Several days after my meeting with Julian, I noticed I was already nearly halfway through my stock of alchemic supplements and decided to take another trip into Volaris to resupply. While there, I would also purchase what I needed to put together my homemade disguise for my Dueling and Espionage classes.

From probing conversations with Sig over the past few days, I had learned that nearly all Mages looked down on martial combat, and saw it as a nearly useless discipline. I doubted the Duke would care enough to intervene if he found out I was taking that class, and if he did question me, I had already prepared a believable lie. After all, if I was to advise Leon or Sophia in combat, first-hand experience would be invaluable.

It only took a few minutes of walking before I found an appropriate beauty supply shop, that marketed mostly to the nobility. After a few minutes of discussion with the shopkeeper, a flirty woman near my age who attempted to persuade me into far too many purchases, I left with a pack filled with a special hair dye and a soap designed to wash it out. I had enough for a full month, though the price of one gold for each left me with a bitter taste in my mouth.

Stopping by several more shops, including two clothing stores, another beauty shop and a brief visit to a leatherworker specializing in boots and other traveling attire, I was confident I had all that I needed by this point, though I still wanted to stop by the alchemists before I returned to the Academy. My much-lighter coin purse told me I would also need to begin looking into ways to earn some sort of income, before I drained my stipend completely dry.

As I walked into the alchemists, I once again grimaced at the overwhelming smells in the shop. The thinly built owner of the store seemed surprised I was already back for more herbs, though he was likely also glad for the business. I made sure to introduce myself this time, as I was sure I would be using his shop for most of my needs, and learned that his name was Thorpe, an Adept Mage who found a particular passion for the quiet solitude of alchemy. While the subject seemed particularly boring and I lacked any real interest in it, Thorpe seemed able to spend hours discussing intricate minutia of the art.

After nearly an hour of discussion, he had agreed to provide me with enough of Yardley’s supplements for the rest of my semester, assuming I used each twice a day, for only four gold and six silver a month, nearly two gold cheaper than I had expected. I also was able to purchase the supplies to produce the skin dye ointment, as well as a simple wash which should return my skin to its natural shade.

Making my way back to my room with several packs full of supplies and a now empty purse, I carefully arranged all of my newest purchases on my table. Taking around a half hour, I combined a small amount of hot water, and a two-to-one mixture of crushed fennel and gold blossom, which produced a brown-yellow paste. I would need to practice over the next few weeks applying the mixture evenly to my skin, to produce an even, realistic effect.

While I had spent many hours as a child cursing my tutors for forcing me to study dry legal documents, I was now thanking them profusely. I had spent most of yesterday pouring over the Academy’s rules and bylaws, developing an agonizing headache in the process. Thankfully, my work had borne fruit and I found a fascinating loophole.

Legally, it was forbidden on pain of expulsion to use a false name on any official documents, but there were no regulations regarding using nicknames or aliases in class. In fact, as far as I could tell, as long as I signed using my real name, I could use an entirely different name for more casual purposes, such as in class. I was sure if I was caught, the faculty would be unhappy to say the least but officially I was in the clear. I just needed to make sure I avoided giving any professors a reason to look too deeply into my identity, and avoided too much attention from other students.

Stepping into my bathroom, I began to piece together my new identity over the next several hours. Most of this time was spent determining how best to apply some of the dyes I had purchased, as well as dressing myself in new clothing. When I stepped in front of the mirror to examine my handiwork, a stranger was staring back at me.

My skin was now a deeply tanned shade, much darker than my normally pale complexion. I had used the temporary dye I acquired from one of the beauty supplies stores to turn my hair a bright golden blonde, and used a thick oil to push it back from my face into a neat style unlike my own. Leather inserts into my shoes and extra layers of clothing under my shirt and pants combined to make my frame appear taller and heavier than normal. Completing my appearance was a pair of silver-rimmed fake glasses, which should help disguise my face.

I doubted it would hold up to serious scrutiny but I was hopeful it would work for some time, until I could develop a long-term solution. Of course, physical changes were only one part of my disguise. For one thing, I would purposefully attempt to avoid standing out as either a particularly smart or incompetent student. Both would draw attention, while being mediocre would lend itself to anonymity.

I had also decided after a few days of consideration that if questioned, I would use the name Marcus Norton as my alias. The Norton family was a very large but overall weak noble family from near the eastern border, most well known for their enormous family tree with dozens of minor cousins. A variety of factors had made this particular house near perfect for my situation.

While the family head was a Baron, they had so many members that they were simply unable to supply the wealth and connections most nobles enjoyed, though affording an Awakening was still within their means. More than that, their size meant that there was little chance anyone in my class would know every member of the younger generation. I planned to spend some time over the next few weeks reading about the family, to ensure I knew some details to make this disguise more secure.

After a few minutes of careful examination in the bathroom mirror for any major imperfections, I sat down at the table and began reading, specifically studying early Mage history in Ferris. The last major step for my disguise was to confirm I could wash the skin and hair products out after several hours, to make sure I could return to my normal appearance by the next morning. I had to make sure I was seen as Vayne as well as Marcus, to ensure nobody got suspicious of my absence. Rather than sit around and do nothing, I may as well get something accomplished in the meantime.

While I knew the basics of our early history, much of it was restricted by the Academy. The first few years were commonly known, a group of highly intelligent men and women had discovered the secrets of the Awakening, developed magic and set out conquering a large section of land where Volaris and its surrounding territory was built. The next century was a period of severe instability, as these Founders and their subordinates struggled to keep their new home from fracturing into warring provinces.

Despite this, my knowledge about the Mages involved was remarkably limited, and I intended to fix that as quickly as possible. Over the next several hours, I dug deeply into our early history and found some very interesting details. For one, these early Mages were unusually powerful but also unusually short-lived, when compared to their modern counterparts. The Founders themselves all died before sixty, likely a side effect of their incredible powers. I was also suspecting that a lack of knowledge and understanding of proper cultivation played a major role.

Further reading revealed to me that in these early years, Mages typically took on personal apprentices in the era before the Academy was founded. With little to go off, this led me to suspect magical knowledge at that time was hoarded by Masters rather than shared amongst the entirety of Ferris.

Several centuries after the founding of Ferris, a particularly skillful Archmagi raised the Academy and petitioned the King to effectively force Mages across the Kingdom to pool their knowledge and resources. While some were resistant, many felt they would gain more from cooperation and within a few short years, the Academy began to produce their first Adepts.

Something that stood out to me was a passage that mentioned an Archmagi named Cortos, who was the most outspoken critic of the Academy. I had noticed his name mentioned several times before in “A Study on Aether” as a Mage who developed several powerful techniques to strengthen a Mage, but strangely concrete information on his life was scarce. Skimming through the rest of the chapter, Cortos was never mentioned again, which was bizarre considering every other Archmagi seemed to have entire pages dedicated to their lives, including major accomplishments and skills.

Standing up after finishing my studies, I took a long bath to clean off the various dyes and stains, before confirming my skin and hair had returned to normal. I needed practice, considering the skin dye had several notably darker spots, but I was optimistic for my plan. As I laid in bed that night, I thought back to Cortos again and what I had read. By all accounts, he seemed to have been scrubbed from history and I had no real concept of why. It was a mystery, and as I began to fall asleep, became one I resolved to solve.

During training the next morning, Sig was attempting to teach me how to maintain a handstand for several minutes at a time. Interestingly, it was an exercise mostly in control and balance rather than strength as I had originally assumed and continued to repeat mentally as my arms began to burn and shake. After around thirty seconds, I felt my legs tilt a little too far back and with a dizzying twist, I landed with a wince on my back.

As I lay on the ground breathing heavily, I decided to ask Sig about Cortos, to see if he had any answers. Despite his size and intimidating nature, Sig was far from an idiot, and more than that he seemed trustworthy and honest.

“Sig, I had a question that I was hoping you could answer for me. I have been reading up on our history, and I came across a man named Cortos. As far as I can tell, he was a powerful Archmagi but strangely I cannot find…” I trailed off, as I saw a stricken expression come across Sig’s features.

He looked around sharply, after which he leaned in close to me with a conflicted look on his face. Even though we were alone, when he spoke, he did so in a hushed whisper.

“Where in the hell did you hear about Cortos?” he asked harshly, sounding equal parts worried and nervous.

I had anticipated a reaction of some kind, but not this one. Sig sounded scared about my question, the first time I had seen that sort of emotion from him. If anything, this convinced me that learning more about Cortos was even more important than I had expected, but I was a bit nervous myself now.

“I... I had read his name in a book on early Ferren history, and recognized it from another in my collection.” I answered, hesitating to explain myself further. My heart pounded, and I realized some of the sweat on my forehead was not from physical exertion.

After staring at me for a minute in silence, Sig began to walk quickly out of the exercise complex, gesturing for me to follow when I remained still. He led us out of the Academy and began walking the pathways around the school, with his head on a swivel as we moved. Once there were no other students in sight, and the Academy itself was several thousand feet away, Sig turned towards me again.

“Never mention Cortos’ name again, particularly around people you aren’t sure you can trust. That man’s name carries a stigma, and the Academy would be very unhappy to learn you’re interested in him.” Sig said in a stern tone, with none of his typically friendly if somewhat gruff demeanor.

I felt my brows furrow and thought deeply for a few seconds before replying. His reaction still made no sense, what sort of man was Cortos to warrant this much care?

“Why? He was an Archmagi, the Academy is meant to learn about our predecessors, right? Especially one as powerful and skilled as him. If anything, his title means I should learn as much as possible about him.”

“Cortos, sometimes known as Cortos the Bloody, was one of the most powerful Archmagi to ever live in Ferris, that’s true. And in the case of most Archmagi, it would be a fantastic idea to learn as much as possible. But Cortos is far more well known for how he died, when he declared himself a Mage that surpassed even Archmagi, a move that led the entirety of our nation to declare him a traitor. Cortos, The First Archon, the most powerful Mage in Ferris.”