Arthur's Point of View

Lestrania

"Elincia, listen to me." I began and took a knee to get more on her level. "I am the one who asked Elias to do this. He has proven his mettle over the last few months and has shown great leadership in-" Ripping her hand from mine, she glared at me.

"No!" The youngest princess shouted. "No!"

Elincia quickly ran out of the room, and many turned to me. "I'm sorry." Was all I could say.

Elias stepped forward. "There is no reason for you to be. I will talk with her and try to make her understand."

"She worries for you and that you're leaving her." I told him.

The Prince chuckled. "She is still young, I suppose. Push this from your mind, my King. I will handle it."

Aerowyn stepped next to him. "I will also be near to explain things as well." Putting a hand on his shoulder, she smiled softly at him. "I helped raise both of them. She may listen to me if she will not hear reason from her brother."

Elias and Aerowyn left while Aydan made his way over to me. "You seem tired."

"I am tired." I told him.

"Well, I may have something that might wake you up." Aydan said with a large grin before turning back to Robert. "We'll be back in a bit!"

Robert just sighed before sitting down. "Leave the old man by himself. I see how it is." The former King of Humans replied.

"Are you pouting again?" The Sage inquired as he went over to Robert and bent down behind him to start prodding his check. "Come on! Cheer up! Everything is going perfectly right now!"

"Aydan, stop touching me!" Robert called out and swiped at him in an annoyed fashion. "You have always been like this!"

Crossing my arms, I looked at the two. "You know, I never asked, but you two always act like this every time you talk. Why?"

The Great Sage chuckled and started messing with Robert's hair. "I first met this boy around fifty-five years ago. Before he was even crowned King, he was always moping about."

Robert slapped his hand this time and responded. "And Aydan has always been a troublemaker. Far older than I am and never misses a beat to remind me."

"You two seem like good friends." I commented.

"The best!"

"Not at all!"

They replied simultaneously. I'm sure you can imagine who said what.

Chuckling at that, I gestured to the door. "We shouldn't be too long. Aydan just needs to show me something, and we'll be back."

"An Elf told me that once too, and then a very effeminate male Elf showed me his penis. I was never the same." Robert stated, and I was slightly baffled that he even decided to share that.

Aydan died laughing, and I looked at him. "It wasn't you was it?!" I asked in morbid fascination.

For the first time since I'd been here, Aydan almost fell over laughing. He laughed so hard that he stumbled and even put a hand on his crotch to stop himself from peeing. It was a sight to behold, and I noticed Robert had a small smirk on his face as he watched him.

A small smile came to my own lips as I chuckled and grabbed Aydan before starting to drag him. "Come on. Let's go."

It only took a few minutes for him to recove,r and eventually, he teleported us to his study. "Sorry about that." The Great Sage said after a moment of collecting himself.

"It's fine. It was rather amusing to watch you almost piss yourself." I told him, and he rolled his eyes with a smile on his face. "So, what was it you wanted to show me?"

Pulling out a map of the Hallow Forest, he leaned over it. "I've been sending out probe spells to try and find the source of the high concentration of magic in the Hallow Forest."

"And you found something?"

"Yes and no." He replied and stood up before pointing to a spot on the map. "There are abnormal spikes in magic throughout the forest. I found one of these and found it was similar with original magic."

"Okay? Isn't that normal though? You said original magic is in everything, and it's how you're able to use it so easily."

"Correct, but there was another magical signature present as well. Whatever it was, it was powerful enough to override the entire area and then disappear without a trace." Aydan crossed his arms and sighed. "Magic is an unstable energy at times, which is why you have places like the Floating Stone Forest to the Northwest."

Realizing where he was going with this, I gestured to the map. "Or the Hallow Forest."

He nodded. "Exactly. This forest is home to more creatures than we know and is one of the highest concentration areas of magic in the world. It's one reason the Elves took root in the surrounding areas and nearby forests. Old world creatures along with many other powerful beasts lurk inside, but we are also magical in nature."

"So, you felt at home, but I don't understand what the point of all this is."

Aydan began pacing back and forth nervously. "That magical signature I sensed was unlike anything I have ever come into contact with. In terms of sheer power and concentration, there was enough magic present to make me feel inadequate as a spell caster."

That got my attention, and I removed my cloak. "Even with using original magic?"

Again, The Sage nodded. "Disturbingly so." Stopping, he put both hands on the table before looking up at me. "I believe there is something in the forest that gives it its unnatural environment." Tapping the map, Aydan continued. "There is a heart. Somewhere deep in the forest, and we need to find it before you leave."

"Why?"

"I have a few ideas that might aid you for when you return to the future, but I need a place of high concentrated magic to be able to even attempt them." Smirking, he continued. "We find the heart, and any answers you might be looking for upon your trip home will be available to you."

I had no idea what Aydan was talking about, but I had no reason to doubt him. "Okay, but how do we go about finding this 'heart' that you speak of? My eyes can see the energy in everything and have improved, but I doubt I could find the heart."

Aydan then gestured to me. "Your powers have grown incredibly since you arrived here. While it is true that you don't have magic, your control over your abilities has gone up exponentially. Fire, ice, wind, and earth spells are available to you in your own way." He continued on as excitedly as ever. "From what I've seen, you have the ability to use your energy for almost anything! It's incredible, really, but you don't know how to fully utilize it!"

"What do you mean?"

Moving next to me, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Think of it like this…" He trailed off as magic started to slowly ignite in his hands. "Everyone and everything has magic. This doesn't apply to you. However, the creature that sent you here gave you an energy source that seems to do almost whatever you want it to."

Shaking my head, I moved away from him to look directly at him. "That doesn't seem very plausible."

Using his magic, Aydan quickly resorted to illusionary spells. "You came into contact with fire spells, and depending on who cast it, you were able to ignore it. However, in another instance, you ignited almost the entire around you into a blazing inferno when Kandma was threatened, did you not?"

"That was more of a life or death situation."

"Maybe so, but you did it again when you ran into the Ghoul attacking Princess Arceana, and it used ice against you!" His magic changed to show water and ice. "We can assume that you can likely use water 'spells' easily enough as well. You've shot out bursts of wind from your body to stop arrows, and I've seen the ground move beneath your feet at your guidance!"

Aydan paused as he went and grabbed the Book of Prophecies. Immediately, he began flipping through it to show me every instance I had ever used an ability or 'spell' like power. All of them were recorded, and he smirked as he went through each of them. Then he stopped on a page that held the same sketched depiction of me in the future with my eyes.

"Your powers might be, quite literally, unlimited!"

Frowning at that, I replied. "I don't think that is true. If it was, why would-"

Holding up his hands, he continued. "You were sent here by a creature that lives in a blackhole. That, in itself, is impossible. So, I think we can safely assume that the impossible is possible for you! From what you explained to me, you should've died well before being sucked out of your ship, along with so much more. Traveling as a spirit is also unlike, which means something else happened!"

This is what it is always like with him. "Okay?" A pain in my ass, but the most important pain in my ass.

"If you were granted abilities by a creature beyond our imagination, it's safe to say your powers might be the exact same. I've noticed that every time you try to do something with your energy, it happens. You need fire? Fire is produced." He stated simply. "You want to shift everyone's feet out from under them, the ground slides and trips them." Aydan looked at me with a massive smile. "Your 'energy' makes you unpredictable, and you've been restraining yourself."

"I told you that I've been doing what I can!" Crossing my arms, I continued. "The creature sent me here with a sword that was supposed to resonate with me and teach me. The sword didn't exactly come back here with me."

Pointing at me repeatedly in an excited manner, Aydan spoke. "Exactly! You don't have the sword, so you're learning what you can when you can! However, when you had the sword, your abilities didn't just come to you either! The sword helped guide you and made things easier! It might not be the same, but you can still grow without your sword and try to learn. After all, what's the worst that can happen?"

Not wanting to even think about it, I responded. "A lot. If what you say is true, then my powers are far more dangerous than I originally thought."

"Dangerous and powerful!" Aydan replied excitedly. "We should begin experimenting here when we have free time. Nothing too dangerous, but I am excited to see what abilities you might be able to create or reveal."

Rubbing my face in annoyance, I immediately put my hood up when there was a knock at the door. "Enter!" I called out, and the door opened.

Mara and Varvara were both present. "I see you two are tucked away in Aydan's room once more."

Aydan chuckled as he closed the Book of Prophecies, and it disappeared with his magic. "Just going over a few details here and there about the upcoming project." The Sage replied.

Princess Mara seemed to have her gaze fixed on me, which made me a little uneasy, but she soon looked to Varvara, who smirked in response. "Aydan, dearest, would you accompany me for a bit? There is something I would like to discuss with you." The former Elf Queen asked him.

He looked at me for a moment and shrugged before bowing in his overly theatrical manner when dealing with Varvara. "Of course. At any time you wish to speak with me, I will delight in those moments." Taking her hand and wrapping it around his arm, they left.

"I take it you wish to speak with me once more?" I asked the quiet princess who was staring at me.

"I am here to tell you something." A frown immediately decorated my lips. "You cannot, and will not, tell me who I can and cannot love." She stepped into the room and put her hands on my chest before looking up at me. "It does not matter how long it takes… I promise that you will eventually look my way. After all, we have all the time in the world."

How naïve she was…