• Closed • Flying Colours

[Whisper]

71st Day of Ymiden
717th Arc

The scholar stood quietly, packing up his notes after a lecture. It had been to the lowest level of students - new arrivals hoping to gain their Letter in Physics. A relatively dull topic, especially when she knew that he was capable of so much more. But that was why the Immortal had chosen to attend this class; she was interested in his own academic prowess, of course, but she was more interested in his desire to pass on knowledge to others.

Padraig had been doing it informally for arcs, even going as far as to provide an education to a slave. The man seemed genuinely interested in helping others to develop - perhaps he even took pleasure for it. He was not an academic after his own fame. He seemed a modest man, if Yvithia really considered it. That was a quality which was rare in the world of academia… thus is was something that the Immortal of Intelligence prized even more.

When in Viden, Padraig had not shone enough to be recognised by Yvithia. He was impressive, yes, but when you were the patron of the most prestigious institution in all of the known world, you had your pick of thousands. But he had not completed his studies in Viden. In point of fact, Yvithia had it on good authority that the man was the only person to have studied at all three institutions for tertiary education. He had grown not only academically, but in a worldly way as well. He had vocational skill seamlessly entwined with theory.

In a word, he had flourished.

And then… he had gone to Treidhart. Many others had, all fighting for their own causes. Padraig could not even be said to have fought the absent Immortal’s corner - no more than that filth Linika had - but he had fought, and Yvithia had finally taken note. It was the first time her appearance before a mortal had been borne of personal reasons, which made the mortal before her even more important.

As the rest of the class finally trickled out, Yvithia stood from her seat at the centre-left of the room and side stepped between the chairs until reaching the aisle, then approached the front of the lecture room. “Thank you, that was a wonderful class,” she smiled and waited for the man to give her his attention. She was polite and unassuming - unless she had to be, she was much like she thought Padraig to be: content to do her own thing. She felt no need to radiate power like some of her kin, but she would also not lie and pretend to be someone she wasn’t. When the moment was right, Padraig would realise who she was.

[Padraig]

One of the nice things about working and teaching at a renowned and respected university, was that he was surrounded by innumerable sources of knowledge and talent which weren't just his own. It wasn't just an impressive library, it's shelves filled wall to wall and floor to ceiling with books and scrolls covering any and every subject imaginable. There was access to equipment that Padraig wouldn't have been able to equip his personal lab with, even had he the money to afford it. The large telescope, for example that he'd spent breaks on end gazing through, mapping and studying the stars and universe. Just as important, he was surrounded by a host of other scholars, professors, researchers who were masters, even legendary in their own fields.

Collaboration was a wonderful thing, and letter level learning could be tedious business. Enough to make even those students who began with stars in their eyes to wonder if they'd chosen their field of study poorly. Padraig knew this already based on his own experience, and so went about things in a different way than others might. Filling a break or more with equations and dull theory and lectures that droned on, weren't his preference.Therefore, props and interaction with them was also a wonderful thing. As a physicist, chemist, alchemists, most of the time he could envision, imagine any given device. He knew how and why it should work, he could even draw it out on paper and consider all the variables. But he wasn't an engineer and the mechanical intricacies? There were others just down the hall who were more than happy to take his ideas and bring it to life with glass, wood, metal or any other material he wanted.

When the students had first filed into the room, they'd see him seated on the desk, one foot on the floor. Behind him, scrolled on the chalkboard were two words. Motion Physics. Was it ordinarily where physics learning ordinarily began? It wasn't. But if they were to endure that, better to begin with something that would grab their attention and maybe hold it for a break or so. Beside him on the desk was what looked like a beaker made of metal. Shaped into a wide and squat bulb at the bottom, a tall narrow neck and a flared top. There was no flame beneath the tripod shaped base it sat on however. No burner, just a small dial that could be turned one way or another. There'd been a small leather ball, stuffed with sawdust, dropped into the mouth of the beaker so that it sat there for all to see. There was in fact water in the bottom of the beaker, and if there was a source of heat in there somewhere, only Professor Augustin knew what it was.

He'd begun with the usual, introducing himself and pointing out the sheets of paper they'd find on their worktables to fill out. Name, where they'd come from, what high learning they came equipped with if any, interests and so on. But while they worked, Padraig observed, out of sight he adjusted the small dial on the device beside him, and apparently randomly so far as timing, at first, one small leather ball after another was fired towards the students. The first had bounced harmlessly off a bowed head until he managed to get them watching and thinking while filling out their forms. No one knew where he'd fire the thing next, not even the woman in the middle-left side of the room was immune. But they'd discover, if they compared them, that some balls, while the same size were heavier than others. Some moved faster, some slower.

By the time the session was done, they'd understand that in physics, motion was a change in the position of an object over time. A short time, or a much longer one. They'd better understand the concepts of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, time and speed. Motion of any body, he told them, was observed by attaching a frame of reference to an observer and measuring the change in position of the body relative to that frame. And before they met next, he told them, he'd like them to look up at the night sky, for several night's running in fact and pick a star, any star, map its position in relation to any surrounding points of light, or the moon, to Idalos, and to them. Then they could tell him exactly who or what they thought was doing the moving. Was it their chosen point of light? Those around it? Was it their own world? Or was it them?

It was only when the last student, save one, student was filing out of the room that Padraig grinned and called out, "Think fast, Myron," The boy turned round just in time to spy a final ball hurtling towards him and surprised, he acted on instinct, raised a hand and snatched it out of the air. Grinning, the kid dropped the thing in his pocket and was on his way. And then there was one.

Padraig was beginning to put his papers away and dismantle his prop when the woman approached him. He'd noticed her before, because hers was a face he wasn't sure he recognized. It was a letter level class, so it wasn't unusual. But some of them, most of them in fact he'd passed in the halls before the course had begun. A few of them in fact were only new to physics learning, but had been studying at the university previously. He smiled when she approached and spoke to him. "Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it," he said and smiled. "Physics can be a little dull at the start. All those equations and dry facts." He hadn't looked through the papers that had been filled out and collected, and if she was a new arrival, he'd yet to learn her name. "I haven't seen you in any of my classes before, or in the hallways. Are you new to the university?" he asked.

[Whisper]

Was she new to the university? The Immortal fought back the laugh that rose inside her at the question. “New? To the Scalvoris Campus, yes. But not to the Viden Academy. I am impressed with how successful the outpost has been. I think we have all of the decimated tutors, professors and support staff to thank for that.” She smiled, and it was a warm smile that just about reached her eyes - which was saying something for the normally impassive Immortal.

“I have come for a visit. An… audit, if you will. I have heard about the great moves Scalvoris has made in the past few seasons and had to see it all for myself. You were someone in particular that I wanted to see and meet.” Her gaze shifted from the professor to look about the lecture room, her memory replaying Padraig’s engaging teaching style with the students. Compared to his contemporaries, Padraig was a relatively new and inexperienced teacher, being so young. However, having just watched him, Yvithia would not have assumed that if she had walked into his class without any idea of who he was.

The mortal held himself with such confidence, commanding the attentions of the student with a friendly, interesting manner. It was a refreshing new way of teaching, and she was of half a mind to send a cohort from Viden to observe a class and learn from this new teaching style. Education could not be static, it had to move and mould around the needs of the students. Padraig seemed to understand that inherent nature of teaching. “What turned you to teaching, Padraig? Was it something you wanted to be as a young boy?”

Yvithia made no move to slip past the man’s natural defences and see into his mind. Often it was an easy way of garnering information about those around her, but she respected the man too much to abuse him like that. Padraig had done right by her… more than he would ever realise. The events on Oscillus had been more than enough to keep Yvithia from falling into her usual habits. No, she would treat him as she wouldn’t even her most trusted advisors. “Why Scalvoris; you have attended all three of Idalos’ most respected institutions, what drew you to this reborn island?” The questions she asked were a clear indication that the Immortal knew more than the average ‘student’ might, but she was not here under a secret guise, if he didn't work it out or ask, she would tell him soon anyway.

[Padraig]

Something he'd said must have amused her, though she hid it well, Padraig thought and smiled as he set his papers and briefcase aside on the desk. He propped himself there on the edge of it again when she explained, sort of. So the woman wasn't a student. At least it didn't seem so based on what she'd said. "We've got good people here," he agreed, though curiously. "Scholars learned in a wide range of subjects who are, more often than not, eager to combine and coordinate with others of different fields." That was how he managed to get the props he used for his lessons, after all.

But something about her, already, was beginning to strike Pad as unusual. And yet, there was a tickle at the back of his mind, as if she was somehow familiar. "An audit?" Audits didn't always bode well, he thought. Sometimes the term was code for cleaning house. From Viden, she'd said. Staff maybe? Could that be the reason for his sense that he really ought to know her. Maybe they'd crossed paths once or twice, way back then. Then again, Padraig didn't think so. In the meantime, she appeared to have questions for him.

"I'm not sure I'd thought about teaching when I was a boy," he admitted. "My grandfather who raised me was a shoemaker, and he thought he'd teach me the craft, in order that I might follow in his footsteps," Padraig added with a slight grin. "I was a lost cause there. But I was always interested in science. Physics, chemistry, alchemy. There was an old man nearby who taught me quite a lot." Frowning slightly, he reconsidered her question. "I guess it's that I hadn't really considered teaching in a formal, official sense until recently. But informally, I guess I've always been interested in passing on what I've learned to others."

As for the university and as importantly, Scalvoris itself, Padraig grinned. That was easy. "Scalvoris is a physicist's dream. A region alive with volcanic activity, and considering my focus is on astrophysics, I haven't found a better view of the stars anywhere on Idalos. As an alchemist, well, the place is a wonderland. Countless flora, fauna, minerals...the list goes on, it's like a wishlist full of reagents to collect and work with. I teach," he said, "But I continue to be a student myself and will always be I suspect. And a researcher."

Still, Padraig couldn't shake the sense that he should know her somehow. There was something about her face or rather the distinct features of it rather than the whole, that struck him as familiar. And then he realized it. It was the voice. He knew that voice, and combining that with what he saw or believed he did, he began to put it together. This wasn't a student, or an administrator of some sort. And if she was, she was unique among all the rest. In response to his suspicions, Padraig put both feet on the floor and straightened, where before he'd been as good as propped on the desk. "We've met before, haven't we," he said, smiling and in truth a little embarrassed for not realizing it sooner. "in Treidhart."

[Whisper]

The woman nodded as the scholar spoke. It was logical, well reasoned: something Yvithia liked to see in those who gained her attention. “It is a very wise thing to understand that the teacher will always be a student,” she replied, her voice laced with a hint of mirth. “Yes, even we bright, shining stars of knowledge would be fools if we fell victim to our own arrogance. There is so much in this world that is as yet undiscovered. And perhaps even one day we will make a discovery with threatens to overturn the very foundations of what we thought we knew.”

“That is true intelligence, Padraig, knowing that knowledge has no limit.” She nodded thoughtfully. Every day she found herself surprised by something new. It was was kept her interested, and today her new lesson was that she had been a fool to ignore the potential of the man in front of her. But she would scold herself later, for she could se the cogs turning, the cross-referencing, until he opened his mouth and voiced his hesitant conclusion.

Yvithia’s smile grew, and she inclined her head. “Very good, Padraig.” Her tone was somewhat condescending; Yvithia did not seek fame from mortal kind, but she was a proud woman nonetheless, and was surprised that she wasn’t as memorable as she thought she had been. Surely the events of Treidhart would be burned into his mind forevermore, as they had been for her? “We did meet in Treidhart, seasons ago. I promised honour and reward to he who helped me that trial. I have come to make good on that promise.”

The Immortal of Intelligence paused, considering what she had said that day, what he knew, what he may have deduced, or what his companion had informed him. “Do you know who I am, Padraig?” She finally asked. she did not like to be slighted, so her offer was a subtle one; if he refused, she would walk away, ego unbruised and intact, for favour was never explicitly offered. But if he did not know her, then her offer of favour was meaningless.

!	Message from: Whisper
	My sincerest apologies for the delay in this thread. It's been a rocky month, to say the least. Decision time, my friend.

[Padraig]

"Out there, perhaps even more so," Padraig responded in regards to the vastness of the unknown, with a gesture of his hand towards the heavens and beyond. "As both a student and a scholar, a scientist in particular, if I'm to acknowledge the extent of the unknowns on Idalos, the same could be said for what's out there. Perhaps to a much, much greater extent." It was the reason he'd chosen to focus his current studies around astrophysics after all. What scientists and scholars understood about Idalos itself might still be considered minute in comparison to what remained to be discovered. But the heavens? It was an unexplored frontier and what they knew was just a single drop of rainwater in a great, mysterious sea of knowledge.

The mysterious visitor was correct, at least in Padraig's opinion. Knowledge had no limits. In fact, what was believed to be true at a fixed point in time, could later be proven completely inaccurate and false. But as soon as he'd focused on the voice, he'd known, and what had happened Treidhart, those events, would always be burned in his memory. The details were as fresh this trial as they'd been that one. It was the voice. That was the thing that sparked the sense of familiarity.

Now that it had, he felt more than a little foolish. Lowering his head a little, he said, "I should have realized sooner, please forgive a scholar who can be a little too distracted at times for his own good." True enough, considering the way his mind worked, a half dozen ideas, theories and revelations going round and round as many or one, as often as not. "If not for your intervention, Faith and I might not have gotten out when we did, and our presence there might have done more harm than good in the process."

"We are grateful. Both of us. If it happens that by being there, I was able to provide a service, no matter how small, then I feel immensely honored that I was able to do so." But did he know who she was? "Of course. Yvithia." The question was, why had she come? Why here in his classroom?

[Whisper]

The Immortal’s brow rose, not in shock, but in admiration. “You have ambitions beyond this world?” For some, Idalos was enough to capture their hearts. Others craved more. Yvithia did not know precisely what got Padraig’s heart and mind going, and she was not about to brush his mind to find out. She contented herself with knowing that she could observe from a distance, and learn about him through his actions, rather than when penetrating his mind would tell her. It was fleeting, after all, and she was not infallible in deciphering a mortal’s thoughts.

And then she laughed, eyes creasing at the corners in genuine amusement. “It was a stretch, Padraig, I am teasing you. I did not properly introduce myself that trial.” In that moment, Yvithia seemed more human than anything else. She was not often in the company of people other than her eídisi, however, of all Immortals, she was one of the few who was constantly around mortals, enough to be grounded. Though the eídisi were not known for their sense of humour, and Yvithia was not often known to laugh and tease.

“If not for your intervention with… Faith, I might not have had the chance to be reunited with my beloved. That trial still awaits, me, yet I remain hopeful.” Her tone was wistful, longing, yet her expression was one full of optimism. She had waited this long, she could wait a little longer. At least he was not lost forever. “It seems we owe each other gratitude… it is not often that an Immortal is in the debt of a mortal. What an odd sensation…”

“And yet… your services go beyond that. It may not be intentional on your part, but your day to day life in Viden, Rynmere and now in Scalvoris is dedicated to learning and the teaching of others. That is no small service, and it has not gone unnoticed.” He did not do it in her name, but that was of little consequence to Yvithia. Some people she marked as followers: people who would see to her whims. Others she marked as advocates: those who supported her cause regardless of allegiance.

Padraig was the latter. And he had not yet turned her away… but he had not outright agreed. Maybe he had not understood. She tried again. “I would be honoured to provide additional… faculty… for you in your instruction of the next generation.” Yvithia was loathe to make it plainer. Did she really have to be so crude as to resort to the word Blessing? The word was far too emotional for such a reserved woman.

[Padraig]

"Oh yes. Absolutely," Padraig answered without hesitation when the Immortal asked about his interest in the heavens. And why not then? "A fellow student of mine wondered recently if the very act of questioning the way of things out there, their nature and how all of it is connected, bordered on heresy. My answer to him," he remembered with a smile, "was firstly, why look up at all if you're not going to wonder. And surely the Immortals would grow quickly bored with mortals who didn't?" Of course, the young scholar might have viewed this as the perfect opportunity to question one of the Immortals on that very topic. She'd probably tell him he ought to figure out for himself. And the largest part of him preferred to do just that. He'd be at it for a long time to come however. Based on his observations so far, Padraig was tempted to say that there were more stars and other heavenly bodies out there, than there were grains of sand on Idalos.

When she spoke of Treid though and what had happened there, it's impact on her, the importance of what he and Faith had done there that trial became all the more apparent. "I have to admit that so much of what happened there is still a mystery to me. But it's something I suppose Immortals and mortals like myself have in common. Matters of the heart, and hope," he said with a smile. More so when she referenced indebtedness. He'd have argued that there was nothing of the sort. He was owed nothing. Certainly not by such as her or any of the Immortals.

It humbled him however that what he'd done, no matter that it hadn't arisen from a devotion to any given Immortal or as a form of worship, had not gone unnoticed. It was enough for him to do it. He always had and would. But if he could do that and in the process please the Immortals themselves? It made his work seem all the more important, valuable and ultimately, fulfilling. What she seemed to be offering however, if he was understanding her correctly, was something Padraig had never imagined or dared to. He certainly would never have asked. He wasn't sure what to say. Mere words wouldn't have done his sentiments justice. "If you have come to find me worthy of such a gift, my lady," he said, "then I am humbled and grateful. And I will do his best to serve, and to not disappoint or cause you to regret your faith in me."

[Whisper]

“It is a mystery to all,” the Immortal of Intelligence replied softly as she straightened herself out from the previously relaxed position she had allowed herself to adopt as the conversation had continued. “There are things we are yet to discover, and things we might never know. I do not like to admit that true knowledge may forever allude me, but perhaps… ‘matters of the heart and hope’ will never see reason. It is not something to examine in the same way we might study an insect, I have learnt.”

When the man agreed to her offer, a smile broke out across her face. She stepped forward, and raised her hand. At this point, Yvithia did penetrate through the scholar’s natural barriers surrounding his mind. She made her presence known instantly, “Your humility only confirms my decision to Bless you, Padraig.” When Yvithia had marked the naer, she had done so with brutal force, beating the girl into submission.

With this human, her words were gentle. “You can serve me best by educating these young minds, and giving them the best chance in life. No child, regardless of race, creed or finances, should be refused a basic education. The secrets of the stars could be locked in the mind of a street urchin.” It was somewhat hypocritical: the fees the Academy charged kept Viden afloat, and some races were not welcomed. Padraig probably knew that. But the Immortal wanted to mean what she said.

She raised her hand and gently traced along the scholar’s right eye. As she did, warmth would spread as the distinctive pale blue line faded into view on Padraig’s skin. “You have already been serving me.” Removing her hand, the Immortal stepped back. She was still smiling. Without waiting for him to respond, Yvithia turned towards the classroom door, shoes clacking on the floor as she walked out. “Good luck, Padraig.”

[Padraig]

It was interesting to hear an Immortal freely admit that there were things they just didn't know. Not that Paddraig believed that they did. Only perhaps that they knew more. It didn't seem very politic to mention it however, so instead he smiled. The gesture was as good as a shrug come of surrender. If somewhat less irreverent. As for matters of heart and hope? "If you don't mind my saying so, I'd guess that the two sentiments are as difficult to quantify, as it is impossible to count the stars in the sky. But if those things were easy, maybe we wouldn't yearn for them the way that tend to." Love, broken down into quantifiable terms and mathematical equations didn't seem nearly as romantic.

Yvithia was right though, about the costs of higher education and even more so, lack of access for some simply based on their origins. Hadn't Faith been denied an education after all, even while her master would have allowed it? His own mother had abandoned him at birth. If not for his grandfather who'd raised him and nurtured, even financed his interest in science, he'd have struggled far more than he had thus far.

"Maybe there's something to be done about that?" he wondered. At least he might be able to do something within his own circle of influence. And if he could do that, then perhaps the circle might grow from there. "You have my word. That, I'll do." By teaching at the university, certainly. He already did that. But as the possibilities turned round in his mind, Padraig realized he could do much more. It that way, he might serve the Immortal best.

Without a mirror to look in, the scholar couldn't guess what appeared in the wake of the Immortal's touch. But he didn't doubt that he'd been changed, and was grateful for it. It wasn't just a gift, it was a responsibility and as she turned to go, Padraig resolved that he'd prove himself up to the challenge. "Thank you," he said before she left him. Such simple words for a gesture such as that. But there was a world of sentiment behind them.