(Jacob, 16)

"Jacob," Tasha gives me a startled look when she sees me, then hurries down the stairs to me, embracing me. "I thought you were busy with work?"

"I thought you were, too," I tell her. "But was informed when I started to leave for the Meti Duchy that you were still here."

"There are a few things I can take care of here," she tells me, and I raise an eyebrow, already aware of what she was no doubt doing. "And listening to the broadcast of the exhibition."

"I was, too," I tell her. "Did you stop after they announced the exhibition was over?"

"Yes, why?"

"I thought so," I tell her. "Around twenty minutes after it ended, a god appeared at the exhibition hall. It hugged Jason from behind, then made a declaration telling everyone that he personally would have done what the Magi did, had he been aware of the war. That he would have gone after the gods."

"A god?" She asks.

"From what I was able to find out," I say. "His divine aura was unmistakable, and as you know, anyone who feels one cannot deny they have felt it. Not in truth. Thousands of people still there heard his declaration and statement that we Magi served a higher power – that we were given a mission by a power even higher than the gods here to end the war."

"So things may ease up on us," she says.

"Indeed," I nod.

"That was a few hours ago," she says. "I take it you were busy with other things until now?"

"Yes," I nod. "It seems the god was powerful enough to lift Enamas's curse of ill intent on Jason, who disappeared a few minutes after he left. I went down there to speak with Jason and find out a little more about the god, only to learn Jason had left. Sage Elena told me that Jason warned her he would likely pass out within an hour or two and had most likely headed home. I checked there, only Jason was not present."

"Where did he go?" She asks.

"I do not know," I answer. "But he was gone for more than an hour before he finally returned home, and he went straight to his room and fell asleep. At least, I am assuming he fell asleep."

"He could use the rest," she tells me. "With how much pain he has been in."

"I agree," I pull her against me for a hug. "It makes me happy that Enamas did not decide to attack us while we were there. Our suffering would be much greater, and I do not know what I would do if you were in Jason's situation, only without being at grey magical power."

"I feel the same, only for you," she returns the hug, then we separate to maintain etiquette. "Any other news?"

"Yes," I answer. "I asked Adam to assist with the situation in the northwest. As a Varilan, he was more than willing to act."

"Do you know what he is planning?" She asked.

"Our intelligence agents reports he has already done it," I tell her.

"Oh?" She asks.

"He has reminded me," I sigh. "About the source of the Undying Desert."

To the east of the eastern mountains stretches a desert more than two hundred miles across. Blazing heat, no plants at all, just hard dirt. Those who cross it must wear enchanted clothes in order to pass, or the water within them would dry up. Hovering high above the Undying Desert is a sun separate from the world's.

After my agent informed me of what appeared above the capital of the Jakor Duchy, I knew immediately what Adam had done. It was a spell I had forgotten about, but a spell which all Magi know of. We were there when it was cast during the war, so we will all recover the memory of it eventually.

The Sun of the Phoenix is a potent spell William created to target a specific god and her army. Nolan eventually killed her, though the Sun of the Phoenix made it easier. I do not remember the specifics of why William created the Sun of the Phoenix there, nor why we left it. I am, however, impressed that it still burns after more than three thousand years.

"The source of the Undying Desert?" Tasha asks, and I see the realization in her eyes. "He created a Sun of the Phoenix?"

"Yes," I answer. "It is likely less powerful and potent than the one he created during the war, but the message is no doubt clear."

A message sent not just to Duke Jakor, but to all others who oppose us in that region. We know the civilians still wish to stay with Varil, their loyalty is high. We offer more benefits than other nations, and word of the magitech Sageson Magical Technologies has been producing has spread. Papa had it spread through the nation, slowly. By the end of this year, all of Varil should have mana generators to run power through the cities, towns, and villages, providing more resources to our people than they already have. The same goes for plumbing. Even the places which do not have it yet no doubt anticipate it.

By separating from Varil, they have declared themselves a place which will not receive those resources. That tells the citizens they are not cared about, which will lead to a revolt. With the Sun of the Phoenix now burning above a city, extending its direct effect for half the duchy, the citizens will rebel.

Duke Jakor made a mistake in turning into our enemy. The people will be exhausted, overheated, and annoyed. Crops will die, and the weak will grow even weaker, possibly even die. Even if Varil cast the spell, it is the duke's fault, and the people will see that.

"Hopefully," I say. "Duke Jakor sees reason within a week. I wish to minimize the damage to the civilians themselves, and my agent's estimates says that while there will likely be a few deaths, the amount will remain minimal as long as the spell is canceled within a week."

"And if he does not?" She asks.

"Then other plans will be pushed," I say. "Duke Jakor has declared war on Varil with his actions. War does not mean we go easy. We will target their crops, their military camps and bases, we will even sacrifice a few civilians. In the end, they will return to us. Either by his death or his surrender."

"Will you participate?" She asks.

"There is no reason for me to," I tell her. "Of the Magi, ten are Varilan. Even if we are Magi, we still hold to the loyalties of this life. All I need do is ask, and they will act to fight for their kingdom, not just out of the friendship of our memories from our past lives."

Tasha nods, and I pull her against me again, for another hug. Running the kingdom is a lot more difficult than I knew, and I have found a new appreciation for Papa while running it in his place as he recovers.

"I have an appointment I need to head to," I say softly. "Come to the palace this evening, would you?"

"I will," she answers, then kisses me on the cheek. "Good luck with your meeting."

"Thank you," I say, then leave.

In my carriage, I direct them to take me out of the city. We travel to a secluded spot reserved for royal picnics in warmer weather, then I exit the carriage and instruct the driver and guards to remain there.

"Sir," both of mine start to speak.

"You two are coming with me," I tell them.

I would have asked Eden to accompany me, but he is working on an essay we have due on Monday. I finished mine this morning, but Eden had other stuff to do, so he was unable to until now.

After gathering up the mental courage for this, I pull on my circlet, then I open up a gate and step through. I perform several gate trips, until I arrive outside of the gates to a castle. The guards and citizens nearby give us startled looks, and I do not blame them for that.

"Hello," I say in Ivekol, the language of Iveko. "I am Jacob Varil, and I wish to speak with your king."

Even if they do not recognize me, they still lead me into the castle. Inside, a guard takes me and my guards to a sitting room, then watches us as a message is delivered to their king. Now, all we need to do is wait. They will likely wish to verify my identify first, which can be somewhat tricky, though I will no doubt be visited by either Alexander himself or by his elder son, Edward. Both of them will recognize me, having visited Varilsy several times in the past.

However, they will be suspicious because of the lack of royal entourage accompanying me and the light protection. They will also no doubt wonder about my arrival method, as that will be mentioned as well.

After we wait for thirty minutes, the door to the sitting room opens, and a boy around seven enters the room with a curious caution on his face, accompanied by a quarter of guards who seem like they are attempting to convince him not to come in here. The moment he sees me, his face lights up.

"Jacob!" He rushes towards me, tackling me in a hug.

"Lucas," I say in surprise, then make sure to speak in Ivekol, as he no doubt does not possess decent Varilan skills. "I was not expecting you to come in here."

"Father will likely be mad if he finds out I came here," Lucas looks up and gives me a grin. "But I heard them say that you were here and they wanted to make sure it was you, because you showed up in a weird way and only had two guards. So I snuck here, though my guards kept telling me 'no'. I ignored them."

"It is good to see you again," I say, then pull him up onto the couch and sit him next to me. "You have grown since summer."

"Yep!" He grins at me. "Three inches! Father says it is weird, but I am finally as tall as a boy my age should be!"

Lucas was a little small for a six-year-old during the summer, which had bothered him. The other boys he played with, mostly servants, were all taller than him. It is good to see he is happy about his height now.

"Well," I put a hand on his head and ruffle his hair. "Do not be in too much of a rush to grow up. We adults have plenty of responsibilities we must deal with."

"I will just have Edward do everything!" He claims as he kicks his feet back and forth over the edge of the couch. "What are you doing here? Father never mentioned that you were coming to visit!"

"It was a surprise visit," I answer. "I wished to see how the accommodations for the Varilans coming for the tournament were, but it would be improper of me not to greet your father after arriving."

"Oh! Okay!" He says. "How long are you staying? The guard said you just appeared out of nowhere! That is weird, because Father says no one can teleport into the city."

"That was not a teleporation spell," I tell him. "But something far more complex, yet much more precise in aim."

"Oh! Okay!" He says. "So did your father not come? Why did you come instead of him?"

"My father is ill right now," I answer. "And is unable to travel as he recovers from his sickness."

"I hope he gets better soon," he tells me. "Father has said a lot lately that he wants to talk with him."

"I am sure he does," I smile, then ruffle Lucas's hair once more.

Alexander no doubt knows about some of the changes going on in Varil and wishes to make a decision on where he wishes to stand once the tournament is over.

The door to the room opens, and Lucas suddenly turns timid, though I do not blame him.

"Hello, Alexander," I stand as the king of Iveko enters the room. "It is good to see you in health."

"And you as well, Jacob," he greets me with a guarded smile. "I did not receive a message that you would be visiting, and your method of arrival creates a few questions."

"I am sorry for the lack of notice," I tell him. "But this was an emergency visit. While I am here, I wish to visit the tournament lodgings for my people, and would have sent a notice ahead that I would be visiting. However, there are more important matters to discuss before then."

"I see," he says, moving to the seat across from me, and we sit. "Lucas, come here."

Lucas meekly gets off the couch and moves to his papa, sitting on the man's lap, aware he will likely be punished for coming in here without permission.

"Have refreshments brought for us," Alexander instructs a servant who had followed him in, and the servant hastily leaves. "So, Jacob, what brings you to Iveko."

"A desire for discussion," I answer. "And a forewarning of news you will receive soon."

"A forewarning?" He asks.

"You are aware of the Undying Desert, yes?" I ask.

"I am," he answers.

"In however long it takes for a messenger bird to arrive here from Vel," I say. "You will receive a message from them. A second small sun has appeared, this time over Varil. Or rather, over a duchy whose lord decided to rebel against Varil. This one is temporary, and is acting as a warning to Duke Jakor to cease his rebellion. While we may not be friends, I still wished to inform you that the new Sun of the Phoenix, as its proper name is, will not be turned against those who do not act against us. We are not setting out to conquer others, but hold our territory. We possess spells to recover the land, once the sun is dismissed, so the effects will only be short-term.

"As a gesture of goodwill to you," I tell him. "To show that we do not wish to attack unless attacked, I would like to grant you knowledge of how to ward against the spell I used to arrive here."

"The gate spell," he says. "My contacts within Varil City have told me of it."

"Yes," I nod. "The gate spell. It is a special form of spatial travel created by the son of the Sages, Jason Jeshema. You know him by another title, however. Two, in fact: High Magus and King of Magic."

"Telling me," he says. "That you are allied with the High Magus himself sounds like a threat, Jacob."

"No," I tell him. "A threat would involve me coming with my Magus Sword equipped, not the mithril sword I use most of the time. I am the Magus of Light, King of Spring, and the Sun of the Phoenix was cast by the Magus of Energy, King of Summer. I was not making a threat, Alexander, only informing you of who created the spell and the ward against it. Though a Varilan I may be, a Magus I am as well. My threats involve violence, often death, when it comes to my enemies.

"Part of the reason for me mentioning Jason," I open up my spatial storage and pull out a comm plate. "Is because Sageson Magical Technologies wishes to do business with you. I am sure you have heard of by now some of their longer-existing technologies, such as the plumbing network, mana batteries, and other such things that have existed for a few years.

"Right now," I hold out the comm plate, which he eyes suspiciously for a moment before returning his gaze to mine. "If you wish to obtain any of them, you must buy them from the shops at the heart of Varil, then have them transported here. Quite an expensive thing. This is a comm plate, Alexander. You infuse your mana into it and activate the runes indicating the matching comm plate you wish to contact, and it creates a long-distance communication channel."

I pull the comm plate back and activate it, using it to contact Lina. She takes a few seconds to respond, likely because I did not inform her I would be calling her. When I left, I had not thought about Alexander being suspicious of the comm plate.

"Where did you go, Jacob?" Lina asks.

She knows about this comm plate, even if it has never been used before. I suppose I should have warned her that someone other than me might be using it, but since I was the first to contact her through it, no harm has been done.

"I am in Iveko at the moment," I inform her in Varilan. Alexander can speak it, even if Lucas cannot. "If that frustrated tone is about Duke Qualor, please tell him that again, I will not be approving the proposal he has. I am sixteen, not a moron."

"You have already told him 'no'?" She asks.

"Four times."

"I will make it clearer, then," she says.

"Trust me," I tell her. "I was quite clear to him. At the moment, I am speaking with Alexander Iveko, demonstrating the comm plate."

Alexander and Lucas both seem amazed by the technology. There are no communication spells or enchantments yet outside of what Jason and the Sages have invented, so he knows that unless I am pulling some sort of strange trick, this is real.

"Hello, Alexander," Lina says.

"Hello!" Lucas pipes up, and his papa places a hand over his mouth.

That is one of the probably five words of Varilan he knows.

"Was that Lucas?" Lina asks.

"It was," I chuckle. "He came to see if it was really me before his papa arrived. Anyway, I simply wished to demonstrate it, I will be ending the call now."

"Okay," she says. "Goodbye, Jacob."

I end the call, then hold the comm plate out once more. This time, Alexander takes it.

"This rune," I indicate the one for Lina's comm plate. "Will contact Lina. This one will contact mine, this one will contact Papa's, though he is unavailable at the moment. This one will contact Jason Jeshema, and this one will contact Sage Harold.

"If you wish," I pull my arm back. "To remain out of the war which the nations to the north have declared or may declare on Varil, then contact Sage Harold. As I am sure you know, all of the enchantments they use are protected from being read by others, so the only way to obtain them is to buy them from Sageson Magical Technologies. They have no interest in sharing this technology and bettering the lives of people who wish to attack their allies, however.

"As I said before," I continue. "We have no interest in fighting you, Alexander, and we will not take hostile actions. We only fight our enemies, and our enemies are those who attack us in some form. If you contact Sage Harold to make trade agreements, then Varil will know that Iveko has no interest in becoming our enemy or attacking us. If you do not contact him, then we will simply see if you join the war against us. We will not take lack of contact to him as an attack against us.

"I had them include," I continue. "Contacts for my father, my sister, and myself for should you desire to create an alliance between us. As for Jason, I suppose he was included in case he decided to contact you at some point, though I am certain Jason would just come here on his own. He does stuff like that."

Alexander and I speak for another hour before he takes me outside of the city, to where they are constructing the stadium and lodgings. I am uncertain as to what he will decide, but I pray to the King and Queen of the Gods that he chooses not to make himself our enemies once the tournament ends.

Unlike Varil, no other nation simply has the space to maintain a permanent tournament space. The others sacrifices fields around their capital in order to construct the arenas and lodgings, stalls and shops that will accompany the event. The full space spans more than a mile in diameter.

They could clear out forests for it, but they would need to clear out more forest than they need for the location itself, and keeping it protected from attacks from monsters, especially ogres and corrupted, would require higher security. While they would still need to clear out extra space from the fields, they would have a city on one side. Most cities are already low in attacks on them, so the chances of an attack from monsters would be low.

Some kingdoms have fields they could use, but not near their capitals, and everyone wishes them to be held near the capital so that the king can visit regularly and oversee the events without having to travel too far or stay away from the capital for too long.

With Varil, this is not an issue, as we are large enough my papa already travels for long periods of time, usually on a trip around the kingdom. He performs a full trip that covers nearly all of Varil once every decade, and it takes him nearly a year to complete.

The lodgings look like they are progressing well, though the Varilans here to turn them from buildings into proper lodgings are quite surprised by my sudden and unexpected appearance. I wish I could watch the tournament, but I will have lessons to attend to at university. I have seen a few of them in the past, though it has been years since Varil hosted them due to the way the cycle works. They are quite fun to watch.

After checking the progress of the lodgings, I return home to Varil, to return to work. Once more, I pray to the King and Queen of the Gods that Alexander chooses to not make us his enemy. I really do not want to call upon the powers of the Magi to deal with the war, which will be necessary in order to end it quickly if too many nations become involved.

Against the demons, angels, and gods, it may have taken us years to deal with things, but those were forces more powerful than humans. Against humans, we are more terrifying than most forces of nature, and more powerful, too. The twelve of us could, if we wished to, conquer the world.

At least, once we gained a little more power.

Except for Jason and Niko, those two could probably conquer the world already.

(Niko, 16)

"Welcome!" I greet Lina as she enters the mansion. "Thank you for coming, Lina."

"Thank you for inviting me," she smiles, approaching and giving me a light kiss before removing her coat and handing it to a servant.

Right now, she wears a dark blue dress with silver and white designs, giving it a winterly appearance. She also wears a necklace of silver, diamonds, and sapphires. She removes her white gloves and hands them to the servant who took her coat, and he hurries away to put it somewhere safe for her visit.

"You look beautiful," I tell Lina.

"You look handsome," she tells me, and I feel my face flush.

It took me an hour to decide on this outfit. Black pants and boots, with a dark blue shirt with silver trim. My hair is freshly cut to the Varilan norm for hair. I find it much more comfortable than the longer length my people wear their hair at, though the ten students here have changed to wearing theirs more to the same length Jason does.

I think they are trying to emulate him.

"Thank you," I tell Lina, who looks at another of the servants nearby, and can anticipate her question. "Sage Samuel sent several more servants and guards here. They arrived this morning. The young adults from Mar who will be starting at an academy next academic year are here as well. They will be learning Varilan from the ten who are already here. With an additional twenty boys and girls, there was need of extra staff."

"They sent girls as well?" She asks.

"Yes," I nod. "Though Mar is a society which still holds to the women staying at home and caring for the house and children, my papa understands that some Varilans might find it weird if only male Marrans are studying here, even if they know about our cultural differences.

"As well," I continue. "My papa understands that there is a vast difference between Mar and Varil in terms of power. You do not deny half of your warriors and mages simply because they are female. By opening up the opportunity for women to learn magic and become mages, we allow for double the fighting force."

However, in order to still hold closer to our ways and not cause greater issues, the women are only allowed to become mages, they are not permitted to become warriors. That may change in the future, but for now, the restriction is in place.

"Does the mansion have enough space to hold everyone?" She asks. "Thirty-one residents, plus the staff?"

"Yes," I answer. "We have twenty bedrooms, and the servants' quarters are quite large. The younger ones are paired up. They are all either thirteen, or will be thirteen in time for the next academic year. This should allow them sufficient time to learn Varilan at a competent level."

At least, competent enough to participate in an academy. Jacob has helped me pick out one as well, and several people from the border between our kingdoms have been brought down as well. As they can speak both languages, they will assist in teaching Varilan to the younger ones, and act as translators when needed.

"Come," I hold out my arm. "Let us head to the dining room."

Lina accepts my arm, and I lead her to the dining room. We walk to her seat, and I pull it out. She sits, then I move to my seat and sit. It is just the two of us eating here, I had Eli and the other older Marrans take the younger ones on a trip through the city so that Lina and I may have time to ourselves.

"When the new staff came through," I tell Lina. "I had them bring foods from Mar as well. I know you had the pleasure of eating proper Marran food when we visited before, but I thought we could enjoy it again. We will have something different from before."

"Thank you," she smiles. "How has your day gone today?"

"It has been quite nice," I answer as the first course is served and wine is poured. "How has yours been?"

"It has been quite nice as well," she answers. "Apart from needing to deal with a few nobles after Jacob decided to pay a visit to Iveko for some reason, that is."

"He wished to check on the preparations for your people to stay there during the tournament," I tell her. "So that does not surprise me. He likely wished for a break from his work."

"Indeed," she responds. "Other than that, I spent much of the day at the palace, though I did listen in to the radio broadcast of the exhibition. I am sure you did as well, but did you listen after it ended? Something else happened."

"You are referring to Jaklenai appearing?" I ask.

"Yes," she answers. "So you heard what he said, then."

"I was there," I quietly respond, and she raises an eyebrow. "I used an illusion to conceal my identity. Jason saw right through it, but other than him and Sage Elena, I doubt anyone else knew I was present."

They can read magics, so both of them saw my illusion spell concealing my identity. Jason called it a glamour.

"I am glad that occurred," I tell her. "Combined with what happened during Alex's trial, word will spread even more that the Magi are not evil. But enough of that, Lina, I wished for a dinner with you, and discussing that makes me feel like we are discussing business rather than enjoying ourselves."

"I agree with you on that," she smiles again. "Will we visit the amphitheater after? A new troupe is in Varilsy right now."

"I considered that," I tell her. "As I certainly enjoying visiting it with you. However, I have a special arrangement for after our dinner."

"A special arrangement?" She asks.

"Yes," I smile. "I hired some entertainers. Alex was most helpful in locating them for me."

Her expression tells me that she is not so sure about these entertainers.

"They are not shady," I hastily tell her. "I asked Alex to seek out quality entertainers who have the appropriate rights to perform for royalty. I can trust him to know the difference between good and bad. While I waited for you to arrive, I listened in and watched their practice for their performance for us, and I believe you will enjoy them."

"Okay," she laughs lightly.

"I wanted to ask you something," I tell her. "The food exhibition occurring next weekend, is there some sort of protocol for royals for attendance?"

"No," she answers. "Jacob and I have usually simply attended on our own in the past, followed by our guards. We are treated largely the same as others, though with some respect and distance kept as well."

"Would you like to attend with me?" I ask.

"Of course," she smiles. "I would love to attend with you."

"Okay," I tell her. "And then the Festival of Love, which occurs after that?"

From the fifteenth through the eighteenth of the second month of the year, Varil has something they call the 'Festival of Love'. I have never heard of it before, but have managed to learn that it is a Varilan tradition. Sadly, that was all Jason knew about it. I suppose it makes sense he would not know all of their customs, either, as he is a foreigner as well.

"I can see your real question in your expression," Lina chuckles. "You have no idea what it is, do you?"

"I do not," I tell her.

She reaches over and grabs my hand, giving it a light squeeze.

"Niko," she says. "If we abide by the traditions of Varil for it, then you and I will spend much of our waking hours of it together. We will still follow the codes, of course, but the main tradition is to spend it with your spouse or your betrothed. For those not of nobility and who are not married or betrothed, they often spend it with the person they are courting, if they are courting. That is all you need to know in preparation for it."

"Are there gifts involved?" I remember my blunder with the Twelve Honors.

"Perhaps," she tells me. "But as I said, Niko, you already know everything which you need to."

"Okay," I tell her. "Let us spend less time talking and more time eating, shall we?"

We can sit closer together during the performance from the entertainers after we eat than we can while sitting at the table.