The next morning had arrived and after a shared breakfast they had parted ways. Fengari, along with the group of four, had gone to the usual training with Miguel, while Cale was on his way to Aaron. Since Velence's announcement and what he had seen, he couldn't sleep a wink.

"A visit so early in the morning?", Aaron announced politely as Cale came to a halt beside him in the library. There was silence for a moment, which is why the 3rd seat let go of his book and turned around to face the back.

"I know why you can't find out anything about Olivia", Cale explained in a concerned voice, causing a barrier to appear around himself and Aaron. The High-Magician seemed to understand the intention behind it, because he crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned back.

"What did you find out?"

"Nothing that I really like. My mother, like me, has mastered the ability of shapeshifting, but at such a high level that even Grischa doesn't recognize it."

"And who was she?", Aaron gave with obvious interest, while Cale leaned against the table to Aaron's right.

"I don't know, but she was a Thormod."

"Excuse me?"

"My mother was a Thormod with the ability to shapeshift. I saw it with my own eyes", Cale repeated, holding his head with one hand, still unable to grasp what Velence had shown him. "Velence had discovered it. In his opinion, it was one of the best transformations he had seen in centuries."

"By the Elder's beard..."

"Crazy, isn't it? I'm related to the beings that almost killed Grischa. Can you imagine that? Even better! My mother could be from that colony that attacked Altona. Maybe my whole life has been a lie. What if she was sent to Sylve as some kind of scout and she had just used Vincent and me as a cover? Basically, I don't even know if she's really my mother."

"She gave her life for you, Caleb. I highly doubt she was a scout for the Thormods."

"Then what was she, and why was she in the very village that was first attacked by the creatures?"

"Admitted, that's what we need to find out. Did you make a drawing of her?", Aaron asked cautiously, causing Cale to sigh and let the sketch appear. Wordlessly, he passed it to the High-Magician, while his eyes spotted some of the Magistrat's students, who continued to search the shelf for books. "Have you told anyone about this yet?"

"No, so far only Velence and you know. Not even Fengari knows", Cale explained dejectedly as he thought back to the time when he himself was a mage at this school. It felt so far away that it seemed strange again. As if his second life had never existed. All his efforts felt completely worthless all of a sudden.

"Are you going to tell them?"

"Yes. I'll tell her, Grischa and the Eldest tonight before the meeting. I thought maybe I'd find something before I put myself in the pillory."

"No one is judging you for who your mother was. You can't controlle that."

"Maybe so, but that doesn't make it any less the case that my family and I are heavily involved in the events of the Thormods. Though I can't say how heavily."

"I have done much worse in my life and yet Damian has forgiven me. I think they can overlook that", Aaron commented with amusement, causing Cale to give him an irritated look.

"Did you just laugh?"

"What? Sorry."

"No, no. I've never heard you laugh before, you need to put that in the history books."

"Please. You're completely exaggerating", Aaron threw back, not daring to look away from the image of the female Thormod. "You know, your mother is actually a really pretty woman, even as a Thormod."

"Do you really think so? Your taste in women is very strange."

"Don't twist my words again. All I said was that she was a beautiful woman, even for that strange race. Was she two meters tall, too?"

"Two-thirty, to be exact. She was a little taller than the Thormod Grischa had described", Cale explained calmly as Aaron dared to look at him again.

"We can really forget about finding out anything about your mother. Odin was in Groka himself and didn't discover anything useful, and considering she was a Thormod, that's an impossibility."

"We can catch a Thormod?"

"Because that worked so well last time."

"Ho? Irony", Cale interjected with amusement, but Aaron ignored him entirely.

"Not to mention that her name probably isn't even Olivia. Do you have any other useful information, Mr. Half-Thormod who is on the side of the humans along with the dragons?"

"No, I'm afraid not."

Cale and Aaron fell silent and automatically dropped their gaze back to the drawing. In a strange way, Aaron was actually right: she was relatively pretty. She was basically just a tall person with a slender figure and strong cheekbones, only her skin was heavily reddish and she wore some kind of war paint on her chest.

Cale had gone to a lot of trouble to make the drawing as realistic as possible, which is why he had abused Velence a good hour to do so, but the leader of the dragons didn't seem to mind much. He had spent the time finding out more information about Olivia Leuen, though the memory showed almost the same thing in each life. Aside from her shapeshifting, she didn't use any other magic, not even in the middle of battle. Even if she was a mage, perhaps she had simply never learned it. But then why could both Velence and Cale sense that she had mana inside her? Whose mana was it and why wasn't she using it? And how did she know right away that Cale had the Igrikum inside her?

"How are Damian and you doing? Has the situation eased up by now?", Cale changed the subject and looked back into the library. The students had disappeared a few rows to the back and were talking to an experienced mage, presumably to ask him for help.

"It was definitely strange the first few days. I kept catching myself being extremely cautious around him and not calling him by his name at all."

"You call him Eldest even when you're alone?"

"Yeah, it felt weird to switch from Raphael to Damian so suddenly. I really have to be careful not to say the wrong thing."

"He wouldn't be mad at you if you got it wrong, would he", Cale interjected with a questionable undertone, but Aaron just shook his head gently.

"I don't want it to come across as weird."

"You and I are alike. Always way too much to think about the things happening around us."

"Admitted, you're right about that", Aaron muttered to himself. "Do you remember the day you took your High-Magician exam?"

"Of course, I already knew the exam because of my sixth life, and suddenly this sheet of your unusual questions appears. I instantly knew that you were testing me", Cale replied theatrically, causing Aaron to hold his hand in front of his face as if embarrassed.

"I figured you were aware of it even then. In the exam, you looked at me so challengingly, as if you'd long since realized that wasn't part of the actual questions."

"Were you at peace with the answers?"

"It was scary. You were 16 and you wrote like a person who has been in politics for 40 years and has been through dozens of wars", Aaron interjected aloud, which is why Cale couldn't help but laugh, which is why Aaron looked up. "No, I'm not kidding. I was really shocked. That was one of the main reasons I didn't want to take you on as a High-Magician, especially at your tender age and with that brutal ability."

"You guys gave me a heart attack when it came to that vote. In my fifth life, it all went much more smoothly."

"I also died inside when the Eldest interfered and just took you in. To this day, I don't understand what the Eldest was thinking", Aaron explained, shaking his head.

"He knew me, that's all."

"He knew you?", Aaron repeated, irritated.

"Ah, guess we haven't corrected on that yet. In my insight and his, we saw more than we told you."

"You lied to us and still demanded that everyone reveal their insights?"

"Well, yes..."

"I don't believe it. What did you conceal?"

"In my insight, I saw myself standing on the top of Sylve's mountain talking to a dragon. However, until my visit to the dragons, I did not know that this dragon was the god Mellontikos. I was always afraid that people would think I was on the side of the dragons. The Eldest had seen a similar scene and recognized me through it 12 years ago."

"And he just accepted that? The dragons, I mean."

"I think he had a lot of time to think. He mentioned to me that he saw a peaceful future with my presence, which is why he had trusted me from the beginning."

"Explains all his behavior towards you really well. I often argued with him because of you, and he always spoke up for you."

"You really didn't like me, did you?"

"I was afraid of you, especially after your exhibition fight with Rangar. All this time, I thought I was the only one who was aware that you were leaps and bounds more powerful than you outwardly presented."

"You really are a lot more timid than I assumed", Cale commented with amusement, having to recall Aaron's reaction during his encounter with Fengari. Aaron always seemed so intelligent and mature, who had nothing to fear. Yet inside he was just a lost, scared kid.

"I'm just being careful, that's all."

"Well, you can't be blamed for that. Cautious is better than indulgent, right?"

"Yes", Aaron finished, which caused the two High-Magicians to fall silent for a few moments.

Cale closed his eyes for a moment as he remembered his past with Aaron and the ups and downs of the feelings he had felt toward him. Over the years, he had never really liked Aaron, though it was mostly due to a misunderstanding on both sides. Oddly enough, Aaron had since become one of the people he was the most comfortable talking openly with. Along with Fengari, Damian, and Grischa. Not even William had managed this, though the young prince also had a completely different status for Cale.

"Aaron, thank you."

"Why are you suddenly thanking me?"

"For all the things you've done for me and the others. I'm grateful for you being who you are", Cale stated honestly, opening his eyes a moment later as Aaron made no comment. The High-Magician squatted next to him with his mouth slightly open, staring at him speechlessly until their eyes met.

"Don't just say something like that, it sounds strange."

"Am I mistaken or is someone just getting embarrassed", Cale admitted, causing Aaron to avert his face.

"Don't make fun of me, I'm not good at dealing with people, as you may be aware."

"Well, you accepting your past and being able to take it with humor is definitely a step in the right direction. You've changed a bit in the last few months, almost like you've become more human."

For a brief moment, Cale would have mentioned his 'killer look', but he thought that was too much.

"Shut up", Aaron merely replied, which made Cale smile and look expectantly at Aaron, who covered his face with one hand. He remained sitting like that for a good minute, but the moment he was about to finish his provocation, Aaron spoke up after all.

"Caleb..."

"Yes?"

"If you really are going to be reborn, come and find me. Please make sure we get to know each other and work together again, like we are now. And beat it into my head that I talk to the Eldest. I never really got closure until our conversation and the truth, and I don't want Damian to spend the next few centuries thinking about whether I would kill him. Please promise me that you will fix my broken life."