A week after Saga had woken up from being ill, she found herself lost about what to spend her days doing. Everything regarding the garden was settled. She had ordered what was needed from the merchant. It would take a bit of time before it arrived after which people he had contacts with would do the work required to get the garden as Saga wanted.

When it was time for that, Saga would oversee the work. She knew she wanted to fix parts of the inside as well, but felt it was better to wait until the garden work was done before starting that. So until she needed to oversee the garden work, she didn't know what to occupy her time with. If there was anything more she should be doing.

To get a better grasp of what was required to run the household, she had asked Dag, the steward, about the books in which he had kept track of purchases. It was the only way she knew about to gain the knowledge without asking outright, and asking outright felt too close to admitting she wasn't the noble lady they thought she was.

So with the books, she headed to the library to read them through.

It was a rather cold day, and she had asked Erna to light the fireplace in the library earlier. The flames flickered from it, making the room both warm in temperature and glow, and on the floor by it sat Hrafen with parchment and books spread around him.

Saga halted when she saw the mage and contemplated heading back to the bedroom. But before she could turn the thought into action, Hrafen had looked up and noticed her.

"Lady Saga!" he exclaimed in a much more cheerful voice than she was used to hearing him talk with. "Just the person I need. Come over here!"

She took small and slow steps forward. "Why do you need me?"

"For nothing nefarious." He waved his hands as if trying to wave away her hesitance.

She walked over to the closest table and put the books on it. Then went two steps closer to Hrafen, who huffed lightly before moving closer to her. Grabbing hold of her wrist, he dragged her closer to where he sat and then down, resulting in her stumbling into a sitting position next to him.

"What... You can't do that!" Saga exclaimed, feeling her cheeks redden as she pushed herself a bit to the side to create some more space between the two of them.

"Apparently I can. And you were taking far too long. Now, I've made a list of all the romance books we have in here, is there any one the Lady thinks I should start with?" He held up a piece of parchment right in front of her face. She didn't look at it, but at him.

"What?"

"Has the Lady already forgotten? That is a poor memory then. During our first conversation, I promised you to read whatever romance books we had and you would brush up on your history knowledge, and then we would converse. The Lady has been keeping herself busy, but she should have time to fulfill the promise now."

"I've not forgotten!" she huffed as the heat on her cheeks increased.

"How wonderful then, for I have the perfect book for you to read to brush up on your history knowledge."

The mage reached over the books spread in front of him, picking up the thickest and oldest one. As he dropped it before Saga, a cloud of dust filled the air above it causing her to sneeze.

"How delicate the Lady is," Hrafen commented. It made Saga glare at him and drag the book closer to herself.

Then she read the title and the embarrassment and annoyance Hrafen had elicited from her disappeared as her blood ran cold. A silent dread spread in her body, one which made it hard for her to breathe, as things she had done her best to not think about since waking up surfaced in her mind.

During the illness, while she had been unconscious, she had had dream after dream. All of them showing death and destruction. It had been too many for her mind to remember any details, but one thing she remembered clearly because she didn't understand it. The voice telling her whoever it belonged to looked forward to making her acquaintance.

She had no idea who the voice belonged to, but it had been dark and seductive, and that was enough for Saga to fear it. And the voice had not addressed her as Saga the Lady of Sinkbek. Neither as Saga the daughter of the Duke of Fyris. No, it had addressed her as Saga of the house of Sejd.

That terrified her more than anything else, as everything about herself which she wanted to forget belonged to it. And the book in front of her now she could tell from the mere title would remind her of those facts as well.

The Origin of Ranriki the cover read.

"Best to start with the beginning when learning history," Hrafen said, snapping Saga out of staring at the book.

"I already know this. Who doesn't know our land's origin?" She pushed the book toward him.

"You'd be surprised with what people forget. But it was foolish of me to think the Lady wouldn't know. It's the story of your ancestors, after all."

The mage looked at her with such intensity that Saga wanted to shrink back, run from there and back to the bedroom. She wouldn't mind spending a week in bed if she could avoid where the conversation was heading.

"Your mother was formidable. Both well-known and well-liked," Hrafen went on in a lazy tone, though his eyes remained as fixed on her. "But since no similar rumours are circulating about the Lady, I can only assume you've not inherited your mother's abilities. What a disappointment."

Saga swallowed hard and put her hands toward the floor to stand again.

"You must excuse me, but I think I'm not all well again," she said, but before she could stand Hrafen spoke.

"However, there is obvious magic in you. Any mage with decent skill can sense the strength of the unstable magic in you. So I wonder why the Lady shows no outward magical abilities."

"Unstable?" Saga echoed and sank back down. Her eyes turned completely back to the mage again, and her need to flee was temporarily forgotten. She had never heard anyone referring to her magic as unstable. In fact, the only word she had ever heard in relation to her magic was cursed, that she had cursed magic running through her veins.

"So the Lady hasn't even been taught the basics of magic."

Hrafen's eyes narrowed as he studied her. Saga wanted to refute his words and claim she knew, but if he asked any follow up question it would be clear she hadn't been. So she stayed silent.

"Then I think my narrative of the origins of our kingdom is better than any books. And certainly more entertaining for me than any romance book. So tell me, Lady Saga, what do you know of the origin?"

"As said, I know the story," she snapped, finding the mage had managed to get under her skin again.

"But you clearly do not know what unstable magic means, which in turn means you do not know the full extent of the story. So tell me, I'd rather not waste my words retelling things you know." He yawned as if the thought of using more words than absolutely necessary was tiring to him.

Saga clenched her jaw and wanted to berate the mage for his imprudence. But a part of her was far too curious about what he had to say about magic, so she let go of his rude behaviour this time.

"Ranriki was at first divided into several smaller states, but those different states fought against each other over and over, causing everyone everywhere to suffer," Saga recited what she knew. "Four friends came together and unified the lands: Auogir, Einherj, Sejd, and Galdr. Once they had unified the lands and everything was at peace, they named Auogir the first King of Ranriki and it is still his line which holds the throne today."

"Is that all?" Hrafen asked, disappointment clear from his raised eyebrows. "You know not what happened next?"

"Yes, I do," Saga snapped. "They lived in peace for a long time until Galdr began thinking it unfair Auogir should hold the throne. Galdr attacked, but the other three defeated him and exiled him into Vander where he died."

Hrafen smirked, but nodded. "That is indeed the most common version of events. However, there is another version, a much truer version, but one the throne does not like the public to know."

The mage looked into the fire, as if contemplating things, but Saga had the distinct feeling he only did so to build suspense for what he would say next.

"The four friends were said to have been blessed by the gods with different abilities," Hrafen spoke as he turned back to look at her. "Auogir was blessed with quick thinking and good rethorics, in other words charm, by the God of Water. Einherj was blessed with strength by the God of Land. Galdr was blessed with stable magic by the God of the Sky. And Sejd, who is your ancestor, was blessed by the God of the Underland with unstable magic."

Saga frowned. This was information she had never been told, though she knew she was an ancestor of Sejd through her mother. It had been the reason why her father had married her mother. And the only reason, as far as she could tell, he had ever mourned her mother's death. It wasn't her as a person he had mourned, but that he had lost his chance at a male heir belonging to the house of Sejd.

But the part about the unstable magic and the four founders of their kingdom having been blessed by the Gods was new information for her.

Not that she would ever admit that to Hrafen.

"Auogir was chosen to be the King simply because of his gift," Hrafen continued. "He might have even used his charm to convince the other three he ought to be the one to rule. But he remained wary of the other three. Especially of Galdr and Sejd, who he viewed as threats to his power since they both wielded magic. But he was smart because he knew Sejd could be of use while Galdr only posed a threat. You see, stable and unstable magic only signify what kinds of magic one is more or less adapted at using."

He quirked an eyebrow, as if challenging her to tell him she knew these things. As if emphasising he already knew she wasn't as well-educated as she should be. But Saga kept quiet and waited for him to continue.

"All of us have the possibility of learning magic," he went on, "and all of us can learn both stable and unstable types of magic. It is a skill like any other. Consider the knights, for instance. And let us take sir Kare and sir Astrid as our examples. Because of their predispositions their ways of fighting are rather different. Sir Kare being born with muscles which are easily developed favours fighting with brute strength as his main weapon. Sir Astrid, who was born with a slender frame, uses her agility as her main weapon when fighting instead. Both of them can train to become better at the opposite skill, but both have one which comes more natural to them.

"It is the same with magic. Some are born with stable magic as their predisposition, and some with unstable magic. Stable magic means you will find it easier to, putting it simple, build things. While unstable magic means you will find it easier to destroy things. Another favoured way of explaining it, though it far from makes it justice, is that stable magic is better for defense while unstable magic is better for offense. Are you following me so far?"

Saga nodded, though what he had explained made her mouth taste rotten. If she then had unstable magic, then her magic really was cursed. It was meant to destroy, after all. And it already had. It had already killed.

"And as said, everyone has magic, everyone can learn, though some are born with a stronger affiliation for it. And you, Lady Saga, you have a strong, one of the strongest I have encountered, affiliation to unstable magic."

She turned her eyes away from the mage. His words cut deeper and deeper into her. Everything she thought about herself had slowly been confirmed, and she felt like an open wound bleeding out with the fear of herself it caused.

But Hrafen seemed unaware of the effect as he shifted his position to sit facing her more easily and carried on explaining in a cheery tone.

"Anyway, back to our four founders. So Auogir feared Sejd and Galdr; he did, however, see uses of Sejd's magic. The ability of foresight is commonly associated with unstable magic, and the line of Sejd has always been particularly gifted in it. Your mother was, and it's a shame the Lady isn't. Or maybe it is for the best. The gift is revered, but that also makes many want to use those abilities for their own goals. And that is what Auogir did.

"He ended up banishing Galdr, not because the latter tried to gain power, but simply because of fear of his magic, while he kept Sejd close to use his ability in foresight. Through history, the throne has made several attempts to marry someone from the house of Sejd, but Sejd has always rejected the marriages. It is interesting that the tables have now turned, with your father seeking a marriage alliance with the throne, but the throne being reluctant at marrying the Prince with your sister," Hrafen concluded his explanation.

All the information swam in Saga's mind. It was all so different from what she had heard before, and every part of it made her fears increase. She hadn't known the house of Sejd was known for their abilities in foresight. Now knowing that she wondered if her mother had dreamt the way she did.

She also wondered about her sister, Embla. Wondered if she had those dreams as well. If she also had strong magic running through her. But Saga assumed not. She had never heard any mention of her sister possessing magic, and though Saga believed her own magic cursed, evil, magic in itself, especially strong magic was generally nurtured. If her sister had a strong predisposition for any type of magic, she would have been trained.

But all of this was things Saga rather wanted to forget, so to push the thoughts aside, she asked, "What about Einherj? What does your version say happened to Einherj?"

She put emphasis on the word your to not give Hrafen the pleasure of thinking she believed a word of what he had said. But the smirk he gave her told her he hadn't been fooled.

"Alas, nothing exciting there," he sighed. "Here the versions are the same. Einherj lived his life protecting the kingdom, but never had a child. As such there is no house of Einherj. Although..." Hrafen paused and gave Saga a hard stare. Again, she felt certain the pause was simply his attempt at building dramatic effect. "Some rumours claim Einherj had a bastard with a commoner. So there might be someone walking among us with Einherj's blood running through their veins."

Saga suppressed an eye roll, feeling certain the mage only said the last bit to create a mystery to the end of the story.

"It is a shame, though," Hrafen continued speaking, "that the Lady shall have such strong magic running through her and not know how to use it. Criminal really. If you would want, I can do you a favour and teach you how to use it."

All muscles in Saga tensed as two different trains of thoughts ran through her mind. One was Viggo's warning about never accepting a favour from the mage as he never forgot and would collect. The other, and the dominating one, was her fear of her magic. It wasn't something she wanted to use. It was something she wished she could get rid of.

"Thank you for the offer, but I have no interest in learning magic," she said before she stood and excused herself.