(Gavin)

"Whoa," Ryan says in awe as we land. "You're freaky-cool. You know that, right?"

"I have no idea what that means."

"Dude!" He exclaims, waving his arms about. "You can fly!"

"Eventually," I say. "You will learn to fly as well. First, though, you need to learn the runes."

My apprentice groans, mostly because he still hasn't mastered his runes, even though it's been two weeks since he came into my care. Then again, it typically takes months for a magician to acquire Dekami Runic Language 1, so I suppose a boy who continues to focus on things other than his studies taking more than a couple of weeks should be expected.

"Where are we?" He looks around.

"Standing on the southern wall of Fort Aysor," I examine the lightly-wooded hilly expanse stretching out before us. "Those hills begin the beastkin territory."

I turn to face the trio of soldiers approaching us, weapons drawn.

"I just flew in," I say. "From high above here. Do you really believe those weapons would be useful against me?"

"State your name and business!"

"Gavin Jakran, Duke of Zelar, Archmage of Jozan," I state. "I am here to assist with dealing with the beastkin, and the reason your king sent the orders to cease hostilities with them."

"As if the beastkin would ever respond to anything other than force!" The soldier scoffs.

They haven't ceased hostilities, have they?

I pull a scroll from my ring.

"Here is an official document," I hold it out, pulling out another. "Stating that all hostilities are to cease against the beastkin unless they initiate the altercation. It also states that you are not to provoke them or attempt to provoke them in any way.

"This other one," I hold that one out. "Grants me authority to do with you as I see fit, should you ignore the first. This includes ending your existences. Will you continue to disobey your king?"

"The beastkin will never give us rest!" He yells. "They-"

I wave my hand, weaving runes together, and his voice disappears.

New Skill!

Silence: Cause target to cease all sounds, no matter how hard they try.

"You will lead me to the man in charge of this fort," I state. "There will be no resistance."

Ten minutes later, Ryan and I are standing in a cozy office. Carpeting, tapestries, carvings, and more fill the room. The chairs are thick and no doubt soft and comfortable.

This is a man who values his position over his duty, which means that I will likely need to put the fear of Nies into him.

"And I should believe you about Jozan, why?" The commander asks.

"Other than," I say. "The fact that I am aware you've been informed of me and my coming? Or would you like to deny that you have not been communicated with via the Paired Mirror resting on your desk? And will you deny the proof of your own king's orders I have given you?"

"The beastkin are-"

The air turns violet as I leverage my power against everyone in the fort, and Ryan sighs.

Mana Presence is Now Level 6!

"Gavin," Ryan looks at me. "You summoned the Violet Dragon, too. Was that really necessary?"

"It's about as necessary," I say. "As continuing to resist."

I turn my gaze to the commander, who flinches.

"I am here with permission from your king in an attempt to solve the issues between beastkin and humans. Their Majesty desires an end to this war – one that will result in the least amount of lives cost. That is why he has authorized me to kill any soldiers who continue to push the issue of fighting the beastkin.

"Now," I say. "Will I need to prove to you my might? Or will you shut the hell up and allow me to do what I am here for?"

"I-I-I-"

"He's probably shit himself," Ryan sighs. "Gavin, you can't just unleash your power upon everyone who pisses you off."

"I-"

"You do that, you wipe out half the world," he says. "Can you stop the Mana Presence? You're not doing it enough to force us to the ground, but it's kind of stressful."

I release my Mana Presence, and the soldiers in the room visibly sigh in relief.

"Thanks," Ryan says. "This body's made for getting babes, not getting pressured with the Mana of the most powerful mortal in existence."

"I am grateful," I say. "That you are speaking in your native tongue, and not the one spoken commonly here."

"Only because I've only managed to learn enough of yours to reach Level 2, so I can't really communicate as fluently."

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

I don't know the full meaning of what he said, but over the last two weeks, I've learned enough about him to know it was probably inappropriate.

I turn my gaze back to the commander.

"Will we have any issues?"

"N-n-no!"

"Will you continue to allow your soldiers to antagonize the beastkin?"

"N-n-no!"

"Good," I say. "Give me a briefing on everything you know about the beastkin living in the hills and forest. I want every last detail."

I want to confirm the information I have, and see if there is anything they left out. Using my ability to detect lies, I will be able to tell if the information they have supplied from here was false. Adding in Telepathy with the intent to only read minds, I will also be able to tell what the truth is, in most cases.

Most people think the truth momentarily when spouting lies.

By the time the commander finishes the briefing, I have a decent grasp on the situation here. I glance at Ryan, who's taken a seat in his boredom, then back to the commander.

"I flew here from the capital of Isil," I tell him, and he starts in disbelief. "I am requiring a meal, and then my quarters for while I am staying here, so that I may rest some."

The commander gives the orders, and a soldier leads Ryan and I to the mess hall. We're given stares by others, but I ignore them. Ryan makes a comment about how it's all guys here, not a girl in sight.

Why would there be any? The fort's purpose is to defend the Kingdom of Trii, not bolster the population. All supplies are brought in from elsewhere as well.

After our meal completes, Ryan and I are lead to an officer's suite. It's needlessly fancy, with two rooms for sleeping, a room for bathing, another for relieving ourselves, and another for meetings, planning, paperwork, and such, the latter of which is the one we entered through, passing by the desk through another door to reach the actual bedroom.

The beds are massive, the room decorated with expense, and overall, I want to burn it down.

"You know the General isn't arriving until tonight," Ryan says as I look around the room. "Why did you arrive before him?"

"I put the fear of Nies into the fort," I look at my apprentice. "It is not your place to question me, Ryan. It is your place to learn. If the General arrived first, things might be a small bit easier to deal with. However, in the long run, having them aware that I can obliterate them with ease before the General shows up to temper them will work better. Being told is one thing, feeling my power for themselves is an entirely different."

"Into… the fort?" He asks. "You hit the entire fort with Mana Presence?"

"Indeed."

He blinks several times.

I manifest several papers and some ink and a quill, holding them out. He sighs, then heads into office to work. I walk to the bathing room and wash myself, then lie down to sleep, easily slipping into the world of dreams.

When I wake, I dress, then locate my apprentice. He's sleeping in his room, sprawled out on his bed in the nightclothes I had tailored for him.

I write up two notes for him, setting them on his nightstand, then make my way out of the room and track down the General, who is eating breakfast in the officers' mess.

"Good morning, Lord Jakran," he greets me.

"General Samuel," I dip my head to him, taking a seat. A few moments later, one of the staff is serving me breakfast. "It is good to see you made it safely."

"You didn't wait for me to show up," he says.

"They will be more willing to work with me, now," I state. "I have also acquired some more information regarding the beastkin living in the forest. I intend on making my way out there to greet them after we conclude breakfast. Will you be joining me, as a show of Trii's support?"

"Indeed," he answers. "Do you have a solution for the Howls of Terror?"

Howls of Terror is a Skill that the wolf beastkin use. It sends crippling fear through those who hear it, and the more of wolf beastkin using the Skill, the worse the effects become. Dozens of soldiers a year go crazy from hearing it, unable to ever recover.

"I do," I hold my hand, pulling two globs of wax from my ring.

"Putting wax in your ears," he says. "Only lessens the effects, not neutralizes it."

"I am an Archmage," I say. "These are not ordinary globs of wax. They're enchanted in a special way that will completely neutralize the effects of the Howls of Terror. You will still be able to hear just fine as well, without any reduction to your hearing."

I used Arcane to manifest them a few days ago. It seems that such a desire is a large one, though, and was the first thing created using Arcane's Large Desire Manifestation.

To be honest, I'm not really surprised it's considered a large desire to be able to completely cover your ears, neutralizing the effects of sound-based magics while still hearing perfectly fine.

Took a huge chunk of my Arcane to manifest, too. 637 Arcane required to make the pair of globs.

I send the wax back into my ring, then resume eating breakfast, Ryan stumbling into the room just as we finish, looking exhausted.

"I could really use some coffee," he moans.

That seems to be some sort of dark drink that energizes people, if my understanding of his explanation is correct. I have no idea what it is beyond that, though, so he can deal.

Well, he can deal anyway. I don't need him having more energy.

Though maybe having something to wake him up in the mornings might not be a bad idea. Especially not when he spent most of the night practicing runes.

"Hello, Ryan," I say. "How did you sleep?"

"I don't think I got much," he yawns. "I went through all of the papers last night trying to copy your runes down perfectly. At laaaaaaaaaaast."

"At last what?"

"I have Dekami Runic Language," he answers. "The Skill. Is that sudden rush of information normal when acquiring a Skill?"

"Depends on the Skill," I answer. "Dekami Runic language supplements your ability to memorize and call upon magical runes, which are the foundation of nearly all magics, as well as all magics relying on Mana. Skills for Spells grant you a small amount of knowledge about the spell, as well as assist you in preparing the runes properly when you cast it, among other minor things to assist you."

"Oh," he says.

"Then there are Skills," I continue. "Which have no obvious immediate effects as a rush. The Cuteness and Hotness Skills simply amplify the effects of your Charisma when someone finds you cute or hot. You can only have one of the two, with Cuteness typically transforming into Hotness either when you reach a certain age, or if your cuteness fades into hotness.

"There's also," I continue. "Skills such as Party Leader. It has no immediate rush of knowledge, but there are still effects it bestows. It can impart a bonus to Leveling to any and all Party Members loyal to you, cause your words to have more sway, and bolster their powers, among other things.

"In addition to that," I continue. "There are also Skills such as the Expansion Techniques. Utilizing them, one can increase the size of their Resource Pools. Each Expansion Technique can allow up to twenty more into its related Resource.

"These are just some of the types of Skills," I tell him. "There are several more, though those are the most relevant to you right now."

Speaking of Expansion Techniques… it might not be a bad idea for me to start using some of the ones in the Grimoires. I might track down my brothers, and see if they have any they're willing to share with me.

They probably are.

"General," I look at the General, who is just finishing eating, himself. "I am going to be leaving for a few hours. We will need to push back our meeting with the beastkin until I return."

"Very well, then," he says. "May I inquire as to the reason for the delay?"

"I need to visit my brothers."

I might be able to acquire something from them that the beastkin will want, considering their knowledge of magics. Considering the beastkin use Aura over Mana, that's not likely. Perhaps I'll visit the Chain Monks and see if they have any Aura Expansion Techniques as well.

I make my way to my room, then focus my powers, channeling the Aether as I focus on my brothers.

Rift Sense is now Level 7!

New Skill!

Rift Creation: The ability to open a Rift to pass through to your target destination. Be forewarned: what lies within the Rift may not be friendly. The higher the Level of this Skill, the more you will be able to control what the Rift passes through and how brief it is.