Norwyn marched through the door of the instructors lounge ignoring the greetings of his coworkers & pouring himself a cup of Dryl coffee before dropping gracelessly into an open chair. His peers had the decency to allow his a few moments before beginning their questioning.

"Rough day hun?" asked Serena, the shapeshifting teacher asked, her kindly aged face reflecting the concern in her voice.

"Nothing that i couldn't handle" he began with a sigh "just another of Micah's little accidents"

"Of course" Magestra the instructor responsible for the elective class on mental magic said with a roll of her eyes "what did he do now?"

"It was nothing truly. I was showing the class how levitation magic could be used in the arts by having them use it to paint a picture. Micah got excited & ended up levitating everyone's paint supplies & when he tried to correct his mistake he inadvertantly ended up getting paint everywhere, including the other students" He explained.

"Oh is that all?" Magestra asked while smiling into her own coffee.

"Come now Magestra it was clearly an accident" the man seated on her other side stated.

"It's always accidents with that one from what i hear Noah" she replied to the instructor of the powder class.

"Now now, the poor dear never means any harm" Serena interjected "he just gets excited & pours more magic into the spell than is necessary. It's a perfectly common problem among younger students as you well know"

"Which is why i'm ultimately grateful that my class is reserved for older students. Though it's not fair to simply chalk the boys failings up to his youth. His sister is the same age after all & i never hear of her causing such chaos. Clearly she lacks her brothers issues with restraint"

"Age & maturity are not linked together" said Arden instructor of portal magic who, in addition to being the only other Satyr on staff, also happened to be the youngest member of their faculty "People progress at the rate they progress not the rate we want them to"

"Fair enough" Magestra said inclining her head to their youngest peer "But as you yourself prove, people can advance their own progress regardless of youth if they treat the subject with the proper respect. The problem with students like Micah is they mainly view magic as a way to entertain themselves"

"A mindset that often fades as they age" Serena said with certainty "Enough time around magic & almost everyone learns to show it the proper respect. Besides there's clearly one student in Micah's age group that meets your standards or are the rumors that you've found an assistant for your work in the library untrue?"

Norwyn's ears perked up at this. Since many students deemed Magestra's class too difficult, she had a lighter work schedule than others. A lifelong appreciation of the written word had led her to dedicate that free time to the school library. She had been in search of an assistant in the past but a lack of interest among the students combined with her insistence on finding one who treated the book with what she deemed the "appropriate level of care" had left the position unfilled for longer than he could remember.

"Aw yes young Beatrix. Now there's a girl who treats her lessons with respect." Magestra said with what Norwyn would swear was a proud smile. "She kept coming day after day & i noticed that she was one of the frustratingly few students these days who knows how to treat a book properly. and she would read all kinds too. Books you wouldn't expect a first year student to be reading. She came around so often that before i knew it i was asking for her help doing a few chores and...well i never really offered her the position she just sort of took it. Quite the hunger for knowledge in that one"

"Now on that we agree" Serena said with a smile of her own" I dare say i can't recall a more inquisitive student. And such a grasp of the lessons too. She reaaly is a delight to have"

"True" Noah said with a somewhat glum expression "It's a shame the Good Lady played such a cruel prank on her"

"What prank would that be?" Arden asked with a raised brow.

"To give her such a passion for learning but such a weak connection to Etheria's magic that i fear she won't be able to use much of the knowledge she obtains" the elder instructor replied sadly.

"Oh nonsense Noah" Serena said with a sour expression "Just as some students advance faster than others some are late bloomers. I'm certain that she'll catch her classmates eventually. You can't accurately judge a student's potential in their first year"

"Here, here" Arden agreed.

"Well said dear" Magestra said with a raise of her glass. She finished taking a drink from her cup before casting a glimpse of the clock on the wall. "Oh dear is that the time? I must be going. Beatrix & I are reorganizing the library's historical wing. Until we meet again my friends" With that she downed the rest of her cup before departing the room.

As she left & the others began a new conversation Norwyn reflected on the words spoken on their current crops of students. As he did so he came to one conclusion, between the raw talent demonstrated by students such as Micah & Esmeralda as well the dedication & passion shown by those like Beatrix. This current crop of students had the potential to change Etheria as they knew it. And he couldn't wait to see them do it.