The First Archmage

(Gavin)

"I have returned," I state, and Tristan jumps, spinning to face me, stopping when he registers the Divine Presence around us, his gaze turning to the Divine Being standing beside me. "Ignore him, I have to babysit him for awhile."

"Babysit him?"

"His dad wants him out of his hair for awhile," I nod. "And he gave me very strict instructions for what to do if his son misbehaves, didn't he?"

"Yes, sir!" The Divine Prince salutes to me.

"Treat him like you would anyone else," I say. "He may be a Divine Being, but he's not allowed to use that to exert his authority or punish people while under my care, or his father will… we won't discuss that threat."

It made me cringe in horror. Nies said I have to do it to make up for Teleporting myself into his Divine Realm. The worst part about me having to babysit this hyper kid while already dealing with my own apprentice is that Nies didn't tell me how long I'd have to babysit him for.

And that he and my apprentice might get up to some pretty heavy mischief while I'm doing stuff for the Order or heading around doing other things.

"How did your… discussion with your patron go?" Tristan decides to ignore my new duties.

"I have to babysit his son," I state. "Do you want more time here?"

"Yes," he nods. "Will there be a way for me to return to the village?"

I manifest a set of scrolls, setting them down on the table beside him.

"How to do my Teleportation," I inform him. "There's plenty of food here, so if you want to stay awhile longer, you should be fine."

Then, I Teleport the Divine Prince and myself into the village. Tristan will probably stay there awhile to study the scrolls more. My apprentice is in the training hall, as I expected, practicing Magic Bolts under the tutorship of one of the Elves. It costs a fair bit of Mana, so he has to wait for it to regenerate as well, and in the time between, the Elf is teaching him runes.

"Ryan," I say. "If you get up to any mischief with this kid here, I will punish you harshly and force you to write runes for six months without casting a single spell. Am I clear?"

The Elf is staring at me with reverence, though I know he feels it towards the Divine Prince, considering the Divine Presence radiating out of him.

"Yes," Ryan groans, then looks at the kid. "This feels like a Divine Presence, and he looks like Nies, but… this isn't your patron, right?"

"It's his son," I confirm. "He wanted to get his son out of his fur for awhile, so he's asked me to babysit the kid."

"Okay," Ryan says. "Are you sure we can't have fun?"

"You two can have fun," I say. "But no causing problems, or you're banned from using magic for six months and will be forced to practice runes the entire time. Am I clear?"

"Understood," he groans.

"And if," I look at the Divine Prince. "You even try to convince him to, I will spank your ass until it hurts to sit. Am I clear?"

According to Nies, his son absolutely hates spankings, and I'm allowed to use my full strength on him. Unlike his father's, the Divine Prince's 'mortal' body is insanely tough. Mostly because it's his real body, just without the tail, and Nies locked him into this form.

"Understood!" He salutes to me.

If the Divine Prince dies, he'll resurrect in Nies's Divine Realm, and I'll get scolded. Then probably have to watch the kid for longer. Since the Divine Prince knows I'm stronger than him, both magically and physically, he'll hopefully behave, and not just be saying he understands.

Hopefully.

"How do you like it so far?" I look at the Elf, who stammers for a moment.

My aura is turned off, yet people will still likely react this way to me. If they know who I am, they likely know what I can do and some of what I have done. The Elves were in awe of my powers. A handful were willing to come immediately, while others said they would need time to decide or prepare to leave.

"It is well," the Elf responds to me. "Though there are communication difficulties, as we don't speak the languages of the others, but the Fairies have helped out, with their Spirits translating at times. Then there is the beastborn, who seems to know many languages."

"Michael's traveled the world," I inform him. "And has a knack with languages. How long have you had Access?"

"I acquired it a few days after you began your raid of our neighbor," he answers. "I lived near the border, and was terrified of the beast who could do such magics, sealing them over with ice. I had thought, at first, that it was our people who were being trapped, and like the others in my town, fled. It was on our journey to the capital that I acquired Access. Once we arrived, we heard tale of the Human who could grant Access at will and had decided to slay our neighbors for a transgression against the Kemmel.

"I wasn't sure what to think, at first," he admits. "But as time passed, I realized that what I heard you told them sounded like something I wanted to be a part of. Thank you, for having me within your Order."

"You're welcome," I say. "Do you know where the others were? There was only one of you who came immediately who did not have Access, and I would like to see if he would like it."

"I believe they were adjusting to the homes you built for us," the Elf informs me. "Though that was several hours ago, so I may be wrong."

"I'll check there," I say, then Teleport onto one of the walkways spanning between a small grove of tall trees, where a series of homes have been constructed. There weren't many Elves who came immediately, but I still made sure to build some extra homes just in case.

There are a few Fairies talking with the Elves right now, though I focus on locating the one without Access. He's actually on the ground, practicing his archery.

The Elf is a little more than six feet in height, tall, like all of his kind. He has orange hair and hazel eyes, and possesses a lean frame, toned from years of practice and hunting. He has a focused gaze in his eyes as he moves around, shooting the targets erected in the fields.

The bow itself looks like a standard Elven bow from the people I had landed in the village of, and the Elf himself looks familiar. He must have been there, when I dropped in all that time ago.

The Elf finishes off his quiver, then approaches the targets and draws his arrows. Once he returns them to his quiver, he turns and approaches me, giving a slight bow first to me, then the Divine Prince.

Interesting. Most people would bow to a Divine Being first.

"Lord Gavin," the Elf says. "It is an honor to be before you."

"The honor," I say. "Should be for being a part of this Order and making a difference. Do not be honored by my presence. Would you like Access to the System?"

"You would do that?" He asks.

"You were there, weren't you?" I ask. "I granted Access to three of your neighbors to prove a point. If you wish Access here and now, so that you may grow stronger and protect others, I would have no issue granting it to you. You seem to have a dedication and purpose to your training."

"Indeed," he looks down at his bow, running his fingers across it. "I wish to grow stronger to protect others. This bow was my father's, before the Ilinia raided our village when I was younger. I have trained with his bow since. Had you not come along and done what you claimed you could do, I would likely no longer be here."

He would have given in to his rage once he felt he was strong enough, and attacked the Ilinia.

Ah, right. Wiswim was their nation. Such an odd name.

"Would you like Access, then?" I ask, and he nods. "Very well, then. And now, you have it, Lyari. You have decent talent with a bow. Here."

I draw a series of runes in the air, then wave my hand, the runes imprinting themselves upon a sheet of paper that forms.

"These runes," I hold my hands up, a longbow forming in them, and I pull the string back. "Will form a spell, Mystic Arrow."

A shimmering, violet arrow forged of magic forms in the bow as I draw the string.

New Skill!

Mystic Arrow: An arrow forged of Mana.

I fire the arrow, and it soars into the target, penetrating it deep, then allow the bow to vanish from reality.

"With the proper formula actually created," I tell him. "It should be relatively easy to learn the spell, compared to how it was in the past."

Formulas themselves have turned out to be easier to memorize than runes individually, when a proper formula is looked at. He might be able to harness this spell within a few days. And the upside to it is that with the proper formula, there would be no backlash for failure or doing it wrong.

The spell would simply dissipate.

I haven't exactly shared that with anyone yet, though I do know it's true. Tristan, Eli, and I all confirmed it. We plan on announcing it at our first Conclave. We'll have more members by then, so it won't be an issue.

"Try it," I tell him. "Draw the bow, visualize the runic formula on that sheet, as well as the arrow forming. Ah – but know that it'll be blue in color. My magic is violet due to special circumstances."

Due to having a mother from an entirely different universe, it seems. Though I won't exactly share that with anyone. Eli and Dylan know, but they're my brothers, one of whom was born of the same mother as me, and so has the violet magic as well.

I watch as Lyari practices the spell. He doesn't manage to use it, though I can tell he's on the right track. He's forming the formula without too much issue, and the spell simply dissipates when he doesn't get it right. As expected, it might take him a few days.

As I read his magic, I notice a slight affinity for ice magics within him. Ice Arrows might be a thing he could use well, so while he focuses on trying to use Magic Arrow, I draw another series of runes, imprinting them upon a fresh sheet of paper, leaving that hovering in front of him as well.

"This formula," I tell him. "Will teach you how to forge arrows of ice, instead of pure Mana."

"Thank you, Lord Jakran," he bows to me as I feel a fluctuation in magic, and a sudden presence in this area.

That's not a Rift Wolf, as they would have come through a Rift. What was that? I sense no hostility, so will ignore it, for now.

"You're welcome," I tell the Elf, twitching my ears as I hear what's being said. It's a foreign language, and a message appears in my vision when I hear it, a most curious one. "I have some other duties to attend to, Lyari. Good luck, and practice well. I have no doubt that you can acquire both Skills within a week, if you do."

"Thank you, Lord Jakran," he bows again.

I can tell it means much to him, to have this assistance. I dip my head to him, then stroll towards where the visitors are, reading the message in my vision and smiling a little.

New Skill!

Soradi Dekami Language: The language of the true Dekami, the first Enlightened Species within this universe, who are also known as the Ancients.

Even if these aren't the true Dekami, they will have a connection to them, to the first beings who became Enlightened. And it seems that the true Dekami are also the beings once known as the Ancients.

The Ancients… the first Enlightened Species in our records, most tales and stories of them lost to time, yet their legacy not forgotten, nor their prowess with magic itself.

Which makes sense, considering that the Dekami Runic Language works best with straight-up magics and spells.

When I reach the visitors, I see a trio of beings who are humanoid in appearance, yet the aura they give off say they are anything but. Each of them has a relatively small frame, much like me, and each has pure violet eyes, their cheeks glittering in a way akin to the Fairies' cheeks, their hair a blond so light, it's akin to sunlight.

Judging by their Statuses, they are true Dekami. The one on either side of the center one are each a soldier, while the center one…

I smile.

"Gavin!" Eli exclaims when I'm spotted, the Dekami turning their violet gazes from my brother to me. "I can't understand them! My Language Boost isn't high enough for me to just acquire languages yet!"

"That's alright," I tell him as I draw nearer, turning my gaze to the true Dekami, then speak in Soradi to the center one. "How may I assist our realm-traveling guests, Majesty?"

The center Dekami returns my smile.