Welcome to another chapter of "For Myself".

I wanted for this update to come out a bit faster, but somewhere along the line, I decided to do a rewrite of my first story. I wanted to write it for a long time so I finally did it. I mostly released it to see if people would like it, so if you have some spare time, I would be glad if you could give me your opinion about the rewrite (It is an HP/PJO crossover, called "Forgotten").

Apart from that after the last chapter, you guys gave me many different opinions. Many of you didn't like the addition of Ralnor and I can somehow understand that. Some of you probably think that he will steal time from Harry or that his character is completely useless. Are you right? I don't think so, but we will see as the story goes. I want Ralnor's character to be Harry's companion as he travels through the Known World. How long will they stay connected? Quite long that I can tell you.

Even then I would like to thank all of you guys who like what I put in the story. Yes, we didn't touch the canon yet. Yes, I am showing a lot of the world that we never knew much about. And yes, I am adding bits of history from myself. But really is it that bad? There are plenty of stories out there that just do a canon rehash so that is why I wanted to do something else. We will get to some more familiar territories soon, but let me show you what I still have to show. And one more thing, before you tell me that I am adding original aspects to the world, please go and read the wiki first so you won't make an idiot out of yourself. I already got a few PMs like that and it is getting irritating.

Okay, my rant is finished, sorry for that but if I didn't explain it here then I would keep getting the same PMs over and over again.

Today we are moving on the Yi Ti arc. It will be shorter than Leng arc and after that, I got maybe one more arc before we head to some more familiar territories.

Enjoy the chapter.

Beta:

Chapter 12. Karma is a lovely thing

"It is a pity that almost all of the books were destroyed during your long stay here and those that survived I destroyed with my attack," spoke Harry sadly as he looked at the pile of destroyed books and scrolls.

"True, but from what I saw in your memories, you are already quite a knowledgeable sorcerer. Even the mages of old couldn't do some of the things that you could in your old world," replied his new companion as he searched through the Vault in hopes of finding anything useful.

Harry shook his head, "It will take me years before I recreate some of the spells and magic arts that I could do. Maybe if I had a focus it would be easier."

Ralnor stopped for a moment and gained a thoughtful expression, "You mean those wands?"

The younger male nodded, "Yes. Wands were tools used by wizards and witches so they could control their magic to a higher degree. I remember that in some other countries people used different types of foci, but I never saw any."

"Interesting... I never heard of people using any sort of... what did you call it? Ah yes, foci. No, every sorcerer needed to learn how to control their magic. It was a long and hard process, but at least we could always use our magic. The only thing reminds me of any kind of focus is my old weapon," Ralnor said pointing at the short sword that was still lying on the ground.

Harry raised an eyebrow at the last statement, "Right, you said that your weapon was powerful. So you think that I can use it as a focus?"

The man frowned, "Not really a focus. I never felt like I could control my magic better with it, but unlike almost any weapon out there, this sword was made to handle getting magic channeled through it. See for yourself."

Harry looked at Ralnor then back at the sword and shrugged. There was no reason to not try and Harry already checked if the weapon was cursed or not.

With the decision made Harry took the weapon into his hand. It was a bit heavier than his short-sword, but nothing that Harry couldn't get used to. He tested it with a few experimental swings before he sent some magic to it.

Unlike Blackfyre where the magic fought him to even touch the weapon, with Ralnor's sword, his magic went right into it and the weapon began releasing a quiet humming sound.

Curious Harry pointed the sword at a small rock and used one of the harder transfigurations on it. Like expected the magic worked, but it still took as much focus from Harry as earlier.

Sighing Harry released the transfiguration, "So I can channel magic through it without problems, but it doesn't work like a foci."

Ralnor nodded as he expected such an outcome, "Understandable. Those wands your people used had parts of some creatures in them so that might be the reason."

Harry looked at his new companion in surprise before chuckling, "You know it is still weird how you know almost everything about my old life. I should probably be mad at you for going through my memories, but I would do the same if I was in your situation."

Ralnor smiled a bit, "I am glad that you understand, our partnership would be a lot harder if we were at each other throats all the time. Now back to the sword, try channeling your elemental magic into it."

Harry did just that and sent some fire magic into the weapon.

The blade instantly began to burn with bright flames. Harry quickly changed the magic to ice and watched as the sword's edges became sharper and wider thanks to the ice that appeared on the weapon.

"Bloody hell. You don't even know how many different ideas that give me," Harry whispered as he looked at the weapon in awe.

"As I said, it is a very powerful blade. Now let's get going. You already collected as much gold as you could and there is nothing else left is this forsaken Vault," Ralnor spoke inside Harry's mind, startling the boy a bit.

"Shit, At least warn me before you go back into my body," Harry grumbled as he strapped his new weapon to his left hip and the old short-sword to the right. He then returned Blackfyre to its sheat on his back, picked up his bag and slung it on his shoulder.

Ralnor was right, they stayed in the Vault a few hours so Harry could recover and then collect as many things as he wanted. One thing was for sure, Harry wouldn't have money problems for a very long time. No more unimportant small jobs.

"So do I need to search for the signs I left for myself or can you lead me back to the same entrance I used?" asked Harry as he walked out of the Vault.

"Just follow my lead I can navigate this place without any problems."

"So how is it to finally be out of this hellhole?" asked Harry as he finally came out from the underground.

"Refreshing," replied Ralnor as he materialized next to Harry.

The younger male raised an eyebrow, "Really? Refreshing that's all?"

Ralnor shrugged, "Don't get me wrong, I am really glad to finally be out, but what do you expect me to do? Dance, shout?" he shook his head, "No the sights are enough for me. Now tell me what are you planning to do next?"

"You didn't see my plans when you looked into my mind?" Harry asked curiously.

"As I said, I only took the most important information. I only know that you plan to go to Yi Ti," Ralnor answered casually.

Harry climbed another rock as the moved forward and thought about his plans. He wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere so there was no need to rush. Besides, it would be crucial to get more familiar with his new companion and maybe train some abilities. He was really close to completing the animagus transformation so if Harry focused a bit more time into the transformation then maybe he would be able to use the change before they arrived in Yi Ti.

"We will stop by the village I lived in before going into the ruins. We can decide what to do next later, I am not in a hurry to go anywhere," Harry finally answered as they left the ruins behind.

Ralnor nodded, "Fine with me. We still need to find the limits of our connection."

Without waiting for an answer the elder man again went back into Harry's body. They would arrive at the village soon and there was no reason to scare anyone.

Two months later, late 292 AC

Time slowly went by after the duo arrived at the village. As the village was small Harry and Ralnor had no problems with getting in and out. At first, the two mostly spent their time trying to find some familiar ground and building up their trust.

They mostly talked about Harry's past life and Ralnor's training as those were by far the only interesting parts of their life. Even though they could look into each other's mind they preferred to just talk things out. Slowly the two got more used to the other presence, but there were still moments when things got awkward.

Besides that, the two spent their time training their abilities and figuring out how their new connection worked.

After a longer inspection of the bond, Harry was quite sure that even though the connection was very strong, it still could be broken. Both companions quickly agreed that until they found a safe way to separate them, they wouldn't do anything. Both of them preferred to remain alive and unfortunately none of them specialized in any type of magic that would help with the connection.

Apart from that, they found out that Ralnor could wield normal weapons without any problem, though he still refused to take his short-sword back. Thanks to this Harry finally had a sparring partner that was closer to his level with a sword. Ralnor was quite embarrassed that even though he was much older than Harry, the boy was still tied with him in a fight. The elder man blamed his failure on the lack of practice during his years of imprisonment.

The two also tested out their magic to see if anything changed. Harry's magic worked like it used to, but Rolnor had some problems with his earth element. It was nothing that couldn't be fixed, but the elder sorcerer was still irritated that his magic was hit. At least they could teach each other about some aspect of magic that the other hadn't known about. Unfortunately, they couldn't use the other's elements, but that was expected.

After a month in the village, Harry finally decided to start moving in the direction of Leng Ma. The younger male wanted to take a ship from there and travel to Yin, the current capital of Yi Ti.

They traveled slowly and far from the official roads that connected the cities. Ralnor wanted to interact more with the outside world and Harry didn't really care how they would travel. He wanted more time to practice magic anyway so he was fine with that.

It was during one of Harry's attempts to transform that Ralnor finally asked what Harry was doing. The young wizard gladly explained the process and to say that Ralnor was surprised would be putting it mildly. Of course, he saw some mentions of animagus transformation in Harry's memories, but it wasn't important back then so he just forgot about it.

Harry asked the man if he wanted to learn, but Ralnor refused, stating that the occlumency lessons were enough for now.

It didn't take long for the two to get attacked by some wildlife, but the animals couldn't even get close to two experienced magicians. Still, they welcomed the challenge, Ralnor especially as it was a long time since he saw or fought against anything other than humans. It also helped to work out some frustration after some hard training sessions.

All in all, Harry was glad to have someone he could talk and train with during his travels. The situation with their connection wasn't perfect, but the two knew that it could have gone a lot worse.

Finally, after a bit more than a month of slow traveling the duo found themselves before the main gates to Leng Ma.

"Excited to finally see the capital for yourself?" Harry asked in his mind.

"A bit. It will be nice to see what remains of the great Empire of Leng for myself," his companion answered back, "Still I would be more interested if the same Empire wasn't the one to imprison me for years."

Even after all those years Ralnor still held onto his grudge against the ones who left him closed in the Vault. Maybe not the most logical action, but with time it just became natural for him. Like a natural defense mechanism.

"Can't blame you for holding a grudge, just remember they are not the same people. Things changed, centuries passed and most of those people don't even remember the fall of the old Empire," said Harry as he walked through the gate. Their next stop, the docks.

"Maybe you are right..." Ralnor answered before trailing off. The same thing happened a lot lately and Harry was beginning to worry that maybe something was wrong with his companion.

It started after Ralnor found out that magic in the whole Know World was now rare. It was quite mind-boggling for the ancient man as in his time magic was almost everywhere. At least it explained why after some time anyone who came into the ruins had almost no magic inside them. Harry himself didn't know what happened to the world beyond the fact that some of the reason was tied to dragons.

Deciding to finally get his answers, Harry called out, "Alright Ralnor. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Harry almost managed to arrive at docks before Ralnor decided to answer, "I apologize. I was just trying to get a better feel on the magic in Leng Ma. I still can't believe that real magic users are so rare nowadays. If the soldiers really can only use some magic to make themselves stronger and faster, then it is really pathetic what became of magic. I can't believe that it would just disappear like that."

"So that's what is troubling you... I can't really tell you anything new as we already spoke about this. Still, the situation in these regions is a lot better than in the west. There, magic users are even harder to find from what I know. I wonder if the return of Dragons would at least help strengthen the magic."

"You are referring to your egg," stated Ralnor as he already saw the dragon egg in Harry's possession, "It is a shame that I was never interested in Valyrian history. They were known throughout the whole world for their powerful magic and control over dragons. It is unbelievable that they were destroyed. Another mystery that I would like to know the answer to."

Harry sighed, "You are not the only one. I guess that we will just need to go there and see what happened there. Still, I am not going there until I am sure that I can survive there."

Ralnor snorted, "It certainly didn't stop you from exploring the ruins."

"Yeah and I almost died because of stupidy. I thought that I was prepared and almost paid the price with my life. Now let's find a ship, I want to get away from this island."

With the conversation finished, Harry spent the next hour walking around and asking people if there was any ship that was willing to take him to Yin. Unfortunately, most of the ships in that direction already left and those that still remained didn't take any passengers.

It took Harry almost another hour before he found a captain of a ship that could take them near Yin. Not really what the young sorcerer wanted, but it was better than nothing. Harry quickly paid the man enough gold for a room on the ship to sleep in before walking away as they would only depart tomorrow morning.

Harry spent the night in the nearest inn where he again tried to change into his animagus form. Thankfully the progress was showing and if Harry was right than in a few more days he would be able to change completely.

The next morning saw Harry board the ship that would drop him and some other people some distance away from Yin. He still didn't know why they wouldn't arrive in Yin's port, but for now, Harry could wait with getting his answers. He still needed to perfect his animagus transformation and the closed quarters below the deck should give him enough privacy.

That was how the duo spent their first few hours on the sea. Ralnor used this time to practice his occlumency so no time was wasted.

It was a few hours later that Harry finally decided to get some fresh air that they stopped their practice. It had been a long time since Harry traveled by ship and for Ralnor it something completely new. It was quite sad that even though the man was older than the entire crew of the ship summed up, he never left Leng even once.

Of course, Harry didn't mention the fact to his companion and just let Ralnor enjoy the new experience. Instead, Harry approached two members of the crew.

One of the crew members noticed him approaching and called out, "Here you are lad. I and Capitan were wondering if you are gonna spent the whole trip in your quarters."

Harry shrugged, "I just needed to get some rest. Couldn't sleep too well last night."

"We can understand that very well lad, isn't that right Thoro?" the Capitan said with a laugh.

The now identified Thoro snorted, "I highly doubt that the kid had the same reasons that we had Capitan. How old are you kid? Three and ten? Four and ten?"

Before Harry could even answer the Capitan cut in, "Bah. And who cares, the lad looks like a fighter I bet that no one would refuse him wine or a quick fuck."

Harry shifted uncomfortably, he knew that some people were quite blunt in this world, but that was a new one. Plus he didn't like how the Capitan pointed his two short-swords at his hips. Thankfully Blackfyre was hidden under the cloak, the last thing that Harry needed was someone releasing a rumor that a kid was traveling with Valyrian steel weapon.

Thoro seeing that Harry was getting uncomfortable sighed before addressing the boy, "Never mind... and don't listen to Ario, he is still a bit drunk," he then paused for a moment to lean on the mast next to him, "Anyway, is there anything that you need kid?"

"It is Harry and no, not really. I only wanted to ask why you are not stopping in Yin's port."

Surprisingly both sailors chuckled at the question, "Eh, it is not really a secret so I might as well tell you," Thoro answered and then pointed at the Capitan, "As you can see this idiot here likes to drink too much. So during one of our stays in Yin, we went to for a drink in one of the more popular inns there. Our lovely Capitan somehow in his drunken state managed to seduce a young woman and you can probably guess how their night ended."

Harry nodded fully knowing what happened, but he was really confused about how this story was related to anything.

Thoro seeing Harry's confusion continued, "You see my young friend, normally it wouldn't be a problem, but the next day it came out that the woman was the daughter of the port manager. So as you can expect the man was quite cross with us so we wisely decided to avoid Yin for the next few months. Just in case," the man finished with a snicker.

"I regret nothing, she was worth it," piped in the Capitan.

"So worth that you don't even remember her name," laughed Thoro.

Harry himself chuckled at the situation and he knew that Ralnor was also amused. The young sorcerer thanked the two for their time and walked away to find a quiet place on board so he could watch the sights and relax for a bit.

"It is incredible how much I missed in my life. I would have never thought that something as simple as watching waves could be so relaxing," Ralnor spoke quietly and Harry was glad that the ancient man was finally relaxed.

"Yes, it is...

It took them almost two weeks due to the bad weather to stop some way from Yin. Both Harry and Ralnor enjoyed their trip as even though the weather wasn't the best, it was at least something different than the jungles of Leng. Hopefully, Yi Ti would be more interesting.

Harry mostly spent those two weeks getting to know some members of the crew as he thought that they were pretty interesting people. They told him some of the news from Slaver's Bay and shared stories that mostly embarrassed other members. All in all, Harry enjoyed the experience immensely, it has been a long time since he met people who were so easy to talk with and didn't care about his age.

Yes, sometimes they asked questions why someone so young was traveling alone, but after Harry only gave them vague answers, they just gave up. It was somehow amusing for Harry when he saw the reaction to his bullshit answers.

Now just as Harry was waiting for them to stop completely, Thoro approached him and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"It was nice to meet you kid, I hope that we will meet again someday. I really want to know what in the seven hells you want to do in Yi Ti."

Harry shrugged lightly, "I don't know if I ever plan to travel to Slaver's Bay or back here, so the chances of us meeting again are small. Still, I enjoyed my trip with you so who knows."

Thoro shook his head, "And here you are wrong kid, we are planning to travel to Myr. So if you are ever in the area we just might meet again."

"Myr?" Harry asked curiously, "Why would you go change your normal route and go there?"

"From what we heard from our friends over there, someone rich settled down there and is looking for crews with ships to do some jobs for him. He pays well so I and the crew will be sailing there to check it out."

Harry hummed lightly, "Interesting... If you and the crew will be regulars there then we will probably be seeing each other sooner than I expected. Anyway, give the crew my thanks, I need to get going."

Thoro waved him off, "No problem kid, try to not get yourself killed out there."

Harry gave the man the last nod and walked off the ship. Now he just needed to go straight until he happened upon the roads. From what he read they were as good as Valyrian dragonroads so he shouldn't miss them.

Day later

The roads of Yi Ti definitely deserved their high opinion. Harry didn't know if they were as good as the one created by Valyrians, but the roads of Yi Ti looked like something straight out of his old world. Still, after a few hours of walking along the road, both Harry and Ralnor decided to stray a bit and walk closer to the forests.

At first, nothing happened and the duo was left to wander the clam forest. Of course, the peace didn't last long and they were attacked by basilisks. Thankfully basilisks of this world were not even half as dangerous as the ones from Harry's last world.

There were five of them and they were no larger than a medium-sized dog. Basilisks of this world had a reptile body with six legs and long tails. Their gaze couldn't kill people but from what Harry read about them, their venom was lethal.

Thankfully with the use of Harry's ice magic, a few well-placed reductor curses, and Ralnor's earth magic, the basilisks were quickly dealt with, even if the amount of magic used was enough to tire Harry a bit.

"You don't even know how glad I am that basilisks in this world are small reptiles," Harry said with a chuckle. They just stopped for a moment to regain some strength.

"There was something wrong with your world. A giant creature that could kill you by making eye contact? No thank you," Ralnor stated after Harry showed him the memory of the Basilisk form his second year in Hogwarts.

Both companions looked at each other as they heard the sounds of horses coming in their way. Ralnor quickly went back into Harry's body and Harry hid in the nearest bushes.

A few seconds later five horse riders or rather zorse riders galloped right next to Harry. All of the riders were dressed in black clothes and their faces were hidden under hoods. Even then Harry's attention was brought to one of the riders who was carrying another person on his zorse.

It was a young boy maybe eight-year-old, he was tied with a rope and his mouth was covered so he wouldn't be able to emit a sound. Harry didn't get more time to observe them as the zorses didn't stop and ran ahead.

For a second Harry wanted to intervene, but then he realized that he would only put himself in another dangerous situation like an idiot. Yes, he wanted to help the boy, but he was way past the point where he rushed into dangerous situations without a plan.

No, if they were running so fast then probably someone was chasing them. For now, Harry really wanted to get to Yin that was just about an hour away from his current position.

"Don't worry too much. If you really want to help the boy then we will resupply and then we can think of going after them. Besides we would need a horse if we want to catch them," Ralnor quickly cut in.

"...Alright."

About twenty minutes later Harry arrived before the huge walls of Yin. The city was a lot bigger than anything than Harry saw to this day. If he was to bet then there were probably more than million of people living inside those walls and a lot more in the area surrounding the city.

Like Harry expected many things here remained him of Imperial China. The architecture style, style of dressing, or even weapons wielded by soldiers. All in all, Harry and Ralnor enjoyed the sights and momentarily they forgot about the kidnapped boy they encountered not long before. At least on the way to city they saw a few parties of riders rushing in the same direction so that was something.

The duo was brought out of their thought by the guards at the gate, "Stop right there," the guard called out, thankfully in a language Harry could understand, "Yin is currently on lockdown and no foreigners are allowed in."

Harry groaned as he could already feel the headache coming, "Can I at least know the reason why I am not allowed in?"

The guard remained silent for a moment before nodding, "I can only say that an important member of our society was kidnapped. Now please turn around and leave."

"You've got to be kidding me..." Harry thought annoyed as he turned back and walked back in the direction of the forest.

"We can't be that unlucky, there is just no way..." Ralnor added in exasperation.

Harry chuckled lightly, "You are going to find out sooner or later that with me everything is possible. Now it is time to start our own chase."

The young sorcerer then hid behind the trees and focuses with all his might before he channeled all of his magic through his body. Slowly his form began to shrink an instead of a young male, a Peregrine Falcon stood in his place. Finally, the animagus transformation was completed

"Let's see if I still remember how to fly."

So here you go people. Another chapter finished.

More interactions between Ralnor and Harry. An introduction of ship crew that we will see again in the future and finally Potter Luck in Yi Ti. The one time Harry doesn't help someone this shit happens. Karma is a bitch eh?

The next chapter will have more action and more of Yi Ti. I will probably make another time skip and after that, we will be moving on. Oh, and I might have fucked up the timeline a bit. Somewhere along the line, I deleted some of my notes and now I needed to make some calculation what year my story is taking place in. I am right then it should be very late 292 AC at the end of this chapter with Harry being a few months away from his 13th birthday.

I really need to read my own story again and see if I missed something... Oh well just another thing to do, yay me.

With that said I thank you all for reading this chapter. I hope that you enjoyed it.

Have a good day/night.