"Even as the first Seal rises, the elders shall shut themselves away, hiding behind their fears." - The Prophecies of Light

"'The candles are snuffed, one by one, until only one shines with a dark light. The truth shall be revealed when the four come to the Well, and the dark quest shall end.'" Jeonghan leaned back from where he'd been leaning over the book he'd taken from Dongwan's study, confusion wrinkling his brow. According to the ArchMage's notes, the passage he'd just read out was considered to be proof that one of the High Mages would turn against the others, and yet how he had always figured it was that it meant the Wells themselves. Why the ArchMage was so sure that it meant a betrayal, Jeonghan could never guess. 

Flipping back several pages, he re-read one of the passages there: 'The rivers dry and the world we know withers away, while those who cannot see it continue blindly on their paths. Only in the depths shall hope be found, yet even those will die. Only the breaking of the darkness can correct the paths of the moon.'

Nodding to himself, he returned to the passage marked by Dongwan about the traitor. While he could see the text being understood as betrayal, especially when paired with the bit about 'brother turning against brother' that was mentioned several books later, Jeonghan was relatively sure that it still meant that the Wells would dry up. The murder of the ArchMage was still a problem, but Jeonghan thought that it was not connected to the prophecies themselves.

Or at least, it was done by someone who had interpreted them wrong, and that thought made something about the ArchMage's study tickle the back of his mind. What was that... Either way, he needed to speak to someone who could understand what he was talking about, and while his first inclination was to speak to Seungcheol, he doubted that the blond human would be of much use.

And yet... maybe he was underestimating him. He was a lord's son, after all. Maybe he understood more than he let on, and more possibly, more than he even realized. But before taking his thoughts to the human, Jeonghan thought that maybe he ought to try and learn a bit more about their current predicament so that Seungcheol would see the use of his findings.

Closing the book, he stood and stretched his long limbs out to relieve the slight cramping that he'd gained from being curled up in the chair. This was the second day since they had arrived at the Marcher Lord's Keep, and while breakfast had been served once again in Seungcheol's rooms, the blond man had not been there. Likely he was off speaking with Lord Heo again, but Jeonghan couldn't help but to feel a bit put off. Not only had the man avoided their meeting the previous night, but he seemed determined to avoid the immortal altogether. He'd barely had a chance to speak with Seungcheol when on the road, and since arriving, the man was too busy with his old friend to offer any companionship or help.

Not that it should bother him so much, and Jeonghan reminded himself of that once again. He crossed his sitting room to take up the wash basin on the stand along the wall. It was no scrying bowl, but it might suffice, especially if he used a bit of blood to make the spell work. He could feel the lack of magic in the air there taking a toll on him anytime that he accessed his gift, but he knew that this was something that he couldn't avoid. He'd just have to take the chance of wearing himself out if he wanted any concrete answers.

Pushing the balcony door open, he made his way out to set the bowl onto the railing that lined it before filling the inside with water from the pitcher. The whole platform was made of stone, as the rest of the Keep was, everything being carved out of the mountainside that the Marcher Lord called home. Jeonghan had specifically asked for a balcony room, if there was one to be had, and Youngsaeng had given it to him. An immortal stuck unable to see the night's sky was something close to torture, and even now, with the bright sun above and the wind whistling through the mountain passes, there was something almost magical about the balcony view.

Jeonghan smiled ever so slightly, enjoying the feel, before he settled down and opened himself up to power, casting out his senses to try and find any currents to pull from. Like when they had arrived, there were very few rivers in the air to be felt, but he pricked his hand with a small dagger he kept at his belt and dropped a few dots of his blood into the water. 

Immediately the wind picked up, whirling around him in a vortex, though it left him and