When I opened my eyes again, I saw rays of sunlight piercing through dense foliage over my head. After propping myself up, I looked around to get an idea of where I arrived. The surroundings looked radiant and wild, the kind untouched by humans. Using a spell to look further, I saw some animals, a few birds, and as I was about to give up and start wandering, I saw the first trace of human life.
I quickly started moving that way, checking if all my belongings traveled with me on the way. Luckily, nothing was lost, though I noticed an additional envelope slipped into my chestplate by Melina. Opening it, I saw a short message: 'Please, never return to those cursed lands. Live well.'
I looked at those two short sentences, and my mind went to the touch on my lips just before I entered the gap. While I knew Melina for years, I could never understand her. She kept to herself, only speaking when needed, though, to be honest, this quietness was something I found rather cute. Luckily for me, as Sankta, I was well versed in reading minds like that, so in our daily interactions, we could communicate without issues.
Now thinking back about it, Melina and Princess were also acquainted, though they did not seem to get along much. I always thought it was because of the typical clashing between magic and faith users, but two of them seemed to butt heads even more as time passed. Shaking my head to clear my mind, I slowed down to see what was happening, where I found human traces.
Not far away, there was a village, a small one, no more than thirty huts, but what was more important, I could see that all villagers were gathered in the center of the village, children and women covering behind men as they confronted a few mounted knights. I slowly approached them while hiding using night sorceries. I especially covered my halo and wings as I already experienced how they tend to stand out.
As I closed in, I was able to hear what they were talking about.
-"...Why should I care? I gave you a choice. Women or money?"-Spoke one knight.
-"We can't afford that!"-An elder from the village argued.
-"Then, women it is. Go grab them."-Knight sneered.
Two of his men dismounted, and as they were about to draw their swords, I heard hooves coming from a distance. This made the five knights panic. They quickly scrambled to escape, and as they were about to turn around, I waved my hand, sending five magic swords in their direction. Each accurately cut through their saddle bindings, startling their horses, resulting in five fallen raiders.
The approaching knights seemed to notice the commotion as they sped up. Meanwhile, I approached the villagers, my night magic still keeping my halo and wings hidden, while I covered my arm with armor.
-"Who are you?!"-The elder spoke, even more afraid after seeing magic.
-"Not your enemy."-I spoke words I was able to decipher from murmurs around, while internally blessing the lunatic who invented spells to understand demi-humans from lands between, as, if well applied, those could be used to learn a foreign language quickly.
-"What can we do for you, your lordship?"-Elder spoke carefully.
-"Let's wait for a moment, someone is rushing here."-I looked at the road where a dust cloud could be seen on the horizon.
The elder looked and nodded, exhaling a sigh of relief.
As the villagers hugged each other, I watched the fallen knights, but after such a fall in full armor, none of them should be able to move for some time. I also observed the approaching force, and after looking at the colors on their armors, it was obvious that they didn't belong to the same group.
The knight leading them looked a little old, around fifty by my estimation, way too old for a knight leading in direct combat. Others behind him were a mix of too young knights and too old ones, making me wonder if they were on some kind of training.
The leading knight approached the village elder and asked him some questions. Hearing that I was a mage, his face visibly stiffened, and he looked at me with a serious gaze.
-"May I ask for Lord's honors?"
-"I'm known as Eno, Knight and Champion of Caria, but as I come from faraway lands, to you I'm but a wandering knight."-I answered while performing the Carian salute.
-"A wandering knight? What brought you to these lands?"-He continued.
-"Magic."-I answered the only way I could.
-"Magic? You seek magical knowledge?"
-"Yes and no."-I decided to explain more.-"While I indeed seek knowledge, I was brought here by accident during casting, landing here purely by coincidence."
-"I see..."-He looked not convinced, but at least he assessed that I wasn't an enemy.-"Can you disclose your plans?"
-"Find a place to stay, research, learn, and continue on my way."
-"You are a mage indeed. Would you mind coming with us, while I believe you, during such troubled times, an unchecked mage is not something I can allow."-The knight asked while his face relaxed slightly.
-"I don't mind, more so I would be happy to exchange my knowledge or expertise for some lodging, food, and money."-I nodded and extended an offer.
-"An employment?"-He thought for a moment and nodded after a while.-"I have two young'uns I need a teacher for. I hope you could share your wisdom with them."
-"Perfect, I will teach them, but for magic, it all depends on their aptitude."-I warned him.
-"I know, but even more common knowledge is enough; my rough brain is ill-suited for such matters."
-"Thank you for your understanding, Sir?"
-"Ector."- He dismounted and extended his hand to me.
-"Pleasure to meet you."-I shook his hand.
-"Likewise."-He smiled and then called to two young knights watching from nearby.-"Kay, Arthur, come here."
-"Father."-A child with brown hair, looking about ten, approached.
Closely behind followed a slightly younger blond child, looking at me with curiosity. But in my eyes, she was all but a child; she looked more like a beast, a dragon that took human skin.
-"Kay, Arthur, from now on, Eno will be in charge of your education. I will still train your swordsmanship, so I won't let you slack off."
-"This..."-Kay looked at me with slight doubt.
Knowing what he was thinking I smiled and patted the scepter by my side, making it light with blue light. Instantly, ten blades made of blue magic appeared around me, rotating slowly.
-"While I don't dare to claim knowing all there is, I consider myself quite well read. I will impart my knowledge to you, but how much you can learn depends on your talent and hard work."-After I spoke, I let the blades disappear.
-"I will work hard."-Kay's eyes shone as he looked at the magic swords.
Arthur stayed quiet, seemingly not interested in magic, further proving that my intuition was correct.
-"We will wait for scouts to look for more of these bastards."-Ector pointed at the now-bound five knights.-"If nothing is found, we will return."
-"There should be no one within a few kilometers radius."
-"Oh? Quite useful skill."-Ector looked at me with surprise.
-"Magic is first and foremost a tool. Why not use it when one can?"-I smiled.
-"Heh, I wonder what those stuck-up old men would think of your words."-He also showed a smile, mocking one.-"Need a horse?"
-"I should be good."-I answered and walked a little further from the center of the village.
I whistled and waited with bated breath, wondering if my companion followed me here. When I heard the familiar neigh, I showed a relieved expression, finally seeing someone familiar in this foreign land. Only now I noticed how much strung up I was until now. After letting out a relaxed breath, I mounted Arion and bated her neck.
-"Good to have you by my side, partner. Ready for another journey?"
Receiving another neigh in response, I smiled and let Arion follow Ector and his knights.
Unbeknownst to me, after I left Ector's side, a short conversation took place.
-"You sure? Won't he harm her?"-Ector spoke to the air.
-"I've never been unsure of something like I'm now, but that's why it's so important. Neither of us wants her to go that path."-A voice answered him.
-"Can he help her?"-Ector's eyes showed exhaustion of someone who has seen through life.
-"He might be even able to save her."-The voice didn't have any emotional fluctuations.
-"Have it your way."-Ector closed his eyes.
The travel didn't last too long, only around ten hours, and we arrived at Ector's estate. There, I was given one of the free rooms after we discussed the details of my employment. Long story short, I was to teach math and language, both writing and speaking, as well as advanced subjects such as economics, politics, and military strategy. Of course, magic was also included, but I was told to focus on the magic that can assist in other tasks rather than destruction.
The next day, I exited my room early and went to the yard where Ector was already instructing two young'uns on handling a sword. I looked from the side for a while before moving further away and starting my own training.
First, I took out my sword and started the same routine I always did when I was free. The same steps, swings, movements. My Mentor called it a dance, and it was hard not to agree. As a sword technique developed for two swords, it almost fully abandoned blocking in favor of dodging and overwhelming opponents with quick and relentless attacks. Even now, when I only used one weapon, I still kept true to those principles.
After the physical part, I began my magic training. Conjuring a multitude of small birds made of pure magic, I focused on controlling them, making them appear as lifelike as I could. For a mage, three things influenced his abilities: magic reserves, control, and knowledge. Resources were mostly innate, talent, and such; only complicated rituals could change them. Control and knowledge were acquired; one required training magic like one would train a muscle, repeating casting until achieving mastery, while the other required long years of research and understanding. This, of course, didn't include outside influences such as equipment, but this was not a part of the training.
Due to the size of my Primal Glindstone, my magic reserves were far beyond what one would expect, even the Princess assessed that when it comes to magic reserves, she might fall short of me. Because of that, control was always the focus point of my training; having too much magic power, while overall beneficial, can harm oneself when berserk.
I continued adding more conjured animals for another hour, turning my surroundings into a zoo. At the end of my training, one last step remained, draining. Using as much magic as I could, I constructed a crystalline structure depicting a fowl I saw during my travel here. This left me exhausted, as to create a crystal of that size, I needed most of my power, but that was part of the training.
-"Never seen a mage train like you."-Ector approached me after seeing that I was finished.
-"Few do as it's useless for them."-I stood up from the ground as I spoke.-"It's hard to lump mages into one category, even more so when including abnormalities like me."
-"I see. The kiddos are done with their morning routine. When can you start?"
-"Let them eat something, I'll bring the books, and we can start."
-"Where will you teach?"
-"Here."-I gestured at the training grounds.-"No need to waste good weather. I'll build a small pavilion later for rainy days."
-"Sure."-Ector seemed intrigued by my choice, but he didn't ask why.
Fifteen minutes later, Kay and Arthur sat on the chairs brought here from the house. Before them were simple tables with books I prepared during the night. We began simply, by talking about them, their abilities, strong and weak points. I slowly steered the conversation toward the subject I will be teaching, trying to grasp their current level while understanding their attitude toward learning.
Of the two, Kay was more outgoing, but also somewhat stubborn, though I had to admit that even at his age, he already had a way with words. If he is certain of something, he won't listen to others and will argue his point. With such character, he will make a good minister, but to achieve that, he needs knowledge so as not to walk the wrong path by picking the correct convictions.
Arthur, on the other hand, was silent but not mute. He spoke carefully, never wasting words on petty matters. At the same time, he exhibited a profound mix of hesitancy and conviction, having issues with deciding, but when Kay convinced him, he would be even more assured of that decision than Kay himself. In my eyes, he is a great candidate for a knight, loyal and steady, but he lacks some self-awareness in strange places.
With that in mind, we started our first session, ending only in the afternoon. When I let them go, they rushed to other tasks their father assigned them. Meanwhile, I busied myself with a plan for my self-sufficiency. No matter what, I needed a stable source of income without depending on Ector, so I planned to open a workshop from which I would sell produce to earn some money.
First, I needed a product to sell, and luckily, I had already done something similar in the Lands Between, so I just needed to repeat it here. All of the books I saw in Ector's study were made from parchment, which was expensive and hard to make. I learned in childhood about paper making, and by experimenting during my stay in the Academy of Raya Lucaria, I was able to recreate the process.
To prevent technology theft, I added magic to steps in between, using alchemy instead of chemistry. The materials needed were not hard to come by; they literally grew everywhere. The only issue was the initial investment, but that won't be hard to manage. Remembering the five knights I met first, I later read a book about the history of this country, and by talking with Ector got a basic understanding of the state of affairs.
A civil war, a headless state, not to mention invaders from the sea. For citizens and those without strength, it was certainly a tragedy, but for those in power, a land of opportunity. And power, I had plenty.