(Alex, 17)

"Is he still busy?" Barry asks as I throw myself onto the couch in the crew's apartment.

For the last two weeks, ever since the spring equinox, Jason has been extremely busy. I've barely seen him at all, other than right before university and during the training group. Hanging out with the crew in my free time as Connor and I try to get the family businesses functioning does help alleviate some stress, but it ain't anything like hanging out with Jason.

He puts a different type of smile on my face, gives me a different kind of company. Listening to him read stories, or just going on a date with him, makes me feel wonderful. Yet for two weeks, I ain't been able to do any of that just because he's been busy.

To the point that when I show up in the evenings, he's already passed out, asleep, from exhaustion. Usually with Tiger Alpha and Zevenas curled up either on him or against him. That part's adorable.

No one will tell me what Jason's doing, either. All anyone knows for sure – at least, anyone who will say something – is that we know he's still checking on Niko. Everyone knows that, though, so it's pointless to ask about that.

The new story has Niko having been released by the griffins a few days ago. However, as he was opening a gate to the Marran castle, a thunderbird came and said hello, and Jason doesn't know what's going on with Niko now, other than that he's been talking to the thunderbird every day.

What sucks about that is that Jason's figured out how to prevent me from reading his emotions, making knowing if he's telling the truth or a lie difficult. Of course, I know he's lying, because he's just covering for Niko as Niko deals with his leg, but still. It's annoying that Jason figured out how to do that.

I ain't as good at hiding my lies from him as he is from me.

"Well!" Jeddy hands me a mug of… is this a mug of vodka? "The good news is, we're here for ya, Alex!"

I take a sip.

"Jeddy," I say. "Why did you fill a mug with vodka?"

"'Cause I know ya need something strong!" He grins.

Rolling my eyes, I drain the entire mug, feeling the vodka burn as it goes down. When I finish, I hand the mug back to Jeddy. Even that ain't enough to give me a buzz. Being the Leviathan of the Magi sucks.

I'm about to open my mouth and ask the crew if they want to go hunting when a grey gate forms in the space we set aside for us opening gates in here. All eyes turn to it as Jason steps through, apparently not busy this Felday morning.

He's dressed in black pants and boots, along with a violet leather vest with black trim. His hairpins are violet today, and he has his usual accessories, along with Starbringer on his hip.

"Ain't busy?" I ask him.

"Want to go on a trip?" He asks.

"What, to follow ya as ya do whatever's kept ya busy these last two weeks?"

"Come on," Jason smiles. "I'll make it up to you, I promise. No escort required, there will be others around."

"Including Zevenas?" I ask about the invisible dragon. Why Jason won't take the amulet away is anyone's guess. "He's hiding himself again."

"I passed him off to an older dragon," Jason shakes his head. "He's occupied for the day. It'll be you, me, and the people where we're going."

"And where are we going?"

"It's a surprise!" He answers with a grin. "Come on, Alex. Don't be a moody dolt when I'm trying to go on a special trip with you."

Well, maybe ya shouldn't have been so busy these last two weeks.

"Whatever," I stand. "So where are we going?"

"Through the gate!" He grins, then steps through the gate.

Giving a look to my crew, I follow Jason through the gate. The gate disappears behind me as I look around at our surroundings. Buildings of stone and logs surround us, and in the distance, tall walls of logs bound together forming a protective barrier around the settlement.

We're standing beside a large fire pit, stones forming a ring twenty feet in diameter. Logs are built up into a large fire formation, though not lit, and a few young ones are stuffing kindling into the gaps at the bottom.

All of the women and girls here are wearing dresses, while all of the men and boys are wearing pants and either vests or no chest coverings. Many people have bracelets or necklaces or anklets, but none have any piercings.

Everyone here has the same platinum-blond hair as Jason, and everyone I can see has violet eyes.

We're in the Dragon Clans' territory. In their settlement.

"Fael Mira is gone right now," Jason speaks in the language of the Delvarkari, an altered version of the ancient language that I can mostly understand. "But she'll return before dinner."

"I thought outsiders ain't allowed?" I ask in Varilan, stunned. "I ain't a member of the Dragon Clans!"

"That, you aren't," Jason smiles, responding in Varilan. "And outsiders are allowed, just rarely. How does it feel to be the first outsider to set foot inside the village of the Delvarkari in more than twelve hundred years?"

I look around, at the various people going about their business or looking at us, at me.

"Why am I here?" I ask Jason, confused. "This seems rather sudden, ya know."

Jason scratches the back of his neck as he thinks about it. He's not sure of how much to say.

"We're marrying after university," he tells me. "Even though that's still something like four or so years away, that still makes us betrothed. And among the Delvarkari, we have certain, ah, customs here. I was trying to put them off until we were closer to the wedding, like when we were twenty, maybe. But then Fael Mira insisted on doing it now."

"And what is this custom?" I ask.

"Meeting the family," he answers. "I've already met yours, now it's time for you to meet mine."

"I've already met yours," I say. "Ain't it just Miralandis and Jarenidis?"

"We in the Delvarkari have a slightly different definition of family," he tells me. "To the Delvarkari, all Delvarkari are family."

Ah, crap. I have to meet the entire Delvarkari, all of the Dragon Clans. No wonder Jason wanted to wait until we were a few years older. I am, by far, weaker than anyone else here. Including the little ones. In a few years, I'd likely be either violet or grey in magical power again, meaning I'd be more on the level of those present.

"So, uh," I say. "How many members are in the Dragon Clans?"

"A few hundred," he answers. "You won't actually meet all of them, probably, but enough to satisfy the tradition."

"And how many of them will have an issue with me 'cause I ain't as powerful as any of 'em?"

"I already beat some sense into them," Jason assures me, and I raise an eyebrow. "It's part of why I was so busy the last couple of weeks. That, and I was finishing up the gates in Mar, a couple of other gates including the one in Vora, and negotiating with a dragon to take care of Zevenas while you and I were here."

"Wait," I say. "So in addition to work, ya were preparing for this visit?"

"Yes," he answers. "To make sure it goes as smoothly as possible. Oh, and cycle your magic every time you have a drink, as you drink."

"Why?" I ask.

"Because the stuff here will get you drunk a lot faster than the stuff outside," he tells me. "It's designed to affect people with violet magical power who perform physical training every day or nearly every day."

As such, their bodies are much more resilient to alcohol than a normal person's. Their stuff must be mighty strong, then, and mighty potent, too. How will it compare tot he vodka Jeddy gave me a few minutes ago?

"Anyway!" Jason claps his hands together, eyes bright with excitement as he switches back to the language of the Delvarkari. "Let me introduce you to some of them! There are a few who really want to meet you!"

I have a feeling this is going to be a long day. But I get to hang out with Jason for it now, it seems, so it ain't going to be too bad.

(Jacob, 17)

"Hello, Tasha," I say as she steps into the entrance hall of her mansion, two female guards following behind her. "You are breathtaking."

Right now, she wears a dress in spring greens and yellows, with traces of blue, her jewelry silver and gold and set with emeralds and sapphires with the occasional golden topaz. Her hair is fixed up, held in place with pins set with jewels. Her hands and part of her arms are covered with spring green gloves with a light shimmer to the fabric they are woven of.

"Thank you, Jacob," she gives me a small curtsy. "How are you this morning?"

"I am well," I approach her and give her a light kiss. "How are you, Tasha?"

"I am well," she answers. "You arrived early."

Tasha is throwing a small party and banquet for lunch today, and has invited many of the nobles in Varilsy from families the Meti family has dealings with. There are not that many of them compared to how many nobles are currently within the city, but it will still be more than enough to fill the banquet hall in the mansion here.

One reason for the banquet is to thank them for supporting her as she transitioned from the heir of the Meti family to its head, but another is to remind them of her status. She has spent much of her free time in the Meti Duchy, running things there, and she has finally managed to set things up so that her direct control is no longer needed, much as her papa did before her. Now that everything is under her control, she will only be needed for certain dealings.

However, a direct result of her small presence since her papa's passing was that others began to question her status and qualifications as a noble. They have begun to question of the Meti family is as it once was.

So she chose to throw a lavish, and exclusive, banquet. A way of reminding them of the wealth of the Meti family. With how much money she chose to throw at this banquet, it will state that the Meti family is as wealthy as it ever was, and its new head was simply too busy to play petty politics with them.

The doors open for guests to arrive in an hour, with servants hastily moving through the mansion as they prepare for the banquet. Because of that, I understand why she is a little curious about my arrival, and know that she likely had her outfit finished early when she was informed I had arrived.

She did make me wait another ten minutes, after all, and I am sure she would have pulled away from whatever she was doing if it was not having her jewelry, makeup, and hair done.

"To spend a little time with you," I smile at Tasha. "I feel as if I barely see you outside of the training group, and even if it is while you are setting up a banquet, I would feel quite happy to spend a little more time with you."

"Thank you," she smiles. "Come, Jacob, let me show you the banquet hall."

Tasha leads me into the banquet hall. A row of tables lines one wall, covered in yellow tablecloths. Servants set up dishes on them, but no food. The food will be placed closer to the opening of the doors for guests to arrive.

Against the opposite wall are round tables covered in light green tablecloths, seats set up around them, the cream-colored cushions quite clearly new. Upon those tables are blue and white vases filled with blue, white, green, and yellow flowers. In the minstrels' gallery, a band warms up, the light sounds of their instruments filling the air.

While all of the cloths are obviously new, I fail to see how Tasha intends it as a show of her power. I honestly expected more than this.

"Come," Tasha takes my hand into hers, leading me to the kitchen.

Inside, I am immediately aware of how she is showing her wealth and power with this banquet. The guests will see the simple decorations and have their expectations lowered… then they will see the food and be stunned.

Fresh fruits and vegetables from too far for us to transport normally. Foods we never eat here as a result of that. Oranges, lemons, limes, and other southern foods, all fresh rather than pickled, dried, or candied. Fresh spices normally imported dried and possibly ground.

The ranks of nobility have become aware of the gates, not just the gate spell, and a few have even approached Sageson Magical Technologies asking permission to use them. The cost is rather high at the moment, one hundred thousand varru just for a single activation to allow one person through, with an additional ten thousand for each person after.

It does not include the return trip.

The cost will lower once they are formally opened to the public, but for now, the price is high to help decrease traffic through them. For Tasha to use them to bring in foods from south, east, and north that we normally would not have here, she likely spent more than two or three million varru on the food.

Such an action will remind the other noble families that the Meti hold status and wealth, and enough of the latter to simply throw it at food. No doubt the wines she purchased for the banquet will be ones which are normally quite expensive here in the capital.

"Are those strawberries?" I ask, spotting a basket of the red fruit.

"They are," she smiles, leading me over to them. She picks out a large, plump, bright red strawberry and holds it out to me. "Here, Jacob. We have plenty."

I accept it, biting into the sweet, delicious fruit. Tasha watches me as I eat it. These are more than delicious, and I wish I could eat them more often. Now that the gates are opening regularly, perhaps I can start buying them fresh?

My gaze settles on a group of four servants, who are preparing something that looks deliciously familiar.

"Tasha," I say. "Did Jason give you the recipe for ice cream?"

"Yes," she answers. "Including variations for chocolate, mint chocolate, and strawberry. Adjusting it is quite easy."

"I was not aware he chose to share the recipe," I admit.

"He has given it to a few small cafes and restaurants," she informs me. "When Sage Harold mentioned it to me, I asked if it would be possible to obtain the recipe. He told me he would speak with Sage Elena, and Jason approached me maybe twenty minutes later. That was a few hours ago, and I had servants rush out for the ingredients needed."

"Will they prepare strawberry ice cream as well?" I ask. "Or do you not have enough?"

"I sent servants to the gates to purchase more," she answers. "They should be returning shortly."

Word that Tasha sent servants to use the gates last-minute to purchase more rare goods for this region will no doubt spread, even without her attempting to spread it. Her staff will surely mention it to answer questions, or in a tavern as they talk with servants of other households.

It will reinforce her status as well, reminding people that Tasha does not just have the Meti Duchy and all that comes with it. She has connections allowing her to perform a rushed gate use. Right now, they ask for a twenty-four hour notice before the gates are used, though I am not sure why.

"Come," she tells me. "Tell me how the mint chocolate tastes, Jacob. We have a small batch of it already prepared, we did one of each just to see how they taste. Now, they are preparing larger batches to store until after the main courses are consumed."

I follow her over to the ice cream makers, and Tasha allows me to sample each bowl of ice cream. The mint chocolate has a strange taste to it, and I can understand why Tasha is a little confused by it.

Jason once said that some foods from Earth will be an acquired taste to people here on Midlaris, since we grew up with a different menu. Ice cream is a sweet treat that will be enjoyed by children more than adults as a result of that.

However, I cannot tell if even children would enjoy the mint chocolate ice cream.

"It possess an interesting flavor," I tell her, and the servants mixing the ice cream all look relieved. "I would suggest possibly making a smaller batch of it than the others, less people will be willing to eat it after sampling it. Jason certainly has strange tastes."

"Oh, he does not like it!" She laughs, then pulls away the recipe book, turning it toward me and flipping to the recipe. "Look!"

There are notes on the page describing how to make mint chocolate ice cream, both in Sage Elena's handwriting and in Jason's. Sage Elena's are mostly notes on how it could be altered in various ways, while Jason's are just him making doodles or writing things such as 'disgusting' on it.

"Jason is certainly an interesting person," I chuckle. "Do you want to take a guess at the odds of Sage Elena pulling the flavor out of him just because she wanted to find out a flavor he did not enjoy in his life as Lucas?"

"Quite high," Tasha chuckles, then pushes the recipe book back to the servants. "Come, let us sample some of the other foods."

We sample some of the other foods, then oversee other preparations for the banquet. Right at noon, guests begin arriving, including Lina. She approaches Tasha and me, greeting both of us with a kiss on each cheek.

For the banquet, she wears a plain, pale yellow dress with silver jewelry set with yellow stones I cannot remember the name of. The only exceptions are the thunderbird necklace Niko gave her, as well as the silver bracelet he sent her for her birthday. Ever since receiving them, she has not removed them, apart from bed and to wash, as far as I am aware.

"Did you hear the latest event Niko has suffered?" She asks.

"About the thunderbird?" I ask. "Jason was quite mysterious with what happened there. It makes me curious why he did not step in this time."

"He refused to answer," she tells me. "And when I asked him about it this morning, he refused to answer, saying he had somewhere to be. Then he stepped through a gate and disappeared."

"Stepping through gates tends to do that to a person," I respond with a smile, and she smiles back.

"Yes, it does," she says. "I do hope Niko returns soon."

"I do as well," I tell her. "It must be frightening, to be captured by grey-level monsters one after another. How must he be feeling right now?"

(Niko, 16)

"-and that is how the great hero Nalon ended the terrible Schism of Light," I finish the story, and the group of children in front of me clap.

I have taken to telling the children of Garoyal stories from our time in the war, with some adjusting of the names. They seem to enjoy the tales, unaware the stories are history, not imagined. Kyron sits with them, entrance. He, like many of the older children and the adults who hear the tales, have realized that the stories I tell come from the war.

Or at least, most of them. A few of my stories are their history, from after the war but before we Magi left Midlaris last time. Tales of heroes and adventures forgotten many generations ago.

"Enjoy the rest of your days, children," I tell them. "And remember, the King and Queen of the Gods are always watching."

I stand and leave, Kyron hurrying to follow me out of the room. We walk to a training courtyard, where I have him demonstrate a few spells, then practice them. Taking a seat, I hold up my left hand, spending several minutes creating an orb of curse magics.

This has become habit since I restored my memories of the training Nolan put us through in our last lives. At least once a day, I spend an hour creating these orbs, then store them in a spatial storage just for them. I make one of each element first, then random ones based on how I feel until the hour ends.

Through this, I give Kyron tips on his magics. He truly does possess great talent in golem and curse magics, along with some darkness magics. It makes me feel as if he should lead Garoyal one day, when he is older. Of all the people here, his talents with the three important ones for this land are the greatest.

One day, he may even reach grey in magical power. I have spoken with the gargoyles here, and if he does, they are to teach him how to create gargoyles as well. He would never manage to create true gargoyles, I am sure, but he could still make temporary ones.

While performing this training of mine and watching over Kyron's training, I perform another training. The orb creation helps me with it as well. I reach out with my senses, feeling the environment around me.

I feel the magic around me. This is necessary for the orb magics, but I push it further than that. I wish to fully develop my sense of magic, so that I can see and read it, much as Jason and the Sages do. There are other things I could train right now, other methods I remember now to increase my power, but those are too frustrating to attempt at the same time as the orbs.

When the hour ends, I stand, then lead Kyron back inside. We are on our way to my quarters to have dinner sent to us when a gargoyle approaches and bows.

"Great Gargoyle," she says. "Sriia has returned."

Suppressing a groan, I instruct her to lead us to where Sriia is waiting. She leads me outside of the castle and around to the back, where the female thunderbird has sat herself. She stands at thirty feet in length from the base of her tail to her shoulders, with dark brown feathers flecked with gold. Her grey eyes fix on me as she lowers her head to meet my gaze as levelly as she can, a sign of the respect she holds for me.

She first approached me a few days ago, and has spoken with me every day since. I was hoping that today would be the first day without her visit, but it appears that she chose to come today as well. I can only imagine the stories Jason is making up about what she wants of me, considering what he claimed when there was not a story to tell.

"Hello, Sriia," I greet the thunderbird as Kyron half-hides behind me.

She makes him nervous even with the gargoyles around, simply because of her size. He is, after all, a small ten-year-old boy, and she is a large bird more than five times his height. If she wanted to, she could swallow him up whole. At least, that is what he believes.

"Hello, Lord Niko," she greets me. "How are you on this chilly day?"

Every day is chilly to her, because she does not live in this mountains. She is visiting us temporarily, just to speak with me.

"I am hungry," I answer. "I was preparing to send for dinner when you arrived."

"My apologies, Lord Niko," she responds. "I wish to ask more questions."

"Is that not why you came here, to Garoyal?" I ask.

"Of course," she sounds embarrassed. "My apologies, Lord Niko. As I mentioned, the situation makes me quite nervous."

"As I promised," I tell her. "Jason means no harm by it, holds no ill intent towards you or your flock. He also knows you are visiting me."

"He does?" She pulls her head back, her voice filled with shock. "I thought I concealed my presence and residues from Lord Jason's awareness?"

"He is the Divine Dragon," I shrug. "Even if he is mortal in form right now, he still has many powers available to him that are beyond an ordinary mortal's, even if they were a Delvarkari. However, the most likely answer is that he told Jason."

I indicate Gargoyle Alpha, who has been dutifully following me around, still refusing to allow me out of his sight after the dragon attack.

"Ah, yes," she says. "The strange golem infused with Lord Jason's life essence. It can communicate?"

"Yes, I can!" Gargoyle Alpha responds, startling the thunderbird further. "And no, Niko, I did not tell Jason she was here. He knew on his own."

"It talks!" She exclaims.

"I am Gargoyle Alpha," he introduces himself to her. "Member of the Ultra Defense Stuffie Golems. Or is it Golem Stuffies? Regardless, I am here on duty to protect Niko here from harm."

"It is… a pleasure to meet you, Gargoyle Alpha," Sriia tells him, then looks at me once more. "Are you certain that Lord Jason does not bode us ill, Lord Niko? I remember the stories told to me by my parents of the tales passed down of what he did as Lord Nolan."

"Has your flock done anything to anger him?" I ask.

"No," she answers.

"Then there you have it," I tell her. "He holds no ill intent toward you. The most likely explanation for asking for blood is that you are the only thunderbird flock he could locate and he wants to try making some potions with it. He recently acquired the blood of dragons, and Jason enjoys experimenting with alchemy, magitech, magic, and other things. If he did hold ill intent toward you, he would have simply attacked and taken the blood by force."

She has been fretting over this ever since Jason approached her regarding it a week ago, then decided after a few days to visit me, of all people. Apparently, word went around to some of the grey-level monsters and their various clans that I am Jason's closest friend. Because of that, she decided that I might be able to explain to her why he would want her blood.

Even after a few days, I find myself repeating some things to her, such as that he most likely just wants to experiment with potions using a thunderbird's blood.

Though it did take me two hours to find out his request, when she first approached me. It seems Jason located her flock despite them using magic to conceal their home and themselves. No one knew they were there.

Then Jason just casually teleported himself right into the middle of their den and began speaking as if he had expected to see them there. I did ask Jason how he found them when he visited this morning to run me through some training stuff for a couple of hours.

He evaded answering by setting me on fire. It was not a burning fire, just a show of light with low heat. Enough to make me uncomfortable enough to figure out how to stop the spell, which turned out to be a curse.

"I promise," I tell Sriia. "You truly have nothing to worry about with Jason, as he holds no hostility towards you."

"I apologize for pestering you over this," she apologizes, just as she did the last two days. "It just worries me, to know the Divine Dragon wishes for the blood of my flock."

"He would be more than willing to trade you for it," I tell her, remembering that I have no mentioned this yet. "If you asked him for a trade, he would likely be amenable to making it."

"Yes, I do remember him mentioning something about a trade," she tells me, then stands up right, stretching her wings and neck. "Lord Niko, on another matter, I have a question regarding Lady Lina."

My stomach flutters at the mention of Lina. I have done my best not to think about how much I miss her. She will hate me if I return, for abandoning her like this. I feel certain she does not wear my gift to her. Lina is smart, she will know that Jason is lying about me, that he is covering for my cowardice.

"What about her?" I ask after pushing away those thoughts.

"It is the dream of every thunderbird," Sriia tells me. "To have the Great Thunderbird visit us. I was wondering if you knew if she would ever wish to? It would be wrong of us to ask a being as great as Lady Lina to grant us such an honor. So I simply wish to know if you are aware if she would ever do so. As the one she loves, I am sure you would know that much."

"I am uncertain," I tell her. "I am sure she would, if she knew about you. Otherwise, she would not know you are there to visit."

"I see," she says. "It would be wrong of us to announce our presence to her just for that. She is intelligent enough that she would know we are doing it for selfish reasons. But we still hope for that honor."

"Yes," I say. "I can sympathize with wanting to see her."