Rigur woke up to the most incredibly pain he had ever felt in his entire life, not in his head, but in his body. Every muscle was in agony, every tendon felt as though it was moments from snapping, even blinking was not a painless endeavor. He tried moving his arm to scratch his chin, but even that was enough to send him spiraling in pain. When he accepted that even that would be too much for him, he fell back on his final option.

“Somebody? Help!” He yelled as loudly as he could, which wasn’t all that loud considering, but he was sure if anyone was in the lodge they would hear him. A short time passed and he saw the door open, Aren walked through with a tray and some towels.

“You’re awake then?” Aren said, as he pulled over a chair and sat at the edge of the bed.

“Regretfully, what happened? Why am I in such pain?” He said. Aren dabbed his forehead with a towel and sighed.

“It’s a bit complicated, so I don’t think I can explain by myself. “ Aren said. He could see that Rigur wasn’t happy with that answer, but it was how the situation was. “Glaring at me won’t make things any easier.” He continued.

“I don’t need a full explanation, I need to know why I feel like I’ve been crushed under a boulder.” Rigur said.

“I don’t know how much of yesterday you remember, but you were driven into a rage by an attack of some kind. We couldn’t figure out the cause, but Andromeda burst in and settled it. She healed you, the thing happened with her and Whisper, and…” He drifted off.

Rigur looked at him for a moment, he had an expression like he was trying to listen very closely, but this was even after Aren stopped speaking. “Did you say Andromeda?” Rigur asked.

“Yeah, she somehow sensed our agents looking for her and followed them here.” Aren said. Rigur tried to sit up, but the pain in his body prevented this.

“Where is she? Is she here?” He asked.

“No, she left after the incident with her and Whisper. I would have gone after them, but I couldn’t leave you here alone until I knew you would be alright.” Aren asked.

“Couldn’t you have sent the travelers to look after her?” Rigur asked.

“No, she said something to them, and they ran off. I don’t know where they went, but I haven’t heard from them since last night.” Aren said. Rigur leaned back against the pillow he was resting on, she was right there. Now she was gone again.

“I don’t know what to do now, if the travelers are gone, then we have no way of making a move, and no way of contacting Alice.” Rigur said.

“I know you don’t want to hear it, but you need to worry about yourself for right now. I know you’re worried about them, but killing yourself with stress won’t fix anything now. The most we can do is hope everything works out.” Aren said, then he looked away, and then back to Rigur.

“Who is she?” He asked quietly.

“Andromeda?” Rigur asked.

‘Yes, I’ve known a lot of Mages in my life, and even a few Medea, but she didn’t seem to fully be either, and was something else all together.” Aren said.

“I can only tell you what I know, and what I’ve heard.” Rigur said. “She is a mage of enormous potential, the likes of which I couldn’t even begin to describe, she would grasp and implement concepts that took me years to understand. I once watched her demonstrate the use of a reflex when she admitted that she had never used it before. Only knew of it from a book.”

“That’s high praise, coming from you.” Aren said.

“At once point, she was kidnapped right under the entire college’s nose, and when she returned she was in a coma. When she awoke, her progress increased even more than it already was. She picked up the technique behind Purification and Arcanism in a few days, and was performing it reliably in a few days more. There were rumors that she was involved with the Arch Mage White, but that was just a rumor.” Rigur said, then he saw as Aren’s eyes go wide.

“Did you say White?” Aren said.

“Yes, I’m sure you remember a few months ago when High Magister Ferdinand named an Arch Mage. Their name was White.” Rigur said. Aren’s eyes drifted into a thousand yard stare. “What?” Rigur asked.

“Rigur…” Aren said, “You said there were rumor about her and the Arch Mage, did I hear that right?” Rigur nodded, unsure where his friend’s mind was at.

“Yes, they were just rumors though, hearsay and the like.” Rigur said.

“I don’t know how to tell you this, but I don’t think they were rumors.” He said. “I saw her, Andromeda, change forms, and with each form there seemed to be a different mind. One was Whisper, the woman I had dinner with the other night.”

“Was there another?” Rigur asked.

“Yes, I saw her for a brief moment, but it was as though Andromeda had turned Medea. White hair, White skin, red eyes. Just being near her in that state repaired the majority of the living room. I can’t be certain, but I can’t imagine what else that might be.” Aren said.

Rigur looked at Aren, there wasn’t a hint in his expression to suggest he was kidding, and he knew better than to think Aren would lie about something like this. At the same time, what he was suggesting was barely registering in Rigur’s mind.

“I… I don’t know if I believe that.” Rigur said.

“I can’t say I believe it much myself, but Rigur, I saw it. Andromeda can heal people. She did it to me.” Aren said.

“She what? I must have misheard you…” Aren said.

“I didn’t believe it myself, but Andromeda, not the white version of herself, healed my hand.” Aren said. Rigur sat there, he didn’t know if it was a few moments, or a few hours, but Aren never said a word. Hearing what he did, and know what he knew, he couldn’t ignore the idea.

His mind ran through the trail of clues. First, the reason for Andromeda’s introduction to the college despite circumstances was by recommendation of High Magister Ferdinand. At first glance it was clear to see her potential and why such a powerful man would suggest her, but if she was his own personal Arch Mage, then it was obvious why she was allowed.

But then that didn’t explain other details, though she had talent, she never once gave him the suspicion that she knew more than she let on. She was evasive about her past, sure, but her lack of knowledge in some regards truly showed the signs of a beginner. Arch Mage White’s relatively recent introduction, followed by Andromeda’s acceptance, would line up according to the timeline, however.

With was Aren just told him, if she can heal somehow, despite not being a Medea, that would be an earth-shattering discovery. Something that wasn’t known to happen once in thousands of years. That would be just as good a reason as any to send someone to the college. Though surely, it would have been easier to withhold her in King’s Grove and hire an army of private tutors to nurture this ability, rather than send her off without supervision.

Even moving past that, there was more to the confusion. The High Magister is only below the lords in terms of power, and Arch Mages are beholden only them, so how could anyone risk threatening her life? That would be a direct affront to the country’s interests. No monarch would allow it. There were thousands of possibilities, the underworld powers trying to take advantage of a new attack vector, corrupt politicians or even lords who wanted to avoid a new power dynamic, The Medean Church wasn’t even…

Rigur’s eyes shot wide, he turned to Aren in a panic.

“Alice…” He said.

-----

The storm had come.

Overwhelming waves of ice-cold rain thrashed the city, every door and window was shut and sealed, and even with their hardy resistance, the people of Aeroae didn’t dare risk the weather. There was one however, who walked the streets that night.

A young woman, wearing robes that were as clean and white as freshly fallen snow, with trim that lined its edges of a deeper and darker red than any sunset. She walked, one foot in front of the other, there was no urgency, yet no delay. She just moved forward. If one could stop her and take a closer look, they would see a dance of colors in her appearance. Red hair, they white, then black, then red again. Eyes that flickered between blue, black, and red, and skin that seemed to flutter between shades of black and white. The robes she wore repelled the wind and rain, and in the dime glow of the evening lamplight, she seemed to glow faintly, otherworldly in appearance.

There were a few who peeked out their windows that night to see what poor soul was caught out in the storm, only to see this figure, ethereal and uncanny against the raging winds. Dry in the face of rain, unmoved by the gale, and in no great hurry. The superstitious people of Aeroae quickly turned their gaze away, knowing better than to stare long at what they didn’t understand.

It didn’t take long for something, or someone, to meet this young woman in the streets.

An old man, grey hair and the lines of age betraying him, a long coat and a faint sheen of light surrounding his body, blocking the rain from touching him. Beside him to his left was a woman, older than the young woman in the robes, but dressed like a bar maid, the wind and rain drenched her from head to toe, but she looked as though nothing was bothering her at all. To the man’s right was a humanoid being, with the snout of a fox and black stains on the fur that lined it’s entire body. Tailored clothes shined with the same glow as the old man, rebuffing the storm.

The young woman stopped a short distance away, she said nothing, and watched them. They waited for her to speak, but when the young woman made it obvious that would not happen, the old man spoke first.

“Andromeda. It’s me, Ferdinand.” The old man said. Andromeda didn’t respond, and just continued looking at him.

In her eyes, she stood in a snow blasted hellscape, with the remains of shattered buildings on all sides, the bodies of countless people littering the path on either side. There were faint shadows in her way, and she had no will to move past them.

“High Magister Ferdinand, this is her?” The fox headed man said.

“Yes, Carrion, this is her, but what is happening to her, I’m unsure.” Ferdinand said. They both expected a response from the ever talkative Rapture beside them, but she was silent too. There was a stoic expression on her face that neither could say they had witnessed before.

The High Magisters and the Arch Mages shared a connection. This connection was the Arch, and through it, they could faintly sense each other. WIth her in front of them, they could tell that this was someone touched by the Arch, and through Ferdinand’s strong connection specifically, they could tell it was Andromeda. But something was wrong with her. They noted her appearance, how it changed and morphed, as well as the necklace around her neck that also somehow had the touch of The Arch within it. But what was truly out of place was her connection, it flickered just as her appearance did. From great strength, to barely presence, and back again.

“If I remember correctly, Arch Mage Rapture did something to her, and this caused a premature awakening. Do you think this is related?” Carrion asked. Ferdinand thought on this, and shook his head.

“I can’t discount that there is some connection, but something else is going on.” Ferdinand said. Then, without warning, the world shifted around them. They all found themselves in a snow blasted world, the remnants of a vaguely village, and the dead surrounding them.

“What in the world?” Ferdinand said.

Rapture stepped forward to the surprise of the others. When they looked back to her, they could see the visage of a being, made of black lengths of fibrous shadow wrapped around her.

“Rapture, don’t move, we have no idea what is happening here.” Ferdinand said, though it fell on deaf ears. Rapture walked listlessly forward until she stood just in front of her. Andromeda looked up slightly, but not enough to meet her eyes. Rapture looked on, Andromeda’s body shivered unstably, and though her eyes flashed in various colors. The fire and glow she had seen in them were gone. Instead it was just a glassy and lost look that Rapture recognized all too well in her own reflection.

“I just wanted to see my little sister, and all I did was hurt her.” She said. The shadow thread creature wrapped around Andromeda writhed in her presence, but it didn’t let her go.

“Damn it.” Ferdinand said, then he motioned for Carrion to follow him, they walked up to Andromeda and observed her up close. Ferdinand suspected that this sudden change in the surrounding space was connected to Andromeda, and by extension it had something to do with her instability, and this creature.

“What are you?” He asked, his question was pointed towards the being wrapped around Andromeda, and while he couldn’t be sure if it could speak, it was only reasonably to check first.

“You first.” It said, in a voice that sounded very similar to Andromeda’s own. Ferdinand glared at the being general location as it had no face to speak of.

“I am High Magister Ferdinand Delerous, but what is important is that I am responsible for the person you have entrapped there. You will release her, or I will be displeased.” Ferdinand said.

“Your bravado is as empty as your title. It wouldn’t take but an instant to devastate her weak mind. A single slip and she would be lost to you forever.” It said.

“No, you won’t.” Ferdinand said, his voice colder than the world around them.

“Oh, do you wish to have a taste of it then?” It said.

Then something strange happened.

The being twitched the slightest amount, and this should have destroyed Andromeda’s mind and soul in an instant, but nothing happened. Ferdinand was looking at it expectantly, it tried to twitch again, with more force this time, but the same strange event happened again, and Ferdinand was still watching it.

“I suggest you remove yourself from my Arch Mage, now.” Ferdinand said. It tried again and again, with ever more violent intent to end Andromeda’s life, before a single instant could pass, each time the strange event would pass, while nothing else would. The being hissed, then briefly flickered in and out of reality before him. With a single glance, the being ceased to be. The icy world around them shuttered and shifted, until the storm filled streets of Aeroae returned.

They all waited for a moment, but it became clear that Andromeda was still standing, and she was still violently morphing before their eyes. Ferdinand snapped his fingers in front of her eyes a few times, then gripped the bridge of his nose.

“I can’t be the only one who thought that would work.” Ferdinand said.

“No, I kind of thought the same, unless that was just unrelated to what’s going on here.” Carrion said.

“What do I do?” Rapture said suddenly. They turned towards her, and for a moment they didn’t see the dead look in her eye that they expected, they saw pain. Ferdinand rested a hand on her shoulder, and felt her flinch at his touch.

“The most we can do is get her to the capital and see what has caused this. Though I-” He said, but Andromeda’s eyes snapped to him instantly, still dead, and still lifeless, but they focused on him fiercely.

“Andromeda?” He said.

She didn’t respond, she only continued looking at him. Ferdinand thought about what he said, then spoke once more.

“Or perhaps we could not take her away?” He said, testing her response. The gaze dropped and she looked toward the ground again.

“Unless?” He said, her attention returned again and she stared at him.

“Never mind.” He said finally, and her attention dropped again.

“Fascinating.” Carrion said.

“She seems to be able to understand us, but her mind isn’t active for whatever reason. Regardless of that, she is having a visceral reaction to leaving the island.” Ferdinand said.

“Why might that be?” Carrion asked.

“I have no idea, I’m not even sure why she is here. Of all the places to go after Cylas was attacked, why here?” Ferdinand said.

Andromeda slowly turned her head toward Ferdinand, not the urgent jerk that had happened before, but slow and deliberate. Her eyes still communicated nothing, but this was something.

“She reacted again? What did I say?” Ferdinand wondered out loud.

“You mentioned Cylas being attacked, but-”

Andromeda turned to Carrion and looked at him as well.

“Why would she react like this?” Ferdinand said. Then, without warning, Andromeda started to move again. Walking right past the trio and down the street without any prompting.

“We’ll follow her for now.” Ferdinand said. The other two wordlessly agreed.

The path she took through the city was strange, cutting through alleys and side streets that only the most weathered local might know about, at once point even cutting through the backyard of an abandoned home to cross between two alleys, but she never doubled back on her route. She was moving toward somewhere definite, and it was vaguely in the direction of the city docks.

Finally, she rounded a corner onto a main street and walked along the sidewalk until she reached a seemingly random door. She entered inside, and when they followed her to the door, they saw a sign on the front door.

“The Cobble Turner - Location of “Blue Runs”.”

“Strange, I’ve heard about this operation. The man who operates is some kind of information broker, but no one can claim to known he sold any secrets.” Carrion said.

“Should we be worried?” Ferdinand asked.

“No, but even then, the lights aren’t on. I don’t think he’s here.” Carrion said. They entered, and they saw Andromeda standing still in the middle of the room. There was a box on the desk at the end of the room, and a few pieces of furniture were draped in blankets or sheets. It looked as though the owner was moving out.

There was a sound behind them, and they looked to see a man standing in the doorway. Even in the dim hue of the lamplight, they could tell he stood a head taller than even Carrion.

“Can I help you?” He asked, though not at all kindly.

Ferdinand raised his hands defensively, not because he was particularly afraid of what the man might do, but as a gesture of peace. “We’re here due to unforeseen circumstances, as soon as we identify what is happening, we’ll leave.” Ferdinand said. The man glared at him, but when he looked past the trio, he dropped the box he was holding and pushed past them.

“Andromeda?” He said quietly, her hood had dropped to her shoulders by this point, exemplifying the rapid pulsing of colors in her hair. “What did you do?” The man asked. He turned and put a finger squarely in Ferdinand’s chest.

“We did nothing, and I suggest you show some respect. Even laying a finger on me is considered crime enough.” Ferdinand said.

“I don’t care if you're the damn king, no matter how you twist it, I find a bunch of strangers in my place of work with someone who is obviously not well. That’s justification enough.” The man said, he turned his back to them and returned to Andromeda.

“Andromeda, talk to me, what happened?” He whispered. To their surprise, she slowly turned to him. Just like them, she didn’t respond, but it was more than they expected. “Here, let’s get you sat down.” He continued, then he guided her to a chair behind the desk. She sat down and leaned back in the chair, limp.

The man turned back to them, and to say he was displeased would have been a monumental understatement.

“Explain yourselves, now.” He said.

Ferdinand looked to Carrion, and then to Rapture, and despite feeling more than confident in their presence, relented.

“I am High Magister Ferdinand Delerous of King’s Grove, this is Arch Mage Carrion of Skysea Adalay, and this is Arch Mage Rapture of…” Ferdinand stopped. “Anyway… We came here after sensing a disturbance concerning Arch Mage White. The one you know as Andromeda. We discovered her like this, and after a strange situation occurred with her in the street, we followed her here. Now, I am going to assume from your interactions with her that you have some kind of relationship with her. I suggest you elaborate on this.” Ferdinand said.

“You don’t need to ask, I know who this is.” Carrion interjected, The man frowned, and Ferdinand gestured for him to continue.

“This is Argram “Grey” Gallery. A former runner for the Gallery Crowd in Old Town Aeroae. He did a stint in the Old Town Guard before it was shut down. He drifted around the country for a few years before coming back to Aeroae a year ago. What I didn’t know was that he was working this outfit.” Carrion exposited.

“It’s just Gram now, not that I think you’d care with that kind of description.” Gram said.

“Is he someone we should be concerned with?” Ferdinand asked.

“No.” Carrion said.

The room was tensed. Ferdinand turned to Gram, and he was out of patience. “Now that I have an idea of your character, I suggest you speak carefully on your connection with my Arch Mage.” Ferdinand said.

Gram turned and looked over at Andromeda, and when he spoke next, it wasn’t towards them it was to her.

“For about a week, I’ve been sheltering her after I found her sitting in the alley next to my this building. I tried to help her out of the situation she got herself in, and in doing that I did nothing but risk the lives of those I care about and guarantee her death.” Gram said. He turned back to Ferdinand, who had not even full processed what he said before he continued.

“Whatever you want to do with me, I don’t care. But there is someone after her, and if she doesn’t die, thousands will instead.” Gram said.

The room was dead quiet. Even the howling storm outside seemed to quiet down. They waited for clarification, or at least a suggestion that there was more to what he said, but none came. All that could be heard was the gears turning in their minds.