Okay, this song has nothing to do with this chapter. I'm just majorly fangirling over it. This music video for "Ceasefire" by For King and Country just dropped on July 13th. The song is going to be featured in the Ben Hur remake coming out in August. (The original was made in 1959 based on the book. 10/10 would read again.) Ah! It's going to be so good! A story of injustice, slavery, vengeance, love, and forgiveness is just what the USA needs right now with all the drama going on. Another surprisingly appropriate song is Switchfoot's "Looking for America" on their new cd (just came out on the 12th). It legit almost made me cry earlier today when I was listening in the car. ;~;

*Slow exhale* Okay, enough fangirling and feels. On with the story!

*Waglington's POV*

The brisket was every bit as good as I'd imagined. I made a mental note to swing by the kitchen later and compliment the students who had drawn kitchen duty this week. I can see why my brothers were being selfish. That was delicious. I sighed in contentment and leaned back in my chair. Memento was quite amused by my behavior. I looked up to where he was sprawled along one of the high rafters above the dining hall, grooming himself. How he had gotten up there, I had no idea. I stared up at him, wondering if he ever considered the possibility of falling.

"Hey, Wag?"

"Hm?" I lowered my gaze to find Matt looking at me hopefully. That look usually meant he wanted something. I narrowed my eyes ever so slightly and asked, "What's up?"

"Phil was supposed to join us," He said, nodding towards the empty seat next to him. "But he got caught up in his work again. I saved him some food. Could you take it up to his workshop for me?" Matt asked with his best pleading face.

My gaze flicked between Matt and the untouched plate beside him. It was loaded up with brisket and steamed veggies. It would be a shame to let that go to waste. "Why don't you just take it up to him?" I asked. Everyone knew that Phil didn't appreciate being interrupted when he was working. Phil was a bit more lenient when it came to Matt and was less likely to sic one of his contraptions on his only "little" brother.

Matt chuckled nervously and admitted, "I may have started a fire last time I went up there. He never told me that rocket fuel was so flammable, or I wouldn't have leaned against that drum! After that, he kinda banned me. Hehe."

I smirked. That sounded exactly like something Matt would do. Frankly, I was impressed that the Tower was still standing... Oh, there had been that scroll incident, hadn't there? He did seem to attract trouble.

Matt grew worried I would refuse and pulled out the big guns. Now, bribery normally wouldn't work with me, but I couldn't just conjure up anything I felt like since coming to Ruxomar. My brothers could—to an extent. Matt held up his hand, and a fresh, ripe mango appeared an inch above it. (In Wag's Q&A video, he mentioned that he loved mangoes.) He levitated it there, watching as my eyes widened. I hadn't had a mango in ages. As far as I knew, they didn't even grow in Ruxomar.

I snatched the mango and took an experimental bite. I sighed and relished the juicy sweetness. Memento made a disgusted gagging sound in the back of my mind, and I ignored him. "Make one more of those and a chocolate chip cookie, and you've got yourself a deal."

"Wag, you're the best!" Matt smiled and created the requested items.

I pocketed the second mango and set the cookie on Phil's plate. I ruffled the flames that passed for Matt's hair and stood. "Matty, if something happens, do me a favor?" He gave me a questioning look. "Don't sing at my funeral."

He laughed as I picked up Phil's care package and walked away. Memento had somehow gotten down from his perch to join me by the time I walked into the hall. So, is Matt not really on fire, because I distinctly remember you not being fireproof, Memento asked.

No, I'm not, I replied as I took another big bite out of my mango. We have the same magic. So he won't hurt me or our brothers unless he loses control of his magic. Even an elemental could be injured by their own element if they let a spell get away from them or if it was specifically directed against them. Of course it wouldn't do as much damage to them as it would another person.

We walked in silence down the hallway to the tower's winding stair. As we started ascending, Memento cautiously asked, So... How are things with Martha?

I cast a sideways glance at him, but he didn't look as disgruntled as he usually did when the topic came up. He wasn't twitching his tail angrily or holding his ears back. If anything, he looked genuinely curious, watching my face as he waited for a reply. I briefly wondered if my hurt and anger a few weeks ago had influenced how Memento felt about her. Now that those negative emotions on my part had faded, he didn't seem to really mind her. I also wondered if it worked the other way around.

Things are...well. I sensed skepticism from my familiar. As well as can be expected, anyways. I allowed myself to feel the sadness I'd pushed away earlier as we approached the next floor. I frowned and sighed. At least I knew where I stood with her now. Not knowing had been much worse. I should be happy for her. She's finally figured out what she wants.

I tried to keep myself from overanalyzing why she had chosen Steve. They'd been together long before I ever came to Ruxomar, and they'd be together long after I left. It was for the best that she hadn't fallen for me. This way she wouldn't be crushed when it came time for my brothers, friends, and I to return home. My thoughts started spirally downward from there until Memento rubbed against my right leg. He pulled me from my thoughts with feelings of appreciation and belonging drifting across our link. It's her loss. I think she cares about you more than she realizes. I didn't feel like offering an argument.

By the time I started paying attention to where I was going again, I found we were already climbing the section of the stair that wound around the outside of the tower. Sometimes I really question my brothers' design choices. I looked down the length of the tower, feeling a familiar itch to build at the sight of my brothers' work. I mentally started debating the virtues of new building materials this realm had introduced me to. I wondered if I or my brothers would be able to conjure any of them back in our home world if those materials had never existed there. If we could, we'd revolutionize building when we return. I thought about what blocks would look good in Laenadur, from variations of chiseled stone to the purple-white fantasy blocks my brothers had used throughout their home. I even considered the factory blocks Jordan had used in his basement.

I lost my train of thought when I heard a loud splash from the moat below the tower. I leaned over the outer edge of the stair to see a low section of the tower's stone foundation crumbling and large ripples expanding from the area. A larger piece must have fallen off to make the sound I'd heard. I thought Tom said they'd stabilized the tower. I cast a critical eye over the tower's wall now and noted several cracks that I hadn't seen before. As I watched, Tom flew to the damaged section of rock from the direction of the Tower Heart. I dusted off our old mental link and asked him, Are you okay down there?

Tom whirled around before finally looking up and spotting me several stories overhead. He waved and answered, Just peachy! He sounded a bit strained and far away, and I didn't bother him after he cut our connection. He started filling in the massive hole in the foundation with the same taupe brick they had used in their Wizardly Arena.

I hesitantly left him to it and continued climbing towards my doom. The rest of the climb was uneventful, though I did spot Matt and Idris sniping creepers across the moat from one of the lower balconies. Then I was indoors again, climbing the last section of stairs that led to the top of the tower. Phil's workshop was housed on the highest level. He'd traded out the oak door here for a reinforced metal door. I quickly swallowed by last bite of mango and stuffed the core in a pocket to get rid of later. I knocked on the door with my now free hand, realizing how thick it was by the dull rap my knuckles made.

After a few minutes with no reply, I tried the handle, finding it locked. Attempts to reach Phil mentally failed as well. I hadn't used our mental link in so long; I would have sounded pretty faint on his end. I pursed my lips in frustration and glared at the lock. If that's the way you want to play... I dredged up a lock picking spell that I knew but had never used. Kay had picked up the trick before I'd rescued her from bounty hunters; she'd taught me after I took her on as my apprentice. I've always thought a good teacher learns something from their students too, I reflected with a fond smile.

The lock yielded with little fuss, and I opened the door soundlessly. Memento and I ducked inside the room. "Phil!" I called. "I brought you some dinner." There was no reply. Is he even here? I wondered as I walked further into the room. I looked around the space and tried to spot my younger brother.

Phil had used a spell to make his workshop much larger on the inside then it appeared from outside, and there were two levels, not the one I had expected. The first floor, where I now stood, was cluttered but vaguely organized. There were machines, furnaces, and generators running nonstop across the left and far sides of the room. He'd integrated magic into the control systems of these machines to automate them. I'd never seen the glowing crystal arrays or strange plants before, but I recognized the feel of thaumcraft and botania magic radiating from them. Spare parts and tools hung from hooks covering the walls and were spread across multiple workbenches. Wires and hoses crisscrossed the floor. Dozens of drums were stacked on the right side of the room—far away from the furnaces, I noted. The second floor was much tidier and consisted of a wide walkway following the curve of the wall and catwalks leading to a central platform. The walls housed five completed space ships and multiple tube-like chambers that looked the right size to hold a person. More hoses and wires connected to each of these. The central platform had a launch pad and large computer.

I wonder how he got around the fuel processing problem? I was so engrossed in studying these space ships—which were much larger than the one I'd built myself before realizing I couldn't make the proper fuel—that I didn't notice the assembly machine to my left was active. A huge metal arm swung to retrieve a thick metal panel from the stack on my right. Memento saved me from getting hit in the head by shoving me out of the way with magic. I crashed into another pile of parts, and Phil's dinner flew. I just barely caught the plate with my magic before it crashed to the ground. That was close, I sighed, setting the plate down gently. Thank you, Memento.

Memento chirped at me as I scrambled out of the pile of...rocket cones? I sent several of the things thumping to the ground and rolling in the process. I saw Memento fluff up in fright as he stared at something behind me. I cautiously turned around to find someone wearing a welder's mask along with a thick leather smock and gloves. This person was also holding a lit plasma torch. I yelped and backed away.

The person turned off their torch and lifted the welding mask to reveal a set of glowing green eyes. "Phil?" I asked, relaxing slightly.

Phil tilted his head and gave me a questioning look. "Wag? What are you doing up here?"

Almost getting himself killed over a few mangoes, Memento meowed. Phil raised an eyebrow at him and waited for me to answer.

I levitated the plate of food I'd brought and moved it in front of Phil. The food wasn't in neat piles anymore, but it was all there. "I brought you some dinner. Matt figured you wouldn't want to miss brisket."

Phil looked annoyed until he spotted the cookie half hidden under a piece of steamed broccoli. "I missed cookies?!" He asked, aghast. He snatched the plate from the air and walked it over to a workbench that wasn't completely covered. He set it down on top of a stack of blueprints and started stripping off his welder's gear. He produced a fork from thin air and stuffed a big bite of brisket in his mouth. He would save the cookie for last, since it was his favorite part. After swallowing he asked, "So Matt conned you into coming up here?" He conjured a glass of water while waiting for my reply.

"More like bribed," I confessed. "Though I must say this place is impressive. I got into rockets briefly and so did Sparklez, but neither of us ever built anything like this." I turned and admired the room once more. Phil was practically glowing when I turned back to look at him. "Where did you even get the design for those rockets? They're way more complex than what I made."

I spent the next half hour listening to Phil talk animatedly about his ships and machines. He seemed to have forgiven my intrusion easily; I credited the cookie for that success. Of course, my being a good listener didn't hurt either. Phil was just getting to why he'd made all of this when Tom interrupted us with a mental summons, Guys, emergency meeting in the library in five, master wizards only. Matt went to fetch Donella.

Phil and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows. "Don't look at me. I gave up trying to understand Tom when he fell in love with Winter."

I laughed at that. He'll get it someday.

"It must be something important though," Phil mused as we began walking to the exit. Phil plucked his goggles off a hook beside the door and slipped them on as we went.

A short time later Tom, Phil, Matt, Winter, Donella, and I were gathered in a quiet corner of the library. Donella closed the window that she and Matt had flown in through and folded her wings behind her rather than take off her angel ring. She took the last armchair in the circle. "Shall we get started then?"

Tom looked around the ring at each of us. "You all know that the earthquakes the past few days have been hard on the tower." He paused while we nodded. "Well, the damage was worse than initially thought. The Tower Heart is the only reason the tower is still standing. Even then, I have to shore up the foundation a couple times per day," Tom groaned and dragged a hand down his face.

I frowned. I didn't realize things were that bad. "Could we move the tower to somewhere more stable? Surely a world edit spell would solve the problem," I suggested.

Tom shook his head sadly. "The Tower Heart doesn't have enough energy for moving something this massive."

Matt perked up. "We could always use..."

"No!" Tom interrupted. "We are not using the bloody Tower Cube, Matt!"

Matt wilted under the harsh look Tom shot him. Donella leveled one of her best disapproving scowls at Tom. Just like the apprentices who usually suffered under such looks, Tom sank back in his chair, looking abashed, in a matter of seconds. Donella released his from her reproachful glare and conceded, "It is unwise to mix two types of magic without taking the time to learn any negative interactions that may occur. By the way Tom's acting, I take it there isn't time for that." Matt accepted the explanation with an uncharacteristic quiet. When everyone else looked back to Tom, I could have sworn I saw Matt grin out of the corner of my eye. It was gone when I looked directly at him though. Maybe I imagined it.

Tom shook his head. "No, the Heart can keep the tower standing for a few more weeks, but it's a constant drain on its power."

The rest of us looked at each other, trying to figure out why Tom was acting as if this was an emergency. A few weeks was plenty of time to relocate. Winter's eyes shot wide as she caught on. "But we need the Tower Heart at full power for the bridging spell!"

Oh...That's a problem.

Matt and Donella appeared shocked too, but Phil didn't look surprised. "This happened sooner than I expected."

Everyone turned to look at Phil. "What do you mean?" Donella asked.

"I'm no expert on Ender magic, but I know the Realm of Mianite is only getting farther away. I haven't been able to sense its magic for a while now. The amount of energy needed to forge a stable connection increases exponentially with distance. I knew we didn't have long to get back with a bridge; that's why I was working on a plan B."

"The mysterious project in your workshop?" Matt asked.

Phil nodded. "It's not the traditional way to go between dimensions, but it should work." He went on to explain how he had worked out a way home. His space ships would protect those inside from the usual hazards of the void and could last for a much longer trip than a bridge spell. Winter and Tom were nervous at the prospect of trusting their lives to technology. I suspected that Donella was nervous too but hid it better. Matt trusted Phil implicitly, and I was inclined to trust him as well. "I'll have everything ready by the end of the week. We just have to fetch Ilanna before then."

"Where did Martha say she was again?" Winter asked.

"A city called Thel Olihm," Donella replied.

"Wait, Thel Olihm?" I interrupted. "My friends and I are heading there tomorrow."

The others turned to me with a mixture of surprise and confusion. "When were you going to tell us you were leaving?" Matt asked. He looked for all the world like a puppy that someone had just yelled at. Then I understood. My brothers had assumed I was going back to The Realm with them and the apprentices. Our apprentices. I was brought up short by the realization. When did I stop thinking of myself as a wizard first and foremost?

When your friends asked you to join them on that rescue mission to Inertia. That or when Martha asked you to be her magic tutor, Memento offered from where he lazed behind my head on the back of my chair. I thought about what he said for a moment.

Regardless of when I started thinking of my friends as a second family, I still had to pick who to help now. I couldn't be in two places at once. I felt torn. How was I supposed to choose between my family and apprentices and my friends and lo...goddess? "I-I..."

Luckily, Donella saved me. "He's not a free wizard anymore. He's allied himself to a goddess and become her champion no less. He's duty-bound to go with her, no matter how much he—or we—might wish otherwise." I looked over at Donella to see her expression was one of approval. I don't think I would ever get used to seeing it. 

The others took well to Donella's reasoning, though Matt still looked sad. Once assured they were on the same page, Donella continued, "I can go with the mortals and James to Thel Olihm, find Ilanna, and teleport back with her." It was quickly decided that this would be the best option for getting our missing apprentice home. My brothers wouldn't have the magic to teleport that far away from their source, and Winter didn't have teleport magic to begin with. My magic was still on the low side, or I could have sent her back myself.

"So we're going to be one master wizard shy," Phil said, thinking hard about something. "I'd intended to have one master wizard in each of the space ships, just in case we get separated before we reach our destination. Who're we going to put in charge of the last ship?"

We all thought in silence for a bit. If not for the silence, we would have missed the soft "hooo" from behind one of the bookshelves. After we got over the initial shock, I laughed. "It would seem Aduladi is volunteering his wizard to take my place. Come over here, Kay." Who else would be in the library this late?

As my apprentice stepped out from behind the shelf, Winter whisper-scolded Tom for not checking the library before calling our "secret" meeting. Kay had clearly heard everything and was appropriately chagrined for having been caught eavesdropping. With their cover blown, Adu let out a screech and flapped his wings as if to say, Of course my wizard is perfect for the job! Just look at her. According to Memento, that was almost exactly what he did say.

This decision was easy. Kay had effectively been the apprentices' leader at one point. She was already familiar with responsibility and had proven herself trustworthy. Plus, her future sight would help her keep her group safe. It took all of five minutes to settle on Kay being the "master" of the unfinished sixth space ship. "Well," I said, clapping my hands together. "If that concludes our emergency meeting, Donella and I should get to packing and try to sleep. We'll have to leave here before sunrise to reach Mianite's home to meet up with the others."