Interview with archmage Yssalithisandra

I apologise for being a day late with the interview with Archmage Yssalithisandra, but she was  extremely busy with some new magic texts that have recently come to light and put the interview off for a day.


Me: Good morning, Archmage Yssalithisandra. I am glad you decided to meet me and answer afew questions that our readers would like toknow about.

Yssa: Please call me Yssa. Everyone does, you know. It is a pleasure to be interviewed by you.

Me: How is it that an elf is working in Hambara and not in Rindisillaron, the elven homeland?

Yssa: I came here because of the Mage Tower. There is no longer one in Rindissillaron, you know.

Me: I believe there was one once though. Why has it not been found or rebuilt?

Yssa: Mage towers are always built on special places where the mana is at its strongest. Places where it wells up rather like springs out of the ground. The whereabouts of the Mage Tower in Rindisillaron has long been forgotten, as is the case of the towers in most places in Khalram.

Me: Why has this occurred?

Yssa: It was after the Forbidding when they were deserted for several hundred years.

Me: The Forbidding?

Yssa: Yes. Two hundred or so years after the death of Sauvern, there was an uprising by a group of mages who thought that because they could weave the mana, they were superior to others and that they should be the rulers of all the lands in Khalram. There was another group who opposed them, of course and the result was a terrible war. The results were so devastating that when the rightful rulers were restored, the practice of magic was forbidden throughout the lands that make up Khalram. All books of magic were burned and the mage towers were, for the most part destroyed. All people who could do any magic were put to death too.

Me: So that is why you are researching  the past. To find the lost spells. How long ago did the Forbidding occur?

Yssa: How long? Well it began about 600 years ago and lasted for about 3oo years. That means that it ended about 300 years ago.

Me: And in 300 years you still haven't found all that was lost?

Yssa: Remember; there were no mages in the continent when it ended, nor any books. We had to start again from scratch.

Me: How is your work coming on?

Yssa: Oh, we're beginning to make more progress and we keep finding books that had been hidden away by mages when they thought they would be executed. One such is the one Mabryl found and Carthinal brought to Hambara.

Me: Do you think that the mage towers will ever be re-built?

Yssa: That depends on whether or not we can find where the nodes were that they were built on. In the past there were said to have been mages who were able to detect these places, but we know of none at the moment. There are a few mages who can weave the mana without recourse to arcane language and hand gestures, but use just the power of thought, and it  is possible that some of these could do so as they are much more sensitive to magic. We have yet to find any though, so at the moment it's just a hypothesis.

Me: You met Carthinal when he came to take his tests. What did you think of him?

Yssa: (blushing slightly) He is a very charismatic young man. He is also a very talented mage. I oversaw his practical test, as you probably know, and was most impressed.


Me: I heard you had a relationship with him while he was here.



Yssa: (looking embarrassed) Yes, we had a brief relationship before he went off on the job that the Duke gave him and the others. I don't suppose he'll want to continue it when he comes back though. We both agreed there were no strings.

Me: Do you think you will ever go back to Rindissillaron?

Yssa: Probably not. I do go to visit my parents as often as I can. Mother says it's not often enough of course. She misses me, I think. I have no brothers and sisters, so I'm her little lost lamb. She means well, but she does fuss.

Me: Thank you for giving up your precious time, Archmage.

Yssa: Yssa!

Me: Sorry, Yssa. I am sure our readers will be interested in the history that you have told us about, and good luck with the research.

Yssa: Thank you. It was a pleasure talking to you. Grillon's blessings on your readers.