Act 2: His Name is Merlin Apollo Viviane

"We're here." The driver said.

Maevus got out and was greeted by an older man, he looked like a butler. The mansion was surrounded with lush flowers and green vegetation.

"You must be Merlin; the lord wishes to see you." The butler said.

Maevus followed the butler into the mansion where Maevus was shown to the living room. He sat by the window and waited for the lord to come downstairs. Maevus could feel some sense of familiarity from being inside the home of this lord, but why?

"Ah, so you must be Merlin. It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard great things about you." The man said coming down the stairs.

Maevus' fight or flight instinct almost kicked in; the resemblance was almost uncanny. He turned his head and found himself looking at the man be once knew all those years ago. His entire demeanor changed, and he knew he was in uncharted territory he was all too fond of. The man and he made eye contact, but these eyes... They didn't seem to have an ounce of violence, despair, or pain behind them.

"I heard about how you handled those bandits. I must say that I am impressed. It's not common that a man of your caliber just waltzes into Tailin, although the Dungeon Hunt season is coming in a matter of weeks if memory serves me right. Oh, I almost forgot. Where are you from?" Maevus hesitated before answering knowing what he says could turn out bad if dots were connected.

"I come from a country out west across the Lucian Ocean. Very beautiful lands, where trees stretch thousands of feet in the air..." Maevus said, in deep thought, calling back to stories he'd heard about countries across the vast blue Lucian Ocean.

"Sounds like a place to birth young, strong adventurers like yourself. I haven't even told you my name, how ill-considered of me. My name is Darrius Lionheart. I hope to be a help to you and your endeavors in the future." Master Lionheart said, extending his hand.

Maevus tensed up and extended his hand, they shook hands and Darrius smiled. Maevus nervously grinned and became clammy. His suspicions were true, this is exactly who he thought it was. But he's aged so much in the past forty years, what really happened in the time of my forty-year absence?

"So, Darrius, is it okay if I call you Darrius?"

"Yes, go ahead."

"Okay, so my father told me of a place called Ascia... He said this was the breeding place for miracles, where great minds alike came together to create a world where the best knights bolstered their talents." Maevus spoke.

"Ascia... I haven't heard anyone say that by itself in over thirty years, it had the best knight and mage academy in the land, people from all around came to enroll... Thinking back, there was a fellow who managed to get to the rank of Sword Saint and Great Sage in the matter of a year or so. But my memory feels so foggy about that. I had a sibling that was fairly close with them, but she left to go to the continent across the Great Blue Lucian. I hope Luna's doing okay over there..."

Maevus' eyes widened when he heard her name and tucked his hand under the robe but Darrius noticed.

"Wait a minute, that ring, where did you get it?" He asked, focusing on it.

"I believe I met your sister by strict chance about six years ago when I was departing for Winclad to visit some family who's living over here. She told me about a brother who had risen to power, but I played it off as a joke because that's the way she said it. But to think she'd really been telling the truth. When you do visit her, if you do, she said to bring back Laurnberries. I heard it was Ascia's national fruit. I helped her with something, and she gave me the ring in return as a token of her appreciation." Maevus replied.

Darrius stumbled as the butler ran over.

"Master!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm just relieved is all." Darrius replied, he shuddered with a lingering pain.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yes, I suppose so. Merlin, you truly are a gift sent from the Gods... you're a guest of the Lionheart household, stay as long as you need and come back anytime if you choose to leave. Make sure you pay him handsomely and give him a ride back into town. Maevus ended up earning a large sum of money, you could say he's now rich in the standards of the times now.

"He didn't even remember me, this is good... But this ring, it reminded me of my other goal I needed to do." He thought. When he reached town again, he went to the tailor and got fitted into some real clothing, dumping the cloak. He turned the cloak into a cape and hung his sword from his waist, he tied his hair back into a messy bun ponytail with hair falling to the left side of his face. Maevus inquired for information about the magic and knight academy and thought it would be best to enroll just to brush up on his magic. Now that forty years have passed, what will he do differently this time around?

It would be near the middle of the year at the Mage's academy, so he went ahead and got enrolled in. From Maevus' scores under the name Merlin, he was looked at as an anomaly, kind of like a student whose name is never to be mentioned. "So, even after, I still manage to get the highest score." Maevus said, looking at the paper.

"Right this way, we'll get you in your class." The woman said, Maevus followed.

"And this class, is how you draw the Saint's sigil. It will be on the written ex- oh what do we have here?" The professor asked.

They walked into the classroom. "He'll be attending this school now, he shows great promise." The woman said, as she walked back out.

"Ah, new blood. What's your name?"

"M-Merlin. My name is Merlin Apollo Viviane. I hope to learn a lot with you all for the remainder of the year." He spoke with conviction.

"Isn't that wonderful, sit anywhere there's an open seat. Now back to the lesson." The professor spoke.

Merlin sat near the front next to a girl with purple curly hair. The magic academy now is different, there are classes for those under the age of eighteen and there are advanced classes for those over the age of twenty (this is where Merlin is assigned.)

He looked up at the chalkboard and noticed what they were going over.

"The Saint's sigil is intermediate level magic, I learned that around my first year of magic academy back then... Has the world of magic devolved this much whereas mere adults are learning what should be beginner's magic, what's going on?" Maevus thought to himself.

He looked over to the purple haired girl and asked, "is this your first time reviewing the Saint's sigil?"

"Yes. This is advanced level magic after all. You know it?"

"Yes, but it was a few years ago."

"How peculiar, if this is advanced magic now... There's no telling what's taboo now."

Maevus had an expression of disgust on his face, disapproved by how the world hasn't advanced at all. "Mr. Viviane, do you know the Saint's sigil?"

"Yes sir, my old teacher taught it to me around when I was still a child."

"Do you mind coming down to show us?" He asked.

Maevus walked down to the chalkboard and began drawing out the sigil but left a part blank.

"You forgot a piece of the sigil." He spoke.

"I left it blank because if I finish it, it will activate."

"You would need to do the chant in order-"

"I can do chantless magic, it's rather easy. Do they not have chantless magic in the curriculum?" Maevus asked in confusion.

"That's been considered a taboo for the past fourteen years and only a small amount of people ever learned chantless magic because of the strain it has on your mana pool. Wait a minute, you mean to tell me that you learned advanced level magic and chantless magic all in a matter of a few years?" The professor asked loudly.

"Yes, but I'll warn you. Any questions further than this point come at a price." Maevus spoke before going to sit down. The unfinished sigil began to erase itself and the class went completely silent.

"That was something, you should ask to be in the real advanced class, we're only the entry level adult advanced class." The woman said to Maevus. He nodded to her and smiled.

The class dismissed and Maevus stayed back to talk to the professor.

"So professor, I have a question."

"It's Viktin, but continue."

"Viktin."

"Viktin... I remember that family name, are your relatives from Old Ascia?" Maevus asked the professor.

"Yes, how did you know that?"

"Just guessing, but I'd like to ask you a question. A few, actually." Maevus spoke as he sat back down.

"Very well."

"First, if this is advanced level magic... What has moved to taboo category?"

"Much of the old teachings have been outlawed and turned into taboo. They have the children learning magic toddlers could grasp. The direction of magic has dwindled ever since the new superintendent got hired around twenty years ago..."

"Sounds like a predicament I did not see coming. And, I learned everything from my old teacher. I know every bit of magic from beginner to sage level."

"How!?" Professor Viktin asked.

"I gained the rank of Great Sage in my teen hood. But that was when I was across the Great Blue. The world of magic is much more advanced out West. I only enrolled here to find someone and see where the level of magic is now."

"I can talk with the headmaster and get you put in a special class where only the top ranked students are. Furthermore, I could feel a great amount of mana secreting out of you like smoke. You've been overflowing with mana this whole time, have you not noticed? That's why I called you to the board, I wanted to gauge your skill."

"No, I didn't... Thanks for telling me and thank you, I'd appreciate that." Maevus spoke as he shook the professor's hand and walked out. As they walked out of the classroom, there were a few people waiting for Maevus. The air in the hallway was still as eyes began meeting each other, who were they?