William Becker sat anxiously on a bench leaning against the wall behind him. He bounced his legs up and down impatiently, waiting for his Spider to return for his orders. First he had been disturbed by the fact one of the Harthian Mind Mages had to call him in for assistance; whilst he was elite for his Tier, hailing from one of the most prestigious branches of the Weaver's Web, he couldn't help but wonder why he was called in. Adding onto that was the annoyance of having to cancel his meeting with Amy, his new 'student' of sorts which he had taken quite a liking to. Even without a strong Mind affinity, she had taken to the Web's teachings well. He was even tempted to ask permission to bring her into the fold, at least for an administrative position in the School. Her talent had been wasted in those state Schools, and William hated them more for it.

All of those annoyances fell away when a Spider of all things came to see if, asking for his assistance in a new case. He would be but an Apprentice to the Archmage in the task, helping out sparingly in small minor tasks, mainly here to get experience in the field. Still, this was not an everyday occurrence by any means. Something serious had happened; serious enough to get an Archmage's attention.

Apprentice Becker, the Spider's thoughts spoke into his mind. Shortly after hearing them, the Spider himself came into the room. Follow me.

Sir… What's happened? He thought back at them, getting up to join behind him.

There's been a robbery at the Post-War Museum, they replied, marching on ahead. Ordinarily that'd be no concern for us but there is suspected Mind Magick use on a possible witness. We have been called in for judgement and assistance if required. There is also… other concerning points of interest. Those are fortunately not under our purview.

If it's not presumptuous for me to ask sir, what are they?

Apprentice Becker… What do you know of The Forgetting?

* * *

Mages of all kinds swarmed around the magical exhibition of the museum, probing sensors and detectors set up on the walls with a large variety of magical equipment. In the center, a large group of more senior Mages gathered around an empty display case, staring intently at it. Off to the side, along with those senior's other helpers, stood William trying his best to look calm and collected. Internally, he couldn't be anything but.

"What did you make of this rune, here?" One of the association Mages suggested, pointing at something only he and his peer's could see in the Ocean. After all, what could an Apprentice like William do to match those Journeymen and Archmages?

"It could be nothing…" His Spider trailed off, "But even 'nothing' is pertinent in a case like this."

"Look at the impressions it's left on its surroundings. The Concepts are rooted in Mind-tendencies," a Mage from a School he didn't know of pointed out.

"Agreed," His Spider nodded. "I'll authorise some Weavers to come in and analyse it. It might be a dead end but with things like this it's better safe than sorry."

"What do you think is going to happen?" One of the Journeymen whispered, looking warily around him.

"Whatever comes because of this, it's always best to stay out of the business of Monarchs," with that final remark, the Spider walked away, waving for William to follow, heading to the supposed witness.

Monarchs, sir? Is this really that big of a deal? William thought at the Spider, perhaps less than politely.

Yes, Becker. It is.

Gulping heavily, William faltered for a step or two, only continuing on after collecting himself. According to the report, the witness was one of the guards on duty for night who had been severely pressed for information by mundane officers before the magical nature of the heist came to light. In an ordinary robbery, it wouldn't be possible for the guard to have missed someone walking right in front of him, stealing something from the display case, and running away unless he was asleep. However, after investigations by some Mage enforcers, they discovered hints of Mind mana lingering around him.

With two days having passed since the robbery, any hints of mana on the man would've vanished. Now, they were here to assess any deeper effects the Magick might've had on him, as well as possibly peel back the veil on his mind to see if he could remember anything. The man in question had been brought in and kept waiting by the side, away from all the intimidating Mages passing by. So it took a couple minute walk for the pair to reach him, isolated in a room somewhere in the back of the museum. Before they even entered the room, Wiliam sensed his Spider weaving a grand web.

"Greetings, Daren," the Spider spoke, his words laced with calming Magicks. "As has no doubt been reiterated to you many times already, this is not your fault. Rather it is due to a malevolent actor that has likely employed methods from our magical School. For that, I would like to apologise to you on behalf of the entire Weaver's Web and will offer ample compensation after this horrid business is all done with."

"A-alright," The guard nodded nervously, unaware that his thoughts were as naked to the Spider as he was the day he was born. Those soothing suggestions weaved their way into the guard's mind and already he seemed completely different from how he was when they had first arrived, calm and almost relaxed. "What do you want to know then? I'm guessing that's what you're here for."

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"You don't have to offer much, we've already read your testimony. Only, what we need here is your permission. You see we shall be conducting an investigation into your own mind, to try and see if we can help you remember what actually occurred that night. This is a painless procedure, but one we shall not conduct without you being made aware of it."

"Is- is it like a surgery or something?" He frowned, leaning back in his chair slightly.

"Not at all. Just imagine it like us browsing through your memories of that night, as one would look through an old photo album, searching for any discrepancies," The Spider smiled carefully. His Magicks had withdrawn as he was describing the procedure, wanting the guard's ultimate decision to come from a state of mind not influenced by the Spider's Spells.

"...Okay. Just get this over with, yeah?" Daren gave in, shifting around in his seat. "I'm already sick of being dragged around everywhere for this."

"If you so wish," the Spider grinned, his Web moving back in and surrounding the guard, unbeknownst to him or even William, the Spellwork surpassing his ability to comprehend it.

Daren seemed to fall into a fugue the instant the first lick of mana touched him, not quite asleep but not quite awake either. There, the other Spells of the Web stabbed into the man's head, digging through its history. And, in some act of Mind mana William struggled to understand, those memories flashed in front of both the Spider's and his own eyes, as if he had been the one to live them instead. Although William dared not to speculate on the Spider's abilities, especially with him besides him, he couldn't help but wonder what Tier of Spellwork this was. Tier 10? Or perhaps, 11?

Centring his thoughts back to himself, trimming the excess and leaving them in his reserve memories for later, William returned to the replay. It seemed ordinary at first. Daren was ruminating on his recent employment troubles, struggling not to fall asleep. Then, all of a sudden, he became very sleepy and succumbed to that temptation. To William, it seemed very normal. Obviously, the Spider thought differently.

The memory replay paused just as the man's conscious thoughts ceased and rewound back to where those thoughts of slumber had first penetrated his internal complaints. With some mental pointing out, the Spider signalled to William certain suspicious points in Daren's thought process, linking it together with the man's own sight. It had started with some signs of shadows, nothing normally worthy of consideration. It was a moonlit night, and with the cloud cover being bad that night, it made for some spotty lighting. However, that turn to sleep his mind made coincided perfectly with the first time he actively took notice of those shadows. If he had been taking notice of those shadows the entire night, why would they suddenly become emphasised at a random moment as his thoughts turned sluggish and aimed towards sleep? Too much of a coincidence to ignore.

"The shadows," The Spider spoke aloud, knowing the guard wouldn't hear them. "They're likely the Mage infiltrator disabling the security measures in that wing. I'm unsure on the type of stealth Spells they employed, but it has the stench of Mind about it. Even then..."

He trailed off ominously, a slight flicker of hesitation showing on his face, before moving on with the analysis. As they progressed the replay, each time those shadows became more prevalent those sleepy ideas would strengthen, alongside a rise in other stray thoughts. Distracting thoughts. There was even a time, right near the end of his replay, where William didn't need the Spider to point out what was suspicious about it. The man's eyesight was practically forced out of the way of whatever was approaching whilst his bodily thoughts screamed at his consciousness to realise something was amiss.

In the end, they couldn't find a direct confirmation of a Mage meddling in Daren's mind, no one appearing suddenly or making a mistake. There was enough evidence to all but confirm it though. Both William and the Spider had gotten all they could from the man, so had departed from the room with some quick goodbye's and assurances of recompense coming his way. When they re-joined the main gathering in the magical exhibit, they found them all congregated around a single Mage.

The Mage looked young, as all high Tier Mages do, but even William could tell that it was the confidence of youth on his face and not the wisdom of experience. Garbed in elaborately enchanted robes, he looked the part of a pompous Archmage, trying too hard to impress his peers of his great importance. Even still, with how those around him orbited the man, he surely held some amount of sway with those present.

Keep those thoughts to yourself, Apprentice Becker, and be cautious of this man. The Spider spoke into William's head with some amount of derision. This is 'Archmage' Harrison Clarke, son of Monarch Casimir Clarke. It would be best for you not to offend him.

Understood sir, he thought back, swallowing back his complaints as soon as he heard the surname Clarke. The Clarke's were well known around the kingdom, Casimir Clarke being a well known duke and Mage Lord of the Emperor before his relatively recent - at least in the Mage world - ascension to the next Tier. Casimir wasn't only known for his nobility either, but his penchant for cruelty against those who had apparently 'wronged' him or his family in some way. Nobody wanted to die in eternal fire at the hands of the Inferno King.

"Ah, finally!" Harrison smiled impishly as he saw the pair's approach. "It seems the Mind Mages have returned. And what say you, honoured Spider, of what Magicks were used here?"

"It is almost certain that the guard had undergone mental manipulation at the hands of someone at least somewhat skilled in the Mind Magick of our School," The Spider announced coldly. While the crowd bristled with hushed conversation, far too quiet to make out even with Journeyman Tier hearing, he continued, "However, there are signs of... something more."

"Oh? And what is this?" Harrison's sleazy smile widened, as if he knew what was about to be said.

"There are signs of Forgotten mana."

The crowd exploded into yells and affronted comments, and as William stood behind his Spider, guarding his Apprentice from the brunt of their ire, he could barely make out a self-satisfied look in the apparent Archmage's eyes.

"Everyone, everyone, peace!" Harrison waved them all down, playing peacemaker. "I admit that these are serious claims that the Spider is making, but they are not without proof... or at least, I presume?"

"...You would be correct, Archmage Clarke," the Spider said, rolling his shoulders as if he was uncomfortable.

"Excellent! If you would be willing then, sir Spider, to submit that to me at your earliest convenience in your report. I shall be raising this issue to my father and thus the Council."

Leaving that veritable bomb behind him, Harrison flared his robes dramatically as he turned to leave, bringing with him an escort of Mages from the association, having come with him sometime during their interrogation. It was only when he left the room did that bomb go off, the crowd barely able to contain themselves as they shouted at each other, some turning their attention to the Mind Mage that had started it all. Only, the Spider and his Apprentice had already vanished. Sometime between when the Archmage had left, they had ran as fast as they could away, trying to avoid what would come next.

"The Council!" William exclaimed breathlessly, still following the Spider as they left the museum building.

"Yes, Becker, the Council," the Spider grimaced severely.

"We're in deep shit then?" He turned to his fellow Mage, dismay plain on his face.

"...Unfortunately, yes William. Yes we are."

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