^^ Jazz and Ira ^^
Yes, they're still around, and yes, they're still in their 20's, physically, and they will be for many decades to come.

--- 06:30 ---

I sighed as I sat on the end of the docks. "Why can't you just tell me where to look?" I sighed at Riley.

She shrugged. "That's not how it works."

"Gr." I snorted fire at her.

She just smirked and waved it off. "Not my fault." She shrugged again.

"Stop with the shrugging! The indecisiveness is rather unbecoming." I sighed.

She smiled. "You're irritated. Go fly for a bit, you'll enjoy it."

I sighed and leapt, shifting. I started flying leisurely, simply scooping air with my wings to keep myself aloft. A hot wind Current let me rest, as I glided on it for about twenty minutes.

Soon, I spotted a huge island, spotted with Six mountains, unlike most of the other Islands in the College, and this one was almost at the edge of the college, one branch of the Spiral island just barely touching the wall, or close.

'No way is it that easy... To find Caleb's island...'

My eyes spotted about fifteen feet of distance between the island and the wall.

I flew over it again, now circling like a hawk.

The Island was beautifully Mountainous, as I'd seen from a distance, with the six giant mountains dominating the landscape, with peaceful valleys between, along with several Rivers.

I noticed several thousand small Mills, strategically placed for maximum water movement, and also minimum visibility and impact on the environment, which made me happy, even if it was Man-Made environment.

I flew until I reached the top of the Tallest Mountain, which I inherently knew was named 'Mount Isaac', meaning I was in the right place.

The top of the mountain was shaped like a gigantic copy of my FingerPrint.

And by Gigantic, I mean it will be literally as big as the mountaintop it was replacing, because it was carved out of the mountain itself. NOVA QUEST was printed on the door in professional block lettering.

"I wonder what NOVA QUEST Stands for..." I mused.

'It means 'Quantum Ulterior Endocryptic Server Thoroughfare', my dear." Caleb decided to comment. 'It's Literal translation is rather simple, actually. It is a Quantum computer, attached to, and policing, a physical And therefore Ulterior Server, which was Endocryptic, meaning it encrypted every Byte of information that passed through it at any forum, and the only way to unlock it from any access that was not the original, was by Caleb's DNA, hence 'Endo', because DNA is inside. And the Thoroughfare was because it trafficked Data from one place to another almost immediately.'

"Amazing..." I murmured, and slowly entered The Building that was Labeled 'NOVA CORE'.

Something scanned me, down to my DNA, and access was granted, just like that. I touched a computer, and the room sprang to life, loading after being left unattended for 10 years.

The loading symbol was something that amused me. It was my Eyes, the tribal Sun, spinning slowly like a Circular Saw.

"Well that was quick, wasn't it?" I hummed, looking around. "I like this... Well, time to explore my new home, I suppose..."

I walked out, and spotted another building, a short walk down the mountain. I walked to it, nimble as a goat on the steep slope.

I pressed my hand to the door, and it beeped, making me jump, before it slid open. I stepped in, and grinned. "Looks like the Laboratory..." I chuckled.

'Indeed...' Caleb spoke softly. 'Pull the Grimoire off the shelf, the one marked CVI... We'll get to the others, soon, or Riley will, while teaching you.' He continued.

I nodded and pulled a book off of the shelf, sitting in a soft leather chair next to the shelf. A fire blazed to life in the fireplace, and I smiled, opening the book slowly.

The pages were flexible crystalline sheets, perfectly clear... and blank.

'Heh. So close minded... Speak to it.' Caleb chuckled and admonished me.

I hummed. "Grimoire? Page 1, please." I said clearly.

"Voice? recognized. DNA? recognized. Access? Granted. Greetings, Master Maria." The book spoke in a soft, yet amazingly realistic voice, with a gentle accent I couldn't identify.

The page lit up, and I grinned at the small diagram on the page. It showed the solar system I knew about, as well as 2 man-made planets, both hidden behind the Sun, labeled clearly as 'Lobos Del Luna' and 'Lobos Del Sola'.

They orbited each other in a small, vertical circle, that never changed their distance from the sun, and they were connected by a space elevator.

"How did you make these?" I asked Caleb.

He hummed, and a mentally projected image of him entered my eyesight, then made a holographic diagram appear on a table. "You'll learn one day, but it was simple, really. The First page is simply an introduction to your inheritance, as a whole." He shrugged, leaning back in a chair.

I nodded. "This is awesome, and kinda scary. Like, who even has this kind of wealth?!" I sighed.

"The World Council is close, but that's the entire wealth of all the emperor's and lords and everyone else, meaning I have control of over half of the solar System's wealth." He nodded.

"Wow..."

"Yes. Page two is about our business, which is run separately from us, Riley checks in every once in a while. You don't need to worry about that. Page three is your first lesson." He grinned, and the pages on the screen changed with a small flipping sound effect.

I smiled. "And what's that, O' Great and Mighty Caleb?" I snickered.

"Simply put, I'm going to test your understanding of anatomy." Another diagram appeared, of a human body, it's sex indistinguishable, and the skin peeled off completely. "Try to label this." He nodded at it.

"Uhm... I have literally no idea. I've never been taught this." I hummed.

He nodded. "Alright. That can be fixed. Well, first, we have the Epidermis, or more commonly known Skin-"

--- 10:00 ---

Someone spoke as I was labeling the last component of my Human, the metacarpals, in the toes.

"Impressive, but what are you doing in here? This is a private place, Kid." A tall, beautiful woman stood in the doorway.

Caleb smiled. "Ahh, Jazz... It's been too long... You haven't aged a day... Ahem, answer her, child. She's a Tiger Shifter, and one of my oldest ... friends."

I nodded and looked at her. "I'm Maria, Caleb's Heir. And you're Jazz, one of Caleb's oldest friends. And from his tone, I'd say you were also his lover. Hello." I smiled,

She blinked slowly. "Hmm... You do have his eyes... What's my favorite color?" She asked.

"How the hell should I know? I don't know everything he did, I have to read what he left me. I don't have all of his memories, only one or two." I sighed, and sat back down, flipping a page lazily.

Caleb chuckled. "Well done, with the labeling. You only mixed up one of the Carpals and Metacarpals, on the left hand. The lecture continues tomorrow, dearest. See you!" He disappeared slowly, and I turned to see a confused Jazz.

"Yes?" I asked.

She hummed. "The fact that you can open that book proves who you are, but it's still odd... Is he in there?" She raised an eyebrow.

I smiled. "Yes. But I'd really like to keep studying, so perhaps we can speak later? And why are you here, I thought this was a private island?"

'They lived here with me.' Caleb informed me.

"Oh, you lived with him, that makes sense. Well, I have no problem sharing this giant island with three other women." I shrugged, and began reading the next lesson, on page 5.

It was an introduction to Glyph's, and their massive potential, which I drank in greedily, enjoying the knowledge.

"Three?" She finally asked.

"She was referring to me, her guardian." Riley answered from her spot, relaxing in front of the fire in her lizard form. She shifted, and laid on her back on the hot stones.

I finished the page Five, and grinned. "Interesting... Do I have a dictionary of Glyph's?"

'Volume VII.' He answered. 'But perhaps you should stop for now. An influx of knowledge can give you a headache. Remember: you have an eternity. Don't rush.'

I hummed and nodded. "Still, I'd really like to know this. And, I think I'm going to study where clothes go when we shift. Is it a pocket dimension? If so, how is it created? How do we shift? This isn't in your library, is it?" I asked.

'...... No...... That's amazingly enticing, that knowledge...... I'll gladly support this pursuit of knowledge.'

I grinned. "Perrrrrfect..." I pulled down CVVII, and started reading the Glyph's, and their meanings, memorizing them one at a time, until I'd 'remembered' all ~6000 of them, and their altered versions as well.

I stood, my head spinning with newfound knowledge, and set the emptied book on the shelf. I kept the first book, and attempted to leave the room, only to be bounced back.

'Sorry, love, the books don't leave this room.' Caleb shook his head.

I grumbled and put the book on the shelf, then looked around. "So where do I sleep, Caleb, since you're so smart?" I said sarcastically

'Jazz will be able to lead you to the house, at the base of the mountain.' He replied easily, and I could feel his easy grin.

"She will?" I looked at Jazz.

She blinked slowly. "Are you alright?"

"Caleb is being a smartass, so I'd say I'm alright, just irritated. Can you lead me to the house at the base of the mountain?" I asked.

She nodded slowly. "I can... I guess you'll be living there again? Or for the first time?"

I smiled at her. "I think I'll make another, in the woods. That's your home, I'll leave it be as soon as I can. Riley?" I asked her.

She smiled. "I can handle one measly house. In the meantime, you'll love Ira, spend some time with her." She shrugged.

I smiled. "That so?"

"Yes." She shrugged, and walked out.

"Snarky." I snorted, and turned to walk out.

Jazz was watching me with an odd look, a mix of amazement and confusion. "So this is what a ten-year-old Caleb was like... Amazing..." She shook her head in confusion.

I scowled. "No, this is what a Ten-year-old Maria is like. I'm not Caleb, even if we're similar, don't make that mistake again, please." I walked out, past her, and grumbled to myself as I stomped down the mountain.

She giggled and picked me up, setting me on her shoulders. "You're adorable."

"I'm Serious." I growled.

She nodded. "I know. But you're still adorable. Ira will adore you, she's always loved children, and now there's a chance for her to adopt another, in a way."

"I have a mother, and father, and an entire family, so that's not happening." I huffed, crossing my arms.

"Oh phooey, lighten up." She laughed easily, and jumped down a piece of the path that was too steep, landing on a boulder easily.

We soon reached a small cottage, which blended with the surroundings perfectly, becoming a part of the landscape.

"Ira's getting ready for a class, so she won't be here until later tonight, for dinner." She explained, setting me down.

I hummed. "It's nice. Simple." I smiled.

"Yes, Caleb always liked simple things. He hated all the HubHub that came with living in cities, even though he owns several." She chuckled, and opened the door. I stepped in after her, and followed her into the deceptively large building. It was much larger on the inside than the outside showed.

Some roast was simmering in a pot over an electric stove, prompting me to blink, and sigh. "Rich people." I grumbled, and walked into the living room, only to be shocked again, at the appearance of even more technology, something the Eye of Solomon informed me was a 'Television' and a 'Gaming Console'.

I walked into a different room, and received  a different shock. I had several rather non-age-appropriate memories of the room I was in, a nondescript lounge room.

I shook myself and left, finding the bedroom I'd been pointed to easily, and setting down my bag.