The sun hadn't topped the rockies yet, casting the mountains in a back-lit nimbus of pre-dawn sunlight. The mountains stood like quite sentinels in Karos's mind complete with their halo of dawning light, barring him from his past and everything he had ever known. Somewhere far beyond them was a home he might never see again. His instructors at the order had drilled into him that distance wasn't a static concept, but that didn't help lighten his heart any right now. He idly wondered if it ever snowed here in Sacramento.
He pulled his Cadillac STS into the parking lot of the Fruitridge shopping center and parked. He smiled to himself as Annie Lennox's voice came from the radio. "Who am I to disagree?", Karos quietly sang the line in tune with the radio for a moment. A cautionary look around confirmed that none of the shops had opened for business yet and he had the parking lot to himself. He sighed, and began the mental gymnastics needed to work a few preparatory spells. His tinted windows would provide him an added measure of privacy from any noisy sleepers while he worked. He whispered ancient words of power as he worked, helping him concentrate.
Rolls
"Let's do this.", Karos muttered to himself and stepped out of the car and set the alarm. It was short walk from here to the Circle of Creation. Mantra's flowed through his mind as he walked, but even they didn't seem to completely dispel the nervousness he felt at making his introductions to the Epot. All too soon he found himself at the front door to the chapter house without even remembering the short walk here. With one final deep breath he pushed his sunglasses back into place, opened the front door and stepped inside, not really knowing what to expect.