"Magic has many strict rules but is often interpreted imprecisely. As our world has become more structured, many have sought ways to organize and quantify magic in ways that it doesn't like." – Report from MI6 on magical espionage.

Olivan Pearson strode through the headquarters of the Coven of Wandering Suns, happy as he could be. Their annual enclave was rapidly shaping up to be one of the most momentous in their three-hundred-year history.

The halls of his home were filled with mages that were all having enormously successful years. Every one of them had made a breakthrough in some way, either in personal power or skill. He had even expanded the inner circle to its previous size after a seventy-year slump that limited them to only twenty inner members.

He paused to let a few people walk by in the foyer, a senior member and his three understudies who were proving to be promising summoners. He smiled and nodded as they passed, motioning for them to keep going and not mind him.

Olivan wouldn't be able to stop and chat anyway, even if he wanted. One of his more successful agents had returned after briefly leaving the enclave to go on a little fact-finding mission. So, he finished crossing the lobby of his manor and entered his study.

"Good morning, Edmund." He greeted the rather plain and nondescript man who was waiting in his office. "Can I offer you coffee or other refreshments?"

"Morning, Lord Olivan. No thank you, I have had my fill this morning." Edmund replied curtly. He had stood to greet the coven head when he had entered but waited for the doors to be shut before continuing.

Sitting in his desk chair, Olivan looked at Edmund, taking in his 'business casual' attire as the other man sat and smoothed his jeans. While he would never wear such plebeian garments, Olivan had to admit that it didn't matter much when Edmund always got results.

"What news?" He asked after they had both settled. "Forgive my eagerness but I believe pleasantries can be forsaken in light of the circumstances."

"Of course." Edmund replied in a pleasing tone. It was a voice that likely helped him smooth talk his way into getting the information he wanted since it couldn't be his looks. "I was able to make contact with an outer member of the Coven of Winding Trails yesterday and his news is quite distressing."

"Well, please, do enlighten me."

"He said that one day they suddenly lost contact with their inner circle. Naturally nobody seemed to know anything which is compounded by how large and isolated their outer circle was." Edmund said.

Olivan nodded. He had seen the problems other covens ran into when they had large memberships with low barriers to entry. "Alas, a problem shared by many in our large nation. What did this contact say then?"

"He said that one of his associates made contact with a few of the members on the fringe of the inner circle. The ones that were next up for promotion." Edmund explained while taking out a pad of paper to reference. "He said that one of them went to the coven house and found it completely cleared out. There wasn't a shred of evidence that they or anyone was ever there. Also, nobody has been in contact with any of the inner circle and missing persons reports have been filed with mundane authorities."

Closing his eyes, Olivan sighed heavily. This was not the news he was expecting. He had thought the council had gone to ground or perhaps joined with another of their allies, not that they had been scoured from the face of the Earth. Then a thought crept into his mind, a thought that he couldn't ignore.

"What of their ritual circle? The one on the leyline intersection."

"Gone."

"What do you mean 'gone'?"

Edmund flipped the page on his notes. "I quote. 'He said that the ritual circle behind the meeting hall was completely gone. The basin had been filled in and the diagrams all removed from all the surfaces. Not even a trace of magical energy remained in the building.' I take this to mean that nothing remains."

Olivan heaved a sigh of relief. "Well, at least another coven won't tie it to us or know what they were doing in there." He looked up again, returning his focus to Edmund. "Did you discover anything else?"

"Not a thing. There were no police reports in the area, none of the others I talked to have any new information and most even asked if we had any openings." Edmund paged through his notes again. "Yeah, nothing else. Should we try to scry them?"

"I don't see the point." Olivan admitted. "I have a feeling wherever they ended up is going to be heavily warded against such things." As much as he would like to do something, he also didn't think it was that great of a loss. That coven was significantly weaker than his and they only really associated via their cabal.

Edmund waited a moment before speaking again. "Anything else I can do for you?"

"No, I think that will be quite enough. Please, go rest and recuperate. I know you are likely still tired from your trip." Olivan said and dismissed the man. Once the doors closed, he checked his clock and saw he still had some time before the next event he needed to take part in. with that, he unlocked his computer and worked his way over to his emails. The world didn't stop just because they did after all.

After making sure his other ventures and side projects kept running, Olivan went to join the rest of the senior members of his council for a strategy meeting. They had been having one of these meetings every morning of the enclave after the welcoming banquet. Each one focusing on a different aspect of their coven.

So far, they had covered financial strategy, making sure the cash kept coming in faster than it went out. They had also covered membership strategy, a hotly debated meeting with everyone wanting to voice what they thought was best to strengthen their ranks. Then, just the day before, they had a meeting about research and development enterprises. That meeting had been the one that had lifted his mood so much.

Where his coven had recently only been experts in the typical spell craft of casting, repelling, correcting and developing spells, they had now branched out. Now they had focus groups looking into more sedate magics that they could develop. They were still doing spell craft but now they had summoning, enchanting, alchemy and rituals among other lesser fields of study.

The middle of the week meeting had been reserved for a special topic, however. In fact, he had actually made sure to pad the rest of the schedule in case they needed another day or two to debate it.

After climbing to the third floor, entering the only room there at the end of a short hallway, Olivan discovered he was not the first person in the room that morning. He was third, with two of their newer leadership members already seated. "Lord Olivan." They both stood and greeted him as he entered.

"Sit, sit. Please, there is no need to be so formal in these relaxed meetings." He gave them a friendly smile. "I know you are still new to these but rest assured, you will get the hang of it."

Both of the men nodded and retook their seats. Before he began to wonder if he should make any small talk, his second arrived. "Good morning, Lord Olivan." Danica greeted him while practically gliding up to sit at his right. "I hope things are well. I saw Ed earlier and he seemed… tired."

Typical of the middle-aged woman, she was not dressed appropriately. That isn't to say that she was wearing something scandalous or sloppy, it meant that nobody else at this meeting would be wearing a formal ball gown. He would have to admit, the shade of yellow and cream really nicely accented her tanned skin and light brown hair.

"Yes, they are as well as can be. The reason could be good, bad or even both depending on perspective. I think we will be touching on that in our meeting today on global strategy and ensuring our place at the top of the political ladder." Olivan said.

He really liked these meetings. These ones were all about the future, speculating as to what was to come with little focus on how things went wrong. Sure, they had referenced past failures or sticking points but usually only as a 'that didn't work before' sort of warning.

"Oh, the suspense." She flashed that predatory smile of hers. "Now I wait with bated breath on what could be so important that Ed broke conclave." As usual, her words possessed a duality. On one hand, she sounded genuine but when you stopped to consider the sentence, it was only a screen for an insult, barely covering the tone of her voice. The other participants of the meeting arrived in short order and Olivan got the ball rolling.

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"Welcome. This morning, we will be discussing our place on the world stage and our strategy to make sure our coven, and all the chapters there under, come out on top." Olivan started the event with a clear and concise purpose. He had found that statements like these set the tone for how the meeting would go and also helped keep it on track.

"To start, I would like to talk of alliances that we have established over the past several years." Olivan began. "This is due in no small part to our associate Mister X, who helped get us in touch with those other like-minded covens. Alexander, would you please show us the slides you prepared for this section on our allies?"

"Yes, Lord Olivan." The young man who headed their societal division said. Coincidentally, this young man was Danica's son and recently come of station and position on the newly expanded inner circle.

A moment later the youth had displayed the slides he had put together showcasing a map of the nation along with the rough locations of their allied covens. Each coven was displayed by their crest or symbol and a color-coded section of the map. Those with overseas roots also had their symbols off the borders to show which ocean you had to cross to get there. Naturally their logo, a set of scales with a drop of blood and a pile of gold on the plates, was the largest one.

"Unfortunately, this map is not accurate." Olivan said after everyone had a few moments to study the projector screen. He noted the look of… annoyance? On Alexander's face at the statement. "But it is no fault of the young mister Alexander, as I have just received an update this very morning."

Everyone around the table leaned in, excited to hear which ally they had gained in their bid to take over the country as the magical elite. He would sadly have to disappoint. "The Coven of Winding Trails is no longer with us." He said somberly.

"What?"

"Cowards-no, traitors!"

"We need to retaliate!"

Olivan just let the outbursts fill the room, taking a few seconds longer than necessary to raise his hand for silence. "Calm yourselves." He noted that Danica's expression was a hard, neutral mask. "They did not turn traitor or even cut ties with the cabal."

"Then what did happen?" Franklin, the senior member who led their spell-craft research division, asked. The man had always been one for action and rarely stood on ceremony or the political theater that ran rampant in most covens. One reason why the powerful mage never took the coven master seat for himself.

"Let me tell you what I know, and we can decide from there." Olivan paused as the help brought in refreshments and served the members. He hated the interruption but had also requested they wait until after the meeting started to serve it, so people were already committed to their seats before they socialized.

He then went on to explain exactly what he knew about the coven. He went into his initial concerns when his attempts to contact them went unanswered for days. Then he told of how nobody else in the cabal seemed to know anything or be able to reach them. Finally, he shared the information Edward had delivered not two hours prior. When he finished, the room was quiet with everyone listening or thinking intently.

After several minutes of quiet, time that Olivan was more than happy to give them, Alexander stood from his seat. "Lord Olivan, do we have any suspicions as to who would have scoured them so completely?" He clicked on his computer and the display changed to show several more icons with overlapping territory to their allied covens. "Was it perhaps another coven, one that we know already?"

"Alas, we have no leads. None of their outer members seems to know much of what went on in the inner circle, much less their enemies." Olivan said. He was impressed with how well the young man had prepared himself with the slides and graphics.

"If that is the case, then we have nothing more to discuss on that topic until we get to the subject of our own operations and security." Danica said, assuming her role as right hand and speaking to the more militant side of the coven.

"Quite right." Olivan agreed. "Let us move on to discussing news of our other allies and our project to take over the smaller houses, guilds and covens around us." With a practiced hand, he moved the conversation forward, creeping down his list of talking points. One way or another, he knew they would find out what happened to their fellow coven.

*****

A rattle in his teeth that felt like someone was pushing his face against a loudspeaker at a concert suddenly woke Olivan, causing him to sit bolt upright. A few confused moments later, he realized what the sensation was. One of the mansion's hearth wards had picked up something.

Decades ago, when the area became more populated, the coven leaders had placed several wards over the property. They built these upon the inherent sanctity of the home and its 'hearth', using it to alert the owner and give him some additional protections. It was only subtle magics, nothing like a shield spell or offensive power, just some warding from the more malevolent spirits of Earth and a sense of the property.

Right now, those wards were telling him, the current owner, of a large and powerful magical working. He sprang to his feet, quickly moving to the closet to put on some decent clothes. On his way, he hit the bedside call button for his butler, summoning the man from wherever he might be.

Olivan was just coming out of his closet, fastening his watch and sliding on some house shoes, when a soft triple tap sounded at the door. "Come in Charles."

The balding, middle-aged man entered, dressed as ever in his suit and tie. "How may I serve, my lord?" he said with a bow.

"Get Danica. Something has set off the wards." Olivan said in a short, clipped tone.

"Right away. Where shall I direct her, my lord?"

Olivan thought for a moment. Where did he want to meet her? After a few seconds, he decided that his office was as good a place as any. "I will meet her in my study. Get that mercenary up here too, maybe he will actually do something for a change."

When next he looked up, Charles was gone. The man had a knack of vanishing as quickly as he arrived and never with so much as a rustle of cloth as he departed. It was a skill that Olivan appreciated as he firmly believed the help should be present but not noticed.

He exited his room at the corner of the second floor, quickly making his way around the landing toward the stairs. He kept glancing over the handrail, trying to see if anything was amiss, but only saw a few of the staff going about their nightly cleaning. He then glimpsed Charles standing at the door to the room Danica was in. The man appeared to be waiting, having already roused the occupant.

Olivan thought that was good, it would give him some time to examine the warding spell and its feedback to see if he could uncover the nature of the disturbance. When he entered his office, he immediately noticed the sight of the front lawn, or the lack there of.

He ran to the window and looked out into the dense fog that had blanketed the area. He knew it was dense because of the lamp posts along the drive were barely recognizable, now just diffuse orbs of light floating above the ground. Their region was no stranger to fog, the mountainous terrain often produced strange weather, but this felt different.

Redoubling his focus, Olivan looked inward to the mental impression he was getting from the wards hoping to get some clarity from the often-imprecise magic. There was an impression of cold that pervaded the feedback, but it wasn't the cold of an attack spell. This cold seemed to be… environmental? Who would be casting a spell to make it colder? The nighttime temperatures were already rather chilly at only fifty degrees.

Pulling out a pad of paper, Olivan began taking notes of what he was sensing and detailing his findings. He then looked to the location, hoping to pinpoint the house or building the caster was staying in. He hoped that by finding it, he could figure out who was casting the spell and then find out why when he brought them in. His thoughts had already moved past attack when the nature of the magic was so benign.

Olivan couldn't pinpoint a location or even a direction. That told him it was likely an amateur, attempting to do something specific but accidentally losing focus and wasting mana by pushing it into a wide area.

"Probably some kids trying to cast a spell to make their beer cold or something and fucking it up." He grumbled to himself. That scenario seemed more and more likely, also explaining why the effect was so long-lasting.

"What kids?" Came the voice from the doorway, startling Olivan for a moment as he was so engrossed in his notes.

He looked up to see Danica and her son entering the office, both dressed in far more casual clothes than he wore, which irked him. "I think there must be some unaligned or very unskilled mages doing something dumb. It's the only thing that explains the information the wards are giving me." He then began telling them what he was sensing and went over his notes.

"I can see why you would be alarmed and also why the wards reacted." Danica conceded after he finished explaining. "That sort of spell is rather useless in most situations, and I think it's wasteful."

Alexander seemed to disagree. "Lord Olivan, I have a different opinion." He looked up from his tablet, shooting an apologetic look to his mother before continuing. "I learned, from one of the classes at university, a few things that are inconsistent at best and dangerous at worst."

The kid was a smooth talker, Olivan would give him that. "Please go on." He said with a wave of his hand.

"In one of my science classes, we learned about weather formations and one of the unique ones was patchy fog and how it occurred. I always figured fog was a large area blanket but learned that isn't the case." Alexander said while gesturing to the window. "It can form quickly and densely when the air is damp and encounters ground at a very different temperature."

Olivan and Danica were both looking from the foggy view of the lawn back to Alexander, so he continued. "We have a lot of humidity this time of year, like it has been for the past few days. So, what if someone chilled the ground in a large area on purpose to make this fog?"

"For what purpose?" Danica asked, slightly confused but not dismissing the evidence. "What would they gain from the fog? It's more likely they are accidentally grounding than purposefully casting."

They all wondered in silence for a moment until they saw a shape appear out of the fog, quickly walking along the sidewalk. The appearance of the figure was jarring since he had materialized only a few dozen feet away and was only seen due to the lights in the yard.

"That had better be the mercenary, Winston or whatever his name is." Olivan hissed under his voice.

"But why would someone want to make it foggy around our coven house?" Danica asked, ignoring Olivan and still wondering about the situation. A question none of them had an answer for it seemed. While she and Olivan stared at the shifting fog, her son began tapping at his tablet.

Alexander then made startled noise, turning his tablet to show the slide from his earlier presentation. "Because of this, maybe?" He held the screen to both of them, showing his map of allied covens. The map showing the Coven of the Wandering Path with a big red X over their iconography.

Olivan looked from the fog to his notes then to the tablet. He was suddenly getting a sinking feeling that wasn't coming from any enchantments around the property. He had rarely experienced the sensation of dread, but he was suddenly starting to become very anxious about everything happening that night.

Just then, a familiar triple tap of a knock sounded at the door. A moment later, Charles entered. "Mister Winslow has been able to step away from his duties. Shall I show him in, my lord?"

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