Over a course of about four months, Aya began questioning her real purpose with her time at the academy. She had no real idea what she was working towards, as there was no degree and job opportunities were slowly cropping up but were typically filled instantly by more experienced mages.

Still, there were some aspects and perks she enjoyed. She became the ‘talk of the town’, for a few reasons. Her tattoos were rare and was often requested to show her arms off, but she resolved to hold that back as it was getting vaguely reminiscent of casual bigotry. People were seeing her as a canvas and not a person, so she began to keep her uniform on at most times.

Secondly, her companionship with The Matriarch also drew some attention. They had gone on a few dates and generally spent most of their time together in the cafeteria, where a lot of idle chatter and rumors were born. They talked mostly about themselves, and Aya always drove the conversation for Matriarch to speak about herself, internally regretting that she did very little with her own life. As for being alone, they simply hadn’t had the time. Aya had occasionally popped into her office to learn specifics about the darker arts (as so very many other students do) but in the common parlance, they haven’t “moved to the next level”.

Ultimately, Aya seemed to gravitate towards something called “Hard light” magic. The idea of utilizing light to create real objects. The most common use was shielding, but it could also be used to make weapons. The more abstract uses were in construction, but even Aya found that to be too pedestrian for her. Most of Aya’s first term was spent dipping her toes in as many classes as possible, trying to find out what suited her. Unfortunately she found most of it boring, which is possibly why she latched onto The Matriarch so much.

The Matriarch remained quite the enigma in the academy, barely showing up to any classes or announcement assemblies. In truth, she creeped a lot of people out. Her voice may be as smooth as silk but she had a light step and often appeared randomly, giving students a jump. This was the main reason Aya was assaulted with questions about The Matriarch. Aya was the only one able to get that personally close, as Matriarch acquired a reputation for deflecting most questions or entire conversations when students and teachers tried to press her. She was a diplomatic, kind woman but was fiercely private. Had to be, considering she was just one political mistake from being imprisoned. Trivial to her personally, but escaping would cause Gnosis to be put on a watchlist in its entirety, and she would not risk that.

One day, Matriarch was heading towards the libraries by the request of Soren. She had Aya in hand, taking her in tow as was their custom without being able to visit outside at the same time very often. The closest they could get in terms of dating, for the time being.

The Library had a gated section, some of it in the process of being removed. It had magister guards and Soren himself was inside, picking through.

“Ah, Matriarch. Thank you for coming,” he gave Aya a nod and a gesture of generic approval as her visage turned a corner.

Aya greeted him pleasantly, Soren being one of the first people she exchanged words with at the academy. “Hello again, Soren! Congratulations on the promotion!”

He had recently been given a class of his own, teaching the specifics of the Aether. The Matriarch was a guest speaker a time or two, considering she has rather intimate and profound knowledge about it. Granted, nobody at the time knew why.

“Thank you, thank you,” he turned to the Matriarch. “We’ve run into a bit of a complication within our student base, and I think as the cause of the problem, perhaps you can help us fix it.” He did say this as diplomatically as he could.

“I assume this is about the increased volume of students asking me about illegal magics?”

He nodded again, “That is correct. I’m pushing the council to give you a class proper so we can streamline the idea, but there is some pushback.”

“Of course there is.”

“So here’s my idea: You occasionally host a lecture about some of the darker magics you are most familiar with. With a concession, that you try to emphasize the dangers.”

“I do that with Gnosis as it is, Soren. However I refuse to shy away from its benefits.”

He waves a hand, “I’ll try to forward that but it may not go well.” There was a pause, his expression soured into sorrow.

“You have a thought, Soren. Say it,” Matriarch pushed him, recognizing his trepidation.

“I had an idea for the first class. That of Chaos.”

She narrowed her eyes, her orange pupils peered at him from behind the mask.

“I understand it’s a touchy subject. As a victim of it, I think you are uniquely qualified to speak on its risks. To wit, we’re actually removing all grimoires that mention it right now,” he motions around to some students, shuffling books into boxes. “We’ll be moving them to a secure location.”

“That is counter productive,” The Matriarch disagreed. “In Gnosis, we block nothing. Without having the knowledge of the art, you will lack the defense against it.”

Soren contemplated her words, “I don’t disagree, but the council thinks it would be safer if this just wasn’t here. I don't even know where their vaults are located, so I think it’s for the best.”

The Matriarch growled in a low tone, turning a heel to walk off.

Soren called after her, “Will you do it? Will you host a class?”

“Fine,” she replied while not moving.

Aya gave a weak smile and wave to Soren, as she noticed the tension. She followed behind The Matriarch.

“So, that was intense,” Aya said.

“Yes it was. I need to fetch something in my estate, would you like to come along?”

This was the first time Aya was offered, so she jumped at the chance. “Oh, your estate! Yes, I’ve wanted to see it!”

The Matriarch nodded, the expression in her eyes softening, possibly implying a smile beneath the mask. “Meet me in the office. Pack for perhaps, a day trip. I’ll provide most things.”

Aya clasped her hands, “Right!” She trotted off to her supplied dormitory. She looked back to see The Matriarch cross her arms, and her shoulders shook a bit. She was having herself a giggle.

Aya didn’t own much, so she removed books and grimoires out of her backpack and just put a day’s essentials worth of clothing within. She had no expectations but did secretly hope sex was in her immediate future. It was either that, or The Matriarch was upgrading their relationship through mundane means. Neither had parents to introduce to, and there’s still an incredible amount of nothing that she knows about The Matriarch. She’s gotten snippets throughout various conversations but she still doesn’t know what type of immortal she really is. That was another possibility. Inviting into one’s home for a chat, love making, or maybe she wants to tell Aya more about herself in a more private setting. All are good options. Maybe all of them, in any order! Aya gave herself a laugh at the thought.

Aya trotted to Matriarch’s office, feeling like a damned teenager. It was the usual sight, except for a massive portal that seemed to consume most of the room in a green light. It wasn’t just existing in the space, there were two metal, runed rods that were holding it in place.

“You just… have those?”

“They’ve been behind the bookcase the whole time. They help stabilize portals without me needing to exert too much energy on it. Come on in, dear.” Just like that, The Matriarch stepped inside without even a sound or emanation from the portal itself. As if it was a literal door, just like any other. So she followed.

She was greeted with a beautiful, gothic household. Black and red were prominent colors, with some white highlights and otherwise practical wooden furniture. They were in a sort of combined living room, with a comfortable couch and television. Immediately there was an elaborate kitchen with a bar-like countertop that would be ideal for gatherings. Also, of immediate note: there was no door after the portal rods were set aside. No windows, either. It was an enclosed space. It was roomy, but Aya couldn’t help feel a bit concerned, as she now effectively became trapped. Still, she had known Matriarch for a few months and while she lacked a lot of information about who the woman was, she had a good idea of what kind of person she was. In that she was indeed a kind, patient woman.

The idea of danger faded as she saw The Matriarch relax quite a bit once she was done dismantling the portal stabilizers (which Aya was now calling them). She removed her mask and set it on a tablestool, and removed a lot of her extraneous or otherwise unnecessary clothing. She wasn’t stripping (though Aya was imagining it), but merely removing the tome she carried around, hung her sword up on the wall, and other post-work necessities one would expect. Indeed, this was the first time Aya got a good look at The Matriarch’s bare arms. Surprisingly fit, though it shouldn’t be considering the sword is unlikely to be for show. As she had claimed in previous conversations, the blackened veininess does continue through her arms and hands, just as it does her entire body.

Aya followed suit, setting her book bag to the side and hanging up her coat on the nearest wall nodule. She didn’t ask for permission but heard no protests from The Matriarch, so she effectively made herself at home.

The Matriarch piped up, “I need to do a couple things, so feel free to explore. The only rule is if it’s locked, then please don’t force your way through. It may be a lab or something, and it would be unsafe for you to wander into.”

Even her speech was more calm. Aya had always loved her voice but it did have a hint of stoicism to it, but here it sounded more calm and friendly. She liked it.

“I’ll take you on that, actually!” Aya was rather forward for her interests in tearing this estate a new exploratory hole. The Matriarch gave her a subdued giggle as she left into parts unknown, leaving Aya to her exploration.

She did just that. Because she never saw the outside (if an outside even existed), she quickly got the indication that the estate was massive. It was eerie, however, for it was entirely empty. Not a soul or minion wandered its halls. The good news is that it was incredibly easy to navigate. It even had signs pointing back to the main lobby, but it mostly seemed to be designed in a grid-like manner. The long hallways with multiple doors gave her the vibes of a hotel, which are also typically designed to be easy to navigate.

Surprisingly, the unlocked doors didn’t hold much in the way of secrets. There was a massive emphasis on books, and each office functioned as its own separate study. Each study seemed to focus on a specific topic, and not just that of magic either. There was one focused entirely on history, which she spent several minutes in. Aya plucked one book open and actually read about some alien species called the Veskaren, and the book was describing their culture. Aliens exist then. Aya felt like she should have been more surprised but she quickly considered that she was sitting in a pocket dimension estate with glowing, magical tattoos… helped her quash any potential shock she’d otherwise have.

She explored for a couple of hours on her own, occasionally hearing the shuffle of what she knew was The Matriarch from an upstairs floor or so. She went down a couple of stories, where the room count lowered dramatically. She found herself in a lobby with only a couple doorways. She wandered to one, giving the doorknob a tug and was finally rather surprised at what she saw, and quickly surmised that this was probably one of those that was supposed to be locked.

Her inner comedian immediately identified it as a sex dungeon, but it was classy and clean. There were ropes and chains, with nodules and bolts on the wall. There was a closet with leather outfits slightly peeking out, and a massive bed with soft cuffs lining throughout the base.

She had planned to look deeper in, her curiosity never ending. However The Matriarch stepped behind her, and gently pulled at her arm to exit the room. Aya complied, only having a handful of seconds to drink in what she had seen.

Matriarch locked the door, and her face looked rather embarrassed. It even leaked through in her speech, “Uh, listen. We… we don’t h-have to do any of that, if you don’t want to.”

Aya never heard her sound like this, and she found it incredibly adorable. She couldn’t help but procure the biggest shit-eating grin, prodding at Matriarch’s arms.

“I didn’t think you had that in you, to be honest!” That wasn’t a negative, and Aya wasn’t sure if Matriarch noticed that or not.

In her best ‘let us never speak of this again’ kind of tone, Matriarch interrupted that train of thought to hold Aya’s hand and lead her back a couple stories above. It was kind of awkward, at least from her angle. Aya was holding back an incredible amount of giggling, which translated into some barely restrained snickering.

She was led into a bedroom, which had the scent of strawberries permeated through it, and did notice some burned incense. The light was dimmer than the rest of the household, and through the Matriarch’s words it became clear what the intent was.

Still slightly stammering from the embarrassment a minute ago, she did speak up. “Listen, yea. I’ve been a bit tense, yes, and y’know. It was a bit too early for you to have seen all that, I probably wouldn’t have brought it up. Uhm, anyway. Tense, and figured we could help each other? Gods, it’s been a while…” She had to place her palms over her face. Despite her undoubtedly advanced age, she was a bit out of practice in terms of romance.

Aya let her restrained laughter out a bit more, moving in to embrace Matriarch in a hug. She pulled in for a kiss (she got used to navigating Matriarch’s sharper teeth), and remained in the embrace as she leaned in to whisper, “I’ve touched myself to the thought of you, Matriarch.”

Matriarch blushed a bit and stammered out an “O-oh. Oh good. That’s good,” and eventually found herself smiling proper as well.

They didn’t waste much time after that. There wasn’t much left for Matriarch to remove, and Aya was wearing basic modern clothing. In her ornate undergarments, The Matriarch sat on the bed to watch Aya undress. Her face contorted into something more wicked and lustful, and Aya made a point to slow down the removal of her jeans. Matriarch pouted out, “Hey, don’t slow down now!” with a humorous giggle.

“Fair enough, mistress,” Aya got real coy real quick, putting a comedic inflection on the word ‘mistress’ as if to tease Matriarch on her premature discovery.

Matriarch playfully rolled her eyes, “Too early for that, darling.” Indeed, her smile remained as Aya became fully nude, and she crawled onto the bed and atop of The Matriarch proper.

They kept it smooth and slow, and Matriarch spent a lot of time caressing the tattoos. In conjunction, Aya was spending a lot of time admiring The Matriarch’s cused, veiny body. The mutation didn’t seem to bother her, and eventually had their fingers within each other. They had the kind of energy and fun that one would have when such an event was surely overdue for the couple.

After about an hour of getting a metaphorical and very literal taste of each other, they spent several moments on their sides admiring each other’s bodies further. Their hands never left each other, and The Matriarch could barely keep her eyes off of Aya’s breasts (which were more admirable than her own).

Matriarch did eventually speak up, “That… was not the only reason I wanted to bring you here.”

“Do tell, hun.”

“I wanted to tell you what happened to me, and why Chaos bothers me so much…”