College Magic Cycle

Alchemy and Songcraft Chapter 7

Introduction

I welcome feedback from readers, in fact I thrive on it. It's really the only payment authors on NIFTY receive for their efforts. If you enjoy the story please take a moment to drop me an email and let me know. Comments from my readers drive my creativity.

This storyline is about the two couples, Jason and Kieran and Erik and Alonzo, the main characters from My Roommate the Alchemist and Wishcraft. Now that we're in phase II of the story, the POV will change between these four characters. The two storylines combine because the lives of the two couples are becoming more intertwined from this point on.

This cycle includes four storylines. The stories intertwine. They are listed in the College Magic Cycle folder in the suggested reading order.

Please remember that NIFTY is a free site that provides an invaluable resource for men like us. Please consider donating to help ensure that site remains available for everyone. https://donate.nifty.org/

You can contact me at pseudonominius@gmail.com.

Author's Notes

·        If you want to be informed of new stories, send me an email, and ask to be put on the notification list. I'll send a notification. Everyone will be on the bcc line so your email address will not show to other members.

·        You can also sign up for the google group mailing list. All notifications for new stories are posted there as well as on the notification list, but I also answer questions from readers on that site after removing the reader's contact information.

·        Not a mistake! Please remember that Alonzo, Erik and Kieran have changed size over the course of the story, but reality has been changed to reflect the fact that they have always been their current size.

·        My editor is Robbear (robbear78@gmail.com). He not only edited this story but provided a lot of insight and suggestions that made the story better.

Other Stories

• Small Town Slave Boys
• Jack and the Giant
• Sacred Submissives
• Bellus Cinaedus
• Guardian Angel
• Eros in Arcadia
• Nivean and the Dvergar
• Desert Heat
• Constituent Services
• The Dancing Princes

Alchemy and Songcraft Chapter 7

Kieran

I woke up snuggled next to Alonzo. He had one arm around me, and the other was holding his cellphone. He could Swype with only the thumb on the hand he used to hold his phone. It was a stupid talent, but I was still jealous. He finished what he was doing and then put his phone down.

He gave me a smile and brushed some stray hairs out of my eyes. "So, you're finally awake. We had an early night last night, so Erik and I have been up for a while."

I shrugged and said, "I usually sleep until Jason wakes me up, but he's..." I looked around, "...not here yet?"

Alonzo kissed me and said, "No, sweetie, he's not. He said he'd be back around 9:00, right after he finishes up with that all-night ritual he's doing. And when he gets here, he'll need to sleep."

"I'll just curl up next to him while he sleeps, so he won't be lonely."

Alonzo bopped my nose and shook his head. "No, you won't. He needs to rest, and you will just distract him. Besides, you and I have laundry to do; and we have to clean the room."

I scrunched my face up and let out a heavy breath. "I know, but... Alonzo, I haven't gotten started on my day without Jason... you know... without Jason... um..."

Alonzo laughed. "...without Jason sexing you up. I know. And you should know that Erik won't touch me sexually while the three of us are together without Jason. So, I am just as horny as you are."

Alonzo got up and went to the dresser. He turned on the electric tea kettle Jason kept there and picked up a cup. He looked back at me and said, "Jason left your tea and morning medicine. He gave me instructions on how to give it to you."

I got out of bed and stood next to him, anxious to see what he was doing. "He's never shown me what he's giving me. He just hands it to me and tells me to drink it."

Alonzo laughed. "And all he did for me was tell me how long to steep the tea. He set everything out so I couldn't possibly mess it up."

He prepared the tea and I looked into the cup. I wondered what all those powders in the cup were. I planned to ask Jason later. I just wondered if he would tell me. I resolved to be a little more demanding when it came to dispelling my ignorance. I was a mage now. Ok, a trainee mage. But this was my world now too. I just had to find a way to do it with the proper respect toward my zhangfu.

Alonzo

After getting ready for the day, Kieran and I went downstairs to make breakfast. We didn't have a lot of time before Jason would get back. I remembered from yesterday that Kieran didn't know anything about cooking, but he was eager to help, and he could follow instructions. I made an effort to give him a lot of preparatory work. I had Kieran clean and chop green onions and cilantro, while Erik crumbled the last of the cotija and then whipped the eggs. We were expecting four people in addition to our little quartet, Seth and Gwen Gray, and then two mages I didn't know, Maxine Grimm and Nigel Umber.

I needed two big skillets to cook the eggs. I whisked some of the green chilis, green onion, cilantro and queso quesadilla into the eggs and then cooked them on medium low until they were almost done. Then I sprinkled them with the cotija before putting it in the oven.

I'd also mixed up some fresh pico de gallo and I was going to lose it if anyone said...

"Salsa!"

Erik took a spoonful and tasted it. I'd made it as mild as I could because my big tough Viking was a heat wimp. I couldn't really get mad at him, and not just because he didn't know the difference between salsa and pico de gallo. He needed more training.

He grabbed me and kissed me. "And you made me an omelet. I love omelets."

I laughed. "Close enough. My mom said it was tortilla Española, but my tia said that it was more like a frittata. I don't really care. But either way, this one isn't Spanish or Italian. It's Mexican.

At that moment, Jason came into the room with Seth Gray. Kieran ran over and threw his arms around Jason, hugging him tight. Jason looked exhausted, but he always had energy for Kieran. I couldn't be jealous. Erik was learning to copy the best of Jason's traits.

Seth bent down to take a whiff of breakfast. "Mm, that smells delicious. If you ever get tired of this boy, Erik, send him over to my room."

Erik laughed but he moved between Seth and me. "Back off, dude. He's beautiful, he sings like an angel, he dances like the sexiest boy in the world and he makes me eggs. I am never getting tired of this guy."

Breakfast was great. Everyone told me how good the food was, and then Maxine and Nigel magicked all the dishes clean before going down to the alchemy lab.

Kieran

I would have given anything to be able to stay with Jason. When did I become so needy? I thought that I'd come a long way since that time right after the attack, but spending one night without Jason had made me pout like a baby. I had to get control of myself. I had to find some way to keep myself from breaking down when I felt abandoned, and even more I had to find a way not to feel abandoned just because Jason wasn't there to hold me at night.

Jason gave me another kiss and then he patted my butt. "Be a good boy and listen to Erik. He's in charge. If he's not around, listen to Alonzo. Erik is taking you back to campus so you can get some work done before your class with Rakesh at Ibis House. You'll be able to see all the friends you made last time you visited and you can help make Alonzo feel more comfortable. I'll meet you there later, and we'll stay for dinner."

I hugged him again and said, "Yes, Sir!"

He still walked me out to the car, as usual, helped me into the backseat and strapped me in. He had dark circles under his red eyes. He looked so tired, and I felt so bad at how I'd behaved last night. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him.

"I love you, Sir. Get some rest so that later you can... show me how much you love me." I said the last phrase in a whisper.

Jason kissed me back and then he nibbled my earlobe, making me giggle like a schoolboy. "If I weren't so exhausted, I'd show you how much I love you right now." He had time for one last kiss before heading back inside to get some sleep

I gave Alonzo a surprised look when he got into the back seat next to me, instead of riding up front with Erik."I didn't want you to get lonely back here," he said. "And Jason kept telling me not to distract Erik while he's driving, and I can't help it if he can't keep his hands off me."

Erik looked over his shoulder and mimicked a spanking. "Oh, you just wait until we get back to the room. Then I'll show you how much I can't keep my hands off you."

I watched Jason walk back into the house and sighed, my face falling into it's typical pout when I had to be without Jason. When I sat back in the seat, Alonzo took hold of my hand and squeezed. I smiled back at him and said, "Sorry, I was just surprised that you're back here with me instead of up front with Erik."

Alonzo gave me his most impish smile and whispered, "It was Erik's idea really. He's nervous about driving Jason's car and the last time we went out in his car, I may have... tried to take his dick out and play with it while he was driving."

Alonzo was mischievous in ways I would never dream of trying. I asked, "Was Erik mad?"

"Oh yeah," he said with a smile. "And that made me try even harder. But I may have misread the situation."

"What did he do?" I was dying to know now. I always got a thrill listening to Alonzo's stories.

"Well, first you should know that he doesn't really fit in that car of his. He had to scrunch down and spread his legs so far that I had very easy access. He grabbed one of my hands but I had two and he needed to keep one on the wheel. I thought I'd won until he pulled over into the parking lot of the Safeway. He dragged me out of the car like he was some sort of caveman, and then he pulled my pants off and spanked me right there. Anyone could have come out that back door and seen us. And then..."

Erik interrupted from the front seat without taking his eyes off the road. "I did not strip you naked in the parking lot. I smacked your butt through your jeans and..."

"...and then he put me in a headlock! He's such a brute. I was afraid for my life."

"Don't listen to him, Kieran. He's blowing everything out of proportion. I didn't grab his neck; I grabbed him around the waist and that was just so that I could throw him over my shoulder and spank his butt."

Alonzo was smiling and winking at me. "Don't you believe him, Kieran. He abuses me something fierce when you're not around."

We continued to banter and Alonzo's version of the story got progressively more improbable. Even Erik was laughing, but I sensed that it was somewhat forced. And I noticed something in Alonzo's eyes that wasn't laughing. I let my mental barriers down and let myself feel Alonzo's emotions. He was sad, maybe even on the verge of tears behind his laughter.

Erik

It was weird being alone with Alonzo and Kieran. Weird, but fun and interesting. I wondered if they were always like that when they were alone together. I wanted to talk to Alonzo. I was still stinging from that story Alonzo had told. Immediately after I'd pulled over and spanked his butt, I knew that I'd done the wrong thing. Was Alonzo's story a chance for him to let me know that he thought so too?

I put it out of my mind and did some engineering work. The program was just getting started here and the engineering degree was offered by the department of science instead of a separate engineering department, but we had some impressive professors and my engineering class was based on projects. It was fascinating.

While I was working, Alonzo was teaching Kieran some dance moves. Both boys were in their thongs, and they looked fine. Kieran couldn't dance while working, but Alonzo couldn't stop dancing even when he was working. I had a hard time concentrating, but I managed to get my reading done and I added some details to my group's project documents.

Unfortunately, I had to run to my Kali class. I was committed to improving my skills. I'd expected a little resistance from Jason, since he was being so overprotective of Kieran these days, but he'd been one hundred percent supportive. He even insisted that I take his car. That was a relief. My head brushed the roof in Jason's SUV, but I barely fit inside my own car, even with the seat pushed all the way back.

"Okay boys." I called them over.

Alonzo crawled onto my right leg and called Kieran over to sit on my left. I was uncomfortable with the whole thing because I had to spread my legs and Alonzo was making no secret of the fact that he could see the tent in my pants. I was going to have to talk to Jason later. This strange relationship between the four of us required he and I to constantly discuss the boundaries. If Jason were here, I wouldn't think twice about the intimacy of holding Kieran on my knee with his calf so close to my crotch. It felt wrong with him not here.

"What do you want, papi?" Alonzo said, pressing his head to my chest.

I pulled his hand off my thigh and put it on his own. "I have to leave you boys for a while."

"We'll be fine without you for a couple of hours. We're not helpless," Alonzo said.

I wasn't going to have this out with him again. Jason had told him that Kieran was being targeted by hunters. "I trust you both, but you need to promise me that you won't go outside the building until I get back. If there is trouble you need to call me on the phone."

Alonzo gave me a proud smile and said, "I'll send you a whisper message. I can send one to Sebastian and Clarissa too."

"And what's that?"

He jumped off my lap and went across the room. I loved watching him do magic. Whenever Seth or Jason cast a spell, they pulled out a wand and waved it around. I didn't understand why Alonzo was different, but he didn't even have a wand. He did a kind of spiral half twist, and it looked almost like he was blowing a kiss.

His voice echoed in my ear like he was standing right behind me. "This is a whisper message."

Kieran's face lit up. He said, "That's cool, Alonzo. Rakesh taught me to call with mind. I can't call Sebastian or Clarissa because I'm not close to them and I haven't been in their minds, but I can call you, Erik, Jason... um, Rakesh and Silvan."

I slid Kieran off my knee so I could stand up. "Good. One or both of you call me if you get into trouble. Don't wake Jason. He was up late last night. It may be a good idea to call Sebastian and Clarissa as well. They're closer."

I hugged them both and then grabbed my stuff so I could get to my Kali class. It wasn't too far from campus, but I was running late. I'd moved from the beginner class to the more advanced class because Mr. Aquino had told me that I was picking the forms up far more quickly than the other beginners. I got there in time, but barely.

Mr. Aquino led me over toward a guy my age who looked a lot like a younger version of him. He was average height, but that meant he was half a foot shorter than me. And he had a lighter build, but his arms showed wiry muscle. He had lighter brown hair that he wore in longish curls on top, but shaved on the sides. His hazel eyes had the same almond shape as our instructor. His skin was darker than mine (my family is paler than most) but a lot lighter than Mr. Aquino.

"Jason, you'll be practicing with my son, Keith. He's more advanced than you are, but you have a lot more reach. You should both be able to learn from one another."

Keith held out his hand and I took it. "Damn. Dad wasn't joking! You'll be the tallest guy I've ever sparred with."

He had a firm grip, but mine was stronger. I wasn't trying to dominate him, but I did notice that his hand seemed lost in mine. But then that was true for most men. I nodded and said, "You seem fit enough to handle it."

He smiled and his eyes fixed on my sizable bulge. "You'd be surprised what I can handle."

I almost blushed. I was wearing a cup in anticipation of sparring. It hid the shape of my dick but it made it seem even more prominent. Keith chuckled and said, "Sorry if that came off as too forward, but... it looks like you fight with three bastones instead of two."

I pulled my own bastons out of my bag. I carried both the rattan practice sticks and an unpadded pair of solid hickory in case I needed to use them for real. Keith looked over and said, "Damn, you take this shit seriously, don't you?"

I shrugged and replied, "I have something worth protecting."

I was thinking not only of Alonzo, but also of Kieran and Jason, the other half of our strange quartet. I'd originally declared myself Alonzo's protector, but Jason had convinced me that I had what it took to be their defensor. He'd explained that it was kind of like a guardian. Apparently, many mage families had one or more members who were trained in combat and combat magic.

"And that would make me a member of your family?" I'd asked Jason.

"You are already family to me. I don't understand it myself, but I feel it inside my heart. The point of being a defensor is so your familial duty, and all the perks and responsibilities associated with that title, can be officially recognized" he'd explained. "It would technically make you a family retainer, since you're not legally part of the Lee family, and that would mean a regular stipend."

I'd taken some umbrage at that idea, but Jason had reassured me. "It's just a legal fiction, the only way to share family money with you. Once you and I go into business, the stipend would go away, but we'd be partners. For now, just accept it as one of the benefits of being my frater adoptatus, my chosen brother."

We'd discussed the idea several times after that. In short, I was the defender and he was the protector. I wasn't completely sure what he meant by that, but the way he described it the defender was the warrior, and the protector was the one who set wards and passive defenses.

I put on my body armor for training and watched Keith do the same. And then we started sparring. The teacher came by to correct our form, but Keith knew what he was doing. We started off hitting each other's sticks in a practiced motion to improve our control and our aim, but we soon moved to real sparring. Keith's bastons moved like a blur and I was only able to parry half of them.

I'd been practicing meditation to improve my focus, so I tried to use some of those techniques to keep myself calm and level-headed. It was difficult with his bastons slamming off my body armor. Suddenly my focus shifted. At first I thought that my vision had become blurry. It looked like his arms and body were out of focus, like every moment was leaving a translucent trail.

I was trying to block his blows, but I couldn't move my arms fast enough. And then I realized that I wasn't seeing an afterimage; I was seeing the translucent images before his actual arm, like I was seeing where his arm was going to be along with where it actually was. I started moving to parry the forward edge of the fore-image. And his baston rebounded from my own.

Now that I was concentrating on where his baston was going to be, I was successfully parrying more than half of his blows. And despite his superior skill, soon I was spotting openings in his defenses, and I managed to land a few blows myself.

A wide grin spread across Keith's face. "That's more like it. You're really getting good at this."

Justin walked up and said, "I noticed the same thing the other day. That's why I asked you to move up to the higher class, Erik. You're a natural."

There was no way I could tell him what was going on. I didn't understand it myself. Somehow, I was seeing a second or so into the future. If my skill were equal to Keith's, he'd never be able to touch me. I had an edge, but it was still going to require me to perfect my skills.

I nodded. "And I'm glad that I let you talk me into it. I thought I was going to get my ass handed to me."

Keith put his hand on my arm and said, "Session's not over yet!"

We continued to spar, and my control continued to improve. I was hurting through my armor, but he was hurting too. In the end, it wasn't my body that gave out. It was my head. I'd been losing focus, and a dull pain had started in my forehead.

"Wait!" I said, holding up my hands. "My head. I can't go on today."

"Dad!" Keith called out.

Justin came over and had me sit down on the bench. He pulled my padded head cover off and examined my head. "You're going to be okay. You don't have any contusions. Let me check your eyes."

He pulled a penlight out of his pocket and examined my eyes. Keith said, "My dad was a medic for 22 years in the army. He knows what he's doing."

"You don't have a concussion," Justin said, "but I don't think you should drive for at least twenty-four hours."

"I have to," I said. "I'll manage."

Justin shook his head. "I'm going to insist. I can't make you listen, but my experience says that you need to call someone to drive you home."

I thought about it for a minute. My head was pounding, and Jason's car was more than capable of getting me back home safely.

"Okay," I said. "If you insist, my friend Jason can get me home safely."

Justin nodded and said, "Don't go to sleep until at least 10:00 p.m. tonight. And if this headache doesn't stop by then, you must go to urgent care."

I nodded and checked my watch. I'd only left ten minutes early, so I hadn't missed much of my training session. And it had been the best session ever. I climbed into Jason's car and fastened the seat belts. My head was still pounding.

I touched the symbol Jason had shown me and said, "Song wo hui sushi."

A voice came out of the speaker. It was speaking Chinese. But nothing happened. I tried it again. Nothing happened. I sighed, pulled out my cell phone and called Alonzo.

"Hey Erik, what's up?"

"Hey puto, do you remember that phrase Jason made me repeat a dozen times?"

"Si, papi."

"Can you please say it exactly the way he did? Speak loud and clearly."

I put the phone on speaker and held it close to the dash and touched the symbol. Alonzo said, "Song wo hui sushi."

It didn't sound the same. He sang it or chanted it. The car started and backed out of the lot. I sat back and tried to look like I was driving. I could see colored auras around everything and my head was pounding. I paid little attention as Jason's car drove me back to the dorm and parked perfectly.

Alonzo

When Erik left us at the dorm, Kieran and I started laundry. He sorted through their clothes with much more precision that I did mine and Erik's. The boy was seriously intense about his man. He searched all the clothes for cum stains and licked them until they were wet. Then he separated everything into neat piles before stacking them in layers in the hamper. We both pulled on some shorts before going down to the laundry room.

Two guys were folding their laundry, horsing around, pushing each other. They turned and looked at us when we came in. One of the guys was white, almost six feet tall with brown hair and a scruffy beard. The other was a little shorter than him, but probably half a foot taller than Kieran or me. He was clean-shaven and had light brown skin and dark brown hair that he wore cut so short it was almost shaved. Both were mostly fit with just a slight paunch, probably from too much beer. They heard us come in and turned to face us.

"Damn, are you two even old enough to be at college?" the guy with the beard said. "What do you think Gavin? Do they look old enough to you?"

The clean shaven guy with the darker skin smiled and said, "Not a chance, Spencer. Do you think they snuck in from the high school?"

Spencer shook his head. "Middle school maybe."

Kieran was blushing and looking at the door like he was about ready to bolt. I walked over toward the guys and said, "Oh I'm old enough to be here all right. Now why don't you two just finish up your laundry and go back to your rooms, and leave us to do our own laundry in peace?"

They laughed and went back to folding their clothes. I went over to Kieran and whispered, "It'll be alright. They're not going to hurt you."

He looked over my shoulder at them and took a deep breath. Then he nodded. There were enough machines for us to put half our laundry in at once. We'd just finished when Spencer came over and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Why are you boys down here wearing nothing but those booty shorts?" he asked. "You're going to attract the wrong kind of attention like that."

I put my hand on his. "Don't worry about me. I don't mind if you look." I wagged a finger in his face. "But you can't touch."

"And what about your friend? Can I look at him too, so long as I don't touch?"

Gavin came over quickly and pulled Spencer back. "Leave them alone, Spencer. Can't you see this little redhead is about to panic. You're scaring him."

I looked over at Kieran and saw that it was true. He was breathing fast and shallow, and his eyes were so wide I could see the whites around his eyes. I pushed Gavin's hand off my shoulder and stepped between him and Kieran. I raised an eyebrow and waved him off.

"Back off boys! We're not on the market. We both have boyfriends and... Kieran is a little skittish when he gets too much attention."

Spencer backed away. "Sorry guys. I didn't mean to freak you out. I... Well, I just broke up with my boyfriend and you two are so cute. I'm not perving, and... if you weren't seeing someone, I'd be all over you. But I'm backing off now."

I put an arm around Kieran and said, "Hey, it's okay. They weren't threatening. They were just being nice."

Kieran nodded and put his head on my shoulder. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I don't know why I panic all the time."

"You can panic on me all you want, hermano. I am a rock for you."

Gavin and Spencer finished their laundry around the time our clothes finished washing. Gavin looked over at us when we were leaving. "Sorry again, little guys, but you should know if you see us here again that you're safe with us. I'm straight and my buddy Spencer is lovesick, not creepy."

He looked over at Spencer and added, "Not too creepy, that is."

I kissed Kieran's temple and said, "See, Kieran. Not all guys are out to hurt you. What did you sense when you looked at him?"

Kieran

I felt weak next to Alonzo. He was my size, but he was so strong and fearless compared to me. I felt foolish when I answered, "I was too panicked to stop and feel what he was feeling. When that guy was teasing me, I just kept seeing Dar... did you know that someone grabbed me once when I was down here?"

Alonzo hugged me. "No, I didn't. Sorry. Who was it?"

I didn't want to answer; still, I scrunched up my face and said, "Darren, but he's not a bad guy. He's been looking out for me now."

Alonzo gave me a doubtful look, but he listened as I told him all about Darren. I left out the part about him being a werewolf. I didn't think it was a secret, but I also didn't think he wanted me telling everyone either.

We didn't have any more trouble while we were finishing the laundry. Then we went back to the room and did some more cleaning. Alonzo was helping me organize my stuff because I was nowhere near as neat as Jason and my stuff was piled on chairs and the desk.

"Kieran, what's this?" Alonzo asked, holding my composition book.

"Um, that's a book Jason gave me at the beginning of school," I replied, a little embarrassed to say more.

Alonzo opened the book and read, "Rules for Jason's Boy. And there's a list. Rule one; in our relationship, Jason is the man; I am his boy. Jason makes the decisions. He may ask for my opinion, but it is not my place to hesitate or to question him. Rule two; I will always obey Jason without question or hesitation."

My ears were burning, and I was blushing. He continued, "Rule three; I will always show respect towards Jason. I will always address him as "Sir". This does not mean that I cannot address him by name, but that I must append the honorific "Sir" to each address. Rule four; I will never deny Jason. If someone asks, I will admit to them that Jason is my man, that I suck his cock, that he fucks me in the ass and that I obey him. Rule five; I will remain naked in our room unless Jason directs me to put clothes on. Then I will wear whatever he has directed me to wear without question or hesitation."

He frowned as he read on. "Rule six; Jason will decide if I am allowed an orgasm. As his boy, every part of my body belongs to him because he is my man. I will never attempt to give myself an orgasm except as directed by Jason. And rule seven; This is not a game. There is no safe word. I can refuse to follow any of Jason's orders at any time. At that time, I will no longer be Jason's boy. Our relationship will have ended, and Jason will not agree to take me back."

"This is not okay, Kieran," Alonzo said. "Jason has no right to be so controlling. I knew he was bossy, but this is too much. He doesn't let you have orgasms?"

"It's not like that," I protested. "Jason gives me orgasms all the time. He just doesn't want me to have them without him. He's taught me to cum from getting... fucked." I'd hesitated because Jason had decided that he didn't want me to use foul language because his boy should be more proper.

Alonzo hugged me again. "Of course you have orgasms when he fucks you, but he shouldn't be trying to control you."

I shrugged. "I have better orgasms with Jason than I ever did before, even though he almost never touches my penis. Do you have orgasms without Erik?"

Alonzo pulled me down beside him on the bed. "No, I don't, but it's my decision. If I decided to masturbate right now, it would be my decision. Erik doesn't try to control me that way."

"But it was my decision to agree with the rules or not. I decided to give him control," I protested.

"Bullshit!" Alonzo said. "You were a virgin and the first man to give you an orgasm asked you to give up all control to him. Of course, you said `yes'. Anyone would have."

"I like Jason being in control," I insisted.

"I just don't want to see him take advantage of you and... I try as hard as I can, but I just don't trust him, Kieran. He likes being in control too much and this... these rules aren't about love. They're about him wanting to dominate you."

I swallowed hard and decided to share everything. "They were, but they're not anymore."

Alonzo snapped his fingers in my face. "Explain."

"Jason admitted to me that when he first saw me all he wanted to do was to dominate me for the year and have some fun, but that was before he knew that we were complementary, that we were two different people who combined to make one complete alchemical whole."

Alonzo scrunched up his face and said, "You'll have to explain that one to me, if you can."

I sat up straighter and said, "No one ever thinks I understand these things, but I do. According to Jason, there are two opposite but complementary forces. He's the red king and he represents dominance and material things. I'm the white prince and I represent submission and mental or spiritual energy. Alchemy is material and mind magic is mental. Together we make one complementary being."

Alonzo nodded. "I studied Paulo Coehlo when I read him in 8th grade. My teacher, Mrs. Garcia, loved the book and explained how it related to the Medieval philosophy of alchemy. I understand the principal, but it sounds like a metaphor. I get that you're compatible with each other, but love isn't alchemy and you two are not the philosopher's stone."

"You weren't there, Alonzo, but one day you will be. We only managed it once, but for a few seconds Jason and I became one and it was the most amazing thing ever."

"What do you mean, one day I'll be there?"

"When Jason and I became one, I saw the future. And in the future, you and Erik will join with us, not as part of us but with us in the link, and... Alonzo, when that happens you'll know what I mean. When Jason and I were one, I knew what he was thinking. No, it was more than that. I knew what he was thinking below the surface, on a level deeper than language or even emotions. I know that he loves me and I know that he values me and even respects me, even though I've not done anything to be respected for yet. I know that I will. I've seen it. We're meant to be together and not just me following him around like I do now."

"I wish I could believe you," Alonzo said. "You're naïve and much too trusting as far as Jason is concerned."

I put my hand on his cheek and said, "I'm really not, Alonzo. Everyone thinks that I'm naïve . Jason does; Erik does; and so do you. I could show you. It wouldn't be total oneness like what Jason and I experienced, but Rakesh has been training me to enter mental communion. I think I could achieve deep communion with you because we're already close."

Alonzo's eyes lit up. "Would it be dangerous?"

I shook my head. "It could be frustrating if we failed, but that's all."

"Then we should do it!" Alonzo exclaimed with joy.

I pulled him down onto the bed. "It'll be easier this way."

We lay together. We were the same height, so I could align our chakras through physical contact. Rakesh never got this intimate with me, but Silvan did.

"Relax and don't fight me," I said.

I touched his lips with mine and the barriers between us dissolved. He wasn't a mind mage and he didn't have natural barriers like Kyle did. But a barrier is just the first line of defense. A strong mind can resist. I expected some resistance in fact, but he showed his trust by not pushing back at all. He let his mind lie open to me. For a moment I felt like he was submitting to me mentally, and it felt... weird, but strangely thrilling.

Our surface thoughts joined so that we were able to communicate without words. It was still a light communion. Our minds were touching but only on the surface. Then our communion became deeper, and we shared information on a level beyond words. Our minds were commingling at the fringes. We were sharing ideas and symbols. On this level deceit was impossible. I could feel the depth of Alonzo's feelings for Erik, and I understood them better even than he had before this moment. And now, because of our deep communion, those feelings made themselves apparent in Alonzo's conscious thought.

And then we went deeper. I'd never been this far, even with Silvan. We shared memories. It wasn't me withdrawing in pain from being rejected by my cousins and it wasn't Alonzo seducing a handsome young priest. It was both of us at the same time. I could feel Alonzo's joy when he was singing and the echo of his mother's stinging rebuke when she discovered him with another boy. He could feel the intense loneliness of my life before Jason, and before him and Erik.

We reached a point where we were almost one, but we could go no deeper. When we separated, we lay there in each other's arms, staring deep into each other's eyes. I was in love with Alonzo. It was a different type of love than I held for Jason. I knew that Alonzo felt the same, even before he said, "I think I'm in love with you Kieran."

"I know," I said.

He chuckled lightly. "And I know that you know."

Then we chanted in unison, "And I know that you know that I know!"

We fell back laughing on the bed. Alonzo slid his arm around my chest and said, "I'm sorry that I underestimated you, Kieran. I had no idea you could do that. I've been thinking of you, and even Erik, as the weak members of our curious quartet. I won't do that anymore."

"Good," I replied seriously. "I knew that you liked me, but I knew you didn't really respect me. But now, after what we just experienced, I know that you do... and it makes me feel a lot better."

"Sorry, sweetie. I had no idea. But I wonder if Jason knows exactly what he's done pulling the four of us together? He represents control over the material world. As a rogue mage, I represent control over the numina flow. Erik represents the power of the physical body, and you represent the power of the mind. It's more than you and Jason being complements. In our own way, the four of us complement one another."

I laughed. "I want to be there when you explain your theory, Alonzo. If Jason hasn't thought of it, I want to see the look on his face."

We lay there for a while, just holding one another. I couldn't say that it wasn't sexual on some level, but it was so much more than that. It was almost painful when Alonzo's phone rang, and we pulled apart physically and emotionally.

I only heard half of the conversation.

"Erik?"

"Sure. You couldn't get it because Chinese is tonal and... okay. No problem."

Then he chanted a phrase. He sounded like Jason did when he was speaking Chinese. It was almost like singing. His voice made different notes on different syllables.

Alonzo

That moment with Kieran was the most sublime experience I'd ever had, aside from the feeling of the numina flowing through my body. When I cast a spell I felt the magic flowing through channels that I could sense but not see. It was like every nerve ending had come alive. I could feel my body throbbing in tune with the harmony of the universe. I'd never admit this to Erik, but even an orgasm didn't come close to the feeling. But with Kieran, my mind and his mind became almost like one. We remained separate, but we were each feeling the echoes and seeing the afterimages of each other's thoughts.

I understood Kieran so much better than I ever had before. He was naïve and quiet, but I'd thought he was a little... slow. He wasn't. His mind was keen and he saw a lot more than any of us realized. He was just introspective to such a degree that I had assumed he was borderline autistic. And he thought about the world in complex images and almost wordless concepts. His understanding of things was deeper than I'd ever dreamed of.

Thinking of all the things that Kieran could do made me think of Erik. I was worried. He'd been getting headaches a lot lately, bad ones. I'd heard Jason explaining to him that his car had been enchanted by his uncle. It had been learning the town as he'd driven around and it could now drive itself to the dorms, Ibis House and Alchemy House. I'd given it the instructions in Chinese. Erik had the words correct, but Chinese was a tonal language and he couldn't duplicate those sounds. I had no idea what I'd said, however Jason had been impressed, when he was trying to teach Erik, that it was me who repeated the phrase exactly. For a musician like me, it was easy.

Kieran seemed anxious again. I gave him a smile and said, "Everything's fine. Erik needed me to tell Jason's car to come home. He has a headache and can't drive safely."

We waited for him to get home, and we hurried to finish the cleaning. The rooms weren't really a mess, but Jason and I were both neat freaks. When he got there, we both rushed over to give him a hug. He smelled of manly sweat and I wanted nothing more than to throw him on the bed and lick him from head to toe, but I knew I couldn't do that with Kieran here.

I looked him dead in the eyes and gave him my best Tia Marisol "I'm worried about you but I don't want to worry you with that worry but I need to let you know that I'm worried" look.

"I'm okay, Alonzo. It's just a headache," he said.

I took his sports bag while he sat down on the bed. Then I knelt to take his shoes off. His feet had a powerful scent that filled my nostrils. It wasn't sour, just strong. It overwhelmed my senses. I pulled his socks off and began to massage his muscular feet. A good foot massage always made him feel better.

Kieran climbed onto the bed behind my guy and put his hands on his shoulders. "Your aura is dim, sir. You've been expending your energy reserves and you're dangerously low."

"Damn, you boys know how to make me feel better. Keep that up Alonzo. And whatever you're doing with your hands, Kieran, just keep doing it."

"Take off your clothes and lie down, sir. Rakesh showed me how to stimulate the energy reserves through touching your energy channels. I don't know how to donate energy to you, but I can encourage your body to generate some more."

This more assertive Kieran was intriguing me. Was it something new, or was it just because he was in his element now? I asked, "What can I do?"

Kieran grabbed a marker while Erik was getting undressed. "If I draw the pattern on Erik's feet, you can massage them in that order. The foot contains a map of the chakra points and you'll be mirroring on a small scale what I'll be doing on a larger scale with his body. Once I get the channels flowing smoothly, I'll let you help him generate more power by getting his sexual energy flowing."

"Okay. You do the body massage and then I... blow him?"

Kieran blushed and smiled. "He probably won't be ready for that, but you can take over and tease his energy nodes with your tongue while I go in the other room and revise that essay one more time before we have to go out."

Erik lay back and sighed heavily. "If it'll help the headache, I'm ready."

Kieran drew the diagram on the sole of Erik's foot and showed me the pattern. Then he climbed up on the bed next to Erik and began tracing lines I couldn't even see with his fingers. He touched him everywhere from the crown of the head, down to his groin. A little spur of jealousy hit me when his fingers played lightly over Erik's eleven-inch cock.

"Please, sir," he said. "When you take me to Ibis House for my training, talk to Rakesh. You need some training so you can learn to use your powers without draining so much energy."

He looked sheepish and then he continued, "I don't want to see you hurt yourself, sir."

Erik nodded and laid his head back. He groaned. "That feels so good, boys. Don't stop."

As we massaged him. I could almost see what Kieran was doing. As a rogue mage, I had an intuitive feel for magic. The soles of his feet seemed to hum with power, power that I could sense coming from Kieran.

"What are you doing, Alonzo?" Kieran asked.

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"Did you realize that you were humming? That tune. It's resonating with Erik's own body and it's somehow amplifying my power."

"Erik and I are in tune with one another, but I didn't know how much we were in tune until you made his body hum like it is."

Kieran nodded. "I don't hear a hum, but I can feel the energy flowing from me to Erik and then back again. It's more like a circuit than a donation of power. It must be your musical talent that lets you hear it as a tune."

Kieran and I massaged him for half an hour before he motioned for me to take over. He grabbed a handful of granola bars and brought them to Erik. "You need to eat these, sir. You may think you're not hungry, but you are."

And then he slipped next door, leaving us alone. I used my tongue to repeat the pattern Kieran had traced on Erik's body. He smiled and made kissy faces at me. I broke the pattern to kiss his puckered lips and then went back to teasing his body. I counted myself lucky that I could taste my man and help to heal him at the same time.

When I reached his groin, I teased his cock with my tongue. It took another hour, but I gradually brought him back to life.

"I'm sorry," Erik said. "I don't think I've ever failed to... um... rise to the occasion immediately."

I'd been deep in Kieran's experiences and I remembered the echoes of his training with Rakesh. "It's just that your mind mage powers use the same channels your body uses for sexual energy. If you get some training, you'll be able to use both. And if what I saw in Kieran's mind is true, I know what will help you refresh your energy."

I pushed one of Jason's magic lube spheres up my butt and then I kissed Erik. And I kept kissing him and gently fondling his cock until he was stiff as iron. His fingers were gently moving between my cheeks, and then he pressed a finger against my hole and pushed inside.

"How's this going to help me refresh my energy?" Erik asked with a deep chuckle.

"Shh. Just relax. I don't want to explain everything to you right now. Just trust me that you are going to be better soon."

Erik played with my hole for several minutes until I was slippery enough to take his big cock inside me. "Ay papi, you make me feel so good. Lie back and let me take care of you now. Te voy a montar como un caballo de guerra!"

And I did. I climbed on top of him and lowered myself onto his pinga enorme. It never failed to hurt like hell when the head of his cock thrust past my hole, but I loved that sharp jab and the pain continued to send little thrills of pleasure through me for the few seconds it remained. But soon I adjusted to having that monster inside me. It took a few moments for me to work my way down his cock and I had to wait again as he pressed against my inner sphincter. Erik was so big that he pushed three inches inside my colon.

When my butt pressed against his groin, I let out a loud moan. "You are so big, papi. No man could fill me up the way you do. You're just lucky that I'm willing to take you."

"Hah! Don't kid yourself, my little bitch. If you weren't willing, I'd just throw you down and fuck you against your will."

"You're too weak to beat me now!" I teased.

He rolled us both over and pinned me underneath him without even letting his cock slip out of me. "I'll show you how strong I am. I'm going to fuck you hard enough to make you cry."

"Do it, papi. Drill me hard. Make me cry."

Erik seemed to have regained his vigor. He pumped so hard that he pressed me into the mattress with each thrust and I bounced up when he pulled out. That was more like it. I wrapped my legs around him and cried, "That's it, papi. That's the way I like it."

"Damn you're sexy! Every time I look at your pretty face I want to..."

"...slap it, papi?" I asked, biting my lower lip.

Erik chuckled. "You're such a kinky little thing, but I'm going to give you what you want."

He slapped my face with the next thrust. And then he slapped it harder with the one after that. He kept up the rhythm, occasionally breaking it up to grab my jaw firmly and give it a squeeze. When he'd hit me before, back when he was overshadowed by Einar Bloodaxe, it had terrified me. But now, I trusted him not to really hurt me and it made me want him to strike me harder.

Then Erik reached down and took hold of my erection. He squeezed it hard, but not painfully. "What would you say if I squeezed your pretty little cock harder?"

I looked into his eyes and said, "I trust you, Erik."

And he did squeeze harder. "You have to let me know if it gets to be too much. I'm willing to play these games with you. I may even enjoy them, but that's because I enjoy your reactions. I am not willing to cause you any real pain."

I sighed and said, "Harder, papi!"

Erik shook his head and smiled, but he squeezed me a little harder. His big hand held onto my cock and balls and used them like a handle while he pounded my ass. I couldn't have held back if I'd wanted to. Erik's firm grip, the ever so slight pain in my balls, his cock pushing inside me, rubbing my prostate and punching through into my colon. It was too much.

The tingling began along my spine and on the top of my head. My skin grew warm, and my body started to tremble. My breath caught in my throat. My cock tightened and then released. I shot a load of cum into my thong. Then it happened again, and again.

"Ay papi, ME VENGOOOO!í"

I could have yelled "I'm CUMMMING!", but I knew from experience that Erik got hot when I talked to him in Spanish. And I loved him when he got worked up. My ass was squeezing hard on his dick and his pale skin had become flushed. My güero vikingo was close to orgasm himself. Except for that short time when he'd been overshadowed, Erik had always made sure that I came first.

Before my culo could stop its involuntary clenching, Erik thrust inside me as hard as he could and held the position. He bit my shoulder hard and then yelled, "I'm cumming, too, you sexy little bitch. Take my load inside your sweet little bottom!"

He collapsed on top of me, sweaty and warm. I lay beneath him and kissed his shoulder. I ran my hands along his muscular sides and breathed in his scent. Since we'd been taking Jason's potions, neither of us really stank. But the smell of Erik's sweat never failed to entice me.

We lay there in that position for a little while until he got off me and moved down far enough to pull my thong off. Then he swallowed my dick and sucked it clean.

"Do you feel stronger?" I asked.

Erik brushed my hair out of my face and said, "Yes. I wouldn't have believed it, but I do."

I slapped his broad chest playfully and said, "I love the way you smell, but I think we have to shower before going to dinner."

I started to get up, but Erik took my hand and pulled me back down. He sat next to me and said, "I wasn't comfortable with that story, Alonzo. And I wanted to apologize. After I essentially beat on you and raped you back when... back when I was still struggling with Einar, I should never have come so close to reenacting that scene with you. It just got out of hand."

I had to wipe the moisture from my eyes. "It was cruel of me to throw it in your face like that Erik, especially in front of Kieran. I didn't mean it to come off like it did. I... I use humor to deal with problems. I always have."

Erik kissed my temple. "I am so sorry for everything I did while I was Einar."

"I know. It wasn't even your fault. It was mine. We both know that, and we're going to be dealing with it for a long time. Let's just never stop talking our way through it. And if we have to we can talk to a mage therapist. Kieran still meets about once a week with his therapist."

Erik looked skeptical, but then he said, "I come from a long line of stoic German Americans. My family doesn't talk about emotions and problems. We just ignore them and hope they go away, but that never really works and... So, yes, of course I'll see him or someone else, with you or on my own, whatever you want."

I flung my arms around Erik's neck and squeezed him hard. "I love you, güero vikingo."

We kissed for a few minutes and then went to take a shower.

Kieran

Alonzo and Erik came into my room fully dressed, but still damp from the shower. I could hear them when they had sex a few minutes ago. I'd tried to block it out, but I thought my residual connection to Alonzo was making that impossible. It wasn't my ears that heard, it was my mind. The intensity of their experience had drawn me in. I was sitting uncomfortably in the chair, trying to ignore my own sexual need.

Erik was grinning despite his best efforts. "Are you ready to go see Jason, Kieran?"

I jumped up and ran over to the dresser. "Help me, Alonzo. I need to look good for Jason."

Erik kicked back on the bed and watched as Alonzo picked out an outfit and helped me into it. Jason had been adding to my wardrobe. Now I had more than knit shorts and tee-shirts. Alonzo chose a pair of dark pink shorts with a button fly. They were soft and silky; they even had pockets. Jason had picked them out, so they came down only two inches below my butt.

The shirt he'd chosen was deep blue. Its collar was decorated with Chinese characters embroidered in gold thread. I knew that those symbols were my name in Chinese, Kieran Lee. It had a vee-neck, but there were no buttons to hold it closed.

Then Alonzo brushed out my hair and braided it in the style I normally wore, kind of a loose French braid that was held in place by one of my Celtic knot patterned hair clasps.

"Now you're even prettier than you were before," he said, arranging my curls on my shoulders.

I put on a pair of sandals and then I was ready to go. Erik stood with one arm around each of us as we walked down the stairs and through the lobby. We got a few looks and one of Erik's friends I didn't know called out, "Damn Rucker! You've got two of them now?"

"Nope!" He called back. "This one's mine." He squeezed Alonzo close, then he did the same to me. "And this one belongs to my friend Jason."

We walked through the crowd, and I felt no fear or self-consciousness. I realized that I felt as safe with Erik as I did with Jason. I didn't feel a need to keep myself walled in. Maybe it was Erik's powerful arms around me, and maybe it was the way I'd been able to help Erik when he's been hurting earlier, but I felt a little more confident. I dropped my barriers a little and let myself feel the crowd.

There were a few who were negative toward us. I could feel some homophobia, but there was also some jealousy, and a little bit of mild affection, of the "ah, how cute" variety. But most people were indifferent. It had been an eye-opening experience for me over the last week or so. As I learned to use my powers, I'd begun to realize that most people weren't looking at me and judging me all the time. Most people were too caught up in themselves and their own business. If I could only learn to believe that when I wasn't scanning the crowd, or even better yet when I was on the edge of a panic attack.

We walked out to the car. Erik opened the rear door and helped me inside. Then he walked around and helped Alonzo on the other side. Alonzo and I had to strap ourselves in because Erik wasn't used to being as gentlemanly as Jason was.

As Erik started up the car, I leaned over toward Alonzo and said, "I thought you hated it when Erik `treated you like a baby'."

He gave me one of his biggest smiles as he whispered, "I did, but you always seemed to like it, so I decided to try it out, and I've come to realize that I like it when he fondles my butt while helping me into the car. He's not subtle like Jason is. I'm sure that everyone can see what he's doing."

I laughed a little too loudly and then replied, "Jason is more subtle about it, but I like it when he does it to me too."

Alonzo threw an arm around my shoulder and said, "You are turning into just as much of a needy bottom as I am."

"You're not a needy bottom, Alonzo. You're a greedy bottom. As for me, I was always a needy bottom. I just didn't know it until Jason showed me it was true."

Jason

I'd rested for four hours before my alarm woke me up. I cleaned up, got dressed and then used a translocation spell to travel from the arcane circle in Alchemy House to the arcane circle in Ibis House. I didn't like people to see me casting spells because I was slow and methodical about it rather than fast and flamboyant like Sebastian and the fancy wand slingers. My caution and reasoned action are what made me a much better alchemist than any of them, but it made me seem less competent, and that made me uncomfortable.

I arrived at Ibis House just a little ahead of Erik and the boys. Tonight was going to be a dinner for as many of the mages who lived on campus as could make it, but Erik was bringing Kieran in time for his training session with Rakesh and I wanted to talk to him before they arrived.

I found him in the salon that he'd converted for his use as a yoga and mind magic studio. I waited for him to finish his discussion with Berenice. She was a junior and she sometimes led the meditation and focus sessions, allowing him to concentrate on evaluations and specific training of new techniques. He could see that I was waiting so he gave me a wave and then walked over.

"Good afternoon, Jason. Is Kieran here yet?"

"Not yet. He's coming with Erik in an hour or so."

Rakesh raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised you let him out of your sight. You're usually so protective of him."

I nodded and said, "I trust Erik completely. And Erik is one of the reasons I want to talk to you. Something odd has happened with him. He was tested by Sebastian at the beginning of the year and he was completely mundane, but now he's been working mind magic. Kieran told me that he was `projecting his aura'. I was doubtful because Kieran's new at aura reading, but I tested Erik's saliva and he has definitely become a mind mage. Is that possible?"

Rakesh shook his head slowly. "Even if he was completely latent, Sebastian should have been able to detect it. Some others may have missed the signs, but Sebastian is rated as a vates expertissimus. No one gets a higher rating right out of The Academy."

"And someone can't go from mundane to mind mage?"

"Not through normal channels. He must have been subject to a powerful reality warping."

I nodded. "That's what I thought. And his power has been growing fast, really fast."

Rakesh seemed lost in thought. "So has Silvan's. He had a latent potential for clairsentience, and I was working on helping him to tease it open, but the power opened suddenly. I am afraid to even suggest what I'm thinking, Jason. But, it could have something to do with Kieran."

"Why Kieran?" I asked.

Rakesh sighed deeply. "Kieran is the common factor between Erik and Silvan. You haven't begun developing a talent for mind magery, have you?"

I shook my head. "Not at all. But how could Kieran be responsible?"

"I'm probably wrong. The thought is... we – mind mages that is – have been looking for one of the lost talents. In the ancient tales, there were mind mages known as excitorgenii. They were always exceptional telepaths and empaths, and they had the ability to awaken latent talents in others."

"And you think Kieran may be one of these excitorgenii?"

Rakesh shrugged. "The facts all fit, but so many times someone has thought they'd recovered this talent only to be made out to be a fool when it proved to be false. I need to find more proof before I risk claiming that I've found it."

"That makes sense," I said. "And speaking of Kieran, there's another thing."

I leaned in and whispered, "Kieran est transformatus suo voluntate."

A distant look came over his face for a moment. "Kieran changed himself? How? Why?"

"You didn't meet him until after the change, but I thought you needed to know because I need your advice. I gave Kieran an alchemical elixir that allowed his physical body to change so that it matched his mental image of himself. When he first arrived at school, he was my height and a little heavier and more muscular, but inside, he was what he is now."

He gave me a distrustful look. "Leaving aside for the moment how easy it is for someone who's naturally persuasive, like you are, to manipulate others without magic, if they chose their words carefully, I'm going to accept your assertion that this change in Kieran was driven by his own desires. Why are you telling me this secret?"

His words had stung a little. Uncle Kamon had said very much the same thing to me, but after he'd chastised me, he agreed that Kieran had chosen of his mental imago without my influence affecting him unduly.

I explained, "Mundanes wouldn't have noticed that Kieran had changed unless they were forced to confront the fact. But we were about to get a visit from a friend of Kieran's who had obsessed over him in high school. That obsession could have allowed him to see the truth. So I worked with a circle last night to warp reality. I left a loophole in the ritual so that the appropriate phrase could allow the hearer to remember the change. Everyone else will remember that Kieran has always been five foot four and slightly built."

"And..." he prompted.

"And I want to know if he needs to know the truth, and if he does, will it hamper his mind mage training?"

Rakesh looked thoughtful and put a hand to his strong chin. "This is a moral and ethical quandary for me, Jason. You did something to Kieran without his consent. Of course he needs to know that, but his powers could develop more easily if his mind and body are aligned, which I can confirm they currently are."

"No, no, no. I didn't change Kieran. He changed himself through the biantai elixir," I protested.

"But you changed his memory of the event," Rakesh insisted.

"I didn't change his memory. I changed reality. His memories just reflect what has always been."

Rakesh shook his head slowly. "You don't believe that argument yourself, Jason. You can't use technicalities to ignore a moral dilemma. He made a change of his own free will and you made that choice irrelevant by changing reality."

"Or I honored his choice by forcing all of reality to accept it," I countered.

Rakesh laughed. "Ok, ok, ok. I can see where you're coming from. And my advice is: don't tell him. At least not until he's mastered his talent. His mind and body are aligned now. Let's keep it that way. But I want to leave you with one more thought. I get that you're a sexual dominant and I get that Kieran has given you permission to make decisions for him. But you went beyond that. You made a decision that affected all of us who had already formed a relationship with Kieran. Our memories also changed to match your new reality. And none of us gave you that permission. I won't argue whether it was necessary in this case. I just want you to remember the ramifications of your actions. If you feel a need to work a ritual like this in the future, ask yourself if the results are worth the consequences for everyone around you."

Rakesh reminded me of Uncle Kamon. Everything was a moral quandary. None of the mages who'd helped with the ritual had any qualms about it. To my mind, they were more practical. But given Rakesh's advice, I started to wonder if the views many in the magical community had of mages actually bore some truth.

I walked about the house greeting people. I noticed that the interior layout had changed since I was here last. It was a good thing we didn't allow mundanes inside because it would break their minds when they realized that the interior was so much bigger than the exterior of the house. The dining room had quadrupled in size. It was twice as wide and twice as long.

I saw Mrs. Gladstone across the room. She'd just finished talking with the housekeeper, Mr. Stehle, so I walked up to her and said, "Good afternoon. I was just noticing that you've made the interior of the house larger again."

"It was a group effort. We expanded the dining room by fifteen feet and added another two bedrooms per floor. And we installed another floor of rooms as well. We're expecting an increase in residence and we're getting ready for it."

We discussed magic rituals for a while, and it was extremely interesting. But all that changed the moment Kieran came into the house. My eyes were immediately drawn across the room and were fixated on him. His red gold curls hung to his shoulders now and Alonzo had dressed him well. My heart started racing before he saw me, and his face lit up when he did. I noticed that Erik had a hand on Kieran's shoulder keeping him close to him, but he let him go when he saw that Kieran was trying to get to me.

I let him run over to me and then I picked him up and hugged him tight, crushing his slender body against mine. "Did you miss me?" I asked.

He buried his face in my neck and mumbled, "Mm hm."

I swatted his butt gently and said, "Mm hm, Sir!"

We had half an hour before Kieran's session began and I was just about to ask him about his day, but Rakesh came up with a smile on his face. He leaned in and whispered, "Your boy needs you, so you need to go upstairs to my room and take care of his needs. Otherwise, he won't be able to concentrate on his meditations."

I whispered a quick "thank you" and then led Kieran over to get his yoga clothes from Erik's gym bag before heading upstairs.

Kieran

I was so horny that I was ready to explode, and I almost lost it when I saw Jason from across the room. I was in Rakesh's debt. I was almost dancing like Alonzo when Jason led me upstairs to one of the bedrooms. It was neat and everything was in order. And it smelled of incense and of Rakesh.

We'd barely come into the room when Jason grabbed me and tossed me gently on the bed. He grabbed my right foot and slowly removed my sandal. He rubbed the sole of my foot against his face and asked, "What do you need, Little Prince?"

"I need my zhangfu's cock," I replied.

I tried to grab it through his pants, but he seized my wrists and moved them up over my head. Then he held this both with one hand while he undid my second sandal. "Keep these hands up here out of the way while I have my way with you."

"Yes, Sir!" I said with a moan.

Jason kissed the soles of both my feet and then kissed his way up my legs. Then he lifted my shirt and pulled it off so he could attack my navel with his tongue. I started shrieking and writhing on the bed. Jason knew how ticklish I was and how much it turned me on when he teased the sensitive parts of my body.

He unbuttoned the fly of my shorts and pulled them off, removing my thong with them. He ran a finger across my lips and then he stuck it in my mouth. "Do you want it here," he asked, "or here?" He moved his finger down to my butt and rubbed my hole.

"I want to taste you, but my... um... my boy hole needs you, Sir." I sounded needy and whiny, but I was long past caring.

Jason put two fingers in my mouth, and I sucked on them greedily. He said, "We don't have time for both before your training session, so we'll have to make up for the lost opportunity later."

He pulled his fingers out of my mouth and used them to open my hole. I couldn't help it. I arched my back and parted my lips. I was moaning like the needy bottom I was. "Oh yes. Do it, Daddy. Fuck my boy hole."

Jason pulled his fingers out and gave me five hard swats on my butt. "Watch your language, boy!"

"I'm sorry, Sir. Ravish my boy hole, Daddy!"

He thrust his fingers back inside me and stroked the inner walls of my rectum, making me cry out in pleasure. "That's better. You should always sound like the refined little prince you are."

I was already writhing around on his fingers, trying to get them deeper inside me. I'd become so used to Jason's eight inches that his fingers couldn't quite satisfy me. Unlike his beautiful cock, they couldn't reach the inner gate to my secret temple. I loved how Jason described my private areas. He had a way with words and that sounded so much sexier than the inner sphincter separating my rectum from my colon.

He stopped teasing me with his fingers once he was sure that I was ready for him. Then he lined his dick up with my hole and rubbed the head against the ring. "Shh," he said, calming my whimpers, "your pretty pink rosebud is ready for me. Just relax and let me take charge."

I hadn't even been aware that I was trying to force my hole to open, but Jason's words made me stop and relax. It was like my body was learning to obey him without me thinking about it. He pressed a little harder and the head slipped inside me. I moaned even louder. "That feels amazing, Sir. Please, ram it inside me. My hole belongs to you. Take it. Use it. Make me cry."

Jason smiled indulgently down at me as he gently pushed his cock inside. One of these days I would get him to fuck me as hard as Erik fucked Alonzo. I wasn't as fragile as Jason thought I was. But Jason was the master of gentle fucking. He took several minutes to push his cock all the way inside me, but when he pressed his pubes against my hairless and ran a finger along my lips, I bit it gently.

"So that's the way my little prince wants to play today," he said.

I didn't speak but I nodded gravely at him, refusing to let go of his finger. Jason took his other hand and pinched one of my nipples hard. I gasped and he was able to retrieve his finger. He waved it in my face and said, "You'd better watch out, Boy. I'm bigger and stronger than you."

"And you can do anything you want with me and I can't stop you," I added.

Jason shook his head. "Alonzo is rubbing off on you."

"Mm hm. Do you like it, Sir?"

He thought for a moment and then replied, "I think I do. Just don't start misbehaving like him. I prefer my boys to be proper and obedient."

I almost came when he said "obedient". I stared him in the eyes and said, "I like being obedient, Sir."

"Good," he replied.

Then he used both hands to twist my nipples. When I groaned, he pinched them harder. I cried, "Yes, Zhangfu, yes!"

He started fucking me more forcefully. His mouth moved across my body, kissing and biting, leaving marks that would be visible for days. My body started bucking and shaking and my whole penis seemed to tighten into a hard nub before relaxing enough to shoot out a stream of cum with each of his powerful thrusts.

"That's it, Little Prince, squirt for me. Show me how much you love my cock inside you."

"Yes, Sir. I love it. You're pumping me full and making me squirt at the same time," I cried.

Jason's mouth pressed against mine, crushing my lips and reminding me that every part of my body belonged to him. His arms tightened around me as he thrust all the way inside and held it there. I could feel his cock throbbing as he shot his load inside me, filling me with his seed. I started crying and Jason kissed away my tears. Then he sank down and sucked all the semen from my body. He even licked my cock clean.

I did get a taste of his cock while I cleaned it with my tongue. I could taste his potent semen, mixed with the flavor of my ass. We didn't have much time, so we only made out for a few minutes before we had to get dressed and go back downstairs. I was wearing my old yoga shorts because the new tights Jason had ordered from Ravensely still hadn't arrived. I was glad. I was still afraid they were going to make me look like a girl.

Erik

I wasn't really surprised when the tall Indian man approached me and identified himself as Rakesh Mishra. I'd heard the name from Kieran and Jason. He'd insisted on examining me while I practiced some meditation techniques for him.

He leaned back on the couch we were using in the East Study Room. "Kieran was right. You have become a mind mage somehow, and your powers are growing."

"When I was fighting today, I kept seeing where my opponent's weapon was going to be a split second before it happened."

"We call it combat sense, and not everyone can do it. You were perceiving the most likely future outcome. Were you able to act on it?"

I nodded. "I still didn't have the skill necessary to block every time, but it was much better than before it started."

"What else can you do?" he asked.

"I can lift small things with my mind and sometimes I can attract everyone's attention without really saying anything."

He nodded. "So, in addition to combat sensing, which is a kind of precognition, it sounds like you have talent with psychokinesis and maybe psycho-coercion. This is the classic mental warrior complexus. You will need to learn some control. Kieran says you waste energy. We have to find a time when you can practice with us."

We talked about schedules, and we found times where I could join them. It looked like I would be going to the same meditation sessions as Kieran. That was convenient and it would make Jason happy. Of course, it meant that he would be responsible for Alonzo on those days.

I looked across the room and saw that Alonzo was talking to that dark skinned guy with the black curly hair. I didn't trust him. He acted like he was just Alonzo's friend and classmate, but I could see the way he looked at him. It was obvious that he wanted to be more than friends with my boy. His name was Ronnie... or Roger... or something starting with an R... Reggie!

I walked over and put a firm hand on his shoulder. "Good afternoon, Reggie." He tried to pull back, but I held him firm.

He gave me a look that said he knew what I was doing, and I responded with a look that said I knew what he was doing as well, and I wasn't happy about it.

"Oh, hey Erik. Alonzo and I were just talking about music class."

I smiled at him and said, "Well don't let me stop you from talking. I'm just going to be making the rounds."

I gave his shoulder a squeeze that made him wince and then I let go. I kissed Alonzo passionately and then let him go. I patted his butt on the way which earned me a big smile. I didn't know too many of the people here, but I ran into Sebastian who introduced me to so many people I knew I would never keep them straight.

Everyone was fussing over a group who'd recently arrived. Sebastian introduced me to them. The main guy was a couple of inches shorter than me, but more sturdily built, almost like a solid rectangle made of pure muscle. His skin was very dark and he had very short black hair and strong rounded features. His grip was stronger than mine. His name was Elijah.

"I'm pleased to meet you, Erik," he said in his deep rumbling voice. "I hear that you're new to the mage club this year. I expect we'll be seeing more of you."

Then Elijah introduced me to two young men standing next to him. One was a short and thin young man with rounded Asian features and brown skin who wore rugby shorts and a red tee-shirt that said, "Ask me about wands of love". It also had a web address.

"This is my boy, Tristan. And this crowd isn't for me. It's for him. Have you read his books?"

I shook my head no and Elijah laughed. "You may be the only one."

Then he introduced his other companion, an even shorter guy with very fair skin and blue eyes. His long blond hair was carefully braided and arranged atop his head, and he wore a pink minidress with matching high heels. Even though he wore makeup, he made no effort to pad his body. He didn't look like a girl. He looked like a very pretty boy in a dress.

"And this is my other boy, Kendal. He's not one of us, but he's under my protection."

I shook both boys' hands and then pointed out Alonzo across the room. He'd moved on from Reggie and he was talking to a buff looking redhead and a sexy guy with dark hair. I made my way over to them to say hello.

The redhead was of average height. His shockingly scarlet hair was fashionably cut to a couple of inches on the top of his head with a fade along the sides and back. He had a riot of freckles across his face and on his arms. He looked like he worked out a lot.

The other guy was taller than Alonzo, but shorter than his companion. His skin was lighter than Alonzo's but not by much. His long black hair was pulled back into a loose knot and there were a few strands framing his attractive face. He had dark brown eyes and extremely long eyelashes. He wore a pair of jeans shorts that were cuffed just beneath his buttocks and a shirt of loose golden mesh. I almost missed the fact that he was wearing makeup because he'd applied it so sparsely and tastefully. He looked androgynous more than effeminate.

Alonzo was hugging the dark skinned boy and squeezing the redhead's muscles. He saw me and said, "Erik, this buff redhead is in my writing class. His name is Cameron. And don't be jealous, papi. I was only squeezing his muscles because they are new since last I saw him on Friday."

Cameron shrugged and said, "I took the easy route and used magic to get them, but Elijah has given me an exercise program to help me keep them."

Alonzo broke in and said, "And... Cameron, meet Erik, mi güero vikingo."

Cameron smiled and held out his hand. "I'm pleased to meet you, Erik. Alonzo talks about you all the time, so I feel like I already know you."

Alonzo pushed the other guy forward and said, "And this is Micah. He and I share a math class, which we are both close to failing. This fabulous look is brand new, and I have to say that it is hot, hot, hot on him. I've known them both since the beginning of the school year, but I had no idea that they were a couple."

We talked with them for a while until it was time for dinner. Jason, Kieran, Alonzo and I were seated near Cameron and Micah. They were fun and interesting. Over the course of the dinner, we made plans to have dinner together at Alchemy House on Friday. Micah and Alonzo were talking about a menu and Kieran was offering to help any way he could.

Later, Jason called Erik, Alonzo and me together at the gazebo. We sat there on a bench, Alonzo and Kieran on either side of me. We were all waiting on Jason like college boys waiting on a tutor to begin lecturing.

He cleared his throat. "Micah has gotten into some trouble with an abusive boyfriend."

Alonzo jumped up and said, "That's for sure. He was wearing an ugly collar and leather cuffs on his wrists and ankles until this weekend."

I pulled Alonzo back down next to me so Jason could continue. "Well, it turns out that Cameron has been in love with Micah since their days in the Academy, but he was afraid to admit it for fear of rejection. And of course Micah loved Cameron too but was waiting for him to make the right move. All this is according to Sebastian, of course."

Alonzo was bursting at the seams to say something else, so Jason motioned for him to chime in. He let out a deep breath. "All their friends knew that Cameron was in love with Micah, but they kept waiting for them to figure it out, but they also knew that Micah had been in an on and off again relationship with an older cousin named Remy Adler and all of them thought he was really bad for him."

Jason motioned for Alonzo to sit. This time I pulled him onto my right knee to hold him still. Even Jason was smiling indulgently at my boy's enthusiasm. He leaned back against the wall opposite our bench and said, "Cameron is trying to learn to be dominant enough to keep his submissive boyfriend happy. And Sebastian has asked us to model correct behavior for them. We'll be seeing a lot of them over the next week, and we've already invited them over for dinner on Friday."

Alonzo was happy and he started telling us all about his two friends. But we needed to go back inside soon. They were planning on serving homemade ice cream and pie for dessert and Jason had promised Kieran he could have some.

The night wasn't really anything special in a grand sort of way, but it was the first time that I didn't feel like an outsider looking in at the magical world. I felt like I was part of the community, and it was the best feeling ever.

College Magic Cycle Characters

Mages

·        Alonzo Santiago Ramos. An 18-year-old Latino American boy from El Paso, Texas. A cute bottom and foundling mage. He's powerful, but untrained. He begins the story with a height of 68 inches and a weight of 150 pounds. He has deep olive or very light brown skin, amber eyes, and long black hair. He's a singer and a dancer. He's a little flighty and very flirty. When his powers awakened, he accidentally cast a spell that cursed his roommate Erik. He loves hardcore BDSM porn but is discovering that he doesn't like it in real life. He and Erik are suitemates with Jason and Kieran.

·        Cameron Campbell. Formerly one of the twink trio along with Micah Blum and Oliver Rankin, he is now considered a twunk. He is five ten and weighs 165 pounds. He's lean but muscular and is a member of the Severan College soccer team. He has bright red hair, fair skin and a lot of dark freckles. He is the boyfriend of Micah Blume.

·        Egon Stehle. A 55-year-old mage who is the housekeeper for Ibis House. He's a very powerful practical mage. He also does the cooking on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday. He doesn't say much, but he's friendly with the residents.

·        Elijah Jackson. A 24-year-old graduate student who went to the Academy with Sebastian and Nico. He's a graduate student in the history program and he mentors struggling African American students and he tutors student athletes. He is 74 inches tall and weighs 275 pounds of mostly muscle. He's built like a massive rectangle. His skin is dark brown, almost black and he wears his hair in long dreadlocks. He's a powerful transmuter mage. He understands mechanics and electronics better than any of the other mages except for Erik Rucker. He has become friends with Kyle. He has two live in boyfriends, Kendal and Tristan.

·        Erik Rucker. A 19-year-old from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. At the start of the story, he stood 66 inches tall and weighed about 140 pounds. After being cursed by his roommate he grew to be 77 inches tall and weigh 250 pounds. He was overshadowed by the fictional Einar Ironblood until the curse was lifted. He's in love with his roommate Alonzo and worries that Alonzo doesn't love him the same way. He was mundane until the curse awakened a latent talent for mind magery. Unlike Kieran, his talents seem to involve moving things with his mind.

·        Felicia Gladstone. A 38-year-old mage who manages Ibis House. She's also an assistant principal at the local high school. She has a nine-year-old daughter Selena who attends the local K-8 school.

·        Gwendolyn Gray. A junior who is majoring in chemistry. She and her brother are twins, with long brown hair and light gray eyes. Both are tall and slender, but not overly thin. The two of them are the best alchemists at Severan college except for Jason. They came from Santa Fe New Mexico. The Grays are among the 50 families who run mage society.

·        Jason Lee. A 19-year-old (about 6 months older than Kieran) Chinese American college freshman with golden brown skin, brown almond shaped eyes and collar length black hair. He is already an accomplished alchemist. He is a dominant, looking for a submissive boy. He finds what he's looking for in Kieran Morgan. He takes charge of Kieran and begins training him as a submissive. He gives Kieran alchemical elixirs that change his body, and he uses psychology to lead him to embrace his innate submissiveness. He has allowed himself to fall into tantric entanglement with Kieran, bringing them even closer. He believes that Kieran is his complement, the other half of his soul. Jason and Kieran are the suitemates of Alonzo and Erik.

·        Dr. Kamon Zhang. Jason's maternal uncle, a mage and psychologist who is helping Kieran to come to terms with his trauma, and his true nature.

·        Kieran Finley Morgan. An 18-year-old boy with pale skin, golden-red hair, and green eyes. At the beginning of the story, he is deeply closeted (he is unaware that said closet had glass doors everyone could see through) and stands at 72 inches and 180 pounds of muscle. He was a high school athlete who was on the diving team, the swim team, and the track team. Jason took charge of him shortly after they moved into the dorm and began training him to let his inner submissive out. Jason gives him alchemical elixirs that are changing him physically. He sometimes struggles with the idea that he's losing himself inside Jason, but he can't go long without his lover's touch. Kieran is somewhat naive. During the story he loses height, mass, and penis size. Jason says that he's not doing it, but Kieran is sure that he is. After being raped by Kyle Mason, he suffers psychological trauma and only his relationship with Jason gives stability to his life. He and Jason are suitemates with Alonzo and Erik. He has an artistic soul. Jason has decided that Kieran will change majors to Art. Kieran is a foundling mind mage with powers of telepathy and clairsentience.

·        Micah Blum. An 18-year-old mage boy who rooms with Darren. He used to spend most of his time with his two friends Oliver and Cameron. They were in a polyamorous relationship. Micah is a little afraid of Darren because he's afraid of werewolves. Once he was in an abusive relationship with his older cousin Remuel Adler, but now Micah has chosen Cameron Campbell as his boyfriend.

·        Rakesh Mishra. A 23-year-old graduate student of Indian American heritage. He's working on his MS in Psychology. He's a mind mage and a yogi master. He is one of Kieran's trainers. He lives off campus in Ibis House.

·        Reggie Delmar. A 20-year-old sophomore music student who likes Alonzo. They share a music class. He's a mage, but not a songmage. He lives off campus in Ibis House. He has light brown skin and very curly black hair. He looks like he has some African American ancestry.

·        Sebastian Trent. A 24-year-old graduate student. He's the RA for his floor and he helps Professor Thorne to wrangle the mage and supernatural scholars on campus. His female counterpart is Clarissa Spencer. Sebastian is 70 inches tall and weighs 160 pounds. He has light brown hair and brown eyes. He was a little overwhelmed with the fallout from Alonzo's spell and Kieran's rape, so he allowed Domenic the leeway he needed to enslave Kyle. Now there's nothing he can do about it. Sebastian is bisexual but prefers men. He has older men on campus who blow him in exchange for favors. He seems to have a lot of influence on campus for a grad student. He is dating Ethan Lowry but feels guilty about the age difference.

·        Seth Gray. A junior who is majoring in classics. He and his sister are twins, with long brown hair and light gray eyes. Both are tall and slender, but not overly thin. The two of them are the best alchemists at Severan college except for Jason. They came from Santa Fe New Mexico. The Grays are among the 50 families who run mage society.

·        Silvan Reynard. A sophomore mind mage who lives at Ibis House. He's 5 foot 8 inches tall, blond and slender with an almost elfin shape to his face despite being human. (The Reynards are said to have been fey touched for generations). He is in love with Rakesh Mishra. He and Kieran are in the same beginning yoga/mind magery classes.

·        Tristan Navarro. A 21-year-old senior seeking a degree in English Literature. He's filipino with medium beige skin, black hair, and dark eyes. He stands 66 inches tall and weighs 150 pounds. He likes short shorts and tight tee shirts. He's Elijah Jackson's lover and lives with him and Kendal. He calls Elijah daddy and Kendal brother. He has written two volumes in a series of mm romance novels about mages called Wands of Love and he intends to keep writing. He kept his own name and keeps his own finances, but he's no less devoted to Elijah than Kendal is.

·        Zoe Smith. A 20-year-old Sophomore mind mage who lives at Ibis House. She is an African American woman, about five foot eight inches tall, with a curvy shape, a broad smile and short black hair in tight curls.

Mundanes (or Unknown)

·        Justin Aquino. The forty-five-year-old owner of the Kali studio in town. He's a Filipino American veteran. He retired from the military after twenty-five years and now owns a kali martial arts studio.

·        Keith Aquino. 20-year-old college sophomore. He's five foot eleven inches tall and with brown hair and light beige skin. His eyes are hazel. His parents are Justin and Margorie Aquino. He's a military brat studying math. He's also an intermediate level practitioner of kali. He really likes Erik. He has two younger sisters, Denise (17) and Tiffany (15).

·        Kendal Jackson. A 23-year-old college dropout. He's five foot three inches tall and weighs about 115 pounds. He has pale blond hair, heterochromatic eyes (one blue and one green), and extremely fair skin. He lives with Elijah Jackson and is one of his lovers. He hated college and dropped out. He stays home and keeps house for Elijah Jackson. He likes to wear women's clothing but identifies as a boy. He changed his last name and signed power of attorney to make Elijah control over his affairs. He's very submissive. He calls Elijah daddy and Tristan brother.

·        Kyle Mason. A 19-year-old college freshman from Kentucky. Kyle begins the story as a high school athlete who's let himself go a little. He's 74" tall and 250 pounds. He has a muscular build with a layer of fat and a small gut. He has brown hair and brown eyes. He's a closeted gay man and a homophobe. He has a history of beating on gay acting guys who get him aroused. During the New Student Mixer, he raped Kieran Morgan. When he got back to his room, he beat on his smaller roommate Simon until he orgasmed in his pants. In return for these acts, Domenic Chase enslaved him and is turning him into a hot jock bitch. His life has become a prolonged slave training session. He begins to show remorse and even to accept his sexuality but tries to find a way out of his magical enslavement.

Skinchangers, Werewolves

·        Darren Groves (Alpha). A 21-year-old college junior from Montana. A heavy-set man with shoulder length brown hair, a short beard, and brown eyes. He's powerfully built under his extra pounds. He's of average appearance. He stands 70 inches tall and weighs 220 pounds. He's Drew's right hand man. In a fit of lust, he groped Kieran in the laundry room. Who knows what would have happened if Drew hadn't broken it up? Despite this, Darren is a good guy. He's become a kind of avuncular figure for Kieran as one of his protectors on campus.

Places

·        Alchemy House. A large house in Severan purchased by Jason's father for use as an alchemy lab to make weapons and potions for the Severan Council. Jason has convinced his father to sell him the house instead of turning it over to the Conclave. The house was owned by a mage and has too many magical enhancements to be sold to mundanes. It has magical protections and wards, but the Lee family is paying for more to be added.

·        Baylor Hall. A dorm building at Severan College which is used to house the mages and lupipelles (werewolves) on campus. The third floor is use by male supernaturals and the fourth by female supernaturals. The muripelles (wererats) refuse to use this dorm and they stay elsewhere on campus. The dorm has a dining hall on the first floor.

·        Ibis House. A large house in town that is used by the mages as off-campus residence. It's shielded by the velamen arcanum and mundanes tend to ignore it. It's been modified by magic over the decades and has a lot of magical features and defenses. There's a magic circle to make translocation spells easier to use. It's owned and operated by the Ibis Foundation, a mage NGO that maintains Ibis House facilities near mundane universities in many towns.

·        Numina Flux Zone (NFZ). This area of southeastern Ohio is a weak spot between the worlds. Magic rituals are easier to perform here, and a higher-than-average number of people born in the region have mage talent, although most of them are never identified or trained. The realms of faerie, umbra, outland, spirit, underworld, astral, dream, and light are easily accessed from this zone. Other realms may or may not be easier to reach from here than from elsewhere. A similar, but smaller zone surrounds the Sagacia Academy and the Ossuarium in the Bayou of Louisiana.

·        Severan College. A fictional private college in fictional Severan Ohio. It was founded by the mage Aurelius Severan, originally to provide mundane college degrees to young mages. To accomplish this goal, mundane professors needed to be hired. Over time, the magical nature of the school became hidden behind a layer of mundane scholars and professors. The college sits near dead center of the numina flux zone that marks a weak spot between the worlds.

·        Severan House. The oldest building on campus, it was originally the home of Aurelius Severan, the mage who founded the college. Severan House contains offices, a museum, and several mage-only facilities, including a magic circle in the basement to make translocation spells more accurate. Students living at Ibis House and mages visiting from other towns and states use this circle to arrive in Severan.