(Jason, 16)

Man are Niko's parents jerks. I understand being royalty and having business to attend to, even in the evenings, but their son has been gone for several months, stopped in for a surprise visit, and their response was to send a servant two hours later to say 'sorry, but we're busy and will see you probably tomorrow'.

To get Niko's mind off that rude welcome, I asked him to show me his favorite part of the castle. His face lit up similar to the way it does when Lina is near, and he immediately took me to the library. It takes up three floors and is filled with books, many of which are ancient. There are a few that are over three hundred years old.

He leads me to a small corner of it where the books are obviously not cared for very well, and tells me that these are all of the texts they have on magic. I count fourteen of them on the shelf.

"You're talented for someone with so little resources," I tell him. "I have to wonder what you'd be like if you'd grown up with a proper learning environment for magicians, rather than here. You'd probably be blue, possibly even lower indigo. If you'd had the same upbringing as me, you'd have possibly even reached violet by now."

"Really?" He asks suspiciously.

"Yes," I nod. "This is my assessment based on what I have seen over the last two weeks in Varil City. You are definitely talented. I am sure that by the end of term, if you continue with my training group, you'll be either upper green or lower blue. As long as you continue to follow the rules of the group, you will even be allowed to join the advanced group. You have raw talent, Niko, and I would hate to see that go to waste in a good person."

"Thanks," he shyly responds. "Do you want to see my second-favorite place?"

"Sure," I tell him. "Though are you aware that there are more than five hundred ogres and corrupted beasts near here?"

"Huh?" He asks. "You mean the tunnels? Yeah, everyone knows that. They were old mines, but then some ogres took them-wait, how did you find out?"

"I can extend my scan up to one thousand yards in each direction," I inform him. "It actually helps with short-range 'blind' teleports, as I can gauge distance and items easier. The advanced form of scanning, which is what I do, is one of the things I'll teach the advanced group."

"You have it pushed to your limits?"

"I was curious what was in the area," I admit. "So I extended it all the way out as far as I can stretch it. That makes it more difficult to read objects, especially the smaller they are, but I can still sense large living things just fine. Ogres and corrupted beasts each have unique feels. What is in the mines?"

I need to relieve some of that lingering anger from when I saw Alex messing around with his friend. I'm still not sure why that bothers me, or why it makes me angry and upset. That Niko's people can see the benefit of magic would only act as a bonus to the event.

"Iron ore, mostly," he answers. "Some copper and tin."

"Anything flammable?" I stretch.

"No," he answers.

Oh, good, that means I can use fire magic rather than just freezing the place. The latter would make it take awhile for them to resume mining it.

"Are there normally people there?" I ask.

"My second-eldest brother," he nods. "Derrick sul'Mar, is usually camped near the mines. He leads the forces that attempt to clean them out. At most, they just contain them, keeping the ogres and corrupted beasts from leaving."

"There is a reason," I place a hand on his shoulder. "That Varil Slayers work in teams of knights and magicians."

I teleport us to the entrance of the mines, startling a few people who were there. Hands go to swords, but a man only a few years older than us holds up a hand, a silent order to hold.

"Niko?" He frowns as he looks at Niko.

"Hello, Derrick," Niko says. "Jason, why did you teleport us here?"

"So you could see your brother before we leave," I say. "Even if you're staying the night, you might not have gotten to see him, and we did come all the way from Varil City."

"You crossed that distance with two teleports," Niko says.

"Maybe," I shrug. "But not many mages could do that in one day, much less one afternoon. You know, Niko, I just had a thought. See, you're betrothed to one of my best friends, and to one of my first friends at that. Varil and Mar have an alliance, and Varil does assist with some combat and issues your people have. I might not be Varilan, myself, but it seems like I have some reason to be vested in its safety. While we're here, I might as well take care of this problem you told me about."

I turn and face the mines, making sure I can sense every ogre and corrupted beast within. I shrink my range once I find the end of the mines and count. Two hundred and seventy-three ogres, two hundred and forty-two corrupted beasts.

Holding my hands out to the side, I generate fire above each. Instead of my normal, blue-hot flames, I make them white-hot instead. The flame above my right hand is fueled with power and a spell that causes it to feed on corrupted energies, growing even stronger with each corrupted beast it kills. The flame above my left hand is fueled with mana to kick-start the linking spell within it, allowing it to last until it reaches the first few corrupted monsters within the mines.

Slowly, I bring the two spells together in front of me. Then, the flames merge together before growing hotter as I activate the new, unified spell. A jet of white-hot flames bursts forth from the palm of my right hand, my left hand pressed against the back of my right. The flames burn through the air and into the tunnels, and after a few seconds, I stop feeding it my own mana, the flames we can see with our eyes dissipating.

As expected, the spell burns through the ogres and corrupted beasts, traveling from living thing to living thing. It was designed to only travel in one direction, so there is no need to worry about it turning back on us. It can split and go down multiple paths, but never return the way it came.

"There we go," I smile at Niko. "Give it another minute or two, and there won't be an ogre or corrupted beast left in there."

"That was the real reason you came over here, wasn't it?" Niko asks.

"You mentioned the other day," I say. "That your people were having an issue with one of their mines. I figured, why not help you? We were already here so you could say hello to your brother before bed, anyway."

"You asked if there was anything flammable in the mines," he says. "Before you knew my brother was here."

"I was just curious what these mines had."

"You are Varilan?" Derrick asks me as he and his soldiers give me an uneasy look, probably because of my display of magic. "You speak Marran well."

"No," I answer. "I am actually Jesheman, but am close friends with Princess Lina. You could say that she was the first friend I ever made."

"I have never heard of Jeshem," he says.

"Jeshema," I correct. "We're a small nation in the Unwild Lands. I was taught Marran by my papa. He's traveled to many lands, including Mar. As I am the Jesheman equivalent of a prince, they wanted me versed in as many languages as possible."

"Then welcome to Mar," he inclines his head slightly, then looks at Niko. "Welcome back, for however long your stay is. Did you return after seeing what it was like to train as a magician and wish to be a soldier like the rest of us instead?"

"I only came back to visit," Niko says firmly. "I have more magic classes on Monday, and there is a formal event Sunday evening for nobility. As I am betrothed to Princess Lina, I am invited to it. It will be the first time I have danced with her, and I am looking forward to it."

Speaking of that ball, I was not invited to it, though I am not upset by that. Since I am neither Varilan nobility nor related or betrothed or married to Varilan nobility, it would be out of custom to allow me to attend.

Uncle Zach promised that there are other events and balls that I will be allowed to attend, this particular one is a rare one in this regard.

"Jason," Niko looks at me. "Can you take us back to the castle, now? I would like some rest before we leave in the morning."

"Sure," I say, then open a gate back to the library. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Derrick. Perhaps the next time we meet, your kingdom will have better and more weapons to help you in your defense against the others."

Niko steps through, then I step through as well, and he leads me to his room, frowning slightly.

"I am not sure where you will sleep," he says. "I did not think of that when we left. To prepare a room for you this late would take-"

"It is fine," I hold up a hand. "I can open a gate home, back to my papas and mamas. What time should I return?"

"Around eight," he answers. "That should give enough time for me to eat breakfast and do a few things."

"Then eight, I shall return," I tell him. "Where should I open the gate?"

"The library," he answers. "No one goes there often, so I should be able to leave there without much fuss and protesting at my continuing to be a magician."

"Alright," I say. "You still have your gift for Lina?"

"Yes, Mother," he rolls his eyes.

"Hey," I smile. "Just wanted to make sure you didn't accidentally pull it out of your spatial storage to check it again and lose it."

His face reddens. He's pulled it out a few times, and to prove that he didn't lose it, he pulls it out and shows me the package before sending it back in.

"Before I go," I laugh. "I wanted to ask – you don't have horses here?"

"No," he answers. "I told you I get nervous around them. My first time seeing them was when we descended the mountain for my trip to Varil City. The terrain here isn't friendly for horses, so we use bigger, stronger, slower beasts or travel by foot everywhere."

He's not just nervous, he's outright frightened, even after having a long trip to Varil City in a carriage drawn by them. I've noticed he tries to avoid being near them when entering a carriage or passing by one as well.

"Alright," I say. "Well, I'll see you in the morning, Niko."

He dips his head, then I open a gate to my home with my papas and mamas, stepping out to find Mana Elena making some potion in the kitchen. I can sense Papa Samuel and Papa Jared sleeping in their rooms, though the rest are missing.

"Hello, Mama Elena," I say. "Where is everyone? No Papa Michael, Mama Alyssa, Mama Elizabeth?"

"They went on some trip to gather things deeper into the forest," she turns and looks at me with a raised eyebrow. "What are you doing, coming here so late in the evening?"

"Staying the night," I answer. "Niko was homesick, so I took him to Mar-" she gives me a disapproving look, probably because she knows I didn't use enough teleports to be 'safe'. "And some of Alex's friends from Varilar are in Varil now, and I figured that since he thought I was going to be gone all weekend, he might host them at the house. That left here and my other house if I wanted to give him privacy, and I decide on the one that had family."

"Going to Mar explains the coat," she says. "How many trips did you take?"

"Two," I answer, and her disapproving glare returns. "It would've been one, but the initial reason for leaving was to go somewhere else. I went from there to Mar because Niko was homesick."

"And where was that?"

"Varilar."

She sighs.

"Go get some sleep," she tells me. "Make sure you don't leave before talking to your Papa Jared, I think he wanted to discuss something about the trains project with you."

"Got it," I nod, then head up to my room.

(Derrick, 19)

"Mother," I locate Mother in her room, already dressed for the day and currently waiting for her attendants to finish fixing up her hair. Father is gone, already off to do something. "Are you aware that Niko has returned?"

"Temporarily," she answers without gazing at me, her lips turning down slightly in a disapproving frown. "He arrived last night with some Varilan boy. According to the guards, they simply appeared in front of the castle doors."

"They did the same to the mines outside of the city," I inform her, and she raises an eyebrow at my reflection in the mirror. "And then used some strange spell to leave. It was all the other boy, though he said he was Jesheman, not Varilan. I've never heard of that land, but he claimed it was in the Unwild Lands."

"Jeshema?" She asks, and I nod. "Jeshema is the small area where the Seven Sages live. No one knows where it is, other than somewhere in the Unwild Lands. He has allied with our son?"

"With Varil, it seems," I answer. "He seems to be close friends with both Niko and his betrothed, based on their words. He also eliminated all of the ogres and corrupted beasts in the mines."

Her handmaidens stop and look at me in shock, and Mother stands, her hair finished, and faces me.

"How did he accomplish such a feat?" She asks. "You, your father, and our soldiers have been attempting this for the last six years, ever since those beasts invaded it and killed our miners."

"With magic," I answer. "He cast a single spell, which burned through the monsters. I sent men into the mines, and they reported back two hours ago that every last one was burned to ash. The walls of the mines were melted by the flames, and the ores visible were affected as well. The flames traveled through the entire mines, Mother."

"Varil," she says. "Has a truly frightening mage on their side, if he can perform such an action. It takes a dozen soldiers to slay a single ogre or corrupted beast. Where is he now?"

"I spoke with Niko before reaching here," I respond. "And he said that Jason returned home for the night, rather than troubling our staff for a room, and that he will return to take Niko back at an arranged time."

"Did he comment on what happened?" She asks.

"He said," I say. "And I am quoting him on this, Mother, that 'that is the power of magic wielded by a master. Imagine if magicians and warriors worked together to fight. There is a reason Varil has so few issues with ogres and corrupted, and it is because of this unison.' Mother, I am aware that magic is frowned upon here in the mountains, but after seeing that power with my own eyes… there may be a reason Varil flourishes as much as it does. Niko mentioned in our conversation that Varil even has light crystals that run for days without turning off, drawing on the ambient magic in the air to fuel their power, that even a commoner can find clean water for cheap without any need to boil because of their magic. Commoners who do not wield magic.

"Niko's marriage to the Varilan princess," I continue. "May have helped us deter our enemies from attacking, but that only means they will wait until they are sure Varil will not be able to respond quickly."

"Indeed," she says. "Perhaps it is time we rethink this stance. I will need to speak with your father about this first. If magic can protect us, and it can be proven to not be as evil as the priests claim, then perhaps we should welcome some of the Varilan mages to teach those who might have talent and wish to learn."

"Where is Father?" I ask. "I was informed he was gone when I returned."

"He left for the battlefront," she answers. "He should return in a week or so. I shall send a message to him shortly to urge an earlier return to discuss this."

"Niko also said," I say. "That there are some rebels from Varil who may try to start a war between Mar and Varil, and that they already exiled one Duke for having attempted so. He thought we should know in case something occurred."

"We will keep an ear out," she says. "Come, let us greet the lords. They wish to discuss the allocation of resources again, and with the news that the nearby mines are free once more, we can supply the royal smiths with more materials."

(Jason, 16)

"Oh, good, you're up," I say as Papa Jared enters the forge.

"Says the one who showed up in the middle of the night," he says. "What are you working on?"

"I had an idea around an hour ago," I answer. Part of it came from the memories I have of being Lucas. "A thought came to me while I was thinking about how useful it would be to communicate with someone who is in another area. Imagine not having to send a letter, but just… talk."

"Just talk?" He asks, then looks at the pair of rectangular metal cards I forged. "And these allow you to?"

"Yes," I answer, handing him one. "This is a paired set. Right now, if you imbue it with your magic, it will activate both pairs. I'm not sure on the distance, I only finished forging them a few minutes ago. Once they're activated, they will transmit the sounds around them to the other. This is the basic version of the enchantment, and was a lot easier to sort out than I expected. The difficult part will be fine-tuning it so you can contact multiple people with a single commplate and do it over vast distances. To do multiple, it would probably need to have runes imbued into the plate, and then the users would need to imbue their magic into the rune that represents the plate of the person they wish to contact."

"What brought this idea on?" He asks.

"Two things," I answer. "The first is how much Niko is latching onto the people who are kind to him. I met one of his brothers, and based on the looks of the staff and the fact that his parents didn't even bother saying 'hello' to him after being informed he was there, made me realize that he's likely never had anyone who was actually friendly with him before. If he has, he hasn't mentioned them. I was thinking that if there is someone there who showed him kindness, then something like this would allow him to communicate with them, even from Varil City.

"In addition," I continue. "Niko would also be able to use it to contact, say, myself and Alex or Jacob and Lina if he wanted to chat or do something with friends. While my cousins might not always be available, I often am and Alex might tag along sometimes. That way, he would have no need to visit us to see if we are free, he could simply use the commplate to check. It would save him time and travel if we weren't. Naturally, it has other uses, but those are the ones that pulled me out of bed and into here.

"Third reason I just thought up," I add. "Is that it could be used to communicate with commanders more easily. Imagine being able to control a battlefield without using runners. Orders would be relayed faster, allowing for quicker responses."

"That is a good use," he smiles. "Want me to work on it as well?"

"Sure," I answer. "I'm trying to solve another dilemma while keeping up with my studies. I might work on this a bit more, but if you figure it out first, let me know."

"I will," he tells me.

"The Mad Witch said you wanted to talk with me about something?" I ask. "Did you figure out something with the train?"

"Yes," he smiles. "I can make the model of it run on its own, though only the wood version. It doesn't have enough power to move a metal one yet."

Papa Jared shows me the train moving across the floor of the forge, and we discuss how to increase the power so that it can move the weight of metal that the real deal would require to move, in addition to its cargo. Papa Jared cannot put much weight onto the wood train to test, as it then holds too much weight for it to move, causing the engine to overload as it tries to work.

"And the tracks?" I ask.

"I didn't bring them out," he tells me. "But it's only marginally better on the tracks, though it does move faster by a small amount."

"That's good," I say, and Mama Elena enters the forge.

"Alright boys," she says. "Stop playing with your toys, it's time for breakfast."

We head inside and eat breakfast with the family here, then I grab a few apples and put all but one into my spatial storage, head into the stables, and offer the remaining apple to Aurum as I stroke his mane. He eats the apple as I tell him that I'm taking him to the other house, then I open his stall and a gate to the small barn at my other house. Aurum walks through it with me, and I lead him into his stall, assuring him he can get some exercise in a little bit.

"I have a friend I'm going to introduce you to," I tell him as I stroke his neck. "His name is Niko, and he's scared of horses. I want you to help him overcome that fear, okay?"

Aurum gives me a dip of his head, and I kiss him on the snout.

"Alright," I say, then open a gate to the library at Niko's castle. A moment later, he walks through, freezing up as he sees the horse. I close the gate before he can bolt back through it. "Niko, meet Aurum, he's my horse."

"I-um," he takes a nervous step back.

"It's okay," I tell him as I pull an apple out of my spatial storage and hold it out to him. "Aurum's quite friendly. Hold this on your palm, with the palm facing up and flat, and approach. He'll eat it out of your hand. Once you do that with an apple I've given you," and marked with my magic. "Aurum will see you as a friend and someone allowed to ride him."

"I do not-no, thank you," Niko says.

"I know you're nervous around horses," I tell him. "You aren't used to them. I thought that maybe I could give you some riding lessons, help you adjust to horses. Aurum is quite friendly, and as long as you have a well-trained horse, there won't be any issues. Then, you can surprise Alex, Jacob, and most importantly, Lina with the fact that you can ride a horse. You would even be able to take Lina on a ride. In Varil, it is not uncommon for a gentleman to take his lady for a ride on his horse. Through town, on a scenic ride, for a picnic in the fields… stuff like that."

That last part convinces Niko for some reason, and he nervously takes the marked apple and approaches Aurum, holding it out as I keep a hand on Aurum's mane, maintaining my telepathic connection to him. These are all steps required to let him know that Niko is an ally.

Training him for this took me six months, but with telepathic magic at my command, it was a lot easier than it probably could have been. Two of his offspring have also been trained for that, though by Papa Samuel instead of me. Aurum will only ever see me as his owner, while Samuel trained his to have a way where he could transfer ownership, but only him. I'm not sure how he managed that, or if it's actually finished, but I'm kind of jealous of his abilities.

As powerful and talented as I am, that's nothing compared to the experience of the Sage of Magic.

Once Aurum eats the apple, I teach Niko to brush the horse before putting on the saddle blanket and saddle itself, explaining that it helps make sure there is no dirt, burs, hay, or anything else between him and them. If there is, it can become very uncomfortable for the horse. Most nobles have stablemasters and servants to deal with stuff like that, but I prefer to do it myself.

After that, I teach him how to mount Aurum, though he falls the first two times. I encourage him to try again, though, and the third time, he succeeds. I have him dismount, then I mount and help him up.

"Make sure to hold on to me," I tell him. "You'll want to lean forward a little. If you're feeling brave, sit with your butt a little off of the seat, some riders do that for comfort. Be forewarned that no matter which way you ride, your ass will be sore when we finish."

Niko grips my shoulders, his grip tightening as I set Aurum to a gentle walk. I have him walk around the pen for a few minutes, then have Niko dismount. He falls, and I hop off and make sure he's okay.

"Yeah," he brushes his pants off in embarrassment. "That wasn't fun."

"It's your turn," I tell him. "Mount up, Niko. I won't be on Aurum this time. Just grip the reins. Click your tongue once to get him moving, and he'll walk at a gentle pace, just like before. Do a gentle tug on the left if you want him to turn left, and a gentle tug on the right. Don't jerk the reins. I don't use a bit, but it's still not comfortable when the reins are jerked. When you want him to stop, gently pull back on both reins and say 'whoa'."

He nods, then hesitantly mounts Aurum again and grips the reins tightly. He clicks his tongue, and Aurum sets off at a gentle walk. I stay alongside them, making sure Niko is okay. He's far too tense, and I'm worried he'll accidentally pull hard when he needs to turn.

When Aurum reaches the fence, he stops walking, since Niko didn't tell him to turn. Instead, he just stands there.

"He just stopped," Niko looks at Aurum in confusion. "Why did he stop moving?"

"You didn't guide him to turn," I tell Niko. "So he interpreted that as you wanting to go to the fence. No need to say 'whoa' there, even though you usually need to. He will do his best to avoid crashing or falling, regardless of your commands."

"Okay," he says, then pulls on the left rein, before staring at Aurum in confusion. "He did not go."

"That's because he's stopped," I say. "Click your tongue as you tug on the rein. Remember, do it gently."

Niko nods, and for the next half-hour, I teach him how to ride Aurum. He's definitely still scared and stiff, but that will probably take a few lessons to finish. Once he stops riding Aurum and dismounts, I teach him to brush Aurum back down, to smooth out his pelt and help cool him down and tell him that he did a good job.

"We'll let Aurum stay out here," I say as he frowns, looking in the distance behind me. There's a small bit of magic he uses that I recognize as enhanced sight, and am curious to what he's looking at. "While we do our stuff. He's learned to get used to the explosions and spells flying around, and is pretty much a war horse for a mage, now."

"I think that you should probably open a gate so we can leave," he tells me. "And take your horse with us."

"Why?" I ask.

"There is a black dragon flying towards us."