"Basil Kama is a prehistoric human?", Cale admitted, puzzled.
"You think that was... the Great War of Tsuke?", Sefra added. She seemed even more taken aback by the statement than Cale was.
"The whole thing happened over a hundred years ago?", Malte interjected, slumping down with his hands on the couch and leaning forward.
"You are having the greatest adventures when you are not in the Magistrat", Rangar laughed, slapping his thigh loudly, causing the others present to turn in his direction in irritation. He didn't find the story interesting, but Aaron's adventurers? How could anyone go through the world so carefree?
"Granted, the statement reassures on tales from an old, compartmentalized man. I probably wouldn't trust him so blindly, but perhaps it would be a starting point for a more detailed investigation. If you really did see the prehistoric people, then maybe we can learn a little more about them and the Kormandents through history. After all, until today we assumed they were creatures, not people. I think we got it all wrong from the beginning."
Murmurs of agreement arose and some began to talk about this war in more detail. Cale, however, had a very different thought buzzing through his head. Basil Kama was a prehistoric man, and a direct descendant of Linus Kama at that? What exactly had happened back then? As far as Cale knew, the general population had rebelled against the nobility, leading to the great war. But how did the prehistoric people and the Kormandents fit into the story? Where did they come from and whose side were they on?
"Hey Caleb", Grischa spoke up among the chaos, causing Cale to pause and look at the man wordlessly. "Who is this Basil guy, anyway?"
"He also possesses the mark of the Kormandent, just as you had. He has had it his whole life. Aaron went to see him, hoping to learn more about it. Basil was the one who first told us that the Kormandent could teleport", Cale tried to explain the events quietly as he watched Grischa raise his eyebrows in surprise before holding his hand against his head and closing his eyes at the same moment. Automatically, Cale held his friend tightly as he spoke up in concern. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, I'm fine. I just had a headache for a moment", Grischa explained, opening his eyes and smiling. "Nothing serious, don't look at me like that."
He lowered his hand, which is why Cale also let go of his friend, but watched him skeptically. Where did this headache suddenly come from? Was he remembering Basil? Could it be that his memories were coming back, but his body was trying to suppress the pain of that time?
"I'll read up on it a bit", Luc brought up after a few minutes. "Thanks. I think we can listen to the next insight."
After his statement, everyone opposite looked at each other, but at some point they all gave Aaron an interested look. The High-Magician realized this as well, which is why he broke the silence afterwards.
"My insight was quite a while ago. Is it all right to tell about it, Eldest?"
"Tell them", the blond-haired man allowed as he looked at Cale.
"In my insight, I saw the Eldest igniting a large house with magic and then flee the scene", Aaron calmly reported, and slowly but surely all of Aaron's eyes turned to the Eldest. Not a single one dared to comment, instead the Eldest cleared his throat briefly and began to explain.
"That was quite some time ago. The mansion belongs to some... bad people... and... I'm not necessarily proud of my actions. I was young."
"I saw the Eldest long before we met. I think my insight was simply to make us acquainted", Aaron explained. The other mages seemed interested in what exactly the background of their story was, but they did not probe further. Instead, Sefra spoke up.
"It was similar with me. I saw Grischa long before he came to the Magistrat. And I overheard a discussion between several people arguing about whether Grischa was really capable of taking on the Eldest's duties alone."
Almost more stunned, the attention moved from the Eldest to Sefra and then to Grischa. The High-Magician was unusually casual about the situation, raising his arms in the air and shrugging his shoulders.
"What is the meaning of this? What will happen to the Eldest and the Magistrat?"
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Ziyad voiced the concern that everyone had at that moment. The narration of the 5th seat showed everyone that the Magistrat would reach a point in the future where they could no longer rely on the Eldest. That moment they realized with it that the Eldest would probably die.
Or should have already died, as Cale suspected. But since he had never experienced it, Cale could not judge what had happened to the Eldest during or after the second attack. He had only been able to witness Grischa's life in Sylve later.
The Eldest himself remained quite still. He sat upright in his chair, had his hands clasped in front of his chest and his eyes closed, as if he were calmly pondering this statement. However, Cale suspected that the blond-haired mage was thinking about who could be his killer. Was it really the creatures or... did Aaron have anything to do with it? The Eldest's subsequent cold stare at the communication crystal in front of him indirectly confirmed Cale's suspicions. He didn't seem particularly pleased to face Aaron.
"I... in my insight, I could see out the window of the Magistrat", Nora spoke up. "I could see Grischa standing in front of it, talking to a mage I couldn't see. Shortly after, my gaze was drawn across the islands to the open ocean. Towards the Holy iIland of Velence."
Cale looked at the short-haired woman with interest. The vision she had reached quite far into the future. She must have seen the new Magistrat on the islands of Sylve about two years after the current building had been destroyed during the second wave. Cale had never been inside the newly constructed building, and even though he had had the opportunities to do so in his last life. He had only seen the Magistrat from a distance, nothing further.
But why did their insight detach from Grische and lead them to the Island of Dragons?
"So you are assuming that the Eldest will die in the third attack?" announced Aaron in a clear voice that immediately caused a somber expression on the faces of all the other High-Magicians.
"Even if that is the case, don't worry too much", the Eldest spoke up. "I've been aware for quite a while that fate will eventually catch up with me. Only the when and how is still unclear to me."
After the statement, the Eldest looked Cale straight in the eye.
"Perhaps it is not the Eldest who is affected", Malte spoke up afterwards. Cale quietly turned backwards and could see the mage thinking his next words through. "I also had an insight about you, Eldest. Is it alright to tell about it? It seemed... rather personal."
"Go ahead", the Eldest prompted the young High-Magician to continue. Cale only now realized why Malte didn't want to share his insight with the other High-Magicians. His vision was about the Eldest.
"In my insight, I saw you. I don't know exactly where you were, because I didn't recognize the surroundings. But you were standing with flowers in your hands by a... grave. Your son's grave."
Cale felt a chill run down his spine. Hesitantly, he let his gaze glance to the Eldest, who was looking at Malte with a bleak expression. Irritation and sadness were reflected on his face, but his words remained clear. Sefra, Odin and Aaron, of all those present, probably had a glimmer of an idea of how improbable this insight was, but they kept it to themselves.
"You didn't want to share the insight with us because you were afraid of how I would react if I learned that my son was dying", the Eldest finally clarified.
"Yes, that was the reason, Eldest. I didn't mean to offend you."
"That's all right. You can't know this, but my son died quite a few years ago. I can pretty well imagine what exactly you saw in your insight", he explained. You could hear the surprised clearing of Malte's throat and afterwards Luc asked his seatmate Odin if he knew that the Eldest had family. But this was a fact that the Eldest had deliberately kept secret for hundreds of years.
The table was silent for a while. The mages let the statement sink in until Sefra finally spoke up.
"Grischa, what about you? What did you see in your insight?"
When Cale looked up, Grischa was already looking at him questioningly, so he merely nodded in agreement.
"Nothing like that. I watched a woman and her husband giving birth to their child and then saw the mother die. She was stabbed by something sharp... through... the breast", Grischa explained, becoming very quiet. "I only recently learned that this woman was Caleb's mother. She was killed by a Novaren during the attack on Groka."
"You foresaw the attack on Groka? Why didn't you ever say anything?", Sefra immediately spoke up, giving Cale a worried look. Grischa was silent after this accusation, so Cale put his hand on his friend's shoulder and objected.
"He didn't know. He could only recognize the woman and the man, but not the place or even the time. Grischa couldn't have stopped the attack", Cale calmly explained. His hunch had been confirmed. In Grischa's insight, his mother had been hit and killed by a Novaren's stinger. The insight also came from the first timeline and had not changed. In Cale's current life, his mother was not killed by a creature, but by another inhabitant. A young woman, though Cale couldn't say why.
"Crazy", Sefra muttered, holding a hand over her mouth. "I didn't even know your parents were from Groka, Caleb."
"Groka is my home village", Cale replied a moment later.
"What?", Rosalie interjected. "Does that mean you were present at the attack on Groka?"
"Yes, I was. Which I almost don't remember at all. When I was talking to Grischa about his insight, the coincidence just seemed too big. That's how we found out he saw my family and me in the first place."
"Is that the reason... why you're so knowledgeable with creatures?", Aaron inquired.
"One of the reasons, yes. A lot of things happened in my life and the creatures are definitely a subject that has always bothered me", Cale explained, leaning back calmly. "So much for me as a person. I really just wanted to say that Grischa couldn't have done anything. This attack could have happened anywhere."
"Whereas I already recognized the mountains of Sylve", Grischa interjected.
"Meaning?"
"I already knew that the attack would take place in Sylve. It's just that I couldn't pinpoint the location directly."
"That doesn't do you much good, Grischa. Just being able to say 'north of Sylve' is pretty vague, let alone that you couldn't give a date. As I said, it's not your fault."
"I know", Grischa replied, though Cale could still tell the thought was weighing on his mind. Even if he had since accepted that there was nothing he could do about it.
"You've seen some pretty gruesome stuff", Ziyad spoke up. He leaned back on the couch and held his forehead with his hand, as if he had to take in all the information first. "All I saw in my insight was a scared little girl being approached by an old man. The man had been chasing the child, but I don't know why."