“An Oath? Yes, of course. Why do you ask?” Plact asked.

Andromeda had done a little more than just study magic since she arrived at Cylas. Among the things she studied was “Oaths”.

An oath was a cultural ritual that took place between two or more mages. In theory you could do it between just a single mage and a Medea or mundane person, but it was a cultural thing first and mages did it most often.

The ritual involved was very simple. All the actual “Magic” part of the ritual did was place a sigil on the hands of those involved, everything else was tradition or convenience. Once the sigil was in place, the two users would place restrictions, conditions, and terms on each other.

She had experienced it before and came to find that a lot of what she thought was Ferdinand being polite was some sick power games. Either side could ask literally anything of the other as long as they both agreed in the end that they were satisfied.

What had happened before was that she plainly demonstrated an ability to heal. This was something that the entire world believed was impossible for a mage. If he had even a shadow of an idea that she might possibly succeed then he likely would have drastically raised his bid.

This taught her that she could take advantage of this fact to bring benefit to herself. If the other side believed that there was no chance to fulfill the conditions then she could ask for everything she could possibly want.

There was a chess-like matrix of ways to use this option; however, just because she had a second queen didn’t mean she wouldn’t lose to a master with one. The benefit she had at this moment was surprise.

“I’d like to form an oath between us.” Andromeda asked.

She learned before that going second was usually preferred, it was just due to Ferdinand being overly confident that he didn’t abuse the position.

“For what reason would you want to form an oath? As well, how would I possibly benefit?” Plact said.

This is where Andromeda could ply her second, lesser, benefit: Fear.

She was not deaf, far from it she was experienced in listening when people thought she wasn’t. There was a rumor that there was a connection between her and “Arch Mage White”. Nobody besides her, Ferdinand, and technically Rapture knew that she and White were the same person.

She hated to abuse the fears of another, but after being kidnapped over it she was a bit more willing to keep herself. Just a bit.

“I have heard the rumors about Me and White.” Andromeda said. That was enough to send Plact back into a fit of cold sweat.

“R-Rumors?” Plact said, feigning ignorance.

In her hand, at that very moment, she held the rest of her future. If she did not execute this ploy perfectly then the rest of her life would be even more difficult.

“You can pretend that you didn’t hear about it, you could even pretend that you don’t care, but the only one who can tell you the truth from fiction is me.” Andromeda said. In reality he had the option of asking Ferdinand, he even had the option of calling her bluff. But seeing as how he was a paranoid and faint man he would likely take the bait. Fortunately, from the look on his face she was sure that he would bite.

“What?! What is it?! Tell me!” He said. He almost crawled over his desk in a frenzy. He was taking it even more seriously than she thought he would.

“Only after the oath.” Andromeda said.

Plact pulled himself back and sat in deep thought. He was doing the grant calculus you would expect the headmaster of a mage college to do, but he had too much to lose by leaving this chance.

“Fine, what are your terms?” He asked. Andromeda waved her finger, she was wise to the second privileged and wasn't risking anything.

“You first.” She said. This flustered Plact, obviously understanding the situation he was put in. But he lacked any options to counter her suggestion.

“If that is what it takes, then I’ll agree.” He said.

Because Andromeda lacked the precise knowledge to perform the oath ritual, Plact filled in for her. She recognized all the same lights and sounds as she experienced with Ferdinand, and they said the same chant as she had before.

“Because you insisted on going second, I’ll begin. My requests are as such: First, you inform me of the true nature between you and Arch Mage White. Second, assuming you are able to, guarantee my safety from them. Failing that, do what you can to protect me from them. Third, you must never speak of this arrangement. As an incentive, I will do the same.” Plact said.

She could see the logic in his conditions. He wasn’t sure who or what White was so he played conservatively with his goals. It wouldn’t do much to benefit him in the long run, but it was a smart use of limited information.

“My stipulation is that you go on the trip to Skysea Adalay.” He said.

…

Andromeda didn’t expect this, nothing about what she just heard was expected. In 12 words Plact completely overturned every assumption she had, and retroactively painted everything she had heard and seen on its head.

Why would he insist on her going? If he was doing that then he was invested in her leaving. If that was the case then him letting the letter through was casted in a bad light. Her entire assumption was that he was the one being taken advantage of, but if he was the one who wanted her to leave then she drastically misunderstood the situation.

It didn’t matter if the invitation was real or not. Plact was the danger here.

She couldn’t back down now, that would cast doubt on her, and despite him being a weak willed man, he was still a master mage. If he thought she was an active danger then there was nothing she could do to defend herself.

“The punishment for failing this request is that you must leave the college forever, your name will be stricken from the records, and any and all benefits related to membership will be stripped from you. All of this will be from the perspective of you refusing to be a part of the college.” Plact said.

That was the hammer, and everything else was the nail. If she wasn’t sure before, she was now. Plact was against her, or at the very least involved in a plan against her. There was a small chance that he was acting in her interest until that point. Getting her to leave suddenly gave the small possibility that he was trying to save her from an unknown plot, but if he was asking her to risk everything she had like that then he wasn’t even pretending.

She mulled over his words.

What he actually wanted was protection from White, that wasn’t even a difficult request. She could tell him about White all day and nothing much would change, the issue was his stipulation. She hadn’t thought about it before, but the stipulation was just as powerful as the regular requests. Actually it felt more like there wasn’t really a difference at all. That was something she would need to think about in the future.

Currently, she has a catch 22 to deal with. If she left then she was almost certainly going to step into a trap, and if she didn’t leave then she would need to leave anyway because she wouldn’t be a part of the college anymore. The latter option was only slightly better as she had Ferdinand to fall back on, though it did come with the caveat that it would be very predictable. If he only wanted to leave, that was one thing, but if he wanted her dead then being predictable was not a good idea.

She had to take the bait.

“Those terms are fair.” Andromeda said, she tried to say it as casually as she could.

“I’m glad, now, what are your terms?” Plact asked.

Originally she just wanted a laundry list of traveling supplies and a map, but now she had to think of more to keep herself safe.

“First, My requests. I want the first and only choice to pick on my security, on top of that I want to be their contractor and not you. They listen to me and not you.” Andromeda said. The goal here was to get some mercenaries or something similar that would be invested in what she wanted, and not whatever under the table deals they might have with Plact and whoever else might be involved.

“I also want some collateral. Something you wouldn’t want to lose no matter what, and I’ll only give it back to you when I return. You are also not allowed to speak to anyone about what it is in any way, shape or form.” Andromeda said. This was to reverse the investment of interest. If she has something of his that he would hate to lose and she were to die then he would lose it forever. The second clause would prevent anyone from being sent to retrieve it after the fact.

“Last, I’m going to deliver a list of items that I want to you, some will need to be crafted, others are just regular supplies. I absolutely will not do anything before I receive them, I would also like to have them independently verified before I go anywhere.” Andromeda said. This was the basis of her original request, but she had to be more specific now.

“My stipulation is that I won’t leave until all of my requests are met.” Andromeda said. Very simple one, it was similar to what she did with Ferdinand in that it superseded Plact’s, it didn’t completely remove the need for her to go, but that would just sink the deal anyway so she wasn’t going to aim for that.

“The punishment for failing to meet my terms is…” She paused.

Andromeda didn’t know what kind of punishment was fair. She knew in mind that Plact was, at the very least, not working in her best interest; but she couldn’t bring herself to threaten his existence in quite the same way he did hers.

She could make him step down as headmaster and destroy what legacy he may have, or announce his plans to the world and do the same, she could even make him pay in kind for what he plans to do to her.

But none of that was right.

While Andromeda thought she felt a strange feeling wash over her body. It was White in her mind, but this feeling wasn’t something she could place. It was a mixture of sorrow and anger, but the anger was not directed at Plact. The sorrow was for him, and the anger was for something she couldn’t understand. Everything and nothing at once.

It would be too much to have White try and explain it with her limited vocabulary right now. She did understand what she was trying to make clear, burning his world down was not the action they should take.

“The punishment is nothing, I only ask that once this is all over that you apologize. Can you promise that?” Andromeda asked.

Plact looked at her, there was a churning cycle of emotions that ran over his face. From confusion, to surprise, elation, sadness, and regret. It was in that moment that they both finally knew what the other knew. There were no more words that needed to be exchanged between them.

Andromeda knew something of his plan, and suspected as much. Plact understood that she knew, but instead of lashing out, she went along with it out of respect. They both knew that the other knew. They shook hands on it, a damned plan for both of them. Mystical forces beyond either of their control.

There was only one involuntary punishment for the breaking of an oath. If the oath is broken, the one who broke it will be branded on their hand for as long as they live. The only way it can be removed is to be forgiven by the begrudged. It was a mark of ultimate faithlessness.

Plact understood this, Andromeda had essentially asked him to act in good faith. The only thing that stood between him and his goal was his own honor. In a sense, that was worse than any punishment she could levey on him. She gave him the proverbial dagger and told him that it would be his choice alone if she was killed with it.

Plact shook his head, all this time he was worried about ghosts and shadows. He worried that one wrong move would lead to White taking his life. But he realized then and there that the one person he should not have crossed was the one person who meant him no harm.

"I promise." Plact said.