Zeph Malston: The Aether Mage

Bernard spent the day setting up his research center and dealing with paperwork. By the time he got home, Zeph and the girls had been there for a couple of hours. Relina arrived at the house a few seconds after Bernard so he showed her inside. He introduced the elven woman to everyone, but Relina seemed anxious. She was looking around the house.

Relina was in a haze of expectation, excitement, and worry. She introduced herself to the members of the Malston household, but she wasn't really paying attention. Her focus was on one thing, Eli. Zeph managed to pull her attention for a moment. There was something odd about his aura. But before she had time to think further on it, Eli walked into the room.

"Eli!" Relina practically shouted his name. She calmed herself before walking closer to him.

"Errr. Hi Rel. It's been a while." Eli rubbed the back of his head.

"It's been a while? That's all you have to say to me after all these years?" Relina looked disappointed.

"We should give you two some time alone." Bernard ushered everyone out of the room.

_____

Lili and Ivy went off with Semara and Bianca to the backyard. Ronan followed them. Bernard took Zeph to the study so they could talk.

"So, how was your first day of school?" Bernard sat behind his desk and motioned for Zeph to take a seat on the opposite side.

"Honestly….It felt like the longest day ever. The kids avoided me, well except for one, and I was bored for the majority of the day. I even held back during some of the practical exercises so they wouldn't freak out." Zeph leaned back in his chair and sighed.

"It's understandable. The younger generation in this territory hasn't had to interact with nobles before."

"Yeah, about that...why aren't there other nobles in the territory?"

"During the last war, my father's vassals betrayed him. In my anger, I wiped the entire duchy clean and established a different form of government."

Zeph's eyes widened. "Wow, so did you…you know-"

"Kill them," Bernard interjected. "Yes. I'm not proud of it, but I would do it again." He looked into Zeph's eyes expecting to see rejection. There was a hint of it, but not as much as Bernard thought there would be. "You're taking this revelation better than I expected."

Zeph took a moment to respond. "Like you said before, This world is different from my old one and I need to adapt to it. I trust you and believe you are a good man. I just… well, I lived a humble life before coming here. I never had to deal with anything violent. There were crimes, war and stuff in the country I lived in. Heck, we even had soldiers deployed in other countries, but it never affected me or the people close to me." A distant look crept across Zeph's eyes as he started to reminisce.

"It sounds like you had a peaceful life. You don't talk about it often, would you mind telling me more?" Bernard leaned on his desk.

It took a few moments before Zeph replied. But once he did, words spilled forth as if a dam had burst. He spoke about his childhood with his little sister and brother. How they would get together on the holidays. Stories of his friends and their youthful antics. Zeph smile as he recalled the memories. Sure, his memories were disjointed and a mess, but the ones he recalled clearly were all precious. There were no shocking twists or dramatic reveals. His previous life was average, calm, and uneventful.

As the boy started talking about his later years, the memories became increasingly vague. He could picture some of the more interesting things he did in his teenage years, like getting his license, his first kiss, the time he moved away from home. But after that, it was blurry.

Zeph tried to recall his a.d.u.l.thood, anything after twenty years really. But, he couldn't remember any specifics. He just had an idea of his preferences, personality, and hopes. Bernard noticed a few tears trail down the boy's cheeks.

Zeph took a deep breath stabilizing his emotions. "That just about sums it up."

"Thank you for sharing that with me. Hopefully, we can make your new life just as happy." Bernard tried to comfort the boy.

"Well, it's looking pretty good so far. I have magic, superpowers, I'm rich, and my new grandpa invents magic. Alex, Bianca, and Eli treat me like family and I'm having a good time so far. The only thing I'm missing is friends." Zeph smiled, recovering quickly from his melancholy.

"What about Ivy and Lili, or are you hesitant to make friends with children?"

"No, the girls are fine. I just miss having a friend to talk to. Lili's not great at interpersonal interaction, and Ivy hasn't stopped blushing long enough for us to have a decent conversation. I just want someone to hang out with and talk about magic, movies, games and whatever other nerdy things that are interesting."

"Don't you do that with Eli, Alex, and Bianca?"

"Yeah, but it's different. To them, I'm still a child so there's this wall between us. They can't see me as a peer, and I can't tell them I used to be an a.d.u.l.t in another world." Zeph frowned, "And that's the other thing that bugs me. I remember being an a.d.u.l.t, but at the same time, I don't. My behavior doesn't really sync up with an a.d.u.l.t's either. I'm not sure if it's the hormones, or if I was really imm.a.t.u.r.e in my past life. My bet is that it's a combination of the two."

Bernard chuckled. "You're probably right. So if I'm summarizing it correctly, you want to make friends in school because a.d.u.l.ts won't take you seriously?"

"It's not just that. I'm in a child's body and my mind's been wiped. Not all the way but enough. For all intents and purposes, I was born as a new person. I just skipped the prologue. My memories from my past life don't do much good here because society is different than what I'm used to. At best, I come across as m.a.t.u.r.e for my age. Which is something that most noble children are supposed to be. Add all that with the fact that I just started learning about magic, and I appear to be a child in mind and body no matter how you look at me.

So, I decided to make a fresh start when school began. Accept the new me, and try to live life naturally and try not to let my past get in my way. That means I have to go to school again, and the only thing that made school bearable the first time around was having friends to hang out with." Zeph rubbed the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb. "It's just frustrating. I can't be an a.d.u.l.t, and being a kid sucks."

Bernard opened a drawer and pulled out a bottle of brandy and two glasses. "If you want my advice, I'd suggest you not worry about them so much. It doesn't matter if you freak other people out and scare them. The ones that are avoiding you aren't worth befriending anyway. I'm sure Lili and Ivy think that way." He poured himself a drink and another one for Zeph.

The boy raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I know, but... I just wanted to be popular. Last time around, I wasn't what you'd call a social butterfly. I thought I'd give being the cool kid a shot, but it's not working out. I shouldn't really care one way or another, but I do."

"It's not a big mystery son. We all want to feel accepted, to feel like we belong. You, probably more than anyone else, could use that feeling. Just so you know, I accept you for what and who you are. So does Alex. I'm pretty sure Bianca and Eli would feel the same if you decide to share your secret with them." Bernard slid the glass across the desk. "Here's to your new life." He raised his glass.

Zeph grabbed the glass that stopped in front of him. "Cheers." They toasted and took a sip. At that moment, Eli walked into the room.

"Hey boss, hi Ze…ph." The elf's voice paused when he noticed the young boy drinking. He looked toward Bernard and was met with the old man's wry smile. "Well if it's going to be like that, make mine a double." Eli pulled up a second seat and sat by Zeph.

Zeph took another sip. "I take it the reunion didn't go well?"

Eli received his glass from Bernard. "It went pretty well considering the fact that Relina proposed to me." Eli took a big gulp.

Zeph's eyes widened. Bernard almost spit out his drink. "What did you say?"

"I told her I'd think about it, and we should go on a few dates before we decide anything." Eli leaned back. "I mean I had an idea that she still had feelings for me, but I never expected this. It's just so sudden you know?"

"Old friend, you've been pining for that woman for the past five or so decades. I don't know why you're complaining. Trust me, if she feels the same way then you should go for it." Bernard chided the elf.

"I know, I know, but it's just so surreal. I mean, what if it doesn't work out. What if-" Eli was interrupted by Zeph.

"Wow, I thought a dude who lived for four or five centuries would be a little more put together. Have some confidence." Zeph punched Eli in the shoulder. "You've got a pretty elf girl who's in love with you. Why in the world would you ever say no?" Zeph tugged at his collar. "Is it warm in here to you guys?" He used a bit of magic to create a cooling breeze.

"Right, like you're one to talk. What about Ivy?" Eli retorted.

"That's different, she doesn't even know me. You two, on the other hand, have been thinking about each other for longer than I've been alive." Zeph took another sip. "Man, that's good."

Eli raised an eyebrow at Bernard. "Why'd you give him alcohol?"

"He had a rough day and needed to relax. Besides, My father gave me my first drink when I was Zeph's age. It's a good bonding experience." Bernard explained.

"How much did you give him?" Eli looked at Zeph's drink.

"More than enough," Zeph answered. He was starting to feel a pleasant buzz.

"That's his first glass, but I'm pretty sure it's the first time he's had magical liquor. Not to worry though, according to my data, he will be fine as long as he doesn't drink more than what's in that glass. He'll have a good night's sleep and be ready for school in the morning." Bernard decided to change the subject. "If I recall, there was something you wanted to tell me about our ongoing investigation."

"Is it okay to talk about it with the little dude here?" Eli didn't want to make the boy worried.

"It's fine, I already told him about the situation. If he's going to be my successor, he'll need to deal with things like this," Bernard answered.

"Okay. Well, I got a call earlier today from one of the investigators I have working on the case. They traced the bribes Keswick took to a local anti-noble group. You know, like the ones in the capital that are calling for change. It seems like they wanted to stir things up and get Asperitus on the 'Down with the aristocracy,' trend. Members of the group were rounded up for questioning and the guys who bribed Keswick are already behind bars. It seems like a pretty open and shut case, except for one odd thing."

"Oh, what's that?" Bernard asked.

"Some of the members were mage's of the first and second tier, but their records show that they didn't have enough talent to reach that stage. There was also some training equipment and spellbooks at the group's hideout." Eli brought up his tablet and showed some pictures to Zeph and Bernard.

"So, someone or something is giving commoners power and is encouraging them to use that power against the government," Zeph said, surprising Bernard and Eli. "What, it's not that hard to figure out. The problem is figuring out who is doing it, and how they're doing it."

"I'm going to have to agree with the boy," Bernard said. "It does make sense. The capital is a prime example of the trouble we could end up with here if we don't nip this in the bud. Don't tell Lili or Ivy this, but there were reports of unregistered mages attempting acts of terrorism in the capital in the last two weeks."

"Well, that sucks. Any reason someone would want Andronath to get torn apart from the inside?" Zeph asked.

"Well, we did piss off quite a few people in the last war. Our country is technologically advanced and we have access to the ocean. That provides us with good trade routes and natural resources. We're also close to the untamed wilds, so it's easy to send out groups to gather rarer resources and magic beast products. All in all, our country's pretty tempting. I could see any number of our enemies from the last war working behind the scenes, but my bet would be one of our neighboring countries. They have the most to gain if our infrastructure falls apart. They could come in pretending to help stabilize the situation while annexing our land." Eli brought up a map on his tablet and started pointing out a few of the neighboring countries that they had less than favorable relations with.

Zeph was sipping from a small ball of water floating in the air. He decided not to finish the brandy so he could participate in the conversation. "Do any of those countries worship demons, use wild spirit magic, have a history of necromancy or human experimentation?" the boy asked.

"Why?" Bernard and Eli asked at the same time.

"Well, isn't it always some demonic ritual or pact with some otherworldly being that grants power to people that don't have it. Oooh, you could get Relina to help check the spiritual aura of the city to see if she finds anything freaky. She can do that right?"

Bernard was surprised. "That's a good idea, talk to her about it tomorrow while you're guarding the kids." He told Eli.

"Sure thing. Nice idea little dude." Eli patted Zeph's shoulder.

"Thanks. By the way, you said that If anyone came to mess with me I could kick their a.s.s right?" Zeph asked Bernard.

"Yes, why?" The old man asked.

"Well, usually weird cults target impressionable youths so there's a decent chance someone at school knows or is part of the whole anti-aristocracy movement. Who knows, a whole group of them might go crazy and try to invade the school because there are three nobles there now."

"We already thought about that little dude. I've set up some countermeasures around campus in case that happens." Eli assured the boy.

"You never know." Zeph shrugged. He was sure something would happen. It was only a matter of time.

_________________________