Briarius walked into the Bristle Crios compound and approached the Academy. He entered the front Administration Building and hoped to easily find a way to find someone who was in charge.

Briarius smiled at the girl, but his senses which included his divine and magickal senses, were screaming. He sensed a powerful entity in this room which fled as he approached and he didn't notice anyone physically leaving the room. All that was here was this doe eyed girl. He gazed upon what she was doing and it was they typical day to day school administration fare. Transcripts, discipline reports, school renovation plans, lunch menus. She shuffled a discipline report together with another student's transcript which may well ruin that student's chance at acceptance. He was going to say something and that's when it hit him. His constant battle with chaos made him very sensitive to its manifestations. He sensed the residual presence. He studied the girl more intently as she fell over herself in apology. She seemed normal enough. She was obviously a thrall, but knowing what he suspected here, that was probably not unusual.

"My dear, there is no need for apologies. Without dreams, there can be no progress. Just take special concern in reorganizing those files there."

Lydia had been seated at her desk in the sizable office. The elevated ceiling gave way to massive bookshelves covering every other wall of the octagonal shaped room, displaying a modest collection of ancient texts and tomes as well as a few antique small busts and vases. Converted antique oil lamp sconces hung on the walls between each bookcase. Below each lamp was an aged portrait or landscape painting, providing several focal points around the room. Unless one was purposefully looking for it, they might not even notice there were no windows in the large office. What might be noticed instead was the massive wood burning fireplace on the back wall. From the cleanliness of the fireplace, it was apparent it had never housed a fire. In front of the fireplace was Lydia's substantial desk with two arm chairs facing her.

She had looked up from her paperwork to greet her trusted secretary when she entered, but she never would have been prepared to see the man following her. He needed no introduction. Staring at him with wide eyes, Lydia nodded in acknowledgement to Rebecca, not realizing her mouth was slightly open in disbelief. She quickly closed her mouth, jumped up from her seat, and walked up to greet him.

"Headmaster Ravensheart," Lydia said with a smile, offering an outstretched hand to shake his, "Your presence is truly an honor. Please, feel free to sit." She nodded towards the two arm chairs facing her desk.

Under her normal sense of decorum, she would have waited until he sat to begin with questions, but she was too excited. "May I ask what has brought you to Bristle Crios?" She winced slightly at her own question. She probably should have worded that better. Maybe she should have asked what she could help him with today. That would have sounded more welcoming. Her question almost sounded accusatory, which was not her intent. She may have dressed the part, with her business professional attire and her black hair pulled back into a stern bun, but she never felt comfortable with the diplomacy side of her position.

Her excitement turned to panic. Why was he here, now, of all times" The school was still in the reconstruction phases after a slight daemon kraken "incident' in Mage Hall. Water had only been restored to the main buildings a little while ago. The first two floors of Mage Hall were still closed for repairs, and the top two floors wouldn't even be open until the fall term. She tried to hide her embarrassment. She was sure he would have seen the construction crews coming and going. It was just her luck that important company would come to visit when her house was at its worst.

Lydia seemed startled as he took and kissed her hand. Her look of surprise turned to one of dismay from his initial response, until she realized he was joking. With a slight smile, she nodded, and watched as he pulled out a wooden box. Not fully understanding why he would need to bring a gift, she listened intently to his explanation.

It took her awhile to process what he was saying to her as she stared at the necklace. Certainly he wasn't trying to imply that she was a vampire. She tried hard to maintain her secret. Of course she had her oddities, like working at night or within windowless rooms during the day, but she tried to live as normal of a life as possible. Even if people had picked up on things, no one had been as brazened to throw it in her face before by implying it with a gift.

"Oh my God," she thought, "If he knows, does his whole Academy know" Does my whole Academy know"" She was scared that she had been identified for what she had tried to hide for so long. Would they make her leave the school" Of course no one would want to send their child to a school where the one in charge was a deadly vampire.

Shaking her head, looking at him in disbelief at his sudden bluntness about her "condition", she took a step back. Never being able to really hide her feelings, she looked visibly distraught. The terror of being faced with something from that world was too much for her.

"I don't know what you are talking about," she said defensively. She was a terrible liar.

He wasn't the only one with contacts. Her sister had warned her of the Tremere. From what Lydia had recalled, her twin had mentioned that the clan was, at one time, composed of magical scholars who excelled in their magic long before they were vampires. They pushed their studies even further by using blood magic, known as Thaumaturgy. She wondered if he, as such a scholarly figure himself, would have dabbled in the practice, and if he was secretly a vampire too. Lydia was already more than suspicious that the bloodstone contained blood enchanted with this dark magic. Even if it was something she could take advantage of, she would refuse to exploit it. She may have been a vampire, but she could still choose whether she acted with good or evil intentions. She saw firsthand how blood magic could negatively affect a person's soul, or what was left of it.

Not long after the War of 1812, Lydia had followed her sister to New Orleans. Instead of finding her twin, she found a young Aristocratic woman in need of her help. The girl had been rendered unconscious in a scuffle and was to be offered as a blood sacrifice in some dark magic ceremony. With the girl being drained of most of her blood by the time she found her, Lydia felt she had no other choice. She "embraced" her, as they called it. Part of her always regretted cursing the girl in order to save her life, if it could even be called a "life". Over the centuries, Lydia tried to help guide her, but the woman chose her own path' to the insidious call of thaumaturgy's dark blood magic.

Unfortunately the Aristocrat wasn't the only one she had lost to the dark side. Lydia's identical twin, Leta, was the one of the two siblings who had less restrictive morals. Leta may have known about the Tremere, she may even know how to re-enchant the necklace like Briarius mentioned, but Lydia knew little to nothing of that world she rejected so long ago.

Although she wore her emotions on her sleeve, Lydia's deepest inner thoughts and memories would be close to impossible to dig into. Consider it a gift from her sister to protect her weaker sibling. Especially now that she was on the defensive, Lydia would have her own mental blocks to hide what little she could from this man-who-knew-too-much. But there was a slight glimmer in her eyes that she couldn't deny as she looked at the necklace" Part of her wanted that bloodstone.

Lydia quickly jumped to catch him before he went any farther. Without thinking, she placed a hand lightly on the back of his while it was still on the door handle and said softly, "Please. Wait." She then realized what she was doing. Embarrassedly, she let go of his hand. She was the one who was brazened, and completely foolish.

"I am terribly sorry. You came with a gift and I was too caught up in my own insecurities to be able to see that. I hope you will be able to forgive me. I am not usually faced with my own" limitations. When others know about my secret, it is hard for me to deny the truth to myself. I admire your ability to be able to discuss these types of matters so directly and eloquently."

She looked out the open door to see Rebecca diligently working at her desk in her small office that separated Lydia's office with the hallway. She looked down for a moment, far from proud to be saying such things in earshot of Rebecca, although Rebecca knew. She had been working with Lydia for quite some time now. Lydia grew to trust her and eventually Rebecca her know of her condition but it was more of a decision of necessity than one of camaraderie. Lydia was grateful that Rebecca respected her enough to help her move appointment times, change classroom locations, plan her occasional outings, and other things people took for granted during daylight hours. But no matter who knew, Lydia was always hesitant to voice it out loud.

Lydia continued to Briarius, "I thank you for your gift. It is a wonderful sentiment, truly appropriate given my' situation, and to say it is personal would be an understatement. Thank you."

"I hope you would allow me to make an offer in return," she paused, hoping to gain his attention.

As he said, she did observe a rise in transfers from the Ravensheart Academy to the Academy of Bristle Crios. She recalled thinking how unfortunate the timing was given all of the closed classrooms of Mage Hall due to the incident a few months back. As a result of the temporarily overloaded class sizes, she better understood the concept of "when it rains, it pours", but she also knew that things could always be worse. It appeared as those things had gotten worse for Briarius and his own secrets.

As evidenced in her change of tone, it was clear that what she was about to say, she didn't take lightly. Lydia said softly and sincerely, "I will not pretend to imagine all that you have been through in your tenure as Headmaster, nor in your lifetime, but I do believe those with a passion for teaching will always be teaching. Whether it is explaining something read in the news to a friend or describing directions to someone on the street, teaching takes many forms. I would hope that if you decided to return to teaching on a wider scale once more, even on a temporary basis, that you would feel welcome at Bristle Crios. It would be an honor to have you involved in the Academy in any capacity.?

She bowed her head slightly in respect, then looked back up to him.

Lydia turned her head to the side slightly, obviously puzzled by his question.

"Under my control" No, I would never do anything like that?" she said while looking at him and shaking her head. Not appearing to be offended by the question, she instead seemed to be thinking.

Not knowing how much to say, she began, "I know she has been in the past. My' associate will influence her mind on occasion." She didn't want to say that it was her sister just yet, though she wondered if Briarius had already sensed it anyway.

"I do not believe that my associate would do anything to purposefully hurt her, or endanger the academy." Even though Lydia tried to dissuade her twin from using her abilities, Leta seemed to dominate Rebecca's mind at times that gave Lydia reason to believe Leta was just trying to help protect her sister and, to some extent, the school.

If he was sensing something more sinister, there may be more at work here than her sister. "A few months ago, there was an incident at Mage Hall. You probably have observed our renovation crews?" She felt herself already getting off topic. Getting back on point, she continued, "We have several people looking into what caused the event, but it is currently unresolved. There was an apparent suicide of one of the security guards after the attack, but as you can imagine, many of us suspect fowl play."

She sighed. "My secretary had her own ties to the incident, as her husband was one of two that were killed during the initial attack. If you don't mind my being so bold, would you be willing to tell me what you sense about her" If you feel as though there is something here with malicious intent, I would rather know so I may contact those working on this to give them more information' and to warn them."

Lydia simply nodded, not wanting to press him for more information than he was willing to comfortably offer. He had already given her more than enough for a starting point. She decided she would have those looking into the incident investigate any further connections to Rebecca. She would also be keeping an extra eye on her herself until the matter was sorted out.

Assuming she should speak up in order to let him know that she intended on looking into it, she said seriously, "I appreciate the information. I will make sure her actions are monitored until I can be certain of her motivations."

She continued in a friendlier tone, "May I offer to show you around the campus, or recommend a class to observe" May I answer any questions about the facilities or the style of classes we offer?? Not knowing how much time he had devoted for the visit, Lydia didn't want to keep him longer than he intended to stay, but she was hoping to make the visit worth his time. She didn't exactly help their initial introductions go smoothly, but she did not want to end on bad terms.

Her eyes widened in surprise by his question. She was always striving to better the staff, the courses, the buildings, and everything else she could think of in order to help the students be all that they could be. But in focusing on what was lacking, she never considered what had been achieved.

Lydia thought for a moment, then answered, "Bristle Crios was founded on the idea of acceptance for all, despite age, race, background, abilities?" She trailed off for a moment considering how she could certainly be judged for most, if not all, of those descriptions, then continued, "I had always believed in that sentiment and wanted to reflect its principle in the Academy. As a result, we try to cater to many needs and offer a wide array of classes. Although, in providing so many courses, they are often generalized. I feel as though we have only recently begun to delve into the more experienced levels of education. Of course, with the recent incident, that objective has been set back a bit."

She segued, "The construction is now limited to Mage Hall and is expected to be completed by the fall term. You see..." She began to explain, "At the beginning of the spring term this year, in the winter, there was an episode involving a summoned creature by one of the students during an alchemy course. Although we believe the action of the student was accidental, we suspect that the incident itself was premeditated. As I mentioned, we have a team of staff and security investigating. If you think you may be able to lend your talents to that project in any way, I hope you will feel free to contact me."

She purposefully didn't like to reveal as much information as she knew, even during the many meetings she held for the staff and students to keep them updated on the Academy's renovations. She believed that only those working directly on the investigation should be privy to every detail of the information in the off-chance that someone might reveal more than they should know, ultimately condemning them and their involvement. But at the same time, she wanted him to be cautious, for the safety of his own students. "I would suggest you be extra vigilant in your Academy for the time being. I am unaware if this was a one time event, or if it is even isolated here. Once we find conclusive information, I will certainly let you know."

Lydia looked down, dumbfounded. He was right. The Academy, like all of Bristle Crios, was supposed to be founded on tolerance, yet she went to great pains to hide her own abilities. She was silent for a moment, embarrassed, realizing she must have looked like a hypocrite. It was fitting as how she felt like one.

Looking back up to him, she said solemnly, "That is a valid and fair point. I have no real defense other than the fact that the image I portray reflects on the Academy, for better or worse. If I appear to be as mundane as possible, my acceptance of others means something. It shows the students, even the staff, that they can be accepted by an ordinary person, not just by another "freak" like them. If I air my own list of extraordinary abilities during every parent teacher conference, people would say, 'she is only as accepting because she is inhuman too". Not only would everything I have worked towards become meaningless, the Academy would also take a hit. It would be labeled as a school of monsters."

She certainly didn't want to seem like she was giving excuses for her decisions and actions. She knew she probably didn't handle things right, if there even was a right way and a wrong way to handle things like this. She just didn't want to hurt anyone.

Lydia sighed, then admitted, "Honestly, I have always hid what I am. I wouldn't be able to live any other way. It's not who I am. I never wanted this exceptional life. As a result, I reject as much of it as I can. I hide it as much for selfish reasons as I do to protect my students. I hope you would be able to sympathize with wanting to hide certain personal traits and abilities in order to protect those in your charge.?

Blinking, she thought for a moment. This was just as a test in one of her courses. He had mentioned casting discipline before, though at the time, she paid it little mind. As much as she hoped people would not hold her instinctive abilities against her, his personal skills held little weight to her in determining how she viewed him as a person.

Lydia ran the conversation back in her mind. He had mentioned his "centuries of experience with the undead" and his "casting discipline of necromancy".

"Necromancy?" she asked, not quite as confident in her answer. It was certainly one of his specialties, but she was unsure if it was it his primary skill set. Even more confused, she did not know what it had to do with what she had been talking about.

She was a little intimidated. Maybe not intimidated per se, but it wasn't exactly soothing to have someone knowing your darkest secret. He was making a solid case though. Part of her considered his offer, but another part was hesitant.

"I'm not sure," she began timidly. "I've heard of many rituals and practices that could grant me my life again. I regret to say I've even tried some. They only served to' make things worse. I became worse. I've been to others that require a soul in sacrifice. Those, I could never follow through. I'm not trying to imply your ritual would do such a thing, but?" She trailed off, her eyes betraying her sadness over the prospect.

"I thank you for your offer, but it is not something I would like to pursue. I have a handle on my life now, the good and the bad. I may not be as proud and willing to display all of my attributes as you are, but I have enough to be proud of in my life. I just choose to focus on those things instead," she said with a slight smile. She hoped he knew she was talking about the school. Uncomfortable talking about her personal life, she purposefully shifted the conversation back to business.

"But I am intrigued by your abilities as a necromancer. I understand that there is much potential in the power. I hope that even after the final term at Ravensheart Academy, that you will continue to teach others the skill. As I mentioned, you will always be welcome at the Academy of Bristle Crios, whether it be as a experienced instructor, an honored administrator, or any path you might wish to follow in the future."

Lydia laughed lightly with him. She doubted there would ever be a time he was not important. He was certainly important to her. All of his achievements with his academy acted as inspirations for hers.

Her smile faded into a look of thoughtfulness as he continued. When he finished speaking, she admitted, "I believe I can understand. On some occasions, I consider quitting as Headmistress and, instead, fulfill my true passions as a teacher. There seems to be so much politics, economics, customer service, and red tape involved in our position. " I just wanted to teach."

Lydia paused, shaking her head a moment at how naive she sounded. She continued, "Here I complain, and the Academy will have been open only three years in the fall. I can not imagine how you have been able to hold on as long as you have been."

"In truth, I told myself that I would quit in the fall, just in time for the three year anniversary. Oddly enough, once the incident happened earlier this year, I realized how much I loved being there for my students in this role. It is still conflicting for me, thinking as an administrator yet feeling as a teacher, but I do think this is a good fit for me, at least for now."

She realized she was probably rambling, so she concluded, "But yes, if I can grow wary of the position after only three years, I do not blame you for wanting to take a much needed break after how long you have had the honor of the title.?

She was all too aware of the price, at least the price in her eyes. Every day Lydia was in charge at the school, was another day she was putting the staff and students at risk due to her "associations".

Lydia knew her twin was a powerful player in The Company. She wasn't even sure of what The Company or her sister did, but what little she did know wasn't good. As identical twins, Leta would often masquerade as her sister but Lydia knew Leta could be a potent threat if she ever started impersonating her at the Academy, changing protocols and school policies to benefit The Company.

Lydia was sure Leta had been there during the incident at the Academy, though she didn't know exactly how much she participated, for better or worse. She suspected, but couldn't confirm. Lydia just hoped that those tasked with investigating the incident would not find out about her sister's involvement. If so, everyone would know about the threat her sister held to the Academy. That is, if they even believed she had a twin. Due to her powers of illusion, Leta had a habit of disappearing and leaving Lydia to suffer the consequences.

And the threat didn't stop with Leta. Leta had made enemies as she gained ground in The Company. Before the founding of the school, Leta had gotten tied up with some pirate. She and a small crew broke into his ship and stole some precious artifact. A soul orb, Lydia believed Leta had called it. The pirate went looking for her and found Lydia instead. He kidnapped her and brought her to a shack to torture her into telling him where she had taken it. She tried to explain how her sister was to blame, but he wouldn't hear it. He left, giving her a warning to return the artifact to him, as well as a scar from his blade that he pierced from her cheek down her neck to her collarbone. She told Leta what had happened after the episode, and Leta returned his merchandise to him, but the damage was already done in Lydia's eyes. By now, the scar had healed completely, but she still lived with the reminder.

"I know that I have some things, and some people, from my past that may present a potential threat to the Academy one day. It could turn very ugly. People might' People would undoubtedly get hurt. That would be the price that I'm afraid I may have to pay." She wondered if that's what he meant, though.

Lydia looked at him solemnly, not knowing how to answer. She would risk her own life in a moment before letting any harm come to her students, but she knew she couldn't be there to protect them all the time, and wouldn't be able to protect them all.

"I only hope that if some evil should befall the Academy because of my involvement or due to my actions, that the good that I have done here for the students will outweigh the negative. Until then, I can not live in fear of what might or might not happen to those in my charge. All life comes with risk. I will continue to take precautions in the security and safety of the Academy, but I will not bow down to fear of what may happen. Once I feel like I am more of a hindrance to the students as opposed to a positive influential force in their lives, then I will be the first to voluntarily remove myself from the Academy."

She knew she had answered in the affirmative, that she would ultimately be willing to risk innocent lives. She wondered if the great leaders of the past had made the same call, then wondered if that was why there was so much death and destruction in the history of civilization. But humanity did not progress without risk-takers. She would hate to admit it, but she thought there was some truth to the idea of "the greater good". It was almost ironic how one would use the idea of serving "the greater good" as validation in their efforts, usually committing great injustices and evils. Remorseful, she wondered how different she truly was from her sister.

Her focus turned to him. Even though he meant no maliciousness in his tone, she couldn't help but feel defensive about his question. Her own guilt over the situation had been enough without his reminder that she was risking people's lives.

She asked simply, "Should I assume that you are leaving your position and closing your Academy in order to protect the innocent lives and souls of your students" Do you consider that they might willingly accept the risk in order to have you stay' Do you consider that they might feel abandoned??

An ass.

Yes, she knew the old adage of when one assumed, one would make an "ass" out of "u" and "me". She was willing to just do that in order to validate her point.

She explained it the way she interpreted the situation, "I am hearing that you choose to protect your students by distancing yourself, and any potential danger that may find you on your "list", from them. I choose to protect my students by keeping my secret, and any potential danger that would be brought out into the spotlight by my revelation, from them. I hope you would see that although we have different methods, our goals are similar."

Wishing to get across the point that she was not condemning his method, she added with sincerity, "I respect your decision. It is noble to do what one believes is right in order to help save others." She only hoped that he, in turn, would not condemn her approach.

Hoping that they could come together on their similarities and end on a high note, she said, "I hope you will excuse me. I will be having a meeting soon. I do hope that all of your future endeavors prove successful. Of course, I would love to see you return to an educational position as soon as possible but, again, I respect your decision to return if and when the time feels right."

"Thank you again for your gift," she said as she looked to the small wooden box on her desk housing the gold necklace with bloodstone. Turning back to him, she added with a smile, "It was an honor to meet you." She wished to allow him the final word on their debate, then would hold out her hand to shake his.