PM to join Catching Up [Class Thread]

[Annalisa Marin]

33rd of Summer, 513 AV Anna sat at her desk her hands steepled before her and parchment cluttering her work space. Before her were six desks, arrayed into two columns and spaced apart from each other to provide room for her to walk down if needed. She looked down at her paper, glaring at the words on it slightly and especially the signature at the bottom. The young professor had been ready to teach two individuals who possessed some fore knowledge and who she had already gotten comfortable with. Instead a letter was waiting on her desk from the head of her department when she arrived informing her that she would be receiving four new students and an assistant. To one not so paranoid, this might sound like a good thing, a show that her class was growing and that the higher ups were taking an interest in her and seeing her class grow. Anna saw it much differently. This was an act to keep tabs on her, a political move to ensure that she was not getting too ambitious. That was how she saw it, not only a compounding of work on her, but as a way to keep her down. So Anna was not pleased, however she would approach this situation carefully. She needed to make her moves slowly and to ensure to be very weary of her words and research around this so called assistant. Oh, she would make use of him, if only to avoid arousing suspicion but she would ensure to keep very close eyes on him. The young professor was already thinking that her new spy, Kenshin, might be able to dig up some useful information on her new assistant. She intended to keep a very close eye on him during this lesson, to watch him as much as she did her students. Anna's ponytail was up and her bangs were out of her face. Her cloak was draped over her chair and her clothes looked crisp and cleaned. Her narrow grey eyes were fixed on the door. This was still a class and she still had a job to do, politics were just wrapped up in it now. Anna admitted to herself a slight curiosity of who these new students were, they would be late arrivals, meaning their workload would be twice as much as Castor and Tsaba. Maybe one or two of them understood Glyphing, one could only hope.

[Ingvar Dalanos]

Glyphing Professor Annalisa Marin - one of the youngest current teachers in the University. Certainly very intelligent too, from what Professor Stonemiller told me when he handed me this job. She's younger than me by a few years, but that's alright - she should be quite experienced if she's a Professor. I do hope I won't screw this up.

Grimacing slightly as he imagined being fired on his first day of work, Ingvar knocked on the door to her classroom, rearranging his features back to his usual genial expression before entering the classroom.

"Ah... Good morning, Professor Marin. I am your new assistant, Ingvar Dalanos, and I will be at your service for this season, at the very least. If you should need anything from me, I will be happy to provide it. I am somewhat experienced in glyphing, but I specialise in shielding. What are my duties for this lesson?"

A direct approach was probably best, for it wasted little time and required no more than the minimum pleasantries. Still standing at the doorway, Ingvar awaited her answer with some nervousness.

[Tsaba]

Tsaba froze momentarily in the doorway, glancing between Dr Marin and the stranger. Was she in the right place? No, he was probably a new student -- she knew there was at least one new student, why couldn't there be more? A lot more, judging by the room's furnishings. Nothing in the immediate scene before her suggested how she should react and she didn't want to interrupt Dr Marin's conversation, so Tsaba headed for the second desk on the right and started arranging her tools, taking special care with The Forms of Djed, which she had yet to return to the library. She set her notes in two stacks (a pile of book notes and a pile of practice focus runes), leaving rather less space than ideal for actually taking new notes. If it were up to her, every workspace would be a miniature library instead of a little desk. Only after everything was laid out to her satisfaction did she actually look up to get a good look at the stranger in the room, or glance around for any new arrivals.

[Chembalo]

Nervously Chembalo approached the door to the classroom. This was it, his first day of Glyphing class. He wondered what it would be like. With a shudder, he remembered the brief, yet dreadful time in school, before he had gotten a personal teacher. But that was in the past, and this was going to be different. He was determined to prove himself.

He had done what he was told to do, to prepare for the class: he had bought ink, a quill and several sheets of parchment. He was shocked how much of his money he had already spent in his first few days at Zeltiva. Now the writing material was put inside his backpack, along with a handful of leaves of his precious bamboo plant. Smiling he took one of the leaves and started chewing on it. He felt a bit more relaxed.

Entering the classroom he saw the three people already present. At one of the six desks arranged sat a woman, most likely fellow student. Then there was a tall man at the doorway who seemed like another student to Chembalo.
Finally, the other woman obviously looked like the professor, since she was sitting at the front desk.

Placing his backpack on the front desk on the left, he approached her and said: “Hello, I’m Chembalo. I am here for the Glyphing class.” He had not thought to take out the leaf he was chewing on, but was still perfectly comprehensible.

[Avind Coolwater]

((I thought it was TWO columns, so three rows of desks with no “Center” Columns. <.<)) As usual, Avind had lost track of time. Hoping he would not be late for his first Glyphing lesson, he looked down at his left hand and grimaced slightly. His palm was a big mess of half erased runes and large splotches of ink. Maybe he should have taken the time to erase them correctly? Well, that wouldn't make him get to class any earlier. He tried not to think about the similar mess he had drawn on his chest and stopped to ask a young lady about the way to his class. She politely pointed him in the right direction and he thanked her with a warm smile before he hurriedly left. Even with the mess of this morning, the Vantha was excited after all. Excited and nervous. This lesson seemed promising and very interesting if not useful. It was a shame that he could not draw even with his life on the line but maybe it was just a question of getting used to it? When he finally reached the classroom, he sighed with relief. Only three people had made it before Avind did ; a tall man, who presented himself as an assistant or something of the sort, an older woman and another young man. While the only things interesting about the two men were that they were taller than the Vantha, the woman was somewhat peculiar. Older than anybody else in the classroom, it looked as if she planned to turn her own desk into a fort of paper and books. Avind smiled quietly at the thought and sneaked past the man at the doorway. He quietly walked towards the last desk on the left and started to unpack his things : A cheap book he'd use for his notes, a few parchments, a bottle of nik and his quill. He put his pack down and under the desk then looked a both the professor and her assistant. He professor was young, probably barely older than Avind was, and she was already teaching her craft. He was a bit jealous but dismissed the thought. He quietly walked up to her, waited for her and the assistant to finish whatever conversation they had going then for the other man to finish introducing himself before he smiled and stepped in front of her. “I am Avind Coolwater, I will be in your care for these lessons, professor, it's a pleasure to meet you.” He held out his right hand, a light scar in its palm, while he also tried to hide his left and the mess of ink he had previously made.

[Malvora]

Malvora had not slept well in the days before her first Glyphing class. She had not slept well...at all. She had met two people who were in this class with her, the assistant and another student, but that did not ease her nerves at all. She had read the books that Tsaba had suggested she read, devouring the texts in a few days, spending most of her time in the library, reading and practicing. Still, she felt ill prepared. Perhaps, it would have been better if she had waited until the next season to begin a class...after all, many of them had already started at this point.

Which reminded her, she had some catch up work for Botany to do.

She forced that thought out of her mind and hurried along to class, clutching her papers, writing utensils, and a book from the library against her chest as she did so. She forced herself to slow as she pushed open the door to the classroom, examining the room as she did so. There were five people there already, and for that she was both thankful and apprehensive. She knew Professor Marin immediately, for she had already met Tsaba and knew that she was not the teacher. She wondered if she should introduce herself, but noted that another man had already engaged her in conversation. As she looked at him, she froze...could he be...was it possible...a Vantha? She couldn't see the eyes, to be sure, but the sight of a man who could have been of her mother's race excited her. She listened as he introduced himself as Avind Coolwater, the name was right. She stifled her excitement. Just because he was of her mother's race, did not mean that he would care to teach her about them. Perhaps, though, she could ask him to help her practice her Vani...which for too long she had neglected.

She surveyed the others. Tsaba, she had met, and Ingvar, the assistant had given her some assistance on her Glyphing. The third man, she could not place, having never met him. Perhaps he was another new student, like herself and would be willing to study with her like Tsaba had been. She liked the older woman, she decided, for she had been extremely helpful in directing her toward the books she should read and helping her with the focus rune...which she still couldn't quite get down.

She settled into one of the desks, choosing one behind Tsaba, grateful for a familiar face, and spread out her supplies, relaxing as she surveyed all that was going on.

[Castor Riley]

Castor had debated going to the class; the events on the 26th had made it impossible for him to concentrate on his glyphing studies. For three days after the... incident he hadn't even been able to convince himself to leave his University accommodation for more than a few chimes at a time, and then he had been forced by his need for supplies. As it were, he still felt anxious and paranoid, fearing a sudden attack from any shadowy corner -- though he held no illusions that the light of day was protection against one. The feeling of the cold form of his dagger in its scabbard, hidden beneath his shirt provided some sense of security that allowed him to walk around. Gone was the usual cheer and excitement Castor had always exhibited when studying at the University, and he looked a little paler than usual. Reaching the Glyphing classroom, Castor passed by an unfamiliar man to enter it, surprised and relieved at the number of new students. The class would have been much more difficult for him to bear if he had been alone with Tsaba and Dr. Marin, as they had for the first one. In a crowd, he could perhaps hide his state more easily, pretend more smoothly, than in the small group they used to be. He gave the assembled people a quick glance: behind Tsaba there was a woman seated with long black hair and dark skin; two men stood near to Dr. Marin, aside from the one at the door. One of these men, Castor noted with some mirth, had a leaf in his mouth. Castor headed straight for the empty desk next to Tsaba, setting his things on the table. He mustered up a smile as he quietly whispered "Hello," to her before sitting down. He hoped she wouldn't notice how contrived the smile was. Tsaba was certainly unused to reading expressions, but he also knew that this usually meant she paid particular attention to them to compensate. With a little luck, this would be one of the days when her vigilance faltered.

[Ignotus Everto]

Anna's hopes were not to go unanswered today. Though his precise moment of entrance was obscure, he was definitely inside the room after Tsaba and before Castor. Unlike most, he didn't bother much with introductions, instead sinking almost immediately into his seat, paper and quill in hand. This hand, the teacher might have noticed, was itself adorned with a focus glyph. But it was, even from a distance, amateurish to Anna's trained eye. The lines were too thick, and wobbled occasionally. Of course, the man himself wasn't exactly boring either. Tall, unnaturally pale, and a touch stiff. A corpse, quite simply put, though one many might recognize.

Ignotus Everto needed to conduct wizardly study too, after all. And why not meet a new face while he was at it? His old teacher had retired back in 496, anyways. The Nuit gazed at Anna with the sort of static intensity that put so many off to his race, wondering just how competent she would be.

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna's so called assistant was the first to arrive in the classroom, introducing himself as one Ingvar Dalanos. She motioned him over to her from the doorway as Tsaba entered who she offered a nod as she noted the sheer amount of notes and practice Glyphs she had made. Anna felt that she was going to get along with Tsaba just fine, she was a little odd but was extremely committed to learning. The next person to enter the class was another new student, Chembalo who Anna granted a brief nod before noting the leaf. Her eyes narrowed slightly, she disliked such things in her class as chewing could draw a persons attention from the lesson. "I suggest you finish your leaf quickly, Chembalo, or you take it outside of my classroom. Then you may take a seat." She said. The next man was about her age and introduced himself as one Avind Coolwater who held out his hand for a shake. Anna stood to her full six foot height and gave it a firm shake, her express neutral. "A pleasure to meet you, please take your seat." Anna said, her eyes immediately falling on the woman who had entered without introductions. She shrugged it off, she's get her name eventually through the lesson at the moment it wasn't important. The young professor eyed an individual that everyone in the city knew, Ignotus Everto, a rather dead looking man who was quite renown and respected in the city. Anna was unsure of the implications of him walking into her classroom, however what she did know was that it was certain to be drastic. She did, however know a focus rune when she saw one, clearly this man knew more about Glyphing than her new students were likely to. Castor was the last to enter and Anna noted that he looked a bit more haggard then normal, it was a little odd. The young professor made a note to keep an eye on him and to inquire as to his condition later. At the moment she simply moved from behind her desk and looked to her students. "Hello, as some of you may know, I am professor Annalisa Marin. You will address me as either Professor Marin or Dr. Marin. I am familiar with a few of you and a few of you are late arrivals I know nothing about. Since that is the case, expect to work twice as hard to catch up, be aware that I do not tolerate slackers for long." Anna said, her words quite firm. "The man beside me is my new assistant, Ingvar Dalanos, who you can feel free to ask questions to if I am busy helping another of your classmates. In the odd chance that I am not available to teach you at any point on the coming dates, Ingvar will be here." She said with a gesture to Ingvar. Anna may not like or trust the man but she was definitely not going to let him go to waste in her class. He was a resource here, something for her to use and nothing more than that. She just needed to me careful how she worded things around him, if he was indeed Professor Stonemiller's spy. "Now then do any of you have any questions or concerns to address before we get into the lessons for today?" Anna asked, figuring it might be best to clear up any confusion her students might have.

[Ingvar Dalanos]

Ingvar did as she motioned for him to do so, moving beside her even as the students arrived at the classroom. He nodded at and gave a small smile to Malvora, whom he recognised as being the person he had helped in the Library more than a week ago.

He noted the students coming in with some interest. It was a hobby of his to sit back in a chair and watch the world unfold around him in his leisure time, and since Annalisa had not asked him to do anything, he took the chance to indulge in it.

A middle-aged student, moving a tad stiff - perhaps it's her age. That's quite a lot of notes and books though - how does she carry them? There's another chewing on some leaves. Ew. And a Vantha by the name of Avind - at least he's brought much less than the first one. He's not going to have problems with space on his desk, at least. There's the person I met, there's someone who appears to be older than me, and - what? Ignotus Everto? Here? My, that's quite a surprise. He knows something of Glyphing too.

Ingvar bowed as Annalisa introduced him to the class, moving to one side as she continued speaking to her students.

Strict, I think. At least she doesn't waste any time. Perhaps a tad blunt, but still quite alright.