"...Your ancestors raised you poorly, then, if you accept dying in a cell as martyrdom."
"There is a fine line between risking your life for something, and throwing it away for nothing. The former is necessary, but the latter is meaningless. When there is not a single advantage to seize, not a one glimmer of hope, you do not scatter what time you have left to the four winds. The dying have no choice to accept all they've done as all they'll ever do, after all."
"If you have no reason to die, yet you throw yourselves onto the spears regardless, you are no warrior. You are a fool in a warrior's armor."As the anger and spirit began to manifest in her voice, the old woman's own silhouette seemed... different. Somehow larger? Or perhaps just more imposing? Not much of it could be made out from the darkness, given her heavy rags and robes, but...
"..."The professor stood there, simply stunned by the child's mouthiness, as well as his complete lack of situational awareness, before eventually composing himself.
"...Ahem. Let us start from the beginning."
"Claus Palermo, was it? 'Star Prodigy' of both Excidium and Instaurum's academies? If I recall your stated reasons for joining this establishment, you had recognized, at least at the time, that you had more to learn. However, not everything in this world, much less this nation, can be gleaned from rigorous study alone. There is experience as well. Experience that can only be gained over many, many years. It is clear to me, however many years you have so far lived, that despite your dedicated study, you are severely lacking in experience, insofar as you have proven unable or unwilling to recognize, much less respect, your superiors. This is the behavior of a child."
"Secondly, your background is known to me. However, your upbringing, or lack thereof, is of no concern to your position at this time."
"Third, do not expect that we have the luxury of ignoring due process. Less than twenty-four hours have passed, and we are still at the preliminary analysis. There are a great many scholars here more qualified than I in the matters of lucid crystals, and if you wish to consider yourself among them, I invite you to. But the utmost priority, as of this time, is guaranteeing the security and safety of all involved. There is no telling what a lucid crystal so provoked might do to the child it has possessed, much less to those around it. Only when security is guaranteed, is when those such as you would be considered. A consideration that you have openly forfeited."
"Fourth, given how little you as-of-yet understand the situation, your concern for both the boy's condition, and that of the crystal, is... understandable. Indeed, as such an occurrence of a lucid crystal possessing a human is nearly unheard of, we sofar have been unable to apply the standard containment procedure to it, and have had to resort to more traditional methods. However," he said while directing the torch spell in the direction of the child, magically bound with an altogether unfamiliar spell as he sat in a chair,
"do not assume the paralysis involved to be anywhere of a fraction as pernicious as that employed against the prisoners when the cells detect an escapee. Even as the child has yet to recover consciousness, Professor Mayes insisted on expending every effort of her attention to ensure his comfort and safety, in the event that the crystal has not overtaken all of his senses." Though perhaps an imperceptible drop in the raging ocean, the last sentence might have carried a smidge more bitterness than the ones before.
"And finally, you are correct that breaking and entering, into an unmarked room unconnected to the dungeons no less, is a crime punishable only through detention. It would have been every Friday, one hour, starting from five in the afternoon, for four weeks. Young Viverna, you will receive one week, for your failure to prevent your friend from continuing on his present course."
"However, Claus," as his voice began to elevate,
"you did not simply break into an unmarked room. You openly insulted and dismissed your superiors, the entire Academy no less, and openly claimed intent to subvert them in regards to a highly volatile situation."
"They may allow such behavior in, say, Instaurum, but in an institution as demanding of security as where you stand? In a time and situation as unprecedented in its danger as this? Whilst being caught performing a crime, albeit a minor one?"Professor Vinter paused, as if to let his words hang in the air.
"Claus Palermo, yours is an ego thoroughly consumed by self-righteousness. A lesser officer might consider it incurable, even. But regardless, it is clear that this is not a case that demands a standard detention. You must needs learn your place."
"Every day for seven days, starting today, you will go to the lower dungeons at four in the afternoon and assist in the renovation efforts until six. Clearing chambers, hauling stone, but nothing too physically demanding for a soldier. In addition, during this time, you will be required to provide the daily meals to the insurgents who sought to hide the crystal from our professors, until they are relocated elsewhere. Interrogations are due as soon as possible, so ensuring that they're fed is imperative." The tone in his voice turned somewhat grim.
"Unfortunately, the situation was... managed... such that they were sent to a chamber on the floor under renovation. As it is on the same floor as your other services, it should be no added difficulty to provide for them. You will find them in Chamber 53."Chamber 53... some awful rumors surrounded there. The records and the cells corroborate that a prisoner has been there for decades... even when no food is brought to the cell for years on end (and even then only to feed any other prisoners held there, a practice that Praesidium does its best to avoid). Some say that whatever's in there must be a loose fiend, perhaps a ghastly crystal that takes its form from a dead woman, or a demon puppeting her bones and flesh. Such possibilities are simply absurd, given the manpower and knowledge the Academy has to vanquish or contain such a threat, no matter how many ghost story anecdotes the older guards jokingly spread, or the younger students claim to have experienced.
That said... two handfuls of guards Viverna and Claus could've heard in passing claimed to have been hospitalized from their experiences in Chamber 53.
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