Rise of the Archmage Alister

Half an hour passed, and the humming stopped as Alliana came to. The expression on her face for but a moment was annoyance and discomfort, but it was soon settled. "Apologies for taking so long, a few… oddities occurred in my efforts," she said, not standing from her seat. This got quite the look of surprise from Blas himself, who had seen her do this countless times, the only person she trusted to be her security while so vulnerable. Never had she had such… "oddities."

"Do explain, dear?" He asked, both physically and telepathically, immediately concerned that her courtly mannerisms covered up a mental injury from some kind of defense.

She simply gave him a warm smile, "Nothing so serious as all that. Just… well, oddities. Strange little errors kept occurring I've never seen before that rendered my search for her mind unsuccessful. But I do have a thought for how to resolve them."

The look of concern that showed on Wisteria's face earlier flashed again, only being restrained much more slowly this time. Especially since immediately after, Alliana called to her. "Wisteria, would you be a dear and come take my hand? I'd like you to pray to Vera for me, " she said, making Wisteria stare in surprised silence for a moment.

Was the duchess so quick witted that she figured things out from the defense alone…? Or had Wisteria given more information than she thought? Either way, she knew this help would be needed if Wisteria was going to talk to her mother, but didn't know how to offer it. "Of course, it would be my pleasure," Wisteria said as she approached and knelt on the floor, one hand taking Alliana's, the other touching her golden bird skull necklace. A prayer was muttered as Alliana hummed again.

'Fear not, little one. I have no intent to pry… but I do hope that both you and your mother know we could protect you from whatever you are concerned about,' Alliana said to the girl telepathically, her free hand gently resting on the young girl's head. Wisteria couldn't respond telepathically, but she couldn't help worrying all the same about letting something slip. What if she could read minds…? What had she discerned…?

She chuckled in her mind, ‘Calm down and breathe easy. Whatever you’re worrying about, I promise, I’m not here to cause you or your mother troubles. You are a kind friend to my son.’

“Thank you…,” Wisteria muttered, whispering in response.

Alliana had to really work at it and focus, but eventually she managed the connection.

Myrtle, Wisteria’s mother, was in the garden as she felt the burgeoning connection. Panic wracked her as she didn’t know who it could be, but the calm voice of Alliana breaking through made her sigh in relief. She dug her fingers in the damp dirt, closing her eyes.

‘You scared me, Lady Alliana.’

‘Apologies for that. Whatever defense that is that you have made it difficult to break through. I would’ve loved to give you a more delicate notice.’

‘…I’m sorry.’

‘I am not going to be a threat to your family. Whatever you’ve got going on. I assure you, I’m on your side.’

‘I appreciate that, my lady… I… Wisteria and I came from the south. From Typer Qoar, across the Hourglass Sea. We fled the violence from the coup. The overthrowing of the old king made life very difficult. We fled past Tience and settled here. As far away as I could reasonably get. I apologize for my secretiveness. I still have nightmares,’ she left out her position, but that was the easiest, and half-truthful, explanation. Myrtle brushed her hands off and stood, turning back to the house, ‘I am a cautious person. I simply wish to avoid losing my home again.’ A half-lie was more believable than a full one.

‘You won’t,’ Alliana responded, ‘You’ve raised a very polite and kind young woman. It’s been a pleasure to have her with us thus far.’

‘I appreciate your kind words,’ Myrtle wished she could trust them, ‘If you’re worried about safety, don’t be. I am sure any enemies I have are not stupid enough to attack a ducal family.’

‘I thank you for that reassurance then. Now for the actual reason I’ve contacted you this way. Your poor darling daughter is beside me and would very much so like me to get on with it,’ Alliana let a small giggle loose, giving Wisteria a pet on the head, ‘My son Alister finally reached level ten - though not in the manner I would’ve preferred - and Wisteria is very excited to choose her class. Alas, she doesn’t want to do so without her mother. It’s very sweet and heartwarming, if you ask me, so of course I had to oblige.’

Myrtle leaned her hands back against the table, now inside her house, ‘Heh. Thank you. I’m humbled by your generosity, my Lady.’

‘Just Alliana, please.’

There was a pause, ‘…Alliana, then. Thank you. It’s been a while since I’ve done it, but I have skills for this sort of scrying. I can help make the image.’

‘Your skills make me all the more curious, but I won’t press. I’ll gladly take your aid.’

This got a mental head nod, 'I fulfilled many functions for my employer.'

A few moments of silence followed, and soon after Alliana got a notice from the home's magical defenses that someone was attempting to project an image therein. After accepting this, Wisteria's mother appeared before them. It was a crude image, almost like a ghost, but it was still enough to make Wisteria jump for joy.

The girl jumped to her feet and ran to the projection, grinning widely. "Mother! Alister finally hit level 10, so I can pick a class!" she explained excitedly, hopping up and down in place, "We shot a bunch of crabs with a gun and I met Alister's cousin and she's really cool and I wanna be a powder mage but I really wanted to talk to you about it first but-"

After the rapid flurry of words, the child had to stop and take a deep breath, making everyone laugh at the excitement.

"My darling Wisteria, breathe. Tell me about this powder mage… slower than before, please," Myrtle said with a kind smile.

After an explanation that ran far longer than necessary because Wisteria kept getting distracted, Myrtle nodded slowly in thought. "I must admit that I'm surprised you aren't choosing a holy class to start with… but I'm not opposed. I do love your excitement. You have my blessing to choose Powder Mage," she said as she gently touched Wisteria's cheek, though the girl couldn't feel it.

“Thank you! I’ll make sure to choose something holy with my next one!” Wisteria said, smiling wide at her mother.

“La… Alliana,” she corrected herself, “I’d like to offer my services when you return, if you’ll have me. My skills as an herbalist are more than passable… and I am a healer…”

Alliana smiled, “Of course. And you don’t have to wait for us to return. Go to the manor when you have the time. They should know who you are. I’ll send them a message. You would have to undergo some job training though, if that’s alright. We would need to know your capabilities. But by all means, we can find a spot for you.”

“Thank you,” Myrtle sighed, her own smile stressed but genuine. She focused back on Wisteria, “My sweet girl… I’m so proud of you. I already miss you so much. I want you to know… if push comes to shove, I think you can trust them. I want you to avoid telling our life story unnecessarily, but I think they’re trustworthy.”

Wisteria’s eyes widened, but she nodded, “Secrecy is safety, but not if it costs you your life.”

“Good girl. I think I should go, however. I can feel the strain on my essence reserves,” Myrtle gave a wave, “Don’t be a stranger. All of you. And stay safe. I will pray that your days are filled with good luck.”