The Accidental Archmage - Book Five Edmund Batara (classic children's novels .TXT) 📖

our core systems. Honestly, your guides have done an admirable job, considering the state of their sanctuaries.”

“Sorry, guys. But I always react that way when some unknown and dangerous rule rears its unexpected head. And your rules sometimes involve not only danger to myself, but also to innocents around me. Considering the power behind such coding, I believe my reaction could be excused.”

“And you’re only human, sire,” said Hal. G apparently heard Hal as the boy suddenly grinned.

“Now what do I do?” asked the mage hurriedly, trying to change the subject.

“Just tell me what you want. Your decision.”

Tyler paused.

“G, I defer my decision on the taking of the knowledge left for me. Until the time arrives that I return for it, no other human or any entity, whether of this world or of the First World, shall have access to the Elder lore in your care. In the meantime, continue as you have done, pursuant to the parameters of your protocols, with the added instruction that the barriers be strengthened. There always exists the possibility that a deity or similar being would eventually obtain the ability and power to get past your defenses.”

The boy looked at Tyler and beamed.

“That was a wise decision, Elder. I sense the autonomous system powering down. It shall be as you command. Your guides have been furnished with a copy of the parameters my creator set for me. I believe it will sufficiently explain my actions. That particular creator was a wise and kind being. For an Elder, he had a soft heart for humanity. He knew the worst and the best of mortals yet was strangely optimistic that humans who follow after them would eventually find their place among the ethereal stars. Like them.”

Did G just tell me where the Elders went? And was G’s creator too optimistic?

***

The pivotal decision made, Tyler quickly tried to think of what next to ask the intelligence. It might be of the same basic mold as Hal and X, but the individual character traits of the different makers made it possible for the sanctuaries to have varying levels of knowledge about their progenitors – their motivations, plans, and even dislikes. But G beat him to the topic.

“An admirable decision, Elder. Though our creators might have chosen contrarily. It does show you retain traits which makes you human, despite the physical modifications and your personal experiences,” said G.

“How so?” asked Tyler, lying back on the chair, content to let the conversation flow. Whatever happened now, information was one thing he wanted to get. A discussion like this was immeasurably easier than juggling his brain, trying to think of a specific question to ask.

“Some Elders think nothing about purging an entire race or civilization. Others might weigh the costs and benefits of such a decision, but still do not value life as ordinary mortals do. For almost all of them, the result desired always justifies the means. It is, however, a trait born not out of arrogance, but of a greatly different way of looking at events and complications,” explained G.

“Meaning they’re not human anymore,” said the mage.

“Not in the sense you understand the term. They are human, though greatly evolved, or transcended, as they prefer to call it. The remaining Elders have become so accustomed to thinking on a macro level that the plight and suffering of those individuals affected by their decisions were beyond their comprehension.”

“So why all these preparations for an Elder mage? They could have managed it on their own,” asked Tyler. The question had been at the back of his mind since the beginning. He had heard from his guides that the Elders needed a guardian for Adar, one who would ensure magic would still exist. But it was too convenient a reason for his taste. From what he had seen, the Elder race was not prone to such a simplistic way of thinking or doing things. Even the reason given by his guides demanded an answer to the question of why the continued existence of magic was so important to them.

G laughed.

“It was important enough for them to step in during the last Divine War and put the deities in their place. Though it makes you wonder why angry Elders didn’t do away with the pantheons when they arrived. They certainly had the power.”

“I agree. Now you mention it, it seems the pantheons do have a place in their plans,” answered Tyler thoughtfully. G was full of insights, the mage observed.

“From what I could infer from my creator, it seems they couldn’t be bothered with overseeing a world. But all agreed on the need for a guardian though it appeared each had a different reason for the decision,” G explained further.

“That many reasons?” asked the surprised Tyler.

“They might be transcended, but not enough to be able to do away entirely with mortal shortcomings. For my creator, the secondary reason was the need for a guardian to make sure the human species does not die out. He had a deep understanding of humanity’s capacity for self-destruction,” answered the boy.

“With their power and knowledge, they could have advanced humanity on this world by leaps and bounds, as the saying goes,” commented Tyler.

“I do have the answer to that puzzling observation. The Elders never trusted forced evolution or technological growth. The Lost Ones of their kind were the beings who adopted that route. The ensuing war, its terrifying complications, and the near extinction of their race were seared into their racial memory. But I guess some of those difficulties would now be your problem.”

“Difficulties? An understatement, G. I don’t know if my guides told you, but the Lost Ones still exist, so that’s also a problem outside of what you mentioned,” said the mage. “Add to that the rumors about powerful dark ones which might have been able to cross over to this world.”

“I was briefed about what happened. An erroneous oversight on the part of the Elders. One bound to rear its ugly head again,” observed G. “As to what