(Jacob, 16)

The moment my carriage stops outside of Tasha's estate, I am exiting it and approaching the front doors. Since it is during the day, her gate is already open, a pair of guards standing watch outside of it. I'm allowed inside immediately.

"Is Tasha here?" I ask the butler.

"Yes, Your Highness," he answers.

"Send her down," I order. "It is urgent."

"Yes, sir," he hurries off, returning with Tasha a few minutes later, one of her maids following behind her.

"What is wrong?" Tasha asks upon seeing my expression.

"I do not like being the bearer of bad news," I tell her. "But Duchess Tasha del Meti," her eyes widen at how I refer to her, and she covers her mouth as she gasps. "Your papa and mama were slain by bandits. Jeremy as well. According to our agent, they were returning to Castle Meti to prepare for their trip here when they were ambushed."

Tears begin to stream out of her eyes, and I pull her against me, embracing her as she cries. She will want to return home immediately, to begin taking control of her estate and arranging the funeral for her family, but it is best if she stays here until we sort out the cause behind the attack. When she returns, it will be with a force of Royal Guards as well, regardless of the reason behind her family's death.

"I am heading to the Jeshema residence," I tell Tasha as we separate. "And will have Sage Alyssa open a gate to Castle Meti. Form there, I will personally investigate the situation."

"Jacob," she begins, worry clear in her voice.

"I may only be orange," I tell her. "But I am a Magus. You are a Magus. A few bandits is nothing to us."

"Where are your guards?" She asks.

"I left them at the palace," I answer. "This is not something they should deal with."

"Jacob," she begins again.

"I will be fine," I tell her. "Stay here. You have affairs to handle here as well, Tasha. Take care of yourself, collect yourself, and only once we know it is safe for you, you can return to handle the affairs needing handling down there."

She sighs, but nods.

"Are you taking any guards with you?" She asks.

"None," I answer. "I am going to do some unprincely things, no doubt, and would rather not have me seen that way by the guards."

She raises an eyebrow.

"Magus things," I tell her. "Things we would have done during the war."

"Okay," she says. "Be safe."

"Always," I smile, then give her a kiss and leave.

I have my driver take me to the Jeshema Mansion, and make my way inside once we arrive. Sage Alyssa is sitting in the main room, reading a paper. She gives me a curious look as I enter, and Eden does the same from their dining room.

"Jason is sleeping," she tells me. "He needs the rest after the last few hours of discussions and excitement. Elena gave him something to help him recover a little more, so he will be out for awhile."

"I came for you," I say. "Sage Alyssa, I am requesting that you open a gate to Castle Meti."

"Castle Meti?" She asks. "Why?"

"Duke Meti, his wife, and their son were killed by bandits," I answer. "I am going down there to deal with the situation's immediate needs. Not as Prince Jacob, as a Magus."

The Sage frowns at that, and I know she is going to decline.

"Sage Alyssa," I say. "While this may have been an attack by bandits, we must look at the possibility that the attack was done intentionally to draw Tasha home, possibly to use against me. If that is the case, whoever arranged this would not be expecting a swift arrival by their true target. Nor the power of a Magus coming with him. I will have my griffins to assist me should there be any danger. They might not be as powerful as Niko's golems, but the constructs will serve well enough."

"You intend to go without guards," she says.

"I intend to go as a Magus," I state. "That is enough. I will contact you by comm plate when I am ready to return."

"I will go with you," Eden rises and approaches. "And do not reject, Jacob. If you are going as a Magus and not a prince, your authority as a prince won't stop me. Sage Alyssa, I will accompany him. I may not be as talented as he is, but I am still a member of Jason's training group."

Sage Alyssa seems ready to refuse, but then pulls out her comm plate and makes a call.

"I'm supposed to be sleeping," Jason responds, sounding wide-awake.

"I need a Gate Crest," she tells him. "And did you sneak into your workshop?"

"Why do you need a Gate Crest?" He asks. "And… no?"

"Jason…"

"I didn't sneak into it," he says. "I walked to it. You were just too absorbed in the paper and Eden too absorbed in whatever he's reading for either of you to notice. Tiger Alpha needs some upgrades."

If things were not so serious right now, I would probably be chuckling at Jason's comment. That is a classic Jason, though.

"What happened to your Mama Elena's potion?" Sage Alyssa sounds stern. "When she returns and finds out you didn't drink it-"

"I drank it," Jason says. "But my body is in a constant state of healing at the moment, Mama Alyssa. My magics neutralized the portion that should have made me sleepy. Why do you need a Gate Crest?"

"Because I was preparing to leave," she says. "And will be gone the rest of the day, and Jacob needs it."

A Gate Crest? Why do I need one? Does it cast a gate spell on its own?

"Mama Alyssa!" Jason exclaims. "Jacob isn't supposed to know-"

"He knows we have working gates," she tells him. "We informed him when we found out about the conflicts to the northeast. You will be sleeping when he is ready to return, no doubt, so the Gate Crest is necessary."

Jason sighs into the comm plate, then cancels the call. A few minutes later, he joins us, wearing just a pair of pants, his bracelets, and his necklace. No boots or vest, his hair ruffled. Even his usual hairpins are missing, and he does look tired. Both of his hands are closed into fists, but I think he might be gripping something. The Gate Crest? But why in both hands?

"One use or two?" He asks.

"Two," she answers. "He can leave through it, and Eden will be traveling with him."

Jason holds moves both hands together, then holds up his right hand, two tokens resting on his palm. They are made of wood, and have an archway carved out of them, a series of runes imprinted around them. I accept the tokens.

"Hand one to the guards at the gate," he tells me. "When you are ready to return, hand the other to the guards there. When you go to the location here in Varil City with the gates, just tell them that you're going to the one in whichever city you're heading to, and they will direct you to the correct gate. You will need the Gate Crest to get into the gate building."

"Understood," I put them into my spatial storage.

"I'm going back to Tiger Alpha," Jason says. "He's currently strewn out across my worktable."

Jason returns to his workroom, and I look at Sage Alyssa.

"Thank you, Sage Alyssa," I say. "Where is the gate building?"

She pulls a piece of paper from her spatial storage and writes something down, then hands it to me.

"Show this to your driver," she tells me. "It's the location. Have your driver wait outside. There are stables beside it he can rest the horses in."

"Thank you," I say.

"You're welcome," she says. "I don't agree with what you are about to do, Jacob, but you have the same look in your eyes Jason does when he is angry about something happening to Alex. I may be violet, but I doubt I have the power to stop you in the state you are in."

I nod, then leave, and Eden follows me out, taking his coat from his butler on the way out. We enter my carriage after I hand the driver the note, and then we are off.

"Eden," I say. "You are about to see some of what the Magi did, during the war. Bandits went after my betrothed's family, and so the assumption until proven otherwise is that it was an attack aimed at me. That makes it an attack on Varil itself, and with everything going on, I am not waiting for the proper policies to be followed."

"Everything going on?" He asks.

"We are facing possibility of war to the northeast," I tell him. "In addition, we have a small portion of our standing forces in Mar and Kelrar at the moment due to both nations needing our assistance. We cannot take half-measures on this. The best option is to deal with this situation immediately. Find out who killed the Metis, find out why they did that, and ensure the situation is dealt with. As quickly as possible."

"And so you are going against the codes to act as a Magus," he says.

"Exactly," I respond. "And the way we Magi acted in our past lives is vastly different from how the codes are now. Such rules did not bind us back then. We were a force of our own, and we obeyed only our own rules."

"What you are doing isn't exactly legal," he concludes.

"Not quite that," I say. "What I am going to do is not exactly smiled upon."

I would prefer to ask Jason to handle this situation, as he is the best-suited to it. Him and Alex. There are several issues with that, however. The first is that Jason is still recovering, even if he appears to be healed by sight. The second is that Jason is a foreigner. His involvement in our issues has already gone beyond what it should have. The Sages and Jason are considered our allies, but his involvement goes beyond simple alliances.

That needs to be reduced, or it can be seen as a weakening of my family's rule and cause further issues for us. Some of what Jason has done is to fix issues caused by his actions, such as with the situation in Kelrar, but a line must be drawn. Sageson Magical Technologies is already heavily influential, he should stay with just their business for awhile.

"What will be our plan?" Eden asks.

"After we arrive," I explain. "We will requisition horses and take them to the scene of the incident. I have already been briefed on the location. From there, we will track the bandits."

"Aren't there people already tracking them?"

"These bandits," I say. "Are former professional soldiers from the Southern Conclave. At least, they might be. They are trained in avoiding leaving a trail to follow."

"Then how are we going to find them?" He asks.

"With the power of a Magus," I answer. "And with the knowledge of a Magus, you will go prepared."

"What do you mean?"

"We Magi," I pull a paper and pen from my spatial storage and begin writing. "Are the inventors of many of the spells you know today. While Nolan created more than the rest of us combined, any individual Magus created more than two thousand spells. There are less than one thousand spells from our past lives left known today, and the entire foundation of magic taught today is based on our techniques and teachings. I am writing down two spells from back then. The first will protect your eyes against flashes of light without hindering your vision in any way. The second is a layering enhancement spell that will allow you to be faster, stronger, and more resilient than any other. Neither of these are spells even the Royal Guard's greatest know."

"Flashes of light?" He asks.

"I am the Magus of Light," I tell him. "It is the school of magic I align with the most. I may not use that to my advantage here, but I want you to run the spell if we get into any combat situation or if I tell you to."

"Understood," he responds.

I finish writing the two spells' directions out and hand the paper to Eden just as the carriage pulls to a stop. We exit and I inform the driver to wait for us at the nearby stables, then I lead Eden up to the doors of the massive, two-story building we stopped outside of.

Four guards. They have four guards standing at the door, and I doubt these are the only ones, if they are here to protect something as valuable as the gates. As we approach, I pull a Gate Crest from my spatial storage and hold it up. One of the guards takes it before I can say anything and examines it, then hands it back to me and opens the door for me.

"Thank you," I enter, Eden following close behind me.

Inside the building, there are five stone gates constructed, each one fifteen feet in height, made of thick stone blocks glowing with runes. No sign of the mana generators that power them, but the Sages and Jason might have found a way to have them out of sight for these.

There are more than two dozen people inside the building, and I recognize two different retired Royal Mages. Plenty of power.

My gaze settles on a collection of stones on the ground, which has a few of the workers scrambling over and around them, inspecting them and cutting them down to size. Those must be for a new gate.

"Excuse me," a man in a brown robe with silver trimming approaches. "How did you get in here?"

No respect for royalty, huh? He might not recognize me, but I doubt that, not with my current outfit. No doubt they are under instructions to treat royals as they would vagrants. Keep it fair. With how secret this project is right now, that makes sense.

"With one of these," I hold up the Gate Crest. "We need to take the gate to Metixa, or wherever the one around there is located. It's a matter of national safety."

"Understood," he leads me to the assembled gate furthest from the entrance. "Apologies for the harsh greetings, Your Highness, but we are under orders that unless someone has a Gate Crest, they are not to enter this building at all, even if they are royalty. Your papa himself would not be allowed to enter."

"How many people know about these?" I ask as we reach the gate.

"Outside of those working on the gates themselves?" He asks. "A dozen people who act as guards, the Sages, your papa, and Lord Jason. And now you and him."

He left out the people sent to the northeast. I suppose he might not know that I am aware of that situation, which would mean it makes sense he would avoid mentioning that to me.

"Very well, then," I say. "How does this work?"

"The Gate Crest, please," he holds out a hand, and I hand it to him. "You will need another to return. As soon as the gate opens, you will have exactly one minute to pass through. Only Lord Jason and the Sages can turn them on for longer."

He approaches an access stand in front of one leg of the get and places the Gate Crest into it, then places his hand upon that. The glowing violet runes turn grey, and I am no longer seeing through the gate into this building, but into another building.

"Your time starts now!" The worker informs me.

Eden and I hurry through into the other building, which has just the one gate inside of it, but six guards. They simply dip their heads to us as we exit the building, where a carriage already waits for us. I frown at that.

"His Majesty said to meet you," the Meti servant bows to me.

My papa must have guessed I would be arriving through the gate. That, or Sage Alyssa informed him, and he directed the staff to meet me here. At least, if it truly was my father who sent him.

"Thank you," I tell the servant.

We enter the carriage, which takes off quickly. I am suspicious of this, but few would know to have met me here, so it might not be all-bad.

After an hour and a half, the carriage stops, and Eden and I exit. We are on the side of a road passing through a forest, and not far ahead of us is a Meti family carriage and the remains of their guards. A few local soldiers are taking care of the bodies, stopping as we approach. There is a pair of additional men there, both wearing dark blue cloaks. Everyone salutes.

"Sir!" The older of the two men in dark blue cloaks says. "Would you like the report?"

His voices matches up with the chief spy who I spoke with before. To have made it here already, he must have used a lot of magic.

"Is there an update on the bandits' whereabouts?" I ask the chief spy.

"No, sir," he answers. "My men are still investigating, but as of this moment, there are no traces of them."

I nod, then scan the area.

"Do we know the direction they left in?" I ask.

"That direction, milord," he indicates a direction slightly northeast of here. "At least, those are our best estimates."

"I need everyone to stand over there," I point southwest of here, and only the two spies start to move. "Now!"

Everyone obeys, and I place my hands in front of me, fingertips touching with palms apart. I draw upon the power within me, summoning a pair of magical constructs, my combat constructs. The griffins stretch their wings for a moment, then tuck them back beside their bodies. With my combat constructs present, it is time to move on to the next stage.

Shaping my mana as I visualize the spell, I feel my power welling up. I feel the sleepy forest stirring from its winter slumber.

"Forest," I speak as my power begins to infuse with the world around me. "Awaken from your slumber. I am the Magus of Light, Ethan of Spring. Hear my voice and answer my call. Guardians of the land, obey my commands. Show me the path of those who slayed the fallen before me."

I sense everyone around me tensing up as the trees quickly begin to bloom, leaves rapidly growing as snow disappears. Images of orange light form in the air, rising up from around the corpses. Visages of a dozen bandits, which then take off in a direction a little more east than the spy had indicated. Every step they take leaves behind an orange footprint of light.

When I pull my fingers apart, exhausted, the spring-like appearance of the forest disappears, returning to its true, winter look. The forest is awake, however, and has tasted spring once more. Papa will likely be upset when he finds out I messed with the environment, but it is nothing a few mages powerful enough cannot fix with the right spells. I just need to give those spells to Papa or someone, so that they can be used.

Despite my spell ending, the footprints of light remain. My mana continues to drain as the trail is made, the forest borrowing my power for that.

Walking to the carriage we took here, I release the pair of horses which pulled them and mount one.

"Eden," I say. "Mount the other if you're coming with me."

Eden swiftly mounts the second horse, then we take off, following the trail of light, my combat constructs following as the soldiers, spies, and servant stare in shock.

"Was it wise to reveal your nature?" Eden asks as he rides beside me.

"The spies will ensure they know the consequences of revealing it," I say. "But it will only continue to become more difficult to conceal our natures as Magi. First, Enaveka made a personal appearance. Then there is the fact that Niko has displayed power far beyond what a man of sixteen should wield. Eyes are already falling upon Jason's training group. People have noticed a few of us are exceptional in strange ways. Odds are, the fact that some of us are Magi has already occurred to a few people.

"Knowing that we are Magi will make it less likely for others to act at first," I say. "Especially as it is spreading that we are the Kings and Queens of Power. Especially with people who will believe Enaveka's truth that we were sent by a force higher than the gods. So no, it does not bother me."

He pulls away a little bit to give us more space as we ride, eventually catching up to the visages of light's final steps, just outside some caves with a pair of nervous-looking bandits outside.

"Hello!" I greet them as we pull our horses to a stop. Crossbow bolts fly at us from two directions, but the griffins stop those, catching them in their beaks. "I would suggest commanding your men to cease their attacks."

"It's Prince Jacob!" One of the bandits recognizes me as he draws his sword. "Nothing said he was nearby!"

"Tch!" I click my tongue. "I was hoping you would just give up."

"Disable them!" One of the bandits calls.

"Men!" The other guarding the entrance hollers into the cave. "Prince Jacob has arrived!"

"What idiots," I dismount. "Believing you can actually take me on. What, because you have years of military experience, you think you can challenge me?"

I draw my sword.

"You killed the family of my betrothed," I say. "You have hereby been sentenced by the royal family of Varil as criminals who have committed high crimes. The standard permits for criminals do not apply."

My sword begins to glow with an orange light.

"You will answer my questions," I say. "And when I am done, you will die."

As more bandits pour out of the cave, I slash my sword forward, sending a wave of light towards them. A few erect barriers, two of them even orange. But none are powerful enough to stop the wave of light, which breaks their barriers as it washes over them.

"You have each been marked," I say. "No matter where you run, no matter where you hide, I will find you."

My griffins take up their combat positions beside me.

"Let us begin."

The bandits charge forward as crossbow bolts plink off of my barriers or are stopped by the griffins. Eden and I battle the bandits, who seem to have an interest in keeping me alive, but has no such reservation with Eden. Both of us are trying to keep them alive, though Eden is less inclined towards that than me.

A bandit's spell catches him in the leg, and I bind one of my griffins to him in response. That should help him a little, even if it makes me more vulnerable.

As we battle, I draw upon the vitality of the forest to restore my stamina and alleviate my fatigue. That allows me to battle longer than any bandit, and once everyone else has worn out, I stop fighting, Eden limping to my side. He sustained a few more injuries, but overall looks fine.

"Can you perform healing spells?" I ask. "Or are you too low on mana for that?"

"I can do a few," he answers as I appraise the bandits. "How are you not exhausted? You fought thirty bandits on your own!"

"You helped with a few," I look at the bandits, who are now bound with stone, their wrists held together and anchored to the ground. Most are unconscious. "But it is a trick of the Magi. I can draw upon the world around me to restore my stamina. Let us finish binding them, then we can begin the interrogation."

"Torture?" He asks, looking a little hesitant.

"They will wish it was."

"I can just pull the information out of their heads."

A tiny voice speaks up, and we both jump, turning to find a small bear stuffie standing there. It stands around fifteen inches in height and has light brown fur and brown eyes, plus an open mouth. He wears a purple bowtie with a single, twelve-pointed star on each side. The same star we wear at the coming-of-age ceremony.

"Hi," he waves. "Boss sent me to keep an eye on you guys."

"Jason sent you?" I ask in shock.

"Yep," he waddles over to one of the bandits and pats his cheek. "Poor bandits. Invoking the wrath of a Magus. If you tell me what you want to know, I can pull the information out of their heads. It will be a lot more effective than anything you do, as you are no Alex."

I find that somewhat insulting, but will admit that he is right. Mind magics are not my forte, and nor are they something I have bothered practicing.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"I am Bear Alpha," he answers.

Another Alpha? Does that simply mean he is the first bear stuffie golem Jason made? Or is there some other meaning to it? Tiger Alpha seems to be special among the stuffie golems, and Jason trusted this one with watching us.

"Oh," the bear waddles over to Eden and beckons for him to kneel. "Pokety-poke, poke-poke-poke. Boom, boom, pokey boom!"

What on Midlaris?

As I try to figure out what the bear was doing, Eden's wounds heal.

"Now," the bear stretches. "What information do you want to know?"

"If they were expecting me," I tell him. "Why they killed the Meti's. Anything relating to either of those."

One of the conscious bandits chuckles, and I can see the aura of madness in his eyes.

"A bear," he says. "A teddy bear! Your illusions are good, Jacob. How is a teddy bear going to make me wish I had been tortured? And even if you did have mind magics, the oaths we have sworn-"

"Oh, that is no problem," Bear Alpha walks over to him and pats the bandit on the leg. "Don't you worry one bit. See, it is doubtful your oaths were made by someone of violet magical power or stronger. Unless it was, I can break them. Like this."

The bandit starts screaming, his eyes screwing up into the back of his head as he falls backwards, then passes out. The bear looks at me.

"They were hired to kill the Metis by a man wearing a cloak and a mask who tracked them down to here three weeks ago. They never saw his face, and his voice was manipulated through air magic to sound different than it was. He paid them in Varilan varru. Factoring in a standard one-inch heel to boots, the man was likely five feet and nine inches in height. He spoke with a Varilan accent, but don't forget that people who are truly skilled can adjust their voices. This bandit here noticed a faint scent of mourning flower while the bandit boss was speaking with the man. Once the Metis were killed and Tasha was lured out here, they were to capture her and hold her here, locking her in a cell deep within these caverns. Once she was captured, he would contact them again."

Eden and I stare at Bear Alpha in shock as the few bandits still conscious and able to sit stare at him in confusion.

"Did you really just rip that information out of his head?" I ask.

"No," he answers. "I carefully searched through his mind and looked at it. The pain came from me shattering the magical oath. Boss says that Sage Alyssa says to remember that if the goal was ultimately for you, others may have been contracted as well. In addition, the same might be true if Tasha was the target, not you. Boss says that Sage Alyssa also says that if you do anything rash and stupid, she will tan your hide the way your mama used to."

He pauses for a few moments.

"Also," he says. "Boss says that your papa says that you better be home by dinner, or he is putting you on punishment."

Papa is at the Jeshemas'?

"Interrogate the rest of them," I tell Bear Alpha. "They may know something this bandit did not. Do you know who the bandit leader is?"

"Yeah," he answers. "The big, burly dude who came up behind you while you were traveling here."

"Who?" I ask. "I did not notice anyone coming up behind me, and neither of my griffins reacted to his presence."

"Probably because I disabled him while he was still a few dozen yards away," Bear Alpha stretches. "Boss never let me have a real fight before, so I acted preemptively out of eagerness. He says I should not have done that. Sage Alyssa is telling him to go back to bed. Boss says that he will just stress about you possibly being in danger, and your papa is reminding him that an Ultra Defense Stuffie Golem is accompanying you."

"A what?"

"Well, your papa didn't use those words," Bear Alpha says. "But that's what I am! An Ultra Defense Stuffie Golem! I am plush! I am cuddly! I am capable of performing defensive missions, offensive missions, and absolute interrogations! Made of high-quality-yeah, okay, Boss. Anyway, I am designed to be fully-capable in combat, both as an attacker and a defender, in addition to support. That's why Boss sent me with you."

"How many… how many of these 'Ultra Defense Stuffie Golems' are there?" I ask.

"There are four of us," he answers. "Tiger Alpha protects his home in Varil City, Wolf Alpha stalks around your palace, Panther Alpha is off on some unknown mission, and then there is me. There may be one other, but we don't talk about the possibility of a Fox Alpha."

Have I gone insane?