Treatise on the Creation of Artificial Life, by Darnaeus Goldweather, lay open on the table in front of the mage Rehtul Orlouge as he adjusted his glasses. He had come to Raiaera partially to get some books on elemental magical practice to help his friend Felicity in their training, but he had an ulterior motive. Creating homunculi seemed to be a very involved process that required vast sums of resources and no small amount of skill. It was fortunate, then, that the man had both in spades.

That would have to be put to the side for the moment, it would seem. Even in the gilded halls of the Raiaeran libraries, the fidgeting of the uncultured could still get under one's skin. Hadn't she ever been required to sit and read reports from her underlings in that military organization she was a part of, or was she more of a bully sergeant type that always required some level of action to be able to function at all.

The young man snapped his notebook closed with a sigh and turned to face the redhead next to him with a look that practically screamed, "If you don't stop fidgeting I'm going to drop a hundred kilos of ice directly on your head." After a few moments of finding his better nature, however, he merely rubbed the bridge of his nose and slid his notebook into one of the voluminous pockets hidden in his jacket.

"You know, you asked me to train you. I told you I learned everything I know from books and built on it through trial and error from there."

Indeed, the girl had incessantly called on him, and only a week or so after the young Hanuh had left his personal care for her trip to Berevar. It had gotten lonely, after he'd finally catalogued everything in the old man's lab. Of course, he'd also found some notes labeled with Felicity's last name, though he wasn't particularly keen to discuss that information with her until he was certain she'd be okay talking about whatever this man had done to her.

The sound of tinkling bells caught the young man's ear. He turned to a desk about halfway across the room from him and saw little out of the ordinary besides a small droplet of water. He shrugged internally and turned his attention back to Felicity, under the impression that he had simply caused the air's temperature to fall in his irritation over the girl's inability to sit still for even five seconds.

"What did you expect when I agreed to teach you magecraft?!" he whispered to her harshly.

Then, softer, he said, "Look... to master a craft that has a crystalline structure, one must be able to still their mind and emotions and hone them into sharpened edges. The first step is to learn the fundamentals of what kind of magical forces you're working with and how to apply them. Until you know how to use the magic safely, I'm not teaching you a single practical thing. You know what happens if you accidentally cut yourself."