Last time on "The Lokian Way":

A huge surprise awaited Mercy on the last Sunday. Melanie and Michelle were moving with Mercy and her parents. Soon Mercy got her first taste of not being an only child anymore, as well as a hint that Michelle can design more than just underwear.

Things got more complicated on Monday. Not only did she stumble into a restroom where Sonja and Stacy made out. She got later a session herself as Brian tricked her into a restroom. There she was not ambushed by Brian, but by Brianna.

***** Tuesday *****

"These are really good," Victoria remarked as she browsed through the pictures on Mercy's phone.

"Huh?"

"The pictures. The dresses. Very good. Are you even listening?"

"Y-yeah sure," Mercy hastened to say.

"Okay. What is up with you and Brian? We are on the road for an hour and you stare daggers at his head. Is this about the other day? With Brianna."

Mercy thought back to the day before. How she had been ambushed by Brianna. Mercy hadn't even fought back. But she should have, right? At least that was what she told herself. Brianna was also Brian. Her best friend for the past few years. She wasn't into him. On the other hand, she practically melted inside by Brianna's kiss.

"Maybe," Mercy admitted with a shrug.

"Well, that Saturday was wild," Victoria agreed. "Big surprise, but overall not bad. Hey. Now that we know you can turn him back do you think Brian would be up for another round as Brianna?"

Alarm sirens did go off inside Mercy's head. Just then she realized that Victoria had no clue that Brian could turn into Brianna at any given point. She wondered if she should warn her.

She glanced again at Brian. He sat a few seats before her and was playing ad-hoc against someone else on their mobile gaming consoles. She had tried to speak with Brian before the school trip started, but he had been avoiding anything related to Brianna.

"Honestly. You have to ask Brian," Mercy said after a moment.

"I should make a list with people to ask about," Victoria mused.

Cold water ran through Mercy's veins. "You want us to ask other people if they are willing to become a domina?" Mercy hissed in disbelief.

She was rewarded by Victoria laughing out loud. "No you dummy," Victoria chided Mercy after calming down. "Asking people in general. For one if Michelle really designed those dresses then I want one too. I mean. At least one. Wouldn't mind a few."

"Think she'll be delighted," Mercy mused out loud. "What else?"

"Tomorrow is your group meeting with the other Trickster mages, right?"

"Yeah."

"Mind if I come with you again?"

"Ha! That actually sounds like you are giving me a choice," Mercy said with a chuckle.

"You are right," Victoria agreed. "It was silly of me to ask. Well. I thought about asking Al to help me."

"Al? Oh. Is this about your mind resistance trainings thingy?"

"Yeah. Now that I have the first successes resisting your mind alteration I thought it is time to train against some active lasting spells."

"Mine are lasting," Mercy mused. "Memories are permanently changed."

"Correct, but it is done in one moment. It can't change memories after the spell is done, right?"

"Right. Ah. I see. Al's spell temporary exchanges words in a person's mind. Meaning one word, but saying the other. It is active till it runs its course."

"Hmhmm. And I need that. Remember Gideon?"

"The trickster mage that held you and your family hostage."

Victoria nodded gravely. She looked around if someone could overhear them talking and then continued. "Less as hostages and more willing participants. Among other things, he made us obsessed with the idea of hiding him. I reason that has to be an active spell too because it didn't last. A few hours after we have been rescued that obsession faded away. I never want to be taken advantage of like that again."

"I am sure Al will help," Mercy assured her. "He is a pretty nice and a decent guy."

"Hope so," Victoria said. "Speaking of hopes. I hope this school trip won't be too boring."

"I imagine not," Mercy mused. "Michelle said there is an exhibit just about trickster mages. Melanie was throwing around names of famous trickster mages that I had never heard of before."

"They can't be that famous if you hadn't heard of them before," Victoria dismissed it. "Looking for a new idol? Isn't Mavis a better choice? You know. She's alive."

"Really?" Mercy asked. "I mean she was right about my spells connection being body related and not clothing. Still. Practically I only use my first spell. One weekend with my aunt taught me more than Mavis ever did."

"Can't believe I am saying this, but you had one group session and a half mentor session with her. That hardly adds up to compete with a weekend."

"Yeah. You are right. Maybe I did judge her a little harshly."

"And speaking of your aunt. I've got to meet her one day."

Mercy swallowed hard and raked her mind how to change the topic. "Oh right. Which one of Michelle's designs you like the most."

Victoria shook her head with a lopsided grin, but change topics nonetheless. "I really like..."

*****

Mercy tapped her foot as she waited for the teacher to end his monologue. Meeting again here. Don't forget you have to write a paper on one of the mages. Don't touch any statues. On and on he went.

Eventually, he finished and Mercy rushed to a stand to get a map of the museum.

"Someone is in a hurry," Victoria commented as she joined Mercy.

"I can't find it," Mercy said while looking at the map.

"Can't find what? Oh. The trickster mage exhibit?"

"Yes," Mercy confirmed. Then sprinted to a museums employee. "Excuse me. I am looking for the trickster mage exhibit."

"That exhibit will be in the west wing, but it is still being built," the museum's employee replied. "You can see it if you come back in a month."

"Thanks," Mercy managed to say and then slouched back to Victoria. "Great. No exhibit. They are still building it."

"Hey. Don't give up yet. Maybe a few of the regular exhibits have trickster mages in them," Victoria said to cheer her up.

"Right," Mercy agreed and looked on her map. "I should start with Loki. He was from the northern continent, right? The fastest way would be if we cut through the exhibit of the blood empire exhibit, and then the mages of the Hellenic area."

"Great. Let me get Brian and off we go," Victoria beamed. She came back a moment later. Practically dragging him by his arm and berating him. "You can catch your pocket monsters another time. Seriously. Who allows augmented reality smartphone games in a museum."

"But I nearly caught..." Brian protested.

"Can it!" Victoria cut him off. Then more pleasantly she told Mercy: "Lead the way."

Mercy took her map and looked for the first exhibit. Which was laughably easy. The exhibit on the blood-empire was a big draw of visitors, so it was close to the entrance and many signs pointed it out. Stepping into the room Mercy was surrounded by a jungle. In between the plastic foliage wax statues of mages were scattered. Each one with a sign depicting the mage. The blood-empire was interesting, but not Mercy's concern. She would have crossed the room in a heartbeat if it hadn't been for a loud gasp of Victoria behind her.

"You alright?" Brian asked as Mercy turned around.

"Yeah," Victoria said, but she didn't look like it. Her face pale and Mercy saw her hands trembling.

"What happened?" Mercy wanted to know.

"Nothing," Victoria brushed them off. "It's just this wax statue. He looks so similar."

"To whom?" Brian asked.

"Gideon," Victoria whispered. "I mean there are differences, but in the first moment I thought it was him."

Concerned Mercy took a step closer to the statue and read the sign.

Huitzilopochtli

This mage was one of the early leaders of the blood-empire. This scholar helped to create the dark arts of extracting large quantities of bodily magic (corporis industria) by killing other living beings. He was known as an enchanter, who strengthened whole armies. Giving the strength and eternal youth in exchange for loyalty.

Born in the ...

Mercy shook her head. This was not someone she wanted to meet. Luckily all mages and leaders of the blood empire had been killed in the war with the tribes.

"Maybe Gideon is a descendant from Huitz-whatever," Mercy mused out loud.

"I hope not," Victoria remarked. "Blood mages were nasty fellows. Let's get out of here."

The exhibit of the Hellenic area was a strong contrast. Fake columns stood around and between them the famous mages of that area. In the center was the wax mannequin of Zeus. Mercy shook her head. What a mage. One might say he was known mostly for being one of the strongest lightning mages in history. Of course, he was more commonly known as the mage who couldn't keep it in his pants. Rumor was that he was the father of at least half of the famous mages of the Hellenic area. The original playboy.

Soon they arrived at the exhibit for the nordic mages. Impatiently Mercy looked from mannequin to mannequin. Odin, Thor, Figg, Freyja and many other known powerful mages.

"No Loki," Mercy said in disappointment. "This whole trio shapes up to be one big waste of time."

"Maybe there is a Loki mannequin, but they already moved it to the new exhibit," Victoria mused. "Maybe we should look around a bit. We could stumble upon other trickster mages in other exhibits. The museum is big."

"Oh. We could go to the exhibits for the far eastern continent. They had many famous mages," Brian suggested.

"I was thinking more about visiting the heritage continent," Victoria admitted. "The continent all humans originate from. Some of the oldest mages come from there."

"Why don't we split up?" Mercy asked. "I need a moment to gather my thoughts anyway. Meet up in an hour?"

Both her friends agreed. As soon they were out of Mercy's line of sight she pulled out her map. It wasn't hard to find the west wing. as it was marked for special exhibits. With determined steps, she walked towards it.

As expected the area was closed off. Behind two big double doors answers to Mercy's questions beckoned her to do something. As best as she could she surveyed the area and found no security cameras. A lucky break she hadn't expected. In a moment no one looked Mercy slipped through the doors.

Most of the area wasn't decorated yet, but Mercy already saw she hit jackpot. Two dozen mannequins stood at the side. Waiting to be placed in their final spot. One already caught Mercy's eye. It looked like the many pictures she had seen of Loki.

His sign was near and Mercy stepped close to read it.

Loki

Born in a small village in the eternal snow region of the northern continent Loki became a trickster mage by accident. It is said that he developed a quick understanding of his spells and used it to ...

"Mercy? What are you doing here?"

Shocked, Mercy spun around only to come face to face with Stacy.

"Stacy. I could ask the same. What is the head of the cheerleaders doing here?" Mercy shot back.

"As if you don't know," Stacy mocked her. "I am trying to get some alone time with my girlfriend. You probably overheard and decided to play peeping Tom again."

"What? No!" Mercy said with disgust. "I am here to learn more about trickster mages."

"Sure," Stacy said with sarcasm dripping in her voice.

"You know what. Just shut up and let me read, okay? The faster I am the sooner you are alone again."

"Fine!" Stacy agreed. Thoroughly annoyed she sat down on a nearby crate.

With a huff, Mercy turned around to continue reading.

Loki

Born in a small village in the eternal snow region of the northern continent Loki became a trickster mage by accident. It is said that he developed a quick understanding of his spells and used it to spread chaos in his wake. He was mostly known for audio and visual trickery in his early days. This led to the mage Vali hunting him down and imprisoning Loki. It is said that Loki's prison was not a physical one, but a sleeping spell that trapped him in a dream.

Scholars disagree about when this actually happened. Many speculating that this curse must have kept Loki young by magic as Loki is said to have slept for centuries.

Loki broke free of his imprisonment when the mage Vali died and couldn't renew the curse on Loki. As his escape was noticed Loki found himself relentlessly hunted down. He narrowly escaped, by fleeing to the tribes continent.

It is said that Loki there met the great mother, a fellow trickster mage, and became her disciple. He remained in the great mother's tribe for three decades. It is said that it was the teachings of his mentor that lead Loki to formulate what later became known as "The Lokian Way". Guiding principles to curb the impulses dictated by trickster magic onto its mages.

As the blood-empire spread further north, it is known that Loki spoke at the council of tribes. He was involved in the negotiations with kingdoms of the northern and heritage continents to provide aid. Leading to the treaty and war of the "the bloody bay".

Loki died officially in the war, but according to rumors, he was seen until the last century. The same rumors claim he has learned shape-shifting magic from the great mother. Explaining the elusive nature of these rumors.

"So Loki fought in the war," Mercy mused to herself. A fact she hadn't known before. In addition, Mavis seemed to be right about Loki learning from the great mother.

"Are you done now?" Stacy demanded to know.

"Not by a long shot," Mercy grumbled as she tried her best to ignore the cheerleader. The next trickster mage she was curious about was only a few steps away.

The Great Mother

Also known as the great father was a trickster mage from the tribes continent. She was known for her shape changing spells that not only worked on her, but also on chosen warriors of various tribes. She was known for the great hunt. The anniversary practice of shifting herself and tribesmen of merit into wolfs or coyotes and hunting for one day and one night. The great mother died in the war with the blood-empire with a rumored age between eight and nine hundred years.

The great mother held a special position in the tribes' hierarchy as...

"Now I get it," Stacy interrupted her. "You had the same idea as I had."

"What?" Mercy asked confused. "What idea?"

"To make out. With Brandon."

"Who?"

"Your friend. The one you always hang out with."

"It's Brian," Mercy spat back as she turned around to face Stacy. "And you are mistaken. Can I read now in peace and quiet?"

"Am I?" Stacy wondered aloud. "You know. A friend of mine said he saw 'Brian' exit a girl's restroom yesterday. Shortly followed by you."

"It's not what you think it is," Mercy nearly growled.

"Then what is it?"

"None of your business. That's what it is."

"The way I see it is that you are jealous. You can't have Sonja so you go for Victoria. But she is already hooking up with Brian. So you cozy up with Brian so he breaks up with Victoria. Then you are free to dump him and get her."

"Oh shut up," Mercy dismissed her. "Are you even listening to yourself? We aren't in some soap opera."

"Did I hit a nerve?" Stacy needled her.

"Darn it, Stacy," Mercy cursed. "Why do you always have to be such a bitch?"

One moment Stacy was sitting on her crate. The next she had pushed herself off and stood close to Mercy. Anger radiating from her face.

"What did you say?" Stacy growled.

"That you are a bitch?" Mercy spat back. "I mean look at you. You are the head-bitch of our school. I seriously hoped that you changed after becoming a lesbian. But look at you. Still bitching around. I don't know what Sonja sees in you."

A smack made Mercy's head snap around, as a furious Stacy had slapped her face.

"You leave her out of it! I am not a bitch. You're just jealous of me."

"Jealous? Me?" Mercy hissed as she shoved Stacy away from her. "Not everything revolves around you Stacy. I take it back. You are not just some bitch. The way you prance around the school. You are just a poodle. A big. Overblown. Bitch. Of a. Poodle!"

And just like that, she was. Fury was still running through Mercy's veins. That was why her brain needed a moment to make sense of what happened before her eyes. A poodle struggling to escape Stacy's clothes. By the time Mercy'a mind caught up the poodle escaped the last sling of cloth. Frightened it took off.

"Stacy?" Mercy asked flabbergasted. "Stacy wait? Oh shit. Did I make Stacy a dog? I ..."

Blood drained from Mercy's face as she came to a sudden revelation. If Brian's change has taught her anything then that she needed to implant an image of the original person or they'd be stuck. If Mercy wouldn't find her Stacy would spend the rest of her days as a dog. Despite that Mercy didn't like her, no one deserved that fate.

Eventually, Mercy shook off her shock and ran after Stacy. Only to curse mid-run as she saw the double doors to the west wing ajar. Stacy had gotten out. Who knew where she had run off.

Mercy took out her smartphone and send a quick text to Brian and Victoria.

Helped! Fucked up. If you see a poodle then catch her!

Mercy rushed blindly through exhibits. Now and then catching glimpses of a dog. Stacy was surprisingly quick. Mercy cursed again as she saw security guards also rushing around. They had noticed Stacy and were chasing her too.

It was when she hit a bend that leads to the west wing when Mercy had to hastily break. She nearly had run into Sonja.

"Mercy? Good. I need your help," Sonja said, catching the initiative. "This little fella found me and needs help." In her arms, she held a poodle. One suddenly keen on escaping Sonja's clutches as she recognized Mercy.

"Stacy? I looked everywhere for you," Mercy sighed in relief. "Sonja follow me. Don't let her get away."

A confused Sonja followed Mercy till they arrived at the west wing. "Mercy. That area is off limits," Sonja exclaimed.

"I know. Just follow me and bring Stacy."

"Stacy? But she isn't here."

"Just come in," Mercy hissed. After Sonja slipped in Mercy made sure to close the doors.

"Okay," Mercy repeated a few times. More to herself than to anyone else. Then she snapped out of it. "Stacy. I know you are confused and angry. I need you to stand still and give me time so I can turn you back. Sonja let her down."

"Why are you talking to the poodle as if she is Stacy?" Sonja demanded to know.

"Because she is," Mercy admitted.

"You turned my girlfriend into a dog?" Sonja half shouted.

"It was an accident," Mercy shot back. "She attacked me and then this happened."

"Accidents like that don't happen," Sonja accused her.

"If you are a trickster mage then yes. They happen," Mercy corrected her. "Now. Please. I need to concentrate to turn her back."

Sonja glared at her angrily but kept being quiet.

Mercy tried to control her ragged breathing and hammering heart. For a moment doubt filled her mind. What if she couldn't do it? Then Mercy would have to live with the heavy burden of being guilty of robbing Stacy's humanity away. She swallowed hard a last time and concentrated. Picturing Stacy as Mercy knew her, even though she was tempted to make some changed. Then she pushed the mental image over the poodle.

"That's it," Mercy whispered.

"That's it? She is still a poodle," an angry Sonja pointed out.

Mercy looked down at the dog and wondered what she had been doing wrong. It had worked with Brian. Why didn't it work for Stacy?

Mercy had a split second of relief as she saw Stacy turn back into her human form before a painful slap made her head snap around.

"What the fuck did you do to me?" Stacy shouted. "Do you think this is funny? I was scared to death."

"I didn't mean to," Mercy protested.

"Just stay away from me," Stacy snapped back and then hurried to the discarded pile of her clothes. Scampering to don them again.

Shaking her head Mercy walked back towards the wax mannequins. All she had wanted was to study them. It wasn't her fault Stacy had gotten in her face.

Where had she stopped? The great mother. Right. Mercy started to read again when a shout broke her concentration.

"Hey! You can't be in here!"

Mercy saw a security guard standing in the doorway. She had run out of time. With haste, her eyes flew over the sign of the trickster mage's mannequin before her.

... respected among the tribes ... always neutral and mediated in disputes ... arguments were made indicating the great mother being the avatar of trickster magic ...

"Avatar?" Mercy mused to herself.

"Miss!" The guard said again as he came closer. "Out. Now. Or I'll have to talk to your teacher."

With a sigh, Mercy turned away and walked pouting to the door. Sonja and Stacy already had made themselves scarce. As she exited she heard the guard closing the door and locking it with a key. So much for researching trickster mages. Grumbling she walked away.

"Mercy!"

Her head snapped up and she saw Victoria with Brian in tow rushing to her.

"What's the emergency? Something about a poodle?" Victoria asked.

"Too late. All done. You missed how I spectacularly messed up again," Mercy said while shaking her head in resignation.

"What happened?" Victoria followed up.

"Apparently I can make people into animals," Mercy admitted. "As Stacy can attest."

"Animal? The poodle!" Brian exclaimed. "You made Stacy a dog?"

"Oh, I wish I could've seen that," Victoria added.

"It was an accident," Mercy defended herself.

"It's alright. I mean it was just Stacy, right," Victoria waved her off with a grin.

"Except Sonja found out and is now totally mad at me for the whole mess," a deflated Mercy admitted.

"Oh, remind me to visit the pet shop on my way home," Victoria said, with mischief in her eyes.

"Picking up a chew-toy for Stacy?" Brian guessed.

"What? No. Although that might be a close second," Victoria mused. "I thought more along the lines of a muzzle."

"Sure. Go right ahead," a resignating Mercy threw in. "Make Stacy and Sonja even more pissed off at me. By the way where were you guys? I could have used the help."

"We were-" Brian started.

"Busy taking notes," Victoria finished. "You know. For the paper, we have to write."

"Nevermind," Mercy waved them off. She contemplated telling them that she could see the hints of Victoria's lipstick on Brian's lips. Then again why mess up another thing. One was enough for today.

Maybe that's why Stacy had been getting to Mercy this easily. There was the possibility that she was right and Mercy hadn't seen it coming.

"Let's take some boring notes about boring mages," Mercy said with a sigh and walked off.

***** Wednesday *****

The annoying beeping of her alarm clock woke Mercy. Looking at the time she flinched. So damn early. Nevertheless, she got up. Grabbed her things and dragged herself to the bathroom.

The long hot shower managed to wake her up. She enjoyed the luxury and took her time. She only stopped when the water slowly turned cold. With a sigh, she stepped out and got ready.

Just as she exited the bathroom she saw the doors to Michelle's and Melanie's room open. Both girls tried to race each other to the bathroom only to stop in surprise as they saw Mercy.

"No need to rush," Mercy said with a smirk. "Only the early bird gets a hot shower." Blowing them a raspberry she ducked into her room.

*****

"Yes. They are still glaring at you," Victoria said as she spotted Mercy again glancing over at the table Sonja and Stacy set at.

"I wish I could do something to make it up to Sonja," Mercy said to her small round of friends at her lunch table.

Michelle and Brian nodded. Meanwhile Victoria couldn't help to tease Mercy a little. "Don't you mean Stacy?" she deadpanned. "Look. Don't do anything rash. I'll talk to them later."

"You think that will help?" Mercy asked.

"Sonja. Maybe," Victoria conceded. "Stacy I am not so sure."

"Maybe Stacy has her own reasons for being so 'aggressive'," Michelle said while looking up from her sketchbook. "I certainly did. A misguided one, but still..."

Mercy nodded. If someone knew why one might turn bully then it was Michelle. Back when she had been Mitch she had been the number one school bully.

"Well, since Mercy's way of de-bullying Stacy isn't working, I'll give it a try," Victoria announced.

"My way?" Mercy asked confused.

"Changing underwear," Victoria said with a grin.

"Done!" Michelle announced. Before the others could react she pushed her sketchbook over to Victoria. "How's that?"

Mercy leaned over to get a better view. At once she saw that in the drawing was Victoria, who was wearing a long flowing emerald green dress. Here and there Mercy spotted yellow lines running along the dress. It looked regal and formal, yet with a playful touch.

"The yellow is supposed to be gold," Michelle added. "I don't have a fitting pen."

"It's amazing," Victoria managed to get out while utterly absorbed in the dress. She was probably already wearing it in her head. Daydreaming about how it might feel to dance in it. "Can't wait to wear it."

"Want to wear it right now?" Mercy teased.

"Oh, I wish," Victoria admitted wistfully. "Might be a little impractical though. Right after school?"

"Wouldn't be convenient too," Mercy mused.

"Why not?" Michelle asked.

"Victoria promised me she'll join me at my trickster meeting," Mercy explained.

"Oh, right," Victoria added. "I forgot that was today."

"You both can come too if you want," Mercy said while eyeing Michelle and Brian.

"No thanks. One trickster mage in my life is enough," Brian declined. "Besides. I still have to do some research before this weekend."

"Yeah, I have to agree with Brian," Michelle added. "One trickster mage threw my life out of whack. I need some time before I can face another."

"They aren't that bad," Mercy protested.

"I have to agree," Victoria chimed in. "None is as terrible as Mercy."

"Hey!" Mercy protested as Victoria earned some grins. "I am not bad. There just had been some ... accidents."

"Sure," Victoria said while patting Mercy on the shoulder. "Keep telling that to yourself if it helps you sleep at night."

"You are the worst," Mercy accused her, but couldn't suppress a grin herself.

"Well, time for class," Brian broke in. "See you all later."

With sighs, the others followed his example and cleared the table.

*****

When Victoria and Mercy arrived at the self-help center Carissa and Dave already were busy talking to each other. Mercy needed a moment to remember what she knew about both.

Carissa worked at the local library. Her personal spell was one of the amplification of soundwaves. In other words she could make every sounds louder than they should be.

Meanwhile, Dave was the worst enemy of liars. He could use his spell to coax out the truth of someone. Not only had his targets, to tell the truth, they were also compelled to do so.

They exchanged greetings and then Mercy wondered out loud, "Where are Al and Mavis?"

"Both in Mavis office," Carissa explained.

"Doing who knows what," Dave added.

"So how are you doing Mercy?" Carissa wanted to know. "You look a little on edge."

"Well, a lot happened," Mercy admitted. "Lately no matter what I do my spells mess things up. I don't even know if Mavis wants me around anymore."

"Last week Mercy gave her an 'upgrade' in the wardrobe department," Victoria explained. "She looked like one of those techno raver girls. That and pissed off."

"I wish I could have seen that," Dave admitted.

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Carissa chided her. "Sometimes trickster magic works in mysterious ways. I remember this one time I had been in a restaurant. There had been this obnoxious man complaining about random noises. You know me. He practically begged me to prank him. All I did was amplify his own breathing. It taught him a lesson, but not one I anticipated. A few tables over was a doctor who diagnosed just from the breathing that this man's lungs had a serious problem. For all I know I helped save that man's life that day."

"She has a point," Victoria conceded. "Your messes have a weird way of working out."

"Not sure if I can agree with you there," a doubtful Mercy said.

"Agree with what exactly?"

Mavis' voice made Mercy turn around. Just to see Al and Mavis enter the room.

"That her bigger pranks have a way of working out," Victoria explained. It earned her a glare from Mercy. "Why are you both late?"

"Office stuff," Mavis waved her off.

"Really? Nothing more?" Dave asked. "Come on. Tell me the truth."

"We were discussing the fact that four containment vessels of trickster magic have been stolen," Al rattled out before stopping himself.

"Dave, stop it," Mavis admonished him.

"Four? We only know of one," Victoria pipped up.

Mavis gave a heavy sigh and then a dirty look towards Dave. "The government tries to keep the news contained to avoid a panic. You know how common people react to trickster magic. They make it worse than it is. Now. Shall we get started?"

"Yes. Please," Mercy jumped in. "I have some questions and I need answers to them."

"Very well," Mavis said as she took a seat. "What do you want to know?"

"The weekend before last you helped two siblings. Mitch, now Michelle, and Melanie. Why haven't you told me about them last week?"

"I was leading up to it," Mavis told her. Not sternly like Mercy had expected, but calm and collected. "Someone cut our lesson short. I take it you have yourself under control now?"

Mercy blushed as she remembered her tantrum of the week before. Silence settled over the room till Victoria elbowed her in the rips. "Now is a good time to apologize."

"Ah. Yes," Mercy snapped. "Sorry about that."

"That's nothing," Mavis waved her off. "Anger is fleeting. You will learn that if you get as old as I am. I knew from the start that patience was needed with you." Then Mavis leaned forward and her voice dropped into the realm of ice cold. "But if you put me one more time into clothing this hideous, then you will know what a century old trickster mage is really capable of."

"G-got it," Mercy said as soon as she found her voice again.

"So. What else do you want to ask?" Mavis said in her normal voice while leaning back again.

"Right. Yesterday our school had a field trip to the wax museum of great mages," Mercy explained.

"A waste of time," Mavis muttered.

"I thought it was a good opportunity to learn about some other trickster mages," Mercy continued. "I didn't get a lot of information, but those that I got are confusing or don't make sense."

"That was to be expected. Museums and historic books are heavily biased and unreliable," Mavis said with disgust in her voice.

"I beg to differ," Carissa piped up. "You just have to find the right books. Mercy, I can help with that. The library I work at is located near the local college. We have plenty of historic books that can give you a deeper understanding of the past."

"I disagree, but that may be my old age opinionating me," Mavis admitted. "Mercy. Why don't you ask your questions and we will see how well the books match my memory."

"Okay," Mercy slowly while gathering her thoughts. "Last time you told me that Loki learned to shapeshift from the great mother, but wasn't successful in her lifetime. I take it this shape-shifting was his means of eternal youth, correct?"

"Indeed," Mavis said with a nod.

"Here is the thing I don't understand," Mercy now eagerly pushed forward. "Loki was born over a thousand years ago. The great mother died in the war against the blood empire about five hundred years ago. How could he be her student when he should have been a few times dead of old age ?"

"Good question," Mavis commented. "Carissa? Would you like to give it a try?"

"Of course," Carissa said with a huff. "It is because of Vali. He was a mage at mage-king Odin's court. He was known to be knowledgeable in many aspects. When Loki's pranks caused too much chaos it was decreed that Loki was to be imprisoned. Vali not only was the one to apprehend Loki, but he also was the prison warden. You see Vali thought that Loki might find a way to escape so he cast a spell on Loki that he would sleep for centuries. But this special spell also prevented Loki from aging."

"Really? That's the official story?" Mavis said with a snort. "That's not how I remember it happen."

"You remember how it happened?" Victoria interrupted. "As in you were there? How old are you?"

"One really has to watch their words with you, right?" Mavis said with a sigh. "Let me rephrase. The way I remember what Loki told me how it happened. Can I go on? Good. First off Loki did age, but Vali did reverse his aging progress once a year. Speaking of imprisonment. What bullocks."

"You want to tell us that Loki wasn't asleep under madness mountain," Carissa cut in.

"Oh, he was. But let's start at the beginning," Mavis chided her. "Loki grew up as a boy in the northern region of the northern continent. He became a trickster mage around the time he was fifteen summers old. At first, he had fun with it, but soon his need to prank robbed him of friends and family. So he tried to find someone to teach him. That's why he sought help at king Odin's court. The reception wasn't very welcoming, but one mage stood out. Vali was not only open to Loki's plight. He also helped train Loki in many arts."

Mavis gaze caught Mercy's as she continued. "This might sound familiar to you. Loki's talent and aptitude were so big that not only others grew weary of him, but he himself doubted that it was possible to limit his rampage of pranks. In a dark moment, he asked his friend Vali for help. You see it was Loki's idea to be put into a sleep. To be awoken once the court had found a solution to trickster magic. A way to unbind it from Loki."

"That's possible?" a curious Mercy wanted to know.

"No. I don' think so," Mavis commented before returning to her story. "You see the whole plan was flawed. Trickster mages need to prank. Even if they are asleep. It only got worse because now Loki's dreams dictated the illusions he created. Odin decreed that Vali take Loki away. So that his court won't be disturbed anymore. Vali took him to a cave in a remote mountainous region. There he could remain sleeping without disturbing anyone. Year by year Vali returned to not only nourish his friend but also turn back the time on Loki's body. He did this for centuries, even though it appeared that Loki's magic traveled farther and farther to cast illusions."

"So in both versions, Vali used bodily magic to keep him young, right?" Mercy asked.

"The technical term is corporis industria, but yes," Carissa confirmed. "Most famous mages did start out with that aspect. Learning magic takes a long time. So most who are serious about learning magic go for corporis industria first."

"Unless you start out as a trickster mage," Victoria threw in.

"Correct," Mavis agreed. "Now, Mercy. It is very fortunate that we came to this story. Last week I wanted to tell you a related tale. One you might find interesting."

"I have more questions," Mercy admitted. "But if the others don't mind I would like to hear it."

"I only regret not bringing popcorn," Dave threw in. Earning a few smiles all around.

"Carissa," Mavis called out. "What do history books tell about the time Loki 'escaped his prison'?"

"Not much," Carissa conceded. "Just that he fled overseas to the tribes continent. There aren't many documents about him in that time till the bloody bay war started."

"I figured as much," Mavis commented. "You see Loki woke up to a world where he was known as a villain. It was unknown to him at that time that he had continued to cast trickster magic in his sleep. Terrorizing villages close to his resting place. Not just Vali, but many other great mages fell in the battle of Ragnarok. The people were scared and without leadership. When they heard Loki had awoken they acted on their fear by sending out a hunting party to kill him. Loki evaded them a few times, but luck ran out on a small mountain pass. A bridge that leads over a ravine cut him off from safety. He did ..."

Mavis broke up for a moment. Taking time to collect herself. "We trickster mages do pranks. That is all we do. But cornered Loki intended to use his magic to kill. He cast two illusions. One to hide him and one to make the bridge appear whole. He hoped the riders that were chasing him would fall through his illusion and die."

"Did they?" Mercy asked shocked while leaning forward. She wasn't the only one.

"The riders came and didn't even slow down," Mavis continued. "But instead of falling to their death they crossed the bridge as if it was real. Because for a moment it was. When Loki overcame his shock he tried carefully to place a foot on the illusionary bridge. It went right through. And before you guess around there is a moral to this tale: trickster magic doesn't kill. In fact, it is the only aspect of magic that can't be used to kill someone on purpose."

"That is interesting," Mercy mused out loud. "So what? I shouldn't worry about consequences of my actions and spells?"

"That's not what I said," Mavis said while shaking her head. "Trickster magic has limits. When you run into them you should recognize them. Believe me. Not even you can break them."

"Huh," Carissa commented. "That's not something I knew of."

The other trickster mages in the room nodded their head in agreement.

"I have other questions," Mercy said to break the silence.

"Sure. Go ahead. I'll answer everything if I can," Mavis offered.

"There was one detail about the great mother I couldn't read a lot about," Mercy continued. "It says there are speculations that she was the avatar of trickster magic and ..."

Mercy stopped as Mavis started to laugh out loud. After a while, she managed to say a few words. "Definitely not."

"What even is the avatar of trickster magic?" an annoyed Mercy asked.

"Don't tell me schools nowadays teach you anything about magic anymore," a grinning Mavis countered.

"Even I don't remember much about avatars," Victoria interjected. "And I got straight A's in my tests. Not much keeps sticking when the book is a thousand pages thick and you have to read through it in two months."

"Carissa? Do you want to answer?" Mavis asked.

"Fine," Carissa said with a sigh. "Avatars are a rare occurrence. In the last two thousand years, there may have been five or so. They are born in a time of need. For example, the mage Jupiter was born as the avatar of lightning magic. Prior to his birth mages had messed up the region on the heritage continent we nowadays call Sahara. They tried to bring rain to the area. They succeed in creating a hundred year lasting thunderstorm. The mages couldn't fix it. Jupiter, the avatar of lightning magic, could. Avatars are born with the knowledge of their aspect and tremendous control over it."

"They have one more ability that makes them stand out," Mavis jumped in. "They can temporarily spread their knowledge and control to others. When the great plague ravaged the northern continent an avatar of bodily magic was born. She shared her knowledge and gift and created thousands of mages to combat the plague. This power terrifies many. So some started to think 'Hey. What happens if there ever was an avatar of trickster magic?' and they lost their wits."

"Why would that be so bad?" Victoria asked before Mercy could. "Maybe a trickster avatar could fix a few things other trickster mages messed up."

Carissa looked too unsure of herself to answer so Mavis explained again. "Last time we spoke about how trickster magic usually chooses its own mages, right? The boring people who can resist the urges somewhat. Now imagine an avatar of trickster magic is born. He or she could give others her spells, but what about the control? How should an avatar judge who would misuse the spells and who doesn't?"

"Who says an avatar has to empower anyone?" Mercy cut in.

"Correct," Mavis agreed. "But then what good would an avatar be? Just one powerful mage, but they can't be anywhere at the same time. Now to come back to your original question. Why the great mother couldn't have been the avatar. For one there would have to be a threat to or from trickster magic to warrant a trickster avatar. On the other hand, remember how Loki needed decades to learn shapeshifting? If the great mother had been the avatar she just could have given him her spell in a blink of an eye."

"All that is speculation," Al butted in. "Extrapolated from other magical aspects. Until a real trickster avatar comes along we can't be sure by what rules it will abide. If the topic is really interesting you should research it further."

"You can come to the library where I work at," Carissa suggested.

"Didn't you say it was the college library?" Mercy asked.

"No. Just adjacent to the college campus," Carissa clarified. "It is still open to the public."

"Any more questions?" Mavis challenged her.

"No," Mercy admitted. "All I have were answered along the way."

"Then how about the other way around," Mavis suggested. "Any news you want to share?"

"No," Mercy hastened to answer. "Everything the same on my end."

With that discussion turned to more general themes. A few minutes later the meeting concluded. Mercy waited for Victoria who was laying siege to Al. Trying to get him to help her with her mind control resistance training.

"He agreed," Victoria beamed when she eventually said her goodbyes to the group.

"Good," Mercy said with a nod.

Together they left the center and soon Victoria stopped Mercy to speak to her again.

"You okay?" Victoria asked. "I couldn't help noticing that you didn't tell them about your third spell."

"Just want to wait till I understand that one myself some more," Mercy explained lamely.

Victoria nodded. "Maybe we should take Carissa's offer. Hit the library on the weekend."

"That's a good idea," Mercy agreed. "There are still some questions left."

"That's not what you told the others," Victoria pointed out.

"You are right," Mercy admitted grimly. "I did not."

***** Thursday *****

"Mercy wake up."

Michelle's voice along with shaking her tore Mercy away from her dream.

"What is it?" Mercy muttered.

"You don't want to be late for school, right?" Michelle asked.

Confusion came over Mercy as she saw Michelle fully dressed. "My alarm didn't even go off yet," Mercy mumbled, but then frowned as her eyes drifted to her alarm clock. It was nineteen minutes past her usual time to get up.

"My guess is sabotage," Michelle said with a shrug.

In that very moment, Mercy's alarm started to beep. Grumbling Mercy silenced it.

"I will get at you both for that," Mercy promised.

Then she rushed to do her morning routine. Harshly broken in her stride as only cold water greeted her in the shower.

Her curses must have been outside as she heard the muffled yell of Melanie through the door. "Only the early bird gets a hot shower!"

*****