[hider=Prologue][center]. . .[/center]
	The Headmaster stood over a cliff, as waves upon waves of ocean water smashed against its surface. His back was turned to a wizened and gnarled woman, who it seemed stood only because of the staff she leaned on. The skies overhead were a dark gray, heralding the approach of a mighty storm. Indeed, a few droplets of rain begun to fall around them, though mysteriously they remained untouched. 

	"Thank you for informing me of this, Andromeda, but I'm afraid this changes nothing. The school will open as it always has, and I will repel the other Archemages as I have always done."

	The old woman shook her head, her wrinkled face stared at Niccolo with contempt only the wise could manage. "That is naught but arrogance speaking, Niccolo. The Archetypes will not lift a finger to defend you and yours - your plight will be beneath their notice, not even a dot on the portrait of their schemes." She took shaky, uneasy steps forward and joined him at the cliffs edge. "For all your power, even you cannot triumph if forces are arrayed against you from all sides. Something must be sacrificed if you wish to guarantee your survival."

	He said nothing in response, merely staring off into the distance. As the silence between them thickened, the storm began increasing in its intensity. Thunder roared as streaks of lightning danced in the clouds above them. 

	Shaking his head, the Headmaster spoke. 

	"If need be, I will sacrifice my own life. If it comes to that, my school will outlive me."

	Suddenly, an errant bolt of lighting flashed towards him, only for it to bounce of a magical barrier and into the ocean below. The Headmaster turned his head and looked at Andromeda.

	"What was [i]that[/i] for?"

	"If you value your life so little, then I will gladly end it for you."

	Niccolo chuckled. "I will only give it up [i]if need be.[/i] Do you really think me eager to die? No, I will exhaust all other options before it comes to that."

	The old lady huffed. "You will find those options exhausted faster than you realize, I assure you."

	"Maybe, maybe not. Then again, perhaps arguing with you isn't the best choice."

	"So he [i]can[/i] learn! I am impressed."

	The both of them looked each other in the eye, before bursting into laughter. The whatever remained of the tense air between them evaporated, and as though responding to their mood, the storm that promised to flood the land with rain, and the sky that earlier was brimming with electricity, abruptly faded, giving way for a beautiful blue sky.

	"It was good seeing you again, my cute little sister."

	The old woman made a disgusted face. "Ugh. I'm over seven hundred years old now Niccolo, and I look like a raisin, [i]please[/i] do not call me that."

	"Hahaha! You should just hurry up and become and Archemage, Andromeda. That way you can return to your young and perky self."

	"Guh. Would that I could, but this curse is proving more and more difficult to break. Two hundred years and I don't even know if I'm any closer to solving it or not."

	"I warned you about making a deal with her."

	"She was a [i]fire[/i] mage! A rather infamous one for burning down her workshops accidentally, I might add! How could I suspect she could also curse like a goddamn Zoroastrian deity?!"

	"Whatever she was then, she's an Archetype now. That really should have tipped you off to how [i]bad[/i] an idea that was."

	"Ugh, in any case," she said, looking up at the sky, and narrowing her eyes as though she were searching for something, "it looks like it's almost time for breakfast."

	Niccolo imitated her, looking up, and smiled.

	"Ah, that it is."[/hider]
[hr]
	The teleporation glyph glowed with a gentle blue light, and Mede Artus, Chief Custodian, admired the glow. No matter how many times he operated it, the entrance glyph to the school was a thing of wonders - all the more reason to admire the Headmaster, who constructed it. Normally, knowing how to operate a glyph meant that you would know how to reconstruct it. This was especially true when the one studying it was a Master such as himself, but after thirteen years of working on it, he was still no closer to figuring out how it was made. The whole thing was so complex, with facets hidden within facets, and yet, it still allowed for even an Novice to be able to operate it - so long as they were given the proper tools.

	Finished with his admiration, Mede stepped back, and stretched. The new semester was starting and that meant new blood would be rushing in again, though he wondered if it would replace the amount lost. Every year the teachers made bets - would there be more or less students than last year? Mede himself bet on more this time. Last year, relatively few dropped out and there were no graduations either. So unless a startling number of people declined their invitation to the university, they would probably see a decrease in the number of available dorm rooms.

	Once the students arrived, that meant the opening ceremony had officially begun. Which also meant that breakfast was being served. Mede grinned. There was nothing - [i]nothing[/i] - better in the school than breakfast. It was the Headmasters creed, no, [i]demand[/i] that every day began with a good meal. And by every god, were the meals good. It was also another reason why students were brought here at 12 am. So they wouldn't have a chance to eat yet, and by the time the opening ceremony concluded at 2, they would be practically starving.

	Of course, that made the breakfast served all the more savory. The Headmaster was a cunning bastard he was.

	He looked at his watch. The spring equinox was almost here. Soon, students would appear on the glyph, and hopefully, they skipped breakfast.