A Snowed Abode

Archetypes

It was quite a remote island here, where  the lab happens to be situated... Pax and Clemens had never, actually, been here, but they felt as if they knew the area well, for it was along the same clime as their own, glacial dwelling, except this little isle was the further geography can eat into a more temperate environs... and nearly in the middle of these two aspects of the weather.

Full of trees frozen by the weight of their very existence, there were also snowy hills encircling the lab... that led to the northern part of this little piece of the land. Following the woods covered by the heaviness of the soft, crunchy texture of the blizzard that blanketed all, both alive and inanimate, the two companions went to see what the edge of this land floating on water told them in visual terms, but there seemed to be... someone there. Just gazing into the nothingness beyond, solitary and meditative, what could be noticed from afar was a pointed hat on top of this person's head - at least we presume a person, for all we know a hologram from the furthest distance in the universe was beamed at right this point to deceive us, but never mind such fantastic notions for now, and let us only judge based on empirical evidence in front of us...

"Pax..." This person said as soon as they were engaged, surprising both of our travellers with their apparent foresight and knowledge of their own very identities.

"How do you know my name? Who might you be?" Pax asked, with utter amazement at the sheer fact that a stranger... on an island he has never been to before... knew who he was...

"I am the mage, Ventus. I have observed you and your home, Nix, for as long as Ignis seemed to be about to pose a threat. For even if it is the last remaining state of its kind, it could still unleash chaos... especially with the archetypes." Now this seems to be a knowledgeable person we have come across... still, is it not a bit creepy to observe strangers under normal circumstances? Or, perhaps she had some birds' eye view of Nix and only occasionally glimpsed Pax and others when they happened to mingle outside? I mean, she could not see all and hear all with her mage abilities, surely? Or am I too optimistic? Also, why only with the archetypes? Thousands of years in history have went down with states and empires waging war, and they had no special capabilities other than offensive technology. Or maybe the archetypes could be classified as that... as natural versions of tanks, possibly? I might be overthinking it, here...

"You know about them? We have only read of them being mentioned in books, so far. Would you know for certain if the monarch did indeed get hold of them? The lab down below is trying to confirm this, but what is it you could tell us?" Well, yes, Pax, and do not forget to ask her if she is related to the lab, considering their scientific point of view about this (although she is obviously not a 'two')... knowing you, though, you will in all likelihood forget, albeit the questions asked at least are still mostly relevant, I got to admit... would also like to know how much she monitored Ignis' institution, but let us strive for the former, at the moment...

"I did happen to study the possibility of archetypes, since as a mage they are related to my capabilities to utilize the ethereal qualities of the netherworld, but they are far deeper than even that. Imagine if the ethereal is the ocean, and all land on top is what can be seen, primarily physical abilities... the archetypes are at the bottom of that ocean. Not just on top of the solid rock in the depths, though, they fill the gaps and nearly reach the very core of the planet..." Oh, quite the strident analogy, if I may opine... but 'netherworld', really? Who is she, Hades in disguise? Her comparisons do seem to reference one of the books from Ignis, though, which I believe connected the archetypes to the Hadal zone, the deepest region of the ocean... this is, I assume, all merely a metaphor, but I suppose it might make sense if one were to try to categorize and characterize various capabilities. With regards to physical abilities, though, If, say, a 'punch' is an island... does that make martial arts an archipelago...?