Headmistress Linnea

**Anela Linnea** was the former Headmistress of Lightning Griffon Academy. She was forced to retire after the Crown determined she overstepped her bounds by refusing Lith admission to the academy based on Nana's background as a fallen mage, and fled the Kingdom afterwards. She eventually became General of the Talons and Thrud Griffon's ally in the War of the Griffons, but was killed by Tista Verhen.

## Appearance

Linnea was a woman at least as old as Nana, with almost completely grey hair with some shades of yellow remaining and eyes full of energy and life. As Headmistress she wore a light blue robe with decorations of gold.

## Personality

Linnea was an egotistical, snobby woman who looked down on commoners and disdained living the life of one. She was also vengeful, hanging onto grudges for decades.

## Background

### Handler

Over 75 years ago, a young woman named Nerea from Lutia enrolled in the Lightning Griffon. Her exemplary grades and performance piqued the interest of the Royals who offered her to become a Mage Assassin, a secret asset of the Crown, which she accepted. Anela Linnea became her handler, and Nerea went on to work in the field for several years.

One day, Linnea sent Nerea to kill a known traitor named Grand Duke Creghan, but her team's complacency and faulty info led to a massacre. The team pinned the blame on Nerea, and the Royals gladly used a grassroots commoner mage as a scapegoat to placate enraged parties. Nerea isolated herself in Lutia, while Linnea would go on to become Headmistress of the Lightning Griffon.

### Headmistress

Count Trequill Lark brings Lith when he turns 12 to apply to Lightning Griffon Academy. Linnea has them wait for several hours in a tacky room similar to the King's antechamber before receiving them. She denies Lith a scholarship despite his impressive background due to the fact that his mentor Nana is a fallen mage. Additionally, Lith had been involved in wiping out the Trahan and Gishal households. Lark becomes furious and vows to never support the Lightning Griffon financially while denouncing her political decision.

Following Lith's acceptance to White Griffon Academy and becoming a rank A student, Linnea is fired for overstepping her bounds in regards to Lith and Nana's relationship. She flees the Kingdom, though it is unlikely any country would accept her after her failure. According to some rumors, she literally drowns herself in alcohol. She becomes a cautionary tale among Headmasters, birthing the idiom: "Those who do not swallow their pride choke on their own puke."

### General

After being kicked out of the Lightning Griffon, Linnea is forced to run away from her home to avoid being killed by the very same Royal Assassins that she had once trained at her academy due to to her extensive knowledge of how the power cores of the six Great Academies work. She tries to leave the Kingdom on her own terms, but no one trusted a traitor. Every country that she contacts either refuses, afraid of the political consequences, or asks her to reveal everything she knew about the academies in exchange for asylum. Luckily for her, the looming civil war stretches the resources of the Kingdom's thin and skilled Forgemasters in constant high demand in the criminal underworld, she barters her work in exchange for protection. After the Talons are nearly wiped out by Lith in Kandria, the fallen Headmistress joins them in order to regain her wealth and get her revenge against the Kingdom.

Thanks to her knowledge and talent, she quickly climbs the Talon's ranks. Linnea had worked in the academy long enough to know the basics of every specialization and owned many books that couldn't be bought even on the black market. Her abilities as teacher, Royal Forgemaster, and leader soon brings the entire mercenary organization under her thumb, giving Linnea back most of what she had lost. Every powerful noble who needed the Talon's help show her respect and deference, her works are sold on the black market for tens of times their regular price, filling her pockets with gold, and by choosing which assignments the Talons accepted or refused, Linnea exerted a political influence on par with that of an ancient noble household.

However, her plans and ambitions are dashed after the Talons collude with the Balkor copycat and numerous other mercenary groups to attack Lutia and the Yehvals. Tezka the Suneater decimates most of the mercenaries, and his cursed spells follow them as they attempt to escape, exposing the locations of their bases and headquarters. Linnea hides in the city of Nunc and accepts an offer for safe passage out and a new identity, but ends up meeting Thrud Griffon, who offers her Awakening and the position of Headmistress at the Golden Griffon Academy. With nowhere else to go, Linnea accepts.

## Quotes

* *"I'd rather die than live like a commoner, hiding my talent for magic and never drawing attention."* (Chapter 1625)

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chapter 42: Odd Developments
2. ↑ Chapter 1625: Golden Cage (Part 1)
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Chapter 1489: Red Demon (Part 1)
4. ↑ Chapter 86: An Old Friend
5. ↑ Chapter 1086: Internal Strife (Part 2)
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Chapter 1624: Failure and Success (Part 2)
7. ↑ Chapter 1626: Golden Cage (Part 2)
8. ↑ Chapter 1625: Golden Cage (Part 1)