Aaralon picks a travelling companion

Aaralon knew he did not have long to think about the offer and he also knew that the offer needed thought.

He needed to prove to the College that he wasn't all about power and that he could work with others - was that a reason to pick a companion over a spell book? Perhaps.

Nevertheless, Aaralon was certain there was more to the offer than just some sort of test. Many of his academic studies looked balance; the balance of magic was incredibly important. On the surface he was facing an unbalanced decision but in reality it was unlikely that a Magus like Sareth would even want to speak of such a choice.

It was most likely, Aaralon thought, that there was something special about this travelling companion. Spell books were far from rare too; any large city would have a guild which would sell an apprentice copy and there were blackmarket ways of getting hold of others.

"I choose to travel with a companion," Aaralon said after only a few seconds of though. A few seconds of careful, quick and precise thought.

Aaralon could not tell if Sareth was smiling or not, the Magus was still hidden, but the voice sounded amused.

Sareth intoned, "Very well. Here are your choices."

Illusions. Aaralon had seen such an illusions show before and as images of men, women, creatures and things in between began to appear before him, the young mage simply watched.

The first possible travelling companion to be shown to Aaralon was that of another man. The figure was tall and black, he wore armour and carried a large spear. "Nolan will serve you well as a body guard," explained the mysterious voice of the hidden Magus.

A stunningly attractive woman appeared as Aaralon's third choice. She was dressed all in black and in a suit covered in pouches. "This young lady tried to steal from the College. Her punishment is to be bound to one of us. She could be bound to you. Perhaps you would find use for an attractive thief after you're removed from this College. Perhaps not."

Sareth's voice paused to give Aaralon a few seconds more thought, "Well. Would you select one of these three or would you like to see some more options? Be warned, if you reject this offering and go on to view more than you will not be able to select from this first group."

Then a darkly coloured tiger flickered into view in front of Aaralon. The animal was larger than Aaralon thought most tigers were and had a look of sly cunning in his eyes. Aaralon's initial inspection was proven to be accurate when Sareth spoke again, "Gr'tak was once a student like you and he also foolishly dabbled with demons. He has this form and the intelligence of a bright young man. If you bond with him you will be able to communicate telepathically."