Second Level Mage Kharrigan, daughter of the Esteemed Lord Kharinthor, granddaughter of the Reverend Lady of the Water Bound, Niece of the Lord Drekon, Wielder of the mighty sword Storm's Eye, and current Lower Professor of Magic, stood warily in front of the five most important people in the kingdom, almost forcing herself to pay attention.

It had been a long day. At the University, her mentor, First Level Mage Jythan, had decided that he was going to be ill, and that his pupil must take on all of his responsibilities, including her own, that day. He taught five classes, all of them in a row, gave three of those classes a surprise test each day, and managed to look after the Queen's pet griffin all at once. Kharrigan was annoyed. The classes hadn't been too hard- most of the students were older than her anyway, and wouldn't listen to her no matter what she told them, and they all knew what to do anyway. They even knew that they had a surprise test. It had been the griffin that was the most trouble.

Queen Isiala, who was one of those five people in front of her, was a very nice woman, but she was elderly, and didn't know squat about taking care of griffins. She had instructed her long time friend, Jythan, to care for the beast instead.

Kharrigan scowled, and the Grand Mage, who had been speaking, stopped, momentarily taken aback. "You do not agree, Second Level Mage Kharrigan?"

"Huh?" She stared at him blankly. "Oooh! You thought I was scowling at YOU! No. I agree. Sorry."

The five exchanged dubious glances, and Kharrigan watched as the dead king's advisor, Duke Riikon, leaned over to the queen as whispered, "Are you sure she's sane?"

"Oh yes," the queen replied, patting his hand. "She's a very sweet girl. Please, Lurnar, continue."

Lurnar? Kharrigan thought. Oooh, the Grand Mage. She had never really considered that he might have a first name.

"Right. Anyway. Ever since the late King Jharin's death, our kingdom has been without a leader. Now, as there is no heir to the crown, and..." He continued on, and Kharrigan felt herself slipping.

The griffin had escaped from his large, cozy pen, and had attempted to reign terror and destruction over the University, as psycho griffins are prone to do. Kharrigan had tried chasing the griffin back into his pen, but he had rounded on her and attacked her.

Being mage trained, it wasn't hard defending herself... but the griffin knew magic too... why had Jythan taught the beast magic?! Her fists clenched, and she imagined herself walking up to the frail old man and screaming at him. Yes... soon enough she could let her rage out...

"- and that is why we are appointing you with the duty of finding this kingdom's next leader."

Kharrigan stared at them.

The five people stood there, nodding and smiling, looking pleased.

"W-wait. You want me to find the next king?!" Kharrigan screeched, not even believing her own words.

"Or Queen. You shouldn't be sexist, Kharrigan," the youngest person up there, her long time sort-of rival, Duke Ethan said primly.

Kharrigan blinked at him, for once at a loss of words. "Uhhh. wow. Why me?"

"Weren't you listening?" The dwarf lord Rohnar demanded, frowning at the mage.

Kharrigan raised her eyebrows, giving him a look which dared him to say that again. "Of course I was!" She said haughtily, ignoring the fact that she really hadn't been paying them the smallest bit of attention.

"Oh good!" The queen said, clapping her hands together, beaming at the mage. "I'm so happy that you understand, Kharrigan dear!" The queen stood up and hugged Kharrigan, sobbing, "Ever since I first got here you've been a little angel! Always helping poor silly old Jythan, and being sooo kind to Wicksie-poo!"

Wicksie-poo... The griffin.

"Wow. Um. Thanks, your majesty." Kharrigan forced on a smile, and looked at the other four. "So... Er... exactly how to I go around finding the next ruler?"

"Oh, we've already done that part," Duke Riikon informed her. "Over the past month, the five of us have gathered together a group of fifty youngsters. It is your duty to sort through them, slowly of course, until you have four. You will take those four to us. We will not accept you coming to us any time before Midsummer, because otherwise you'll have rushed the job."

"Ah...oh." Kharrigan patted the queen's back, and then bit her lip, still confused. "So, ah, what exactly should I be looking for in them?"

"We have a list." Rohnar handed her a long scroll of paper, and she took it, glancing at it.

"Geez. Uh. Thanks. I guess..." Kharrigan dislodged herself from the queen, and turned to go.

"Oh, before you leave, Mage Kharrigan, we must tell you more," Riikon boomed, pulling the queen back to their small group.

"Okey." She looked up at them, waiting.

"First off," the Grand Mage wheezed, "you must never ask about their social status. If they try to talk about it, punish them, or stop them. Second off, you must give all of them a chance. You cannot pick favorites; instead, think of who will best lead this kingdom. I know that they will be young, but you must try to envision them in the future. That is one of your talents, no?"

Kharrigan nodded. She had an overly vivid imagination, and she held power in telling if people would be good at a certain job or not. She used to help her uncle in the Fields of... She shook the memory away, and instead returned to the present. "Yes, I do."

"Good. Now, report to the Eastern Wing at dawn rise tomorrow. Do not be late. Your first class will start then," the Grand Mage stated.

"Ahhh. Ok. Um, what about my job in the University...?" Kharrigan wondered, trying not to seem as hopeful as she was.

"You no longer have it. Tomorrow, you look for a king, not teaching hopeless cases magic," Duke Ethan said.

"Or a queen, sweet," Kharrigan reminded him, blinking up at him innocently.

Ethan rolled his eyes, and beaming Kharrigan bowed to the five. "Wow! Ok! Thanks! I'll be there tomorrow!"

She ran out of the room, humming to herself.

"Wait." Kharrigan stopped, and half turned around. "WHY ME?!?!" Her face fell, and she reached the stairs, fuming. Giving her most of the responsibility to find "A NEW BLOODY RULER!" She screamed, causing a few passing servants to edge away.

"Infernal griffins," she growled, leaning against the wall, her hands clenching. How in the world was she supposed to choose someone who would be leading the kingdom for the rest of their lives?! It was a terrible responsibility. and she was only sixteen.

"Well, well, hello there, darling."

Kharrigan glanced up at Ethan, and closed her eyes. "Go away, freak."

"Freak? Is that a nice thing to say, Mage Kharrigan?" Ethan wondered, yawning.

"Aw shut up," she growled, pushing off the wall and stomping down the stairs. "I bet that you suggested me to them!"

Ethan coughed innocently and Kharrigan kicked him in the shins. "STUPID! SHUT UP! DO YOU KNOW HOW FREAKIN' TERRIBLE THIS IS?!?! THIS SUCKS WORSE THAN GRIFFINS, WORSE THAN POOP, ARHRHRHRH!"

Ethan chuckled, and grinned. "We trust you, Mage Kharrigan, to make the best choices. Anyway, the Grand Mage told me that if you do well there might be a." he coughed than said, "level raising for a certain mage."

Kharrigan stopped. "WOW! NO WAY!" She shrieked, jumping up and down, suddenly ecstatic.

A little creeped out by her abrupt emotion change, Ethan nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, he said that."

"Haha! YEEEEES! I'll show you, freak!" Kharrigan beamed at Ethan before ran down the stairs, muttering to herself about how to best choose a new ruler...