Chapter 287: Althea’s Analysis

Sharply, she leaned forward in her seat, her elbows resting on the table, her gaze locking onto Althea’s with a sudden, predatory intensity.

“Become my student, Althea.”

Althea frowned. The offer was too sudden and out-of-the-blue.

“You do not seem to know what has become of your master, do you?” Preceptor Odette said, a small smile on her face. “Last I heard, he committed a grave crime and was brought before the higher echelons of the Ossuary to face trial. It is a miracle he walked away from it at all.”

Althea’s brows furrowed in surprise and confusion as the Preceptor continued.

“I don’t know the specifics. But word is that his life was spared… but his title as a Preceptor was not. It has been revoked.”

Lance and Osei, who had been listening from the side, wore looks of utter shock. It was the first time in the entire conversation that either of them had shown any reaction at all. From their expressions, this was the first time they were hearing of something so unthinkable as a Preceptor losing their title, and they couldn’t help but react.

Preceptor Odette glanced at them briefly with a trace of amusement, then returned to Althea.

“Right now, even these two are higher ranked than he is,” Odette said, pointing a thumb at the Caretakers without looking at them. “He has been reduced to a Sentinel. Nothing more than a dog, essentially.

He exists now only to serve as a hound for the Ossuary’s less savory tasks. He has no authority to mentor any student… let alone a bearer of a Greater Fragment,” she chuckled.

“So. You have no ties to Elias anymore. His title is gone and therefore the benefits that came with it are gone. You can become my student with a free mind.” She held Althea’s gaze. “How is it? Are you interested?”

The Caretakers were staring at Althea with burning, incredulous gazes. The opportunity sitting in front of her was not lost on either of them. To them, the offer was the ultimate prize, a shortcut to the peak of the world. Lance looked like he wanted to grab Althea by the shoulders and shake her, his eyes screaming at her to accept before the Preceptor changed her mind.

But Althea only sighed softly. “I thank you for your grace, Preceptor Odette…”

The Preceptor smiled wryly, already hearing the decline to her offer from Althea’s tone.

“…but I would have to decline,” Althea said.

“In the first place I was never the student of… Elias,” Althea said, testing the name slowly. It felt strange to say it without the title. “He offered me his mentorship during my stay in the Sanctum while I was learning about Transcendents, the nature of Fragments, and how to hide my powers…

…but in the end, I ultimately declined for reasons I still cannot put fully into words…” She met the Preceptor’s gaze steadily. “It is for those same reasons that I must decline your offer as well.”

Preceptor Odette was quiet for a moment, rubbing her chin, studying Althea with an expression that was thoughtful rather than offended. Then she shrugged once, easy and unhurried.

“A shame,” she said. “A waste of potential. But I will not beg for a student. Come to the table, Althea. We have work to do.” She beckoned toward the empty chair across the table. “Sit. Give me your analysis of the Arcanist movement outside. Lance tells me you have been watching it closely.”

Althea sat, and the dynamic in the room shifted immediately. The conversation narrowed entirely to the two of them, and Lance and Osei settled into a listening silence at the sides of the table without appearing to consciously decide to do so. The Caretakers who had been the highest authorities in this fortress just hours ago were now essentially spectators.

Althea’s analysis was thorough and detailed. She had been tracking the flags for weeks and had built a picture considerably more specific than a head count. She identified factions by their markings and distinguished between those present from the beginning and the new arrivals, which told its own story about who was organizing the consolidation and what reach they had.

She pointed out three banners from Feraxian families — where Arcanist and Ossuarist relations were generally stable compared to other parts of the world — and assessed their commitment to an actual assault as low.

She outlined two factions whose positioning showed active coordination between them, and a third whose flags had repositioned three times in two days in a pattern that looked like scouting rather than consolidation.

Lance and Osei exchanged a glance midway through. The look on both their faces was the same, as if they were thinking to themselves: Is this the difference between us and someone destined for greatness…?

When Althea finally finished her thorough analysis, Preceptor Odette went quiet with her chin in her hand.

“So you are suggesting I do not attack,” she said. “Instead, you want me to negotiate with them?”

Althea nodded. “Not with all of them. But the mana rain, as extraordinary as it is, is not the only thing every faction here came for. Several of them have more to lose from making a permanent enemy of the Ossuary than they have to gain from this location. A negotiated arrangement giving them limited access without control of the fortress is something the Feraxian families and at least some other factions would take. Especially now that a Preceptor is present…”

​”It is a sound analysis,” Preceptor Odette said. “It is efficient. I like efficiency. Very well. We will proceed with your plan. However…” She looked directly at Althea. “You will handle the negotiations.”

Althea kept her expression still. “Will you accompany me, Preceptor?”

Preceptor Odette snorted and pushed her chair back, the legs scraping against the stone floor as she stood. “My name is enough. If you cannot bring them to terms on the strength of that alone, I will simply do what I wanted to do in the first place and end them all.”

She glanced through the eye socket opening where the light outside had shifted into the flat gold of late afternoon, and muttered to herself, rubbing her chin with a smile. “I saw some interesting tamed beasts among the family camps on my way in… their soul masses would make a fine addition to my collection,” she chuckled then she looked back at Althea:

“You leave at sunset.”

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