Archive of Our Own

Sindria was Judar’s home as much as it was Sinbad’s. Though he had been born somewhere else (in the far east, he’s told) Sindria was the place he was sworn to protect, where he would live and what he would die for.

…If he was honest, though, Judar never really cared that much. It was an island, a place to live just as much as the next island was a place to live. Except the next island over didn’t have such a nice palace and comfy beds.

Judar was laying on one such comfy bed, playing with the tassel on a pillow. Sinbad had been away in Kou for a while. Six months, to be exact. Well, not in Kou for six months. The trip to Kou’s capital was long, and it wasn’t logical to take a carpet such a long way over water. Too risky for transporting the High King of the Seven Seas.

Sinbad had reported earlier in the day on Kou’s intentions and such through one of Yamraiha’s inventions - the Rukh’s Eye was what they called it. Kou was too far to send much information from so it was only now that Sinbad was on the way back that he could communicate what happened.

Apparently Kou took Balbadd in an underhanded way that should have made Sinbad proud, but all he did was scowl as he explained that they not only aided in quelling Balbadd’s civil strife to a degree, but married a princess to the crown to seal Balbadd into the Empire.

Despite Judar’s interest in the subject, Sinbad refused to talk about it anymore than that.

“I’ll be back in less than a week,” he said. “I’ll explain everything then.”

Judar glared at him through the little jewel. “Like hell you will. You’ll just hope I forget what I was curious about by then.”

“I won’t. You have my word. Goodnight.”

Judar groaned and tossed the magic tool to the floor. It made a satisfying sound as it shattered. Yamraiha would give him grief for breaking it, but she was a self-proclaimed magic genius. She’d figure out how to make another.

By the time Sinbad was back in Sindria, Judar forgot exactly what Sinbad had promised but was just as adamant to be included in what was happening. He followed Sinbad incessantly until they were finally alone for the night.

He laid on Sinbad’s bed the same as he would have laid on his own - sprawled out across as much of it as he could, hardly leaving room for Sinbad to sit. Not that he would have joined Judar on his bed anyway - he chose a chair near his dresser instead. He looked at Judar like he was an intruder of some sort instead of someone he’d oh-so-nicely invited in.

Not so Judar could ask him for information, though. Not so they could spend the night together or anything like that either. Just so that Judar could get frustrated enough with him that he’d leave on his own.

“Hey, Sinbad. I heard Magnostadt and Reim might go to war.”

Sinbad raised an eyebrow. “Couldn’t you have listened to the presentation I gave on that at this morning’s meeting instead of bringing it up in my bed?”

“No way. I hate meetings.”

“Rurumu is going to have enough of that attitude sooner or later.”

“She hasn’t had enough of Masrur’s.”

“She has. But Masrur is a lot harder to discipline than you are.”

Sinbad walked over, amused, and held Judar’s skinny arm up as an example. Judar huffed and pulled away.

“Whatever,” Judar said. “It’s not like you were going to do anything interesting, right? It’s no fun spending nights with old men. I’ll go back to my room.”

“I’m not that old!” Sinbad protested before sighing softly. “You know I’m tired, and I still have work to do.”

“Nah. You have some girl to do, most likely.” Judar was used to being rejected, but trying never hurt. Well, maybe it stung a little. In a that was really annoying, why did I do it when I knew the result already kind of way.

The halls of Sindria’s palace were lit by the half-moon and a bright splash of stars spread in summer constellations. It didn’t rain a lot and it didn’t get cold much.

It was a place that was the same year round, day after day, year after year, weather or otherwise. There were always parties, and people were always happy. It never changed.

Judar kept the door to his balcony open, letting the crisp night air cool him down. It would be nice if it rained in the middle of the night, or even if a tropical storm suddenly came and tore the island in two. At least he’d have something to do then.

It wasn’t that he hated Sindria, really. It was pretty much the only place he knew so it was hard to have a strong opinion of either love or hate for it. The other generals had stories of hardships outside of the island which made them come to love the peacefulness of it all. Judar had no such thing - he lived, and he knew Sinbad, and stayed for a few weeks in some other places with him when he was a kid. Balbadd, Heliohapt, Reim… Nothing stood out about any of them. Maybe Balbadd was damp, but that was all.

Judar leaned over the edge of the balcony, letting his braid slide over his shoulder. From here it was easy to see the cramped town, houses piled on houses to fit their ever-growing population. If he looked at the path to the city for long enough, he might see Sinbad slipping out to spend time with women in some expensive joint. To the sides of his room were the rooms of the other generals. Though in theory Judar was also one of the Eight Generals, it was a superficial title. The other seven got their hands dirty. Judar did not.

He wasn’t really sure what to think of his rank. It was somewhere between ornamental and important. Judar walked back to his bed and removed his official robes. He was sure he had something more airy around somewhere.

Once changed, Judar lay down. He spread his limbs out, grasped the soft fabric with his fingers, and let it go again before his knuckles whitened. It was surprisingly easy to get tired when there wasn’t a lot to do every day aside from being a nuisance in general.

Somewhere out in the town, Sharrkan was probably out partying. Judar could join him if he so wished. But it was kind of boring partying every day too. He didn’t know how the others could stand it. Maybe they felt like there was something to celebrate, but to Judar it felt stagnant. The tension between Reim and Magnostadt was far more interesting. At least if war broke out he might have something to do.

He was strong after all. Sinbad was trying to capture the heart of the world peacefully and didn’t want to use his Magi as a real weapon. But he could, and if he felt threatened he probably would.

There was also the Kou problem. Kou had been a problem since he could remember, but it became worse with Balbadd. He heard it was bad, at least. Sinbad always sugar coated his words for the people of Sindria, but Judar was pretty sure it was a complete loss on their side. Eventually the full story would come out, but Judar wouldn’t be surprised if Sinbad was keeping it secret until the visitor from Kou left.

That was right - Kou’s visitor. He felt himself smiling in anticipation. It wasn’t a condition of their shaky peace treaty, but apparently a prince of Kou took the opportunity to study abroad in Sindria.

Judar was excited to meet the prince. A prince who enjoyed something as boring as studying abroad was probably no more interesting than the royal children of the eight generals, but Judar was looking forward to it anyway. If anything, befriending one of their enemies would piss Sinbad off in just the right way.

Kou was the biggest threat to Sindria. They had an army of dungeon creatures (or at least enough to bring a few to Balbadd), five dungeon conquerors, and the largest landmass of any country on the eastern continent. Yeah, they were pretty impressive. The prince who was visiting wouldn’t be a dungeon conqueror, but he was still someone with a lot of power. More power than Judar had, even though he was a great Magi.

Judar drifted into a light sleep while thinking about the ships from Kou that would arrive soon. In his dream there were ships too. An army of warships donning the Kou Empire’s flags, sailing towards a destination he didn’t know. It was the same feeling he got when merchant ships left Sindria to go to Imuchakk or Artemyra, countries he had heard of but would never visit. A masked man - instinctively Judar knew he was a magician, despite not carrying a staff - called for him and Judar obediently followed. The feeling of being trapped never left.

By morning garish bags had formed under Judar’s eyes.

Pisti told him about her wild dreams sometimes, filled with all the things she had done while awake turned up to ten, but Judar always had strange dreams. Dreams about those weird magicians or cold days that Sindria never had or visiting new places for too short of a time to know anything about them. Except for the magicians and the cold, the worlds of his dreams were similar enough to his current life.

As he predicted, Sinbad didn’t tell the Eight Generals the whole story about what happened in Balbadd. He might have told Hinahoho or Drakon, his oldest companions, but whatever they might have known never got to his ears. In place of information about Balbadd, the younger generals were told what to expect from the Kou ships.

“The prince will be arriving with a large number of guards. He is, after all, a member of their treasured royal family. Do your best to ignore the guards no matter how well armed they are, and treat the prince with nothing but respect.”

“He sounds super sheltered,” Judar said. He fully realized that he didn’t really have a right to make fun of anyone for being sheltered, but how many guards did one person need? Judar didn’t have any guards. And Sinbad only had eight.

“He may be or he may have travelled extensively through Kou’s captured territories. I don’t think I need to say it, but just in case: don’t call him sheltered to his face, Judar.”

“So you haven’t met him?” Pisti asked Sinbad. “I wonder what he’s like.”

“You said he’s the youngest prince, right?” Judar asked. “He’s not some little kid, is he?”

“No, no. I believe he’s around your age.”

Judar closed his eyes in thought. He couldn’t remember how many imperial princes Kou had but he was pretty sure it was a lot. How Sinbad kept track of their ages was beyond him.

Sharrkan stretched. “Just a matter of days now. Wonder if he’s interested in swordplay.”

Sinbad smiled. “It’s very possible,” he said as he headed towards the door. “That was all I needed to tell you, so you can go back to your duties now.”

“More like back to slacking off,” Judar said. “Hey, Sinbad. Wanna come with?”

Sinbad made a face somewhere between a polite smile and a grimace. “No, I have work to do.”

“Aw, come on. You’re no fun.”

Sharrkan patted him on the back. “You know he’s more likely to come if you don’t invite him, right?”

“It’s hard being me,” Judar drawled as he batted Sharrkan’s hand away.

“I can never tell if you really like him or if you just want to sleep in a king’s bed,” Pisti said.

“Me neither. His bed does look nice. Smells like perfume though…”

Sharrkan laughed. “You really do have it hard. Lower your standards sometime! There are other men on the island.”

“But their beds aren’t as fancy. Hey, I’m not coming if Sinbad isn’t. Later.”

Judar spent the rest of the day pestering Yamraiha. He wasn’t as into magic formulas as she was, and he sure as hell wasn’t interested in magic that would make someone grow a beard or straighten hair. But he was obligated to drop in every now and then to complain, since her barriers were constantly taking his magoi. Sinbad and Yamraiha liked to think that he had infinite magoi just because he was a Magi, and were constantly adding more layers to the barrier.

Before long it was a multi-layered masterpiece - at least, it was in Yamraiha’s words. In Judar’s it was a huge weight, something that he always felt anchoring him to the island. If it weren’t for them, he’d have the magoi to practice many other kinds of magic.

Judar did have a limit, and the barriers often tired him out much earlier in the day than they should have. It wasn’t rare for him to turn in at sundown, while some of the generals regularly went until sunrise. But he couldn’t ignore a chance to show off, so he still did it.

Unfortunately, showing off by taking the constant burden of the barrier left little energy to show off in other ways. He opted to sleep early instead of trying.

His dreams were filled with destructive magic, the kind that he would like to use more often if he got the chance.

Judar was pretty good at thunder magic because Baal was probably Sinbad’s best offensive djinn. but his dreams didn’t reflect that. In his sleep he was shooting needle-sharp icicles through buildings, expecting a “well done” for his work. The sound of stone crashing to the ground drowned out the rukh’s incessant chattering.

When he woke, the delicious chill in his hands was already gone.

Kou’s mini-fleet could be seen from his window. Judar’s first instinct was to fly over and investigate, but Pisti cautioned him against it. “I only fly to merchant ships from countries we regularly trade with. Diplomats have the means to shoot you down if they feel like you’re a threat.”

“It’s not like whatever they throw at me could cut through my borg,” Judar argued. He didn’t move from the ground.

“Well, you know. The rest of us don’t have a borg.”

Judar shrugged. He already knew that. “I hate waiting.”

“Wanna go shopping instead of just staring at the boats?”

“Sure, whatever.”

Pisti was the most tolerable of the generals by far. She wasn’t obnoxious like Sharrkan or annoying like Yamraiha. But she often got distracted from whatever they were doing to go chase after some guy. No matter how many mediocre men she dated, her taste never seemed to improve, and worse, her persistence never seemed to die. Needless to say, shopping didn’t last long.

By evening the boats seemed only marginally closer. He was just being impatient and he knew it. The rest of the day Judar practiced ice magic in the lower parts of the mountain. It was far enough from town that no one would say anything to him, but close enough that it was easy to get back if he ran out of magoi. When he was too tired to continue, a large portion of the surface of the mountain was covered in frost.

It was strange. He couldn’t remember learning ice magic, but his hands remembered how to cast it.

Struck by the uselessness of his unreliable mind, he went to sleep in a bad mood.

Another dream of the lands beyond Sindria and another day that waking up to the sound of waves was more surprising than it should have been. As soon as Judar realized that the boats should be docked by now - according to the sun, it was noon - he opted to fly out the window instead of going the long way. He dropped to the ground, close enough to scare their visitors but not close enough for them to open fire. As fun as it would be to pick a fight, the people of Kou he’d been so excited to see wouldn’t be there for long if he scared them off on the first day.

Judar pushed through the crowd at the docks. “Come on, you know who I am, let me see already,” he whined as he cut through. A path appeared, and Judar immediately met eyes with a stranger.

Despite it being their first meeting, ‘stranger’ didn’t seem quite right. For one, their facial features were pretty similar. It was obvious they were from the same side of the world. He was pretty sure they’d met before too. Except that no matter how much Judar searched his memory he couldn’t figure out when they might have.

“Prince Hakuryuu,” Judar heard Sinbad say. “This is… Sindria’s Magi, Judar.” Sinbad shot him a stern look that Judar might have noticed if he weren’t staring so intently at Hakuryuu. A scar ran across one side of his face and neck. Judar had never seen a wound like it and was unsure of its origins. An elbow to his shoulder made Judar snap out of it.

“So you’re from the Kou Empire that I’ve heard so much about,” Judar said. He knew he had the most obnoxious smile and made no effort to try to hide it.

The prince - Hakuryuu, that was his name, smiled in return. It was a very obviously practiced smile. He put his palms together just under his chin politely.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Hakuryuu said. His eyes flickered to Sinbad before returning to Judar.

Yeah, this would be fun.

“Tonight we’re holding a feast for our guests,” Sinbad called into the crowd. “Let’s give them a warm welcome!”

The crowd cheered in response. The rukh whenever Sinbad announced a feast was always louder than the cheering and left Judar’s ears ringing. He was pretty sure Yamraiha didn’t have this problem, as she looked just as excited as the rest of them. Judar tried to find the prince to strike up a conversation but the rukh bothered him too much to search properly.

In frustration he tried to grab a fistful from the sky with the full intention to squish as hard as possible. It never worked and never made him feel better - they were fast little shits, and even had the nerve to make more noise when he hit them. Loud, loud…

“Judar.”

He tried to hit some more away but his hand was caught by Sinbad.

Sinbad smiled at him. “Want to help me prepare for the party?”

Judar recognized what Sinbad was trying to do almost instantly. He had seen Sinbad do the same thing recently when a princess of Aktia visited.

Sinbad would say everything he wanted to hear, but only until his absurd demands seemed reasonable. Knowing that it was an act made it more frustrating than attractive. Even so, Judar was curious what Sinbad wanted from him and acting like he fell for it was the easiest way to learn.

He paused and pretended to consider Sinbad’s request so it seemed realistic enough before conceding and following Sinbad through the crowd. Sinbad didn’t remove his hand from Judar’s wrist even once - not to move it to hold his hand and not to let it go. Once he knew where to look it became pretty easy to tell if Sinbad was acting or actually interested. He had never truly been interested in Judar, after all. The handful of times they’d done anything together always seemed honest at first, only for Judar to realize what Sinbad wanted later. He’d done it one too many times for it to work now.

Sinbad walked around the city’s main street, chatting idly to the townspeople who were decorating their market stalls for a party. Many had anticipated the event as rumor of the prince’s visit spread, so the stock was already overflowing. Sindria had parties often enough that it wasn’t anything particularly exciting. The squid sounded good, though. He hadn’t eaten it in awhile.

Sinbad caught him staring at the squid and smiled. “It does sound good, doesn’t it?”

“I’ll cook some for the occasion so please come back later, King Sinbad!” The woman at the stall said with a huge smile.

“Don’t put too much stuff on it,” Judar said. “It ruins the taste.”

Sinbad laughed. “Just like a child. You should try new things sometimes, too.”

“I have tried it with everything they put on it,” Judar argued. “Just didn’t like it.”

“And how many years ago was that?”

Their banter fizzed out as Sinbad gave friendly pointers to the entertainers. He didn’t flirt with the dancers - another obvious red flag. Judar tried to think of what Sinbad wanted from him but the streets were too loud. The only thing he could think of was that it might have something to do with the guests. Maybe Sinbad wanted him to use one of Yamraiha’s stupid magic tricks to make all the guard’s toenails grow out. That would be pretty funny.

The tables were already set up in the plaza by the time they arrived. Sinbad let go of Judar’s wrist to wave to everyone setting it up.

“Everything alright over here?” Sinbad called.

He was met with cheers.

“It looks like it’ll be a great night,” a woman giggled nearby. Sinbad flashed her a polite smile but didn’t stay to talk.

Instead Sinbad led Judar past the plaza on the road to the palace. As the sounds of the party set up got farther away, he began to speak.

“Was the rukh loud back there?” Sinbad asked. “You were swatting at the air.”

Judar was so surprised that he was sure it showed on his face. That Sinbad, always coming up with new tricks. He forced his expression back to something more neutral before responding. “Yeah, it’s always loud here. If I were Yamraiha I’d be working on a magic that made them shut up.”

Sinbad laughed. “I guess not being able to see them has its perks too.”

Judar noticed Sinbad’s pace slow. So Sinbad planned to make his move before getting to the palace. If they did make it, Sinbad would have to come up with a reason for taking him there in the first place. It would be an excuse worth hearing for sure. “I’d make my own formula for it, but I don’t care that much. Yelling at them to shut up works just as well most of the time.”

“I’m glad you didn’t yell in front of everyone then. I’m sure our people wouldn’t know what to say the next time they saw you in town.”

Judar shrugged. He was popular because all of the generals were popular, but it was definitely in a different way from Pisti or Sharrkan. That probably had something to do with all the times he got in fights in broad daylight, but it didn’t bother him. He’d already lost interest in being treated like a trophy fuck anyway.

Sinbad glanced at the sun. “Another hour or so and the party will start.”

“Yeah.” Judar expected another stern remember to behave yourself but it never came. Instead Sinbad took a deep breath of the warm afternoon air and smiled.

“I missed this place,” he said. “Been away for too long. There’s really nowhere like home.”

Yeah, Sinbad would know, wouldn't he? Sinbad of the Seven Seas, world adventurer…

“You look jealous,” Sinbad joked.

“Not like I can leave, thanks to the barriers.”

“If you promise to be good, I can take you on my next diplomatic trip.”

The rukh around him clicked with excitement. His eyes followed a stray, dark as night. It rushed as if it realized it was seen and disappeared out of sight behind Sinbad.

“Judar?”

“Huh? Oh, right.” A diplomatic trip - Judar had been promised to go on them before, and yet when the time came Sinbad always came up with some excuse to keep him in Sindria. Judar had tried sneaking on a boat before and made it almost through a full day before Sinbad found him and rushed him back to Sindria in djinn equip. It was almost funny how much effort Sinbad put into it.

“I know that I used to be rather strict about keeping you here, but that’s because there was war right on the coasts. I didn’t want you to get hurt, and you were so young.”

“I was fifteen or so. Old enough to capture a dungeon.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that the coasts were dangerous. I hear that pirates can be bad lately, but I can protect a ship from some pirates,” Sinbad said with a confident smile.

Judar hated the hope that was bubbling up from the pit of his stomach. It was false hope, it was always false hope, but he really wanted to believe Sinbad just this once.

They were getting closer to the palace.

“Was that what you wanted to tell me?” Judar asked. Seconds later he regretted it. It was the perfect line for Sinbad to turn around.

“I wanted to make sure you were alright. You’ve seemed so stressed since I returned. I think the party will be good for you.”

Judar sighed. It would have been a good line to hear if Sinbad ever said that stuff without a motive.

Sinbad (intentionally, it must have been intentionally) misread his sigh. “Were you wanting to spend the night somewhere quieter?”

“No. I want to eat squid.”

“Of course. Shall we go back then?”

“Yeah, whatever.” Judar looked at the palace door. They ended up not making it. It was probably filled with those guards from Kou anyway, being rushed around by palace staff so they could all be comfortably accommodated. He knew the drill. Judar wanted to meet the prince, he did, but the prince would be at the party later. In the meantime he’d try to remember the guy’s name.

Sinbad stayed with him as he got squid, eel, and a few pieces of their very own famous Sindrian fruits. Spending so much time with Sinbad almost made him feel like a child again, on a boat with Sinbad between dungeons and filled with energy.

Judar sat at the table Pisti and Sharrkan were laughing at. Though it was still early they were as excited as could be. Sinbad joined their conversation immediately.

The squid was good - the cook remembered to not cover it in the spicy flavors Judar couldn’t stand. Unfortunately, none of the other cooks did, and the strong smells that surrounded him as he ate were almost enough to ruin his meal. Almost.

Pisti took notice of Judar first. “Ew, that looks so bland! What did you tell that poor chef to do to it?”

“Not ruin it with all that garbage.”

Pisti groaned. “You’re hopeless.” She turned to Spartos. “Don’t you think he’s hopeless?”

“You should try it like that too sometime, Pisti. Having restraint is a good thing.”

“Ugh! Fine! You two are terrible. I’ll talk to Sharrkan instead.”

Judar shrugged. “Whatever, bye.”

Sinbad caught his eye and said something from the other end of the table but it was impossible to hear over the loudmouth generals. Judar watched in curiosity, abandoned his chair and the rest of the eel, and moved closer to Sinbad.

“What do you want?”

Sinbad motioned to the seat next to him. Judar obliged, tossing his braid over his shoulder. Maybe now he would finally get down to what he wanted.

He didn’t, to say the least. Judar talked to him for a while, noting that Sinbad didn’t put his drink to his lips a single time.

Sinbad was so obvious. Didn’t he realize that everyone knew when he was out to take advantage of someone? He did one of two things at parties, without fail: get drunk or take advantage of drunks.

That meant he was still trying to butter Judar up. It couldn’t be anyone else. It had to be him. Sinbad wouldn’t have this kind of restraint for his woman of the night and he’d been spending a suspicious amount of time with Judar today.

So logically, Judar could do whatever he wanted right now. As long as Sinbad had his eyes on a goal above Judar’s head he could do anything.

Lightheaded from the noise, and maybe a little bit from the couple of drinks Pisti had poured him, he moved from his spot leaning on Sinbad’s side to his lap. His purpose wasn’t to try to seduce Sinbad or anything. Judar was pretty sure that was impossible without turning into a beautiful woman, or at least turning into a different person. He just wanted to have a little fun flaunting his position.

Better yet, Sinbad hated clingy people. So he made sure to be as clingy as annoying as possible. Normally by this time Sinbad would offer to get some fresh air with him, get what he wanted, and rush off. He didn’t - he kept his ground, not moving away from Judar in the slightest. It was weird. Judar adjusted his position to put his arms on Sinbad’s shoulders. He could feel eyes on him from halfway across the plaza.

Needless to say, his attraction to Sinbad was obvious. Judar was pretty sure half the island knew, and was also pretty sure he didn’t give a shit. Sinbad was the most powerful man in the world and, more importantly, Judar’s only king. Sinbad didn’t seem to understand that the relationship between a Magi and their king was supposed to be special, and theirs wasn’t.

He was sure that the other two Magi had better relationships with their kings. Or at the very least a give-and-take relationship. His relationship with Sinbad was always Sinbad lying and taking and taking.

Judar looked back at Sinbad who met his eyes and forced a smile. Judar still wasn’t sure what he was playing at but kissed him anyway. Sinbad didn’t move away but didn’t kiss back. So Judar stopped, annoyed, and glared at him.

“I’m glad that you’re enjoying yourself,” Sinbad murmured. Damned liar.

Judar tried sitting differently again, this time farther up Sinbad’s legs. It was clear as day that he was trying to get a reaction and yet Sinbad continued to ignore him.

Suddenly Judar saw rukh gather to look at something from the corner of his eye. He turned towards the disturbance and met eyes with the prince from Kou and suddenly he felt very stupid for being all over Sinbad. He had planned to talk to him, but if he left now…

Sinbad wrapped his arms around Judar’s waist as if to say weren’t you in the middle of something?

So that was it. A plan to keep him from talking to the prince. It didn’t make sense because Judar was going to see the prince and talk to him at least once during his visit. Why would Sinbad try to keep him away today specifically?

Sinbad’s hands traced circles on Judar’s back. Yeah, he was really going for the full effect. If Judar played his cards right he could get under Sinbad’s covers, no question.

But now he was curious. It wasn’t every day that he got the chance to make trouble for Sinbad.

Sure, sleeping with Sinbad would be fun. He almost never got to. But going against what he wanted would be far more interesting.

“Are you going to say hello to our visitor?” Sinbad asked.

“Maybe. Or maybe I’ll get more squid.”

“I’ll go with.”

“I’m tired of spending time with you. Shoo.”

Sinbad looked at him seriously. The ‘I’m your king so I get to shadow you when I feel like it’ look. One that Judar was very familiar with.

If the prince were any farther away it would’ve been possible to lose Sinbad in the crowd. Judar planned to go for more food to lose him and then come back to talk to the prince, but his plan was ruined by the prince starting the conversation with Sinbad still on his heels.

“King Sinbad,” he greeted.

“Prince Hakuryuu. Are you enjoying yourself?”

“Yes. Sindria is a very lively place.”

Sinbad smiled. “Glad it suits your tastes.”

The prince looked at Judar briefly, his rukh jumping in slight embarrassment, before turning back to Sinbad. Once again Judar was annoyed at himself for his lack of self restraint.

Sinbad and… Hakuryuu, that was right, Hakuryuu, spoke formally about the things that Sindria had to offer anyone studying abroad. Hakuryuu listened intently, adding polite comments here and there to continue the conversation. It was just about the most boring thing Judar had ever listened to in his life.

He didn’t want to leave - it was obvious that Sinbad didn’t want him talking to Hakuryuu alone, or wanted to talk to him alone before Judar did. He had a reason to be worked up too, as a king who didn’t treat his Magi like the divine being he was.

If he wanted, Judar could run off and pick someone else as his king. Sinbad was well aware of that risk and did his best to keep Judar unaware in Sindria instead of out in the rest of the world where he might raise a dungeon for one of Sinbad’s enemies.

Sinbad didn’t think highly of Judar, something he was well aware of. It ran deep enough that he’d even seen it in his dreams: Sinbad on the opposite side of a battle as himself, still managing to deny everything that Judar wanted.

Sinbad was still talking with Hakuryuu. Forget being well-behaved, Judar thought in annoyance. Sinbad wasn’t the only one who could be underhanded.

“Hey. Hakuryuu, right? Wanna go for a walk with me?”

Hakuryuu’s surprise was obvious. Sinbad had already introduced Judar as his Magi, though, and interest showed in his eyes. “I… I would, yes.”

“Great. Let’s go.” Judar tried to walk away but was stopped by Sinbad.

“As your king, shouldn’t I accompany you…?”

Judar smiled internally. Being in the middle of a party finally came in handy. “Come on, Sinbad,” he said loudly. “Can’t I talk to guys my own age alone for once?”

Judar hurried away as Sinbad’s grip loosened, Hakuryuu in tow. He cut through a gap in the stalls and tents to make for the beach.

“Um… May I ask where you’re taking me?”

Judar looked at Hakuryuu, confused, and had to laugh at the look on his face. Of course Hakuryuu was worried - he had just seen him fawning over Sinbad.

“Hey, it’s nothing weird,” he assured Hakuryuu. “That guy just won’t leave anyone alone when they want to be. He’s really shady, too.”

Hakuryuu quirked an eyebrow. “Should you be warning me about your own king…?”

“Why not? He can’t do anything to me. I’m special.”

Once they arrived at a secluded beach - as secluded as they got in Sindria, at least - where they could talk, Judar sat down. He was glad that many beaches in Sindria were rocky instead of sandy. Was there anything worse than sand clinging to bare feet? Probably not. “This place is fine for talking,” he said, resisting the urge to cough.

“Are you okay?” Hakuryuu mumbled. He did not sit with Judar and instead stared awkwardly at the sea. “You sound really out of breath.”

“Shut up. I’m a great magician, so it’s fine even if running isn’t my strong point.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes as Judar caught his breath. In that time a hefty bird perched closeby. They always seemed so hostile from afar, but they’d stand watch over humans instead of going through the kill when they encroached on their territory.

“What did you want to talk to me about?” Hakuryuu finally asked.

“Nothing in particular. I just wanted to talk to you before Sinbad.” A second later Judar thought better of it. “Tell me why you’re here.”

“To study abroad…”

“Liar. You’d pick Reim if that were the full truth, not Sindria. There’s too much tension between here and Kou from the mess at Balbadd for this to be a place to study for one of the Empire’s princes.”

“That’s not true. The negotiations were a success. Our countries have no reason to fight.”

“Uh-huh…”

“…Do you not participate in Sindria’s politics?”

“You make it sound like I’m missing something.”

“Well…”

“Tell me about the negotiations then,” Our stupid king’s been buried in work thanks to everything that happened and I’ve barely heard anything about how Balbadd went then.”

“I really think you should be asking King Sinbad himself in that case.”

“Come on, don’t you want to be on my good side? I’m a Magi. I’m useful.”

“‘Useful,’ is it.”

“What?”

Hakuryuu sighed. For someone who had just left a party he looked awfully stressed out. “It’s nothing. I should get back before I’m missed…”

Judar rolled his eyes. So Hakuryuu was going to wait to hear from Sinbad if it was alright to say anything. “Coward.”

Hakuryuu didn’t respond. He made a move to leave back toward the town but his attention was caught by the strange bird.

“They’re good roasted. Wanna try?”

“Sindria’s wildlife is famous. It’s the only country that those birds - papagoras, I believe they’re called - roost in.”

“So do you wanna eat it?”

“I had enough to eat at the party.”

“Is the food from Kou different?”

“Yes.” A pause. Hakuryuu readjusted his hair and shot another troubled look in the direction of the party. “Did you really only want to talk? We could have done that back there… You made a scene.”

“It’s more fun if I make a scene. Don’t you think so?”

Hakuryuu didn’t respond, and in fact continued to look very much like he wasn’t having fun at all.

“Besides, Sinbad will probably be here in a few minutes. So just relax until then.” Judar lay down and glanced at Hakuryuu’s tense posture. “If you even do relax.”

“I was expecting Sindria’s Magi to be different.”

“Really? Like how?”

“More… I don’t know.”

“More,” Judar repeated. “Yeah.”

The bird fluffed its feathers up as a cool breeze slid off the sea. It felt good.

Hakuryuu wasn’t really like how Judar expected a prince of the war-crazed Kou to be either. He wasn’t like a prince who had fled his violent homeland to come study either. Judar didn’t know what to think of him yet, and that was exciting. He wanted to know what Hakuryuu came to Sindria for. He had the feeling it was what Sinbad was trying to keep them from talking about.

Even so, Hakuryuu didn’t look ready to budge. Judar decided to ask about something else just to get him talking again.

“Hey, Kou is pretty big, right? Most of the continent is a part of the empire.”

“Yes,” Hakuryuu answered. He looked away, was he unwilling to talk about it? Judar figured his position in enemy territory wouldn’t be helped by talking about his own country’s military strength.

“I’m from the east, so I guess that means I’m from Kou too. Since it’s the whole east now.”

He was about to ask another question about the Kou Empire when the rukh started buzzing.

“Ugh, what is it now…” The rukh had been so peaceful, too. It was almost calming to just watch blue tinted rukh rise and fall with the waves and the odd mix of barely-visible purple and vibrant green that came from the bird as it cawed. But the second they starting making all that noise Judar could feel his irritation from earlier come back. Sinbad was the only one that the rukh reacted so much to, after all.

Soon he could hear footsteps. Hakuryuu shot one last disapproving look at Judar and walked to meet Sinbad halfway with that overly polite smile.

They exchanged pleasantries. The bird flapped its wings a few times before flying off to the mountain.

Sinbad offered Judar a hand to help him up. Still annoyed, Judar ignored his hand and got up himself. One look at his braid told him it needed fixed. He wrinkled his nose in distaste and glared at Sinbad as if the dirt on his braid was his fault entirely.

“So what did you guys talk about?” Sinbad asked. He didn’t seem that interested, like he already knew the answer.

Judar was about to tell him off but Hakuryuu beat him to it. “We talked about the food, mostly. The papagoras are more impressive than scrolls would have you think.”

“Yes, they are. What about Sindria’s fruits - do they suit your tastes?”

“They do, though I was surprised. They aren’t sweet like peaches.”

“Your fruit’s sweeter?” Judar asked. He liked sweet things almost as much as Pisti but didn’t like the texture of cakes or other baked goods so he didn’t eat them often. A sweet fruit sounded nice.

“Yes. I believe there are still a few peaches in the cargo if you would like to try one. Though they may be overripe from the long trip.”

“It’s kind of you to offer, Prince Hakuryuu. Shall we get back to the party?” Sinbad asked, motioning to Judar and Hakuryuu both.

“I don’t feel like it,” Judar said. “Stay here with me, Hakuryuu.”

“…Judar is a little sensitive to noise and gets irritated at these parties at times,” Sinbad explained. “Pay him no mind if he bothers you.”

“It’s fine,” Hakuryuu said. “I was going to retire for the day anyway.”

“Would you like me to show you to your room?” Sinbad offered.

“Please do,” Hakuryuu smiled.

Judar gritted his teeth. He hated being ignored and written off as a brat throwing a tantrum. The sound of the rukh and party was only part of it. The other part was that things were happening and Sinbad kept trying to keep him from getting involved. Super annoying. “I’m coming too,” he said.

Sinbad sighed but let Judar tag along. New plan: If he could get the prince to invite him in his room by the time he got back, they could talk more. He hadn’t forgotten the interested look he’d given Judar at the harbor.

Unfortunately, Hakuryuu seemed pretty tired. He yawned once or twice, covering his mouth with a hand and looking away to try to hide it. Ships never made Judar tired but he heard from visitors again and again that they needed to sleep their journeys off.

So he ended up seeing Hakuryuu off without anything worthwhile happening.

Once they were out of the guest quarters again Sinbad spoke. “You aren’t normally so interested in our visitors.”

Obviously it was because Hakuryuu was from the Kou Empire that he’d heard about for so long. Or, better yet, the place he was most likely born. Of course he’d be interested. Sinbad’s expression was serious enough that Judar felt like being an idiot about it would be more beneficial than telling the truth.

“Like I said, he’s around my age. Are you jealous or something? Missing your youth?”

Sinbad scowled, touching his face lightly as if feeling for wrinkles.

Haha, take that.

Judar grabbed onto Sinbad’s arm as they walked, pulling it closer than he knew Sinbad was comfortable with. “I still like you best though, don’t worry. You have a lot more magoi than him. A lot more than anyone.”

“So you did check.”

“Of course I did. Aren’t you curious why he hasn’t conquered a dungeon yet? They have five dungeon conquerors already. They care enough to search the world for dungeons to give their royalty, so why hasn’t he conquered one yet?”

“I’m not sure,” Sinbad said. “Not enough magoi?”

“No, his magoi was fine. Higher than average. Probably runs in his family.”

Sinbad didn’t answer. Judar wasn’t sure if it was the type of silence that meant he didn’t have an answer or that he didn’t want to answer because he didn’t want Judar to know. Nine out of ten times it was the latter.

They came to a stop in front of Judar’s room. “Let me do what I wanted all day just to leave it at this, huh? You’re sly.”

“You’ve said before that you don’t really expect anything.”

“True. I’m not your type, I know. But it’s pretty annoying that old women are more your type than me.”

“Judar…”

“I know, I know. Whatever. The famed Sinbad has better things to do, right? I still don’t get why you would go through the trouble to capture all those dungeons and then spend the rest of your time sitting on your ass doing domestic work.”

“That’s what being a king is about.”

“Not a cool king. I hear Ren Kouen from the Kou Empire—”

“Enough, Judar. If you would choose me over Kouen then you don’t have any reason to think about what he may or may not be like.”

“How should I know if I’d choose you over him if I’ve never met him?” Judar leaned his back on the door to his room. He argued with Sinbad a lot more than the other generals did, but he also had a lot more power than the other generals.

Or at least, he should.

“Don’t you want to be on the winning side? That’s what you always used to say when you—when we were younger.”

“Are you really still winning?”

Sinbad clenched his fist. Balbadd was that bad, huh? Good to know.

“I think,” Sinbad said, his expression stiff, “You should get some sleep. It was a long day.”

“The prince is going to be here for a while. You can’t keep what happened a secret forever.”

“Goodnight, Judar.”

Sinbad walked away without looking back.

Judar sighed. He had the strongest urge to flood his room and prove Sinbad right that he was nothing more than a child who couldn’t control his temper. Instead he flopped on his bed, used gravity magic to bring himself a few feet above the bed, and flopped down on it again.

If he wasn’t doing most of the work sustaining the barriers, he could easily cause an artificial typhoon. He floated up and fell on the bed again. It was a really soft bed. When he was younger Rurumu used to scold him for jumping on his bed. She was too sick to do that now.

Eventually he fell asleep. In his dream he was more. He was more and lived to fight, a stark contrast from how he now lived to defend.

The strangest part of it was that all the rukh was dark. Not like strength magic that flashed in negatives but like it didn’t have the color to reflect anything. He saw rukh like that a few times before, too, outside of his dreams. Sometimes from Sinbad and sometimes from one of the refugees that came to Sindria.

It never lasted for long in Sindria’s sea of bright white rukh.

Even after he woke up he thought he saw the lightless rukh for a second through the dark room. It floated just the same as his own rukh. Maybe it was his. It was quiet enough for Judar to fall asleep again.

Judar was assigned a conspicuous amount of work after the party. Instead of doing it, he decided to bother Yamraiha.

“Judar, don’t you have work to do?” She finally asked after the tenth time he distracted her mid-spell.

“If I don’t do it someone else will,” he said with a yawn. “It’s not like Sinbad expects me to get anything done?”

“You could help me instead of messing up my work then,” she offered.

“…What are you trying to do?”

“See this fruit? If we could get it to sprout and live without needing to be on the sandy beaches with magic, then we could plant orchards on the bare parts of the mountain!”

“Wouldn’t it be less effort to just drop some sand on the mountain?”

“That’s not how it works. Besides, we’re magicians. Why wouldn’t we try to find new ways to grow it? It could be especially beneficial for our allies in Sasan who don’t have any sand, much less fertile soil.

Judar hummed, nearly conceding, before backtracking.“Those fruits are too bitter anyway. If you’re just using magic because you can why not find a way to make it taste good?”

Yamraiha’s eyes lit up. “Around the middle they can actually be pretty sweet. If we could manipulate the growth speed of the outer flesh…”

As Yamraiha began babbling bits of formulas to herself, Judar took a look around her workshop. He knew she did useful magic but it always felt like she was doing something pointless when he came in.

He picked up a scroll that looked like it was put away haphazardly and spread it out. It had a diagram of points to spread the magic across and the ideal locations for them. It seemed like some kind of barrier. If they were going to have him carry another barrier…

“Judar, be careful! It’s important that my scrolls are all in the right place.”

Judar dropped it to the floor. “This another barrier?”

“Yes. I know we already have three, but—”

“The hell do we need another barrier for? We have one to keep things in and one to keep things out. We even have transfer circles on them. Then there’s the one you guys just made that regulates rukh capable of creating calamities…”

“Well, this barrier would be more like a membrane than anything. Memory is stored in our rukh, right? There might be a way to use magic as a sort of surveillance system to prevent spying and help solve crimes.”

“That’s creepy. Sinbad has weird hobbies if he asked for you to research that.”

“Well… I think it’s admirable that our king would work so hard to protect us.”

“We’re the ones working hard with all the magic shit, not him.”

“I want to help protect everyone too. It’s the least I can do.”

Judar rolled his eyes. “If you were trying to do four barriers without me you’d be dead in a few years. It should be my call.”

“Judar… You’re from Sindria too. Don’t you care about this place?”

“Maybe. It’s okay. I hear Kou has better fruit though.”

“Everyone’s lives depend on us. If we abandoned them for mundane pleasures then what would we be?”

“Yeah, yeah. Do it for the greater good and all. I get it already.” Judar stretched. “But even you, you’re always talking about your dad or whatever. Don’t you feel trapped here? By the barriers? If either of us left they’d stop working.”

“Sindria is the place I’ve chosen to give my life to. It makes no difference if I can leave it or not.”

“Whatever. You’re boring. Later.”

With nothing better to do Judar found a sunny place and napped. The plans for the new barrier looked almost complete. It sounded like just as much effort as the mega borg barrier. He felt like he had to store energy just thinking about it.

Days passed without seeing Hakuryuu again. Judar had almost put him out of mind when he came across him by chance. Hakuryuu looked glad to see him and instructed his guards to leave.

“What’s up?” Judar asked. From Hakuryuu’s face it was obvious he wanted something. He hoped Hakuryuu’s method of getting what he wanted was more straightforward than Sinbad’s.

“I wanted to talk to you in private.” They were inside the palace’s main hall where there were always three maids waiting for the gossip to fall into their ears just around the corner. Hakuryuu lowered his voice. “Do you know anywhere?”

“Not really. Too many people and all. Wouldn’t be surprised if everywhere you went on this island someone was watching.”

Hakuryuu’s face creased and his rukh flitted around unhappily. It was refreshing to see someone react so honestly that Judar searched his thoughts for the best possible place to talk in private.

“We could go to the beach,” he offered.

Hakuryuu nodded.

Once they were far enough from town that Judar hadn’t seen anyone else for ten minutes Hakuryuu finally spoke.

“I think I understand your situation now.”

“Situation? What do you mean?”

“On my first day here, you said a lot of strange things. I didn’t know what to think of them. Now that I’ve talked with King Sinbad I think that I understand.”

Judar raised an eyebrow. He couldn’t think of anything in particular that he might have said to puzzle Hakuryuu.

Hakuryuu continued. “I already told King Sinbad my reason for coming here—”

“What is it?”

“He didn’t tell you,” Hakuryuu said. Not a question but an observation.

“No.”

“I thought so. Even though you’re the Magi of this country.” Hakuryuu glanced at him, and for a second looked puzzled again.

Interpreting Hakuryuu’s change of expression as hesitation, Judar scowled. “Just tell me already.”

“I need power,” he said, meeting Judar’s eyes.

Judar felt himself smiling widely. “Aren’t you the enemy? You’ve got guts. I like that.”

“I’m not the enemy. My enemy is Al-Thamen in the Kou Empire.”

“Al-Thamen…”

“You’re familiar with them, right?”

“Not really.”

Hakuryuu blinked. “King Sinbad said that he had been fighting them for awhile.”

“Maybe he has. I don’t really get out.”

“Recently they acquired a Magi.”

“Wow. Did they dig Yunan out of his hole in the ground?”

“……”

“There’s no way it’s Reim’s witch if we’re talking about Kou…”

“……A fourth Magi. A fourth Magi appeared and is aiding Al-Thamen.”

“I… huh?”

“It was only a year or two ago. Soon after he appeared, my siblings used his power… one by one… and now Kou has more dungeon conquerors than anywhere else.”

“Hey… You’re kidding, right? There should only be three of us. Did one of those other guys croak? I didn’t hear anything about that…”

“All of the scrolls I’ve read say the same thing: three Magi that appear in times of conflict. But there are four now, it seems. He told me himself that there were three others.”

Judar could barely hear Hakuryuu anymore for how angry he was. Being a Magi was his claim to greatness. He was one of the three most important people in the world. But if they started popping up everywhere, what would happen to him?

“…Are you alright?”

How could he have been living inside Sinbad’s elaborate cage this whole time if that was happening outside? If the Magi was weak he might be able to get him out of the way sooner than later. Then he could…

Then he could what? Continue living as Sinbad’s trophy Magi? There was no way. Sinbad couldn’t get any more djinns, and his household wasn’t allowed in dungeons. There was no point in being his Magi anymore. The only one who benefited from it was Sinbad who both kept Judar from aiding his enemies and drained him slowly with his barriers.

The only reason Judar had stayed so long was because he had the hope that things would go back to how they used to be, travelling the world and capturing dungeons, if enough happened. Or maybe that once the wars were over he would have a nice view of the world from the arm of Sinbad’s throne.

Neither sounded good anymore, not really. Even if Sinbad was the most powerful person in the world, the future he had in mind wasn’t one that Judar was all that interested in. He wasn’t Reim’s rumored Magi. He couldn’t sit and watch and silently be satisfied just because his people were happy. He was a lot more selfish than that.

“Lord Judar…”

“Hey, Hakuryuu. What do you think of this country?”

“Of Sindria? Well… A lot of people are happy here. There are no slaves, and everyone has a smile on their face…”

“Isn’t it weird?”

“What part of it?”

“The rukh. It isn’t right. I remember now. When I was younger, before I came here, there was another color of rukh too. One that didn’t sparkle at all. The people who were trying really hard had some.”

He looked at Hakuryuu and felt it. “You have some.”

“What are you talking about?”

The rukh’s chattering finally reached his ears. It was too late to come up with a cover up.

“Judar. I was looking for you,” Sinbad said from the path to town.

“Sinbad.”

“You two are an interesting pair… Is there something wrong, Hakuryuu?

“No…”

“If you have something to say to me you can say it here,” Judar said stubbornly. “I’m not done talking to Hakuryuu yet.”

“Was it something important?” Sinbad asked. A loaded question. Typical.

“Don’t act like you weren’t listening in.”

“I wasn’t trying to. Hakuryuu, could you leave? I really do have to talk to Judar.”

Hakuryuu left obediently and Judar once again realized that he was nothing but a coward. Sinbad couldn’t kill him because it would start a war between their countries. It was cowardly to be ordered around by him like that as a prince of Kou.

Judar couldn’t will away his anger, but he tried to feign a more controlled temper. “What do you think, Sinbad? About Sindria.”

“What do you mean?”

“You heard us talking about it, don’t act like you don’t know what I mean.”

“It’s my country. I am proud of my people.”

“It’s dragging you down.”

“What do you expect me to do? Abandon everything I’ve worked for because you’re feeling selfish?”

Judar smiled. “Yeah. That would be nice.”

“Just don’t do anything rash, okay? I know you get excited easily but he’s a prince of Kou.”

“Yeah, yeah. Hey, you should have told me about all that stuff he just said before.”

“I didn’t want it to trouble you…” Sinbad scratched his head in thought. “I can tell you more from now on if it upset you that much. As long as you promise not to gossip.”

“That would make me more important than the foreign royals who live here, wouldn’t it.” Judar closed his eyes. “I remembered some stuff. You weren’t using one of your djinns on me, were you?”

“I wasn’t. You’re just forgetful.”

“Was that all you wanted? To tell me to stay away from Hakuryuu? I’ll get going then.”

Naturally, he went to find Hakuryuu again. It didn’t occur to Judar how weird he came off every time they spoke until he saw Hakuryuu again and was met with a nothing more than a furrowed brow and confused expression.

“Let’s eat lunch together,” Judar said. “I want to hear about Kou.”

Hakuryuu studied his features for a moment, no doubt noting their similarities once again. He nodded and his guards were at once making the necessary preparations.

“I’m surprised you haven’t been to Kou already,” Hakuryuu said.

“Surprised I wasn’t born there, you mean? Actually, I might have been. I don’t know.”

“Can you not remember?”

“No… Not really. I have Sinbad to remember the important things for me, though.”

“Do you, now.”

Hakuryuu looked so doubtful that Judar could almost laugh, though his ears were ringing something terrible and the sound of laughter wouldn’t help. “He’s overprotective, but he’s still the High King of the Seven Seas,” Judar said.

“I am surprised that King Sinbad makes time to remember things for you, that’s all.”

Judar tilted his head. Vaguely he had the feeling that it couldn’t be right, Sinbad had no reason to do that. Then he lost the conversation all together.

“Lord Judar?”

Not wanting to look like he frizzled out for no reason, Judar shook his head and changed the subject. “You’re here for half a year, right? What all’s on your things-to-do list? Enjoying the tropical weather?” His eyes fell to Hakuryuu’s layers. “Doesn’t look like you can check that one off yet.”

“I didn’t come here to play,” Hakuryuu said simply.

“But you’re still here. Might as well get something out of it while you can.”

“Are you going to try to sell me on the local cuisine as well?” Hakuryuu asked, and he wore a playful smile nicely, the dark mole on his chin moving ever so slightly with his smile.

Judar blinked at him in wonder before they were led to their newly prepared meal.

He could get used to having Hakuryuu around.

Judar realized one morning, his head clearer than it ever felt, that he was nothing more than a child in his dreams. His short stature was just as much of a weapon as his staff and a woman he couldn’t name trained with him through untrusting eyes.

In his dream, she held his hand everywhere and he didn’t mind. When he woke he realized he couldn’t remember anyone ever holding his hand, fingers laced around his.

He found Hakuryuu after breakfast, intent on asking him again about the fourth Magi. Hakuryuu had already begun practicing spear play with Spartos and insisted on not cancelling for anything less than an emergency. Judar stayed to watch anyway.

Spartos’ experience with a spear outshone Hakuryuu’s substantially, but he didn’t let it discourage him. Hakuryuu fought just as hard as Judar would expect someone to on a battlefield. He didn’t seem to register that he didn’t need to be so serious for mere training, but Judar found himself getting into it as well.

When Hakuryuu finally landed a hit, Judar cheered. Hakuryuu was instantly flustered and nearly dropped his weapon in surprise.

It was actually pretty cute. Spartos eyed him knowingly.

After their practice, Hakuryuu finally acknowledged Judar past getting flustered when he cheered. “What did you need?” he asked, still embarrassed, once Spartos left.

“Uh…” He’d forgotten his original goal and gotten absorbed in watching. “Oh, right.” The fourth Magi. He looked at Hakuryuu’s guards. Just by virtue of living in Kou they were likely much more knowledgeable than Judar was, so he didn’t order them to leave. “Tell me about the other Magi.”

“The other Magi,” Hakuryuu repeated. “By that do you mean Lord Aladdin?”

“Aladdin, huh?”

“Yes,” Hakuryuu said, face colored with distaste.

“I take it you don’t like him.”

“He is nothing more than a pawn,” Hakuryuu said dismissively.

“Judging by the amount of djinns he has,” Judar said, ignoring the strange feeling that rose in his gut at Hakuryuu’s words, “he’s Kouen’s pawn?”

Hakuryuu’s eyes flickered to his guards before he donned a measured polite smile. “Just a pawn,” he said. “I mean nothing by it.”

Judar understood. It wasn’t their secret, as Sinbad knew of Hakuryuu’s plans as well, but in that moment, it felt like they’d signed a pact.

Hakuryuu was his link to the world outside Sindria.

Sure, the others left the country often enough. Masrur especially often left with Sinbad as something of a bodyguard. Occasionally Pisti visited her mother and older sisters and came back with stories about such and such that happened in Artemyra.

But Judar had already grown tired of their limited travels. Masrur never had anything interesting to say about where he went and he’d heard plenty about Artemyra already.

Hakuryuu told him about Kou, backs to the stonework of the palace’s facade as they sat on the courtyard’s mosaic floor and waited for lunch to be prepared. About the mundane, from the different ways rooms were decorated to the mountains and vast plains of the Kanan region.

It sounded like a very nostalgic place. Judar rested his head on Hakuryuu’s shoulder as he spoke. Hakuryuu paused, shoulders tensing, and Judar was sure he was going to be pushed off.

“Are you tired?” Hakuryuu asked. He didn’t move away and Judar appreciated it more than he should have.

“Kinda,” Judar said. “Doesn’t the heat make you tired?”

“It’s always hot here.”

“Exactly.”

If he wanted, he could tell Hakuryuu that really it wasn’t the heat but the barriers. It was pointless, though. And he was comfortable.

Hakuryuu let him fall asleep and woke him only when it was time to eat. Judar’s neck was sore from sleeping at a strange angle, and Hakuryuu looked as uncomfortable from the heat as Judar felt.

Sweaty, sore, and more tired than he felt before falling asleep. Hakuryuu brushed a leaf out of Judar’s braid absentmindedly. It was the best he felt waking up in years.

Thoughts of Hakuryuu began replacing thoughts of Sinbad, and Judar found himself in an increasingly good mood. He didn’t realize how much he was thinking about Sinbad before, or how it always put him in a worse mood, until he had something new to think about. Someone new to think about.

Thinking of Hakuryuu instead of Sinbad wasn’t a conscious process. It went something like this:

What was Hakuryuu doing? What would he say to Judar if he came down to say hi? He’d pretend to be annoyed, of course, but easily fall into a casual conversation.

Then he’d daydream a little about what they’d talk about next and all the things Hakuryuu already told him, considering what he’d respond to various new topics with. It was a fun game because Judar was getting pretty good at guessing his reactions before he even asked.

They were becoming friends. At least, that was what Hakuryuu’s guards mumbled when Judar passed - “here’s his friend again,” exchanging amused looks. Judar gathered that Hakuryuu was just as unpopular at home as he was abroad.

It was all the studying, he was sure. Serious guys were only popular when they knew when to give it a rest, and Hakuryuu never gave it a rest. Judar found his resolve charming but none of the others seemed to - even Sharrkan avoided inviting Hakuryuu anywhere.

Not that he would accept even if he were offered. He was too damn serious. Judar absentmindedly pet Hakuryuu’s head when he next saw him, filled with fondness and the urge to mess up his hair.

Hakuryuu scowled and pushed Judar’s hand away. “Was there anything you needed, Lord Judar?”

“No,” Judar said, smiling. “That was all.”

Hakuryuu opened his mouth but found he had nothing to say and closed it again, looking horrified with himself that he couldn’t think of anything to say. His face reddened as he noticed his guards staring at the scene with interest.

It was too fun.

It wasn’t long until Pisti flagged him down and demanded every single detail of every single interaction he’d ever had with the Kou Empire’s prince. She must’ve heard from Spartos that Judar always came to Hakuryuu’s spear fighting practice. Though he didn’t look like much of a gossip, his friendship with Pisti was his weak point.

“Always the daredevil, this one,” she joked, tugging down on Judar’s sleeve as she spoke with Sharrkan who she’d brought along for the confrontation. “Can you believe he’s finally taking our advice to move on after all this time just to go for a prince of the Kou Empire!”

“It’s not—wait…” About to object, Judar stopped himself when he realized it was like that.

“I like Hakuryuu well enough,” Sharrkan said, ignoring Judar’s half-hearted protest and absentmindedly stroking his non-existent beard. “A little serious, sure, and a little young, but he’s not a bad kid. But one day he’ll go back to Kou, right?”

“Not if he falls in love with an enemy Magi he won’t!” Pisti giggled.

“Have you even talked to him?” Judar asked. “He’s not the type to leave his country for love. And I’d rather be taken with, anyway.”

“Well, you can’t do that,” Pisti said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I have talked to him, though. He struck me as a nice boy. One day he’ll make a fine husband.”

Judar grimaced. The way everyone took Judar’s permanent position as Sindria’s living barrier for granted really grated on him. He normally commented on it, argued with the reasoning, but today he let it slide. A plan was slowly forming somewhere in the back of his mind to do something about it.

His ears began to ring and suddenly everyone’s conversation was far too loud. Judar left for a nap.

“He’s doing that a lot more lately,” he heard Pisti say as he left.

“Maybe it’s all the excitement?” Sharrkan wondered aloud. “You know he gets worn out easily.”

They never fell into a routine dictating when they saw each other. Instead they fell into a routine as simple as talking every time they met by chance.

By chance, he met Hakuryuu during his spear practice increasingly often.

By chance, he met Hakuryuu in the library every few days, looking for the perfect place to nap, and got distracted talking with him instead despite Hakuryuu’s efforts to shoo him away to focus on his studies.

By chance, Judar saw him leave the palace for lunch from his balcony, alone if not for his guards. Hakuryuu didn’t have a way with other people. He didn’t do a lot for fun.

By chance, he met Hakuryuu on a hot and windless evening, still surrounded by his ever present group of guards. He was probably on his way to the guest wing to sleep, but Judar waved to get his attention anyway.

Once closer, Judar noticed he was sweaty enough for his bangs to dampen.

“Not doing too well with the heat, are you?”

Hakuryuu ran a hand through his bangs, pushing them back. “It’s winter in Rakushou,” he said. “But the seasons don’t reach Sindria.”

“Just terrible, right? I’d forget what ice felt like if I couldn’t use magic.”

Hakuryuu gave him another one of those searching looks. “Have you… really not been to Kou before?”

“I don’t think so. Why?”

“…You remind me of someone I used to know. That’s all.”

That was the last thing he expected to hear. “Really? Do you have palace magicians there too? I’d think ice magic wouldn’t be so popular up north.”

“It isn’t, not really. But it makes sense that it would be here.” Hakuryuu tugged at his hair again, sliding his sweat-covered bangs over as much of his scar as they’d cover. Judar wondered if he was self-conscious about being unused to the heat.

He noticed vaguely that only the scarless side of Hakuryuu’s face was sweaty. It looked lopsided. For all his interest in Hakuryuu, he didn’t have the rugged charm Judar assumed a scarred prince of the militaristic Kou Empire would have. He had a different kind of charm entirely.

Just as Hakuryuu began to leave again towards the guest wing Judar remembered the vague sense of familiarity from when they met.

“Wait,” he said. “Tell me about the person I remind you of.”

Hakuryuu obliged. He invited Judar to his room and it didn’t take long for his guards to bring water.

“Are they guards or servants?” Judar joked just before they left earshot.

Hakuryuu shot him a nasty look for his rudeness.

Once the guards were out of sight, Judar pulled out his staff.

“What are you doing?”

“Ice,” Judar said. He froze the pitcher full of water easily.

Hakuryuu stared, unimpressed. “Isn’t it useless now?”

“…It’ll thaw! And what’s up with that lukewarm reaction? At least be a little impressed.”

“You really do remind me of him,” Hakuryuu said. “He could have done this same thing.”

Judar bit his lip. Hakuryuu almost looked… fond.

“Though he’s dead now,” Hakuryuu mumbled, tapping the icy surface of the pitcher. “And it was a long time ago.”

“How long ago?”

“Ten years or so.”

Ten years ago, Judar was accompanying Sinbad on his adventures. He wondered what his life would’ve been like if he were in Kou at that time instead, giving his power to all the great generals of the Empire.

“Why did you want to know?” Hakuryuu asked. “It’s a strange request from a foreign Magi.”

“I just wanted to talk,” Judar lied. In truth, he was a bit annoyed that there were other people similar to him. He took pride in being unique. It was like learning about a rival he’d never had.

Suddenly he remembered the rival he did have. The one that Hakuryuu really should be talking with instead of him. “The fourth Magi’s in Kou, right?”

“Usually, yes.”

“But he’s the Kou Empire’s Magi, isn’t he?”

Hakuryuu frowned. “He belongs to Al-Thamen.”

“That doesn't answer my question.”

“Where he resides doesn’t make him my Magi. Anyone who belongs to Al-Thamen is an enemy of mine,” he said. “Yours, as well.”

“…Sinbad’s enemies aren’t mine.”

Hakuryuu pulled away, taken aback.

“He’s my king, sure. But that doesn’t mean we have the same goals in mind.” Judar smiled at Hakuryuu. “You understand, right? I got the impression you didn’t follow Kouen’s orders last time we spoke. Oh, but Sinbad isn’t that bad. I just get bored always doing what he says.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Not that I want to run off and join Al-Thamen or anything, don’t worry. More like… if you need something, ask me. I think our interests line up better than yours do with Sinbad’s. I can help you accomplish your goals.”

“Are you telling me that as a Magi?”

“Isn’t that what you meant when you said you wanted power?”

Hakuryuu’s eyes sparkled with greed, his rukh chirping without restraint. Judar savored the sound.

Unfortunately, Judar knew that Hakuryuu had already talked to Sinbad about his goals. What Hakuryuu probably planned to do was join the Seven Seas Alliance to get an upper hand against Kouen.

Then Hakuryuu would be crushed under the same weight as Judar was, the weight of Sinbad’s power over them. Judar was sure that he didn’t want that.

“Hakuryuu. I want to take you to a dungeon. I’ve only ever taken Sinbad through them, but you’re an ally. He won’t mind. The kings of the other countries in the Alliance all have djinns, after all.”

Of course, he didn’t plan to do it in a way that Sinbad ‘wouldn’t mind.’ But did Hakuryuu really need to know that?

“I would have to ask King Sinbad himself about the matter.”

“No, don’t. If you do, I won’t take you.”

Having come to expect that kind of strange demand, Hakuryuu considered it without surprise. His answer came sooner than expected. “I think that I would like that.”

After another hour of aimless chatting Judar left to go to sleep. He fell into another dream nearly instantly, one laced with intricate red designs and rooms full of people he couldn’t name.

He forgot the faces in his dream as soon as he woke up and asked Sharrkan if he could still remember his brother’s face.

“Of course I can,” Sharrkan said before frowning in uncertainty. “I haven’t been away so long that I’d forget.”

“But he probably doesn’t look the same now, right?”

“What’s this all the sudden?” Sharrkan asked. “It’s not like you to ask questions like that.”

“What, would you rather I asked Spartos instead?”

“Don’t,” Sharrkan said softly. “Why would you?”

“Woke up with the urge to ask, that’s all.”

“Is this about your memory?” Sharrkan asked.

“Obviously. You can remember well enough, so why can’t I?”

Sharrkan averted his eyes.“I don’t know. I really don’t.”

Just to be mean, Judar asked Spartos the same question later.

As always, when Judar acted out Sinbad confronted him.

“Is there something on your mind?” Sinbad asked, reaching out to grab Judar’s shoulder before he walked past. “You look stressed.”

“It’s not how I look, it’s that someone tattled,” Judar said. “Spartos, right? Or Pisti. Doubt Spartos had the backbone.”

Sinbad’s frown deepened. “That’s not important.”

Judar turned to look him in the eye. “What about you, Sinbad? How far do you remember?”

“Far enough,” Sinbad said and refused to meet his gaze.

Sharrkan did the same when he asked. “I’m not that dumb, you know,” Judar said.

“I know.”

“Why are you still doing it then?”

“It’s the only way,” Sinbad said. “I can’t forgive you unless I do this. I’m… I’m sorry.”

Judar watched him leave. Sinbad couldn’t keep him in the dark forever, no matter how hard he tried.

Pisti kept her distance from Judar after that, hurt for Spartos’ sake. However, Spartos himself didn’t seem to mind Judar as he watched Hakuryuu’s slowly improving fighting skills and regarded him with a wistful glance every now and then.

Hakuryuu picked up on the change. He was more observant than he looked. He didn’t ask, not directly, but Judar told him anyway.

“I got in a fight with the other generals,” he said. “Insulted their memories, or something.”

“Memories of what?”

“Spartos’ dead brother. I asked if he remembered what he looked like. He was just a kid last he saw him, you know?”

If Judar were paying attention he would’ve noticed Hakuryuu’s posture stiffening, but he was watching the clouds pass by instead. None were large enough to make rain fall, but it was a rarity seeing even this many clouds in Sindria this time of year. “I don’t remember anything about my family,” Judar continued. “But they act like they’re the only ones who’ve ever been wronged. Pisses me off.”

“You don’t remember them?”

Judar sighed. “Why am I telling you this…”

He stood, brushed off his clothes, and shook his head. “I guess it doesn’t matter. You said before that you have a sister, right? Tell me about her.”

An unfamiliar softness came over Hakuryuu’s features as he spoke about his beloved sister. He loved her dearly, and it came through in every word he spoke of her. She helped him when he needed it and taught him to stand on his own two feet.

Once he was able, he began taking care of her in return - cooking for her, trying to make sure she was able to settle down as a woman alright. He seemed very worried that she would never do so.

Hakuryuu’s description of his sister fit very well with the way Spartos described his brother. It was almost irritating how well they sounded like they got along.

“What about your parents?” Judar asked.

“…Except for my sister, my family was killed by Al-Thamen.”

It made sense. Hakuryuu was sensitive, but not so righteous to want to wipe Al-Thamen out by abstract reasoning. Of course it was a personal grudge.

They walked aimlessly together for some time, brushing shoulders and talking about nothing at all. Along the main streets until they reached the shore, then across a rocky beach until Judar’s ankles hurt.

Hakuryuu probably had better things to do. Judar wasn’t sure what his motive was in accompanying Judar for a whole day. Maybe he judged Judar as fickle and didn’t want to ruin his chance to go to a dungeon. Or maybe he felt for Judar as his friend, or maybe did it on a whim.

Used to Sinbad as he was, Judar kept expecting Hakuryuu to ask for something in return. He never did, though, even after they reached the castle once again and parted for the night.

The strangeness of it all - affection with no strings attached, someone who he wanted to give something to but didn’t have to - carried into his dreams.

Someone who could’ve been Hakuryuu if not for the lack of scar, and a younger man who looked happy to serve him. He was thanking Judar for something: a “great opportunity,” as he put it. A hot flash of recognition shot through Judar and he woke before he could understand what the opportunity was.

Ren Kouen. The man he should’ve never seen, but was suddenly certain that he knew. That was a connection he’d know anywhere: that of a king and his Magi.

It was no mere dream. It was a memory from long ago.

It made sense. He was a Magi. He was born to bestow power upon the worthy, and Kouen was every bit as worthy as Sinbad. Without thinking, Judar left for the guest hall.

He tapped on Hakuryuu’s door. When he came to answer, Hakuryuu didn’t look impressed or surprised.

“That’s a boring reaction,” Judar said and invited himself in. “At least ask what I need.”

“You’re going to tell me whether I ask or not. Could it not wait until morning?”

“Doesn’t look like you were sleeping anyway.”

“…No. Were you?”

“For a while, yeah.” Judar said and sat at the guest room’s table. “You look good with your hair down, by the way.”

“Surely you didn’t come here in the middle of the night just to tell me that,” Hakuryuu mumbled. He was getting better at taking Judar’s compliments without reacting. Why he decided not reacting was the best idea was beyond him.

“No, I wanted to talk about Kouen.”

“In the middle of the night.”

“Yeah! Don’t tell me you never get the urge for some late night gossip?”

“You’re in a much better mood, at least.”

Judar smiled. “I think you jogged my memory a little. I had a dream about it, I mean. Do you know who opened a dungeon for Kouen? His first one, I mean.”

Hakuryuu raised an eyebrow.

“Me! When he was a teenager, I saw him! He was with someone who could’ve been your brother - do you have a brother? - and thanked me for it, so I must have chosen him.”

Hakuryuu sat in the chair across from him, looking very tired. “Al-Thamen found those dungeons for Kouen. You didn’t give them to him.”

“How do you know? Wouldn’t you have just been a child?”

“Yes, but—”

“A child’s memory is unreliable! I asked!”

“It isn’t! It’s worth as much as anything.”

“It’s not! Nobody remembers what really happened. I can’t be the only one.”

At some point they’d both stood to yell at each other over the table, but their argument soon fizzed out into nothing more than glaring at each other. Judar could feel his heart beating in his ears but the ringing never started.

It was weird. He expected his ears to be ringing by now. His eyes flickered to Hakuryuu who still looked pained.

“Has Sinbad shown you any of his djinn equips yet?”

Hakuryuu was caught off guard by the question. “No…?”

“Don’t let him. Well, you’re not a dungeon conqueror, so I guess you have no choice either way. Oh well.”

“You’re not making any sense,” Hakuryuu said.

“Sinbad’s asleep right now. Can you tell?”

“Of course not. It’s not like I can hear him snoring.”

Judar smiled. Despite the fact that they were yelling at each other a minute ago, his fondness for Hakuryuu was already seeping back in. “I feel really good right now,” Judar said. “I think I’m gonna become nocturnal.”

“What does that have to do with King Sinbad?”

“His djinn makes my ears ring,” Judar said. “It’s a gross sound. At first I thought it was just the rukh, but now I’m sure it’s him.”

Hakuryuu met Judar’s eyes. “You’re sure?” He sounded like he could really trust Judar.

Judar nodded, moved to Hakuryuu’s side, and took his hands. “Become my king,” he said.

“I already said that I would go to a dungeon with you.”

“Not just that. I want you to be my king. I don’t want to live how Sinbad wants a second longer.”

Hakuryuu swallowed his nerves and made a vow that was wholly lacking in confidence. “If that’s what you’d like.”

Judar tried not to think of what he and Hakuryuu talked about. He called it their secret in his head and from the looks Sinbad gave him when they met in the palace halls by chance and Judar thought of Hakuryuu instead, it was doing a spectacular job of annoying Sinbad.

It helped that it was easy to waste time thinking about Hakuryuu.

He’d been in Sindria for three months now, meaning his study abroad period was already halfway over. Three months was a lot of time, though. Enough time for something to happen.

Still, he couldn’t spend all day every day with Hakuryuu. Judar busied himself messing up Yamraiha’s workspace while Hakuryuu studied.

He leafed through her notes, pulling a scroll off the shelf every so often to gauge her reaction. She didn’t really care unless he rerolled them wrong. Which was every single time.

“Judar!” She finally shouted after an hour of it. “Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“Like what?” Judar asked before tossing a half-unraveled scroll on her desk. It hit and knocked over a glass. Judar snickered as Yamraiha shrieked.

She held her staff up threateningly. “Juudaaarr!”

“What’re you gonna do with that? I have a borg, you know.”

She puffed up her cheeks. “Why’d you choose this time to remember? That usually works!”

“Does it!?”

“It does! Usually you make up some excuse and leave because you don’t want me to make your eyebrows as long as your hair!”

Judar scrunched his face up in disgust. Did she have to use that as an example?

Either way, she couldn’t actually do it. Judar sat in the chair she’d abandoned and looked at the materials she had splayed across the table.

“What’s all this, anyway? What are you trying to do?”

“You’ve been in here this whole time and you don’t even know what I was working on? Honestly, Judar.”

He took a glass orb in his hands and rolled it around. “Is this another Rukh’s Eye? I broke mine, by the way.”

“What? Since when? What were you even using it for?”

“Back when Sinbad was on his way here. Make one that can take more magoi next time, I want to be able to use it from here to Rakushou. Actually, make two.”

“You’re going to ask for a favor after the mess you’ve made of my study today? You never change.”

“You were making another one anyway,” Judar argued, holding the blue glass up as proof. “Shouldn’t be much more trouble to make a few more. Who’s this one for, by the way?”

“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “I’m not asking you what yours is for, am I?”

“Yeah, but that’s just because you’ve probably heard every rumor on the island from Pisti.”

“Pisti… oh! Oh, no! Judar, I have to go! I forgot we were going shopping today!”

With that she used her staff to push Judar forcefully out the door and left in a hurry. Judar watched her go, dazed.

Something didn’t feel right, but he couldn’t put his finger on what.

Judar walked around for a while, throwing the past couple hours back and forth in his mind to try to pinpoint what exactly was wrong, but couldn’t figure it out. Frustrated, he went to take a nap instead.

In his sleep he saw the masked men, all the same to him. He didn’t bother learning many of their names, but they treated him with false respect. He ate alone and slept alone, only seeing others his age through the glass.

A woman introduced him to them, her bright-eyed children. They didn’t get to play for long before he was taken to work on his magic some more by the masked men.

He didn’t hate them. It was his job, and Judar did like to feel important.

It was hard to focus on being awake when he felt so tired all day. He used to spend the whole day taking naps and the night sleeping, but now he knew better. It was a double-edged sword, though.

He had to sleep to dream, and there was definitely something up with his dreams lately.

His dream was filled with black rukh and voices of determination and mourning. The woman he’d seen in his dreams before let go of his hand and never held it again, but he never felt sad.

He’d felt that she was disposable. No… that wasn’t the right word. It was just that he knew. That such a scene had happened many times already and would happen many times again, so he knew better than to get too attached.

In reality, Judar had never felt that kings were disposable. He only had Sinbad and for so long wanted nothing more than to cultivate that single bond. But in his dream he had enough kings that it was nearly tiresome meeting another. So what if he’d gotten a little attached to her, just a little. There would always be someone greater another day.

When he woke the moon had already risen high in the night sky, but he was no longer tired. The image of that woman, warm and almost motherly, stuck in head much like Kouen’s face had struck him weeks before.

Judar ran a hand through his sweaty bangs and stretched. His head felt like it was only his once again. He let himself relax enough to feel angry.

Sinbad knew that he knew about Zepar by now. As freeing as that could have been, in reality, it meant that Sinbad would expect Judar to try to get rid of it.

Really, his best bet would be to get Hakuryuu a djinn first. To do that Judar would need to leave the barriers and call a dungeon. Once they were inside there was nothing Sinbad could do, but before then…

He had to consider what they’d do afterwards, too. Hakuryuu shouldn’t be in any trouble, not as an ally of Sindria. His conviction to get revenge on Al-Thamen was too strong for him to betray them after getting a djinn, and even if it weren’t, he was weak in comparison to Sinbad.

After that… well, Hakuryuu would go back home to the Kou Empire, and Judar would remain within his island cage. Sinbad’s promises to take him elsewhere were empty, and he couldn’t just leave with Hakuryuu. The Kou Empire already had a Magi, although… although…

If his dreams really were reality, if he really did grant Kouen a djinn so long ago… would he remember? It was possible. Maybe he could ask Hakuryuu to check and see if anyone remembered.

That was it. He’d ask Hakuryuu.

Judar fixed his bedhead and left for the guest wing. He wasn’t sure exactly how late it was but he didn’t think it was after midnight.

The crisp air and the sound of his feet hitting the polished floor in tune with a band of boisterous crickets’ songs were his only company on the way. It was rare to see the palace in such a deserted state, but the Leo Tower at night was usually a quiet place. Judar hummed as he walked. The sound echoed off the ceiling.

Of course, there were always days when Pisti’s boyfriends would meet each other sneaking in to see her and cause a scene in the moonlight, waking up half the tower. Or days where Hinahoho’s children visited all together and left only when their old man needed sleep, or days where Sharrkan decided it was as good of a place to continue a party as any.

Judar didn’t notice when steps fell into a rhythm behind his own until he saw a large shadow creep up past his. He stopped.

“You’re out late,” Drakon commented.

Judar turned to look at him. A bit of dried shedskin was hanging on his forehead. He snickered. “Wife kick you out?”

Drakon touched his face and brushed the skin off. “Couldn’t sleep,” he said. “You as well?”

“No,” Judar said. “Just had something to do.”

“In the guest tower?” Drakon asked, glancing in the direction Judar had been headed. “It’s a bit late for that.”

“No it’s not. Haven’t you ever been young?” Judar asked, rolling his eyes. Drakon would probably mention it to Sinbad that he saw Judar roaming around so late, and he wanted Sinbad to have no interest in keeping an eye on them. “If you’re gonna tell Sinbad, tell him not to act like a lecherous old man while he’s at it. I just wanna have a little fun.”

Drakon looked tired. “Our king only does what he believes to be best, Judar. Good night.” With that he headed towards a washroom to take care of his shedskin mess.

No one else interrupted him on the way to Hakuryuu’s room. He knocked on the door a few times with no response.

“Hakuryuu, are you in?”

No response again. Then, finally, the sound of sheets shuffling. Hakuryuu answered, looking very much like he was just woken up.

“You look terrible,” Judar said. He couldn’t help but laugh as Hakuryuu rubbed his eyes.

His hair was a bit tangly, too. Judar ran a hand through it absentmindedly and Hakuryuu just stared. “What are you doing?”

“Fixing your hair. Like I said, you look like shit.”

Hakuryuu sighed. “Why are you here? It’s late.”

“To talk, obviously. Let me in.”

Hakuryuu didn’t object but looked sour as he closed the door behind Judar. “Thanks to your last late visit, I’ve heard all sorts of rumors circling around my guards.”

“Nosy, aren’t they? Did you set them straight?” Judar asked. Just to be mean, he lay on Hakuryuu’s bed rather than sitting at a chair.

It… smelled nice. Judar got up and moved to the chair immediately.

Hakuryuu watched him with mild interest. “No… they would only find something else to gossip about. And to be truthful I’m not confident that they’re wrong about your intentions.”

“Are you implying I came here to seduce you?” Judar asked.

“Of course not. But…”

“But…?”

“My initial impression was that you were courting King Sinbad,” Hakuryuu said. It was a statement, but he seemed to expect an answer. “Now I’m not so sure…”

Judar frowned. Hakuryuu sat across from him and their eyes met. It felt a little like he was being scolded. “I’m not,” he said. “You’re talking about that party when you first came here, right? I was just trying to get under his skin.” He didn’t mention that he was sort of… okay, very interested in Sinbad before. It felt so far away now, after all.

“You have a strange way of getting under one’s skin then,” Hakuryuu said and sighed. “Forget it. I should have never brought it up.”

“Still half-asleep?” Judar joked. “You’re not getting out of it that easy. I do like you, you know.”

Hakuryuu looked away, unimpressed.

“Do you not believe me?”

“Didn’t you come here to talk about something else?”

Judar picked up a spoon meant for honey and tapped the table’s empty pitcher with a Sharrar spell. It filled easily. He poured a glass of water for Hakuryuu. “What do you think?”

“There are magicians in Kou, too.”

“Come on, don’t be like that. Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?”

“It’s past midnight.”

“Is it? I just woke up.”

Hakuryuu took a sip of the water and scrunched his nose. “Salty.”

Judar laughed. “It’s an island, what did you expect?”

Hakuryuu set the glass back down. “Really, I should have known better than to expect water from you.”

“But you’re finally awake now, see? You should be thanking me.”

“Like I’d ever do that.”

“You were such a polite guy before, too. What happened?”

Hakuryuu eyed him wearily. “What about you? You’re a Magi but you act like nothing more than a spoiled brat. You don’t command respect in the slightest.”

“Am I getting downgraded here?”

“Really, I ought to just call you Judar. Anything more doesn’t suit you.”

Judar felt his pulse quicken just a little, the same as how it did when he lay on Hakuryuu’s bed. He was sure his face showed it as well.

“Um,” Hakuryuu said, and looked away quickly. “A, anyway. What did you need again?”

Judar blinked a few times before remembering. “Ask your sister about me,” he said.

“What? Why?”

“Just do it. Say that you’ve met Sindria’s Magi and that his name is Judar.”

“It’s not like you to make such a request.”

“I’d ask her myself if I could! But I wouldn’t have much luck getting a letter out of the country.”

“And you couldn’t have waited until morning for this.”

“No, I told you before. Didn’t you understand?”

“You didn’t explain it well enough for me to,” Hakuryuu said. “All you said was something about one of Sinbad’s djinns.”

“Zepar,” Judar offered.

“Is that the one? You didn’t say.”

“I didn’t? Well, it’s that one. Sound djinn, about this tall -” Judar stood and held his hand up. “Small by djinn standards.”

“How tall it is doesn't matter.”

“I know! But its size is really misleading, you know? Out of all of Sinbad’s djinns, Zepar is special. Its extreme magic places Sinbad’s voice inside of your rukh.” He batted at his own traitorous rukh with his hands. It flitted around and the white color faded in the dim light. “They listen to him and there’s nothing you can do. If he doesn’t want me thinking about something, I can’t think about it. If he doesn’t want me doing something, I can’t do it. Not on his watch.”

“There’s really a djinn capable of such a thing?”

“Yeah. Would you like one like it? Zepar can’t be the only special djinn.”

“…I don’t understand you.”

Judar gritted his teeth but smiled anyway. “You want power, right? Zepar is as powerful as they get.”

Hakuryuu ignored him. “What’s the point of using such a powerful djinn on his allies? It’s not that I don’t believe you, but it seems pointless.”

“That’s why you should ask your sister. Kouen would probably know better, but I get the feeling you two don’t exchange letters much.” Judar twirled a loose strand of hair idly. “I’m not asking you for my sake, you know. It’s in your best interest.”

“In what world is making an enemy of King Sinbad in my best interest?”

“This one,” Judar said, and walked towards the balcony to look over the city. “If you do as I ask, I will do anything for you in return. Isn’t that what you wanted? I can give you as much power as I gave Sinbad. And I can do much more than raise dungeons, as you know. Magi are very useful.”

“Useful,” Hakuryuu repeated idly.

“That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

Hakuryuu didn’t respond.

“This island is wrong. Maybe even the whole world is wrong. Don’t you think?”

“…I cannot say with certainty that King Sinbad is wholly right,” Hakuryuu said.

“Exactly! Sinbad thinks that he’ll make a whole world that’s right, starting with this island. That’s his goal. Did you know that? Or did you come here just to borrow his power without knowing its price?”

“I…”

“We already made an agreement,” Judar said. “You’ll be king and I will be your Magi. Let’s make a world different from the one Sinbad wants.”

“I understand,” Hakuryuu said. Judar trusted that he was telling the truth.

After telling Hakuryuu about Zepar, he was much less willing to talk past formalities. It was funny the first few days but quickly became annoying.

The generals thought they’d had a lovers quarrel, and Hakuryuu’s guards told Judar to keep his chin up.

It was funny, because they’d actually deepened their alliance. Not fought.

But they’d only know that if they roamed the guesthalls after midnight, when Judar pushed his way into Hakuryuu’s quarters.

The letter to Hakuryuu’s sister came back after a few weeks. When it arrived, Hakuryuu invited Judar to his quarters himself.

His guards looked almost as happy as Judar felt at the alleged end to their ‘fight.’

They closed the door behind themselves.

Hakuryuu,

Thank you for the letter. I’m glad that you’re enjoying your time in Sindria. Are you sure that the heat isn’t bothering you? You don’t have to pretend to be strong for me.

About Judar—yes, I do remember him. He was a child a bit older than you, with long hair just past his waist. He was very particular about his hair, I remember. Always kept it up in a braid and meticulously picked at anything that got in it.

He used to spend a great deal of time with our mother back when you were always out and about with our brothers, back before the fighting got really bad again. Sometimes I’d stay in to work on embroidery, and then I’d see him. He was a quiet kid, more than you ever were. Unfortunately, there’s not much else that I can say on the matter. That’s all that I remember, and furthermore, it’s impossible to find him at this point.

It’s difficult to say this, but he passed away at around the same time as our brothers did.

I know that you told me that you can’t explain why you’re asking, but I admit to being extremely curious as to why you mentioned Judar after all this time. Did you have a memory that you couldn’t place? If so, I’m sorry that I couldn’t tell you happier news.

I hope that this dreary conversation doesn’t dim your time in Sindria. Please, if possible, allow the matter to rest. I know that you don’t like to forget things, but digging too deep into memories sometimes does more harm than good.

Hakuei

“…Guess I’m a ghost,” Judar said.

“I can’t believe this.”

“Why not?”

“It’s just… it’s shocking. So you were right, then. You were… but how…?”

Judar shrugged. Hardly anything surprised him anymore, and this was pretty much just confirming his suspicions.

Still, though.

Still.

To think that… years of his life in Kou had been taken from him. Years that he should’ve spent at home, not here.

He didn’t hate Sindria. It had its pros and cons, just like anywhere else probably did. It’s just that he didn’t choose it for himself. It was decided for him.

Mahrajan.

It was strange, watching it from the sidelines instead of the middle of everything. It looked so different from the edge of the light. Everyone was chattering louder than the rukh, smiling and laughing, sharing food and sitting way too close to each other…

There, right there, by Sinbad. That girl right there.

That used to be him. Sitting next to him, tugging on his arm, one of many but pretending to be his one and only.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like it. He’d like to party now, too. He just wasn’t in the mood, and judging by the faraway look on Hakuryuu’s face, neither was he.

Suddenly Judar felt a strong pull from across the sea. Not close but not far. Strong enough to disrupt the rukh.

“Judar…?”

“You didn’t feel that?”

“No…”

“From across the water - Yamraiha probably didn’t notice. She’s not a Magi. If we take a carpet we might be able to see who raised it.”

“What are you talking about? Hey, answer me before running off!”

“Come on! I already told you there’s nowhere we can talk here. Don’t you want to see?”

Hakuryuu followed out of what was either curiosity or trust. Judar grabbed his hand to lead him. “Don’t bother us!” He called back to Hakuryuu’s guards.

The guards looked to Hakuryuu who nodded in confirmation. Judar grabbed his hand and led him to his room as fast as possible, ignoring the curious looks from maids who would no doubt start gossiping as soon as he was out of earshot.

Judar threw his door open, poured his bowl of fruit into a bag, and grabbed the folded carpet.

“Are you going to tell me what we’re doing now?”

Judar grinned. “We’re going on an adventure, duh.”

“What… kind… of an adventure?” Hakuryuu eyed the contents of Judar’s room suspiciously.

Judar patted his folded carpet. “We need to hurry.”

“If this is an adventure that will get me on King Sinbad’s bad side—”

“You worry too much!”

After a moment of silence Hakuryuu relented. “If you’re so certain,” he said.

They took the path in the opposite direction from the source of the disturbance. The rukh had already settled. If Yamraiha didn’t notice it (which was likely, since she was probably running experiments of her own) they would probably be able to go unnoticed until the second barrier. Or, even better, Judar could break the barrier from the inside. Yamraiha would probably fix it before investigating why it broke.

It was easy enough to find one of the activation points. With a quick zap the barrier was gone.

“What did you just do?”

“There’s a barrier that tells them who comes and goes. I broke it.”

“Should we really be doing this…?”

“Aw, come on. I’m their Magi, they can’t do anything to me. Anyway, we should leave now. ‘Cause they can probably do something to you.”

“Wh—”

Judar looked back at Hakuryuu. “You can’t be such a coward anymore! You will be my king instead, just as we decided.” He smiled. “My kings are as brave as they come, okay? Fearless and cool, and nothing else!”

Hakuryuu’s voice faltered, so Judar squeezed his hand tighter. He gulped and nodded and they ascended into the Sindrian night.

Sinbad was more confident when he was Hakuryuu’s age. But it was fine. Judar would give him enough power that it would be impossible not to feel confident.

Judar brought the carpet around the edge of the island, then out over the open sea. Once they left the first barrier Judar instantly felt a weight lift.

Then it happened again, and again, and again, and again.

Judar wasn’t counting, but he was pretty sure that there were too many barriers. “How many of these things are there?” he grumbled.

“What things?”

“It doesn’t matter. I think that was the last of them anyway.”

Judar closed his eyes and let the rukh guide him to the disturbance. He sure was lucky, finding a new dungeon so close to Sindria. He figured the idiot Magi summoned it since they were in Balbadd, which meant it was almost certainly Aladdin.

It took a few hours to reach the dungeon. By the end Hakuryuu was becoming very fretful about Judar’s magoi. He had to threaten to drop him in the ocean before Hakuryuu even considered shutting up.

He might not be as brave and confident as Sinbad, but he was definitely just as stubborn.

Judar smiled.

This was the beginning. For him, anyway. Everything up until now had just been the prologue.

From now on, he’d be a king’s real and true magi, meant to fight armies, not waste away at the hand of barriers.

From now on, he’d be Judar, Hakuryuu’s magi. He wouldn’t rot as one of many generals. He’d be his one and only magi.

So from now on, he’d have something real to look forward to. From now on, they’d do all the things that no one should ever do.

Sinbad would spin it as them being villains in his own heroic story. There was no doubt about that. But what was wrong with being a villain? It might be fun. No, it would be fun. Anything that he could do by his own free will was bound to be fun.