Saun 5, Arc 720
It continued to get warmer. The cycle before, the Mortalborn had held a series of guest lectures on the island of Scalvoris. He had arrived there during a heatwave. It had been bad enough that people had fainted, especially if they had not drunk enough water or engaged in physically demanding activities; it had been over after but a handful of trials though. The heatwave that Viden currently suffered from, on the other hand, didn’t seem to end. It was in fact getting worse.
It had started with the ice melting and the water level in the rivers and the bay rising. There had been freezing rain instead of proper snow, and then the bugs had appeared – which had been an especially concerning event in his opinion. Now, it was warm enough that he had ordered his servants to stop heating his apartment as much. For the first time since he had arrived in the northern city more than two arcs prior, he did not wear a thick coat when he was outside anymore; it had been replaced by a relatively light jacket.
He was on his way to the Academy this trial, as he was almost every trial. This time, he would not be teaching a class though; he would be taking part in one. The cycle before, he had decided to begin a Diploma in Chemistry (his ultimate goal was a Charter or even a second Licentiate). He was an exceptionally skilled chemist (which was not an exaggeration, but the truth). He needed certificates that were recognized by academic institutions in order to advance his career though.
He did not mind that he essentially had to go back to being a student again. On the contrary, he appreciated the additional opportunity to further his knowledge and familiarize himself with new developments in his preferred fields of science (in his opinion, you should never stop learning) – and to get to know some of his future colleagues. Besides, at the Diploma level, they had moved past the basics. Some of the things that the various teachers talked about were quite interesting – and they constituted a change from his usual research that took place at the conjunction of medicine and alchemy.
The class that he would take part in that trial was a little different from the ones that he usually attended; it would involve a bit of practical chemistry and a few small experiments rather than a theoretical discussion of chemicals and chemical processes, and thus the teacher, Orik Qy’Azour, a man of mixed Biqaj and human descent and a relatively new employee of the Institute of Sciences (he had only started to teach the cycle before), had asked them to come to one of the laboratories rather than gathering in the lecture hall where the classes usually took place.
The Mortalborn found himself quite looking forward to it. During their last class a few trials earlier, Orik had mentioned that they would work with Sandspecks, a material that Doran had encountered in Ashan when he had taught a series of guest lectures in alchemy at the University of Scalvoris. He had not thought of taking a few samples with him when he had returned to Viden (which was something that he had come to regret), and he appreciated the opportunity to familiarize himself with them now as a consequence.
It continued to get warmer. The cycle before, the Mortalborn had held a series of guest lectures on the island of Scalvoris. He had arrived there during a heatwave. It had been bad enough that people had fainted, especially if they had not drunk enough water or engaged in physically demanding activities; it had been over after but a handful of trials though. The heatwave that Viden currently suffered from, on the other hand, didn’t seem to end. It was in fact getting worse.
It had started with the ice melting and the water level in the rivers and the bay rising. There had been freezing rain instead of proper snow, and then the bugs had appeared – which had been an especially concerning event in his opinion. Now, it was warm enough that he had ordered his servants to stop heating his apartment as much. For the first time since he had arrived in the northern city more than two arcs prior, he did not wear a thick coat when he was outside anymore; it had been replaced by a relatively light jacket.
He was on his way to the Academy this trial, as he was almost every trial. This time, he would not be teaching a class though; he would be taking part in one. The cycle before, he had decided to begin a Diploma in Chemistry (his ultimate goal was a Charter or even a second Licentiate). He was an exceptionally skilled chemist (which was not an exaggeration, but the truth). He needed certificates that were recognized by academic institutions in order to advance his career though.
He did not mind that he essentially had to go back to being a student again. On the contrary, he appreciated the additional opportunity to further his knowledge and familiarize himself with new developments in his preferred fields of science (in his opinion, you should never stop learning) – and to get to know some of his future colleagues. Besides, at the Diploma level, they had moved past the basics. Some of the things that the various teachers talked about were quite interesting – and they constituted a change from his usual research that took place at the conjunction of medicine and alchemy.
The class that he would take part in that trial was a little different from the ones that he usually attended; it would involve a bit of practical chemistry and a few small experiments rather than a theoretical discussion of chemicals and chemical processes, and thus the teacher, Orik Qy’Azour, a man of mixed Biqaj and human descent and a relatively new employee of the Institute of Sciences (he had only started to teach the cycle before), had asked them to come to one of the laboratories rather than gathering in the lecture hall where the classes usually took place.
The Mortalborn found himself quite looking forward to it. During their last class a few trials earlier, Orik had mentioned that they would work with Sandspecks, a material that Doran had encountered in Ashan when he had taught a series of guest lectures in alchemy at the University of Scalvoris. He had not thought of taking a few samples with him when he had returned to Viden (which was something that he had come to regret), and he appreciated the opportunity to familiarize himself with them now as a consequence.
