One may be confused as to why Salthalus appears to be aging rapidly as this comic progresses. One would be justified in this puzzlement, and therefore need to be reminded of a rather glazed-over fact revealed when Salth was introduced, that her normal appearance is actually a magical ruse she uses to make herself look younger to people inexperienced with magic. The reasons for this will be discussed much later; however, suffice it to say that the spell she uses to do this is extraordinarily weak. Anyone with even a small amount of experience with magic can see through it to her real appearance. Obviously, Alex can see through it. Matt can as well; all the times in their youth when Alex was first learning magic that her spells accidentally went after Matt did eventually give him a bit of an eye for magic. The weakness of the spell is solely so that Salth can keep it up while giving it next to null concentration. This way, she can go about her day normally without thinking about the spell. The fact that the spell is failing right now is a sign of her concentration being truly shattered by Matt's revelation. So, the end result is this: No, Salth is not aging rapidly. She's just returning to normal. Which, in this case, still isn't a good thing, but hey.