Since the founding of the Mystra Academy on the island of Colchis, decades had flown by in the blink of an eye.
Now, without a doubt, Mystra Academy had already become a hidden yet formidable force within the Greek divine realm.
Over these decades, thousands of mages had graduated from the Academy, though of course, even more never managed to graduate at all, leaving as half-trained spellcasters.
Mystra Academy recruited them from all across Greece, provided them with systematic magical education, and then they departed, returning to their homelands, scattering throughout the Greek divine realm, spreading the existence of magic to every corner of the land.
These mages who had mastered magic took many different paths: some became ministers and high officials in royal courts, some reclusive hermits in the wilderness.
Some prophets who divined the future, some street performers weaving illusions to entertain the crowd, some joined forces with heroes, using magic to fuel their adventurous dreams, while others fell into darkness, turning magic into a tool for wealth and murder.
But their very existence ensured that Mystra Academy's influence extended into every corner of the divine realm.
Whether noble or common, whether rulers or peasants, everyone knew, at least vaguely, of the existence of magic.
To this knowledge, which allowed mortals to wield extraordinary power, some scoffed, dismissing it as nothing more than cheap tricks and superficial illusions, while others revered it, desperately wishing to join its ranks.
Unfortunately, the mysteries of magic did not open their doors to everyone.
Magic was a craft that depended heavily on talent. Before the decline of the Age of Gods, when true aether still flowed abundantly, the only real limitation was intelligence.
Each year, Mystra Academy recruited a batch of students across Greece.
Those who had talent either joined or rejected the offer, but for the rest, those incapable of learning magic could never learn it, no matter how hard they tried.
Furthermore, according to the Academy's rules, unless it was a spell one had created oneself, few ever dared to pass on magic privately.
There were also ambitious ones who sought to find Mystra Academy, to conquer it, and enslave all its mages for their own use.
Yet even before facing the Academy's mages in battle, they could not even find where the Academy lay.
To conceal it from the very eyes of the gods and to delay divine attention for as long as possible, Alaric had put in place countless measures.
First, he cast a "Repel Humanity" spell around the waters near Colchis.
Ordinary sailors, even if their ships happened to pass near the island, would unknowingly veer away under the spell's influence, perhaps steering in a sudden whim, perhaps misjudging their course entirely…
Second, thick magical fog shrouded the seas near Colchis.
Any ship straying into the fog would find itself trapped in a labyrinth; no matter how it turned, the outcome was always the same, eventually it would emerge from another direction, never approaching the island's shores.
In addition, Colchis Island itself was enchanted with a spell of unchartability.
It simply could not appear on any map, and anyone who tried would forget the island even existed.
As for the Academy and the forests around it, Alaric had shifted them into a demi-plane, overlapping with Colchis's leyline so its power could nourish this half-dimension.
In truth, this demi-plane was nothing more than a phased overlap with the real space. Without special methods, even if someone reached the vicinity, they would never find the Academy.
Finally, every mage leaving the Academy signed a secrecy contract. Unless the gods themselves intervened, no one could ever force the Academy's secrets from them.
Through layer upon layer of secrecy, Mystra Academy remained perfectly hidden.
Of course, "perfect" was only relative.
From information passed through Aphrodite and Artemis, Alaric already knew the gods had noticed the existence of magic.
But to those lofty beings, mortals were no more than playthings.
They did not need mortal faith or offerings. Faith, offerings, and protection were only Gaia's commands, or perhaps a sense of responsibility toward lesser beings who resembled them in form.
Thus, even if mortals gained the power of magic, the gods did not deem it a big deal.
After all, apart from Mystra Academy, most mages outside were of low level, and the cautious, secretive habits of mages kept them from flaunting their powers.
Those who became arrogant and boastful rarely ever mastered magic in the first place.
Still, Alaric could not dismiss his unease.
Even if the gods would not intervene for now, that did not mean they never would.
Another source of his concern was Sisyphus.
This famed king of legend, after completing his basic studies at the Academy, spent five years reaching the Sixth Circle and finished his advanced training.
Afterward, this ambitious man left the Academy and returned to his homeland.
By then, his father had passed away and his elder brother had inherited the throne. There was no place left for him in the kingdom.
Sisyphus did not mind.
With only a handful of men granted by his brother, he departed the country and, just as in myth, founded Corinth upon a carefully chosen site, proclaiming himself its king.
Through both his magical power and personal talent, Corinth swiftly grew into a formidable city-state.
Moreover, with his cunning and the use of magic, he struck deals with the gods, scheming ceaselessly to strengthen Corinth's potential.
Once, when Zeus abducted Aegina, daughter of the river-god Asopus, Sisyphus discovered it.
When the river-god came seeking his daughter in Corinth, Sisyphus exchanged the truth for the gift of a river that flowed year-round.
Such recklessness enraged Zeus, and it gave Alaric quite a headache.
Though such matters could never implicate the Academy directly, they might very well draw Zeus's attention to the existence of magic.
And Alaric knew well, Zeus was notoriously petty. Once he deemed magic a threat, he would inevitably move to crush it.
Before that day came, Alaric resolved to strengthen the Academy and build up the power of the mages.
The fastest path to power equal to the gods was, of course, fully mastering the secret of soul materialization.
But that alone was not enough. Soul materialization was not directly a destructive force. Its true strength lay in producing infinite energy, in creating mighty Heroic Spirits, but it required the right souls to achieve this.
In short, it was a supportive ability best suited for "farming and mass production."
Another path lay in the art of magical constructs, a way to strengthen the Academy swiftly, just as in modern times, when a nation with powerful industry could forge endless steel legions.
Yet gods were not opponents who could be defeated by sheer numbers.
The ultimate path was for Alaric himself to wield the power of the gods.
For now, that was beyond his reach. But he already had clues, and once he fully grasped the power of soul materialization, he could begin to put his plan into motion.
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