"Huh…" Tercius murmured. Frankly, he wasn't that surprised. The existence of Seliana's skill had made Tercius wonder if specific high-level skills could make someone biologically unaging and now he had his confirmation. If mages had 'ways' to produce a similar final effect, then it was probably through spells… and most spells came from a thorough study of skill effects. "These ways of —"

"I can't talk about that with you, at least not just yet. Should I share with you anything before you get the necessary clearance, I would compromise my standing with the Repository,"

A few things immediately came to mind, all important topics to ask someone higher in the hierarchy of the Pyramid. After a few moments of silence, he had his decision. "But … Mistress, aren't you a Head Archivist? Can't you just … give me this clearance?"

"In this, as far as the Repository is concerned, every mage is equal," Mistress Kalina stated. "Even I must earn my own points and that is all that I can say about the matter,"

"Oh …" Tercius nodded. Months ago, during a particularly memorable discussion, Mistress Helfira had said something similar. Although it seemed that few among the populace, magi or non-magi, believed that to be true. "So —"

"Before you ask any questions related to the Repository, let me say this: you will only get your answers when you have proper clearance,"

With a tight smile, Tercius swallowed the question down. It had indeed been about the Repository. He wasn't sure what he could ask now… "Can I ask about the clearance?"

The Mistress nodded, a small smile on her face. "I can tell you that the Oath of the Archivists is the first step to get it,"

"I see … What kind of oath is it?" Tercius asked, remembering Septimus' contract of silence.

"A simple statement of responsibility. Once the Oath is said, written, or gesticulated in Magik, then from that point on a new Archivist is held accountable for doing his or her job properly, until the retirement,"

"And what if they err on the job? What are the penalties?"

"Depends on the circumstances … Was it an accident? What were the intentions of the transgressor, if it was by design? What were the results?" The woman shrugged. "You will learn these things in a proper time if you choose to pursue this path…"

"And how does one become Head Archivist?" Tercius asked.

"Become an Archivist and then grows old enough," the woman said, mirth lacing her voice. "I joined the Repository in my forties and stayed as a simple Archivist for almost nine decades,"

Tercius exhaled and shook his head in disbelief. "Do people … well … I never heard of … oh Hells… my mind can't get a grip…"

"It can take a while to accept something like this…” the woman said. “I'm sure you've been told that you should develop your Well properly,"

Tercius nodded. "Yes, I’ve been told. Twice, actually. Is that …"

"Your teachers will encourage Well growth, and later, when you join one of the Guilds, your seniors will do the same. There will be other hints along the way and it's left up to individuals if they can pick up these nuggets. It isn't too hard if a student is dedicated to the craft and keeps an open mind and senses," the Mistress smiled. "I had my first doubts during my fourth year of the Academy when I realized that great magi of previous generations tend to vanish without a trace … by my fifth, I was almost sure of it and then I proceeded to find out if my theory is true. I mean it's not even fair how easy it was… A fair warning, lest you compromise your standing with the Repository: you too can hint and vaguely advise, but never outright discuss, write, or in any other way communicate, about Energy with anyone who is not an active Energy manipulator,"

Tercius looked down to the carpet as a pang of regret coursed through him. That ship had sailed for him a while back… Suddenly, he wished that he hadn’t told anyone about the Energy, that he had kept quiet to Lux, to Rona, Septimus, Petra, and even Ciron… when they had asked. Schooling his facial muscles to tighten, he endured the flood of self-disappointment and borderline disgust that followed those wishes, even as he invoked Meditation to step in. Now was not the time for these things.

“... Why? Why is this secrecy necessary?” he asked, freshly numb.

“Can’t tell you that, I’m afraid. You will have to learn that later,” the woman stated as she looked at him with inquisitive eyes.

She probably noticed the skill, Tercius thought. “Right… err… is there a name for magi who use Energy?”

“We … I think that I can speak for the majority when I say this, we don’t like exposure of any kind. A name would defeat that purpose … so no, we don’t have a name. All of the senior staff of the Academy and the Guilds know about us, but … Even I don’t know how many Energy using magi exist, especially those of the generations that stand above mine. After all these years, I still get surprised when I see someone unfamiliar walking through the hallways of the Repository,” the orange-haired Mistress admitted.

Tercius asked, surprised. “Does that happen often?”

“From time to time, yes. You have to understand that while the Academy is old, the Pyramid, and especially the Repository, predate it,”

“Is… wait a second…" Tercius said as something else dawned on him. "What about Grand-Master Tergaron? Is he … The Prime?”

“I can’t talk about that,” Mistress Kalina shook her head.

Tercius sighed, frustrated. Every time an interesting question arose, the answer seemed to be the same. “Right…”

Mistress Kalina smiled ruefully. “Once upon a time I was in your seat. How about we return to these topics at a later date? Do you have any personal questions for me, perhaps? Considering the circumstances, we should get to know each other,”

While Tercius had no trouble coming up with questions to ask about the Pyramid, the Academy, or even magic, the topic the Mistress posed proved a more difficult one to speak about. Slowly and with much more hesitation than he had earlier, he learned some things about the background of Mistress Kalina, Head Archivist, and potential Mentor. He was hesitant mostly because he was sure that she would ask him about his family, but she never did, which was a relief. Even if Mistress Kalina had the best intentions, he was not sure if the presence of his family would change something.

Other than her age, the woman was open to any other question he posed.

Born at the Pyramid, her father was from Sogea, and her mother from Zagea. An only child of non-magi, she never had a husband or wife and had pursued her craft with the single-mindedness any decent mage ought to have a speck of. She joined the Guild of Alchemists straight out of the Academy and became a Mistress of Alchemy by her twenty-sixth cycle. Warding, a specialist defensive discipline that technically belonged under Enchanting and a few other branches of magic, became her second discipline of choice, decades later.

She had one Disciple before him, but that happened a long time ago. Stoically, she mentioned that her Disciple was no longer amongst the living.

“She… she um… You simply have to get used to it. People you know will die all the time, even those who learn to use Energy don’t necessarily survive…” the Mistress said slowly, her eyes downcast and gaze empty. “Explosive experiments, hostile environments and creatures during expeditions, there are even spells and skills that are dangerous to learn and have … and then, finally, there is the natural conclusion of life. People you knew from the moment you were born to the moment they died… From my generation of forty-two graduates of the Academy, I am the only one still living. Sometimes—” her green eyes looked at Tercius and then she shook her head as her eyes regained focus. “Sometimes… I can see why the Elders have little interaction with us,”

Tercius shouldn't have asked about the previous Disciple, he realized as an apprehension rose in him. Seeing her— a veritable elder that dwarfed his real age by a factor that was at the very least three and a half, but was probably more— slowly turning unsettled, unsettled him in turn.

"I… I'm sorry for your loss, Mistress," Tercius spoke tentatively.

They lapsed into a long silence. Tercius scratched Amber's underbelly even as she kept an eye on the seated Mistress. His thoughts kept going to his aging grandfather and grandmother; Ciron was in his mid-sixties and Rona in her mid-fifties. Both were healthy, as far as elders could be. Yet both could certainly do with a Seliana made, Tercius enhanced, pick-me-up potion of regeneration. Even if it only delayed the inevitable for half a decade, let alone if it gave them a skill similar to Seliana's, it was worth a shot.

"So Alchemy," Tercius broke the silence. "How similar is it to brewing?"

Mistress Kalina spoke at length of the differences between the two and Tercius boiled it down to two reasons.

Equipment used and spells or rather skills used.

While brewers use a multitude of tools to ply their trade, enough glassware to crowd a large room from what Tercius saw in Seliana's old house in Tripatis, along with a few essential skills, Mistress Kalina informed Tercius that an Alchemist uses only one tool, called a boiler, and a multitude of spells.

"Cooling, heating, sorting, slicing, dicing, and many many more, an Alchemist must learn to do all of these with spells of specifically morphed mana. A lot of time is spent on learning how the materials work with specific spells and going over major explosive components and known compounds. Of course, by using the boiler, a specialized tool made to imitate certain skills, trace amounts of Energy are added to each batch, and that further complicates things," Mistress Kalina said, regaining more of her previous mood the more she spoke about Alchemy.

"Mistress… I have to admit that I had an inkling that Enchanting does the same," Tercius said after a brief hesitation.

"You did?" She said, surprised, then she shook her head and stated. "You did. Well … yes, that is true. When plied with mana, a graver acts as a conduit for trace amounts of Energy,"

"And how does it do that?"

The woman shook her head. "I can't talk about that with you, not just yet,"

Tercius gave a weak laugh. "I seem to stumble upon these off-limits topics easily,"

"So it would seem," the woman smiled.

"Can I ask where these gravers come from? I know of Enchanters who aren't related to the Pyramid —"

The woman seemed amused. "Who told you that they aren't related? All gravers in the whole wide world came from our Repository, I can tell you that much. I can’t share how they are made, but I can tell you that most of these gravers were gifts freely given to talented individuals who showed a keen mind. Anyone who joins any of the Enchanting Guilds gets a free graver that they can keep. White Heavens, dear boy, I even keep a few on me at all times," the woman said and a small metal box appeared on her palm.

She opened the box and there they stood. Four fountain pens, seemingly made of glass.

“Here,” the woman said, taking out one. “A small gift,”

The pen-like object took to air, speedily arriving to hover in front of him. Tercius extended a palm and gently took it.

“The graver is very durable,” Mistress Kalina explained as Tercius looked through the pen. “So don’t worry about damaging it. Once you get Mana Metamorphosis and learn how to morph mana you can start some simple experiments. A warning though. Always start with low amounts of mana, before upping it up slowly. And don't ever add additional Energy," she added as an afterthought. "Ever! That always ends in an explosion. Regrowing fingers and arms for those who survive, and repairing charred skin isn't cheap, you should know. The Hospital has a policy of healing such idiots without any pain-reducing medications, so bear that in mind,"

Tercius thanked her and their conversation about the basics of enchanting started. Since Enchanting was casting spells in a very special way, they went there first. Over the next few hours, Mistress Kalina showed him a few more shaping exercises and Tercius made sure to mark them to the best of his ability.

“You know, I think that we stayed up all night. Morning is almost here,” Mistress Kalina said.

“What? Already?” Tercius asked, surprised. The time certainly flew by.

“Here,” the woman floated a small vial to him. “This will keep you awake for the next fifteen to eighteen hours,”

She drank a vial herself and hissed. Tercius eyed his vial for a moment and drank his. His tongue revolted at the bitterness, and he almost spat it out. As it went down, his eyes watered. Immediately, he felt alive. His skin tingled pleasantly, as he stretched out of reflex.

“Never use more than three of these in a row,” Mistress Kalina shook the small vial. “Even if the body doesn’t need sleep, the mind most certainly does,”

“I don’t even know what they are called…” Tercius said.

The Mistress gave a conspirative smile. “Care to take a guess?”

“No… no you didn’t… Energy potion?” Tercius asked tentatively and he saw the Mistress nod. “No…”

“Yes,” she smiled.

Tercius shook his head.

“Little Helfira will come for you soon, so I should be on my way,” Mistress Kalina said as she stood up. “If you need me, ask her to call for me, but try to curb your calls for important things. I do have obligations, after all. You will have to mention my last name as proof, I suspect, so remember it,”

“Zorya,”

“That’s right,” the woman nodded as she tied the mask to cover her face. She then donned the black robe and tucked her hair into the hood. “Well then, I will keep a keen eye on your grades and remember what I said: no external use of Energy on the Pyramid!”

The woman made her way to the door and stopped there. Suddenly, she turned back seemingly hesitant to say something. "You shouldn't linger near the building of the Rectorate if you can help it. I only smelled your … brand of smell, because you came close to me,”

With those words as a farewell, she left.

Tercius let out a breath he held since last night's party started. So someone in the Rectorate can sense me? And what does she mean by brand of smell?

***

“Millie,” Tercius nodded and shook her hand. “Sior,” he repeated the same farewell. “I hope both of you stay well. I know that my stay here would have been a lot more difficult without you two,”

“Thank you, Neophyte,” they echoed at the same time and hurried back to the House when they saw a masked woman come out of the front door.

“Mistress, thank you for your guidance. I learned a lot during my stay here,” Tercius said as he made a small formal bow to the Mistress.

“Just imagine how much more you will learn if you come back later… eh? I will open up an assistant’s spot at the appropriate time for you to jump in…” The masked woman smiled widely and winked at him.

A snort that had enough strength to blow out candles came behind Tercius. “Still as shameless as ever, I see,” Mistress Helfira stated.

“Mistress,” the masked woman made a small bow to Mistress Helfira. “I remember you visiting often when my Mentor ran this place. He spoke of you fondly…”

Tercius almost smiled at the blush that overcame the elder Mistress, only to hurry to move out of the way when he saw scarlet lightning start to leap from one finger to another.

The Mistress had a similar idea and she made a hasty retreat to her House. “Farewell guests of my House. Till we meet again, in a better mood!”

A slammed door later and Tercius stood in the presence of one pissed-off Mistress. With cold eyes, she looked at him. "If I hear a word of this, I know whose head will roll… Am I clear enough or would you like some clarification, student?"