The following year, Dalzhin retired, and the position of premier was handed over to Ghaleon, making him the youngest premier ever at the age of twenty. Of course Lemia knew that was just an arbitrary age assigned to him. She once heard Dyne recount the day he asked Ghaleon how old he was. And the pointy-eared boy honestly replied that he had no idea, and that he never even bothered to keep track. So that day Dyne looked at him and decided just how old Ghaleon would be, and the selected birthdate stuck with him ever since.

However, Lemia remembered the myths of the olden days when elves walked the walk. They were lithe, magically-inclined beings of about human size, although typically thinner. All elves had pointed ears like Ghaleon. However all elves had vanished millennia ago, and since many beastmen had pointed ears as well, most people regarded him as a curious sort of person with a small amount of monster blood. But Lemia wouldn't put it past Ghaleon to be an actual elf, especially if he's lived long enough to not remember his own birthday.

Three more years passed, making it a total of five since Dyne died. Those intermediary years were prosperous for all who lived in the floating city of Vane, and Ghaleon was quick to excel in both his studies and position of premier. For a while he had been reluctant to trade his comfortable ironwood staff and deerskin clothes into the silken garb and cane that was befitting of his occupation, but he gradually became accustomed to it.

The main thing that irked him was the awful hat he had to wear. It was little more than a skullcap with a long silk covering that would shield the sides and back of his head from view. But what got him were the two rounded cones about the size of a small fist that stuck out from either side of the hat. A couple of children had teased him about having two ice cream cones sticking out of the side of his head. But Lemia's mother was adamant. The hat was to be part of his outfit. And besides, she said it made him look "cute". Ghaleon wanted to retch.

But he had more important things to worry about now. Ghaleon believed this to be a year of events. First of all, this was the year that Lemia was to take her mother's place as guildmaster. Secondly he had begun to notice a lack of certain emanations coming from the Goddess Tower. And last, but certainly not least, this was the year he would set his plans into motion.

He pondered this for a moment at his desk as he leaned back on his chair. Satisfied, he shifted his weight back forward and picked up a quill to write another entry in the third volume of his journals. With all his writing, his journals could take up a good portion of Vane's library by the time he was ready to retire. Ghaleon allowed his thoughts to darken. If there was a Vane left by the time he wanted to retire...

His thought were abruptly shattered when he noticed a tugging on his right sleeve. He looked down and saw five-year-old Mia, dressed in a simple pink cotton dress.

"Ghaleon," she said, tugging on his loose sleeve some more now that she saw he noticed her. "I wanna see the world outside Vane, Ghaleon."

He let out a breath, shoving away his darker thoughts and turned his full attention to Mia. "All right, I'll conjure up an image for you in the viewing globe. What would you like to see today?"

She shook her head. "No, that's not what I want," she said. "I wanna go outside of Vane today."

"Mia, you know I can't take you outside of Vane. Your mother would throw a fit. YouÕll have to content yourself with the viewing globe."

"I'm tried of looking at the stupid old crystal ball," she pouted, hiding her face behind her wavy dark hair. "I can see, but I can't go." Mia looked straight up at him again, her gaze hopeful. "You know everything! You're all-powerful Ghaleon! You can make Mommy let me go out."

Ghaleon didn't doubt for a moment that it was true. But instead he sighed, "Mia, you know it's the job of your parents to decide what is okay for you to do."

"You're my daddy," she said matter-of-factly, not missing a beat.

"If I was your daddy I'd be married to your mother, and I'm not."

"You're my daddy," she repeated stubbornly, "because I don't have one."

Ghaleon sighed. He didn't understand why he encouraged the girl. Growing up without a father was difficult for her. And since he spent a lot of time teaching her, the young girl had begun to look up at him as a surrogate parent.

"Leaving Vane is a decision for your real parents," he told her.

"You can use transfer magic!" she continued, ignoring him. "We can go and come back and no one will ever know!"

He had to hand it to the kid. She knew how to use her head. If she kept prodding and looking for a way around obstacles, she would make a formidable magician when she grew up.

Ghaleon considered his plan for the rest of the afternoon, which really wasn't much since this was one of his lighter days. Would it hurt to bring her along? The girl actually could work as a form of insurance. They would be less likely to ask him questions if a little girl was present.

"Mia, if I take you somewhere, will you promise me you won't tell anyone, and I mean anyone , about our trip?"

"I promise!" she eagerly agreed.

Ghaleon was pleased, knowing that Mia kept promises unusually well for a five-year-old. Lemia was very strict with her, and Mia became quite disciplined under her guidance. The only thing that bothered the girl was her inability to leave Vane and see the outside world. And that's where Ghaleon disagreed with Lemia's method of raising her. He thought Mia should have her curiosity encouraged and satisfied. A magician's desire to learn fuels his or her growth, and he felt Lemia might be stunting it. But then, Lemia was the parent in charge, not him.

"Okay, Mia," he said to the squirming girl, "we're going to the Goddess Tower. I have some business to attend there. You can look around all you want, but don't say anything, and don't leave my line of sight. Do you understand?"

She nodded eagerly.

Ghaleon was pleased and took her small hand in his gloved one. "Now hold tight. I know you haven't transferred before, and it's a little disorienting the first time. I don't want you falling off the mountain on me."

Mia tried to look brave, and used her other hand to grab a hold of his long coat. She squeezed her eyes shut.

Ghaleon doubted she needed to be that tense, but said nothing to comfort her. Instead he used his free hand to quickly trace a sigil in midair. As he did he spoke a few syllables of an obscure tongue. With the inflection of the last word and the completion of the sigil, they both disappeared.