After what felt like ages, the longest hour anyone had ever experienced passed. They were in Aeroae once again.
Andromeda's last memories of Aeroae were hunting through the streets, following the men who seemed to be looking for her. Her mind drifted to Rigur. She hoped he was alright; the last she saw of him was when he was laid up in bed. Then the situation with Whisper passed... Andromeda shivered. The cold, dead feeling in her chest flared up again. She put it out of her mind and tried to focus on anything else.
Now that they had passed from forest trails to city streets, they had slowed down enough that Alice and the others were walking beside the carriage. The attendants Alice had pointed out before were on the other side of the cart, walking alongside Fort. As they passed, people moved out of the cart's way, some seeming confused, while others just pushed the first group along to ignore it. Whisper hopped around between various minds in the area, and it was just as they feared. Around half of the people she passed through seemed to be mentally impaired, their minds just producing static, occasionally broken up by some passing thought that was simply them reacting to being spoken to or bothered by something.
That didn't mean that everyone else was normal; there was a general feeling of unrest among people. It seemed that the people had noticed that something was off, even if they weren't sure. What was certain was that things seemed to be at a fever pitch.
"I know I said that I would refrain from speaking until we arrived at the estate, but there are a few things you must take care of before we continue with our business," the Arbiter said.
"Spit it out, I don't have all day," Andromeda said, not realizing until after she said it how apt that statement really was.
"First, it's required that you clean yourself. I'm sure they haven't left you disgraceful, but a shower and fresh clothes are in order," the Arbiter said.
"If that's what you want, fine, but I'm not a doll; you don't get to dress me up like one. You can wash what I have here," Andromeda said. The Arbiter reached for the sleeve of Andromeda's robe but stopped short when Andromeda herself glared.
"I don't feel like arguing. As long as you clean yourself, I don't care. After you're done, you will be escorted to Mr. Algoer. You will speak for as long as he feels interested, and then we will conclude our business," the Arbiter said. Andromeda considered something at that moment, then a small smile crept up her lips.
"Hey, I have a question. Is there anything that's a deal-breaker for you? Like, if you heard something was true, it would make you back down?" Andromeda asked.
"What an interesting question. I suppose there are a few things. I'd be most displeased if you were to somehow die or disappear before I had a chance to finish our business, among other things," the Arbiter replied.
"Yeah, I can see that. I actually have an idea you might not be considering," Andromeda said. Then she looked directly into the Arbiter's eyes, ensuring they were making eye contact. Andromeda focused her mind, just as she had done before with the necklace. She felt a small tingle in her eyes and waited for the Arbiter to react. It took her a moment, but she finally realized what she was looking at. Andromeda's eyes had turned red. They turned into White's eyes.
"H-How?" The Arbiter asked. Andromeda dropped her focus, and her eyes returned to their normal blue.
"You said earlier that you weren't entirely human. Did you ever consider if you were alone on that?" she said. Before the Arbiter could react to that, one of the attendants from before announced that they had arrived. A quick look outside the window of the cart confirmed that. The Arbiter glared at Andromeda, then opened the door.
"We'll talk about this later. First, you'll do your part. Or you know what will happen," the Arbiter said. Andromeda's expression turned sour as well.
"I told you not to threaten me," Andromeda said.
"It's not a threat, it's a promise. Don't test me," the Arbiter said as she left the carriage. Andromeda hopped out just after, and Alice caught up with her.
"So, what happened?" Alice said, slightly winded but otherwise fine.
"A lot of things, but I'm worried about something else now. I don't know how to explain it," Andromeda said. Ferdinand came up to them just then and looked Andromeda over.
"Is everything alright with you? You look unwell," Ferdinand said.
"It's a combination of stress and feeling sick to my stomach. The Arbiter was touching me all over and asking strange questions. I'm just a little shaken up," Andromeda said. Rapture then walked up, and she looked equally upset, but for reasons unknown.
"Come on now, don't dawdle!" the Arbiter said, pushing everyone to move. As they passed the wrought-iron gates of the estate, they were closed and locked behind them, and a shudder slithered down all their spines.
Once inside, Andromeda was pulled aside by a small army of maid servants. She tried to resist their pull, but Alice and the others watched as she was taken into a side room. The Arbiter walked up beside them and gave them all a curt frown. "I get the impression you won't leave on your own, and my forcing you would upset Andromeda. You may sit in the lounge and wait for as long as you want. Otherwise, leave," she said. Then, without so much as another word, she walked away up the stairs at the end of the hall.
When she was gone, Alice crossed her arms and grumbled, "Even the Medea who tried to kill me was more polite." Ferdinand shook his head and ushered them through the open doorway held by a servant of the house.
Once they were seated, another servant was at their beck and call, offering water. Ferdinand dismissed the glassy-eyed girl, and then he waved his hand, conjuring a wave of blue watery light. In his hand, a glass cup of water materialized from nothing. "If anyone's thirsty, I can provide. I wouldn't trust whatever they give us here," Ferdinand said. Rapture was the one who spoke up, and Ferdinand created a glass for her as well.
Alice declined, wrapped up in her thoughts, and not having any semblance of a poker face, Ferdinand could see it. "Is something wrong, Lady Magrisal?" Ferdinand asked.
"Does any of this feel wrong to you? Not the fact that we trotted Andromeda off to the slaughter, all of this?" she said, broadly gesturing to everything around her. "This doesn't feel like an execution; this feels like some kind of twisted ceremony. They're washing her, for the goddess' sake."
"I had much the same feeling, but without the words to say it. I have come to know numerous assassins and cabals, but never once would they have done what these folks do."
"I can sense them all through the walls. The Arbiter upstairs is talking to two men, and it seems like they're arguing. Andromeda is a few rooms over, and the staff... I think they're taking her measurements," Alice said. A crash from the floor above shook the building, and then there was some faint yelling just distant enough that they couldn't make it out. Alice chimed in with context. She still couldn't sense Andromeda, but she was getting the hang of figuring out what was roughly happening to her. Anywhere Andromeda was caused the room's mana flows to act strangely, like they were freezing when they passed through the space she resided in.
"The Arbiter is throwing things now, and one of the men is on the floor. He's moving but seems hurt. Should we be worried?" Alice said.
"Incredibly, if the Arbiter is upset by something, this entire operation might be put at risk," Ferdinand said. Saying that made Rapture fidget, and he calmed her nerves. Alice focused harder to get a clearer understanding. That's when she noticed something strange on the floor above. At first pass, it seemed as though there was one room in particular that was empty, with no chairs or beds, not even a suggestion of a carpet. But as she kept her attention on it, that just didn't make sense.
The flow was just that, a flow, and it moved at all times. It seemed like there was a flow passing through the room, but it wasn't quite right. The flow that passed through this particular room went in at varying rates, but when it passed through, it always came through at the same rate. That was very abnormal. Before she could relay this information to the others, the Arbiter had come back downstairs and was approaching them.
"Incoming," Alice said, and just then the door opened, and in came the Arbiter.
By all appearances, she seemed perfectly calm and collected. But to Alice, especially, she was nothing less than livid. "Hello, I was curious. The person you brought to me, how sure are you that she is who she says she is?" the Arbiter asked. Ferdinand crossed his arms and looked at her with a bored look.
"Pretty reasonably, she was analyzed by equipment so precise that it could discern if a goat passed gas a thousand years ago, down to the second. With the threats you have levied against us, I could not afford to be any less precise," Ferdinand said.
"I see. Well, if you wouldn't mind explaining, she said something quite strange to me on the ride over. She asked me to consider if she was not entirely human, then demonstrated the ability to change her eye color. I am aware of some magics that can accomplish this, but I got the impression this was not the case," the Arbiter asked.
"You intend on killing her; I wouldn't be surprised if she would say some strange things," Ferdinand said. The Arbiter clasped her hands together and forced her face into a strained smile. All the windows of the room then exploded outward and burst into the surrounding area.
"I would ask you to avoid wasting my time. Unlike you, I have better places to be than playing semantic handslaps with a washed-up High Magister and his cohorts," the Arbiter said.
Ferdinand cleared his throat, and then something strange happened. The Arbiter stopped completely, not just that she stopped what she was doing, or that she chose to stop moving, she didn't even breathe. Ferdinand stood up and put down the glass of water he was holding. He stepped toward the Arbiter and looked into her frozen eyes. She was so completely stopped in time that she couldn't even move her eyes to look at him.
"I will ask that you refrain from disrespectful actions in my presence. Regardless of what happens this day, I will dedicate every waking moment of the rest of my existence to ensuring that you will pay for every moment of trouble and strife you have caused the people of this country. Your actions this day extend only so far as you retain hostages, and if I, for so much as a moment, think you will not release them once your business is concluded, it will be recorded in the histories of the world that I created entirely new forms of magic just so that I may properly express to you the gravity of your actions. Am I understood?" he said. The Arbiter then regained control of her body, and instead of answering, she left quickly without a word.
Ferdinand waited for her to leave and for the door to be shut before he returned to his seat. The tension could be cut by a dull knife, let alone the razor that seemed to be Ferdinand's presence.
Even though Alice was not on the receiving end of the threat, she could barely bring herself to breathe. Ferdinand picked his glass back up and took a sip. Rapture had a more nuanced opinion, it seemed; she put a hand on Ferdinand's shoulder, and the moment she made contact, he jumped slightly.
Alice collected herself and got his attention, "Sir? What... was that?" she asked. Ferdinand was quiet, longer than was comfortable, but from the way he reacted to her asking, she knew he wasn't just ignoring her. He was thinking. He tried to speak several times, but his words caught on his lips. Then he finally took a deep breath.
"Something I must live with, for the rest of my days," he said. Alice did not press further.
Her attention returned to the rest of the manor; Andromeda was not being, well, bathed, so she turned her attention to the floor above again. The Arbiter and the two men above were arguing again, but the one man who wasn't knocked down before was holding her arms and preventing her from flailing. This only served to throw Alice off more. Until this point, she was under the impression that the Arbiter was some kind of mastermind, but everything she has said and done to this point doesn't have that feeling. If it weren't for what Albert said, she would have thought Entai Algoer was in control given the circumstances.
When that didn't seem to be going anywhere, she focused on the room above. Only this time, something had changed. There were suddenly chairs and a table; it seemed to be some kind of elaborate dining room. There was no evidence that any of this furniture had been there when she last paid attention to it, but it was there now. The flow was even moving correctly through it.
It seemed that she was making some obvious expressions as she processed all this, a result of being out of practice, and Ferdinand noticed it. "Are you sure something isn't wrong, Lady Magrisal?" he asked.
"Actually, there are several things. The Arbiter is arguing with some people upstairs, and the room directly above us is acting strange," Alice said.
"I'd like to talk about how you can know that later, but as for what you said, I had some inkling of the same impression. But as long as Andromeda and the people are in danger, we have to hold firm," Ferdinand said.
Alice kept her proverbial eye on Andromeda as she went through the rest of the Arbiter's strange preparations. Once she was done bathing, the servants of the house surrounded her, and it seemed like they were holding her down against a bed at one point. Alice was nearly ready to stand up and head over to intervene when the servants finally stepped away to reveal they had finagled her into a dress. One very similar to the one the Arbiter was wearing. Once they were gone, she stripped off the dress and put her own robes back on.
Andromeda was left there for several minutes until the Arbiter finished her shouting match upstairs. She walked through the house until she reached the strange room above them. Just as she was going to open the door, she stopped suddenly. The Arbiter waited impatiently for several moments before suddenly opening the door to the room and then... disappearing. Before she could give that much thought, one of the men that was speaking with The Arbiter suddenly fell to his knees in the room she left him, and the other man helped him up and to a nearby seat.
"Someone upstairs is hurt, one of the men The Arbiter was speaking to," Alice said.
"I see, does it seem serious?" Ferdinand asked. She focused on the man, and from the way he moved and the way his soul seemed to flicker and weaken, she knew that he wasn't well.
"Something's wrong with him, I think he's dying," Alice said.
"That is unfortunate. Keep an eye on the situation," Ferdinand said, then he suddenly cut back on himself, "One more thing, I can't sense the Arbiter's presence anymore. I wasn't paying great attention, but I can't sense her anymore."
"She walked into the room directly above us and disappeared, I'm not sure how," Alice said.
More movement on the ground floor with Andromeda; several of the servants hastily tried to drag her back to the bed, presumably to put the dress back on her. But they suddenly all froze and backed away from her. It didn't seem like Andromeda said anything, but they were suddenly not willing to get near her. One servant ran from the room and upstairs to the office where the two men were still in. The servant was pointed to the room the Arbiter disappeared into and ran for it.
Alice witnessed as the servant woman ran down the hall, but while she ran, something Alice couldn't begin to explain happened. The Arbiter popped back into existence after leaving the room and intercepted the Servant.
From Alice's perspective, The Arbiter raised her hand and the Servant just… ceased to be... Her form was there a moment before, and the next, there was nothing but open air. The Arbiter then gripped her head in a manic state. The sounds of shattering glass rang out through the room as glass shards fell past the broken windows they sat near.
"What's happening?" Ferdinand said.
"I don't know, I think The Arbiter just obliterated someone, somehow," Alice said, not even internally registering the words that came out of her mouth.
"Excuse you?" Ferdinand said, something about the way he said that seemed to make the air incredibly heavy. Rapture jumped to her feet and grabbed his sleeve; he almost pulled away from her but stopped himself.
"She's on her way to the men from before," Alice informed.
The Arbiter marched into the office and aggressively pointed at the one man to leave the room. She grabbed the unwell man and pulled him up by the collar. While she did this, the other man quickly marched down the stairs and toward Andromeda. He practically kicked the door in, and they then began arguing. This escalated when in the middle of their argument, the man reached out and slapped Andromeda across the face.
"Oh no," Alice said without warning, causing Ferdinand's blood to run cold.
"What?" he said.
"We need to go stop her!" Alice said, she rose to her feet and bolted for the door.
Ferdinand followed closely after but was still confused, "Who?" Ferdinand asked.
"Andromeda!" she answered. Alice said while she wrestled with the door.
----------------------------------------
Andromeda felt the sting on her cheek and felt the last remaining vestiges of her patience leave her. If blood could literally boil, she knew that hers would be nothing less than molten.
Aixen had some idea of the line he had just crossed, despite his insistence that she tell him the truth of her nature, he hadn't expected to lose composure like that. Now he wished he hadn't. Andromeda glared with such intensity that he wasn't sure she wasn't burning a hole into his soul. The door on the opposite side of the room burst open, and Alice along with Ferdinand and Rapture rushed through.
"Stop! You can't hurt him," Alice said. Andromeda gritted her teeth and stared. By this point, Aixen's hand was glowing with a fire-like energy, and she could feel the heat it was generating even from a short distance. She got very close to him and did something no one was expecting.
"You. Get. Two. More." She said. He got the message and rushed from the room.
Andromeda took an entire minute to slow her breathing and calm her nerves, only for Alice to come over and grab her hand. "I've never seen you like that, are you alright?" Alice asked.
"I could lie and say I am, but my nerves are shot. I'm waiting to talk with Entai, then I don't know what's going to happen," Andromeda said. Alice pulled herself closer until she was half hugging Andromeda's arm.
"We'll do everything we can to make sure it doesn't come to that. I promise you," Alice said.
"Don't make promises you can't live with making, Alice, for your sake. Whatever happens today, don't let yourself think it was your fault," Andromeda said.
Alice sensed that the Arbiter was approaching their location, so they hurried out of the room and returned to the lounge, leaving Andromeda alone with nothing but a sore cheek. True to her word, the Arbiter returned with a less than pleased look. Maybe it was more accurate to say "seething with cold fury."
"It's time for your talk with Entai Algoer. You have until he no longer wishes to speak with you, then we conduct our business."
"Why do you care so much that I talk to him? Seriously, it's like you're worried about something I don't." Andromeda said.
"It's not your place to question my methods. If you resist me again, I'll be forced-" She started to say, but all it took was a single stare to remind her of what Andromeda said in the drive over. "Just make yourself presentable and follow me."
The Arbiter then led Andromeda out of the room and into the main hall. As they walked, Andromeda smelled something familiar, but also strange. She couldn't put her finger on it, but whatever it was, it was incredibly unpleasant. It only got worse as they went up the stairs, it was like ash and burnt meat. As they arrived on the next floor, she glanced over to see several of the house staff scrubbing the floor. Her chest was filled with that same strange and cold feeling she had been feeling since she woke up.
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"What's that over there?" Andromeda said.
"Don't ask questions, just hurry up," the Arbiter said, then without any ceremony, she pushed Andromeda into a large office. Sitting behind a desk at the far end of the room was an ancient-looking man. Compared to Ferdinand, this man could easily be twenty years his senior, and then some. His grey hair was so thin and dry that it was a wonder it grew at all. But more than all that, she had a strange feeling when looking at him. Not the kind you usually feel when looking at an elderly person, a mix of sympathy and second-hand depression, instead, he seemed to be more alive than his appearance would suggest.
"Ah, Ms. Noelle, welcome," he said. Though his words were warm, his tone was morose and tinged with sadness.
"Are you Entai Algoer?" She asked. The man nodded and pointed to a chair on the other side of his desk. She wasn't sure how she felt about being cordial, but didn't want to stand if their conversation was going to go on, so she walked the length of the room and sat down.
As Andromeda went along, Entai's face dropped slightly. Faint depression took over his eyes even while he continued to smile.
"I wish we could have met under better circumstances, though I'm sure from your perspective, I suppose meeting me at all was not preferred," Entai said. He tipped a small plate toward her with a few small sandwiches, but she refused.
"I don't know what I think. So much has happened in such a short time that I feel like I'm going crazy," Andromeda said.
"That is understandable. If anyone else were to go through a fraction of what you have dealt with these last three months, I'd wager they too would lose their minds," Entai said. The way he said that caught Andromeda's attention. Three months? Three months ago put her on the table with Rhys; not even Argo knew her well enough before that.
"Why three months? What about that time stands out to you?" She asked, trying to be coy. Entai turned an eyebrow up at her and took a sip of tea he had sitting beside him.
"Why, that is when you were brought to this world, I believe, give or take a few days here or there," he said. Andromeda felt as though the floor came out from beneath her.
"I don't even know how I got here, how would you?" She asked. This seemed to confuse him. Then a look of realization played over his face.
"Oh, that might explain a few things," Entai said. He stood from his desk and walked to a nearby file drawer, he sifted through the pages for a moment then came back with a letter. He handed it to Andromeda and waited for her to open it.
It is on this day, two weeks hence, that you, Sir Entai Algoer, are invited to stay with the king in his majesty's royal estate. The purpose of this event cannot be disclosed for reasons of national security. However, we assure you that the events planned are in your great interest. Attendance is optional, and your lack thereof will not be seen as an affront to the royal family. Should you come, you will have a room and board provided for as long as you need within reason. You are entitled to bring as many as two guests with you.
"What's this?" Andromeda said.
"This was an invitation I received from the capital. Inviting me to witness an event that I came to learn was, in fact, a form of highly experimental summoning. I must state plainly, I have lived for 209 years on this mortal coil. I have witnessed feats of magic that would boggle the mind of a mage born after I was already a man, but what I saw on that day was by far and away the greatest thing I have ever seen. Some nights I think back to what I saw that night and wonder over it all over again," Entai said. Andromeda gave the letter back to him, and Entai returned it to its place in the cabinet.
"What does that have to do with me?" Andromeda asked.
"I mentioned that they performed a feat of summoning, using techniques that I can scarcely fathom. While they performed this summoning, two major events took place. A form of massive white orb formed in the air, larger than even this room. This is not, and to my knowledge still isn't, normal. Soon after this orb was created, a massive, blinding flash of pure white light blinded not only myself but a large portion of the people on the continent. How it didn't blind the millions it affected I'm unsure of. Once that too subsided, instead of any massive automaton of flame or some deadly beast from beyond the veil, there was only a single person."
"Who?" Andromeda asked.
"Until only a few minutes ago, I was never entirely sure. But her most striking feature was the red hair that draped over her shoulders, practically flaming with vitality," Entai said, and then it all hit Andromeda at once.
"I was... summoned? Willingly?" she asked.
"That is my theory, but if that were the case, I would not have done more than take note of it and move on with my life. What came the next day is what set me on the track that led to you personally," Entai said, then he returned to the file cabinet and came back with a clipping of a newspaper.
Though the news of his death reached our writers a week after his demise, the famed "Blinding Light'' event that took place in King's Grove seems to nearly align with the date of his death. After unconfirmed reports of an attack on the King's Personal Estate, it has been confirmed that the late king was the target of an assassination by the hands of two as-of-yet-unnamed mages and the king's very own Court Medea, Valotia Cateralia. The Church of The Medea has not issued a statement on this matter; however, through sources close to the paper, we have confirmed that this individual was a part of the Grand Order. For the readers who are unaware of the Medean Orders, the Grand Order is the third-highest Order in the church ranks, second only to the High Order and the Absolute Order.
Andromeda processed what she was hearing; she later learned that the king had died the same day the explosions in King’s Grove Proper took place. If Entai was to be believed, that meant that her arrival in this world was only hours before the king died. It lined up too well; he was telling the truth.
"In the days following the incident, I heard plenty of talk about the king’s killers and the king himself, but nothing about you. For whatever reason, it seemed as though no one was even aware of your existence. I myself only noticed that something was amiss due to my extensive experience in the mystical arts. I was sent away soon after one of the nobles succumbed to his injuries, and the manor was locked down," Entai said, then he took the newspaper clipping and returned to the file cabinet. When he returned, he had the remnants of a letter.
"Magister Feyris, I am approaching you to look into something for me. I’ve heard rumors about someone making noise in the farms area. Something about a “Mending Mage.” From the sounds of it, there is a mage of some renown acting in King’s Grove. I will be calling the young and able to Salsi for a few days to funnel the shitstorm the fool boy Alasander has made of my people. If we’re lucky, they’ll be there assuming they're in the age range. If they are, bring them to me so we can talk."
Andromeda barely had any ability to think. She didn't know what she was feeling, but it made her want to cry. Entai took the paper back and put it away.
"When I caught wind that there was a 'Mending Mage' in the region where you had just disappeared, I knew it must have been you. At first, I assumed you must have had some form of training in magic before the fact. But that thought was silenced by my next clue. Just after this letter came through, two events transpired. You, Andromeda Noelle, were admitted to Cylas. Which, by itself, would be noteworthy, but at the same time, Arch Mage White was brought into view," Entai said. "In my chest, I knew that one of those two people must have been you. At first, I assumed you were just yourself, and that White was indeed a different entity. But those thoughts were dashed when the Headmaster of Ander Plact contacted me."
Entai stood up once more and returned with another letter.
Sir Algoer, it has been a long while since we've interacted. So I apologize for my sudden correspondence. But I have come into information that I think would be very interesting for you personally. The student admitted to Cylas by word of High Magister Ferdinand, a young woman named Andromeda Noelle, is truly exceptional in the art of Mending. I have reason to believe that she is even the fabled “Mending Mage” of King’s Grove fame. I bring this to your attention due to your attunement to the practice of Mending. Inside, I have enclosed a personal exception for you to contact her. I believe it would be a wonderful experience for her. -High Master Evelin
"Of course, this only confirmed my belief, and to be honest, it felt a bit like fate. So I reached out. Keep in mind, you received this letter only a few days after what I believe was your first day. I say this to assuage the idea I'm sure is beginning to form in your head."
"I still haven't heard anything that makes me think you aren't involved," Andromeda said.
"Which brings me to the current situation. It was a few days after I sent this letter that I was approached by the woman who, I understand, you know as 'The Arbiter.' At first, I had no idea who she was. She came to me claiming to be an intermediary between Ander and myself. In my foolishness, I didn't consider the possibility that this was a trap. I agreed to let her into my home, and within minutes, my staff and servants were put under some kind of mind-altering curse. I myself resisted the effects, and this seemed to upset her."
"I can guess from here that she spread her curse or whatever it is to the rest of the island and threatened you that if you stepped out of line, she would cause mass riots."
"Precisely, and over the following weeks, she spread her sickness throughout the island. Nearly half of the population is under her control by this point. Ignoring my own case, I'm not sure why only around half of the population is affected, and this is something The Arbiter herself is also unsure of. Obviously, she didn't feel the need to explain the details of the curse to me, but as the days have gone by, she has become more agitated, especially after her captives were rescued," Entai said. Hearing that, Andromeda was struck with a question she hadn't considered before.
"Hold on, if she can snap her fingers and cause the island to devolve into chaos, why didn't she do it after I got my friends back?" Andromeda asked.
"I don't know, but I can assure you that she was beyond furious. Of course, my home being destroyed gave me a bit of a huff, but she was acting as though it were the end of the world. Throughout this whole endeavor, she has acted like such a child, and what scares me is that she still has arcane knowledge that is beyond her years."
"I can see that, so..." Andromeda said. "I'm pretty sure she didn't force me to talk to you out of the goodness of her heart. So why is it that she wanted this so bad? Wouldn't it have been easier to just kill me when she had the chance?"
"This is something I can answer. A few days ago, I gave something to your friend, Albert Nedely. I assume you haven't received it yet, and that is fine. The reason The Arbiter has been so insistent on you meeting me is due to a bit of my own manipulation. Nothing extreme, I've just implanted a small thought in her mind. At the moment, she is under the impression that our talk will conclude when I give you the gift Albert has with him now. However, the idea I've implanted isn't so strong that it would affect her actions, or she would likely overcome them and punish me for it," he said.
"I'm not sure what that means for me, or how that relates to me speaking to you. All you really said is that she thinks it's important that I talk to you."
"You misunderstand, at least for the moment. She thinks it's required that you speak with me. She also believes that if I don't give you the gift, you haven't finished that task. This gives you a bit of room to breathe."
"That's great, but I've had days to try and think of a way out of this, but I can't think of anything. I need something to work with," Andromeda said. Then, Entai took another sip of his tea.
"Just… take a moment to rest. As long as we speak, you will be safe. You have my word on that," he said. As much as Andromeda thought that wasn't a good idea, it seemed like he was being genuine.
She sighed, "What should we talk about then?" Andromeda asked.
"It might be presumptuous, but I have spent so much time following the trail you left out of King's Grove. I must admit I have become a bit invested in you personally. You say you are not from this world, but I'm unsure of what that means."
"Well, it might be better to start from the beginning. If you have some time."
"By all means," he said.
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*"You're right, I'm not 'from' this world. At least, I'm fairly sure I'm not. I might say some things you might not understand because my world is a lot different from this one.
My world, in my honest opinion, is a nightmare. It is filled with war, death, and destruction. Every generation of my family, for as long as I know, has fought in at least one war—me, my father, his father, and his father before him. All of us were fighting one enemy or another.
Things seemed to improve for a while after my father was born. The people of my world had a boom in technology, and we built great things—massive structures and even an elevator to space. All it took to breach the atmosphere of our planet was an hour of your spare time.
It was due to this that I came into that world. From what my parents told me, I was a bit special. Though not for any reason myself. My mother wanted to surprise my father after he got a work position on the newly built space elevator. She had to pull strings to be allowed to do this, as it was still not fully open to the public at the time, more so because she was pregnant.
A short while later, the excitement and the stress of being in such a place got to her, and she went into labor. I was the first human child to be born in space. Fittingly, they named me “Andromeda,” it was the name of a galaxy far away from our own, but closer than any other. It was their little joke between us. No matter how far away we were from each other, Andromeda was always our closest neighbor.
Not so much anymore.
My life was mostly fine for the next few years. The buzz around being the first human born in space wore off as soon as that became common. But things never stayed happy for very long. War broke out again, and my father was enlisted. He never told me what he did, but he didn't have to. I could see it, and I could feel it.
Even though he was back in my life, he was changed. He was quiet, reserved, and didn't leave the house unless it was for work or a function. He wasn't mean or abusive, just lost and tired. He cared for and loved me and my mother with all his heart, so I didn't know all of this until years later. Then he died.
I don't know what did it, but my mother was convinced it wasn't natural causes. I don't know what the official diagnosis was, but my mother refused it. I was about seven when this happened, and all I remember were the countless people who came to his funeral; I think even a general came.
After that, my mother was basically gone; she could never recover from the pain, and when I was nine, her heart gave out and she died as well. I was sent to live with my aunt and uncle from my mother's side. I went on with my life because what else was I supposed to do? Everyone else seemed stuck on my parents, and as much as I missed them, I couldn't bring them back, no matter how much I wanted. I loved my aunt and uncle, and I loved my cousins like they were my own little brother and sister, but I got the feeling they all knew it wasn't the same.
After that, my life was normal through most of high school. Then the world broke out into war again, and because I had just finished school, I jumped right in. I thought that if I could learn what my father learned, I might understand what he went through. Even while he was broken, he taught me some things—how life was precious, and that I should do everything I can to protect it. So, I went in as a medic.
I never hurt a soul but watched a lot of good people die. That went on for a few years, but eventually, our side lost, and I was discharged. It was only a few weeks after that I was brought here. My first memories are waking up on a table surrounded by Argo Landers and a Medea named Rhys. Though I guess it really started with being summoned here.
*As for the rest, you can probably guess, I lived with the Landers for a while, got scouted by Ferdinand, became Arch Mage White, all of that, and here we are."**
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"That is... I am sorry," Entai said.
"Don't be, you're just a bystander in all this," Andromeda said.
Entai shook his head, "No, that's not what I mean. I may not have caused your troubles in your life, but to hear of them makes my heart ache. Though I have known great pain in my long life, I can't claim to have endured as much as quickly as you have. When I was your age, I was still convinced that death was a far-away concept that only happened to those who were unimportant. Every word I breathed was tinged with my corrupted belief that no one died. That death was just failure," he said. Andromeda's eyes slowly widened as he spoke.
"What did you say?" she asked.
"What? That death was just failure?" he asked.
"No, before that. Did you say -" She started to say, then Entai's eyes opened wide as well.
" 'No one dies,' is this one you mean? It was something I thought when I was young. I would blare it at the top of my lungs with all the confidence of a reckless youth. It was after saying those words that I first experienced their falsehood," Entai said, then he reached into his pocket and produced a small piece of paper and handed it to Andromeda. She looked to see an illustration of a young woman with dark hair and a kind smile. The picture was so old and faded that she could barely make out more than general details.
"One night, after a debaucherous night of celebration after my acceptance to Cylas. My... well, my partner was with me. After loudly proclaiming that phrase, we drank into the night. In the morning, I awoke. She did not," Entai said.
"I see... I'm sorry for your loss," she said.
"Ms. Noelle, I know that to you, I am just a stranger caught in conversation with you. But promise me, never believe something with your full heart that you know in your mind can't be true. Every person dies. Don't act in a way that suggests you think they don't. A life lived with the belief that death is not real will be the only one to be surprised by it."
"I... I can't..." Andromeda said, not even realizing she was now crying.
"I know it's hard to consider, but if you carry those words in your heart, know they are lies. Poison we dose ourselves with because the alternative feels so much worse. But I assure you, it will only make your life more difficult. You must understand," Entai said.
"I just can't... I can't let it..." She insisted, hearing this, Entai took a different approach.
"After the loss of my partner, I began my training at Cylas. With my wealth and prestige, I could have focused on any topic, any field. I could have become a master and transcended the fabric of reality and entered the realms of the gods. Do you know what I did instead?" Entai asked.
"What?" Andromeda said, tears still in her eyes.
"Of all the subjects in this world I could have taken up, I looked to the healers, the Medea. I knew I could not reach their abilities, so I took the next best thing. I chose to learn mending so that, in some small way, I could learn to heal the world around me. I knew it would not bring back those I loved, but I knew that if I could make the world a better place, then others might not suffer the same foolishness I once partook in. There were so many times I wished I could heal those who hurt around me and was left wanting."
"The phrase 'No one dies' is poison. Fit only to be imbibed by those who wish to be proven wrong. Instead, I believe in a different phrase now. Not that no one should die, but that all should live."
"All... should live?" Andromeda said.
"Yes, we all will eventually come to pass, but the lives we lived will remain for all time. So all should live, but because that is the only way we never die," Entai said.
Hearing him say that, with no hostility, no urgency, and with a sad smile, she didn't feel the pain in her chest, thinking about it in the way he suggested. It just felt... normal.
"You've told me about yourself, and I've told you a bit about myself as well. If there is anything else you wish to ask, I may answer," he said.
"I don't, but... I think I have something I want to show you. But you have to promise to keep it a secret," she said.
"You have my word, on my honor," Entai said. Andromeda smiled, and then reached for a letter opener on his desk.
"What are you doing?" he said, suddenly worried. But Andromeda just looked at him, and there were no words she had to explain what it was. He just knew from a glance that he should remain at peace.
Andromeda carefully put the letter opener to the flesh of her palm, and using its razor-thin blade, made a small cut in her hand. Just enough that the blood dripped inward and not onto the table.
A pure, white radiance emitted from her hand. In all his years, he had never witnessed such a pure light. No imperfections, reflections, or aberrations. Just pure light. He wasn't even sure if it was magic. Master as he was, no memory or experience had prepared him to understand what he saw.
Even as bright as it was, it was not blinding. He could stare deep into its bright light and feel no pain. Rather, it was like looking into the endless expanse of the night sky, only stark white rather than inky black. Then it soon faded, and a small part of him was disappointed, as he almost wished to gaze upon it longer. When the light was fully gone, her hand was healed; there was no suggestion of a cut, nor was there any blood. Had he not known better, he would have assumed he was imagining it, and that it was a trick. But her tranquil expression in that moment told him all he needed to know.
"Was that... healing?" he asked. It wasn't so much that he was surprised, but just unsure of what he saw.
"Yep, for a long time I wasn't sure if it was or wasn't. Because I didn't know what I was or what I wasn't. But I think I understand now. I was too worried about what I could do or what I should do, and now I know that the only thing I can do is try," Andromeda said.
With that said, Entai knew their conversation was over. But as she stood and waved at him while she left, even though her eyes were still moist from the tears, he could almost see a slight glow that wasn't there a moment before. Seeing that put all the worries he had to rest.