Tatiana swallowed, but forced herself not to freeze up. Once had been embarrassing enough.

“I know of her. That’s it, my lady. Expulsions don’t happen often, you really have to do something horrible. Usually there’s a whole list of punishments they go through first. So when it does happen, people talk.”

“I see. And in this instance?”

Tatiana hesitated. “My little brother is a third-year, and he was talking about it, so this is secondhand information at best.”

“That’s fine. The public view is what I want.”

Why? Why had Vivisari Vexaria gone from talking about dimensional anomalies and potential Eighth Cataclysms to…Saffra, that beastkin second-year who’d been expelled eight or nine months ago? How could they possibly be related?

Tatiana was obviously in no position to question the likes of Vivisari, though, and Master Aeris was looking at her with curiosity, so she answered after a moment of dubious hesitation, “From how Xavier described it, the whole thing blew up because of Isabella Caldimore. She assaulted her.”

“She attacked Saffra?”

Tatiana blinked. “What? Um, no. The other way around. Isabella showed up to class one day with—bruises. Apparently it was pretty bad. She accused Saffra.”

Vivisari studied her, demeanor cold. “Is that it?”

Tatiana swallowed, nervous even if the undercurrent of anger wasn’t targeted at her. “They were…friends, before? Sort of? Xavier said they had a frenemy thing going.”

Both Vivisari and Master Aeris stared at her, and Tatiana realized she had just used the word ‘frenemy’ in front of two living legends. Two individuals who had reached the pinnacle of magehood, people who were known the world over as heroes of their Ages. In Vivisari’s case, a hero of all Ages.

A flush seared up her neck and onto her cheeks, the tips of her ears turning red. Why, again, was she explaining Institute drama to a woman who could erase cities with a wave of her staff?

“W-which is to say, they had a rivalry going on, definitely, but for all the bickering, they were always eating together, walking the halls, studying…everything. Everyone knew they were friends, just a weird sort. That’s what Xavier said, at least.” Tatiana bit her tongue, wondering whether she should elaborate. “He was there. Apparently Saffra was super caught off guard. He didn’t think she was acting. And afterward, a bunch of other accusations came out. Again, this is just what I heard, but all of them came from nobles. Mostly from people close to the Caldimores. Xavier thought there was something fishy about the whole thing, and it didn’t sit right with him, but what could he do? Or anyone? He said Saffra was a bit aggressive and opinionated, but the only times she got into real fights were against bullies. She had a reputation for that. Maybe that’s why it wasn’t questioned when she attacked Isabella? If she did,” she hastily corrected. “It wasn’t her first time getting in trouble, even if it was usually justified.”

“Lysander didn’t look into this?” Master Aeris asked, a deep frown pulling on his beard and mustache.

Tatiana shrugged helplessly. “It was twenty people’s word against one. Nobles against a commoner. And all hearsay, none in her favor. Duke Caldimore himself stepped in to insist on her expulsion. Said they were letting her off light.” She glanced at Vivisari. Her face remained calm, but there was a dangerous hint of anger that even Tatiana could pick up on. She couldn’t help but ask, “Why? You know Saffra?”

“I met her in Prismarche.”

Prismarche?! The girl had fled across the continent! She guessed that was reasonable, considering she’d drawn the ire of one of the five most important noble families in the Kingdoms. But still.

“And took her as my apprentice,” Vivisari finished.

Tatiana failed to parse the words.

Vivisari had taken…that random second-year involved with drama earlier…as her apprentice?

“Did you, now?” Master Aeris asked, turning in surprise to Vivisari.

“She demonstrated an exceptional strength of character, and asked for help with her spellwork. I can’t offer her a true apprenticeship, but I’ve been providing lessons and insight where I can.”

Master Aeris seemed strangely delighted. “It’s wonderfully fulfilling, fostering the youth. How amazing you’ve finally taken that step! My, though. This is concerning.” The pleasure turned to a grimace. “If there was a gross injustice in this tower, I’m ashamed for not having prevented it, Vivisari. I dare not make assumptions, but the Caldimores are a respectable family—why would they arrange such a thing? What has the girl herself said about it?”

“Nothing,” Vivisari said with a sigh. “She clearly wants to leave the debacle behind her, whatever it was. Which I would be fine with, but I’m looking into it in case it’s something I can’t ignore.”

“I see,” Master Aeris said slowly, seeming unhappy—probably at himself as much as the situation. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, that is true.”

“Is that all you know?” Vivisari asked.

Tatiana tried to dig up any more details, but couldn’t find any. “It was second-year drama. It made waves because expulsions are rare, and it was a commoner attacking a Caldimore, but no, everyone forgot about it a month later. I only know this much because of Xavier. He was one of their classmates and felt bad about it.”

 “Lysander will have the details, surely,” Master Aeris said. “I would like to imagine that something more is going on, that a family like the Caldimores wouldn’t throw a promising young student from the Institute for…pettiness? Mere dislike?” He shook his head. “But it is not something I can discard out of hand. I’ve seen far worse behavior from far better men.”

That statement hung in the air, Vivisari frowning at him.

“I see,” she said, turning to Tatiana. “That’s it?”

“That’s all I know.”

“I might need to speak with Lysander then,” Vivisari said. “Though I’d rather put that off. What do you know of him?”

“The Headmaster?” Master Aeris asked. “Quite a lot. He was there, during much of the Campaigns. If not yet Titled by that point. He rose to true prominence over the decades succeeding the Turning. Those monsters left scars on the world, lingering ghouls of the Regent, naga-hordes supping on the sunken corpse of the Kraken, a menagerie of other nightmares. I dealt with some, yes, but so did he. A prodigious boy, with a truly staggering talent for the arcane. He surpasses even me, relative to his age.”

He stroked his beard, thoughtful.

“I hope this description stays between us, Vivisari, but he is vain and arrogant to a fault. Many men of explosive success and undeniable talent are. He is not, however, a villain. Merely a difficult person to work with. I have excused myself from politics, but I would not have seen him named Headmaster if I thought him wicked or self-serving.”

Tatiana stirred in surprise. Master Aeris was always grumbling about Headmaster Lysander. She hadn’t known he thought highly of him, even with those condemning clarifiers.

Vivisari mulled over his response. “Perhaps I’ll visit. I’ll decide later.” She faced Tatiana. “Thank you for the information.”

“O-of course, Lady Vivisari.” She still found it surreal that she was even being addressed by this woman.

To Master Aeris, she said, “I have other tasks I need to see to, so I can’t stay. I wanted to give you that notebook, primarily, and ask about Saffra.” She made to stand, then paused. “Ah. Would you like to see the anomaly before I go? That might help your understanding, as a reference for what I have inside my notes.”

Master Aeris seemed confused for a moment—as was Tatiana—before understanding dawned, and he laughed.

“Ah, Vivisari. I forgot how humbling your mere existence is,” he said wryly. “Yes, please. That would indeed be helpful. You can make the return trip as well?”

Vivisari’s brow furrowed slightly, not quite understanding. But she answered the question. “Yes. It’s only eighteenth-tier magic.”

Tatiana probably needed to clean out her ears, because surely the phrase ‘only eighteenth-tier’ hadn’t been uttered.

“Indeed,” Master Aeris said, amusement plain. “Might I invite Tatiana? We’re working on manifesting [Blink], and warping might contextualize the process for her. Or would that be too much strain?”

“Strain?” Vivisari asked, brow furrowing again. It clearly wasn’t that she found the question amusing, or was flaunting her power—she seemed to actually not understand for a second. “Oh, no. The spell is only unwieldy with crowds.”

…crowds?

A person couldn’t cast spatial magic on crowds.

Vivisari stood and held a hand out. Master Aeris grabbed his cane and pushed himself to his feet. He laid a wrinkled hand in Vivisari’s. When he gestured for Tatiana to come over, she hurried to do the same, moving by instinct more than intent. Because she didn’t really believe what she was hearing.

Even Vivisari surely couldn’t—?

“[Greater Warp].”

The world folded in on itself. Blackness crushed her from all directions, and her senses fled. Sight. Hearing. Smell. For an infinitesimal, infinite moment, she stopped existing. She floated in inky darkness, her arms and legs gone, the tongue in her mouth. Total disembodiment. Then there was a sensation low in her stomach, a perception of movement, though that didn’t remotely describe it. Like she’d been launched by a catapult, multiplied a million times over.

Tatiana slammed back into reality with a gasp, space unfolding and vomiting her out into cold, bright sunlight. She staggered and might have lost her footing if not for a surprisingly steady hand that dropped onto her shoulder to stabilize her.

“It’s an experience, the first time,” Master Aeris said, eyes wrinkling at the corners. “Like almost all things, you adjust.”

[Greater Warp].

Tatiana couldn’t believe it. It had taken all of a second for Vivisari to cast the spell. How was that possible, even for the Sorceress? Without her staff, for three people, and without seeming affected in the slightest?

As shocking as that was, she shoved the wonder away and focused on the sensation of being swallowed by space. While [Greater Warp] wasn’t [Blink], they were closely aligned. She locked the sensations into her memory, and felt a thrill of inspiration go through her. She’d been so close even just last attempt…invocation might genuinely be within reach, now!

“Oh, dear. That’s far worse than I imagined,” Master Aeris said.

Tatiana’s eyes popped open. The tone in her master’s voice had broken her concentration. He didn’t sound afraid; the only time she had ever heard that, ironically, was earlier. At Vivisari’s arrival.

But awed. And deeply concerned. His eyes were locked on the sky above Prismarche. She failed to see whatever it was that he clearly could. She thought she noticed a disturbance in the mana currents, but no matter how hard she concentrated, she was unable to identify the source of whatever tickled her brain.

“It looks worse than it is,” Vivisari said. “And it’s repairing itself over time. You would have gleaned more if you saw the fractures as they appeared.”

“Mm. And you did?”

“I was here for the festival, yes.”

“It must have been a sight indeed.”

Vivisari nodded.

Tatiana redoubled her efforts to identify the magical phenomenon, and once again failed. Her frustration grew.

“[Aura of the Ember Giant],” Vivisari’s voice murmured from Tatiana’s side.

She jumped in surprise as a blanket of warmth enveloped her. She realized only then she’d been shivering. The Northern Kingdom was violently cold, and they were standing on the city’s wall, wind gusting through her robes like the thick cloth didn’t exist. She didn’t have the monstrous stats the other two members of this party did to fend away mortal concerns—she’d only been ignoring the cold thanks to how utterly absorbed she was with more important things.

Vivisari Vexaria had seen her shivering…and cast a spell to warm her up? Something about that broke her brain for the tenth time that day.

“It looks like this,” Vivisari told Tatiana before she could even thank her. She held a hand out and extruded mana into the air. She twisted that magical essence around, shaping it in ways Tatiana hadn’t known were possible. She knew without a doubt that she comprehended less than a hundredth of what Vivisari tried to show her, but when Tatiana looked back at the sky, it was enough for her to understand—or at least perceive.

The sky wobbled, then shattered into ten million shards. She blanched and jolted a step back. The effect was most pronounced in the center of the city, where only a mess of tangled fragments huddled. Near the outskirts, the pieces of broken sky were the size of buildings.

Tatiana was too shocked to even curse. She gaped like a fish, words failing her.

Vivisari didn’t think this implied a possible Eighth Cataclysm? The boundary between worlds had shattered. The destruction was profane. Tatiana wanted to retch just looking at it, and she didn’t even understand what had happened, really.

“Could you hasten its repair?” Master Aeris asked. “The barrier is weakened, surely, and a second similar spell—or phenomenon, if it wasn’t deliberate—might succeed in breaking through.”

“I considered it,” Vivisari said. “But I believe it’s sturdier than it seems. And I hesitate to simply experiment, considering the potential repercussions. I did theorize an approach in the notebook I gave you. Look it over and tell me what you think, when you can.”

“It seems I have required reading before I can speak intelligently on the matter,” he said amusedly. He glanced up at the sky, naked fascination on his face. “I dare not use the Sorceress as a ferry,” he said wryly, “but could you retrieve me tomorrow, rather than sending me back now? I would like to take my own notes. Studying this phenomenon in the flesh will do wonders for my understanding.”

“Of course,” Vivisari said. “You’re the one helping me. Don’t call it a favor. I do have other tasks to handle though. Is there anything you need before I go?”

He considered, and shook his head.

“Tomorrow, then. And thank you again.” She inclined her head at the two of them, and disappeared.

Silence filled the air. Master Aeris continued studying the dimensional fracturing, paying no attention to Tatiana. She was pretty sure she’d been forgotten, or at least overlooked. Considering the sheer wonder of the magical phenomenon overhead, she didn’t blame him.

But still.

“Master Aeris?”

He twitched, then glanced at her, as if surprised she was there. Which definitely confirmed her theory.

“Yes, dear?”

She looked around at the pine forest on one end of the wall, and Prismarche’s sprawling urban landscape on the other. The Northern Kingdom. She had really traveled thousands of miles in the blink of an eye.

“I still had classes today, sir…”