With his arms crossed behind his back, Aaron walked quietly down the hallway, letting his gaze wander over the people. Since returning to the Magistrat, he had been trying to better distinguish between the different sources of mana. That was why he deliberately made his rounds at night, practicing assigning the mana to individual people. With his colleague, it was quite easy - their Igrikum was hard to miss. But Aaron had a much harder time regarding the pure mana, not least because he didn't want to ask anyone to stand still for minutes on end.

  As he walked through the building lost in thought, he noticed Grischa's mana and decided to go to his direction. He was in the library, which Aaron found strange at this late hour. He entered the large room inconspicuously, where only a light could be seen in the far corner. As he approached, he could hear his youngest colleague cursing loudly, and instinctively stopped at the last bookshelf. Without a word, he listened as Grischa apparently tore up paper, muttered something to himself, and then fell silent.

  "I can see you, Aaron."

  Aaron flinched in surprise, but then emerged from behind the bookcase and stepped into the light coming from Grischa's workstation. It took him a moment to see that it was a luminous crystal that the young man had developed some time ago.

  "Sorry, I didn't mean to spy on you. I just saw the light."

  "I see", the young ice mage replied coldly, clearly not believing his words, and turned away from him. "Can I help you?"

  "I was actually going to ask you that. What are you doing here so late?"

  "I'm working on this...", Grischa began cursing, muttering a few indistinct words before completing his sentence. "...communication crystal. I want to use it to enable people from all over the world to talk to each other."

  "Talk? You mean using sound waves?"

  "Exactly", Grischa replied with a shrug and bent over his documents. It was the first time Aaron had seen the young magician so focused on his work. The fact that the Eldest had relieved him of his official duties was one reason why Grischa seemed to be putting in so much effort.

  "Fascinating. If that worked, then…"

  "… then we could save ourselves from traveling back and forth. And the letters, of course."

  "Listening to you, it doesn’t sound like you’re having much success."

  "It's not something you can just look up. So far, I've only dealt with small things, like light and ice crystals, but this is on a whole different level."

  "I understand. I didn't mean to criticize you, I'm sorry", Aaron said calmly. Grischa, on the other hand, remained in his position and turned around with a visibly irritated look on his face.

  "Have I done something wrong?"

  "Not that I know of."

  "Then why are you suddenly being so friendly to me? Normally, I get criticized for everything I do or say", Grischa said, somewhat annoyed, as he returned Aaron's cold stare.

  "I was... that wasn’t my intention", Aaron replied.

  What Grischa had just said was probably true - Aaron really hadn’t been the friendliest person. Part of it was because he didn’t like letting strangers get close to him, but Sefra was largely to blame. When Sefra had appeared back then, she had been looking for Grischa, who wasn't even alive at the time. However, her vision was a clear indication that Grischa would one day take the position of Eldest, which Aaron didn't like at all. He didn't trust the 25-year-old and therefore simply couldn't understand why he was here.

  But deep down, Aaron knew he couldn't bear the thought of losing the Eldest.

  "Please forgive me if I scared you with my behavior. I know I'm not exactly the role model magician."

  "I wouldn't go that far", Grischa retorted, and turned away without responding to his acceptance of the apology. "It's difficult to learn anything when your teacher hates you."

  "I don't hate you, Grischa."

  "You do, don't lie. I'm not that stupid. I've done many things in my life that I regret, but I don't know what I've ever done to you."

  "It... I", Aaron began, fell silent, took a deep breath, and looked at the back of Grischa's head. He had to remember the words he had heard in the royal household. "I'm an idiot, I know. I take things personally... far too quickly."

  "Just forget it. You achieved what you wanted, and I can live with that. I was never cut out for that position anyway."

  "What are you talking about?"

  "My position, which was more or less thrown at me and then taken away again."

  "You're misunderstanding something, Grischa. I had nothing to do with it. The Eldest made that decision, even though we agree that it's too much of a burden for you. No offense, but you need to get your life and, above all, your Igrikum in order before you can really be of use to us."

  "Then I don't understand the point of why I should take this entrance exam and why I got into the position in the first place."

  "That...", Aaron began, tightening his grip behind his back. "...I'm afraid I can't tell you that. We have our reasons, and admittedly, the council acted a little rashly when you arrived. However, I can promise you that I will tell you when the time is right."

  "That sounds like I'll have to wait forever for an answer."

  "Please don't hold it against me, it's for our own good."

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  "Our?", Grischa asked in surprise, sitting up straight and turning completely toward Aaron. Aaron didn't answer, but Grischa peered at him with narrowed eyes, as if he were thinking twice about whether he could trust him. For a moment, neither of them said anything until Aaron pulled himself together and changed the subject.

  "How did you know it was me?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "Just now. I hadn't shown myself, but you knew immediately that it was me."

  "Who else could it have been? The others wouldn't hide like you do. You do it often, after all", Grischa replied, giving him a diabolical grin.

  "I see... I thought for a moment that you had recognized my mana."

  "Recognized your mana?", Grischa said in surprise, but his eyes widened at the same moment. "Can you see mana?"

  "See mana?", Aaron repeated, now visibly irritated. "No, what I meant..."

  He fell silent, and Grischa stared at him in disbelief as the two High-Magicians tried to understand what the other meant. Aaron was the first to speak.

  "You can see mana?"

  "I shouldn’t have said that."

  "No, wait a minute, Grischa. You can see it, with the naked eye?"

  "I can see it, yes. Go think I’m crazy, I’m used to it. No one can see mana."

  "You... what?", was all Aaron could say. He had never heard of mages who could see mana. The statement itself seemed like a lie to him, but he knew Grischa well enough by now to know that he wouldn't lie about something like that.

  "Just forget it, why did I even mention it", Grischa replied and turned back to his test.

  Aaron stood next to him, stunned, when he suddenly remembered his conversation with Zod Adenia. Specifically, the evening when Zod had taught him to distinguish between sources of mana. A child had taught him - a man over 200 years old - things he had never heard of before.

  Was it due to his own blindness? Had he relied to much on the Eldest over the years that he had stopped learning new things? And why was it always the children who talked about topics with such ease, as if they were the most natural thing in the world?

  The three days in Bellator had been a jumble of new discoveries and long-suppressed feelings. Being back in Exarion - and finding himself in the same situation again - felt like a slap in the face.

  Aaron hadn't changed a bit.

  "How...", Aaron began cautiously. "How does it look to you, I mean the mana? Can you tell the difference between people?"

  Visibly irritated, Grischa looked up at him, which Aaron couldn’t blame him for. After all, he was the one who avoided long and, above all, private conversations. Like Zod, Grischa also seemed to be hiding his talent - although Aaron couldn’t understand why.

  "I...", Grischa said hesitantly. "Yes? I... yes. I can distinguish mana."

  "Can you... describe it?"

  "To me, it looks like a faint mist that surrounds the whole body like a second skin", Grischa explained, putting his crystal aside. "Yours, for example, is more reddish, with a hint of black. Most of the time, it just follows your movements, but when you use pure mana, this... mist becomes denser."

  "And what about the Igrikum?"

  "Igrikum is invisible to me, but when you use it, you displace some of your pure mana, which makes it at least somewhat visible. It's like traveling through a rift in the mist."

  "Fascinating. Do you always see... colors?"

  "Not necessarily, I can control quite well whether I see the mana or not."

  "And the crystals?"

  "They also emit mana on their own. In fact, they're fascinating to me because although I add my mana, a completely new color is created. So I never know what to expect."

  "I see, that's why you find crystals so interesting."

  "Indeed", Grischa confirmed with a smile. "Sometimes I feel like an artist."

  "Why have you never told anyone about this?"

  "There are people I have told", Grischa defended himself, becoming serious again. "Before my time as a High-Magician. Back then, I didn't realize that what I was seeing was mana. How did you even come up with this topic?"

  Grischa stared up at Aaron with his large green eyes, which immediately made him uncomfortable. He had taken Zod's exercise to heart because he found the subject itself very interesting, and was also a little envious of how easy it was for Zod.

  "I'm currently learning to distinguish between sources of mana."

  "But you can't even see it."

  "I can feel it. To me, your mana feels quite calm, almost patient and a little cool, even though I can't see it. A feeling, to quote Zod."

  "Zod?"

  "Zod Adenia. He got me into it and I've been learning it ever since."

  "Isn't he a swordmaster?"

  "A swordmaster can also wield mana, although Zod is beyond what I expected. That reminds me...", Aaron began, relaxing for the first time since their conversation began. "Have you ever seen different colors in one person?"

  "Never in my entire life, I can assure you. If I found someone who could do that, I'd want them to explain how they do it. I'd like to be able to lock multiple abilities into a crystal, but it just doesn't work."

  "And with Zod Adenia? You didn't notice that he has multiple sources of mana within him?"

  "Are you talking about Karekama?"

  "No, in general."

  "Not that I noticed. Did you feel more than one?"

  "When he actively released it, yes. He is able to completely suppress his mana and move it outside his body, like a Pachendran."

  "He has better mana control than I do."

  "Certainly."

  "But it shouldn't be possible for a human to have multiple sources of mana. Do you know what he did?"

  "He didn't tell me."

  "Strange, really strange. Did he say anything else?"

  "Regarding the mana?", Aaron replied, thinking for a moment. "No."

  "If I were you, I'd be a little careful", Grischa replied, causing Aaron to look at him in surprise. Until just now, Aaron had assumed that Grischa had befriended Zod. "He's a nice guy, but there's something... threatening about him."

  "Threatening?", Aaron repeated, irritated, but then realized what Grischa was talking about. From the beginning, something about Zod Adenia had seemed strange to him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

  "A wolf in sheep's clothing", Grischa summed it up. "It's a saying from my homeland, but it fits Zod very well. And I'm not talking about Karekama. Did you read his report on the creatures?"

  "The attack on Groka? Of course."

  "Didn't it seem... strange to you? His analysis and... in general, how he behaved when the topic of the creatures came up?"

  "Not that I'm aware of."

  "He knew about the attack on Groka even before we were at the Magistrat."

  Aaron paused in surprise.

  "At the time, the Eldest introduced him as a swordmaster who knows about creatures... but he mentioned to me that he trades with information."

  "Information?", Aaron inquired.

  "He introduced himself as a global source of information - a kind of paid consultant. He knew about the attack on Groka, and I bet you he knows the two mages too."

  "How? Back then, the attack was... only three days ago, right?"

  "When I met him, it had been just one."

  Grischa's gaze hardened, and he crossed his arms over his chest.

  "Can you explain where he got that information? Because I can't. And honestly, I feel stupid for not finding it strange right away. Now I'm wondering if we really met by chance - or if he deliberately wanted to gain quick access to the Magistrat."

  Aaron swallowed.

  So was that why Zod had been so friendly to him over the last few days? Had he been trying to befriend Aaron to get information more easily? Was that why he was working at Bellator? But why? And if he really was trading information, for whom?

  

  "You know exactly what I'm talking about, don't you?" Grischa pressed on.

  "Yes. And I can't explain it either", Aaron confirmed. "Now I wonder even more how the Eldest got to know him."

  "Maybe the Eldest had hired him before? You've been working here for ages... are you sure you've never heard of a reliable source outside the Magistrat?"

  "Never", Aaron confirmed.

  That was exactly the problem. He had known the Eldest longer than anyone else and was rarely not at his side. When the Eldest befriended Zod Adenia had therefore always seemed strange to him. After all, he should have noticed something.

  "I trust the Eldest, but we High-Magicians should generally be more cautious around Zod Adenia's. Especially with what we mention in his presence. He has greater goals - and I'm not sure if I want to know what they are."