A vote had just been done by the elders and a decision had been made. The Harbinger, Jake, had just been permitted to keep the magic mimicry so the preparations that had been done for the ritual was now pointless.
The elders that had voted for Jake to keep the magic – Zedron, Viesagol, Serryl, Daeriela, Sevanias and Raistrel – were talking to the other elders in an attempt to explain their point of view and show them why leaving the Harbinger with the magic was the best option.
"If the magic mimicry is given to Mithral, what happens if he decides to go rogue?" Sevanias asked a fellow elder.
"Why would I go rogue?" Mithral asked, hearing the conversation. "I only have the best interests of the true mages at heart."
"No matter how true that may be," Serryl said, "you would be capable of overpowering all of us combined with magic like that."
"And you think I cannot do that now?" Mithral asked, trying his best to hide the anger in his voice.
"Are you trying to start something Mithral?" Zedron asked.
"None of you should listen to them." Mithral said to elders who had not agreed to let Jake keep the magic. "They have all lost their way."
"What are you talking about Mithral?" Viesagol asked. "Irvil, you can not possibly think Mithral is right."
"I'm sorry Viesagol, but magic mimicry should remain with the true mages. Not in the hands of an outsider." Irvil said.
Zedron hit the bottom of the black staff in his hand on the floor once and the sound of the bang resonated through the room. The sphere of light hovering above the staff shined brightly for a second.
"Although the vote was not unanimous," Zedron said, "the majority still wins which means every one of us will be part of this decision."
"He's right." Daeriela said. "The decision for the Harbinger to keep the magic was made so now we need to plan our next steps. He might not have reached his full potential yet but when he does, we need to be sure that he can not go against us."
"Are you suggesting the binding contract?" Sevanias asked.
"Yes." Daeriela replied. "It would ensure that he cannot go against us and if we ever need him, we would be able to get him over here at once."
"That is not a bad idea." Viesagol said. "We should do the binding contract."
Jake had stopped vanishing and appearing by now. He had been trying to leave the field he was in but apparently he could not – he was stuck.
'I might as well distribute some of my stat points since I've got nothing better to do.' Jake thought.
[Jake Cayden]
[Level: 30]
[Health:700/700]
[Species:Human*]
[Strength:119]
[Speed:130]
[Endurance:119]
[Mental Moxie:100]
[Mana:54/85]
[Magic:85]
[Element: None]
[Ability: Magic mimicry]
[Exp: 59400/100000]
And on the second system screen...
[Stat points: 0]
[Mimicked magic 1: Elongating Magic]
[Strength of Mimicked magic: 185]
[Mimicked magic 2: Vanishing Magic]
[Strength of Mimicked magic: 250]
[Total Magic Strength: 415]
'I should probably just head back to those true mages and try to figure something out.'
Just as Jake was about to vanish and begin heading back to the building he escaped from, he saw all eleven elders of the true mages apparate around him in a circle. Rheya had also apparated and was close to the elders, simply watching them.
As Jake turned around and looked at the elders, he became slightly nervous, his breathing quickened a bit and he got ready for anything, taking a fighting stance in case any of them tried something. Not that he thought he could take them all on anyway.
'Is this some kind of ambush?' Jake thought. 'Do they think it would take all eleven of them to stop me or is this a precaution?'
"Calm down now." Viesagol said in his husky and hoarse voice but in a gentle manner. "We are not here to fight you. Rather, we are here to talk."
"Oh yeah? You guys really convinced me with the way you have me surrounded like this." Jake argued, still turning around but slowly.
"We apologize for that." Zedron said. "Old habits."
"Speak for yourself Zedron." Mithral said in a calm manner but the grip with which he used to hold his staff told a different story.
Jake looked at Mithral and Jake's dislike could be seen clearly. He scoffed and faced Zedron, the elder who did not openly show any signs of ill will or malicious intentions.
"I do have a question for you." Viesagol said. "How is it that a moment ago you were separated into two parts with holes all over your body, and now you are standing on your two feet looking like nothing happened?"
"Don't sugarcoat it grandpa." Jake said. 'Probably not the best choice to anger one of them Jake.' he scolded himself inwardly. "You mean how did I survive the pack of beasts you sick freaks sicced on me."
"On the contrary," Sevanias said, "the plan was never for you to die."
"Maybe not yours Sevanias." Irvil said. "I could actually get it done myself."
Sensing the tension between the elders, Jake could tell they were somewhat divided into two groups but decided to ignore it for now.
"Why would I tell you how I survived?" Jake asked. "You think I'm stupid?"
"Believe me child if we wanted you dead, you would be dead." Daeriela said. "But you are more useful to us alive than you are dead."
"It appears your thoughts are no longer open to us." Zedron said. "You have not been here that long yet you are already adapting. Incredible."
'It should be because of my mental moxie.' Jake thought. 'I increased it and I guess it paid off.'
"Are you here to kill me yourselves so you can take my magic?" Jake asked.
"It is not your magic." an elder called Phyriad said, his golden irises reflecting the slight anger he was feeling. "Have you not been listening or does your kind simply not have a brain? You are not going to die. Not yet anyway."
"Take it easy Phyriad. The boy might just be scared." Viesagol said.
"He should be." Mithral said. "Why shouldn't he cower in the presence of his superiors?"
"Get over yourself Mithral." Zedron said in a tone that said 'I'm tired of telling you this all the time.'
"All I've heard from you guys is literally nothing." Jake shouted. "You're not going to kill me anymore and from the looks of it you're not taking my magic anymore so what do you want from me?"
"That is a good question." Daeriela said. "Here's our offer to you. You keep your magic and you go back to the planet you came from, but you enter a contract with us first."