Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Prologue

The Grey Hunters eyes abruptly shot open as a sharp pain erupted from her thorax. Her whole body convulsed, buckling against the pulse of energy that shot through her, and suddenly she was wide awake, not a trace of drowsiness in her mind.

She was immediately aware of her surroundings, her incredible senses eliminating any chance of danger. She was deep within the dungeon. Far, far deeper than she had ever been before. Even she feared the monsters that called these levels their home.

It was not danger that had awoken her. She had already fled from many of the dungeon denizens. Even those she could have ambushed, passing up easy meals. She did not need it. Or more importantly, her brood did not need it. But they were restless.

They squirmed and writhed within their egg sacs, a deep orange light pulsing inside each with the steady rhythm of a heartbeat. Her babies wanted out.

The Grey Hunter mother did something quite unexpected then. If anyone had been there to witness it, they may have grown a second head seeing such a horrifying creature being… gentle and loving?

She cooed to her unborn brood. Nearly a purr as she comforted her restless children. Not yet, she told them. It’s too soon. Not ready. No, not ready. But soon. You will be perfect. He demands it.

A grinding scraping noise interrupted her crooning, causing her to move defensively towards the sound. It was still far away through the labyrinth of tunnels, but it was coming closer. It was time for her to move on. Deeper, the power told her. It radiated from her brood. She obeyed.

Chapter 1

The Problem with Mind Magic

Zorian Kazinski, the third son of a wealthy merchant family from Cerin, unintentional time looper, and possibly the most powerful human mind mage in all of Altazia, still had trouble accepting his new role. He was absolutely certain that before the time loop, if someone had told him he would be the ambassador to a nation of giant sapient spiders who possessed powerful natural mind magic, he would have scoffed at the utter ridiculousness. Him, an ambassador? And to giant spiders of all things? Mind magic? Yeah, right…

Yet, here he was. It really put into perspective how much being stuck in a repeating month for several years can change a person. Who would he have been without that experience? Would he have ever met the Aranea? Would he have ever learned to control his empathy, and eventually mastered mind magic? He seriously doubted it. He was a very different person back then.

It had already been two months since the summer festival, and Zorian was still having trouble coming to terms with that. For so long he had lived a life without consequences, always knowing that whatever he accomplished would all be undone. Both the good and the bad.

Now, everything was real. Every choice he made was final. Zorian hadn’t experienced this kind of pressure in, well, years. Nearly a decade. He couldn’t say he hadn’t expected this, or at least something similar, to happen if he managed to survive. But it was one thing to expect it, and another to actually experience it. And that was just returning to a normal life. Which, of course, his life was currently anything but normal.

Cyoria’s Royal Academy was finally reopening. Classes officially resumed today, and Zorian had mixed feelings about it. Though he was hesitant at first, he had grown to quite enjoy the study group he’d organized for his classmates. The invasion had really set fire to their motivation, and that fuel was pushing them further than Zorian thought was possible. Most surprising was Akoja. He never would have suspected she had any interest in combat magic, but now she seemed obsessed. Maybe possessed? Whatever. Her single minded determination to learn how to fight was, honestly, kind of jarring. She hadn’t suddenly become a different person, but the invasion had most definitely changed her.

Zorian was also surprised to find out he was a fairly good teacher. He had a knack for deducing peoples deficiencies when it came to magic. He was also good at recommending shaping exercises for people to maximize their growth and expand their capabilities. He couldn’t take all the credit of course, since Xvim was still far more experienced than he was and always gave excellent, if overly critical, advice.

Now that classes had resumed, he doubted his classmates would need his help as much. Though, considering his most recent batch of students, he did appreciate the extra free time. He’d been having trouble keeping up with all his tasks recently, so when the Matriarch asked him to teach four Aranea human magic, he’d been a little overwhelmed. Adapting and teaching human magic for the Aranea was no easy feat. If not for the Matriarchs expertise in the subject, he doubted he would have been up to the task.

So far he had only taught a single Aranea, and only a single spell. One that had already been adapted and they were familiar with. The Matriarch thought it would be the best way to ease Zorian into his new role as a teacher, giving him a proven spell that any Aranea could learn with relative ease. His first Aranean student proved more than capable, if a little difficult for Zorian to teach. He appreciated the Matriarchs concerns, starting him off easy. It was a lot to get accustomed too.

The Aranea in question was currently making good use of her new spell as she walked beside Zorian. He had to admit, it was quite the novel experience. He apologized to himself for the terrible joke, but it was just too easy.

His new student was of course, Enthusiastic Seeker of Novelty, and today was her first day attending classes at the Cyoria Royal Academy. Needless to say, she was beyond excited at this new opportunity.

As they walked down the street towards the Academy, Novelty happily chatted away with Tinami. It wasn’t surprising that they had become fast friends. Novelty was obsessed with all things related to humans. Tinami loved spiders and was the heir to a noble family famous for their mind magic. Their friendship was inevitable.

“So, Zorian, what do you think? How is it going so far? The Matriarch wont tell me anything, even though I ask and ask she just ignores me or even tells me ‘It is going as expected’ but I don’t even know what to expect so how can I know how its going?” Novelty said, and Zorian returned his attention to the conversation.

“The talks are going…” Zorian sighed heavily. “Well?” He shook his head. “I don’t know, its hard to say. Everything is just moving so slowly. I know I agreed to become an ambassador, but politics is very new to me. I feel like I’ve been thrown into deep water before I learned to swim.”

“Is it… that bad?” Novelty said. She seemed to withdraw into herself, making her look uncharacteristically gloomy. “Do most humans really... hate us?”

Zorian couldn’t blame her for her fears. Even now, as they calmly walked down the street in broad daylight, peoples reactions were… less than encouraging. Not everyone was scared, several people even looked curious, but most people gave them more than a wide berth. Some even cast a quick mind shield the moment they saw the little group. In the end, that was the true problem.

“No Novelty, its not that bad. Things were going extremely well until a couple weeks ago. I think people are willing to accept the Aranea as a part of the city. There’s just one big problem.”

Tinami gave Zorian a knowing glance, though she certainly didn’t look happy about it. “Mind magic?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

“Exactly. After everything that happened after the invasion, people have become paranoid to the extreme where mind magic is concerned.” Zorian said, feeling slightly defeated. This was doubly inconvenient for him, since everyone knowing he’s a natural mind mage made it that much more difficult to keep his head down. Having even more people interested in him was the last thing he needed at the moment. “Its not just the Aranea, either. When people realize I’m a mind mage, they usually look fearful, or even angry.”

“For my family too,” Tinami said. “We are house Aope, so everyone knows we are mind mages. There has always been some trepidation towards us, yet it has grown so much so quickly. Even some of our long term allies have been... so cold recently in their interactions with us. And the worst part is, I can hardly blame them. To think some madman created a network of sigils across the entire city. He could have used it at anytime to dive into peoples minds, taking their memories, dominating their wills. Even my family was horrified. Such a display of power, with so little restraint. For one person to have such control over the city, it’s truly terrifying,” she shuddered. “It’s such a relief they were found and destroyed before they could be used.”

Zorian felt a pang of guilt. Not about the situation at large. Zach’s life was worth far more than that. He felt guilty for inadvertently bringing down so much scrutiny on his fellow mind mages. But what was done was done, which oddly enough, was a strange experience for Zorian. He was thankful for his return to linear time, but two months was hardly enough to perfectly acclimate himself.

“Its really making my job as ambassador a struggle. Us mind mages have a lot of work to do if we want people to start trusting us again.”

Both Novelty and Tinami gave him a wary look. Well, for Novelty it was more her body language, but he’d interacted enough with the Aranea that it was basically the same thing to him.

“No, no. That’s totally not what I meant. I wasn’t suggesting attacking more people with mind magic, that’s just absurd. Give me more credit than that. I want to find a solution to the problem, not escalate it.” He was actually a little wounded that they jumped to that conclusion. Even his fellow mind mages feared him, people he knew and were friendly with. It was a sobering thought, especially since Tinami at least didn’t know he was the madman she was terrified of.

“Sorry, Zorian, your just…” she trailed off, as if she didn’t quite know how to put her feelings towards him into words. She seemed to struggle with herself before she forced the words out in a rush. “Your just so intense.”

Zorian couldn’t help but laugh. Of all the things Tinami could have said, he wasn’t expecting that.

“That’s it that’s it, I couldn’t put my leg on it before but now that you say it it fits him perfectly he is so intense,” Novelty said, to Zorians shock. “Its like he is ready and able to kill you at a moments notice with hardly any effort at all.”

This time, it was Tinami who burst into laughter. “Novelty, you have such an imagination. Zorian is just a student like me. Hes really good at shaping,” she gave Zorian a searching look. “Maybe even a little too good. But hes no combat mage. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if I could beat him, if neither of us used mind magic of course.” She gave him an apologetic yet unrepentant look.

“A mere citizen like myself couldn’t possibly hope to compete against a member of the most noble house of Aope,” Zorian said dryly. Tinami just rolled her eyes.

“Fine, intense was the wrong word. Its just, hmm. Its hard to explain. Your different than you were last year. You used to be, pretty awkward. Sorry, I’m not trying to be mean, but you were. But its more than just you losing that. Its like your as confident now as you were awkward then.” She laughed at herself. “Gods that sounds so silly, but still. That’s a big change for only a couple months time. And it happened after you started learning your mind magic…”

“Actually,” Zorian said, “that’s easy. And you’re right. Its because of my mind magic. But not the way your thinking. It was more about my empathy than anything.”

“Oh, it makes so much sense,” she said, lightly smacking her forehead. “You told me before that your empathy was so strong it was painful. I should have connected the dots. Realized gaining control of it not only takes away the negative, it gives you an advantage once you learned to control it.” She seemed relieved at the realization, and Zorian was even more so.

He immediately jumped at the opportunity this presented. “Could I ask you a favor?”

Tinami nodded at him curiously.

“If anyone asks you why I seem so different, could you explain all this?” She raised an eyebrow. He rushed to explain. “Its just that no one actually comes up to me and asks… but they know we’ve been working together with the Aranea, so someones bound to bring it up. Best to stop all the rumors before they get out of hand. Can I count on you?” He asked hopefully.

“Fine, that’s easy enough. It’s probably in the best interest of my house anyways. If people keep thinking you changed so drastically because you can read peoples minds or worse, it will just cause more problems for all mind mages.”

“Thanks, your a life saver,” Zorian said, and maybe not even just figuratively, he thought.

Novelty, content to watch the people around them as Zorian and Tinami talked, had obviously reached the end of her very small amount of patience. “Ok, so if we are not just going to mind wipe people left and right then what else can we do? You can not just leave me hanging like that saying us mind mages have a lot of work to do without properly explaining yourself. I must know so that I can help in whatever way I can,” she said, sounding very determined.

“I, can’t,” Zorian said regretfully. “I have the start of a plan, but its only half baked at the moment. There are a few people I need to consult with before putting it into motion. And I don’t want to get your hopes up if it turns out to be dead on arrival.” Before Novelty could feel too let down he added, “but your one of the people I’ll need to consult with, so you’ll know soon enough.” He winked at her.

“Are you okay?” Novelty asked seriously. “Is there something wrong with your eye? I heard before that human eyes are very sensitive and stuff will get stuck in that silly flap thingy that closes your eyes but that sounds so super annoying.” Tinami just laughed, and before Zorian could say anything, they heard shouting from up ahead. They were nearly to the academy now. Zorian had no idea what could be causing all the commotion. He had a bad feeling though, and it only grew worse the closer they got to the academy.

A moderately large crowd had gathered near the entrance of the school. It was a diverse crowd, with no obvious theme among its participants. Except for one common trait. They were all, very, angry. And it didn’t take a mind reader to know what they were angry about. They shouted it at the top of their lungs.

“Arrest the mind mages,” screeched a middle aged woman near the front of the crowd. She looked like a stereotypical librarian. But her mousy, serious face was twisted in anger. Her hair, which must have once been secured tightly in a severe bun, now flopped loosely about her head as she shouted.

“Don’t trust the mind benders,” a man bellowed from somewhere in the crowd.

“They’ll take our thoughts if they aren’t stopped,” an old lady shouted at the far end of the group. Several people shouted their agreement, which seemed to egg the old lady on. She used a gnarled old walking stick to punctuate her words. “They’ll steal our very minds if we don’t fight back.” The whole group roared, an incomprehensible barrage of agreement with the old lady, or condemnation of all mind mages. This was far worse than Zorian had feared. And they had yet to notice the small group of mind mages headed straight towards them. Perfect. This was going to be delightful.

As he suspected, it only took a moment before they were spotted. He couldn’t be sure, but it might have had something to do with the giant spider walking between him and Tinami. Maybe. Just a wild guess.

Upon seeing the spider and correctly, if a little unfairly, assuming Zorian and Tinami to also be mind mages, their rage took on a whole new dimension. They began screaming as loud and as fast as they could, their bodies becoming more animated as if fueled by the rage. However, it became obvious pretty quickly that this group was not here for violence. Well, not immediately so. He was sure they would take any chance to vent their rage if they thought they could get away with it. Protesting was legal in Cyoria, so situations like this were not exactly uncommon. Though this one seemed far more incensed than others he’d witnessed. The academy guards had just been watching the crowd with mild disinterest, but quickly rushed in to clear a path to the entrance.

Zorians group wasted no time getting into the academy. They fled from the anger. They fled from the hatred. Zorian fled, but he couldn’t escape his growing fear.

Chapter Text

“Well, that was unpleasant,” Tinami said lightly. They had been walking through the halls in silence, each absorbed in their own thoughts. Even Novelty was being unusually restrained. It made Zorian a little suspicious. Maybe she was just on her best behavior, trying not to ruin her chances for a return visit.

“Oh my gosh yes that was so crazy, you humans can be so frightening when your so angry and so many of you I thought for sure I was going to be smooshed,” Novelty said, walking sideways so she could look at Tinami while she spoke. “Those humans really, really hate mind magic…” She resumed walking normally, her front legs drooping slightly. Zorian hoped, if only for Noveltys sake, that today would take a turn for the better.

They arrived at their classroom, a full twenty minutes early in fact. This was on purpose, of course, as Zorian would never be quite that punctual otherwise. Ten minutes was plenty early enough in his book. Anyways, they were early because Zorian had come to a decision earlier in the month. Starting today, he was officially the new class representative. With all the wonder and joy that came with it. He was already beginning to regret his choices in life, and he hadn’t even started yet.

As he entered the classroom he was surprised to see Akoja sitting in a seat. Well, he wasn’t surprised to see Akoja, even this early. What did surprise him was that she wasn’t in her usual spot, at the front of the class. She was sitting in the back row. Strange, but whatever.

After his brief shock subsided, he really took notice of the shy bespectacled girl. She was nervous, tense even. She was staring at something ahead of her absentmindedly. She looked, conflicted. He followed her gaze, realization dawning, and quickly sent a telepathic message to his two companions to wait in the hall for a moment.

“Good morning Ako,” he said, trying his best to sound upbeat and cheerful, despite him honestly feeling anything but. She looked up in surprise, apparently so focused on one of the desks in the front row of the class she hadn’t noticed him enter. “I’m surprised to see you at the back of the class. I don’t think I’ve seen you sit anywhere but the front row.” He smiled to make sure she knew he was just joking. She blushed and looked away, a slight smile on her face, but it vanished when she glanced back to the front row, and one particular desk. It was a rather unusual desk.

“I-” She began, but Zorian cut her off.

“I’m guessing you’re… not the biggest fan of spiders?” he said, as if taking a wild guess.

Unfortunately, her eyes widened at him correctly guessing the issue, and then began darting between him and the open door. She was a smart girl, and since she obviously knew they would be having an Aranean guest today, it hadn’t taken her long to realize who would be escorting said arachnid visitor to the classroom. The Aranean Ambassador, of course. He walked over to kneel beside her desk. “It’s okay Ako. You have nothing to worry about. I promise, she wont hurt you. In fact, shes here specifically to make friends. To show everyone that they don’t need to be afraid,” he realized that a few words weren’t going to suddenly help her overcome her fear, but one step at a time.

Tinami peaked in through the door, giving Akoja a radiant smile and a thumbs up, helping Zorian out as best she could.

“She?” Akoja asked tentatively.

Zorian wasn’t quite sure what she meant, and it clearly showed on his face because Akoja explained.

“It.. the spid... I mean, the Aranea. Its, a she?” she asked tentatively.

Zorian chuckled “Well, yes. In fact, all of the sapient Aranea are female. The males are, pretty dumb, actually. And fairly aggressive. But nothing to worry about,” he added quickly, “they stay way down in the tunnels of the dungeon. Far away from humans.”

“They’re all girls?” she was surprised, but also, reassured? Her emotions were strong right now, and complex. She was definitely still afraid, just not so much as before. Something else had taken its place. Resolve, maybe? As if to confirm this, Akoja nodded to herself then spoke clearly, if a bit timidly, towards the door. “You can come in now.”

Novelty rushed through the doorway, a little quicker than Zorian would have advised. It startled Akoja, who began to tense up again. Zorian was not surprised, as Novelty had far too much energy and curiosity for her own good.

“Hello friend of Zorian, I am so glad to meet you. Zorian said that humans think I am scary looking but I assured him that humans like small furry creatures like me and that everyone will love me because I am so awesome. Oh, my name is Novelty, whats your name? My manners are so terrible when I’m excited and I am super excited to meet so many new humans. Today is the best day ever,” she finished, as if she had won some grand prize.

“Oh, wow, your very…” Akoja looked utterly bewildered to be talking to a spider. She shook her head again. “I’m sorry. My name is Akoja Stroze. Its very, nice to meet you?” Zorian commended her for her effort, but ending that last bit as a question ruined it just a little. Novelty either didn’t notice, or pretended not too.

“See Zorian. I told you so. Everyone will love me because I am so awesome. You were so wrong, no one is going to be afraid of me because I am a spider,” she said, as if the very idea was absurd.

“Actually I, am afraid of spiders.” The room went silent for a few moments. Zorian was pretty sure the person most surprised at the admission was Akoja, even though the words came directly from her own mouth. Zorian wondered why in the world she would say such a thing. Wait… Had she been, defending him? Probably not. Anyway, it took Novelty a couple more seconds to process this information. As she did, she slowly deflated, her arms drawing in closer to her body.

“Oh… I’m sorry...” Novelty said. She sounded defeated, like all her hopes and dreams had been crushed in one fell swoop. Zorian could feel her disappointment, and he wanted to comfort her, but he decided to wait. Akoja was no empath, but sadness is, for the most part, universal. The evidence that Novelty had been crushed by her words was not lost on Akoja. She obviously hadn’t been trying to hurt Novelty’s feelings, though she might have just been surprised that a spider could have feelings.

“No, its not your fault,” Akoja said in a rush, as if she needed to get the words out. “Its just, when I was really little, I got bitten by a spider. Its one of my earliest memories, and it was horrible. It hurt so bad, and I got really sick. My parents said that I almost died. I’ve been terrified of spiders ever since.”

“Those, little, jerks,” Novelty said. “They give us Aranea a bad name. They are so small and weak and stupid they just bite anything they can get their fangs into. Male Aranea are like that too. Small and weak and stupid. But we keep control over our males, as is proper. You human females could learn a lot from us and keep better control of your males. Especially Zorian here. If your not careful he’ll probably go do something stupid again.”

Akoja gave him an incredulous look. “Do something stupid?” she asked. “Again?”

Zorian cleared his throat loadly. “Look at the time, gotta get to those class rep duties right away. You ladies have fun,” he quickly exited the conversation before it could escalate. He grabbed the clipboard so he could mark off attendance. He’d almost made it to the door when he remembered something important. “Oh Novelty, I almost forgot. Let me show you to your desk. I think it might be a good idea for you to stay there while the rest of the class arrives, just in case we have any reactions similar to Akoja’s.”

“That is fine with me and I even get my own desk?” she was excited at the prospect, but she had no idea. Since it was only a few meters away, she didn’t have to wait long. He presented it to her in all its glory. For once, Novelty was speechless. Zorian would have to ask the Matriarch to see if that was a first.

But only for a moment. “Oh my gosh this is incredible did you make this just for me I cant believe it it is so perfect.” she quickly crawled up and claimed her new throne. Zorian was proud of this particular achievement. He had worked hard with the other Aranea to come up with this design. The worlds first chair designed specifically for an Aranea. This was tricky since spiders can’t really sit. They don’t even really rest their thorax on anything. All they really need are leg supports. This is further complicated by the fact that Aranea can’t turn their head to look in different directions. They need to be able to turn their entire body fully in any direction, and then have leg support so they can stay in that position as long as needed. Eventually, he managed all of this, and in a way that Novelty would be able to feel like a real part of the class.

She spun around in a full circle, taking in the classroom. She was more than a meter higher up than her usual perspective, and was thoroughly enjoying her new vantage point. Tinami approached and took the seat beside her.

“Novelty, I’m going to leave you with Tinami for now while I check the rest of the class in. You be on your best behavior. Just be patient for another fifteen minutes until class starts.”

“Yes I will be very patient, I am so excited to see a human magic class in action. But… I have no idea what a minutes is. Aranea don’t use silly human time measurement.”

“I can teach you about silly human time measurement,” Tinami said, saving Zorian from having to explain. He left them to it.

The next fifteen minutes went smoothly, except for two minor hurdles. The first came in the form of a small orange winged reptilian creature, sleeping in the arms of a young man. Zorian had somehow forgotten to account for the little fire drake when helping to organize Novelty’s visit. He really hoped this wouldn’t cause any problems.

“Morning Zorian,” Briam said as he approached. “It’s been a while.”

“Hi, Briam,” Zorian said, keeping a wary eye on the fire drake. Trogmar? Yeah, that was its name. “How’s Trogmar?” The fire drake woke up long enough to give Zorian a suspicious look before returning to his rest.

“Oh, hes doing great. We’re quite a team now, have you heard? We even helped out a little during the invasion. Held off a pack of winter wolves, basically by ourselves. Our squad captain said he was very impressed.” Zorian could feel his pride at the accomplishment.

Zorian patted him on the shoulder, “Congratulations Briam,” Trogmar became alert again when Zorian touched Briam, and began a low rumbling growl. “Oh, you too Trogmar.” This comment did not soothe the beast.

Briam continued into the classroom, not paying attention to where he was going. He made his way to his usual seat, doing his best to calm Trogmar down once more. He didn’t realize his usual seat was directly behind Novelty, until he had already sat down and looked up to see her facing him. Luckily he didn’t freak out and overreact, but he certainly tensed up. Its not every day you come face to face with a giant spider during class.

“You have a little dragon that is so cool. It is tiny and cute and I want one. That would be amazing if I had my own dragon, the other webs would never dare to fight us.”

Trogmar had come to attention when he felt Briam tense up. Zorian had his mind magic at the ready. He was trying not to use it aggressively these days, but he had no issue calming the mind of a beast to prevent violence. Trogmar gave Novelty a suspicious look, similar to the one he had given Zorian, then stretched forward and sniffed once. He pulled back, blew the smallest bit of flame from his nostrils, then settled down in Briams lap to doze off once more. Zorian, who hadn’t needed to intervene, had been observing the drakes thoughts. The scent of Aranea had been, familiar to it. Apparently, it was not uncommon in Cyoria, as the Aranea move around the city secretly all the time. Trogmar had decided that this potential threat only required a small warning to keep at bay.

“Oh my gosh it can breath fire, that is incredible it totally is a tiny baby dragon. It is adorable,” Novelty said longingly. She reached towards Trogmar for a second, then thought better of it and withdrew her leg.

“He’s not a dragon, hes a fire drake,” Briam said proudly. The topic had turned to fire drakes, so Briam was in his element. He obviously didn’t care who he was talking to, as long as it was about his favorite subject.

Hurdle number two was far less potentially dangerous, yet far more annoying.

“Zorian, my friend. It’s been an age. I’ve been back in Cyoria for almost a month, yet I’ve only seen you once, the day I arrived. It’s almost like you’ve been avoiding me,” Benisek said. Zorian, who in fact had been avoiding his old friend, felt just a little guilty. It wasn’t entirely Benisek’s fault. He just had no filter when it came to juicy gossip. The last thing Zorian needed was more attention, so he’d kept his distance.

“Sorry Ben, I just haven’t-”

“I’m just joking, Zorian. Word is you’ve been busy. Far too busy for an old friend like me. Your an Ambassador now. I never would have guessed it from a guy like you. For a nation of giant spiders no less. One little invasion and this city goes entirely insane. Who’d have thought? Did they really teach you mind magic?”

“They did. I didn’t even know I was a natural mind mage before they told me. They helped me out a lot, so I owed them. That’s why I agreed to become their Ambassador.”

Benisek gave him a considering look. Zorian couldn’t feel any fear from him. Instead, he could sense trust from his old friend, which surprised him quite a bit. Benisek leaned in so he could whisper to Zorian.

“Well, I should warn you then. There have been whispers spreading across the city of some new cult. Nothing concrete yet, but the rumors aren’t good. They’re recruiting heavily, but they only want people who hate mind magic. At least, if you show even a neutral stance towards mind magic, they shut down completely and wont have anything to do with you. Thought you should know. These kinds of groups are never up to any good.”

“That’s, disturbing news. Thanks for the heads up,” Zorian thought that was a serious understatement, but didn’t want to get into that with Benisek. He needed to process that for a while.

“Of course, don’t mention it,” Benisek said, his voice returning to its normal if overly loud volume. “What are friends for? And I’ve heard things haven’t been all that bad for ya either,” he wiggled his eyebrows at Zorian knowingly.

“Ben, I have no idea what your talking about,” Zorian said truthfully.

“I heard you’ve been spending quite a bit of time with Tinami recently,” he said suggestively, elbowing Zorian in the ribs playfully a couple times, which Zorian did not appreciate. “Lucky dog.”

Tinami, who was several meters away and could easily hear everything Benisek was saying, scoffed loudly. Zorian thought this reaction was both rude and uncalled for. Really? Was the very idea of a relationship with him that revolting? It wasn’t even like he had shown any real interest in her that way. He did think she was the most beautiful girl in their class, but that was beside the point. He wasn’t the kind of guy to build a relationship on something as shallow as appearance. If he was honest with himself, that was probably the main thing that kept him from pursuing romance during the time loop. Hard to build a meaningful connection with someone when they forget everything that happened at the end of the month.

Zorian shook his head, sighing heavily, “Ben… You, are an idiot.”

“Zorian, you wound me. How could you be so cruel to your oldest friend? At least tell me the secret of how your getting all the most beautiful girls in class to hang out with you. It must be a good one,” he laughed at the flat glare Zorian was giving him. Another student had just arrived, waiting for Benisek to clear the doorway. “Fine, I’ll let you off the hook for now, but we should hang out after class some time. Lots of catching up to do. Gotta tell me all about the giant spiders too. I’ve never met one, ya know.”

Zorian gave him a mildly menacing grin. “Well, today’s your lucky day,” he gestured towards Novelty, who had been quietly listening and observing the people around her. She waved one of her legs towards Benisek, who waved back, seemingly on pure reflex. Zorain had felt his spike of fear when he saw the Aranea, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as Akoja. He decided to have mercy on his friend. He had just warned him about this new cult after all. Zorian placed a reassuring hand on Benisek’s shoulder. “It’s alright, Ben. She’s very friendly. Honestly, a little too friendly sometimes. You can sit in the back if that makes you more comfortable. She’ll stay up front.” Benisek nodded and slowly made his way to the back of the class, never taking his eyes off of Novelty.

The last student to arrive was Kael. They nodded to each other in greeting, having seen each other earlier in the morning. Zorian did still wonder what the Morlock boy was doing, now that he had his research notes from the time loop. He needed to have another conversation with him. He’d subtly hinted to Kael that releasing too much too fast could have unfortunate consequences. Hopefully he had taken it to heart.

His current duties as class representative done, he sat down at his desk, chatting away the last few minutes before class.

Ms. Zileti arrived precisely on time. “Good morning class, and welcome back to essential invocations. Some of you I have seen quite often during our unofficial vacation, but I am very glad to see the rest of you here today. As you may have noticed, the class has shrunk considerable since you last attended. Raynie and Zach will be unable to attend classes at this time, but assure me they will return when their schedules allow. Unfortunately, Elsi, Jade, Maya, Iroro, Aneka, and Armie have been officially pulled from Cyoria Royal Academy to attend alternative schools of magic across the country. Still, It heartens me to see so many of you chose to remain and continue your education here.

“As I’m sure everyone has also noticed, we have a guest attending class with you today,” she looked to Novelty with a bright smile before asking, “Would you like to come to the front of the class and introduce yourself?” Zorian was glad he had introduced the two before this. Ms. Zileti was far more relaxed now than she had been at the beginning of their first meeting.

“Oh yes, very much,” Novelty said as she scrambled off her desk. She considered for a second, before climbing on top of Ms. Zileti’s desk so she would be closer to eye level with the rest of the class. Ilsa’s eyes widened for a moment before shaking her head and giving a little shrug.

“Hello everyone it is so great to meet you, my name is Enthusiastic Seeker of Novelty but you can call me Novelty. You humans don’t like super long names and you even shorten your own so I don’t mind. I know some people find us Aranea to be scary, but we are really smart and not like those tiny stupid little jerk spiders who will bite you for no reason. Aranea only fight humans who attack us first and we don’t even like to do that because you humans have crazy strong scary magic. But we should be friends instead because I think humans are super cool. You guys build all this awesome stuff and it is so useful to you. Even simple things like this,” she jumped off the desk and went over to the closed door. “The door stays closed unless you turn this knobby thing,” she reached up and managed to turn the knob. Zorian was impressed. She swung the door back and forth a bit. “And it moves so easily and smooth,” she moved to inspect the hinges of the door. “I don’t even know how these work but it is amazing. You can even make it bright as day inside in the middle of the night.” To everyones surprise, including Zorians, Novelty quickly climbed up the wall and across the ceiling to the light source illuminating the room. This of course startled nearly everyone. “How do you even trap the light inside of this thing?” Novelty continued, oblivious to the humans discomfort.

Ms. Zileti cleared her throat, “Excuse me, Ms. Novelty, I can see that you have earned your name, but we don’t normally allow students to, um… walk on the ceiling. Would you mind returning to your seat?”

“I am sorry Ms. Teacher I am just so excited,” Novelty said. Then, instead of going back towards the wall to climb down, she went to the spot directly above her desk and slowly lowered herself down with a line of web.

Zorian saw Tinami was barely able to contain her mirth. He could only bury his face in his hands at the spectacle.

“Well that’s something you don’t see every day,” Ms. Zileti mused. “Okay class, time to get to business. We are just going to work on some basic exercises today, and I even have a couple for you Novelty.”

Class was fairly normal after that, but Zorian was impatient for it to end. He needed to talk to Xvim, and ask him about his half baked plan.

Chapter Text

Zorian could hardly believe how well the class had gone. Most people had grown fairly comfortable around Novelty by the end, and several stayed after class to properly introduce themselves. Kael had heard a lot about Novelty and was eager to finally get a chance to meet her. Sadly, Akoja left as soon as the class ended, but Benisek stayed to introduce himself, though he kept his distance.

He needed to get to his meeting with Xvim, so he left Novelty with Tinami. Novelty would start teaching Tinami mind magic today. It was part of the deal the Aope family arranged with the Aranea.

He knocked upon arriving at his mentors door, and entered at the old mans invitation.

“It is good to see you, Mr. Kazinski. I was not sure if you would still be attending these meetings,” he said.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Zorian asked. “I need to keep up appearances, so keeping to a normal routine is crutial. That’s why I kept most of my normal classes this year. If I take the most advanced classes I can, it’s going to draw attention. Most of them would be boring anyways. I’ve been considering a solution to that, but that can wait. I need to talk to you about something.”

Xvim nodded for him to continue.

“Have you heard, or seen I guess, the recent outrage over mind magic?”

“Yes, I have. It would have been hard to miss. They were blocking the entrance to the school. It is, disturbing, but not surprising. Most people,” he gave Zorian a pointed look, “do not take it well, when they know someone has such easy access to their mind.”

“I-,” Zorian began.

Xvim held out his hand to stop him, “It is fine. I made my choice. The loss was worth the gain. But you must understand. This is the result of your actions, no matter your intentions. I am not condemning you. Far from it. What you achieved was practically a miracle. Still, it was extremely powerful, dangerous magic. What you created was capable of reaching into the minds of anyone in the city. People fear it will be turned against them, with malicious purpose. You are a terrifying individual, Mr. Kazinski. I fear your power, and I am a powerful mage.”

This conversation was not helping Zorians mood. And he had been feeling so good after his first class. Of course it wouldn’t last. But then, Xvim continued.

“However, I do not fear you,” he said firmly.

Zorian looked up at him in surprise and confusion. “Isn’t that kind of… the opposite of what you just said?”

“Oh, I do fear your power. But I do not judge you for that. I have seen your actions. You have proven to be an honorable man. I consider what you have done to be important, not what you could do.”

“Thanks,” Zorian said, “I needed to hear that. I know that my actions caused this recent crisis, and I plan on doing whatever I can to restore the peace. That’s what I need to talk to you about. I, kind of have a plan. It might be doomed to fail, but I think its worth a shot. I want to write a book about mind magic.”

Xvims eyebrows narrowed thoughtfully. “That would be extremely difficult to get published, and possibly counter productive. I do not see how making mind magic easier to learn would help calm the populace. Most citizens are not mages, and would not be able to learn, even if they wanted to.”

Zorian removed a small notebook from his pocket, arranging it so Xvim could read the cover. It was titled, a Mind Mages guide to Mind Magic; Volume 1: Defense.

“That is a clever idea, Mr. Kazinski,” he said as he nodded to himself. “A clever idea, indeed. Teach them to defend themselves, so they no longer need to be afraid. It could work. I must ask, will this not make things… more difficult for you in the future?”

Zorian swiped his had through the air, as if brushing the idea aside. “I’m not worried about that. As a mind mage, I’m very away of the damage I can do, and the need to protect yourself. I’m not the only mind mage around, if this can help protect people, I’m all for it. If it helps reduce the fear of mind magic, even better.”

“You have put a lot of thought in to this. That is good. So, tell me, how do you see this going? You will write this book yourself?”

“Yes, and no,” Zorian said. “I will include my own mental defenses. In fact, I’m planning on including multiple iterations of my mind shield, from beginner to master. That way its available for anyone to learn. But I think it needs to go further than that.”

“Hmm, always the ambitious one,” Xvim mused.

“I am, and it is. Its become apparent to me that nobody learns magic in the same way. It’s just not how it works. One practice method is perfect for one person, and terrible for the next. Every individual is different, and there’s no one size fits all when it comes to magic.”

Xvim was quiet for a time, considering. “I had not considered that, but there is much truth in what you say.”

“So my plan is to seek out my fellow mind mages and, well, ask them to contribute. Which I fear is not going to be as easy as I hope.”

“No, that’s no simple task. Mages guard their secrets jealously. Mind mages more than most. I do not envy you your task.”

“It’s going to be an uphill battle, I’m aware of that, but I’m not groping around blindly in the dark. I have some... promising prospects.”

Xvim motioned for him to continue.

“I know a detective in the police department. I helped him out before the invasion, so I was going to see if he could return the favor. Maybe arrange a meeting with some of the mind mages working with the police. Bounce the idea off them to see what they think.”

“That is a good first move. The police would add a measure of credibility and respect to your project.”

“That was my line of reasoning as well. And while it might be a long shot, I figure its worth a shot to ask Tinami to bring this up with her house. If I can get house Aope on board, then this plan could actually work. Still, my hopes of that happening aren’t very high.”

“Nobles guard their secrets most jealously of all. However, it is, as you said, worth a shot. So far, I do not see how I can help in this, besides pointing out one flaw,” Xvim said.

“Oh, I’ll definitely need your help, but we can get to that after you tell me about this flaw.”

“As I said before, most citizens can not use magic. Without magic, this book will be useless to them. Nothing will change for them.”

“Ah, I did consider that,” he took out a long strip of cloth from his pocket, placing it beside the book so Xvim could see the spell formulae at the center.

“These are some impressive spell formulae. Unfortunately, this is not my area of expertise.”

“It’s a permanent mind ward. Just tie it on and it provides a moderate mental defense to the wearer. It’s powered by ambient mana, perfect for people who aren’t mages.”

“It is my understanding that items like this are not cheap to produce. Neither can they be made quickly. Have you already found a solution to these problems?” Xvim asked.

Zorian sighed. “No, and you’re right. On both counts,” he honestly didn’t want to admit to Xvim how much that single ward had cost to make. “That one is just a prototype, so I’m sure I can get the cost down eventually. Manufacturing them is beyond me though. Cyoria is just too big.”

“You have much to think about. For now, tell me how I can help.”

“You know I’m trying to hide the full extent of my abilities,” Xvim nodded. “I just don’t think that’s possible if I plan on including my own mind shield. At least not the more advanced parts. It just doesn’t fit my supposed level of skill. Unless, I didn’t manage it on my own. Instead, say, if I had been working on this project with my mentor, a man known for his extensive knowledge in all forms of magical defense. Then it wouldn’t seem like I’m more skilled than I should be. I just had a master to help me along.”

“You must have been planning this for a while. It is a solid plan. The most important thing you can do is to gain more support. Contact these mind mages. I will see if anyone I know will contribute as well. Now, you have a lot of work to do. You better get started.”

Chapter Text

Zorian couldn’t believe how hard it was pretending to be bad at magic. He’d spent so long perfecting it, under-preforming went against all his instincts. And yet, he had signed up for this himself. He had no one else to blame. Except maybe the gods? They definitely had a hand in the whole time loop thing, he was sure of it. Anyways, he was finally free from classes for the day.

While he had a lot of work to do, today he had to head straight home. It was his turn to watch Kirielle, as Imaya had errands to run. Not a big deal. In fact, it gave him the perfect opportunity to do something he’d wanted to do again for a very long time. Introduce Kirielle to Novelty. Novelty, who had left the academy after her lesson with Tinami, would meet him at Imaya’s.

Zorian had been walking for a few minutes. He knew this part of the city like the back of his hand, so he’d been cutting through side streets and alleys, taking the quickest route to Imaya’s. Because of this, he soon realized he was being followed. He sighed to himself. This was the last thing he needed right now.

Going through his options, he discarded a few straight off. No, he was not going to use mind magic to make the problem go away. All that would do is create more problems in the future. He did gently try to probe the surface thoughts of his pursuer, to see how hostile they were. The mind shield he encountered was a strong one. At least he could be fairly certain this person wasn’t from the crowd of angry protesters. None of their minds had been shielded.

Fighting would be an even worse option. It wasn’t a question of if he could win. There weren’t many mages in Cyoria who could beat him in a straight fight. But the attention a fight like that would draw was unacceptable.

Imaya’s house was close. He could easily get there before his pursuer, but that could bring his friends and family into his problems. Nope. Not going to happen.

He glanced towards a few small alleys nearby. If he dashed down one of those, he could quickly teleport to Imaya’s. This option had its drawbacks as well. If he randomly disappeared down an alley, where teleportation shouldn’t be possible, it would only start more rumors. Making the person following even more suspicious of him.

The last option was probably his least favorite, but in the end it was his best choice. Confront the person before reaching Imaya’s. Gods he hoped this wouldn’t take too long. He’d never hear the end of it if he was late.

Zorian knew a nice spot ahead, a little out of the way of Imaya’s, but perfect for what he needed. He didn’t rush, casually strolling along as he made his way. When he arrived at his destination, he was happy to find only a few people there. It was a peaceful little rest area, bordered by hedges to give a modicum of privacy. Several benches lined the perimeter, all facing a small decorative fountain that burbled away at the center.

There was an old lady on one side, feeding a group of pigeons that had gathered around her. Two middle aged women chatted away together, while two girls a little younger than Kirielle played with dolls on another bench nearby.

Zorian chose the bench furthest away from other people, and settled down to wait. He grabbed a book from his bag, trying not to make it too obvious he’d known someone was following him.

It only took a couple minutes for his pursuer to arrive. Zorian watched the approach in his peripheral vision, not recognizing the man. He continued to pretend to read, kind of hoping the man would just leave.

“Zorian Kazinski?”

Zorian looked up at the man, feigning surprise. “Yes, that’s me. Can I help you?”

The man laughed. “Ha, you’re good kid. But you’re a terrible actor.”

Zorian deflated, narrowing his eyes at the man. So much for pretending. He put his hands up in mock surrender. “You got me. But seriously, how can I help you? Or more importantly, why were you following me?” Might as well get straight to business.

“I’m Agent Straus. I work for the Cyoria Police Department Specialties Division. Your name keeps popping up, all around the city. Personally, I assumed your reputation had somehow gotten out of hand. Now that I’ve seen you in action… Your mind sense is impressive for someone your age. I have to wonder if maybe the rumors about you haven’t been exaggerated after all.”

“I’m not all that impressive,” Zorian said lamely. Another police officer. Perfect. If this took as long as it usually did, Imaya was not going to be happy with him. “My recent studies in mind magic have been focused on expanding my mind sense. With the recent attitude towards mind mages, I’ve been paying extra attention to my surroundings. Did you know there was an angry mob outside the Royal Academy this morning?”

“May I sit down?” Agent Straus asked politely, Zorian gesturing affirmation. “Yes, we’ve been keeping a close watch on groups like that,” he said as he took a seat. “My unit has a particular interest in them.”

“I actually wasn’t aware Cyoria had a Specialties Division.”

Straus nodded. “It’s exactly what it sounds like. People like me who don’t have a broad skill set, but are very good at what we do,” Straus said, a grin on his face.

“And your specialty would be… Mind magic, I assume.”

“Got it in one,” Straus said, chuckling to himself. “You’re a sharp kid.”

“Hmm. I’ve been curious for a while. What do you do for the police, exactly? As a mind mage, I mean.”

“Oh, you curious about a job with the police then?”

The look of horror on Zorians face told Straus everything he needed to know.

“I’m just joking with you, kid. It’s really not as bad as all that though. It’s a good gig. As for what we do? Pretty much what you would expect. Interrogations, of course. Counter espionage from time to time. We also accompany other units in the department if there’s any suspicion that mind magic is at play. Me though? I mostly look for kids like you.”

Zorian tried his best to keep any rising panic from showing on his face.

“You’re fine. You’re not in trouble. That’s not why I’m here,” he sighed heavily. “No, I’m here to try to keep you out of trouble.” He was quiet for a time before continuing. “When I was your age, I was always getting into trouble.”

Zorian was a bit shocked at the admission. “And you ended up becoming a cop?”

“You never know what the future has in store for you, kid. But yeah. The force is pretty good about giving second chances. It’s the third one you gotta worry about. Cause there isn’t one. I was in a bad situation, and I made a lot of bad choices. Then a man approached me. Well, he ambushed me really. Said I had to choose between two options. He’d turn me in for illegal use of mind magic. Or, I’d become his apprentice. The old school way. I was basically his servant. Still, it was the best thing that could have happened to me. He showed me a way I could use my magic to help people, instead of hurting them. Didn’t take me long to realize that helping people feels pretty good,” he gave Zorian a wink. “Now that I’m the old man, I figured I needed to return the favor. Do what I can to keep other dumb kids like me from digging themselves a hole deeper than they can climb out of.”

Zorian chuckled. “Old man? What are you, 30?” Straus could easily pass for twenty five, but Zorian was pretty sure he was older than he looked.

“Oh, close enough,” he waved it off.

“Well, I’m thankful for your concern. You really don’t need to worry about me though. Plenty of people in my life to keep me out of trouble.”

Straus nodded. “That’s good to hear. You seem like a good kid.” He stood up, apparently content to leave it at that. Zorian stood with him.

“It was good meeting you Mr. Kazinski,” he reached out his hand for Zorian to shake. “I’ll let you go now. Thanks for having this talk with me.”

“Actually, Agent Straus,” Zorian said before he could turn away. “Would it be possible to set up a meeting with you sometime soon?” he gave Zorian a curious look. “Not about what we’ve been talking about. It is mind magic related though.”

“I must say, you’ve peaked my interest,” he thought about it for a moment. “Sure. I’m booked this week, but I should have some free time next monday,” he handed Zorian a card. “Just stop by my office when you get out of class.”

“Thank you, Agent Straus. I’ll see you next week then,” Zorian pocketed the card, waved goodbye to Straus, and headed to Imaya’s.

He had to admit, Straus wasn’t half bad. He’d even managed to schedule his first consultation with a mind mage from the police department. Not bad at all.

When he arrived at Imaya’s, he didn’t enter right away. “Novelty, go wait by my window, and I’ll let you inside in a minute.”

“Fine Zorian, but you better not take too long cause you’re already late.”

He was just reaching for the door knob, when it began to turn. Zorian froze mid motion as Imaya opened the door.

“Zorian, you know I have errands to run today. Where have you been?”

“I-,” Zorian started.

“No. No time. I’m in a hurry. You just make sure to look after Kirielle. I’ll be back in a while to make supper,” brushing past him, she was gone just like that.

Zorian shrugged, making his way inside.

“Big brother, you’re home,” Kirielle shouted, rushing over to throw her arms around him.

“Gosh, hold on. You act like I’ve been gone a month. Whats up?”

“I’m bored,” she said. “Nochka got in trouble, so she can’t come over to play,” she looked up at him hopefully. “Would you tell me some more stories? The magic stories?”

He shook his head gently. “Not right now. There’s actually someone I want you to meet,” he started walking towards his room, Kirielle following behind.

“You want me to meet someone? Who?” she looked around, as if someone would suddenly appear.

“She’s gonna meet us in our room. And don’t worry, she might look a little scary, but she wont hurt you.”

Kirielle stopped, her eyes wide. “Is it… one of them?”

“Yes, she’s one of the Aranea. But its okay, shes really nice. I think you’ll like her a lot.”

“I don’t know… I don’t really like spiders…” she said, but she started walking again, if incredibly slowly.

Zorian went ahead of her to enter the room and open the window.

“Oh finally I feel like I’ve been waiting forever. You are so slow Zorian,” she said as she climbed through the window. She froze, looking at Kirielle who had just reached the door. “Oh my gosh its a tiny human,” she started to head towards his sister, but stopped when Kirielle took a step back.

Kirielle, who now had a sour look on her face, responded with mild anger. “I am not tiny. I’m bigger than you.”

“But you are so much smaller than Zorian, and he’s even smaller than a lot of other humans. I see, this is why you call her your little sister. It makes sense.”

“That is not why I’m his little sister. It’s because hes older than me, duh,” Kirielle said, sounding offended.

“I did not know that. Well, anyways. My name is Enthusiastic Seeker of Novelty, but you can call me Novelty. What’s your name?”

“Ki-Kirielle,” she said, suddenly shy.

“It is very good to meet you Kirielle. So, Zorian, what are we doing today? You said you had a plan, what is it?”

“Since I’m teaching both of you magic, I thought it would be a good way for the two of you to get to know each other. What do you think? Do you guys want to be classmates?”

Novelty was all for it. Kirielle shrugged, probably not sure how she felt about it.

“All right, lets give it a chance at least,” Zorian said.

“Yes yes yes, I am so excited to learn more magic,” Novelty said.

“Don’t get too excited Novelty,” Zorian said. “Today you’ll just be working on the exercises Ms. Zileti showed you earlier.”

“But those are so boring. Can’t we do some real magic?”

“I know, he never shows me how to do any of the fun stuff either,” Kirielle added helpfully.

“You,” Zorian pointed at Kirielle. “Think magic is all butterfly's and rainbows. And you,” he pointed at Novelty, “just want to blow stuff up. But you both have a long way to go before you’re ready for that. Learning magic is hard work. It takes a lot of time and effort, and a lot of the time it’s really boring. Are you guys sure you’re up to it?” Novelty bounced up and down in agreement, but Kirielle looked a little unsure. “Though, if you work really hard,” he waved his hand in the air, creating a dozen illusory butterfly’s, then after a moment he snapped his fingers and they exploded into iridescent flames. Illusions of course. He wasn’t going to actually explode things in the house. He wasn’t that crazy.

Kirielle clapped happily while Novelty bounced in place even faster.

“Good. Then class has officially begun.”

***

A few hours later, after what Zorian thought was a fairly good introduction and first class for Novelty and Kirielle, he found himself once again entertaining his little sister.

“Then, the great hero Sumrak urged forth his regal steed Princess. Together, they charged straight ahead, towards the terrible dragon mage and his two despicable apprentices. The dragons flew down from the heights of the castle. One of the dragon mages apprentices came right for Sumrak, but he was not afraid. As Princess surged forth, Sumrak cast a powerful spell. But the dragon was no normal foe. It blocked the spell, and counter attacked with an even fiercer spell of its own. Sumrak though, knew this to be a foolish mistake. For his noble steed Princess was no ordinary mount. For she, could teleport. In a flash, she was at the dragons side, and the fight was all but won. The victorious Sumrak was about to celebrate, when the ground shook beneath him…” he gave a serious look to Kirielle, who was staring at him with rapt attention. “To be continued…” he finished grandly. She looked at him blankly for a second, before exploding in exasperation.

“Thats no fair Zorian,” she whined. “You were just getting to the best part.”

“Got to save some of the story for next time.”

“You're no fun,” she complained. Zorian just chuckled. “I wish Sumrak was real...”

Zorian nodded absentmindedly, then stopped. Wait. Hold on a second. No, that couldn’t work. There was no way. But… Oh dear glorious sister, he thought, you are a genius.

The biggest shit-eating grin Zorian had ever had spread slowly across his face as he looked at Kirielle. “But didn’t you know dear sister? Sumrak is real.”

Chapter Text

“Faster, you lazy lump, pick up the pace,” the slave driver ordered. He did indeed pick up the pace, not wanting to suffer her wrath. “Come on you mangy mule. You call that running?”

Zorian ran. The sun beatting down upon him. His throat was dry, and sweat poured down his face. His muscles ached, his head throbbed with the steady rhythm of his footfalls. How had he gotten himself into this mess?

Zorian was relieved when their ruthless taskmaster fell back, yelling insults at the poor souls struggling behind him. He truly wondered what he had done to deserve this. Which gods had he angered? He was no saint, but what sin could he possibly have committed to be condemned to such hell.

He kept running. It was all he could do. He struggled to breath, to suck air into his tortured lungs. Was this the end? Was he really going to die like this?

“Come on, Zorian, it’s not that bad,” said a young man, who had slowed down to run beside him. “You’re acting like you’re about to die. Stop being so over dramatic.” A little fire drake stopped to sniff something beside the track, before quickly catching back up to them.

“We’ve already run – four killometers,” Zorian said between breaths.

“You mean we’ve only run four kilometers. We still got six to go,” Briam said jovially.

Hell. He was in hell. “I – hate you – right now.”

“What’re you pansies jabberin about. If you got enough energy to socialize, you got enough energy to run faster,” their merciless mistress of the marathon commanded as she caught up to them.

"I definitely – hate you – the most,” he told her. “Taiven – you know I’m – not built for – this kind – of shit.”

“This was your idea Roach. It’s not my fault I wouldn’t let you back out now that you’re doing some real work. You can’t just stop after a month and let all your effort go to waste. Just keep at it. You’ll thank me some day.”

He decided to save his breath, he was going to need it. One more kilometer, then he could take a break. Just one more. And it really had been his idea. He’d thought it was such a great one at the time. Taiven could get him into shape in no time. What did he have to lose? Everything, his tortured body screamed at him. He’d been so naive.

“How are you two doing back there?” Briam shouted behind them. This was his first time joining their physical training, but he was in far better shape than the rest of the group.

“Fine,” gasped Akoja faintly. Kiana, who had attached herself to Akoja in Raynie’s absence, didn’t bother responding. Zorian was sure they hadn’t known what they were getting themselves into when they agreed to join his little exercise group. Probably because he hadn’t exactly known himself what he was getting them into. He wondered if they were regretting their life choices as much as he was. They did keep coming back, though they had only joined two weeks ago. They also didn’t have to run the next five kilometers. Life was so unfair. If only his simulacrum could do this for him. But no, they get to have all the fun.

An eternity later, Taiven finally called it at the five kilometer mark. A ten minute break. Pure heaven.

He walked with the group, taking a couple minutes to catch his breath. They headed to a gazebo, and the picnic table beneath the marvelous shade it provided. Its surface was littered with various beverages and snacks. It was really nice of Zach to let them use his estate, and all its handy new renovations. He certainly was a generous host, even when he wasn’t around. Which these days was pretty much all the time. Zorian had only seen his friend a handful of occasions in the last two months, and only for five or ten minutes at a time. He knew Zach was busy with his case, but he couldn’t possibly be that busy. He was getting a little worried.

After everyone had guzzled their chosen drinks and claimed a few snacks, Zorian decided to ask.

“Hey, have any of you seen Zach recently?”

Akoja, Briam, and Kiana all shook their heads, but…

“Yeah, I had a few drinks with him a couple nights ago,” Taiven said. “He dragged a few of us down to his favorite tavern to celebrate some good news about his case. I hadn’t seen him that happy in weeks,” she noticed the concerned look on his face. “Oh, and he mentioned that he would have invited you, but he knows its not really your thing. I mean, you don’t even drink alcohol, so I figured you’d appreciate the sentiment. You were probably too busy reading a book or something anyways.”

He shook his head to clear his thoughts, forcing on a smile. Zorian not liking taverns had never stopped Zach before. “It’s fine. Just glad to hear he finally got some good news. Tesen’s an asshole.”

Kiana snorted. When Zorian glanced at her, eyebrow raised, she just shrugged. “What? He is. I’ve met him.”

Everyone laughed. Taiven raised her cup. “To Tesen’s downfall,” they all happily drank to that.

“Roach, Weevil, breaks over. Mite, flea, you’re dismissed for the day.” Taiven said, having decided all of Zorians friends merited insect, or whatever they are, related names.

“If you call me flea again, I swear, I will slap you,” Kiana said, not amused.

“Yeah, please don’t call me mite,” Akoja pleaded.

“Fine, fine,” Taiven thought for a second. “Princess, and Sparkle.”

“We already have a Princess,” Zorian said without thinking. Everyone looked at him dubiously. “Never mind. Pretend I didn’t say anything.”

“Do I get a say in any of this?” Briam asked, though he sounded resigned to his fate.

“No, now start running you flaccid foliage,” she shouted. There was a moment of silence as they just stared at her.

“Flaccid foliage?” everyone asked at the same time.

Taiven shrugged, “I’m running out of insults that have two words both starting with the same letter. Its… kinda my thing. We’ve been doing this for a month. If I keep repeating the same old insults, it’ll just be annoying. I’ll think of some better ones, don’t worry.”

Zorian just shook his head and started to run. He wasn’t really in the mood to talk anymore. He’d come to a bitter realization. Zach, was avoiding him.

***

While the original was suffering in his own personal hell, Simulacrum number one was having the time of his life. The scope and complexity of this current project had him in his element. Dozens of theoretical schematics were strewn about the workshop, some conservative, others ambitious to the extreme. This project was most certainly going to be the latter.

Zorians new workshop, which used to be Kael’s alchemy station before Zach gifted him his own place, was in chaos. Simulacrum number two was in a heated debate with simulacrum number four. Neither could agree on a particularly difficult piece of spell formulae. He quietly urged them to lower their voices. He wasn’t sure how the original would explain it if Imaya found three Zorians in her basement.

Simulacrum number three, disguised as a common merchant, was out getting some of the more necessary materials needed to get this project started. Simulacrum number one browsed through the list of ingredients that would eventually be needed for the most recent design they had been working on. This would cost the original nearly all his remaining savings, and the last from the stolen invader caches besides. But if it worked, his financial problems would be a thing of the past.

This golem would be their masterpiece. Two meters tall, with impressively broad shoulders, it would cut a striking figure. The intricately warded robe and wide brimmed pointed hat they were planning would add a mysterious, old timey feel to the visage. Simulacrum number one was seriously disappointed he would never get to be the one operating this absolute work of art.

They’d been giving the original regular updates on their proposed designs, but a half an hour earlier he told them to stop bothering him until they had come to a finalized plan. He sure was in a grumpy mood. Simulacrum number one was just glad he couldn’t contribute to the originals physical growth. Nope. No thanks.

He decided to join the other two. They still had a lot of fine tuning, as well as testing some more theoretical designs they’d thought up. It was going to be so much fun.

Chapter Text

Debts

Two days later, his body was still a bit sore from his recent excess of physical activity. Not so bad that it kept him from being active, but enough to quietly curse Taiven when he occasionally felt a sudden jolt of pain from his stressed muscles and joints. Still, no rest for the weary. At least he wasn’t going hungry. The moment Imaya realized the extent of Zorians physical training, she had practically been force feeding him ridiculous amounts of overly healthful foods. While it was a little overwhelming, he did appreciate the sentiment. It was an amount of selfless caring for him he didn’t often receive, even from his own mother.

When Zorian approached the Silent Doorway Adepts, they were overjoyed to see him as usual. He did always come bearing gifts.

[Zorian, my friend, it is good to see you,] Refuge in Void sent when she came to greet him. [You have brought us more Bakura gates, I hope?] he wondered if she was really happy to see him, or if she was just happy about the prospect of accessing more gates.

Zorian owed the Silent Doorway Adepts a lot, so he’d been making frequent trips to supply them with new gate keys. He could have sent a simulacrum to do the job, but he felt repaying debts deserved his personal involvement. He still had quite a few gate keys, but had decided to give them out slowly. That way he could pretend to be “discovering” them over time. Giving the keys slowly allowed the Aranea to take full advantage of each new gate. If he’d given them all at once, they wouldn’t have had the time or manpower -spiderpower? - to capitalize on the information. Possibly overreaching in their eagerness to explore and expand.

[I brought you one today,] Zorian replied. [You said you were interested in one near a Lizardmen settlement, right?]

[Yes, that would be excellent,] she sent. [The Perfect Phantasm Crafters will be most pleased.]

[You’re not using this gate yourselves?]

[No. We already have two colonies on Blantyrre. That is enough for now. If we send too many, we will not be able to defend our home.]

So much for Zorians worries. [What interest do the Perfect Phantasm Crafters have with a gate to Blantyrre?] he sent.

[They are quite eager to start a new colony, as well establish trade with the Lizardmen.]

[And… what do the Silent Doorway Adepts get from this arrangement?]

[We get to strengthen our bonds with our fellow Aranea, of course.]

[Of course,] Zorian sent sceptically.

[They will have to pay a tax to use our gate. It is only fair. We also get first pick of any items they wish to trade,] she sent, sounding pleased with herself.

[That… sounds fair,] Zorian thought it was a bit skewed in their favor, but if the Perfect Phantasm Crafters had agreed to the deal, it wasn’t his place to judge their decision. [I’m surprised you’re able to supply the needed mana crystals for all these new gates.]

[That… is a problem, yes,] she sent. [We had actually been hoping you might be able to help us out with that. You were able to provide so much in the past…]

[Unfortunately, that supply has run dry,] he sent, to her visible disappointment. [But, there is a good chance I will have access to more soon.] If his new masterpiece worked, that is. If it did, he’d be able to get all the mana crystals they could ever dream of. Well, he wouldn’t get to do it, which was a major downside to the whole project in his opinion. He really needed to cut loose one of these days. He was starting to feel suffocated by his own need for self restraint.

[This is very happy news. We feared we would have to increase the time between gate openings even further. Please, let us know as soon as you can acquire more. We will buy all that you can supply.]

Zorian seriously doubted that. They would buy a ridiculous amount he was sure, but he was a past expert at finding mana crystals. Even if he had exhausted all the locations he had memorized during the time loop.

Once he had supplied them with the new gate key and promised them word about more mana crystals in the future, he left to pay off his next debt. This one could be trouble.

***

Zorian had spent a long time debating with himself as to whether or not he should pay off this particular debt. Or if he should still consider it a debt owed, for that matter. She had betrayed him, after all. Well, her copy at least.

He sat on a large rock at the edge of the seemingly empty glade. To one side of him was a web covered egg-sack. To the other, a giant brown salamander. He sat there calmly, trying his best to appear at ease. Like he didn’t have a care in the world. He was entirely unsure how this altercation would play out.

“Who are you, boy?” Silverlake croaked as she appeared from empty space not far from where Zorian sat. “How did you know I was here?”

“I’m here, against my better judgment, to repay a debt,” he said, ignoring her questions as he motioned to the items next to him.

“And in what way could you possibly owe me a debt, hmm?” she replied snidely. “We’ve never met before. I may be old, but my mind is sharp as ever,” she said, but Zorian could feel her doubt. She had lost a month of memories. That had to be a terrible blow to someone who takes such pride in their mental abilities.

“You may not remember, but I do. You helped me in the past. I’m here to balance the scales. Nothing else. With any luck, this will be the last time we ever see each other,” he scrubbed his hands together, as if washing them clean.

“It was you,” she said angrily. “You took them, you-”

Zorian raised a hand. “I’m not here to explain myself. Just to repay my debt. Take it or leave it. I don’t trust you, I don’t really want anything to do with you, but I don’t want you as an enemy either,” he stared her straight in the eyes. “And I assure you, you don’t want to be my enemy…”

For a moment, Zorian was afraid she might attack him. Instead, she just stared at him, anger radiating from her.

“Oh, and if I were you,” Zorian said, “I would skip the first couple ideas you have planned for your youth potion.” Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. He pointed towards the ingredients, “Wouldn’t want those to go to waste.”

Without another word, he teleported away.

***

He arrived at a spot near Lukav’s house. He’d been bringing the alchemist most of the rare materials he’d come across the he didn’t have a use for himself.

He’d sent his simulacrum out to track down and kill a Grey Hunter, since he had no idea what had happened to the one he’d lost in Cyoria. He really hoped it wasn’t causing too much trouble. He’d told the Aranea to keep an eye out for it. His simulacrum managed to find another one with eggs, but not as large or as powerful as the one he’d hunted so many times. Still, he could use some of it for his new project, and Lukav had plenty of uses for what Zorian didn’t need. Win win win.

He sold what he could spare to Lukav, for a very generous price. Generous to Lukav, that is. He could have made a couple times as much selling it in Cyoria, but it was one of the ways he was repaying the alchemist for his help in the past. The man wouldn’t accept charity, but he wouldn’t pass up a sweet deal either. Plus, everything in Cyoria was expensive.

His business done, he left Lukav’s, heading into Knyazov Dveri. He needed to stop at several shops around town. Many of the materials he needed he could get far cheaper here than in Cyoria. He spent an hour browsing and making some purchases, stuffing everything into one of his pocket dimensions cleverly disguised as a pocket of his jacket.

After making a quick stop at one of the local bakeries, he headed to a park to rest for a few minutes. He’d been on his feet for a while, and his muscles still ached. He didn’t stay idle for long though. He wanted to head to Alanic’s before it got too late in the day. He’d promised Kirielle and Imaya he’d make it home before dinner.

He was only a short distance away from Alanic’s temple, when he was attacked.

Six large men dressed all in black rushed him from the deepening shadows. They came from both sides of the road, spreading out to surround him. By the sounds of it, more were closing in behind him. Zorian cursed himself. He couldn’t sense their minds, and there weren’t many reasons for that.

The undead closest to Zorian lunged forward with a knife, and he barely managed to twist his body to the side. He wasn’t quick enough, however, and he felt a sharp pain across his side as he received a shallow cut. Stupid. So stupid. He hadn’t even had a shield up. He’d been getting too complacent, thinking he could handle any situation.

While Zorians mind raced, his body reacted on instinct. Unfortunately for the situation, his instincts were wrong. One hand sent a fireball into the face of the undead who had cut him, blowing its head off its shoulders. His other hand sent a magic missile at the next nearest enemy, blowing a hole through its chest. Stupid. That was no way to deal with this type of foe. As he expected, his attacks only managed to inconvenience the undead for a moment. Regaining his senses, he cast a powerful dispell, barely managing to catch all six opponents in front of him. They dropped like sacks of rocks. He quickly teleported forward to give him some space. Or tried to. Something was wrong. He finally managed it. He’d only cast a basic teleport spell, but it had been a strain. He turned around to confront his remaining attackers.

He swayed, suddenly dizzy, barely able to maintain his balance. He could see four more black clad undead rapidly closing the distance, and he began to cast the dispell once more. But he couldn’t. He shook his head, trying to clear it. His shaping was sluggish and unresponsive. He concentrated, putting all his will into the spell. It began to take shape, but slowly. Far too slowly. He could do nothing but watch as death approached him.

The undead suddenly jerked, falling boneless to the hard surface of the road. Zorians dizziness grew worse, accompanied by nausea. What had happened? Had he managed the spell without realizing? No…

“Zorian, are you all right?” said a familiar voice.

Zorian couldn’t maintain his balance any longer, dropping heavily to sit on the road. He braced himself with his harms lest he fall over completely.

“Zorian, can you hear me. What’s wrong boy?” Alanic said. Oh thank the gods.

Zorian struggled to get his mind working again. The knife. It must have been poisoned. “Poison,” he said to Alanic, his voice slightly slurred. “Knife,” he waved vaguely in the direction of his first attacker, almost falling over in the process.

“Damn, stay still boy. I’ll take care of it,” Alanic said, heading over to inspect the knife.

Zorians vision was bluring, his mind struggling to focus. He assumed Alanic was divining the poison, but he couldn’t concentrate.

“Ah, we’re in luck. I have some antidote for this, and good thing too. This poisons a real nasty one. I’ve been seeing it a lot recently, and now I think I know why.”

The large man scooped Zorian up as if he were a child, carrying him towards the temple. The world dissolved around him, and Zorian didn’t remember much of what happened next. Just a blur of movement, followed by blessed stillness, only to be ruined by a foul taste in his mouth. Then, nothing...

When Zorian became aware of his surroundings once more, he found himself alone. The room was familiar, he had spent a lot of time here. He sat up from the couch he’d been laying on, sitting there for a while, his head down. When he looked up, his head a bit clearer, he squinted to look around for his glasses. He saw them, and a note on a nearby table caught his eye. He stood, but stopped at the onrush of vertigo that nearly dropped him back to his seat. He steadied himself, breathing deeply. When it had passed, he walked unsteadily to retrieve his glasses and the note and stumbled back to the comfort of the couch.

Zorian, I had urgent business I had to attend to.

Wait half of an hour before using your magic.

Come back to see me in three days.

-Alanic

Zorian leaned back on the couch, mulling over his fuddled thoughts. He tried to replay the altercation in his mind. It came to him in bits and pieces, until he managed to put it all together. He was such an idiot. So many mistakes on his part had almost gotten him killed. If it hadn’t been for Alanic…

There was a far deeper issue to consider. There was only one person who would be ordering undead to attack people in Knyazov Dveri. Looked like Sudomir had a mind to repay some debts of his own.

Chapter Text

When Zorian arrived at Imayas nearly an hour later, he apologized profusely for being ever so slightly late for dinner. Zorian, having no desire to deal with a large group of people at the moment, was thankful once again that the Academy dorms had been rebuilt and all but one of the temporary occupants had vacated Imayas house. The week since had been practically liberating. He could eat at the dining table without constantly knocking elbows with his neighbors. He didn’t have to wait half an hour for the bathroom every morning. He wasn’t constantly tripping over bags or books left carelessly on the living room floor. He’d grown fond of his classmates, yet… he was glad their time cramped together had come to an end. Tempers had been getting pretty short there at the end.

The person who had chosen to stay at Imayas was both unexpected, and a little concerning to Zorian. Akoja, liking her room at Imayas and the area around the place more so than she did the dorms, had opted to take the spare room. He feared her desire to stay had a more… romantic intention than he was comfortable with at first. This was lessened considerably however, as Akoja had formed an almost sisterly relationship with both Kirielle and Kana. His suspicion was further dampened when Akoja first moved in, and Imaya made it abundantly clear to Zorian, Kael, and Akoja that there would be abosolutely no “hanky panky” under her roof under any circumstances. Akoja had been so embarrassed she had avoided Zorian for nearly a week after that.

After making his apologies and taking his seat at the table, he added as much food to his plate as he thought he could handle. It wasn’t much. What he really wanted was sleep, but he knew he needed to get some food down.

“What’s wrong, Zorian?” Imaya asked, always the observant one where her tenants were concerned. “You look pale. And your barely eating. Are you coming down with something?”

Zorian shook his head. He couldn’t really tell everyone he’d been poisoned so he went with his only other option. A bald faced lie. “No, I think it was something I ate. Grabbed something from a street vendor while I was out shopping. It’s really not sitting well.”

“I could probably help you with that, if you’d like,” Kael said. “I’d have to whip something up, but it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Zorian waved off the suggestion. “No, I’m paying the consequence for my decision. Plus, I think I just need some rest most of all. I’m exhausted,” he also didn’t want to mix anything with the antidote still at work in his system, just in case.

Imaya snorted, muttering something that sounded like ‘kids and their fried greasy…’ as she finished her meal and went to the sink to get started on the dishes.

Zorian was able to finish his own meal in blessed silence, depositing his dishes in the sink for Imaya and headed to bed.

“Hope you feel better, Zorian,” Akoja called to him.

“Goodnight big brother,” Kirielle added.

He turned to give them a smile and wave goodnight as he walked to his room. Kana even gave a shy smile and a little wave before Zorian was through the doorway and out of sight.

***

Zorian decided to take it easy the next day. He went to classes, but stayed subdued throughout the day, feigning a stomach ache. He felt remarkably better, but he wasn’t at one hundred percent just yet. So he was feeling a bit grumpy. Best not to take it out on his classmates.

Since Zorian was mostly taking classes considered normal for the average third year student, he didn’t really have to put much effort into it. Everything they were learning was routine for him at this point. He’d made a single exception, signing up for advanced spell formulae. He found this class less than challenging as well, but he’d decided that as time went on, he’d slowly show himself to be a prodigy in the field. It was his passion, so he figured he should just go for it. For once in his life, he was kind of grateful for Daimens fame. People didn’t seem surprised when Zorian excelled. They thought that it must just run in the family. He couldn’t excel too much though. Had to stay within reason.

He spent a couple hours after class perusing various markets and vendors around Cyoria, acquiring the last of the materials needed to finish his project. He spent the next few hours working with his simulacrum. They made some good progress, but it was an ambitious design and would take a couple more days to complete. 

After a quick dinner and some assurances from Imaya that she didn’t mind keeping an eye on Kirielle so he could keep working, he returned to his workshop. He could put a couple more hours of work in, before he did something he’d been thinking about all day. Tonight, he was going to confront Zach.

***

Zorian waited in a cozy lounge area in the Noveda estate. It was located right next to the grand stairway leading to Zachs room, a convenient spot from which to ensure Zach couldn’t slip past him. Not this time. It was well past time for them to have a serious conversation. If Zach didn’t want to be friends with him anymore, that was fine. Zorian would hear it face to face, not keep pretending that nothing was wrong. He’d really thought after all they had been through together, Zach would be willing to give him that much at least.

He stopped that train of thought, not wanting to sour his mood before Zach even arrived. He pulled out a book, content to read while he waited.

When Zach entered the room around an hour later, his foot steps were heavy and plodding. He had his head down as he walked, not looking where he was going. His body language conveyed exhaustion, and Zorian almost backed out right there and then. But no, it was time.

Before Zach could reach the staircase, Zorian cleared his throat. Zach spun around aggressively and fully alert, only to relax somewhat at the sight of Zorian sitting on one of his couches. He looked angry for a moment, changing quickly to exasperation.

“What are you doing here Zorian, and how did you get in?” he immediately brushed his own question aside. “Never mind. That was a dumb question. It is you, after all.” Zorian had already made a mental note to discuss the estates wards with him at some point, but that was low on his list of priorities.

“We need to talk,” Zorian said calmly.

“Sorry Zorian, this is a bad time. Its been a rough day. I’m tired. I’m going straight to bed. We can talk in the morning,” he turned and took a single step up the stairs.

“Zach,” Zorian said loudly, though he didn’t quite shout.

Zach froze, deflating. Then he spun again, walking toward Zorian, his hands held almost pleadingly in front of him. His voice filled with emotion. “What do you want from me Zorian? What do you want me to say?” he was standing above Zorian, looming over him. His face was wracked with a look of longing, like he desperately wanted to know the answer. As suddenly as it had started, Zach deflated once more. He stumbled back to sit heavily on a couch across from Zorian. He sat there for a while, staring at his hands resting palm up on his lap. “What do you want from me?” he repeated softly.

Zorian remained silent.

“You went into my head…” Zach began. “Even though you know,” he looked up at Zorian, “you know what that means to me.”

Zorian remained silent.

Zach leaned back heavily into the couch, his head resting back as he stared up at the ceiling. He sighed heavily, covering his face with his hands.

“You made me feel, Zorian,” he said with passion, then repeated softly. “You made me feel…”

He was silent for a moment, before he gave a harsh laugh. “I was happy. So happy to be alive. To finally be out of the time loop. I was so, damn, happy…” Zorian could feel his emotions as they shifted.

“And I was so sa-” a single sob escaped him. He took a steadying breath. “I was so sad. I got to live, but only because you died. My best friend, dead, all because of me. Still, I was happy to be alive. And that, made me angry. What kind of person am I? To be so happy in the face of everything that had happened. Then, then, you took it all away from me. Like all those feeling didn’t even matter. It’s too much, Zorian. It’s just too much.”

He waited to see if Zach had anymore to say. When he didn’t continue, Zorian spoke his mind.

“I’m sorry, Zach. Sorry my actions caused all this. But I’m not sorry I did it. Not for a second.”

Zach looked at him expectantly.

“I know you were willing to die there. Expecting too, even. I couldn’t just stand by and watch that happen. No way in hell I could do that if I had any other option. I made my choices. Just, blame me. Don’t blame yourself for my decisions.”

“It all comes back to you…” Zach said resignedly. He stood up suddenly and began to pace back and forth. Frustration entered his tone, and he gestured dramatically as he spoke. “I was supposed to be the hero. I was chosen by the angels. The controller. They bloody gave me a divine blessing for heavens sake. And I fought. I fought, and I learned. I did it over, and over, and over again. And I failed. Over, and over, and over again,” he collapsed back onto the couch.

“It was all you, in the end,” he said softly. “You stopped Silverlake. You banished Quatach-Itchl. You even convinced the damn dragon mage to retreat. You didn’t even kill Red Robe,” he chuckled at himself in deprecation. “I would have. I would have killed him right then and there. But you? You knew. You figured out all his little tricks and surprises he had squirreled away. I would have just blown the whole thing up right in our faces. But you…” he sighed heavily once more. “You were the hero. And I,” he shook his head. “I was just along for the ride…” he burried his face in his hands, completely drained from such an emotional confession.

Zorian got up and sat beside Zach, putting an arm around his friend. It really wasn’t Zorians style, but it very much was Zachs, and he could tell his friend needed it.

“But you didn’t fail,” Zorian said seriously. “Not really.”

“Oh don’t give me tha-” Zach started to say, looking up, but Zorian cut him off.

“I’m serious. Except at the beginning of the time loop, you never really had a chance.”

Zach looked at him, bewildered.

“Your forgetting all about Red Robe. Or Jornak, whatever. From the moment he erased your memories, you were fighting an uphill battle. And the entire time you thought you were on level ground.”

Zach looked like he was considering the idea. Zorian continued.

“Every action you took, Red Robe was able to counter in the next restart. He took full advantage of that, and the fact you were unaware of a second time traveler. That’s not even considering Quatach-Itchl. Even right now, if we both went to challenge him face on, I would only give us a fifty fifty chance of winning. We were able to take him on through ambush in the past, and because he didn’t know who we were and what we were capable of. But he’s still one of the strongest individuals I know of. With all that stacked against you, it’s honestly amazing you held out for as long as you did.

“I know I did some terrifying stuff there at the end. I know I violated your trust. But in the end, I wouldn’t have done anything different. There was no chance I was going to just let you die. And there’s no chance I could have accomplished any of it without you. We’re a team. Your like a brother to me, Zach,” he squeezed Zachs shoulder, about to pull away from him, before being engulfed by Zach in a crushing embrace. Zorian realized immediately what his words had meant to Zach. He didn’t have any family. He’d been alone all his life. Zorian hadn’t said it lightly though. Zach really was like a brother to him, more so than his actual brothers.

“Your my brother, Zorian,” he sobbed. “I’m sorry. Sorry for being such an ass,” Zorian patted him on the back awkwardly. “Thanks for being here for me,” he pulled away, wiping his eyes. “You're a true friend. Thank you,” he placed his hands on Zorians shoulders. “And I forgive you.”

Zorian hadn’t asked for forgiveness. He hadn’t even known he wanted it. Yet, a burden Zorian hadn’t even acknowledged suddenly left him, and he felt lighter than he had in months. This time, he was the one who engulfed Zach in a crushing embrace.

Chapter Text

Simulacrum number one- no, Sumrak. He had to get used to that. He wasn’t just some ordinary simulacrum. He was the great hero Sumrak.

Sumrak was felling pretty awkward though. Not much like a hero. He dodged a bolt of lightning, his sideways leap sending him twice as far as he had intended. His legs were just so long in this body. So much more powerful. He’d even been trying to hold back. This was going to take a lot of getting used too.

“Hold still...” said the Lich, his high pitched raspy voice filled with frustration. He cast another bolt.

Simulacru- Sumrak let his shield tank the hit. This was a test run, so might as well make sure his shield was working properly. Give it a real workout.

“Just die you annoying...” the lich sent a fireball at him, “fake…” a concussive blast of force, “hero,” ending with a withering cascade of lightning from both hands.

Not bad, Sumrak thought. Not about the liches attacks. Those had been pathetic by his standards. But the shield had held up remarkably well, only losing about a third of its reserves.

Two of Princesses heads roared, while the remaining six happily tossed zombies and skeletons into the air. Her ever-present attendant flock of iron beaks eagerly savaged any zombie that soared into their domain. They mostly ignored the skeletons though, letting them fall to shatter in Princesses wake. She was easily keeping the liches horde occupied while he dealt with their master.

Well, dealt with might not be right. He could have dispatched this foe within the first couple minutes of their fight. He and Zach had fought this lich countless times. His patterns of attack never altered in the slightest. He was here more to test himself against a predictable opponent. One whose capabilities were well known to him. Far simpler that way for him to gauge the effectiveness of his defenses and current abilities. Plus, it wasn’t even draining their personal mana.

The golem body at his core had a system of permanent shield wards that would remain active until he disengaged them. The intricately decorated robes he wore had spell formulae disguised in its design that worked to extend the shield beyond his ectoplasmic body. It also contained dozens of tiny glyphs that absorbed small amounts of ambient mana, feeding it to his golem core, where it circulated to power his defensive wards. This constant circulation prevented some of the damage caused from channeling large amounts of raw mana, keeping it from accumulating too much in one place and overloading the materials and burning them out. The collection glyphs would cut off after the reserves reached a certain threshold, keeping the system at a safer level. He could also turn them off, letting the reserves run dry to prevent even that small amount of damage from the circulating energy. The golem was designed with future maintenance in mind, but every little bit helped. His robes wouldn’t fare so well. He gave them a month, two tops, before they would need to be replaced. They just weren’t as resilient as his golem core, the materials not able to holdup for as long against the amount of mana being channeled through them. It was a shame, but better than having to rely on a mana crystal battery. Cheaper too.

He couldn’t personally access these reserves of course. For now it was limited to defense. Only for now though. Once they had the funds to complete his staff, he’d have some offensive use for the power as well. A limited one, as he could only anchor a handful of spells to the staff. But the original had made it abundantly clear that Sumrak was not allowed to dip below half of their shared mana reserves. If he was going to be in combat as frequently as he expected, he absolutely needed some more options. Even just having a handful of spells he could use without depleting their shared mana would be extremely useful.

While he mused, he had been casually dodging the liches increasingly desperate attempts to kill him. Starting to get bored, he decided to finish this up. He concentrated for a moment, then cast a magic missile straight into the liches face.

“Gah…” the lich sputtered, taken completely off guard. It had been an invisible magic missile. “What the hell,” he screeched.

Sumrak concentrated a little harder this time before following with a force lance, also aimed at the liches face. This time he didn’t quite manage to make it invisible. The hazy rippling force of energy smashed into the lich before he could react, so it didn’t really matter. The lich was immediately banished, his bones falling to the ground without ceremony. He sighed. Maybe he should have chosen a more capable opponent for his first escapade as the great hero Sumrak. What was done was done.

He looked over to where Princess was cavorting around, still tossing zombies and skeletons into the air, crushing any she overlooked under her massive bulk. The liches horde had grown a lot since the last time Zach and the original had assaulted him. Maybe it was a good thing he’d stopped this menace now, before he could do more harm.

Whatever. His main objective was the impressive treasury the lich had managed to accumulate. After disarming some embarrassingly easy to detect traps, he made a quick stop to destroy the liches phylactery. With that done, he started filling up his pocket dimensions with some much needed loot. Mission accomplished.

When he exited the liches lair to check on Princesses progress, he noticed a small group of ragged villagers some ways off towards the nearest town. He would have thought they knew better than to venture so close to the liches territory. He glanced up. Ah. Princesses friends could probably be seen from a couple kilometers away. Princess was also many things, but quiet was not one of them. The villagers must have come to see what all the commotion was about. They stared in awe as she finally finished devastating the last of the undead horde. She purposefully wandered around, smashing the few still feebly twitching undead, before gambling over towards Sumrak. The villagers called out in distress, maybe thinking they would be the hydras newest targets, but he raised his hand and commanded Princess to halt. She looked, hurt that she was not being showered with affection for her exemplary performance. Like a puppy who had been scolded without being able to understand why.

“Good girl, Princess,” he said, his voice gaining a tone commonly used to address children. He hadn’t even meant to do that. She was a good girl though. He continued in his normal, or normal for his Sumrak persona that is, deep resonant voice. “Wait here for me. I’ll be back after I talk with these nice people,” she couldn’t understand what he said, but his intent was clear, and he didn’t want her becoming suddenly aggressive and attacking these innocent villagers. He was pretending to be a hero, after all.

“Greetings, good people,” he called to them as he approached, his voice loud and confident. They took a step back, uncertainty clouding their faces and emotions. “Ye needn’t fear this place henceforth. For I, Sumrak, have defeated thine dreaded foe. The foul lich is no more, and shall trouble ye no longer. Thou art free to live in peace, as is the right of all good folk,” he said dramatically.

The villagers peered at him questioningly, seeming to not comprehend. With a flick of his wrist and a theatrical flourish, he pulled the liches skull from the pocket dimension he had hidden up his sleeve. He’d kept it so he could prove his kill in case he happened upon a bounty for the lich, as it was very distinctive.

The people began to babble among themselves incomprehensibly, and Sumrak internally rolled his eyes at himself. They were outside of Eldemar, and he should have known they wouldn’t speak a language he was familiar with. He’d never interacted with the locals when he’d been here during the loop. They definitely understood what the skull represented though, and began falling to their knees in relief and joy. One man even edged close to clutch at the hem of Sumraks robe, bowing repeatedly.

Now that he was this close to the group, he could see they had been living in hard times. Far thinner than they should be, their clothes tattered and worn. Not from neglect. They looked as if great effort had been made to repair and maintain them, though it was a lost cause. Signs of extreme poverty practically exuded from them. Sumrak sighed internally. These people were in desperate need, and he wasn’t heartless.

This time he gestured with both arms, and two large heavy bags appeared, one in each hand. He absolutely loved the pocket dimensions hidden in both his sleeves. The affect was quite impressive, the villagers staring again in shock and awe, though a little apprehension as well. The man who had been clinging to him rushed back to join the rest of his people. He set the bags on the ground, opening them so everyone could see the bright gold coins inside, then stepped back. He gestured at them, then the bags, trying to pantomime them taking and sharing it.

The villagers stared at him blankly for only a moment, before rushing to the bags as a group. They were chatting animatedly, shooting him glances as if it were some kind of trap. When he held his hands out in a passive gesture, walking backwards towards Princess, a few people burst into tears and laughter. They held on to one another, crying out in joy at their sudden good fortune. It looked like it had been a long time since their lives had taken a turn for the better. Sumrak could only hope it would last. He turned, casting a gate. As he left with Princess and her royal attendants, he almost felt like a real hero.

This gate only led about halfway to Princesses lair, the plot of land where Iasku mansion once stood. He’d have to wait ten minutes or so before casting it again, so as to keep from using too much of their mana reserves.

While he waited, he considered the mission. It had gone off without a hitch, but he still had some thoughts. He had been creating memory packets for the next simulacrum to take on the role of Sumrak. He himself had taken over two hours to get accustomed to his new form. Being considerably taller and weighing nearly double the original took some time to get accustomed to. He thought about how he would have done if he had the memory packets when he first started, and was convinced they could only help so much. Each time a new Sumrak was created, it would take hours to get used to the change. Right now he still wasn’t completely used to it.

Also, Sumraks personality would always seem fake if it had to start from scratch each time. Memory packets were not the same as actual experience. He had a lot he needed to talk to the original about, and he was certain it wouldn’t be a pleasant conversation.

Chapter Text

While simulacrum number one was out pretending to be a hero, Zorian was at home. Playing cards.

“You sure you don’t wanna join us?” he asked Akoja. She looked up from where she was reading, glancing at Kirielle and Kana, then to Zorian.

“I don’t think so. Really need to finish this section on unstructured magic,” she looked down at her hand, the one not holding her book, and the two marbles resting on her palm. They hadn’t moved the entire time she’d been sitting there. “I can’t get the hang of this exercise either. I can pick both up easily enough, but no matter how hard I try I can’t get them individually. Yesterday I even managed to launch them. I was afraid I put a hole in Mrs. Kuroshkas ceiling. Just not sure what I’m doing wrong...”

Zorian knew, but he’d been waiting to see if she would figure it out. He didn’t blame her, it was an easy mistake to make. Especially if you just kept trying harder.

“You’re using too much mana. It’s making it harder for you to shape. That exercise is meant to help you with precision and complexity. Lifting two small objects without letting them touch.”

“Zorian it’s your turn,” Kirielle said impatiently. He played a card, pretty much at random. Kirielle played one of her own. Kana played next. “You win,” Kirielle cheered. Zorian still wasn’t clear on the rules of this game. They seemed to change based on the girls cards. It was a game of their own invention, so he wasn’t surprised. At least they took turns winning.

“Alright girls, I’m done with the card games for now. Let me help Ako for while and maybe I’ll tell you another story about the great hero Sumrak after dinner.”

Kirielle grumbled unhappily. “Fine. Come on Kana, lets grab Kosjenka and Jaglenac.”

“I’m using too much mana?” Akoja asked as the girls ran off to grab their dolls. “I don’t know if I would have ever figured that out. I even started to use more, thinking it wasn’t enough. Unstructured magic just doesn’t make sense. I always need to have everything spelled out for me,” she said, frustrated with herself.

“You’re a strict, rigid person,” Zorian said. She winced. “Sorry. That came out wrong. But you’re a person who likes structure. Everyone in the class knows that. You want rules, guidelines for what you’re supposed to be doing. Then you follow them, even going beyond what’s required. You show up to class over twenty minutes early when you’re not even class representative any more. It makes sense that you’re having trouble with unstructured magic. It takes a lot of time and practice, even for someone who’s naturally inclined towards it.”

She sighed. “If you say so.”

“Go ahead, try it. Let me see. This time, add mana slowly while you shape it.”

She put her book down, holding the marbles out in front of her. After a couple minutes, one of the marbles wobbled, then rose a couple centimeters. A moment later the other joined it. They started to rise in unison before snapping together then bouncing to the floor.

“Oh, shoot,” Akoja said, trying and failing to catch the marbles. “I thought I had it that time.”

“That was actually really good. It’ll get easier and easier from here on out, now that you know what the problem was,” he reached down and grabbed one of the marbles that rolled near him. Akoja retrieved the other. “Try it again. I bet this ti-,” a loud knock on the door interrupted him, and Zach burst into the room.

“Zorian, I’m glad you’re here. You have to-,” he looked at the others in the room, then back to Zorian. “Could you help me with something urgent?”

“I’m watching Kirielle and Kana right now. Should only be an hour or so until Imaya gets back. Can it wait?”

“No, it really can’t,” Zach said. He was definitely worked up about something.

“I can watch the girls. I don’t mind,” Akoja said. She looked at Zach, frowning slightly. “If it truly is important.”

Zach rushed over and grabbed Zorians arm, dragging him towards the door as he said, “Thanks Akoja, your a life saver.”

“Yeah, thanks Ako. I’ll be back later, I guess?” Zorian said.

“You better be home for dinner,” Kirielle demanded. “You promised us a story.”

Zach practically pushed Zorian out the door in his haste, shutting it behind him.

“That way,” Zach said, pointing towards a heavily residential area of the city. Zorian followed, wondering why they were going away from the Noveda Estate, or anywhere of importance in the city for that matter. Zach wasn’t one to worry over nothing, so he was content to be patient for a time.

Zach led him through winding streets as they made their way further from Imayas house. When they came across a neighborhood park, Zach veered off to look around, until he found some benches they could sit at out of sight of any passersby.

Zach collapsed on to a bench, though he looked relieved.

“This should be good enough. I don’t think they’ll search for you too far.”

“Search for me? What the hell is going on Zach? I thought you needed my help with something.”

“No. I just figured you didn’t want your little sister and the girl who’s crushing on you to know that a special investigator sent by the crown is looking for you. Though, they might already know by now. He already knows where you live. Had to get you out before he got there. But, we didn’t have time to answer a hundred questions either, so…”

“A special investigator from the crown is looking for me… why?” Zorian sat on a bench next to Zachs.

“Something to do with some artificing you did for some… people who are in no way obviously connected to the criminal underworld…” he said dryly. “Except I know my buddy Zorian would never be so idiotic as to use his insane, absolutely ridiculous artifice skills that are possibly decades ahead of current technology, just to make a little cash…”

Zorian groaned, burying his face in his hands. “I didn’t think they were all that advanced…” he said lamely. “Took me forever to get the people who bought them off my back. I just managed to convince them a couple weeks ago that I wasn’t the maker. Just an intermediary. Right when I think I dodged a fireball, here comes a lightning bolt.”

“This special investigator has a lot more power than any criminal organization, or even the Cyoria police department for that matter. He works directly for the crown. He can and will lock you up merely on suspicion. Might even have enough pull to get a mind mage to check your memories…”

“Craaaaap,” Zorian said. He looked up at Zach. “How do you even know any of this?”

“I have a friend on the police force. Well, he’s actually one of my fathers old mates. But hes always been a loyal supporter of house Noveda. He hates Tesen too, so hes doubly good in my book. I asked him to let me know if either of our names came up around the station. Heard all this a half hour ago. Got to your place as quick as I could.”

Damn. He was not looking forward to explaining this to everyone back at Imayas.

“Though, if you stick to your story about just being the middle man for the sale, you might be fine. Smart to keep to one story anyways. Most people will find it hard to believe a fifteen year old student has such skill with spell formulae. They’ll want to believe it was someone else. He definitely wont like you not saying where you got it from, so you might want to think about that.”

Zorian sat in silence for a while, considering Zachs words.

“So, what now?” Zach asked.

Zorian started to shrug, then stopped. “You got a couple hours?”

“Yeah, I’m free for the rest of the day. Where we going?”

“To Alanic’s. He’s expecting me. Was planning to head there in an hour when Imaya got back anyways, so might as well go now.”

“Okay, lets go.”

They arrived right outside the temple. Alanic was quick to greet them when they knocked.

“Good, you’re early,” he looked pleasantly surprised when he noticed Zach. “Ah, I wanted to talk to you as well. Come in. Could I grab you some refreshments? Depending on how things go, we could be talking for a while.”

“Beer.”

“Juice.”

Once they were situated comfortably with drinks in hand, they got to business.

“So, we need to talk about Sudomir,” Alanic said without preamble.

“Sudomir? Isn’t he in Ulquaan Ibasa?” Zach asked.

“Zorian was attacked three nights ago, just down the road. He was on his way here when ten of Sudomir’s undead ambushed him.”

Zach snorted. “Was there anything left of them when you were finished?” he asked Zorian. “Or did you just dispell them all?”

“They nearly killed him,” Alanic said. “If I hadn’t shown up when I did, they would have succeeded.”

Zach stared at him without comprehension, then looked to Zorian. When Zorian didn’t deny it, he asked, “Ten zombies? Almost killed you?”

“I managed to take the first six out easily enough, but… not before one of them cut me. With a poisoned knife.”

“Which is why we now know Sudomir is still far more involved in Knyazov Dveri than we thought possible,” said Alanic. “The poison they used on Zorian has been showing up more and more often in the last couple months. It is made in Ulquaan Ibasa, and they rarely sell it to outsiders lest its secrets be unveiled. It was specifically designed to counter mages. Zorian can attest to its effectiveness.”

Zorian nodded. “It was… not a pleasant experience. Took less than a minute to take effect, then it was nearly impossible to shape even a basic spell. After two minutes it was nearly impossible to stay standing.”

“And you would have died in less than an hour without the antidote. Thank the gods I took the precaution of having some made. Though, if Ulquaan Ibasa knew what Sudomir was doing with the stuff, I can’t imagine they would be pleased. I’ve gotten my hands on several daggers tainted with it so far.”

“What the hell Zorian? Why didn’t you tell me you almost died?” Zach asked, exasperated.

“I told you the other day we needed to talk. We just had, more pressing things to talk about at the time.”

“Fine, I understand. But why is Sudomir targeting you? And how would he even know your here?”

“I don’t think he was,” Zorian said.

“They were here for me,” Alanic said. “Almost certainly. I was the biggest, or most obvious thorn in Sudomir’s side working behind the scenes before the invasion. Plus, he was already planning to kill me when all that first started, as you well know.”

“Yeah, sorry about all those times we didn’t save you…” Zorian said with the barest hint of a grin. Alanic didn’t look amused.

Zach laughed. “But all’s well that ends well, so no hard feelings, right?”

Alanic ignored him. “The attack on Zorian was surely one of opportunity. A standing order to kill him maybe. It’s also possible someone in the city has access to any of Sudomirs undead he left behind. They could have seen Zorian and acted on their own initiative. Sudomir still has many people loyal to him here. It could take years to uproot them all.

“Whatever the case, it would be wise to assume Sudomir knows who you both are, and the role you played in the invasion. His reach is not as short as we had hoped. And he is only one of the problems you face. I’m sure you’re aware of the unrest over mind magic in Cyoria?”

Zorian nodded.

“Do you know that a new cult is involved?”

“Yes, actually. Well, nothing solid. Just a rumor from a, friend of mine. He said they were recruiting people who dislike mind magic.”

“That is an understatement. They only recruit people who hate mind magic. Fanatics. That’s only the start of the trouble. The church looks into these groups rather intensely, as most have at least some small religious orientation. This time however, we couldn’t uncover any evidence of that. They only have one creed. To end mind magic.

“Then there’s how organized they are. Most of what people see are loosely organized commoners sent to protest, stirring up the city and drawing in more people sympathetic to the cause. But that’s just the first level of the dungeon. The deeper you go, the more disturbing this cult becomes. They are too coordinated. Too well funded. I fear how far up of their leadership is in the Eldemar hierarchy.”

“What, you think the nobles are envolved?” Zach asked.

“I cannot be sure, they’re good at hiding their secrets. We haven’t even uncovered the name of the cult. I could just be jumping to conclusions. Still, there’s no doubt they have a powerful backer, or more than one. It’s a serious threat, and not one to be taken lightly. I needed to be sure you were aware of the danger you’re in,” he said to Zorian.

“It just gets better and better,” Zorian muttered to himself. “Thanks for the warning. Is it wrong of me to hope that someday you might have some good news for me?” he asked, feeling bitter.

“Actually,” Alanic said, perking up. Then his face returned to its original serious demeanor. “I have more bad news.”

Zach laughed again. Zorian glared at him.

“Alright. Give me your worst,” Zorian said.

“It doesn’t directly concern either of you this time. Sulamnon and Falkrinea have begun to mobilize their armies. Quietly right now, only whispers have reached the church. Both countries are preparing for something. It may just be a response to Eldemar preparing for its attack on Ulquaan Ibasa, but I have my doubts. Not something to worry overmuch at the present, just wanted you to be aware of the situation. There could be unexpected repercussions that reach further than you would expect.”

“Please tell me that’s all the bad news,” Zorian said.

“There were a few other things, but none are immediately important. It can wait. For now, I have a few minor things to discuss with you and Zach. We’ll leave any further distressing news for next time.”

Chapter Text

When Zach and Zorian returned to Cyoria, they arrived directly at the Noveda Estate. Their talk with Alanic hadn’t gone on for long, so Zorian still had some time before he needed to get home. Which was good, since they were not alone when they appeared in the entrance hall of Zachs home.

“Thou art late…” said a large man standing nearby.

Zach whirled around to confront the unexpected intruder. “Who the hell are you?”

The man stood with his arms out before him in a pacifying gesture. “Peace, friend Zach. Thou hath not to fear from mine presence,” he said, his voice deep and resonant.

“You didn’t answer my question. And who talks like that? How did you even get in he-,” he stopped, looking over suspiciously at Zorian, who was completely calm and relaxed. Zorian grinned.

“Zach, I would like to introduce you to Sumrak, the solution to all my financial problems.”

“Tis good to finally meet thee. Though our meeting doth cast dour portents betwixt good, and ev-.”

“Cut it out. That’s getting obnoxious,” Zorian cut him off.

Sumrak chuckled. “Alright. Guess I’m over doing it just a bit?”

“A bit,” Zorian said.

“What’s going on here? If one of you doesn’t get to explaining all this, I’ll start beating some answers out of ya,” Zach said. He was still on his guard. Since Sumrak was around two meters tall and looked like he weighed as much as both of them combined, Zorian understood his friends reaction. Sumraks athletic, leonine frame was intimidating as hell. What features could be seen around the flowing gray beard looked regal and wise, weathered with age and experience. Zorian was a little daunted by the figure, and he had been the one to create him.

“He’s my newest, and most advanced, simulacra,” Zorian said.

“Simulacra? What? He doesn’t look anything like you.”

“Oh, yeah, I guess you don’t use simulacrum very often.”

“You know I’m not a fan of letting others have all the fun.”

“A simulacra doesn’t have to look like you. Easier to create that way, but not necessary. Before the invasion, I created one so I could pass information to a detective without him knowing who it came from. This time I just did it on a… larger scale.”

Zach squinted at Sumrak for a few seconds. “But,” he waved his hand at him, “his soul. It’s not like any simulacra I’ve seen. It’s a human soul.”

“About that…” Zorian said, considering how to approach this. “When I first thought of this idea and started to put it into motion, I hadn’t considered that. When we realized this whole charade would come crashing down around us the first time we came across someone with soul perception, we had to… improvise. Maybe, cross a line, just a little bit.”

“What did you do this time?”

“Nothing that bad. We just… collected the soul from a zombie. Anchored it so it looks like Sumraks soul…”

“You what?”

“I know, I wasn’t overly pleased with the idea. We didn’t have many options. A lot of time and money went into this. We considered using the souls of magical beasts instead, but the soul structure was off.”

Zach stood there for a minute. “That feels... wrong, Zorian. It’s a human soul. They should be allowed to move on to the afterlife.”

“We’re looking into alternative options. Once we do, we’ll let the soul go. I’m not a monster. If it takes too long, we’ll just start switching out souls whenever we defeat more undead. That way we aren’t keeping any one soul for too long.”

“How’d you even manage to anchor a soul to a simulacra?”

“Show him,” Zorian said to Sumrak.

Sumrak unbuttoned the top of his robe, opening it to expose his chest. A sash wrapped around his waist prevented it from opening further. His torso fuzzed, turning smoke-like and shifting to reveal the golem his ectoplasmic body covered.

“Should have known. You and your crazy inventions.”

“Yup. The golem body is fundamental to my simulacrums functionality. Reduces mana required for maintaining them. Anchors them so they can take damage without dissipating. This model even provides a shield powered by ambient mana. And of course, it lets us anchor a soul to trick soul perception.”

“So you just send him out to smash the baddies and collect all the treasure? Sounds to me like you’re missing out on all the fun.”

“You know that doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I need the funds, and I can’t get away with taking down liches, or clearing out dungeons on my own. Not without drawing too much unwanted attention. So, Sumrak will do it for me.”

“And how are you going to explain him just showing up out of nowhere? Mages with that kind of power don’t just appear out of thin air.”

“We’re working on a backstory for him. But the basis of it will be that he left Altazia a long time ago and has been on different continents ever since. Just an old wandering mage who gained a vast amount of wisdom and experience during his travels.”

“Stories of powerful mages pass between the continents Zorian. It will still make little sense for him to be a complete unknown until now.”

“Not if he was most recently on a continent that is infamous for being solitary and isolationist…”

“Hsan?” Zach snapped his finger, pointing at Sumrak. “That’s where I recognized that style of robe. From an old portfolio of exotic fashions I saw during the time loop.”

“Exactly. We’re going to have him start on the coast nearest Hsan, then make his way to Cyoria. Looking for opportunities on the way.”

“Why would he be allowed in Hsan, and not any other foreigner?”

“He’ll just tell everyone he saved some princess or queen or heir to the kingdom. People eat that shit up. It might not all work out as we expect, but we’ve thought about this a lot.”

“Not enough, though,” said Sumrak. “There are a few problems we need to discuss.”

“Something go wrong with the shield wards? No, it’s the ambient mana system isn’t it? I knew that was too ambitious. We should have just gone with a mana crystal battery.”

Sumrak stopped him before he could keep rambling. “No, the shield and mana system work fine. As well as we could hope for.”

“Oh, thank the gods. I really don’t need any more bad news right now,” Zorian said.

“It’s not a technical problem. The physical and mental issues of being Sumrak are what concern me.”

“I wasn’t aware there were any mental or physical issues.”

“Exactly my point. We thought about it a lot, but not enough. We didn’t consider what it would feel like being Sumrak. Or what the extent of my interactions with other people would be.”

“You made a memory packet didn’t you?” Sumrak nodded. “Then what’s the problem?”

“It’s not enough. The memory packet can’t convey what it’s like to experience a new and vastly different body. You wouldn’t think something as basic as walking would be difficult. But you’d be wrong. My legs are so much longer now, the first few steps I took I was tripping over my own feet. My pace is set to a different rhythm, making it hard to keep a steady stride. That’s for something as simple as walking. I’ve been in this body for hours, and haven’t grown comfortable yet. Even with the memory packet, each new Sumrak will take hours or days to be fully combat ready. I took down the lich today, but he was far weaker than most of the foes I’ll encounter.”

“Let me guess. You want to stay?”

“Yes, but not just so I can keep existing. Hear me out. All that was the physical issues. We haven’t even gotten to the mental ones.”

Zorian motioned for him to continue.

“It’s going to be hard to keep a consistent persona over time if we rely on a memory packet. The more that’s stored and transferred, the longer it will take to absorb the information. Adding to the aforementioned physical issue of each new Sumrak needing a lengthy acclimation period. How big are we planning for this memory packet to get? Cause after a week, a month, a year? It’s going to be huge. Even then, not every memory can be transferred. The small stuff will get left out. Eventually, everyone who interacts with him on a regular basis will think Sumraks insane, or senile.”

“Whoa, whoa. Hold on. What does that even matter? I only need Sumrak to claim some loot from some monsters and clear some dungeons. Why are we even talking about interacting with people on a regular basis?”

“I’ve been thinking on it, and if that’s all we do, we’re missing out on some serious potential. We should use this for more than just money. That special investigator for instance. You need someone to point him towards. Here I am, soon to have a staff with very advanced spell formulae clearly visible on it. The perfect way to shift the blame and attention away from you. Especially if I’m going around eliminating problems around the country for them. Eldemar doesn’t need any more enemies. As long as I’m worth more as a friend than a foe, they wont push me too far. We’ll have to tell him a different version of my backstory, to explain why Sumrak was here two months ago, but it could work. At the very least, it will get his attention off you, even if I have to lay low afterwards.”

Zorian was silent for a couple minutes, considering. “You’ve been quiet for a while, Zach. What do you think of all this?”

“Oh no, I’m having far too much fun watching you essentially argue with yourself.”

Zorian sighed, turning back to Sumrak. “There is so much wrong with your idea, I can’t even begin. Sadly, you also make some good points.”

“We can shut down the whole thing at any time. Like I said, I’m not saying this just so I can stick around. I’ll give you the memory packet right now and I’m gone, if that’s what you decide. But I’ve been Sumrak for most of a day now, so I know exactly what each new simulacra will have to go through. The memory packet will help, but wont be enough.”

“Alright. You can stay, at least for a while. My brains overloaded at the moment. I’m going to need some time to process.”

Zach laughed. “No one would ever call your life boring, that’s for sure. I’m a little jealous, to be honest. I need more battling monsters, less battling attorneys in my life. Though I wouldn’t mind sending a fireball at a couple of them…”

“You want in on this? I should have the extra funds to make another simulacra golem soon.”

“No way. I’ll have time soon enough. I can, and prefer, to fight my own battles. Can’t blow off some steam if it’s not me doing it.”

“You realize your going to run into the exact same problems I did, right?” Zach raised an eyebrow. “If you’re out showing off your true power, it’s going to attract attention. It’s hard to slip into a dungeon without being seen. If you clear it like you usually do, people will figure out it was you. Even a good disguise wont last forever.”

“You could just accompany me on occasion,” Sumrak suggested. “Sumrak could always use a couple of intrepid young apprentices with boundless potential now that he’s returned to his homeland,” he laughed heartily. “A couple of fake apprentices for a fake hero.”

Zorian and Zach both looked at Sumrak, thoughtful expressions on their faces.

“A couple of fake apprentices, huh?” Zach said, stroking his chin. “Now that’s something to think about…”