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 that for?"

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

Niccolo chuckled. "I will only give it up if need be. 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 can 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, please 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 fire 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 bad 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."

The Headmaster took a moment to relax in his seat, as he went over his meeting with his sister. There was much to do this time around. Forces were converging on all sides, either through the contrived schemes of his antagonists, or otherwise by sheer happenstance; either way, this would be a trying time, and he only hoped that the students could walk away unscathed.

Mortal problems, he could deal with - he wasn't the strongest Archemage when it came to combat, but he was the most respected for a reason. But if events happened came to pass as Andromeda predicted . . . he didn't think he was ready to play the game of the Archetypes. Even their "games" were world-shattering incidents, and only a fool would deliberately stick their nose into them. Of course, wisdom and foolishness were not necessarily exclusive to each other - it could come to pass that one could be both at the same time. It seemed that this time, it would be his turn.

He released a deep sigh. "Much to do, much to do," he muttered.

He took a moment and let silence reign, before rising from his chair and looking out the window of his tower. It was tall enough that it over looked the whole school, a view that he basked in every morning before breaking the fast of the evening. It was his pride, his joy, and his bastion of strength. Looking at it now reaffirmed his decision to not back down from the threats he would face. All of his life had been leading up to its creation, and the rest of it would see to its flourishing.

A knock on his door turned his head.

"Come on in, Poly."

The large double-doors to his study swung open with more force than required, and in walked a grinning, short, hazel-haired girl, wielding a long ornate white staff with a lollipop bigger than his head fixed at the tip. She was wearing a loose, silky, pink nightgown with frilly sleeves, a design choice that made him question whether it was meant to be adult or childish.

"Hey Nic, heard ya were back, an' I came ta check up on ya," said Polyanna, in her usual rough accent. "I lost ya sometime when ya flew across th' Caribbean. Wha' happened?"

"My sister had a vision of the future. It looks like this year will be particularly stormy."

Poly stared at the Headmaster for a moment, then nodded. "I see. So, who's it this time? Miltiades? Gremory? Or someone new?"

The Headmaster shook his head. "All of three, but they're not even the true threat, or more accurately, they are the lesser threat."

The Head Enforcer scoffed, almost disbelievingly. "Three Archemages and they're not the real threat? What th' hell are we dealin' with here Nic, an Archetype?"

When all that met her question was silence, Polyanna swallowed heavily. "H-hey, Nic? I was jus' jokin' when I brought up an Archetype. Please, please don't tell me we're fightin' an Archetype!"

It might have been undignified of a Grandmaster, especially a Grandmaster combat-mage like her, to show fear towards an opponent, but fear was a truly appropriate response when it came to the Archetypes. They were more than just powerful mages, they were the powers-that-be, the be-all, end-all of authority in this world. They were the status quo of the universe personified.

"No, thankfully," said the Headmaster with a chuckle, and Polyanna sighed in relief. "But it might be nice to have their help this time around. I understand that The Golden Dawn is a particularly bitter enemy of the Forces Beyond the Dream."

And again, Polyanna stared at the Headmaster, a blank expression on her face. "Ya gotta be kiddin' me. Veil-breachers? That's the threat this time? So on top of Archmemages we gotta deal with the Enemy too?"

The girl sighed and took strides towards the Headmaster. With each step, she grew taller and taller, until a buxom, older version of the young beauty stood before the Headmaster. Her once loose nightgown now strained against her newly enlarged assets, and barely covered up anything below her waist. Wrapping her arms gently around him, the woman rested her forehead on Nicollo's own.

"I know ya promised me 'fights that will test me beyond my capabilities' but wow Nic, this might just be too much, even fer me," she whispered.

The Headmaster closed his eyes, sinking into her embrace. "Would you like to call Ophelia back? We could use her help."

"Nah, let her enjoy her retirement. We'll find a way ta handle this. Or, rather you will, an' I'll do all ta' heavy liftin'."

Chuckling, the Headmaster broke from her embrace and smiled. "Business as always then?"

Smiling back, Polyanna stepped backwards, reverting to her younger form. Her staff, which had been floating in place for the entire time, returned to her hand.

"Speaking of, th' opening ceremony is'n an hour, ya should get ready. Mede's got th' portal up and everythin'."

"Oh, right." The Headmaster blinked. And then grinned. That meant it was nearly time for breakfast.