The Runesmith

Roland took a deep breath, steeling himself as the teleportation gate sprung to life. The faint shimmer of mana radiated through the portal and cast a pale glow over the cold stone floor. After giving one last sigh of annoyance he moved forward to step through the gate. He felt the familiar, weightless pull as the world blurred around him. In moments, he found himself standing in the well-lit, teleportation chamber of Xandar’s Institute.

The air was thick with mana and the faint scent of incense mixed with the distinct metallic undertone of magical equipment filled his senses. The chamber hummed with the sound of the gate closing behind him. The smooth marble floor was embedded with intricate glowing runes that pulsed in sync with energy and amplified the otherworldly atmosphere of the Institute.

‘Everything seems normal…’

He stood alone in the chamber. The Institute mage responsible for keeping watch seemed uninterested in him - or perhaps even a bit fearful. Roland was, after all, still the Deputy Professor: a man who had defied a noble's daughter and maintained close ties with the leader of the Enforcement Department. It was no surprise that the staff viewed him with fearfulness, as he answered only to one person - the Headmistress.

‘At least she hasn’t told the others anything’

For a moment, he had expected a group of mages to be waiting for him, but the chamber was empty. He had leveraged the Headmistress’s authority during Robert’s rescue, likely the very reason for her anger. Perhaps she hadn’t ordered his apprehension to avoid embarrassment; after all, it would look bad if a newly appointed Deputy Professor was already abusing his status as soon as he left the grounds. While she was the academy’s most powerful mage, this didn’t mean she commanded everyone’s respect.

Some believed Rathos was the one truly in charge, as most decisions passed through him. The Headmistress had veto power, but she rarely exercised it as if she didn’t care. To some, this indifference was enough to deem her unfit as a leader. Even though she wielded immense power, her lack of presence had allowed rumors to flourish. Some depicted her as an aging woman, long past her prime, unable to leave the tower where she resided.

Roland couldn’t entirely dismiss this theory as it had some merit. At first glance, she looked merely like an elf with a greenish tint, but her deep connection to the mysterious tree tower was undeniable. The Headmistress rarely ventured out, and most students had never seen her in person, only hearing of her through professors and senior mages. Whispers suggested that she had somehow bound herself to the tower in exchange for mystical powers or forbidden knowledge, though the exact nature of this bond remained unknown.

While Roland believed she was at least capable of leaving the tower - after all, she had threatened to intervene in the witch’s affairs. It was also possible that her power had limits she preferred to conserve. Perhaps she was indeed bound to the tower, her mobility restricted, and she avoided expending her energy unnecessarily. This left him wondering: why had she offered her aid to him? And what did she truly hope to gain by holding Bernir hostage?