A Bored Lich

"They let Molly live because of her position," a hushed voice caught Doevm\'s attention. "Must have been infuriating, being let go so you can continue to be a puppet. Then again, she aligned herself with a cult leader who moaned about a deity he termed: "Maker"."

"What of the assassin boy?"

"I heard from a relative of mine who happens to be a guard; Dag\'s cell was empty by morning. As for Eugene, he\'s going to continue to make artifacts, now under lock and key of his own family. The bastard deserves it after supplying the enemy with all those artifacts. I say Jackal didn\'t deserve to die so quickly. He should have suffered like the others. Though, if you saw the aftermath, you\'d know his death was brutal, more like an execution than anything."

"Won\'t they have cleaned it up by now?"

"No one can fix an entire mountain."

\'It hardly mattered,\' Doevm thought. \'Luckily, Alexander figured something was wrong when the moon cracked. If the general hadn\'t returned I would have executed Jackal with an unfair amount of magic. It\'s a shame things don\'t always go to plan or else I wouldn\'t have as many questions floating around in my head.\'

Doevm examined the bystanders as if one of them would leap out and use soulmana. Maker had allowed Doevm\'s reincarnation to "make things interesting". She never said there was only one champion. Doevm leaned back into his seat and let his thoughts wander. \'I\'ve picked a fight with the world, haven\'t I? Why me? What did a lowly Lich like me ever do to the world?\' He almost laughed.

"So what next?" Frey asked, taking Doevm out of his thoughts.

"We wait," Doevm sighed.

"And after that?"

"We leave for Vilbar."

"Of course, Vilbar," Frey nodded. "...Vilbar?"

Thomas threw up his arms. "Why aren\'t we training to be knights? What the hell?"

"The academy was destroyed, as were most of the instructors," Doevm replied. "There will be no more training."

"We\'re leaving?" Frey asked. "Why change the kingdom\'s policies then leave? Now that I think about it, you would never go out of your way to help people. What are you planning this time?"

Doevm rolled his eyes. "I\'m not planning anything. I\'m merely anticipating the future."

"Sounds shady," Thomas said, still recovering from the sudden change in the plan.

"Well Doevm did teach the mages dark magic," Elero chimed in a poultry attempt to relieve the tension but the others just exchanged looks. "Get it? Because dark magic? Shade? No?"

"It\'s strange for me too," Doevm said, ignoring Elero\'s remark. "I haven\'t taught magic in a long time. Usually it\'d result in catastrophic consequences and theft, not always in that order."

"So what changed?" Frey asked.

"Nothing physically," Doevm explained. "In the academy, I saw people making their own spells. They cooperated with each other. They innovated with the one tool at their disposal: human Elemental magic. What if they had another tool to work with, I thought? What would happen?"

Thomas scratched his head: "They could make more spells."

Doevm nodded. "Correct."

Frey shrugged. "What\'s so exciting about new spells anyway when you can do almost everything?"

"Everything," Doevm said. "Magic is so much more interesting than fighting. It\'s just that I can\'t find anything new about magic. Why not let someone else find it for me while I enjoy myself fighting strong people? I never realized, I just needed to find the right person. Lance doesn\'t even want payment! It\'s a win-win scenario."

Frey sat back in his chair, an argument caught in his throat. "I don\'t even know why I\'m asking questions anymore."

"So how does all of this equate to us leaving?" Thomas asked. "Why are we going to Vilbar, where the War Monks are?"

"As well as the hero," Doevm added on. "I have a promise to keep, now I\'ve gotten stronger. I will honor it, even though there is something else I should be doing. I don\'t expect you guys to follow me if you don\'t want to."

"I got nothing and no one," Frey said.

"I want to talk with my father before I decide," Thomas said.

"S-sounds fun," Elero said.

Doevm raised an eyebrow. "You don\'t sound so sure."

The door to the council room opened, and Lance emerged, dabbing sweat off his forehead. He approached the group, took a breath, and said: "Do any of you know where I can find the king?"

"No," Frey said. "Why would we know where the king is? What happened with the policy?"

"I need to get these signed." Lance said, gesturing to his stack of papers.

"That\'s the first step done and over with," Doevm was the first to jump up and congratulate him, soon followed by Thomas and Elero. 

Frey blinked: "I don\'t get it. Did the policy pass?"

"Why else would I need them to be signed?" Lance explained, gesturing to a few red marks on the page. "As of the present date, the study of dark magic is allowed within academy walls under strict instructor supervision." Lance flipped through the papers until he found similar, red marks. "As for the other policy - it was also approved."

"What other policy?" Doevm asked. "I only knew of one." He resisted the urge to snatch the paper away, knowing in his blackened heart that Lance wouldn\'t betray him like those in the past. Guinevere\'s smiling face as she reached out towards his bookshelf, it was a stain upon his memories.

Lance cleared his throat: "As a reward for helping to fight back the demon army, demi-humans are now permitted to work alongside humans." Noblemen\'s expressions, twisted with unbridled disgust, stretched over the waiting room chairs. Lance turned towards the eavesdroppers with a smile so warm it sparked. "Of course there are restrictions but it\'s good enough for now."

"People really didn\'t object to dark magic?" Thomas asked in disbelief, looking as though he hadn\'t heard anything more than what related to himself.

Doevm shook his head: "There will always be people who object. With the War Monks gone, there was simply less of an objection. However Lance, you will still face difficulties. Don\'t die on me." He handed a spatial ring to Lance.

"What\'s this?" Lance asked as he examined it. His eyes went wide. "Thirty books!? That\'s a heavy load for my students, even for beginner material. This goes well beyond overboard!"

Doevm shook his head: "Dark magic only took me an hour to write, and it\'s only one book."

Lance furrowed his brows. "What of the twenty-nine other books? I don\'t understand."

"They\'re other forms of magic. None of them are heaven-defying but it\'ll get the academy started on the right path, for once. Add them into the curriculum at your own discretion."

Lance closed his eyes and muttered himself, calculating. "Aren\'t other forms of magic weaker than elemental magic?"

Doevm shrugged: "And isn\'t the dark element for acts of evil? Those books are what the new policy is about, necessary change. Who knows, maybe one day you\'ll discover a new form of magic? If that happens, let me know."

"Is that even possible?" Lance asked. Doevm was silent, staring at Lance with a stare so full of certainty that they almost seemed aflame. Lance let out a short chuckle. "And to think I considered myself your teacher."