"You can't remember a single thing?", Sefra Risztus admitted in surprise. The Eldest, Odin Ander, and she were the only members of the council currently present in Cale's apartment.

"Then... the whole thing that happened yesterday.... not at all?", Odin stammered. The 5th seat looked almost more surprised than his colleague, who had returned from her hunt that night and had barely had a break. Aletta and Cale kept a low profile during the conversation, so that the four High-Magicians could talk to each other undisturbed. But they conversed in whispers about a similar topic.

"You can't just cure amnesia, Cale. Considering the circumstances, it's a conscious protective reaction of his body, it's nothing bad", the young healer explained.

"I know", Cale returned as quietly as he could. It was clear to him why the memory lapse occurred. The pain he had valiantly suppressed yesterday must have been unbearable. "In my opinion, it's not necessarily a bad thing, either. I was just quite surprised, that's all. If you want, you're welcome to find out if there's any way to jog his memory. But it's nothing earth-shattering if he doesn't remember at all. Grischa is the one who will be bothered the most."

Nodding in agreement, the healer listened with one ear as the Eldest summarized the events of the past few weeks from his perspective.

"What about Philippa and the others? Are you going to say something to them? What are you doing regarding the other High-Magicians and all the mages who witnessed the masses of mana yesterday?"

"I have to worry about that myself first and talk to the Eldest. Until the others get there, I still have time, but Grischa's condition should remain between us for now."

Aletta merely nodded before adding, mumbling, "Secrets again."

"Will knew", Cale therefore threw back, turning his gaze to his colleagues as he continued to speak quietly. "I told him everything before we left. You have to know that I trust Will more than I trust Aaron."

"Really?", Aletta returned in amazement.

"Yes. You, too, as a matter of fact", he explained. "I'm deeply in your debt. If you ever need anything, let me know."

Aletta wanted to say something more in response to this statement, but Sefra, followed by the Eldest, turned to them.

"Caleb, what was that yesterday? Yusuf Mirai said that you must have released over 200RM", the High-Mage Sefra spoke up first, so Cale could only smirk.

"Risztus!", the Eldest admonished her instantly, which made her bite her lips in annoyance.

"Eldest, I must confess, I would like to understand that as well", Odin supported Sefra. "I was down in the city and could sense this mass of mana. Even the residents noticed it. What was it and who was this boy who came up with the idea of the Igrikum?"

Cale had already anticipated the questions.

"That can wait", the Eldest replied. Cale was grateful that the mage was coming to his defense, but he simply couldn't hide something like that anymore. "We have more important things to deal with."

"It's all right, Eldest. I can understand that they won't take 'no' for an answer. I probably wouldn't either if I were them", Cale spoke up himself. The Eldest and he looked at each other in silence for a moment before the Eldest simply nodded. "Of the 13 of us High-Magicians, I have the most, pure mana. Not to brag, but I probably have as much as all of you combined."

"All of...?"

"Seriously?", Odin interjected, interrupting Sefra's astonished statement. "How are you hiding that? I mean, now I sense you have a lot of mana, but all the years before I didn't."

"My Igrikum", Cale replied, pulling his top up and tapping his scar a few times. "I can also use it like this to completely block mana. Not just my own mana, but the mana of others. That's exactly what I used on Grischa."

Cale pointed his finger from his belly to his friend, who moved into an upright position in surprise.

"You saw my friend Liam the night of the banquet, didn't you? He was the one who gave me the idea. He is currently traveling with Aaron and must have overheard our conversation through the crystals."

"Liam?", Sefra interjected, irritated, as she actually remembered his face.

"Prince William of Sylve."

"The Shadow Prince of Sylve?", she replied in surprise, letting her gaze slide to Aletta before looking at the Eldest in shock. "Did you know about this, Eldest? That Caleb has a royal visitor from Sylve?"

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

The Eldest, to Cale's surprise, shook his head. His eyes bored through Cale's body, you could literally feel the tension between them.

"Anyway", the Eldest interrupted the silence. "I will speak with Castero and Aaron later and inform them of the current state of affairs. Our primary goal for now is to work with Sylve. Castero is currently assembling a team of mages who agree to work for us. We'll figure out what to do with the Kormandents once everyone is back in the house. There will be no going it alone, do you understand me?"

Odin and Sefra merely nodded, while Cale stood still. The Eldest was quite right. It was dangerous for them to wander around alone, even if they were all powerful mages. One wrong move and the city would be down a few key defensive posts.

"What should I do with our students? The new year begins soon", Sefra quietly gave voice. Her question was directed to the Eldest, who ran a hand thoughtfully through his beard. "Shall I rearrange the curriculum as we discussed?"

"Yes, proceed as we had it planned. Also, talk to the Anuxer Guild regarding continuing education for adults. The sooner we start that, the better. Ander, you take care of getting the Chronicles of Zod Adenia out to the masses."

"Do you trust the books to be used as a foundation?", he hesitantly replied as he looked skeptically at the Eldest.

"Yes. I know the man who wrote them."

Surprised, the three High-Magicians looked at him while Cale disappeared behind Aletta. Indirectly, the Eldest had just titled his books as official teachings of the Magistrat, which didn't happen very often. In fact, not at all.

"All right. Is there anything else?", Odin replied, without questioning the Eldest's decision.

"That's enough for now, we'll talk again tomorrow. Lady Merensen, would you ask your fiancé to come to the Magistrat? I would like to speak with him", the Eldest raised coolly, so the young healer nodded in agreement. Sefra, Odin and Aletta then said their goodbyes and disappeared behind the stairs. The Eldest waited until the three had left the apartment before approaching Cale and addressing him in a soft but serious voice.

"Caleb, does Aaron know he's in the company of a nobleman?", he raised unobtrusively, but from Grischa's reaction, Cale knew they weren't quiet enough. For a moment he considered putting up a sound barrier, but Grischa would surely ask him later what was being kept from him.

"No. I didn't tell him. Knowing William, he won't tell who he is on his own, either."

"I hope you're right. If anything happens to Prince William, it could risk our cooperation with Sylve. King Leonhardt loves his sons more than anything else in the world", the Eldest explained. He spoke as if he assumed Aaron would kill William instantly if he learned of his origins. But then Cale had to remember his threats a few days ago. Aaron certainly wouldn't be so reckless as to risk his relationship with the Magistrat and his own life like that.

"Let's...", Cale began very quietly, putting his hand on her Eldest's shoulder and moving his face close to the Eldest's ear. "... talk about this later. In private."

The Eldest replied nothing, his silence approving Cale's request.

"The crystal and a detailed documentation on the Kormandent. By tomorrow, if possible", he finally spoke up, before turning his attention back to Grischa. "Vonstetten. I can understand if you are uncomfortable with the situation, but please listen to Caleb. Just rest for the next few days, we will keep you informed."

"Understood, Eldest", he replied, bowing slightly to the man. You could tell by the look on his face that Grischa was not particularly at peace with this instruction, but he did not rebel. The Eldest, on the other hand, turned away, gave Cale one last warning look, and left the room.

Cale knew exactly what the Eldest was trying to tell him.

But for a few moments he was rather stuck on the statement about the King of Sylve. King Leonhardt loved his sons? Could that really be true? How well did the Eldest know the king, and why then had King Leonhardt given William an impossible task? What was the man's purpose?

If he only believed William's words, he would think this statement was insanity. But Cale had already had personal contact with the king. About three years ago, after Kutam had been attacked. The conversation had felt more like an interrogation, but even Cale felt that William had misunderstood his father. King Leonhardt of Sylve just didn't seem like the type of person who would willingly put people in danger. Especially not his own family.

Silently, Cale remained standing next to his table, which had become his new workspace in recent weeks. Casually, he saw Grischa straighten up again and return his gaze in irritation. All at once, he remembered something that he had completely disregarded until just now.

Grischa no longer remembered his time travel.

Everything that Cale had confessed to him, partly more than William and the Eldest knew together, he had dissolved from his memory. All the questions he had answered him back then were there again. All the hours and days he had spent talking to Grischa about it were gone. Almost as if Cale had died again and now had to rebuild his relationship with Grischa all over again. The mere thought of it made Cale sad, even if he hid it under a smile.

Why did this have to happen to him again? Couldn't he have some security for once in his life?

"I see that despite the explanation, questions still plague you, Grin. What's going on in your mind?", he raised as he activated his zero magic and began to make all the documents that were scattered everywhere disappear. He couldn't help but remember how they had come up with it back then. The Chronicles of Creature Lore - as long as Grischa didn't know they were written by Cale, they wouldn't come up with the topic, either. But that also meant that he would have to talk to Aaron, which in turn will make sure to deliver an explanation of how he was able to publish all this information at the age of 5.

An eternal cycle that will catch up with him sooner or later.

"Since when are you so familiar with the Eldest?", Grischa spoke up, watching Cale tidy up the room. For now, he would keep everything in his null magic before returning the documents to their original place.

"I don't quite know what you mean", Cale replied truthfully.

"He calls you by your first name, which he usually only does with Aaron. Have you decided to be upfront about your collaboration?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, come on, don't pretend. Just tell me."

Irritated, Cale looked over at Grischa. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out what Grischa was thinking. How did he suddenly to this topic? Just because the Eldest called him by his first name? Why did Grischa care so much about all this?

"I really don't know what you want me to say, Grin."