The stars aren't right
Sadogua finished chewing dragonbone, belched appreciatively, and favoured his protoge with a wide grin.
"So ... how is the world? Still there I assume?" he laughed at his own joke. One of his massive ears twitched as his grim spread even wider.
Neora finished her fruit before answering. Despite her youth she spoke confidently.
"Still there. I went to the places you suggested, and looked at things. It was very interesting."
"Did anyone try to interfere with you?"
"Not at all. I don't think anyone really saw me. They spoke to the guardians you'd given me, I think that most of them thought it was something to do with the Academy. I didn't even have to use your name once."
Sadogua slapped his belly.
"Ha! Good good, good good! And why would anyone question a little naga girl an her two burly armoured tarry minions anyway?"
He laughed at a private joke. Neora ate another fruit, a blue one this time. When he had finished she continued.
"The mists are all still there. I liked them. They are very pretty, especially at night."
Sadogua nodded, pleased.
"Then I went up to Madruga and looked at the sky like you said."
"Did you spot any patterns?" Sadogua leant forward, looking at her from each eye in turn, his expression intent.
Neora thought carefully. "I think so. I think ... I felt like all the stars were there but in different places. Even when they were in the same places, or there were no stars at all. Does that make any sense?"
Sadogua said nothing. He bit open a container of iridescent gloaming, swallowed the contents, and then crunched the bottle speculatively.
"Mmmm. Maybe later we'll talk about that."
"They were powerful."
"Yes they were. Do you have any idea why."
"They really didn't want people to scry on them, I suppose. And because why would you ever bother to not make them powerful if you wanted them to work?" Neora picked up another fruit, looked at it, put it down, and sipped a little cordial from a clay cup. Then she picked up a chocolate amphibian and set to work biting its legs and arms off one at a time. She continued to talk in between bites.
"Then I went to the very west and looked at the marshes. I've never seen a marsh before. They were very wet. I liked them. There were some creatures there who were very pleasant. We spoke to some of the Marchers and the Kallavesi about the enchantments. We visited the mists, and in Kallavesa a giant lizard ate one of the guardians. It was very surprising. Can I ask a question?"
"Always, my dear. You can ask me any question you like. I won't always answer but you can always ask."
"Why have they woven the mists like that?"
"Politics and war, my sweetling. Politics and war. They're worried about the Jotun, who are full of passionate intensity and bellyfulls of injured pride. It's very sad. The humans and the orcs are like lovers, who've never quite gotten around to fu- ..."
He looked at her, his mouth a line, and cocked his head as if listening to an internal monologue.
"Anyway, we can talk about that when you're older. Anything else?"
"I met a Boundery man who was very pleased with the mists. He said he and his friends had hidden behind a stand of birch trees and caught a bunch of cattle rustlers redhanded. He was very proud. I liked him. There was also a lot of talk about farms, and about herbs, and something about famine but it sounded quite dull so I didn't really listen."
Sadogua nodded. "Anything else?"
"Then we went right up north to a very cold flat place I didn't like, but there were mountains. The orcs were unfriendly at first but the guardians put them straight. I did not like the old wizard very much, I felt sorry for him. The younger wizard made me laugh and gave me this."
She touched a beautiful brooch of mithril and temepst jade pinned to her jacket. Sadogua eyed it thoughtfully.
"It's very pretty. I should probably take a look at it later. Then what happened?"
"Then they did a great rite, under the stars, and they invoked the Mountain and the Oak, and there was a great ice ogre there crowned with antlers who was not like an ogre, and then they brought out a hundred rings of starstuff, and then there was a castle. It was made of ice and granite, and it sparkled. They let me look inside. It was cold, but it was very pretty. There were more ice ogres inside."
"Hmmmmmm. So they went ahead. Show offs." Despite his words ,the Brother of Wizards seemed pleased. "Now why do you think they did something so extreme when they could have just piled up a load of white granite over the next year instead?"
Neora considered as she finished her frog. "I think they did it for two reasons. Firstly, they don't trust the Empire and they didn't want to risk them attacking before they had built the castle. The young wizard said as much when he thought I was asleep in the sled."
"Insightful. What was the other reason."
Neora smiled then, and her golden eyes lit up with a fire that was not entirely human. "Because they are wizards and because they could do it!" she exclaimed.
Sadogua laughed uproariously. "Ah child you are a gift, and absolute gift!"
Neora laughed along with the great wyrm. He stretched and yawned. "Well, that is enough for now you are tiring me out. We can talk about the rest later. Oh ... hmmm ... one final thing."
He said it in an off-hand way that made the girl immediately suspicious. He reached into the rubbish near his bed of cushions and pulled something out - a little wooden box. He tossed it across to his guest, and she caught it deftly. She flicked the copper catch and opened it up. The contents took her breath away, and light flooded her scaled features.
"What ... what is it?"
"Oh it's just a bauble I happen to have lying around. Some nice Urizen gave it to me." he frowned. "Leant it to me. Whatever. Now I want you to have it. No reason."
Neora looked at her guardian, waiting for him to say something else, but he just watched her solemnly, his eyes heavy and lidded and full of calculation. Then he smiled, and it was as if he had been smiling all along.
"Now shoo, and go climb some trees or chase some deer or what have you. I need to get plenty of sleep."
She snapped the box closed again, and left the chamber back to the tower on the edge of the woods.
Sadogua watched her go, his expression unreadable.