The day back on Agleon soon ended and the night passed seemingly in an instant to those that slept. Ieros, of course, did not sleep at all, instead, he was compiling and organizing data in his mind into a library as in this form it was easier to organize said data. It was a rather enjoyable process for Ieros/Surveyor as it was finally able to learn and organize data which was its primary function. But soon this pleasant pastime came to an end with the dawn, it was time to return. So Ieros roused himself from his meditative state and exited the room, making his way to the ambassadors so that they may return to Athera.

Of course, before they left, they had to bid farewell to the King, which was promptly done before Ieros opened a gate all the way to Athera. They quickly left, lest they be tempted further by the freedom to let loose one’s desires. The Teryo were the last to step through, Eversor turning around briefly and studying the humans before turning and entering the gate. He was disappointed, disappointed at what humanity had become, to think that his descendants were reduced to such a state. Once they challenged the gods… now they had become lesser than insects to them.

On the other side, Eversor was dismissed by Ieros, ordered to return to the East to protect it. With his orders, Eversor and the three Teryo left, they were no longer needed. Meanwhile, Ieros said farewell to the ambassadors, his mission had been fulfilled. The ambassadors thanked him to which he made no reply, one of his status did not need to acknowledge nobles. He returned to his tower, spending the next week organizing the Surveyor’s Library. He would have continued to do so for much longer if it had not been the day when he was to visit his home village for a few days.

He had made a promise that he would return annually and the personality of Ieros never broke a promise. So he stopped what he was doing and returned to his physical body, opening his eyes and looking at the familiar walls of his chamber. He then took a moment, changing his appearance from his regal robes to a monk’s habit and adopting a gnarled wooden staff. He also took off the “curse” afflicting his face and donned his hood, thus prepared to leave for his parents. Having finished, he made a gate and teleported a mile away from the village and walked the rest of the distance, making it seem as if he had traveled by foot to his home village. Of course, this was to make himself appear more normal and thus not alienate himself from the villagers and his family, the ordinary folk still have some sort of instinctual fear of magic. This fear was probably instilled by the gods, to prevent Man from challenging them like Premen once had, the gods were not in a hurry to repeat that mistake.

During this mile walk, Ieros had plenty of time to relax and enjoy the tranquility of the woods, his mind wandering to other thoughts to fill the monotony of the hike. As they walked, the Surveyor had sealed itself away, allowing Ieros to resurface once more so that no one would suspect anything. Soon, he arrived in sight of the village, raising his hand in greeting to some who were working in the fields.

They saw him and waved back, calling, “Ah, Ieros! Hey! Ieros is back everyone!”

The small community, alerted to his presence, stood at the entrance of the village to welcome him, children, adults and elders alike all standing in a small crowd. Ieros pulled back his hood, a small smile on his face as he said,

“Hello everyone.”

As he approached, the children rushed towards him and with a smile, he ruffled the heads of children who swarmed him, shook hands with the men and bowed to the elderly. His family was there to meet him as well, a firm handshake shared with his father and a hug from both his mother and sister. They walked back to their house, his sister explaining everything that happened within the year that he was gone. He listened, making small comments here and there to show that he was listening. They finally arrived at his parent’s humble home, a small vegetable garden at the front with a small path that led to the door to the house. It was a single story house and ten by fifteen feet with a slanted roof for when the snow came.

Ieros followed his parents up the familiar path and entered his home, almost the same as he had left it a year earlier. He was then ushered towards the dining table, his mother insisting that he rest while she and his sister prepared lunch. He agreed for the moment, catching up with his father while the two women busied themselves with cooking. But of course, Ieros could not just stay still, he had to contribute something so he drew a small package from within his cloak. It was meat of the highest quality and he insisted that they use this for lunch.

Of course, the mother tried to decline but on this, Ieros was adamant. So she began to use the meat while Ieros continued to speak with his father. But as they spoke, there was a knock at the door. Ieros went to answer it and found the villagers who were sheepishly hanging outside the house, it seemed that they too wanted food. Ieros smiled and offered to convert various ingredients that the villagers would bring into food. So they all made their way to a meadow where Ieros made tables and began to convert the various ingredients and foods that the villagers brought into a fine meal.

The meal was prepared and everyone began to eat, talking and laughing with one another. It was a joyous occasion as it was rare that the villagers could eat such fine cuisine, Ieros had not held back when he created the feast. The children laughed and played, having greatly looked forward to this day and asked Ieros to entertain them with magic tricks. He complied, creating little illusory fairies which danced with the children and sang.

Meanwhile, Ieros made some high-quality alcohol at the behest of the village men. He even had a drinking contest with a few, although his body was unaffected by the alcohol as a preman’s body will not be conquered by such weak things. This always happened year after year ever since he turned sixteen, and year after year, he proved himself to be the best drinker. His father, drunk, of course, would always clap him on the back and proudly shout,

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“As expected of my son!”

Time passed quickly and it was soon nighttime, everyone looking up at the sky expectantly for Ieros’s fireworks that would light up the sky. He had, of course, cured the men of their drunken stupor so that they could enjoy this sight as well. Everyone was silent as they watched the magnificent spectacle, oohing and aahing at the magical display. Another spectator watched the spectacle as well, the Surveyor watched from the shadows, observing how Ieros was faring without its direct control. After satisfying itself that Ieros had not retained any dangerous memories that would allow him to rebel, the Surveyor then left him alone, although it had observers keep an eye on him from a distance.

Right now, it did not have the time to worry itself with Ieros. Even if he were to resist its control when it went to reclaim him, that was of no great consequence. It would still have his memories so it could always recreate him. Gathering more power was of greater import, End would be arriving soon and it was not yet confident it could destroy her without also being destroyed. It was not troubled by the fact that it would be destroyed, it was troubled by the fact that if it were to die, it would be failing its creator. And it would not lie to itself, it would also be a shame if it could not to learn all that could be learned.

So it retreated to its abode here on Agleon, a cave in most remote part of the North, where the shadows were as old as Agleon itself and were very powerful indeed. They, of course, remembered the identity of their father, for they were around when he descended upon the surface of young Agleon, leaving the sculptures of its first lifeforms. They had immediately offered their strength and knowledge to the Surveyor. The Surveyor accepted their strength and knowledge, making them a part of itself, growing in strength.

It had over the course of eighteen years gathered countless shadows from the tallest of mountains to the shadow of the hardy ant. And yet all of these billions of shadows were not enough, that was the power that was End. And it was not because the shadows were weak, even the shadow of an ant possessed enough power to kill a human instantly, it’s just that End was too strong. And this was but a fragment of her, her true self was something that would be beyond all other things except for Darkness. It may be able to withstand End’s power for a few moments but after that, it would be reduced to nothingness, her power was just too overwhelming.

Then for a moment, it felt something and it focused all of its attention upon End who was also staring right back at it. End suddenly grinned and began to laugh, the sound of her laughter echoing all the way to the Surveyor. The Subjugator who was encompassing the shadow of Agleon’s moon heard her laughter as well and prepared itself. It was powerful enough to subjugate End with ease but that did not mean it would escape unscathed. It wasn’t just the fragments of Darkness who were preparing for End, the sages and seers down on Agleon also sensed a great catastrophe that was approaching, the Luxian Theocracy secretly preparing itself to meet the foe.

But the rest of the world was blissfully unaware, going on with their day-to-day lives. The Surveyor then turned his attention away from End, she was not of concern right now, it shall deal with her when she comes. Meanwhile, it returned to gathering its strength, collecting the shadows of things that it had previously let alone so that their shadows would grow in strength. And if it proved necessary, the Surveyor could convert the surrounding matter into dark matter for it to use, although it would like to avoid that. Its primary function was to learn and it could not learn if it destroyed the item which it needs to study.

As it prepared to meet End, the blissful world of Agleon moved on, night turning into dawn and the mortals below beginning to stir. Ieros was already awake by this time and was taking a walk in the forest, enjoying the peace and tranquility of the trees where he had once played as a kid. While he was walking, his sister had awoken to begin her daily tasks for the day and she noticed that her brother was gone. Curious, she set out to find him, following the trail that he had left in the morning dew. She continued to follow his trail all the way to a glade where she finally found him, in the place where he always hung out back when they were kids.

As she approached, he turned and looked at her, his strange features once again reminding her that he was not her brother by blood. He had always looked different from everyone, his appearance looked like that of the people to the far West, a race of humans who kept out all foreigners with their great wall. How he had come to be here was a mystery but he was here now, a boy of Arcanus.

Seeing that she was troubled by something, Ieros asked with concern, “Are you alright?”

She nodded, “Yes, I’m okay.”

Ieros smiled and shook his head, “I know when you have something on your mind. I’m here to listen if that helps.”

She smiled in turn, albeit a bit sadly, “Oh I was just thinking how life could have been so different if you had been raised by your real family.”

Ieros sighed, “You’re on about that again? Listen, the past is already set. Don’t worry yourself about what could have been, worry yourself about what’s going to be. Trust me, thinking about what could have been just makes life harder for everyone.”

She protested, “But-”

Ieros silenced her, “If I had been raised with my real family, my life would probably be the same, I would have been raised as a mage and probably would have become the greatest in all of Arcanus. I would have never known you at all and you wouldn’t have known me. Satisfied?”

She was silent for a moment and then chuckled, “Always so serious. But I suppose you’re right.”

She then stood beside him, staring up at the sky which was beginning to lighten.

They were silent as they looked up at the sky, Ieros breaking the silence by saying, “You need to do your chores right? I’ll help you.”

She exclaimed, “Oh! I totally forgot!”

Ieros laughed, “Come on, let’s go.”

The two siblings made their way back home and began to work on the sister’s chores, completing them in time. After that, they enjoyed a simple breakfast and Ieros stood, intending to help out the villagers for the day. And he did exactly that, going around the village and helping anyone that needed it with magic. Luckily, most of the problems that the villagers had were simple fixes with his creation magic. The day soon came to an end and Ieros prepared to leave, waving goodbye to the children who begged him not to go and hugging his family one last time before he left.

His sister asked jokingly, “Where are you off to in a hurry?”

Ieros smiled and said, “I’m a mage, despite what you might think, I do have duties to attend to. But I’ll visit next year as I always do.”

His sister called, “Well be safe then!”

Ieros then called, “Promise me one thing, that when you marry, I am present so I can approve of your husband-to-be.”

Celine laughed, “Don’t worry about that brother.”

He then waved goodbye for one last time while all the villagers waved goodbye. He then began to walk away, the Surveyor once more taking command of Ieros’s body after he was a mile from the village. And once more, Ieros’s eyes opened and looked out onto the world, Ieros’s personality being suppressed once more.