Sazideas, however, notices her. He grabs her by the hand as she is leaving and asks, "Where are you going?"
"You know," she replies.
Then Lord Sazideas calmly says to her, "I am coming with you. What did you expect? That I would leave my beloved daughter and my grandson helpless?"
And together they leave the great hall to save young Etydameas.
Meanwhile, outside Akbazan, epic battles rage on, as countless mages have gathered — some merely to witness the events with their own eyes, others to support either the young mage or the Goldmages. And of course, not all of them had pure motives, for many had placed bets either for or against the mage succeeding in escaping the dreadful prison of Damanis.
Thus, the battle remains evenly matched, although the side of the agent mages possesses the powerful Damanis himself among their ranks. With his cloak of invisibility and his astonishing abilities, he creates enormous problems for those attempting to aid Etydameas.
Furthermore, Damanis summons one of the three legendary tenth-level beasts — the terrible demon Kombel.
Kombel is a gigantic and monstrous demon possessing horrifying destructive power.
Etydameas in turn summons the shadow spirit Xodeinos to protect himself from the attacks of the beast Kombel, while simultaneously striking the monster even with the lightning spell Telaunor. Yet Kombel still stands strong and unshaken.
And while all this unfolds, the ruler of the kingdom of Ygakos, Kyrganos, arrives as well in order to capture the young fugitive.
Thus the suffering of Etydameas' faction doubles, because Kyrganos also performs a summoning and brings onto the battlefield the monstrous dragon Slavir.
The cunning mage, however, does not lose his composure, and with the powerful illusion spell Myvox he destroys the dragon Slavir. Now Kyrganos possesses the spirit of Xodeinos instead of the legendary Slavir.
But the twelve-year-old mage has not exhausted his magical tricks.
Thus, with the spell Parigen, he resurrects the legendary tenth-level dragon, and now the mighty beast fights at the side of the young mage.
The battle intensifies, and Etydameas destroys Xodeinos while it is under Kyrganos' control.
And so the conflict appears balanced once again, since both sides now possess one Legendary Spirit of Aether aiding them.
Indeed, the battle seems endless. The two colossal beasts clash savagely, and neither side appears willing to retreat.
At the same time, on the other front, the special Odyvian agents manage to capture the mages who had interfered with Akbazan's magical systems, though only after fierce resistance against the greater forces of the Goldmages.
However, Torpineas and his little son manage to hide within the secret cave and thus escape the special agents.
At Akbazan itself, the situation continues escalating, and the battle grows larger and larger as more mages arrive to participate.
At last, the blue-eyed Apheni and her father Sazideas arrive as well, rushing to aid young Etydameas.
Kyrganos and Damanis are shocked to see their own brother Sazideas standing beside the small and rebellious fugitive.
Thus, Sazideas takes upon himself the task of countering the magical assaults of his brothers, while Apheni runs to her son to give him the magical antidote capable of freeing Etydameas' powers from the restriction imposed by the spell Emforio — the mark placed upon his left shoulder.
Etydameas quickly drinks the magical potion and instantly feels clarity flood his mind while magical aura bursts forth from within him.
Now Etydameas compels everyone within a massive radius, through sheer magical influence, to surrender and throw down their staffs.
Even so, many Goldmages remain unaffected by the young mage's powerful telepathic force, including the two mighty lords Kyrganos and Damanis.
Thus, despite being numerically disadvantaged, they continue resisting and fighting bravely, led by Damanis with his invisibility cloak and Kyrganos with his mighty wand.
The battle now clearly turns in favor of young Etydameas, yet the two brothers of Sazideas continue resisting courageously.
Furthermore, Lord Damanis and his cloak create tremendous problems, for it is nearly impossible to locate or strike him with a spell.
And so one curse from the powerful mage Damanis strikes the wise Apheni and steals her life.
Etydameas sees his mother dying before him, and suddenly he begins to feel a strange sensation.
He feels magic surging through every part of his body and connecting him with all creation upon the Earth itself.
He senses himself linked through some strange and mystical force to the entire planet.
And then, without even understanding how, time itself reverses to the moment just before Damanis attacked his mother.
This time Etydameas intercepts Damanis' curse in time and saves his mother from death.
Moments later, the wise Damanis attacks Etydameas again from another location, but the young mage instinctively rewinds time once more before the lord of Akbazan's cavern can strike him, successfully countering the attack again.
Damanis repeatedly attempts to hit the young mage, yet Etydameas continuously repels him, and during the final exchange he manages to strike him with the spell Nefoulso.
Damanis, hidden beneath his invisibility cloak, becomes bewildered that the young mage can predict his every movement. Suspicious, he glances at his magical watch and then realizes that the young mage is rewinding the flow of time at will.
Thus, exposed at last, he surrenders, understanding that resistance against such powerful magic is futile.
And when the other mages witness the mighty Lord Damanis surrendering, they too lay down their arms.
And so, once the forces of Damanis and the remaining Odyvians surrender, the epic battle outside Akbazan finally comes to an end.
Time passes, and the young mage enjoys the company of all those who know and admire him for his extraordinary magical abilities.
At the same time, the little mage officially enrolls in the magical academy of Selar, which accepts students aged twelve and older, after first promising — and keeping his word — never to use his powerful telepathic abilities within the school.
Furthermore, many Kikanes are freed and allowed to live peacefully within some of the conquered territories, which the Odyvians grant them without demanding anything in return.
The same is done for the Sentocheires and the Vivantes imprisoned within Akbazan, provided they had not committed terrible crimes and had merely ended up there as defeated enemies of the great war.
Likewise, Akbazan is thereafter reserved only for truly monstrous criminals, while the reformatory of Movinto is abolished entirely, as it is deemed inhumane for underage mages to be sent there.
Thus, all the children imprisoned in Movinto — including Etydameas' companions who had attempted escape long ago — are granted amnesty and a second chance to live freely and honorably.
A spirit of repentance and tolerance now spreads throughout the magical world, and all races of mages begin living peacefully and harmoniously within their ancestral lands.
Furthermore, all the races agree to share the total wealth and production of the magical world proportionally according to population, hoping thereby to reduce future rivalries.
All races are also granted the right to travel freely between territories for trade and tourism.
Thus, the races gradually develop familiarity and a spirit of cooperation.
Additionally, anyone is permitted to live freely in a territory other than the one of their birth, though they are required to pay a significant sum into the public treasury of the land they choose. In this way, they cleverly avoid both overpopulation in certain regions and depopulation in others.
Finally, international competitions are established annually within every territory between the races so that familiarity may grow and future rivalries be avoided.
The competitions are numerous and varied — involving arts, theater, athletics, sciences, and even magical duels.
Moreover, whenever disputes arise between races, they are resolved through grand magical tournaments rather than war, and the victors claim their demands there instead of upon battlefields.
Thus, good relations flourish among the magical races, and instead of destruction and war, progress increasingly emerges through competition, while the territories themselves profit greatly from the broadcasts of these international tournaments and from tourism.
As a result, all races experience prosperity and great flourishing in many fields thanks to the spirit of noble rivalry fostered through the international competitions.
At last, it seemed that peace and cooperation would prevail among all races within the magical world.
As for the little trickster himself, his relatives and friends constantly asked him where he had learned all those powerful and rare spells. And he finally revealed the friendship he had formed with the wise Synagoras within the prison cell.
Thus, he told them everything the old mage had taught him — and how sadly he had fallen ill and died.
He spoke of the lessons in history, philosophy, the positive sciences, and of course advanced magic, such as illusion magic and the summoning of powerful shadow spirits.
His grandfather, Sazideas, upon hearing the name Synagoras and learning of his mastery over shadow magic, immediately realized that his young grandson had been fortunate enough to meet and learn from the legendary warrior known as Imbatosa.
He explained to his grandson that General Temon Tokris had once fought a great civil war many years ago, and that Synagoras had served as his greatest champion.
Sazideas then recounted the tragic story of Synagoras' life — how he had lost his parents in that civil war while still very young.
Thus, from an early age, Synagoras joined the faction of Temon Tokris in order to avenge those who had fought alongside the killers of his parents.
And during the long years of civil war, Synagoras earned the legendary title Imbatosa, which in the language of the elves meant "Master of Shadows" or "Master of Illusions."
Synagoras was an epic warrior, and because none could defeat him, his enemies eventually discovered his beloved, Etomo, and murdered her in revenge.
When Synagoras learned of her death, he fell into deep despair, and so that no more of his friends or relatives would suffer because of him, he voluntarily surrendered himself to the enemy and was imprisoned.
"That," said Sazideas while looking directly into the eyes of his twelve-year-old grandson, "was the story of the legendary mage Imbatosa — and that was your wise teacher."
And from that day onward, the young mage possessed a bright future, just as all his relatives and friends had always believed he would.
As for how he managed to find the objects during the trial of the two spirits guarding the labyrinth gate, the little mage remained silent, letting everyone continue questioning him for a very long time while he amused himself with their endless curiosity over how exactly he had succeeded.