The Sentinels And if the house just keeps on winning

Perfect.  Maia was completely unaware of any parallels to Arcturus' situation.  She knew Wraen's history with the mountain, but she had never bothered to find out why Arcturus left.  It was a highly personal question, asking someone why they left home and never looked back, and it usually didn't have a pleasant answer.

Poisoning the mind.  The mentor has been turning the rules against each other, making each of them believe the other betrayed them.  Maybe they'll realize in time... or maybe not!  I guess that'd be the difference between an epic and a tradgedy.  Well, epic so long as there's some kind of journey towards solving it.  Like one of them leaves to find the truth.  She thought about it, but she wasn't so sure.  She loved a good epic, but tradgedies had to be special.  This one had the makings for one that would really pull at the heartstrings.

There could be hope, too.  If the previous was a marriage of convenience anyway, and something happened, perhaps a new love?  As her mind started following this thread, Maia had to pull herself back, realizing she was traveling a little far into the realm of make-believe and leaving her friend here behind.  I love hopeful stories the most, but sometimes you just really need a good tradgedy.  Usually when you just really needed a good cry, something to loose your soul without having to focus too much on your own actual problems.

WC: 243