Private Lessons

[Rackenhammer]

Following close behind, Kolin caught Freya's eye roll and patted her on her shoulder. "I think he's just a little too excited about what he wants to show to rise to your bait. Some of ma's researchers get like that when they want to show off a breakthrough."

Once the magnitude of what Zechariah had to show them was made clear, Kolin was more than confident his theory was correct. The dragon himself was certainly smiling. "Indeed, you are not unlike many professors who were permanently housed in the HEM building. Hence, why they were permanently housed in the HEM building." Though his lips didn't move, his eyes were sparkling. This place seemed to give a bit of his youth back.
"Might I inquire as to this project? I have some suspicion it will dovetail rather nicely into my own."

[Asyriel]

Freya gave a slight shrug when Kolin commiserated on the lack of reaction to her teasing. "wouldn't be the first time I failed to get a reaction out of him." she replied quietly.

She chuckled when Zech mentioned that she was like many of the professors that had been permanently housed in the HEM building. "I bet they were an interesting lot, eh?" She replied. She was taking in the entire facility, getting a feel for it. She was looking forward to teaching in this facility, pushing her students, and digging into lessons that would be hard to teach anywhere else. She turned her attention back to Zech when he asked about her project.

She flashed a broad smile. "Been studying up on our ancestors lately?" She asked before she started explaining. "I have. I've recently found the works of a dragon named Fafnir. In those works he spoke of Bahamut, and Tiamat; and alluded that they started as mortal dragons. Another of his works could well be called an instruction manual, and he entitled it 'The Path to Ascendancy'." She paused for a moment, as if choosing her words carefully. "I worry at times that the loss of magic from Feilans may someday come back to bite our tails."

[Rackenhammer]

Freya would find all eyes upon her as she related her recent reading. Gil, for his part, hung back a little from the conversation, but his eyes shone with focus and attention. Kolin was curious as ever, and Zechariah... was at first impassive and enigmatic, as was usual for him. Slowly, however, the dragon began to smile. "As you say, the HEM staff were an interesting lot indeed. None, however, had quite so high an ambition as that. Though-" His smile faltered with a sigh. "None had so great a task set before them."

Whatever dampening mood had struck the dragon passed soon, his smile breaking through the clouds again, in a full grin. "But you are right. Foolish experiments in prognostication locked us into this present, but the future remains open. Magic may yet return, and if it does... it shall find an Unseen University, once again living up to its name. Do you know how it got its name, by the way? It was originally a guerilla regiment of mages, back during the war of the Seven against Dysuhl. Led by Gawain herself, or so the story goes. A dark empire once again casts a shadow across our land, history repeats itself...."

[Asyriel]

Freya's scales darkened momentarily as she realized the attention she'd called upon herself. She cleared her throat and offered a bit of a smile as Zech confirmed that the residents of the HEM had been an interesting lot. She nodded slightly when it was put out that she'd set much loftier goals for herself. "well..." she started. "I have on occasion found myself confronted with power beyond my own. There were others to help, but such encounters have led me to seek ways to bolster my own power. It is part of my motivation for seeking to learn more of our ancestors." She finished with a slight shrug. "I've spent considerable time studying the text, and researching the principals within. the theories seem sound, but now I need to move further, from research to experimentation. The process could take decades, even centuries, depending on how well the experiments progress."

She grinned as Zech talked about the Unseen University. "A fitting name at the time then. They were on the front lines when that empire tried to make a return as well, though a little less unseen." she replied in conspiratorial tones. She frowned a bit as Zech mentioned another dark empire and history repeating itself. "A folly I think will never truly end. Despite the fact that much is well documented, there will always be individuals that think they can avoid the pitfalls of their predecessors." She gave a soft sigh before perking up a bit, and looking at her students. "well, either of you want to work on anything this evening, or would you prefer to wait till morning?"