was a sight that many most not be able to see with the masion being so close to the city but yet as the young boy slid down a tree happily picking up a ripe apple from a low hanging branch letting a small smile to spread his face happily eating the apple.

By the time his eyes opened the sun had been beating down upon his face like a roaring fire for so long that his mouth felt dry and head light as Alister struggled to get a footing he took off towards a trough sticking his whole face into the cool liquid taking in as much of the water into his body until the effects passed but when he rose up he was sure he saw a mirage as a green person walked into the house through a side door feeling a urge to follow he took off sticking his foot into the door with a grunt climbing through the house his right hand shaking nervously seeing all the paintings and bookshelfs in the suddenly dark rooms each step sending shivers up his back with every crack or squeak made until fianlly reaching a large set of doors that were held up with some rope seeing a man skim reading a book as the boy uttered "Master Randal Hex?" gulping audibly before continuing "I was sent by a man who knew someone close to you, I believe Viserys said his name was Edgest?".

Randal Hex, Arch-Mage and Teacher of Magic these titles still felt foreign to his tongue even as the students all addressed him as Master Hex all he could do was laugh due to only a few years had passed since he was once a student like them but the job role that felt most different for him was the one of Husband, he felt guilty that the wedding between him and Wen was only a small one due to not having many relatives of his own which resulted in it not being as rememberable as the mage wanted and knowing that the sleepless nights still cause the Dryad to have issues made him rack his brains to fix this situation. However, given the choice, he would never change the things that had happened knowing that he could wake up with his wife in his arms.

Hearing the creaks of someone up the stairs he simply thought it was one of the many servants in the house cleaning away the piles of books the mage seems to leave scattered around everywhere but when Randal looked up his light blue eyes making contact with the Emerald green of the teenager infront his only response was to call down the house "Wen!? have you been letting kids into the house again, you know we got into trouble last time!" shaking his head at the memory of guards appearing at the house to make sure the kids had not been used a sacrifice but after hearing the comment from the boy his head swiveled round once again locking eyes with a wide eyes stared "You mean Viserys Serpentine is here in the city?" seeing the nod from the young man all he could do was break out into a large grin "Well I guess we should wait for him to come, please help yourself to the books while I go find my wife" nodding politely before rushing out the room.

Rushing through the house breaking into a jog to reach the garden seeing his wife wearing a beautiful dress which caused the mage to walk up behind her wrapping his arms around her waist planting a kiss to her cheek "We have great news, Viserys the Gladiator is in the city and looking for us" seperating for the breifest of seconds to pick a few apples before returning to his embrace of her "We also have a guest of a boy called…. drat I got excited and forgot to ask his name, I know.. you told me to be more social but I couldn't help myself" letting off an awkward grin before doing his trademark action of rubbing the back of his head which had lead to him losing more than a few games of poker during the Academy's games night.

Elowen hadn't even noticed the boy enter behind her. As soon as she'd gone inside, she placed the book on a table and walked back to the plant nursery, retrieving a few small pots that were ready to be planted outside. It took both of her arms to carry them outside but once she got to where she wanted them, it was so worth it. Setting the delicate flowers on the ground, the Dryad waved her hand and watched them root into the ground, immediately taking to the sunlight. Smiling contently, Wen hardly noticed Randal walk up behind her. 

Her golden eyes lit up at his news, and she placed a pale green hand on his cheek. "That's wonderful!" she stated cheerfully, now that they could stop the search for the gladiator. However, the moment he mentioned a boy in the house, Wen broke away from him and darted back inside, senses alert for any movement. If the boy had traveled there from far away, he must have been hungry and thirsty. What if he was malnourished, or hadn't gotten enough sunlight? Wen heard the floorboards creak upstairs, and she swiftly bounded up to Randal's cluttered office. There the kid was, looking around at the mage's many trinkets. "You!"

Her abrupt presence seemed to slightly shock the boy, but she'd lost all sense of personal boundaries as she rushed towards him. Gently, the woman grabbed his shoulders, twisting and examining the boy from every angle. He looked to be alright, albeit a bit thin. Wen's golden eyes beamed into his green ones, studying him excitedly. "What's your name? Where did you come from? Is Viserys your father? Are you hungry?!" The questions tumbled out of her mouth quickly and clumsily with no coherence whatsoever before she cupped his face and squinted, trying to discern his mental condition. "Randal has absolutely no sense of politeness, leaving you alone in here minutes after meeting you…" Elowen finally released him and stepped back, habitually tapping her chin.

Ali let out a quick gasp starting at the strange women in front of him the barrage of questions confusing him as the only thing he could ask was "You're Green?" before quickly shaking his head "I'm sorry! but my name is Alister, I came from the Deserts of the north, No my family were murdered when I was young and a little I guess" before struggling to catch an apple that the mage had quickly thrown to him from the doorway nodding his thanks while eating it with a small smile.

As the boy went back to looking through books he pulled a very old looking one out its covers almost in tatters the writing that once on faded away "Mr Hex? Could I perhaps borrow this book on spirits?" even as he said the request his foot was rubbing into the floor with an awkward smile before both the mage and the boy reached back to rub the back of their heads with their hands before Alister quickly added "Its okay if not, I just found it interesting that is all" before turning back to the dryad with a confused look before whispering "You're a dryad right? I mean Viserys told me the Wraith Mage was a powerful creature but this man looks more like a forgetful airhead?" staring at the mage with squinted eyes before finishing his apple allowing the boy to walk around the study inspecting all the rare artifacts that Randal had managed to gather over the years before yet again returning to the book trying his best not to stare at it. 

With a sigh Ali sat down heavily upon a chair with his face in his hand watching outside the window as birds flew happily through the garden before asking "Why do they call you the Wraith Mage sir?" realising he had made a mistake when he saw the colour drain from the elders face quickly trying to get up until feeling a hand on his shoulder.

The shaking in his hand started once again right after hearing the boys questioning his title of Wraith Mage, one that he did not enjoy at all due to the way he got it but with a slow glance to Wen the mage allowed himself to take a deep breath and walk over the apologising boy and lay a hand on his shoulder pushing him back down to the seat "Trust me its a valid question and let me answer it for you" walking back over to the book and the Dryad putting one under his arm and taking the hand of the other he lead her to the seat infront of the teen, sitting with Wen, being as small as she is on his lap holding her hand knowing it was his best chances of not reliving the moment of losing that connection he had with Edgest.

"Well Alister, a Wraith Mage is someone who controls the mana of a spirit" flicking to the page in the book containing information of the creature before handing it over to Ali "The Wraith is a ghost of someone who hasn't had their life complete meaning they cant move on to the next realm, these beings make pacts with hosts to help them pass on" another squeeze of Wen's hand and a deep breath of his shaky lungs "The name you mentioned before called Edgest, I was his host and when he left this realm I got all of his mana meaning I became a Wraith Mage" standing up struggiling against his petioning legs he kneeled next to the boy explaining the different types of spirits waiting until Ali nodded at each infomation tibet before continuing causing Randal to reach up a mess up the hair of the teen which caused a small smile to form on his face.

After most of the book was finished he left the boy to read the rest himself taking the Dryad off to the side of the study "He's smart, not many kids his age could read let alone ones that spent most of their time travelling" rolling his eyes at the facial expression his wife was giving him and letting loose a deep sigh "and yes I did already put a protection glyph on him for you" moving to the side allowing Elowen an open path towards the distracted child.

Elowen smiled softly and placed her hands on Randal's shoulders, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Remind you of anyone?" she asked playfully, already noticing the similarities between Alister and her husband. He would make a great teacher, as long as he wasn't too strict on the poor child. Beaming, the Dryad locked her focus on the new child, watching him for a few moments before walking back over to him. She laid a green hand on his arm, looking up at the slightly taller boy. "What are you hungry for? I'm not a very good cook, but I'm sure Randal won't mind making you something," she offered, waving a hand back to the mage.

"And while he does that, I can show you my nursery!" Wen was so excited to talk about plants with someone new that she didn't even wait for a response. Instead, she tugged the boy's sleeve and led him downstairs, practically bouncing on her feet. They walked down the hallway towards her little greenhouse nursery, immediately feeling the warm air as she opened the door. The entire place looked like a jungle, with baby plants scattered around waiting to go outside, as well as a few exotic flora that would not survive in Adeluna's climate. Finally letting him go, Wen began to float around the room, gushing about various flowers and telling stories about where each one came from. Soon, she was lost in her own tales of travel and love of plant life, so much so that she completely forgot about Alister.

"I wouldn't mind some- eck" as he got tugged down the stairs, surprising the young boy by how quickly the small woman bounced along causing him to struggle to keep up stumbling on a few out pointing draws or cupboards causing him to yelp in pain at the collisions by the time they finally got to the greenhouse Ali was exhausted from his beating holding his side and taking a few gulps of breath before slumping onto a bench listeining intently to the adventures of the Dryad speaking to see if it could break her out of the spell she seemed to be in "Viserys said never to view, travelling as adventures since each different destination could result in death" with a finger up to his chin as in thinking of a way to better explain it before looking almost crestfallen "I guess he's right really what good would a farmer's boy be at being a hero like the Archmage" with a sigh he looked over the exotic plants before gasping "I cant believe you have the rare-" going into detail about some of the plants almost speaking like the boy had taken care of them himself until mentioning "I read that in the book you could only get these one's high in the peaks of the mountains! oh and this one is brought over by traders in Vilpamolan port".

Crossing his legs on the floor with an awkward smile "Uh sorry I got carried away, please continue" watching Elowen with awe in his eyes before suddenly remembering one of her stories "You have magic! oh please show me, I've always wanted to do magic" grinning ear from ear on his knees with his hands clasped together.

All the mage could do is laugh at the young boy's yelps as he got dragged away, leaving Randal to look at the book of spirits old from years of use when he once was just a student running a finger across the pencil indentations from years of notes "How long has it been now? every day I worry that the evil wraith will return, but even then I'm happy your finally with your wife and daughter" shutting the book with a small smile and sliding it into place before heading off to the kitchen to bake a batch of pastries that he had got the recipe for from a dance they went to in Mamlak.

By the time he finally entered the greenhouse Randal had heard the boy talk about what Viserys instructed him "This Viserys sounds like a hassle, I wouldn't want him as a brother let alone a guardian" putting the plate of meat and vegetable pasties down on the corner table walking over to kiss Elowen on the cheek simply to distract her from seeing him pluck a leaf from one of the many plants and sticking it into mouth with a grin, an old habit that hasnt faded over time appearing when he's either stressed or nervous but of course still always carrying a small vial of antidote in case of accidents "Alister has a point, your magic prowess always did confuse me" rubbing the back of his head with his own awkward smile "Did you know Ali that when I first met her my wife didnt eat anything, many a time I caught her laying out asleep in the sun" laughing while happily rubbing the stubble on his face before looking at the beuatiful blue flower still happily growing "It really has been fun time hasnt it?"