The throne room was packed with people. Clothed in high color, they were standing and watching with interest the two Archmages who had just entered the room.
- "You are in the presence of His Highness, the King of Kilguana, Kylis Lubeyllis" announced a man aloud.
A heavy silence hung over the entire hall as Isaac and Zachary walked slowly and steadily towards the throne at the back of the hall where the King was.
In front of them stood about fifteen soldiers armed with spears positioned in a line a few steps below the King.
After several seconds, Zachary and Isaac stopped at the bottom of the steps and respectfully bowed their heads towards the King in greeting.
- "Welcome back among us, Magus Kol" announced the King without delay.
- "Thank you, Majesty" replied Zachary raising his head before turning to Isaac. "This is my guest, the Elven Archmage Isaac," he said at last.
The King then turned his gaze previously laid on Zachary to Isaac before smiling. He then bowed his head slightly forward in respect before continuing.
- "It is an honor for me to be able to meet an illustrious member of the elven race, dear Archmage" he announced. "What do I owe the presence of a resident of Angremort?" he then asked.
The crowd suddenly turned to Isaac, their eyes filled with interest, curiosity mingled with intense fear. What did an elf want in their territory? Had their kingdom enraged the people of the forest?
Isaac froze instantly when he saw all eyes on him. He was paralyzed, stressed, and didn't know what to do or respond. His brain had simply stopped thinking. Seeing his colleague's distress, Zachary came over to nudge him before smiling.
Isaac woke up suddenly and came out of his trance.
- "I am not from Angremort" he answered simply.
The King didn't seem to understand and frowned slightly to show his incomprehension. Isaac, therefore, decided to elaborate.
- "As long I can remember, I have always been in my sanctuary. I am not from Angremort and am not affiliated with any kingdom, Majesty."
At this, the King nodded, astonished and surprised but he could kinda understand Isaac's situation. There were humans who had no allegiance, why would the elves be any different? No one had ever thought of such elves because no one had ever seen such elf, but that didn't mean they didn't exist.
- "Well, if you have no allegiance ..." began the King, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Maybe you could give it to Kilguana, right?"
The guards tightened their spears and came to look directly at Isaac who was terrified by the looks around him. Isaac understood very well where he wanted to go. The King wanted to receive his allegiance but Isaac had no intention of giving it.
The atmosphere gradually tensed with the silence that followed the King's words. No one in the room dared to make the slightest noise. This was until Zachary's voice resounded.
- "Majesty, my Guest has no desire to pledge his allegiance to anyone. He is here as my Guest, nothing more, nothing less," he said smiling.
The guards were stressing out. Before them were the two most powerful people in the whole kingdom. Deep inside, they prayed that the King would not go further.
To their dismay, the latter did not. He squeezed the wrist of his throne then sighed.
- "Zachary, you are in the best position to know that an Archmage is a severe threat to our kingdom. I could never sleep peacefully knowing that one of them is walking in my city without any guarantees," asked the King, looking towards Isaac.
Isaac shivered slightly when he saw the look the King was giving him and almost took a step back. Isaac was just a shy computer student, he was the student sitting at the back of the class, discreet and invisible.
He wasn't the type to receive that kind of attention let alone from someone who radiated such a stifling charisma.
Isaac only wanted one thing: Get out of here ASAP. To hell with the royal library.
Zachary didn't fail to notice the panic in Isaac's eyes and began to think very quickly. What the King was doing was a show of force. He wanted to show the Nobles present that he was able to face an Archmage.
But for Zachary, the situation did not lend itself to a show of force. Political wars had no place when they had before them someone who was probably capable of razing the entire capital in a single attack.
He didn't want it to end like this and tried another tactic.
- "Majesty, although Isaac is not from Angremort, do you really think that Angremort will not come to claim him?" he said with a slightly provocative tone.
The King frowned slightly and leaned forward.
- "Is this a threat that I hear?" he asked calmly.
- "Hear what you want Majesty, but you have to admit that even you don't know what will happen when Angremort learns that one of them is here, do you?"
Whispers began to rise in the assembly around them as their eyes shifted to the King awaiting his response.
The latter was surprised. Never would he have believed that one day, Zachary would answer him in front of an audience.
The second Kylis laid his eyes on Isaac, he noticed that Isaac didn't have much charisma, he seemed easy to handle and fold. He was like a child, he was definitely not ready for politics.
But what was his surprise to see his closest friend, the Magus and the Archmage of the realm, defend a stranger from nowhere.
The King was in shock and didn't know what to say. He tried to seek an explanation from Zachary when their eyes met.
Zachary had a worried expression on his face and screamed an emotion the King never thought he saw on his friend's face. An emotion mixing excitement, fear, and respect.
Isaac was not just anyone and Zachary was signaling to him that he had to stop this game right away.
- "Anyway, I cannot allow him to stay on our lands like that..." said the King before being cut off.
- "I can offer you something in exchange for access to your knowledge," said Isaac.
The King raised an eyebrow and seemed interested in the proposal. Knowledge in exchange for knowledge? Coming from a human, it would have seemed extremely dangerous.
After all, humans weren't known for being straightforward and honest. Even humans didn't trust other humans.
But an elf? Things were different. No human kingdom had Elven technology since Angremort categorically refused to trade it.
The legends told of the magical elven constructions. Between moving trees, controlling animals, and their impressive barrier protecting their forest, there was a lot to discover and learn.
What is more, never in several centuries of history had an elf broken a promise he had kept. Elves were an upright and honest race, their words carried so much weight that even animals trusted them.
- "What do you propose?" asked the King immediately.
Isaac came and plunged his hand over his clothes before a red light appeared. The soldiers narrowed their eyes slightly and braced for an attack when the light disappeared.
In Isaac's palm was a seed. Simple, small, and innocent, it seemed harmless.
But humans had learned well from history that elven creations were all but harmless.
Those in the audience tried to come forward to take a closer look at the seed but were stopped by the guards.
Zachary on his side was more than excited. He didn't know what that seed was. He had seen multiple plants in the Garden of Origins during his short stay there but this seed meant nothing to him.
Seeing his colleague's interest, Isaac came over to show him the seed and put it in his hand before smiling.
- "This is an enchanted seed of a fire flower," said Isaac so that all heard him.
Zachary was totally focused on the seed and inspected it right away. Many unknown miniature runes had been traced on the surface but what surprised him was that he couldn't figure out their meaning or how to use this seed.
Should he plant it? Make an incantation? Zachary looked up at Isaac for an answer.
- "Breathe mana inside" whispered Isaac with a small smile.
Without a hint of hesitation, Zachary obeyed and breathed mana into the seed. For several seconds nothing happened and the assembly remained silent. The suspense was at a peak.
As the King began to grow impatient, a small sprout suddenly pierced the surface of the seed. A few seconds passed and a small plant grew in Zachary's hand.
Then, a flower suddenly sprouted at the end of the plant, a fiery, scarlet flower.
Zachary was enchanted by the beauty of the flower. It was gorgeous, innocent, but something was strange. So he decided to activate his mana vision to get a closer look before his eyes widened.
What appeared in front of him took him by surprise. The plant circuit had connected to the vessels in his hand. Mana continuously flowed between the two, creating a perfectly balanced cycle.
It was a miracle! He had just merged with a plant. He immediately turned his gaze to Isaac who smiled at him and came over to show him the plant with his hand.
- "It's an extension of you now, you can manipulate it with your mind," said Isaac.
Zachary turned his attention to the plant again and came to focus on it growing.
The next moment the plant began to grow and reached three times its original size while drawing mana from Zachary's circuit. All around were blown away by the flames that the plant emitted and the beauty of the flower that sat at its end.
Then, Zachary ordered it to retract and form a dome around him which the plant did. During the next few minutes, Zachary tested many things like the power of the fire emitted by the plant.
At the end of his tests, Zachary turned to Kylis and nodded positively.
The King was amazed but what surprised him the most was Zachary's face. The Magus was totally focused as if he had just found a treasure. What Isaac had just given them could probably be considered a national treasure.
Kylis understood why Zachary had prevented him from continuing to force Isaac into submission to Kilguana. They had much more to gain if they made him a friend rather than a forced servant. Assuming they could force him to do anything.
For his part, Isaac sighed in relief.
He didn't mind giving that seed. After all, if he wanted to see the documents in the Royal Library, he had to donate something that might bait the Royal Family.
From the reactions he was seeing, his plan seemed to be working.
The King came to raise his hand to calm the ectatic crowd, smiled then cleared his throat a little before speaking.
- "Isaac will be considered Guest of Honor of the Court and will be in the charge of the Magus of the Court for the duration of his stay" he announced before looking at Isaac. "I hope you will enjoy your stay in our beautiful city," he said with a smile.
The assembly applauded these words and came to salute the King's action. Many were the nobles who wanted to meet Isaac and make him an ally. The fact that he was allowed to stay was news that many reveled in.
- "The audience is closed" then announced the King before getting up. "To celebrate the return of the Magus, a banquet has been set up in the main hall. I invite you all to refresh yourself there."
He gave a quick sign to Zachary who nodded then left the throne room through the central path. Isaac and Zachary stepped aside to make way for him and once the King left, the two Archmages teleported out of the room. One in a shadow and the other in a flash of light.
The crowd unable to hold themselves anymore tried in vain to speak with Isaac but failed without surprise. Once the three main characters of the audience disappeared, the nobles set out to leave the throne room.
Inside the main hall, a flash of light illuminated the surroundings just before Zachary made his appearance. Soon after, Isaac stepped out of a freshly formed shadow and approached his colleague.
- "You really have to teach me your teleportation spell," said Isaac with a small laugh.
- "The principle is the same, I'm sure you can do it easily" Zachary replied before turning to the tables full of food.
Isaac was already drooling when he saw the dishes. Pig, calf, duck, swan, and other animals of all kinds were lined up on silver platters.
The sight was breathtaking and his stomach began to growl despite the fact that he was not technically hungry. The fact that his body was not endowed with an urge like hunger, thirst, or sleep had its disadvantages.
Sleep brought clarity to the mind and gave rest, but with his new body, there were few times he could do so.
Although it didn't seem to have any negative effects, the feeling of never sleeping was strange. He had always found joy in sleeping. Fatigue made sleep important, but now that the two were gone, Isaac felt a little empty.
The same was true of hunger. But in truth, he never felt totally full. His body still seemed to adjust to his mind. If he wanted to be hungry, he could make himself hungry. If he wanted to feel full, he could just make himself be full.
Aside from fatigue and sleep, he had some level of subconscious control over his body.
So, seeing the buffet that stood in front of him, his body reacted immediately: he wanted to devour everything that was here.
Just as he was about to pounce wildly on a roasted, marinated pheasant lying on peas, a wave of energy suddenly swept through the hall.
The hairs on the back of Isaac's neck immediately curled up reflexively as if he had just sensed danger. Something powerful, imposing, and threatening had arisen, and the fact that he could not see it stressed him.
Isaac immediately turned to Zachary who didn't seem to notice. He was enjoying a bunch of grapes quietly.
- "Something is wrong ?" Zachary asked seeing Isaac's worried gaze.
- "Didn't you feel it?" Isaac asked in response.
Zachary narrowed his eyes seriously. Something didn't seem right and it made him anxious.
- "No, what did you feel?" Zachary replied.
- "A wave of energy. No mana, no elemental particle. Cold and hot, something electrifying" Isaac said.
Zachary listened intently to what Isaac said and narrowed his eyes even more. He didn't understand. The only energies he knew were all derived from mana, even elemental particles were sort of mana.
Why was Isaac saying it was something else? He didn't know it but didn't want to continue. For now, they must know the origin of this wave of unknown energy.
As Zachary was about to call a guard to ask him to search the Palace, the mana around Isaac suddenly stiffened.
- "What…" Isaac started before being cut.
A cold, childish voice suddenly echoed in his mind laughing, visibly happy.
- "Found you !" said the voice.
A moment later, the space around Isaac seemed to twist and fold on itself before he was sucked in and disappeared entirely without a trace.
Zachary's eyes widened as Isaac disappeared and dropped his grape which fell to the ground. He couldn't believe his eyes, it was a type of magic he had seen before.
Magic he hoped he'd never see again. After all, few could cast it, and those few wanted his head for a reason he didn't know.
- "Draconic magic…" Zachary said.