A Mage Reborn, Book Two (WIP) - UPDATED April 5th, 2025 | Book One Released!

[lairiend]

@Barroth_the_Mage

Maybe Leon would be frustrated, but I think he would have respected the MC’s wishes.

@Terin_Lost

I don’t think there would be a Param without using MC’s phantasma.

these to me are the two things leon has to square during the campaign: the fact that it is not going to be possible for them to take back param without using phantasma and the knowledge that doing so will always hurt and one day likely kill mc. this is the sort of choice the leon of the white fangs would have really balked at, but i think he felt like he failed julius by not being able to stop mireil from killing him; failing to take back param would be the final, ultimate failure of everything julius believed in, and it’s his express responsibility as king not to let that happen.

i think, without either of them really knowing it, something fundamentally broke in leon and the mc’s relationship after leon became king. before the ball, if you’re doing the leon-mance, a big chunk of what he and the mc have in common is they’re both huge bleeding hearts who want to save everyone. leon approves of them doing some truly dangerous bonkers shit (i.e. some adventurous uses of spirit gates at the bandit encampment, saving everyone at the plague village but passing out) if it helps people.

this comes from a good place from both him and mc. mc’s martyr complex is very interesting to me though bc with only two notable exceptions, every important person in mc’s life before the white fangs treated them like a resource. i don’t think they have any idea of how to set healthy boundaries of what other people should demand from them. i think subconsciously they anticipate that all relationships are extractive on some level.

so while the repercussions of overextending themselves are fairly minor and short-lived, this is all well and good. but that changes dramatically after mireil shows up. we have a hideous intersection between leon’s need to avenge julius and knowing that phantasma is the only way to do it and the mc’s expectation that if you want to be valued/loved/safe, you have to be providing something.

@Terin_Lost

Finding out that it’s possible MC’s ill fitting phantasma would kill them and still having them use it almost every battle? Param treated MC like a legendary pokemon.

i am kissing you on the mouth for this @Terin_Lost. this is what i would say is the grand product of the change in the relationship that mireil brings about. by the time of the pyre, leon had been ready to sacrifice the mc for years because he’s the king and that’s what he feels his duty to param is. he feels guilty, but in the end, he never expresses any squeamishness about the toll its exacting on mc (that’s ilya!).

i dont doubt at all that he loves them wholly (platonically or romantically), but after mireil shows up, it’s not a love without expectations. and it’s not like. a super enjoyable way to be loved. and i don’t think he would still love them if they were willing to walk away. but that’s just my take; it is fantastic to see what everyone else thinks.

@Barroth_the_Mage

@Terin_Lost

Now that Param is without their savior, they are really up creek without a paddle.

After that, I just want my MC to live the rest of his life with Eli in peace. Param, Salantira, and Arcadia can go for each other’s throat for all he cares.

it is also my great dream for my mc to one day have like a normal relationship with another human being.

also i hope no one interprets this as leon bashing. the rotting of this relationship enchants me. the most divorced couple energy of any if. the mountain goats wrote no children about THEM

the mountain goats - no children

[Penguin_Dokutah]

@Elentari

Well, we’re about to get a look at Ilya and Leon in the next update, so I’m holding tight for that one.

What? Really? Those two are gonna have some screentime in the next update? (Plz be true I’m from “miss Ilya” to “desperate for Ilya” almost half a year already)

[Arella]

This is a fascinating analysis and reading it was sort of like finally getting to the weekend after a very, very long week! I agree with most if not all of your points, and I think it is especially fitting for non-pragmatic MCs.

Honestly, even for pragmatic MCs, they seem willing to sacrifice… a lot of things that they probably shouldn’t be, as long as they believe it will somehow benefit those around them. Most often it’s their own health. Later on, it’s, somewhat the lives of others, like with the duke.

I think you can also make the MC a clear mirror to Eli in this way, as they are both routinely shown as being willing to go through horrible shit for the good of the many/those they hold dear. It’s almost like the MC learned how to be this way from Eli, albeit unintentionally. Just like Leon feels like he has to make something up to Julius, it’s like the mage feels like they have to make something up to Eli for their sacrifice.

I am frankly terrified (positive) for how the MC will do with Arcadia, and how their constant self-sacrifice will impact their relationships with the characters there, and their own future.

[idonotlikeusernames]

@Mahmed

kinda weird team SnakeFace don’t try to take her in alive since shes West Arcadia, born and raised, she is a gold mine of information crucial to Tahlia

Not weird at all…god Empress Thalia does not tolerate potential competition. Besides old Arcadians were jerks who didn’t even share info crucial to sustaining their own civilization with their own friggin’ kids so they’re not going to share anything at all with complete strangers.

@Mahmed

said phanthasmas die together with their weilder and she was from original Arcadia

Maybe she doesn’t know either, from old Arcadia she may be, but if the policy of the elders not sharing a lot of crucial info was already in place for her generation it may simply be that she doesn’t know either.
I do think separation without the silly ritual can be harmful to the Phantasma, I just doubt that it is lethal to them.

@Mahmed

if it isn’t Earthsworn

It’s pretty clear it isn’t, if anything using the Earthworm is even more debilitating than using the other one.

@Mahmed

Maybe then we can have a conversation with them coz im dying for them to communicate like other Arcana users seem to be able to do.

The mc cannot, because they cannot sustain any summoning for longer than five seconds or so and at great pain at that. Technically I suppose the mc could “talk” with them for all of those five seconds, but those won’t be long and conducive conversations.

[Elentari]

Yes! Tumblr link: A Mage Reborn

[lairiend]

@Arella

I think you can also make the MC a clear mirror to Eli in this way, as they are both routinely shown as being willing to go through horrible shit for the good of the many/those they hold dear. It’s almost like the MC learned how to be this way from Eli, albeit unintentionally. Just like Leon feels like he has to make something up to Julius, it’s like the mage feels like they have to make something up to Eli for their sacrifice.

first and foremost:

secondly: OH MY GOD youre right they learned it from eli! and the parallel between eli/mc and leon/julius i was thinking about how mireil in particular might have taught the mc that friendship/love is something that can be withdrawn once they aren’t useful anymore. to mc, it probably seemed like she loved them until she didn’t need them anymore. after that, she was happy to get rid of them. if i were in the mc’s shoes, i think i would see a parallel between mireil and leon, even if that was unfair.

but i think you’re completely right that eli, who was like the great guiding light for mc in their childhood, was just as much of an influence on them! eli’s way of loving the mc was being willing to take on their burdens, first in the lab and later when they died so mc could escape. this is pretty much their only positive role model pre-bess for how you should act in a relationship. it’s incredibly selfless but in a way it teaches mc the same thing they learned from the altiniers, except this time, it’s their idea. BRUTAL.

[bored92]

I’m pretty sure he meant the update after the next one in October.

[Elentari]

This Tumblr post was written before the poll, so it’s very likely that the October update includes the Ilya content given how large the update will be.

[Terin_Lost]

@lairiend

eli’s way of loving the mc was being willing to take on their burdens, first in the lab and later when they died so mc could escape.

I know Eli said they don’t regret what they did and that they’d do it again in a heartbeat for MC, but I’m pretty sure Eli knows that MC picked up the “I’ll kill for you. I’ll die for you” attitude from them and wishes they hadn’t.

Depending on which dialogue choices are made, Eli is either happy that MC is willing to be a bit more selfish or unnerved that MC somehow stayed the same despite everything.

I’m glad someone else picked up the parallels with Eli/MC and Julias/Leon. I’d go further and say it extends to even Mireil and Saine. Saine has essentially traveled a similar road to MC. The oldest sibling who had the most expectations of them and was willing to push them into a role they didn’t want. The middle sibling who whisked them away from “danger” so they could live in relative freedom for a while.

As the youngest sibling, Saine is alienated from what’s left of his family and left to fend for himself. Leon may love him, but he doesn’t know or understand what Saine is going through. Imo, Saine and MC are kindred spirits. It’s no wonder he’s a wreck after the BBQ and to see him that way, coping considerably worse than MC just… Oof.

[Dragonlord943]

@Elentari

Well, we’re about to get a look at Ilya and Leon in the next update

On that note, what would your first words/reaction be to them after everything?

[comradelenin]

For Illya, probably give her a huge hug, talk about how good it is to see her again, and explain how I’m alive, followed by a sales pitch for our evil plan.

For Leon I was thinking something like-

“Oooooooohhhh. ooooOOOOOOOOoooohhhhh! Leomar of Param! I am the embodiment of your sins! Your time has come Leone!”

[stsword]

My Reborn Mage would get sarcastic about the statue. Note- He has a scarred face.

Leon- “A statue, really? Couldn’t have done something actually productive with the money? Feed and house war orphans? Education? Treating veterans maimed in the war? Oh no, must make an ugly statue to frighten children and scare pregnant women into early labor. Is this an emotional self flagellation thing, forcing yourself to look at an ugly statue?”

Ilya- Being the love interest, probably a hug first, and congratulations on the promotion to Saintess.

[Barroth_the_Mage]

@Dragonlord943

On that note, what would your first words/reaction be to them after everything?

For Ilya: Give her a big hug. If she cries (either in joy to see the MC again, or out of guilt because she still thinks she failed to save the MC), comfort her and thank her again for always believing in the MC. Then, congratulate her for becoming the Saintess.

As for Leon, give him a chance to explain himself. If I find his reasons satisfactory, reconcile with him. If not, I’m calling him “Leomar” from then onwards. “The Leon I knew died long ago. You are but a murderous king who wears his face.” (A reference to what Leon said to the MC in the dungeon the night before their execution.)

@stsword

Oh no, must make an ugly statue to frighten children and scare pregnant women into early labor.

LMAO!!! I died at this.

[lairiend]

OBSESSED with the idea of a potential ghost of christmas past route for reuniting with leon

[Dragonlord943]

As much as I appreciate the ghost of Christmas past idea (also a Rick and Morty joke btw), I think I’ll settle with a simple “Hello King Leomar” with a dead look in the eyes that says “I don’t hate you, but I’m not over it.” My mage is too done with everything to be angry at this point.

For Illya, a hug and a “thank you for believing in me.”

Alternatively, a funny reaction would be to suddenly drop to the ground dead of an apparent heart attack just to screw with them. Can you imagine the looks on their faces watching you die suddenly a second time after JUST getting you back? Priceless.

[lairiend]

something that i think would actually be super haunting for my mc post-BBQ is that to her, it seemed like leon turned against her completely on a dime for no obvious reason.

she tried to tell him that she had good reasons for killing the saintess, but she literally couldnt tell him what they were. she was pretty shocked that he didn’t listen to her literally at all. the leon she used to know probably wouldn’t have been so quick to believe that actually she was a monster the whole time, and she has no idea when he stopped being that person.

so i think after my mc got past the visceral emotions of the reunion (screaming, crying, biting, etc.), she’d just want to ask, “when did you stop trusting me?”

[SomeGal13]

@Dragonlord943

On that note, what would your first words/reaction be to them after everything?

My Mage is gonna hit Leon with that Sunblind energy. Just the good old pragmatic, stoic Mage just absolutely passive-aggressively dogging on him.

Leon: She’d never talk to me like this ;v;
The Mage: comes back from the dead
The Mage: Is exactly like his self-hatred ghost version of the Mage
Leon:

But she dated Ilya and looks on Sain fondly. With Ilya I think she’d just go “I still love you.” and avoid the pained topic that is her girlfriend being forced to watch her burn to death.

[Barroth_the_Mage]

@Dragonlord943

Alternatively, a funny reaction would be to suddenly drop to the ground dead of an apparent heart attack just to screw with them. Can you imagine the looks on their faces watching you die suddenly a second time after JUST getting you back? Priceless.

THAT would be priceless! Though it’s hard to imagine the MC being the jester type.

@lairiend

the leon she used to know probably wouldn’t have been so quick to believe that actually she was a monster the whole time, and she has no idea when he stopped being that person.

True. When Leon said the MC he knows has died and called my MC “a demon who wears his(my MC’s) face”, my heart shattered. To think that one of my MC’s best friends, who he believed in and has sacrificed so much of himself for, has such little faith in him really stung like no other.

[Terin_Lost]

My MC would prefer to not say anything at all. They probably couldn’t think of anything to say. Plus, staying quiet makes it easier not to cry.

[Kungoru]

For real, I would love to have an option to not say anything to our former friends, but something like that will probably skip a lot of possible content so the second best thing for me is to be completely apathetic towards Leon and be mildly uncomfortable with Ilya and Saine.