(Jason, 16)

The ocean is beautiful under the night sky, the great silver moon reflecting off of it and causing it to sparkle like jewels. Niko is grinning in his excitement at flying, at feeling the cool air on our faces, the ocean spray hitting us if we fly too low…

It's rather fun, though I'm also using a bit of air and fire magic to protect us and warm us as we fly. It's even chillier here than at my training area, and we're flying rather fast, so if I didn't use additional magics, we'd both freeze, fast.

Keeping my gaze ahead and sweeping from side to side, I look for the islands. They were around two hundred miles from the shore, if my memory serves me correctly, and we're flying at around seventy miles per hour, so it should only take us around three hours to reach them.

The novelty of flying wears off after the first hour for Niko, and he becomes content to stay by my side, though we don't talk much, keeping watch for the islands.

Almost three hours have passed before I spot them, a collection of small islands, just as I remember from my time as a Magus. As we draw closer, I make out huts and docks, even some boats on the water with people.

There's still civilization, and their hair and eyes are silver, just as they were in my memories.

"I see them," Niko smiles. "Benjamin's people, the moon folk."

I laugh at what he calls them, though he's right. Everyone knew his people as 'the moon folk' because of their hair and eyes.

It doesn't surprise me that they haven't evolved much, as they were isolated to begin with. Only demons and angels really came here back then, if my memories are correct, so there wasn't much in the way of additional genetics entering their bloodlines.

The people on the boats stop when they see us, and Niko and I wave to them. They wave back, uncertain, and we continue flying until we reach the nearest island, which has a collection of around fifty huts on it, along with several docks all along it.

There's also a giant marble statue of Benjamin, fully-grown, though also unclothed. Back then, and now, many statues and paintings are made nude, though I know that on Earth, that was a 'historical' thing and not a 'modern' thing. I'm not sure why Earth changed such things, it is simply the natural state of things. That said, today's era is still closer to what Earth's old days were, so it would make sense they have not yet progressed past that, especially in a place so isolated as here.

The craftsmanship is marvelous on the statue, which shows no signs of time on it. That might be partly due to the enchantments woven into the figure, protecting it against weather and the sun's kiss.

"I think that means you did come back here," I tell Niko, who laughs. "I don't think we'll be able to understand them."

"Maybe," he responds, looking at the people who are coming out to investigate the mysterious pair who flew in. "Do you think their language has changed much, in the times since the Magi?"

"It might have some differences," I nod, my gaze settling on an elderly woman approaching us.

She is dressed in rough clothes, just like all others here, but there is a certain grace and dignity to them as well. A circlet of stems and reeds adorns her head, a few silver flowers resting in it. A pale wooden staff is gripped in her right hand, adorned with carvings, beads and feathers hung from its tip by leather cords. As with all of the moon folk, her skin is quite pale, as if the sun has never touched it.

"Do any of you speak the ancient tongue?" I ask her in the ancient tongue of these islands. "We know the old version of it."

"Yes," she answers. "Though our language now is not that different."

"My friend and I," I gesture to Niko. "Speak the ancient tongue."

"It has been many years," she tells me. "Since someone came from far away. Nearly three thousand years, when the King of Decay returned home with his friend and slayed the demons and angels that haunted our people."

When she mentions the King of Decay, she gestures to the statue of Benjamin. Is that what they called him?

"We know of the war," I nod. "And of the Magi as well. We wanted to see if these islands still had people. None have come since the war?"

"None," she confirms. "We have believed for many generations that the war killed the rest of humanity. Were it not for the King of Decay and his friend, we would have been wiped out as well."

"That friend of his," I say. "Was a direct ancestor of mine. When we heard about his visit here, and of his friend's origins being here, we decided we wanted to visit."

"Your words," she says. "Are lies, and yet… there is more to the story than that. You mean no ill harm, only wish to hide a truth you think would not be believed."

Niko and I look at each other. I don't remember them having some sort of psychic powers, and nor do I have memories of such powers of insight existing. By his expression, he doesn't, either.

"We were not sure," I smile. "That the truth would be believed."

"All truths are known under the guiding moon's light," she smiles. "If you tell us the truth, we may consider letting you leave here, after your lies."

"You might be able to overpower Niko," I gesture to Niko. "As you have several middle and upper blue, and even two lower indigo, mages, as well as the majority of your people being yellow or green… but I am an upper violet capable of manifesting a spell that can destroy this entire island. In addition, I am capable of opening a gate to any place I have been before, allowing me to leave anywhere I wish with ease. You would not have time to break my barriers before Niko and I were gone."

She stares at me for several moments, then smiles.

"Every word of what you said is the truth," she says. "But that does not mean we will cooperate."

"It was not meant to intimidate," I smile. "Only to warn you that your threats do not faze us. You are right in that what I said were lies before, but we wish to keep the full truth a secret. However, our desire to visit the islands was honest. We are here as friends and guests, not as enemies or adversaries. We do have a connection to the two Magi who visited here, however."

She nods, accepting this.

"What you say is the truth," she smiles. "You two look weary. Come, rest for the night, and we can talk more in the morning."

(Samuel, 80)

"Henry," I dip my head to the Marran king. "Zachary informed me you wish to see Niko, then hurry home?"

"Yes," Henry responds. "I have heard that my son often disappears with your son, and wished to inform him that I was returning to Mar. I have already been away for too long, I feel, in what is likely a sensitive time."

It likely is, as his people no doubt know that he and the royal family have chosen to defy the gods. According to Zachary, Henry wishes to travel by gate, even if he and his men do not fully trust magic yet.

"Unfortunately," I tell my old acquaintance. "I do not know where Niko and Jason are, as they are not at their usual place. I went by there after breakfast to talk to Jason about something, and neither were around. In addition, his horse was set up as if they expected to be gone the day."

Aurum was running free in the large pen, with a trough of water and a rack of hay to refresh himself from, which usually means that Jason was there in the morning and intends on being back by evening.

"Do not worry," I reassure the Marran king, who has a slight frown on his face. "Jason will not let harm come to Niko. This is not the first time they are not where he normally trains your son. There is even a good chance he is doing some training he doesn't want me to know about. With my experience, it doesn't take me long to learn how he does a spell if I see him teaching someone else."

Or practicing it on his own. I saw him practicing a branched strike spell, one where it branches out from each target to strike another nearby. Discerning the methods for that technique only took me a few days without any explanation given, but I know Jason took around two months to figure it out, as I asked him after I learned it.

He has yet to realize I know his spell, as I did not want to crush the boy's excitement about learning how to perform it. Now that he is older and more mature, I know I can trust he will not be crushed by such a thing.

I do have decades of experience and training on him, after all.

"I can take you home, however," I tell Henry. "I have been to the Marran castle before."

And recently enough that the gate spell should still work. It seems there is a time limit on how long ago we need to have been somewhere to create a gate there. It is enough time that Jason has yet to live it, so he will not have to worry for many years, so I've not informed him of this restriction.

"Thank you," Henry tells me.

He leads me to where the rest of his group is waiting, and I open a gate. Most of them are hesitant, and the priests downright refuse, saying they will return the way they came before leaving. The rest enter through the gate, and I pass through as well, setting foot in the Marran castle for the first time in thirty-six years. As I bring up the rear, I close the gate spell.

We are barely inside a minute before a group of guards rush toward us, panic on their face.

"Your Majesty!" The one in the lead gives a quick bow. "The priests have led a rebellion against the royal family in your absence. We have succeeded in securing the castle, but resources are low. It will not be long before we run out of food."

"I take it this is because of my deal with Varil?" Henry asks.

"Yes, Your Majesty," the guard answers. "They claim that we have allied with heathens and will bring about our doom. They are calling for the heads of the royal family."

"Have they brought soldiers to our walls?" Henry asks.

"Yes," the guard answers. "There managed to recruit three hundred soldiers for their cause, and many of the civilians have allied with them as well."

"My son is the reason this happened," I tell Henry, who looks at me. "I would not be opposed to granting assistance for this."

With my dimensional space, I can supply the castle indefinitely. I know that its walls will not fall without inside help, and as long as they have food here, the people within are unlikely to act against the royal family, especially with a powerful wizard around.

With my pure magical power, I can deal with any ogres and corrupted that begin to run rampant because of the lack of soldiers doing what they can against them.

Chances are high that with my interference here, more people will be swayed to the side of magic, especially soldiers. They have lost many soldiers in both the wars at the borders and against these monsters which cannot be killed easily without magic.

Changing the hearts and desires of the people will not be easy, and will take time, but as long as Henry has allies here, things should work out.

"That would be appreciated," Henry tells me. "Though I do not know of a way to repay you."

"By accepting magic into your kingdom," I smile.

(Jacob, 16)

"Finally," I smile at Lina as I sit on a couch and pick up the pitcher of water resting on the low table between us, then fill a glass and take a sip. "Time alone."

"Finally," she emphasizes that, relaxing on the couch across from me. "We were unable to yesterday, after the tour for the Marran mages and everything that came after. I heard about your talk with Papa. The solution that Jason came up with were generators?"

"Yes," I explain to her the purpose of the generators, and that they were apparently prototypes for the ones on the train, making sure to mention that the ones for the train will not expel the element, but create mana crystals attuned to it.

"I see," she says. "When you two returned yesterday, his eyes were grey. Then factoring in his explanation about the corrupted and tainted, and-"

"Yes," I nod. "Jason is no doubt Nolan, though we already began to suspect that. I still have no leads on who Quinn might be, though."

There are just no viable candidates at the university, which means that he might not be a student there. If he isn't there, where is he? More importantly, will Jason act like he does with Alex as he does with whoever Quinn is? We know Alex cannot be Quinn, as his skills are far too low for that.

Even with our lack of any knowledge of the training Nolan gave us, we still have some exceptional abilities. I was the King of Spring, and I do have some knowledge of what I did back then because of my memories.

So we know that any other Magi who reincarnated will, too.

"I wish we had more memories," Lina sighs. "More to learn from of what we could do back then. There were certain ones I'm sure would help us locate the other Magi."

"And help us find out why we were reincarnated," I nod. "Did you notice about our memories dealing with reincarnation?"

"Yes," she smiles. "There is no knowledge of what causes reincarnation, but even back then, it was an absolute fact that the reincarnated always came from another world. Do you think that us being from this one could be why we have memory issues?"

"That stands as the strongest reason," I nod. "Only Jason – Nolan – would know for sure. He performed research into reincarnation three thousand years ago."

A knock at the door draws our attention, and I stand and walk over, opening it. One of the palace guards stands on the other side, Tasha standing behind him with a pair of guards.

"Come on in, Tasha," I gesture. "Lina and I were just talking about things."

"Thank you," she looks at her guards. "There is no need to escort me, another woman is present."

Thank goodness that having another woman present counts as an escort for a woman in some situations. Usually, they need at least two guards or a guard and their handmaiden. Since Lina and I are siblings, there is no need for the escort, and since we are both in the royal palace and Lina herself is royalty, the need for one is also nullified as long as the guards remain on the other side of the door.

We can ignore the fact that the room itself is soundproofed through magical enchantments. Sage Alyssa herself placed the enchantments when the palace was renovated decades ago. The privacy was the reason Lina and I chose to speak in here, as it meant no one could overhear our conversation regarding our past lives.

I sit on the couch I was on before, and Tasha sits beside Lina. I would prefer to have her beside me, but since there is no escort, having her on the other couch is better.

"You look stunning, Tasha," I tell her once we are seated.

Today, she wears a simple, red and brown dress with silver jewelry set with orange jewels.

"Thank you," she smiles.

I pour her a glass of water and offer it to her, and she accepts it.

"How are you doing?" I ask.

"I am well," she responds. "How are you, Jacob?"

"I am well," I nod. "Lina and I were just chatting about Jason."

"That is why I wished to speak with you, actually," she tells me. "I noticed the reactions you two had yesterday as he explained about the corrupted, and it made me wonder something, considering that knowledge was lost thousands of years ago."

Of all the people-why did I not realize this before?

"You are a Magi," I state.

"I was Jessica," she nods, holding out her Crystal Crest so I can see it, confirming her identity. It's the same as Magus Jessica's, only with two names above the hippogriff instead of one. "Until Jason's explanation yesterday, I thought only I had reincarnated into this time, that perhaps we were each reincarnated into separate ages."

"Lina and I," I say. "Suspect that all twelve of us were reincarnated here, for some reason. And this time, we are all the same age, rather than being within a few years of each other. Since our coming-of-age ceremony was together, we learned together who the other was. Until then, we had thought those memories of ours were just dreams, even nightmares. Papa suspected it, but did not tell us until we were older. I was Ethan, and Lina was Natalie."

We show Tasha our Crystal Crests so she can confirm it.

"And Jason," I say. "Is Nolan. This is not confirmed, but everything fits. That explanation of his yesterday acts as proof of that, in addition to why his eyes turned grey."

"Why did his eyes turn grey?" Lina asks. "I know Papa asked you to ask him to ask the Sages to deal with the flame boars, and that he said he could look at it and see what caused the sudden increase, but-"

"Ambient mana overload."

The moment I say that, their eyes widen, and I know they realized what Jason did. The fix was a technique only the most powerful and talented of magicians could do back then without risk to themselves.

"That was the source of the increased flame boars?" Tasha asked. "I must admit, I forgot about such a thing until you mentioned it."

"So did I," Lina adds.

"As did I," I nod. "Jason is exceptionally sensitive to magic and mana, though, so he likely sensed it the moment we were out there."

"Do we know why ambient mana attuned to the fire element became so strong?" Lina asks.

"No," I answer. "Jason said that it sometimes happens naturally. There are leylines covering the world, and they constantly radiate out mana. If that mana doesn't dissipate naturally for some reason, or it isn't absorb into something, it builds up.

"As for the fire attunement," I shrug. "Ambient mana has a tendency to tune into an element if enough mana tuned to that element is present there in large amounts. I made subtle inquiries last night, and determined that several fire-based magicians and warriors had been training in those fields near the center of the dense mana. Combine that with intense amounts of ambient mana, and it was a recipe for what occurred."

"Have they been told to stop?" Tasha asks. "Otherwise, Jason's solution will only be a temporary fix."

"I am waiting on Jason to return tomorrow," I respond. "To find out what he thinks. He would know best of us all, even if he were not Nolan, how to resolve this issue."

We fall silent for several minutes. I am unsure of what they think about, but I think about the fact that my betrothed happens to be the same person I entered into a relationship with as a Magus. Jessica and Ethan were one of the five couples of the Magi.

So were Benjamin and Natalie, and while eleven of the Magi came from one nation in the ancient times, there was one foreigner. And right now, Lina is betrothed to a foreigner who the reincarnation of Nolan currently teaches magic to.

Niko is Benjamin. If I happen to become betrothed to Tasha, the reincarnation of my past life's lover, then what are the odds that the reincarnation of Natalie happens to also become betrothed to a foreigner when her own lover was a foreigner?

He meets all of the requirements for it, when I think about it.

But does the pattern hold? Alex cannot be Quinn for a variety of reasons, yet he is the one who Jason crushes on.

I sigh. It is possible that Nolan had something similar before we met with him back then. No one actually knew much about his life before he became the First Magus. We all know he came from a clan of mages forced into slavery by dragons, which resulted in powerful members of the clan to fulfill their duties, but that was it.

Unless my missing memories include some that include information about that past of his, but I doubt it. I have memories of Nolan being mysterious about his origins. The only reason we even knew about his origins was because we visited his home once.

Is it still around? Not only that, but is Benjamin's home of origin still around as well?

"On a different topic," Tasha pulls me from my thoughts. "Do you know why Jason is attending university? He already has the capabilities to just earn the degree."

"He does," I nod. "But he lacks social interactions with people his own age, which I believe is the true reason for his attendance at a university. Since no limit on number of students or Class placements exists, he has not stolen any spot from someone else."

Jason does do well for someone who never interacted with those his age before, but it also probably contributes to his denseness in some regards. He learns fast, though, so by the time he leaves university, maybe he will have developed all of those lacking skills, plus some.

Then again, Nolan was pretty dense at times, too… so perhaps not? At least, if some traits from our past life carry over.

Lina chuckles, and I raise an eyebrow in inquiry.

"Sorry," she says. "Talking about Jason and Nolan made me think about how things would have been had Nolan learned how to make gates."

"You know," Tasha looks at my sister. "There is a good chance the war would have ended much, much sooner. I am just glad Jason does not have Nolan's temper. Do you remember what happened that time Quinn was punched?"

I do, and thinking about that makes me glad Jason lacks Nolan's temper. He does have a mild one, but he seems to manage it well, based on the two instances of it I saw. Jason possesses the power to wipe out everyone in Varil City, and probably the actual ability to do so as well. With Nolan's temper, that would be a real thing to fear for should any of Jason's friends be harmed.

Lina and I occasionally sport injuries from assassination attempts that got further than normal before we dealt with them, and Jason definitely views us as his friends.

All three of us let out sighs in relief.

(Jason, 16)

"Thank you for having us," I say to the Moon Priestess, the old woman who greeted us this morning. "We should be returning to our land now, though. I have to deal with something before we go to bed again. We thank you for sharing with us stories and history."

She, Niko, and I are alone at the moment, sitting in her hut. The Moon Priestess is, essentially, the queen of these islands, and was blessed with a sort of second sight that grants her additional knowledge, such as when someone speaks lies rather than truth.

"You are most welcome," she says with knowledge in her eyes. "And the two of you are welcome to return at any time, King of Decay, King of Magic."

"You knew?" I ask as Niko's eyes widen in shock.

"Yes," she smiles. "Do not worry, I have told none here of who you are."

"How did you know who we are?" Niko asks.

"I am the Moon Priestess," she answers. "Knowing what is and is not is my duty. Though I will admit that I did have some warning to your arrival. The Spirit of the Volcano warned me years ago that the Magi were reincarnated, and that one day, our people would be visited by two of them."

The Spirit of the Volcano is considered a sacred being to the people of these islands, one who speaks with and advises the Moon Priests of great events for their people.

Unfortunately, Niko and I still have not regained our memories of returning here, so we do not know if it existed back then.

"I see," Niko tells her. "Thank you, for not sharing with people who I am. We currently act without revealing that, even to our own people."

"Everyone has secrets for a reason," she tells him, then looks at me. "The Spirit of the Volcano asked that I deliver an item to you, when you visited."

She stands and walks over to a shelf covered in boxes and jars of shells, beads, sand, pebbles, and various other random items. Opening up a box, she pulls out several pieces of jewelry before locating the one she sought, then walks over and holds it out to me. The moment I accept it, a memory returns to me.

(Nolan, 21)

The presence of the Spirit of the Volcano fills the air in this magma chamber. Molten rock flows out of several holes in the sides of the chamber, with several platforms sticking out of the walls, each made of stone.

Only my manipulation of the air itself allows me to breathe the toxic fumes filling the air and survive the high temperatures. The entity's power radiates out, soaking into everything here to amplify the volcano's natural state.

I am unafraid, though. The Spirit of the Volcano is not a malevolent being, though nor is it benevolent.

As with most ancient cosmic beings, it simply is. One of many children of the Divine Dragon, sent to Midlaris to act as a guardian and adviser to his children while also an avenger, but only when needed.

"Father," its voice radiates out. "I thought I sensed your presence here. You look… different."

"I am," I hold out an item.

It is a bracelet of woven violet threads with twelve beads strung through it. Each bead was forged of a single element, and though they look ordinary, they also look special. Every bead relates to one of the twelve Divine Beasts, their emblem carved into them.

"If there ever comes a time when I return," I tell him. "Entrust this to the Moon Priestess, so that she may give it to me."

The bracelet floats out of my hand with a gently gust of warm air, then disappears in a swirl of molten rock.

"Goodbye," I tell the Spirit of the Volcano.

"Goodbye, Father."

(Jason, 16)

The memory ends, and I finger the twelve beads on the bracelet. I can sense the power that was poured into the bracelet, from the protections woven into threads to ensure it survived the ages to the high magic that turned the raw essences of the elements into beads.

The beads of air almost resemble glass, with slight swirl designs. The beads of water are similar to that as well, though the way they refract light matches that of water. The beads of stone probably look most like their element, looking like, well, smooth and small stones. The beads of fire, on the other hand, take on an orange and yellow appearance that shifts in light.

Nolan was right back then. I was right back then. Seeing this bracelet, now, and without any context at all, I know exactly what it means.

The Gathering will occur soon.