95 – Alabaster Rose

It took most of the next day for Vivi to finish placing warp anchors throughout the mortal lands. With how she could teleport across the human kingdoms, only the demon lands took a particularly long flight over many miles of dark ocean. The dwarven enclaves and the elven forests were trickier and more tedious to navigate, despite being closer in raw distance. Especially the winding underground tunnels and cave systems the dwarves called home. But she’d finished in around twelve hours.

It was an interesting sightseeing expedition, but she didn’t make contact with anyone or announce her presence. Simply flitted in, dropped an anchor, and left for the next location. She would need to have conversations with the leadership of the long-lived races sooner rather than later, but now that emergency preparations had been handled, she had a more pressing goal: reuniting Vanguard and completing the second-stage mythical Quest.

To that end, there was a certain famous restaurant in the capital city of the Eastern Kingdom that Vivi wanted to visit. The Alabaster Rose apparently offered the best cuisine found in the human kingdoms, and it was run by none other than Petra, Vanguard’s prior cook. Like with Malach, Rafael had discreetly reached out to the woman, and the cook would have no doubt made her own assumptions about Meridian, the breach, and the Sorceress’s alleged involvement—so she probably wouldn’t be too surprised when Vivi showed up at her doorstep.

Petra would be the last of the easy craftsmen to contact. Rowena and Bram, the leatherworker and woodworker, had passed away long before Vivi had arrived in this world. Laelith the enchanter was missing, beyond even Rafael’s ability to track down. Ulden the jewelcrafter was deep in the dwarven enclaves in some small city Vivi hadn’t even recognized the name of. And Eshara, their blacksmith, wasn’t missing like Laelith was, but she hid her activities as a matter of habit. As Rafael had told her, the elf had taken it upon herself to forge a spiritual successor to Vanguard—she and her band of heroes traveled the mortal kingdoms slaying great threats wherever they could find them, which often required a measure of stealth to keep their sometimes-sapient targets from fleeing.

Finally finished with the exhausting errand of flying across thousands of miles of terrain, Vivi warped back to her estate in Meridian and dropped into her bed to take a short mental rest. Maintaining flight and haste spells couldn’t be called truly taxing, not to a mage of her strength, but the constant attention had definitely worn at her, especially combined with lingering manaburn. The last of that sickness would be gone by morning, which she was looking forward to.

After the quick break, she elbowed up and scooted to the edge of the bed to glance out the window. By the brightness in the sky, she had a few hours till nightfall. Plenty of time to visit Petra’s restaurant. That mission would be easy to handle alone, but firstly she didn’t want to, and secondly she had another goal: finalizing the situation with Isabella. Vivi had been filled in that morning by Saffra on where the Caldimore heiress stood on the events that had transpired and what she wanted going forward. The catgirl’s confidence that she could pester her friend into honesty hadn’t been misplaced. It hadn’t even taken a full day for her to accomplish her goal.

As for actually setting Isabella up for a comfortable future at the Institute… Vivi had a few ideas on how to handle that.

She [Blinked] over to Aeris’s office first, and thankfully he presented himself when she knocked. She wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d been occupied. Most important figures had been thrown into a frenzy with the arrival of the void threat.

And with my arrival, I suppose, Vivi thought, the idea disorienting.

“Lady Vivisari?” the old archmage asked, bushy white eyebrows pulling together in surprise. “How can I help you?”

“Are you busy? Can we talk?”

“Of course.” He waved her in. “As for whether I’m busy…” He chuckled. “Less than you would think. I believe I mentioned it earlier, but I separated myself from politics, even the Institute’s, as completely as I could. Should the world ever need my magic for the defense of the public, I will of course respond, but beyond that, I am merely a tenured professor with a smattering of personal projects, and a master to two apprentices—nothing more, and nothing less.”

“I see.” She supposed that explained his availability despite everything going on. “You have two apprentices?”

“Between two and five in any given decade,” Aeris replied. “Two right now, yes. You met Tatiana. Quinn, a seventh year, is the other. He’s busy studying for exams; I work with Tatiana more frequently this time in the semester.”

That he had several apprentices boded well for why Vivi had come. “I have a request, but feel free to decline,” she started. “Please don’t just accept because of who I am.”

Aeris took on a thoughtful expression. “It would be difficult to divorce the request from the one who makes it, no matter what I promise. I owe you more than I could ever repay. All of mortalkind does.”

Vivi fought the urge to shift uncomfortably at that. “Regardless, I don’t think it would be good for her unless you’re fully supportive of the idea. Isabella Caldimore will return to the Institute soon, and I want someone watching over her—and teaching her. Maybe more importantly, I want to continue making it clear to society that she has our protection, and your reputation will help send that signal. Rafael impressed on me how… disliked… the Caldimores are right now.” Which the Duke deserved, but his family by extension didn’t.

She had considered making this request of Lysander, but she didn’t know whether the man had a good temperament for a master-apprentice relationship. Plus, for all that Lysander was one of only a few human archmages, he was still much weaker than Aeris. Lysander might be more talented—as Aeris himself had admitted—but hundreds of years of experience went a long way. Further than natural skill, in this case.

“But choosing an apprentice isn’t some small favor,” Vivi finished. “Which is why I want you to actually be certain you’re okay with it.”

After a long moment of contemplation, Aeris said, “It’s less significant of a request for me than most other Titled. I’ve spent the past century doing little but teaching others—it’s what gives me purpose in these twilight years. And not every apprentice did I choose purely for my own reasons. I’ve taught for the Institute’s sake, the crown’s, humanity’s, and other motives besides. I wouldn’t even say I’ve liked all of my apprentices. Lysander was one, for half a decade, you know. In his grand magus years.” Aeris cleared his throat and seemed to grow abashed. “Perhaps I shouldn’t be quite so frank. It is unbecoming for a master to express dislike of a past apprentice. I’ve always found them worth teaching, no matter the personal foibles between us. All that to say, you are correct: it is not a small favor, but not a monumental one either as it might be to some.”

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He stroked his white beard.

“Isabella Caldimore,” he said. “I teach the upper years, so I haven’t had her in a class of mine. But her admirable actions in this debacle, the tragedy of her circumstances, and your implicit endorsement—each of those alone would have been reason enough to take interest in teaching her. Perhaps in another life, I would have protected her myself as you have.” He nodded firmly. “Until the end of the semester would be no favor at all, and tensions should settle as the truth becomes common knowledge—that she is not her father. We can reevaluate a longer-term apprenticeship then?” Almost apologetically, he added, “I have not properly met the girl, so overcommitting seems unwise.”

“No, that’s perfect.” More than she’d hoped for. Aeris’s explanations and the confidence he spoke with had also convinced her that he wasn’t just saying yes to placate the Sorceress, though she doubted that didn’t play some role in his thought process. “And speaking of meeting her—I was going to take her and Saffra to Petra’s restaurant, and wanted to invite you as well. And Tatiana.” At the confusion on his face, Vivi corrected, “The Alabaster Rose. Rafael told me Petra runs it. Vanguard’s prior cook.”

His confusion disappeared, though his eyebrows crept up his forehead as he responded. “Petra Cooper. Of course, yes, I didn’t make the connection. I’ve intended to make the trip myself for some time. Simply found it difficult to tear myself away from the comfort of my office and familiar surroundings.” He considered Vivi. “If you are offering such a privilege, of course I accept.”

“Perfect. I haven’t spoken to Isabella about this yet, so we can broach the idea over dinner.”

“You wish for Tatiana to come as well, you said?”

“I still feel guilty for stranding her at Prismarche. I want to treat her.”

Aeris laughed, though he tried to mask the outburst by clearing his throat. She felt a heat grow on her cheeks, though she knew it was only in her head.

“Plus she’ll be Isabella’s co-apprentice,” Vivi added. “And they’re both still students. Seems like them meeting is worth something.”

“I completely agree.” He nodded. “When?”

“Half an hour or so?”