"Hello Cale. It's nice to hear from you again", Ben exclaimed in a loud voice, which made the mage smile.

As agreed, all High-Magicians gathered in the blue salon the next day, it was early afternoon and they had some things to sort out. Aaron also attended this meeting, so the group had initiated a break to eat in the meantime. Since they were still waiting for some latecomers, Cale took the opportunity to talk briefly with his friends on the other side of the world.

"It's good to see you three again, too. How are you guys?"

Cale leaned against the wall, making a sonic barrier appear around him, before giving his full attention to the crystal in his hand.

"I can't complain, but I have to say, I'll be glad to have a real bed again", Philippa admitted, causing Cale to laugh in amusement.

"Yeah, it's pretty exhausting in the long run. Did Will tell you we had an addition?", Ben interjected, lifting the crystal a bit to the side so that they could see the people in the background. Aaron sat there holding something to drink in his hand, next to him squatted the young man with the spear, watching curiously. "Theorik is his name, he's a really nice man. Philippa gets along great with him, too."

After Ben's statement, only an offended "what are you telling him?" could be heard from Philippa before the two began to sink into a conversation of their own.

"How are you doing, Cale?", William's calm voice could be heard as the two appeared to be arguing in the background.

"I'm really happy. Done, but happy", Cale replied and could see a brief smile on William's face. "I haven't even gotten to thank you yet. I don't know what we would have done without you, Will."

"Please don't, I'm glad I could help. How is High-Magician Vonstetten doing? Aaron told us all the whole story and just said he was getting better."

"He's as fit as ever, you can't believe he was dying two days ago."

Cale sighed at the comment as he recalled this morning's memories. First he had spent some time talking with the healers and then had removed his remaining Igrikum from Grischa before meeting with Miguel along with the Eldest, Sefra and Grischa. To Cale's amazement, the Eldest had asked Miguel if he would work as a sword teacher for the Maigstrat.

"Glad to hear it."

"That reminds me", Cale abruptly chimed in. "Did you give Aaron a real name?"

William turned briefly to the rear, and the other two instantly brightened as well.

"You told him?", Ben interjected, with a stern undertone in his voice.

"Ah, yes. I told him who we are."

Cale knew exactly how Ben and Philippa felt at that moment. One by one they talked to him about why he had done that and why he hadn't told them. One could well observe how William ran out of words, but did not seem particularly disturbed by the situation. Instead, he smiled at the fact, saying only that the conversation had turned out that way.

"Did he say anything to you?", Cale interrupted the ranting parents, which is why all three turned their attention back to him.

"Nothing in particular, no? Why?"

"Aaron is... let's put it this way: he doesn't like nobles very much."

"He doesn't like nobles?", Ben and William repeated in unison.

"Why that?", Philippa interjected.

"I don't know exactly. Seems to be something very personal. Doesn't really matter now. Just do me the favor and stay together, will you?"

In the corner of his eye, he saw Sefra raise her hand and wave at him, so Cale sighed softly and stood up. The last of them had finally arrived and they could start talking.

"Give the crystal back to Aaron, please. We would like to start", he explained to his friend and released the barrier. As he moved to the center of the room, they said goodbye to each other and the next moment Aaron's face was visible. Wordlessly, Cale passed the crystal to the Eldest and sat down next to Grischa and Joshua. The other mages also took their seats until silence fell.

"Now then. Since we are finally complete, let's start with the most important issue first. The Magistrat will provide mages who will work with Sylve to build a new, more protected path between the lands", Sefra began quietly. Usually Grischa or Aaron took charge of the conversation, but neither had really been able to do so. "Rangar is working right now to find enough volunteers by the end of the week. After that, we'll talk to King Leonhardt of Sylve and sort out how we're going to split up. From our side, Rangar and Nora will come along themselves, for support, but mainly to protect the people."

A brief nod could be seen from the two High-Magicians before Sefra continued.

"Everyone, please remember not to move outside the city alone. Ego aside, something like what happened to Grischa doesn't have to happen to us a second time", she added, before all eyes turned to the High-Magician to Cale's right. Some of them had just seen Grischa again today and had no idea that he was lacking memories. They asked him some direct questions, but most of the time they talked about how relieved they were that he was feeling better. "Then to the point about the students and the Anuxers. I have rearranged the lessons and have already talked to the other teachers. We are starting earlier and more focused lessons on the creatures and combat lessons. Something similar is underway with the adults per se. We are planning evening classes for residents of the city. Anyone can participate, primarily everyone is to be trained the Anuxer. Miguel Heriog and I will also set up proper fighting classes for the adults. Since he's a swordmaster, that shouldn't be a problem - he already agreed."

"Who is going to do the teaching about the creatures?", Odin gave word afterwards, which is why Sefra's gaze went to the Eldest. "Isn't this getting a little too much for you guys alone?"

"I was hoping that either Zod Adenia or Caleb could take over. Eldest, you said you knew the author of the Chronicles, didn't you."

Surprised, Cale looked up at the Eldest, who had an amused grin on his face. Except for Aaron and Cale, no one currently knew that Sefra was talking about the same person.

"I'm afraid it's going to be hard to get in touch with Sir Adenia", the Eldest raised and right the question directly to Cale. "Do you have the confidence, Caleb? To hold classes?"

"I would have the confidence, yes. But I've never held classes in this style", he replied, turning his attention to Sefra. "I must confess, I don't really know what I would have to do."

"You're supposed to teach people about the creatures, anyone can read it. Of us, however, you are the one with the most experience about the creatures", the High-Mage clearly stated, causing Cale to rub his head in embarrassment. He hadn't counted on the expeditions at that time being his undoing. "You know the Chronicles well, don't you?"

"I know the Chronicles very well, yes."

"I know you've been championing the credibility of the series for years. Not that I question your decision, Eldest...", Sefra lifted, casting a quick glance at the blond-haired mage before turning her attention back to Cale. "... How realistic do you think what is written in it is? Many of the creatures have no confirmed existence."

"They do exist. All of them. There's no question about that", Cale clarified with a serious look.

"If you say so...", she replied hesitantly, jotting something down in her notes. "If you need any help, just let me know."

"I'll probably really take you up on that offer."

"Good", Sefra replied, turning back to the rest of the group. "Are there any other questions or comments?"

Since no one spoke up in that regard, the High-Mage brought up the subject everyone had been waiting for.

"Fine. Then let's talk about the Kormandents. There is a suspicion that the Kormandents are not creatures, but humans."

Instantly, some among them began to express indignation at the statement, so the Eldest raised his hand to ensure silence.

"The Holy Mana of Aletta Merensen was passed to the Kormandent through Vonstetten. Yusuf Mirai had confirmed that it was definitely her Holy Mana, but the Holy Mana had not killed the creature. The only conclusion we have been able to draw from this so far is that the Kormandents must be humans", the Eldest explained calmly, lowering his hand.

"I'm always open to other ideas", Aaron volunteered, letting everyone know who had the original thought.

"Did the Kormandent utilize their mana or merely keep it in their bodies?", Odin asked into the silence, directing the question to Luc, who was closest to the action.

"As far as I could tell, the Kormandent used it and Yusuf meant the same thing."

Luc's answer unsettled the others, so none of them made any further comment. They could think of no logical explanation, not even Cale. How else would a creature be able to use Holy Mana like that if it wasn't a human? Besides, it would explain why the city had been so specifically attacked, even if no one could currently give a reason for why.

The High-Magicians sat in silence for a while, until finally Sefra spoke up again.

"If you have other ideas, let us know. For now, we'll go with the theory that they are humans. That means our goal is to find out who they are and what they want from us. However, since we shouldn't necessarily approach them, I would make a suggestion", the 4th seat calmly raised. "How about we smoke out their entire forest."

"What? You want to launch some kind of counterattack?", Odin replied brusquely.

"That's a bit dangerous, don't you think?", Nora softly admitted. "We don't really know what we're getting ourselves into."

"Let me finish", Sefra interrupted the others. "When we were out on the plains, we noticed one thing: the Kormandents hide underground. And there was something else strange. When we came the other Kormandents hid, except for our friend, he ran away. Maybe they have some kind of sense of common good and he didn't want to put the others in danger, which is why he had lured us away from their location. So my suggestion was to go to the original entrance and try to lure them out of the caves. The rest of them probably still carry Grischa's mana."

"That's assuming Yusuf Mirai comes along again, though", Joshua chimed in, causing the High-Mage to look at him in surprise and go quiet. "I don't know about that, Sefra."

"We can't demand that from him", Malte added a moment later. "Once was already dangerous for him, he will not get caught up in this again."

"That's aside from the fact that we can't just start going after the entire colonies. If they're all as dangerous as that one, we'd better keep our distance", Rosalie interjected into the hopeless discussion. The High-Magicians looked at each other, each thinking his or her piece, but no viable solution came forth.

"It would be far too dangerous to go on the offensive", Cale himself finally spoke up. "As Nora said, we don't know what to expect. It could be a few hundred, but it could just as easily be hundreds of thousands or even more. We also don't know if everyone's abilities are on that level, or if there are any among them that could be even more dangerous to us."

"The kid's right", Aaron interjected supportively. "I'm also in favor of taking a cautious approach to this. We should first get an idea of how many we're dealing with and how they relate to the creature waves and the dragons. So at this point in time, I would argue that the safety of the countries should take priority."

"In addition, we should all educate ourselves as well", Odin added, turning his gaze to Cale and Grischa. "We should learn to see like Yusuf Mirai. If we can't distinguish mana sources on our own, then a fortiori we don't need to think about attacking."