The man clutching the crystal had a lush beard, a rough-hewn face, and long hair tied in coarse braids, giving the impression of a wilderness barbarian.
Instead of wearing a magic robe like an ordinary wizard, he was clad in dark leather armor that left his brawny arms exposed, his muscular lines taut.
He looked more like a sea wanderer drifting through the ocean than a wizard.
His face bore the wrinkles and scars of time and battle, his eyes filled with disappointment and sorrow.
That vivid look didn't seem like a disguise, and it was quickly detected by the pleading Sidney Pomida.
Sidney Pomida's spectral form seized up, staring blankly at the man in front of him, all too familiar, and shakily said,
"Big... Big Brother... You really came... then before..."
"Sidney, I am very disappointed in you."
The burly man Sidney Pomida called "Big Brother" was none other than Lonco Pomida, the second in line to the Pomida family.