In a recently completely sealed chamber a cauldron bubbled with frothy green liquid. The seals blocking the vault door had cracked years before, but that is quite short compared to how long it waited to activate.

  "Fundamentals for life established" A feminine voice projected from within the room and he heard with his recently grown ears. Muscles that burned with the pain of having grown in minutes and not ever having been used scrabbled at the sides of the cauldron. A hand was thrust out of the vitality and, slamming the wrist against the side, the hand was detached in a spray of ichor.

  "Please do not disturb the vessel." He ignored the order from the voice as it was merely a mage's construct, Intent given substance through the life of a being that walked the line of near immortality. The hand stood on its digits and a ghostly eye opened on its back.

  They're probably finding their way to my sanctum now. The walls and ceiling were much like he'd remembered, the bedrock transmuted into unremarkable grey brick. The vault door was rusted.

  The Magi quickly combed through the wards on the secret room that was built in the middle of nowhere. They were much weaker than they should have been. The hand flipped on its back and sent out gouts of flame from all the fingertips. The entire room was covered with the burning essence.

  Most spying wards would be too fragile to survive the mana distortion. He would know, having studied wards extensively. His own local wards were made to be strong, and anything strong would be a torch in a cave, trivial to notice.

  The hand he'd broken off had already regenerated as he reviewed the wards. The rust could have been from a wide area attack. If it was he'd have to prepare them sending a strike force. One of the Archmages would know how to locate his refuge through feedback.

  Both hands gripped the cauldron-jacuzzi palest green skin covered them and they only ached. After three heaves he was on the tiled floor.

  "Please refrain from Mana waste." The voice rebuked.

  Taramo vomited a collection of potion and extraneous viscera. He was certain that he'd used the newest vitality potion. Had someone spiked it with something?

  His lungs took in the stale vault air. As he sat on the tiles he regretted not furnishing the room with amenities

  "Ariwyn, location of Archmages"

  "One here"

  "Other than me."

  "Unknown"

  Stolen story; please report.

  Damn. They'd planned for his easy return and hidden somewhere out of the weave. Most mages would passively radiate enough mana for the towers to be able to pick up their location. They could hide it but it was poor form to do so.

  He was hiding as well but he'd also been murdered. Status is trumped by survival.

  "Ariwyn, prepare a message for alchemist Nurith. Tell him I want a refund on his vitality potion."

  "That is impossible." The voice stated smugly.

  "Why?" Ariwyn was being particularly difficult. If she wasn't a construct made entirely of his own magic he'd think she was subverted.

  Silence

  "The tower network is down"

  "How long has it been down?" Taramo stood, twisting and stretching his new body. It felt stiff but with the potion quality he probably had much worse issues soon.

  "I've not been keeping track."

  "Estimate." He walked opposite of the vault door.

  "More than two weeks"

  "And you waited to bring me back this long?"

  "Contingencies activated."

  Taramo left his secretary in silence as he put his hand on one of the bricks in the wall. To anyone else it would look completely unremarkable. The wall behind it melted like wax and a small chamber, little more than a monk's cell, was revealed. He was terrified at the sight

  The bed had crumbled with the bedding little more than a pile of fibers. The dresser and tables were in a similar state.

  There had probably been a Great Work done on the nearby area. Most study into decay was intent on identifying and reducing its grasp. His wards had examples of that. For something to break past that and influence an area under his wards was unthinkably powerful. It was a surprise he was here at all if they tried so hard to get him. And someone was studied in Ruin.

  "Master Taramo, are you well?" Ariwyn's voice radiated concern.

  "Identify Core Tenet" Taramo drew mana into his new body. It felt the same as his mana did before, though a high grade illusion would be able to deceive him. He'd lost enough bets to know that.

  "Obey Taramo."

  "Identify subsequent 4 tenets in descending order"

  "Do not break agreements. Do not lie. Protect Taramo. Avoid Evil." So either the deceiver knew that which only Taramo knew or they had subverted her.

  "Activate Tenets"

  "They are alread-"

  "Ariwyn OBEY"

  ...

  "Tenets activated." Mana was pulled out of the room like a whirlpool into a spot on the ceiling above the cauldron. The activation of Tenets was very mana expensive but there was no way to avoid them or disobey once they were activated.

  "Were you under another's control"

  "No. The tenets were unbroken since you set them the second time"

  "Then what's going on" he muttered to himself. He sat on the remains of the bed.

  "The Archmagi went into a Civil War. Your talk of a 'Mage's Primer' was exceptionally controversial."

  It would be that, wouldn't it. His talk of making an easy way to learn magic. What was he thinking. Most of the Archmages styled themselves as Gods to the common folk. Obviously they would hate the idea of losing their share of power, even if it made all things better. Enough genius commoners lived and died at the whims of their 'betters'. Like his-

  "Pullust and Cicero turned against the other Archmages for their treatment of you. They died in the fallout but all the Archmages that plotted your death were exterminated."

  "Am I safe then?"

  "You are never safe, although I try, Tarm. You'll need to surface for more food tomorrow."

  "I thought there was a civil war going on?"

  "It ended a while ago."

  "How long."

  Ariwyn held to her silence.

  "Wyn. How long was I down for?"

  "Fifty three thousand two hundred and seventeen years, two months, ten days."

  "Oh."