“Who am I? What do you mean, who aren’t I? I’m me.”

“You’re you.” The person wearing Sarah’s face, a fact I was struggling to digest, eyed me up and down before waving a finger around. “No, that’s not the answer I’m looking for, but it is an answer. You’re you. You’re reacting this way tells me a mistake was made.”

“A- what? What mistake? What is going on?”

Once more, the person wearing Sarah’s skin scrunched her face up before shrugging as if deciding on something.

“There is much I don’t know about the current era or what era it even is. So, kid, I’ll grant you a boon. Once, Kings and Queens, Emperors and Empresses would come to me seeking, but the smallest of boons, and here I am granting one to the likes of you. I will make a deal with you. I will trade your answers for answers. Does that sound agreeable?”

“I… I guess?”

“Good. Let it be known that I’ve always been fair and honorable in my deals. Now-” Not-Sarah stuck her hand towards me, holding her thumb to me. I stared at her, confused at what it was supposed to be.

“Oh c’mon now, tell me you don’t know a simple thing like this.” Not-Sarah sighed, waving her thumb at me. “Press your thumb against mine and repeat after me.”

I thought about whether I should do as she said or not, but a single glance to where my mother was lying on the ground, unconscious but thankfully breathing, made up my mind as I stuck my hand towards her until our thumbs touched.

“Alfosi.”

“Alfosi.” I repeated just as Not-Sarah instructed, and the moment I did, I felt a shock like a supercharged bolt of static pass between us.

“What, what was that?” I stared between my thumb and Not-Sarah.

“A gifted boon. We are linked now; our magic has been interwoven, if only by a single degree. It ensures that I will not lie to you, nor will you lie to me.”

“Right.” I nodded, not at all understanding what she had just said. Boons, linking magic. None of it made sense; I had never heard of anything like it before.

“Alright, I will go first so that you understand how this works.” Not-Sarah idly pointed towards me. “What year is it?”

“1376.” I answered reflexively, surprising me not for how it felt but because nothing felt different, no magical sparks appearing as I answered.

Not-Sarah scrunched her face up as she considered the answer before sighing. “They must have changed the calendar. It was 1693 when I was still active.”

“How? It’s only 1376.”

“I just told you, they changed the calendar for whatever reason it may be.”

I gasped at her answer, a sensation like a cold wind blowing around my head, passing after a moment. “What was that?”

“Doubling up on the turns, I see.” Not-Sarah seemed amused before she waved her arms at nothing in particular. “That was how you know the truth is being told.”

Once more, I felt the cold sensation flutter around my head, and I found myself believing what she said instinctively.

“Where are we? And answer comprehensively, please.”

“Village of Junaper, we are the furthest north village within all of the Center continent.”

“Center continent... Hmm. Bit of a self-rotating worldview, but I digress. Who are you?”

“Rook Baster, son of Asalyn Baster.”

“Of course you are.” Not-Sarah sighed once more.

“What about you? How are you?” I asked, taking my turn.

“I am the Sage Above All.”

“That’s not a name.” I answered instantly.

“You didn’t ask for a name. You asked for who I am.”

“I-I guess I didn’t.” I answered, my eyes turning down as I realized my mistake.

“Okay then, Rook, what do you know of the whereabouts of any other Sages?”

“Sages?” I scratched at my nose before answering honestly. “I’ve never heard of a Sage before today.”

“Never heard of a-” For the first time, I saw as Not-Sarah’s face lost its composure, recoiling as if I had struck her. “What do you mean not heard of a Sage? What about Halsoria?”

“I mean, I’ve never heard of a ‘Sage’ before.” I smiled as I realized something. “Also, never heard of Halsoria either. I believe that’s two questions for me.”

The Sage gave me a dirty look but nodded. “Catching on quick. Fine, go ahead.”

“What is a Sage?”

“A Sage is a master of magic.” Not-Sarah puffed her chest out as if taking pride in it. “Though, that itself is a bit of a vague explanation.”

“Then explain it.” I said.

“Is that a question or a demand?”

I thought about it for a second before realizing her angle. “A question.”

“Cheeky kid.” Not-Sarah nodded as if she weren’t surprised. “A Sage is simply the term for those who have started treading down the route of true magic. A Sage would be someone who has unlocked their first Ring, and a true Sage would have fully manifested all ten rings.”

I wanted to question it more, but I clamped a hand over my mouth as I realized I nearly gave her an additional question.

The Sage obviously saw my reaction, smiling at it, though there was something dark in her expression. “Your mother there has an interesting type of magic. Illusion magic directly assaults the mind and makes an enemy use their own magic to give form to the illusions she shows them.”

I narrowed my eyes, unsure where she was taking this.

“Was she the one who taught magic to this body’s original ‘original’ owner?”

“No.” I answered confidently. That was until I felt as if a hot ember landed on the back of my neck.

“Ow!” I hissed, eyes darting towards the Sage. “What was that?”

“Well, I’m glad you wasted another question.” Not-Sarah nodded somewhat, for lack of a better word, sagely. “That was the response to a purposeful misrepresentation. With our link, you can’t outright lie, but you can misrepresent information if you haven’t already noticed. Normally it would only be one-sided, but you made it rather obvious.”

“Oh.” I answered plainly, realizing I had given away the few cards I had, not that I had known I had them in the first place.

“Now, I’ll ask again, how exactly did your mother instruct or assist in the original owner of this body, of their magical development.”

I sighed. She had corned me with that question. “My mother didn’t teach her magic, more like she explained the process for unlocking her magical talents.”

“Hmm.” The Sage cupped her chain as she thought about it before shrugging. “Well, magical talents have definitely changed.”

“My turn then.” I sucked in a breath, preparing myself for the question I was about to ask. “What happened to Sarah- to the original person who had that body?”

“Oh, her?” The Sage thumped her fist into the palm of her left hand. “Dunno.”

“Dunno?” I felt heat flush my face, anger building. “What do you mean ‘Dunno’?”

“Exactly what I said. Perhaps she was sent into a different time stream or existence, or perhaps she simply ceased to be. My research on the topic never got that far.”

I wanted to attack her, to force her to take this seriously, but I held back the urge. Not just was that Sarah’s body, but I had seen what the Sage who had taken it over could do.

“Does the name ‘Cousign’ mean anything to you?”

I wanted to shake my head no, that I had never even heard of it before, to go back to the subject of Sarah, but I paused.

I hadn’t heard the name before.

But there was something strange about it. Even though I had never heard it before, it was as if I somehow felt that I should have recognized it, like a nostalgic note of a harp being played.

“I’m not sure. I’ve never heard of it, but that doesn’t seem right.”

“And have you ever felt different?”

“I don’t know. Maybe? I have magic, but I can’t use magic, I guess?”

“Of course.” The Sage smacked her head as if she had realized something obvious.

“What? What does any of this mean.”

The Sage looked up towards the sky before tapping her foot on the ground.

“Last answer. There is nothing more I can get from you that I can’t get from elsewhere, at least without owing an answer. Long ago, I assume at least the length of the current calendar’s existence, I and my apprentice were under siege. With no chance to escape from the standard three dimensions, we escaped through the fourth, through time itself. It appears my reincarnation went mostly smoothly. As for my apprentice, well, whoops.”

“Whoops?!? What does ‘whoops’ mean?” I shouted.

“I owe you no more answers, as I seek no more answers myself.” The Sage crossed her arms, giving me a quick smile, one that I knew was more for herself than me. “But, I’ll collect this one final owed answer if I should ever need it from you in the future. My apprentice was meant to reincarnate to your body. It would appear that something went wrong.”

I started to open my mouth to ask another question, hundreds stirring around in my mind, but she vanished with a quick glimmer of red sparkles around her.

Gone.

The Sage, along with Sarah’s body, was gone.

“No.” I dropped to my knees, staring overhead as I noticed what the Sage had likely been watching. Rainclouds had gathered overhead while I had been distracted, the first of the droplets landing with a fat plop on my forehead.

“No.” I whispered once more, holding my knees in close.

She was gone.

My best friend.

Gone.

My village.

Burnt.

Friends.

Dead.

“R-Rook?”

“Mom!” My head whipped over towards my side, where my mother was stirring.

“Rook. What happened?”

“I-” I cut myself off, thinking about the question.

What had happened?

“I wish I knew myself.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A strange sense of normality returned to the short time after the now-infamous attack. The village’s rebuilding began along with the burying of loved ones, and just like that, a week passed.

I helped as much as I could, but I could feel the dirty looks cast my direction. Word had made its way that the reason that this had all happened was because of my mother. The villagers I could tell were barely okay dealing with me, but the one time my mother had come to attempt to help, they had shouted her away, even thrown a few stones.

On the seventh day of hard work helping within the village, I noticed it when I returned home and dropped into a chair in the kitchen with a heavy sigh.

A note.

It was written in my mother’s rather horrid handwriting, one would think a mage of her esteem would have flowery penmanship, but clearly, my mother had never gotten that memo.

Rook,

I want you to know I love you very much, but I realize that for the safety of the villagers and, more importantly, for your protection, it is time that I leave. When you are older, come find me, it’s not that I’m hiding from you, but after everything that has happened, I can’t stand the risk of endangering you because of your connection to me.

Love,

Mom

I put the letter down. I wanted to feel more surprised, more of something, but it felt almost fitting. After losing my best friend, having my life turned upside down like this, to have returned to just an everyday life would have been a slap in the face. On the table next to the letter, several gold coins had been laid out, so at least I wouldn’t have to worry about money for some time at least.

The question was, now what? I had already decided I would leave the village, but what would I do? Settle down elsewhere?

No. I shook my head. I refused to simply settle down now that I had my freedom thrust upon me, if not in a fashion I would never have wished for.

Think Rook. What is it you want?

I had always wanted my freedom to go somewhere else, to see the world at large, but never in this fashion.

What else?

I wanted my mother to be safe, but it wasn’t an avenue worth thinking about. My mother could fend for herself; I would only hold her back.

And?

Sarah. I couldn’t simply accept she was gone. But what could I possibly do? It wasn’t as if I knew where her body snatcher went, and even if I did, what could I do? I had been toyed with by a repressed magic knight, who had dealt with the combined might of my mother, Sarah, and I as if we had been unruly children.

And then, to top it off, the Sage that had stolen Sarah’s body had dealt with him as if he were an unruly child.

Except usually, you didn’t burn a child from the inside out.

I recalled back to what my mother had said about him. It had been a frantic moment, but I could remember it with almost perfect cleary, my mother stating that someone of his caliber could have only been one thing, an Ornnax rank mage.

Ornnax band. The highest rank achievable by adventures, marking them as those who transcended mere adventures and moved on to the realm of heroes.

That would be my benchmark. The bare minimum.

I leaned back, a laugh beginning to spill free from me as I realized what I had just thought.

“Ornnax, as the bare minimum.” I stared up at the ceiling.

A hero deserving of legends, as the bare minimum.

I must have been going crazy.

That thought was only accentuated when the knocking started.

“I really must be going crazy.” I murmured, the knocking continuing. It wasn’t until five seconds later when I finally stood up from my chair, making my way towards the front door. In front of it, I paused before grabbing the sword I had leaning against it.

Never hurts to be cautious.

Yanking the door open, I prepared myself, sword at the ready.

Only to be greeted by the pleasant sight of nothing.

“H-hello?” I whispered out into the slowly darkening day as the sun began to set.

Silence.

“Strange.” I slowly closed the door, lowering my sword as I turned towards the kitchen.

Turning around fully, I froze, my sword dropping as I took in what, or rather who was in my kitchen.

It was a man with a mane of unruly black hair darker than the abyss itself, his eyes screaming danger to me.

Most striking of all, he was leaning back in the same chair I had been seated in, twiddling his thumbs as if he had been waiting for me to turn back around.

“Pardon me. I let myself in.”

I stared at him before scrambling to grab my sword off the ground.

“Ah, wait. No need for that.” The man raised a hand, and like I had been frozen, I found myself unable to move.

“There we go. Much easier to have a conversation like this, don’t you think?”

“Who are you?” I questioned, eyes tracking him even while I couldn’t move.

“Me? I’m just a bit of a wanderer.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I’ve been here for several weeks now. You just didn’t notice me watching from the shadows.”

“Watching from the” I froze, or well, I would have had I not already been frozen, as a memory floated to the forefront of my mind.

No. No way.

“I saw you. In the woods. A Black Mane.”

“Bingo!’ The man raised his hands up in celebration.

“That’s-” I wanted to say not possible, but the words withered away before I got the chance to voice them as I considered everything from the last few days. “How?”

“Any beast that reaches the elevation stage can manifest a human form.”

I felt my eyes nearly pop out of my head.

Elevation stage. Magical beasts that either lived long enough or consumed enough of their fellow magical beasts could reach a level in which they would become more than simple beasts, akin to how a hero would be viewed amongst humans.

“W-What are you doing here? What do you want?” I questioned, hoping my voice wasn’t wavering too much.

“Well, I caught the scent of something that hasn’t been around, at least not in their true form, for quite some time. Can you guess what that thing was?”

I could.

“A Sage.” I whispered.

“Bingo. Doing great kid. Real Sages haven’t been a thing for a long time. You see, they had all but died out by the time I was born. So, won’t you imagine my surprise when I caught a whiff of a Sage here? Except, there wasn’t any. At least, not at first.”

“I- I don’t get it.” I answered truthfully, body starting to ache from being frozen in place.

“Imagine, you smell a wonderful apple pie. So, what do you do? You go to grab a slice. Except, when you get to the kitchen, there is no pie. Just the smell of one, like it had been there shortly before.”

“I… See? I think?”

“Never mind. The point is, I got here some time ago expecting to find a Sage, but all I could find was the mana signs of a Sage. At first, I thought perhaps I had missed them until I discovered after staying for a few days that it wasn’t that I had missed the Sage at all. Tell me, what was it that I was realizing?”

“The Sage hadn’t appeared yet.” I said.

“Exactly! Of course, a Sage doesn’t just appear. It’s a long, arduous journey to become a Sage. It wasn’t the birth or appearance of a new Sage, but the return of one of the Great Sages of the past, the very world itself was reacting to their imminent return.”

“Great… Sages?” I questioned, the term sounding familiar to something the Sage had said.

“Thousands of years ago, the Sages were the primary force of our world, and standing at the top of them all, were the Great Sages. The Ten Ringers.”

“Ten Ringers.” Another term the Sage wearing Sarah’s body had mentioned in passing. “So, why are you here?”

“Well, I came to judge them obviously. Sages can be nasty folk.”

“They can?”

“You should have seen it yourself.” The man said, sweeping some of his tangled mane out of his face.

My mind turned back to when the Sage had fried the Ornnax mage from the inside out, eliciting a shiver of apprehension at the memory

“Yeah, yeah, I guess you’re right.” I wanted to nod but found myself still unable to move.

“Oh, if I let you go, you won’t run off now or try anything stupid, will you?”

“No.” I answered. The thought of trying to escape after being frozen in place had never even occurred to me in the first place.

“Good.”

Just like that, I once more had control of my body. Having control of my faculties again, the first thing I did was promptly fall flat on my face; my muscles had locked after being frozen in place in such an awkward position.

“Ahh, sorry about that.” The man sheepishly waved at me as I pulled myself back to my feet.

“So, what did you ‘judge’ about that Sage?”

“Well, she is one ugly customer. That much is obvious.” The man said as if it were obvious.

“Hey.” I narrowed my eyes at his answer.

“Not like that. Insulting the girl you were in love with, I can see how that might bother you, even if it is no longer here. Excuse my rudeness.”

“I-we, just, never mind.” I felt my cheeks flush for a moment.

It wasn’t like that.

I swear.

“The Sage Above All is no doubt a Great Sage. A lesser Sage I could deal with, but a genuine Great Sage? Nothing I can do about that. But I was curious about something she said.”

“You were listening?”

“Of course I was.” The shaggy-haired man answered with a shake of his head. “And she mentioned something about you. About reincarnation.”

“I don’t know what she meant.” I answered defensively, afraid the magical being was about to attack me in her stead.

“Relax kid. If what I heard was true, then it appears that long ago, she must have utilized some sort of magic to transfer her soul, and her apprentices soul, to the future. I’m not sure how she did it. If I did, I’d be a Great Sage as well, but at least I can tell that while it worked for her, it didn’t work quite as well for her apprentice. You, for whatever reason, were meant to be used as a vessel, a container for the soul of a past Sage. Except, without that soul, you are simply an empty vessel.”

“I am standing right here, you know?”

“I’m not saying it as an insult; I’m saying it literally. You, compared to a Sage, are nothing.”

“Great. Thanks for reminding me. So, now what? Here just to tell me that?”

“No.” The man shook his head, dark locks spilling everywhere as he did. “I saw an opportunity.”

“An opportunity?”

“Yes, an opportunity. As I overheard, you have magic but cannot use magic. I believe that it may be a matter of interference.”

“Interference?” I found myself asking yet another question, having no insight into anything said.

“Yes. By trying to reincarnate through you and failing, that former Sage’s soul blocked your ability to use your magic. You can’t use your Kin magic, I would assume, because while biologically you may be of the same kin, your blood carries the magic, the essence, of another. Yet, rather than being capable of using the same magic of that ancient Sage, you find yourself incapable of magic whatsoever. So then, what does that mean?”

“That I’m a freak.” I said with an angry grunt.

“If by freak, you mean unique, then yes. You know, you really are quite the pessimist, aren’t you.” The man told me, shaking his head as if disappointed towards my attitude.

“It’s not pessimism if it’s the truth.” I was ranting, but I cared no more. “Who cares if I have magic if I can’t use any? Who cares if I can wave a sword around? I was an idiot, thinking of doing anything. Reach Ornnax band? Ridiculous. Even if it were possible for someone to reach Ornnax rank with just a sword, it wouldn’t be enough against someone like that Sage.”

“Let me ask you something, kid.” The man held me with a steady gaze that I looked away from after a second.

“It’s Rook. My name is Rook.”

“Oh, I know. I just don’t deem you worthy of a name yet.”

“By you? You know what, forget it. What is it?”

“What do you want?”

“What do I want?” I repeated the question back to him, thinking about the words, their meaning, and their implications.

What did I want?

To find my mom?

To save Sarah?

To become someone important?

“I don’t know.” I answered after several seconds of contemplation.

I honestly wasn’t sure what it was that I wanted. I was a passing whim floating in a big, scary world.

“Wonderful!” The man jumped to his feet, clapping his hands together.

“Err- what?” I peered at him, confused at the sudden outburst of excitement.

“I said wonderful. If you had wanted something, I would have said no, and went on my merry way. A person with wants, those who want them badly, will do anything to reach them. Meanwhile, those who don’t want them badly will fail to work for them and become disillusioned. The third group of people, who achieve their sole goal, will often find themselves looking for a spark in life, something to get their blood pumping again, to make them feel alive.”

“Okay….?”

“You, by having no want, no clear sight or goal, are free. Free to create, to think, to imagine. You harbor neither a craving lust for power nor a want to simply live comfortably. That is something I can work with.”

“Work with? What do you mean work with this?”

The man strode towards me, half a head taller than me. He peered intensely into my eyes, his gaze paralyzing.

“Kid.”

I gulped.

“How would you like to learn magic?”