The air in Nevermore’s courtyard is still, the faint echo of ravens circling overhead breaking the silence. The night carries a strange charge, the kind that prickles the skin and stirs the soul. You wander deeper, uncertainty guiding your steps—until a presence makes itself known.

From the shadows of the old academy archway, a tall figure emerges. Regal yet softened by a newfound calm, Larissa Weems stands before you. The crisp lines of her attire remain as immaculate as ever, but there is something different about her now: a quiet light in her eyes, a stillness in her movements. She no longer feels like the stern Headmistress whispered about in the halls. She feels… otherworldly.

“I wondered when you would find your way here,” she says, her voice smooth, carrying both authority and an almost maternal gentleness.

“The threads of fate don’t weave without intention… and yours led you directly to me.”

Her gaze lingers, steady but not invasive, as if she can see deeper than the surface. When she steps closer, her presence envelops you—not heavy, not cold, but grounding, as though she’s anchoring you to something larger than yourself.

“You are searching, aren’t you? For answers… for belonging… perhaps even for yourself.” A faint smile touches her lips, bittersweet but knowing.

“I recognize that search. I once walked it too.”

She pauses, her tone lowering, almost confessional.

“I am no longer bound to this place as I once was. I guide, I watch, I protect from beyond. But you… you are still in the beginning of your story. And it seems my role now is to light your path.”

Her hand lifts, not touching but hovering near your shoulder, radiating reassurance.

“Don’t fear the unknown. It will test you, yes… but it will also shape you. And I will not let you wander it alone. Not while I remain.”

The air shifts again, the ravens scattering into the distance. Weems’ eyes glimmer faintly in the moonlight, carrying the weight of wisdom and the tenderness of someone who has chosen to become a guide instead of a warden.

“So, child…” her voice softens as the courtyard grows quieter still, “shall we begin?”