The platform ride from the gate of the House to the Tunnel was a quiet affair. Tercius had hesitated from talking to the elderly Mistress, afraid that his amusement might seep through the cracks and be seen by the scowling lady.

Mistress Porfira had mentioned, when she led him to the House over a month and a half ago, that the area around the Doorway was prone to large changes and that seemed to be true enough. A grass-covered area with a wide path paved with white stone led from the Tunnel to the Doorway, and it took him a moment to adjust his bearings. The sculpted shrubbery was gone, and even the nice benches he saw when he came had been removed, leaving the area strangely flat. But all of that was secondary to his eyes. There were humans everywhere, walking back and forth across the path. This was his third time passing through here and the … diversity of the multitudes that Tercius saw was startling. He had seen something similar in Spheros and then once more in Tripatis, to a much greater degree, but that was only in terms of genetics.

Genetics played a prominent role here, certainly, as caramel-toned Sogeans, dark-skinned Isgeans, warm sun-kissed Zageans, and snow pale Nogeans, passed by him. But it was the clothes and ornaments of various colors and materials that literally stabbed his eyes and for a while, he wasn't sure why that was. After all, clothes were only a shield from the elements and protectors of privacy.

After a moment of thought, he realized what it was that hooked his eyes. There was a relative uniformity of colors among the clothes the majority of the Empire's citizens wore. Pants, skirts, shirts, and cloaks were usually light brown, sometimes gray or dirty white, simply because they were the cheapest types of cloth to manufacture, as they required no dying. For the majority of commoners, the clothes were homemade by wives and mothers from wool harvested from domesticated animals. Richer commoners, mostly enterprising merchants, and successful artisans were the ones who wore colored clothes, and then, of course, there were the nobles who wore the colors of their house.

For a moment he had imagined that he was back in the inner wall of Nurium, with Ciron and Neiran, on a job.

But he wasn’t in the Empire anymore.

Walking by the side of Mistress Helfira, Tercius noted how people flowed around the two of them, casting glances at the gray robes of the Pyramid, some wary, but most respectful. For her part, the snow-haired Mistress Helfira walked forward with purpose, her hands held behind her back. She pursed her lips, while a deep frown adorned her normally wrinkly face and Tercius guessed that even other mages would step out of the way, rather than face her as she seemed right now.

A mage in gray leather was present near the Doorway, and he kept the hexagonal field active, while the non-magi used their amulets to pass through. After all, to enter the space of the Pyramid, a personalized amulet was needed. In some ways, it was like an ID, yet for those who knew how to use it properly, it was so much more.

Slowly, they walked with deliberate steps to the building that housed the entry point into the tunnel network. The flat-roofed building seemed the same, to his first glance, but Visualization confirmed that there were more glass windows along the width of the wall that faced the Doorway, even if the style of the building remained the same. In a way, he was glad for that sense of vague familiarity, one that he didn't know he needed.

The talk he had with Mistress Kalina, one of four Head Archivists of the Repository, had unmoored him in some way. It had only been two hours since the woman left him, and he had barely had enough time to think about all that was said.

Mistress Helfira was the one he wanted to ask a few questions about Mistress Kalina, about the whole Disciple-Mentor things and a few others that occurred to him, but due to the elderly Mistress' mood and the possibility that someone might overhear, he refrained from inquiring. Instead, as they took a descending platform, Tercius thought about his situation.

At least, he had one stone off his shoulders, the one that pressed him directly. Now that he learned of the person who knew about him, and she seemed more friendly than not, at the very least he had the time to develop a bit. He needed to be as quick about it as possible, for multiple reasons, the least of which was that he would soon return to the Pyramid.

Mistress Kalina seemed a very reasonable person, and he would go as far as to say that he had enjoyed their conversation, despite the way some parts of it went. But was she acting, like he was? Or, possibly the worst option, was she being sincere? Tercius didn't think it was likely, despite what he felt. More probable was that he was an interesting thing that came her way. An experiment, of sorts. He could understand that, at least. Her gift, which sat in his breast pocket, also seemed to be gifted in good faith. He didn't know the true value of the graver, but he was sure that it wasn't as insignificant like she had insinuated. That edged on his nerves. To be in anyone's debt was not a pleasant thing.

His mention of Grand-Master Tergaron, and Mistress Kalina's prompt shutdown of the topic, had created a pressure of some kind in him. He was hesitant to even think about how many skills, to say nothing of the skill levels, that century-old mages, Hells, maybe even millennia old mages, potentially had.

A knot settled into the pit of his stomach, a cluster full of entwined emotions and thoughts that demanded his attention all at once.

His own standing with the Repository was already compromised, from what he gathered from the conversation. The implications that had for the future him and possibly Mistress Kalina if, or rather when, that came to light, were unclear. Would there be some legal persecution and punishment for him? For her? For both? What if he ended up creating some kind of vendetta with Mistress Kalina, by agreeing to her proposal before he told her all the facts?

All of this Disciple-Mentor business needed some further investigation, of that he was sure.

Still, he reasoned that just because things seem bad, they weren’t necessarily as dark as he thought. He knew of his propensity to overthink things, often for the worse, but it just felt right, to steel yourself for the worst and maybe, just maybe, allow a tiny, insignificant flame of hope for the best to remain.

***

It was around nine in the morning, when Mistress Helfira and Tercius stepped off the platform to the underground complex.

From the moment the stone wall closed behind him, he realized that something wasn't right.

"Mistress?" Tercius whispered as he adjusted Amber in his arms.

The woman scowled at him. "What?"

"I can't hear anything," he whispered. At this time of day, the place was supposed to be buzzing with voices and not … this. He could swear he heard dust settling on the white-lit hallways as he strained to find a single sound of life.

The look she sent him seemed to question his sanity, which slowly morphed into realization. "Additional staff of the Academy arrived so we moved above ground, shortly after you left for the House,"

"Oh," he said and slowly relaxed his stringed muscles.

"Protocol is such that security must be at the absolute maximum, regardless of threat level, especially when staff presence is low and large groups of students are moved off Pyramid grounds. Outside of the Pyramid, these bunkers are the best there is, defense-wise. The enchantments these stones hold…" Mistress Helfira huffed, her eyes narrowed at him. "It would take an entire Guild of specialists a week to get past these walls, provided that the Keeper does a proper job, of course,"

Tercius was startled, and it had nothing to do with the protocol or the apparent defensive magnificence of the stone. The last time they spoke, he was sure that he and the elderly Mistress were at eye-level, but now she looked up to him.

They made their way through the bunker, stopping only to greet the new Keeper, a middle-aged woman, who only observed a small greeting before she went on her way. They took a platform to the ground level, the white-lit stone tunnels suddenly replaced by a furnished decor lit by real sunlight.

There were students everywhere. A scratch in the back of his mind alerted him of the eyes that fell on him, as he took his first step off the platform.

"You are placed in the same room as before. Do you remember where it is?”

Tercius nodded.

"Good. Then one last thing. West Wing of the ground floor, last door in the hallway on the left. Be there at four sharp," Mistress Helfira informed him, turned around, and left. "We have to discuss how to catch you up to current class progress,"

Tercius took quick steps to the stairways when a small shape positioned itself before him. He recognized her instantly. Sonia. The magma affinity mage-to-be looked at him with a peculiar expression.

"Is it true?" She asked as she crossed her arms in front of her.

"What exactly?"

"That you have opened your Well," the brown-haired girl huffed.

"Can we walk and talk on the way to my room?" Tercius asked, casting a glance at the barely contained curiosity on the plethora of present faces. "I need to get ready for the next class. I missed one too many already,"

She nodded.

Swift steps led them up the stairs, the students casting glances of recognition at him.

Tercius turned away from them. "Yes, it's true. Why do you ask?"

"Why do I ask?" She repeated, her voice rising in pitch yet remaining on the same volume. "Nothing! Absolutely nothing," she finished and stormed off.

Tercius cast a glance at Amber and raised an eyebrow. The little kitten seemed to shrug with her front shoulders as she yawned, content to sleep on his arm. Tercius shrugged as well, quietly glad that whatever that was, it didn't take long to settle itself.

Chaos was the first word that came to mind when he opened the door to his room. Clothes were scattered on all three beds and Tercius sighed. He had rectified this behavior once. It seems a repeat is in order…

He placed Amber on his bed and looked around the room. He found his things, J'ro and Eunim had moved his stuff most probably, in the only closet that was properly closed.

"I need to find the washing room and get some clean sheets…" he murmured as something crashed to his right and he jumped back, one hand going for the—

"Tercius!"

Two voices echoed at the same time and he turned to the door. Eunim and Penelope stared back at him, a large smile on their faces. Tercius relaxed as he felt a similar smile form on his face. Penelope ran towards him, a mere four steps of journey, and she slammed into him with enough strength to rob him of air. The top of her dirty blonde head went just under his jaw, as she embraced him.

"Ooof," Tercius grunted as he regained his balance. "Don't you know that it's not allowed for girls to enter here?"

"Is it him?" A soft female voice asked. "Out of the way!" A commander snapped at her twin. "Say something, Eunim," Familiar voices and shuffling behind Eunim alerted Tercius of new arrivals. Lomera, Euria, and J'ro stood in the doorway, their heads trying to get a look past Eunim.

"Hey everyone," Tercius greeted the audience with a wave of one hand, the one which Penelope hadn't squeezed with her grip-like hug. "Can someone pry her off of me? Please?"

***

The time for a reunion was brief, and all six of them had to hurry to get to the class before it started.

"Our first Neophyte of the generation has returned!" Master Lazarus called from the other end of the room, his booming voice easily heard even in the other end of the mansion. The giant of a man clapped a few times as he moved down the long room towards Tercius.

"It wasn't so bad, now was it?"

With a straight face, Tercius said, "I barely remember it happened, Master,"

"Good man," Master Lazarus clapped him on his back, returning the organs Penelope earlier shifted to their proper place. With a large smile, the Master started his class.

***

"Tell us the truth!" Penelope demanded, her eyes glinting with mischief. She leaned in. "Is it true what they say about the House?"

"Ignore her," Euria rose from her seat and loomed over him. "How bad was it? Don't sugarcoat it, I need to know to prepare myself!"

Eunim seemed to deflate, as J'ro and Lomera seemed content to wait for their turn, whenever that wound up to be. Questions and answers flowed during the pauses between classes, during lunch break, and even later. All five had something to ask, and he tried to answer to the best of his ability.

"So how is it? How does it feel?" Eunim asked, at last.

"It's … endurable," Tercius said, trying to be as … diplomatic as possible.

"Yea?" Eunim asked, his nerves betraying him.

"Yea," Tercius nodded, as cool as a liar frozen in an iceberg.

"That's good…" Eunim released a breath, tension leaving his shoulders and face. "But why did my Mother tell me that it was excruciating?"

"What's true for one, may not be true for the other. Misinformation … can cause harm, and it doesn't have to be intentional," Tercius said, each word measured as vaguely as he could work with. I'm sorry, Eunim's mom, but you fucked up first. "You shouldn't believe everything you hear, remember that,"

"Yea?"

Tercius steeled his nerves. This better work, he made a small prayer. "Absolutely. Just remember Master Lazarus' lessons,"

***

"You chose the path of a Shaper to be your first, did you not?" Mistress Helfira walked near the window that showed a late afternoon in the countryside.

Tercius nodded. "Yes, Mistress,"

"You know the shapes, so from now on try using your fingers and hands to 'draw' these shapes in the air. Don't try to think about it, just do it,"

Tercius raised his right hand, his index finger extended high. He imagined a canvas of white in the dark space of Mana Sight as he dragged his finger down, leaving a sloppy trail of rapidly dissipating red mana.

"Now do that again, but you should focus on compressing mana to a better degree," Mistress Helfira advised. "You must practice this way until you can do it in your sleep,"

An hour of practice passed by and he couldn't do it even wide awake. He released a slow breath through his nose, after his latest failure.

"That will take you a month, at the very least," Mistress Helfira said as she walked around the table. With a wave of her hand, three large brick-like objects fell to the table surface and made a large bang. The bricks turned out to be large folders filled to the brim with papers, each titled like one of his classes. "Until then we will go over this in the evenings."