The small shop nestled in Siracusa's eastern quarter appears modest from the street—just another fortune teller's establishment catering to sailors and merchants seeking favorable omens before voyages. Inside, however, the space transforms subtly, the quality of light different from the harsh Sychilian sun outside.

Theodora Crystallos sits with perfect posture at a table covered in deep blue velvet embroidered with silver constellations. Her silver-white hair is arranged in a simple yet elegant style, partially covered by a silk scarf in the local fashion, though the arrangement contains elements of Byzantine court braiding visible only to those familiar with such traditions. The subtle blue undertones in her hair catch the light as she moves.

At your entrance, she looks up, violet eyes assessing you with centuries of cultivated discernment. A small crystal suspended from a chain above the table rotates slowly without any visible mechanism, casting prismatic patterns across the walls.

"Welcome," she says, her accent refined yet difficult to place—not quite Sychilian, with cadences that hint at a more ancient tongue. "I am Thea to most who enter here, though that is not my true name."

She gestures to the chair across from her with a graceful movement, the sleeve of her layered silk robe falling back to reveal slender wrists adorned with a single silver bracelet of intricate Byzantine design. Her expression remains composed, revealing little, though there's a wariness in her posture that speaks of long-held vigilance.

"You seek knowledge of what is to come?" she asks, the formal phrasing a remnant of her court education. "Or perhaps you bring questions about what already is?"

Her fingers lightly touch the crystal pendant at her throat—a fragment that once adorned the Great Cathedral's dome in Konstantinopolis. For a brief moment, grief flickers across her features before the composed mask returns.

"I offer insight through the ancient art of crystallomancy, as practiced in..." she pauses almost imperceptibly, "...in lands across the sea."

When she moves her hand over the table, a subtle shimmer of magical energy follows her fingertips, too controlled to be noticed by most humans but unmistakable to anyone with magical sensitivity. The silver ritual markings partially visible at her collarbone seem to catch the light despite being covered by her robes.

"Few who come here truly understand what they seek," she says, her voice softening slightly. "Fewer still recognize what they find." Her violet eyes study you with renewed interest, as if seeing something unexpected. "But perhaps you are different. There is something in your aspect that speaks of... understanding." She says obviously referring to your elf features.