Time passed, and little Etydamon continued in the same manner throughout this period until the fifteen-day winter holidays finally arrived. All the children left the school of Pirosovia to reunite with their families and celebrate together.
At last came the beloved day of the winter holidays—the Day of Gifts—which Etydameus had been eagerly awaiting.
Etydameus hurriedly opened his presents. The first was from his grandfather, Sazideas: a book filled with many myths from the world of magic. He unwrapped the second gift, which came from his good uncle Enithipeus. It was a pendant shaped like the face of a dragon, its two wings spread wide around its head.
Etydamon immediately removed the enchanted golden sun pendant that limited his powers and put on the dragon necklace, standing before a mirror to see how it looked. He placed the golden sun pendant into his left pocket and then opened Apheni's gift, which was a tunic bearing the initials of the House of Odyvii.
Truth be told, Etydameus was not particularly impressed with the tunic and thought it would be much better if he could exchange it for his cousin Pyrra's new magical broomstick.
Before he could even finish the thought, his cousin approached him and suggested they exchange gifts—her broomstick for his tunic.
However, Etydameus knew that exchanging gifts was not right, and if the adults found out, they would scold them. So he refused. He was puzzled that his cousin had suggested such a thing, especially since their parents had warned them not to trade gifts.
Afterward, they went to the festive table to thank their parents and relatives for the gifts and to dine together. Strangely, Etydameus noticed that whenever he desired a certain food or sweet, before he even asked for it, someone at the table would immediately offer it to him.
That was when he began to suspect that perhaps his powers had returned. So he decided to conduct a small experiment to find out whether his telepathic abilities had truly come back.
Quietly, he wished that his mother would offer him a magical broomstick like Pyrra's. And indeed, Apheni leaned close to his ear and whispered:
" I saw how you were looking at your cousin's broomstick. After the holidays, your mother will buy you one just like it—don't be sad."
Overjoyed, Etydameus thanked his mother and kissed her cheek. By then, he no longer cared about the broomstick at all—his telepathic powers had returned, and he felt utterly delighted.
When the festive meal ended and he returned home with his mother, the young mage placed all his new gifts neatly upon shelves and put the golden sun pendant back around his neck. Then he went to bed, happy.
The very next day, wishing to test his ability, Etydameus telepathically asked Apheni—who was in the kitchen—to bring him a glass of milk. Nothing happened.
He tried again, but to no avail. Soon, he felt that strange dizziness returning, preventing him from concentrating. Disappointed, he walked to the kitchen himself and poured a glass of milk.
Apheni noticed his expression and asked,
"Why do you look so gloomy, Etydameus? What happened? I will buy you a magical broomstick too—I promised, didn't I? Don't worry!"
"It's not that, Mother," Etydameus replied. "Yesterday, for a moment, I felt as though my telepathic powers had returned… but this morning they abandoned me again."
Feigning surprise, Apheni answered,
"They abandoned you? What do you mean? All this time, when I asked you about school, you told me everything was fine and nothing was wrong."
Sadly, Etydameus replied,
"I didn't want to worry you… and perhaps I was ashamed to tell you that I had lost my abilities."
Apheni embraced her son and comforted him.
"Don't worry, my boy, and don't be sad. It's nothing! These things happen during childhood. Sometimes certain powers and abilities appear, and other times they fade. But by the time you grow older, you will see—you will be just fine. It is perfectly normal."
Then she asked,
"Tell me, what happened yesterday that made you think your powers had returned?"
Etydameus revealed that he had planted the idea in her mind to buy him a magical broomstick—but added that perhaps it had only been coincidence.
Startled, Apheni suddenly asked,
"The golden sun necklace we gave you—your grandmother and I—are you still wearing it?"
"Of course, Mother," Etydamon replied. "I never take it off. I always keep it on to protect me, just as you told me."
Apheni praised him for honoring their gift and advised him never to remove it, reminding him that it served as a charm and protection.
Soon, the winter holidays came to an end, and the young mage prepared his belongings to return to Pirosovia. Among his things, he carefully packed his new gifts. He especially loved the book of myths and read it often. He also packed the tunic and the dragon pendant given to him by his uncle Enithipeus.
After bidding farewell to his relatives, Apheni escorted him back to the school of Pirosovia.
Naturally, Etydameus suggested that they fly to the school on magical broomsticks so he could test his new one, but Apheni told him it was too cold. So the young mage had to wait patiently until he reached school to use it.
Upon arriving at the school, he ran to the dormitory of Air to unpack his belongings and, above all, to show his new gifts to his classmates. All the children proudly displayed their presents, and some even made trades.
Etydamon was greatly impressed by the strategy game given to their group leader—a beautiful magical chess set with clay pieces. Their leader, Termoimos, was in his final year at the school.
Etydameus wasted no time and asked Termoimos to play a game of magical chess. Despite their age difference, the young boy won rather easily, as it was one of his favorite games.
After thinking for a moment, Etydameus asked if Termoimos would exchange the magical chess set for his official tunic bearing the crest of the House of Odyvii. The leader refused.
With a heavy heart, Etydameus then offered his beloved book of myths along with the tunic—but once again, Termoimos declined.
Finally, as a last attempt, Etydameus showed him the dragon pendant and asked,
"Would you trade it for all three of my gifts?"
Again, the leader refused. Disappointed, the young mage stepped away. He removed the golden sun pendant for a moment and wore the dragon necklace instead to show it to his friends. He placed the sun pendant into his pocket and thought that perhaps he should have offered to buy the magical chess set with money.
Suddenly, he heard Termoimos call out, saying that if he still wanted the magical chess set, he could offer two golden chelimata—a type of magical coin.
Etydameus paused, wondering whether it was coincidence or not. Immediately, he tested his telepathic ability—and indeed, Termoimos repeated his offer, saying he would even exchange the chess set for a single golden chelima if Etydameus did not have two.
Etydameus handed him two golden chelimata, thanked him for the exchange, and left happily with the magical chess set.
The young mage thought: My powers must have returned. Without wasting time, he began setting up various pranks and enjoying himself before his powers might vanish again.
After some time passed and his powers did not fade, he realized something important:
All this time, he had been wearing the dragon pendant.
Thus, he began to suspect that this might be the reason his powers had returned—or perhaps even grown stronger. So he removed the dragon necklace from his neck and placed it into his pocket alongside the sun pendant, then attempted to use his telepathic powers without wearing it.
He looked at a classmate in the dormitory who was drinking water. Suddenly, the boy spilled the water all over himself—exactly as Etydameus had imagined.
So Etydameus understood that the dragon necklace was not responsible for the return of his powers.
Then an idea struck him: he would wear the pendant given to him by his mother and grandmother and test his powers again while wearing it.
Indeed, the moment he put on the golden sun pendant, he immediately noticed the difference. At that instant, he realized that his grandmother and mother had deceived him—they had enchanted the pendant to limit his telepathic abilities.
Now Etydamon knew that his relatives had cleverly tricked him and that nothing had been wrong with him after all. Yet he could not understand why, instead of simply telling him not to use his telepathic powers, they had deceived him and left him suffering for so long, believing he might even be ill.
So Etydameus decided he would repay them in kind, since they had not treated him honestly.
He put the golden sun necklace back on, so as not to arouse suspicion, suspecting that perhaps even his teachers were aware of the situation.
From that moment on, everything went as in the good old days for the young mage. He vented his frustration by playing pranks—even on his teachers at times. All he needed to do was slip the pendant over his shirt so that the chain did not touch his neck, and his telepathic skill worked perfectly.
Thus, whenever necessary—such as during broomstick matches—he would pass the pendant over his shirt collar, and there was no problem at all.
The teachers of Pirosovia had begun noticing that, for about a month now, many strange incidents had been occurring—particularly the pranks the boy had been devising. In addition, the Air team in broomstick competitions had shown remarkable improvement and had become nearly unbeatable.
All this raised suspicions among the teachers of Pirosovia. They realized that something was not right and began closely observing the young mage whenever possible. Yet each time, they saw the pendant properly hanging around his neck.
With the persistent gazes of his teachers examining him so often, Etydameus realized that they, too, already knew about the enchanted pendant that limited his powers.
Thus, he became even more careful and made sure always to wear it properly whenever he did not need to use his abilities and whenever teachers were nearby.
Time passed, and as the strange incidents continued, the teachers held a council. They concluded that since he was wearing the pendant correctly, either his powers had grown stronger or the enchantment within the pendant had weakened.
So they informed Sazideas and the rest of the Odyvii at the palace about the events and their suspicions that Etydameus had once again found a way to use his powerful psychic abilities.
The Odyvii council discussed the matter and ordered the teachers of Pirosovia to take an identical pendant—one that would be delivered by a special agent of the Odyvii—and secretly exchange it with the young mage's pendant. They would pretend to admire his necklace, then swap it with the newly enchanted one.
The agent would then take the original pendant back to the palace of the Odyvii to test whether it had lost its properties. Meanwhile, the young mage would wear the newly strengthened pendant, enhanced with stronger limiting spells.
And so it happened.
The agent arrived at Pirosovia a few days later, and the Headmaster summoned young Etydameus to his office. Several teachers were present, along with the agent, and they all greeted him warmly—pretending to congratulate him on his excellent academic performance.
Then Tharigos, the Headmaster of the school, congratulated him and asked to see his pendant—supposedly to admire it and exchange it with the new one.
Etydameus, now fully aware that he had been deceived for so long, looked at them all carefully and replied sarcastically:
"What? Is it not working properly?"
Tharigos frowned and asked,
"What do you mean, child?"
"You all know very well what I mean," Etydameus answered.
The agent glared sternly at the young mage and ordered sharply:
"Give me your necklace now so we can examine it!"
Another teacher added,
"The boy must have somehow broken the spells on the necklace."
Etydameus quickly removed the pendant from his neck and threw it at their feet. Then he rushed toward the door to escape.
But the agent-mage cast the spell "Tholixo", binding him in place before he could flee.
Without losing his composure, Etydameus forced one of the teachers to release him and then caused all those in the room to petrify one another.
One by one, they fell—except for the agent, who remained unaffected by the young mage's psychic powers. While deflecting the spells cast by the teachers, he managed—just before the boy could escape—to petrify him with the spell "Espago."
Etydameus froze instantly, unprepared, and heard the agent say:
"You little scoundrel, you're in serious trouble!"
Then he added:
"I am Tonacheus, special agent of the Ministry of Magic. I specialize in hunting and capturing lawbreakers—even minors. And I arrest you on the charge of repeatedly using the forbidden technique of the spell 'Epirreio', even upon your own teachers."
Of course, the young boy had not known that his ability had a name—let alone that it was forbidden, since such things were taught only in the higher classes of Pirosovia.
Now he finally understood why his parents and teachers had limited his powers with the pendant. Yet even so, he could not forgive them for deceiving him instead of speaking honestly and explaining the truth.
Tonacheus released the petrified teachers by casting the spell "Nirea," and they all recovered.
The teachers were furious—both because Etydameus had used the influence magic on them and because they had been made to look foolish, humiliated by a mere seven-year-old child.
Tonacheus turned to Tharigos and instructed him to inform the Black-Cloaked Lords of the council through his magical communication device about the incident.
Tharigos contacted Sazideas and the council, and news of the event quickly spread throughout the magical world.
A council was convened at Sazideas's palace to decide the fate of the young mage and the punishment he would receive. While they deliberated, Etydameus was kept petrified and forced to wear the enchanted pendant.
They did not dare release him, having already witnessed the strength of his psychic powers.
At first, when his relatives heard the news, they could not believe that the young mage had behaved so recklessly. But all those present at the incident confirmed the truth, along with Tonacheus.
Only after sending three additional agents to assist Tonacheus did they finally release Etydameus from petrification and transport him to the palace of the Odyvii.
The young boy now stood in the great hall where trials were held. He was placed at the defendant's stand to await judgment.
Four special agents guarded him, and all the mages in the courtroom stared at him sternly.
He wore the new pendant around his neck, as they did not dare risk giving him the old one, whose reliability was still uncertain.
Etydameus was clearly anxious and did not know what fate awaited him now that he had been brought to trial. Yet he tried to hide his fear and remain calm. He did not want to appear weak or give anyone the satisfaction of mocking or pitying him.
His mother and grandmother, who were present at the trial, looked at him with disappointment and confusion over his behavior.
The boy noticed their expressions and, ashamed that he had disappointed them, avoided their gaze.
At the same time, he nearly laughed—but restrained himself, thinking that no one had realized the truth: the pendant itself was not the true reason he could still use his telepathic power.
The real cause was simply that he slipped the pendant over his shirt.
Etydamon had already planned that if they imposed a harsh punishment, he would pretend to adjust the pendant and slip it over his shirt collar.
Then he would attempt to influence them—and alter the final verdict into something more lenient.
And while thinking all this, he adopted the calmest and most innocent expression he could manage, careful not to arouse suspicion.
After some time, the lords of the Odyvians deemed it appropriate that his mother should pay a large sum to the school and to the teachers who had suffered the magic of influence from her son. In addition, they expelled Etydameas permanently from the School of Magic of Pyrosovia.
Thus, after announcing the sentence in the courtroom, they now waited for all the mages participating in the trial to vote for or against the punishment by raising their hands. The time for the vote arrived, and Sazideus declared that those who agreed with the sentence should raise their hands. Most of the mages began raising their hands one by one, yet gradually several reconsidered and lowered them again, while others half-lowered them as if they were uncertain.
Tonacheus grew suspicious of Etydameas, so he turned toward him and noticed that he was wearing the pendant over his tunic. Tonacheus then drew his wand and prepared to freeze him. Etydameas realized that Tonacheus had understood and, without knowing how, suddenly it was as if the vote had never happened—he heard Sazideas once again announcing the sentence in the courtroom from the beginning.
The seven-year-old mage watched in confusion as the voting for his punishment began anew. Etydameas considered using his telepathic power again, yet he knew Tonacheus would detect him the moment he did, just as before. Nevertheless, since he had no idea what exactly had occurred, he repeated the action and waited to see what would happen.
Thus, he altered the jurors' decision once more, while at the same time casting furtive glances at Agent Tonacheus. The voting process was distorted again in a similar manner, and Tonacheus turned toward the young mage to check him. However, this time Etydameas was prepared, and the moment Tonacheus moved to grasp his wand, they once again found themselves at the instant when the verdict was being announced.
This time, however, before the punishment was spoken, Sazideas stood up and froze time around the defendant's stand where Etydameas stood. Everyone stared at Lord Sazideus in confusion and asked why he had frozen Etydameas in time.
Sazideas replied that this was the second time a space-time distortion had occurred inside the courtroom. He explained that his magical clock had alerted him the first time it happened, and then he invoked the spell "Gemon" to protect himself in case someone attempted again to interfere with the timeline of the trial.
"And so," he continued, "while observing the voting process, I watched Etydameas carefully, because I suspected he might be influencing the vote with his psychic powers. Indeed, Agent Tonacheus suspected the same, and just before he could touch his wand to stop Etydameas, my grandson realized this and turned time back to the moment before the vote—without even using a wand."
Hearing this from their leader Sazideas, everyone was stunned and could not believe how powerful the young Etydamon truly was.
They petrified him and led him into one of the palace cells, placing agents to guard him, and convened a new council to decide what they would ultimately do with the mischievous child who possessed such powerful and dangerous abilities.
Tonacheus, who participated in the council, expressed his astonishment, saying,"How is it possible that such a young mage possesses such powerful mental abilities—and now we learn he can practice time magic as well, all without even using his wand?"
He then added that they must be extremely cautious with him, because if he could do all this without the help of a wand or magical instrument, who knew what else he might accomplish with one.
All the mages discussed these matters in council, expressing both their amazement and their concerns about Etydameas's powers. The council, almost unanimously, proposed sending him to Akbazán, to the new school of Kezan in Movinto. However, Aphené and Soména protested, reminding the other mages that he was only a seven-year-old child.
They argued that it was unreasonable to send such a small child to such a hostile and dreadful place.
Nevertheless, the majority prevailed, despite Aphené's pleas for mercy. They argued that a young mage with such powerful abilities was likely to cause accidents to himself and to others—after all, he had not hesitated to use his magic upon his teachers and even inside the courtroom.
All his relatives, except his grandfather Sazideas—who wished to appear impartial—attempted to persuade the others to reconsider, but their efforts were in vain.
Thus, Sazideus announced that his young grandson would be sent to Movinto of Akbazán, as decided by the majority of the council.
Hearing her father sending her son to Akbazan, Aphené collapsed to her knees in sobs and cried out to everyone, asking how it was possible to send a seven-year-old child to Movinto, a reformatory meant for adolescents fourteen years old and above.
The blue-eyed Aphené's eyes filled with tears, but the decision had been made and no one listened to her. Only Soména embraced her daughter and tried to comfort her.
Thus, Etydameas remained for one week in his cell at the palace of Sazideas, so that his family could bid him farewell and prepare him emotionally, as well as ready his belongings for Akbazan. The council had decided that he would be sent to Movinto of Kezan for at least one year, and depending on his conduct, they would later decide whether it was necessary for him to continue his imprisonment in Akbazan or not.
All the boy's relatives, though saddened, could not oppose the decision of the Council of the Odyvians. Not even Sazideas and Kyrganos, who were immensely powerful, thought to request a change in the punishment.
Aphené departed in tears, but this time she would not remain idle. Perhaps the previous time she had done nothing to help her husband, Torpineas, but now there was no chance she would abandon their only son.
Thus, on that very same day, when she visited Etydameas in his cell, she informed him that he would be sent to Akbazan, and she also revealed the entire truth about his father, who was imprisoned there as well with a life sentence.
She recounted all the events to him and explained why, nearly four years earlier, his father had vanished from their lives. She also told him that, as far as she knew, he was serving his sentence in the region of Echepyros, where most of the condemned Kikanes were believed to be held.
She explained everything from the beginning—the great war between the Kikanes and the Odyvians. In addition, she described how dreadful and dangerous Akbazan was, warning him of the horrors that awaited there.
Finally, Aphené said to him:
"Listen, my child, there in the reformatory of Movinto you will be far from us, your family, and we will not be able to help you. In Movinto all the other children will be much older than you, and they are not there because they were kind and well-behaved children. Therefore, you must remain cautious and trust no one!"
Then she asked him to give her something personal of his, such as a bracelet or, preferably, a chain.
At that moment, Etydameas reached into his pocket and took out the dragon pendant that had been gifted to him by his uncle Enithipeas. He handed it to her, and Aphené, raising her wand, whispered several spells and enchanted the dragon necklace.
She handed it back to him and said:
"Whenever you use the spell 'Sontos,' the enchanted dragon necklace will show you the direction toward the exits of Akbazan. I give you this enchanted necklace so that you and your father may escape together. But first, you must find a wand, and once you succeed, go immediately to Torpineas and give him the wand along with the necklace. Then your father will know exactly what to do so that you may both escape safely from the prison of Akbazan."