Airo and Kaili watched as the last droplets of water slid down the massive glass wall overlooking the main deck. The storm was over at last. Flying through it barely took them a few minutes, but with everything that happened, it felt like they were stuck in it for years.

Pirates were tied up with rope and escorted blow deck. Some surrendered voluntarily, while others had to be subdued. Either way, once they lost the ship with the rest of their crew, it became clear that their defeat was only a matter of time.

Keys rattled in the door of the captain’s quarters at long last. As soon as they opened, Chast pushed his massive body through, carrying the little imp curled up in his arms.

“Cia! What the hell happened?” Kaili ran up to them.

“No idea. We found her at the back of the ship. She’s not injured but doesn’t really feel like talking to any of us. A pirate that was found with her claimed that she saved everyone after an engine failure. He’s unable to explain the details of it though.”

The young girl looked over towards her two friends and gave them a slight exhausted smile, accompanied by a brief wave.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry,” she whimpered, yet the lack of enthusiasm and the low volume of her voice expressed her true feeling.

“Come. I’ll take you downstairs to the infirmary. You, boy, need to get that bloody nose checked. And your other friend is already waiting for you there,” Chast informed them.

“Jin? Is he okay?” Airo asked.

“What the hell do you mean you did that to yourself?” Kaili yelled as soon as Jin explained to them what had happened.

“Just a slight magical miscalculation,” he shrugged. This splint around his fractured arm, along with the sling, caused the other three friends many concerns, but the boy’s expression showed little signs of pain or shock.

“Slight?” the young dryad somehow yelled even louder. “It’s exactly like when you were training! Magic is dangerous! You should know that at this point!”

“Can you stop all that hollering? Feels like my head’s gonna burst,” Airo muttered as he entered the room from the medic’s office. His arrival prompted them all to smirk.

“What the hell is wrong with your face?” Jin commented on the two pieces of gauze sticking out of his nostrils.

“That’s to stop the bleeding.”

“You look like you’re growing a moustache out of your nose!” the boy kept giggling.

Airo ignored his remarks, but when he passed Jin’s bed he lightly bumped into his propped-up leg, totally on accident, as he claimed. The boy’s laughter was quickly replaced by a painful hiss.

“Wow, that’s… a lot to take in,” Kaili commented on what Jin told them. He did not leave out a single detail about his encounter with Lorican.

“Yeah. I’m not sure what to think,” Jin replied.

“Chances are that the man was lying. That’s the most likely conclusion,” Airo commented.

“I don’t think so. You weren’t there but… everything he said sort of made sense. And the way he talked was strange. You know that feeling when you know something really interesting and so you want to share it with someone? That’s what it felt like. Like he was eager for me to know it.”

“That doesn’t exactly prove that Airo’s wrong. Some people can be confident liars,” Kaili added.

“Maybe. But I don’t think it would be a bad idea to ask Manuel about everything that man told me.”

“You think that’s a good idea? If he’s right, Manuel will probably deny everything,” said Airo.

“That’s true, but based on his reaction we might at least have a clearer picture. It’s much easier to find out where the truth lies after you’ve heard both sides of the argument.”

The rest of the trip carried a bitter aftertaste for everyone. Cia spoke little of what happened to her. The remaining friends decided it was better not to ask until she herself would make it clear that she’s ready. Kaili was first to express her doubts about Manuel’s good deeds, and Jin naturally defended them. Despite Airo trying his best to calm down both sides, it didn’t take long for them both to resort to yelling and exaggerated gestures. Whenever the Cloudfolk did manage to grab their attention at least for a short while, his current appearance only made the two smile without taking him too seriously.

The journey to their destination seemed to fly by. Now that they had so much to talk about, there wasn’t a moment they would feel too bored. Once the ship docked, Manuel was already awaiting them on the docking platform. His cheerful smile turned into a frown when he saw Kaili help limping Jin down the boarding ramp.

“Not now, later. When we’re back at the tower,” Airo told him before the wizard could say a word.

Chast, on the other hand, was full of words he wished to share with Manuel. During the rest of the trip, the pirates were more than willing to tell the crew of their plans and how the wizard who said he’d help them simply vanished without a trace. Few believed their tales, but the captain specifically focused on one version of the retold events in particular. The scrunched up piece of technology that Cia fished out of the failing engine was more than sufficient enough to prove what one of the pirates was telling them. Few tiny pebbles fell down from Chast’s rocky head when he heard it.

“We own her our lives, to put it simply,” he eventually said once he finished telling Manuel all that he had heard. “I am not sure how to repay that. And she didn’t exactly name her price.”

The wizard briefly glanced to the side, where the imp was standing, clinging to Airo’s side. Then, his eyes turned back to the captain. There was something terrifying about his look. Even someone like Chast, who towered over everyone, Manuel included, knew that something was off. It was as if the wizard was looking straight through him with that cold and distant frown.

“You’ll repay by teaching your men to be better prepared for pirate attacks.”

Chast gulped loudly before saying another word. “I am sorry, for all the injuries they received. I’ll be more than happy to pay for any medical expenses if–”

“No need,” Manuel replied. “Just leave us alone.”

The tower seemed much warmer that night, despite the temperature staying the same as ever. Kaili, Airo and Jin all gathered in Jin’s room. They grabbed a book on their way there. Each took turns reading for the others, switching places after every couple of pages.

“Your turn now,” Kaili said and passed the book onto Jin.

“Mine again?” he groaned.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Yes! Ten pages per turn, that’s the deal.”

“Any exceptions for the injured ones?”

“Manuel will come and fix you in a matter of minutes, you get no sympathy points,” Airo added.

“Then I will read!” said Pecker, who flew out of Airo’s back and attempted to grab the book with his beak.

“Well hello there! Airo growled. “Where the hell have you been? We could’ve used your help.”

“I would’ve only been a hindrance.”

“You would’ve been an ally when we fought the pirates!”

“I could get hurt. I’m a big target.”

“You’re smaller than any of us!”

“But longer than all of you.”

“Coward!”

“I’m a strategist!”

“No, you’re a coward!”

“Ungrateful brat! You have any idea what some people would do for some Whispcoil wisdom?”

“Yeah, I know, that’s the whole idea behind the symbiosis. But you don’t provide any wisdom! You just slack off and pop out when it’s convenient.”

“And you don’t provide your end of the bargain. Whispcoil wisdom for nutrients. That’s the whole deal.”

“But you get your nutrients!”

“You absorb them from the air! I’m doomed to an eternity without the taste of food. You can’t demand more wisdom for that!”

“Coward!” Airo growled at him and squished the serpent underneath him with a pillow.

“Release me, you royal prick!”

“Not in a million years! You deserve a–“

“Ehm!” Manuel’s coughing silenced the room and brought all the attention towards him.

“So? How’s Cia?” Jin immediately asked.

“She’s fine. I made her some tea that helps soothe the nerves and reduce stress levels. That and… she requested that I take away some of her memories. She still remembers what happened, but not the details. Should make her feel a bit better, once she sleeps off the shock.”

“So you really can just take memories, huh? And we’d be none the wiser,” Jin muttered.

“Excuse me?” Manuel asked and sat down beside him. He immediately began healing the boy’s injuries. “What are you accusing me of? I’d never do something like that. I respect your privacy. Your memories are yours to keep unless you specifically ask me to interfere.”

“But if you wanted, you could alter them without us knowing, no?”

Manuel frowned a little, yet his positive demeanour remained.

“Where is this hostility coming from? What happened to you that caused you to suddenly doubt me? Is it because I didn’t see the pirate attack coming? Granted, that is my mistake, and I am fully willing to compensate you, but that surely wouldn’t cause such trust issues, right?”

“It’s not that. It’s about a certain… person that I met on the ship.” As Manuel’s magic faded and he took the splint off Jin’s hand, the boy tried moving the limb around. It felt as good as new.

“A person? Who?”

“Does the name Lorican ring a bell?”

“Hmm… can’t say it does.”

“Really? Didn’t you ask him to remove your memories of your parents.”

Manuel’s fingers twitched as he froze for a second.

“Oh. That Lorican. And he was there? Working for Chast?”

“No. He came with the pirates. As far as I know, he tricked them into getting him onboard.”

“Really? Why? What would a man like that seek from pirate life? Offering your services as a wizard is much more profitable and less dangerous.”

“He came there for us. To tell us something.”

“Something about removing some of my memories for me?” Manuel lifted an eyebrow.

“No. He…” Jin paused for a moment. There was so much to say that he didn’t even know where to begin.

“Fascinating,” Manuel said and scratched his chin as Jin finished retelling all the events. A bright yellow blob of magic appeared behind the wizard to allow him to lean back a little.

“Is it true? What he said?” Jin’s heart felt like it would explode. Everything relied on this one answer.

“Yeah, pretty much sums it up.”

Silence befell the kids. They expected Manuel to try and explain himself to at least to deny what Lorican said. Instead, he confirmed it with as calm an expression as ever.

“That’s all you have to say? You murdered people!” Jin sprung up on his freshly healed leg.

“I killed them. There is a difference between the two.”

“Oh, is there? Isn’t the outcome literally the same?”

“No, it isn’t. The Five-point star were ruthless. Their magic wiped out countless armies. They destroyed cities filled with civilians. All at the command of emperor Utaro. You see, Lorican forgot to tell you the important parts of the story.”

“And those are?”

“That all the people simply had the chance to go home. That bomb did not hurt anyone. I threw it at a mountain just to show I was serious. But they still refused to back down. They attacked me and threatened that the emperor would have me killed. I defended myself and took the life of one of them. The others were offered to back down once more, but they didn’t. None of them did. Not even my teacher. The soldiers, however, those did decide to retreat and were given full freedom to do so. And unlike the Five-point star, I didn’t kill bystanders with collateral damage of my magic.”

“I… Okay, and what about the whole ‘jailer of the world’ thing? I mean, that’s why they want to kill you in the first place!”

“Yes, well, it’s not something new, to tell the truth. His words are truthful but his viewpoint is merely singular. I think about the whole world. In big numbers. He doesn’t see that.”

“But all those people suffering out there need you. Instead of helping them, you’re their nightmare.”

“Maybe. But I’ve seen what happens. People are unhappy, their discontent grows into anger. Anger leads to those so called harmless protests. Protests are ignored by the government. Protests grow violent. Violence leads to more violence until one side stands victorious atop the bodies of their opposition.” The more Manuel spoke, the louder his voice was. “And then comes the next generation. The children who inherit the land broken by conflict and war. The children who have to bear the consequences of their ancestors and who, just maybe, finally realize that the answer to everything is to simply sit down and talk.”

Manuel stood up. His eyes briefly looked out of the window. He sighed.

“You’re too young to understand. I know it sounds terrible, but it is true. How much of that suffering have you actually seen for yourselves? Because I have seen it all. I have visited every country on the Grand Lane. Yes, some people live under cruel regimes, but even those regimes bear my ultimatums. Any excessive violence against their people will result in me taking action against them. The two sides cannot simply wipe each other out. They are locked in a stalemate until someone finally decides it’s time to talk. Call it childish, or maybe even stupid, but that’s the best I can do for this world. Because what would be better? To live in the fear of war and conflict, or in a world where you know that large-scale violence is punished by a higher force?”

The trio didn’t say anything. Manuel had a point. They were young. Everything they knew was from their history lessons, and those weren’t exactly numerous. They could agree, however, that watching over the whole world would be a difficult task with no right or wrong side to pick.

“To put it simply, those who complain usually don’t know that there is no better option. And what they think is better is actually far worse. They just don’t know the terror of it because they’ve never lived through it.”

Jin slowly approached the wizard as he walked towards the exit.

“Wait. One more question.”

“Please, ask away. Even a dozen, I don’t mind,” Manuel replied. “Just don’t expect me to share Lorican’s ideals.”

“No, this has nothing to do with that.” He put his hands together and looked at the ground. His brain was trying to compose the next sentence in a way that would be easy to say out loud. The fear of the answer, however, never disappeared.

“Are you really going to die? Have you seen the future in which you’ll pass away?”

“I’ve seen so many of such futures, but don’t worry, they are few and far between. I do my best to avoid them, hehe.”

“That doesn’t really answer it.”

Manuel smiled. “Rest assured, Jin, I’m not going to die. Lorican is mistaken.”

“Then why did you take us as apprentices? Is it not how he said?”

“Of course not!”

“So?”

“Well, truth be told, I just liked you. Is that too hard to believe?”

“Coming from you? Definitely!” Kaili growled. “There’s always something more going on with you around.”

“Haha, guilty as charged. Well, yes, there is more, but not that much really. To put it simply, I enjoy your presence. I never had friends when I was a kid. Or… technically also when I was an adult. My only friend is a dragon I see only every couple of years. Watching you four get along so well, bicker, but also care about each other is… It’s hard to explain, but I like seeing it. Reminds me that this is the future I want. Future where kids like you can live such happy lives. So I wanna keep you around.”

He gave them a wink and walked out of the room, but not before turning around one last time. “Any other questions?”

They looked at each other and then shook their heads, making Manuel finally leave.

“Did you notice?” Jin asked once they were sure he was gone.

“He told us why he keeps us around but not why he’s willing to teach us magic,” Airo replied.

“Yeah. I don’t feel the same honesty from him as I did from Lorican. He’s hiding something.”

Manuel sat down into his chair. A pink fairy flew into the room. Her eyes focused on him.

“You lied to them,” Samlas growled.

“Only a little.”

“Little? You’re gonna die! You know it!”

“But not by Lorican’s hand.”

“You really think those two events are not connected?”

“They might be. Lorican is a master manipulator. And my best friend will come to take my life in the near future. There’s something going on.”

“So?”

“So I’m going to pay Oirun a visit.”

“My ‘so’ was more about the kids! Don’t you want to tell them what will happen? You said that it cannot be changed. Are you just going to leave them without a word?”

“No, not without a word. But it’s too early for goodbyes. New possibilities can still open up. Futures I haven’t yet seen. Until then, hope remains.”