[Academy] Meetings, minutes, memories.

[Faith Augustin]

23rd Vhalar, 719

Faith tried very hard to not have regrets.

She did things which she believed were the right thing to do, and she did them when she felt was the right time to do them. She acted in the way which she considered most moral and correct at all times and so, largely, she didn't regret her choices, even if they had not turned out the way that she wanted them to.

Yet, that was two breaks of her life she was never getting back.

Staff meetings were more or less a complete waste of time here, Faith considered. Viden Academy was rather "old school" in terms of their meetings. Faith had got to the point where she spent more time running meetings than being in them. But when Faith ran a meeting, she did so with a ruthless efficiency. Only things which needed to be discussed were raised and there was a strict timeframe. Yet, it hadn't been a complete waste of time because Faith had spied a familiar face there.

An Alchemy professor had caught Faith's eye. She recognised him and, of all places, she recognised him from a very long time ago. Namely, the depths of Oscillus, of that time when she and Padraig had been in Treid's armpit. Now, of course, Treid was alive again, thanks to Padraig, but other things had happened there. An Immortal - Xiur to be precise - had been stabbed. Padraig had been the first one out of the portal after whoever had done it and he'd told her that he wondered at who it was who had stabbed Xiur. He'd had suspicions, but they didn't know for sure and Faith wouldn't ever villify someone without evidence.

So, after the meeting, she'd found out who he was. She very much doubted that he had recognised her from then - although she was famous and even she couldn't deny it these trials. But the meek little slave-girl who had stayed away from people she didn't know? She very much doubted that nine out of ten people on that boat would have noticed her, all those arcs ago. Still, they were where in a different world now and so she made her way and then knocked on the door of the professor in question.

"Good trial!" Faith said, when he called her in and she made her way into his office. "I'm Faith Augustin, and I was hoping we might be able to catch up and have a chat." The very small, unassuming-looking woman was tiny in stature, but her silver eyes regarded him with a quiet confidence which she wasn't even aware of herself. "I understand you have an interest in medicine alongside alchemy?" Faith asked, with a smile.

[Doran]

There were a few things that the Mortalborn regretted. The staff meetings that he regularly had to attend were not among them. A few breaks hardly mattered compared to how long he had already been alive. He’d begun to question his actions in Oscillus though. He’d been wrong, on several accounts, and he wasn’t sure if he still believed in his cause. Sometimes, he even wondered if he should have tried to fight at all. He had very little in common with the warrior that had been driven by hatred and bitterness anymore. He had a good life now, a life that he actually enjoyed, a life that he didn’t want to risk, for anything.

Of course, very few of his colleagues apart from those that had spent a longer amount of time in Etzos where he had been something of a local celebrity, knew his story, although his aunt, the Lady Yvithia, was of course aware. They only knew him as an alchemist of great skill, a former ambassador who had moved to Viden approximately two arcs prior. That suited him just fine.

The arrival of the great Faith Augustin, the Champion of Famula, in Viden had attracted a fair bit of attention and was one of the most frequent topics of discussion that Vhalar. Students that previously hadn’t had any interest in medicine, tried to sneak into her classes – and openly wondered if she’d be willing to give them an autograph – and even some of his old and respectable colleagues had turned into sycophants. Normally, he wasn’t particularly sympathetic, but he pitied her a fair bit, and he couldn't help but wonder how she dealt with them.

Any comments that he made during the meeting were respectful - in his opinion, a woman in her position shouldn't be treated any other way. Unlike some of the people she had likely met, he didn't grovel at her feet or attempt to ask her deely personal questions though - he considered such to be distasteful - although her youth had surprised him greatly.

Llyr had shown him that a young mortal could know more than an ancient Mortalborn sometimes though. The etherist who had become his mentor in both dreamwalking and magic as well as something more was nothing short of extraordinary.

~~~

After the meeting, the alchemist retreated to his office in order to work on the proposal for his thesis – he planned on finishing it and submitting it to the Dean within seven trials. When someone knocked on his door, a little later, he was irritated as the interruption was somewhat unwelcome, but only for a moment before he called out in a clear and firm tone, “Please enter!”

He thought that a student or one of his colleagues might have a question for him – such happened fairly frequently. When one of the most famous women in the world entered the room instead, he raised an eyebrow in surprise before he stood and walked a few steps towards her in order to greet her.

“Good trial, Mrs. Augustin”, he spoke to her in an utterly polite and respectful tone and inclined his head slightly before he extended his right hand for her to shake. The alchemist was dressed in an elegant bespoke suit made of black wool that trial, not because he wanted to show off his considerable wealth, but because it was quite a bit more comfortable than the kind of clothes you could just buy at a shop.

“I do”, he confirmed in a calm tone. “I occasionally conduct medical research, and I regularly treat patients at the Infirmary.” Having said that, he gestured for her to follow him to his desk and take a seat. The furniture of his office was made of dark wood, and there were a few shelves with books, but few decorations such as plants or paintings.

“What can I do for you?” he wanted to know.

[Faith Augustin]

23rd Vhalar, 719

Had Faith known that Doran wondered how she managed to deal with the sycophants and the fame generally, she would have told him the truth; she found it most odd that anyone thought anything about her and what she'd done. She'd have been clear that people seemed to think that she'd ever done any of this on her own or that she was individually responsible. Which was, frankly, ridiculous. But, of course, she didn't know Doran's thoughts, so instead she smiled in pleasure as he called her 'Mrs" Augustin. Faith got called lots of things but that was the closest that she had heard here to how she thought of herself. "Please," she said, returning his hand shake, "call me Faith." After all, it was her name. She went where he motioned for her to go and she sat with a quietly spoken, "Thank you."

Faith sat in the chair and folded her hands in her lap. Her back was straight and shoulders back and she was still and mostly unmoving. She took in the room with a swift glance around, making a judgement about the kind of man he was, judging by the expensive, well-tailored and comfortable clothing, the room devoid of ornamentation, but with books evident, that kind of thing. Traditional, with traditional tastes, she thought. Once she was seated, having been informed that she was correct in her assessment of his areas of interest, he asked her what she wanted here - a more than fair question and he worded it well.

"Well," Faith said, her own voice soft. "I'm visiting Viden to complete my Licentiate in medicine. I've specialised in the study of blood," she explained. When Faith spoke about what she had done, there was no sense of boasting or any such from her. Just a statement of what was relevant to the conversation. "My Licentiate is a thesis on blood, looking at it in terms of blood typing, magically-crafted disease, and the effects of ether on blood. I was hoping that we might be able to share knowledge and have a discussion. I've found that ether in blood fades over time, but that time is not logically consistent with the time frame of alchemical creations crafted with ether-touched blood, be it mage, marked or mortal-born." Faith's silver eyes showed her fascination with this. Things made with alchemy using ether-touched blood lasted much longer and Faith wanted to understand why.

She was going to understand why, she determined.

Then, however, she smiled and spoke off-topic. It was always best to be honest and honesty was her default position. So, she told him. "We've met before," she said, quietly. "On a ship to Ne'haer, then through a portal to Oscillus." Her fingers moved, slightly, relaxing as she spoke. "I was Tristan Venora's slave, the one who cooked. You complimented my stew," she said. "In the Hall in Ne'haer, when the Immortals stepped down and moved among us, Moseke stopped at me, told me to have faith. She healed my brands and scars, although I did not know it. You were standing in the far back, I recall. When the final battle was happening, I and my then-tutor, now husband, had gone into the tomb, down into where Treid had been and still was. I didn't see you again." She pulled her focus back to the present. Memories were easy to get lost in. Aware of just how much detail she recalled, Faith held up her hand, showing her black nails. "Marked by Vri. I remember everything, every moment since birth." That was a mixed blessing and sometimes curse, in truth. Still, it explained why she recalled so much.

Opening up her hands, in an open gesture, Faith smiled at him. "I was wondering if you'd like to maybe share knowledge? Discuss, experiment?" Her smile turned to a grin. "You know. Have fun."

[Doran]

Faith, the Mortalborn noticed, was tiny. Or maybe, he thought with a hint of bemusement, the problem was that he was so tall. Either way, he didn’t ponder their height difference for more than a few trills, but shook her hand and remarked, “Only if you call me Doran … Faith.” He paused for a moment before he said her name as addressing one of the most famous women in the world by her first name was something that took some getting used to. He liked it though, even though it might be considered a small breach of etiquette – and he decided that he might like her as well, if first impressions were anything to go by. She was more approachable than he had thought she would be.

Once she had taken a seat, he did so as well. He sat with his back straight and his hands folded on top of the desk in front of him, but he was not stiff. He was rather more relaxed than he had once been, due to recent events. The expression on his face was calm and slightly curious. Normally, he didn’t care what people thought of him, but he was rather interested in what such a world-famous scientist as Mrs. Faith Augustin saw when she looked at him and his office and what kind of conclusions she drew from it, if any.

As she talked about her thesis and mentioned that she specialised in the study of blood, he raised an eyebrow for a moment in surprise before his eyes lit up. “I am about to start working on a thesis of my own. I work with blood as well, although I focus on a different aspect. I’m trying to develop something that I’ve tentatively dubbed Racial Blood Magic – potions that are infused with the abilities that are innate to certain races and that can be gleaned through their blood. I’m, among other things, trying to create potions that are infused with a Lotharro’s adrenaline and superior endurance, something that could save countless lives if it works as intended.”

He didn’t say more. He doubted that he needed to explain to her in detail how useful such a potion would be, not only on the battlefield, but also – and especially – in the medical field. People whose cases were hopeless now might actually have a chance, and contrary to popular belief the Mortalborn who had been a soldier once preferred to save lives when he could rather than taking them. He found that to be much more satisfying than killing, and he never wanted to go back to the way things had been before, to a life that had been filled with darkness and hopelessness.

“This is actually another field that I specialize in – creating items with ether-infused blood”, he remarked, trying to curb his enthusiasm. Llyr, he mused, had been like that when he had first talked about his work – so excited - and Faith made him feel the same way now when she talked about her work. “Perhaps I could help you with that aspect of your research”, he offered. He was not bragging because there was something that he knew that she might not, he was just so very happy to get the opportunity to talk about that topic. There were few people that specialized in the study of blood.

As she informed him that they met before, confusion marred his features for a moment before he nodded, very slowly. “I think I remember”, he murmured – her mentioning the stew had helped. It had been delicious. That she had been a slave once surprised him greatly – and it made her accomplishments even more impressive in his opinion as her childhood had without a doubt not been easy. He didn’t comment on that revelation though, and neither did he judge her because of it. He didn’t care where someone came from or what they had been born as, to him only one’s character and one’s actions mattered.

Neither did he say anything when she remarked that she hadn’t seen him again after her future husband and she had entered the tomb. It didn’t seem as if she expected him to say anything.

When she showed him her nails, his eyes widened slightly, and he smiled a little. “That explains your extraordinary memory”, he remarked. “It can be a burden sometimes though, can’t it?” he asked softly, hoping that she didn’t mind the comment. It made him think of his own abilities for a moment though, of the things he could find out by touching a person. In hindsight, it would have been better if he had never found some things out.

When she smiled at him, he smiled back at her because he was quite looking forward to working with her. “I would love that! It seems as if”, he remarked, his blue eyes twinkling slightly. “We consider the same things to be fun. What would you like to do first though, Faith? Since you are my guest, the choice will ultimately be up to you!”

[Faith Augustin]

23rd Vhalar, 719

"Doran it is," Faith agreed, and she had to admit that she was quite happy with that. She listened to what he was doing, how he was looking to craft the essences - although not in an alchemical sense. Or maybe, she supposed, it was using alchemy and medicine together in a different way. Either way it was fascinating. When he had spoken about what he did and how it married with what she was studying, the delight on Faith's face was undeniable. "It sounds like we have a lot of shared interests, and appropriately different specialisms to be able to challenge and stretch each other, too." That was a perfect thing, as far as Faith was concerned.

"Are you aware of the different liquids contained within blood?" Faith asked, not sure whether he would or would not be - it was, after all, very specialist knowledge. "My research is clear. It is in the red - or of course, silver - blood that the racial differences lie. Which is why the yellow blood can be given to anyone. Yet, what amazes and confounds me still," she leaned forward slightly, enthusiasm driving her. "Is that the red blood between two humans can be rejected, yet one human and a sev'ryn can be blood donors for each other if it matches. It's types of blood, I know, but it must sit on some sort of ... racial framework, which gives those cosmetic and non-cosmetic differences, yet fundamentally, is not what determines whether blood can be shared. It explains mixed races, and all sorts, but what is that framework?" Faith shrugged slightly, frustration at not knowing there, albeit slightly - because her curiosity far, far outweighed her frustration. She would find out. One trial.

When he said that he created items using ether-infused blood, Faith nodded, more than happy. "I would be delighted for any help you can give me. Maybe we can meet up again and I'll bring my Licentiate Thesis? I really want to crack this, if I can." She spoke with honesty (as she always did) and there was precisely no guile to Faith - or sense of being in competition. She genuinely believed that the point and purpose of education was to share knowledge. She had always believed that and so, she was more than happy to give and receive. Collaboration was the key to success, after all.

He said little of their time in Oscillus, and Faith was happy to move past it. Also, in fairness, it was something she probably wasn't entirely keen on talking about - there were questions and she wasn't sure she wanted to ask them. A lot of water had gone under a number of bridges since then. But, she had to admit that his reaction when she told him about her memory rather surprised her. Silver eyes regarded him and Faith simply nodded. "Sometimes, yes. Still. Only those who know believe that ignorance is bliss, I suppose."

But then, he said that they could work on whatever she wanted and Faith suddenly looked like the twenty-arc old she was. She was delighted at that prospect and she glanced around the room and then opened her hands in a gesture akin to a child in a confectioners. "Show me...what you would work on if you were stuck on your current project and needed to clear your mind?" she asked, believing that, if he was anything like her - that thing, whatever it was - would be the thing that he enjoyed doing most. "Please?"

[Doran]

“That’s quite a fortunate coincidence, isn’t it?” Doran remarked as she spoke of their appropriately different specialisms and grinned, his blue eyes shimmering brightly. For a moment, he allowed himself to daydream, about all the things that they’d be able to accomplish if they worked together. As he thought about what she had told him, about the different liquids contained within blood and why blood was rejected sometimes, the expression on his face grew more serious again for a moment though before he nodded.

“I know that blood isn’t simply blood”, he replied, slowly, as he thought about how to best word things in order to avoid an unnecessary amount of rambling. “Before I came to Viden, I often worked under less than perfect conditions. I had to learn how to purify the blood that I studied and realized that it isn’t simply a uniform liquid – and that not all people have the same kind of blood. Maybe”, he mused and stroke his bearded chin thoughtfully as he regarded her. He wasn’t sure when it came to mere speculation, but then again, a lot of scientific advancements had started that way – with someone wondering about something.

“Maybe you need to look at it differently, not from a doctor’s point of view and not from the point of view of someone who studies ether, but from a chemist’s point of view”, he suggested. “Maybe the answer doesn’t lie in the ether in our blood or in our racial framework, but in something that goes much deeper, deeper than even the cellular level. Of course”, he conceded. “We’d need a magnifier that is more powerful than those that exist to-trial to test this theory.” The tone of his voice had been fairly serious before, but it gradually grew a little more excited. He made no attempt to hide his excitement either – he didn’t do such much anymore, but showed his emotions more openly.

A moment later, he did a double take and remarked, “Your husband and you invented magnifiers, didn’t you? Do you think that you could ever build a magnifier that can show us more than just cells?” he asked with unmistakeable curiosity, wondering what kind of fortune coincidence had brought them together, the brilliant doctor that was married to an equally brilliant inventor and the world-class chemist.

“I would be honoured if you let me take a look at your thesis, Faith. I’m quite curious about your mention of yellow blood”, he admitted. “In exchange, I will show you my own thesis when it is finished”, he offered, the smile on his face growing slightly wider again. Just like Faith, he didn’t think of competition, and he didn’t think of stealing her ideas in order to possibly increase his own fame either. He was genuinely curious about it. To him, knowledge and the intellectual discourse mattered much more than the petty kind of rivalry that he had often observed among his mortal colleagues.

He’d expected her to ask him if she could see his potions or maybe the powerful magic items that he had created, so her answer surprised him. He raised an eyebrow for a moment, before he grinned mischievously and asked, “Have you ever seen the stars shine during the trial, Faith? Have you ever seen stars that aren’t only silver, but shimmer in all the colours of the rainbow?” Without waiting for her answer, he walked over to the nearby chest of drawers in order to open it and remove a metal box from it.

He had made a little invention the arc before, together with a previous research partner, a man who had turned out to have an unfortunate penchant for dark magic. Back then, he had scoffed at the idea of something that seemed to be pretty, but nothing more at first glance – he hadn’t been particularly interested in entertainment – but he’d begun to appreciate such things and view the world in a new light, as if he were seeing everything for the first time.

That professor that always assumed the worst of people, didn’t know how to truly enjoy life and turned his feelings off whenever he could as he considered them to be a liability already began to seem like a stranger to him.

“Take a look at what’s inside”, he encouraged her with a smile. If she opened the box, she would find a couple of tiny balls that were wrapped in colourful paper and had short fuses attached to them. “It’s a delightful little invention that my former research partner and I made, something to distract me and remind me of the beauty that can be found in science, but that surprisingly enough also turned out to be of practical use. If you light the fuse and quickly throw the ball, something will happen”, he revealed. “Of course, you should walk over to the window or onto the balcony just across the hallway to activate the effect”, he added.

“It might leave stains on the floor.”

[Faith Augustin]

23rd Vhalar, 719

Faith looked at Doran and, for a moment, she seemed positively dumbstruck. "That is ... that is exactly what I need to do," Faith looked at Doran and smiled. It wasn't a slight smile or a professional courtesy, it was a genuine grin of utter delight. "You know how sometimes, the answer you've been looking for is right there and ... all it takes is one clever man to say it? Thank you, Doran, most sincerely." He started talking then, extrapolating, and Faith felt a rush of pleasure at being able to share this. She wished Padraig was here, too, he had a lot in common with this man, and his interests in alchemy and chemistry. "We did. We might..." she said, on the topic of magnifiers. Thinking about it, considering it, she had to admit, "my husband is the physicist, he's the one who designed and worked it. I was more the ideas person. The innovator, if you will." There was a slight twinkle of mirth in her eyes, there, but then she continued. "But I see no reason why not. How would you feel about some collaborative work, Doran? Padraig and I are ... well, I don't know if you're aware of his work at the edge of the known land? He's an astrophysicist by day," she was making it sounds like she was about to add 'superhero by night', she thought wryly. "And we're going back there. His thesis on the anomaly in the orbit of the Saun sun led to all sorts of discoveries."

Once they were back from that, though, maybe the three of them could do some work together, Faith suggested. "Alchemy, chemistry, physics, mathematics, those are Padraig's subjects. He's fascinated by the stars." For her, of course, it was medicine, but the three of them together complimented each other very well. "The lenses are made from Egilrun glass, for maximum efficiency," she said of the magnifiers. "with the Scalvoris sand. I'm sure we could improve on the original design, you know." Faith was twenty-one arcs old and she looked younger than even that, in that moment as possibilities and excitement leapt around in her head, bursting like bubbles. She asked the foremost thought in her mind, which was "What do you think is there? These building blocks we're talking about?" They could be in the cells, or part of the cells, or on the cells. There was so much still to be understood. Which, of course, made it all just a wonder.

When Doran asked her about the stars, though, Faith's head tilted slightly, surprise on her face. She followed him as he walked over to a chest of drawers and looked down at the box he put on the table between them. It was metal and he encouraged her to open it, which she did. She listened to his words, his explanation of what it was and she smiled in absolute delight. "Science explains the world, and the world is the most wonderful, beautiful place," she agreed, and listened, entranced, at what he said she would do. "Oh, mystery. I love a mystery." With a glance at him to make sure he was accompanying her, Faith made her way to the window. Then, following his instructions, she watched and her eyes showed her delight at the anticipation of what was about to happen.

[Doran]

Faith looked at him so utterly dumbstruck that the Mortalborn couldn’t help but smirk a little before that smirk turned into a grin, a sincere, joyful grin. His blue eyes seemed to twinkle with delight for a moment. “You’re welcome”, he replied when she thanked him. “I’m glad that I could be of help.” As he said that, the grin on his face turned into a gentle smile again. Just like the young woman in front of him, the alchemist felt a rush of pleasure as their conversation continued. He was happy, he realized. He was content. He hadn’t thought that he’d ever be able to feel like that again. Everything seemed to be about to change though.

First, there had been dreamwalking, magic and a certain young etherist, and now there was the possibility of collaborating with one of the two greatest minds in Idalos that might lead to another scientific breakthrough, akin to the one that he was working on now.

When Faith asked him how he felt about it, he replied without hesitation, “I would love to collaborate with you two, Faith. Your husband’s research sounds fascinating. I wasn’t aware that he …” He paused for a moment, furrowing his brow somewhat thoughtfully, before he met her gaze. “Is there anywhere I can read up on his research? Did he publish anything in regard to his work at the edge of the known land?” he wanted to know.

The possibility that there might be another thing that he didn’t know yet, another new world waiting to be discovered positively excited him. She had mentioned Scalvoris sand though, so he eventually stopped wondering about Padraig’s discovery and turned to that particular topic. “I covered the various properties of the sands of Scalvoris in one of my classes. I’ve been planning to visit the island myself in order to gather a few reagents sometime”, he revealed. From what he had heard, Scalvoris was full of strange plants and animals and filled with magic – and quite different from Viden in a number of ways. He couldn’t help but wonder what he’d be able to find there.

“I think”, he said and leaned a little closer, as if he were sharing some sort of secret with her, as if this were some sort of great conspiracy. “I think that the cells are made up of even smaller parts – parts that contain all kinds of information that we would be able to read like a book if we only knew the language – if we could only see the book. Perhaps, one of those magnifiers could be enhanced with alchemy”, he mused and looked up, directly into the young woman’s eyes. “What do you think?”

Her unmistakable enthusiasm started to remind him of Llyr. He couldn’t help but wonder if the etherist and this extraordinary young doctor would get along. Unfortunately, he’d most likely never find out though …

“It is”, he agreed as she called the world the most wonderful, beautiful place. The tone of his voice was more serious again for a moment. There had been a time when he had thought that the world was dark and full of despair, an endless nightmare. He had been wrong. He had been utterly wrong, about more things than he wanted to admit. “All the words that we have aren’t enough to describe how beautiful and fascinating this world is.”

With that, he followed her to the window and positioned himself next to her. A moment after Faith had lit the fuse thrown the ball in the air, there was a loud sound, and then she could see sparks, countless bright golden sparks that were moving in all directions. They weren’t like the stars, they were brighter than the stars, and they began to fade after but a few moments.

“My former research partner called them fire flowers”, Doran explained. If she looked at him, she’d be able to see that he was smiling softly again. “We made bigger ones as well, and in different colors. but they wouldn’t be safe to use at the Academy.”

“If you’d like, I’ll give you a few of the smaller fire flowers that I have here though, a gift, something to remind you of your visit to Viden and light up the darkness”, he offered.

[Faith Augustin]

23rd Vhalar, 719

Faith was delighted when he agreed to collaborate, as she was sure Padraig would be. She nodded, her pleasure evident at the thought. As for Padraig's research, she nodded enthusiastically. "Yes," she said. There was no doubting the pride which Faith felt, it more or less oozed from her. She considered for a brief trill and then explained. "There are things on his discoveries in section 7.26 of the library here. They detail his discoveries relating to Physics specifically." Padraig, after all, had written everything up. She explained that yes, his work on the barriers specifically was there. "We're going back there, next cycle. It will be my first time, the first time he went I was pregnant with our twins," she said, and she grinned slightly. "I'm not missing it this time. "

And that was that.

She could certainly get on board with him visiting Scalvoris and Faith nodded. "It's fascinating. It's an eco-system in it's own right, it seems. Lots of very odd things there, that's for sure." She would have continued to talk about it but the conversation turned to something even more interesting. His theory on blood was astonishing and Faith thought about it from a number of different angles, before deciding that he was, in fact, absolutely right. "It would make sense. I'm sure that there are deeper reasons for the blood types, and that might be the answer!" Could alchemy add to the magnifier, Doran wondered and Faith considered it. "I'd say almost certainly, yes," she said. "Although personally, I'd be interested in looking at mundane science, too." Her silver eyes twinkled in amusement. "Alchemy is cheating, really, we all know it."

They went to the window and then, she did as he'd instructed and threw the lit sphere into the air. As the sparks glittered in the sky, Faith gasped in absolute amazement and she watched, utterly entranced. There was no guile in Faith at the best of times, and she was very young considering who she was and what she'd done. Watching the display, Faith observed it with the fascination and delight of a child. It was amazing. Beyond amazing, to her and she gasped, and made ooooh and woooow noises. "Oh, Doran, they're beautiful," she said, softly. "Truly they are. Fire flowers? That's a lovely name, too. It's right for them." Her eyes were still on the spot where they'd been and it took a lot for her to drag them away.

"Really?" Faith said, when he said that they made them larger than that and then, when he offered her some, to 'light up the darkness', Faith looked at him. "Was it you?" Faith asked, her silver eyes regarding him. "Back there, all those arcs ago? If so, it must ... you must ... I don't see how..." Faith shook her head. "I don't need you to answer that." Faith said, putting her hand on his arm. "But I tell you, that I am glad that you see the world in the way you described. It's a beautiful place and it would be dreadful to let the darkness overwhelm the light, wouldn't it?" Smiling, she nodded. "Thank you, that is a most wonderful gift. My children will be delighted." She could only imagine what they would say, in truth.

"And if you should come to Rharne, which is open now via the Eclipse Portal, then please know that you are most welcome in the Institute for Innovation. I'd love you to be a guest lecturer," There was no doubting the truth of that, her eyes shone with delight as she spoke. "So. When are you free for this collaboration?" Faith wondered. After all, it would be world changing, if they could do it. "Maybe Scalvoris is the way to go, actually. Meet in the middle and the glass-makers there are beyond compare. What do you think?"

[Doran]

When Faith told him that there was actually information on Padraig’s discoveries in the library in Viden, the Mortalborn’s eyes lit up. For a moment, he looked like a boy that had just been promised a new toy, so absolutely excited. “I think”, he remarked with a hint of amusement. “A visit to the Prime Atheneum will be in order then.” If what she had told him was anything to go by, Llyr or his servants (or the Dean himself!) might have to drag him out of the library and make sure that he didn’t neglect his duties. It sounded absolutely fascinating!

“I envy you a little, to be honest”, he admitted as she told him that her husband would be going back to the barrier the following cycle – and that she would come with him this time, in a tone that made it obvious that he was actually happy for her because she would go on what might be a great adventure. “I look forward to reading anything that the two of you will publish on your expedition”, he added.

When Faith approved of his theory regarding blood and proceeded to call alchemy cheating, Doran laughed and nodded, as if he actually agreed with her assessment, a little at least, before he remarked, “We should definitely look at mundane sciences as well.”

When she started to gasp upon seeing the fireflowers and made all those noises, the smile on his face grew wider. He liked that she enjoyed them so much; her excitement was quite contagious. “I could make them twice as big or even ten times bigger and make them shimmer in a couple of different colors at the same time”, he assured her, wondering if she believed him.

He hadn’t thought that he would enjoy the company of Famula’s champion that much, but he was having an extraordinary amount of fun – at least until she asked him if it had been him. He instantly knew what she meant. She was wondering if he had been the one who had stabbed Xiur. He decided to not say anything. A part of him wanted to, but it would not be wise, considering who and what she was. Besides, she had told him that she didn’t need him to answer that.

The only person in Viden that he had told his story so far had been Llyr, because there were so very few that wouldn’t hate him for what he had done. Besides, he didn’t want to think about the Hero of Oscillus. He didn’t want to have anything to do with that man anymore. He barely understood him, he didn’t really like him, and truth to be told, he just wanted him to be gone.

If he could, he would turn back the time – or, perhaps, ask for forgiveness because there was hope after all, and the potential for love and happiness, because he had been wrong, on several accounts, and regretted deeply. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever be forgiven though. How could he ever hope to redeem himself when he had done something like that?

“It would indeed be dreadful”, he agreed with her. “This world is too wonderful a place to let the darkness take over”, he said softly. One of his domains was literally darkness, but that didn’t mean that he had to pick a certain side, if there even were sides. Darkness was necessary for there to be light. He could plunge a room into utter darkness, but at the same time, he could see, even when there was no source of light anywhere in his vicinity. The fact that he could literally bring light into the darkness meant something, didn’t it?

A moment later, when she mentioned her children, he laughed again. “I hope that your children will like the fire flowers”, he remarked. “And maybe we should meet in the middle. I’ll be rather busy for the rest of the cycle due to my research, but … maybe next cycle? If you are interested, I will bring a few vials of my adrenaline potion with me then - or send them to you, in case I manage to finish the potion earlier. May it will help someone in Rharne or Scalvoris as well”, he mused. “It should be especially useful when it comes to the treatment of anaphylaxis or cardiac arrest.”

“I would love to be a guest lecturer, by the way”, he added. His eyes shone with nearly the same delight as hers as he said that. There had been a time when he hadn’t enjoyed teaching particularly – he had only become a teacher all those arcs ago so that he would be able to make use of his old university’s resources - but he had changed his mind as far as that was concerned as well. These trials, he found teaching strangely satisfying.