Egrimm, you have learned, keeps close ties with many of his Light Order contemporaries, and you often find him sorting through and sending out correspondence to them. It takes little nudging for him to open up about the topic of most of them: the internal politics of his Order, particularly the power struggle at the top. Alric, it seems, is ousted from the Magister Patriarch position in all but name, with Mira assuming control of everything but the external-facing branches of its infrastructure. It becomes routine that every few days Egrimm catches you up on the latest developments, half venting at the chaos this is causing within his Order and half exulting in the misfortune he feels his former Master deserves. Mira seems to be trying to execute a takeover in a way that leaves Alric with his dignity and doesn't embarrass the Light Order, while Alric and his few remaining loyalists seem determined to fight to the last. And one unfortunate side-effect of Mira's early success is that now she and her supporters are left to keep the College operating normally while Alric is freed from those responsibilities and able to spend all his efforts and attention on seeking support.
Through Egrimm's reports and corroborated by a letter here and there to the Provostry to confirm what few details could be confirmed from the outside, you hear of Alric quickly learning that Mira's preparations for this takeover have been extensive and long-running, and there are no friendly ears left to him in Altdorf. A more sensible Wizard might have accepted defeat at this point, but at his core Alric seems to be incapable of knowing when to quit, and he starts looking further afield. You hear of his talks with Grand Count Konstantin of Wissenland, and how they sputter to a halt after Mira tips off her hopefully soon-to-be counterpart of the Amethyst Order, and Elspeth von Draken needs only exert a fraction of her influence for Alric to find that Wissenland is no longer interested in the Light Order's partnership in certain sensitive matters. You hear of him trying to insert himself into the Sylvania situation and being politely but firmly evicted after he demonstrates he's more interested in digging into the fate of the late Magister Patriarch Hexensohen than he is on making any sort of contribution to the ongoing campaign. And then he starts worming his way into Talabecland, and though the Jade and Ambers stand ready to repulse any attempts by him to gain influence within the Royal Academy, he seems to be working instead on some sort of internal matter amongst Talabecland's nobility that neither Egrimm nor the Provostry seem to be able to give you any insight into. News dries up, and you find yourself feeling like you've read half of a story only to find that the rest of it is missing.
"This is what he does," Egrimm says to you. "He's a mediocre administrator but, for all his faults, he is still an extremely potent Wizard with keen insight, and extremely good at burnishing any deed into a legend. He's looking for another Apesto so he can ride it back into power."
"I think I may be noticing a pattern," you say. "He's thwarted in Nuln by the Lady Matriarch of the Amethysts, so he starts poking around the fate of her predecessor. He's thwarted by Roswita, and then he turns his attention to Talabecland, where she tracked the peat smuggling to."
"Roswita? Van Hal?" You nod. "That's right, you worked with her father. Did you get to know her then?"
"No, I never knew she existed until she inherited. I got to know her later, as part of being Loremaster to Karak Eight Peaks."
"You didn't continue on after she inherited?" Egrimm asks, his voice carefully neutral but his eyes searching.
"It was her decision." You consider leaving it at that, but think better of it. "She had something of a phobia of magic - understandable, given her family history. I've worked with her since then, and don't hold any ill will towards her." That wasn't always the case, but Egrimm doesn't need to know the inner thoughts of your younger self.
"Ah. Yes, well, you could be right. I don't think Alric would go out of his way to outright sabotage figures that prominent over being slighted, but if there's a way for him to get what he wants while also getting his own back, he'll take it."
"Well, he's unlikely to succeed in Talabecland if that's what he's after. The Elector Countess used those merchants as the exemplar for The Neglected Front, and in the process of gathering the information for that she uncovered enough evidence to damn them a dozen times over."
"In any case, he seems to have found something there to keep him busy," Egrimm says, flipping through a handful of letters. "I don't like that I'm not hearing any more of it. It would be just like him to manage some last-minute comeback and yank all his puppets back into line."
"If it comes to that, I can make it more trouble than it's worth to pull you away from the project. We've got one of the most prominent Runelords of the Karaz Ankor personally involved, as well as an Elven Archmage who was old when Sigmar was young. Nobody's going to want to uproot such a promising tree before it bears fruit."
"Mm," Egrimm says, clearly unconvinced. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."
