(Jacob, 16)

"Good afternoon, Tasha," I dip my head to her as she walks down the stairs. "You look beautiful."

Especially in her current outfit, a graceful, brown and green dress and matching jewelry.

"Thank you," she curtsies. "You are handsome today, Jacob."

"Am I normally not?" I ask, and she laughs. I smile. "Would you care to spend the evening with me? I convinced Papa to allow me out today."

"That would be wonderful," she responds, then looks at one of her maids. "Would you care to fetch my shawl?"

The maid curtsies and leaves. No doubt she will accompany us, along with one of Tasha's female guards to act as her escort. When she returns, the maid hands Tasha a brown shawl and a green scarf. I want to help her put them on instead of allowing the maid to, but know I have to wait until we marry.

I want to jokingly ask Jason if he ever figured out how to manipulate time, just so I can skip to the end of university already. That was an actual project of Nolan's after the war, from what I remember.

But I know that Jason would probably tell me to not be ridiculous, that he has not had the time to work on figuring out such a powerful magic. I also know that doing such a thing would remove nearly five years of time to spend with Tasha. And my friends, sister, and Papa, but Tasha is the most important one for me.

"Come," I tell the person most important to me. "I already had your carriage pulled to the front while I waited. There is a performance at an amphitheater that I reserved seats for."

Tasha smiles, then we exit the manor and enter our respective carriages. As expected, the maid who fetched Tasha's shawl and one of her female guards accompanied her. Only a few minutes later do they stop, dropping us at the amphitheater. A large crowd has already gathered for tonight's performance.

I have never seen this performance before, the troupe comes from the southern kingdoms, and the few occasions I traveled there did not allow me to see it. I did desire to witness this performance, though. Their other performances were exceptional, so I expect that of this one as well.

As I did not use my royal influence to secure optimal seats, Tasha and I sit at the back of it, but that does not bother either of us. It means our guards can protect us better standing in the space behind us. Though there is plenty of standing space, the amphitheater guards will ensure everyone but our guards is seated.

While we wait for the show to begin, staff members walk around, offering ale, wine, and treats for anyone who wishes to buy them. We decline, for our safety. One part of staying safe and avoiding assassinations is to avoid eating most food others offer.

Eating a restaurant is not an easy or simple ordeal because Royal Knights and Royal Mages end up in the kitchen, supervising every stage and magically testing everything. It is a hassle for the restaurant, so I try to avoid it when possible.

I know that Jason has a way of magically scanning food, though, as he has offered to eat out with me a few times and do so to avoid needing the extra performance.

As I think about that, I notice Tasha looking past my right several times, so eventually look over to see what has a smile on her lips, and almost laugh aloud. Jason and Alex are seated together in the back row as well, and I can see all of Alex's street crew here as well, sitting on Alex's other side and in front of the two of them. It takes me a moment to realize that Niko is seated beside Jason, who is talking to him.

The Marran prince still has issues comprehending what we say sometimes, can he handle a southern troupe's performance? Or is this part of how he attempts to understand us better?

Well, regardless, Jason should pay more attention to Alex. I am sure the latter is craving the attention, based on how much he is speaking with Barry at the moment and the stein of ale he's drinking.

I turn my attention back to the front as the flames in the braziers around us begin to weaken, the crystals lining the front of the stage lighting up. This is one use for pleasure that the light crystals have. Before, they used candles set in the same directional lanterns. To ensure longevity, they were enchanted to last longer and lit only at the beginning of the performances. If they went out, someone had to relight them.

With the crystals, they can all be illuminated at once, and the mana batteries ensure they will last through the performance.

Now that the lighting has been adjusted, the actors begin the play, stagehands moving props into place when needed. Every hour, there will be a fifteen-minute break for a short rest for both viewers and actors, though sometimes, a full scene change will occur as well.

Tonight's performance is the tale of the Tragedy of the Grey Slaves. Only two acting troupes can perform it, partly because it requires over one hundred actors to perform properly, partly because of the complexity of the performance.

Then there is the fact that nearly all major plays are kept to the troupe or rare few troupes that know how to do them rather than being spread out. It creates a higher demand for the performance, and prices can be raised more for it as a result. It helps to cover the cost of the travels for performances and equipment they use.

The performance itself is wonderful, but I start to notice some eerie similarities in it to something else I know of, despite the performance itself being around only two hundred years in age.

At the start of the performance, there are three factions, the Crimson Guard, the Golden Knights, and the Grey Slaves. The first two factions are represented by thirty actors clad in either red and black or white and gold clothes. The third faction is represented by sixty actors clad in grey clothes.

While the Crimson Guard and Golden Knights are positioned on separate halves of the stage, the Grey Slaves are dispersed between them and in the middle. The Crimson Guard and Golden Knights abuse the Grey Slaves as they war over territory. While they sometimes manage to claim territory, they never manage to fully claim land, always losing some to the other side in the end.

As the war rages on, the Grey Slaves reduce in number and lose all of their land to the other two factions, who only grow in number. The war continues to rage on, and the two factions begin to send the Grey Slaves after each other, rather than just abusing them. Their numbers reduce even more quickly.

In the fourth act, there are only four Grey Slaves left, a man and a woman under each of the other two factions. They are mourning, aware that their deaths are soon, the last of their people. As the final Grey Slaves lay dying, the performance ends and everyone claps.

Everyone except Tasha and me, who look at each other.

"Did you recognize that?" I ask in the ancient language.

"Yes," she responds in the same, her gaze traveling past me for a moment before meeting my own eyes once more. "That was the tale of the war, up until the Magi appeared."

"Indeed," I say. "This performance has been around for two centuries. How do you think the original performers learned of it?"

"I do not know," she responds. "But it seems Jason and Niko both realized the same as we."

I look over to find both of them frowning while staring at the stage, confusion clearly on both faces.

"Indeed," I look back to Tasha. "We can ask them next time we see them, they will likely be off before we leave."

The other guests are leaving now, but I need to wait until after everyone has left, as I waited too long after the production ended to make my exit. Walking in a crowd is not a bright idea, especially with assassins regularly making attempts on my life.

University is fine because literally everyone attending is a warrior, so if someone did try to make a move against me in the crowded halls, they would find themselves dealing with dozens to hundreds of warriors, slayers, and professors.

"Would you like me to open a gate so you can exit?" A voice asks, and I turn my head to find Jason, Niko, and Alex standing behind us, Jason and Alex standing just a little closer than mere friends would stand.

"If you're going to stand that close to each other," I smile at him. "Why don't you hold hands, too?"

Alex's face reddens, and Jason looks annoyed.

"Tasha," Jason looks at her. "I think your fiance might be projecting his feelings at not being able to simply hold hands with you whenever he wants."

Tasha lets out a very unladylike snort, before quickly covering her mouth and smiling at Jason.

"Perhaps," she responds.

"Jacob," Jason turns his attention back to me as I feel my own face heating up. "Would you like me to open a gate to your carriages?"

"Yes, please," I stand and step over the bench, then help Tasha over. "Did you three enjoy the production?"

"We did, thank you," Jason nods. "And you?"

"We did as well," I look at Alex. "Did your crew enjoy it?"

"We did," Alex looks stunned for a moment that I would ask after his crew, before quickly concealing that. "Thank you, Prince Jacob."

He sometimes switches back to formality with me, mostly whenever he feels surprised about something I did or said that pushes past his expectations of how a prince treats street scum. One day, he will stop doing that and simply accept that I wish to be his friend, now that I have come to trust him as I do Jason. One day, he will look at me as a friend all the time, not just some of it.

"I told you," I smile at him. "Call me Jacob," I look at Jason and speak in the ancient tongue. "The production itself is only around two hundred years old, yet they clearly have some story of the truth. Do you think their royalty spread that?"

Niko looks surprised, confirming that he is a reincarnated Magus, while Alex simply looks confused. Not surprising, considering that he is not a Magus, and thus, unable to have learned the ancient tongue.

"Unlikely," Jason opens a gate. "Go ahead, we can talk more on it later, when we are not around so many people."

I nod, then my guards step through the gate to secure the way, and after a few moments, the signal comes for me to pass through, so I do. When I step through, I find myself backstage rather than at the carriages. Tasha and her escorts walk through a moment later, then Niko and Alex, and finally Jason, who closes the gate as I spot a familiar face while trying to determine why Jason took us backstage rather than to our carriages.

"Casper!" I approach the brown-haired, blue-eyed nineteen-year-old and clasp his arms in the greeting of his people. "How have you been? How long have you been in Varilsy? Why did you not send word ahead?"

"It was meant to be a surprise!" He laughs as we release arms. "How are things here in Varil, Jacob?"

"Quite well, thank you," I respond. "I did not see you among the actors, were you watching?"

"No," he answers as my friends and guards approach. "I remained back here, I have seen the performance a few times, and the way it is butchered up here is something I cannot handle."

"The way it is butchered?" I ask. "What do you mean by that?"

"The play," he gestures to the actors, who are changing out of their costumes and into more simple clothes. "Derives from ancient stone tablets found two hundred and forty-three years ago. On it, it shows a war between the heavens and the underworld, with Midlaris caught between. Out of the southern kingdoms, they alter the performance to hide that information. There are actually five acts to it as well – the fifth act shows twelve people, one for each sacred beast, arriving and slaying all of the Crimson Guard and the Golden Knights, who represent the underworld and the heavens, respectively. We call them the Twelve Saints, though I am sure that you have already been made aware of who we believe they to be."

Casper, or Casper Anotis, is the Crown Prince of Anotis, a southern kingdom. It would make sense that he were informed of who the Magi were by now, especially as his mama, the blooded queen, is ailing. Even without the divine message at the summit, he would have been informed of the true history by now.

In the southern kingdoms, the gods are no longer worshiped, so a performance that speaks of the fall of the gods would not be a problem, even if it would cause some of our citizens to dislike them. To perform such a thing here, where religion is prominent, would be disastrous. Changing the play to match the culture makes sense from a business and a reputation standpoint.

"I do," I nod in response to his comment, then realize something. "Where are my manners? Allow me to introduce everyone. Everyone, this is Casper Anotis, prince of Anotis. I met him a few times when we were younger and Papa took me on trips with him. Casper, this beautiful woman is my betrothed, Tasha," I gesture to her.

"This is Niko sul'Mar," I gesture to the Marran prince. "Third prince of Mar and betrothed to my sister, Lina, who did not come tonight. And these two men are Jason Jeshema and Alex, two of our close friends."

"Jeshema?" Casper looks at Jason. "You are Jason Jeshema?"

"I am," Jason clasps Casper's arms in a proper southern greeting. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Prince Casper."

"Likewise," Casper releases his arms. "I believe I have an appointment to meet with you this Monday evening, though it was not arranged with my real name. My visit to Varil is meant to be a secret at the moment."

"How come?" I ask.

Casper knows I ask that politically, as royalty of another nation should never enter another unannounced. It is considered informal, rude, and often as spying. The last I heard, Anoits and Varil were still in good standing with each other, and Casper himself was a kind boy when I knew him years ago.

"Officially," he answers as Jason does something with his hands, and I realize that he's slipping onto his left hand a mithril ring with a grey gem set into it. Odd thing to do right now. "I am on a diplomatic mission. Unofficially, I am hiding with the troupe. Not many people would simply recognize me outside of Anotis, and I was surprised you did, considering how much I have grown since we last met."

"It has only been four years," I laugh. "You have not grown that much, Casper. Why are you hiding with the troupe?"

"There have been several accidents," he explains. "Where I nearly died. The Crown of Anotis will only acknowledge a blood heir, and if the last remaining member of the royal family dies of unnatural causes, it will shatter. So they wish to kill me before my mother passes from her illness. As such, I am hiding among the troupe. I sent word to your dad that I was in Varil, but asked him to keep it silent and explained to him the situation."

The Crown of Anotis, also called the Crown of Spring, is an ancient artifact of unknown origin. Its effects are prominent, though. Whoever forged it managed to somehow tie it into the bloodline of the original royalty of Anotis, when the kingdom which was originally there first formed however long ago it was.

While it can change royalties so long as the sole remaining member of the line passes naturally, it is still bound to whichever is the current, true bloodline of the land at the time. A remarkable piece of craftsmanship, even before factoring in its effects.

It keeps the land under the rule of its master bountiful, the soil fertile and crops healthy, and it provides an extra hardiness to anything grown there, allowing for later harvests as well. The range always covers the exact borders of its master's domain, even as they shift and change.

It has shattered before, and until it restored itself and chose a new master four hundred years ago, the entire region that had formerly been under its previous master's control turned into barren wastelands. That lasted for two hundred years, and Anotis has only just in my father's life truly begin to rebuild after that.

"I see," I tell Casper. "I do apologize for the skepticism, however. I hope you understand that it has been several years since we last met, and I was unaware of your presence here."

"He spoke the truth," Jason tells me, and we look at him.

"Did you not say that you needed to touch someone to-"

"Use mind magics on them," Jason holds up his left hand, showing us the ring he had slipped onto his middle finger. "Papa Jared gave this to me as a going-away present for university. As long as I focus on someone while they're speaking, it will reveal if they're lying or not. Casper spoke the truth."

"I have never heard mention of that before," I tell Jason.

"Probably because I keep all of their going-away gifts in my spatial storage," he tells me. "They're all either strange or absurdly powerful. This ring falls into the latter category. It does the mind-reading itself, but also delves into the conscious in addition to the subconscious thoughts. It is impossible to fool, even by convincing yourself of a false truth."

"What did Sage Samuel gift you?" I ask.

"That falls into the 'strange' category," Jason shakes his head, then slips the ring off and sends it back into his spatial storage. "I try not to think about the gifts my papas and mamas gave me as a going-away present for university. It is late, and we should be going, Jacob. I will leave you to catching up with your friend, but the rest of us should be turning in. Tasha, would you like me to open a gate directly to your manor?"

"When were you there?" She asks.

"Jason made it a point to visit the homes of every person important to him," I explain. "So that he can easily bring us there if needed, or easily reach it in an emergency."

"Oh," she says, then dips her head to him. "Thank you, Jason."

Jason opens a gate, and I give Tasha a short kiss before she passes through it with her escorts. Jason closes the gate, then looks at Casper and me.

"We'll be off as well," he says. "Have a good night, you two."

He opens up a gate and Niko, Alex, and him step through it, before it disappears. I look at Casper, who is staring at the where the gate was in shock. Only after Jason is gone do I remember my desire to ask him what in Midlaris are those crystals he was setting up throughout the city earlier. Papa refused to answer the question.

"I heard he possessed powerful and strange spells," Casper looks at me. "But I did not expect something like that. What form of teleportation was that?"

"That," I grin at him. "Was not teleporation, but a gate. Let us find somewhere to sit and talk."

(Jason, 16)

"You're up early," Alex yawns as he sits across from me at the table.

"I'm normally awake by now," I look at him in amusement, then indicate the plate of bacon and pancakes sitting between the map I'm examining and him. "Breakfast?"

"Have you eaten yet?" He looks around for a plate for me and only finds the half-drained glass of orange juice sitting beside the map.

"Yes," I answer. "I noticed you moving in my scan spell, so asked Cecilia to prepare a plate for you."

"Thank you," he pulls the plate to him and digs in as Cecilia brings him a glass of milk and another of orange juice. He would rather drink ale with every meal, but I'm convincing him out of it. At least, while I'm here. "Thank you, Cecilia."

She dips her head to him, then returns to a spot by the wall to wait in case we need her for something.

"What are you doing?" He asks.

"Judging the distance between here and the Anotis royal castle," I answer, and he groans. "What?"

"You're going to see if you can help heal their queen of her sickness, aren't you?"

"Yes," I admit. "If I cannot, Mama Elena might be able to help extend her life."

"The Anotis queen," he tells me. "From what I hear, anyway, is well past her prime, Jason. Elderly people get sick, and the fact that she had a child when she did was a miracle. The news reached here in Varil about it, and I saw a newspaper that mentioned it."

"It's likely that was her crown," I inform him, thinking back to what little information was on it in one of the books on artifacts in the university's library. "It's bound to a bloodline, and it seems important to Anotis. It's possible it allows even older women to give birth, if they're its mistress at the time. She must be too ill for it to heal her."

I made an item like that, back as Nolan, but it wasn't a crown. An amulet that bolstered someone's healing. There were several crowns as well, but it has been three thousand years. I doubt anything I made back then still exists today.

Well, nearly nothing. From what Jacob told me, several of the Magi artifacts still exist in the tomb of the King of Spring, and there were a few in the tomb of the King of Decay as well. But none of my random projects will likely still be around, only the big projects that we Magi wielded or gifted to others. Even then, I still doubt most of those still exist, and the ones that do are probably inert, their magical power long since faded. Even a permanent enchantment can fade with enough time.

"Regardless," I tell Alex. "I know some potent healing spells, in addition to various alchemy recipes. Either I or Mama Elena should be able to help her, even if only to ease her life."

"Alright," he says. "Mind if I come with you?"

"Could you get the door?" I look to the butler, then to Alex as my butler goes to let Niko in. "You wouldn't be able to understand what is said, and I know you have plans with your crew. Go have fun with them, Alex. There is no need to involve yourself in the political state of things before it's time."

Being my boyfriend will already involve him in it as well, another reason we chose to keep it quiet. I am young, which means that some people do see me as easily manipulated. Lady Holdir was one such person, and the only one who acted on it so far.

No doubt people already suspect something more between Alex and myself, but until it is confirmed in some way, they will wait to try to use him to manipulate me. As the heir to Jeshema, I am its weakest link and their way in getting the Sages to do as they please.

At least, that is how things are viewed. As much of a monster as I can be, I pray to the King and Queen of the Gods that no one actually provokes my mamas and papas. I might be the one with a severe temper that needs controlling, but they are…

The Sages. For a reason.

So for now, we want to keep Alex out of political stuff as much as possible, especially since he is friends with three royals and what is essentially a royal.

"Please?" I ask him.

"Okay," Alex looks dejected as Niko approaches us.

"What is wrong?" Niko asks.

"I'm going on a trip to Anotis," I inform him. "And Alex wishes to come with us. I advised him it would be best to remain here."

"You would not be able to understand them," Niko nods. "From what I was taught, they do not speak Varilan there very often, and I doubt Jason and whoever he visits with would switch to it."

"I know," Alex smiles at Niko. "I just wanted a change of scenery and to see Jason in action as he does what is no doubt a major political act."

"Oh," Niko says, then looks at me. "Jason, would you kindly open a gate to Mar so that I may send the priests back? They are to be tried for treason, and I would prefer this be handled swiftly rather than risk them escaping on the trip back. The training room I showed you will suffice."

The priests are still here, attempting to convert the ten students of mine from Mar back to the 'true' way. It looks like they finally did something major, which is all Niko has been waiting for.

"Sure," I stand and open a gate to Niko's manor, then look at Alex. "I shouldn't be away later than this evening, Alex."

"Alright," he responds. "Enjoy your trip."

"Enjoy your day," I tell him. "Tell the crew I said hello."

He nods, then Niko and I step through the gate and into the Marran estate in Varilar. The priests are currently sitting on the couches, glaring at us as we step through.

"I do not see why you insist on using such heathen arts," one of them tells Niko, giving me the stink eye as I open another gate.

"Enter," Niko points at it. "Now. I am ordering you as your prince. Fail to do so, and I will execute you here and now."

The four guards in the room all look at their prince in shock, but it is clear to everyone that Niko is serious. The pair of priests give both of us disgusted looks as they stand and walk into the gate, muttering prayers as they go.

"Thank you," Niko tells me, then looks at the guards. "I expect to return by this evening."

"Yes, sir!" They respond in unison, then Niko steps through the gate, which I promptly close.

Even if the priests try to do something with Niko as soon as he steps through the gate, they will fail. I have worked on swift reactions with him, and I also know that he was likely expecting something to happen.

"Enjoy your day, men," I tell Niko's soldiers. "Give my students my regards, and tell them that I want them to bring the bowls I gave them, if they still have them, to the lesson tomorrow."

"Um, yes, sir," one of the guards responds uncertainly.

Then, I pull up the memorized map of the continent and my judged distance. I make the calculations, then I weave together the teleport spell, finding myself in a field not far outside of a city with high walls, a castle rising up within the city.