(Alex, 16)

After Miranda exclaims that… whatever it was, she charges towards me. I move out of the way on instinct, pulling out a knife, only to realize she was moving towards someone behind me, a grey gate fading away. She slams into them, wrapping her arms around him in a hug as she forces him against the wall as I – and probably everyone else but her grandsons – stare in shock.

Shock and confusion.

That looks like Jason. Not like Jared does, but it looks like Jason. A really confused Jason, but Jason. He even has on Jason's necklace and bracelets. But how? Jason is dead! The spirit confirmed it to all of us!

"Uh… no, my name is Jason," he says with the accent Jason has when he's not masking it to sound Varilan. "Not Jamesari. Who are you?"

Miranda pulls off of him, staring at him for a few moments, and I realize there are tears in her eyes.

"My apologies," she gives him a sad smile. "You look much like one of my sons did. A closer look shows you're at least two or three years younger than he appeared. He became grey when he was only nineteen."

"I'm sixteen," the Jason-lookalike says. "I take it he died?"

So did you! What is going on here? Especially since Jason has two arms and two legs! This can't be him! It ain't possible! What's going on?

"YOU'RE BAAAACK!" A tiny voice squeals, before Tiger Alpha jumps up onto Jason's shoulder, then his head.

"Yes, I'm back," Jason rolls his eyes in amusement. "I told you I'd be back soon."

He talked with Tiger Alpha? He told Tiger Alpha he was returning? But Tiger Alpha never said Jason was alive? Who is this? Is this really Jason? What is going on here?

"Yeah, but it's so lonely without you or Alex here," Tiger Alpha says. "Eden doesn't like snuggling with me."

"Yeah," the man rolls his eyes, then looks at the woman. "So… I look like one of your sons, you said? I take it he died?"

"Yes," she wipes her eyes with a handkerchief. "Sorry for that, you just look so remarkably like him that I accidentally mistook you for him. Jamesari died around sixteen and a half years ago, though."

"My condolences," Jason says. His eyes flick past her for a moment before returning to her. Is this really him? It looks like him. It really does. But he was dead. A god killed him, and a spirit confirmed his death. This makes no sense. "I wasn't aware there were other grey-level mages in the world."

"I am from the Dragon Clans," she informs him. "We are all violet, with a few grey-level mages such as myself and Jamesari."

"The Dragon Clans?" Jason asks. "You are a Delvarkari?"

"I am," she answers. "I am the High Elder of the Delvarkari. We recently received a letter from Jacob Varil asking information regarding the High Magus. The way it was worded made me suspect that the High Magus had been reincarnated and was here in Varil."

This is bad. This is very, very bad. If this really is Jason, we need to make sure she does not find out he is Nolan. But if it's Jason, how is he alive? And whole? I don't understand this!

"And so," she says. "I came here to find him. Instead of his reincarnation, I came across the reincarnations of the other Magi. It seems the High Magus does his own thing and was not reachable by them. I came to deliver unto him judgment for his actions."

Jason, please make sure ya understand that ya are not to tell her who ya are the reincarnation of! I ain't sure how ya survived, but she can definitely kill ya! She will, too! And ya ain't prepared for battle!

"Oh," Jason smiles a little. "I am the reincarnation of Alorovos, also known as Nolan."

I think all of us freeze up at that. Except for Miranda, who simply smiles as she takes a step back, and her grandsons.

"Very well, then," Miranda says as we stare in horror and shock, aware of our own mortality. "Jason Jeshema, son of the Sages and reincarnation of Alorovos the Traitor, I hereby judge you. When you were fifteen as Alorovos, you betrayed the clans, disobeyed orders, fought against us and a dragon who sought to stop your leave. Years later, when the clans attempted to deliver your punishment of death, you slayed them all, killing every last one."

Why does Jason still smile, even as she judges him. Did she spell him? Why can't I move? I want to grab Jason and shield him with my body, as useless as that would be.

"However," she says. "Your actions were not unwarranted."

What?

"When you left the Delvarkari," she explains. "Changing your appearance and name, you abandoned your home, your family, and your friends. The burden upon you must have been great. However, you did so for a cause more noble than our overseers wished. You knew the war would eventually reach us. You began your own war for the sake of humans, for the sake of the Delvarkari, and for the sake of Midlaris. You acted as you did to save us all, at the cost of your own home, your own family, and your own friends.

"When you killed the Delvarkari," she continues. "You left alive only those who had desired to fight against the forces from other worlds, those who wished to fight to protect Midlaris as well. You slayed all those who suppressed those who wished to leave the clans to help in your war, but left the suppressed alive.

"Jason Jeshema," she steps forward, placing her hands on his shoulders. Move, body! Move! "Reincarnation of Nolan, of Alorovos Delvarkar, for your actions during and after the war, I, Miralandis Delvarkar, hereby relieve you of the status of Traitor of the Delvarkari, placed in rage by the silver Dragon Queen Aizvenna."

Jason glows with a grey light for twelve seconds, and the light then fades.

"By the way," Jason grins. "Everyone thinks you were going to kill me."

"I did give them that impression," she says. "But your actions were justified. Aizvenna's actions were not. She herself disobeyed Midlaris by attempting to stop you. She defied his will when she placed that Mark of Betrayal upon you. Truthfully, I am surprised you have managed to interact with dragons and not be attacked by them."

"Steven does," he says. "But I think the other dragons I have dealt with realized it was better to just leave me be. After sensing the amount of mana within me, they knew it would be bothersome to actually harm me, despite our differences in power."

Wait, dragons were supposed to attack him on-sight? And he's interacted with a bunch! Did they really avoid attacking him just because of his mana pool? Something is off, there.

"Steven?" She asks.

"He harasses me," Jason shrugs. "But I harass him back."

Is this really Jason? He looks like Jason. So much like him. So, so much like him. I look at the others, and everyone but Niko and the other two from the Dragon Clans are just as shocked as I am. Niko looks smug.

I look at Jason again. He's wearing black leather boots, black pants, and a black leather vest. I don't recognize the vest or boots. Are they new?

"Where have you been, if you don't mind my asking?" Miranda asks.

"In a lot of pain," he answers. "I was fighting against another god, then opened a gate to the wrong place. Meant to run into a sanctuary with another god who probably could have dealt with him, but found myself over the ocean. I was near an old leviathan, though, and called him up for a snack. After that, I went to a nearby safe place for me to recover and passed out. I didn't wake up again until Sunday, cleaned myself up with some magic since I was still regrowing my arm and leg-"

He was doing what?

"-then made my way to the leviathan to see how he was doing," Jason continues. "Since he did eat a god. After that, I went to the sanctuary to speak with Triossa and recover a bit more, then returned to the safe place and passed back out. I've been recovering there since. I'm actually still healing, and your squeezing me hurt pretty bad as a result."

"Sorry," she apologizes. "To me, it was like a ghost from the past came back."

"Understandable," he smiles, then looks at the rest of us. "Why are you all looking at me in shock? Except for Niko."

"I told you he was alive!" Niko finally speaks.

"Alive?" Jason frowns. "What do you mean, alive? Why did you guys think I was dead?"

"Ya fought against a god!" I exclaim. "Ya lost an arm and a leg and got a bunch of injuries, then disappeared! Ya ain't been heard from in two weeks, and the spirit on the Shattered Isle said ya were gone! She told us ya were dead!"

"Did she actually say 'dead'?" Jason looks confused.

"Yes!" Those of us who talked to her exclaims.

"But I said she was wrong," Niko says. "Magi are immortal. We can't die."

"Our souls are immortal," I tell him. "Not our bodies!"

"Okay," Jason says. "Grey-level mages heal from anything that is not immediately lethal, as long as we have the mana for it. Because I'm only lower grey, it took me a couple of weeks to recover from everything. He never did anything immediately lethal that actually struck, so Niko was right. Did you speak with her in the ancient tongue?"

"Yes," we respond.

"Was she the one who said 'dead', or were you?"

"Us," I answer. "What does that-"

"Are you sure you said or heard 'dead' and not 'alive'?" He asks.

"What?" I ask.

"This is the ancient tongue," Jason says. "The gods intentionally designed it to be cruel like that. Are you sure you said 'dead' and not 'alive'? The words are nearly identical in pronunciation in the ancient tongue. Uvuoi and uvwi."

Screw the gods and their desire to make people suffer!

Some of the others groan as they realize that we were saying the wrong word when asking for confirmation that he was dead.

"Also," Jason says. "Tiger Alpha? If they thought I was dead, why didn't you ever correct them?"

"Tiger Alpha knew you were alive?" Prince Jacob asks. "I know you mentioned you told him you were returning soon, but-"

"He knew," Jason says. "He's spoken with me every day since I woke up. I wanted to know how things were going here."

Tiger Alpha wasn't talking to himself when I went into Jason's room on Monday. He was talking to Jason. He was telling Jason about Prince Jacob and I being at odds, and…

And Jason overheard my conversation with Tiger Alpha, which didn't actually mention that Jason was dead. He just thought I was moving out for some reason! He told Tiger Alpha to give me the dragon stuffie!

"Tiger Alpha?" Jason asks.

"I didn't realize they thought you were dead!" Tiger Alpha tells him. "I thought they were acting all funny 'cause they knew you were taking awhile to heal!"

Jason lets out a heavy sigh, before giving me an amused look.

"If you guys ever think I'm dead and can't get into contact with me," he says. "Ask Tiger Alpha. He will know if I'm dead or alive, even if he hasn't contacted me."

"How?" I ask.

"One of the secrets of his creation," Jason answers. "Tiger Alpha, didn't you tell them the stuff I told you to tell them? I even told you to let Mama Alyssa know I was coming back."

"I may have forgotten," the tiger answers, his voice filled with embarrassment. "Sorry, Boss! But there were some imaginary rats that were scuttling through the house, and-"

"Okay," Jason rolls his eyes. "So everyone here has been thinking I was dead, when I was really just mostly unconscious."

"Why didn't you contact us directly?" Sage Alyssa asks.

"Because then you guys would want to talk, check on me, and all that stuff," Jason answers. "And I wanted to just rest and recover? As I said, I'm still recovering. The only reason I came back now was because this week is study week in preparation for the exam on Sorday. The days will be packed with studying and training. I had to cut my rest early so that I could go check on the other seals on the gods and reinforce the idea that they are not to break free. I had to strengthen two yesterday and one today, and am actually rather drained, especially since my mana is still draining to finish repairing the injuries that simply using holy magic can't heal."

"Here, sit," Prince Jacob stands from his spot on the couch. "You do look like you are about to collapse."

"Thanks," Jason smiles, walking over to the couch and nearly falling onto it. He looks at Niko, who is seated beside him. "So you were the only one who believed I was alive?"

"The Magi are immortal according to my memories," Niko says. "I tried telling them that, but they would not listen."

"Erm," Jason scratches the back of his neck. "How about the Fourth Rule of the Magi, folks? You talked to a spirit in a language in which we frequently mix up words because they sound similar. That shouldn't count as actual confirmation. Ah! Now it makes sense! I was wondering what happened to my clothes. I'd thought I'd left them by the river I'd washed up in, but when I came back, they were gone, and the spirits weren't sure where they went. I was pretty exhausted and out of it, though, so I didn't actually think on it too long, deciding I'd probably destroyed them because they were ruined, anyway. Can I get snacks or something? I'm actually rather starved."

"Cecilia," Elena speaks up, and their housekeeper makes her way into the kitchen. "You still should have called, Jason!"

"And then you guys would want to bother me," Jason states, just as he already did. "You would not stop harassing me over returning home so you could baby me as I healed up. Which is why I put my comm plate in its do-not-disturb mode when I first arrived on the island. And I did tell Tiger Alpha to communicate with you guys about some stuff, so blame him, not me."

"I said sorry," Tiger Alpha mutters as Cecilia returns with tea and some cookies for Jason.

"Sweet!" He exclaims with a smile. "Sugar cookies!"

That causes us to laugh, and we watch as Jason digs into his snack as Cecilia returns to the kitchen, probably to prepare an actual snack for him. A meal, possibly.

"So," Jason looks at Jared and… I don't remember his name. Then he looks at Miranda. Miralandis, as she said in her introduction. "Was your son – the one I look remarkably similar to – killed near a village in the neutral zone south of Varil and bordering the Unwild Lands? A village called Malrias?"

"How did you know?" She asks in surprise.

"Who was traveling with him?" Jason asks, and I frown.

The Sages seem to realize what he is asking about based on the looks they gave each other and Jason.

"His two wives," she answers, indicating her younger grandson. "Jarenidis is his son with one of them. She was pregnant with their seventh boy and passing by that village on his hunt to collect some rare herbs. An ogre lord led the attack on the village. While my son might have been powerful – he was grey, after all – he was still only lesser grey, even after fifty years, and the ogre lord was quite powerful, as were the corrupted with it. I do know he managed to kill most, but the three of them were weakened from the fight. They were defeated and slain. We aren't sure if the baby was ripped from the womb, or if he was born, but we do know the ogres most likely took him for a snack. When we tracked down the ogres, they had already been slain by another, who had buried my son and his wives."

Wait a second… didn't Jason say Sage Samuel found him after killing some ogres? And that his papa had two women with him?

"I see," Jason smiles. "My Papa Samuel found me sixteen and a half years ago, on the Day of the Dragon, the day of my birth. My birth papa, my birth mama, and my birth papa's other wife had been slain by ogres and corrupted that had destroyed the village of Malrias. The events line up, which means that if we performed a Blood Call, there is a strong chance you will find that Jarenidis is my brother.

He indicates her younger grandson as he says that last part. I'm not entirely sure what happens next, but I do know she casts some sort of spell, then her eyes widen. That must have been the Blood Call, a way of checking to see if anyone near you is related by blood, but it's not any sort I know of. Those require using actual blood.

"It is true," she says. "You are a whole brother of Jarenidis's."

(Jason, 16)

I always wondered if my birth papa and mama had living family, and I suppose I know now. I also now know that my grandmama really, really enjoys hugging when she is happy, because as soon as she discovered we really were related by blood… she gave me another hug. Thankfully, force magic kept my cookies and tea from being between us when that happened, which meant I could continue to enjoy them after she stopped.

Now, I am being subjected to everyone checking to make sure I really am okay, because they really did think I was dead. Except for Niko, who I wish to speak with now, but have to put up with this instead.

It's already been two hours!

Thankfully, Cecilia has kept me fed through it. I really am starving, and wasn't up for much hunting while waiting to finish recovering. Just making this outfit took a lot out of me. I couldn't resist that, though, since the materials were there. First time in this life I got to work with dragon leather.

I am regretting making the sword, though, but it was necessary in order to ensure my threats to the gods were clear. That is the real reason my healing is taking so long. I aggravated my injuries and used up a lot of mana to forge it, and my estimates had already put me at a month to fully heal before that. But it was worth it, for the sword.

Reaper is more powerful than Harbinger and Calamity combined. Forged with isivinite mixed with the blood and bones of several gods, plus a special other ore and other secret ingredient, the process performed with the same technique used to make the Sacred Swords of the Magi and the Magus Swords, it is unlike any other weapon.

The Magus Swords can cut through souls, which is why they were effective against gods. I don't think Nolan ever told the other Magi that, though, as such a weapon would become even more coveted than they already were, which would have led to other issues.

Unlike those weapons, Reaper, doesn't just cut through souls. It returns them to the cosmic energy they came from with its pierce.

It is the most powerful – and most dangerous – weapon known to the heavens, the underworld, and the mortal plane. No weapon can compare to it.

I wanted to create it during the war, but didn't have all the ingredients necessary, nor the research. While I did complete the research necessary after the war, I never did make it. I was missing one of the ingredients for awhile, but obtained it… shortly before…

I? I was thinking about my life as Nolan as an actual experience again. This has been happening a lot ever since I turned grey. Some memories no longer feel like just memories, but actual past experiences I had.

Well, regardless, Nolan did never make this sword back then, and I'm not sure what happened. I guess we died in our past lives before he could ever actually do it. But the resources – and my research on it – were on the Shattered Isle, allowing me to finish my goal from three thousand years ago. Or at least, that goal.

"Jason?" Elise asks as things start to settle down.

"Yeah?" I respond.

"While we were exploring the Shattered Isle," I'm still amazed by the fact that Niko actually found it, considering the state Benjamin was in when Nolan brought him there and when they left. "We found the shelters and your storage room."

They only found the one on the surface. Had they found the vaults beneath, I would have known about their presence before they mentioned it here. Mostly because it would have trapped them in there, since none of them had one of the amulet keys.

"And in it," Elise says. "In the smithing section of it, there was a strange ore. It was both whitish and clear, both opaque and translucent at the same time, and seemingly… ethereal, I suppose? It gave off a feel unlike any metal I have ever seen before, and I did some inquiries with a few of my contacts here, and so did my boss, and none had heard of a metal like that before. We didn't take it because we weren't sure if there was some spell to prevent that, but… what was that?"

"Erm," I say. "Yeah. I'm not explaining what that is."

"Why not?" She asks.

"Because it's complicated."

Yeah. Definitely not something I will say in front of the Mad Witch. Or if there is a chance she will ever hear it.

"It's also gone, now," I add. "I used it up to make something while recovering, which may have actually worsened my injuries."

It's part of what enables Reaper to convert souls back to cosmic energy. I still won't tell them what it is, though.

"Anyway," I say. "I'm… exhausted, and you have all been trying to make sure I'm okay for a few hours. I want to talk with Alex alone for a few minutes, then Niko for a few minutes, then I'm going to go say hello to Aurum before getting some sleep."

Our guests all bid their farewells, and Alex and I go into my workroom. I push him against the wall as soon as the door is closed, my arms wrapped around him in a hug.

"Don't squeeze me too tight," I say as he moves to hug me back. "Enamas damaged my spine, and it's actually rather hard to stay upright as it is since I haven't fully healed from that yet."

I'm actually still covered in injuries, but magic can make it appear otherwise. Only through a manipulation of light magic, fire magic, and force magic do I appear to have flesh and blood all over. Miralandis likely noticed the spell, but I doubt anyone else would have, especially since I made sure it won't register as strange in the scanning spell I taught my papas and mamas. So as long as they didn't modify their versions of it too much, they won't know.

"Then sit," Alex chuckles.

"In a minute," I tell him, resting my head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry for not contacting you guys, I thought Tiger Alpha had let my mamas and papas know I survived."

"He really can tell if you're alive or dead?" Alex asks.

"Yeah," I answer. "He can actually tell if any of the Magi are alive or dead, and don't ask me how, because that really is a secret."

A big one, and it would probably frighten everyone if they knew how I was able to design him to do that. It was part of my emergency update after I turned grey. I just hope this is the only time where it's really needed… even if he forgot to tell them.

"Okay," he rubs my back a little. "I missed ya, Jason. I've been so messed up ever since… well, ever since."

"Tiger Alpha's told me about your problems," I tell him. "It's also part of why I came back now rather than waiting until I had fully healed. I kind of lied out there, and it might take me another month and a half to finish healing completely, even if I'm mobile enough now to get by. He said you're maybe not returning next term, and I wanted to talk with you."

"Yeah," he says. "Without ya here, it was just… I couldn't take it."

"Is that why you moved in with Connor?"

"Yeah," he answers, and I can hear the smile in his voice. A slight, sad smile. "He's pretty cool. I'm not sure I can trust him, though."

"Because he's nobility," I say, and he pushes me back a little and looks into my eyes. "I always knew you were one event away from losing the mindset you acquired being friends with Jacob, Lina, Tasha, Niko and the rest, Alex. You don't just erase sixteen years of mistrust and suspicion in a few months. My papas and mamas agree with that, and were the first to remind me of how fragile that mindset would be. I know you blame Jacob, Lina, and Tasha for what happened to me. It's why you've been at odds with him."

"He should have acted," Alex says. "Instead, he just left you there. Left you alone. To die against a god, alone."

"And what about when you thought Miralandis was going to kill me?" I ask, and he hesitates. "You were frozen, Alex. You didn't act, even though you could have."

He turns his gaze down. He knows I'm right. He did the same thing he's blaming Jacob for, only I wasn't actually hurt this time. The principle is the same, though.

"I'm not saying forgive him," I tell Alex. "I'm not saying to return to how you trusted him. I'm saying to think about how you reacted when you believed a similarly-powerful being was going to kill me."

He sighs, and all I can do is hope that this starts to mend things between them. They probably did and said stuff to each other which will take time to fix and recover from. If it takes too long, I might lock them in a small room. Or throw them in a pit and tell them to duke it out. I have a few memories of doing that as Nolan, so it might work in this life, too.

"Alright," I give him a kiss. "Now go send Niko in here."

"He looked nervous when you said you wanted to talk with him alone," Alex says.

"I know," I smile. "He knows exactly why I want to talk with him."

Alex nods, then leaves, and a few minutes later, a very reluctant-looking Niko walks in, his face crimson.

"Pants. Now."

He sighs, but steps out of his boots so he can remove his pants, then sits on my chair. I kneel beside him and examine the gargoyle leg. It feels smooth, but hard like stone, and has some warmth to it, like flesh. He's running magic at all times to support it, which isn't how Benjamin did them in our past lives. Then again, the gargoyle legs were different from this one back then – most people couldn't actually support it actively with their mana, not this sort of spell.

Those were more like the prosthetic limbs I remember from my life as Luke, while Niko's leg is essentially a brand-new limb, just one that requires a constant mana supply to work. It's no doubt part of the reason his magical power has grown so much since I lured Enamas away – the constant drain is akin to magical power training that is active at all times. I bet if he trained hard physically, his physical attributes would increase quite high in just a few weeks.

"I heard about what happened to you," I tell him in Marran. "A water elemental showed up with the god's arm and blood."

"That is what it was doing?"

"Yes," I answer. "Midlaris apparently knew an intent of mine and requested it do that. Tiger Alpha had already told me that you'd lost your leg and replaced with 'living stone', as he called it, and it wasn't hard for me to put the two together. What happened to the god?"

"Gargoyles showed up," he informs me. "Real ones, from our lives the Magi. They dealt with it."

"I see," I say. "Can you fill me in on the finer details of what occurred?"

As I continue to examine his leg and the spell making it up, Niko explains to me everything that happened after I drew Enamas away.

"I am surprised you are not flying into a rage," he says. "Your anger is quite volatile, like a dragon. A friend of yours lost their limb."

"I've lost two," I smile at him, standing and stepping back. "You can put your pants back on, I'm done looking at the spell."

Niko stands and grabs his pants to pull back on.

"I'm furious," I tell him as he sits back down to pull his boots on. "But my rage is something I need to work on… or at least, work on venting when it's appropriate. I've had some time to adjust to the idea of you missing your leg, so even if actually seeing it has made much of that return, I can manage it much better than if it had been a complete surprise."

"Okay," he smiles. "Thank you, for not telling others about it. I am surprised Tiger Alpha did not tell, if he knew."

"Tiger Alpha wanted to ask me why you did that," I tell him. "I told him not to tell anyone once he asked me. If you want, I can see if my grandmama knows a way to heal lost limbs. I won't be specific, but there is a chance she already knows. She has a scanning spell active at all times, and with how it felt, it might have told her about the limb. But if she doesn't know, I can ask in a way that she won't suspect."

"If you would be so kind," he tells me. "I would rather not wait until I reach grey magical power to regain my leg. I am uncertain as to what would happen if others found out."

"I know," I tell him. "But I am also certain our friends would not care. You are you still you, Niko."

"Yes," he casts his gaze down, and I sigh.

Niko has had a rough life, and now he's lost his leg. He's scared that he'll be abandoned by Lina because he's 'broken', just like he essentially was by his family for the same reason, only that form of broken was wanting to be a mage in a magic-hating land.

"Lina is not so shallow," I tell him. "That she would dislike you simply because you lost your leg, Niko. She will accept it. She is not just a Magus, but your soulmate. She could never despise you or view you as broken. However, I am more than willing to help you hide it in any way I can if we cannot find a way to regenerate it before you turn grey."

"Thank you," he says.

"Alright," I smile. "Now go home and get some sleep. Would you mind informing my mamas and papas that I went to bed? I need some sleep as well. I'm a lot more exhausted than I realized, so I'll visit Aurum tomorrow."

"I can do that for you," he tells me, then exits the room.

I head to my bedroom, strip, then collapse onto my bed. I want to take a shower now, but can do that in the morning. My body needs its rest, and I could barely stay conscious through their inquiries after everything I did today.