20 years later…

Nym sat cross-legged on the floor across from a little boy, barely ten years old. He had curling blond hair and bright blue eyes that gleamed with excitement, and an infectious smile. Currently, his face was pinched in concentration as his conduit quested out through the first layer and brushed up against the membrane blocking off the second.

Nym watched silently and made no moves to help. Eriam needed to learn to do it himself, after all. Nym had shown him how, and he’d proven he could do it. He just had a bit of anxiety now that someone was watching. A few feet away, standing next to a barrel of sand, was his earth magic teacher. Professor Ophelia had been personally tutoring him for the last year, but had requested Nym sit in on a lesson to offer some additional help.

Eriam’s conduit punched through the membrane. Immediately, second layer arcana flooded his soul well. “I did it!” he said.

“Very good,” Ophelia told him. “Now, just focus on the sand and cast the spell like we talked about.”

That was… a little bit painful to watch. Watching mortal mages learn new spells was like watching a blind man write a letter. They learned the individual shapes, and what order to put them in, but nothing ever quite lined up right, and the words meandered across the page. New mages just ‘wrote’ their spells over and over again until they got it right, then tried to remember what that felt like.

Not for the first time, Nym was glad he could actually see arcana.

Despite that handicap, Eriam was actually doing quite well. Of course, he had private tutors, copious amounts of time to practice, the resources of a noble house backing him, and the occasional assistance of an actual ascendant, though Nym limited himself severely in his help. It wouldn’t mean anything if he just did it for Eriam, and the boy wouldn’t thank him for the interference in the long term.

After about twenty minutes, Eriam managed to get all the pieces lined up, and his terrakinesis spell triggered. A blob of sand rose up into the air about a foot, leaking out of the bottom at a decent rate. It only took about three seconds before enough of the sand had fallen out of the blob that there was practically nothing left.

“Excellent work!” Ophelia said. Oh yeah, she’d definitely gotten her teacher voice down. Eriam seemed to appreciate the encouragement at least. “I think we’ll stop there for now. We’ve got to go get ready for the party.”

“Okay,” Eriam said. He let go of the spell, and the rest of the sand fell down into the barrel. Nym swept up all the loose grains to clean up the room, then floated the lid over and pushed it down while Eriam watched him, eyes wide. “When will I be able to do that?”

“Soon enough, I’m sure. Just keep practicing,” he said.

“Don’t measure yourself against Nym,” Ophelia warned. “That’s just going to set yourself up for disappointment. You’re doing very well for your age.”

Nym smiled, but said nothing. Eriam was one of the few people who could measure up against him, one day. But that would ruin the surprise. “Come on, let’s go find your mother so we can all go.”

* * *

Analia looked up from her desk when her son ran into the room, followed closely by Nym and Ophelia. “All done?” she asked.

“For today,” Ophelia said. “Eriam is doing very well.”

“I got the sand to move with my magic today,” he said.

“Good job,” she told him. “We’ll make an expert mage out of you yet.”

“I’m sure he’ll be one of the best,” Nym said, a soft smile on his face. He knew… something, but he refused to say what, no matter how much she pestered him. Considering how easily he could look into the future, it could be anything. She trusted that if he’d seen anything bad though, he would take steps to prevent that.

“It’s time to get going,” Ophelia said. “A bit past time, actually.”

“Ah, right. One moment.” Analia finished jotting down a note to herself for when she came back to finish her work, then stood up. “Shall we?”

Nym’s magic swept over the four of them and whisked them a thousand miles away to a large hall they’d rented out for a party. As expected, it was already full of people. Bildar was there of course, as it was his retirement party. His beard was almost pure gray at this point and his belly was considerably bigger than it had been when Nym was a kid, but he was still an active man with a vibrant personality. He was busy talking to Monick about something when they arrived and didn’t notice them right away.

Nomick and Kazie did, or rather, their little girl did. “Look, Mom!” she said. “Can I go play?”

Kazie glanced over and smiled. “Of course, dear. Stay in the room please.”

Eriam and Cari ran off together, with the boy excitedly telling her about the new spell he’d learned to cast. Analia made her way over to Cari’s parents to exchange pleasantries. “Where’s your husband?” Kazie asked after.

“Still working on that trade agreement with the Kolquidst Consortium. They’ve been bickering about the shipping costs for a week. I’m about ready to just build the teleportation platform myself just so I don’t have to hear about it anymore,” Analia said.

“He works too hard,” Nomick said. “We’re supposed to be celebrating today.”

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“I know. I told him, but he had meetings all day to get to.”

“His loss,” Nomick said. “Did you know Nym got the Quarterhorse to cater the party? They don’t even do that. I have no idea how much he paid them to agree.”

“I did not know that,” Analia admitted, “but now that you can mention it, I can smell the food from here.”

She turned to look towards the smell, which was emanating from an open doorway with a small crowd of people she didn’t recognize loitering near it. “Are those the new hires?”

“Yep. Monick picked them. With Ophelia gone and Bildar retiring, he had to hire four earth mages to replace them. I think Bildar helped vet them. The business is all those two talk about anymore.”

“Well, I suppose some introductions are in order. Come on, you can make them.”

* * *

Everyone else had wandered off in one direction or the other, but Nym sat down in a random chair among a row of empty ones pushed up against the wall. “I didn’t think you were going to come,” he said.

“I wouldn’t have, except there’s something I wanted to talk to you about,” a voice said from the chair next to him. Though it appeared empty to anyone who didn’t know how to look, Rizin sat there, his body in the shape of a human man.

“Another problem with Lab Six?” Nym asked, trying not to wince. It would be the third time he’d had to go in there and correct an issue.

“Oh no, nothing like that. It’s just a message I was asked to pass on.”

“Really? That’s a bit unexpected. Who would be sending me a message through you?”

“That snow wolf patriarch you go hunting with sometimes somehow got hold of my ring. Apparently, someone taught him how to channel arcana into it.”

“Cold Paw? Ah, well he’s a clever guy. I’m not surprised he managed something like that.”

“I regret not eating you when we first met,” Rizin deadpanned.

“No you don’t.”

The fox sighed, then admitted, “Well, it has been an interesting few decades. Anyway, the wolf wants you to come visit soon. He’s got something time-sensitive he wants your help with. And now that I’ve delivered that message, I’ll be off.”

Rizin’s presence disappeared from the hall, and Nym relaxed into his chair. He only got a few minutes of solitude before Ophelia walked over, one arm held out for Archmage Veran to hold. He’d looked old when Nym first met him, but he was positively ancient now. He was a bit slower than he used to be, but hardly needed the help. Not for the first time, Nym considered adapting his age reversal spell to work on mortals. It wouldn’t even be that difficult. The only reason he hadn’t was that it was suspiciously similar to the god killer spell he’d used on precisely three ascendants, then done his best to forget ever existed.

“You’re looking well,” the archmage said by way of greeting. “I appreciate the invitation.”

“Of course,” Nym said, gesturing for him to take the seat next to him. “How have you been, sir?”

“Thinking about retiring in the next year or two,” Archmage Veran told him bluntly. “It’s all just getting to be a bit too much to keep on top of anymore. Ophelia has been a life saver, but she has her own classes to teach and can’t spend all her time helping me.”

“Maybe we’ll have to throw you a retirement party next,” Nym said, nodding his head towards Bildar, who was still discussing work stuff with Monick across the room while Nomick loudly bemoaned that they were ruining the party by refusing to shut up about business. Both of them ignored the man.

Laughing softly, the archmage sat down in the chair Rizin had recently vacated. “I suspect it would be somewhat less rambunctious than this one. Though if the smells coming out of the kitchen are any indication of the upcoming meal, I would hire this catering company again.”

“It does smell good,” Nym said.

“Indeed. Now though, I assume that little boy playing over there is the one you wanted to introduce me to?”

“Eriam is his name,” Nym said. “He’ll be starting at the Academy soon.”

“I see. You know he won’t receive any special treatment from me just because he’s from a noble family, right?”

“I’m not asking for any special treatment for him. I have a vested interest in him though, so I would like to be kept updated on his progress.”

“A vested interest,” Archmage Veran said, his gaze sharpening. “Am I to assume…?”

“Almost certainly,” Nym confirmed.

“Assume what?” Ophelia asked. “Are you saying he’s going to be, you know… like you.”

“Nobody knows what the future will hold,” Nym said. “But I’ve got some pretty good guesses. It’s very, very possible. We won’t be telling him or his family, of course.”

“Hmm,” Ophelia said. “Analia would probably like to know. Then again, with everything her own father did, maybe not.”

Nym glanced over to the woman, who was talking to the new earth mages Monick had hired. She was a lot quieter than she’d been as a kid, more reserved. Time had helped, and he thought confronting her father had helped as well, but he had no doubt that she was a very different person than she would have otherwise grown to be if not for the geases she’d suffered under.

Nym had never asked what she’d done, but Jaspar Feldstal had died less than a week after that meeting, his heart giving out and there being no nearby healer to save him. It was a strange way to go for someone still so relatively young and in good health. There had been suspicions, but as far as he knew, they’d never amounted to more than that.

“I think we’ll just keep this to ourselves for now,” Nym said. “It’ll be easier for everyone, and nobody needs to be put under the pressure to succeed at a task that big. If he decides he wants to try for ascendance when he’s older, we’ll help him. If not, that’s his choice.”

“But you think he will,” Archmage Veran said.

“I think he’s a very bright young man, and he’ll do great things.”

The archmage watched the little boy play with his friend. “Interesting. I’ll keep an eye on him.”

“Thanks,” Nym said. “Now, I think I hear them plating our meals. Let’s go find some seats at the table.”

“That is a most excellent suggestion. Here, help an old man up.”

Nym pulled the archmage to his feet, and together, they went to join his friends and family.

* * *

100 years later…

“I cannot believe you just let yourself age like that for a century,” Rizin said. “You’re all saggy.”

Nym smiled and said, “I know. It was totally worth it.”

“To live a mortal life? It’s overrated.”

“No, it’s not. But yes, I am ready to feel young again.”

“When will you do it?”

“Soon. Analia’s funeral is tomorrow. After that, I think it’s time to take a step back from the mortal world.”

“Well it’s about time,” Rizin said.

“I wasn’t in a rush,” Nym said. “I would think a fellow immortal could appreciate that.”

“I have no problem with the number of years you took. I just can’t believe you took no steps at all to keep yourself young.”

“That’s part of a mortal life,” Nym said.

It had been, too. He’d grown older with his friends, helped them raise the next generation, and watched, one by one, as they’d passed on. Finally, only the two youngest of their group remained, Analia and himself. And she’d let go of her hold on life too. As far as he was concerned, that was the end of it. All of the children had grown, had children of their own, and lived their own lives. His time as a mortal was over now.

It was time to try something new, to truly be the immortal he’d spent a hundred years pretending not to be. “I think it will be an interesting few decades,” Nym said.

“Not as interesting as the last time, I hope.”

“Well, I guess we’ll see. I’ve got to get going. Next time you see me, I’ll be young and fit again.”

“Good,” Rizin said. “And get rid of that stupid cane.”

Nym frowned and looked down at it. “What’s wrong with my cane?”

“You are a god-like being. Act like it.”

Nym rolled his eyes and smiled. “See you soon, old friend.”

“Yeah, yeah. See you soon.”