(Jacob, 17)

Candles set into holders along the wall illuminate the room I am in. The walls, floor, and ceiling are made of dark grey stone, and I can sense magic pulsing through them. The candles show no signs of how long they've been burning, and give off no smoke or odor. Everlasting candles are far from common.

Whoever put me here, they suspended me from the ceiling with shackles, my ankles shacked as well. This is a somewhat uncomfortable position to be in, and if I remain in it for too long, it will cause damage to my shoulders and arms. Either they intend to keep me like this for the duration of my stay, or they intend on torturing me while I am hanging, and lower me at other times.

Looking around the room, I confirm it to be a cell intended for both hanging the prisoner like this and for them to stay in. A straw mattress rests against one wall, with a pot in the opposite corner for me to take care of my needs in. A door made of godsteel and covered in enchantments sits in the wall facing me, with a slot at the top for viewing.

The chains holding me to the ceiling, the shackles around my wrists and ankles, and the chain linking my ankles together are all made of godsteel as well. A glance down confirms to me that the shackles are designed to drain mana.

Unlike Alex when I bound him, these are not chains I can escape. They were designed to contain a being far more powerful than I am, if I recognize the runes on the door properly. The enchanted godsteel cuffs will drain away all of the mana I could try to pour into them at once in an attempt to overload them.

This chamber was built to contain a Magus. Specifically, the Magus of Light. There are eleven other rooms, each one designed to contain a different Magus. It was the one and only time we Magi were captured with seemingly no way to escape during the war.

Only Magus Nolan remained free, and it took him awhile to track us down. The god who built this prison designed it to be invisible to tracking magics. The entire underground prison was built as a magical circle, a rare and difficult feat of architecture.

I did not regain the memories of this place until I examined the runes on the door, and the fact that I am still bound means Jason likely has yet to recover them. If he did remember this place, then the moment his tracking spells failed, he would have come here. I do not doubt for one moment he would be able to find this place based on whatever memories he might possess.

Whoever did this, they removed my clothes and put me in a pair of plain pants. I suppose they are worried about Jason being capable of tracking me if they left anything on me. Knowing him, their concern is valid. He put a tracking spell on Alex's outfit when they first met, which alerted him to someone hurting Alex and the where of the attack. With how much he cares about his friends, Jason no doubt put similar spells on all of our clothes.

How soon after the attack did Jason learn about it? Did it ruin the celebrations for Niko?

The slot on the door opens for a moment, a pair of blue eyes looking at me, then it slides closed and the door itself opens.

A man in his forties or so walks into the room, muscular, dressed in expensive clothes, a sword sheathed on his left hip. Hannah's father, Duke Eric Ranmal. I suppose it would make sense that Hannah's father took part in this, Hannah herself is a little too stupid on her own. Meanwhile, her father has sought the throne.

My intelligence network let me know he seemed to plan on making a move soon, but they found themselves unable to learn what methods he had available to him. Nothing they found suggested ancient artifacts that should not exist and a god-made prison which Nolan apparently never destroyed.

A godsteel ring rests on his right index finger, a large jewel not of this world set into it. That ring will allow him to command the shackles to send an electric shock into me, and he will be able to increase the strength of the shock as well. That does not bode well.

"Hello, Eric," I greet my distant relative. "If you release me and set me free, we can discuss a more gentle punishment than that which you shall receive the moment Jason arrives on the scene."

"Ha!" Eric laughs. "This artifact from the forgotten age is invisible to all tracking and search spells, Jacob! Even the High Magus himself would be unable to find it, and with how much the terrain has changed in three thousand years, I doubt he'd even be able to find it based on where any memories of it he might have say it is! The prison moves locations regularly, and is no doubt away from where it was when you dealt with it during the war!"

So he knows some of the war. I suppose that when Enaveka destroyed nearly all traces of knowledge about the war, he might have missed a prison designed to escape the notice of the High Magus. There is also the chance that Eric learned about it from an enemy ruler, though.

"Most true," I tell him. "However, you underestimate the King of Magic, Eric. Jason will not look for it based on where his memories say it is. When he becomes serious, all limits cease to exist. Do you want to know how Magus Nolan found this place back then? Even though it was thirty-seven centuries ago, my memory of the explanation is quite clear."

"Enlighten me," Eric sarcastically says.

"He killed more than half of the gods, angels, and demons who were on Midlaris when the war began," I answer simply. "He tortured every last god he came across for information. That incident alone was why the gods attempted to end the war for domination, so that those working on the same side could devote their full efforts to fighting the High Magus. One month. It took High Magus Nolan one month to find this place by wiping out his enemies, torturing them for information, learning who the god behind our kidnapping was, and bringing unbelievable horrors to the gods and angels dear to him."

I give Eric a cruel smile.

"You might think I am some gentle prince, Eric," I say. "But you have no idea the true personalities of the Magi. The moment Jason figures out that you are responsible for this, he will not come after you. He will come after every person you hold dear. Do not mistake us for humans, Eric. Jason is the Dragon of the Magi, and his wrath is greater than any you could imagine. He will torture your friends, your family. He will ruin your companies, sever your alliances. He will leave you without even a single varru to your name."

I move my face forward as much as I can, delighting in the look of worry on his face.

"Jason will destroy everything about you," I tell him. "Leaving you be until the day you set me free or give up this location. He will twist your dreams into nightmares, make you see shadows and demons at every turn. You will have not a moment of rest. He will-"

Eric manifests a whip out of green force magic and lashes me with it, ending my speech with hatred and rage in his eyes.

"Silence, you whelp!" He strikes me with the whip again, my chest stinging. "You can try to torment me all you wish, but I acted perfectly! No one will know I am connected to this! Hannah might have participated, but I've made preparations for them discovering that, too."

He strikes me with the whip three more times, hitting my torso each time. Without the ability to enhance my body with magic, my flesh is too weak to resist his strikes, splitting with each lashing. While my body is more resilient to harm simply because of my training and magical power level, it still has its limits. Thankfully, the damage so far is not too great because he is only green in magical power.

"Hannah will be connected to another group," Eric tells me. "One away from my influence. They will see that and clear me of suspicion. As they search for you and hunt down that organization, Jacob, I am going to break you."

"Break me?" I ask. "Do you really believe you can break a Magus?"

"Oh, I can break you alright," he chuckles. "I will break your body and mind, and by the time I finish, you will be the perfect little pawn. And I will do so in a way that doesn't leave any lasting mind magic traces, so they won't be able to undo it, either."

He plans on weakening my mind with magic, so that I become more susceptible to having my mental state influence.

"When I finish, Jacob," he sneers. "You will cancel your betrothal to Tasha and act in my interests instead. And no one will be able to stop it, no matter how much they suspect things."

"Dream that all you want," I tell him. "But the mind of a Magus is not so easily broken."

"From now on," Eric strikes me with his whip thrice more. "You will speak only when spoken to, Jacob."

"I will speak whenever I wish," I tell him. "As I always have. Jason will find us soon."

"I didn't say you could speak!" Eric lashes me five times.

His whip disappears, replacing with a rod made out of force magic, which he then uses to strike me several times, the blunt impact delivering its own type of pain. He does not spare my face with his beatings, either, likely having decided that any damage can be repaired with holy magic.

"I will return in one hour, boy," Eric sneers. "If you refuse to behave, you will be punished."

He turns and leaves, and when the door closes behind him, I let out a small sigh. My chest, stomach, and face ache, hurt, and sting from his blows.

That could have gone much worse. Regardless of whatever he has planned for me, I will take it. His mind magic influence will be dealt with once I leave here, though even without the ability to use magic, I can still make a few preparations to guard myself somewhat.

Jason will arrive, and he will rescue me from this.

My only concern is… will it be Jason who rescues me? Or the High Magus? Jason is Nolan, after all. He is not just someone with memories of his past life. He is Nolan, with all of the memories and experiences that come with that. They are one and the same, and I have seen many signs of Jason holding back habits he had as Nolan. Habits which would not be acceptable today.

"King and Queen of the gods," I murmur. "When he comes to rescue me, please let him come as Jason and not the High Magus."

Please let him come while holding back his wrath, rather than unleashing it upon everything in the vicinity.

(Alex, 17)

"How is he?" I ask, and Niko gives me a worried look. "What?"

"He worked himself hard last night," Niko tells me. "He is resting at the lake now, but… he did not look so well when I saw him."

Jason forgot about today being the summer solstice, and worked late into the night attempting to track Jacob down. Even after midnight hit and the shifts to the natural magics started to really make him sick, he continued to push. It resulted in him growing even weaker and passing out.

I've been sitting on the couch at Jason's home here in Varisly ever since hearing the news during breakfast an hour ago. The Sages are upset with Jason for not caring about himself when it comes to helping and finding others.

They all admitted they'd forgotten that he would become weak today, though, and I can tell they're blaming themselves, too. First Jacob gets kidnapped, then Jason takes himself out trying to find him because it happens hours before one of the four days a year he becomes crippled.

Niko just got back from visiting Jason, so I pressed him the moment he stepped through the gate. It's only now that he cancels the spell.

"I want to visit him," I bury my face in my hands. "But the Sages said I ain't allowed to, even if others are there. That he needs his rest, especially today."

"He does," Niko sits beside me and rubs my back a little, probably in an effort to reassure me. "Jason will be okay, Alex. He is the most powerful of us all. All he will need shall be a few days of rest, and after that, he will be back to his old self."

"That's what worries me!" I find myself starting to cry. "Jason always puts others above himself when it comes to his health! He ain't able to find Jacob with his tracking spells, so he went and got himself sick! When he was still healing from the god's attacks, he nearly killed himself several times, just to help others!"

"Jason does not think like a human," Niko states. "He is the High Magus, King of Magic, Magus of Magic, the Divine Dragon. He thinks in terms of being immortal. He knows and accepts that his body will always recover, and so factors that in to his plans."

"Yeah!" I say. "But last night, he focused so much on it that he went and put himself out of commission for a few days, Niko! That ain't helpful, it only makes it more difficult to track Jacob down!"

"Jason is not the one to blame," Niko states, and I look at him through tear-filled eyes, resulting in him being blurry, despite sitting right beside me. "Do not look so confused, Alex. Who is it who relies on Jason for everything when things go wrong? Is Jason truly to blame for his desire to deal with situations by himself? Or have others contributed to that?"

Niko has a point. I don't want to admit it, but he doesn't. It ain't like we don't go to him for everything big. In this life and the past, we always relied on the High Magus for major things, and always counted on him to deal with the big situations simply because it was easier.

Because he was already doing that on his own. Before rescuing us, he was already carrying a burden and feeling like he had to hold everything down himself. I ain't sure, but I think it felt to us back then that Nolan felt like he could only rely on himself, even if he had us to work with. We always made him feel like he had to do the heavy lifting.

Even now, in this life, we treat him that way. We always expect him to deal with the things we can't simply because it's faster for him to do it than for us to figure out another way. The Sages, King Zachary, everyone in his life does this to him.

But the rest of us Magi ain't even close to being incompetent. We can find Jacob without Jason's assistance. There are still ten of us, and one of us has even reached violet in magical power.

I wipe my eyes with my sleeve, then give Niko a resolved look.

"How long is Jason on rest for?" I ask.

"One week, minimum," Niko answers. "Sage Elena was going to ask Miralandis if she could take Jason to the clans after, keep him there in the hopes that dozens of violet-level mages and at least one grey-level mage would possess the ability to keep him from acting on his own."

"One week," I nod. "Then we have one week to find Jacob. We need to find him before Jason returns. Taking any longer than that ain't acceptable. We need to show Jason that he ain't needing to burden it all himself."

We need to apologize to him for making him feel like he does.

"They said they identified one of the attackers," I say. "Do ya know where she is?"

"Dead," Sage Elena answers, and we look over to find her stepping out of a gate. "Her body was found half an hour ago, the amulet used for the attack missing. The same goes for her partner, who was found with her. He was connected to a criminal organization that we're investigating now. And no, you will not be investigating this, Alex. You will remain here and wait for us to finish. We are just as responsible as all of you for how Jason is, and we will take responsibility for it."

"Ya ain't my mama," I rise to my feet. "Not even close, Sage Elena. If ya really want to try to stop me, ya will find out just how much we Magi have been holding back. Ya might be violet in magical power and I green, but that just means it will take me a few seconds longer to disable ya."

I take a step closer to her, lowering my volume as I increase the darkness of my glare.

"Don't ya think for a single moment, Sage Elena," I say. "That ya can stop me from looking for my friend. They attacked not just a friend, but a Magus. That is an unforgivable crime. Honestly, this is one of those cases where it would have been better for Jason to be the one to do the search. Because ya can bet the other Magi are feeling the same way as I am. Tell me, do you want to try to stop ten reincarnations of gods?"

Niko stands, and Sage Elena gives him a nervous look, the first time I have ever seen her look nervous. She might doubt her ability to stop a Magus green in magical power, but Niko is one with the same violet eyes that show his magical power that she and the other Sages have.

We have already proven we can take on beings several times more powerful than us, and Niko ain't that far beneath the Sages. Honestly, he could probably take all seven of them by himself, and Sage Elena's gaze says she thinks that, too.

"Let's go to the meeting point," I tell Niko. "We can summon the others once we're there."

Niko nods, then opens up a gate and steps through it, then I follow him, ignoring Sage Elena's call behind us. He closes the gate, then pulls out his comm plate and begins calling the others as I take a seat at the large, round table.

The meeting point is a round stone room with no doors or windows, illuminated by a series of small, floating orbs of light above the table. Twelve wooden seats surround the table, each one carved with the designs of our true forms. Mine is to the right of the seat for Jason, which is carved with dragons. Niko sits at the one carved with gargoyles, on the other side of Jason's. Mine is carved with leviathans.

This is a special room, a form of special dimension, I think, though none of us are actually sure of that. We Magi can access it from anywhere, and only we can enter it. None of us actually know where it is, but we remembered it awhile back. We call it our war room, or the meeting point if we want to be a little more secretive.

The other Magi begin showing up as Niko calls them, taking their seats around the table, until only the one with dragons carved into it and the one with griffins carved into it are empty. All of them except Tasha and Lina look confused, likely 'cause only four of us here know what's going on.

"It ain't public yet," I say. "But Jacob was kidnapped last night, and he's somewhere Jason ain't able to track. Jason forgot about today being the summer solstice and worked late into the night. A few hours ago, he collapsed from exhaustion and illness, and will be on rest for one week, enforced – hopefully – by the Delvarkari."

"This incident with Jason," Niko says. "Is partly our fault. Everyone relies on him far too much. While he does try to burden everything himself, it is not often that others actually make a big enough effort to stop him from doing so. There have been times when one or more of us could do the same thing as him, but we allowed him to, in this life and the war. Now, with all of us weaker, that has become much more common simply because we cannot do many of the same things as we once could."

"Which only reinforced this is Jason," Kayla says.

"Yes," Niko nods. "So it is time for us to act. Before Jason returns, the ten of us will locate Jacob. I already have a suspicion as to where he is located, but we should explore every possibility in case it turns out to be wrong."

"A place which can't be located by Jason?" Adam asks. "Sounds like Lreth Prison."

"I believe the same thing," Niko tells him. "If Jacob was brought to Lreth Prison, then we will need to find out who holds responsibility for this and have them lead us to it. Lina, it is unlikely the Sages and your papa will share with us any information, now that they know we plan on defying them and searching for Jacob. Before we called you, did you happen to learn the group which the kidnappers were aligned?"

"No" she answers. "Papa said he worries about me chasing after them in an effort to find Jacob, so he has saw fit to exclude me from seeing or learning the contents of the reports."

"What about Wolf Alpha?" I ask.

"He was disabled last night," Niko shakes his head. "Wolf Alpha and Griffin Alpha were both taken out of commission. Part of what Jason was doing last night was restoring them, and it is not known if he finished or not."

They were taken out of commission? How?

"What about Lion Alpha?" Kayla asks. "Wasn't he guarding Jacob, too?"

"He stopped after Griffin Alpha was made," Adam shakes his head. "He's been guarding King Zachary since then."

"What about Thunderbird Alpha?" I ask Lina. "He follows you around, doesn't he?"

Thunderbird Alpha flies up onto the table and looks at me, chest puffed out with pride.

"Foolish humans," Thunderbird Alpha scoffs. "Thinking they could hide the contents of the reports from me. I've already seen them. The group is called the Silver Fist, a Varilan organization which believes Varil has grown much too powerful and needs to be split into fragments, into kingdoms more the size of others, in order to ensure true happiness for the citizens."

"They believe," Lina says. "That the current rule oppresses the majority of people by forcing them into a single kingdom. It is a ridiculous belief, and we have suspected that someone in its higher ranks merely wishes to see Varil under new leadership. From what I know of Jacob's research into them, the upper members of the Silver Fist are unknown."

Jacob was researching them?

"It's possible he found out something he shouldn't have," I say. "Can ya look into his notes on them? With ya being his sister, they ain't likely to stop ya from going into his wing or office."

"I will do that," she nods. "Wyatt and Evan might know something, they are often around him when he receives the reports."

"In addition to that," I tell her. "Can ya give me a copy of the list of their locations and the identities of known members? It's time for the Leviathans to make a return."

"Papa will not be happy with that," she says.

"Your Papa knows he can't stand against gods," I tell her. "And one already cleared me and my crew of the accusations of being the Leviathans. He ain't able to act against me for it."

"You would be surprised," she tells me. "At the things which Papa could do, Alex. Be careful."

"I'm sure he'll overlook a few broken bones and bodies in alleys," I tell her. "When they're from a criminal organization responsible for kidnapping his son. He ain't even receiving reports about the street rats found in alleys, what are a few criminals to them?"

"Some of them are nobles," she says.

"And we are reincarnations of gods," I state. "I'll expect the report at the dance tonight."

"After the dance," Tasha says. Her eyes are a little red, but otherwise, she seems composed. I know she likely ain't, though. She loves Jacob and he's gone missing. Her mind ain't exactly close to being composed right now. "I will return to Castle Meti. It is likely people will believe I am devastated by his disappearance-"

"Ya are," I interrupt. "The makeup is hiding it, but I can sense it in your mind."

"-and am attempting to keep from breaking down by throwing myself into the running of my duchy and companies," she ignores my comment. "There is a chance that whoever took Jacob might come after me, and if they see me in a place with a lighter guard, they may make their move. Kayla, Kyra, would you two accompany me in secret? Rather than attempting to kidnap a single Magus, they will find a trio of them fighting them instead."

"We will," Kayla tells her.

"I'm more than happy to help," Kyra responds.

"Thank you," Tasha says, and I can sense a heavy amount of relief in her mind.

She would prefer Lina to be the one accompanying her, and I realize that she really just wants support right now, and is taking the women she can with her for that. I ain't going to blame her for that, her betrothed and true love was kidnapped.

"After this meeting," Niko says. "I will send gargoyles out to search for Lreth Prison, and I will make other preparations as well."

"We also need to look into the possibility," Lina says. "That the Silver Fist was hired by another group, domestic or foreign. Alex-"

"I'll make sure to ask," I tell her.

"Connor, Hailey, Adam, and Elise," Niko says. "You four remain on standby. We may need you to fight at a moment's notice. Connor, Hailey, we might need you two to use your influence and some money to affect things as well."

"We will be waiting," Connor tells him. "I will look to see if I can hear whispers from some of the circles I am in."

"Good," Niko says. "Remember, everyone. We must find Jacob before Jason returns. Failure is not acceptable. If Jacob has not returned before Jason does, then Jason will attempt to burden the entire thing again. Our efforts to find Jacob, only to result in failure, will only reinforce the belief Jason has that he must burden everything."

(Jason, 16)

"No," I cross my arms over my chest.

"Yes," Fael Mira holds out her hand. "Now, Jason."

"I'm too sick," I turn over onto my side, staring at the nearby cliff. "You're lucky I even woke up when you showed up."

"Give me all of your communication devices," she tells me. "Now, Jason."

"No."

"Jason, do it," Jaklenai says.

He's the reason I woke up, I sensed him nearby. It seems Fael Mira tracked him down and convinced him to help her restrain me for this rest period she's decided to put me under. One of the things they want to do is take away all of my communication devices to prevent me from contacting others and coordinating efforts.

Jaklenai will probably help the clans keep me from leaving, too. I can already see see that he's using a spell to suppress teleportation and gate magics. There's no need to show off how much more powerful you are than me right now, Jaklenai. It's also that spell of his which actually woke me up.

"I'm too tired, go away," I complain. "You two are making my headache worse. And that spell is making me feel even more sick, Jaklenai. I don't have any of the strength needed to open up a gate spell."

"Jason, open up your spatial storages and give me all of the things you can use to communicate with others," Fael Mira orders. "As well as everything you could use to make something to do that with."

"Can it please wait until tomorrow?" I ask. "I feel like I'm going to puke."

"If we let it wait," she says. "You're going to do something."

"Tch."

I really do feel terrible, though. I don't get why everyone is making a big deal out of it. I'd forgotten it was about to be the summer solstice, and that's it. I'll be fine tomorrow.

A wave of nausea washes over me.

Maybe not tomorrow, but in a few days. It's nothing for them to make a big deal out of. Once I'm able, I'll locate Lreth Prison and find Jacob. Or at least, locate the person behind the kidnapping and convince them to tell me where Jacob is. Lreth Prison's location can't be shared against the will of someone who knows it, which is why I went to the extreme I did in the war. I'll probably have to use that extreme method again because of that. I'm definitely going to redo the pantheon after I ascend out of this form.

Right now, though, I just want to sleep.

"Jason, give them up," she says. "Now."

Turning over to face her, I open up every spatial storage I have and just dump everything out. It's a lot easier than searching for specific things, and the spell for my spatial storage entrances will ensure nothing breaks, everything sorting themselves out and placing themselves down gently.

"There," I mumble as I close the spatial storages. "Now can you please go away?"

"Jason, that was unnecessary," Fael Mira says. "You only needed to give up-"

"Fael Mira," I groan. "I don't have the energy for searching through them and picking stuff out. I have hundreds of comm plates and commcuffs and they were spread through a dozen storages. Seriously. Go away and let me sleep."

"Hm," she says, and I notice her looking at Harbinger and Starbringer. "I think it might be a good idea to put all of this in storage until you're ready to return. Who knows what you might do with some of these things."

"Go ahead," I turn back over. "Just hurry it up, would you?"

"I'll stay here with him," Jaklenai tells Fael Mira. "Just in case."

"Turn off that spell," I tell him. "It's making me feel sicker."

Why can't they just let me suffer in peace?